Reaching Salvation: Post-Acer Part 2

Joey yawned when he got back from his shift of patrol, heading back to his place to get three hours of sleep, before he needed to get ready.

Elena was still asleep, tangled up in a blanket on the floor where she slept next to her bed.

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Kira sighed, sitting up in bed and looking over at Luke. The first night, she had thought, maybe hoped, that his constant mumbling in his sleep had just been a bad dream, but he'd been doing it every night so far. A week straight of bad dreams wasn't normal... Maybe I should ask him about it...

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Heidi slept rather restlessly on the ground, her spear clenched tightly in her hand as it had been every night so far. Every once in a while, it glowed red and changed shape, and she would mutter something inaudible, before rolling over again.

Tom sat silent and awake, the only movement he made was to poke the fire every once in a while. Was anyone able to see his eyes in the dim firelight and behind his hair, they would see they were blue, though Shima was unable to do anything bar talk.

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Luke had stopped making the louder noises in his sleep, but the groans and mumbling was consistent throughout the week. He felt bad in case he woke Kira up, but if she had heard his muttering, she hadn't shown any indication of it that he had noticed.

Kira bit her lip anxiously, pushing herself out of bed and pulling on her jacket. She hesitantly placed her hand on Luke's arm, trying to gently shake him awake.

Luke snapped awake, his mind instantly going to summoning a flame before hectealised who it was, and he stopped himself.

"What's wrong?" he asked, hints of worry and weariness in his voice.

Kira had jumped back, looking a little frightened. "Are...y-you okay...? You've...been m-mumbling in y-your sleep all w-week..." she asked meekly.

"Yeah..." Luke trailed off in his explanation. He looked weary and old again, beyond his years. "It's... normal, anyway, I'm fine."

"Y-You don't look o-okay..." Kira stated in quiet protest.

"Just some nightmares," he replied sadly. "I'm sure they'll pass."

"D-Do you want to t-talk about it...?" Kira asked hesitantly, clutching the bottom of her jacket. "It...It m-might help...b-but you don't have t-to..."

Nathan frowned. He was also awake. Truth be told he never really slept anymore he didn't find the need to with Instant Regeneration helping bolster his energy and aching body whenever it got to bad. Now he just stared out into the distance. Seeing as how they were out in the opened he stopped holding back on his flow and let the multi coloured wisps curl off of his body around him.

It wasn't a brute monstrosity like Tom's flow, but it was almost as if an ocean of despair was raining down on those who were weaker than him. To those who were as strong as him even they would feel the tinges of despair. In terms of raw flow, Nathan was almost at Tom's level. But the Irish teen's sheer flow was still bigger than Nathan's own.

Nathan's Flow had quite the negative effect on Heidi, as she was the weakest one there. "Drop it..." she muttered, tossing and turning in her sleep more frequently, starting to visibly glow red, unlike before when it'd just been the hand clutching her spear.

She let out a scream, bolting upwards into a sitting position, her eyes wide. Clenching her spear tightly like a security blanket, and reaching to her pocket to find the knife which wasn't there, she managed to shoot a glare at Nathan. "Your Flow is giving me nightmares," she told him accusingly, though her voice was quivering.

"I... don't really know where to start," Luke replied, sitting up with his elbows on his knees. He figured Kira deserved honesty. "It's been happening ever since I woke up from my little coma."

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Tom's head turned to look at the two for a second, before turning back to the fire silently.

Kira bit her lip. The coma? He'd been having nightmares since then? Why hadn't she noticed earlier? "Y-You should've t-told m-me! I-I'm sure there's s-some sort of...of herbal r-remedy f-for this!" she scolded, though her voice wasn't really angry. She was more upset that she hadn't noticed earlier, or at least mentioned anything.

---

A frown still on her face, Heidi glanced over at Tom. "Awfully quiet, Tombo. You okay?" She figured he would've at least tried to mediate a possible fight...

"Fine," Shima replied succinctly.

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"I wasn't in the, uh, right state of mind. Bit angry and embarassed and... eh, off," Luke replied, floundering for words.

Nathan frowned before shutting his flow off again and glancing at Tom.

"He's not Tom at the moment." He said as he gazed over him. "Shima's fragment is in control right now."

"You're getting better," Shima replied, almost approvingly. How he wished he could use his Flow to its full potential. "Though, I suppose, you spent five years letting it happen. You're probably just used to it."

"Anyone would think you have better things to say to your supposed protégé." Nathan responded dryly to Shima. "After all, I'm got your revenge for you, and now I'm going to be completing the task you left me within the next half a year."

"I'm not sure that's completely accurate. I mean, I'm not wholly what I used to be. In a sense, though I'm sure Heidi here will refuse to accept it, I'm as much Tom as I am Shima. Besides, you're trying to be rid of me. I can't have that now, can I?" the old fragment asked.

"Well considering you ordered me to kill you, I figured you wouldn't have care whether or not it was time for you to leave completely." Nathan responded again before shrugging.

"Whatever the case is, if you could relinquish control for now so that we can get a move on and finally sort out the mess that you left me, that would be great."

"Again, you're assuming I'm wholly Shima. Years spent living a half-life make you realise how valuable a full one can be. The real Shima may not have made the same decisions I have," Shima replied, forcing a harsh chuckle. "He fights hard, young Thomas, I'll give him that. He tries a lot harder than you do, let me tell you that."

Heidi scowled at the mention of the fragment, clenching her spear tighter. "Get the hell out of Tom's head, how many times do I need to say it?" she asked, a forced calm entering her voice.

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Kira sighed, a small frown crossing her face, before she smiled at Luke. Whatever unhappiness had been previously in her tone was gone as she patted his shoulder carefully. "It's okay...I-I'll work on something t-today. Better n-now than never," she told him.

"At least one more," Shima replied snarkily. "Don't worry. Stupid ol' Tom'll be back by morning."

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Luke smiled back thankfully.

"I appreciate it, Kira," he replied.

Kira laughed a bit embarrassedly, rubbing the back of her head. "D-Don't thank m-me yet...I-I haven't needed t-to use a lot o-of this st-stuff since th-the t-t-tourn-n-nament..." she laughed as she tried to think of the scents that made you calm.

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"I'll be glad when you're dead," Heidi retorted bitterly.

Tom's mouth twisted into a grin.

"I can go jump off a cliff if you want. I'm sure Tom would hate to see you so upset."

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"The effort and kindness are appreciated as much as anything," Luke replied happily.