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The Reyvateil's smile grew. "Yeah! It's going to be great!" She took the Teru by the hand and pulled him along a ways. "Let's go or we're going to be late! Since I'm running for Class Rep, that would probably not look so good on my resume, would it?" She giggled, and then gasped, letting go of Gannon's hand. "Me holding hands with a student of the opposite gender probably wouldn't look so good, either... Even if it's you." She looked slightly disappointed at the revelation. "Oh, well... I'm sorry," she apologized with a shy blush. She walked with him in silence for awhile, but suddenly, a shadow passed over them and her eyes widened in fear. "Oh, no, not again! We've got to run!" She grabbed Gannon by the arm and hid with him behind a tree. "They're attacking again. Those creepy shadow spiders. They devour everything they see." She shuddered and clung to the Teru as she trembled in fear.

As if on cue, the liquid substance manifested from the ground, taking the form of first shadows, then huge spiders that began preying on people and inanimate objects alike. People screamed and ran for their lives. Suddenly, static began flaring up yet again and tremors started on the ground.

Hikari screamed, tightening her grip on the Teru beside her as if holding on for dear life.

"Rrha num ra synk sphilar yor en mea. [In this numb trance I overlap our minds.]"

Just then, Hikari's grip on Gannon went slack and her arms dropped to her sides. She pulled away from Gannon, as if possessed and stumbled forward as if in a daze. "ECCHRA..." Then came to a halt, freezing completely.

In fact, everything else around Gannon had frozen in place and time, including the spiders.



In the direction that Hikari had been moving when she froze completely stood a girl. She nodded. "Yes, I am ECCHRA." The girl turned to the Teru, regarding him carefully. "You... you are not of this world, either? If you were, there would be no way you would be able to move. You are her Vanguard, I presume?" She took a few steps closer to the Teru. "The Fau Pira as it is now has become nothing more than a death trap for Reyvateils. Please, I beg of you. Release us of this prison... For this girl's sake, and for my own..."

"Sure..." Ina pause for a bit before continuing. "I'm going outside, hate being indoors." She mutter while leaving the clinic. Ina then went to a tree trunk and lay her back. Blitz rush towards Ina and lay down on her lap. She scratch the familiar on it's head and fell into a light sleep

The Reyvateil shook her head. "Ar tonelico. We wish to return to Ar tonelico, where all Reyvateils hail from. You cannot say that Hikari has not expressed the wish to be a normal Reyvateil to you." ECCHRA sighed. "There is a hymn, though I do not know where it is located. It may purge the virus." The area around her began to glitch once again. "Had we been normal Reyvateils, this circumstance would have not been possible. This virus would never have been able to enter into our Cosmospheres... and I... I would not be able to enter here, either."

She nodded. "I will be taking my leave of this place. We will meet in the real world very soon. I have much to tell you both... and Mana." With that ECCHRA began to fade.


With the disappearance of ECCHRA, everything resumed and Hikari stumbled backward when a shadow spider formed in front of her. "A-aaaah!" She fell back into the Teru. "There's no way anyone can beat them! Only Pretty Soldier R can!"


"Back away, Hikari! Gannon, get out of there! Crescent Crescendo Kick! Yaaaah!!" Standing before them was Rhaplanca, though dressed slightly different than before. Immediately the shadow faded when her attack touched it.

"Rhaplanca, behind you!" Hikari cried, seeing another shadow creep up on her friend. "Watch out!"

Rhaplanca gasped as she was overwhelmed by more of the shadows. "Aaahhh! Take that! Crescent Crescendo Kick!" She managed to fend them off but afterward, collapsed to the ground before the other Reyvateil. The area around them had been cleared of the spiders, but in the wake of the battle was left completely devastated. "Hi... Hikari... please... tell me you've reconsidered. I'm sorry, but... I need your powers too... I can't do it alone. I've tried and tried, but at the rate it's going, this world is going to..."

Hikari shook her head. "No! I don't care about any of that! Why should I!? I... I want to live a normal life! I worked so hard before to get here! I'm finally one of the elite at Pallieu Acadamy!" She clenched her fists. "I'm running for Class Rep now. I found my family! I have a job that I love! Why should I have to sacrifice everything and quit a normal life like you did!? Why!? I just want to be a normal girl and do everything that I wanted to do! You had your fun, now it's my turn! Why do I have to fight too!? You said that you'd take care of it! You promised that I could finally live a normal life. And that's exactly what I'm going to do!" She grabbed Gannon's hand. "Let's go or we're going to be late to school!" She snapped, dragging Gannon along with her.

