Masuda stared glumly out the window.  Grey clouds that had been menacing
all day had just decided to rain down as he was due to leave.  The dark skies
outside made the yellow light filling his room seem utterly artificial and
uncomfortable.

     Deciding that he wasn't in any particular hurry to be driving in these
conditions, Masuda checked to see if there was anything he could do before
heading home.  His eyes fell upon one item on his To Do list.  Miyamae Kyoko.
The girl and the mystery around her had been at the back of his mind all day.

     Masuda had tried calling the Miyamae household several times earlier in
the day, but nobody had picked up.  Apparently they didn't have an answering
machine either.  He was able now to recall the number from memory as he
cradled the phone between his shoulder and his chin and dialed it.

     To the principal's surprise, the phone was answered after four rings.
"Hello?" a woman's voice said on the other end.

     "Hello," Masuda said, trying to use an authoritative voice.  "Is this...
Miyamae Iku?"

     "Speaking," Kyoko's mother responded.

     "This is Principle Masuda Kouji of Minatoyo High School."  Masuda
paused.  What did he want to ask, anyways?  He'd just say the usual things
(why they transferred, how they had liked the school) and leave it to her to
mention anything unusual.  "I'm calling regarding the transfer of your
daughter, Kyoko."

    There was a pause.  When Mrs. Miyamae did talk, her voice sounded
strained.  "Kyoko...didn't transfer."

    "Pardon," the principal asked, intrigued.

    "She...disappeared."  Masuda could tell the woman on the other end of the
line was fighting back tears.  "Apparently she got involved with some bad
kids and...I guess she ran off with them."

    "I'm sorry to hear that," the principal said, trying to come across as
sympathetic.  "Did you call the police?"

    "No," Kyoko's mother said, her distraught voice taking on a strangely
defensive tone.  "I just hope she'll come home on her own volition.  That is,
if she's still alive."

    Masuda wondered what she was thinking.  Kyoko could be kidnapped, or dead
and...The mother's weeping made the principal feel guilty for the past
thought.  "Listen, I'm sorry to bring it up.  If there's anything I can do
for you..."

    "Wait," Mrs. Miyamae said, beginning to gather some strength in her
voice.  "We never filled out a transfer form or anything.  Why did you think
she had transferred?"

    A good question.  Masuda paused.  "Er, I really don't know...must have
just been a clerical error.  I'm sorry for bringing it up.  Er...goodbye."
Stunned, Masuda hung up the phone.

    It was as if it was all some kind of puzzle that was just on the edge of
his grasp.  The disappearances of all the teens, the seeming abundance of
clerical errors...and there were other things, things Masuda couldn't quite
put a finger on, that were just off.

    Like those vases.

=====


Nightmare Fighter Yumeko


Chapter 14: Escalating


=====

    Perched atop a tall building, a slim man looked down upon the city.  Cool
rain slid down his cloak.  This rain didn't bother him.  In fact it
invigorated him, refreshed him.

    Fable chuckled.  "The dream world is becoming closer to the physical
world.  This storm is made of dreams as much as air and water."  Laughing to
no one in particular, he walked off the building and into the clouds,
vanishing into the night.

=====

    Misako stood in the middle of a hospital hallway, blinking and wondering
how she had gotten there.  People moved past her, hurrying on in their lives.
Their voices seemed to mesh together, becoming one indiscernible roar around
her.

    Misako started walking around, the air around her feeling faintly
surreal.  Nurses rushed by, sometimes carrying patients on stretchers.
Misako looked down at one of them.

   It was Yumeko.  She was wearing some kind of black dress, and a pendant
hung around her neck.  Blood gushed from a cut in her head, her black hair
stained red.  Her head rested on its side, eyes closed peacefully as she
bled.

   Misako turned away, trying to avert nausea.  The roar of sounds around her
began to become one single tune, a rapid beat.  Like a human heart, Miwako
couldn't help but thinking.  She was suddenly very cold.

   Another familiar body passed by on a stretcher.  It was Miwako.  The girl
lay flat on her back, her breathing shallow and ragged.  She was wearing some
kind of armour.  Misako gasped as she realized that Miwako's left arm was all
but amputated, hanging on by a thread of flesh.  The pulsing rhythm around
her grew more rapid.

   And then it stopped.  Miwako's eyes closed and her body rested.  Tears
welled in Misako's eyes.  No...it couldn't be...but how?

