~ In the past ~

"You know... we aren't so different, you and I." The man with glowing yellow eyes started, tapping his own all-black mask, which covered the majority of his face.

I paused for another minute, feeling the rain fall all around me. I watched as this tall man approached, coming closer and closer. 

I couldn't see a single similarity between me and this man.

He stole my words, he stole my moonlight, he stole Blumiere!

I would never, EVER do such a thing. I then shook my head, looking up at the yellow-eyed man with newfound confidence. 

"No," I said. My voice was finally steady once again, as it was before.

I then brought my hands to the paper bag on my head, carefully slipping it off, then letting it go, allowing it to blow away in the wind, just as the simple white flower which I had saved for the girl of my dreams did. Two symbols of my past, being freed at last. I didn't need to hide behind a paper bag anymore. The world could see me for who I was, and I wouldn't care. 

How could I continue to progress if I was hiding all the time anyway?

There were still a few small cuts and scratches along my face. The rainwater stung slightly, but it was bearable. If I closed my eyes I could almost imagine that the raindrops held healing properties and would wash away all the bad stuff.

"You and I are NOTHING alike," I said, allowing myself to be seen. 

Allowing the world and the moon to cast their spotlights onto me. The moon could shine as brightly as it liked. I didn't care who found me because I wasn't afraid of being found. Some may call it idiotic, I called it brave.

The man slowly turned back around and cocked his head to the side at me, a curious expression in his yellow eyes. He then slowly started walking toward me, holding his hand out in a welcoming manner as if he was inviting me to take it.

I didn't.

Instead, I cast a glare, lifting my own hand, magically creating what looked to be a transparent yellow wall in between the man and myself. A magical barrier that I didn't even know I had the power to create.

No one, NO ONE, takes my friend away from me. I promised myself I would protect him, no matter the cost, and that was what I was going to do. "I'm getting my friend back," I whispered, waving my left hand and holding it out in front of myself, making that yellow wall expand, forming a box around the man. 

"I'm bringing the sun back," I added, taking a step forward, no longer afraid. I walked until I was right in front of the box, glaring into the monster's two yellow eyes with my own dark brown.

For once, I didn't feel so ordinary. I didn't let the uniqueness of the yellow phase me. I held my chin up. It was like their eyes our pure opposites. His glowing bright yellow and mine a dark gentle brown. A villain's eyes and a hero's eyes.

"And I'm going to save everyone. One way or another, I promise you that," I stated, raising a shaking left hand, which didn't shake from fear but shook from the cold. Then I snapped my fingers, setting off what looked to be a series of explosions from within the box.

I watched as the bright fiery flames consumed this man for a moment. I saw how his body crumpled, but he didn't fight or escape. 

After a moment, the guilt of what I did forced me to turn and look away. I couldn't watch anymore. 

The man didn't cry for help or even make a sound. 

After enough time passed, I looked back, allowing the fire to cease and the box to disappear. Sure enough, there was nothing left. No ashes, nothing! No signs of there having just been a person in that very spot. It was like the man never even existed. There was nothing left.

Well... nothing besides the black mask the monster had worn.

I frowned slightly, then walked over to it, kneeling down and picking it up, gently brushing my fingers over the dark, shiny porcelain. It felt smooth and cool, especially for just having been surrounded by flames.

He was a monster, I reminded myself. Some weird monster from that weird mirror realm. Not an actual person.

But... for some reason, I still felt devastated. Devastated the same way I was devastated when the hunter was shot. Only this had hurt in a different way because I was the one who pulled the trigger this time. Blumiere didn't do it for me.

And... for some reason, a tiny voice in my head told me that I had just made a huge mistake.

"...I'm sorry," I breathed, looking down and squeezing my eyes shut. 

I didn't even care that I was able to use some of my powers. The way I just used them was exactly why so many people were so afraid of me. I never wanted to do that again.

. . .

I heard the brief sound of a chime. Though I had never heard it before, I almost immediately knew what it meant. The words spoken afterward confirmed my hypothesis. 

"Oh my Grambi, I did it!" Blumiere whispered under his breath, so softy that I almost didn't hear.

I inhaled sharply upon hearing his voice, quickly shoving the black mask in a pocket in my jacket and turning to look at him, hoping that he didn't see the mask. 