The blonde's mood had deteriorated since the attack and her meeting with Rhaplanca, but now that they had gotten closer to the school it had improved once again. She let go of the Teru beside her to wave in greeting as a couple of girls from class approached them.


"Miss Hikari! I wish you luck today in the elections! I fully support your endeavors!" A girl who shared Miko's appearance was saying.

"Aww, thank you," Hikari replied with a giggle. "The principal is going to announce it during school. No hard feelings either way though."


"Knock 'em out! You'll totally win, I know it!" A girl who looked suspiciously like Mana said with a grin.

"Thanks! I'll do my best! But we should get to class now! Since the principal came back, our classes have been rearranged again. Gannon, you and I are in the same class with Miko here. Mana's down the hall with the naughty kids." She playfully shook a finger at the other girl. "You have to stop skipping classes so much, Mana!"

"Bah, I'll skip as many as I feel like it, Missy. Anyways, good luck! Laters!"

"All right. Let's all go." Hikari led the way up to class and entered into the classroom, taking a seat in the front. She adjusted her glasses and pulled her books out of her bag.


"Hikari, Gannon, and Miko!" The teacher greeted them with a smile. "I was concerned. "I heard that those spiders appeared in town. It's good to see that you weren't hurt."

"We got out of it all right... Thanks to Pretty Soldier R as always..."

"Class, settle down now. Before we start, the Principal would like to announce the new Class Rep after Rhaplanca. Please allow her to speak."


"Greetings, children. It has come to my attention that the student council has voted, and they have decided on Hikari Seles to take the position. Congratulations, Miss Hikari." The woman bowed. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

"This is... I'm so... overwhelmed. Thank you," Hikari breathed. "I'll do my best!"

"All right class, now open your books and turn to page 379 in your text books. We were talking last time about the genetic codes in Reyvateils. And why Reyvateils normally can only be female..."

Hikari sat through the whole class, nibbling on the back of her pencil in concentration as she listened to the teacher. After the long, tedious and boring day was over and the bell rang, she stood. "Rise! Bow!" When the class had done as she instructed and was dismissed, she turned to Gannon. "I only work a couple of hours tonight, but I can't wait to show you." She blushed. "I've always dreamed of doing this as a little girl. I never thought the day would come that I actually would..." She chuckled and shook her head. "Never mind! You'll see! Come on! I can't wait to show you!" She grabbed her book bag. "It's this way! I'm going to be putting on a show in the park so let's head over there. Then I'll get ready." She led the way to the park and then set her book bag down beside the Teru. "Could you please watch my stuff for me a sec? I have to change for work! Thanks!" She raced over to the park's facilities to change.

Soon after she had disappeared in the tiny building, workers began setting up a stage and a rather large crowd had gathered, talking excitedly among themselves.


Hikari reappeared and ran through the crowd to greet Gannon. "How do I look?" She asked him with a playful wink. "Wish me luck, okay? Oh, and... I'm dedicating my first ever song to you! Since you came here to watch me and all!" She ran up to the podium and greeted the cheering audience. "Hey everyone! Thanks for coming out tonight! I've decided I'm going to dedicate this song to someone special to me. But I hope it touches everyone's hearts tonight! Here I go!"

Celestial Rain
"This mineral world
was created from an age of brilliance.
In a dying metropolis,
there's no light or warmth to be felt.
The outcome you sought
is nothing but gray.
Was this your paradise?
Seize everything you want,
Give anything you want tirelessly.
Lurking in the depths of your heart
there's a tiny voice that you spend your life listening to."

Light appeared above her and sparkled around the audience as she sang, glowing and glittering around everything.

RED MAGIC CRAFTED: Celestial Rain

The crowd cheered when she finished the song.

She beamed a bright smile when she finished and waved. Finally after several more songs she was able to call it a night and tiredly approached the Teru. "Sorry to make you wait so long. How was I?" She blushed. "I was nervous but was it terrible? Either way," she yawned, "it was a lot of fun." A sad expression appeared and she looked away at the setting sun. "I wish I could do this forever, but, I guess for now I'll have to be content to live this way until the end."

