FicWad

"I do not think we can die," said Iie.

"No," said Des, "I don't think we can. THEY can die," she said, pointing at the two dead girls across the room, "And their bodies can never be moved, for they are still a part of us, and they are capable of being resurrected. But we cannot die."

"Unless the world ends, of course. Then we would die," said Iie.

"Yes," said Des.

"Sometimes I want the world to end," said Iie. "I breathe, yet I feel dead already. I need more than this to live." Iie paused. "I want her Key, Des."

"In death, the Princess's house was a legacy to us all, but that is not an excuse," said Des.

"I know," said Iie, "It is no excuse; I simply want that Key."

"That is quite foolish," said Des.

"Easy for you to say, when you have Keys!" said Iie. "I have none."

"You expect the things that killed them to save us?" asked Des.

"The Princess couldn't cry because she was dead. Ilu was supposed to cry for her, but now she is dead as well. So I had to cry for her. I cried for her, and so that is my Key."

"You've already done it, haven't you?" Des asked rhetorically. "You've activated the Key. I can see it glowing. Well go on and take it, then. Pry it out of her cold, dead hands. An active Key has no place with a dead girl."

Iie walked over to the body of the Princess and picked up the glass rose. "I am sorry for your death, but this is mine," she said, "My Rose, my Angel."

"When this blows up in your face, I will be there for you...if we are still here at all," said Des.

"I know," said Iie.

"I know what you want from this. My middle name is Tai; are you sure that is not my Key?"

"Oh, if it comes to pass, you will certainly be there!" said Iie. "But you cannot handle this sort of Key yourself, and you know it."

"Neither can you, and that is the problem," said Des. "If you succeed, one of them will live again, and pray that it is the Princess and not Ilu. And if- when- that Key deactivates again, it will kill the girl it awoke. Do you want to put the Princess through it again? She suffers even now in death."

"Well, it is unlikely that my plan will come to anything; it is a long shot," said Iie.

"Just go ahead and say, "Long shots are my specialty!" and I will think you sound like the Princess when she spoke of Ilu's Butterfly," said Des.

"Then you know it is what the Princess would have wanted. Allow me to quote the Princess again, then. It is not living if you are standing outside of the fire," said Iie.

"The Princess would have had "No Regrets" engraved on her tombstone. Her death has pained each of us greatly, but she was reckless," said Des.

"Des, you are the cynical and bitter opposite to the Princess; it is practically your definition," said Iie.

"And I became that way because of the consequences of the Princess's foolish actions!" said Des.

"I cannot argue with that," said Iie, "but the type of Keys that you can hold are not enough. Not for either of us."

"And I cannot argue with that," said Des, "but you are treading in dangerous territory."

"Go ahead and do what you do, Tai, and let me cry afterwards for the emptiness of it!" said Iie. "But I am tired of the death in my eyes. I need to live."

"I truly could believe that you are channeling the Princess's spirit! I pray to any gods there may be that you do not bring Ilu into this. She cannot take it now," said Des.

"I will try not to," said Iie.

"But you will," said Des, "for you are reckless, as the Princess was, and you will not be able to help it. Do you forget that I have bathed in her blood? It is all over me."

"Likely nothing will even come of this," said Iie.

"And then what? We're just stuck with this thing, and to what purpose? To have another burden?" asked Des.

"It is already done. And I will see it through to the end, as the Princess would have done," said Iie.

"I know you will," said Des.