Hello, all. It is good to be bringing this story to you for the first time.
So please, allow me to elaborate:
My aunt and I do so enjoy spending much time together, speaking of all that is of the Spirit Realm. We both heavily emphasize our interests in studying such things such as Shamanism, spiritual healing, and above all, Light and Dark Sides. Ever since I first started talking to her about it, she has told me of the presence of a "Shadowside" within each and every one of us. Most people are quick to assume that their Shadowside-or Dark Side, as some people have commonly referred to it as-is an evil force inside of them, waiting to control them with most distasteful urges. But it is not all true.
Sure, your Shadowside can mislead you on most situations, but should you spend the time to become greater in tune with it-as I have-your Shadowside can become the greatest guardian of the mind that you have ever acquainted yourself with. That does not entirely mean you can leave your entire trust within the Shadow, though; you must learn to balance your faith in both Light AND Dark in order to maintain a healthy mental lifestyle.
From the start of these sessions with my aunt, I would write out these incredibly vivid dreams I would have, which all tied into each other somehow, as if like an ongoing story. The four parts of my own Shadowside-as my mind so greatly created-visited me in many different realms. One half of my Shadow would be calm and collected, yet quick to be angered when something should come before me. This half would be the one to tell me the right from wrong. And the other half would be very, very grimdark, yet still willing to protect me. This half would be the one to tell me the wrong from right. Yet, despite all that, this half of my Shadow would still be very friendly towards me, lashing out at whatever enemies I might encounter within the confines of my mind.
And then, she came in. It was during one particular dream discussion that my aunt became intrigued in the appearance of my Light Side. She went into the discussion of "balancing Light and Dark," to which I listened intently. It all grew on me, and my aunt and I grew closer together in our spiritual practices. In a sense, that is where this story originates from.
Now, before anybody gets on my case about it, I understand that a site like this may or may not be the ideal place to post a story like this-especially considering the many familiar characters people may easily recognize from other media. And if you DO recognize any of it, good on you, my friends. But that is how my mind functions; my imagination is but an endless stream of brilliant thoughts, to which I simply cannot let any of it go to waste.
But with all that being said, I do so hope I may be able to entertain you with this. So enjoy!
Chapter 1: Awakening
From the start, there was only darkness.
Every corner and orifice of the empty-minded space was shrouded in black.
Not a soul in sight; all but a multitude had escaped, now corrupted by the dark taint of the land.
This world belonged to somebody; his identity was known only to the spirits who had resisted this shadow's pollution. But even then, those spirits alone couldn't purge the evil from this land.
But it was on this very day, that a new soul would enter this world; one who would not only learn the ways and lifestyles of the many people of the land, but one who would save this world from the visage of evil…
All of a sudden, a twinkle shone through the darkness of the cavern. It faded for a second, and then exploded into a supernova of light. It filled the entire volume of the cavern with a heavenly illumination, which might have blinded all in eyeshot, had there been anyone around.
From the core of the ball of light, something began to take form. As it continued to shape itself, the mass became what appeared to be a person. Curled up in a vertical fetal position, the human-like shape began hovering towards the ground with the light. As it descended, the shape gradually began to rise into an upright, floating position.
When at last the figure and the ball of light were a small distance above ground, floating in unison, the figure's shadow lifted, revealing its identity. It was a girl, roughly in her teenage years, clad in a white sleeveless belly shirt and sweatpants, with her short brown hair in a ponytail. Floating inches above the ground, she scanned the area, light amber eyes wide with fear. She felt as if she knew this place wasn't supposed to be as it was now.
But quicker than she could react, a low string of inhuman jeering started ringing in. Spinning round, she saw that all around her, the darkness was beginning to close in, creatures of all shapes and sizes looming over her with big red eyes, cackling, moaning and growling in a horrifying, swelling cacophony.
The poor girl was already shaking in fear. She was all alone, no other human around to come to her rescue. The monsters came in dangerously close, completely enveloping her and her light. She was fairly certain that the aura of light she was floating in wouldn't save her.