When he gave her the ice-flowers she marveled at how pretty they were. Hikari smiled sadly at Gannon's attempt at cheering her up. "Yeah, I'd like that," she said wistfully. "Well, Mom and Daddy are probably pretty worried about me. And they've been asking about you." They walked through the city square as the sun had finished setting and night was now upon them. "It's just a little further." Hikari pointed to the edge of the city square. "It's the last house down on that block." They closed the distance down the street and stepped up onto the porch. Hikari reached forward and opened the door only to be greeted by a woman who looked strangely like Melody. "Oh, hi Mom! I've got so much to tell you! I got the position of Class Representative today! And then, my first concert went off without a hitch!" She threw her arms around the woman and squealed excitedly.


"Oh, Hikari, I'm so proud of you," she said hugging her daughter back. "Oh, is this the young man you keep telling me about. My, he is cute!" She winked at Hikari. She reached forward and extended a hand. "I'm Mrs. Seles, nice to meet you finally. Hikari has told me so much about you. Please come inside." She led the way into the house. "Honey," she called. "Hikari finally brought her friend over."


"Oh, she did?" A man sharing Aaron's appearance came around the corner to greet them. "So you finally came around, eh? Just so you know, you're a long ways off from dating my little girl young man. Even if she's taken a shine to you..."

"Daddy!" Hikari shrieked in embarrassment, giving her father a shove. She turned to her mother and yawned. "Today was a really long day."

"That it was and it's getting late. I'm sorry, my dear but it's about your bed time. You will have to say good night to your friend and get to sleep soon. Darling, let's give them a little privacy."

"No way in hell is that brat getting any privacy with my little girl! Mr. Seles hollered as he was dragged away by his wife. "You lay a finger on her and my boot's goin' up your a**!"

Hikari sighed. "I'm sorry. Here, let me walk you out," she offered, stepping outside and leading the way down the porch stairs. "Thank you for everything today!" She said, smiling. "It was a lot of fun. I'll see you tomorrow, then! Night night!" She waved and ran inside to get to sleep.


After Hikari had gone inside the bushes by the house shook and Rhaplanca stepped out from behind them, sighing when she saw only the Teru. "Oh, no. I missed Hikari, didn't I..." She looked really worn out and turned her back to the Teru to walk away dejectedly.

The Reyvateil hung her head. "I feel so bad about everything. Hikari has done nothing but struggle this entire time. Remember how hard she worked before? I believed what that fraud said about her just like everyone else, about her hurting the Principal and treated her horribly. But despite all that," Rhaplanca kicked at a pebble and sent it bouncing. "She still did her best. Finally, you showed up and things started going better for her. But soon after you left, those things started attacking and tearing this place up. Hikari and I both were asked to fight those things together. But, well, I told her that I would take care of it. She really just wanted to live a normal life and she was so happy that it would have been cruel of me, or anyone else to take it away. But... I'm not strong enough. I'm not affecting them at all. To be honest, Hikari might be the only thing standing between us and total annihilation. I've tried asking her several times now, but... after she finally gained the freedom to do as she wanted, she's scared of losing it. If she accepts the job with me, she won't be able to go to school, be Class Rep, and she won't have hardly any time to sing for any audiences like she dreamed of. She'll constantly be fighting, just like me. She's going to get tired, and be exhausted and discouraged from time to time, and lonely... But if it's to save this world, there's not much choice."

Rhaplanca shook her head. "I know I don't have any right to ask this of her. I know she's tired of running. She's tired of fighting and she just wants to live a peaceful life, but Gannon, the truth is... the reality is... you and I both know as well as Hikari knows, that she isn't a normal girl. What Hikari is wishing for will never come true. Which is why she wants to give up now. But if she gives up, everything in this place will be destroyed, which is why I need your help. You have to convince her!" She clenched her fists. "She isn't looking at the whole picture. Sure, she won't have the time to sing her songs in front of huge crowds and be a famous singer, or plan things on the student council in school and lead her class, but... Remind her of what she can do. Remind her of what she does have." Rhaplanca looked up to meet the Teru's gaze. "You'll fight alongside us too won't you? And... though she won't have all those people to share her feelings and songs with... you'll listen if she should ever want to sing, won't you?" Her gaze softened. "I think deep down... she just wants to know that she won't have to fight alone anymore. When she gets overwhelmed, she has someone who'll shoulder the burden until she can manage it again."

