Written By: Armina Qi Saxton

Standard Disclaimer: See Disclaimer Page

Chapter 5: Outcome Unknown

The tower had begun to fall only a few moments after Johnny had started his descent to the ground, the process seemingly moving slow to those that were watching the events unfold in front of them. Many were weeping when they saw him begin to fall from the tower, struggling to come to terms with his apparent death. Who would want to kill the most powerful man in Gaia and leave his son behind, abandoned and afraid? Even those that had the idea in mind, never would be able to carry it out, for fear of their own lives and for lack of courage to do so.

Sobs soon turned to screams shortly after the shot had been heard, as the first pieces of the tower fell down upon those that were standing there, waiting for the last glimpse of their fallen hero. Those that were on the island, scrambled for the port or even into the sea, or got as far away from the presumed path to escape any fatal harm. The pieces fell from the heavens like heavy drops of rain, all eyes wide with horror and fear as the skyscraper began to tumble just as fast as it had been built only a few weeks before.

It had once been a monument of power, something to look at as a sign of what riches and greed could accomplish, so long as there was a drive behind it. It fed of Johnny's anger of loosing his son's memory, the ambition to regain what had been lost, the greed that steamed from something so innocent, and it also fed off of his rise back into power. It was his and his alone that he had created, and there was no one else that could take it away from him. Not even the one that had taken him viciously from the whole of Gaia, from his son that was now trapped and about to share the same fate as his father. Even in his death, this monument was his and there was nothing no one else could do about it.

This tower had been an accomplishment that he had taken pride in, something that he hadn't done since before Gino had been even a memory. All that looked upon the tower, saw what it stood for, why it was there, and what it represented. No one had to agree with what he was doing, and the means that he had gotten to where he was now, but there were those that still stood by his side, respected him, even adored him. Despite the terror that would shortly bring Gaia back to it's knees, there were still countless Gaians that would still stand by this man, regardless of what had happened in the past and what would happen in the future.

Even as Johnny fell towards the oceans depths, his fall would be out done by the same tower he had built. It would soon make it's way across not only Isle de Gambino, but half of Gaia as well, across the coast and into Durem itself. Only a few that was in the tower's path, actually had the time to get out of the way before it fell upon them like water drowning ants. The death toll would be even greater then that of Halloween, perhaps not as confined but just as chaotic and as horrible. It wasn't as bad as the news made it out to be, but it was still something to be reckoned with.

The splash of Johnny K Gambino's body upon the water as not as loud or as big as the one the tower would soon make, but it was memorable even more so. Perhaps because many thought it had ended an era of life that so many was accustomed to, or because it was a seed of destruction planted firmly in the ground. Had anyone seen this coming, they would have stopped it before anything had even started to take shape. Whatever it was, it left it's mark on the land for all to see.

Literally.

****

Clear across Gaia, in the same city in which the tower had it's eyes upon, everyone went about their business as usual. Pranks were done in a fashion that no one saw them coming until it was too late. Gaians were going in and out of shops as though the news of the falling tower and the shot of Gambino was old news. In fact, a good percentage of the Gaians in the city did not know that the tower had started to fall down, only knowing that the former most powerful man in Gaia had been shot and left it at that. Many were saddened by the news, some going on a shopping spree in hopes that this would ease the pain of his apparent passing. Perhaps it did in a sense that they weren't aware of quite yet, as they went along with their business as usual.

There were two, however, that were more worried about what they looked like then the rest of the population combined, as they stood in a room that overlooked the city and the tower loomed in the distance. They were facing each other, a glass of wine in their hands and smiles on their lips. They looked rather happy then sad, their faces looking as though they could have Christmas every day for the rest of their lives. No one would know why they seemed like nothing could stop them, now that there was no one else to share the limelight with them. Had anyone known what they were thinking, even the other sister, then they would have never guessed what made them seem oblivious to the pending danger.

