Ramsey scrutinizes me from above with concern etched onto his face. “Hmph. Why do I even bother?” Ramsey turns to Maka while shaking his head and smiles, “Well, I guess we better hurry.”

“Sure.” Maka nods his head with a whimper.

“Make sure you have good footing!” I shout.

“Yea, yea! We know!” Ramsey yells back at me as they start to climb down the cliff. “Watch your step, Maka!” Ramsey grabs the rock that Maka was about to put his foot on. “See, not all the rocks have a solid foundation.” Ramsey breaks off the rock and then tosses it. “So, be careful.”

“O--OK! I’ll be careful.” Maka nods with a quiver.

“Relax, Ramsey. Everything is going to be fine!” I explain, smiling.

“You telling me this is not reassuring.” Ramsey rolls his eyes.

“What?! How so?!” I query, a little confused by the statement.

“Hey, I’m just saying!” Ramsey replies.

“Really, guys, I’m-” Maka’s sentence falls short as he takes a step down and the footing underneath him gives way. “Huh?” Maka says as he begins slipping. “Hey… wait! Wait! Wait!” Maka says as he begins scrabbling at the rock. “Am I falling?!”

“Yooo…! How are you guys doing up th-” I call, looking up and noticing out of the corner of my eyes that at that very moment, Maka is falling.

“Fukai!” Ramsey shouts as Maka zips past me.

“I’m on it!” I raise my legs up to my hands and push down against the cliff side, twisting into a run and begin to dive towards Maka, my heart racing in my chest. “I’m coming, Maka!”

“Fukai, you better make it in time!” Ramsey shouts at me, his voice biting with its intensity. Then, to himself, Ramsey declares, “I better hurry!” Making good on his word, Ramsey starts to climb down faster.

“I’m going to die! I’m going to die!” Maka howls as he sheds tears that are being whipped away from his eyes by the wind rushing past him as he falls. “I don’t want to die! Fukaaaiii! Help meee!”

“I’m coming, Maka!” I shout as I close in on Maka.

“Fast! Fast! Fast! I’ve got to go faster!” Ramsey repeats to himself as he grabs onto a rock only to have it break. “Crap… This can’t be good.” Ramsey realizes too late as he begins to fall from the cliffside. “Damn it! I was careless!”

Maka looks right past me only to see Ramsey has fallen. “Why?” Maka begins to cry. “Why do I have to be so useless?”

“Don’t you dare think that way, Maka! I’m coming!” I reach out to try to grab Maka by the hand. “Maka!” Maka closes his eyes for a second and then reaches out towards me. “I’m almost there! Don’t give up! Maka!” I shout as I grab hold of Maka’s hand. “Alright!” I smile, then realize, “I didn’t think this plan through!”

“No… why did the idiot have to save me?!” Maka wails out in frustration.

“At least we die together?” Ramsey quips, his tone sour and unpleasant.

I smile just before hitting the ground, and see a faint, wispy, rainbow shimmer on it. Then as we hit, the ashen ground underneath us shatters into a million small cubes; billowing in the air, surrounding us, faint rainbows on its edges that fade away. I look around, regarding what is happening with wonder and awe as Ramsey lands next to us, sending another cloud with rapidly fading rainbow edges billowing.

“Wow! What is happening?!” I exclaim, and much to our surprise, it feels like we have landed on top of a pile of soft floflo feathers. “Wow, so soft!” I roll over onto my back with my arms and legs spread out, a goofy smile on my face. “We’re alive!”

The three of us just lay there with smiles on our faces as we began to laugh. I feel relief come over me as I stare up at the sky, and an ashen leaf lands on the top of my nose. I inhale, then exhale. “All’s well that ends well!” I declare, smiling.

The shaking of my laughter causes the leaf to crumble ominously onto my face.