The almost bald man stared across his desk and locked his twitching gaze with Villyn's. "So, Mr. Villyn..." he said, pausing for effect, "would you like... some coffee?" Villyn nodded and carefully tried to shift his position in the uncomfortable chair. (Which, according to the man in front of him, would massage his ankles, improve his blood flow, lower his chances of having cancer by 23%, boost any psionic powers he had, and make toast. So far, all it had accomplished was to make several body parts go numb). "I'd like that, doctor Isaga." "Sugar, milk, mind-controlling chemicals?" Villyn blinked. "Come again?" The doctor shook his head. "Forget I said anything. You'd prefer it... black, yes?" Villyn nodded, and watched as the scientist poured two cups. He took a sip, but only after making sure that the mad doctor had taken one himself. It never hurt to be careful, after all. Behind him, his three minions were occupying themselves; the Blank Psychic was posing dramatically, the Unnamed Minion was looking at the diplomas, pictures and devices covering the walls, and the Quake Camper was sitting on a stool with a happy grin on his face, visions of mass destruction floating through his mind. Villyn put down his cup. "To return to the matter of the rockets..." "Yes, yes, the rockets," doctor Isaga replied, nodding vigorously and reflecting sunlight around the room from his domed head. "The launcher has a very interesting design, surpassing anything on the market. I'd have liked to examine one of the rockets, but... well, we are fully able to replicate them. We also have a range of untested models that you'd like to try, yes?" Villyn turned to look at the Quake Camper, who was drooling openly. The Blank Psychic laughed. "That'll stop those hamsters! HAHAHA!" The Unnamed Minion seemed to raise an eyebrow, although it was hard to be sure. "You're still ranting about that?" The Blank Psychic struck a heroic pose. "The miniature giant space hamsters must be stopped. All else is irrelevant." The not-so-good doctor would have sweatdropped, but he was used to stranger sights. "I take it that it meets with... approval, yes? Perhaps, Mr. Villyn, you'd like a tour of the place while your requests are prepared, yes?" Villyn raised an eyebrow (not a People's Eyebrow, though). "That would be interesting, but I thought you ran a secret organization?" "Certainly we do..." the doctor said, pausing dramatically. "...but seeing as we're both on the side of evil, I think it's something we can overlook. After all, would a thief steal from another thief?" Villyn thought about this for a moment. "Yes, definitely." "Really?" The doctor squinted at Villyn, a reptile smile on his thin lips. "Interesting... opinion. Anyway, I rarely get an opportunity to show people around, so..." Villyn was beginning to hate the way he trailed off. There was a knock on the door. "Excuse me, doctor Isaga?" "Come in, Fifi." The door opened and a middleaged labcoat-wearing secretary stepped into the room. "What is it?" The woman cleared her throat. "Trouble in the labs. Lab #41 has been filled with a strange orange substance that keeps demanding a lawyer, and lab #32 has been inverted and left this plane of existence." Doctor Isaga sweatdropped. "...Those two again?" The secretary nodded mutely. "Make a note in my calendar... next year, we won't have any foreign exchange students." * * * * * Do-Gooders The Capeless, Yet Extremely Cool Teen Superhero Team With At Least One X Somewhere In Their Title A FanArt HQ / Spoof Chase Improfanfic http://pixelscapes.com/improfanfic Episode Thirty-eight: The trouble with dragons... by Jonatan Streith (J_Streith@mailandnews.com) Original story concept by Stefan Gagne NOTE: Any similarities to any mythical entity, living, dead, or otherwise, is purely fictional. No dragons were harmed in the production of this episode. WARNING: Do not, under any circumstances, try to imitate ANY actions performed in this fanfic, in your home. The Do-Gooders are professionals. Big, big, BIG thanks to my faithful and inspired prereaders; Delfina, John Evans and Eslington, for nitpicking, critcism, helpful suggestions and the occasional totally weird comment (*OMINOUS FRIES*, Esli-kun?) that had me rolling on the floor, laughing my... laughing out loud. Thanks, you guys. * * * * * Hiryuu glared at the pitiful human in front of him. True, it wasn't really proper for dragons to go around and menace humans, but this one was holding Aki-chan! HIS Aki-chan! He mentally chastised himself for thinking in such primitive terms. It wasn't proper for a dragon who's trying to fit into society. The man in the business-suit dropped Aki on the ground. [Wait a sec,] Hiryuu thought, [he's kidnapping Aki-chan! Does this mean I'm saving her?] He took a step forward, placing himself protectively over the fuku-clad girl. * * * * * Sailor Delight fell into a defensive stance, trying as best as she could to evaluate the situation. It didn't seem as if the dragon was going to harm Aki... it seemed to act like it was protecting her, actually. [Is it a threat?], she thought. [Or could it be an ally? Better not do anything hostile.] So she turned most of her attention to the DarkVerse ex-General, whom she KNEW was not to be trusted. And then suddenly, Queen Charity, wearing a negligee and staggering, walked out beside her and approached Esjie. Tejina groaned. [I hope I'm not starting to have hallucinations...] * * * * * Charity blinked owlishly at the former-General-now-cultist. "Hey, don't I recognishe you?" Maeda took a step back and tried to count his current advantages and disadvantages. Two greater Sailors, one Queen (although her drunken behaviour might help him), and a... dragon. He suddenly regretted those times he'd kicked dragon hatchlings in the DarkVerse. [Well, time to exercise the better part of valor...] He backed away quickly, turned around, and ran. An energy blast struck his shoulder, but he ignored the pain, and leapt into the car. "GO, Wataru!" The car zoomed off amidst a hail of credit cards, energy bursts and jets of flame. * * * * * Hiryuu laughed at the departing car, although it sounded rather odd coming from his dragon throat. Now, he just had to take his sweet princess, and... he turned around and realized that two girls were pointing swords at him. [KNIGHTS!] his dragon mind screamed at him. [Someone sent knights! I'm in for it now!] He mentally stomped the thought into the metaphorical ground. They were just ordinary girls. Well, except that ordinary girls don't carry around swords in public, of course. And those swords looked rather painful... No time for loitering. He picked up Aki with one claw, carefully so as not to hurt her, and took to the air, wings beating. The blue-haired girl leapt forward and swung her sword at him, slicing off a small patch of scaly hide. He winced. What had he ever done to her? And then he had cleared the rooftops, and soared into the sky. [Perfect! Aki-chan will be SO impressed when she wakes up!] He craned his head around to look at his unconscious love interest. [Just like in the fairy tales...] * * * * * "My little Aki-chan..." Charity sobbed, as the dragon flew away. She turned to stare at the four Sailors next to her. They seemed to use a strange battle technique that made them waver in and out of focus. Remarkable. "You look familiar... you're thoshe Chrycls... Chyrl... those Sailors, right? Doesh thish mean we have to fight?" she asked. "There's no need for that, is there?" Tejina lowered her weapon. "But that dragon--" "That dragon is irrelevant," Hirata said, stepping out from behind a tree. "What is relevant is that you're late for your training." She turned towards Becky. "And