Winis knew that he was dying.

	The spells that Yumi, beautiful Yumi, was casting were warm 
and comforting, but they were so very inadequate against the cold 
that was swiftly overtaking him.  His life's blood was dripping 
away, drop by drop, and soon he would have nothing left.

	"Did you get her?" he asked Tsugiko.  It would all have been 
worth it if the traitor had been defeated.  There had been little 
in his life these past years other than revenge anyway; if the 
witch had preceded him into whatever lay beyond this existence, 
he could die without regret.

	The Warrior Priestess barely hesitated.  "Yeah.  Yeah, I 
did."

	Winis felt relief flood him.  All his efforts had not been 
in vain.  "Thanks.  At least someone did."  It was as if a great 
weight had been lifted from the boy's shoulders: the last thing 
tying him down to Mars.  His task was done.  But his three 
companions, who had helped him finally find peace... much of 
their struggle still lay in the future.  He wished he could help 
them, as they had helped him.  There was so much danger ahead of 
them, so much pain.  Winis turned to look at the Knight 
Protector.  "Kyouji, protect them."

	The other boy nodded.  "I'm sorry I didn't trust you 
earlier."  The Knight Protector closed his eyes.  "Really sorry."

	Winis tried to smile, but his muscles weren't responding 
properly.  "That's okay.  I probably wouldn't have trusted me 
either."  He turned back to face Yumi.  The blonde girl was 
staring at his wounds, still attempting to heal him, refusing to 
give up even though she had to know the truth.  "You can stop 
trying now."

	"No."  She didn't look up.  The glow she was generating 
increased, but he could no longer feel anything from it.  He 
wanted desperately to gaze at her face once more.

	Summoning every ounce of will he possessed, Winis shook his 
head.  The effort cost him, and he was forced to take a deep 
breath before he could speak.  "Yumi."  The Warrior Priestess 
turned to face him, and Winis tried to make out her features, but 
it was so difficult, so very difficult.  "Thank you," he said.  
The boy thought he saw a tear fall from her face onto him, but he 
couldn't be certain.  Perhaps... perhaps there might have been 
something to live for other than vengeance after all.  His voice 
was fading, but he found the strength to continue.  "For 
everything."

	He could barely see Yumi now.  Instead, his eyes focused on 
the far-away fields behind her, like those of the kingdom of 
Licorice where he had played as a boy, and off in the distance he 
could just make out a woman with long aqua hair blowing freely in 
the wind.

	At last, he had come ho-

>o< >o< >o<

The Starburst Crystal
Created by Ardweden

Chapter 30: Salty Tears
by Nicolas Juzda

>o< >o< >o<


	"She's not taking it very well," Kyouji said.

	Tsugiko looked over at Yumi.  The blonde girl hadn't said a 
single word since her howl of pain over Winis' demise, nearly 
five minutes earlier.  It worried Tsugiko; her old roommate had 
always seemed so in control, not like Tsugiko herself felt.

	"We have to go," Tsugiko said.  The three of them were still 
in the camp of Wintergreen's forces, and renewed assault could 
come at any moment.

	"I don't think she'll leave him behind."

	There was an awkward silence as both teens waited for the 
other to volunteer to talk with Yumi.

	And that was when the Rancher appeared.

	One minute it wasn't there, the next it was standing a half-
dozen feet from Tsugiko.  "Oh, just perfect," she muttered.  Her 
warhammer was back in her hands in an instant, and out of the 
corner of her eye she saw Kyouji reaching down to his side 
automatically, going for a sword that wasn't there.

	Before either of them could attack, a burst of pink energy 
hit the ground at the creature's feet.  When Yumi and Tsugiko had 
escaped from the Rancher's camp, they had discovered that if the 
blonde girl unleashed a blast of magical energy at the ground 
upon which the slavers were standing, the Ranchers would 
disappear.  Evidently, Yumi was trying to implement that strategy 
again.

	Tsugiko was glad to see that her old roommate was taking the 
initiative; hopefully, this was a sign that Yumi wasn't that 
traumatized after all.  But what relief she felt over her 
companion's emotional well-being was short-lived.  The fact that 
the creature was still there and had suffered no apparent ill 
effects drew Tsugiko's attention back to more immediate concerns. 

	It took less than a second for the Warrior Priestess to 
realize the truth.  The Ranchers hadn't been destroyed at all by 
Yumi blasting at the ground beneath them; they had simply chosen 
to use their power of invisibility while obscured by the dust 
that had been kicked up.  Now that Tsugiko thought about it, she 
remembered that Yumi had shot directly at one of the creatures 
during the battle in which the two girls had been captured, and 
it had done no damage.  Why would it have been any more effective 
to have actually missed them?

	"I'm an idiot," she said, mentally kicking herself.  She 
took some comfort in the fact that Yumi hadn't realized this 
logistical inconsistency either, but then she remembered the 
blonde girl's current emotional state and felt a pang of guilt.

	Kyouji held a poppy in one hand, but he didn't look eager to 
wade into battle armed with nothing but flowers.  Yumi's face was 
unreadable, but she had made no follow-up to her unsuccessful 
blast.  Tsugiko steeled herself for what was probably going to be 
a very painful and one-sided battle.

	She charged the creature, swinging her hammer at its head 
with all her might.  Before she connected, it vanished, and when 
her blow failed to connect, Tsugiko briefly had to fight to keep 
her balance.  The Rancher reappeared a moment later, a few steps 
from where it had been.  She turned, raising her weapon for 
another attempt.

	"Wait," it said.  "I mean you no harm.  I wish to speak with 
you."

	With some difficulty, Tsugiko resisted the urge to continue 
her attack.  This was probably a trick, she decided, but she 
couldn't see how the situation could get any worse if she heard 
it out.

	"This doesn't exactly seem the best place for a chat," 
Tsugiko said.  "Wintergreen's soldiers will probably be back any 
minute."

