The Last Tale, 1st Magik: Scourge
Rated R


     Leviathan: (n) 1. a sea monster often symbolizing evil 
       in the Old Testament and in Christian literature

                    -Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary


     Just as every life possesses an instance that can be brought
to life in words, the event becomes a chapter in a book, a story
for others to gaze upon and be swallowed whole within the realm.
     A realm beyond the waking hours, forged from the magik of a
thousand dreamers and their dreams. And with it, a sanctuary not
so far from us where the last earth magiks reside. Within every
soul lies a story to tell, each event a tale to give unto others.
     These tales, both surreal and sensual, are but a few of many
chapters in a world given breath by a creator. Her name is Naoko
Takeuchi. The people and their lives are of her heart and soul.
They belong in her embrace. But the entity of darkness, and the
young woman it stole so long ago, belong to another, and they are
of my skin and soul. I embrace this darkness and this sadness as
my own children.
     I ask that none may steal any of them away from their
creators. The world of the Moon Princess and her royal court
belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Their hearts and souls belong to her;
they are a part of her stories. But the Dreamworld and its
Scourge are a part of my own story. Milady Naoko's princesses
belong in their castles beyond the moon, and those of the ancient
magiks belong in their eternal battle against each other. 
     One of honour does not become a petty thief; I ask for your
requests if you wish for my raven angels and shadowdemons to
wander other worlds and other stories.

          -His lordship Chaos  (hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com)
               http://neoharuka.interspeed.net/tales-dw.html



     "From the lightening in the sky
      As it pass'd me flying by--
      From the thunder and the storm,
      And the cloud that took the form
      (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
      Of a demon in my view."

                    -Edgar Allen Poe, "Alone"



     Let us forget about the Faery tales of old.
     As ancient and as rich as they are, their stories can no
longer exist within the boundaries of our world. Where is the
chivalry and honour? Where are the warriors and the thieves? Where
is the princess and her knight?
     This world we live in now, of sixty storey castles of steel
and glass, no longer holds an echo of the ancient realms
envisioned so long ago. Our carriages are of buses and trains,
our mages working with test tubes and computers. And our knights
are all but forgotten.  
     Yet there will come a time when they all shall rise up
again: warrior, thief, lover, knight. And with them their
enemies, the creatures hidden behind leather-bound books in the
archival libraries. Dragyn and serpynt will fly once more as
goblins take up arms and the ghosts walk amidst the living. 
     They all shall return.
     And it shall come with the eclipse.
     A time when day kisses night and darkness falls like rain.
On that day the moon shall find its shadow...and the gateway
between worlds will be opened. The illusions will disappear and
all shall see the true power of magik.
     The Faery tales of old have returned to us all.
     But this time the warriors are not clad in armour, nor is
the princess and her knight walking together down the halls of a
quiet castle. And the beasts of the darkness are cloaked in the
skins of familiar faces.
     Make no mistake, the magik is back.
     Be prepared to discover who you are. There are the cunning
and the swift: they are the thieves. There are those trained in
the arts of battle: they are the warriors. There are those who
are of royal beauty and purest innocence: they are the
princesses. 
     And last of all, there are those who go beyond myth, forged
of magik and fighting with both steel and spell for a love that
is destined for eternity. These are the knights. Above all others
they shall face the new world with the old magiks.
     For the minions of the shadows are rising up once more, and
they are hungry for the souls of the innocent. Nothing of the
modern realm can stop their ancient blood, and no one can stand
against them. None but the knights, born into two worlds with one
body.
     The eclipse is upon us, and all will be sacrificed once more
beneath a new yet ancient onslaught. The Eternal Moon Princess
shall find herself fighting for not just her world, but all our
worlds. And I shall find myself fighting for my very soul. 
     The final revolution has begun. 
     I am Kageno Karasu: Wanderer and master of illusions.
     I have one more story to tell you. 
     The last tale....

     
          -THE LAST TALE-     
        First Magik: Scourge


     It was a pale darkness there in the Void.
     Nothing more than a yawning chasm of darkness and solitude,
the Void held with it a banishment from magik. Such power was
always arbitrary, even unto itself. The true magik of the Void
was that no magik could touch its borders, let alone be used
beyond them. In essence the Void was a living paradox unto
itself.
     Trapped between the heartbeats where we dream and where we
start to awaken, where the mind slowly grows conscious, the Void
held whatever was sealed inside at bay. There was but one seal, a
final nail in a coffin laid almost one thousand Earth years ago.
Made by a legendary Wanderer with a silver cloak, an ancient evil
unique from any other in the Dreamworld was laid to rest.
     Yet not laid to rest forever. 
     Somewhere in a kingdom amidst countless realms of dreams was
the gateway where the Void's gaping chasm had first been opened.
And this portal was then sealed and marked in the hopes of
banishing the Scourge for an eternity of dreams and dreamers.
     It was not to be.
     Somewhere out there in a domain where an orchard of cherry
blossoms were arranged in neat, thin rows from one horizon line
to the next, a stone obelisk the height of but a young boy began
to shake. Old Dreamworld runes carved into the stone face down
the front started to fade, the grooves filling in as the stone
began to smoke.
     Suddenly a jagged crack streaked through the centre of the
obelisk, debris of stone falling away to reveal a single crystal
orb lodged in the centre. A split second later the illusion
shattered.
     Amidst the gentle rainfall of delicate petals that swept
this serene kingdom of the guardian angels, the obelisk finally
collapsed upon itself, a very quiet rumble as the fragmented
blocks toppled over. Black mist started to rise out from the base
of the seal, borne of black blood yet not of Shadowdemon magik.
     "Our magik has returned to us," a chorus of voices arose,
raspy and barely audible, as if they were possessed by the very
winds that were now blowing across this Void. "Our Scourge has
found new realms."
     From the edge of the darkness billowed thick, grey mists
that were never meant to be seen by the souls of dreamers or the
souls of their dreams. As long as anyone old enough could recall,
the Mysts had bound the Dreamworld together, all magik forged
from that original and most elemental of all magiks.
     Yet this was a myst that should have never existed. All
around this outpouring of black cloud there arose an eerie glow,
an aura only one other soul could ever possibly identify. But he
was lost from his life, living a new one without a true past as
he wandered from kingdom to kingdom.
     The light of the haunting aura revealed a host of shadows,
human silhouettes with bright burning eyes staring out at the
beauty of the Dreamworld once more. Spectres moved about,
adjusting to a realm sealed off from them a long time ago.
     "At last," the chorus of whispers echoed across the night
winds. "We are free once more."
     The shadow in the very centre extended a hand, opening its
silhouetted palm to reveal the spark of a fire. Within the flame
appeared two pale white eyes.
     "Seek out the ones who did this to us," the voices hissed.
"Find the Shadowqueen. Find the DreamMaster. Find our chosen one,
the Elvenchild of Chaos. But above all, find the one who bears
the sacred mark, the one called the Wanderer."
     With a nod the face in the flames shot out from the figure's
palm, streaking up towards the stars until it became lost amidst
the twinkling lights.
     "Let the Scourge begin anew," a haunting chorus of laughter
arose from the mists. "Vengeance shall be ours...." 


     Atop the Shinjuku towers of a city destined to become
legend, he watched the world continue its long journey from day
to night. Perched on the edge of the roof of Tokyo's city hall,
kneeling down to gaze upon the distant lights and colours that
were human beings far below, clouded eyes saw yet did not see.
     A watcher, a voyeur of lives lived and tales told, of
battles lost and won, of loves forgotten and found again. For all
the mysteries the Earthworld had to offer, he was its greatest.
For all the enigma the Dreamworld could hold, he was the most
hidden secret of them all.
     He had always been there from the beginning.
     He was there for it all.
     Dark storm clouds were gathering over the city of Tokyo.
Night was falling regardless of the weather, and a world of neon
signs and office lights starting to take back the utter darkness,
to prove to the world the existence of the souls it called
humanity. The Ancients had watched over this realm for thousands
of years, ever so much before the Senshi Wars had begun. And yet
here he was watching the Ancients.
     Watching them all. 
     The Raithe slowly stood, sensing the winds of change. His
garments rippled as newfound gales moved about. The night began
to gain a second life, one not fully of its own. The darkness was
merging with magik. 
     The shadows became him so much, as if they were him. 
     He held out his palm to reveal a crystal orb inside.
Flawless and shimmering, it first gave Raithe his own reflection
to gaze at. Then his reflection faded, the inside of the crystal
growing frosty and opening up into a new realm.
     There the girl with blonde, odango-styled hair was walking
towards her room. She looked much less a princess or a soldier,
and more a young woman experiencing what it was like to be
balanced so precariously between youth and adulthood. But the
passion was still in her crystal blue eyes, unwilling to be
snuffed out.
     Her spirit was strong; most others would not have been able
to handle what she witnessed over years of hard battles. The
shock had gripped her harshly in those time. And each time she
had arisen, a survivor and beautiful princess. 
     But this time it would be different. He could sense the
ripples from the Dreamworld echoing across the heavens of Earth.
War was lurking in the horizon. Darkness was moving to take a new
stronghold. Evil was finding a new name to lay claim to. 
     Everything would be tested in this, the world's final hour.
He had foreseen it in a dream not so long ago. It was all just a
matter of how long the odango-haired blonde could manage to hang
on.
     The Raithe barely glanced back as he sensed another joining
him. "The Ancients have come to a decision already?" he asked,
both of them knowing the answer.
     Thanatos' hood was drawn back, the bone skull removed. The
ScytheMaster scowled in joining the Raithe at the edge of the
rooftop. "Iie. This premonition has sent them all arguing with
each other over what should be done. By the time they reach any
verdict, I fear that the battle will be already over."
     The Raithe nodded slightly. "And what have you chosen?"
     Thanatos grimly surveyed the bustling city of lights, a city
unaware of the danger coming towards them all. "I left the
council. Permanently. I trust your choices more than theirs, and
if we must fight then I will stand beside next to you. This world
is too precious for me to sit by and merely debate its fate."
     Fate.
     Destiny.
     If something was to happen, if something was going to
change, the desire to be the one to actively change it was
paramount. 
     "You cannot protect what you do not love," he said. "If you
love someone, something, then you will protect it with your
heart, your very soul, your every breath. You would die to keep
it safe."
     The ScytheMaster slowly turned and looked at his face. There
were implications in his words, ones he chose not to consider.
"Nothing will ever be the same again, will it?" Thanatos asked
quietly. 
     The Raithe nodded once more, blurry eyes of silver watching
the magik unfold around them. "Hai. It has begun."


     Illusion.
     A sanctuary citadel lost in a kingdom that seemed to have no
real borders. Here crystals of beautiful dreamers sparkled
beneath the light of a pale moon. Just at the edge of a forest
perhaps marking the Valley of the Myst, a herd of Silvermanes
grazed.
     At the very peak of the Citadel was a crystal rose, the
petals opened up to greet the moonlight in its envoy of twinkling
stars. Only two souls sat there, hand in hand, dream in dream.
Behind them, in a twisted skein of crystal shards and shafts, was
the Golden Crystal.
     Possessing within its facets a magik to protect the domains
of the raven angels, only a single holder could use the crystal's
ultimate power. That soul was the DreamMaster. Helios. He sat
there, forgetting about the duties of being a DreamMaster,
content to be in the presence of his beloved. 
     For she was a soul with a pure heart and a beautiful dream:
a dream of growing up and finding romance. She now appeared to be
fourteen when in fact looks were deceiving. Yet this did not
bother him, for he was the same way.
     "This has been incredible," she sighed, smiling at the moon.
"I wish it would never end."
     He smiled uneasily, trying to hide that fact. She saw it
none the less. Yet the ordeal with the Elven lord had passed, and
for the better in its closing.
     "Helios?" she asked. "What is it?"
     The DreamMaster sighed, placing his arm over her shoulder.
She rested her head against his chest in response. "This will
need to come to an end soon, Chibiusa. If I am to return with you
into the future, then a new DreamMaster must be chosen."
     She lowered her eyes, realizing what his words meant. "Oh.
Gomen ne, Helios."
     He tilted her chin so that their eyes met once more. "Sorry
for what? Regardless of where I am, I can still walk into our
dreams. We will share these quiet moments again, my Maiden,
though it shall be under a different sky."
     She nodded, content. Her palm rose up to caress his cheek,
fingers brushing against some of his pale white hair. They leaned
forward to kiss, lips agonizingly close to each other.
     Suddenly a tremor surged past them, shaking the Citadel. She
let out a startled cry as crystals were broken from the wall,
shattering upon impact. He firmly took her in his arms, trying to
shield them both from the rain of debris.
     As abruptly as the disruption had begun, the ripple of magik
died. There was nothing left in its wake; as if it had never
existed. Something that had been meant to remain a forgotten
dream until it was too late.
     The DreamMaster sucked in his breath, his expression growing
solemn. He knew the feel of this magik. He knew its source. And
thus he felt fear creeping into his body.
     "Helios?" the Tsukino maiden asked, uncertain.
     Clouds were starting to appear in an empty sky, moving by
possession of the winds. If they continued to build, the
moonlight would be extinguished. Slowly he stood, staring up at
the clouds racing across the skies, their dark undersides stained
grey by the pale moonlight.
     "It's coming," he whispered.


