Tenkou blinked her eyes, looking around.  She sat on a porch 
swing, the misty rain obscuring the view of what lay beyond the 
porch's awning.  She looked around; the porch seemed empty, but 
she had the feeling that she wasn't alone.
	"Hello?" she called, voice casting out in the mist.  There 
was no reply.  Tenkou stood and walked towards the railing of the 
porch to stare out into the rain.  She could see nothing, make out 
no features of what lay in the mist.  It was as if the porch was 
the only thing, a solitary house in the rain.  House?  She turned 
back around and saw that a door was in the wall of the house.  
Walking over to it, she turned the knob and pulled it open.  Only 
darkness lay inside.  Hesitating for only the briefest second, 
Tenkou stepped inside.
	The door slammed shut behind her, and the darkness closed 
in.

~*~
Darkness: Dreams 
Four: Lost in Possibilities
by: Chandra Rooney
darkness@cloak-and-dagger.co.uk
~*~
Revised: May 2001
~*~
      
      Blinking away the dots dancing before her eyes, Tenkou 
looked around and found herself in a kitchen.  She was seated at a 
table covered in books.  The smell of coffee drifted up to her 
nostrils from the mug in her hand.  She looked down at the mug, 
confused.  "I don't drink coffee," she said softly, releasing her 
hold on the mug.
      Voices reached her ears from the hallway.
     "Good morning, Lord Yamato," a young girl said cheerfully.  
"You wouldn't be thinking of leaving without breakfast, now would 
you?  It _is_ the most important meal of the day."
        "Thanks, but I'm really not that hungry, Drasil," Yamato 
replied.  "Is Tenkou all right?"
       "She's fine," Drasil said.  "In fact, she's just inside the 
kitchen."  There was a pause.  "Are you certain you won't have any 
breakfast?  I've made pancakes."
	"Well, I can't say no to pancakes," Yamato remarked, a smile 
in his tone.
         Tenkou watched as a young woman with long golden hair and 
pale golden-brown eyes came into the kitchen.  She was in a little 
black dress and apron, but the most remarkable thing about her was 
her blue skin.  Tenkou felt herself staring, and knew it was rude, 
but couldn't stop.  Then her eyes found the young man who had 
followed the girl into the kitchen.
	"Zellar?" she asked, half-standing.  Yamato blinked his deep 
blue eyes and then smiled at her.  
	"You haven't called me that in a while," he remarked, 
pushing his long fringe away from his eyes.  He looked edgier; his 
eyes seemed almost tilted.  His hair seemed longer falling all 
around his face haphazardly.  Noticing her scrutinizing gaze, he 
blinked.  "What is it?"
	"I-- nothing, I guess," she replied, looking at his open 
blue short-sleeved dress shirt over the white long-sleeved shirt.  
His khakis were a little loose, boot cut with lots of pockets in 
the latest style.  She'd never expected to see Zellar in anything 
but the white t-shirt and faded blue jeans he'd worn to the 
temple.  "You changed."
	"No, I'm just wearing clothes," he corrected, giving her a 
sly grin.  "I didn't realize that I spent so much time around you 
undressed."
	"Lord Yamato!" Drasil exclaimed, covering her mouth.  
"Requiem has been a terrible influence on you, I see."
	"Simply horrid." Yamato winked at Tenkou and eased into a 
chair beside her.  "Hey," his expression turned serious.  "Are you 
all right?"
	Tenkou slowly shook her head.  "No, I--" she broke off as 
Yamato reached forward and took her hand.  A blush spread across 
her face.  "Zell--"
	"Tenkou, something is wrong," he reaffirmed.  "Why are you 
calling me that?  Why don't you use my name?"
	"Your name isn't Zellar?" she asked, weakly.
	"Well, it's my last name."  He looked confused.  "Tenkou, 
it's me, Yamato.  You know, the guy you put up with for some 
reason?"  He continued to inspect her face.
	"Yamato," she repeated, and the name sounded right to her 
ears.  Somehow it was more personal, less removed and impersonal 
than 'Zellar'.
	Noises came from beyond the kitchen.  Drasil stopped what 
she was doing near the stove and turned.  "What was that?" she 
asked.  "It sounded like something--"
	The men clothed completely in gray-green color stormed into 
the kitchen.  Some held guns, some held tazers, and some even held 
swords.  All of the weapons pointed at Tenkou and Yamato.
	"Who sent you?" Yamato demanded, getting to his feet and 
drawing her up with him.  She was set protectively to his side, 
the warmth of his body pressing into her.  On her other side, a 
warm sensation of something wrapped around her, over her chest in 
a secure embrace.  "Yggdrasil, get Requiem!" Yamato called, and 
then turned his attention back to the armed men.  "What do you 
want?"
	"We want you," one of the men at the forefront said.  "We 
want her."  He gestured to Tenkou.  "Most of all, we want what 
she's got inside."
	"No," Yamato eased in front of her.  "Tenkou, run.  Please, 
just this once."  She hesitated.  Something felt wrong about 
leaving him.  "Tenkou," he said again, softer this time.  
"Please?"
	She nodded.  How could she refuse when he asked that way?  
Running for the back door, she reached it and looked back.  Just 
as she pulled it open, the first line of the men jumped at Yamato.  
The second came for her.  Letting out a little cry, she hurried 
out the door--