	"No.  They have abandoned this camp.  The combination of the 
demon's rampage and the presence of your group made this location 
too dangerous for them.  They will not return."

	"Fine.  So, what do you want to tell us?" she asked, her 
voice full of hostility.  It occurred to her that she wasn't 
normally the party's spokesperson, but neither of her fellow 
Crystal Warriors objected.

	"We did not realize that you were the ones spoken of in the 
legends.  We had always believed that when you returned, there 
would be three of the curved ones, as before."

	"Curved ones?"

	"Girls," Yumi said.  Tsugiko shot her a surprised glance.

	"Yes," the Rancher said.  "Had we known-"

	"Had you known, you wouldn't have attacked us, beaten us 
unconscious, stripped us, put us into rags, tied collars onto us 
that inflicted extreme pain if we tried to use our abilities, and 
finally left us to rot in your prison?" Tsugiko interrupted.  She 
raised her weapon again.  "Get to the point."

	"We need your help."

	Tsugiko almost dropped her hammer.  "I'm sorry.  I don't 
think I heard that correctly.  You want us to help you?"

	"Yes."

	"Give me one good reason why."

	"My clan has occupied this area since before the mammals 
came.  It is our home, and our hunting grounds.  But the forces 
of Wintergreen have changed things.  Everywhere her armies 
travel, they reduce to rubble.  Elsewhere, she has reduced other 
clans of my people to nomads, their ancestral lands no longer any 
more than barren wastes.  They must follow her armies and take 
what they can from among the devastation she wreaks.  And for 
this 'privilege', they must pay tribute."

	"I'm heartbroken.  Really."

	"Already, my clan has been forced to relocate our nest in 
this forest once, to avoid detection by her scouts."

	"I was just thinking that the camp we were at looked a bit 
new for an 'ancestral home'," Tsugiko noted.  "It was still under 
construction."

	"As you say.  If Wintergreen knew we were here, her forces 
would burn this entire forest to the ground.  The Dark Queen 
prefers to force us to act as her servants whenever possible.  
She finds what we do when the capacity to survive on our own has 
been removed from us... useful.  But even if we avoid discovery, 
we shall not be safe.  If the one called Clorets is not stopped 
now, there will soon be nowhere in this forest capable of 
supporting life.  The armies of Wintergreen are like locusts, 
ravaging their surroundings without hesitation or remorse.  They 
will leave Ferrero Rocher a desert, and we will be like our 
brethren in other lands.  Homeless wanderers."

	"So Wintergreen doesn't know you're here?"

	"I am uncertain.  The demon Twizzler does, but Clorets does 
not."

	"Twizzler?" Kyouji asked.  "What's she got to do with this?"

	"She found our nest using her foul magics."  The creature's 
voice was full of disgust as it referred to Twizzler's spells.  
But if Wintergreen had caused them so much trouble, Tsugiko could 
understand why it might be averse to magic.  "After proving her 
power, she demanded that we capture you.  But he was to remain 
unharmed."  It pointed at Kyouji.

	"Me?" the boy asked.

	"Her exact words were 'If you so much as split one cute 
little hair on his adorable head, I'll feed every Rancher here 
their own spleen.'  We did not want to deal with her again, so we 
left you where we knew Wintergreen's scouts would come across you 
quickly.  We prayed that the force necessary to render you 
unconscious would not incur the demon's wrath."

	"This is all fascinating," Tsugiko said.  "But you've 
forgotten the part that makes me care."

	"I apologize.  In exchange for aiding us, we will provide 
information on where you may locate a shard of the crystal you 
seek."

	Tsugiko considered.  "No," she said.  "We'll find the 
crystal on our own.  And you slavers can go to Hell."

	"Tsugiko-" Kyouji began.

	"You weren't their prisoner, Kyouji.  I was.  Every last one 
of the cold-blooded creeps deserves what they get."  Absently, 
Tsugiko ran a finger over her neck; Yumi had healed her wound, 
but the memory remained vivid.

	"We didn't realize who you were," the Rancher said.  "Only 
during your escape did it become clear to us, and we then 
withdrew as soon as we were able."

	"Yeah.  You just thought we were your everyday group of 
humans, so it was okay to enslave us.  I remember what that 
Rancher said about the joy it would take in ripping us apart.  
You hunt people for pleasure, you sadistic bastard, so don't 
whine to me about losing your home."

	"If you have no sympathy for me, mammal, perhaps you will 
care more about your own kind.  Even now, Clorets prepares to 
besiege the royal palace.  Should she succeed in breaching its 
walls, Ferrero Rocher will fall."

	"It looked pretty sturdy to me.  They can handle her."

	"Under normal circumstances, that would be true.  But there 
are other factors at work here.  Allow me to show you something."  
The Rancher turned and began to walk away.

	Tsugiko started to follow, but after a second she realized 
her companions had not moved.  She shot them a questioning look.

	"I'll stay here," Yumi said, patting Winis' shoulder 
protectively.  Tsugiko frowned.  So much for Yumi's speedy 
recovery.

	Kyouji looked like he was being torn up inside.  He glanced 
from one girl to the other, then back again.

	"Stay with Yumi," Tsugiko said.  "I'll be okay."

	Kyouji smiled.  "Thanks."

	The dark-haired girl caught up with the Rancher on the edge 
of the camp.  She hadn't been to this side during her search for 
Kyouji, so she hadn't seen what the slaver wanted to show her.  
The entire area looked like it had been hit by a meteor.  The 
ground was littered with craters; the tents had been torn to 
shreds; a few bodies were scattered about, their limbs in 
impossible positions and their flesh horribly burned.  At the 
centre of the devastation, the Rancher stood next to a 
gigantic metal device.  It was twisted and melted, but Tsugiko 
could still see what it was.  A gun.  A gigantic cannon.

	"The demon destroyed it during her rampage," the Rancher 
said.  "This was the only one at this camp, but there are more in 
another to the North.  Clorets will blast the palace to dust."