But suddenly, her fear began channeling into adrenaline. Concentrating, she curled up into a ball again, focusing all her energy into her core, the light around her entering her tiny body. Deep down, she could feel every cell of her body being supercharged, as if she were getting stronger by every second that passed. Just as the darkness completely engulfed her, it happened.
The girl flipped back to an upright floating position, throwing her arms out at either side of her. As she did, the aura of light reemerged, exploding around her from all sides. The abhorrences around her squealed and screeched in agony, thrown completely back from the shockwave of brightness that had collided with them. Defeated, they flew back into the blackness in pained terror, their squeals echoing off into nothing
Arms falling back to her side, the girl touched the ground at last. Her head was now hanging low, her entire supply of energy drained from that attack. Panting weakly, she fell to her knees, the light around her gradually fading. She tried to look around, but her vision was blurring fast. But as she fell to the ground, she caught a glimpse of something approaching her. It looked like a group of people, but unlike the monsters that had tried to hurt her, these looked like actual humans.
The girl blacked out momentarily, and when she came to, she was on her back, the group of people looking down at her. Her aura of light nearly gone, she managed to utter one last plea, "Help…me…..please….." before falling unconscious.
Minutes later, still in an unconscious state, the girl felt herself being carried away. She couldn't think or open her eyes even a crack to see, as her energy was completely drained. But still breathing, she thought she could hear the people talking. In fact, they were speaking of her.
"Man, this chick must've taken a heavy load, 'specially after facing those things. Think she might've conked herself out." The first of the group spoke. He had a pubescent, slightly raspy voice. Another part of the group blasted him.
"No duh, lardfat! What tipped ya off: the fact that she's asleep now, or the fact that she fainted right before we could find out how she got here?" The second person had an annoying, Bostonian accent, and was quite fast-talking.
The two argued on, until the next person in the group cut in. It was a teenage girl, sounding younger for her age. "Both of you cut it out! Do you think any of us had this in our agendas for today? No! What's important is we found her just before those monsters got her. We gotta help her!"
The first voice spoke again. "Tomo's got a point. If we just leave little Sleepy Head out here, she'll get eaten. But where would we even take her?"
"Well, hey, I'll take her! Always wanted a chick for my own!" The Bostonian voice butted in; a smack could be heard as he was slapped in the back of the head by the next in line of the group. It was another girl, this one with a dreamy, spaced-out voice with a small Southern accent.
"Why y'all gotta be so full of yourself, Jimmy? It's like yer first instinct is to get in bed with every girl you meet, even if they're completely unconscious…but he might be right about something for once. Light Girl could be safer if we take her in."
The next of the group delivered her insight. It sounded like a child in her pre-teenage years.
"She could stay with us! Our little hideout's been untouched by those creatures, so it'll be perfect for her! We could all be roomies!"
The girl could then hear the entire group agreeing in unison. She could hear the rest of the people in the group along with the first four, but she couldn't make out what they sounded like.
At last, she fell completely unconscious.
Two Hours Later…
The girl felt herself on the ground again, something cool and moist pressed against her forehead. Slowly opening her eyes, shuddering weakly, her vision began returning to her, the blur in her eyes clearing up.
When the girl found the strength to open her eyes all the way, the first sight that greeted her was another girl, much younger than her, wearing a white T-shirt and pink skirt, with her light brown hair tied back into large, poofy pigtails. She had a wet, cold washcloth pressed against the girl's forehead. But when she had seen the girl was awakening, she smiled with a wide open grin.
"Good morning, sleepy head! You gave my friends and I a real scare, ya know!" The little girl spoke of how she had found her lying in the darkness after driving off the monsters.
For the first time, the girl spoke fully. "Mm…what…what happened?"
"We saw you drive off those beasts before. It was like a mini-Big Bang!"
The girl slowly recalled the events of her entrance into this world. "I…I did that?" She had arisen into an upright sitting position, accepting some tea from the little girl.
"Yeah! Looked like that light show knocked you out pretty bad, though. We brought you back here, where you'd be safe." The two sipped their tea, the bigger girl drinking it all in one shot. To her, it was incredibly delicious and invigorating.
"Whoa! Looks like somebody was thirsty!" The little girl continued drinking her tea slowly, before coming to a realization. "Oh hey, I almost forgot! I never asked what your name was….do you have one?"
