Alisha stood outside of Jonathan's door, thinking hard.  For the past few days she had spent all her time either watching over Jonathan, of with Tim.  She knew it was wrong to neglect Seiji like this, but she had wanted Tim back and now she had him...what else could she do but spend time with him?  Tim suddenly popped up next to her.  "Whatcha doin'?"
     "Just thinking."
     "Oh."  He sat for a moment watching her, then picked her up and twirled her in the air.  He set her down and pulled her towards him.
     Alisha, giggling, was completely confused now.  Half of her loved being with Tim, and half of her wanted to be with Seiji.  She didn't know which half to believe.
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     Meanwhile, Seiji was also deep in thought.  Alisha paid almost no attention to him since Tim had arrived, and he was trying to convince himself that it was nothing.  *They must be really good friends...they probably have a lot to catch up on.*  he thought to himself.  *Alisha loves me, I know it!  There's no way she would-*  he was stopped midthought as he turned the corner.  He saw Alisha and Tim standing there...kissing.  His heart sank.  He quickly forced his eyes shut and walked across the room, "accidentally" bumping into Tim's shoulder.  Both Tim and Alisha turned to look, and Alisha knew she was in trouble when she saw who it was.
     "Excuse me," Seiji said curtly, casting a mixed look of anger, hurt, and confusion at Alisha, then walked off hastily.
     Alisha stared after him a while before turning back to Tim.  "I need to...uh, I have to...I...um...I'll be right back,"  she stuttered, then ran to find Seiji, leaving a bewildered Tim behind.
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     Seiji went to his "room" and took out one of the few things he had brought with him when they left - a pendant he'd been meaning to give to Alisha.  It was a gold oval with a shining flame-colored stone in the center.  In the middle of the stone was an image of a soaring phoenix.  Seiji sat staring at it, then suddenly threw it to the ground.  He picked it up again, and saw that it had not been harmed.  He walked over to a supply closet, found some paper and a pen, sat down, and began to write.
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     Alisha stood outside Jonathan's room again, wondering if she should interrupt the happy reunion to ask for Yumi's advice.  She and Yumi had become good friends in the past few days, and she knew 
she could trust her to give a good and honest answer.
     Alisha poked her head in the door and was startled to find Yumi's face right in front of hers.  Alisha jumped back and Yumi yelled, "Don't SCARE me like that!!!"
     "Sorry," Alisha whispered, lowering her head.
     Yumi's face softened.  "What's wrong?"
     Alisha blurted the whole story out to her.  "What do you think you would do in my place?"  Alisha asked cautiously.
     Yumi seemed to be thinking hard.  "If you truly can't decide who you love...maybe you should stay away from both of them for awhile.  So you can gather your thoughts and make a decision."
     "I don't think it's that simple," Alisha told her.  "Naomi loves Tim and Alisha loves Seiji-san and I don't even know which one I am!!!"
     "You're both, remember?"  Jonathan called, obviously eavesdropping.  "And it's more of a reason to stay away!  You still haven't decided which you want to be, and that will help you figure out who you want to be with."
     "Who asked you?"  Yumi shouted.
     Alisha considered this carefully.  "I'll think it over.  Thanks, Yumi.  Thanks, Jonathan," she yelled.
     Alisha went back to her room to decide if this was right.  She was surpised to find a folded piece of paper with her name on it on the bed (which was a sheet stuffed with leaves).  She sat down and opened the paper. reading the inside:

     Dear Alisha,
  I honestly don't understand why you agreed to go out with me if you didn't even like me.  Whether it was out of kindness or sympathy I'll never know.  Right now I feel as though I never want to see your face again, but I know that's not fair.  You might want to explain to me or you might not.  But if you do want to explain, I promise you I will listen.  And if not, I guess it ends here.  I just want you to know that I still love you, even if you don't love me.  Goodbye, Alisha.
     Love, 
        Seiji

     As Alisha finished reading, she looked away from the paper.  *He thinks I hate him!*  she thought as a tear rolled down her face.  