Marie didn't seem so light and carefree as Anna did, as both women stood there in silence, having spent the last few days finding left over Eggs from the Easter Ball. They had found them everywhere, in shoe boxes, in pants pockets, even in their makeup bags. It had become annoying to find them everywhere when the event had been finished and done with several days before and both assumed that it was a prank done by the Easter Bunny's creator. Anna hadn't taken a liking to it, but Marie found it amusing to say the least, as the last of the Eggs had been rounded up and dumped somewhere for next year. It gave her something to think about other then the tower that hovered over Gaia.

"All it takes is a little cheap, plastic toy to gain favor with these Gaians," Marie muttered, taking one sip of her wine before frowning. It wasn't as good as the other wines they had in storage, but neither girl wanted to waste the rest. They would be saved for another time, another event.

"Hohohoho, oh sister," Anna laughed sourly, hardly even noticing the look in which Marie had given her. "Our recent Easter Event surely has taken the public eye away from Gambino."

That was one thing that Marie had to agree with her sister. It had taken some of the Gaian's interest from Gambino during Easter, but it hadn't been enough to sway everyone. She assumed that there were large groups of Gaians that had gone over to his side, for reasons she could only guess at. Most of those guesses were right and she ignored them as best as she could, concentrating on getting more gold from the signs that the two eventually stopped trying to sell at their front door. There was no need to go on, when they had exhausted every option they had in getting more people to buy their signs without having to go extreme measures to get them.

"Did he actually think that he could make a comeback with such an obnoxious...." Anna continued before stopping, her mouth hanging open with the words caught in her throat. At first, Marie didn't know why her sister had stopped, before she too felt everything stop in time. There was no soft breeze coming from the open window, no noises coming from the streets, nothing that indicated that it was the same day, the same flow of time.

Both women turned to see what looked like a tower falling down towards them, their wine glasses dropping from their hands as they grabbed for each other desperately as though that would help them. The glasses shattered at their feet as they held onto to each other, their eyes going wide as they saw what was about to hit their mansion and them. There was no time to react, no time to get out of the way, no time to do anything but think any last thoughts to each other and to the people that they would soon see on the other side of the world they were in. They knew that it would be the end for them, as they held each other tight and braced for impact.

"...Skyscraper!?" Was the last thing the two screamed together, as the tower cashed down upon their mansion and tore the city of Durem in two.

****

For the first time in her long career on camera, perhaps not for the last time, Cindy Donovinh had nothing remotely to say for ten minutes as she watched the last bits of the tower fall down to the ground. Even from her vantage point, she could barely make out people running through the dust as they moved from Isle de Gambino towards the Barton Coast, trying to locate anything that moved or had been crushed by the weight of the tower. There were many survivors, more then what all had originally thought, but it was something at least.

She couldn't put any string of words together, looking down at the wreckage as she opened and closed her mouth several times. She couldn't believe the tower had fallen like that, without warning, without anything making it fall. It had just happened, like it had been connected to Johnny Gambino in a way. That was the only logical explanation she could to answer any questions on how it had fallen and why it had. Had this been any other time in which tragedy struck Gaia by someone's hand, she would have put the blame upon that person solely. But, this time, there was no anger directed towards him, so very unlike Halloween. No, she just felt a twinge of sadness mixed in with the feelings of what had just happened.

"Oh my gosh. This is unbelievable," Cindy whispered, finally able to put words through her lips. She turned her head towards the cameraman, who kept the camera turned towards the wreckage as the helicopter sped along the areas that had been affected by the collapsed tower. For once, she did not expect the camera to be on her as she spoke, instead keeping it's eye upon what was below. That would give more of an effect of what kind of destruction the tower had left behind.

"You're telling me," The pilot muttered, barely auditable over the helicopter’s blades and the sound of wind rushing over the open doorway as he steadied the helicopter. The cameraman panned over to Cindy, who was not looking her best, not even smiling when the camera was on her. She had her head slightly tilted to the side, her eyes looking deep into the camera, and her face slightly turned so that it looked like she was halfway facing the camera and halfway facing the ground below. With the way her hair was moving from the wind and her face was not as happy as her viewers usually saw her, she appeared lost and confused about the ordeal.