   Overcome with grief, Misako stumbled down another corridoor.  Blue mist
clung to the floor, creating a strange kind of floating feeling.  The
utilitarian white architecture of the hospital had faded into a strange
ancestral passageway.

   Misako felt the pace of her footsteps increase.  There was an opening at
the end of the hallway.  She stepped through the strange archway into a
circular chamber.  There were six daises arranged in a circle, each one with
a unique set of engravings.  As if entranced, Misako stepped onto the closest
one.

   There were people on the other daises, people she knew.  Directly across
from her was Keiji.  Also in the circle were Yumeko, Miwako, Seiko and
Takuya.  The six were all staring ahead, as if waiting for someone to speak.

    Finally, Seiko lifted her hand.  Miwako's dais exploded into light.
Misako cried out, but made no sound.  Miwako fell down into the mists, her
mouth twisted into a silent 'o'.

=====

    Miwako gasped silently as the dais beneath her crumbled to dust, sending
the girl into the depths of the mist below.  Wait a minute...why was there
mist below her?  The numbness she had been feeling raced away, filling her
with confusion.

    She had been fighting a dream monster.  It had started to run away, then
when she had chased it she had ended up in that hallway leading to the room
with the daises.  And then the others...Had they really been there?   Or was
it just a part of the dream?  Miwako wasn't sure of anything nowadays.

    She emerged from the fog bank with out warning, tumbling into Tokyo at
nighttime.  Strangely, she wasn't falling anymore.  She floated over the
streets, watching the cars and people go by.

    One car was familiar to Miwako.   Unconciously, she drifted towards it.
Red, 1996 model...Miwako's gut lurched.  This was the one.  Inside it, a
brown-haired man drove, and a pretty little girl--his daughter--rode in the
passenger seat.  They were laughing, joking...

    All of a sudden a speedy black car sped down the road, weaving in and out
of traffic despite protests from other drivers.  It darted past the red car
and in front of the bus in the next lane.  The bus driver, startled by the
car's rapid motion, pressed down on the horn while swerving out of the way.

    Miwako turned her head away, but she couldn't keep out the screech of
brakes and the sound of metal clashing with metal.  She glanced back against
her best instincts and saw the small red car crumpled up between a traffic
median and the bus.

    A cry echoed through the night, a cry of pain and fear.  Miwako knew the
voice it belonged to, Arai Wazuka.  She would live, but never walk again
after that night.  Her father--Miwako's father--wouldn't see another sunrise.

    Miwako found her eyes watering.  She began to float away from the scene
of the accident.  She focused her sadness into taking her as far away from
that terrible memory as possible, forcing herself further and further away.

    Then she fell.  No longer suspended in the air, the Dream Warrior flailed
her arms as she dropped towards the earth like a stone.  She saw something
glimmering in the air...a rift?  Then she hit the ground.

    Miwako woke up in a cold sweat, clutching her pillow.  Another dream.
No, it didn't seem right to call them dreams now that they had proved they
were very real.  But there was no better word.

    Miwako raised herself from her bed and got up, rubbing her eyes.  There
had been a rift in the dream...was that a sign that there was one there in
real life?  Or was it just a jumble of thoughts that had worked its way into
her dream?

    She wished Hiro were still here.  Even if he had been a bit zealous, he
had always helped her make sense of a world which had recently turned insane.
He would know whether to take her dream seriously.

    Shaking off thoughts of remorse, Miwako got up and checked the clock.
3:42.  The timing was certainly inconvenient.  But she had to be sure.
Sighing, she swiftly and quietly changed into a pair of street clothes--a
skill acquired from several recent late-night emergencies.

    Snapping her brooch onto her right wrist, Miwako walked softly through
the apartment.  She stopped as she heard the sounds of a television program
in the living room.  Cautiously, she poked her head in.

    Wazuka lay on the couch, her wheelchair sitting vacant nearby.  She
watched the program with leaden eyes, only vaguely interested.  "Hey,
niichan," she said flatly, turning her head to look at Miwako.  "I couldn't
sleep.  Where are you going?"

    "Er...I can't tell you," Miwako whispered.  "But it's important.  Please
don't tell Mom."

    Wazuka smiled slightly.  "Sure, go ahead."  Since the accident, the
twelve-year-old girl had become much more introverted and independent.

