When Light fades, Darkness weeps.

Lear looked at the glittering river, calm, while Umbre replied, "Exactly. I'm sorry if I freaked you out back there. I was only checking something, you see?" Umbre turned his head to his sister, but she wasn't looking, and it was better for her to be that way. "Lear's been working for months to try and find a way to get me a body. There were possible options, such as transferring, bending the rules, reincarnation... They all failed. All we managed to do was only bring me one quarter of the way to your world," Umbre explained quietly.

I can check through all my mother's old spellbooks and see if there's something. She used to be a healer. She might have some sort of spell to bring back people who are only part way dead. Archangel mused, thinking seriously (probably for the first time in her life).

Umbre's and tensed on Archangel's. "I don't think it would work, honestly," Umbre answered sadly, "Lear tried many, many healing and reincarnation spells... She even did small sacrifices for some... Lear explained to me what she thought I am, and she based her spells off that. I am an entity, half way through life and death phases, able to interact with the, or most, beings of the life phase, and she qualified me as a 'magical sacrifical half-reincarnation'."

Did she try demonic magic? Archangel asked, Because, by the looks of it, she doesn't have demonic magic...

Umbre thought for a bit. He turned his head sideways, thinking. "Well," he began answering, "Demonic magic sounds a lot like unholy magic to me, no offense." Umbre continued, "You see, Lear used many types of magic. Elemental, holy, invocation, evocation, sacrificial, religious, unholy... I think she used others, too..."

Archangel smiled.
Well, anything's worth a shot, right? She said before thinking to herself, That's what Shadow used to do.

"Yes," Umbre answered, lifting his head, "Yes, anything's worth a shot... Lear needs to get me back to my original state. We need to try it. But... how?" Umbre asked, being pessimistic again.

Archangel faltered.
I don't know... She answered, but then brightened. But my sister would!

"Sister?" Umbre repeated as an answer. He faltered for a moment, but then lightened up. "Your sister would know what to do? Great! We just need to... Call... Her... In some way," Umbre commented, sighing slightly.

Archangel broke the contact, taking a small mirror-like pendant from under her shirt.
"Yo, Onyx?" She asked the pendant, which then glowed slightly, showing a black-haired version of Archangel.
"What's up Arc? Where are you anyway?"
"Don't ask dumb questions, you can track me. Anyways, I have a little challenge for you, brainbox."
"On my way..."

Lear turned around, and looked at Archangel, listening carefully. She wondered why Archangel was talking to her necklace, and why was the necklace answering. Lear thought it would be some kind of cellphone, or something. Umbre shifted, listening to the conversation attentively. Arc... He thought. Arc?

Within moments of Archangel putting the necklace away, another girl appeared by the river, smiling.
"You rang?" She asked jokingly.
"Yes, I did..." Archangel replied.

Lear looked up at the new girl, tilting her head very slightly. She stood up cautiously, and looked at the newcomer, who looked almost just like Archangel. Umbre began imitating Lear's movements again, not sure of the new girl's intents.

"Don't worry, this is my twin, Onyx," Archangel said. "Brainbox, this is Lear, and her shadow-dead-brother, Umbre."
Onyx bowed formally, respecting the rules of conduct that Archangel nearly always forgot.

Lear bowed back hesitantly, not having ever done before, out of shyness. Umbre, having been discovered, threw his imitations away, and tilted his head to the side. It was hard to bow when you were flat. Lear looked up at the so-called Onyx.

Onyx smiled at the two.
"What's the puzzle?" She asked her sister.
"Finding a way to revive the not-quite-dead brother." Arcangel said.
"Hm... That'll take some research," Onyx said as a wide grin spread over her face.
"I knew you'd be happy to do it."

Umbre felt uncomfortable as he saw the girl have a gigantic grin on her face. He stepped once backwards, his dark aura spreading slightly. Lear calmed himself down, by murmuring something to him, one hand laid out, palm facing the shadow. Umbre stopped, and began looking at the two females again.

Onyx put two and two together and wiped the grin off her face.
"I'm sorry..." She said quietly.
"Onyx gets excited at the thought of big research pojects." Archangel explained.

Lear tilted her head slightly. "You're thinking of trying to revive my half-dead brother?" She asked. She looked at the darkness, which moved elegantly on the grass, tilting his head one way, and then the other. He looked at the two demons, then back at Lear, then back at the two demons, comparing precisely.

"Well, we're gonna try," The twins said in unison before looking at each other, smiling. It had been a long time since they had said something in unison like that. It felt good to reassert their twinness.

Lear shivered slightly, looking frightened at the two. She put a hand up to her forehead. "Sorry," she excused herself, "Having people talk like that gives me the creeps... Reminds me of my parents, somehow..." She looked up at the two. "And how do you thnk you'll manage?" Lear asked, "I mean, I've tried many ways up to now..."

"Hey, you've got a brainbox and a prankster at your service!" Archangel said.
"AKA, we normally find a way around things," Onyx added in explination.

"I've tried to bend the rules of magic," Lear commented, "It didn't work. I only managed to barely touch Umbre with my own hands before he sank back into the earth, as a shadow again..." Lear's face darkened, and she put a hand up to it. She needed to find a way to get Umbre back. Anything would do. "I'm listening," she replied.

Archangel and Onyx looked at each other before summoning identical orbs of dark green back.
"We can wield magic in many ways, and our uncle is a very skilled healer. We should be able to find a way," Onyx said.

Lear smiled, tilting her head to one side. She straightened, and held out one hand also, murmuring a series of words. The tree branches swayed delicately, as a white sphere appeared, gathered from small orbs comin from nowhere, over her hand. It levitated gently over Lear's hand, a few drops of light falling onto Lear's open palm. "I'll be able to help you," she whispered.