"Amongst the massive scene of destruction, Gaia 9 Action News will do our best to find out what has happened to Gaia's most powerful individuals. Until then, this is Cindy Donovinh, signing off."

****

It was a sight of panic in the streets of Durem, as Gaians scrambled around the areas where there was no destruction, wondering if their friends and family had been in the places where the tower had fallen. They huddled together to make sense of it, while others went and tried to help those that were injured or dazed from the debris. No one knew what was going on, except that they couldn't worry about their own lives at the moment. There were others that needed more help then they did currently.

Edmund was one of the few that was out in the dust, trying to locate anyone that needed just a bit of help or perhaps more. There were already a few surviving souls in his shop, a group of four that had been shopping under his watchful eye and Vanessa. She had ran into his shop only minutes after the tower had crashed down, several cuts on her hands from where she had several cuts on her hands from scissors when she had heard the crashing of metal and glass. There were a few scrapes along her legs from where she had robbed against sharp metal while she blindly came towards Edmund's shop, yet nothing serious that required medical attention.

She had been shaken up by the whole ordeal, from what little she knew of the events that had played out. He couldn't blame her, as he tried to comfort her as she shook in his arms. That was all he could do at the moment without saying anything that would indicate anything more was wrong. There was something else that was wrong, but he wasn't about to say anything. Not when there were four others in the room that could overhear any words that he might say and start spreading false rumors of what had happened to the tower and those that had lived inside of it.

The four Gaians with her, were just recovering from the shock of what had happened, nothing more, nothing less. They, like Edmund, were lucky that nothing had crashed through the roof and hurt them any more then they were shaken up. He had taken special care to the shop so, if anything had happened that would cause a panic, he would be safe for the time being and anyone else that wanted to stay inside the shop with him. Many had called him crazy, but now they were silent with what had just happened.

He had left the five alone with careful instructions not to leave the store regardless of what would happen. It was one of the safest places in the city at the moment, so said him. They agreed reluctantly and Edmund left without much word on where was going and what he was going to do. He didn't even know himself, as he slowly walked blindly in the streets, looking for anything that was out of place other the obvious. There were no bodies laying on the ground that he saw and that was a good sign. For now, at least.

"Edmund?" A voice coughed from across the street. He stopped at the sound of the voice, turning in it's general direction to see who it was. There was a familiarity to it, the voice, yet he couldn't be sure until he asked who it was.

"Moria? Is that you?" Edmund asked as he squinted in the dust. He couldn't make out her full features, but he knew the outline of her body and her hair from anywhere. When he heard her breathe through the dust and cough, he let himself breathe a sigh of relief.

"No, it's Santa," Moria's voice snapped, her eyes rolling despite the fact that the other couldn't very well see her do that. "Of course it's me. Where the hell are you?"

"Don't get smart with me," He grumbled, trying to sound as uptight as he could with her. There wasn't any sternness in his voice, just relief to know that there was another person alive, despite the destruction that was around them. The sound of something crashing somewhere else in the city made both of them jump and the reality that they need not stay where they were at the present moment.

Regardless if Moria protested or not to coming with him, Edmund took several steps forwards and grabbed Moria's wrist and pulled her towards him. He wasn't about to listen to her grumble about anything at the moment, which exactly was what he had expected her to do as he walked quickly towards his own shop. There wasn't a peep from her as he kept his eye on his surroundings, or what he could see of them, walking around fallen debris and finally squeezing through some of the bigger chunks to get to the entrance of his shop. By then, he was more then covered in a thin layer of dust and looked like he had attempted his own journey through dirt.

A cloud of dust came into the shop, as Edmund pushed Moria inside and closed the door behind him. Inside, Vanessa was near the counter, already cleaned her arms and face as best as she could with a yellow towel that looked like it had been run through the mud. There were four Gaians standing not far from where she was standing, looking at Edmund with curious eyes as to what was going on outside as he and Moria took several steps inside and turned to the doors.

