A/N: ATTENTION ALL READERS!

I have updated TWO CHAPTERS today in celebration of "Another Life, Another Me" reaching 100,000 views! Yay~

Please read the next chapter after this one!

Ok, enjoy the chapter~

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Ace POV

Cordelia.

I could sense her.

She was okay.

I shot through the air faster than my beating heart which was almost an impossible speed. Then, in the corner of my eye, I could see a glimmer of aqua hair.

A rush of relief flowed into my heart when I saw that she wasn't in any current danger.

In my hastiness to be near her, I almost tried to descend from the skies as fast as I could.

...But I stopped myself in time.

If I landed too fast, the impact might've killed Cordelia.

She was very...very weak after all.

All humans were weak and she wasn't an exception...

So, I followed my head and descended slowly to the ground near her.

When I could see her face, I felt...relief? Desperation? Fear? Disappointment in myself for not finding her sooner?

I wasn't sure of what I was feeling either.

...But...this strange emotion scared me.

And...when I say that my emotion was "scary," I didn't mean that I was scared of feeling this new emotion...

...I was...scared of what I would do if I lost control of my emotions.

My heart...wanted me to lock Cordelia away somewhere...somewhere I could see her all the time...somewhere safe...and to enjoy her company myself.

The humans...they couldn't protect Cordelia and, even if they tried, Cordelia still wouldn't be safe. They can't possibly keep Cordelia safe...only I could.

And if I wanted to hide her away for myself, I knew I could. I had enough power to do so. She would be safe...She would never be found by other people again.

She would only have me to be her company.

This was the emotion I was feeling.

But my mind told me that it was wrong.

I knew it was wrong.

So, I was scared.

The emotion I felt right now was scary.

I was scared of myself...

...Scared of what I had become.

And I knew...that I was feeling this way because of Cordelia...

...But...Why do I feel this way...?

...What do I even feel for Cordelia?

She was my only ally, my only partner, my only friend, my only family...and my savior.

She was the only person who saved me in my darkest times.

But even though I knew all of this...I didn't know why I felt so warm around her...

All I knew was...that...she was the most important person to me.

When I looked around the area where Cordelia was, I wasn't surprised to see the cracks in the ground and the debris scattered everywhere. I had already known that Cordelia was near the explosion.

But what surprised me was the bodies of two men lying on the ground.

Their legs were obviously disconnected to their bodies and they had various different scratches around their torso, arms, and face.

...Did Cordelia do this to them?

For some miracle, they were still breathing. Cordelia didn't kill anyone.

When I finished taking in the surroundings, I looked at Cordelia and froze.

Her...leg...it was...broken.

For a moment, I didn't know what to think. One of her legs was twisted backward and snapped at the joint.

Did she feel any pain?

Was she okay?

Why wasn't she saying anything...?

Just looking at her injury made me irritated...It was so frustrating.

Her leg was broken and there was no way that she could move by herself.

Why didn't she call for me sooner?!

Not only that but...there was the scent of another human on her.

The scent...didn't belong to one of the men on the ground...it belonged to another person...someone that I have never met before.

It was the scent of a little boy.

...But who...?

Judging by how awkwardly Cordelia was sitting, I assumed that she wasn't going to tell me anything about what happened.

I could feel my irritation rise.

I was upset that she was hurt, that she probably wouldn't tell me anything, and at myself for not finding her sooner.

If I had found her sooner...maybe...she wouldn't have gotten hurt. Maybe, nothing extreme would have happened.

I hated it.

While I was stiff in anger and surprise, Cordelia began to chuckle awkwardly to me.

Did she think this was funny...?!

"H-Hey there...buddy. Um...If it's possible...Can you not tell Dad what happened?" Cordelia stuttered in her signature sarcastic chuckle.

After everything that has happened, the first thing she says is...this...?

She doesn't even know how much I was worried about her...about how much I panicked when I realized when she was gone.

I hated it.

I hated it so much.

