Wow… long time no update. I had some really big projects and exams so I didn't have time to write. Sorry!!! ^^ But I did NOT give up on this fic. It's probably the only one I think about constantly. So here goes; Chapter four.

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

.:: CHAPTER FOUR: And… I've Lost My Way ::.

            Memory. There's something persistent about my memory. Something keeps flashing off and on in the back of my mind.  It gets closer every day, but… I still can't remember. It's not coming. It's like I completely forgot about everything… on purpose. My childhood… it's all blurry. I can go now… wait. Someone's waking me up…

***

.:: Bio Research Lab, North Wing ::.

            "Kirika! You're okay!" The female in the lab coat shouted in glee.

            "Uh… right." Kirika brushed off some of the debris from the ceiling tiles and looked at the girl. She had a big gash in her arm and various scrapes and cuts on her forehead. Kirika looked herself over. Nothing. No bruises, no cuts… nothing. She stared at her partner.

            "Uh… Kirika…?"

            "Your… head…" She leaned in and touched her forehead with a gloved finger.

            The younger female lifted a hand up and winced. Strange. You would think that she would have noticed this before.

            "Eh… I can take care of that…"

Kirika looked up from her partner at a guy in a lab coat with glasses. She thought a moment. "And you are…?"

            "Otacon."

            Kirika blinked. "Er…?" She glanced over at her "Otacon" and let out a little laugh. "Sure you are."

            The man was confused at the situation. "But I am-" Snake put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

            "It's not worth arguing with a woman." And after a short while he grinned at Otacon and gave him a high-five.

            "Male chauvinists," she said aloud and grabbed the gauze tape Otacon was holding. Kirika began to wrap it around the other female's head, but then considered she should probably clean it first. "Do you have any disinfectants?"

            Otacon stopped talking to Snake and fumbled through his first-aid pack. "I should. I think I might have left it in the other bag; in the helicopter."

            "Can you get it? I'll go with you." She said, regarding her injured friend.

            "Alright, but you don't have to-"

            "I'm going." She interrupted. "I'll be back soon Otacon, okay? Just wait here-"

            Snake snickered.

            "-what is so funny?!" Kirika glared at him.

            "Oh nothing. Nothing." And he waved it off.

            "It better be." She walked towards the door with Otacon. "See ya." She said to the other female, and gave her a short salute with a peace sign tailing after it.

            Snake was still partly grinning from his little joke from Otacon, and the younger female's voice broke the silence: "She won't… she won't ever call me by me name… she refuses to-"

            "Huh?"

            "She refuses to call me Elizabeth…" She clenched two tight fists in her lap and held back tears.

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

            They walked silently for a while when she broke the silence. "What's your real name?"

            "Eh… Hal Emmerich."           

            "Why does… that guy call you… Otacon?"         

            "Snake? Well… it's my nickname."

            "This is so odd. How is it possible that I encounter two people with the same codenames as my partner and myself?"

            "Huh? What do you mean?"

            "Well… as you can see, I call my partner Otacon as well, which has to be more than a coincidence, and myself… I took on the name Snake a long time ago… I just don't remember when, exactly. I do know that Frank gave it to me, but I don't know why."

            "And your real name is…?"

            "Kirika…"

            "And your friend's name…?"

            She stopped. She stopped walking and stared at the ground. "That girl in there… she doesn't have a name."

            Otacon looked at her. "What… are you talking about?"

            "I know it sounds weird, but… she's not her." 

            "Not who?" His voice rose the slightest bit in anticipation.

            "Elizabeth. That was what… I use to call my friend that went away. She looks exactly like her… but she's not. Not at all. So I absolutely refuse… to call her Elizabeth."

            "Went away? You mean she died?"

            "I don't… I don't remember. I can't remember anything. And it is hard, but…" She looked straight ahead at the passageway, "I know that's not her," and began walking.

            After a short time, he followed, as well as a dark, looming figure that formed into a silhouette behind them.

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

            A pathway against the light. Where does it lead to? I've wondered here so long and I have finally found the courage. Hidden deep within myself. Stepping on the pathway there is a flash; blinding my eyes. I am surrounded by familiar voices and apparitions that call out to me. My memories. Reverie without break suddenly dissolves away into endless formations of a rainbow prism illuminates the void. Time has stopped once again in my mind. And… I've lost my way.

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Author's Note: I know it was short, but I have to go study now… ^^;; Gomen! More will come around the ending of May or early June. Promise!

Ja ne,

.:: Tomoko ::.