"What happened? I know something did, I heard it on the TV before it went out, but I didn't catch the last part of it before everything happened, and I came running over her," Vanessa said as several figures ran past the doors of the store, not even pausing to see if anyone was alright inside.

"The tower fell, V. It's gone," Edmund said after a few moments of silence, looking over his shoulder at her. "He is too. They both are. All of them are."

There was sadness in his voice that only Moria and Vanessa picked up, their eyes going wide as they stared at him, unable to say anything at the moment. The other Gaians looked at each other, the realization of what had happened sinking into their minds. They knew that Johnny had been shot, but they had not realized that the tower had fallen just like he had done. It was gone, just like that. The power that had made it become what it was, had toppled it just like the person who had shot him had killed the man that had held so much in his hands.

It was only when Moria gasped, did the attention shift from the outside realm to her. Her right hand had moved to her mouth, her face draining of any and all color that had not been covered by the dust. No one knew what was wrong with her, perhaps the effect of the devastation finally hitting her. It wasn't until she spoke did they realize what made her look like she about to faint.

"Sasha! I've got to get to the island!" She cried, pushing past Edmund to get to the doorway. Before she could even put her hand upon the knob, a arm grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back into the store. "Edmund, let me go! I've got to get there! I've got to see if she is alright! She is my friend!"

"No, you are not going anywhere. We are all staying here, at least until the dust clears some," Edmund said in a calm voice, loosing his grip around Moria's waist slightly. A silent sob came from her, her shoulders slumping as she looked out into the dust outside, wanting nothing more to go outside and find her friends. "We don't know if there is anything that would fall from what is left of the tower."

"Gambino did it again," A voice muttered from where the four Gaians were standing. All three shopkeepers turned around towards them, seeing a young man standing a few feet away from the others, his blue eyes narrowed from overtop his sunglasses that were cracked and arms crossed over his bare chest. There was nothing on his face to indicate what he was feeling at the moment, his eyes staring coldly at the three of them as they stared right back. "Would have expected it, with that pathetic excuse for a tower. If he didn't die from it, then I'll find a way to do it myself."

"Why don't we put this one out in the dust, to make sure that it is safe?" Vanessa growled, glaring at him. Although she did not care much for Johnny Gambino in the past, or even in the present terms, the last thing she would want to do was to insult the man's memory. He had died without cause and without reason, despite what others would have said about him.

"It's true," He said, shrugging. "A lot of Gaians will share the same mindset."

"Not as many as you think there are. Not since the Anniversary Ball. A lot of minds were changed then," Edmund said with a frown. Mine included. If I hadn't seen what had happened then, I wouldn't have believed it, he added to himself. His eyes narrowed at the Gaian as he started to inch his way towards the door. "And don't you dare leave this store unless I say so. We don't know what happened out there."

"Whatever you say, sir," The Gaian said with a roll of his eyes. He made his way towards the door, going far enough away from Edmund to keep his distance away from him. Even with his lack of respect towards Edmund, there was a certain fear in him that made him wonder if the man could get to him from where he was standing. "You coming or what? There's no reason to stay inside here."

One of the other Gaians, a girl about the same age as the one standing by the door, shook her head swiftly. "There is no way I am going out there just yet. Too dangerous right now. I like my life the way it is, thank you."

The remaining two Gaians that stood by her nodded their heads in agreement, huddling closer to their friend as they watched him with long, drawn faces. The male Gaian snorted, rolling his eyes for a second time as he uncrossed his arms and exited the shop without anyone trying to stop him. Edmund didn't bother trying to go after him, knowing that he couldn't make that one person stay inside, nor the others that were in his shop with him. He glanced over at Vanessa, who looked tired and worn from this even though it had happened only a half hour before. She smiled back at him, looking almost motherly to Moria.

"I don't like this. I want to know what happened to Sasha," Moria choked, resting her head upon Edmund's chest as a sob escaped her lips. Edmund wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight.

"I don't either, but there is nothing we can do at this moment but wait," He said softly, Vanessa walking to his side. They smiled at each other again, before their eyes turned towards the outside world.