    "Thanks," Miwako whispered, smiling as she slid on her shoes and slipped
on a jacket--it was getting a bit chilly.  Hoping it was nothing, she headed
out.

=====

    Yumeko stood in the circle of daises, taking note of the events around
her but not really paying attention.  She felt sleepy.  Like the physical
world around her was fading away.  She didn't speak, didn't move--it would
break the kind of reverence that this place commanded.

    And then suddenly it was over.  Yumeko blinked.  Nothing had change...but
the feeling of sleepiness, of reverence was gone.

    A figure cloaked in shadow was prowling around above her.  Wait...there
was a stone roof above her.  How...where...

    All of a sudden, all of the craziness caught up to her.  The whole thing
was surreal, like some kind of bad anime.  Everything she had ever known had
been turned upside down in a matter of days.  Yumeko cried out and fell to
her knees.

    "Afraid?" a voice, amused, mocking, cried out.  "Why are you so puzzled
by dreams?"  She knew that voice...from somewhere...

    Then the voice began chanting.  "Ef ţú ráfa í draumur/The skrýtinn
arkitektúr ţú vilja sjá/Kastali af von og ógurlegur/Međ forstofa af ást og
hatur."  The words seemed strangely familiar to Yumeko, but she couldn't
fathom their meaning.

    An almost tangible power filled the air as the stranger continued.  "Nú
ţessir sex vilja leyfi this stađur/Til hvor hans eiga örlög/Til hitta aftur í
annar veröld farđu!/Veggur, koma fram!"

    The earth shook.  From the ground in front of her there arose two walls,
slicing her off from the others.  Somebody screamed.

    Then everything was eerily still.  Yumeko cautiously raised herself to
her knees.  Mentally, she chided herself for the outburst.  Things were
weird.  But she could deal with them.  She had to.

    Yumeko turned around.  The corner she was in extended into a plain stone
hall.  About thirty feet down, it opened up into a grander area which she
could not see.  She noted dully that she was wearing her Nightmare Fighter
uniform.

    She stepped forward, through the opening.  Yumeko was in a gladiatorial
arena.  In the stands around her where thousands of shadows, dark shrouds
whispering in a barely audible way.  Yumeko glanced around, feeling
overwhelmed.  What was going on?

    Something snaked around her left ankle.  Yumeko cried out as she was
pulled off her feet, her face hitting the dirt.  Twisting around, she saw a
monster, a seething mass of chains and iron.  Fear seized Yumeko for a
moment, then she steeled herself for battle.

    The creature jerked the chain around Yumeko's ankle, dragging her towards
it.  Its metal-coated, canine face snapped hungrily.  Yumeko raised her
scepter in self-defense.  A tendril of darkness hissed out from her scepter
and grasped the tentacle holding her, stopping its pull.

    Yumeko stood up again.  Another chain flew at her, matched by a tentacle
of darkness to hold it back.  And so it went that with every chain the
monster threw, Yumeko countered with a tendril, until all of the metallic
creature's chains were held in mid-air.

    And then the monster jerked its chains back behind it, dragging the
tendrils and Yumeko forward.  The Nightmare Fighter fought to stay on her
feet.  The monster's canine mask lunged at her, eyeslits glowing red, oily
drool dripping down its hungry jaw.

    The Nightmare Fighter twisted out of the way, the monster's jaws clamping
down on her shoulder.  Yumeko winced as pain shot through her body.  Her
concentration faltered, and the tendrils of darkness faded into shadows.

    Chains flew at her in a swarm, wrapping her body.  The creature held
her at arm's length, slowly twisting the last chain around her neck.  Her
scepter had been flung out of her hand and lay on the sandy ground.  The
shadowy forms around her hissed and cheered.

    A dark tentacle reached out of the end of her scepter--towards Yumeko.
The Nightmare Fighter was confused when it wrapped around her hand, until she
realized she could control it through this.

    Drawing on all her strength, Yumeko whisked the scepter up into the air.
"Power of the dream realm...close the pathways...deny the strength..."  The
incantation was drawing out the last of Yumeko's breath, but she held on.
"Remove your favor...from this unclean one!"

    Yumeko's head slumped forward, almost choked, as the ray of darkness
blasted out at her enemy.  It struck the monster in the centre of its iron
forehead.  A metallic screech filled the air as the head shattered.