*

       The breeze whispered through the branches of the tree and 
the blossoms fell down into her lap.  Tenkou blinked and looked 
around.  She was sitting on a blanket underneath a cherry tree.  
Where had the house gone?  She looked around; the grove of the 
trees stretched behind her, and it appeared that she was in some 
sort of abandoned orchard.  Before her, down a path off to her 
right, she could see the church gates.  For some reason she was in 
a bikini and a holding a bottle of suntan lotion in her hand.  She 
looked up to see the boy with the short hair squinting down at 
her.  "Mind if I join you, Ten-chan?" he asked.
        It was neither the most gracious nor the most chivalrous 
thing to say, and it took Tenkou a moment to place him.  He looked 
like Zellar-- or was it 'Yamato'-- but his hair appeared to be 
shorter.  He was dressed in khakis, a white t-shirt and a pair of 
black boots.  A pair of black Ray Bans were perched on his head.
       "Zellar?" Tenkou asked, shielding her eyes from the sun and 
looking up at him.  "Is that you?"
       He frowned.  "No, it's me, Ten-chan.  Kurayamino."  He sat 
down next to her.  "You know, if you keep mistaking me for Zellar 
I'm going to start to think there's something going on between the 
two of you."  He grinned, a wild and charming expression.  "You 
look fabulous."
       She blushed.  "Uh... thanks."
       "Do you want me to smear your back for you?"
       Something tickled at the back of her mind.  "Wait, you're 
not Zellar?"  She looked around.  "Then where is he?"  She stared 
at the world around her.  Like one of those picture puzzles she'd 
played with her mother-- what's different between the two of them, 
Tenkou?  "This is," she answered, aloud.  "There were never this 
many cherry trees behind the church.  And there was a bench in the 
park.  I could see it from my hotel room."  
	"What are you talking about, Ten-chan?" 'Kurayamino' asked.  
"Everything is just as it should be.  Come on, let's go back to 
the hotel.  We'll go see Zellar if it will make you feel better."  
He reached for her hand, but Tenkou leap up from the blanket.
	"What's going on?" she demanded.  "Who are you?  Where am 
I?"
	"Where are you?" he repeated.  "Where you should be--"
	"You'll have to do better than that," she snapped.  "I'm not 
going anywhere with you until I get some answers." 
	"I think you've been out in the sun too long," he said, 
gently.  "Come on, Ten-chan, we'll go back to the hotel and rest.  
You'll feel much better if you lie down for a bit."
	No she wouldn't, if she went with him she'd start to believe 
what he said.  She'd forget what was real.  She'd forget about-- 
Someone.  Someone was looking for her, weren't they?  Someone had 
told her to run ahead, hadn't they?  Tenkou turned, looking 
around.  There, in the trunk of the tree behind her-- wasn't that 
a doorknob?   How strange, why would there be a door in a tree 
trunk?  Curiosity took a hold of her and she reached forward, 
turning the knob.  The front of the tree trunk pulled open, and 
she could look inside.  Tenkou stepped inside the tree trunk.  
Funny, it almost looked like a garden--