	"The explosion that drew us here... that was Twizzler 
wrecking this," Tsugiko muttered.

	"Destroy those weapons, and the siege will fail.  Clorets 
will be forced to withdraw from Ferrero Rocher.  Both the humans 
and my clan will be safe from Wintergreen."

	"I need to talk this over with my companions."

	They returned to where they had left Kyouji and Yumi, and 
Tsugiko quickly related what she had seen.

	"So, what do we do?" Kyouji asked.

	Tsugiko shrugged.  "To really defeat Wintergreen, we need 
those Crystal shards.  Once we have those, all the problems she 
causes will have been solved.  You said it yourself; we can't 
afford to just do damage control."

	"I'm still not sure we can walk away from all this."

	"What do you suggest?  That we wander around battling 
armies?  That's not what our role here is supposed to be, 
Kyouji."

	"Why not?  We can't ignore what's going on around us."

	"Ha!  That's a laugh, coming from you.  Face it, you let a 
psychopath tag along with us for weeks.  So I don't think you can 
exactly lecture me about having blinders on."

	"Help them," Yumi said.

	Both of her friend had almost forgotten she was there.  They 
turned to look at her in surprise.

	"Alright," Tsugiko said.  She paused.  "Are you up to this, 
Yumi?"

	The blonde girl shook her head.  "I don't think so.  I don't 
think I have the proper focus."  Her eyes kept darting to the 
body beside her.

	"I don't want to leave you here alone," Kyouji said.

	"She will not be," the Rancher informed them.  As he spoke, 
a half-dozen other Ranchers appeared, forming a circle around the 
girl and the corpse.

	"Just how many more are here that we can't see?" Tsugiko 
asked.

	"Several," the Rancher replied.

	Tsugiko gave a slight chuckle.  "An exact number.  Or we 
don't cooperate."

	The Rancher looked around the seemingly deserted camp.  "I 
can see twenty-seven.  There may be more outside my range of 
vision."

	"And from what you told us, you've obviously had spies 
inside this place the entire time, and in that other camp as 
well.  So why do you need us?  Just have some of your invisible 
buddies blow up those guns."

	The Rancher shook its head.  "No.  That would reveal our 
presence here.  Once that were known, our camouflage would not 
long protect us from Wintergreen."

	Tsugiko growled.  "So I'm guessing that means you also 
aren't going to help us."

	"It would be an unacceptable risk."

	The girl's eyes narrowed.  "Cowards," she spat.  "It's only 
acceptable if you know that your 'prey' hasn't got a chance of 
beating you, is that it?"

	"Yes."

	"I ought to-"

	"Tsugiko," Kyouji interrupted.  "It's not worth it.  Anyway, 
I've got a plan."

******


	"She isn't taking it very well, is she?" Kyouji asked.

	"You mean Yumi?" Tsugiko replied.

	"Yeah."

	"She's never really dealt with death before.  It's not easy 
for her."

	"You seem to be doing okay."

	Tsugiko shrugged.  "My dad died a couple of years ago.  
Cancer.  Yumi's never been through something like that."

	"I didn't know that.  About your father, I mean.  I'm 
sorry."

	"It's okay.  It happens."

	"Still, I- hold on, I think that's the camp."

	The two teenagers stopped their passage through the forest.  
"Remember the plan?" Kyouji asked.

	"It's not exactly brain surgery, Kyouji."

	The Warrior Priestess and the Knight Protector had shed 
their normal garb in favour of clothing removed from dead 
soldiers at Clorets' former camp.  Tsugiko was dressed in a green 
tunic and matching pants covered by a similarly coloured cloak, a 
scout's outfit designed to blend into the forest; the hood was 
pulled low over her face.  Kyouji's more military uniform had been 
taken from an officer.  Both teens had covered themselves (especially 
the crystals on their forehead) in mud and dirt to further hide their 
identities.

	"Hello!" Kyouji called to the soldier guarding the entrance 
to the camp.  

	The man's relaxed posture instantly evaporated, as he drew 
the sword at his side.  "Who goes there?" he asked.

	"Two of your fellows."

	"What were you doing out in the woods?  No one's supposed to 
be out there now."

	"We were stationed at the camp to the South.  I don't know 
if you heard, but things there went crazy today, and we all had 
to evacuate.  My friend and I got lost in the forest."

	The man pointed at Tsugiko.  "A scout got lost in the 
forest?" he asked dryly.

	"Uh... a blast of magic temporarily blinded me," Tsugiko 
said.  She was trying to make her voice low and hoarse; to date, 
they had never seen a female conscript in Wintergreen's army, and 
she didn't want her sex giving them away.

	The soldier still looked at them suspiciously.

	Kyouji walked up to the soldier, slowly so as not to alarm 
him.  "Look, man, could you cut us a break?" he asked.  "We've 
had a rough day, and I'm looking forward to some rest and 
relaxation."

	The guard looked at him appraisingly.  "Oh, alright."  The 
man paused for a second.  "Say, if you didn't have any other 
plans tonight, you want to get together?  I mean, if you're 
interested."  The soldier smiled a bit shyly.  "Under all that 
mud, you're kind of cute."

	Kyouji felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead.  Sure, he 
hadn't exactly been a pariah back in Tokyo, but he still couldn't 
get used to the way all of Mars seemed to treat him as the 
hottest thing on two legs.  He couldn't just turn the guy down 
flat or he'd risk the soldier rescinding his acceptance of their 
story.  The last thing they needed was for this charade to fall 
apart before they were even in the camp.

	"Uh... okay.  I'll meet you back here when you go off duty.  
When is that again?  I've kind of lost track of the time."

	"Shift change is in two hours.  I'll be looking forward to 
it."

	Nodding, Kyouji walked passed the guard and into the camp.  
Tsugiko was right behind him.  The Knight Protector shot a glance 
back at his companion.  "What are you snickering at?"

