Fade to Death

Chapter 23: Their Final Words, Goodbye (Final Chapter)

The two of them were alone in that dark place. The girl wore tattered clothing stained with red, and looked to be no more than twelve years old. Kiki looked at her in a shocking way. I can see her face perfectly, she thought. Then, she reached out and started patting her cheeks. 

"You're real?" she asked. 

"Can you stop that?" the little girl said in an exasperated manner. 

"Sorry." 

"Look, we don't have much time." the girl said. 

"What do you mean?"

"Just listen: No matter how real something may seem to be, or how unreal, there will always be that something that will allow you to tell apart dreams from reality. Remember that." she said in a rushed way, looking around for something that did not seem to be there. Suddenly, the darkness seemed to start to consume her. 

"I have to go now, but I'll come back in due time."

"W-Wait! Who are you?!" 

She smiled wistfully and said only four words before her departure: "Take care of Kiyu."

"Huh? She can't be... Hey! Hey! Come back!" Kiki followed in the direction in which she disappeared. Then, in an instant, she seemed to have started falling. She saw the floor a few hundred feet under her and thought: Is this how I die?  However, as she was about to make an impact, her eyes opened. She sat up from the familiar bed and noticed her bandages.

"Shit.... I feel so confused." she rubbed her head. Suddenly, she noticed her brown hair, and looked to her right, where her wall mirror was. She stood up and examined herself in the mirror. 

"Is this real? No, it has to be another dream. Ugh, how I hate reacurring dreams, they're never-ending."  she muttered. 

"Kiki?"  Kiki turned towards the sound. They looked at each other for a moment. Then, Marsha reacted and hugged her quickly.

"You're finally awake! We were losing hope..." her voice chocked up at the end. 

"Hope? What happened?" Kiki said, confused. 

"That's right... You don't remember." she let go of her and explained:

"After you collapsed, Janice and Kira were able to defeat Jay, but she disappeared." 

"What about Mi-" Before she could finish her sentence, a young man walked into the room. He was tall, with brown hair and eyes and a beautiful complexion. He seemed like a gentle person, Kiki's imaginative representation Mika. Since she assumed it was him, she fast-walked past Marsha and hugged him. She felt like something was odd but was too happy to notice it: he didn't hug her back. 

"Mika, I missed you!" she let go and leaned toward his face. 

"You never told me that you were so cute." she smiled, inching closer. He blushed nervously and looked a little uncomfortable. In the corner of her eye, Kiki saw the shadow of a female behind them, and suddenly, she felt Marsha's hand grab her.  She turned around in confusion to see what was wrong. 

"Kiki, that's not Mika." 

"It's not? Then, who could it..." In an instant her eyes opened wide at the realization.

"Kira?" she turned to him.

"Hey, Kiki." he scratched the back of his head casually. She quickly recognized his voice.

"Ah... I'm so sorry." she took a step back. He nodded in acceptance and turned around at the girl in the hallway. 

"Oh Janice! Come here! Kiki woke up!" he said with a smile. While they spoke, Kiki had the curiosity to ask Marsha: