End of an Obsession [P2]

It was midday, the skies as blue as the sea with not a cloud in sight. The temperature a staggering 114 degrees.

Currently downtown outside of a local wolmart is a annoyed Lain tapping her foot impatiently against the pavement with her arms crossed.

A couple of men walk past her with ogling eyes, clearly irritated, she snorted in disgust.

[Humph! Making me wait so long, she's lucky i'm such a patient woman.] Lain's foot tapped faster as her patience grew thin.

A few minutes later Ariel and the young boy walk out of the store. A large silly smile covered the boy's face as he carried his brand spanking new zbox 420 tightly.

The boy giggled loudly. "Thanks a lot big sis! I can't wait to show momma!"

"Yeah yeah, now get lost." Ariel rustled the boys hair before walking towards Lain who was sighing in relief.

"Come Ariel, let's get something to eat before we leave."

Westside pavilion, food court~

Sitting at one of the cleaner tables were Lain and Ariel who appeared to be eating some chinese food. In the background, some early 2000's pop music was playing.

Putting some of the beef and noodles in her mouth with a plastic fork, Lain chewed while looking at Ariel strangely.

"Why choose to have your last meal here? This place is like a ghost town." Lain spoke with her mouth full, not caring about her piggish manners.

A pair of elderly mall walkers passed by while giving Lain the stink eye.

"What are you looking at? I'm trying to eat here!" Lain noticing scoffed at them in response.

Ariel looked around nostalgically. "Mother took me here when I was a child, before she got sick."

Lain took a gulp from the coke beside her and burped. "Not gonna miss your family?" She asked curiously as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Ariel snapped out of her reverie and began to nibble her remaining food. "No, I was never really close to my brother, sister and father. Only mother. After she died, they always kept at a distance as if they could sense something from me, it made me feel like an outcast. I drifted further apart from the older I grew and eventually I left, never looking back," Ariel sighed. "I haven't been in contact with them since."

"There's certainly a unique aura about you, some may find it enticing." Lain smiles charmingly.

Like a plane, the complement completely flew over Ariel's head. Lain shook her head and continued eating.

"Ahhh that hit the spot." Lain rubbed her stomach after finishing off her food. She started sipping what was left of her drink. "I'm curious Ariel, why do you even trust me? I appeared out of nowhere and told you what you wanted to hear most. Maybe I'm just a con?"

With a melancholic expression Ariel replied. "I knew you know. In the beginning it wasn't so clear but as time went on at the back of my mind I knew that what ever I did it would be useless, that nothing would come from my actions. But I refused to acknowledge it and deluded myself. Maybe if I do this it'll work I thought naively. On and on I went like a broken record but I couldn't just stop, before I knew it this desire had become my reason for living, for existing," Ariel sighed as she continued.

"My dead-end job at lacys, my little apartment down at indianna avenue. None of these things mattered to me, nothing material, no friend or lover. Nothing. The only thing that could move my heart was my desire but after these last few failures, the reality I buried deep in the back of my mind has begun to surface no matter how much I try to deny it. I can feel myself.. fracturing." The last words were almost a whisper on her lips, the desolation in her gaze slowly swallowing what little light remained.

Ariel looked into Lain's obsidian eyes with resolution. "I've been clutching at straws for a long time now and suddenly you appear when my will to continue was nearly gone, a coincidence? I don't think so. I'm willing to take a leap of faith and follow you because I believe you'll lead me to where I need to be, to give me a chance to fulfill this wish that shackles me."

Lain nodded while listening.

Ariel's eyes locked on to Lain's, her pupils shone with a cold brilliance. "And if you're lying to me? You have my word that I will personally make you suffer.. "

She stared at Lain like a poisonous snake ready to strike at it's prey at any moment.

Lain's eyes narrowed as she focused intently on Ariel, a lazy smile crept onto her face.

Standing up, Lain beckoned Ariel with her hand. "Follow me, it will happen soon and you especially don't want to miss it."

...

The sky was slowly becoming red as the day slowly seeped into the night.