>o< >o< >o<


	Yumi opened her eyes to see a familiar ceiling.  It was the 
one in her room back at the Hebereke School for girls.  There was 
a slight pink tint to its colour that shouldn't have been there, 
but there could be no mistaking it.

	The last she remembered... actually, she wasn't sure what 
the last thing she remembered was.  She knew that they had left 
Wonka's, but her recollection of events after that got kind of 
vague.  They had met... someone...

	Well, she could sort that out later.  There were other 
things to worry about first, like what she was doing back in 
Tokyo.

	Though Yumi could be accused of being naive, she was 
actually far smarter than many people assumed upon first meeting 
her.  Beneath all the bubbly cheerfulness she normally exhibited 
was an intelligence that had allowed her to score near the top of 
her class in virtually every subject.  She had even offered to 
tutor Tsugiko a few times, but her roommate had turned her down 
in no uncertain terms.

	At any rate, this intelligence allowed Yumi to come to the 
conclusion, based upon prior experience, that this was probably 
not real.  A quick movement of her hand to her forehead confirmed 
that hypothesis; the gem was still on her brow.

	"I wonder if Tsugiko's here too?" she said softly to 
herself.

	Sitting up, she looked over at Tsugiko's side of the room.  
As always, it contrasted with her own.  Yumi kept her side 
sparkling clean, and her roommate never seemed to put anything 
away.  Yumi's few posters looked like they had been hung with the 
aid of a protractor; Tsugiko's were always just crooked enough 
that people noticed.  Even though she had (apparently) just slept 
in it, Yumi's bed was perfectly made with the sheets tucked in, 
and her roommate had stopped even trying to make hers.  
Everything was normal except for one slight detail.

	Yumi was surprised to see that, instead of Tsugiko, sitting 
cross-legged on the other bed was... Yumi.

	"Hello," the Yumi who had just woken said.  It was not the 
most original conversational gambit, but it normally sufficed.

	There was no reply.  Yumi noticed that the other Yumi was 
staring off into space, her eyes unfocussed.

	Getting up and walking over to her doppelganger, Yumi saw 
details that hadn't been clear from the other side of the room.  
The other girl's face was lined and weather-beaten in a way that 
Yumi's was not, and along her bare right arm was a collection of 
thin white scars leading towards the palm of the hand.

	"Are you okay?" Yumi asked, her voice full of concern.

	There was still no answer.

	Yumi reached out and touched the other girl- Akie was her 
name, she was suddenly and inexplicably certain- on the shoulder.  
The flesh was cold.

	Akie's head snapped over to look at Yumi, who jumped back at 
the sudden movement.

	"Oh, it's you," said Akie.

	Frankly, Yumi had been expecting something more, but she 
rallied without hesitation.  "Who are you?"

	"A ghost, a part of you, an echo of what was."

	"You're the Warrior Priestess, aren't you?  The one I'm 
reincarnated from?"

	Akie nodded.

	"Oh boy!"  Yumi clapped her hands together.  All the nagging 
questions about the holes in her memory had vanished from her 
mind.  Whatever it was that she was forgetting couldn't be that 
important, not compared to something as fantastic as this.  "I 
just know you'll have lots of advice to help us defeat 
Wintergreen."

	"You want my advice?" Akie asked slowly.

	"Uh huh," Yumi said.  A big grin split her face, so wide 
that it forced her to close her eyes.

	"I'd love to help," Akie said.  "But you don't want my 
advice.  We failed.  We died."

	"But you saved everyone!"

	"Did we?  Oh, that's good.  I was hoping we would.  Still, 
it would have been nice to live to see it."

	After a moment, Yumi opened her eyes and saw that Akie had 
zoned out again.  Sighing, she tapped her prior incarnation 
lightly on the shoulder once more.

	"Are you still here?" Akie asked.

	"Yes."

	"That's nice.  It's fun to have company.  I don't get out 
much anymore."

	"I guess not."  For once, even Yumi was at a loss for a 
cheerful reply.

	"I remember talking to people all the time when I was alive.  
Teru and Mia and all our friends.  I miss them."

	Yumi tried to think of what to say to cheer Akie up, and was 
pleased to remember something that might work.  "My friend Kyouji 
said something about Teru.  I thought maybe she was his 
girlfriend, but I guess not.  If she's who he's reincarnated 
from, then maybe he's been talking to her like I am now with you.  
Do you want me to have him pass on a message or something?"

	"It would be nice to tell her that I'm sorry.  I held off 
for so long.  I thought that my feelings were... wrong.  I let 
things come between us.  And then it was too late.  If you care 
for someone, you shouldn't let anything stop you."

	An uncharacteristic frown covered Yumi's face.  "Anything?" 
she asked.

	"Anything," Akie repeated.  "Especially you.  Because you 
have so little time."

	"What do you mean?" Yumi asked.  Another girl would have 
felt trepidation upon hearing such an ominous statement, but not 
Yumi.  She was eager for the valuable advice she was sure she was 
supposed to get out of this dream.

	"What?"  Akie was clearly confused by the question, and her 
gaze had wandered away from Yumi to stare into the middle 
distance.

	"What do you mean by 'so little time'?" Yumi repeated.

	Akie blinked, and drew herself together again.  "You're 
going to die, of course.  I wonder if you'll stay here with me 
then.  That would be nice, wouldn't it?  We could have fun.  We 
must have lots in common."  The voice, so like Yumi's, held the 
same eager tone hers had moments before.

	Yumi really hated to rush to negative judgments about 
people, but she was starting to suspect that just maybe Akie was 
possibly a little... funny in the metaphorical head.

	"We're not going to die," Yumi said with absolute certainty.