    With nothing to control them, the chains slumped to the ground, releasing
Yumeko.  She fell to the ground, gasping for air.  The chains took serpentine
form and slithered into the ground.  The crowd of specters hissed angrily,
then faded away into blackness.

    Yumeko blinked.  She was kneeling on her bed, dressed in full Nightmare
Fighter garb.  Fearful, she glanced over at her shoulder.  Blood leaked from
it, the holes in her flesh in the pattern of canine teeth.

=====

    The blue mist swirled around close to the ground, chilling Miwako's legs.
She was in the spot she had saw in the dream...but nothing was there.  Why
had she had to come here?  Maybe sometimes dreams were just dreams.

    Or maybe not.  Something in the sky caught Miwako's eyes.  A blue bolt,
like lightning, struck something in the air.  It plummeted to the earth, near
Miwako.

    The Dream Warrior approached it cautiously.  A humanoid figure lay
sprawled on the ground, a vague burning smell filling the air.  A flash of
lightning revealed its identity: it was Chie, laying unconscious on the
ground.  She was halfway between her human and bird forms, twitching
spastically.

    A blue mist poured out of Chie's ears.  Miwako jumped away reflexively.
The mist seemed to form a veil around Miwako and Chie, shielding them from
the rest of the storm.  An eerie, dream-like feeling enveloped Miwako.

    Chie began to murmur something, her lips moving subtly.  Miwako leaned
closer to the guardian, curious.  "Chie...remembers..."

    And then Miwako was in Chie's head, in her mind, in her memories...

=====

    Chie walked forward into the chamber, eager.  She clutched Hiro's hand in
her own.  Today was the day.  Miwako, half part of Chie's conciousness and
half part of her own, realized that this was the same chamber she had dreamed
herself in.

    "I do not know why you're so eager," Hiro said.  He looked the same as he
had in his human form, except he was wearing a strange suit of armor.  Chie
wore an archaic gown, the hem swishing slightly as she moved.

    "Are you not excited, Hiro?" Chie asked, clutching onto the boy's arm.
"It just seems so big and powerful.  I can't wait."  The words sounded
different in a way that Miwako couldn't place.

    "Yes, but at the cost of responsibility," Hiro said.  There were four
others their age, standing behind the daises.  "Let us go."

    Hiro and Chie stood behind the two remaining daises.  Miwako realized
that, in her dream, she had been standing on the one that Hiro was behind
now.  And the one that Chie was behind...well, Seiko had been standing on
that one.

    A tall, muscular man entered.  No...'man' seemed too dimunitive a term for
his presence.  He had no left eye, only an empty socket.  A long black beard
made him look even more frightening.  Everything seemed so much more silent
in his presence.

    "Rise," the man said in a deep voice, the single word ringing of
authority.  The six stepped onto the daises almost in unison, their heads
bowed.

    The man spoke again, causing Miwako to shiver.  "By taking this oath, the
six who have gathered here today shall become servants of the Aesir, chosen
to aid the Warriors of Dreams and project the powers of the Dream Realm
forevermore.  This heit ég sverja."  The meaning of the last sentence hovered
on the edge of Miwako's consciousness, just out of reach...

    "This heit ég sverja," each of the six repeated.  Then there was an
explosion of light and Miwako was thrown out of that dream and into another.

=====

    It had been millennia since that vow had been taken.  She had guided
countless warriors in that time.  Some had succeeded, some had died for the
cause.  But throughout the millennia her love for Hiro, Hiro's need for her
had remained, an island in a storm.

    Now Chie found herself in a Japanese shrine.  She knew nothing about the
gods they were dedicated to, but that was not important.  Her present charge
was a young priestess named Etsuko, Holy Dream Fighter.  The Loki Cult had
come calling.

    Chie perched on a statue, instructing Etsuko as she dodged the
sword-wielding, masked cultist's blade.  "Hold on, Holy Dream Fighter!  You
have to transform!"  But Chie knew it couldn't be easy with constant pressure
from the cultist.

    The cultist switched tactics suddenly, swinging with one broad, sideways
strike.  Etsuko flew across the shrine, coming to a brutal halt on the
ground.  The swordsman approached, ready to finish her off.

    If only she could transform...Chie knew, suddenly, that Etsuko would die
if she didn't do anything.

