Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Old Home

Artia shook her head and stumbled to her feet, looking around at the white expanse that greeted her. Dusting off her dress, she began walking in hopes of reuniting with her group.

"Yogiri?" she called out, "Are you there?"

No response. She began to worry, although her standard calm façade played off these emotions. After much traversing, she came across a small village. A village she remembered. The village she used to call home. Absolutely flabbergasted, she ran up to the small town, walking down the main street. She recognized everything, from the small schoolhouse to the udon shop she and her friends would always lounge around after magic training was over. She reminisced sadly as floods of memories came back to her, remembering the times the udon shop owner would yell at her for not buying anything from recalling the time she transformed from a wood mage to a frost mage. She eventually went off the beaten path and made her way towards the suburbs, where she found a small shack with a clothesline and wheelbarrow outside of it. Home.

"Artia! You're back!" a white-haired woman ran up to greet the frost mage, "Shouldn't you still be in school?"

"Mama…?" Artia stammered, at a loss for words, "That's impossible…"

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Artia's mother pondered, pulling away from the hug, "What's impossible?"

"Y-you and the rest of the villagers died in a fire, mama…" Artia managed to inform, "My magic went crazy, but then the man in a black coat gave me my sealing ribbons and took me to the dimension where Earth is…"

The two stared at each other in silence for a long amount of time. Contrasting Artia's worried and pained expression was her mother's unfading warm beam. This unsettled the white-haired frost mage, beginning to wonder if her mother was okay.

"Mama, are you alright…?" Artia questioned.

No. Nothing was alright. The village burst into flames. All the villagers screamed out in agony. And her mother's burnt corpse stared right through Artia's soul. Artia's face contorted, gazing fearfully at the charred woman before her.

"You're right, Artia," the corpse of the frost mage's mother said, "We're dead. And it's all because of you."

"Why didn't you save us…" another corpse asked, grabbing her ankle. She recognized it as a boy from her class.

"It's because she wasn't strong enough, Masao…" yet another corpse replied, putting her hand on the mage's shoulder. Artia looked over, realizing it was one of the girls she used to hang out at the udon shop with. She gasped.

"N-no, it's not my fault…!" Artia shook her head, tearing away from the corpse's embrace.

"You could have protected us, if you weren't weak," the boy said, unable to stand due to a missing leg likely lost in the fire, "But your ice magic wasn't enough. And we died because of it."

"No… no, that's not true!" Artia's voice began to shake.

"Sweetie, don't deny the things you know to be true," Artia's mother shook her head, an unsettling smile widening on her burnt face, "It was your fault, wasn't it, sweetie? Just admit it, you'll feel better."

"I…" Artia stammered in fear.

"This is nonsense," an odd figure shook his head and took out a small revolver from his massive dark cloak, "I know for a fact that these people wouldn't say such things."

He then turned to Artia, who was trembling uncontrollably upon hearing the words of these corpses.

"Look away now, if you'd like," he warned. Artia complied, and the sounds of gunshots, screaming, and the splattering of blood filled her ears.

"It's over now," he said. Artia slowly opened her eyes and made eye contact with the man.

"Since you already have my ribbons, I guess a past me or something of that sort has already talked with you?" he asked. Artia nodded.

"Well, this seems like it's an apparition of some sort, considering the way those three were speaking," the cloaked man pondered, "Probably some sort of illusory magic that taps into your fears."

"That… actually sounds very accurate," Artia nodded, wiping her eyes to check for tears.

"Well, if this is your fear, Ms. Artia, let me tell you this," the man sat down on a nearby log, "None of this was your fault. It was a horrible accident, and one that I'm sure we'll never forget. Even so, it's something we must move on from. It's like they say back on Earth, don't forget, but move on, right?"

"...You're right…I won't let carnages like this happen ever again. I'm strong now, and I don't want anybody suffering the horrors I had to suffer." Artia nodded. She had found her new resolve. She was fearless. And this horrible world of nightmares couldn't affect her any longer.

"Very good, Ms. Artia," the man smiled. Soon after the man said this, Artia's body began to flash white as she disappeared from this odd place. The man grinned and looked to the dim moon. It was a full moon. He lifted the hood from his massive cloak, revealing a male face with blue eyes, light blue hair, and small dog ears.

"Phew, I should have stuck with the VirChu police… being a cross-dimensional officer is stressful…" he mumbled, then glancing towards the burning village, "You'll be fine though, Artia. I know it."

...