	Akie giggled.  It was both good natured and macabre.  "I 
thought that too.  I just knew without a doubt that we'd defeat 
Wintergreen, go home, and live happily ever after.  Mia hardly 
cared one way or another, really, as long as she got to get back 
at Wintergreen.  But Teru I think suspected the truth.  She was 
always the realist.  That was one of the things I lo- I mean, I
respec- no, I LOVED about her.  I can say it; I'm dead; there's 
no one to object now.  No matter how bad the situation was, she 
just accepted it unflinchingly and then dealt with it.  I bet 
Teru even took dying in stride.  Anyway, I talked with her the 
night before, and she seemed preoccupied.  But not me.  I was so 
giddy, because it was almost over.  And then... it was over."

	"Maybe things didn't turn out the way you wanted-" Yumi 
began, but Akie cut her off.  Yumi didn't think Akie wanted to be 
rude (of course, Yumi never thought anyone ever wanted to be 
rude); the dead girl had fallen into her own little world again, 
and hadn't heard Yumi.

	"Do you know what my last thought was?  'It can't end like 
this.  We worked too hard.'  Even at the end I couldn't believe I 
had been wrong.  I wanted so badly for everything to turn out 
okay, but it didn't.  There was no happy ending."

	"Don't say that," Yumi said.  "Maybe... maybe Kyouji and 
Tsugiko and I are a second chance, so that there will be a happy 
ending."

	"You sound just like I did," Akie said wistfully.  The 
sentence hung in the air for a minute as Yumi considered its 
implications.

	"Is there any way to change things?  Please, you must have 
advice for me," Yumi said.

	"I don't know.  I'm dead, not omniscient."  Akie cocked her 
head to one side.  "What season is it?  I hope it's Spring.  I 
like Spring the best."

	"On Mars?  Summer, I think.  It could be Spring, though."

	"All the plants in bloom.  Not like the Fall and Winter.  
Then everything withers.  Withers and dies."

	The dead girl was rocking slowly from side to side, and Yumi 
realized that her predecessor's thin grip on the present had once 
again slipped.  She snapped her fingers in front of Akie's eyes.

	"If you don't have anything to tell me, why did you bring me 
here?" Yumi asked.

	"I didn't bring you.  You came to visit me," Akie said.  "I 
like it when people visit me.  Not that they ever do."

	"I came to visit you?"

	"Yes.  You went and found this place inside of you, far away 
from the world.  There's so much that can hurt you out there, you 
know.  But not in here.  It doesn't hurt as badly in here, does 
it?  The bad thing that happened."

	And suddenly Yumi remembered.  "Winis," she whispered.  The 
last few minutes felt like the dream she knew all of this to be: 
a brief fantasy where she was her old self, full of cheerfulness 
and optimism.  But now that was over, and all the anguish was 
back.  For a second, it almost overwhelmed her.

	"Did he die?  They all die.  Winis and Mia and Teru and me 
and you."  Akie began to sing, a simple melody that Yumi didn't 
recognize.  "Ashes, ashes, all fall down."  After reciting that 
line, she continued to hum the tune softly, over and over again.

	Yumi was still reeling.  Had she blocked out the memory of 
Winis' death, retreated into acting as almost a parody of herself 
prior to recent events, as a defense?  That way led to madness, 
to hiding in rooms inside of herself, afraid to come out and face 
the world for fear of what would happen.  Perhaps she couldn't 
quite be that girl anymore, but neither did she want to become 
like her predecessor.  There had to be a way to avoid that.  
There had to be.

	"What would you do differently if you had the chance?" Yumi 
asked.

	"Why do you keep asking me these questions?  Can't you see I 
don't have any advice for you?  There's no way to beat this.  
Accept it.  You'll be much happier."  Akie paused.  "I know!  
Let's play a game.  Do you have a go set in here?"

	"I'll play a game with you in a minute, okay?"  Yumi hoped 
that she'd have the opportunity to live up to her promise.  The 
dead girl seemed so lonely, and it made Yumi sad.  But the 
current incarnation of the Warrior Priestess held on to her idea 
that the other girl knew something that she was supposed to 
hear... and Yumi desperately wanted to believe that whatever that 
knowledge was, it wasn't what Akie had already told her.  "First, 
though, just tell me something, anything, that you think I should 
do."

	"Maybe you should just take Teru- Kyouji, I mean- take him 
and go somewhere far away.  Somewhere far away where Wintergreen 
can't hurt you, and you can be happy.  Somewhere safe."

	"But then Wintergreen will conquer Mars!"

	Akie nodded sadly.  "I know.  Life isn't fair.  It took 
death to teach me that."

	"I don't want that.  Even if I have to die, I will save 
Mars."

	"Good for you," Akie said.  Yumi was a little surprised and 
quite pleased to hear genuine support in her companion's voice.  
"That's the spirit.  That attitude got me where I am today."  
Then the dead girl giggled again.

	Yumi shuddered involuntarily.

	"Do you know what makes me saddest?" Akie added softly.  
"It's not that we fought and died.  It's that we couldn't even 
end it.  Now you have to go fight and die too."

	Yumi noticed that the pink light streaming in through the 
window was getting steadily brighter.  She shielded her eyes from 
it.

	"Time to go now?" Akie asked.

	"I think I'm starting to wake up.  Will I see you again?"

	"Maybe.  It would be nice.  But it's safe here.  Nothing can 
hurt me.  I don't want to leave, and I think I'd have to in order 
to talk to you again."

	"Couldn't I come back here?"

	"Maybe if you really wanted to.  I keep telling you that 
being dead doesn't give me answers."

	The light was filling the room, and even with her eyes 
closed Yumi saw nothing but pink.

	"It won't happen," Yumi said quickly.  "No matter what you 
say, this time it will be different.  I won't become like you."  
She wanted to tell Akie that before the dream ended.

	"You know, it's funny.  Because I didn't listen when she 
told me how I'd end up, either."  The voice got fainter as it 
spoke, and by the last words Yumi was straining to hear.

	"Wait, listen to who?"

	But the light was everywhere now, and the room was gone, its 
deceased occupant with it.

>o< >o< >o<


	"I still can't believe he was hitting on you," Tsugiko 
teased.  "And you were going along with it."