The girl sat there in silence for a good time, searching through her mind for whatever her identity was. She was still shaken, trying to recall the events that followed her arrival. But after digging deep, she was able to piece herself together.
"Mimi…I'm Mimi."
"Well, that's a nice name! I'm Chiyo. It's very nice to meet you, Mimi."
Feeling a little more confident, the girl named Mimi asked her awakener, "So, there's others? A-and they all saved me too?"
"Yeah! They're all my friends, and this place is where we all hang out! I could take you to see the others, but…are you sure you feel good enough to do it?"
Mimi slowly stood up and stretched. "I think I'll be alright. I'll just follow you."
The girl named Chiyo smiled again. "Great! Let's go!" And she took Mimi by the hand, tugging her off towards their exit. Mimi, still flustered, tried to keep up with the little girl.
But then, the door slid open, as another girl stepped into the room. She was wearing a yellow tank top and jean shorts, but what made her stand out the most was her hair; it was medium length, bordering somewhere between black and dark brown, and with an impossible haircut; several thick strands of hair sticking out like spikes at the end, resting right below her neck. When she saw that Chiyo had seemingly yanked poor Mimi from her resting place, she became very cross.
"Chiyo! Why couldn't you let the poor girl sleep? She's tired enough as it—holy crap, she's actually alright?"
"*sigh* Typical Tomo. Always jumping the gun with her special brand of crazy. Mimi, this is Tomo. Tomo, this is Mimi." The two girls shook hands, and Tomo spoke again.
"Uh…hehe, sorry for snapping. I'm real hyperactive all the time. So…no hard feelings, right?"
"No…I don't think so."
"Great! The little Sleeping Beauty lives! Hallelujah!" Tomo gave a little leap of joy, before running out the door and down the hall, arms out by her sides and making noises like an airplane.
Mimi, completely taken aback at what she had just witnessed, asked little Chiyo for some information.
"Is she always that hyper? I don't mind it, but I just don't want that Tomo girl to hurt herself."
"Oh, don't worry. She never gets crazy enough to hurt herself….although she has steered me and the others into some troublesome situations." This earned a small gasp from Mimi, but Chiyo quickly reassured her. "Oh, don't worry, Mimi! None of us have been gravely injured by her antics."
Taking Mimi by the hand once more, Chiyo led her out of the room, a little more gently now. The two entered a hall with small lanterns on each side, giving sufficient illumination. Taking in the calm atmosphere, Mimi felt she could definitely fit in here.
But both girls' states of mind were interrupted by a sudden explosion from the closest room. The entire structure shook, before a dual set of crazed laughter started emanating from the room. Mimi could barely make out the shouting coming from within.
"Jesus! Is there anything you two lunatics WON'T destroy!"
"POT ROAST!" "Get to the choppa!"
"J-just get out of here! It's gonna take forever to clean this place up!"
"Umm…do I even want to know what the cause of that explosion was?"
"It's a loooong story, Mimi. The two people that did it are on our side, don't worry. But, ehh, they've got a couple screws loose."
As if on cue, the door to the shambled room flung open as two extraordinary beings ran down the hall. Both were differently colored; one bright red and orange, the other purple and white. But both appeared to be glowing brightly with explosive energy, cackling madly as they cartwheeled and tumbled out of sight.
Unable to comprehend what had just flown in front of her, Mimi simply stood back, mouth agape and eyes wide, as a rather large teenaged gentleman chased them out. He wasn't very happy.
"Yeah, that's right, scram! Go wreck somebody else's room!" That's when he turned around and noticed the two girls. Instantly, his frustration was replaced by interest.
"Well, hey there, Chiyo! Looks like Light Girl's all better now, eh?" His voice sounded raspy and prepubescent
Chiyo giggled in her small voice. "Yep! She just needed some bed rest, that's all." She ran up to the large man, leaping into his arms as the two embraced in a big bear hug. Mimi's heart practically melted at the sight.
"Aww, you guys look so adorable like that! Are you like siblings or something?" The two chuckled, and the large man addressed the question.
"Aw, I wish. We're not related, but I took it on myself to make Chiyo my soul sister."