     There was a tangible, if not visible ambience that projected
dread, terror, and a sleeping evil on the verge of awakening for
another eternal night. It lived, thrived and breathed within
every inch of shadow and every beam of light. It knew nothing of
love and compassion, nor did it care to learn about such things.
It's only love was to be the darker half of the soul.
     The Atmosfear.
     Just as there was the realm of tranquillity and peace among
the wall of dreams called Illusion, there was a realm of horror
and unspeakable damnedness. With the beauty of a Dreamworld
reflecting the hopes of all living things comes the darker side
of such a refuge. For every dream, there is a black shadow. And
where those shadows lie, a nightmare lurks. And with each lurking
nightmare stalks a demon. And their hunting grounds are in the
boundaries of the Atmosfear.
     As it always has been, always is, and always shall be. The
world cannot exist without the balance of both light and dark.
For where there lies a sanctuary of serenity, so must there lurk
a place of unnatural bane.
     The Dreamworld was a world within a world, a realm within a
dream, a place where hopes have been realized and destinies
become intertwined. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for
the worse. Here in a Shadow kingdom, within the walls of a
fantasy palace beyond the Sea of Night and upon a throne of
shimmering darkness, sat the Shadowqueen. She sat there, still
and with eyes closed; perhaps in thought or perhaps in rest, one
hand on the arms of the throne, the other propping up her chin.
     In her lap the body of a changed lesser dragon slept, curled
up and sleeping very quietly. Once a creature of peace, it was
now a creature of destruction, given the deadly power to become a
towering serpynt-beast. Rows of small spikes now adorned its
back, complimented by a pair of corkscrew horns protruding from
the back of its skull.
     All around the throne room there was an eerie lull. In this
hour, no demons under her reign had come of news of either
victory or defeat. Silence was only broken by the low whispers of
the winds that blew through the drafts of this storybook palace.
     Then came the tempests that tore through the throne room.
The dragon stirred, hissing and baring fangs as the banners
hanging from the ceiling convulsed. Dust and stone fell in a
gentle shower. Everything was disturbed.
     Yet the Shadowqueen revealed no signs of noticing this
disruption aside from a faint smile tugging at the edges of her
lips. The ripple of magik faded, and with it the gales. The
throne room returned to a new domain of eerie silence. The dragon
was bristling, looking up to its Empress for an explanation it
could not find. Whatever had enough power to disturb her castle
beyond the Sea of Night was indeed something not to be taken
lightly.
     Finally her eyes slowly opened, black shining pearl looking
down at the dragon. "Interesting," she remarked. "The Scourge has
unleashed itself once again. I'm disappointed in it, taking this
long to finally break our seal."
     The dragon growled a question, and she chuckled. "Yes, this
should prove to be a most entertaining time. I can almost taste
the Scourge's thirst for revenge. But it has other desires to
exact first."
     The Shadowqueen smiled, stroking the dragon's head. "The
raven angels will soon return to the Dreamworld, Suna-chan. Why
don't you keep an eye on them for me?"
     The dragon growled approvingly, bowing its head before the
Empress. Two small wings expanded out from against the dragon's
back, and with a single motion the creature was in the air. She
watched silently as the lesser dragon unleashed a howl, the body
changing into that of a monstrous serpynt.
     With a flash of shadows the serpynt vanished, though its
howl still echoed across the expanse of her palace. The
Shadowqueen laughed quietly to herself.
     "A most interesting time indeed. Are they ready for it once
more?"


     Somewhere between the waking world and the realms of the
dreamers lies a sanctuary built to protect the last magiks that
ever existed on Earth. Long since destroyed, plundered and
exploited, their last hope for survival was this place. Here in a
chamber once called the Gallery, once a shrine to a glass coffin
and its dreamless curse, two souls sat together at the edge of
the fountain.
     Her fingers leisurely drifted in the smooth currents of the
water, eyes of emerald forests watching the small fish swim
about. Long chestnut brown hair trailed past her shoulders,
gently stroked by his fingers.
     Emerald forest looked into emerald forest, and his lips
found hers. She raised her hand out from the water, kissing him
passionately. It felt strange with her palm pressed against the
back of his head and not touching his braid.
     Yet that had been severed almost two months ago. If she had
only one regret, it was that now they were sharing their quiet
moments in the Sanctuary with someone else less than tactful or
mature.
     "I'll have to go soon," she said, letting him settle down
into her lap. "I need to help plan for Usagi's surprise party."
     He sighed, his face looking up at hers with perfect
contentment. "I wish I could be there for it. But I can
understand if she wants the party in the Earth realm. Stop by
again tomorrow, and I'll have her present ready." 
     Suddenly a loud and startled shout echoed across the
Gallery, and being unceremoniously dropped from a vortex hovering
in mid-air came the Elven lord of Chaos. Flailing about, the
Elven lord crashed into the pool, coughing and sputtering.
     "I daresay, that's cheating, Fuu-chan!" Chaos exclaimed
indignantly, standing up and trying to wring out now soaking wet
garments.
     Perched atop a balcony high above one row of archways, a
wyvern the colour of deep green chuckled, wings stretching out to
catch the winds and swoop down onto the spout of a large stone
fish. The wyvern chortled.
     Chaos shook the mane of long silver hair, sighing. "Last
time I play that game with you." And then the Elven lord finally
seemed to notice them. "Oh, gomen ne, Sora; I was unaware you and
Mako-chan were here."
     The Elven lord bowed slightly.
     "Impeccable timing, as always," he dryly remarked, sarcasm
dripping from every word.
     She sighed, laughing none the less at Chaos' less than
graceful entrance. "Daijobu, Chaos. I have to leave soon
anyways."
     The Elven lord continued wading through the fountain. "Oh, a
shame really. After all your face does brighten up such a
boring...do you feel that?"
     He tilted his head to the glass skylight above.
     At first it was almost so subtle he hardly noticed it. But
then the ripples in the fountain grew more violent, the fish
beneath the waters agitated beyond measure.
     And then the Sanctuary lurched.
     The floors trembled, and everywhere he could hear the echoes
of creatures of magik crying out in surprise. Abruptly a set of
pillars crumbled, stone blocks toppling over and spilling across
the fountain.
     "Shimatta!" he exclaimed.
     Elven magik shot out across the Gallery, the entire chamber
suddenly appearing like a spider's web as strands of magik
intertwined. Rainbows and their colours shone down on them as the
threads froze the stones in mid-air with only a touch.
     "You're getting slow, Sora," Chaos said. A snap of the
fingers found the pillars restored to their original form. "Now
would you mind telling me what the hell that was?"
     The wyvern perched on the Elven lord's shoulder hissed, as
if sensing the evils that had suddenly awoke deep within the
Dreamworld.
     He glanced around this chamber, the very heart of the
Sanctuary. If any ripple of magik was ever detected, its effects
would be at their peak here. And whatever had awoken was indeed
powerful, destructive. This aura...he had felt it before.
     Fought against it.
     "Masaka," he whispered, turning to Chaos.
     "Na ni?" the Elven lord asked, visibly confused and curious
all at once. "What is it?"
     He found that though he opened his mouth to speak, his words
and breath were lost. And his entire body felt chilled by more
than just a cold wind. His hand found hers, and he gripped it
tightly. 
     "Sorata?" she whispered, concerned.
     "After all these centuries," he said quietly. "It's found a
way back."


     There lies between what mankind calls time and space a realm
where eternity is but a heartbeat long, and where a split second
can last forever. Here in the realm of null space, a lone soldier
of enigma and magik waited and watched in quiet solitude.
     She had been there for as long as anyone--even she--could
remember. The past meant nothing but pleasant memories. The
future meant nothing but a treasure to guard. Alone and separated
from the friends she loved, she would continue her duties as a
time guardress. As far as anyone with enough magik could tell,
she had, was and still would remain immortal.
     And now she focused on a moment in time.
     Perhaps it was daylight. Perhaps midnight.
     Though time meant everything to her, right now time didn't
matter. What mattered was the future. Twists were starting to
emerge in the Mobius configuration of her dimension.
     A tall young woman with dark skin and magenta eyes, dressed
in a dark sailor battle fuku, she gazed into the churning array
of lights resembling the Aurora Borealis of the north. In her
hands was a key-shaped staff capable of waking the dead with a
silent scream. 
     She knew that getting a clear picture would be impossible.
All she saw were scattered fragments of what might one day become
memories. Images flashed before her, many so fast that she could
barely understand what they were of let alone what they
signified.
     A host of shadows.
     A golden crystal in the hands of a new soul.
     A ghost of the past come back to haunt them all.
     They were all played out before her. And with each one
passing her by, the more serious she became. New sacrifices by
all had to be made. Blood would be shed. Souls would be claimed.
     She could not be certain of anything save this:
     "So," the time guardress stated solemnly. "The revolution of
our worlds has begun at last."


     Perhaps it was a distant memory relived in the blink of an
eye. Or perhaps it was just a dream that would be danced in only
once. It was of a realm he had once wandered, a kingdom he had
once seen. Yet the chances of his own self really being there
were next to nothing. Long ago this place had been wiped clean
off the face of the Dreamworld.
     Yet it was here amidst empty and narrow cobblestone streets
and a long, congested maze of residences that he found himself.
He knelt at the edge of a bridge that curved over a canal of the
clearest water he had ever seen. The stars were twinkling just
beneath its surface.
     A restored silver cloak billowed out around his shoulders as
he slowly rose to his feet. A black jacket and black pants
rippled in the winds, the equally black tie dancing around his
chest. His white dress shirt was more confined to press against
his chest. 
     This was the ensemble he had worn for a long time. It seemed
the one that best suited him as he wandered from kingdom to
kingdom, and every now and then, from world to world. Strange how
he had spent time as a resident now of Dreamworld, Earthworld,
and the in-between Sanctuary realm.
     Fingers combed through long bangs of shining blonde hair
which danced in the evening winds. His eyes slowly opened, the
shades no longer present to mask their brilliant sapphire hues.
     "What am I doing here?" he asked himself, turned around.
     The blue-white glow of the enchanted lanterns lining the
streets brought with them fond memories. For an instant he could
hear her laughing again, see her dancing in that crystal blue
dress, tresses of her long, dirty-blonde hair cascading down
around her face.
     Such beautiful blue eyes.
     And then there she was, standing in the centre of the bridge
as if awaiting for his arrival. He froze upon seeing her,
something within his body tensing up. Was this what it felt like
to be shocked?
     "Yui-chan..." he whispered.
     This was impossible. What was she doing here? Everything was
perfect right down to the last detail in this deserted city:
every bridge and cobblestone, every shimmer of light and sparkle
of her eyes.
     How was this possible?
     She was smiling as with a trembling hand he brushed away the
bangs over his eyes. Such radiance he saw in her eyes, so much
life. 
     "Karasu-chan," she whispered, her voice carried to him on
the air of mystic midnight winds. She held out her arms, opened
her heart up to him.
     His first step was hesitant, his second cautious, his third
a break into a run. He raced onto the bridge, sweeping her up in
his arms and lifting her feet off the ground. Her hair smelled of
a field of cherry blossom trees, in an orchard where they had
first kissed.
     "I thought I had lost you," he said quietly, not daring to
believe that this was only a dream. Every touch and sound, every
scent and taste, everything he could see was all too real.
     She was here!
     He was touching her, holding her, given a second chance to
fall in love all over again. Her body pressed against his, and he
felt the warmth of her skin as his hands moved down the folds of
her dress.
     As she wrapped her arms around his neck and tenderly
embraced him, he heard her whisper into his ear. 
     "All good things must come to an end."
     The end came.
     He turned his face to the heavens as hell seemed to emerge.
Fierce red steam erupted from the seams of the abandoned city,
the waters of the canal bubbling over. Dark clouds swallowed up
the stars, bolts of scarlet lightening lashing out and striking
the city. Buildings swelled up and exploded. Debris littered the
air, smoke pouring out from the rolling fireballs.
     The bridge lurched, swaying as if being twisted like a piece
of cloth. The stone railing shattered, falling into the frothing
canal with a loud hiss of steam.
     He held onto her tightly, swearing to himself as he watched
the nightmare unfold that nothing would come to harm her unless
he died first. He could see it now: a vortex descending upon the
city. Yet it was not a fierce whirlwind of mindless destruction.
What he saw set itself down perfectly, working in methodically
destructive measures. It was a gateway, a portal opening up
before him.
     Something pulled at her, the folds of her crystal blue dress
tearing her from his grip and carrying her into the air like a
prize. "Karasu!" she screamed, reaching out to him.
     He leaped up, grappling onto her wrist with one hand and
clinging for dear life onto the bridge with his other. He was now
a link in a chain. A fragile link. Her eyes were crying out to
him, pleading for him not to let go no matter what happened. 
     "Hold onto me!" he shouted over the gales.
     Her own hand grappled onto his wrist, and he braced himself
as he leaned back to pull her away from the storm. For a brief
instant he could see her smile as if they were going to succeed. 
     "I believe in you," she whispered, urging him on.
     The streak and crimson hues of a lightening bolt was but a
blurred glow cast upon his face. He gasped as pain exploded
throughout his arm, a spray of his own blood splattering across
his cheeks. He lurched back, his hand opening up out of reflex,
fingers splayed.
     The grip between them was lost.
     She was stolen, screaming out his name as she was carried
into the hellish vortex. The stones of the bridge came apart
finally, all but the one he collapsed upon taken up into the
skies with her. Time slowed to an agonizing crawl as he witnessed
the portal claiming her as its own, her limp body hovering the
air as crimson lightening encircled her form.
     "Iie!" he screamed. "Yui-chan!!!"
     And then his saw them: a legion of shadows, wraiths emerging
from the shadows possessed. He could see their eyes glaring at
him in hatred, feeding off his terror and rage. They wanted him
to suffer. They wanted him to feel pain. They wanted him to watch
her be taken, unable to do anything to save her.
     The lightening was her escort as she was lowered onto the
cobblestone hell, floating there before the host of shadows. Her
eyes were thrown open and she cried out as her body lurched. Yet
her scream was silent, life and air choked out from her voice. 
     "Yui-chan!!" he shouted.
     They were killing her. They were consuming her soul right in
front of him! She convulsed one last time before her body was
frighteningly still. He could see her once beautiful blue eyes
cloud over with an inky blackness. They stared into his own eyes,
now hating what they saw.
     A court of shadows took her into the darkness.
     He seemed to tumble, the deserted city reeling in his sight.
Blood and sweat and tears staining his face, he turned to the
company of wraiths. And he heard then hiss his name, his rightful
title as a lost soul of the Dreamworld:
     "Wanderer." 
     And a legion of grinning, pale skulls suddenly surrounded
him, eyes of raging fire staring at him from all directions.
     He screamed. "YUI-CHAN!!!"


