~.Ichigo.~

I'm in the heart of the forest, and there's still no sign of Nova. By this time, the trees are wilting, the grass is dying, and the animals are in such a panic that I can't even see if there's anyone under them! The trees that haven't wilted have toppled over, crushing the smaller animals underneath them.

Suddenly, I see something that catches my eye. It's a dim, pulsing figure pinned under a tree. It's covered with a brown traveling cloak, but the glowing parts are still visible. I instantly know it's Nova.

My chunk of ice takes a nosedive down to where Nova lies, in danger of having some huge foot crush him. Once I land, I form a protective layer of ice around us and the tree, providing us with a large amount of space. Then, I get to work. 

First, I assess the tree. It's rather large with many stray branches that spread out everywhere, but easy to cut through, which I do. I make a razor with my ice and slice straight through to make it smaller and easier to deal with. Once the excess trunk is cut and out of the way, I can see that many stray branches punctured Nova's side. They're not fatal, but there are many of them in there, and they are pretty deep in there. I freeze the tree along with all its branches, slide them all out now that they're slick, and shatter the entire thing. 

Nova starts bleeding profusely. The skin around the wounds don't turn pink as it usually would, and that's probably because he's unconscious. I freeze the many wounds, but it's only temporary. If I keep the wounds frozen, the flesh around them will die, which isn't exactly a good thing. I have to find Coal so that he can cauterize the wounds right away. I take out my communicator and contact Crystal, who picks up immediately.

"Hello?" The sounds of grass crunching are heard in the background. 

"Crystal, I need you to take over the Obscure Territory."

The communicator crackles when she presses the button for the speaker. "I'll be there as soon as I'm done here."

"And how long will that take?"

"Only a minute, three at most."

"Well, get here soon!"

The communicator crackles again as she shuts the communicator off. I put mine away and continue to the Border, knowing it'll take me to where Coal is. There are only eight Territories, really, but some of them are so large that people think there are more. The Territories are the Natural (otherwise known as Earth by its inhabitants), Energy (the Number Kingdom along with the other kingdoms), Luminescent, Obscure, Floral, Ice, and Wind. Out of all of them, I know I have to go to the Luminescent Territory. 

Soon, I spot the Border from far away. Even in the new brightness of the Obscure Territory, it still stands out, except now it's pitch black. The Border here and in the Luminescent Territory adapt to the brightness and darkness of the Territory to become physically visible. They're the only two that do that. Sometimes, it's as if the Borders and their guardians have a mind of their own. 

I shake the thought from my mind. Right now, I need to find Coal to cauterize the damn wounds! I hurry through the Border and end up in a place with a really bright light. 

~.Crystal.~

The wolf finally arrives a the Border and crouches so that I can get down, which I do. My flower-like dress gets caught in its ear, but it just shakes it off. I readjust my dress and kneel down to plant the grass. Immediately, the grass I plant takes root and multiplies, spreading its healing powers across the entire Border. The guardian visibly relaxes and gives me a short bark. It bounds off to another part of the forest, resuming its duty.

With a sigh of relief, I go ahead and cross over the Border only to arrive to chaos. The Obscure Territory, if it can even be called "obscure," is nearly stark white with animals big and small running everywhere. The confusion strikes me first before I notice the chasms between and inside the different biomes. I know the light I need is in a biome with some trees and mostly field; the location never changes. Maybe since it's brighter, I'll be able to see the building better, but the chasms will definitely slow me down.

I start off in the forest ecosystem, which has trees lying flat all over. I barely avoid the large animals on their wild, panicked stampede as I pick my way around the trunks and try to make my way to the clearing. The snarls, barks, and hisses of the multi-headed guardian carry over to where I am, but it's only the space making them seem closer. It's at the site of the light, that much I know because the guardian never moves from the item unless under dire circumstances. They're designed to protect the item of the Territory.

Using the hisses and growls as a guide, I make my way to the guardian.

~.Number Border.~

The Wind and Natural Territories have officially fallen. The Energy Territory is close to the beginning of its end. The ones inside cannot sense this, but their king soon will. How does the child of the red hands plan to fix his home. The item has been lost for centuries; he does not even have a clue as to where it is. So, how does he think he can fix this?

The answer is simple. He will not. A guardian does more than simply guard the item; he also sacrifices himself should the item become lost to save the Territory in the event of a crisis. This is what I will do. The item has been lost. There is no other choice.

"What Territories are still standing?"

I turn my gaze to the fire ninja and the winged pegasus. The ninja was the one who spoke. His words were muffled by the mask he wears.