	"I had to, okay?"

	"I dunno.  You didn't seem to mind too much."

	"Can we PLEASE let the matter drop?"

	Tsugiko complied, and they continued walking through the 
camp in silence.  The Rancher had informed them that the guns, 
called Bottle Pops, were grouped together near the centre.

	"Okay," Tsugiko said, pointing to a large tent surrounded by 
a dozen armed soldiers.  "That's gotta be it.  We've covered all 
the open areas, and none of the other tents have enough room to 
hold one of those guns.  What now?"

	"Uh, I'm not sure."

	"You're not sure?  This is your plan."

	"Well, no sense in over-planning these things, right?  We'll 
improvise."

	Tsugiko snorted.  "I can't believe I let you convince me to 
follow your lead.  One would think that after that Twizzler 
fiasco, I'd have learned bet... ter..."  Tsugiko trailed off when 
she saw the look on the boy's face.  "Look, I'm sorry.  I didn't 
mean it."

	"No.  You're right.  I should never have trusted her.  All 
she ever did was lie to us, to me."  His voice rose in pitch 
slightly as he continued, vaguely suggesting the voice of their 
erstwhile companion.  "'Wonka is evil, Kyouji'.  'No, you're not 
being held in Clorets' camp, Kyouji'."  He grimaced.  "'I love 
you, Kyouji.'  That was a lie, too, although maybe even she 
believed that one."  He saw the look of pity on Tsugiko's face.  
"No, it's okay.  Well, not okay, really, but I'll deal with it.  
That wasn't the biggest lie, though."

	"What was?" Tsugiko asked.

	"'Green's no good for you, Kyouji'," he said.

	She was about to reply to that when one of the soldiers 
called over to them.  "Hey, you two, what are you doing over 
there?  This is a restricted area."

	"Time to improvise," Tsugiko muttered.

	"We're here on orders from Clorets herself!" Kyouji 
declared.  "We are to inspect the Bottle Pops."

	"Let's see some proof of that," the soldier demanded, 
walking up to Kyouji.  Two other guards were now flanking the one 
who was addressing the Crystal Warriors, and their weapons were 
drawn.

	Kyouji really wished that he still had his sword.

	"Listen, buster, I don't like your attitude," Kyouji said.  
"Do you want to be the one to explain to Clorets why this 
inspection was delayed?  Because I sure don't."

	"Nice try," the soldier said.  "Now, do you want to show us 
some proof or do we have to get rough?"

	Kyouji smiled thinly.  "You talk tough, but let's see you 
back it up."

	"This isn't some sort of macho overcompensation thing 
because of what happened with that guard, is it?" Tsugiko hissed, 
quietly enough that only he heard.

	"Wuss," Kyouji added loudly.

	"That's it, punk," the soldier said.  "You asked for this."

	"Oh, three against one, huh, big guy?  Well, if that's what 
it takes to make you feel safe..." Kyouji drawled.

	"Leave him to me," the soldier told his fellows.  They 
complied and fell back a few steps.  The soldier was about three 
feet away from Kyouji now.  In the background, the other troops 
were watching the confrontation with interest.  "Any last words?"

	"Yeah, two of them," Kyouji said.  He paused.  "Tsugiko.  
Hammer!"

	A brief look of confusion passed across the soldier's face.  
It was replaced by an even briefer look of extreme pain as 
Tsugiko whipped her mallet out from under her cloak and brought 
it into contact with the man's skull.  Finally, the soldier's 
face adopted a look of peaceful contentment, and he fell to the 
ground.

	As this occurred, Kyouji reached into his own pocket and 
withdrew two poppies.  A second later, each of the other two 
guards found that they had flowers sticking out of their throats.  
One began to cough up blood, and then they both collapsed.

	"Improvisation?" Tsugiko asked.

	"Improvisation," Kyouji confirmed.  He grabbed the sword one 
of the fallen soldiers had dropped, and the two teenagers ran 
towards the other guards while they still retained the advantage 
of surprise.  This turn of events had been so sudden that none of 
the soldiers had so much as cried out.

	Kyouji took down one more with his appropriated blade and 
Tsugiko dispatched an additional two before any of their enemies 
had time to draw their weapons.  The Warrior Priestess and Knight 
Protector still faced a half-dozen armed soldiers, with more 
likely to arrive as soon as one of them had the sense to cry out 
for help.

	But neither Kyouji nor Tsugiko had any intention of staying 
to deal with those odds.  They rushed right past the soldiers and 
into the tent.

>o< >o< >o<


	Far away from Ferrero Rocher lay the palace of Wintergreen.  
>From a strictly architectural standpoint, it was neither dark nor 
foreboding.  But despite that it somehow managed to be both.

	Krackel walked through the front doors without hesitation, 
ignoring the protesting guards.  He had accomplished the task set 
for him; one shard of the Starburst Crystal would soon be in 
Wintergreen's possession.

	The swordsman proceeded through the halls of the palace, 
noting without interest that a statue of Twizzler had been added 
to the decor, and into the throne room of Wintergreen herself.  
Few others would have been so bold as to enter without 
permission.

	"Do you have it?" the Dark Queen asked without preamble.

	"I do," he replied.  "Now, will you let my sister go?"

	Wintergreen laughed.  It was a throaty sound, and held no 
humour.  "Why, Krackel, I am doing your sister a favour.  You 
know that.  I offer her the chance to serve her sovereign 
personally; it is a great honour.  You should thank me."

	"I'm not in the mood for these games," Krackel said.  "Just 
answer the question.  Will you let her go?"

	"You presume much," Wintergreen said.  "You may not be the 
one to suffer for your impertinence, Krackel.  Remember that."

	"Then you will not free her."

	Wintergreen merely laughed again.  "The shard, Krackel."