     With a scream his dream ended, and thus with a scream he
awoke to a new dream. A Dreamworld. The shades were still on his
face. But the blood dripping down his arm was still very real.
His sleeve was torn and soaked with it, the pain throbbing across
his entire arm and hand. He could feel his own pulse beating at
the tips of his fingers.
     "Chikusho!" he swore, on the verge of hysterics. "Chikusho!
Chikusho! Chikusho!!"
     He swallowed hard, his eyes still wide and his heart still
hammering inside his ribcage. Adrenaline surged through his
system and no matter how hard he tried to calm himself, his
entire body remained on edge. No matter how hard he tried to
forget, he still remembered.
     He looked up to the heavens, looked at his surroundings.
Under other skies there might have been daylight. But here in the
great expanse of kingdoms within the Dreamworld, there was an
eternal midnight sky. And so beneath a moon permanently hung in
the starry heavens he did travel. 
     In the Earthworld it was late June. Very soon he would have
to pay a visit for his little sister's birthday party. But up
until now, he had been content to travel across the edges of a
desert with no name. The dunes were fairly flat here, stray palm
trees or an occasional oasis scattered along the way. Close to
the horizon line he could see the outlines of towering stone
pyramids the very colour of the desert sands. Perhaps a sphinx as
well.
     The echoes of ancient desert dreams.
     No longer was there an abandoned city of dreamers. There was
only sand and sky. The city was not here. She was not here. He
was alone, just as he seemed fated to forever remain.
     He felt more chilled now in the midnight desert than ever
before. As if his illusion of keeping warm had shattered. But
this was more than a mere breaking of a crystal. He was
shuddering from the depths of his soul, and sweat was glistening
off his face in the moonlight.
     "Just...a dream," he gasped. "Dammit, it was a dream."
     A hellish dream born of hellish memories he had tried to
once forget--and had succeeded in forgetting. For so long the
nightmares had ended. And now they had returned to haunt him, a
spectre to follow a spectre.
     He stood, eyes darting from one darkened horizon to the
next. The whirlwind seemed ensnared in his mind, her final
screams carried with the midnight winds. She was gone once again.
     He turned and began to walk.
     As he moved, he saw the flickering images of beautiful
dreams playing and laughing and dancing all around him. He
sombrely watched, wondering what his former companion was doing
back on Earth at this hour of either day or night.
     "Rei-chan," he said quietly. For so long he had never known
of dreaming. And then he was greeted with this vision. Not again;
not like Yui-chan.
     Abruptly the desert sands convulsed, waves rippling across
the dunes and wiping them clean away. Yet it could not be from a
Jabberwocky worm, that new breed of nightmare he was regrettably
finding more and more common in his travels.
     The Wanderer slowly turned as a ripple of magik rushed past
him. The shades over his eyes were picked up by an unseen force
that attacked. His head jerked to the side as if being struck in
the face, the shades flipping through the air and tumbling across
the sands. Crystal blue pierced the desert realm, searching.
     "Damn you," he said quietly. "You found your way out again,
didn't you, you son of a bitch?"
     Not again.
     The Arashi emerged from his palm, blade shining in the pale
moonlight. He studied the weapon and then the landscape
surrounding him. For a long time he had forgotten about it. But
it appeared that the Scourge had not forgotten him. It had
returned once more.
     "Gomen ne, Yui-chan," he whispered. "Forgive me...."
     Yui-chan.
     It had returned once more.
     Yui-chan....


     The aquarium held with it a peaceful solitude.
     From behind the enormous glass plates, dozens of exotic fish
cut through the shimmering, deep blue waters. Few ever paused to
take a glance at the people watching them from the other side.
     Admittedly the tall, sandy blonde would have rather been
feeling the wind while behind the driver's seat of their yellow
sports car. But there were instances where the sandy blonde did
enjoy the quiet serenity of the aquarium--provided they were
together.
     It was a Sunday evening of a warm June night.
     All the nights, as well as their sunlit counterparts, were
growing hot and humid. On these evenings the cool breeze was all
she really asked for.
     "You remember the last time we were here?" the tall, sandy
blonde asked quietly.
     She nodded; that wasn't exactly the best of memories to be
associated with this place. Atop this rooftop pavilion was where
they had first been attacked by Nehelenia--and that was only a
prelude to the deadly battle against Galaxia. And even before
that, this was where they had confronted the odango-haired blonde
mere hours before dying to discover they were holders of the
sacred Talismans. And yet they kept coming here.
     "Do you want to go outside onto the roof?" the sandy blonde
inquired.
     She nodded. "So long as you don't get too romantic in front
of everyone, Haruka."
     "Like this?"
     Haruka wrapped her up in an embrace and bent over to give a
long, passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart, a few of
the others in the aquarium were staring in surprise. Haruka
didn't care, and for the most part neither did she.
     "That's it exactly," she sighed.
     "Thought so." The tall, sandy blonde cracked that wicked
grin again.


     The rooftop had for the most part been transformed into a
pavilion, with a large walking area, benches and rows of planted
flowers, and a large pool which opened into the aquarium below.
The outer perimeter was sealed in with high, mesh fencing to
prevent anyone falling over the edge.
     Though it was beautiful to be in during the day, it was
absolutely breathtaking at night. 
     "No one's here," Haruka remarked, looking at the empty
rooftop and wrapping an arm around her waist. "How convenient."
     "Not entirely, love," she pointed out.
     She gestured to a young man standing next to the fencing.
For a time he seemed fixated upon the city below, watching people
and traffic. He turned away from the cityscape, pausing as he
caught sight of them.
     Long silver hair billowed down past his shoulders, and dark
green eyes watched them from a distance as if recognizing them.
The young man nodded and then walked towards the exit, leaving
them alone for the time being. She found herself grateful, though
uncertain as to how exactly he seemed to know them.
     "Strange boy," the tall, sandy blonde remarked.
     "He reminds me of you, in a roguishly charming sort of way,"
she said, taking another glance back at him. "Though his hair is
at the length I want yours to be."
     "I like my hair where it is," Haruka protested, moving in
behind her. Haruka's arms wrapped around her shoulders. She
leaned her head back, their cheeks nuzzling gently.
     "What do you want to do after this?" she asked. "We are open
for the rest of this evening, you know."
     Haruka shrugged. "Unless reservations to a four star
restaurant are not your style, we can go to a movie or
something."
     She chuckled. "You always did know how to make me laugh."
     The tall, sandy blonde drew closer to her. "I think I was
born to make you laugh, Michiru."
     They would have kissed again had they not realized the
presence of a third person. They straightened up as the stranger
with silver hair watched them.
     Somehow his eyes seemed to light up as he watched them.
"Kaio...Michiru?" he said quietly, as if he recognized them from
another life. "Tenou...Haruka?"
     They both paused, realizing that they had never spoken their
last names in his presence. Haruka clenched a fist; though she
shared in the sandy blonde's defensiveness, she felt caution
needed to be taken. Was he a fan or an enemy? The fact that both
of them were famous in their own respects--a violin virtuoso and
a (presumed male) race car driver--didn't help this
confrontation.
     "Ah, I thought it was you. Allow me to introduce myself," he
said. "His lordship Chaos, at your service." The stranger swung
his body around, the ends of his black dress shirt fluttering all
around his chest. A smile pulled on the ends of his lips. "So,
you two are Outer Senshi after all. I must admit I wasn't certain
at first."
     She almost recoiled as if he had slapped them.
     "Na ni?!" Haruka exclaimed, suddenly even more on the
defensive than before.
     "How do you know who we are?" she asked. The fact that he
had chosen the name of a deadly enemy they faced in the past was
already going against him.
     Chaos smiled. "You'd be surprised at what I know...Uranus."
It was neither a threat nor a taunt. Merely a statement. But with
the shock of what he knew about them, his tone might as well have
been that way.
     His smile faded as he studied their faces. "I'm guessing the
conversation is going to get a little nasty from here on in," he
remarked sourly.
     He wasn't far from the truth.
     "Shimatta," Haruka muttered, ready to transform.
     "I don't think we want any negative publicity," she said
quietly.
     Haruka gave a wicked smile. "I wouldn't dream of it."
     From behind, the tall sandy blonde pulled out the sheathed
Space Sword from its dimensional pocket. The blade glowed
brightly in the moonlight as the weapon was unsheathed.
     "Okay," Haruka said icily, levelling it with his head.
"Talk."
     Chaos put up his hands defensively. "Hey! Watch it with
that, Haruka-san!" He stiffened, the winds blowing at his hair to
reveal sloped ears that curiously resembled those belonging to a
legendary Elven race.
     "What are you?" she asked, her own voice suddenly callous
towards him. She was in no mood for games--though he seemed to
regard all of this as some little contest.
     He tilted back his head as the Space Sword came a little
closer to his face. "Can't we talk this over like civilized
people?!"
     "The time for civility is over," the tall, sandy-blonde
stated. "How do you know so much about us?"
     "Will you get that damned blade out of my face?" Chaos
hissed, his arm moving with lightening speed. In a blur of motion
he swatted aside the sword and retreated a number of steps away
from them. "If you would calm down and listen to me for a
minute," he protested.
     "Space Sword Blaster!" Haruka shouted, launching a number of
fiery projectiles at him.
     "This is a overdoing it just a little!" he exclaimed, nimbly
dodging the fireballs. He vaulted backwards moments before one
carved a hole into a bench, only to catch another in mid-air.
     He winced in pain as his sleeve was torn, blood running out
from the cut fabric. His landing was not as graceful as before as
he clutched his wounded arm.
     She stepped in beside Haruka. "He moves almost like a
Senshi," she said. "Perhaps we should be a little more cautious."
     Chaos, though, was oblivious to this, more occupied with his
wounded arm. "Shimatta," he muttered. "Didn't see that one
coming."
     Suddenly his vision became blinded by another volley of
Haruka's fireballs. Dark green eyes widened as the pack swarmed
around him and then struck. His scream echoed across the rooftop
as the inferno scooped his feet off the ground and sent him
careening into the chainlink fencing.
     The fencing was torn from its foundation, stretched out
beyond the perimeter of the rooftop. Seconds later a hole was
burned through the centre as the fireball that was the Elven lord
plummeted over the edge to the streets below.
     "I think you did overdo things just a little," she remarked
after a moment of silence.
     The tall, sandy-blonde sheathed the Space Sword. "He had it
coming. On the other hand, now we'll never know who he was."
     She sighed. "We should leave before someone has a question
or two for us to answer."
     They were about to turn and leave when a glowing light began
to overtake the rooftop. Haruka whirled, protectively moving
between her and the light.
     "Not again!" Haruka hissed.
     The light died out abruptly, just like a fireball that had
reached its peak and then faded.
     "Perhaps that boy just hit the streets below," she
suggested. As callous as it sounded, she had to admit to herself
that she didn't feel all that much pity for him.
     Slowly, hesitantly, Haruka eased up the grip on the Space
Sword. Until the distinct sound of footsteps reached their ears.
     As if suddenly walking out from the shadows, Chaos's body
slowly emerged from behind a wall of lost vision. He showed no
signs of being wounded from the attack, but his playful composure
showed definite signs of wearing thin.
     "That...really...hurt," he said icily, eyes narrowing at
them. "I tried to be polite about this."
     "The hell you say," Haruka snapped, unsheathing the sword
for the second time in but a few minutes.
     "Perhaps this will catch your attention long enough to hear
me out," he said with a dark smile. "Summon: Chaos magik!"
     His body started to radiate a glowing light, the winds
churning around his form. One hand went stiff, the muscles
flexing almost grotesquely. Within the open palm erupted a ball
of green flame. 
     "Na ni?" the tall, sandy blonde exclaimed.
     Suddenly out from the Elven lord's fire emerged the ghostly
wraith of a serpent, unleashing a bellow that rattled the entire
rooftop. Narrowed eyes fell upon Haruka's form and then the beast
pounced, coiling around the tall, sandy-blonde's body. Luckily
for Haruka, the beast hadn't managed to pin her arms within its
coils.
     "Ne, how do you like that little trick?" he chuckled.
     "Michiru, are you just waiting for the perfect moment or
what?" Haruka asked, keeping the serpent's jaws as far away as
possible with the space sword.
     "If you insist," she replied, removing her aqua mirror from
its dimensional pocket and aiming the reflective surface at the
serpent. "Deep Submerge!"
     A beam of white light exploded from the mirror, striking the
beast. The serpent in turn dissipated, becoming a fury of pink
cherry blossoms that were scattered by the winds. The tall, sandy
blonde relaxed.
     She turned her attention back to Chaos, but did not advance
against him. The Elven lord had never bothered to attack; rather,
he was watching them with amused interest. If he wasn't their
enemy, then he was at least a considerable rival.
     "Impressive," he remarked, shaking out his hand. "Well,
since you haven't attacked me yet again, I'm assuming we have
reached a point of mutual respect for you to listen to me."
     "You could have tried to kill us," she said. "But you
didn't. Why?"
     "I could have tried, certainly," he replied, letting another
spark crackle around his fingers. "But believe me, that's not
what I came here for. That little trick was to simply get your
attention."
     "Well, we're listening," Haruka said, just slightly annoyed.
     He rolled his eyes. "Impatient now, aren't we? I'm here to
make sure you don't run into trouble."
     Haruka laughed. "We can handle ourselves well enough to
combat your magik even without transforming."
     The Elven lord smirked. "I doubt it."
     "Trouble with what?" she pressed.
     Abruptly his head tilted sideways, his vision moving to
someplace behind her. "From them, for starters," he answered,
pointing behind them.
     Both she and the tall, sandy-blond turned.
     "What the hell?" Haruka growled.
     It was an army of tall men in black suits, each one wearing
shades. In this sense they almost all resembled the Wanderer--
save for the slicked back, dark brown hair. Yet each man looked
identical to the next, all of them moving each leg and arm at the
same time.
     "I would strongly suggest throwing caution to the wind and
transform," Chaos said, moving between them and the suited men.
"Let me play this game first."
     He began walking to the legion of suited men.
     Haruka glanced at her. "What do you think?"
     "It would be a shame to disappoint the boy by not putting in
an appearance," she answered. 
     Haruka shrugged. "Yare yare. Works for me."
     The Elven lord reached the front lines of the suited men.
"Gentlemen," he said loudly, strolling up to them. "Is there a
problem here?"
     One lashed out, an open palm emitting a pulse of bright
light. Chaos let out a shout as he was catapulted across the
rooftop again, this time spinning himself around and landing in a
crouch atop the chainlink fencing.
     "So that's how you want it to be, ne?" he remarked, a dark
smile creeping onto his face. Despite the inevitable battle, he
seemed the be thriving on the excitement in the air. 
     The army of suited men began to advance again.
     "Wait!" chorused two voices.
     The tall, sandy blonde emerged from a blinding light. "My
guardian is the deity of the skies and earth. The warrior of the
heavens, Sailor Uranus!"
     She stepped in beside her companion. "The name of the deep
oceans and seas, my guardian deity: Sailor Neptune. We two
soldiers of the outer solar system are being led by a new crisis
and--"
     "We are here!" they chorused.
     The Elven lord massaged his temples. "Shimatta! You know,
you don't need to make these flowery speeches every single time
you transform like that. A simple `hello, I'm here to kick your
ass' will do just fine."
     "He really wants this chance to show off," Haruka said.
     She smiled. "I don't think we're the type to be upstaged by
him."
     He leaped off the fencing, landing in a graceful crouch. The
wind blew his long silver hair around as he slowly rose to his
feet. "Well, if everyone's going to give their introductions,
then who am I to argue?"
     He stretched out his arm, his dress shirt suddenly coming
undone, edges flapping in the winds to display a very toned and
defined chest. "Call me the Master of Disaster," he said. "Lord
of the Court of Chaos, last of the Elven playkings, lover of all
games fair and dirty: I am his lordship Chaos." He smiled, and
gave them a playful wink. "Not bad, ne?"
     Haruka sighed. "This guy is embarrassing."
     His attention was focused back on the suited men. Both arms
outstretched now, beams of Elven magik starting to gather form.
"And now with the introductions out of the way," Chaos stated.
"Let the games begin. Everybody have fun."
     With a silent battle cry the suited men charged, swarming
around all three of them. She and Haruka promptly dove into the
melee, punching, kicking and smashing any of their attackers.
Even Chaos was joining the fracas, hurling his magik and throwing
aside the legions of suited men.
     Shades and suits toppled down one after the other.
     Yet there were still too many. The next wave attacked, these
ones brandishing swords. Not simply large knives, but actual
longsword blades.
     "It's like a damned convention!" he exclaimed, ducking a
swipe. "And when did they suddenly learn to use katanas?"
     "How are you doing?" she asked, jumping backwards to avoid
another strike.
     Ten steps away, Haruka parried a strike with the Space
Sword, then bisecting the suited man. The man fell apart, melting
into a puddle of waxy liquid.
     "I've never been better," Haruka replied. "Talk about
amateurs."
     The Elven lord ducked a swipe for his face, delivering
another blast of magik. But this time the suited man held
substance, water-like ripples moving up the man's form. The
suited man glared at him.
     He flashed a sincere, nervous smile. "This might hurt."
     The suited man made a vicious strike, but Chaos leaped
backwards through the air, landing in behind them. "Um, they seem
to adapting to my magik. What about you?"
She suppressed a smile. "Sounds like you're running short on
tricks, Chaos."
     He bristled. "Bad form, Michiru. You try it."
     Haruka grinned. "What would you guys ever do without us?"
     She raised her hands in unison with the tall sandy-blonde.
"On your mark, Haruka."
     Haruka nodded. "Let's show them our new power. RUMBLE
QUAKE!"
     She launched her own attack: "TIDAL STORM!"
     More suited men were torn apart and reduced to pools, but
even more of them seemed to appear with each fallen one. It was
like facing an endless enemy.
     "There's still too many of them," she said.
     "Just like Nehelenia's mirror paradery," Haruka growled.
"They seem glutton for punishment. One more time, Michiru: RUMBLE
QUAKE!"
     The triple tears through the earth of the tall, sandy-
blonde's met their targets, but only one or two rather than a
whole legion were torn apart. As the attack exploded the suited
men only rippled in form.
     She grimaced; if Haruka's attack held little effect the
second time around, she was willing to bet her attacks would be
just as impotent. "It would appear they evolve very quick
defenses," she observed. 
     "Any suggestions on how we might reverse that?" Haruka
inquired.
     She shook her head. 
     "Hey!" came a shout from Chaos, in the thick of the youma.
"A little help here!"
     He dodged a swipe to his head, only to be punched directly
in the chest. A powerful force went with the suited man's punch,
a violet aura sending him careening across the pavilion, silver
hair against his sweaty face. 
     There was total silence as his body crashed and rolled
violently across the roof. But as the dust cleared he was still
visibly alive. Slowly rising, he glared at the suited men through
dark green Elven eyes.
     "Chikusho," he muttered. 
     And then came a new voice to the battle: "If you want to
play, then by all means let's play."
     Charged with new energy, thin arcs crackled and pulsated all
around the rooftop. Brilliantly dancing bolts of lightening
engulfed the building, throwing up a howling tempest with them.
     "Masaka," she whispered, her voice almost drowned out by the
gales. She knew this voice, and its magik.
     "ARASHI!" the voice shouted.
     A shockwave erupted like a tsunami, raging out of control at
the suited men. They each had a moment where they recoiled in
terror before the light reduced them to nothing. The demons
exploded into those pools of waxy liquid, droplets splashing the
walls and floor only to be vaporized a second later by the
attack.
     The power faded, and with it the brilliant light that had
overtaken the building. There was no sign of any other suited man
on the rooftop--or what was left of it, anyways. The fencing had
been torn apart in numerous places, and the rooftop itself was
cracked from one end to the other as if it had been witness to an
all-out war--which, of course, it had.
     "Aw, dammit," Chaos coughed, wiping his charred sleeves. "I
swear you have the same unpleasant disposition as Karasu when
meeting someone for the first time, Haruka."
     "Be careful how you say that," came a familiar voice.
     She turned, smiling as she saw a familiar person walk out
from behind a veil of invisibility. Dressed the same way as ever
before, there was Kageno Karasu, the Wanderer.
     "Well," the tall, sandy-blonde wryly remarked, surveying the
damage. "The building managers might not want us back here
again."
     The Wanderer smiled. "Leave that to me." 
     With a flick of the wrist Karasu produced a crystal, the orb
floating up into the air until it was almost lost high above in
the moonlight. Then with a brilliant flash it blinded everything.
     As she opened her eyes, she saw the rooftop intact once
more. As if nothing had happened. Even more surprising was the
fact that they had reverted back to their normal identities, the
sailor fukus now gone.
     "Daijobu," Karasu said, walking towards them. Black jacket
dancing around in the wind, the strange sword resting on the
Wanderer's shoulder. "I just created a powerful illusion.
Everything has been wiped clean, including the memories of anyone
who might have seen this."
     The Elven lord of Chaos gave a playful punch to his
shoulder. "Karasu-kun! I wish I could say it was good to see you
again, but I doubt you've simply come here because you missed
me."
     "Hardly," he replied icily. "I still have to pay you back
for trying to rip out my Imagika, Chaos. And one of these days I
will repay your favour."
     "Still the same unpleasant disposition," Chaos chuckled.
"Just because I'm carrying around the joy of kicking your ass
inside me doesn't mean we can't be friends."
     He growled, the Arashi emerging from his hand in a rapid
motion, the shining blade making a shrill ring in the air.
     The Elven lord seemed to find this even more amusing. "A
shame you can't exactly do anything to me since I've absorbed
your powers."
     "Just because you can wield my magik doesn't mean it won't
hurt when I hit you," he shot back.
     The Elven lord regarded that for a moment. "Touch‚,
Wanderer, touch‚." 
     "You two know each other?" she asked, unable to hide her
amusement. Watching the two of them interact was like watching
two brothers squabble with each other.
     "Regrettably, yes," he answered. "Are you finished playing
here, Chaos? We need their help sooner rather than later."
     The Elven lord shrugged. "Not my fault. Blame the puddles."
     "Hold on," the tall, sandy blonde cut in. "What's going on?
And don't tell me you two don't know something."
     "We're going to the Sanctuary," Chaos said with smile.
"Someone wants to have a word with you."