*

       The garden spread out around her in all directions.  
Crystal water flowed from a fountain, and a walkway cut through 
the endless sea of flowers.  The garden was beautiful but silent.  
It was empty.
        "Hello?" she called, walking down the walkway.  "Is anyone 
in here?"  She turned on the stone path, looking around her.  The 
path itself was smooth and worn from travel.  It seemed many feet 
had traveled the path, but where did it go?  What waited at the 
end of the path?  She turned and looked back behind her; the path 
stretched off endlessly in that direction, too.  She couldn't see 
any trace of where it started.
	"What a strange place," she remarked, aloud.  The sound of a 
voice in the silent world gave her comfort.  "Great," she made a 
face, "I've resorted to talking to myself."
	Sighing, Tenkou wandered further into the garden, still 
finding no trace of an end in sight.  The flowers spread out on 
both sides of the path, a multitude off colors and varieties.  
Yet, all of the colors seemed muted, they were softened or faded 
as if painted in diluted watercolors.
	Tenkou hummed to herself or sang very softly.  She lost 
track of how long she might have been walking or how far she had 
traveled.  Gradually the horizon changed and a large shape in the 
distance became clearer.
	It was a tree.  A tree towering high above her and covered 
with emerald green leaves. The branches disappeared into the sky 
above her, the sheer height and width of the tree was awe-
inspiring.  Was that where the path lead, to this massive tree?  
She battled with indecision; should she continue down the 
seemingly never-ending path towards the tree or turn back and 
return to the fountain?  Now that she considered it, the fountain 
had seemed to resemble the one in the Town Square-- hadn't there 
been more than one path branching off from it?  Maybe it was a 
crossroad, a place where paths intersected.  If so, then surely 
she'd have more luck finding someone at an intersection than so 
far off down one path.
	Turning, she made to return down the path she'd traveled so 
far and--


*

        Tenkou found herself once more tossed into another random 
scene.  She looked around at the dirt square and visible 
buildings, historical Japanese on one side-- and a church on the 
other.  Not a Shinto or Buddhist shrine, but a western style 
church.  She turned, at her back was no longer a path stretching 
off towards a tree in the distance but a wooden well.
	Tenkou sucked in a breath, for she wasn't alone.  A child 
stood by the well.  His hair was blue, falling into his wide dark 
blue eyes.  He was dressed in a blue tunic and trousers, a darker 
color than his hair.  His skin was pale, but Tenkou knew he wasn't 
human.  Between his blue brows was a small black spiral marking, a 
tiny black pentagram above and below it.  Around his neck, on a 
chain was a black star pendant.  It glittered and gleamed.
	"But why can't I go with you, Hikaru?" the child asked, his 
voice reaching Tenkou's ears.
	Hikaru? She looked up and saw that someone stood beside the 
child.  He was cloaked in black, the long garment covering his 
clothes.  A silver spiral rested between his pale blue brows, two 
lines
marking the four points of the compass around it. His hair was a 
blue so 
pale it was nearly white, with streaks of vivid silver running 
through his fringe and hanging in his eyes.
	"But I want to go with you," the child protested.  The man 
shook his head, gesturing with one hand and the other on the 
child's shoulder.  One of the man's slender fingers rested against 
the bare skin of the child's neck.  "Can't I go with Mommy?" the 
child asked, after the man stopped gesturing.  "Why must I stay 
here all alone?"
	Tenkou bit her lip.  Although she couldn't hear the man, she 
was certain that some sort of conversation was going on.  Why was 
he abandoning this child?
	"But why?" the child asked again, his eyes widening further. 
"How come I have to hide?"  The man knelt and quieted him, placing 
his other hand against the child's lips.  He remained on one 
knee with his face level to the child's for a few minutes, tapping 
at the star pendant around the child's neck.  Then the child 
wrapped his arms around the man's neck and hugged him tightly.  
When he stepped back, the man reached forward and broke the star 
pendant in two.  The boy's hair became a light brown color, and 
his eyes faded to a light blue as the marking on his forehead 
vanished.  Taking the child's hand, the man lead him away from the 
well and up the stairs of the church and then knocked on the 
wooden door.
	Tenkou hurried up the stairs after them, but as her foot 
slipped on one of the steps and she tripped, stumbling and falling 
down--
	
