Straight to you.

"It's okay."

No, it's--

"Just... let go, Emmy."

I can't.

"Let go."

No, I ca--!

"EMMY!"

"I CAN'T!" I cried.

Thunder roared in the sky and lightning snaked against the crimson clouds. My entire body was feeling the fatigue of the war. Roaring fights and battles raged around us, but I knew my Sense could not last much longer to keep us hidden and safe. Thick tears I'd been holding back finally slid down my face, and my whole being, heart, mind, soul was shaking and trembling, wanting to scream and cry out and give up. How could we win this? How?

I had my arms clutched around his forearms, and I fell to my knees, I couldn't hold myself any longer. I hung my head and cried out, screamed, let out everything my soul had been feeling the past three months. My father's face was slowly vanishing from my mind; what did he look like? What did his voice sound like? I was fighting for him all this time, to bring him home safely. I had it in my heart that I would never lose sight of that goal, and that his safety meant my determination only grew stronger... and yet, this war could even taint my own memories of him. The Parallel's virus was nothing but poison to a human mind, and I felt myself slowly losing to it's control. My fingers curled and dug into Damien's skin, clutching onto him for my entire life, but I finally grew quiet. My Sense was losing its power, but I clung to him as if he could revitalize it somehow. Or, clung to him to reassure myself I could maybe keep him alive.

At least keep Damien alive...

"Emmy." I lifted my head up, looked into his eyes. Damien's eyes, full of scars, chaos, mystery; however, they were unclouded in this moment. They were filled with truth, wisdom, and a glint of hope. His lips twitched into a soft, yet still crooked smile. "You are the most stubborn soul I have ever met."

"I-I'm sorry. I can't... we're both going to die here."

"No... we're not. Well," he huffed, blowing a lock of hair from his eyes. "we're both not at least," he finished.

"What?" I asked, startled. My fingers clutched his arms tightly again. His smile turned from wise and caring to a smile of... acceptance. Almost a crooked, peaceful smile.

"Emmy.. I deserve to die here. All of this is for your father; you can't give up now. You have to bring him back to your world, your home, and end this corruption of Parallel from spreading into Reality. If I die here, I just ... disappear. There's nothing much on the Other Wide for us Parallel citizens." He frowned, but his expression turned somber and his eyes gently lifted upward. "However, Emmy.. you being human, you have the chance for your soul to reside in a Paradise for eternity." His gaze fell on me again, stern this time. "You'd be an idiot to give something like that up just because you're too proud to stay alive."

"What? It's not about pride.. I ... " I watched him, my heart hurting. I knew I'd grown an attachment to Damien over these past months, however, I never knew to what magnitude. When I called out his name, or held onto him, or fought side by side with him in battle, it was all as if I'd never see him again. As if I'd look back at him, and he'd just smile and me that with crooked smile and then just vanish in a blink of an eye. Every moment I had with him, I felt like he'd no longer be there. The idea of losing him or not seeing him laughing or scowling or being sarcastic and slightly rude... pained me. With Damien, I always had this desire to fight for him, or help him, or stand in front of him if he were being persecuted, even if his towering six foot one could never be defended by my measly five foot four. Anytime he teased me or tousled my hair or said my name, I felt some odd twist inside, but thought it was annoyance this whole time. His mystery, his silent leadership, his passionate personality, his quiet solitude, his awkward kindness...

I knew what it was now.

"Damien, I..."

"We can't love in the Parallel, Emmy."

My heart sank.

Damien sighed heavily, and looked away. "It's not possible for a human or a Parallelian to love one another. Our alternate universes won't allow it; it's one of the great curses of human's interaction with the Parallel that the Creator finally had to end. Legends and folklore spoke of lovers across parallel universes, but it only ended in tragedy." His eyes were dead on me, cold and heartless. The first Damien I had ever met was now greeting me again, and I was kind of missing his snarky comments more. "Love across parallel universes can't happen."

