FOUR

Hey, that actually worked. Somewhat, at least. Maybe even just temporarily, but it's still good enough.

Phos and I have now just the school and are barely away, off to look for Cinnabar.

"Cinnabar's a bother just by existing... who would have thought anyone could be worse than good-for-nothing me?" Phos mumbled to herself.

"Don't say that Phos, nobody's absolutely useless, just those that aren't doing what they're best at."

"I guess you're right, but I'm not sad with myself or anything. I just don't get why Cinnabar would even do a job no one cares about or is even concerned with. Not at all. Why not just quit?"

"Well, people do things that aren't necessary, but that's because they like it or that they want to. Maybe both. It's just the way we all think, we're unique like that."

"Hmm..." Phos thought.

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

After some time we've looked through the plains, a beach, and we've just arrived off a cliff with a view of the Beach of Beginnings, as the other gems and Kongo-sensei called it.

Nothing here.

We went over to another small beach with a view of a large rock formation with an arch.

Nobody here either.+

We headed over to the Beach of Beginnings.

"Nowhere to be found," Phos said.

"Come on," she muttered as we walked through the plains again, "help some Master Scholars out here. Cinnabar, where are you?"

I noticed a small puddle of mercury on the ground, and lying just beside it is a mercury-covered butterfly. It's dead for sure.

It's evening, and we've arrived on the cliff just left of the beach where I first woke up in this world. Phos stretched herself and made a noise. I don't know how to describe it, just stretch now and you'll naturally feel like making or already started making that noise.

"U-ah!" Phos dropped her arms and slouched over.

"If you aren't out of this cliff, that means you're either... out in the ocean and up in the sk-"

"Phos, look!" I pointed up to a black spot forming in the sky and increasing in the sky.

Oh no. They're here.

Before we could react, someone stepped in front of us and sent out a huge wave of mercury, blocking a barrage of arrows that would have hit us had the wave appeared just a fraction of a second later.

Phos and I fell backwards, landing on our backs.

In front of us was a red, long-haired gem.

The Lunarians fired another wave of arrows.

"Why would anyone come at twilight, I wondered, but of course it's you, Three-Half!" the gem shouted as they turned around while still blocking the arrows.

"And you've brought along a friend, a newbie!"

As the Lunarins came closer and lower, their arrows managed to send botches of mercury out from the wave, killing all life that they landed on.

"Damn..."

Neither Phos nor I could say anything.

"Now why? My breathing kills the grass and earth itself..."

"I don't want to ruin any more. I don't want to be seen anymore. Not like this..."

Phos and I continued staring in awe.

"I don't want to fight. I don't want to fight... I don't want to-"

Cinnabar suddenly yelped and puked out a great amount of mercury, to the shock of both Phos and I.

The wave of mercury collapsed, exposing all of us to the Lunarians as Cinnabar stopped vomiting, fell to their knees and slumped over.

But they got up.

And all the mercury got up with them, forming silver clone-like figures of their controller.

She wasn't happy.

"Cinnabar!" I heard Phos yell.

The Lunarians threw spears. Oh, so I saw wrong earlier today, they were throwing spears instead of just solely firing bows and arrows.

Wait, there's no time for that! I gotta help out! But how? I'm helpless here.

The mercury Cinnabars charged forward as the spears rained down on them. From behind, a mercury shot through the real Cinnabar up into the air. Cinnabar did a somersault midair, fell towards the top of the Lunarian cloud, and threw out a massive wave of mercury on top of all the Lunarians.

Oh, they're in for a fantastic time.

The whole blanket of mercury swept away and covered every single Lunarin on the cloud, even engulfing the main large Lunarian in charge. In a matter of seconds the whole cloud disintegrated as the mercury fell into the sea.

Along with Cinnabar.

Along with Cinnabar?!

Cinnabar reached out for the cliff, but she slipped on her own mercury and lost grip.

She fell.

Phos got up quickly and lunged forward, reaching out her notebook for Cinnabar to grab on.

Cinnabar reached out.

She managed to grab onto the notebook and held on.

Phos' arms on the other hand didn't.

Phos stared in shock as I heard Cinnabar hit the water.

Silence for a second.

Phos got up and sat on her knees looking down at the spot where Cinnabar had fallen into.

A few seconds of silence as I saw Phos slump downwards.

"I never asked for help," Cinnabar said as she climbed the cliff from behind.

"Cinnabar..." Phos managed to mutter before she fell forward, off the edge.

"Phos!" I lunged forward, not caring about the mercury I've just hit, and managed to grab onto Phos' right shoulder.

Unfortunately I couldn't stop on the slippery mercury, and with the remaining momentum from when I launched forward with, I slipped and started to fall off the cliff too.

I felt someone grab my shoulders, pushing the both of us just back enough to prevent us from falling down.

Turning back, Phos and I watched as Cinnabar's arms snap into pieces and fall off.

"I'm the weakest out of all 28 of us. No, 29." Cinnabar stared at both of us.

"Hardness: 2."

That's weaker than Phos, I felt myself think before I suddenly blacked out.

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

Hey, where am I?

I'm in this white place. No, it's literally white everywhere, and it's not a room. Unending, extending white all around me.

Don't tell me this is the afterlife, am I dead?

"Nah, no, this isn't the afterlife. Just somewhere I like to hold private talks in."

Spinning around, I saw a white tuxedo-dressed man looking at me with a smile.

Hey, that face looks familiar. Wait, it can't be...

"Morgan Freeman?" I blurted out.5

The man laughed.

"No, I'm not Morgan, what you see me as is what you usually perceive my looks as. You know, whenever you said your prayers you think about me, no? That's how you view me as, and that's how I look to you now."

Wait, that can't be.

I gulped. Or the gem equivalent of that. Probably gulped too.

"God?"

The man's smile widened.+

"It's nice to meet you, Danburite. Or should I say, Nicole."