"We just have to hope for the best," Vanessa said in a low voice, biting her lower lip as she did. That was all that they could do without wondering what had happened to everyone else in Gaia or if there were any more deaths then what they knew of. If there were, then there would be even more graves to dig then the ones that had been made for those in the past.

If not, then there was a lot of explaining that needed to be done to those that had survived.

****

It was a horrible sight to see when one first looked upon it with innocent eyes. The glass windows had shook violently enough to the point that many panes had to be replaced, dirt and dust was everywhere possible, and the mess left behind was unimaginable. Almost everything had fallen off their shelves and into the floor, which created an even bigger mess to begin with. It wouldn't be an easy chore to clean up the store to what it had been before the tower had fallen, but it would be a manageable operation to say the least.

The feat of cleaning up the store wasn't exactly the first thing on Ruby's mind, as she took the first few steps out of the back storage room with Peyo in tow. His eyes were wide at the damage that was around him, his mother's face pale from the destruction one tower had caused. It was horrible to look at without knowing what exactly happened, with the dust coming into the store and a portion of it damaged that required more then just a bit of hammering. It was surprising that the roof hadn't collapsed down upon them, or suffered any more damage then it had.

Ruby pulled Peyo closer to her, keeping him from exploring any place that could remotely harm him. Just the image of her shop was enough to make her worry about any possible danger laying around, so she couldn't imagine what the rest of the island was like or even the rest of Gaia. She knew what happened, she had heard the shot like everyone else, but had never thought anything else would happen after that. It was more of a shock then anything else that would take place, even with the looming threat that once had been there. Anything else that would happen on this day, would only add to the danger that was already there.

"Mommy, what happened?" Peyo asked, trembling. Ruby opened her mouth to answer him, yet there were no words to tell him exactly what was going on. Although still young, he could see what had happened on the outside without asking simple questions about it. There would be little she could tell him at this point, regardless of what horrors lay just beyond the shattered glass.

"I don't know, honey," She whispered as soon as she found the voice to speak. She knew only what she had heard on the radio before it had fizzled out completely. Both mother and son had been in the back storage room at the time the tower had collapsed, not even knowing that anything else was wrong until the loud crashing came overtop the store. It had scared both so much that they had stayed where they were for the longest time in fear that they would be caught in something else.

Now they stood in the mess of a shop, wondering if anyone would enter the shop to see if they were okay. Sure enough, right before Ruby was about to lead Peyo to the doorway, the door opened quickly and a familiar figure burst in through the door. She was covered from head to toe in a mist of dust, her hair slightly messed, and her clothing dirty. It was as though something had splattered all over her and was still hanging in the air for all to catch.

"Sasha? You okay?" Ruby asked as the door slammed shut behind her and any remaining glass fell from the doorway. The woman brushed off the dust from her arms and looked up, ignoring the shattering glass only inches behind her. Sasha smiled lopsided, indicating that she was alright and not harmed by anything that had fallen. There was redness around her eyes, from the dust that had gotten into her eyes or from something else entirely, but that was all that seemed to be wrong with her at the moment. "What happened?"

"The tower fell, Ruby," Sasha answered as she wiped any remaining dust from her face. Ruby stared at her for a few moments, her mouth hanging open in surprise, not that she knew Sasha was okay, but at the words she had spoken. So that was why everything is a mess, she thought to herself, her worst fear being confirmed by those three words.

"Come on, then. We're going to the Bank as fast as we can. There is no telling what might fall next," Ruby said, picking up Peyo and heading for the door. The glass that had been in it was shattered, so it was easy enough to get through without hitting any shards of glass that was still upon it. It was much easier to go through then to have to open the door and shatter what was left on it.

It didn't matter how they got out of the shop, as they carefully stepped outside and looked around to see if there was anything that was blocking their way to the Bank. Other then the debris that was laying on the ground, and guards from Barton going around to see what they could do to help anyone, there was nothing there that showed any signs that they couldn't get to the Bank safely. They hurriedly scrambled over the destruction that had been caused by the fallen tower, towards the Bank without any trouble from anyone telling them to get into boats to go to the port. In fact, there was no one that even tried to block them from going anywhere else, as they headed straight for the Bank.