Ollie stumbled to her feet and found herself in a massive white expanse, unsure of where she'd awakened. Shaking away a small oncoming headache, she began to walk through the mysterious area. After much trekking, she saw a familiar sight. Her jaw dropped. It was her old home. Tears welled up in her eyes. She dashed towards the building, quickly opening the door. It wasn't the ramen shop it usually was. It was really her home, the home she left behind. Ollie's breath began to accelerate. She dashed towards the living room, and her heart sank. Four people, one man wearing round brown-framed glasses, one woman with a flower in her hair, a small girl wearing a floral-printed dress, and a teenage boy wearing a sweatshirt. They were crying. Crying for their fallen daughter.

"Why did big sis leave…" the small girl sniffled, clutching a small stuffed rabbit, "I loved her…"

"We all did," the boy pulled the hood on his sweatshirt over his eyes, "We all did…"

"Mom, dad, sis, bro, I'm here," Ollie slowly walked over to them, "I was run over by a car, but then I came back! So don't worry, I'm okay!"

No response. The tears only kept flowing.

"H-hey guys, I'm here…" Ollie stammered, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks, "I'm here now…"

No response. The tears only kept flowing.

"Please…" Ollie fell to her knees, "I'm… right here…"

No response.

The tears only kept flowing.

And, as Ollie was resting in her grave, before her reanimation back into the world, her family grew old and perished. Her home was made into a small ramen shop, specializing in spicy noodles. Ollie covered her eyes. Her family was gone. It's been gone.

"Wh-why?" she questioned in between sobs, "Why couldn't have I been reanimated sooner? Why did I have to die on them? Why did they have to die on me?"

"You know, Ollie-chan, sadness isn't a very cute look on you."

A relatively large man opened the door, wearing a white robe and hat, a green apron, and a large warm smile. He held a fresh steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Ollie's favorite. He motioned towards the girl and sat with her, his legs crossed.

"Here, eat it, on the house," he smiled, "It might help you feel a little better."

Ollie stared at the man, her eyes still a little puffy from all the crying. She slowly took the bowl and began slurping away at the noodles. As this went on, her face scrunched up, ready to begin crying again. The man noticed this and quickly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said, his warm smile persisting, "I know it's been rough. And I know you've been working hard to bury your sad feelings away. But you've got friends out there, don't you? There's your genmates, there's that Astel boy you've been playing with, that reaper girl, that lion girl, you've even got this old geezer out there worrying about you… they all care for you."

"That's the problem…" Ollie sobbed, pushing the bowl away, "What if I disappear again…? They'll be so sad… and then they'll go away… just like mom and dad…"

"You can't change the past, Ollie," the ramen shop owner consoled, playing with her hair, "But the future is always open to new things. You just have to have the strength to put them into motion."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Ollie shook her head.

"I'm saying you need to have the strength to survive," the ramen shop owner informed, rising to his feet, "I know you have the physical strength. I've seen you spar with Anya, after all. The kind of strength you need to retain is the strength of your heart."

"My heart…?" Ollie repeated, putting her hand on her chest.

"Repeat after me, Ollie," the ramen shop owner said, "I will not die."

"I…" Ollie stammered before rising to her feet and complying, "Will not die."

"I will not let others die on my behalf," the ramen shop owner continued.

"I will not let others die on my behalf," Ollie repeated, her face turning from sad to somewhat surprised.

"And I will fight for those things, because there are people that care for me out there," the ramen shop owner concluded.

"And… I will fight for those things, because there are people that care for me out there!" Ollie shouted with a serious expression. She had found her new resolve. She was fearless. And this horrible world of nightmares couldn't affect her any longer.

"It's good to see you a bit more perky, Ollie," the ramen shop owner smiled, picking up the empty bowl up, "I assume you have somewhere to go?"

"Yeah, I…" Ollie remembered her confrontation with 002, "I have somewhere important to be."

"I wish you good luck, then," the man smiled, embracing the zombie girl, "Stay safe for me and I'll make you another bowl of tonkotsu, on the house. Hell, I'll make it an extra large."

"You don't need to do that…" Ollie chuckled in the ramen shop owner's sleeve, "But thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Ollie," the ramen shop owner nodded as Ollie disappeared in a brilliant ray of white light in his arms. Sighing, he went over to behind the counter and began to wash the dish Ollie ate from. He smiled.

"I thought my dream of being a dad died when she divorced me…" he mused, smiling and taking a sudsy sponge, "I guess I was wrong."