*

     The floor was cold and the thin mat beneath her body offered 
little to no cushioning.  The blankets lay haphazardly across her.  
Her chest rose and fell as her breathing was only just now 
returning to a normal rate.  She lay there, her long black hair 
falling around her.  The early morning sun was filtering in 
through the windows, and the shadows of dawn played against the 
rice paper walls.
      She drew the blankets closer to her body and rolled over.  
He had been up for a few minutes at least, moving around in that 
silent way of his.  Trousers already on, he was digging through 
the scattered kimono and fastenings to try and find his shirt.  
She watched how the shadows played across his back and the profile 
of his face.  She saw the small mark on his left shoulder blade 
catch the light as he lifted the found article of clothing from 
the floor.  "Hoshi," she murmured softly, the word in the human's 
language for the strange mark.
     He turned, ice blue eyes peering at her from beneath his 
tousled hair.  "Did I wake you?" he asked.
    She shook her head.  "Are you leaving so soon, Yamato-sama?"
    He sighed and came over to sit on the bed next to her.  "I 
would stay, Nozomi, you know that.  Father Cloud will be up soon 
and if he finds I am not there he will be very angry with me."
    She pouted for a moment, watching him slip on the shirt.  Then 
she crept into his lap and fastened the buttons for him.  "You 
must tell him, Yamato."
    He sighed.  "If it was that easy, I would.  But you and I both 
know that no one approves of this relationship."
    "I don't care," she said simply, playing with his hair.  "I 
would leave it all for you."
     He cupped her chin in his hands.  "I know you would, my 
love."  He kissed her passionately.  "But for now...."  She 
nodded, as he let her slid out of his embrace.  He stood.  "For 
now we have the night," he told her.  "But soon, if things go 
well, we can have the day as well."  He bent down and kissed her 
again.  "I will see you tonight, my love."
    "I'll be waiting," she replied.  As he slid the door back, she 
called out to him again.  "Yamato, I've heard rumours."
    He paused, the sunlight bright against his back and casting 
his face into shadows.  "What rumours?"
    "Rumours that you have found another," she replied.  "That you 
no longer love me.  Is it true?"
    He stepped outside.  "I'll see you tonight," he repeated.  
The door slid closed behind him and he was gone.
      She sat there and a small tear trickled down her cheek.  "So 
it is true," she whispered.  "I am losing you."  She touched her 
belly.  "What will we do, my little one," she whispered to the 
child growing there,  "if your father is not the man I thought him 
to be?"