    Gulping as much as a bird could, Chie launched herself from the statue
and flew at the cultist, talons outstretched.  The cultist swiveled in
surprise.  But he gained his balance soon, and in a flash of steel the bird
fell to the shrine's ground, defiling it with her gushing blood.

    "No!  Chie!"  Etsuko cried out, racing to her fallen familiar.

    "Stop...transform..." Chie cried weakly as her vision faded to black.
The last thing she ever heard was Etsuko's scream.  She had failed...
"Hiro..."

=====

    Pale lights.  Some kind of chanting, the words indiscernible but
intimidating.  And she was being dragged out of Hel, removed from her long
imprisonment, her mind fragmented by the transition.

    But...she was back in the land of the living.  Another chance...she could
meet Hiro!  Chie sat up, now in her human form, naked.  "Where is Chie?"

    "Easy, Guardian," a soothing, female voice answered.  "You are safe
here."  She was in a dark room, lit by candles, with several dark-robed
figures standing around her.  A woman sat next to her, putting her arm around
Chie.  "I am Shigin.  I have brought you back, to be with your beloved."

    "Chie and Hiro can be together again?" Chie asked hopefully.

    "Of course," Shigin assured her.  "Together forever."

=====

    Miwako came out of Chie's memory, feeling as if she had just awoken from
a vivid dream.  She looked around, momentarily disoriented.  The veil of mist
was washing away, exposing her and Chie to the storm again.  The mist came
together again and formed a cloud above Chie.

    Small blue sparks crackled along Chie's body.  Miwako stood up,
startled--she hadn't noticed when she had started kneeling.  Chie murmured
again.  "But Hiro would not be Chie's.  Hiro was Miwako's.  Damnable
Miwako..."

    The mist floating above Chie condensed into a physical form.  It seemed
to be a super-deformed version of Miwako, standing three feet tall with a
giant head.  This chibi-Miwako's face was twisted into a menacing expression.
"Hiro is mine, Hiro is mine," the creature cackled.

    "What the--" Miwako muttered before the monster launched itself at her.
Miwako jumped out of the way, barely dodging Chibi-Miwako's strike.  The trip
down memory lane had rapidly turned into a brawl with this creature out of
Chie's nightmares.

    Miwako's shield glowed and grew to full size as her street clothes
changed to full armor. Chibi-Miwako flew at her again like a rocket.  Miwako
raised her shield in defense, and Chibi-Miwako bounced off of it, spinning
around in a comic fashion.

    Miwako almost laughed as she held out her free hand.  "Power of the Dream
Realm, grant me the weapon needed to purge the land of this unclean one."
Her gleaming sword formed, her hand grasping the hilt.

    Chibi-Miwako rushed at her again, and this time she countered.  With one
slash, she sliced the doll in half.  The shattered, almost porcelain remains
lay on the ground, a dull whisper escaping them.

    A similarly deformed version of Hiro, in bird form, swooped at Miwako.
"I love Miwako, I hate Chie," Chibi-Hiro muttered.  Miwako swiped at him, but
he flew out of the way.

    This seemed so wrong to Miwako.  Chie was a bird guardian, like Hiro.
She was supposed to guard the Dream Fighters, not hate them.  She didn't know
where this belief came from, it just...seemed right.

    "Stop it!" Miwako cried.  "You have a duty!  I'm sure Hiro loved you, but
you can't obsess over someone like that!  He's dead, goddamnit!"  Realizing
what she had just said, Miwako clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too
late.

    Chibi-Hiro disappeared.  "Hiro...dead?" Chie muttered.

=====

    Seiko was in some kind of bar.  Rowdy music filled the air, and several
patrons swung their mugs of ale along with it.  The tavern was lit only by
lanterns and candles.  Feeling slightly confused, Seiko found an empty table
and sat down.

    There were two chairs for the small wooden table.  On it was a
chessboard, paused in mid-game.  Seiko peered at it curiously.  She didn't
know much about chess, but she was pretty sure there weren't supposed to be
red pieces.

    "Hello, Seiko," a voice said.  A girl with short, raven-black hair and
pale skin sat down across from her.  She had talked to this girl before, she
remembered.

    "You again," Seiko snarled.  "What do you want this time?"

    "I am pleased to hear you have accepted our proposal," the girl
responded.  "However, being a part of the Loki Cult is not merely an excuse
to gain power.  You must further our needs.  Luckily, killing Hiro did help
us."

