The finals.

Elly sat back on the bench, watching the pre-event show. Kyoko sat beside her trying to twist her hair into a bun, muttering about how hot the sun was on her hair and what she would do to the 'fool' who built the Winner's Circle without an awning or tent to keep the heat out. Some of her more colorful comments made Elanore laugh, despite her recent defeat in the tournament.

It was hard to admit, but she had wanted to win. The woman she had confronted...... Xeilia?...... her...... familiar presence, had struck something in Elly that she wasn't used to dealing with. She couldn't even identify it. And again, that feeling that she should KNOW the person...... not quite like the sense Darius gave her, but just as frustrating, in its own way.

The ether rush hadn't been as intense when she called it during the fight. Was it because she was trying to consciously control it? Or did it have to do with emotion?

"Hey Elly, do you have a rubber band or something? This stupid thing won't hold my hair up." Kyoko tossed her ribbon onto the bench, holding her raven hair atop her head with the other hand.

"I think so......" Elanore shoved her hand into her sweater's pocket. She felt her keys, and a few credits...... "Just a minute." She pulled it from her waist and peeked into it.

"Why do you bother to wear that thing around? You know you're not going to need it. We live in a desert!"

"My jumpsuit doesn't have any pockets." She stuffed her hand into the pocket again and grabbed the item she had glimpsed, placing it in her friend's hand. "Here."

Kyoko stretched the twisty around her hair and grinned. "Maybe you shouldn't wear such tight clothes, eh, Elly?" Elanore kept her mouth shut, knowing her face was as red as her friend's ribbon. "I just never knew you were the type to try to attract men! Hussy!"

She punched Kyoko's shoulder, sending the other girl into a fit of giggles. A few of the other victors looked their way, but if they had any objections to Kyoko's presence or her vulgur use of her fake Elruian accent, they didn't say anything. Thankfully, most of them didn't care about much besides the upcoming fight -- even Xeilia didn't spare her more than a glance, although Elly sensed more than a little contempt in her gaze.

**Lambs.** She could just hear that woman uttering the word like a curse. The term tickled Elly's memory, but she doubted she would be able to remember it to save her life. It was such an offensive term. She didn't like it. And it had only been aimed at Kyoko. Why not her too? What had she done to deserve more respect? It was grudging respect, but still more than most other contestants were getting.

The other women beside Xeilia -- winners were allowed to bring two friends or family members to the Circle -- gave her the same feeling. She knew from Ariath's reminders that they were Elements, and that one of them was in command, but she certainly couldn't tell which one. And what on earth would three high-ranking individuals want with a silly tournament?

Elanore cursed her memory silently, resenting the fact that she couldn't even remember how to do her job without Myaru's scolding and scathing remarks, and the holes that prevented her from remembering her own family. All she felt was an emptiness in their place, and she wished she could be allowed to go home NOW, and see the people that supposedly loved her so much. What was wrong with her?

"Is something wrong Elly?"

She shivered, pulled out of her mood by Kyoko's hand on her arm. "No, I'm okay. I was just thinking about...... things." Her homesickness faded, but a small knot remained in her stomach as another reminder of her problem.

**I wish I could talk to Darius,** she found herself thinking, remembering their conversations the day before. **I think he would understand this......**

The Tournament was commencing. Loud announcements echoed throughout the arena, rendered nearly unintelligible, and the bleachers behind the Winner's Circle shook with the inpact of the crowd's cheers and applause. She heard the young man's name mentioned, and smiled. It was going to be one hell of a fight -- both Darius -and- Lord Ariath would be competing today.

With that thought she glanced up at the Palace balcony. Myaru's violet-hued hair flashed as she leaned on the rail, watching the side of the arena at which Ariath would appear. The woman didn't look her way, much to Elanore's relief.

As she continued to listen to the announcements, her eyes wandered to Myaru again. And stayed. **I don't like her......** The woman was always so disconcerting to be around; even sharing the same arena with her made Elly feel as if someone were staring at her, or thinking about her.

And what made it worse...... Myaru also awakened that feeling of recognition. Yet instead of being a nagging feeling that she should know her, it was a nagging feeling to stay as far away as she could. Far away, like any close contact would hurt her. Purple hair...... something about it......

Myaru's head turned...... and her glittering eyes, barely visible, met Elly's.

A shiver coursed down her spine. **This isn't far enough. This definitely isn't far enough......**

[ ..................... from a distance................ ]

Elanore closed her eyes, letting her head droop. She could still feel those silvery violet eyes on her......

[ ..................... very hot, burning hot................ ]

[............... crying and clutching at the other like..............]

[ ............ being torn away................ ]

Shouts thundered around her. Elly opened her eyes to the harsh glare of the sun, stomach feeling more than a little queasy. **What...... What was that?** Darius was already standing center, and Ariath was stepping up to confront him, almost literally radiating self-assurance.

**I missed.....** The visions receded, leaving her dizzy, memory fading. Or was that dizziness just the heat?

"Kyoko......" She swallowed, clutching the edge of the bench. "The water......"

"Elly?" Kyoko handed her their waterbottle. "Are you okay? Do you want to go inside for a little while?"

Elanore took a sip of the cool water, wincing at the citrus tang. "No...... no, I'll be okay." She took a deep breath, feeling some of the sickness recede. She took another sip and handed the bottle back to her friend. It was...... a little better.