	He pulled open a pouch, and removed from it a glowing shard 
of the Starburst Crystal.  Wintergreen's face showed a curious 
mixture of greed and apprehension as she gazed at it.  Then, on a 
sudden impulse, Krackel tossed it underhand at the Dark Queen.

	Instinctively, Wintergreen caught it in her right hand.  She 
let out a roar of pain, and dropped the shard onto the floor.  
"That was most unwise," she hissed.  "I can see now that I have 
been too lax with you.  That will have to change."

	Despite Wintergreen's words, Krackel took grim pleasure in 
noting that her right hand was still spasming open and closed.

>o< >o< >o<


	Inside the tent, Kyouji and Tsugiko found nineteen Bottle 
Pops.  The main component of each Bottle Pop was the gun barrel, 
a metal cylinder about eight feet long and with a diameter of 
about three feet.  Mounted with metal brackets on each side of 
the barrel was a sphere made of glass, or some similar material, 
about the size of a soccer ball.  The ones on the barrels' left 
held bright yellow fluid; the ones on the right were filled with 
a pale blue liquid.  A pipe led from each sphere into the main 
cylinder of the Bottle Pop.

	"They must produce explosive force by mixing these 
chemicals.  Perfect," Kyouji said.  Tsugiko stared at him.  "Hey, 
I got an A in chemistry.  Give me a hand, Tsugiko; we're going to 
have to work quickly."

	"Actually," Tsugiko said, peering out the front of the tent, 
"I think we've got a few minutes.  They all seem to be running 
away from here as fast as they can."

	"They probably realize what we're up to and don't want to be 
anywhere near these guns when they go up."

	"Neither do I," Tsugiko said.  "You didn't see what the 
explosion at the other camp did."

	Kyouji had been hacking at the brackets holding onto one of 
the spheres, and it gave way.  The container fell off the Bottle 
Pop and hit the floor, smashing itself to pieces.  The yellow 
liquid it held spilled out onto the ground, forming an expanding 
puddle under the gun.  After a moment it had grown to the point 
where there was yellow fluid under the sphere that held its blue 
counterpart.

	"Okay, Tsugiko, can you hit that sphere there with your 
hammer?" Kyouji asked.  He pointed at the one on the other side 
of the gun.  "But don't smash it!  Just form some cracks."

	"What happens if it breaks?" Tsugiko asked.

	"We die horribly."

	Tsugiko made a practice swing, stopping her blow just before 
it made contact with the sphere.  "I'm not sure I can do this."

	"Then maybe we can-"

	Tsugiko tapped her hammer against the sphere.  A small crack 
formed.  She tapped it again, and the crack expanded.  A bead of 
the blue liquid formed on the outside of the crack, and after a 
second it fell; when it landed on the yellow puddle, there was a 
small burst of flame.

	The crack was continuing to expand on its own now, and more 
blue liquid was getting out, drops falling with accelerating 
speed onto the yellow puddle, to increasingly fiery results.

	"Now we run," Kyouji said.

>o< >o< >o<


	"The Crystal Warriors are here?  Are you certain?" Clorets 
asked.

	"Yes, Milady.  And... they have found the Bottle Pops."  The 
officer who served as her second-in-command couldn't bring 
himself to meet her eyes.

	"What?"  Clorets could hardly believe her ears.  With 
Twizzler out of her hair, she had expected matters to improve.  
Instead, they had gotten worse.  The Crystal Warriors had their 
shard!  They were supposed to move on, as they had in her 
homeland, not keep pestering her.  "We need to stop them!  Send 
fifty men to apprehend them!"

	"I'm afraid that's impossible.  News of their presence has 
spread, and most of the soldiers have fled the camp."

	"What?"  Clorets forced herself to remain calm.

	"After the incident at the Southern Camp today-"

	"You mean Twizzler's rampage?"

	"Yes.  It seems that many of the troops are-"

	His next words were drowned out by the first explosion.  
Clorets grabbed the table in front of her for support as the 
ground itself shook from the force released by the chemical 
mixture.  Her second-in-command was not so quick and fell to the 
ground.  A second later she sat down herself, so that her hands 
would be free to cover her ears.

	Clorets was no fool; she had positioned her quarters as far 
from the Bottle Pops as she could.  It was unfortunate that their 
extreme vulnerability made it necessary to keep them securely 
inside the camp in the first place; Clorets didn't want to sleep 
next door to them.  So she and her assistant were perfectly safe.

	Still, she couldn't help instinctively cringing as each 
successive blast rang out.

>o< >o< >o<


	Kyouji and Tsugiko were halfway to the edge of camp when 
they heard the first explosion, and neither stopped running.  
They were into the forest by the time they heard the second 
blast.

	The entire trip back to where they had left Yumi in the 
company of the Ranchers, they didn't talk.  In part, this was to 
conserve their breath; in part, it was because the ringing in 
their ears made any attempt at conversation pointless.

	Finally, they arrived back at the abandoned camp.  Yumi was 
right where they had left her, still by Winis' side.  As Kyouji 
and Tsugiko approached her, a Rancher appeared between them.  
Then another appeared to their left.  Then another two behind 
them.  And another, and another, and another.  One even appeared 
in between Tsugiko and Kyouji, mere feet apart from one another.  
Within seconds there were nearly four dozen Ranchers visible.

	Tsugiko's hammer was in her hand before the last one had 
appeared, and she was snapping her head back and forth as she 
appraised the situation.  Kyouji's stolen sword was held at the 
ready, and Yumi also appeared prepared for battle.

	"Thank you," one of the Ranchers said.

	"Thank you," another repeated.  Then they were all chorusing 
their thanks to the confused Crystal Warriors.

	"You're... not going to betray us?" Tsugiko demanded, 
feeling silly for having to ask such a question.

	"Of course not," one of the Ranchers replied.  "You must 
defeat Wintergreen."  A few others indicated their assent.

	"The Crystal Shard you seek is in the pass through the Aero 
Mountains, to the East of here," a Rancher (Tsugiko thought it 
was the one she had negotiated with earlier) informed them.