"And Owen's my soul brother. It's even better than being just plain old brother and sister!"
"Oh, speaking of which, I forgot my manners!...Actually didn't know I had them in the first place. The name's Owen." He stepped forth to shake Mimi's hand, and she found his grip was surprisingly strong for being incredibly portly and square. Besides that, he had short, spiky blond hair, and wore a large white T-shirt with a blue maple leaf embroidered all across the front, and shorts.
"I'm Mimi. Pleased to meet you, Owen." The boy named Owen laughed annoyingly.
"We've only just met for reals, and already I like this girl!" Without warning, Owen scooped Mimi up, and held her in a massive, near-bone crushing hug. Mimi could only squeak in panic at the sudden burst of painful affection.
The "hug" lasted for several seconds, before Chiyo stepped in. "Owen—Owen! Easy! She can't breathe!" Realizing this, Owen promptly released poor Mimi. "Oops…sorry." He said innocently.
Taking in several deep breaths to refill her severely deflated lungs, Mimi squeaked, "I-it's okay. I'm not hurt."
"Well, now that we've made nice with each other, do you want to continue, Mimi?" Chiyo asked.
"Y-yes. I still want to see who else saved me…"
The trio continued down the rest of the hallway, until finally reaching a set of double doors. Chiyo stopped and faced the other two suddenly.
"Are you sure you're ready, Mimi? I feel like you might be better off resting a little more before meeting the others."
"I'm positive, Chiyo. I just want to see who rescued me from certain death."
"Well…..I should warn you. Tomo's not the only one who can be excitable."
Just as she said that, the double doors burst open, sending Chiyo flying back onto her behind. A skinny, well-built man strode in, looking rather confident. His bright red winter cap fit snug over his head, matching his bright-red shirt and brown pants.
"Yo, Shorty! She up yet?" The man's voice had a heavy Bostonian accent, and was quite fast. "Oh hey! Right on time! Wassup there, babes?" Both Chiyo and Owen threw disgusted looks his way. Poor Mimi had no clue how to respond; if she should be mildly flattered, or appalled.
"Name's Jimmy, sweetheart—fastest thing alive! I'm a genuine force 'a nature, and ain't nobody gonna mess with me!" Flexing after almost every word, Jimmy was practically showboating off to Mimi. Now she was positively disgusted.
That's when Tomo reentered, giving Jimmy a well-needed slap across the back of the head. "Yeah, keep that dream alive, lover boy." Helping Chiyo back to her feet, she turned back to Mimi. "I can see you've met Jimmy. He's the resident idiot of our group. "
Jimmy glared at Tomo, but both turned back to the trio, offering to lead them outside. The group finally set foot outside the building, where Mimi was finally able to see the rest of the land; the sky was colored a hazy red dusk, with scattered clouds. A small wind was blowing through the area, catching a hanging set of wind chimes in the gust, while the porch they were all standing on was dimly lit by two large lanterns. The building itself resembled a summer house, which Chiyo stated belonged to her.
"Wow…..it's so pretty out here—but so dark. Quite a mix." Mimi observed.
"I think you'll definitely get used to it, Mimi, since it's almost always like this. Only the mornings are the brightest." Chiyo chirped in.
"Yeah. It's like we need a flashlight just to find the path during the day." Owen added.
Mimi's happy look then dropped. Her mind suddenly recalled her entrance into this world; how she felt like she knew this place wasn't supposed to be the way it was. But she perked up again before the others could notice her discomfort.
"So, um…are you all that saved me? You're all very, very nice people, but I felt like I heard more of you when you were carrying me away."
"Oh no, there's more! We're not the only ones who didn't want you to die." Tomo answered.
"Gotta warn you there, babe—"Tomo glared at Jimmy, fist raised. "—uh, Mimi. Owen, me and….well, you'll see, are the only guys, so I hope ya don't mind most of our group being girls."
"Oh no, it's fine. Where I grew up, there weren't many guys there either, so it doesn't faze me." The rest of the group relaxed, before Chiyo suddenly dashed towards the side of the house. "Oh, then I think you'll love meeting this next person!"
