Welcome to Gaia! ::

For once, Kayako could hear his words almost clearly. There was still a little static, but his voice wasn't as shifty now. She could make out most of his body, only his face remained slightly shadowed.

Kayako held her hand to her chest and looked down.

"It's....alright. You don't have to be sorry. I wasn't your fault!! Back there, something was going on with BOTH of us.........You weren't yourself, and neither was I at first."

She looked back up, trying to get a better look at his face.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter! What's done is done. We both have to deal with whatever happens now, there's no sense wondering what could've been."

Nic glared at Rue when he pulled her away, but moved wilingly.
'What is he doing? What am I doing?' Nic thought to herself. I can't keep doing things like this, it's bad for everyone.
'Pull your self toghether.'

Nic felt Rue squeezing her hand and she looked down at it. She hadn't let go yet, she still had a good grip on his hand. She did not know if she could trust him or not. But she could not help but to have this one thought in the back of her head.
'Why did he move me out of the way?' Nic knew if she was going to do anything she could not hesitate.

Kayako lowered her head. She knew by his tone that there was no way she could convince him that it wasn't his fault. All she could do was stand there, and hope that no one else was going to throw their lives away because of her.

Having nothing else to say, she remembered something that just might hold value to him....

She looked up to face him again.

"I don't know if this'll help any, but I've heard a few things since I've been on this ship. Something about 'Warusawa'......and the 'Novak Foundation'. They keep saying.....that that's where I'm from. I think that's where their going to take me next."

Like water in a desert, everything around the two of them disolved into nothing. Kayako reached out her hand one last time before the scene broke in two and faded into nothingness, the connection between her and the other pilot cut off.

"I'll make it up-I'll get you..!!"

The last words she heard from him echoed in her mind as she slowely began to regain conciousness in the real world.

Her own body being pulled at by gravity.....

Her breath against her hand........

Now she could feel the bed underneath her again, so cold and lifeless compared to the feild of light she had been in before.

She opened her eyes. She was ideed back in her room, with it's starchy white walls and lifeless peices of furniture. She sat up and looked around to see nothing looking any different from the way it was before she'd gone to sleep.

Tip, Tip, Tip, Tip.......

Footsteps???? Kayako could faintly hear someone walking down the hallway outside, getting closer to her door.

She didn't know who they belonged to, but she felt a sinking feeling all through her body that told her that something was about to happen........

((Sorry about that. I’ve been a little busy lately.))

Terrek chuckled and tilted his head in amusement.

“My name is Artisen, not that that matters. At the moment I need you to follow me.” He curiously glanced between the two. “Amazing, what little people know in this world. You have no idea the weapon that Gail is carrying, do you?” He stepped around them and shoved the gun into Nic’s back. Tightly he twisted the pointed tip of the gun, causing it to dig into her skin.

“Let’s get going, time has managed to escape me lately. I’ve wasted five years on this ship… five totally wasted years.” He gritted his teeth and pressed the gun harder. “Move it.” He growled.

---

The door to the pristinely white room slid open, and a tall blacked haired man stepped through. There was an odd smile on his face. It seemed to oddly match with the glisten in his eyes, almost as if he was smirking, yet there was no mock behind it. Rather he seemed curious. Carefully he looked over Kayako. With soft clipping steps he moved forward and sat in a seat in front of her.

“I’ve been curious about one of Novak’s creations… the Novak Foundation that is.” He glanced at her eyes, searching for something that wasn’t revealed.

“My name is Xellien Kilstine. I was the one who specifically ordered for you… and… the other.” He stopped and his smile deepened with more curiosity. “Tell me Kayako, what incases your mind at the moment. Does pain reach you? Has sadness sought a way to break you… have you let it succeed in doing so? Curious, your face reveals so much… so many lies… and at the same time… so many truths.” He continued to hold the same inquisitive tone. “What is it you wish to reveal… and how much are you willing to give to me?”

Xellien let out a pleasant sigh and stood up from his chair. Slowly he began to pace around her, letting an odd silence succumb to the room. Finally after a few moments passed, he stopped and turned back to her.

"Sorry, I was trying to remember something..." He glanced around the white room. "This place is slightly plainer then I remember. You know the other I order was in this same room... You do know what this room is, don't you?" He asked with that same curious smile. When she said nothing he moved forward and sat down in the chair.

"Kayako, this is where one becomes something else. In here we make greater things from smaller things. This is where Gray was given his special gift, a small device which I have been developing for years now. The idea itself derives slightly from that of the Amita Drive, but you wouldn't know of that." He stopped again and stood up.

"There are a few things you have yet to be told Kayako. And there are also many things you have yet to reveal... If you have nothing left to reveal, then I'll take help you along.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out two white gloves. “There is nothing to fear here Kayako... I'm giving you the same gift." His smile faded into a calmer grin. Gently he raised his hand and flicked his finger. Just bare second later, the wall behind them rose up, revealing several people in white suits rolling in carts of strange metallic devices.

"Dont be afraid, I'll make sure you become something greater."

Kayako was standing now, her back against the wall, breathing hard. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

The same gift.........

Gray's 'gift'...............

Something in her memory clicked, bringing her back to her conversation with the other pilot.

".........that accursed driver-it's my curse..........."

Her eyes were wide now. The man standing before her meant to implant one of those damned drives into her, she was sure of it. The same drive that caused Gray so much pain, the same drive that drove him to madness and sent him on a killing spree. She couldn't let them do this to her......she had to do something, fast.

"W-WAIT!!!!! Stop, just stop it alright!!!! I don't want to be like him!! I'm FINE!! I'm fine just how I am!! I don't need to be anything greater!!!"

She felt that there was no way such a claim would convince him.....she had to go for an edge.

"...k....KILLING!!! That's what you want me to do, right?? Well, I can kill people just fine like I am now!!!! I....I even killed someone, a soldier, a well-trained soldier, before I was captured!!! You don't have to DO this!!! I can do whatever you want......I don't need something like that......"

She could feel his eyes...he didn't believe her. She had only one choice, and she hoped to god it would work. Still keeping the determined expression she'd held ever since he arrived, she played her ace in the hole.

"If you do this, it'll ONLY GET IN MY WAY!!!! Listen to me, I want to find out where I came from!! I really do.....but how am I supposed to trust someone if they do these things to me without my promission?? I know what that drive does! Giving me one of those will only make it harder on you in the long run!! And besides, if you just give me some time to find out about myself, maybe I'll LET you do it! But as of right now, it's just not a good idea!"

'Please.......this is my last chance..........' she thought silently.