	With that, the Ranchers were all suddenly gone.

	The three teenagers stood in silent shock for a few seconds, 
trying to absorb what had just happened.

	Kyouji broke the silence first.  "How are you feeling?" he 
asked Yumi.

	"Better," she replied.  "I think I'm ready to move on now."

	"Yeah, I don't want to stay in Ferrero Rocher either."

	The blonde girl smiled slightly.  "That wasn't what I meant, 
but I agree."

	"So, that's it, then?" Tsugiko asked.  "We help out a bunch 
of sadistic lizards, and then it's just off to the next country?"

	"Didn't you tell me that we had to remember our role in 
this?" Kyouji asked.  "Anyway, even if we wanted to fight them, 
we couldn't.  We've got no clue how to do any damage.  Not to 
mention the fact that they're probably listening to us right 
now."

	"Yeah, but-"

	"Tsugiko," Kyouji interrupted.  "I'm sorry.  But there's 
nothing we can do."

	The dark-haired girl looked over at Yumi, but the other 
Warrior Priestess didn't seem inclined to say anything.  Tsugiko 
opened her mouth, then closed it again without uttering a word.

	"I'm going to get changed," Kyouji said abruptly.  He 
stooped to pick up his old suit from where he had left it, and 
headed off into one of the tents.

	"Aren't you going to put your old clothes on as well?" Yumi 
asked when Tsugiko made no similar move.

	The other girl looked down at the green cloak she was 
wearing, then over at the outfit she had received shortly after 
arriving on Mars.  "Actually, I don't think so.  I never did like 
that costume.  It made me look like something out of a magazine 
for perverts with schoolgirl fixations."

	"If you say so."  Yumi shrugged.  "I'll bring it along in 
case you change your mind."

	"Okay.  Can't hurt to have a spare outfit, I guess."  
Tsugiko paused.  "Have we really been wearing the exact same 
clothes every single day for the past few months?"

>o< >o< >o<

Author's Notes


	First off, as those of you who have been reading the series 
as it has come out have probably noticed, the Yumi dream sequence 
is a revised (and if you just skimmed it, it WAS revised) version 
of Sweet Dreams, previously available as an Omake.  Though I have 
never made secret the fact that I would have liked that sequence 
in continuity, I did not simply stick it in due to my personal 
affection for it; if that had been my sole motivation, I could 
have easily placed it in part 24.  But I felt that, given Winis' 
death and also what I know is being planned for the next few 
parts, it made sense here.  One especially noteworthy revision in 
this version is that Akie's last line has been changed from the 
original to allow interpretations that do not require there to 
have been incarnations before her.  And if anyone's feeling 
cheated by the repeated material, all I can say is that there's 
over 5000 words of all-new stuff in here in addition to that 
segment.

	Second, I am aware that the resolution (or lack thereof) 
with regard to the Ranchers will not make all readers happy.  I 
don't really have a ready answer for any flak I may take for 
that; I just thought that was what made the most sense.  
Sometimes you just have to do the best you can and live with the 
results, both in liberating fantasy worlds and in writing.

	Also, I am aware that Kyouji and Tsugiko are arguing for 
virtually the opposite positions with regard to their priorities 
at the end of this chapter as they did at the beginning.  This is 
because neither is much motivated by ideological consistency.

	My thanks go to Capfox and Ardweden for pre-reading.

	This wouldn't be one of my Author's Notes without the 
sources listed in full, so here goes.  My principal sources were 
parts 27-29.  Winis' death is a very faithful adaptation of the 
end of part 29.  The massive exposition of the Rancher is a way 
of reconciling their depiction in parts 27 and 28 with the 
largely inconsistent ideas on them held by Winis in part 28 (and 
I can assure you that trying to refute a view that was held by 
only one character, now dead, is neither easy nor fun); 
Wintergreen's anti-environmental policies were explicitly 
mentioned in part 1.  Kyouji told Tsugiko that they had to find 
the shards and not waste time with damage control in part 26.  
Kyouji's references to Twizzler's lies are paraphrases; she 
claimed Wonka was evil in parts 19 and 20, she told him that he 
was not in Clorets' camp when he was in part 28, she told him she 
loved him in part 20 (and possibly elsewhere as well), and she 
claimed Tsugiko was no good for him in pretty much every part she 
appeared in.  Tsugiko's dissatisfaction with her outfit goes all 
the way back to part 1.  Clorets recalling that the Crystal 
Warriors just up and left her old kingdom as soon as they got the 
shard was a reference to events circa part 9-11.  According to 
part 12, Wintergreen suffers extreme pain just by focusing too 
hard on a shard, so I figured physical contact would be no fun 
for her either; her reaction to Kyouji's sword in part 29 is 
likely related. 

	Sources for the Akie dream sequence get their own paragraph.  
My main source was part 16, which contains the conversation 
between Akie and Teru on the night before they died, Kyouji 
mentioning Teru to Yumi (he does it again in part 25), and even 
the first naming of Yumi's previous incarnation.  The quoted last 
thought of Akie is based upon what Yumi thinks in part 1 while 
viewing her predecessor's death; this was intended to be word for 
word identical, but some differences attributable to a shift from 
third to first person were unavoidable.  The precedents for Yumi 
dreaming about waking up in the Hebereke school include part 6.  
Finally, the song that Akie sings is "Ring Around The Rosie", 
which is a charming children's song about the Bubonic Plague; 
anyone wondering about the fact that the song's lyrics are really 
in English as opposed to "translated" from Japanese the way 
everything else in SC presumably is (and I'm betting that no one 
was until I pointed that out) should just remember that it was a 
dream sequence.

	We've had Bitter Shame, Sour Feelings, and Sweet Nothings as 
titles already, so I went with Salty Tears to complete the set.  
And yes, some candies are salty, especially those with nuts in 
them.  Aero is a chocolate bar.

Nicolas

Four Impro parts, no skips, and counting