And I hated myself even more for being unable to hate her...for being unable to properly get angry at her...and for finding the sound of her voice so soothing to my ears.

"...Ace? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked with confusion when I didn't respond.

She looked up to me with her big sapphire eyes with worry clearly etched into her face.

It irritated me that she looked as if she was more worried for me than I was for her.

"...After getting yourself hurt...you're asking if I'm okay...?" I murmured out loud by accident.

I didn't mean for myself to retort back like this...but I couldn't stop myself.

"Don't worry! I still remember that if I die, you die too. So, you don't have to worry about me accidentally killing you...You can trust me," she replied with a cheery smile.

Her smile warmed my heart, but her words cut through my entire body like sharp knives.

I didn't care about my life. I didn't care about myself. I had already lost my "life" when I was a kid. Cordelia was the one who gave me a life.

At any moment, I was afraid she would break like some fragile piece of glass and that she would disappear.

I've never ever cared about myself before. My life has always been dedicated to her.

So how can she just assume that I was selfish enough to only care about me...?

"You don't understand anything, do you...!" I said with my voice raised slightly louder than normal.

"What do you mean?! It's a part of our contract that we will die at the same time, right?!" Cordelia responded with uncertainty in her smooth voice.

...At this point, I didn't care about a single thing about our contract.

Even without a contract, I would "die" if Cordelia died.

But her statement shocked me...Was this how Cordelia viewed me the whole time...?

I couldn't form the right words to stay for a long time.

And when I did, the words that I said were much harsher than I intended.

"...Do you think I even care about our stupid contract?!" I yelled in my frustration.

"...Are you okay, Ace?" she asked slowly.

"You..." I said without thinking.

Why does she not even understand why I hopelessly follow her? Why does she not understand how much I suffer every time something wrong happens to her?!

"What?" she asked while cocking her head to the side.

It was at this moment, that I lost all control of my actions. Anger consumed my body and I barely even thought about what I was doing.

...And I bit her just like a savage animal would.

I only had one thought in my head: "I need to turn human."

"OW! Why did you bite me?!" Cordelia yelled as she yelped in pain.

I could feel my body turn into a human. The transformation was kind of extreme. I gained feet, arms, a human head, and I grew taller....much taller.

There was no mirror that I could look at myself in, but I knew that I had definitely become a human boy.

When I saw Cordelia on the floor looking up at me while giving me a look of shock, I couldn't contain my anger.

"I'm sure my small bite doesn't hurt as much as your leg," I snarled at her.

My bite wouldn't kill her. In fact, I was sure that she could barely feel any pain from my bite.

...But...when I watched her blood flow from the wound that I inflicted on her, an unconscious part of me moved to action.

I immediately bent down and grabbed her hand to heal her.

...Even though I am so...so angry...why...Why can't I stop myself from caring about her...?

My complex emotions only made me angrier. It was as if my emotion kept piling up until I could barely contain them.

Cordelia...what are you doing to me...?

I grabbed onto her hand and began licking her wound away. The bite mark would heal much quicker if I applied my own saliva over it.

...But...even when her wound had completely healed with my help...I didn't want to let go of her hand. In fact, I could barely stop myself from pulling her whole body toward me.

I was becoming just like an animal.

It was so...scary.

"W-WOAH! HOLD UP THERE!" she yelled loudly in shock as I continued to heal her hand.

"Stay still...I need to heal the bite..." I murmured quietly.

Truthfully, the bite on her hand was long gone after the first lick...but for some reason that I couldn't understand, I didn't want to let go of her hand.

Maybe it was because I had almost lost her...and forgot about her...that I desperately wanted to keep her hand with me...

When I finally let go of her hand, I asked her a question that was weighing on my mind ever since I met her again.

"Be honest with me...Who do you consider me to be...?" I asked.

"That answer is obvious. You are undeniably my bestest friend and the person I trust most."

She answered me almost immediately.

Her answer was exactly as I was expecting her to say.