     The Gallery had seen its own share of tranquillity and
hostile war. Now, even as the quiet waters flowed in the large
fountain pools, the serenity that had existed here since the
release of Milady Selena was slowly fading away.
     He took one more glance around the Gallery as he crossed
over into the Sanctuary; it seemed like such a long time since he
had been here. Almost a month had passed since he had
relinquished his father's sphere of illusion. Now he was the
Wanderer once again, no more the DreamSeer.
     Finding himself once again amidst the countless realms
within the Dreamworld had seemed strange at first, having been
away for so long. Yet he found himself content in his wanderings,
not having a place to call home, the glimpses of beautiful dreams
his only constant companions.
     Solitude seemed to suit him well.
     The sandy blonde and the aqua-haired woman appeared behind
him, walking from one realm into the next. Possessing the ancient
magiks was the reason the stone griffins had let them pass by,
just as they had once before. For her and Haruka, almost half a
year had passed since their first and last visit here.
     He turned his head as an excited squeak echoed across the
Gallery. A green wyvern happily flew into his arms, knocking them
both onto the floor. He laughed as the wyvern licked his cheek.
     "I'm glad to see you too, Fuu-chan," he said.
     "It is good to see you once more, Karasu," the voice of the
DreamMaster said.
     He stood back up and nodded to the young man. "Likewise,
Helios," he replied, extending his hand.
     They shook, and though he could see in Helios' misty eyes
the delight of their meeting, there was also a grim knowledge of
the destiny they were now to share. Helios turned to the Elven
lord, who appeared hovering in the air, sprawled out as if taking
a short nap on a couch.
     "I see you were able to summon them, Chaos," the DreamMaster
said.
     Chaos nodded. "As promised, as delivered."
     "There were complications," he countered. "A legion of youma
attacked. And they had the ability to adapt to all our magiks. I
was lucky enough to catch them off guard and finish those suited
men with my lightening strike."
     "Nasty breed of them too," the Elven lord added, sitting up.
"Really adamant about going after Haruka and Michiru."
     "They were not after Haruka or Michiru," Helios answered.
"They were after you, Chaos. It just so happened they found you
right when you found these two ladies at my request."
     "Haruka-san! Michiru-san!" 
     He turned as the new DreamSeer and the tall brunette enter
the Gallery. The tall brunette happily raced up to the two women.
Perhaps because of the fond memories of once being a part of
their lives, he smiled in watching them interact, the tall
brunette the most excited of the three.
     "What do we do about Mako-chan?" the raven angel asked
quietly of the DreamMaster.
     "She already knows too much," he stated. "If we want to hide
our wild card, then we have to make sure the Sailor Senshi and
the guardian angels do not find out about the Scourge."
     "Keeping quiet will only work for so long," Helios said.
"When the Sandman chooses to make itself known, then everyone
will know regardless of what we do."
     "Excuse me," the Elven lord cut in. "As much as I hate to
break up such a tender moment, I for one would like to know
what's going on."
     Chaos flipped backwards and stood on the ground, glancing
over to Helios. "This means, you realize, that something very
powerful has been unleashed if it can adapt to not only their
magik, but my own." A glance over at the raven angel. "I'm
assuming I can't use Morpheus' Imagika to enhance my powers."
     "Gomen nasai," the raven angel said. "It's the only thing
keeping me alive right now. I wish I could help return your magik
to its original power though."
     Chaos sighed, as if being the one who had to do everything.
"In that case I'll need some friends of mine."
     "Oh no, you don't," he countered, seizing Chaos' wrist. "Not
after the stunt you pulled last time."
     "I went back into the Pandora box of my own free will," the
Elven lord replied evenly, pulling away. "And I've been a good
little Elven since I was released again. If that doesn't give you
enough trust, then why have me take part in this strange little
game? Besides, I only want one other Box opened. The rest of my
Court would simply run around the world and spread their own
brands of chaos, and we don't want that right about now, do we?"
     Chaos stared up at the starlight heavens overhead, smiling
at the warm glow of the moon. "I would never do anything to harm
Chibiusa-chan."
     He backed away, casting a glance at Helios; this call was
for the DreamMaster to make. And as much as he hated to admit it,
they would need everyone's magik...even that of the Court of
Chaos.
     "Sorata," the DreamMaster said. "Let him open one other
Pandora Box."
     Sora nodded, bowing slightly. "Hai."
     "Daijobu," the Elven lord said. "I'll be releasing Rampage.
And she's a very loyal pet."
     "Pet?" the tall, sandy blonde muttered to the aqua-haired
woman. "They sealed a pet inside a Pandora Box?"
     "Mako-chan," the raven angel said. "Please wait here. I'll
be right back."
     The tall brunette nodded, giving the DreamSeer a chaste peck
on the cheek. "Be careful, Sora."
     He shot the Elven lord an icy glare from behind his shades
as Chaos jostled him in passing. 
     "Don't be so touchy, Karasu!" Chaos called back. "We might
be called upon to save each others lives in the near future!"
That was followed a round of chuckles from the Elven lord. 
     He shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. Chaos still
seemed to view everything as but a playful game. But the Elven
lord didn't even have the slightest idea as to what they were up
against. He intimately knew what they were fighting.
     And perhaps that is why he protested no further about the
release of Rampage. Chaos was sincere about protecting the
Tsukino maiden. He just hoped that the demon beast Chaos was
unleashing would understand that.
     Helios turned to him. "Karasu, I hold little doubt that you
are here because you sensed the its release."
     He nodded. "Like a chilling wind."
     "I'm willing to believe that the Empress also knows the
Scourge is free once more. As much as I know you dislike her, we
will need her powers."
     The sandy blonde stepped into the conversation. "Hold it.
Michiru and I are being left out of the circle right now, and I
for one want to know what's going on. You owe us that much for
what happened back there in Tokyo."
     "The truth?" Helios asked.
     The tall, sandy blonde nodded. "Yes."
     "We don't know what it is," he answered in Helios' place.
"We just call it the Scourge, a rampant magik more twisted than
anything even the Shadowqueen could summon."
     "More twisted than her?" the tall brunette inquired.
     The DreamMaster knelt down near the edge of the pool, lost
in private thoughts of a distant past. "The Shadowqueen twists
our dreams to deceive and steal kingdoms. The Scourge turns
dreams into horrific realms of insanity, destroying everything.
It is not here to conquer. It is here to annihilate.
     "It is a living entity that I for one have never before
encountered in my lifetime. I don't even know if the Ancients
themselves have ever seen anything like it. But the Scourge is
controlled by someone called the Sandman. One thousand years ago,
we sealed the Scourge inside the Dreamworld...and now it's found
a way back out. Guaranteed it will continue right where it left
off. It's only purpose in life is the death of everything else."
     The weight of the wyvern atop his shoulder seemed negligible
as he watched the ripples of the fountain waters. Now he too was
being sucked into memories of the past, ones he thought would be
left buried.
     "Rei-chan," he whispered.
     If the Scourge was out there prowling the Dreamworld, then
he could only pray that she was safe, and would still be safe
until she awoke. 


