Hi everyone!!  SK here.

First off, this book somehow has 2K reads????  All I can say is thank you.  I hadn't expected to get this far, and I hope the book's popularity will grow even larger as I continue to update chapters.

For a little change in pace, this chapter will be centered around another duo in this book- I wonder, who could they be?  The chapter title is a hint.  Or you could just scroll down and see haha.

Anyway, let's start!  Please enjoy :)

Heliux

I travel far from the colony, discourse brewing in my mind.  Tension forces its way through every bone in my body, the fight with Serena still a fresh thought.  As much as I want less death, less of that horrible darkness descending upon us at every second, I cannot think of a way that it can be done without putting her very self in danger.

I shake my head, focusing myself.  The drawing Her Lightness chose for me rests in my left palm, my fingers latched onto it never letting go.  Finally, finally.  I have my tiny hours of happiness.

I travel closer to our usual meeting spot, a place that is rarely visited by other fairies, Dark or Light alike.  Nervousness arises within me.  Will she like my present?  I gift her the same thing every century we meet, and she's always liked it before, but what if she's gotten bored?  This has been going on for millenniums now.  

I forge ahead.  Discourse or uncertainty are two things I cannot and should not feel now now.  Not now, not with the only time in my life where I feel joy.

My hands start to tremble as I reach our special place, and I wince at my obvious sign of weakness, my insecurity.  I put my hand on the bark, tracing the grain with my fingers.  I smile slightly.  Perhaps I will sketch this someday.  The lines twist and turn, coming apart but always returning together.  My thoughts ease, slightly.  This is just like me and-

"Heliux!"

My heart skips a beat as I slowly turn, and I am greeted with the face of my truest love.  For a moment all I can do is stare, to gaze upon the beauty that she is.  Despite her being a Dark fairy she has more lightness in her soul than I do.

"Layra," I whisper, and I become lost in her eyes.  Big, amethyst circles of infinite possibilities, and an immortal spirit that will never leave her.

And suddenly we're running, running as rapid as a sunbeam that peaks out at dawn, and she's in my arms, I'm in hers, and we're together, truly, truly, together.  I hug her close and tell myself that she's here, I'm here, and we're here together.

And for these mere seconds in my infinite lifetime, this is enough.

We let go of each other, and she speaks.  "What happened, Love?  You look upset."

I sigh.  "I just had an argument with Her Lightness about... your Leader."

Layra gestures for us to sit, and we sit down on the soft-as-dew grass.  "You mean Rin- well, you know who I mean."

I shake my head, realizing the name on her tongue must be a habit.  "No, your other Leader... Ash."

Layra's eyes widen.  "Ash?  What about him?"  So he IS the second Leader.

I inform her of Serena's Council, about her plan was to rescue a fairy from the place equivalent to hell itself.  I tell her of my viewpoint and she seems to think for herself.  I love it when she becomes lost in thought.  Her nose scrunches up and her face looks utterly adorable.  "Her Lightness, Miss Serena, has a particular... liking to the boy."  

She nods.  "Yes, Ash mentioned the same thing, thank goodness for it.  Rin can't control him with the light in his heart.  She's saving him, even though she doesn't realize it yet.  Just like how you saved me," she adds brightly, flashing that perfect smile of hers.  I try to return it, heat rising up in my face.  As much as I love her, I hate when she makes me flustered.

"So Serena wants to rescue Ash.  I'll help you," she offers, but I shake my head.

"No," I tell her firmly.  "It's too dangerous for you.  His Darkness- he could-"

"You know perfectly well that neither of us can die," she points out.  "I'll be safe."

My eyes are drawn toward hers.  "There are plenty of others ways to torture someone without death or injury," I say slowly.  "I can't risk that with you.  What he does already is enough.  It shouldn't even be happening."

She goes quiet for a moment, then speaks up.  "I do want to help, Love.  If we don't get Ash out of there, then Mr. Puppet Master will only have more ammunition for his revenge."  Mr. Puppet Master... of course she would call him that.  "With the Lights' help, we can destroy him, and quick.  The darkness is already spreading too much here, see?" she says, pointing to the flora around us.  We are still in the Lights' part of the forest, well into it actually, yet the leaves look yellow and there is decay all around us.  "Tomorrow, we need to take action.  Or else, we might have to go through... that, again."

I wince.  I know exactly what she's referring to.  These fairies do not deserve to die in a Balance Ritual.

"I'm not going to read your soul, but I have a feeling I know what the other plan is," she continues.  "Puppet Man can always find another to replace Ash if he perishes.  Another student who might actually follow the dark path this time.  We need to protect Ash, and have him bond with the Necklace as soon as possible, and that can't happen where he is right now."