Mimi looked back at the others, Owen shrugging in confusion. Moments later, Chiyo came running back, holding the hand of another girl who was laughing and struggling to keep up. "Alright, alright, Chiyo! I'm coming!"
When Chiyo reached the others, that's when the new girl first saw Mimi. The new girl's outfit was interesting, to say the least; she was clad in a black and red tennis uniform and skirt, with bright, reddish brown hair and sneakers. Both of them exchanged an interested glance, before Chiyo once again chirped in. "Mimi, this is Sora. Sora, this is Mimi. Sora's been with us for the longest time, so we sort of made her our makeshift leader."
Sora was the first to speak between her and Mimi. "It's very nice to meet you, Mimi. And…I think you look very pretty." This resulted in an instant beet-red blush from Mimi.
"Th-thank. So, are you the one who found me first?"
"Well, I was the first who saw you drive those shadow monsters away, and I was amazed that you were capable of such a thing. But when I saw you start to faint, that's when I got worried. The others were with me, so I had them bring you here to our little sanctuary. So we're all very relieved that you're alright."
Mimi giggled in response. "Thanks, guys. You're turning out to be some of the best friends I've ever met." The rest of the group complimented her, flattered by her kindness. A few more kind words were said, before Mimi noticed somebody sitting out in the field in front of the house.
"Hey, who's that over there?" She began running out towards the figure, the others following suit. When she was close enough, Mimi stood before the seated figure, who appeared to be drawing something. This girl was wearing a purple shirt and white shorts, with very long black hair that reached down to her lower back. The girl was also incredibly well-endowed, which made Mimi do her best not to notice, so as not to embarrass the girl.
The others stood a good distance away from the two, observing the interactions between Mimi and the girl. Their only conversations were done in whispering.
"How do you think she'll do?" Tomo whispered to Sora.
"I don't know. Mimi's very friendly, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough to break through to our friend there."
"I tell ya what; I'd definitely get through to that chick. Heck, if her rack got any bigger, we'd all be in the shade! OW! Why's everybody always hitting me!" Jimmy's arrogance was quickly shut up, as the observation continued.
Mimi sat down in front of the girl quietly. She looked up from her drawing, a mildly surprised look on her face, then resumed drawing. Mimi decided to try and talk to her, in the hopes of breaking through her shyness.
"Um….hello there….you seem like a very nice girl." Nothing. When Mimi looked down at the girl's paper, she saw what she was drawing; it was herself—the girl—hugging a very large cat. Mimi found it rather cute.
"That's a very nice picture you're drawing there. I like animals, too." Still nothing but silence from the girl. Mimi decided it be best that she leave the girl alone; she didn't want to come off as trying to get her to talk. "Well, I'm gonna go now. I think your picture will turn out very nicely."
As she started off back to the house, there then came a voice that surprised everybody right and well.
"Nobody's ever talked to me like that without getting up in my face." The girl talked in a proud, but shy voice. Mimi spun back around, the rest of the group gasping in thrilled surprise. Sora said to herself, "My God, she did it!"
Calmly extending a hand to the girl, Mimi helped her to her feet, her picture in hand. It was then that Mimi noticed the girl was incredibly tall; standing side by side, Mimi's head just barely reached the girl's shoulder. Regardless, they went hand and hand together back to the house, when the rest of the group appeared before them, all equally impressed.
Chiyo said to Mimi, "No one's ever been able to break through to Miss Sakaki like that before!" The girl named Sakaki blushed, happy. Sora was just as impressed with little Mimi.
"You're really something, Mimi. I never thought someone like you would come around and change my friends like this. You've just earned a valuable best friend in me."
Mimi blushed, thankful for being accepted by this group. But Tomo, being hyperactive as she was, gave a small reminder to all. "Hold the phone, guys! She may be a real sweet girl, but she hasn't been canonized yet. It's group protocol, Sora."
"Canonized?" Mimi said with a certain amount of dread.
"Oh, come on, Tomo. She's shown that she can change us like so; is it really necessary this time?"
Tomo gave Sora a stern look, as if to say, "You're our leader; start acting like one." Sora sighed, obviously not wanting to impose too much on their new friend. "Fine. We'll go through with it. Sorry, Mimi; we all had to go through it, and now it's your turn."