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     Seiji looked up from his thoughts when he heard a quiet tapping at the door of his room.  He saw Alisha standing there.  "Can I come in?"  she said, her voice trembling.
     "Of course," he answered, turning away from her.  He couldn't stand to see her now.
     The fact that he wouldn't look at her only made her feel worse.  "Seiji-san, you don't know how wrong you were in that letter.  I do love you."
      Seiji lost his temper at that.  "You don't love me!!!  If you did, I wouldn't have seen you kissing that guy we saved!" he shouted, leaping to his feet.
     "WOULD YOU PLEASE LET ME FINISH!!!"  Alisha screamed.
      Seiji plopped back down on his bed.  "He's your boyfriend, isn't he?"  he whispered, trying his best not to sound upset.
     Alisha sighed.  "Yes, he is," she started, as Seiji bit his lip.  "but you don't understand.  You remember I told you I came from the Realan World?  Well, I never told you what happened before I arrived.  I was on a boat ride with my boyfriend, Tim.  My name then was Naomi.  While we were there, our boat crashed and we both nearly drowned.  Jonathan came and saved me, but he didn't get Tim.  I thought he had drowned.  Then...I met you as Alisha, and for some reason soon Tim didn't seem to matter as much anymore.  But I found out that Tim was still alive, and everything came flooding back."
     Seiji couldn't stand it any longer and looked at the ground.  "So I guess this means... you're gonna stay with him..."  he said with a catch in his voice.
     "Not nessesarily.  Naomi and Alisha are two very different people.  Naomi wants to be with Tim, and Alisha loves you more than anyhing.  I'm going to see if Lazaar can make one of us dominant, so this problem doesn't happen again.  The thing is, I haven't decided which I want dominant yet.  But until I do...I think it's best that I try to stay away from you and Tim for awhile, just until I can make up my mind.  Is that okay with you?"
     Seiji tried his best to smile.  "If it means I still have a chance, it's fine with me."
     Alisha sighed in relief and held Seiji's hand once more.  "Thank you, Seiji-san.  I'll try my best not to take too long."  She kissed his cheek and left to tell Tim the same.
     Seiji looked down at the pendant, which was still in his hand.  He carefully placed it in its gold box and placed it under his pile of leaves.  *I may still get to use it* he told himself.
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     As Alisha stepped out of Seiji's room, she heard a loud rumbling. She looked up as the ceiling shook dangerously.  There was a loud crash as something fell in the cave that made the ground shake.  As soon as it had stopped, Alisha ran in the direction of the noise, with Seiji close behind her.  Seiji slammed into her as she skidded to a halt in front of a huge pile of boulders.  Alisha felt a knot in her stomach - the rocks had fallen where Jonathan's door should have been.
     Tim came into the area at that moment.  Seiji backed away as he came closer to Alisha.  "I heard a crash.  What happened?" he asked.
     "There's been a cave in!  Jonathan must be in there,"  Alisha shouted, hoping that the cave Jonathan was in hadn't collapsed on top of him.  "I think Yumi's in there too."
     Tim immediately started trying to push stone away, and Alisha soon followed.  She started yelling into the wreckage for Jonathan and Yumi, hoping they were conscious.  Thankfully, she heard Jonathan's voice answer her.
     "Alisha...help..."
     "We're working on it.  Keep talking!  Are you all right?"
     "I'm okay for now."
     "Is Yumi in there too?"
     "She was with me.  I-I don't see her!!"
     "Keep looking," Seiji shouted to him, starting to dig.