"The Floral, Ice, and Volcanic Territories have been restored. The Obscure is on the verge of falling, and the Wind and Natural Territories have fallen. This Territory and the Luminescent Territories are still stable, but not for very long, I fear."

"Then we go to the Luminescent Territory. Free and I know it best. I will call Coal, Ichigo, and Nova back."

"Number 12, you may become permanently paralyzed if you go. I know you cannot engage in strenuous activity ever since the war."

"We'll be fine," the winged pegasus replies. "This isn't too strenuous, and Sei has ways of getting around quickly without moving too much."

I nod. As they walk past me, the scenery changes to a bright Territory that knows no night just as the Obscure knew no day. I see them walk into the Territory and look around. I switch the scene to the Obscure and watch the floral dragon make her way over the quickly forming chasms. 

~.Crystal.~

I make a large bridge out of vines as best as I can on the chasm and walk across. The bridge sways precariously from time to time, but I don't stop. I make it across the biome with hardly any trees and a lot of grass. The multi-headed guardian prowls around the tall building. It reminds me of the black wolf in the Floral Territory. 

I carefully approach the beast. The dominant dog and cat growl at me. "I want to help," I soothe. "I just need the light."

The most dominant of them, a large dog with one eye shut, lowers its head to me and sniffs me. Apparently satisfied that I don't smell dangerous, the beast steps aside to let me in. I carefully step down the staircase. The stairs have gotten steeper since I was last here, and some of them have crumbled, leaving large gaps that I have to jump over.

My feet finally reach the bottom step, and to my surprise, the beast is already down here, waiting. It's half as tall as the high, high ceiling, and the giant heads look up at the light that once penetrated the eternal night. The dominant dig looks down at me, utters a bark, and the strongest beta, a well-groomed cat, grabs the entire piece and gives it to me. Upon grabbing it, I notice two candles missing. I dismiss this.

The beast watches me climb the steps quickly. I steal a glance back and see it still sitting there. The lesser cats are grooming the most dominant cat. I see something in all of their eyes that says they know this place is going to fall, but they're glad I'm trying anyway. I turn away from them and continue on.

Thankfully, the Border isn't that far off. The moment I arrive there, though, I see spots of black and purple dancing around in the white world. I approach the dancing figure and realize that Dark, Nova's puppet, is giggling and dancing by the Border! I look down and see two candles planted right on the Border; he must have grabbed them before I got to them.

I quicken my steps to meet up with them, but the moment I'm too close, he switches from dancing to fighting, which is a very swift and easy change for him. Thankfully, he only swings his hand at my neck and stops just in time before striking. 

"Crystal?" he asks with his limited vocabulary.

"Yeah, Dark," I reply with a smile. "It's me. Help me with these candles, please."

Quick as lightning, as if he knows we're in danger, Dark starts placing the candles, but the chasms keep growing towards us. We pay them no mind; we just keep placing the candles. I look up for a moment and see the Guardian, who stands there calmly. His pale golden eyes look at the chasms and then to us. I see the slightest bit of despair there.

"This Territory will die regardless of your efforts," he states. "Come across quickly."

"No!" I shout. "We'll save it!"

The Guardian closes his eyes and frowns, making look older than his seemingly twenty years. I know he's seen many things, probably death and tragedy as well as joyous moments, so I know he knows what he's talking about, but something inside me tells me I can't quit. Something else tells me that I can't save this place, though.

"I can hear the Territory dying," he mumbles. Amazingly, he sounds loud and clear over the noises of the animals and chasms. "It groans in misery. It wants to die. It knows it cannot survive this devastation, but it will renew. It is already in the process of tearing itself down; your actions now will not do anything."

While Dark continues planting the candles, I stop and look at the Obscure Territory. By now, the endless earthquakes have leveled the entire Territory. The trees lie flat; across the various biomes, plateaus that once stood proudly have fallen. Chasms run so deep that if one were to fall, they would fall endlessly. It suddenly strikes me how ruined this place looks. It looks ready to die.

As if reading my mind, the Guardian says, "Your actions will only cripple this Territory. At the moment, it is much worse than the Ice Territory. It is better to let it die and renew itself."

"Won't is crush into the Number Kingdom?" I ask.

"The Energy Territory will not be harmed. With the other Borders still protected by their guardians, only the Territory will crumble."

I sigh. "Fine. If you think it's best, we'll stop here. Dark?"

Dark immediately stops. We go through the Border. I look back at the Guardian only to see his head bowed. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's mourning someone or something dear to him.