    "Listen, I don't care about your cult," Seiko snapped back.  "All I want
is revenge, okay?"

    "And revenge you shall have," the girl chuckled.  "But don't you want to
know who you should seek vengeance against first?"

    "You know?" Seiko questioned.  The girl nodded, smiling eerily.  "Then
why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

    The girl waved her hand casually.  "It was not time yet.  But I am
telling you now."  She picked up a piece from the board and handed it to
Seiko.

    In her hand, the red bishop morphed into another shape.  It was Kobayashi
Yumeko.  "Kobayashi..." Seiko growled.  "I'll kill her."  She clenched the
fist that she held the figure in, and it crumbled to dust.

    "Ah yes," the girl said.  "Just like your brother.  But he failed."
Seiko raised her fist, ready to punish the girl.  "Only because he
underestimated the Nightmare Fighter.  However, I have some ideas to prevent
similar failure..."

=====

    Keiji was back at the movie theater, coming out after seeing the End of
Eva movie.  This was an odd place to be again.  He knew he was dreaming, but
his dreams had been getting stranger lately.

    Now Hiro was approaching Yumeko again.  "Kobayashi-san!"

    In an eerily familiar way, Yumeko asked, "Takeda-san, wasn't it?  Takeda
Hiro?"

    "That's right.  I need to talk to you."

    Yumeko blinked again.  "...Well, all right.  Go ahead."

    Hiro looked around, in...a furtive manner.  "Alone."

    Yumeko gave Keiji a bewildered look.  "Uh...about what?"

     "Not here!" Hiro hissed.  "Please!  It's very important!"  Keiji realized
that he had a chance to learn what Hiro had said that day.  Hiro's earlier
answer hadn't seemed exactly honest.

     "All right," Yumeko said.  Keiji remained silent as Hiro pulled her off
to an ally, then slowly followed them.  Flattening himself against a wall, he
began to listen to their conversation.

     "...and rule the world through the power over evil dreams," Hiro was
saying.

     "What the HELL are you talking about?"

     "Please, you must listen!" Hiro cried.

     "All right, I'm listening!" Yumeko yelled back.  "Say something that
makes sense!"

     "You're destined to become a magical girl and help defend the Dream
Realm!"

     "A *magical girl*?  Oh come on, that's the most--"

     "Do you remember Kyoko?" Hiro replied flatly.

     "Uh...Miyamae Kiyoko?"

     "Yes."

     "...uh...I didn't know her.  Actually, I kind of thought she was too...
how do I put this...cutesy?  Wait, weren't you dating her before she moved
away?"

     "I was her spirit guide, as I am destined to be yours."

     "Hey, I don't need a boyfriend."

     "Will you SHUT UP!  Kyoko was sent to the realm of Hel!"

     "You mean...she's dead?"

     "I...don't know.  The only thing I know is that those who are sent to
the realm of Hel never, ever come back."

     Yumeko was silent for a moment.  "...so...you mean...she was the magical
girl, and got...uh...defeated?"

     "Exactly."

     "And so you need me."

     "Yes."

     The dream seemed to melt into a realm of mist.  A man wearing a
harlequin mask stood in front of him now.  "Hmm...interesting..."  Then Keiji
woke up.

     Keiji sat up in bed and shook his head.  That was strange.  Yumeko as a
magical girl?

=====

     "Hiro...dead?"  Chie's eyes were wide open now, but Miwako could tell
she still wasn't awake.

     "Yes," Miwako said softly.  "I tried to save him, but I just-"

     "Hiro was alive before he met Miwako," Chie muttered, any trace of sanity
missing from her voice.  "Hiro would be alive if it weren't for Miwako."

     "No, I..."  But what Chie was saying struck Miwako to her core.  Those
very same worries had been eating away at Miwako since Hiro's death.

     "Miwako killed Hiro!" Chie exclaimed.  Had she?  "Chie hates Miwako!"  A
ghostly image appeared in the mist, of Hiro--in his human form--laying on the
ground, bleeding to death.  A tear slipped from Miwako's eye.

     The blood welled up and formed a grim sphere.  Miwako stepped back.  Was
this another one of Chie's nightmare creatures?  "Chie will kill Miwako!"
The sphere changed into a humanoid shaped formed purely of blood.