Reluctantly, I nod.  "Alright then.  But please do not get yourself caught in this mess.  I don't want anymore harm to come to you."

Layra leans into me, her silky hair soft against my neck.  "I promise.  Now, let's talk about something less... well, you know."

I sigh.  "I'm sorry.  I brought all this negativity here for no good reason."

She smiles slightly.  "I see that's not the only thing you've brought."

I feel confused, until remember the drawing that is still sitting in my hand.  I quickly push it toward her, feeling as embarrassed as the last century.  "I drew this for you.  Well, I actually drew a lot more, but this was the best looking sketch."

She hugs it close to her chest.  "I love it," she says.  "I love it just as much as the others- which I have kept, by the way.  Every single one of them," she adds sincerely.  "Thank you."

I smile, a real genuine smile.  "Anything for you."

She sighs.  "And just like the last century, I have absolutely no talent whatsoever-"

I shake my head.  "Layra, you need to stop this.  You do have a talent.  You can play."

She appears confused.  "What?"

I stand up.  "You can play piano, just like I can play violin."

"So?"

"So play then!"

"But you're better than me, so why don't you play?"

"Layra, you're missing the point.  I want to hear you play."

"But I'm so self-conscious..."

"It is just me-"

"I know!  Being you makes it worse."

"Well, I am quite sorry for being me then."

"That's not what I meant!  I just... haven't had time to practice recently, so I'll probably sound horrible..."

"Does it look like I care about that?  So what if you're a little rusty, I'm sure your music still sounds gorgeous.  The songs you write always sound wonderful."

"You make it sound like I can sing, which I can't-"

"Layra you have the voice of a siren!  Stop this!"

"NO I AM-" she sighs.  "You're just going to keep pushing me, aren't you."

I grin at her.  "Just like the last century, and the one before, and the one before that-"

"ALRIGHT!" she stands up, her voice at its highest volume.  "I'll play.  But only because I love you.  And because I like to play the piano.  And... maybe because I want to play for you, but on one condition."

I cock my head at her.  "And what is that?"

She throws me a shy smile.  "I want to hear you and your violin."

I stand up and give her a gentle kiss on her forehead.  "Of course, my Dear."

Quickly conjuring my trusty violin and a jet-black piano for her, I go to stand near the instrument as I take my violin out of its case.  She sits down slowly as the ribbons that flow around her give her a more graceful appearance.  She takes a breath and starts to play, and I harmonize with her song.  The melody is cheerful, in the key of G Major- the melody line is light and airy, while the harmony has a driving rhythm and base line.  The chords create harmony, then discord, then harmony, then discord again.  It goes back and forth, from major to minor with me following in perfect harmonic intervals, until it ends with a perfect five-to-one cadence in the original key.  Layra quickly gets up from the bench, and we do a quick bow to each other.

I clap approvingly after I set down the violin, making both instruments start to vanish.  There's emotion in my words.  "As wonderful as always, my Dear."

Layra pouts as the piano dissipates behind her.  "...Thank you.  But I only played because you wanted me to, just so you're aware."

"I thought you said you wanted to?"

"Did I say that?"

I sigh, then hold out my hand.  "Come flying with me," I say.  "Hopefully the skies are not as dreary as the earth."

She takes my hand and we soar upwards towards a sky as blue as the most beautiful sapphire.  The sun shines down brightly, and me and my love are bathed in warm sunlight.  I know there are thousands, millions, billions of stars beyond us, but this time we can't see them.  Perhaps the next time we meet we will be graced with night skies.

"Shall we travel?" I ask.  "Where do you want to go this time?"

Layra thinks for a moment.  "Anywhere," she says.  "As long as I can see people."

I nod, and in the blink of an eye change the scenery around us.  It's been... well, I've lost count of how many years Layra and I have been trapped in this forest.  We have no idea what's been happening, and what instances are occurring in the human world, aside from what the fairies tell us.  Whenever we meet, we fly and we 'travel' the world.  What that really means is that we fly in loops around the forest observing the visions I create, real-time visions of places that we've never heard of, and places that we will never know.

This is one of the few times I regret becoming a Minister.  I look over at Layra, and I know she feels the same way.  

I take us to a place that Serena's mentioned to me once or twice, Lumiose City, located in the Kalos region.  Apparently it's one of the biggest cities in the region, and quite a popular tourist spot because of the Prism Tower.  We go downwards and flit around the people, and we settle on one of the rooftops just to watch the crowd.  Layra leans on my shoulder and I put my arm around her, keeping her close to me.