since you seem to have chosen to follow us, WildCard, you'll need training too." "How did you find us?" Becky asked. The woman frowned at her, and turned towards Tejina. "Didn't Sakyou tell you that we could find you when you used your sword, Tejina? We ARE looking out for you, after all." She snapped her fingers. "Come now, we're late as it is." "But what about Aki?" Tejina asked, before the three vanished in a flash of light. Charity Darkness Vengeance, dark queen and supreme ruler of the DarkVerse, banged her fist against her other hand in frustration. "Ooh, those Sailors! No help from them. Nemesis-chan will... oh, Nemesis-chan..." She sank to her knees and sobbed. Had she been sober, she would have found it undignified, but currently it felt perfectly allright. A thought entered her neural pathways, pushing through the barriers and roadblocks the alcohol had created. [If I can save Aki, then...] A furry hand placed itself on her shoulder, making her jump. "Evil Queen Charity! You seem to be feeling not so good?" She looked up into an extremely furry but friendly face. "Oh, you're... you're..." she racked her brain in search for an answer. "Zathras! Where have you been?" "Zathras has been playing accordion in polka band." "..." She shook her head. "Zathras, Aki was kidnapped by a dragon just now!" "A dragon?" he said, scowling. He put his head in his hands. "Oh no. Silly boy. He'd do something stupid like that, Zathras knew." "You KNOW this dragon?" Charity asked, suddenly sounding very sober. Zathras nodded gently. "Yes, yes, Zathras knows boy. Naive and simple minded, but Aki should not be in any immediate danger. Handle him herself, she should be able to." Queen Charity shook her head and assumed a noble stance, staggering just a little bit. "No. I cannot risk that. I must bring her back to safety." [Then Nemesis-chan will see how much I really love him!] "This I swear!" A rising sun appeared behind her for no reason whatsoever. "Zathras thinks that maybe the negligee ruins some of the noble stance," Zathras mused. Charity blushed a bit and stepped behind a tree, while the backdrop went back to the storeroom. Zathras blinked as he noticed something on the ground. "What can this be?" The furry little man bent down and picked up a blue scale. "Hmm..." Charity stepped out again, now wearing a fairly casual outfit (albeit made from leather, as was 98.3% of her wardrobe). "A scale from the dragon?" He tapped his cheek. "Zathras not know how... but is there not a spell for finding things?" She frowned, thinking. "Hmm... yes, there is... how did the spell go again?" She took the scale in one hand, closed her eyes, and chanted softly under her breath. A globe of energy started forming in her hand. "Is this the way it was done?" Zathras said nervously, and backed away a few steps. "Nimis facete nimisque," Charity chanted, sweat breaking out on her forehead. "facunde... malast!" The globe flared up... and died down. She let out a heartfelt groan, slumping forward. "Damn. I can't concentrate enough like this..." She suddenly snapped back upright, a manic grin on her face, and turned towards Zathras. "But I know someone who could help... OOHOHOHOHHOHOHO!" Zathras winced and clutched his ears, wishing that he was back in the Crystal City. * * * * * T-kun seated himself on a rock and looked around at the black desert surrounding him and Hanko. The unforgiving sun's heat beat down on him, soaking him in sweat. Why had the... Seal, was it? Why had she brought him here of all places? Leaving the innocent Aki-sama alone... who knows what might happen to her? Hopefully she would be okay. He thought of Becky, and leaned back to enjoy a brief daydream about her, but snapped back to reality quickly. [Becky-chan is strong; she can take care of herself,] he thought. He turned towards Hanko, who was leisurely swinging her Dragon's Tail back and forth. He noted with disdain that she didn't seem to be worried about the heat. "So, Hanko..." She looked at him. "...where are we? And what is this whole 'Seal' thing?" She smiled broadly and put away her weapon in a fashion that made T-kun feel somewhat queasy. "What we are currently occupying is a small patch of raw reality, unbound to the rest of the 'normal' world. We Seals know how to access them, and how to draw people and things into them. It's called a 'kakkoi', and--" "I'm sure that's not the right word," T-kun interrupted. She frowned. "It's the word I use, and I'm perfectly comfortable with it. Anyway, it's just a word, right?" He shrugged. "Whatever. So what's so special about them?" "Well," she explained, "firstly, nothing you do here affects the outside world, and there is no one living here that you could accidently hurt. Secondly, the reality here is highly malleable." She waved her hand, and a stone obelisk shot out of the ground. "See? The fewer conscious minds that inhabits the kakkoi, the more you can alter it. Of course, the fact that you're a Seal enhances your abilities." He grinned. "Watch this." A large oak tree quickly grew up from the ground behind him, covering them with a nice cool shadow. "Nice to finally get out of the sun." Hanko smiled. "You're skilled... of course, I saw that during our first fight, but I didn't think you'd be THAT good." She nodded to herself. "Yeah, with you on our side, the Seals are sure to win." He plucked an apple that appeared on a convenient low branch, and ate it. "It's much simpler here, though. So, what are the Seals, then?" "Ah, yes," Hanko said. "You see..." * * * * * "...the Seals are our mortal enemies. They serve the Dragon of the Heaven and want to destroy the world." Hirata explained. Tejina nodded, and pulled the blanket closer around herself. "Yeah, Sakyou explained it to us a while ago." She thought for a moment. "But DESTROY the world? What would be the point of that?" Becky's tattoos flared up again as she rose from her seat. "Delight, how can you just SIT there when Joy is being menaced by a dragon? Do you have no respect for a fellow champion of justice?!" Tejina pulled her friend back down into her seat. "Becky, calm down and transform back, PLEASE! Aki can probably take care of herself... she's super-powerful, right? And Charity was there too, and all. I'm sure she's fine." Becky grumbled something and sat down again. Her fuku melted away to reveal her ordinary clothes. "The Dragons are total wusses," Sakyou commented. "When is Yoruko coming with the pizzas, anyway?" "Shut up, Sakyou," Hirata said, and turned back to Tejina. "As for the Seals, they believe that they'll reform the world to their image after it's been destroyed." "Kinda like that dream I keep having..." Tejina mused. The leader leaned across the table and looked at her intently. "You've been having recurring dreams, Nakao-san?" Tejina nodded. "Yeah... they're not the same, but similar... first, lots and lots of clones of me - not identical clones, they all look a bit different, although they all have blue hair - run around and destroy Tokyo, often getting killed in the process. Then, lots of identical clones of me starts to rebuild the ruins into a giant symbol of the Seals. Finally, my sisters appear and ask me if it's what I want and that I have to choose a path." She thought about mentioning the dreams involving the wheel, but decided not to. Too silly, anyway. "Frightening..." Hirata mused. Sakyou snickered. "I didn't know that dreams frightened you, Hirata." She glared at him. "It's the fact that it details the Seals' plans so well that scares me, idiot! And CALL ME TOMOE!" "Fascinating, Nakao-san," the leader said, ignoring the commotion. "I shall have to analyse this dream carefully." He turned to Becky. "And you, Anderson-san? Have you had any odd and foreshadowing dreams lately? We've found that the dreams of a Harbringer hold hidden truths, but I don't know much about WildCards." Becky shook her head. "Sorry. I think my parents delete my dreams for security reasons." She noticed his blank stare. "Um, long story. Anyway, can the Seals do things like that? Remake the world?" He stared off into space for a moment. "Maybe... at least they think they can. We know very little of the Seals, other than the Dragon they follow, a few of their members, and a few powers they hold." Becky frowned. "Not more? How long have you known about them?" He shrugged. "The Seals specifically? Three weeks, roughly." Tejina blinked. "And for how long have you been Harbringers?" "All our life," Sakyou said. "Only it wasn't until around three weeks ago that we found our swords and gathered together and all that." "Weird," she said. He shrugged. "Saves on time, I guess. But it's not easy... there's stuff like Dragons, WildCards, other sides... it messes things up, kinda." "The world wasn't created to be easy for you, Sakyou," the leader said. Tejina shivered at the ominous tone in his voice. The bishonen Harbringer shrugged again. "I guess. You cold, Tejina?" "Not really," she replied. "Oh, and that reminds me. Why do you have your headquarters in a tent in the middle of a snowfilled room? And HOW?" Sakyou grinned. "That... is a secret." A Vegetarian pizza impacted with his face. Yoruko dropped the empty box. "HOW many times have I told you not to do that?" For some reason, Tejina felt compelled to take three sips from her soda. * * * * * Koohii stared at the darkness surrounding her, and shivered. Everything was darkness. Deep dark. Really dark. The kind of darkness that, if a shadow fell across it, it would be mercilessly sucked in and drowned. But there were no shadows, just darkness. Koohii fought an urge to say "It's dark". A business-suited man appeared in front of her. Koohii stared at him, but he didn't do anything. "Who are you?" she asked. "The new Niban." he said in a nasal voice. She blinked; given how big the - wherever they were - seemed to be, she had expected an echoing sound. It was a rather unnerving effect. "Where is uncle Ichiban?" she asked. He pointed at her. "You are Rokuban!" Koohii took a step back, her feet finding ground somehow. "I am not a number!" she said in defiance. "I am a free dragon!" The man tilted his head back and laughed evilly... as he laughed, he faded into the darkness, leaving only his laughter behind. It grew louder and louder until... The darkness fell away to reveal the face of a pink-haired girl. "You okay, Koohii?" Mermaid asked. Koohii looked around and was relieved to see that she was in her room, lying on her bed. "Yeah, I just fell asleep from homework." She picked up her history book, which had fallen off the bed, and held it up as evidence. Mermaid nodded. "Okay. Only you were yelling something about being free and numbers and stuff." The dragon paused. "Say, can I borrow some of your manga?" Koohii blinked. "Since when were you interested in manga?" * * * * * "So that's who the Harbringers are," Hanko finished. "They must be stopped, so that we can remake the world. AND we must find the One, and make him join our side! He's VERY important." Reality warped, and a portrait of Matsuro, hovering in midair, appeared before them. The gilded frame was rather tacky. T-kun stared at the image. "Hey, he looks familiar..." He thought for a moment. "Yeah, he's one of the Do-Gooders, Villyn-sama's hated enemies! And he's Villyn-sama's long lost son!" He paused. [Wait a minute... something here isn't adding up... oh well, Villyn-sama would know.] No matter what happened, Villyn-sama would know what to do. "He's the son of your boss?" Hanko asked, grinning. "Perfect! See if... no, wait. That idiot Yoshimichi tried that..." She trailed off. "Who's Yoshimichi?" T-kun asked. "And what did he try?" "He's another Seal. He's not very subtle, and..." She shook her head. "I don't think you should tell anyone about being a Seal." "I must tell great Villyn-sama about it. After all, he's--" "You can't tell him," she interrupted. He frowned and stood up. "But I must." "Is this the loyalty you're showing the Seals, T-kun?" she asked, her voice harsh. She rose to her feet. He crossed his arms defiantly. "Seals or no Seals, my loyalty is firsthand towards the great Villyn." [Wow, that was a smooth line.] Hanko sighed in defeat. "Okay... but are you sure you want to bother Villyn-sama with such a matter? If he asks you, you could tell, but I really don't think he's very interested." He paused to let her words sink in. "Oh. I didn't think of that... Okay, I won't tell him unless he asks me." He grinned proudly, having shown the very special logic that befits a devoted Villyn minion. She smiled warmly, and gave him a light hug that made him blush for a moment. "Thanks, I appreciate that." She let go of him. "Now that you know what we are and what we do, it's time to train your basic Seal abilities." "Okay, so what do I do?" "Oh, it's simple." A large construct of ropes and wooden beams sprang up behind her. "You just sit in this harness and I'll swing these boulders at you." "..." T-kun eloquently replied. * * * * * In a small alley in the Tokyo dock district, silence lay. What also lay in the alley was a small pile of dust, spread out to resemble a man-shape. Here was the earthly remains of Spike the vampire, finally having gained rest in the death beyond death. Pity he won't get to keep it. A young-looking man walked into the alley and glared at the pile, as if accusing it of doing something wrong. "This is all SWELL," the man complained. "I FINALLY get you to Tokyo, and what happens? You get KILLED! By a little group of GIRLS, no less!" He ranted for a few minutes, then turned to look at the pile again. "You're not listening to me. Why aren't you listening to me? Because you're DEAD! Stupid moron... oh well. This is too good for you, but I don't see a better option." He took out a small ritual knife, and pricked himself on one finger. "Ouch!" Clutching his slightly wounded hand, he let one single drop of blood fall on the dust... After the special effects had died down and the natural lighting returned to normal, Baron Stagner von Carrlson grinned at the new presence. "Finally we're getting somewhere..." * * * * * There exists places that are evil. Places where the shadows are deeper, where the darkness is darker and more ominous, where chilly winds blow and bring fear to the hearts of brave men and women, where death and madness lies just outside your vision... And then there are places like Keiko's room. The room was painted in a rather normal blue color; she had painted it black earlier, but it made her trip on things. Black, pre-dribbled candles sat in all thinkable places, including on the floor. Where she had gotten the crocodile hanging from the ceiling was anyone's guess. Her desk was covered with a complete chemistry set, and she had added various arcane devices and items, including an incense burner, an athame and a crystal ball to it, just in case she needed them. The far end of the desk was adorned with an ominous-looking human skull (stolen from the biology department in school, of course, but she'd tell anyone who asked that she had dug it up in a graveyard), with a black snake coiled around it (Yoru didn't mind playing the part). The stuffed toys placed over the room, however, ruined the effect a bit. It also had a faint smell of kiwi that no amount of incense seemed to be able to get rid of. "Your room is so COOL, Keiko-san!" Mariko said, a feigned vapid expression on her face. "It's