     Just as he had once been released, the opening of the
Pandora Box brought with it a river of neon green smoke and mist
that billowed out at his ankles. The enchanted lanterns along the
hallways flickered like candles in the wind. A low rumble moved
along beneath their feet.
     He ran his fingers along the place where the sapphire had
once been, the mark of magik flickering on his hand. If anyone
was to release Rampage, better that it was him personally. There
was no telling how temperamental she would be.
     Nothing seemed to happen beyond the rumbles and smoke.
Rampage was the type not to make a grant entrance, but rather a
stealthy one. It was simply the way she thought.
     Growls echoed at his back as hot, moist air blew against his
hair. He never even turned around. Instead he smiled. "Ohayo,
Rampage-chan," he said affectionately. "Did you miss me?"
     She growled approval, nuzzling his chest. His hand felt the
smooth, curving spines that lined the middle of the demon beast's
skull.
     "That is your little pet?" the raven angel asked in
disbelief.
     He nodded, stroking the top of her head. "Yes. Isn't she
beautiful, Sora?"
     "Beautifully destructive," Sora answered. "We don't have
much time, Chaos. You need to be somewhere now."
     He turned to the new DreamSeer, cocking an eyebrow. "So my
suspicions were right," he remarked. "I could read it in Helios'
eyes: something's got all of you preparing for a war."
     "An entity called the Scourge has risen up again," Sora
explained. "It is something that lives to destroy all that exists
in both worlds. It will consume and ravage everything unless we
stop it now."
     He stiffened, memories in the back of his mind coming to a
distant surface. Strange calls to his name, whispers on the
winds. A chorus within a chamber that should have been silent
save for his own voice.
     Never had he or his Court indulged in such deadly uses of
magik. While they all were of chaos, this Scourge seemed to be of
pure Anarchy, the forbidden power of the Elven race. A magik to
end all magiks permanently.
     He stroked Rampage's head; she seemed to like being back in
his company. At least she didn't want to attack the raven angel.
"I assume you haven't told anyone else," he said. 
     The raven angel nodded. "Only those who sealed the Scourge
almost one thousand years ago have felt the ripples of its
release. And with the Sanctuary being so closely connected to
every magik, thus we sensed its release too."
     "But not any of your other playmates still on Earth?"
     "Iie. The Scourge doesn't know about the Sailor Senshi, or
the angels now in Tokyo. But once it does, the Scourge will come
after them."
     He sucked in a deep breath. "Chibiusa-chan," he asked
quietly. "Where is she now?"
     So many fond memories of this world. It felt strange that he
enjoyed the peace of this planet moreso now without the other
Elven running around playing their own games. Here he was the
only Playking. But this Scourge would destroy his playing field.
     It would kill the Tsukino child.
     "She's safe," Sora answered. "Helios has her in a dream
state, protected within Illusion's magik until we know what the
Scourge intends to do next. If necessary, she will return to the
future."
     Slowly he turned to stare into the angel's emerald green
eyes that had once been burning crimson. "All right," he stated.
"Count me in." He looked to the ghostly demon-beast that was
Rampage. "Daddy's going to play a new game. Would you like to tag
along?"
     Rampage seemed to smile, and vanished like a fading dream.
Yet Sora could hear her movements as she left the chamber before
phasing back to the Earthworld. Chaos vanished moments
afterwards.
     "Good luck," the raven angel said quietly. "You'll need it."

     
     Within the void of nothingness they existed.
     Shadows on the walls of our dreams, ghosts haunting the
darkest corners of our minds. No one knew of their release, just
as a thousand years ago no one had known of their coming...until
the first kingdom of the Dreamworld had fallen.
     DarkWorld.
     Oh, how they wanted to see those realms again: empty and
lifeless, cold and without beauty. Solitude for eternity.
Retribution for being left behind. The gathering of shadows were
there amidst the orchard of cherry blossom trees, the rainfall of
gentle petals slipping through their forms.
     A star high overhead shone, flashed for a moment, and then
became fire. The flames darted to the nearest shadow, glowing
eyes hovering over the shadow of the darkness' palm. There were
no words spoken, but everything was spoken through its eyes. A
midnight sky and a battle waged with an Elven Playking.
     "So," they whispered. "The Master of Elven Chaos is indeed
released by our hands. We must seek him out."
     The eyes in the fire moved about to say more in the silence.
     Dissension followed.
     "Masaka!" the wraith hissed. "Warriors of the ancient magiks
in the Earthworld?"
     A chorus of whispers rose up, each one a different voice,
each one a different dream abandoned long ago. In that instant
they were no longer the Scourge, but an echo of human minds. Yet
instants pass in but the blink of an eye, and once more they were
the Scourge again.
     "We must begin the onslaught soon. They have not attacked us
yet, those whose seals we bore in the Void. What secrets are they
keeping?"
     These women. These...Sailor Senshi.
     "Search for bloodmagik, and then spill it."
     The eyes of the flames narrowed in acknowledgement, and the
fire became a streak in the starless skies. And so they waited.
Very soon the skies over Dreamworld and Earthworld would become
starless, and the eternal glow of the moon blotted out forever.
     And they would find rest in its eerie silence.
     Rest with the Wanderer.


     "Karasu?"
     He turned his head, brushing away some the stray bangs of
shining blonde hair clinging to his face. The winds pushed the
rest of his hair past his shoulders. Shades of silver grey
billowed out next to his black jacket and pants.
     "Hai, Mako-chan."
     She was alone, standing before him. There was something she
wanted to say but hesitant to ask. For a moment a smile tugged at
the corners of his lips; she was a beautiful young woman, just
starting to show the first signs of her pregnancy.
     He returned to watching the fields of the last unicorn. 
     "Helios was looking for you," she said.
     "I've been here for some time," he answered, leaning against
the posts of the gazebo. "Where is everyone else?"
     "Chaos is somewhere on Earth with Haruka-san and Michiru-
san. I don't know where Sora is right now...."
     He glanced back at her, removing his shades. For someone so
fiercely independent, her attitude now caught him off guard. She
knew something was happening, something terrible. But her concern
was only for her raven angel. 
     "You want to know more about the Scourge, don't you?" he
inquired. 
     She nodded, her hands gently resting upon her belly.
     This was legend to her, an ancient faery tale that she had
never heard of before. And the ancient powers that came with this
tale frightened her. For now she had more to be concerned about
than just herself.
     "Its origins are unknown even to Helios and the
Shadowqueen," he said. "One night it simply appeared and began
ravaging the kingdoms of the Dreamworld. Many angels and demons
were killed...."
     His voice drifted off. He was staring into the midnight
skies now as if he was no longer a part of the conversation. Left
hand clenching and relaxing as if wishing to summon the Arashi to
bring some form of comfort.
     "Somehow the Scourge possesses the ability to move without
even our auras detecting it. That entity was the perfect ghost,
never truly gone and yet never truly here. And that is why only a
handful know of its unleashment: three of us sealed it off, and
only we would know the magik it opened up when it broke free.
     "As DreamMaster, Helios used the magik of the raven angels
to place the first seal. The Shadowqueen used her magik of the
Shadowdemons to place the second seal. Yet the Scourge remained
unaffected by their combined magiks. It was something altogether
different."
     "But you sealed it regardless," she pressed. "You beat its
powers."
     He nodded. "Hai. It was my illusion that acted as the final
seal. The Scourge could not withstand my powers of illusion, and
so it has slept in the Void for a thousand years. But it's out
now, and I have to stop it once more."
     "Let me help fight," she stated, stepping forward.
     By the shine in her emerald green eyes, he knew she was
willing to do whatever it took to help. But how willing would she
be when presented with these nightmares of the past?
     "You're safer here," he said. "The Sandman won't come after
you within the boundaries of the Sanctuary if he doesn't know you
possess magik."
     "It wouldn't be just me," she protested. "The Sailor Senshi
would help too!"
     He shook his head. "Out of the question, Makoto. This is not
your fight."
     Her fist clenched, trembling in silent anger. "Dammit, this
does involve me!" she shouted at him. "This Scourge you talk of
wants to kill my friends, my child...and now you're telling me I
can't protect them? Why?!"
     If she had tried to stir something within him, it was
crushed before he even had a chance to realize its presence. The
shades replaced his crystal blue eyes, and he began to make the
journey back into the Sanctuary.
     "Simply because," he stated. "Believe me when I tell you
that."


     The orchard was once a realm of Dreamworld beauty. Now it
was a desolate wasteland. Once where endless rows of exquisite
cherry blossoms stretched out from one horizon to the next, there
was now torn earth, broken trees and bloodied petals floating in
the winds.
     Death was the overpowering scent in the air, the death of
the dreamers who had once danced here under a forever night.
There had been no time to let them escape to other kingdoms.
There had been no warning, and now all she could do was defend
the survivors.
     Another streak of magik smashed into her back, and her world
became one of pain. Agony in hearing the doomed screams of her
dreamers. Crackling blak magik struck every part of her body,
flinging her into a half-broken tree. The fragile trunk was
shattered and she fell into a muddied pool of pink blossoms.
     A chorus of laugher.
     It was with weak, trembling arms that she pushed herself
back up. Forced to rise again; there were still others who might
be trapped here. She faced the shadows.
     Wraiths stood and watched, emotionless, faceless, almost
formless. The silhouettes were there before her. And they were
doing nothing but waiting patiently. The skies were clouding
over, moonlight snuffed out.
     The rains fell to mark the beginning of the end.
     Brilliant orange eyes, one now stained scarlet, widened at
the release of one more attack. The ground burst open with a
horde of enraged, pulsating roots. A tangled skein wove itself
through the shadows, binding them down with the power of this
kingdom.
     It only took a single shaft of blak magik to tear the roots
to shreds. The Scourge was still standing there, watching her.
Cruel laughter echoing across her once beautiful orchard. Another
blast of blak magik struck her, and she was thrown backwards.
     Her strength was failing as she rose up only to fall back
down. She collapsed onto her knees, matted hair clinging to her
bloodied face. Sweat and dirt covered the rest of her body, and
her once fiery red hair was now a dull mud brown.
     "Shi...shimatta," she whispered hoarsely.
     Her silken kimono was ripped and tattered, stained beyond
repair. She feel her own warm blood clinging to the robes. It was
like wearing a second skin. Patterns of the delicate trees she
had raised since seedlings in this Dreamworld were now lost
forever.
     Then came the whispers.
     "You have fought well," they said. "But you have lost your
realm. We shall claim your kingdom now. It belongs to us."
     "That may be," she hissed. "But there will be others."
     Another bolt of magik exploded into her, black and violet
hues dancing around her battered form. She screamed as her arm
was severed from the rest of her body, the lifeless limb hitting
the ground with a dull "thump" as her precious blood now flowed
like a river down the side of her body.
     The pain was too intense for any more screams. Each beat of
her heart throbbed and echoed across her body, each beat growing
fainter.
     She was alone.
     No one knew of its presence. No one would until her kingdom
was torn apart in one final act of armageddon. But until then,
she had to fight no matter what.
     Suddenly the ground was torn apart, an enormous worm
emerging. Pieces of earth were chewed up and spewed forth as its
rough hide pulsated in the act of rising from the underground.
Triple mandibles opened up, and with an enraged shriek the
Jabberwocky lunged for the host of shadows.
     Her eyes widened at the sight.
     "Masaka," she whispered. Was it...protecting her?
     Before the creature born of the nightmares had a chance to
fall upon the shadows, a new eruption of dark magik found its
worm body. She winced as the gore was thrown about in every
direction, scattered like her blossoms in this downpour. The
scorched and mauled head of the Jabberwocky crashed into the
ground just steps away from her, sinking into a muddy grave.
     Anger burned in her heart.
     She whirled, glaring at these ghostly harbingers. "Your
magik cannot destroy Helios or the Shadowqueen! When they learn
of what you have done, they will finish you for certain this
time!"
     A chorus of laughter.
     "Amusing little angel you are, Kaika. But have you forgotten
that the DreamMaster and the Shadowqueen were forced to combine
their powers to seal us off?" 
     "There will be others!" she cried out, her strength
gathering what powers she could. "There were those of us with
even enough power to cross through worlds. They will exact our
revenge!"
     She charged, wielding with her good arm any magik she had
left to summon. A crackling vortex of scarlet light swarmed
around her body as she delivered her last blow.
     The magik died out abruptly as her feet left the earth,
dangling above the ground. Something had taken hold. Her body
hovered there, eyes wide, mouth agape with lips soaked in blood.
She could taste it mixing with the sweet rainwater.
     Shadows watched her.
     "We shall take your world."
     The darkness wrapped around her back burrowed in deeper, and
she screamed as her chest was punched open. Orange eyes began to
cloud over, swallowed up by a darkness that neither shone nor
glowed. Black and empty. 
     Her voice but a strangled whisper. "I-I...."
     The darkness consumed her.
     One more guardian angel was dead.
     The entire kingdom violently convulsed, shockwaves sending
the upheaving ground to ripple like the waters of a pool. Waves
of dirt the height of a child coursed from one boundary to the
next. And when the waves reached every last borderline, a shaft
of light exploded from the epicentre that was once Kaika.
     The stars died, and the moon fell from those skies.
     Darkness swallowed up this kingdom and it was lost forever. 
     Eerie blue mist swarmed around the gathering of shadows.
They watched with glowing eyes the crater that marked her last
stand.
     "Angels...who have crossed over?" 
     They faded.
     The gathering of wraiths faded away like a forgotten dream,
leaving behind the tattered remains of her realm. Now it was a
desolate wasteland, its heart and soul that belonged to the
dreamers now stolen by a cruel act of magik.
All that remained was DarkWorld.
     Somewhere amidst all the ruins of the orchard, mud began to
move, stretching out and finding form from once just a thick
puddle. The mud opened with dragon eyes, and then unfurled dragon
wings. With a low growl the beast surveyed the devastation.
     The guardian angels would be here soon.
     It was time to return to his Empress.   