But...even though everything she said was absolutely correct...Even though she answered exactly the same thing I expected her to say...Even though I would have answered the same thing if she asked me the same question I had asked her...

...Something in my heart wrenched at her words.

Why...?

"...If you understand that...Why don't you understand this...?!" I yelled with my voice raised much louder than my usual.

At this point, even I was unsure of what I was saying.

Why was I so angry...?

Why did I feel the need to lock Cordelia away for myself...?

Why was I so irrational...?

Why did I feel this way to Cordelia...?!

"What are you even talking about?! I won't understand what you mean until you say it clearly!" Cordelia yelled back.

"...Why do you think I stay by your side!?" I yelled again through my clenched teeth.

It was at this moment...that I realized that I was scared...scared that Cordelia didn't need me. That she believed that my help was unnecessary.

"...So that I don't accidentally take you to death with me?" she answered in her sarcasm.

...This was not the time for her to be sarcastic...

"Be serious, please...Cordelia..." I asked her quietly.

Please...don't play with my heart.

It hurts.

It hurts to see you hurt...and it hurts to hear your words.

"...What's going on, Ace?! Why are you acting like this?!" she yelled again.

"...I see...You won't tell me how you feel..." I said slowly.

"...Ace...?"

I didn't know whether she was purposely trying to ignore the question or not, but either way, her words still felt like prickling needles.

After all this time...she never once considered how much I cared for her...how much I desperately needed her.

I think...I was the only one...who thought that...I deserved to be by her side...

"Hey...Cordelia...I'm sorry," I said as I felt my heart crumble away.

"...What?"

"Let's just go back, okay?"

I tried to ignore the conversation...I was a coward.

I didn't want to hear another word that would come out of her lips.

But before I could escape...before I could run away...she used her small hands to grab onto mine.

"You're not going anywhere, Ace," she said with an air of defiance.

A part of me wished that she would let go...but the other part of me was relieved...that she was stubborn enough to force me to stay.

"I'm being serious. What were you trying to say?! Just tell me!" she yelled in her impatience.

There was so much...so much...I wanted to tell her. But the words could never leave my mouth.

I wanted to tell her that she was important to me.

...that she was my savior...

...that she was my only ally and friend...

...that my life belonged to her...

...that she was my everything...

...that I couldn't live without her...

...that...there was so much I couldn't even tell her.

"...Cordelia...Everything we've been through together...And...You...Just..." I murmured the only words I could form.

"I don't understand why you are so mad at me!" she yelled while frowning in her irritation.

Truthfully, I wasn't sure why I was angry at her either.

She was alive and was safe from harm...but for some reason...I was still mad at her for leaving me...I was mad at her for getting herself hurt...even though none of it was her fault.

"First, you disappear. Then, I sense an explosion within the capital. And when you finally call for me...I see you hurt...and...!" I tried to explain through my desperation.

But the words I wanted to say were never spoken out loud. Instead, the words I wish I could say resonated in my head, my heart, and my soul.

"So what...? I don't see the problem. As long as I'm alive, everything is okay," she said nonchalantly.

These words...they infuriated me.

They irritated me to no end.

Did she not value her own life...?!

Does she not care whether she became injured...while I dreaded the thought of her getting a single scratch...?

I was angry.

I wanted to burn the entire capital in my anger, which was completely possible with my power.

If she gave me the order, I would dispose of the capital.

...But then...I realized how pitiful I was...how foolish I have been.

I was just like a puppet.

I was willing to be used, hurt, and disposed of for her sake...and yet...she didn't even care about her own life.

But what made me feel even worse about myself...was the fact that even though I knew I was her puppet...I was completely fine with being used.

For her sake, even if she would ultimately become my downfall, I would offer her my mind...my heart...my life...my soul.

And even though I would offer my everything to her...she wouldn't even value her life as much as I valued her's.

After years of staying with her, she never even considered how much I valued her life.

Unconsciously, tears flowed from my eyes.

"A-Ace...? Ace are you okay?!" Cordelia asked in worry.