Meredith, having looked out the window of the Bank, saw the three coming towards her and had the door opened for them as they walked in swiftly. The door closed and locked behind them, as all three looked around to those that were standing inside, huddled together in packs. There were many Gaians that were covered in dust and looking as though they had not taken showers in days, looking even more fearful as they mumbled to themselves. Many had cuts and bruises on them from things that had fallen from the sky or they had accidentally bumped into, none of which were life-threatening nor needed immediate medical attention. That gave Ruby a sense of comfort, from what little she had seen from her own shop.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked in a loud voice so everyone in the Bank could hear her. There were a mumbles of 'yes, ma'am' and a nod of the head from those that did not wish to speak, as everyone answered her as best as they could without breaking down. Some do, in fact, break into tears, comforted by the Gaians that they were standing beside. Peyo, not for the first time since the tower had fallen, buried his head in his mother's shoulder to weep himself. There was little Ruby could do to comfort him, already tried everything that she could.

"Sasha, take Peyo for a moment. I need to ask Ruby the same questions I asked you," Meredith asked in a low voice. Ruby, looking surprised, glanced over at Sasha as she held her arms out to take the boy.

"Yes, I was. Meredith was worried about you, so I went out there to see if you were alright," Sasha answered as Peyo was handed over to her without word. The boy sobbed harder, not whishing to be apart from his mother but content enough to be in a familiar person's arms. "She wouldn't let me leave the island. I want to know if Moria is okay."

Sasha's eyes darted away, looking scared for her friend. Ruby smiled gently at her, squeezing her shoulder to show that it was alright. She, too, thought of how Moria, Edmund, and Vanessa were doing in the city and if they were alright, but there was nothing she could do to help them at the moment. The only thing she could do was to hope that they were alright and had not been harmed by anything that had fallen from the tower.

"She's fine, I'm sure of it. She's got Edmund and Vanessa in the city with her," She said softly, hoping that was enough to calm Sasha's nerves. She did not answer right away, keeping her gaze down as Meredith and Ruby went into a corner away from the Gaians, Peyo, and Sasha. Meredith kept an eye on any wayward Gaians that might pick up any part of the conversation, keeping her voice low so that they wouldn't be any more alarmed then they already were.

"Have you seen Johnny's body come onto the shore? Or Gino's?" Meredith asked as soon as she was satisfied that no one else in the Bank was listening to the conversation. Ruby stared at Meredith for a moment, in shock of having just been asked a odd question. The tower hadn't even fallen an hour or so before and someone that she knew was asking if the bodies of two of the most powerful people had been washed up upon the shore. She glanced over at the Gaians just like Meredith had, then returned her eyes back to her.

"No, I haven't. I don't think I want to, either. I just don't want to see that." She eyed Meredith, wondering exactly why she had asked the question. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because, I want to know if they are okay, that's all," Meredith answered softly. "If they both can survive the mansion blowing up on Halloween, they can survive this."

"I don't know," Ruby said, looking as though she wanted to cry. "If Johnny hadn't been killed by the shot we heard, then he surely could by the fall. It's was a tall tower after all.

"Why, then, did the tower fall?" Meredith pressed on. "If was built by Aekean builders, like some claim that it was, and they are the best in Gaia, if not the whole world, then it would have stayed up. Why wouldn't it hold?"

Ruby stared at Meredith for a moment, trying to find the best answer to the question without putting any suspicion upon her. At the moment, there was nothing that confirmed what she thought about anyone firing the supposedly fatal shot to Johnny or that anyone else had anything to do with the cause of the tower's collapse. Until there was proof that someone had actually shot Johnny, as anything shot that far away couldn't have possibly gotten that far, or the actual cause of the now fallen tower's demise, she wasn't about to put any blame upon anyone else.