*

	Tenkou opened her eyes upon a moonlight street.  She took a 
deep breath, looking around.  It appeared to be the Town Square, 
in the same fashion as the garden.  However, instead of a 
fountain, the huge towering tree sat in the middle of the Square.  
Its massive trunk stood nearly a city block in width, and the 
branches disappeared high above her in the starlit sky.
	Footsteps sounded, someone rushing across the cobbles 
towards her.  Tenkou turned and saw the young man stopped a few 
feet from her.  His hair was blue, short with a swatch of long 
orange fringe.  He reached up and pushed at his hair, his hand 
brushing at the long indigo hair twists hanging behind his right 
ear.  His eyes met hers, and Tenkou took a startled step 
backwards.  
His eyes were the strangest color she'd ever seen, a pink-purple 
color like that of mulberries.  Markings like small dark blue 
points jutted from the corner of his eye, and they matched the 
small 
dark blue spiral between his brows.  Four tiny circles of the same 
color marked the spiral at the points of the compass.  He was 
dressed 
in dark denim jeans, black runners, and a white t-shirt underneath 
a 
blue denim shirt.
	"Well, you're certainly a difficult woman to find," he said, 
a smile on his lips.  His voice was soft, melodious and full of 
good humour.  "I was beginning to fear you'd be rushed off to 
Judgement before I could divert the dream spell."
	"Who are you?" Tenkou asked.  "Where am I?"
	"How rude of me," he remarked.  His hand extended towards 
her.  "Twilight, the force of creation and beginnings."
	"I've lost my mind," Tenkou muttered.
	"Well, that was what the spell was working on," Twilight 
replied.  "I was trying to pull you back from it, but you didn't 
make it easy.  Kept rushing away.  Going forwards, then going 
backwards, then going forwards again."  He waggled a finger at 
her.  "You were headed straight for Judgement, young lady," he 
said, seriously.  "You shouldn't be in such a rush to meet him, 
Tenkou, there still so much you could do."
	"What are you talking about?"  Tenkou shook her head.  "I 
don't understand any of this," she replied.  "And how do you know 
my name, anyway?"
	Twilight tilted his head, looking at her sideways.  "Sit," 
he suggested, gesturing to a bench that had appeared to her side.  
"Let's talk, Tenkou."  Tenkou sat down on the bench.  Twilight sat 
down beside her.  "The being you know as 'Yasha' isn't really a 
queen of demons.  She's more of a regional director for an 
organization, and Asia, primarily Japan, is her region.  She 
places her prisoners in a sort of dream state that pushes their 
minds into a intense state of hyperconsciousness.  Most human's 
minds 
can't take strain and become lost in the spell."
	"What happens to them?" Tenkou asked.
	"Well, with their minds lost and trapped in a dreaming 
state, 
their souls and bodies become malleable."  He paused.  "It's how 
she 
prepares humans to become minions for her, by driving the humanity 
out of them."
	Had Yasha been doing that to her?  Tenkou frowned.  Sure, it 
made sense for a couple of the scenes, but the others--
	"In order to weaken the hold she had on you, I tapped into 
her spell," Twilight told her, obviously pleased with himself.  
"Normally we don't bother with Yasha's business, but I think 
you're special."  He paused, leaning in closer and lowering his 
voice.  "Of course to do so I had to supply something else to 
occupy your mind, so you saw a few things you maybe shouldn't 
have."  He looked sheepish.  "So, um, don't go telling Yamato what 
you know before the right time.  Oh, and don't call him 'Yamato' 
before he says it's all right for you to.  Otherwise he's going to 
think you're in with the wrong sort of folks."
	Tenkou struggled to process all the information.  "I'm 
special?" she repeated.  "Why?"
	Twilight gave her an exasperated look.  "Because he _likes_ 
you."
	"Who?"
	He ignored her.  "It creates opportunity, you see.  Then all 
we need is an okay from the two of you and things can start 
rolling."  He paused.  "Yamato's coming to save you," he told her.  
"He's on his way right now.  He's accepted it and that's set him 
down the path."  Twilight gestured to the Square.  "This is a 
visual representation of the intersection, the crossroads, that 
the two of you are standing at."  He stood and looked off past the 
tree.  "At the end of several of them is a destination that, quite 
honestly, Judgement and I would like the world to reach.  However, 
certain, shall we say, parties would do just about anything to 
stop that from happening."  He stopped, looking back at her.  "I'm 
saying too much, aren't I?" he asked.  "Nat always tells me I say 
too much!  But I can't help it, Tenkou, I could never do the 
cryptic mysterious act like he does.  I think he learned how from 
Prometheus because he's really good at withholding information--" 
he broke off.  "Oh.  He's here."
	"Who's here?" Tenkou asked, then followed his gaze to the 
shadowy figure by the tree.  All she could make out was that the 
other had violet eyes, a purple darker than her own.
	"Taeo," the figure said, softly.  His voice was the same, 
soft and melodious, but it seemed to have just slightly more of an 
edge to it.  It reminded her of Darkness' for some reason.  "It's 
time to let Miss Stone go for now.  Say your good-byes for now, 
you'll see each other again soon enough."
	Twilight sighed a little.  "I'm not good at good-byes," he 
whispered, and then hugged her tightly.  "I have to let go of you 
so Yamato can wake you.  When I do, the dream spell will try to 
take you back.  Don't be afraid, just remember that it's not real 
and it can't hurt you."
	Tenkou didn't know what to say.  Complete strangers didn't 
usually hug her, but then this past day had been anything but 
usual.  She hesitantly returned the hug and then let go as 
Twilight stepped back.
	He smiled, waving a little, and hurried over to his 
companion.  "You do talk too much," the other said, but there was 
a sense of gentle teasing to the tone.  "I bet she couldn't get a 
word in edgewise."
	"You're just cranky because you don't get to choose the both 
of them," Twilight replied.  "We go?"
	The other nodded.  "We go," he replied, raising his hand, 
and snapping his fingers. 
	The world shattered.