Sure enough, there he was, standing unscratched and safe.

"SIX YOU'RE OKAY!" I cried, feeling like I had been covered with a blanket of relief. I quickly ran up to him, attacking him with a tight hug. 

I was holding on tightly, almost afraid that if I loosened my grip he could be taken away again. I was never going to let anything like that happen to him again. I made a promise to protect him, and I was going to keep that. He was my best friend and my only true ally in this nightmarish world. 

"I-I was so worried!! You're not hurt, are you?! Did the guy hurt you?!" I frantically asked, hoping he didn't notice the brief stutter. 

I always tried to maintain a steady voice. I wanted to appear calm and brave so Blumiere wouldn't feel more worried than he needed to be. But the truth was, I was terrified. Terrified of something bad happening to him, and of me being powerless to stop it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he got hurt simply because he was MY friend.

"No, no, I'm fine," Blumiere assured, hugging me in return, which felt nice. "It was just scary. Being on my own..."

I felt that twinge of guilt for ever allowing him to be taken from my side, but fought to cover it up. 

"Aw. Did someONE miss me?" I asked, lightly laughing to himself.  

Sure, he SAID he hated my number puns, but I knew that deep down he loved them.

"Very much," He replied lightly smiling and wiggling loose of my grip. He didn't even complain about my joke. I wasn't sure how I felt about that since the main reason I told those jokes was to annoy him and try to make him smile.

He then slowly frowned, his eyes seeming to focus more intensely.

I was about to ask what he was seeing, when he suddenly exclaimed, "One?! Where's your bag?!" He sounded somewhat shocked over the fact that I wasn't wearing it, but I didn't look into his reaction too much. He was probably just surprised since I had spent so long hiding behind it.

"Oh, that? I don't need it anymore," I shrugged, smiling not to comfort him but because I was proud of myself for no longer hiding behind it like a mask. "I decided that don't need to hide from the world."

Blumiere looked at me for a moment as if he was studying my face. There was a slight hint of confusion in his blue eyes. I tried not to look into it too much, but I was rather curious as to why he was looking at me differently. I mean, he DID see my face before. 

After a moment, he seemed to shake his head, getting rid of whatever thoughts he was having. "That's great," He quickly breathed, taking my hand. "Now come on, we gotta get out of here!"

Blumiere was right, so without further adieu, we started sprinting through the building. I debated bringing him to a mirror and trying to escape that way, but eventually decided against it since I wasn't sure if I could actually take him through mirrors. 

I could have easily escaped through one on my own, but I was NOT going to leave him behind, so we ran. 

While we ran, we both explained pretty much everything that had happened while we were separated from each other. Blimiere told me that his father was planning on overloading the building with magic as a way to get rid of me, which was why we needed to leave. I wasn't really sure how to react to that, so I simply chose not to. It wasn't his father's fault that the world was scared of me, after all. 

I nodded and explained my encounter with 'the man' as we ran down the stairs and through the building, leaving out no details. 

That's when we heard the first boom. It sounded like a large bomb exploding. The whole tower shook and walls started falling.

It was so loud that it physically hurt and left a white noise ringing in my ears. It reminded me of the gunshot going off when we killed the hunter.

I looked up to see falling debris and quickly pulled Blumiere to the side just before he got crushed. I then shoved him forward. "KEEP RUNNING!" I urged, shoving him forward, only hoping that he could still hear me over top all the explosions. "Keep running! Don't look back, Six! I'm right behind you."

I didn't want him to waste any time looking back and checking on me. I would be fine, and even if I wasn't, looking back wouldn't benefit us in any way. The best thing to do was to keep looking forward.

Blumiere was always faster than me. Even though his legs were shorter, he was more athletic when it came to running. When it came down to it, he was stronger. I was the brave one, and he was the strong one. Even if he didn't see himself that way.

The lights all flickered and the world shook. The floor beneath us cracked and broke. It was like the walls were breathing and dying, magic pulsing from them, making our vision blurry.

I could feel it. I could only hope Blumiere couldn't feel it as well. The magic burned like it was trying to eat us away. It was trying to swallow us whole. 