"I'm scared, Cordelia...What if....." I murmured through my salty tears.

"What are you talking about, Ace?"

"I-I..." I stuttered.

"What! Just tell me already, idiot! I want to make you feel better, stupid. So, just tell me!!" Cordelia yelled at me.

...Just like always...her ways of comforting people were awful.

".........What if one day...you get hurt...and there's nothing I can do to save you...? What if one day, you disappear forever? What if you become permanently injured and can't even manage to smile anymore...?"

The words that were trapped in my chest spilled out.

"That isn't going to happen, Ace," she said with a certainty that I couldn't trust.

"But what if it does!?!? What will I do if it does?!?! I'm much weaker than you think I am, Cordelia. Without you...I don't even know where I would be now..."

"Even without me, I'm sure you woul-"

"Without you, I would be dead," I said sharply with a grim air.

"You're over exaggerating. I know I saved you when we were little...but to be completely honest...I think you would still have survived even without me..."

...No...No...No...

I wouldn't have survived.

I'm sure I would have killed myself...to escape from the torture that was living.

My world was black. It was pointless.

Life had hurt me. It had stabbed me mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Life was worthless to me.

...The only person who gave me life...who gave me light...was you...

"How can you just say that...?"

"What?"

"Am I just some stray animal you picked up out of curiosity? ...Am I just a burden to you...?" I spat out.

I felt my chest tighten and the feeling of despair creep in throughout my soul. My throat twist and my heart wrenched in pain.

"No...No...I've never thought of you as a burden," Cordelia replied with some sort of realization that what she said was wrong...so wrong...

"At this point...I'm not sure anymore..." I said truthfully.

Did Cordelia even care for me?

She didn't even care for herself...so how could she possibly care for me...?

I turned away from her and slowly transformed myself back into my dragon form.

Using my wind magic, I gently lifted her into the air.

"Where are we going???" she questioned loudly.

"We're going back to the others," I said with a sad smile.

I used a little of my magic to stop the bleeding of the two incapacitated men on the ground and restored the area around us.

"We can't go back to the others yet though! You haven't said anything," she said as she struggled to release herself from my magic.

"No...we're going back...There's nothing left to talk about...and your leg hurts...right?" I asked with a shaky sigh.

She couldn't say anything back.

I almost chuckled in my pitiful situation.

Even though I was upset with her, I couldn't stop myself from caring about her health.

It was...funny...right...?

It was if Cordelia was a silky...intricate spider web that was entangled in completely.

There was no escape.

No matter how much she hurt me...I would still care for her. Even if she abused me and destroyed my heart...my mind...my soul...I would still always come back to her...

She had tamed me thoroughly.

It was too late for me to leave her.

I had already become too enchanted by Cordelia.

I had already fallen in love.

...And it never hurt so much.

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A/N: Part of me feels extremely bad for making Ace this way...Sorry! There's still a lot of the storyline that I haven't gone through yet, so all Ace x Cordelia shippers...Please don't kill me yet...

The next chapter is in Cordelia's POV, so please go read it! I updated TWO chapters today because...

..."Another Life, Another Me" has reached...

100K VIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!



Anyway, I was actually prepared for the milestone this time~ I've been keeping tabs on the view count ever since it reached 95k~

And now that it has happened...

...I feel so...so...so...So...So...So...SO...SO...SO...

...ACCOMPLISHED AND HAPPY!

But before I start sounding conceited to everyone, I'd like to say my thank-you's to absolutely everyone who contributed to this story.

Really...I wouldn't have become so happy without everyone.

So...

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY READERS! I LOVE YOU ALL!

You guys always manage to make my bleak days extremely exciting~

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY VOTERS! I LOVE YOU ALL!

You guys always manage to give me some actual confidence in my writing skills~

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY COMMENTERS! I LOVE YOU ALL!

You guys always manage to make me laugh and feel fuzzy inside~

So thank you so much, everyone, for reading/voting/commenting!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 3249