A tiny smile appeared on the Reyvateil's face. "Then, all you can do is tell her that." She nodded. "After that, it's up to her whether or not she's willing to accept her fate and live with it. We've done all we can. I have faith in her though. If she has enough love in her heart to heal an entire forest, then she has enough strength in heart to accept her fate and protect this world."

Just then, the ground shook, nearly cracking in two and knocking Rhaplanca off her feet. "Oh... oh no! It's much worse than it's ever been!" She picked herself up and looked frantically around. Buildings tumbled around them and collapsed into nothing more than rubble on the ground. She gasped in horror when she looked ahead and saw Hikari's family house had fallen as well. "Oh, no! Hikari! If she dies here, everything else will die with her!" Rhaplanca raced forward toward the collapsed pile of rubble. "Hikari! Please be okay!" She cried out.


"I... I'm over here..." Hikari managed to call out, pulling herself out from the rubble, dressed in her nightie outfit. "Mom! Daddy!" She began to move through the debris, looking for her family, completely oblivious to a wave of shadows coming their way.

"Hikari! Look out!" Rhaplanca took Hikari by the hand and pulled her out just in time to see the shadows completely engulf what used to be Hikari's home. "We have to get out of here! There's no more time! Hikari I need your help now. This whole world is going to be destroyed!"

"Wh-what have you done!?" Hikari screeched. "I wanted to stay with my family until the end! I was supposed to die here! It was all supposed to end!" The blonde screamed at the raven-haired girl. "I'm fine with it this way! There's nothing else for me to fight for! Why should I have to suffer so much and always be all alone!?" She began to cry and the quaking around them grew even worse. She turned her watery gaze on the Teru before her. "Why can't you understand!? I'm sick of running. I'm sick of fighting! I just want it to end! I already know that all of my hopes, my dreams... everything I ever wanted was a lie! None of that is going to come true even after all this pain I've been through! It'd be better for everything to just end now, before it becomes even more miserable than it already is! I can't take it anymore! It's just too much!"

The trembling grew, this time not only because of the attacking virus, but the emotional instability of the Reyvateil's Cosmosphere.

Hikari cried out and crouched to her knees and covered her head. "Both of you, get out of here now before you die too!"

Rhaplanca turned to Gannon and shouted so she could be heard over the chaos around them. "Gannon, right now! Say it now! You have to tell her! It's the only chance we have of saving this world!"

"Hikari... I'm staying as well. I need to keep fighting for this world. I'm not giving up on it and I'm not giving up on you." Rhaplanca called over to the blonde Reyvateil before turning back to the shadows before her. "Hyaaaah! Crescendo Kick!"


Hikari gasped when Gannon took her in his arms. "You... you can't do this... no... You both can't do this! It's not fair!" She heard a noise behind the Teru and looked up to see a huge shadow closing in on its prey. There wasn't enough time to do anything and the way they were right now, Hikari knew that he would most certainly be devoured by it. "No! I can't let you die!" Her arms wrapped tightly around Gannon and she shouted. "I don't want you to die! Gannon, because it's to protect you, I'll fight!" A brilliant flash of light surrounded them and when it faded, Hikari's clothes had changed.


"I'll protect you with my Song!" Hikari held tightly to Gannon as she began an incantation in Hymmnos. "[Greatly wishing to protect this person most precious to me, I call upon every last ounce of my strength to summon you. Solaris, shine before me!]"

RED MAGIC CRAFTED: Solaris' Divinity

"Hikari, I was able to reach my ultimate form because of your desire to protect this boy. I, once Solara, have become Solaris. I will gladly give my power to protect you, and to purify your enemies. Receive my divine light, allies and foes alike and be purified!" A beam of light poured down over Gannon, Rhaplanca and Hikari as well as the enemies. For the three of them, it lifted the fatigue and strengthened their powers. For the enemies however, they disappeared in the wall of light as it roared past them. It cleansed the entire world around them and finally when the magic had stopped, the world had returned to normal, looking as it had before the shadows had started attacking.

Hikari still held tightly onto the Teru with her eyes squeezed shut. "G-Gannon... please tell me... you're still here with me... we're still alive... right?" Her voice quivered slightly, afraid of the answer she was going to receive. "I don't want to die, not yet. I want to live, even if it's only just for a little longer. I want to stay with you. I want... I want to keep singing... for you... for Rhaplanca... for everyone."