"KEEP RUNNING!" I continued shouting as Blumiere ran further and further ahead. "KEEP GOING SIX!"

We were going to make it. I was determined for us to make it.

The stairs stopped for us while we were still about seven stories up off the ground, not because of the building's design, but because they had broken, so we had to cut across the tower. Most of the floor had fallen away, leaving what looked like a catwalk like-bridge in the middle. A purple glow filled the area. It was hot and felt like we were in a raging fire. I was finding it harder and harder to breathe by the minute. I couldn't wait for the relief of breathing normal, cool air.

There was a fire escape on the other side of the room, across the catwalk-like bridge remaining. But below us, there was nothing but fire and magical explosions. They were huge, filled with magic pulsing and overloading, enough to kill even the strongest in an instant. There were even small embers of magic in the air surrounding us.

We had to get out of there, and fast.

"GO!" I shouted, still a few meters behind. "DON'T LOOK BACK!"

Blumiere listened and continued, running across the think walkway, somehow managing to go faster. I saw the thin weak ground crack and crumble from beneath his feet and tried not to panic, telling myself that it'll hold for us. It HAD to hold for us. 

Luckily, it allowed Blumiere across, just barely being strong enough to support him.

He was going to make it. 

He took one last step and made it to the more stable side of the room, reaching the fire escape and turning around, watching as I ran to catch up from behind. 

I smiled, so relieved that he was safe.

Mission accomplished.

However, the floor had fallen away after he ran across, leaving a gap we both knew I couldn't cross. He couldn't make that jump. Not that I was worried. We had crossed gaps like this before!

As if on cue, Blumiere quickly rushed to the edge and kneeled down, holding out his hand to me, ready to catch as we had done time and time again.

The roof of the building had fallen away. I could feel the moonlight casting its spotlight onto me. 

This was it. We were going to make it.

I nodded at him, running and jumping, flying through the air and reaching for Blumiere's hand, just as we had done time and time again.

He caught me!

There we were, him holding me by the wrist. 

I looked up at him, relaxing with relief knowing that we did it. We made it. Everything was going to be okay. 

"Nice catch, Six!" I chimed, letting out a sigh of relief. "I knew you could do it!"

He smiled back at me, returning the relieving feeling. Then he took a deep breath, gathering his strength so he could pull me up to safety when he suddenly hesitated.

He looked down at me, frowning slightly as if there was something scary behind me. I couldn't quite detect what emotion his face was showcasing. 

Discomfort? Confusion?

He looked as if he was seeing something that wasn't there before.

His expression slowly changed from confusion to fear. I couldn't tell what he was looking at. 

Was he looking at me?

Why was he looking at me like that?

"Six...?" I asked, still smiling. I wasn't worried about myself, but about him instead. Was there something behind me? Was he alright? "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He blinked a few times, shifting his gaze from me to the wrist he was holding on to in order to keep me from falling to my death. 

"Oh no..." he whispered, looking back into my eyes. 

"Six...?" I asked again, my smile eventually fading. I couldn't tell what the terrified expression on his face meant.

"I... One..." He squeaked, tears starting to well up in his eyes. 

Why was he crying?!

I was so confused. What was he doing? What was he seeing? Was something wrong? He looked more scared now than he had ever been before. 

He knew that I'd protect him, right? Whatever it was that was scaring him, I'd protect him from it. He knew that, right?

"Blumiere...?" I whispered, my voice soft and gentle. 

It was the first time I ever said his real name.

I waited for him to pull me up, not sure what was going on. Whatever it was, I was sure we could figure it out together. He just had to pull me up to safety.

He slowly shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and allowing a tear to fall. He really was crying now, and I didn't know why.

There was nothing I could do to stop it.

I opened my mouth to say something else, but before I did, his grip loosened. 

Before I had time to react, it was already too late.

He let me go. 

He couldn't even look me in the eyes as he did it.

I immediately felt a whirl of emotions. Heartbreak, loss, 

Betrayal.

I usually was fine when the world pushed me down. But this... this hurt more than anything had ever hurt before. I had never felt quite like this.

I remember staying like that, watching him for every moment I could. Watching as the flames and explosion slowly ate away my view of the world.

Everything turned black before I even hit the ground.