Then there was the fact that the tower had come from somewhere in Aekea, if it came from there at all. No one knew if that was true or not, but all fingers pointed in the general direction. She knew that just about everything that came from Aekea, from simple kitchen supplies to buildings the size of the tower, would hold for a very long time, not only for a few weeks or days. Even if it was faulty, there would have been some indication before hand that something was wrong somewhere with the building.

"The tower was built in only a few days," Ruby said slowly after a few moments of silence. "I don't know anyone that could make something sturdy and fail-proof in a few days, no matter how many people are working on it and how much it costs. High cost doesn't always mean quality."

"That's what Sasha said," Meredith said with a nod. "Not the same words, but the general gist of it."

"But," Ruby said softly, giving the Gaian's a quick look to see if they were listening before continuing on, "even a few days shouldn't have made a difference. I doubt that Johnny, no matter what state of mind he was in, wouldn't have put Gino in any danger like that. If it wasn't safe to be on or in, then he wouldn't have put Gino in that danger. I doubt he was going to be shot and the tower to fall after him."

"The tower was too big and too tall to be standing for a long period of time, no matter who built it," She replied sourly. Ruby had to agree on that, nodding slightly. "Why would he want to build a tower like that?"

"That's the question everyone wants to know, Meredith. I don't know why he would want to, other then to house G-Corp or any other damnable creation he had before," Ruby said with a shrug. "I don't think he realized the mistake he would have made again, if the tower hadn't fallen. Other then that, I don't know why he did what he did."

The two women looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say at this point. It was apparent that Meredith wanted to ask more questions to get Ruby's answers on them, but with the mix of Gaians standing there, and Peyo's crying, they weren't going to be asked on this day. Not when there would be those that were listening, who could spread rumors around faster then the facts could. That was why Meredith walked away from their spot, to check on the Gaians that had the most injuries, giving Ruby a look that meant they would talk later and Ruby nodded in response.

The looks on their faces was enough for now of them to stay quiet for the moment. At least until they could speak without being overheard by any ears that didn't need to know more then they should.

****

The Barton Coast. A stretch of beach and shoreline that many went to get away from everyday life but still could enjoy the warmth and serenity of the beach without having to go to the island. Many knew of the existence of this stretch of land, but did not go to it as it was not along their way between towns and cities. Those that did not come to the shore, were content enough to at least know it existed for when they truly wanted to be alone for a few moments out of their day. Other then the few wandering souls that often came upon the sand, there was no one else.

There were no strolls on this stretch of land this day, as the destruction of the tower had left everyone struggling to cope with the reality of what happened. There were, however, a few Gaians on this beach, climbing over the wreckage of what once had been the Tower of Gambino, the dust of the destruction already cleared up faster then that of Durem and the island. It was a large place that wasn't overcrowded with anything, so the dust could easily lift faster then the other places in which the tower had landed. It wasn't safe to be around the rubble, but these Gaians had to find out what had happened to two of their beloved idols.

And they soon would find out, as something crawled weakly out of the water that lapped against the shore. It was a young man, his breath shallow and body weak from the events that had unfolded not too long ago. He was surprised himself that he had been able to survive a fall from such a high place and to be able to swim such a long distance away. It had taken him this long to get this distance from where he had fallen into the ocean, glad enough that the force in which he had fallen into the water had not killed him instantly. He knew he had several broken bones, more bruises then he could count, and perhaps a serious injury that he hoped wouldn't kill him.

It was here at the edge of water and land did he finally fall, rolling over onto his back as he breathed in the fresh air rather painfully. He wanted to loose all feeling in his body, even for just a few moments, so that he could rest and hope that everything was just a nightmare that he wanted to get out of. Staring up at the sky above him, he wanted to smile at the fact that he had survived this far, but there was nothing that he could smile about. Nothing that could make him happy at this moment, not with the pain that he felt in his heart. He had survived, but what about the one person that he cared about the most?

"Look, over there!" He heard someone shout, as he closed his eyes. There were people coming towards him, he knew of that, but whether or not they could reach him in time was something that he did not, as the pain overcame him and he passed out.