so evil!" Yaki and Yumeki looked at each other, and leaned back in their chairs. Better let Mariko run the show, the unspoken message read. "Uh, thanks," Keiko said, frowning a bit. "So why did you come over?" Mariko shrugged and smiled a bit wider than was normal. "Dunno, just felt like it. That's what friends do, right?" "Yeah, I guess..." Keiko said. "But I hardly know you guys." "All the more reason then, Keiko!" Mariko gushed. Yaki and Yumeki fought down a giggle. "Say, wanna go to the movies some day?" "As long as it's not 'Santa fights the Martians'." Mariko blinked. "What?" Keiko shook her head dismissively. "Nothing. Can I bring my boyfriend?" Mariko shuddered a bit, but Keiko didn't see it. "No." Seeing how Keiko started, she added, "I mean, just us. The four of us! Okay? But if you don't want, that's okay. Maybe we can go shopping some day? I really like your outfit!" Keiko almost leapt back from the blonde girl's openness. "Um, yeah. Um, maybe. Uh, thanks." [There is something unnatural going on here... why does these three want to be my friends so badly?] Why would anyone want to be your friend, her low self-esteem piped in, but she squashed it. [The others accept me... I've never asked Tejina or Becky or any of the others to be my friends, they just accept it... but these three...] Mariko shook her out of her introspection. "I said, do you believe in magic?" "Huh? Yes, definitely," Keiko replied, and looked at the watch in feigned surprise. "Oh, look at the time! I'm sorry, but you'll have to go. I have... homework and stuff. Sorry." "But..." Mariko began, then caught herself. "Okay then. We'll see you in school, okay?" Yumeki was about to say something, but Yaki stepped on her toes. "Okay, we can do that," Keiko replied, trying not to sound anxious. As she hustled the three girls out the door, her mother leaned in from the livingroom. "Are your friends leaving, Keiko dear?" Keiko nodded. "Yes, they had to go for some reason." Mrs. Yamanaka nodded and walked back to her chair. "Pity. They seemed like such a nice group of girls." * * * * * The door slammed shut. Mariko's facade fell. And a pirate ship appeared on the horizon. Well, not really. "DAMN!" Mariko said (after making sure no one else would hear her). "Damn damn damn!" "Maybe this whole 'try to persuade her gently' method doesn't work," Yaki dryly commented. A few minutes later, after Yaki had climbed out of the thorny shrubbery, she added, "Or maybe it's something else." * * * * * Aki felt herself return to the waking world. Her bed was uncomfortable... was it the ground? Where was she, anyway? The last thing she remembered was... a cute guy. Wataru! That rotten, low... she'd trusted him, and... what WAS he, anyway? Her attack had been stopped so easily... and Maeda. He had Maeda with him. But that couldn't be right. Maeda had been imprisoned by Queen Charity. Had he escaped? Must be. So had they kidnapped her? They could at least have put her on a couch, or something... and this place was drafty, too. Nice and warm, though. [Time to see where I am,] she thought, and opened her eyes. "Hello Aki-chan," Hiryuu said, his smiling face mere inches away from hers. "Slept well?" She promptly fainted again. His smile fell. "Damn. Maybe I should let her wake up on her own." He got to his feet and went over to the other side of the hoard that was, essentially, his bed, and sat down. He could wait. He was very patient, when he needed to be. * * * * * "So you're sure Keiko livesh, I mean lives, this way?" Charity slurred, fighting to lift the fog from her mind. [Of all the stupid things I've ever done, going bar-hopping with Lesh... Lessente was probably the shtupidest...] Zathras nodded as he ambled along. "Zathras knows, Zathras definitely knows. Darkness lives this way, yes she does." "I sure hope so becauseOOF!" she said as she rounded the corner and a pink-haired girl walked into her, knocking her down. Yumeki frowned at her. "What do you think you're doing, idiot?" Charity tried to focus on the blurry girl. "Huh?" Yumeki hmpf'ed. "Hmpf! Bloody drunkard and your bloody pet monkey... if I wasn't busy, I'd..." she turned around and ran after her friends. "Hey, guys! Wait up!" Zathras sighed. "Kids of today." * * * * * Kahi stared over Mariko's shoulder at the leather-clad woman. Fortunately the girls were too busy grumbling about how their plan had failed, and blaming each other for the mess, to notice what he was doing. [The Queen! No mistaking her! If she had recognized them...] He wondered exactly WHY she hadn't recognized them... but if he used his abilities on her, she'd DEFINITELY see who they were. [No, mustn't let her know... if she finds out what I'm doing...] He shivered. "That... that... OOH! How could she refuse me..." she looked down at the lizard she carried, and frowned worriedly. "Are you cold, Kahi?" "Nnno, nothing important, Mariko," he hissed. "Okay." The blonde girl's face returned to her normal evil glare, and she continued ranting. "I shall have you yet, Darkness. Oh yes..." "Yeah, we'll make her join our team," Yaki said. Yumeki started giggling. "What?" Yumeki grinned conspiratorily, and made sure Mariko didn't hear her before she continued. "That's not all she wants Keiko for..." Yaki frowned. "What are you talking about?" Yumeki giggled even louder. "You're so STUPID, Yaki! Can't you see that... OWW!" She jumped away from another kick, and clutched her ankle. "Hey, what didja do that for?" Yaki aimed a blow at her pinkhaired teammate, who dodged. "I'm tired of your sniggering and your comments and your *OOF*" she said, getting interrupted by a fist to the gut. The girls hissed at each other, and leaped at each others' throats. Literally. "...but I'll get her yet..." Mariko mused. "Ooh, evil inspiration... OOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOO!" Yaki and Yumeki shuddered. * * * * * Unseen in the bushes behind them, a pair of eyes glowed, gazing after the girls. [Yes,] their owner thought, [it was her after all. I should have known. Well, well...] The glowing eyes and their owner bounced off into the darkness. * * * * * The walls erupted, and blood flowed out. As the three girls fought, bone-white wraiths rose from around them, screaming in eternal torment... everyone in the world laughed. Everyone, young and old, man and woman, laughed at him, their words taunting him and trying to throw him down a spiral of eternal misery. Soda cans fell from the ceiling, but were intercepted by a cute net-carrying girl who leapt out of the floor, caught them expertly, and vanished in a burst of sand. Everything went dark, and in the distance, a light was approaching... "You zoning out, Sakyou?" Yoruko asked, nudging him. "You're staring at Tejina." She grinned, almost leering. "Say, are you..." He shook himself, trying to get out of the odd feeling. "Huh? No, I was just having a vision." "Really? Why didn't you let me in on it?" She thought for a moment. "Hey, didn't you stop having visions a long time ago?" He frowned. "I thought I did..." "So you weren't staring at Tejina like a lovesick fool, then?" she teased. Sakyou blushed slightly. "Of course not!" * * * * * Daichi placed a photo on the desk. "Her." Ichiban frowned at the picture. He slowly put his hands together in front of him and placed his fingertips together in a superior gesture. "You wish this Harbringer to be spared?" "I want all the Harbringers defeated, of course... but this one must live. I want her." The Seal stared at the window, narrowing his eyes. "I DESIRE her. And it would be sweet... oh so sweet indeed..." "You have a dangerous choice of consorts, Seal," Ichiban mused. Daichi grinned evilly, almost a full 'I'm going to kick your ass' grin. "The irony of it all will be VERY pleasant..." His grin vanished instantly. "And where does your loyalty lie, Dragon?" Just to test the Seal, Ichiban decided to hold his smug pose for a few seconds longer than needed. "We follow the Blue Dragon of the East and Heaven, as I've said before. THAT is where our loyalty lies, Seal. But as we serve, as it seems, a common goal..." Daichi nodded. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." Ichiban grinned, a hungry reptilian smile that looked disturbingly natural on his face. "Really? I've always believed that it was the gift horse specifically that you had to look in the mouth." Daichi tried very hard not to sweatdrop, and had to push back his hair in a bishonen fashion before he continued. "Indeed... what do your... associates think?" Ichiban opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and looked briefly over his shoulder, but shrugged and turned back. "Niban agrees that it's for the best. Sanban thinks it's not right... but she doesn't have any say on the matter." "And the kids?" Daichi inquired. Ichiban let out a low chuckle. "They are... irrelevant. Useless. Obsolete. I thought that after their first..." He realized that he was talking to a non-dragon. "Anyway, I had hopes that they'd show more promise now, but after the fight at the Tokyo Tower I'm convinced that they're weaker and less fit to fight a battle than ever." "You're planning to get rid of them? Who shall replace them?" Ichiban grinned again. "Oh, don't worry about that..." * * * * * Outside the building, three dragons floated to the ground and assumed human form. No one noticed; sometimes having mystic magical powers were useful. "I was SO sure they saw us!" Mermaid breathed. "I mean, Ichiban looked almost right at me!" Scotch shook his head. "They wouldn't have said what they said if they knew we were there." He paused. "Hopefully. Unless they're planning something more insidious..." "Hopefully not," Koohii said, "but it doesn't change our position, does it? We're dead if we stay. Dead-dead. I don't think uncle Ichiban will let us rehatch." "Koohii," mermaid said, "did you know you're acting very strange?" "Yes," the orange-haired dragon conceded. "But currently that's not something I'm bothering with. The question we should ask ourselves is: What will we do now?" * * * * * *CRASH!* "Wow, you're cute. Are you really the President of America?" "Um... maybe we should switch to weapons training for a while." "Whatever you say, mother." "I hope I'm doing this right..." * * * * * Koji stared at the screen, but he didn't see it. His hands were touching the keyboard, but the commands were formed by reflexes only. His thoughts were... somewhere else. [Becky-chan is... no. She can't be. She can't! It was just a dream! But it seemed so real... does she still hate me? But that wasn't me. Was it? Who am I? Who is she? No, it was just a dream. She's Becky, and I'm Koji. Nothing more. But what if... aargh, this is driving me out of my mind!] He slumped forward, his head landing face down on the keyboard. Unseen to him, strange text started scrolling on the monitor... * * * * * "Hey, are you zoning out on me?" Tejina asked, swinging her sword gracefully. Becky managed to parry, avoiding the sword at the last moment. She leapt back. "Sorry. Just thinking... I transformed in front of Koji, and he was really spooked... I was hoping to be able to talk to him about it." Tejina shrugged, lowering her sword. "So he saw you transform? Big deal. It's not as if we're trying to keep our identities secret or anything." Becky looked thoughtful. "But he looked so odd... as if seeing me scared him. Scared him a LOT. As if I was one of his worst nightmares..." * * * * * In Matsuro's Vallhallic apartment, a meeting was taking place. An encounter. A standoff. A checkmate. Matsuro levelled his gaze at the white-skinned warrior in front of him. A wind picked up, and stirred up some leaves around him, as the walls crumbled to dust, crushing innocent but faceless people. "So...you're dating my mother." "That's right," Elric of Melnibóne replied, not taking his hand off the hilt of his sword, Stormbringer. "Is that a problem?" Matsuro kept his icy gaze for a few more seconds, then shrugged. "No, I guess not." Around him, the walls returned to normal, the corpses faded away, and the leaves vanished with the wind. "You do know that she's been dead for years?" Akemi frowned. "Dear, that's not something you talk about in public." "It's okay, Akemi." Elric said, smoothly. "And yes, I know she is, kid. It doesn't bother me." "Isn't he just great?" Akemi gushed, and hugged the pale swordsman. He had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed, his pale cheeks flushing. "By the way, Matsuro, how is your girlfriend?" Matsuro blinked. "Girlfriend? Oh, you mean Keiko." [Funny... I've never thought of Keiko as 'my girlfriend'... she's always been Keiko. I guess she's my girlfriend...] "Keiko's fine, I guess." Akemi nodded. "That's so nice to hear. Why don't you ask her out more often? Or even invite her home? I'd like to have a talk with her, mother to potential daughter-in-law, sort of thing." Matsuro sighed deeply. "Mom, I--" *KNOCK!* They turned to see an old, bald man, sporting the biggest eyebrows in the eastern hemisphere, standing in the doorway. Without waiting for an invitation, he stepped inside. "Ah, greetings people, madam." He bowed at Akemi. "I didn't think I was going to meet you here, Elric." Elric probably would have grinned, had it not been out of character. Instead, he settled for nodding slightly. "Chiang. We meet again. I suppose you've come for your bag?" He lifted the buzzing satchel. "Well, you can have it back. Much good it did me to save the world, hmm?" He took it off and tossed it to Chiang. "And before you ask; yes, I did feed them. Now, you take care of them." He unslung the satchel and tossed it to Master Chiang, who caught it expertly. "Thank you, my friend," Master Chiang said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "But I did actually come here to talk to the young man over there." Matsuro frowned. "I'm not going to marry Aki, old man." Master Chiang nodded. "Ah, so you know that much. Good, then I won't have to explain it over again." "So what are you still doing here?" Matsuro asked, still frowning. "The prophecy still stands, boy. It must be fulfilled, or the world will be destroyed. And please, call me Chiang. Or Master Chiang, but Chiang will do." Chiang said. Matsuro shrugged again, tapping into the secret bishonen powers. "And why do you think that's a bad thing, Chiang?" Master Chiang gave him a 'you're weird' look, but Matsuro was used to them. "Most sane people would think it is, Matsuro. But I think that you should hear the full version of the prophecy..." He took out a folded note, unfolded it, and started reading. Elric and Akemi, having watched the exchange, looked on expectantly. "Ah, here it is. 