     
     The grand masquerade was reaching near its peak amidst these
endless midnight hours. Across the calm waters of a shimmering
ocean echoed the laughter of the masquerade lovers dancing within
the halls of a floating palace. There was music being played in
the grand hall, a beautiful symphony of night that she found
herself dancing to with the euphoria of an angel.
     "I wish we could do this more often," she said.
     He grinned, letting her twirl beneath his outstretched arm.
A braid of long, earthen brown hair draped over his shoulder
fluttered with each movement. 
     "Are you suggesting I don't pamper you enough?" he chuckled, 
drawing her close again.
     She sighed, head against his shoulder. "You've been here
longer than I have, Meikyu. This is still new to me every night
we come here." 
     He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Life is short, so love
while you still can, Ami-chan. I've had near an eternity to do
that, but we must let you catch up."
     And then the entire floating palace shook in upheaval.
Masquerade dancers screamed and with their beloveds ran for cover
as the floor cracked apart, venting steam. The chandelier high
over their heads exploded in a fiery cascade of sparks.
     "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, gripping her tightly as
their entire world seemed to come crashing down.
     A geyser of water erupted from the centre of the ballroom,
throwing dancers in every direction. Screams and masks scattered
in every direction. The enormous archways were rapidly being
shaken apart, blocks of stones toppling over. And the frightened
dancers were too panicked to notice that they could be crushed.
     Scythe in hand, he unleashed a wave of magik that cut the
stones apart. Dust rained down instead of debris, and the dancers
escaped into the corridors.
     The chandelier broke apart in another shower of white
sparks, plummeting to the floor.
     "Meikyu!" she cried out. 
     She leaped into him, pushing them both aside as the
chandelier crashed down onto the floor. A cloud of thick dust
swept through the area, followed by the echoes of hushed and
frightened silence.
     He pushed out from the broken remains of the chandelier,
trying to unpin his one foot. With a one final kick he managed to
free himself. The pain was not very great; he doubted it was
broken.
     And then he saw her curled up next to him, eyes still closed
shut as if hesitant to open and see that the ordeal was indeed at
an end. "Ami-chan," he gasped. His fingers touched the trickles
of blood running down from her hair.
     Ocean blue eyes of gentleness opened up to him. She smiled,
taking his hand in hers. "Daijobu, Meikyu."
     He shook his head, laughing in extreme relief. "Baka. You
could have been killed doing that."
     She sat up, stifling a cough. "It would have been selfish of
me to save myself."
     "Ara ara," he conceded, standing up. She held out her hand
and he pulled her to her feet. With a grim expression he surveyed
the damage.
     Dancers were slowly recovering, making their way across the
areas of the ballroom freed from debris. Many whispered in
disbelief. Others whispered of concern. And still others cried in
the arms of their lovers.
     "Shimatta," he muttered. "This will take a while to repair."
He lifted his face to the skies above. "Yurei Knights!" 
     Four ghostly apparitions dressed in masks and cloaks
appeared to attend to their master. Their heads reverently bowed
to await their duties. "I want you to search the palace and treat
anyone who's wounded," he instructed.
     "Did it originate from your kingdom?" she asked, wincing as
her head swam with her first step. 
     He shook his head. "If it had, I sincerely doubt we would be
alive and talking to each other right about now."
     She gasped in surprise as the cool hand of a Yurei Knight
pressed against her forehead. In moments she was able to think
more clearly again.
     One tried to attend to him, but he refused. "I'll live.
Attend to the others in more need of your healing touch."
     An aftershock ran through, the floating palace shuddering
once more. He threw himself overtop of her as more dust and small
debris crashed to the broken floor. More distressed cries from
the dancers echoed across the ballroom.
     He coughed, brushing the dust from his face. 
     The Yurei Knights were already gone. Instinctively they
would search out the critically wounded, and from there work
their way throughout the entire palace.
     "What was that?" she exclaimed.
     He realized his jaw was clenched, and relaxed it. The cape
of Shadowdemons fluttered around his form as he slowly limped
towards the balcony.
     Eyes of piercing jade stared at his kingdom. Out as far as
he could see was the shimmering ocean, still disturbed and raging
with its waves. But beyond that....
     "Gomen ne, Ami-chan," he stated. "We'll have to cut our date
short tonight."
     "Meikyu?" Her ocean blue eyes widened; never before had she
seen him so serious before. That made her all the more concerned
over what had just happened. 
     He barely even glanced back at her. "You must leave now."
 

     The storms were thundering outside, yet there within the
silver walls of the step pyramids she was warm. In fact she was
actually enjoying the storms, watching the glistening jungle
forests dance in the winds. A flight of dragons stirred around
her. Many were lying around or sleeping.
     He was seated beneath one of the large arches, absently
watching the rainfall. Leaning back against the base of the arch,
he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool air. At
first it seemed as if he was relaxing, but deep thoughts consumed
his mind as he stared at the rains.
     This time she was certain she could catch his attention.
"Ohayo, Ki-chan!" she exclaimed, beaming as she skipped towards
the ledge. "I brought us some chocolate mousse!"
     Her smile dropped as he seemed to take no notice of her.
Stomping right up to his perch with exaggerated indignancy, she
shouted into his ear, "PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!"
     That startled him enough to have him nearly topple off the
ledge and into the forests. He shook his head, ears still
ringing. "Hai hai, Minako-chan."
     With a broad smile she offered him a dish of chocolate
delicacy. Sapphire blue eyes met with hers, and she found herself
blushing. Moments later she was sitting beside him beneath the
arch.
     "You were really out of it," she mused, wolfing down her
three bowls of mousse. "I've never seen you like this Kishi, even
during one of the jungle's storms."
     He seemed pensive again, staring out at the midnight skies
as they thundered past them. "I was thinking about Suna-chan," he
said finally. "It's on nights like these that I really miss his
company."
     Months on end had passed since he and his little dragon pet
were separated by a spell of blak magik. At first he had sworn
retribution, but she had reasoned with him to let it be. There
was nothing they could do for the lesser dragon. All he had were
the sincere apologies of the Wanderer and the odango-haired
blonde, and his memories. 
     "Ki-chan," she said quietly.
     Surprised at the sadness in her voice, he turned to her. The
winds blew her tresses of long, blonde hair all around her face.
And he remembered what he still had, who it was he had sworn to
protect.
     "Listen to me," he said, letting a smile creep across his
face. "Now here I am, making you all depressed." He took her hand
and hopped down from the ledge. "Come on, Minako-chan, there's a
sheltered hotspring just above us for you to parade around in.
You can be even more beautiful there than you are now." 
     At first she blushed.
     The she gave him a playful wink. "I'm going to be a famous
idol singer and model, so naturally I have to work at being
beautiful every day! After all, perfect practice always makes you
hungry for dinner!"
     He rolled his eyes, pushing aside his bangs of blue hair.
"Yare yare. 'Practice makes perfect', Minako-chan, and you've
still got a loooooong way to go."
     "Baka!" she exclaimed, chasing him across the rotunda.
     He laughed, making faces as he raced away from her and
calling out teases. The dragons who were awake gave their own
growling chuckles at the scene.
     Suddenly the storm outside became possessed, and as if the
soul of the sealed Vampyre had returned. Thunder rumbled across
the entire jungle with the violent force of an earthquake. The
dragons were thrown into a frenzy, snarling and rising to their
feet.
     He threw himself overtop of her as the entire chamber was
thrown into confusion. The archways they had been sitting under
were blown apart, shattered into dust and stone shrapnel that was
launched into the rotunda.
     "Kishi!" she cried out.
     "Keep down!" he shouted, bracing himself for the worst.
     An armada of lightening bolts shot down from the raging
heavens, each one touching a different part of the kingdom. And
with each touch came devastation. Craters were carved into the
jungles, scorching plants and trees. A number grazed the step
pyramids and turned silver stone into melted rubble.
     The explosive heavens seemed to be abruptly appeased,
distant rumblings fading away. Hesitant to place her in danger
again, he rose to his feet to survey the damage. 
     "Daijobu?" he asked, helping her up.
     Stunned, but still possessing her full senses, she nodded.
The entire rotunda was in disarray as the dragons scrambled to
full alert. And he was no exception.
     "What happened?" he shouted over the confusion. 
     He froze as he stared out of the gaping hole in the wall.
The rains were still coming down, yet from this angle alone he
could see a dozen fires raging out of control in the jungles. And
the step pyramid nearest to theirs had its upper levels
completely destroyed.
     "Masaka," she whispered. What could do a thing like this?
She turned to him. "Kishi, I--"
     He was already racing through the rotunda, barking out
orders. "I want the biggest and the strongest to start digging
them out now! All lesser dragons I want patrolling the skies!"
     She raced after him, finally catching up at the edge of the
hole. Broken stones and fallen columns marked the area. She took
hold of his arm, unable to believe the devastation that stretched
right across his jungle realm.
     "Kishi, what happened?" she exclaimed.
     She failed to understand as he abruptly kissed her lips. She
understood even less when seconds later his magik threw her back
to the Earthworld, leaving him behind.


     Down at the base of the crystal tower that was the Citadel,
its four outer points shimmering in the pale moonlight as its
lofty central spire seemed to reach up to the stars themselves,
she looked up at her dark-haired prince.
     Illusion was such a beautiful realm, and no matter how many
times she found herself here, she never tired of seeing its
majestic wonder. Behind then were the rolling hills that led into
the forests. Beyond that a realm that might have been the Valley
of the Myst, the home of the Mystwolves.
     Tonight they stared at the ocean waters in the far distance,
listening to the crashing waves beat against the base of the
cliffs.
     "It's good to be at peace again," she sighed, nuzzling his
arm. "Ne, Mamo-chan?"
     He smiled and nodded, giving her gentle kiss on her
forehead. "I can't remember how long it's been since we haven't
had to worry about either Earth or the Dreamworld."
     Indeed, the past year had revealed itself with incredible
surprises and devastations. Each guardian angel had their own
story, and then there was the Wanderer, her older brother once in
a life now passed by.
     But here in Illusion she could be next to her dark-haired
prince and forget all her worries...like that test for tomorrow
she really should have studied for. All she could think about was
how soon it would be before they could be married.
     She glanced down at the engagement ring he had given her
right before Galaxia's siege upon the Earth. This symbol meant
everything to her: their love had seen both dreams and
nightmares, and yet nothing was able to tear them apart forever.
Their love was destined to be eternal.
Their fingers clasped and laced together, their warm breaths
caressing each other's skin. She placed her moist, soft lips on
his and held them trembling there for a few tender moments.
     Her eyes closed dreamily. It was absolute heaven.
     After a short while his began to open; he was now
frantically wondering how long she was going to keep this up
since he had to breathe soon. Abruptly his eyes shifted to the
ocean, and he broke away from the kiss. 
     She still kept her lips moving as if possessed by the kiss.
"Mamo-chan?"
     There was something in his expression, as if he was seeing
something that he couldn't believe even here in the Dreamworld.
     "What...is that?" he whispered.
     She watched the Ocean of Silver Orchids.
     At first it looked to be nothing; just a series of bright
flickers on the edge of the ocean's horizon line. But the
shimmering lights drew closer, and with them an escort of a
chilling wind that seemed to echo of a hundred cries and screams.
     Her crystal blue eyes widened as she saw the rippling
tsunami charging towards them. Near the edge of the forest, a
herd of Silvermanes let loose a fierce set of whinnies and raced
into the trees.
     He grabbed her hand, pulling her back as they began racing
towards the Citadel to escape the tidal wave. They were not fast
enough, only to the front portico when the shockwave struck.
     "Get down!" he exclaimed.
     The wave crashed into the base of the cliffs behind the
Citadel, sending forth a flood onto the land. The dark-haired
prince grappled onto the base of a column, swept about as the
waves smashed past them.
     She cried out as she was caught in the raging current,
thrown into the air. "Mamo-chan!" she screamed.
"Usa-ko!" he shouted, reaching out for her. Their grasping hands
caught moments before she would have been lost in the whirlwinds.
They clung tightly to each other as the Citadel itself seemed to
turn upside-down, violently shaking down to its core.
     All seemed lost.
     Suddenly there was a blast of magik that swallowed them up a
heartbeat before his grip would have been lost. In that moment of
blinding light, she thought she saw the DreamMaster's figure
standing before them. It was that silhouette which had summoned
the magik.
     And then they both awoke.


     They were perfectly still as the Valley of the Myst shook as
if in its final throes of a hideous death. The water of the
hotsprings splashed against them both as he held her tightly in
his arms. Steam billowed past them like a spectre possessed, his
wolfen eyes piercing the haze.
     Rocks tumbled down around the side of the plateaus, the
ground sending up a ripple that tore the grasses and fields
apart. Yet all through this they were silent and still, watching
and waiting. The shockwave passed, moving along to claim another
kingdom with its deadly force.
     She felt his warm hands caress her sides, his lips touching
the base of her neck. "Hotaru-sama," he said quietly. "The
Scourge has claimed another."
     With a nod, her fingers reached back to run through his
wild, silver hair. "I could feel her final cry to the heavens as
she died." 
     She stepped out from the hotspring, letting the cool night
air dry her skin. The Mystwolf blood coursing through her veins
did not give her a reason to shiver. Violet eyes flashed with
golden hues.
     "Okami, prepare the wolves. There will be a gathering in the
new DarkWorld, and I wish to be there to hear what the others
have to say."
     Already she could see the eerie glow of wolfen eyes emerging
from the depths of the myst-laden forest. Silver Mystwolves were
on the prowl, growling unanimous concern. They knew what was
rising from the depths of all that was evil.
     He bowed. "Hai, Hotaru-sama." A savage smile tugged at the
edges of his lips to reveal twin sets of fangs in the corners of
his mouth. "It shall be done."