     The blood-man lunged at Miwako, who quickly responded by slicing him in
half with her sword.  However, the two halves quickly reconnected and lunged
again.  Miwako raised her shield, deflecting the creature with a cruel
hissing sound.

     Miwako swiped at the creature again, cutting off its right arm.
However, its left one grabbed her arm, causing it to burn as acid melted her
skin.  Miwako quickly lurched away, clutching her arm.

     The creature kept up its ferocious assault.  Every time Miwako attacked
it, it would merely reform.  She remembered Chibi-Hiro disappearing when she
had told Chie that its full-sized version was dead.  Maybe if she could get
to Chie...

     "Chie!" Miwako cried out.  "I tried to help Hiro, I really did!"  One of
the blood-man's hands caught Miwako's leg, causing it to burn with pain.
Going out on a limb, Miwako shouted, "He would have wanted to die doing his
duty!  You know, like you did!"

     "Chie's past...is Chie's own!" Chie said hauntingly.  The creature
redoubled its attack, causing Miwako to cry out as the monster's caustic
skin struck her again and again.  "Hiro-sama would not have wanted to die!"

     "Chie," Miwako murmured, her eyes watering.  "Why do you hate me?"

     "Chie hates Miwako because Miwako took Chie's Hiro away from Chie!" Chie
snarled.  The blood-man grew bigger, feeding on Chie's anger.

     "Chie, he was doing his job!" Miwako shouted.  But her speech died in
her throat.  Somewhere, deep down inside of her, she knew Chie was right.
"...I'm sorry."  Chie peered at her queerly.  "I'm sorry, you're right.  I
killed Hiro, it was my fault!  I wasn't strong enough to protect him!"

     "Miwako...dies...TONIGHT!" Chie yelled.  The blood man swelled to
gigantic porportions and swung at the Dream Warrior.  Miwako watched it coming
toward her...but at the last moment a sudden, intense desire for survival
seized her and she rolled out of the way.

     Chie's body stood straight up, electrified with blue lightning.  Miwako
realized the signifigance of the lightning.  It was turning Chie's dreams and
feelings to reality.  She had to stop the problem at the source, and as much
as her gut wrenched at the thought, that was Chie.

     Miwako rushed Chie, sword outstreched.  The monster lunged at her, but
it was too slow.  The Dream Warrior closed her eyes as she prepared for the
sickening sounds.

     But they never came.  All of a sudden a terrible sleepiness overcame
her, causing her to slow her pace.  She opened her leaden eyes to see blue
lightning leaping from Chie's body to her sword.  So that was it.

     Suddenly sensing the blood monster behind her, Miwako managed to get her
body to respond and drop her sword.  Turning her shoulder into her run, she
charged the prone form of Chie, putting all her breath into it.  If this
didn't work...

     Miwako hit Chie, their bodies falling together in a tangle.  Miwako's
head hit the sidewalk, momentarily disorienting her.  When she opened her
eyes, Chie and the demon were gone.  She was, however, sure she saw a bird
flying through the air, and felt a tear fall from above.

=====

     Misako stood in a small store.  She remembered this place.  When she was
little she had visited this pet store.  But the kindly owner was nowhere to
be found, there were merely cages laying all around.

     Misako looked in the first cage.  A sad-looking girl with dark hair and
anguished eyes.  The tag affixed to the cage read "Yumeko".  As Misako
stopped to look at her, the girl growled and snapped at her.

     Misako moved on.  The next girl had red hair and was curled up in a
ball.  The affixed tag read "Miwako".  As Misako passed, she looked up and
stared hopefully.  Misako smiled.

     "Cute, isn't she?" a cruel voice said.  Something seemed funny about
that voice.  Like it wasn't supposed to be there.  Misako slowly turned
around, gulping as she did so.  Seiko stood before her, arms crossed.

     Seiko suddenly threw a punch.  Misako started to dodge, but it was too
late.  The force of the fist carried her to the ground.  That had hurt, more
than her punches had before.

     Misako started to get up, but another kick sent her flying.  Seiko
attacked with animal ferocity, driving her opponent up against the wall and
striking her again and again.

     Misako was crying.  She was sure some of her bones were broken, and
blood poured from her nose.  "What do you want?" she slurred out while taking
another punch.

     "From you, Tanaka?  Not much," Seiko snarled.  Then, she pushed her boot
down on Misako's face, driving her into blessed unconsciousness.  Slowly,
Seiko drew a silver rod from her belt.  She grinned, eager to get this
weakling out of the way.