     What seemed like hours later, they were able to pull Jonathan out.  Aside from the fact that his wrist seemed broken, he was fine.  But Yumi was still nowhere in sight, and Jonathan was getting frantic.  He was digging around more than anyone, despite his wrist.  Seiji suddenly stopped, and he motioned for quiet.  Through the silence, they could hear an extremely soft call for help a few feet ahead of them.  Jonathan wasted no time, and plowed himself into the mess with both hands, everyone began throwing aside rocks and dirt.  Within minutes they reached Yumi, who was in fairly bad shape.  Her left leg was crushed under a giant stone.  It took all four remaining people to lift it off of her, and when they succeeded they could hardly believe the condition of her limb.  Even Tim and Alisha, who had seen gruesome things in the Realan world, had never seen anything that could compare.  
     Jonathan knelt at Yumi's side and held her hand with his good hand.  She was very pale and barely conscious.  Tim scooped her up (which is what Jonathan would have done if his arm hadn't been in such intense pain)  and carried her to the main cave area.
     Alisha looked in all the caves to find the right medical supplies, but most of them had been destroyed by the cave in.  She left the main room to call Lazaar, and in a few minutes came back with a grave expression on her face.  She walked up to Jonathan and placed a hand on his shoulder.  "Jonathan, Yumi's leg is pretty bad and it has to be amputated.  Unfortunately, we don't have enough supplies anymore to do it ourselves.  We have to send her back to the main hospital."
     Jonathan shrugged.  "No problem.  She'll be back in no time."
     Alisha hesitated a while before telling him, "She...she can't come back.  If she can't walk very well, a cave is no good for her to be in.  She has to stay with Lazaar."
     Jonathan's eyes widened.  "Then I'm going with her."
     "You can't!  We still need you here."
     His eyes went from Alisha to Yumi many times before he finally gave in.  "Fine," he muttered as he walked away.  
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     That afternoon it was time to send Yumi back to the hospital.  Jonathan hadn't come back yet, so Alisha and Tim got her ready to leave while Seiji once again stayed off to the side.  As they helped Yumi out, they said their goodbyes.  When Tim went to find some blankets, Seiji came forward and hastily bid her farewell.  Just when Yumi was all ready to leave, Jonathan appeared at entrance of one of the caverns.  
     Everyone stared for a minute, then found something else that they needed to do.  Seiji went off to look for supplies that could still be used, while Alisha led Tim off to talk to him about "something important."
     Jonathan sat beside Yumi's stretcher and looked at the ground, not saying a word.  Finally Yumi spoke.  "Don't mope, Jonathan.  It doesn't suit you."
     He kept his eyes on the floor and whispered, "How am I supposed to act then?  I lose you once, then I find you again, and now I have to lose you again.  What are the odds of me finding you a second time?"  
     "The same odds as it was when you found me the first time.  It's all up to fate.  And besides, we can still talk to each other, and when this whole war is over we'll be together again, I promise."
     Jonathan looked into her eyes for a moment.  "Goodbye for now, Yumi,"  he said softly as he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss.  
     Just then the others started to come back.  Seiji had a few meager items in his hands, and regretfully reported that he couldn't find any more than this.  Tim and Alisha came back a few minutes later.  Alisha looked a bit worried, and Tim tried to keep his composure, but everyone could plainly see he was more than just a little mad.  As he approached the stretcher where Seiji was standing, he just glared, as if to say "this is all your fault."  It sent a chill down Seiji's spine, and he simply ignored it.
     Alisha noticed this and became more nervous than ever.  She would have to make her decision soon before Tim decided to do anything drastic.  Alisha yelled, "Open portal!" into the air, and a moment later a beam of light came through and picked up Yumi, carrying her to the hostital.
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     Alisha spent most of her time by herself for almost a week.  It was hard to decide where she wanted to stay.  She could go back to the Realan world and live her normal life again, just as it used to be.  If she remained in the Animate world, she would have a lot more responsibilities, and she wasn't sure if she could handle all of them.  The boys, while waiting for her to make up her mind, were staying as far away from her and each other as possible.  Alisha was glad they avoided each other; she knew if they didn't something bad would happen.  Even when they simply passed each other, Tim would stick out his foot, trying to make Seiji trip and fall.  Seiji, being very agile, would dodge his foot, link his foot to Tim's, and make him fall instead.  Alisha thought long and hard about all the good things that had happened in the Realan world, but suddenly remembered all the bad things too.  All the horrible memories came flooding back as heavy as the good things had.  There was so much violence, and drugs, gangs, and things people did to each other so horrifying that she wished she didn't remember them.
