Dawn opened her eyes in a daze. Light came in and she winced as her eyes were unable to adapt to the clarity in time. She closed her eyes again. Muffled sounds, like hearing voices underwater reached her ears, a tingling and pricking sensation like a sleeping limb washing over her entire body. Even breathing was hard. Her mind was slush and while every sense felt strange, there was little actual pain. Just a huge and annoying sense of things not in their real place. She tried to make sense of what was happening. Nothing came to mind. She was not able to think. She couldn't remember anything. What happened? Where was she?

'Who am I? Why am I here? I know my name is Dawn, but anything else is a blur.' Her mind wandered. Her name was the only thing she could remember, the only piece of knowledge in her mind.

Bereft of memories. A blank slate. Only a name in a sea of emptiness, like a white paper page with a single word written on its topmost corner. And that annoying clarity every time her eyes opened, blurs of motion. Sounds, blurbs, and mumblings muffled and incomprehensible. A void in her mind, a sense of forever tumbling backward and never falling. Vertigo. She felt her mouth dry even though she had no idea what was a mouth or even that it was called as such or that the sensation was named as such. She needed something she couldn't put into words. Her skin still prickled. The intensity of sensations coupled with the difficulty to think and the lack of mental concepts to address and rationalize this discomfort caused the only reaction a person in such a situation could do.

Dawn cried like a newborn baby.

She thrashed around and soon felt her limbs restrained. The feeling of being held soon gave way to a soothing warmth and comfortable sounds. A familiar yet unidentified scent calmed her. She felt, tasted something and the dryness in her mouth vanished. She wanted more of that and instinct moved her mouth, her head in the direction of the source. Dawn tried to open her eyes again, and the painful glare was gone. She could see shapes, forms, movement but everything was still blurred. Sound came along with moving shapes. Soon she came to associate the movement with the sound, both happening at the same time.

She felt sleepy and safe. She had no reason to fight back this need and allowed her consciousness to fade.

Dawn awoke a few more times. The sounds the moving shapes made became a bit clearer and she could make three different kinds. There was a rasp, deep sound she associated with the taller shape. A shrill, sharp, and fast sound that belonged to the smaller shape, one that kept moving all the time. And the third was a soft, warm sound that she liked very much. She felt drawn to that third sound, that had a colorful, warm shape associated. When that shape was really close Dawn felt safe and her fears would just melt away. The shape touched her skin and wrapped around her. Dawn wanted more, she wanted to meld into that shape and hide from the scary feelings.

A deep urge in her core appeared. Like a pain, a need unbearable. She cried. Dawn learned that every time she cried the shapes would come and make her feel better. Crying was the right thing to do. So she did and looked for solace, something to quench that need. It was not the first time she felt like that. The colorful shape she liked so much came near, and instinct drove Dawn to the shape. Something told her that somewhere in that shape there was what she needed. Latching to the shape, she felt divided between crying or solving her problem. For some reason, she couldn't do both. She found something soft in her favorite shape and made herself unable to cry. She would grab it and not let go. But for some reason, as good as being with the shape and making herself unable to cry was, the need was not solved. The shape pulled her away and made more sounds. The sounds were comforting but she didn't solve her need. So she cried again.

Something good came to her and she had to stop crying to understand what that was. She found that she couldn't cry with that thing next to the part of her that did the crying. It was soft and warm, it caused the same good feelings as the colorful shape. And she craved more of that good thing, and she moved the part that cried but to take more of the good thing. The colorful and the small shapes made sharp noises and somehow she knew those noises were good happy ones. And her urge was quenched with more of the good, soft, warm thing.

Aidan recovered consciousness. Forcing his memory for the last thing before his unconsciousness, he remembered lying down on the fur-covered stone table at the laboratory and Astromelicus had used a spell to make him sleep. Dawn was undressing helped by Claire, and they were about to undergo the procedure to get Lumina's body and make a new one for Dawn. There was no other memory between then and now. He could feel her through their shared soul. She was nearby, unharmed, and unconscious. Just sleeping.

He looked around and found himself in bed. Not his bed at the dormitory but a bed in the academy's magic laboratories. The sturdy, windowless stone walls were a dead giveaway. He was naked under the sheets. Looking around, he found Sora sitting on a chair and leaning on the bed next to his feet, sleeping. He felt hunger and thirst, probably some time passed and the procedure was already finished. A coughing sound caught his attention on the other side.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, cadet Aidan," Astromelicus greeted him. "I've just lifted the spell keeping you asleep. Here, you'll probably enjoy some tea."

He handed him a mug. Aidan sat up, exposing his naked torso and silently drank the tea. He wasn't too sure he would be able to speak before finishing the tea and didn't bother trying. He could see he still had the mana-sealing bracelets.

Aidan spoke his voice rasp from being without use for too long, "Headmaster. Was the procedure a success?"

His question took the old man by surprise, "Is that your main concern? What about your counterpart?"

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"Dawn? I can feel her, she is sleeping nearby. Is there something wrong with her?"

"No, I don't think so. Do you remember anything about the procedure? What is your last memory?"

"When you put me to sleep in the laboratory." He answered.

Sora stirred and woke up. She rubbed her eyes and smiled when she saw Aidan sitting up. The girl pounced her mate, but in her haste and post-awakening torpor missed the mark and elbowed him in the stomach. Aidan quickly held her, least the elbow slip dangerously down and cause grievous injury. He pulled Sora to him and took her lips.

"Missed me much?" He asked with a smile after he separated his mouth from hers. Astromelicus chuckled and he turned to the Headmaster, "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Sora answered. Her joy at seeing him awake again and excitement were obvious. He remembered she spent a whole year waiting on him by a hospital bed. Three days must've been torture. Aidan's hand moved on autopilot and found the round furry ears he was so used to caressing. The girl preened in joy and almost purred in his hands. Astromelicus did his best job in ignoring their routine.