'Only when the Champion of the DarkVerse unites with the Champion of the Kingdom of Delight and those of the Center and Earth can the worlds be united and survive the Coming of The Apocalypse.'" Elric hmm'ed. "Now what could that mean?" "Center and Earth..." Matsuro mused. "Hmm..." * * * * * In a basement somewhere in Tokyo's business district, a secret meeting was held. A really secret meeting, the kind of secret meeting that involves shadowy rooms, hoods, false aliases and passwords. This group didn't go that far, but they were close. "I will not stand for it!" the hooded but burly man at the end of the table loudly proclaimed, waving a saw in the air. A keen observer could have spotted inlaid symbols on the tool. His robes were also embroidered with a intricate pattern of saws. "As one of the Masons, I say that we--" "As a Mason, you obey ME," a robed person at the middle of the table said, her vioce identifying her as female. She had small hammers on her robe, and a carpenter's hammer, adorned with blue runes. "Firstly me. As leader of this group, I take full responsibility for your actions, and that's how it is." The burly man mumbled something, but sat down, much to the rest of the group's relief. "After all," she continued, "As the Masons, and the champions of the Red Phoenix of the South and Fire, it is our destiny to mend the world." "Um... Nanami?" a short man with trowels on his robe piped in. "You told us about that weeks ago." She shrugged. "I felt like expositing. Anyone find anything wrong with that?" Not getting a response, she nodded. "Good. Now, on to the next topic..." * * * * * "...So that's what happened," Queen Charity said, and took a sip of her tea. "Thanks for the sobering-up spell, by the way. Really, I can't see what I was thinking of when I had all that brew." "Yeah, it's strong stuff..." Keiko said. "But why would a dragon want to kidnap Aki? Do you think it could have been the Dragons?" Zathras frowned, half a cookie in his mouth. "Why the capital D, girl?" Keiko looked surprised. "Oh yeah, you wouldn't know. Um... where to start? Lately we've met a lot of people who are fighting each other for various goals... they form groups and prepare for Armageddon, or something like that. The ones we know of are called The Seals, The Dragons, and The Harbringers." Charity raised an eyebrow. "Really? So they distribute har?" "Yes, and they won't let me have any," Keiko pouted. She looked at Charity. "Say, you wouldn't know where I could get some?" Charity smiled warmly. "I'll see what I can find when I get back to the DarkVerse. Now, is there something else we should know?" "No." Keiko thought for a moment. "Actually, there's one thing. They all want Matsuro to join their group. They keep calling him 'the One', too." Zathras shook his head, accidentally spilling tea on a Naga plushie (Keiko believed in strong role models). "No, that cannot be. Zathras not good at knowing, but Zathras knows he is not the One." Charity frowned. "I think they're referring to another 'the One', Zathras. Who is this 'the One' you keep talking about, anyway?" "Ah," Zathras said, a smug grin on his face, "that's... a secret." Charity rolled her eyes and took three sips from her tea. "Anyway, Keiko, to get back to the dragon..." Keiko blushed, realizing that she had almost forgotten about that. "Yeah, we'll find it, defeat it, and bring back Aki." [I owe you that, Aki... I'm sorry I ever doubted your words.] "So you're sure this spell you mentioned would work?" Charity nodded. "It's based on the principle that every living part of the body is still bonded to the rest of the body, even if the part is separated. Also, following the same principles, you can do a lot of other fascinating things to the person, such as posession, and... but I'm digressing. You'll need a lot of hard to find ingredients for that, anyway." "So you'll just cast the right spell on this," Keiko held up the blue dragon scale, "and we'll know exactly where the dragon is?" "Yes," Charity said, smiling in a motherly way (making Keiko wonder why her own mother wasn't like that). "But I thought I'd let you cast it instead. After all, you'd need the practice." Keiko beamed. "That's great!" She thought for a moment. "There's something I'd like to ask about..." "What's that, Keiko dear?" Charity asked. "The DarkVerse Sailors. Apparently Sailor Darkness, that's me," she clarified, "served the DarkVerse. At least that's what Yoru said." She looked around. "He's gone off somewhere, though... anyway, the Kingdom of Delight had FIVE Sailors, six if you count Exposition..." Charity chuckled. "How typical of Amore to do something like that." "Uh, yeah." ['Amore'? Not 'Queen Amore'?] "Anyway, I thought that there might be more DarkVerse Sailors, so I wanted to ask you if you knew anything." Charity nodded. "To be honest, I know almost nothing about it. Oh, don't look so surprised, Keiko. We did try a lot of weapons and tactics back in those days... remember the Void Spirits?" She shuddered. "Some... most of those weapons were rather... unreliable... the records do say that an attempt to copy the Kingdom of Delight's Sailor program was made, and Sailor Darkness was well known, but as for the rest of the project... nothing is known. Several of the pages in the records... were ripped out." Keiko looked horrified. "That means... that the DarkVerse Sailors were flawed, somehow? That it went so much wrong that they didn't want anyone to even know what happened?" She slumped forwards, tears coming to her eyes. "What happened to them? Why didn't they want anyone to find out about them? And does this mean I'm flawed too?" She started crying. Charity put her arms around the weeping girl, letting her cry on her shoulder. "There, there, Keiko-chan. You're not a failure. Darkness was the successful one, remember? Besides, you have a beautiful life... a loving boyfriend, wonderful friends..." [Even though they're from the Crystal Kingdom... oh, who gives a damn? It's not very important anymore.] "You have a bright future ahead of you. Let life sort itself out, okay?" She held the crying girl close, and shed a few tears of her own. [Nemesis-chan, we MUST talk...] * * * * * Night fell over Tokyo, although it didn't mean much of a change of pace for its citizens and denizens. On the third floor of the rather nondescript building that was the home (or lair, depending on what you wanted to call it) of the Dragons, two girls and one boy were packing. "Mermaid," Koohii said, "You can't bring ALL of those manga!" "They're not that heavy, are they?" the pink-haired drummer (and apparently otaku to everyone's surprise, including her own) asked. "Maybe if we--" "Okay, okay!" Koohii sighed. "Okay, you can bring them. But you'll have to carry the bag yourself." "I've packed our gear," Scotch said, indicating several trunks containing Koohii's keyboard and microphone, his guitar and amplifier, and a few drums that Mermaid refused to leave behind. "And I've raided Unc... I've raided Ichiban's lab." She held up a few of the clone discs, and a few other devices. "I hope they work properly..." The three dragons stood in silence for a moment, contemplating their situation. All their life, they had been with the Dragons... it had been a reassuring existence, to know that your supervisors, your elders if you will, looked out for you and took care of you... now, they were on their own. "Shall we go?" Mermaid asked. "Yeah, let's go," Scotch said, and opened the window. "But Koohii... are you sure about... her?" Koohii frowned. "No, but I think she's the one we'll have to trust..." * * * * * It was bedtime in the Nakao household, and two young girls were busy preparing for the night. "Tej's been gone for HOURS!" Hanaki complained, in between brushing her teeth. "D'you think she's still at that Harbringer practice?" Ayame took out her toothbrush, and took a deep breath. "I think that her training must have been extensive and time-consuming, probably involving a deep insight in the existence of--" Hanaki cut her off by covering her sister's/mother's/whatever's mouth. "Okay, I get the point." She removed her hand. "Sorry, Han..." Ayame said. "It's just that it's so easy to go off on a tangent, expositing on the premise at length, and... sorry, I did it again." Hanaki shrugged, and went back to brushing her teeth. "Hi guys!" Tejina said, making the two girls violently spit toothpaste. They