     Then she thought about the Animate world.  She hadn't been there all that long, but she had noticed that there wasn't nearly as much violence and crime as there was in the Realan World.  At the moment, she knew the people here were pretty nice, but they also had a strong prejudice against Realans now, as Jonathan had demonstrated to her earlier.  If word got out that she was part Realan, what would happen then?
     Alisha saw a flash of light and another Animate was lying on the floor in front of her.  Jonathan rushed over to help him, and Alisha went to get bandages.  She loved helping others out, even though sometimes it got a little gory.  As they finished wrapping the man up and sent him back, Alisha knew where she wanted to be.
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     She had both boys meet her in the main cave that night.  Both were anxious to know who she had chosen, but Tim seemed so confident that Seiji was almost positive she would go back to Tim.  As they sat down on a few rocks in the corner, with Alisha between them, she began to speak.
     "First, I just want to say that this wasn't easy for me.  I loved you both very much, and it's more a matter of which world I want to be in than which of you is a better boyfriend.  Seiji-san,"  she she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "you're sweet, funny, kind, clever, and understanding."  Seiji just looked down.  He knew what was coming.       
     "Tim," she told him, holding his hand, "You're smart, sweet, and funny too."  Tim looked pleased.  
     "But..." she hesitated.  She hated hurting either one of them.  "I've decided I'm better off in the Animate world.  I could be a lot more helpful here.  I'm sorry, Tim."
     Both boys stared at her, amazed.  Seiji knew she liked it here, but not enough to abondon her old life!
     Tim looked thoroughly angry.  "Why do you want to stay here in this dump?" he yelled, leaping to his feet.  "In this war zone?  It's safe at home!  Nothing would happen to you there!  HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?  I thought you loved me!!"
     "Tim, I-"
     Tim suddenly glared at Seiji more ferociously than he ever had before.  "This is your fault!  Naomi is supposed to be MY girlfriend!!"  He grabbed Seiji by the shoulders and shoved him against the wall.  He put both hands on Seiji's throat and pushed in as hard as he could.  Seiji tried to pull away but he couldn't lossen Tim' grip.  Alisha tried to pull him away with no success.  Seeing that Tim wouldn't stop until Seiji was dead, Alisha knew she had to do something.  Grabbing Seiji's arm as if to help him, Alisha whispered, "Death Charade."  Almost instantly a pale green radiance formed around him, which Tim didn't see.  Seconds later Seiji's body went limp.  It took Tim a minute to see this and when he did, he recoiled in fear.  Seiji's frame crumpled in a heap on the ground.  Tim stood there, staring at it and shaking.  "Oh my god,"  he whispered, his voice quivering as much as he was.  He looked at Alisha, who was knelt beside Seiji, straightening him out.  She put her hand near his face to check his breathing, then to his wrist to find a pulse, though she already knew he had neither.  She took Seiji's hand, put it to her face, and closed her eyes.  When Tim came forward, she looked into his face as though he was a complete stranger.  Tim looked into her tear-filled eyes and felt more remorse than he could stand.  "Naomi, I'm sorry.  But he shouldn't have-"
     "He didn't do anything!" Alisha said, her voice trembling.  "I told you before you'd have to respect my decision!  And he isn't the only reason I decided to stay here!  I love it here!" Tim started to walk away.
     "One more thing, Tim," she called to him as he turned to face her again.  "My name isn't Naomi...it's Alisha."
     Tim stared at her for a moment, then looked down sadly.  "Okay then...Alisha," he said, "I want to go home.  Now."