     The Sanctuary seemed empty to him now, even when it was
teeming with magik and its familiars. The corridors held the
echoes of his footsteps. For some reason they sounded heavier to
his ears. Once again he found his reflection appearing in the
fountains of what once was the Gallery.
     "Who are you?" he asked the reflection.
     The young, blonde man looking back said nothing.
     Opening his palm he stared at the illusion within. A glowing
sphere revealed a distant memory. Everything was perfect right
down to the last detail: every bridge and cobblestone, every
shimmer of light and sparkle of the girl's eyes.
     "She's beautiful," came the tall brunette's voice.
     He cast a glance in her direction. She was tenacious; he at
least had to give the tall brunette credit for that. "I met her
once when I was wandering through the deserted city, on the east
borderline of the Dreamworld."
     She sat down next to him on the stairs leading into the
fountain. "Deserted city?"
     He nodded. "Hai. Like an ancient city of Atlantis, complete
in its old world beauty and form, though void of all life save
the fleeting dreams one might see, and the angel who guarded over
them. Her name was Yui, and she was new to being a lost soul. I
gave her the choice to return to Earthworld or remain with me.
For what could have been two days or two centuries, she walked by
my side as I wandered the kingdoms. She was grateful for the
company, and so was I."
     The face of Yui was smiling as he held the crystal close to
his eyes. Such radiance he saw in them, so much life. "A short
while later she asked to return to Earth. I...never saw her after
that."
     There had been hesitation, deliberate and deceptive.
     "You seem unusually disturbed about all this," she said.
"That's unlike you, Karasu."
     There was a whistling in the air, and the wyvern settled
down onto his shoulder. He scratched beneath the wyvern's chin
for a few moments, finding some comfort in the purrs he elicited.
     "When I saw her, I remembered my own mark of the lost soul,"
he stated. "And in her eyes I was reminded of why I had fought
the Scourge. No one deserves to be swallowed up by that ancient
evil. Everything could be lost right here and now, Makoto. I know
what the Scourge is capable of. We were lucky the last time,
catching the Scourge offguard. But this time it will be ready.
And it will hunt us all down, saving me for last."
     "Don't say things like that!" she exclaimed. "The threat has
been like that before, and we've always won! You have to believe
in us, Karasu!"
     He opened his palm, releasing the crystal into the air.
Yui's face hovered there before the sphere popped like a bubble.
"A belief is a choice to follow through with something," he said.
"The Scourge isn't like DeathBusters or Nehelenia, or even
Galaxia. If it gains a host, it can take on two worlds at once."
     Divide and conquer.
     The most primal of all human instincts was to dominate.
There were times when it even overpowered the emotions of love.
And he found himself questioning what he might lose this time,
even if he was victorious.
     "Do you believe we can stop it?" she asked.
     His silence seemed to find its own echoes across the
Gallery, crystal blue eyes behind the shades narrowing.
     "You are obsessed with taking it on by yourself," she said.
"Why is that? What has you so convinced that the Scourge has a
vendetta against you?"
     He stared at her solemnly from behind his shades. "When I
know why myself, I'll tell you, Makoto. But when the Scourge rose
up, it attacked the kingdom I was in. And then when I escaped it
followed me to the next one, and the next one, and so on. Even if
it was Shadowdemon territory, it annihilated everything. One
piece at a time, it turned the Dreamworld into a DarkWorld. I
sentenced the dreamers in those kingdoms to a dreamless death.
Why the Scourge desired that, it never bothered to tell me."
     The wyvern suddenly hissed, eyes glaring into an empty
corridor. The creature was tensed up, sensing a ripple effect
that they could not.
     "What is it Fuu-chan?" the tall brunette asked.
     A chilling wind blew in their faces. Slowly he stood,
removing the shades from his eyes. He could feel the magik that
was coming towards them.
     "No...." he whispered.
     The shockwave struck the Sanctuary.
     For a second time, the structure was subjected to a hellish
quake that almost threatened to shatter its very foundations into
a fine powder. He launched an armada of illusions, the crystals
forming a web that absorbed the worst of the shockwave. Even
still the Sanctuary continued to convulse.
     Finally the tides ebbed and all was deathly silent. His eyes
narrowed. "Not another one," he hissed. 
     He helped her up, taking care not to injure her or the child
within. The sound of raven wings in flight fell upon the Gallery,
and there appeared the raven angel.
     "Mako-chan!" Sorata exclaimed, wrapping her up in an
embrace. The DreamSeer was almost on the verge of tears. "I had
no idea the Sanctuary would be so affected by it. I feared I
might lose you again!"
     He watched them share a moment together. This was what he
had to protect now. And already it was coming under threat. His
fist clenched tighter, half tempted to summon the Arashi right
here.
     The Wanderer turned and began walking beneath the archways.
"Sora," he said. "Keep watch over here."
     "I wish I could go with you," Sora said.
     He shook his head. "No, you don't. But this has become your
new kingdom to protect. If the Scourge makes it to Earth, the
Sanctuary could easily become magik's final haven and humanity's
last stand."
     The wyvern alighted his shoulder one last time to nuzzle his
cheek. He gave the wyvern one affectionate scratching before
departing their company.
     "Karasu," the raven angel said.
     He said nothing in response.
     The Scourge was out on the prowl now, waiting to devour
whatever magik it could find within the Dreamworld. Once he
stepped back inside, it would search for his scent, or the scents
of those who had touched his magik.
     "Shimatta," he said quietly. "Rei-chan...."
     Not again. Not like her.
     Yui-chan....


     The DreamMaster stood high atop the Citadel of Illusion. His
world was beginning to fall apart, the beast that never slept
awakening from its tomb of oblivion. In his hands the Golden
Crystal shone like a star.
     His maiden was sleeping a deep and peaceful sleep. It was a
selfish act he knew, but one he had committed himself to none the
less. If worse came to worse he would have the Tsukino maiden
sent back into the future.
     Yet he feared a paradox would rob the child of that future.
     He turned his head as another entered the Citadel, tall and
dark-skinned. Her sailor fuku fluttered in the winds. The
guardian of time and space had finally entered the battle.
     "Has the time come, Setsuna?" he asked.
     She nodded, clutching her time staff. "Helios, if you wish
for your world to survive you must sacrifice the Golden Crystal
now. It is the only way we can hope to have a future."
     Silence.
     "There is no guarantee that we'll make it, is there?" he
asked quietly. "Crystal Tokyo perhaps. But I fear that destiny
has decreed some of us shall not see that kingdom come to be."
     Setsuna kept a solemn expression, revealing nothing.
"Destiny holds only the end results. The choices leading up to
that point are up to us to make. Our destiny is that of the
soldier. Our fate, our choice, is to fight."
     He glanced over at the distant shimmer of the ocean. "So be
it. I just wish I had one last chance to be with her, while we
were both awake." Misty eyes looked back. "Perhaps we shall met
again, Setsuna," he said. 
     But the time guardress had already vanished.
     He was alone once more. He looked back at the Tsukino
maiden, longing for one last smile, one last kiss. But time was
not his friend, and he had a duty to protect the Dreamworld. Even
at the cost of his own life.
     It was time to find the Wanderer.