     Laying the injured Misako on her back, Seiko kneeled over her.  Holding
the rod above her chest, pointing down, Seiko began to chant.  The words came
to her out of nowhere, but she felt power singing within them.  "Máttur af the
draumur stafur, láta this ormur ráfa the sviđ af martröđ ađ eilífu."

     Seiko drove the rod down into Misako's chest.  From where it came sprang
a dark cloud, enveloping Misako and her dream world.

      Seiko licked her lips.  "That went well."

=====

     The world around Takuya spun wildly, dizzying him.  When it finally
stilled he fell to his knees, disoriented.

     Slowly, Takuya got up.  He was in his neighbourhood, except it
was...different.  The sky above was scorched an anguished red, dark clouds
silhouetted against it.  The pavement on which he stood was a darker tone,
too.

     As he walked along, Takuya noticed several buildings missing--some
leaving rubble, some only empty lots.  Often he would see something out of
the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look at it, it would vanish.  An
eerie silence surrounded him, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on
end.

     "Hey."  The sudden sound caused Takuya to jump away spastically.  The
figure chuckled familiarly.

     Miwako stepped out of the shadows. Her orange-red hair was tied up into
a ponytail, and seemed somehow darker than before.  She was wearing a strange
combat suit, and held in her hand a lit cigarette, which Takuya stared at
queerly.  "Scare you, Kaito?"

     "Er, yeah," Takuya quickly said, leaning against a nearby wall.  "So,
what's up?"

     "Not much," Miwako responded casually.  She leaned up against the wall
and took a drag on her cigarette.  "Another city got destroyed.  Well,
halfway, anyways."

     "You don't say," Takuya responded shakily.  This new, darker, world
confused him.

     "Yeah," Miwako answered.  Takuya noticed that her tone of voice was more
dark and jaded than normal.  "Some kid in Sapporo dreamed that Godzilla was
attacking the town.  He took half the city out before the kid finally woke
up."

     Takuya was confused, but didn't say anything.  "Well, I suppose we'd
better head back to base," Miwako said.  "Don't want the Cult to find us, do
we?"  She tossed her cigarette onto the ground, snuffing the butt underfoot.
Takuya shakily followed her.

     After a long, winding path, they came to a tall walled building.  Miwako
showed something to a guardsmen dressed in the same combat suit as she was,
and walked in.

     Takuya glanced up at the iron letters marking the building.  Kuzunoha
International Headquarters.  Then the world spun before Takuya again, leaving
him in the darkness.  "What?"

=====

     The sun broke across the harbor horizon, waking the city.  Puddles were
still left from last night's storm.  And watching it was Fable, murmuring
reflectively.

     "Well, at any rate, it's begun," he said to himself in a low chuckle.
"There's probably a hole in the border right now, just waiting for someone
to cross." Grinning beneath his mask in anticipation, Fable walked into the
morning fog and disappeared.

=====

     The sun was just rising, and already Tanaka Midori had begun her morning
routine.  She glanced up at the digital clock.  7:00 already!  She quickly
jogged upstairs into her daughter's room.

     "Misako, wake up," she said softly.  Misako didn't stir.  "Misa-chan?"
she asked a bit louder.  Nothing.  Suddenly worried, Midori shook her
daughter.  "Misako!"  The girl's chest slowly moved up and down, but she
didn't stir.  "Wake up!"

=====


To be continued...


=====

Author's Notes:

Yay!  It's done!

This is my first impro chapter, and I think I did a decent job.  Of course,
now that I've said that, it'll probably just be dreck, but oh well...

The Icelandic incantation translations were provided by InterTran.
http://www.tranexp.com:2000/Translate/result.shtml
Go look them up yousrselves if you really want to know, I forget their exact
wording anyways.

Thanks goes to John Evans for proofreading and coming up with this series.

Amor
rhutton@sympatico.ca
2/27/04


Editor's Note:

I thought it was pretty good, actually.  And now, some omake.

Chie: Chie hates Miwako!
Gollum: No, no, like this. We hates it! We hates it forever!
Chie & Gollum (dancing around Miwako): We hates Miwako!  We hates it forever!
Miwako: (bighead) KNOCK IT OFF!!!

Beware the Radish
http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/
3/1/04