"There is a problem with the other test subjects," The archmage started to explain, "they experienced severe discomfort upon reawakening. And some of the memories of the painful procedure remained with them. For your case, I changed the order of the steps to remove the head last. This would let no memories behind, but I needed you to be unconscious to avoid storing these memories in your brain and sending them back afterward. I think it worked if you have no memory of the procedure."

"You were spared the pain." Sora abridged the explanation. "Cythrel and I stayed inside the sound barrier so we heard nothing."

Aidan saw a glimpse of teeth in her demure smile. He wanted to take those lips once more and show her his appreciation. The surge of feelings caused other instinctive reaction that did not go unnoticed by the room's occupants.

The headmaster cleared his throat and announced. "I'll leave you two alone. It will take a while for the princess to arrive from the castle. Your uniform is here when you are ready to get dressed and meet us next door." The archmage winked and spoke as he walked around the bed and to the door, "Take your time."

The door closed and the two teenagers looked at each other. Sora leaned forward, pulling him back from his sitting position, "I've spent three days nursing you." She reported with a shy voice. "Both of you, by the way."

There was fear in Sora's voice, but that fear was tinted with relief. Aidan adjusted himself and Sora more comfortably on the bed.

"How is the other me?"

Sora looked in his eyes trying to read something, "You don't remember anything from Dawn?"

"No. I think both of us need to be conscious to synch our memories. From what you are saying I assume she woke up already. How is she? Did you talk to her about anything?"

Sora laughed. "No. She is like a newborn baby, just crying, eating, and crying a bit more. I was afraid she was damaged, but the Headmaster assured me it was normal. She needed to re-learn to use her body. Our hope is that with you awake she can do that faster."

Aidan moved his hands up from Sora's waist and gently felt her breasts under her clothes. She grabbed his wrist and moved the hand back on the waist. "Yeah, she also went for my chest. Too bad there's no milk here."

Aidan laughed, causing Sora to blush. "I... Dawn tried to feed on you?" She blushed even more and nodded. "I can't fault her. She is me after all."

She made a resentful face, pretending to be hurt at his smirk, "Well, they are now officially off-limits for both of you until second notice." She crossed her arms, protecting her baby feeders. Sora kept an eye on Aidan to see his reaction.

"Can't I apologize for mishandling them? I'm sure neither of I did anything on ill will!" He tickled her waist and pulled her in, reaching with a hand for her tail. "How can I show you my appreciation?"

Sora fought to keep a straight face. Aidan knew how to work her weak spots, "Work hard. I might be inclined to accept your thanks and apologies if you put in the effort."

He ran his hand up her furry arm until he found her shoulders. Grasping firmly, he held her and pulled in, whispering just before he seized her lips, "I'll do it. You deserve a reward for your good job."

Pearl and Claire arrived at the laboratory building and were led by Astromelicus to the room used for the Soul Restoration rituals. In the middle of the exquisite ritual circle engraved in the polished stone floor with the orichalcum, ink rested a crystal receptacle with a naked girl inside.

"Sister —" Claire let the word escape with her breath.

Inside the crystal clear case she could see Lumina's restored body, lifelike and immobile.

"Indeed, Princess. That is without doubt Lumina's body. Alive and in stasis. Once we join it with her soul and repair both, she will come back to us."

Pearl pushed Claire forward, forcing the princess to take a step nearer the crystal box. "Go ahead. Look at her. I know that we've seen that face as Dawn for too long, but now she is your sister. She exists, in that coffin made of glass. Waiting for magic."

Claire knelt next to hit and hugged the case protecting her sister's inert body from the ravage of time. It looked like she was just sleeping if you disregarded the fact she was not breathing. But the color was there, as alive as ever. Her fear of never being with Lumina again was too much, and she fought against it for too long. Burying herself in accounting and paperwork for the Realm was an excuse, an escape to avoid dealing with her feelings.

She took her time, letting her feelings flow. Pearl and Astromelicus just stood there, solemnly witnessing that display of sisterly love. Claire rose and looked at them, not caring to hide her shameful display.

"Must we wait? Can't we wake her up now?"

Astromelicus was not unresponsive to her display of affection. He regretfully shook his head, "I'm afraid not. This ritual circle can only be operated by Aidan and Dawn. I don't think the Crown would hire another Underworld mage to trust with the life of our cherished princess. And this is a bit of a pickle we are in. Student Dawn is currently recovering from having her body quartered and pieced together. As a result, she is unable to work magic. And to restore Lumina we need to shear away a big part of cadet Aidan's soul because they are slowly fusing together. After the separation, he will need to use this circle to restore himself.

"Therefore we need to wait until student Dawn is fully recovered and able to wield her magic. However, when we regenerated her head, all of her memories and knowledge were cleared. For the last three days, she behaved just like any newborn baby would. Our hope is to speed up the process using their shared connection. Aidan has Dawn's memories, and she had his before the procedure. I believe they will be able to restore her before Spring ends, but there are some roadblocks ahead."

Pearl picked up after Astromelicus made a pause to breathe, "Brody is coming. He will be here in Yutis in a bit more than a fortnight, Claire. Before we can restore Lumina to life and have Dawn mend both her soul and Aidan's, we need someone to stand in for Lumina. Healing souls is a slow process. I'm afraid Lumina will only be entirely recovered past midsummer. Dawn will have to play the part and keep that vermin company." She couldn't tell Claire of their plans to end the threat of Brody and Heath to Lumina and Yutis yet.

Claire kissed the crystal coffin keeping her sister's body alive and stood up with Astromelicus' help.

"Well, let's visit Dawn then."