     They had never seen the shockwave coming, and thus they were
thrown like rag dolls when it struck. Tossed across the fields,
they could only pick themselves up and wonder what had happened.
     He winced, rubbing his shoulder. Holding out an arm he
helped her to her feet, and for a time they both looked from one
horizon to the next. There was no other ripple, no other apparent
forces of magik at work. For on those fields, they had caught the
tail end of the shockwave.
     "Wh-what was that?' she asked, running her fingers through
her tresses of long, dark hair.
     The shrine protege shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't
know. I've never experienced anything like that before. It was as
if the entire Dreamworld convulsed, or screamed."
     Her senses could feel the magik in the winds, her own aura
touching the cold and dark forces that were now spreading across
the entire realm like a hideous plague.
     "I can feel something," she stated. "Something evil is here
among us all."
     She turned, eyes narrowing in the hopes of finding a place
to focus on. But the blak magik had her second-guessing the
direction. Not spreading like a plague. It was already here like
the winds.
     He shook his head and parted company from her. "I don't know
what it is," he said. "Gomen ne, Rei-chan. I didn't mean to spoil
our evening together, but this is something I had better take a
look at."
     "I'll go with you," she said.
     "Iie," he countered, kissing her hand. "Wait here. I'm sure
it's just a Shadowdemon acting up again. I'll be back before you
know it."
     And then he flickered and vanished. The illusion given to
him allowed for such teleportation. Now she felt jealous; as a
guardian angel by honour though not wings, he could travel in
moments to places that would take her a week of dreaming to find.
Despite them all possessing the talents to shift from kingdom to
kingdom, he was still the one with the enhanced talent.
     "Ganbatte, Yuichiro," she whispered.
     Winds pulled at her long, dark hair, her dress fluttering
upon her body. Everything was feeling colder, foreboding. Being
watched by one and yet a thousand eyes all at once. She shivered,
chilled as if some...thing had let its moist tongue trail down
her neck and along her collar line.
     "Hino Rei...." a chorus of voices whispered.
     She spun around. "Who's there?"
     Yet there was nothing save her own shadows.
     It surprised her when the ground beneath her feet shifted,
rippling like a miniature wave. A quick glance around the fields
showed that this was not another shockwave. 
     So what was it?
     Suddenly she was thrown across the fields, hurled into the
air only to come crashing back down into the dirt and grasses.
She coughed and sputtered, lifting her head.
     A waterfall of earth was pouring down before her, something
large rising out from the underground. The dirt became dust
covering armour plates, pulsating and rippling with life and
breath. A tail erupted and thrashed. And an eyeless, muddy-brown
face stared down at her.
     "N-Na ni?!" she exclaimed.
     What in the hell was this thing?
     The worm opened its triple mandibles, unleashing a shriek
that caused her to wince. The henshin stick found its way into
her grip. No sooner had she become a Sailor Soldier did she
launch an attack; nothing this grotesque could be of the raven
angels and their domain. This belonged to the Shadowqueen's
twisted legions.
     "Mars Flame Sniper!"
     The flames exploded at the armour, fire licking the side of
the Jabberwocky. Yet it was only pushed back a few feet from the
overall impact. Nothing changed except its disposition. The worm
shrieked again and writhed, smashing its tail into the ground,
pulverizing the earth.
     She leaped aside, rolling across the grasses. Jabberwocky
mouth opened and shrieked, rows of serrated teeth wanting so much
to tear her flesh to pieces. Another attack of the fire magik
proved useless; the worm's mouth shut tightly before the flames
could scorch its insides.
     The tail burst out from the ground, swatting her aside.
Collapsed into a heap, she fought to keep her strength. A
Jabberwocky shadow fell upon her. She screamed as the enormous
wormhead lunged, ready to drive her into the earth with its jaws
before consuming what was left.
     "ARASHI!!"
     She was blinded by the lightening as it erupted around the
worm, a final Jabberwocky shriek lifted to the heavens before
swallowed up in a thick haze. The clouds of smoke settled,
revealing a young man dressed in a dark suit. He glanced in her
direction, strands of long, shining blonde hair dangling around a
pair of shades.
     Directly behind him was a smouldering crater where a worm
had once been. The Wanderer grinned, wielding an umbrella amidst
the rainfall of Jabberwocky gore. "I can't let you go anywhere
without you causing trouble, can I, Rei-chan?"
     "Kara-chan!" she exclaimed. A piece of smoking worm flopped
down behind her, leaving a gory streak down the back of her fuku.
She winced and joined him beneath the umbrella.
     "Wha...what was that?" she asked, still out of breath.
     A loud "thump!" caused her to jump as another piece of worm
hit the umbrella.
     "Jabberwocky," he answered evenly. "The latest creation of
our Empress of Shadows, and by far the biggest nuisance I've ever
come up against."
     The falling gore ceased, and the illusionary umbrella
disappeared into a crystal sphere.
     "What exactly were you doing alone out here?" he asked.
     "Yuichiro left because of a shockwave that went through this
kingdom," she replied. "Do you know what caused this?"
     Silence.
     He knew, and she could read it in his eyes even while behind
the shades. He opened his palm, the Arashi emerging in a shaft of
light.
     "Something's happened, hasn't it?" she pressed. "Something
evil has been released."
     He revealed nothing by his expression, moonlight reflecting
off his sword. "You must leave the Dreamworld for now, Rei-chan.
It's not safe for you anymore."
     She opened her mouth to protest, but the mandala of
illusions hiding behind her had already opened a portal to
catapult her back into the realm of the waking hours. 
     "Karasu!" she called out, fading into the white glow of the
myst. Yet no matter how hard she reached, she was unable to touch
him and hold on, to remain here and fight.
     The Wanderer watched her disappear. "This is not your
battle, Sailor Senshi. Not until it comes to your Earthworld."
     He was glad in the fact that one could not become a lost
soul when forcefully removed from the Dreamworld. It was bad
enough for those who went in to never come back out, but a
forceful ejection was an emergency measure often taken by raven
angels when under attack.
     "You were wise to send her back to the waking hours," came a
familiar voice. "All the other raven angels have done the same."
     "The Scourge has yet to find its host to become Sandman," he
replied evenly, glancing back at the DreamMaster. "Until then the
only safe place is on Earth. I just hope Chaos doesn't do
anything stupid enough to get caught by its roving youma."
     Helios walked up towards him until they were face to face.
"I am no longer safe," Helios stated, placing a hand on his
shoulder. 
     "Neither of us are," he replied. "Bad enough we exist within
the Dreamworld, worse that we are two of the three seals which
trapped the Scourge within the Void. And you're putting yourself
in grave danger being next to me, Helios."
     "Regardless of whether or not the Scourge has a vengeance
against you, Karasu, the fact is that this is my world it
threatens. And I will fight it, by your side or by myself if I
have to."
     He couldn't help but smile. "You're as tenacious as Makoto
and the rest of the Senshi," he remarked. 
     "I heard you talking to her," Helios said. "You lied to her,
Karasu. That's the first time I have ever heard you lie. You
enjoy omitting details, especially the ones about yourself, but
never before had I heard you lie about them."
     Karasu turned away, suddenly cold and hostile as he pushed
off Helios' hand from his shoulder. "You know damn well what
happened to Yui," he stated angrily. "She was taken, and there
wasn't a damn thing I could do for her! Not even my illusions
could protect her!"
     Did the DreamMaster honestly believe that he would tell the
tall brunette and the others the truth about what he had seen? He
had a number of nights in his immortal life that he wished he
could forget forever; that last night with her was the one he
wished to forget the most.
     The vision burned itself back into his mind. Her screams.
The wrenching pain in his shoulder, now healed by an illusion. A
host of shadows watching him, hating him.
     Tears were beginning to stream down his face as a rage
buried deep for centuries on end finally took hold. "I had her,
Helios. I had her in my hand and she was torn from me. I watched
it steal her from me, and I saw it thriving on my pain. Like its
only reason for existing was to make me suffer!"
With an enraged shout he swung the Arashi. The blade unleashed a
blast of lightening that carved a gouge across the fields,
smouldering grasses left in its wake. Exhausted, he fell to his
knees, the sword loose in his grip.
     "Why did it seek me out first?" he demanded in a low, beaten
voice. "Why did it pursue me across the Dreamworld?"
     Helios could give not answer, but he wasn't expecting one
either way. "Sometimes things happen for a reason," the
DreamMaster said finally. "You chose to protect her rather than
run, and instead of hiding you took up arms with every last angel
and demon of the Dreamworld to destroy the Scourge. And because
of that, we won."
     "We got lucky," he stated. "This second time, the Scourge
will be ready for any new tricks you throw at it. I don't want it
to happen again, Helios. Already I'm seeing Yui's shadowy
reflection in each of their faces."
     The DreamMaster knelt down next to him. "That moment of
defeat gave you strength, Karasu. A strength you still are not
fully aware of, and now is the time to find that strength and use
it. The Scourge is here, and unless you choose to stand and fight
alongside us then all is lost."
     He stared into Helios' eyes. "You already know my answer,
Helios. But what I want is for you to not be anywhere near me
when I stand and fight it."
     "You cannot successfully fight the Scourge by yourself,"
Helios countered solemnly. "By pushing your own friends back, you
are signing yourself to the same fate as Yui."
     He clenched his jaw, resolved to settle the score alone.
"Maybe I can't win alone, but I can sure as hell try. I felt it
here, Helios; I felt it go after Rei-chan just like it did with
Yui-chan. It knew my bond with her."
     Helios took a deep breath, and he could see the DreamMaster
was carefully contemplating what to say next. Everything in
Helios' misty eyes gave rise to something of grave importance.
Their pasts and differences were set aside in that moment as he
listened.
     "The Scourge will undoubtedly come for the Shadowqueen and I
first," Helios said. "That much can be certain, until it finds
its new Sandman. And for that reason I have come here to find
you, Karasu."
     His eyes widened as he saw an aura of magik emerging in the
DreamMaster's open palms. Golden light caused him to wince even
with the shades over his eyes. And there appeared the source of
Helios' magik, the pillar that held the Dreamworld together.
     "Helios," he whispered. "What are you doing?"
     "I want you to keep this safe," the DreamMaster said.
"Please, Karasu, you must hold the Golden Crystal for me no
matter what happens, no matter what you believe may happen."
     "I can't take this," he countered. "I can't even use its
powers unless I become the DreamMaster."
     Helios nodded. "I know. But if something should happen to
me, the Scourge must not get a hold of this crystal. If it does,
then both our worlds are doomed. But the Scourge will hesitate to
attack you, to drag out its vendetta longer with you. And so the
crystal is safest with you. The Empress would agree with me."
     Diabolically practical; that was the Shadowqueen, alright.
     "How true," came the soft, seductive voice of the Empress.
     He slowly turned around as she appeared before them. "I was
wondering when you might finally show up," he said. 
     The Shadowqueen regarded him curiously. "Why, Karasu, that's
the first time I've heard nearly no malice or scorn in your voice
directed towards me. I'm touched."
     "Don't be," he said. "My tone was that of indifference. Our
alliance is of necessity, but I trust you even less than I trust
the Scourge. I at least know what it wants."
     The Empress smiled seductively. "The Scourge consumes, I
conspire. But I did not come here to make witty comparisons."
Violet eyes looked down at the crystal in his hands. "My, Helios,
you are indeed putting the Dreamworld's fate in the hands of a
mortal Earthchild. My reports were not false after all."
     Helios seemed uneasy. "You could have sought our alliance
anytime from the Scourge's release. Yet you remained quiet until
now. I want to know why."
     "My concern is for what used to be Kaika's domain."
     Helios nodded. "It has become a DarkWorld."
     He watched the Shadowqueen saunter around Helios, as if she
was trying to find a weakness in the will of the DreamMaster. It
had worked before with even as powerful a will as the odango-
haired blonde's. 
     "My only question," the Empress of Night said. "is what you
intend to do about this attack?"
     "The Scourge seems to have taken a personal interest in an
associate of ours to become the Sandman," he said. "My other
friends are in danger of being caught in the middle."
     "Ah, the children of White Moon?" the Empress inquired. "A
shame you are against allying my powers with their own. We could
seal up the Scourge and throw it into oblivion forever."
     "Like you said," he countered. "The Scourge consumes and you
conspire. I don't trust you or you magik at all, Empress."
     "Yet now it is a necessary evil."
     He shook his head, resisting the temptation to wield the
Stormsword. "We're wasting our time with her," he said to Helios.
"The Scourge is out there in the Dreamworld, and we cannot afford
to play such childish mindgames with each other. You can if you
wish to, but I'm leaving."
     This was more than just atoning for her death. As much as he
blamed himself, somewhere deep within he knew there was nothing
he could have done to save her from the Scourge. But now others
were in danger of the same death. This time he would not be a
helpless invalid. This time it would end differently. 
     He turned and stalked through the fields, leaving the powers
that be of the Dreamworld behind.
     "Karasu, wait!" the DreamMaster called out after him. 
     "Let him be," the Empress countered. "He's made his choice,
as you have made yours." 
     Abruptly a flock of birds shrieked and took to the skies.
They were the first sensors, and could feel the darkness
approaching. Somewhere in the distance, a Silvermane whinnied and
galloped in a frenzied state towards another kingdom. 
     It was coming. 
     Coming for them.
     He froze in mid-step as the biting winds rose up, throwing
his silver cloak around his body. The aura he could feel was
whispering to him, taunting to him with distant screams so
chillingly familiar.
     The heavens started to cloud over, the moon and stars
swallowed up by a menacing army of black skies. Soon there might
never be a midnight sky left to shine in this kingdom. His grip
on the Arashi tightened and he slowly drew the shades from his
face, dropping them onto the ground.
     Hand moved for the silver cloak, pulling at it. The folds
loosened and the ends came apart, madly flapping in the winds. He
let it go from his grip, the cloak disappearing upon its release.
Shining blonde hair danced possessed around his face.
     "It comes," the Shadowqueen proclaimed in a hushed voice.
     He paused as he heard the voice of Helios inside his mind,
like a guiding thought. "Your dedication has brought you this
far. But you cannot finish this alone."
     They came.
     The whispers came.
     "Wanderer," they hissed, voices carried on a chorus of
howling winds.
     He whirled, trying to pinpoint a source. But just as in the
past, the Scourge was everywhere, its aura flooding into this
Dreamworld kingdom. The grasses were rippling across the fields,
and in the distance he could hear the faint thunderings of a herd
of frightened Silvermanes.
     "Shimatta," he growled through clenched teeth.
     The DreamMaster and the Empress focused their own magiks,
each one bathed in the auras of their powers. A golden horn
appeared atop Helios' head, symbol of all the magik bestowed upon
him as keeper of the Dreamworld.
     Yet nothing was happening against them.
     He relaxed from his defensive stance, lifting his hands and
his face to the skies above. "What do you want from me?" he
shouted into the winds. "I'm here, damn you! What are you waiting
for?!"
     And then came the laughter. 
     A sea of voices flowing together as one, mocking him,
taunting him, despising him. "Remember her face, Wanderer.
Remember it well, for we do...."
     The fields rumbled as something beneath the ground pulsated
to the surface. Out from the earth pushed up a massive tendril,
its curving thorny form snaking tightly around Helios and
hoisting him into the air as it corkscrewed out of the earth and
mud. The DreamMaster gave a strangled gasp, legs kicking in vain
to touch the ground.
     He whirled, watching in horror as the tendril grow thorns,
razor sharp and savage in appearance.
     The rains began to fall, pouring down.
     "Helios!" he screamed. He glared at the dancing shadows all
around him. "You bastard, take me! That's what you want, isn't
it?!"
     He lunged for the thorns, raking down the Arashi. Mystic
blade struck enchanted matter. Sparks flew and continued to fly
as he relentlessly tried to push his blade deeper and deeper into
the stem.
     "Dammit, cut!!" he shouted furiously. 
     It was striking at the ones who had the power to seal it off
first. And the Scourge had known to attack the one he valued the
most. 
     "Karasu, go!" Helios shouted, managing to wrench his one arm
free. "There's nothing you can do for me. Save yourself!"
     "I'm not leaving you behind!" he snapped, now smashing the
Arashi down, blow after blow, upon the seemingly indestructible
thorn. "Not like Yui-chan!"
     The structure lurched, corkscrewing downwards and unleashing
a field of magik that knocked him clear from the tendril. He
flipped backwards, landing on his feet. The Arashi was crackling
with lightening magik.
     He turned his head as he saw the Empress. "Where are you
going?" he snarled.
     The Shadowqueen gave a dark smile, walking away from the
battle. "Don't think this as a sign of cowardice, Karasu. But we
both know that he cannot be saved...not now, at least."
     "That's a lie!" he shouted.
     The Empress paused, taking a backwards glance at him. "Is
it? Stop being so selfish. Count your loss and let him be,
Wanderer. There's nothing else you can do for the DreamMaster.
When will you learn that?"
     And with that she disappeared, taken back to her castle
beyond the Sea of Night. So many words, most of them swears,
appeared in his mind. Yet he spoke none of them, his mind already
possessed by the vision of her, of Yui.
     He readjusted his grip on the sword and raced towards the
sinking work of the Scourge. The thorns were pulling themselves
into the ground, slowly but surely. Stone and dirt was being
spewed forth in every direction as the frame shuddered. 
     He was beyond frantic now, beyond desperation as he bounded
onto is sleek surface and began to hack away. "Use your magik!"
he demanded of the DreamMaster. "Fight it, Helios!"
     Helios' free hand reached out to his and with a leap into
the air he caught hold of it. The frame of the tendril shuddered
violently again, nearly casting him off. They were face to face
for what seemed to be their final moments together.
     Crystal blue eyes pleaded with the DreamMaster. "Helios," he
said. "Don't let it take you! Fight it, and I'll get you out!"
     
     "The crystal," Helios whispered. "Protect the crystal."
     "I'm not leaving without you!" he snapped.
     Suddenly a sharp pain shot through his arm, and he was
thrown from the thorn's curving frame. The Arashi slipped out of
his hand, its blade sinking into the ground. He tumbled onto the
field in a battered heap, his arm bloodied once more.
     Slowly he stood, unable to stop it from happening yet
unwilling to leave. The rains drenched his suit and hair as with
crystal blue eyes he watched the tendril sink into a pool of mud
and blak magik. It was crackling and pulsating all around the
tendril, an eerie mist rolling across the base of the field.
     The DreamMaster's eyes met with his in that last second, and
he heard the final words spoken to him in his mind, over the din
of the carnage. "Such a beautiful dream, Karasu. I can see such a
beautiful...."
     He looked away, unable to watch any longer.
     Helios' eyes closed, and surrendered to the Scourge. The
last tapering point of the thorns sank into the mud, the ground
sealing itself up.
     Cruel, haunting laughter echoed in his ears. He watched the
shadows in the distance moving about. It was impossible to tell
if it was all one or a legion. All he knew was the hatred he was
feeling for it, and a certainty that the emotion was a mutual one
shared between them.
     "Yui-chan...." the whispers said.
     The hovering form of the DreamMaster appeared in front of
the shadows. Lifeless, open eyes stared out to something far
beyond what could be seen. An Imagika emerged from Helios' chest,
the glowing sphere floating into the company of shadows. In that
moment Karasu realized that of all the guardian angels, only
Helios truly possessed an Imagika.
     The DreamMaster's form grew faint, disappearing like a
forgotten dream. The rains that once fell upon Helios' body were
now passing through it. The DreamMaster became but a pale spirit
fading in the glow of small, twinkling lights. This time there
would be no intercession.
     "Helios...." the whispers chorused.
     The Wanderer fell to his knees, tilting his head and crying
to the heavens. He never knew if what he felt trickling down his
cheeks were teardrops or rainwater as he bowed his head.    
     He could recall seeing the flash of a raven angel passing
him by. He could recall feeling the eruption of warring magiks
carry across the kingdom. Yet these were vague memories, lost in
wind and rain and a dying soul.
     The world exploded in a violent convulsion, shockwaves
sending the upheaving ground to viciously ripple like the waters
of a pool. And when the wave reached every last borderline, a
shaft of light exploded from the epicentre that was once a
guardian angel.
     He seemed distanced from it all, aware only in the back of
his mind that he had negated the illusion that gave him substance
in the Dreamworld. He became a spectre, knelt down and forgotten
by the world while forgetting it in turn.
     The stars died, and the moon fell from those skies. Darkness
swallowed up the kingdom, and it was lost forever. Eerie blue
mist swarmed around the gathering of shadows.
     Cold and defeated, he stared at them.
     They vanished.
     The wraiths vanished, leaving behind only their taunting
laughter. He had never been able to protect Yui. And now he had
never been able to protect Helios. 
     "I swear I will hunt you down to the ends of this world," he
whispered. "And then I will make you pay for this. Yurusenai.
Yurusenai...."