*

      Tenkou blinked her eyes as the world reformed around her.  
The giant tree loomed above her again, but she was not in the 
garden nor was she in the Square.  She stood on the ground of the 
earth, looking up at the impossible height of the trunk.  It 
disappeared in the night sky above her.
      "_This is the end of your journey, little girl,_" a feminine 
voice intoned.  "_So, you wish to see the future?  I will show you 
the truth._"
      "Who are you?" Tenkou demanded.
      "_On your world I am called Kabbalah, the World Purifier,_" 
the voice replied.  "_I am surprised that you have survived.  Most 
of your weak race would are easily reduced to empty shells in a 
quarter of the time you endured.  Yet, you remain.  I feel that 
deserves a reward._"  
       "How about you let me go?" Tenkou suggested.
       "_You are a clever girl, but not clever enough to make 
deals with me.  I have decided to show you the Fate of your world 
and your miserable race.  It will do what the assault of the 
dreams could not._"  Kabbalah paused.  "_Behold._"
       Tenkou found her feet were suddenly rooted to the ground.   
She couldn't move; she could barely even breathe.  The sky 
cracked, parts chipping and falling down crashing into the ground 
around her.
       "_It is said that by destroying the World Tree one can 
destroy the world,_" Kabbalah laughed.  "_I suppose we shall see, 
won't we?_"
       The Tree began to shake.  Tenkou reminded herself it was 
just a dream, it wasn't real and it couldn't hurt her.  Even that 
couldn't prepare for what she was about to see.