"He's good......" Kyoko leaned over to speak in her ear - the arena was too loud for anything else. "Are you two......? I mean, that Aishou was acting really --"

"Kyoko!" Her friend grinned. "Just because I talked to him --"

"What about all that stuff about feeling like you knew him? Sounds like a storybook case of 'true love' to me."

Elly tried to focus on the fight and ignore Kyoko's implications, distantly amazed that Darius was managing to hold his own against an opponent with a sword. And Ariath was a master; just watching him wield the weapon was dizzying......

[..... "Mission objectives will be to gain access to......" ]

That sword, the elaborate pommel and hilt...... Ariath swung the blade, narrowly missing Darius's neck. Golden scrollwork flashed like fire from the blue-steel blade.

[...... "Ethos is presumably misusing Drive to acheive......" ]

That was the one that had been hanging at his side before the mission. The one that was -always- at his side, no matter where or what he was doing. She remembered that even more than the man who wore it......

The crowd cheered, jumping from their seats. Elly shook her head, another icy sensation shivering down her spine, not unlike the ether buildup she usually felt. But it wasn't hers. Was it something in the arena? Darius? Ariath? She shivered again, more violently. Kyoko touched her arm, and she saw Xeilia glancing over at her --

A black shadow passed over the arena, bathing it in darkness for a long second, deep-throated engines humming, cutting through the crowd's wild cheering and silencing the battlers on the Floor. As one, it seemed, their eyes traveled up to the sky.

A ship.

It was a dead black airship, cutting through the air above Bledavik; gun ports blazed along the perimeter, chilling her senses. **Ether guns?** It passed from the Palace hill, heading west. And its guns were charging. Fast.

Elanore grabbed Kyoko's arm. "They're going to do something!"

She felt stupid the minute she uttered the words, but just as they left her lips, a flaring white beam shot from the ship, impacting somewhere in the city with a shrill crack that was more felt than heard. The bleachers behind them shuddered alarmingly.

And the arena was silent, spellbound. Everything had stopped.

"We have to run......" Elly whispered, frozen by the discharge of the weapon. Kyoko was shaking uncontrollably.

"They're going to destroy the city......"

Cold stabbed her like a glacier. She felt as if her skin should be coated with frost and her bones frozen, but her knees were locking of their own accord and she began to sway, overwhelemed by the power she felt charging above her.

**Again. They're going to do it again!**

**Stopped! They -must- be stopped! The people --**

An icy laser sheared across the city's edge, lancing through buildings and sending massive clouds of dust and debris and smoke rising on the western horizon. Everything around her was still, silent. Terrified.

Then the shockwave struck.

It swept over the arena with the force of a hurricane. Just one blast, crashing into every structure standing in its way and shaking the very hill on its foundations. Elly was thrown off her feet by the sheer force of the wave, hitting the floor heavily. Pain shot through her left knee.

**Death.** How many people would die today? Tears filled her eyes. **I can't do -anything- about it!** And Kyoko...... she tried to push herself to her feet, feeling the shockwave pass and continue on through the hill to the east of the city. She looked back, directly into the glaring sun and the jagged shade of the bleachers......

Kyoko grabbed her, trying to pull her to her feet. "Come ON! We've got to get out of here!"

The Winner's Circle was already empty. She struggled the rest of the way to her feet, ignoring the stinging agony clenched around her knee, and limped after her friend toward the bleachers.

"Wait up...." Elly's knee nearly gave out under the stress of walking, and she stumbled, only just keeping her feet under her. Kyoko put an arm around her shoulders and helped her along, still shaking with fright. The rest of the crowd was pushing out of the bleachers and into the center of the arena, rushing every which way for the exits. She couldn't really blame them. Had she been able to run, she would have too.

"Oh gods Elly, what if --"

"No!" Elly gasped out, a familiar shiver seizing her.

A brief vision flashed before her eyes, a dream she had had the night before, of Kyoko falling, buried alive --

She seized her friend and threw her to the side, just as the second shockwave hit. Its force smacked into her like a brick wall, tossing her effortlessly through the air to land a dozen feet away in the blessed shade of the bleachers.

With an alarming crack, the bleachers shuddered and began to tilt. Elanore lay paralyzed beneath them for a moment, starring in horrified fascination as the wooden structure -- it had seemed so flimsy before! -- tilted farther and farther out of alignment, falling forward......

"ELLY!"

Kyoko's shout broke the spell. Elly scrambled to her feet and spun toward her friend's voice, watching as the shadow of the structure loomed further and further --

-- but before she had taken more than two bounding steps, her injured leg twisted under her and sent her tumbling to the hard cement floor. Pure, blazing agony throbbed through the limb.

**Get up! Have to get up!** She made one more effort to rise.

"Elly!! ELLY!!" Kyoko started toward her.

She heard a hollow snap, and a heavy, flat weight slammed into her back. Her head struck the pavement, hard, sending her vision swimming. More shadows loomed over head......

"NO! ELLY! El~ly!!"

Darkness closed around her. Or was it the rest of the structure collapsing? Elanore blinked sleepily, hazy pain flooding her world. Her eyes closed, and the world dropped away.

"ELLY!"