I grew silent, and hung my head. I wasn't expect some sort of heart-filled confession from Damien as we embraced one another or kissed and ran into the sunset or anything. I accepted what he told me; I knew it wasn't a love meant to blossom or grow, it was just a feeling I knew I couldn't just deny entirely. It wasn't in my being to deny something I felt. "I just... I guess you figured it out. But, I can't just deny something that I feel. But now that it's out, you understand as to why I can't just let you sacrifice yourself so easily," I whispered.

Damien was silent. Painfully silent. He was accepting what I confessed, death, but I was too I guess. I felt my barrier weaken and I knew this was slowly the end. Slowly. I closed my eyes, just waiting to feel the piercing pain of the battle hitting me from all sides, as I was torn to shreds and disintegrated into the world of the Parallel. "You assumed... I was done with what I was saying."

What?


His forehead rested gently on mine, and my heart leaped a little at the sudden closeness. Damien always tousled my hair or punched me in the arm, shoved me, tripped me, stood mildly close to me grabbed my wrist or hand, but all in either protective or teasing manners; never had he showed some sort of intimacy or vulnerability as he was showing me now. But I felt it from him; and saw it in his eyes when I lifted my eyes, and our gazes locked. "Just as you met yourself here, in the Parallel, already, there is a me in Reality as well." HIs voice was merely a whisper, rushed, as time was drawing closer, "He won't be entirely the same as me; your heart will have to find him."

"But if you die here, won't he die too?" I whispered frantically. I felt my throat thicken and my stomach knot, and my words came out hoarse and pathetic. Tears began to sting my eyes again. "Why are you telling me this when it's hopeless?"

"That's not entirely true. The Parallelians, our souls may not go to a Paradise after we're gone, but they do go somewhere else -- to Reality. To live another life. To explore and become anew. Now, though we already have been "living" in Reality to an extent, our Parallel selves after our deaths, our souls, and inner, raw feelings and emotions entirely will be remembered by our Reality self." He drew a heavy breath. "You know what I'm saying; you're bright, Emmy, so quit looking so struck with shock. You don't have much time; I can't stay here. You don't have enough power left to try to barricade both of us." Through my shock I didn't even notice his arms released from my hold; eventually he'd be completely visible to them again. They'd destroy him; even Damien himself, with his Sense of fighting and killing, couldn't stand the chance against an army.

He'd certainly die.

"DAMIEN!" I cried, my hands instantly found his face and tears rolled down my cheeks. "You've been the one forcing me to be strong, you can't just leave now -- You'd be quitting! Giving up! You told me to NEVER do that, you hypocrite!" I cried. He remained calm, and just held a hand over mine. He smirked.

"Emmy..." He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. With that same smirk, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against my forehead and then pulled back, his expression tender and caring as he tilted head up so my gaze could meet his. His voice was deep and stern, his crimson eyes reassuring and comforting. My heart ached as he spoke these words; "You know, once I am gone, my soul will come running again; straight to you."

And then, Damien slipped from my barricade. Into the battle, into his final breath.

--------------------------------

UHHHH

I don't know, haha. It's late, but I felt like writing something; that's all probably total trash, but my idea is there.

Basically, Emmy and Damien have a tragic sort of... love story. Two souls can't love over parallel universes, it defies the laws of the universes set forth by the Creator. So, even though falling in love is still achievable between universes, it can never be acted upon or can never grow. Once the feelings are confessed, that's all it remains. A human is never even supposed to be in the Parallel, and vice versa.

Gah, it's all such a confusing story I'm still trying to sort. I didn't want Emmy and Damien to be typical sort of couple, I wanted some sense of tragedy between them to keep them ... legendary almost, to make their love stand out. The story itself isn't written as a love story, so their whole story is just a side note, however, a very important one too. It's not just totally ignored either once Damien dies.

AND YES DAMIEN DIES Dx I'm sorry!

I don't even want to re-read through that cause I'd be up another hour or two editing stuff @_@ GOODNIGHT.