*

       The sky bled; Tenkou flinched as larger chunks of it fell 
down around her feet.  The ground around her began to crack, and 
demons crawled up from the crevasses, avoiding the falling chunks 
of the sky.  Fire rained down from the Heavens.  She looked up and 
realised that the stars were falling from what remained of the 
sky.  They plunged in the water that was swirling around her 
knees, heating it as its level grew higher with every second.
       The Tree before her continued to shake; its many branches 
continued dropping off and falling into the crevasses or splashing 
into the water.  She choked on the salty splash that resulted from 
the hiss of the star falling down just a foot from her.  It was 
the ocean that swirled around her legs.  The world was flooding 
and the sky was falling.
      She dared to look up again and saw a great wolf swallow the 
rising sun as another smaller wolf ate the setting moon.  The 
fires and floods froze; darkness engulfed the land.  Only a single 
star remained in the sky, sadly shining on the dead skeleton of 
the great tree.
       Tenkou let go of her held breath.  Before the sounds of 
destruction had assaulted her, now all she heard was silence.  She 
looked at down at the icy wasteland she stood on, even the 
hellfires that had burned in the crevasses had frozen.  The world 
was empty; it was dead.
       "I'm still here," she called.  "You'll have to do better 
than that!"  There was no reply, only silence.  "Hello?"
      "Tenkou," the voice was soft, strained, but distinctly 
different from that of Kabbalah's.  Had the stranger with Twilight 
returned?  She turned to see the wavering image.  It flickered and 
then solidified and the figure started walking towards her.  She 
saw his black pants and shirt, which were reminiscent of a 
Japanese 
High School boy's uniform and trimmed in silver.  The whip around 
his waist was also silver, and he had a blue cloak.  His skin was 
white but it shimmered.  Along his cheekbones he had two black 
lines on his face.  Between his brows was a silver star.  His 
hair, 
which was light blue in colour, was unrestrained and falling about 
his shoulders.  "What world has she trapped you in?" he asked, as 
his 
silver eyes looked around at the desolate plain.
       "Who are you?" Tenkou demanded.
       He looked at her and blinked.  "I'm Darkness, Tenkou," he 
replied, coming closer.  "Do you remember me?"
 	"Zellar?" she asked, blinking.  Twilight had said she saw 
things she was not meant to see-- could it be that Darkness 
disguised himself?  She'd forgotten that he didn't look as she'd 
seen him in the strange visions.
      "Here I am Darkness," he corrected, looking about.  "The 
World Tree," he remarked, looking up at the skeleton of the tree.  
"The Norse believed it reached from the underworld all the way to 
the place where the Gods live."  He looked up at it and then 
around at the empty field of ice.  "So, this is what the end 
of the world looks like.  I was expecting more fire."
      "You missed the fires.  They froze after the wolves ate the 
sun and the moon," she replied.  "You seem rather calm, all things 
considered."
	"I'm calm?" he raised an eyebrow.  "Look at you."  He 
sounded impressed.  "I'm aware that none of this is real," he 
replied softly.  "I know that neither of us is really standing 
here.  We're in Yasha's palace.  She's trapped you in one of her 
dream coffins."
        Tenkou considered this.  It matched what Twilight had told 
her, but how could she be certain that it wasn't just that 
'Kabbalah' accepting her challenge?  "All right," Tenkou began, 
"so it is a dream.  How do I know you're not just part of it?"
        "I suppose I could be, couldn't I?"  He looked thoughtful.  
"I'm holding your hand in the real world, Tenkou."  She felt a 
gentle squeeze on her left hand.  "Did you feel that?"
        Tenkou looked down at her hand.  "I felt it."
        "Yasha has you in a dream sleep," he explained.  "I have 
no idea what's she subjected you to, but you were captured at the 
temple less than twenty-four hours ago.  I returned with your 
father tonight with the hopes of bringing you back from Yasha's 
world.  Your father is waiting back at the camp, and I'm waiting 
for you beside the coffin.  All you have to do is wake up."
       Happiness flared inside her.  "My father is alive?" she 
asked.  "What I saw happen to him was a dream?"
       "I'm unsure of what you saw, but as far as I know he's 
alive and well," Darkness replied.
	The last remaining star twinkled above them.  Something 
tickled at the back of her mind.  "You came for me," she muttered.  
"Just like he said you would."
      Darkness raised an eyebrow.  "Like who said?" he asked.
      "He said his name was Twilight," she replied.
	Shock played across his features and it took him a moment 
to regain his composure.  "Oh," he said, as if it was nothing.  
"Well."  He cleared his throat.  "It's not really anything.  Yasha 
and I have some old business to wrap up."  He looked away.  "Are 
you ready to go?"
      What was he, a high school boy?  Tenkou rolled her eyes.  
"How do I get out of here?  Click my heels together three times 
and say 'there's no place like home'?"
      To her surprise he laughed.  "That's not necessary."  He 
reached out his hand.  "Just take my hand and then open your 
eyes."
     Tenkou did and she vanished from the barren landscape.  
"Twilight himself.  I see I'm not the only one who thinks there's 
something different about her."  Darkness sighed and shrugged his 
shoulders, preparing for whatever might be waiting on the waking 
side.  The star above him twinkled again and vanished.

*



11:38 pm 00/03/29
3:53 pm 00/03/31
9:20 pm 00/04/05
1:39 pm 00/05/22
6.48 pm 01/04/13
7.39 pm 01/05/25
11.14 pm 01/07/24

    Source: geocities.com/tsuki-chan