turned around. "Tej!" Hanaki exclaimed. "How did you sneak up on us like that?" Tejina grinned widely. "Secret Harbringer tricks." She was suddenly standing in between Ayame and Hanaki, and hugged them both. "It's really cool!" "So you had fun, then?" Ayame asked, looking somewhat disappointed. "Why didn't you invite us?" The bluehaired Harbringer looked sheepish. "Sorry... it was kinda 'Harbringers only', if you know what I mean. And WildCards too, of course... but I would have brought you if I could! Hey, check out what I can do with this sword!" She reached for her shoulder, but Hanaki stopped her. "It's okay, Tej, You can show us tomorrow." She snickered. "Has anyone said that you're acting like you're on a caffeine high? "Well, wouldn't you be?" Tejina replied. "I mean--" She stopped. A small gothic door appeared in midair, and Daisy stepped out, ending up in a mangy heap on the floor. Pepper floated out after the cat, and went over to Hanaki's side. The door vanished in a shower of catnip. "Oog. What'sh wrong with the ground?" Daisy slurred. "Hi, Pep!" Ayame exclaimed, much to the annoyance of the goldfish. "Where have you guys been?" Pepper cleared his throat, something that sounded quite odd when you were a fish. "We've been busy trying to make heads and tails of your mystical destinies." Hanaki blinked. "Come again?" "We've figured out how your deshtinies work," Daisy helpfully slurred. "For shtarters, Shailor Exposition--" "Not anymore," Ayame said. "Now I'm Queen Amore. Again, apparently," she added after a few seconds. The mangy cat frowned a bit. "Really? Well, that changes a few things, then... but it'sh a minor point. You shee..." * * * * * It was almost midnight when Villyn approached the door to his mighty Fortress of Doom (skillfully disguised to look like a normal villa house), his three happy minions in tow. Actually, that wasn't correct. The Blank Psychic was exhibiting his ordinary zeal, ranting something about hamsters and pianos behind his mask. The Unnamed Minion's mood was almost impossible to tell. The Quake Camper... The Quake Camper was bouncing like a superball, emitting short squeals of delight, and generally showing a behaviour not unlike that of a caffeine addict. In his arms he clutched several rockets that didn't fit in his pack. [I can hardly wait until I can test these babies!] "Are you happy, Quake Camper?" Villyn asked, winning the award for understatement of the year. "Yes, Villyn-sama!" the Camper said, literally glowing. Villyn took advantage of the glow to find the right key. "And I must get an opportunity to test these experimental rockets, too!" He paused. "I just wonder what they do... I asked that young assistant, but he just laughed maniacally at me." "Verily, these weapons shall serve our conquest of the world well. We shall crush our enemies, the Do-Gooders, and I'll stand glorious, with Charity..." He trailed off. [Oh, Charity... we really MUST talk.] He walked over to the sofa and mentally prepared himself for the task... only to find that she was gone. "Villyn-sama, look!" The Unnamed Minion said, picking up a paper from the living room table. "A note for you, Villyn-sama!" Villyn took the paper and read it. Then he read it again, slowly. He then looked up and gazed off into the distance, his face unreadable. The paper fell from his unmoving fingers. After several long seconds, the Unnamed Minion bent down and picked up the paper. "Dear Nemesis-chan," he read, "We need to talk. Unfortunately a dragon kidnapped Aki, so I'm off to save her. I'll be back as soon as possible. Love, Charity. PS: I'm stopping by at Keiko's house - you know, Aki's friend, the nice girl with the cleaver. Her address in Tanaka Street 33." He gasped, partly from the horror this meant, and partly to get some more oxygen. "This means..." "...the divine Aki-sama is in danger!" the Blank Psychic filled in, his face a mask of horror (covered with a more normal mask, of course). "Ha! A mere dragon!" the Quake Camper overconfidently exclaimed. "With my rockets, we'll be invincible! Right, Villyn-sama?" Villyn broke out of his petrification. "Your courage makes me proud, Camper. Let us go to the secret dungeons and prepare!" He strode over to one of the bookshelves, and pulled on a copy of 'Evil Overlords throughout the ages'. Nothing happened. He pushed it in and pulled it out again, but with the same results. After trying several other books, he turned to his minions. "Get me a crowbar. The secret door is jammed again." He paused. "Say, where's Thrakkorzog? Thurston Dunne? Tharz-- whatever his name is, and the Bluefaced Black Shadow? * * * * * "Fear not, divine Aki-sama! You will get your pizzas yet!" "Shut up and clean off those dishes." "Yes, Joe-san." * * * * * "YOU fAIlEd?" the garbled voice said on the phone. The priestess nodded, and then realized that her customer couldn't see it. "Yes, unfortunately the oni turned out to have allies. Are you still interested in our services?" The voice made a sound that could be closest compared to growling, although it was nowhere near the same. "mIss jInkO, wE wAnt thAt OnI. pErIOd. YOU wIll cAptUrE thE OnI fOr Us, Or YOU wIll rIsk A wOrsE fAtE thAn jUst mIssIng A pAYmEnt." Jinko's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Are you threatening me, Mr..." She looked at a paper on her desk. "Mr. Smith? I'd suggest you think twice about doing something we both will regret." "I rEgrEt nOthIng," 'Mr. Smith' replied. "wEll, AlmOst nOthIng. jUst cAptUrE thAt Oni!" Jinko nodded. "Will do. By the way, are you an oni?" She waited a few seconds, and then put the receiver back on the phone. "He hung up." She turned around to face her partner. "We still have the case, Junko." Junko grinned almost evilly. "Good, good... is the payment still good?" "I didn't ask. It should be." "Good," Junko said. "Money must be gathered. All else is irrelevant." Jinko bowed. "Truly you are following the path of a pure Yen Buddhist." * * * * * Hanko lowered her Dragon's Tail. "Very good, T-kun! You're starting to get the moves right." "Hurrah," the boy said, wiping away blood from several small cuts he'd received on his arms and face. Hanko sure was a hard trainer... but at the same time it felt satisfying, as if being a Seal and knowing it filled a hole in his life. [And then we'll remake the world! Wow! I hope it won't clash with Villyn-sama's plans, though...] He noticed that she had put away her weapon and taken out a few books from the small backpack that she had brought with her. Hesitantly returning his... whatever his weapon was called... to his chest, he walked over to her. "Is it time for another lesson?" She looked up. "No, I have to do my homework. Don't you have homework to do?" He shook his head. "No, I don't go to school... so can I go home?" She shrugged and opened one of the books. "Sure, unless you happen to know anything about World War I." "Uh... no, sorry. Well, see you later." He turned and walked off. Hanko watched as the Seal and Minion walked off into the desert, and allowed herself an open smile. "I'm VERY glad I found you, T-kun... suddenly being a Seal doesn't seem such a dreary existence, after all." She returned her attention to the book, immersing her mind with irrelevant facts that she, as a Seal, didn't really need to know. Several minutes later, she looked up to observe the figure on the horizon. "Maybe I should have told him how to leave, too." * * * * * Aki opened her eyes, and took in her surroundings. This time, there were no extreme closeups to shock her back into unconsciousness. She looked around, and realized that she was in... a cave. A rather cozy cave, but still a cave. Against one wall stood a bookshelf, and