     "Fine,"  she answered as she got up.  She walked over to him, put her hand next to his heart, and fired the most intense blast into him she could bring up.  He didn't even have time to scream before he died.  Jonathan came into the room then and was horrified to see his friend and the Realan lying dead on the ground.  He stared at Alisha in alarm, who didn't feel like explaining.  "Don't worry, Jonathan.  Tim will be all right when he gets back to the Realan world."
     "But what about Seiji-san?"
     Alisha didn't answer him.  She was busy erasing Tim's memory of all that had happened since he had arrived.  As soon as Jonathan left, she decided against erasing it completely.  If he ever saw any of the people he had met in here, he would know them, but he wouldn't remember where he knew them from.  He would remember them on friendly terms, even Seiji and herself.  Most important of all, he would make no connection between Naomi and her.  To him, his girlfriend was lost forever.  Alisha leaned forward and gave him one last kiss before sending him through the dimensional gate.
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     When she turned back to Seiji, she found Jonathan standing over him.  Jonathan looked to her questioningly.  "What happened?  Did... did you do this?"  he asked, anxious to hear her answer.
    "Tim tried to kill him," she replied.
     "TRIED TO???  Looks like he accomplished it to me!"
     Alisha merely held up her finger for quiet.  She closed her eyes and said slowly, "Charade Revival."  The green cloud lifted off Seiji and went back into Alisha.  For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then they heard Seiji moan softly.  Jonathan watched in amazement as Seiji-san stirred, cautiously opened his eyes, and sat up.  As Seiji rubbed his neck, which was severely sore, Jonathan turned and stared at Alisha.  "But...I just checked his pulse...and he wasn't breathing...he was...and now he's..."
     Alisha smiled mysteriously.  "Didn't know I could do that, did you?"
She bent beside Seiji and gave him the biggest hug she could, and Jonathan walked away, shaking his head.
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     Later that month, the three friends got ready for bed.  After the rockslide, they had decided the safest place to be was in the main cavern.  The few supplies they had left would be kept in the back caverns.  
     As Alisha settled in by her boyfriend's side, Seiji still pondered her decision.  Why would she stay in a war zone with her life endangered when she could have gone back to her normal, safe life?  
     "Alisha?" he asked softly, placing his arm around her.
     "Hmm?"  she said sleepily, laying her head on his shoulder.
     "Why exactly did you decide to stay here?  We're in the middle of a war...no one knows how long it's going to last..."
     Alisha lifted her head and stared at him.  "Why is it that everyone here questions my judgement?  Did you want me to leave?"
     "No!" he replied a little too loudly.  He looked to make sure he hadn't woken up Jonathan, which he hadn't.
     "Then don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Alisha told him as she placed her head back on his shoulder.  "Goodnight, Seiji-san."
     "Goodnight, Alisha."
     Alisha sat thinking.  A question popped into her mind, and she had to ask it.  "Seiji-san, what would you do if you were in my position?"
     This took Seiji by surprise.  "What do you mean?"
     "If you were a Inanimate who had to decide between two people in separate worlds, between going back to your old life or leaving and starting a new one, what would you have done?"
     Seiji hesitated a long time before answering.  "It would depend on which world had more to offer for me."
     "What if it was the new world?  Wouldn't you be scared to start a new life after leaving an old one?"
     Seiji looked down at her.  "Alisha, are you scared?  Tell me honestly."
     Alisha shuddered.  "Yes," she whispered.  "It's so scary leaving everything I know and love to start new someplace completely different.  Kind of like the pilgrims, you know?  If it weren't for you and Jonathan, I'd be all alone..."
     Seiji took her hand.  "I promise you, Alisha, that you will ALWAYS have me and Joanthan, no matter how bad things get.  No matter what, we'll always be with you."
     Alisha smiled at this.  "Thank you, Seiji-san.  I'll see you in the morning.  Goodnight..."  her voice trailed off as she fell asleep on Seiji's arm.  He smiled as he too fell asleep.  "Goodnight, Alisha."