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