next to it was a desk with a computer on it. The furniture looked quite out of place in the cave. She picked up something lying on her bed... a part of her bed, in fact, and looked at it. "A Ranma 1/2 manga?" She picked up another object. "'Queen's greatest hits'?" Another. "A Do-Gooders CD." Another. "And... a gold scepter, with inlaid rubies. Someone's idea of a hoard... uh oh..." She sat up as carefully and quietly as possible, and peered over the top of the hoard. Sure enough, by the wall lay a big, blue-scaled terrible dragon, snoring softly. [No, scratch that,] Aki thought, [not very terrible. Kinda... cute, really...] She fought down an urge to go over and tweak his ears. [Now, if I can just sneak out...] As if a particularily nasty and/or mischievous deity had heard her plea, a video cassette, standing rather precariously on top of the hoard, fell over and landed in a small pile of gold coins, making a crashing noise. The dragon opened its eyes, raised its head, and grinned, showing a lot of teeth. Aki paled and backed away, coming up against the bookshelf. "Uh oh... wait a sec, I'm still transformed. JOYFUL CLEANSING LIGHT!" A beam of deadly light lanced out from her hands, but the dragon dodged it, and leapt forward. As it landed in front of her, its form altered, and turned human. Hiryuu took her in his arms, leaned close, and said in a low voice, almost a whisper, "Aki-chan, I love you. Will you marry me?" They held the pose for several long seconds, then Aki took a book from the bookshelf and hit him on the head with it. "Hiryuu, what the HECK are you doing?" He let go of her and rubbed his head. "I've kidnapped you to proclaim my undying love for you. Shouldn't you go all starry-eyed and all that now?" She frowned. "No! Whatever made you think that?!" "Well, it says so here." He took down a book and opened it, holding it out for her. She read the page. Then she turned to the next page, and started giggling. "What kind of silly fairytale is THIS? 'And then the dragon killed the evil knight and married his princess, and they lived happily ever after.'" She closed the book. "Is that what you thought would happen? You're pretty impressionable, aren't you." He shrugged. "Love has overcome my mind. You are the light of my day, the song in my heart, the--" Aki covered his mouth, cutting him off. "Look, give it a rest, okay? You hardly know me, and I hardly know you... I mean, you're probably a nice guy, and you have a nice cave with a hoard and all... why did you put all the manga and CD's in it, by the way?" "More fun than gold," he prompted. "Really. Anyway, you're probably a nice guy, but you're WAY too forward for me. I mean, most guys start off with a date, or something..." "Far too mundane," he replied. "I wanted to do something memorable..." Aki sighed deeply. "Believe me, it's memorable. It's just a bit too much for me, okay? He looked thoughtful for a while. "I'll need to think." He turned and walked over to the other end of the cave, transformed into his dragon form, and sat down, deep in thought. Aki sat down on the hoard. [WHY does this always happen to me?] * * * * * "Perfect!" Keiko exclaimed as she walked down the stairs, Charity and Zathras in tow. "I know EXACTLY where they are! Well, where the dragon is, at least." she added. "Sorry it took all night to get it right." "It's perfectly all right," Charity said dismissively. "Spells ARE hard to learn. I think you're a very good student." Keiko blushed a bit at the praise. "The apples were nice," Zathras commented. "Never seen spell mess up that way, Zathras has." "Um, yeah," Keiko began. "Anyway--" Keiko's mom leaned out of the kitchen door. "Keiko dear, are you going out without breakfast?" Keiko rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom. I'm going off with the Queen of the DarkVerse and a furry guy from the Kingdom of Delight to rescue my best friend from a dragon." "Well, if you insist, dear. Just don't be late for dinner." She vanished back into the kitchen. Zathras' brow furrowed. "Testing spells on your parents, have you?" Keiko sighed. "No, can you believe that they're like that all the time?" She opened the front door, and stepped out. " I honestly can't believe that GYAAH!" "Gyaah what?" Koohii asked. There, on the pathway to the Yamanaka household, stood the three members of Dragon Childe, in all their oddly colored glory. Keiko made a strangled sound and stumbled backwards. Charity frowned at the three teenagers. "Hmm... who are you? Why do you frighten Keiko? And are you here to make trouble?" "No!" Koohii said, feeling slightly indignant at the suggestion. "We're here because we need help, and--" "Hey!" Keiko exclaimed, building up her resolve. "Did you dragons kidnap Aki?" She took a step forward. "Aki?" Scotch asked. "Hmm... cute girl with short brown hair?" "The one in the white dress," Mermaid said, eyeing Keiko warily. "Shoots energy beams from her hands." She frowned. "Someone kidnapped HER?" "Hah!" Koohii hah'ed, momentarily lapsing into her old self. "I bet it was our *dear* former elders who did it!" "Former?" Charity mused. She put her hand on Keiko's shoulder, to calm her down. "Kids, why don't you tell us all about this?" Koohii cleared her throat. "Well, you see..." WHAT WILL THE DRAGON CHILDE TELL THEM? WILL KEIKO LISTEN TO THEIR TALE? WILL CHARITY GIVE THEM AN OFFER THAT THEY CAN'T REFUSE? WILL THEY SAVE AKI FROM THE DRAGON? WILL THEY HAVE TO? WILL HIRYUU SUCCEED IN HIS ATTEMPTS TO GAIN AKI'S LOVE? HOW WILL SHUBBY-CHAN REACT WHEN MAEDA AND WATARU RETURN EMPTY-HANDED? WHAT SORT OF TRICKS DID TEJINA LEARN FROM THE HARBRINGERS? WHAT DOES SEAL TRAINING REALLY INCLUDE, AND IS IT AS PAINFUL AS IT LOOKS? WHAT WILL BARON STAGNER VON CARRLSON DO NEXT? WHAT WILL SPIKE DO? AM I GLAD THAT I'VE FINISHED THIS IN TIME? (Oh yes.) WHAT WILL MARIKO DO NEXT? WHAT DOES SHE *REALLY* WANT FROM KEIKO? WHOSE EYES WERE SPYING ON THEM? IS TEJINA GOING TO GET TWO NEW SECRET ADMIRERS? WHAT IS ICHIBAN'S DEAL? IS HANKO REALLY THE PRESIDENT OF AMERICA? WHAT WILL KOJI DO? WILL MATSURO COPE WITH HAVING ELRIC AS STEP-FATHER? HOW WILL MATSURO AND AKI FULFILL THE PROPHECY WITHOUT GETTING MARRIED? WILL THEY EVEN TRY TO FULFILL IT? WILL I BE BRUTALLY SAVAGED BY A TORCH-WIELDING MOB FOR INTRODUCING THE MASONS? WHAT'S THE REAL DEAL WITH THE DARKVERSE SAILORS? WHAT'S KAHI UP TO? WILL I *EVER* END WITH THESE QUESTIONS? WHEN DID VILLYN GET SECRET DUNGEONS IN HIS HOUSE? WHAT IS YEN BUDDHISM? WHY DOESN'T T-KUN GO TO SCHOOL? HOW DO YOU LEAVE THE DESERT? (If you say 'follow the weird naked indian', I shall have to hurt you) AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? The answers are yes, no, maybe, asparagus, sideways, and definitely, although probably not in that order. Author's notes: Another part done, and I feel fine. This one was even finished before deadline, proving that you CAN write a part in under one week. Whoa. Now I'll spend a few weeks getting into college, until my next part comes up. Me, monopolizing the story? Naah. A few notes: There are a few OCRs in this story. I won't ruin the fun by explaining them, but you're free to email me if you want to ask any questions. I might even answer. Also, there are a few cameos, but I won't tell you who they are either. Hopefully they'll recognize themselves. Comments and criticism are VERY welcome! If there is something you'd like to say about this episode, feel free to send a message to this address: J_Streith@mailandnews.com Please do not post comments on the message board, as I never visit that place nowadays. Oh, you can post comments if you want, but don't expect me to read and respond to them. Thank you for reading this part! Have a nice day!