"I love watching the people," she says suddenly.  "Had things been different, if we'd been born in a different era, this could've been us."  She points to a happy couple that walks down the avenue, their hands brushing against each other's.  "If we hadn't been so reckless, that could've been us.  The war... it was my fault, entirely."

I shake my head.  "How could you say that?  I was the one accused with swaying your master's mind- I almost killed him, you remember?  I was the... well.  Our Leaders... they broke the rules, and we were still to inexperienced to stop it before it got out of hand.  And having us distract everyone else... I don't know why the Legendaries chose them, to be honest."

Layra giggles a bit.  "They don't know every single person on this planet," she reminds me.  "Sure, they decide who gets to enter the fairy world and stuff, but even they make mistakes.  Big mistakes," she adds.  "Big mistakes."

We sit in silence for a bit.

"I miss us," I tell her.  "I miss being with you."  Sadness fills my voice and Layra nods.  

"The problem is that His Darkness will never form peace with the Lights, and his spirit is too strong to banish from the Necklace.  I don't think that's ever been done," she adds.  "And I don't know how either."

I nod and we talk for a while longer.  The sun flits over us, and I know that a couple hours have passed.  "I think we should-"

A flicker passes through my mind.  It's small but sharp, and I press my hands to my head.  Layra instantly comes towards me.  "What's wrong, Love?  What are you sensing?"

Since my Element is Space, I get a twinge every time something happens in the universe.  Usually they're almost unnoticeable, but for one to cause me this much pain is absurd.

"I think something's about to happen," I tell her.  "Something big."

True to my words, the ground rumbles and me and Layra hover above the rooftops.  A crevice forms, large and wide, and continues to grow as people and buildings fall into it.  I see the orange glow of raw magma, and I grip Layra's hand tightly, even though we're not actually there.  The sky turns black, and the sun disappears.  There is a flash, and suddenly we're back in the forest again.  I swear under my breath.  I never get kicked out of a vision, my powers are too strong.

Layra has a tense look on her face.  "We both know what that was."

I nod.  "It's getting worse."  I look away, closing my eyes.  "Perhaps I should head back to the Colony, to discuss it with-"

"Wait a sec," Layra says.  Her eyes glow bright purple, a sign that she's using her power.  "There's a fairy here," she whispers.

My heart lurches, for we could be found out at this very second.  "What?  We have to-"

She shakes her head.  "No, not a full fairy.  It's someone... someone who's just entered our world.  Only an Elemental.  I can sense their heart is troubled, we have to go find them!"

I object.  "If they see us together-"

Layra shakes her head.  "They don't know us, that doesn't matter.  I know where they are, come on," she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me away before I have a chance to object again.  She always does the right thing.  It's admirable.

The person enters my field of vision.  It's a boy, perhaps around Bonnie's age.  He's curled up into a ball, and he appears to be traumatized.  The scene we saw didn't appear that gruesome... did something happen after the flash?

"Hello," I say, catching the boy's attention.  "What's your name, young one?"

"M-Max," he stutters.  "Wh-Who are you two?"

"I'm Layra, and he's Heliux," Layra introduces.  "Max, could you please tell us what happened?" she asks sweetly.

Max shakily nods.  "I was in K-Kalos, doing research for the Professor, and... i-it's all gone, I saw it, there was lava everywhere, vines coming out to snatch people, some people had red eyes and oh Arceus, the things they did to other people and themselves... I-I never wanted to know what organs smell like, i-it's-"

Layra places her hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.  I guess she can always just peak into his soul, but based off of his description I do not want her doing that.  "Max, you're safe now.  But I need you to go with Heliux.  He's going to get you somewhere safe, with lots of other fairies like us, alright?"

"By any chance, do you have a sister named May?" I ask.  "She mentioned she had a brother with your name."

His eyes are full of hope.  "You've seen her?"

I nod, my heart aching for this young Elemental.  "She misses you.  You can see her again."

Max sobs and gets up, stumbling a little as he does so.  His glasses are cracked and I use my magic to fix them.  I take his hand gently, turning to Layra to say goodbye-

She's disappeared.

My heart drops as I lead Max to the Light's Colony, the despair threatening to kill me.  I wanted to say goodbye... dammit.  Another century of emptiness for me.  

And another day of life-threatening tension.

Whew that was a longer chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it!!  I feel really bad for Max though.  And everyone in Kalos honestly.

Don't worry, next chapter we'll be back with our two protagonists.  I hoped you like Heliux and Layra, they're some of my favourite characters (at least out of ones that I've created), and I love writing about them.

Anyways, until next time!!  Stay tuned ;)