Beneath the Colorado street bridge beside the river on it's bank were 3 figures.

2 were standing close together while the other was standing a few meters apart in a more spacious area. Beside the lone figure was a seemingly large steel structure that only be described as some kind of futuristic but practical space ship.

The 2 were obviously Ariel and Lain.

Ariel clearly lost in her thoughts waiting anxiously for the supposed moment.

Lain curiously looked at the lone figure with an inquiring gaze. He was a man. Tall without a doubt, around 2 and a half meters. A frightening height for any human but unlike other giants he was perfectly proportioned, his body was slim but perfect muscles that didn't sacrifice mobility were hidden beneath his white robes.

Long platinum hair that carried a distinct metallic sheen cascaded down his back down to his waist, strands of gold that shone in the retreating sun could be seen evenly on each side of the man's head that made a stark contrast to the vibrant white that surrounded them.

Pointy elf like ears, fair skin and a face that could make any woman hang their head in shame and envy, even his eyes where not normal. They glowed vibrantly with the pupil surrounded by a ring of electrifying blue light, the golden iris also surrounded by a similar ring colored violet like a black light.

One could hardly call him manly because he looked too beautiful in appearance, if it weren't for his male physique he could pass for one of the most beautiful of women.

From the twitching of his sharp eyebrow, the curious stares Lain had been giving him had clearly irritated the fellow.

Unable to bear the incessant staring that seemed to bore into him, the elf snapped. "What! Is there something on my face?"

Stunned, Lain smiled mischievously. "Uh.. sorry for staring miss."

The elf almost fell over backwards. Pointing speechlessly at Lain, the elf stuttered. "You- you-"

Catching his breath, He sighed hopelessly.

"That's the 16th one already! Damn it all!" The elf grumbled in anger.

A feminine laugh could be heard from the metallic bracelet worn on his right arm.

"Shut it!" He scolded the helpless but giggly piece of jewelry.

Completely ignoring the squabbling elf, Ariel's eyes were more focused then they'd ever been before. Looking intently at the spot just below the bridge in the middle of one of the curved arches, that was where Lain said her only chance would appear.

She had asked Lain if it was an object she was looking for but Lain just smiled mysteriously and her only response was that it was up to herself whether or not she could grasp the opportunity.

Clenching her fists so tightly that her knuckles had gone white, her heart beating faster and faster as time went on. Ariel wore a dauntless expression, her figure barely moving except for her rising and falling chest.

"38 seconds left. No matter what, I will succeed." Ariel whispered to herself.

The elf now had a solemn expression, he stood silently as if he was waiting for something. Only Lain had a carefree look about her as she leaned against a nearby tree.

As the seconds pass, the surroundings had suddenly become quiet. No insect nor wind could be heard, even the loud sounds from the passing cars overhead had completely disappeared.

4..

3..

2..

As the final second passed everyone's breathing had completely stopped, it was if time itself didn't exist.

Beneath the bridge in the air, a soundless tear appeared. Like a cracked window, it grew wider and wider as smaller and larger cracks formed a spider web like shape several meters wide, at the center the pieces fell away into nothing and from within spilled forth a myriad of lights of colors known and unknown.

After a brief period of being stunned the elf had already departed towards his ship the door opening automatically as he approached, the engines crackled loudly as they began to heat up with a fiery light.

Startled, Ariel muttered. "Wha- what is that?"

"A crack in reality. This is your chance Ariel, your only chance. Believe in yourself, in your indomitable desire! Otherwise all that awaits you is death!"

Lain had appeared suddenly beside her and picked her up by the scruff of her collar like a kitten with one hand.

"Now go!"

She threw Ariel towards the crack in the sky like a comet. The weight of a full grown woman was like nothing but a feather to Lain.

Ariel screamed in fright at the sudden aerial flight imposed upon her. Her body was spinning like a football and her arms waving everywhere in attempt to grab something to hold on to, as she tried to collect some semblance of herself the blurry surroundings suddenly vanished in a blinding light of an impossible number of colors and then from within, something which her mind struggled to comprehend consumed her totally.