"O-okay….I can do this." Mimi kept her courage strong, following Sora and the others back to the house. Upon returning, they were greeted by another new face: this girl had long hair, similar to Sakaki's, only much shorter, reaching down below her neck. Wearing only her pajamas, she asked the only question in her head in a light Southern accent: "What'd I miss, guys?"
"Uh, quite a lot, Osaka. No doubt you remember Light Girl here? Her name's Mimi." Owen addressed the girl named Osaka about their little friend. The look on Osaka's face then went from a puzzled frown, to a wide-mouthed goofy grin. "That's a real nice name…I think you'll fit in just fine with us, Mimi." The way Osaka spoke intrigued Mimi; her Southern accent was intermixed with a slow, dreamy-like voice.
Even the way Osaka moved around was the same: slowly walking towards the group, as if sleepwalking with that same grin and big-eyed stare. Joining Mimi's side, everybody ventured towards the entrance of the house. But as Sora set one foot through the doorframe, another explosion inside caught her off-guard. Mimi quickly pulled her back out on instinct, as a pile of rubble and debris fell in front of the door.
Almost immediately, Owen flew into a rage. "Damn it! Don't those two ever give up on breaking things!"
On cue, the two energetic beings Mimi had seen before jumped out from behind the rubble, laughing their heads off. At last, she could get a clear view of them. Both beings were human, but as she remembered, they were glowing with some sort of explosive energy. The one on her left was colored red and orange, the one on the right purple and violet. The latter had a pretty yellow bow on her head, and breasts, clearly labeling her as the former's female counterpart. But both shared the same googly eyes, flaming heads, and toothy grins.
With everyone else heavily shaken, Sora attempted to introduce Mimi to the duo of firebugs in front of them.
"Well…um…Mimi, this is...'Splosion Man. And this—this is his wife, Ms. 'Splosion Man." The two chuckled in over joyous glee.
"Th-th-those things actually have names?" Mimi was shuddering from head to toe, afraid of what the two maniacs before her would blow up next.
"Those were the names that they apparently wanted us to call them by. So we just stuck with it."
"Porterhouse!" 'Splosion Man cried out without warning. Still baffled, Mimi asked, "Does he always do that? Scream out random names of meat and act like a lunatic?"
"I'm afraid so. Same with the Mrs. Except her thing is pop culture references." Sora answered. Hearing this, Ms. 'Splosion Man followed suit; "Boys—shoes—clothes—ohGodit'!"
Nobody commented on that, instead letting Owen stay behind to clear the wreckage blocking the entrance. "Hey, I may be fat, but I've got a ton of muscle underneath." He said with a wink. With that, Mimi and the others were off.
As they neared an open field, Sora announced how Mimi's canonization would work:
"Well, since our two demolitions experts managed to block our only entrance, the main part of your canonization will have to wait. But now, this is the perfect opportunity for a little race. Owen shouldn't be long in clearing the debris, so this should be a nice little time-filler. We want to see how fast you can run."
"Well…I'm fairly certain I ran a whole lot back where I came from. So this shouldn't be anything new."
"Oh, well, then you, my friend, have obviously never been in a race with Sakaki here." Sakaki stepped to Mimi's side, getting into a ready stance. "She's been able to outrun all of us, even me. So for the first part of your canonization, you'll be racing Miss Sakaki around this huge field."
Both girls stood at the starting line, right at the outermost part of the field. The others, excluding Sora, who was the judge of the contest, stood by the side, cheering both girls on. Standing in front of the two contestants, Sora raised her hand. "Alright. I want a good, clean race. No shoving or throwing each other off track, no dirty tactics, and most of all, no shortcuts. Are you two ready?" Both nodded, getting into a ready stance.
"Alright then. Go!" In that second, Sakaki and Mimi jolted forward, both neck and neck running down the path at their own breakneck speeds. Their hair flowed elegantly behind them, like flags in the wind. The onlookers clapped and cheered intensely, unsure of which racer to root for. Sora just stood back, watching in shame as poor Mimi started to lose ground against Sakaki.
Towards the halfway mark, Mimi was already aching. Every muscle in her body was screaming in pain as she struggled to keep up with her opponent, who wasn't even breaking a sweat. Panting heavily, she knew she couldn't give up yet. She was strong, and she wouldn't ever back down from a challenge, no matter the odds.
Looking back up from the ground, Mimi pushed herself further, catching up with Sakaki again. Sakaki looked back to see her gaining fast, and maintained her already-fast speed. The two became neck and neck again, close to the halfway mark of the path. Every ounce of Mimi's strength was being pumped dry as she struggled to keep up with Sakaki, even as she threw everything she got out into the open, running faster than she had ever ran before. Even Sakaki cranked the speed up, both vying for first place.
Adrenaline was surging through Mimi's veins as she and Sakaki reached the uppermost part of the field. But it was more than that; she felt the light that had enveloped her before course through her veins, giving her strength beyond her wildest thoughts. In a split second, Mimi began to pass Sakaki, her little feet flying across the dirt faster than ever before. But it wasn't just that; the ground beneath her was lighting up, a trail of light forming underneath her.
When Sakaki looked down at Mimi, she was nearly taken aback by her competitor's sudden burst of speed. But the biggest shock—not only to Sakaki, but to the spectators—was the fact that she was now becoming bathed in light as she ran. As her form became more streamlined, Mimi's top speed went up way beyond her maximum. She was now blazing down the path as a comet of light, illuminating the entire area around her.
In a split flash, Mimi had crossed the finish line, panting heavily, but not even breaking a sweat. As she stood upright to stretch, the spectators all flew into uproarious applause, Sora included. All were awestruck by little Mimi's feat, and when Sakaki crossed the finish herself, Mimi patted her on the back, before Sakaki said through regaining breaths, "You really blew me away there, Mimi. Maybe we can race more often."
Mimi smiled, before Sora rejoined her.
"Well, that's one test I certainly shouldn't have underestimated you in. How did you learn to do that?"
"I-I don't know. I was doing all I could to keep up with Sakaki, and then all of a sudden, I felt this little ball of light grow inside of me. And it grew so much, that I felt like I could run faster than anything in the world. It felt like I was all-powerful in a way."
"But hey! You cheated! Sora said you weren't supposed to take any damn shortcuts!" Jimmy jumped in, reminding all of the rules. But Sora simply shrugged it off.
"I'll allow it. I didn't see her cut through the field in any way. So she's clean." Jimmy gawked at Sora's verdict, looking back at Mimi, then back to Sora. Nothing else was said, until a call from Owen signified that he had cleared the rubble. Sora and Mimi nodded at each other, joining the others and returning to the house.
On the way back, everybody was still crowding over Mimi, over her amazing feat of light power. She was incredibly happy with all this new attention she was now getting, but was unsure of how to return the love. But as they were about to enter the house, Mimi's eyes fell upon the most beautiful artifact she had ever seen in her life.
Buried deep within a rock was an elegant sword. The hilt and blade were made of pure, brightened silver, a bright red ruby encrusted into the hilt, and jagged, gilded edges on the sides of the hilt. Instantly, Mimi wanted to know more.
"Hey, what's that?" She asked Sora, pointing to the sword.
"Oh, that? We found it stuck in that rock when we brought you here. It's really weird, though; none of us have been able to pull it out, not even Owen. And he's the strongest of all of us." A slight remembrance then crossed Mimi's mind. Something about the sword seemed very familiar, and she wanted to know more. "Well…maybe I-I could try pulling it out?"
"Maybe later, Mimi. Right now, we still need to get through your canonization."
Finally setting foot back in the house, Mimi and the group progressed back through the halls into a quaint room that resembled a dojo. An incense stick burned brightly, sending wafts of fragrance into the air. A pair of lights illuminated the dojo floor, tatami tiles gleaming brightly. Stepping into the large circle arena in the middle of the room before everyone was Tomo, who looked ready for battle.
Before Mimi could enter the ring with her, Sora held her back, explaining this next step.
"Well, Mimi, here we are at the second half of your initiation; or should I say, your 'actual' canonization. You'll be facing Tomo and I, mano-a-mano, one after the other. I'd have you face Sakaki, since she's one of the combatants as well. But I think that race has bought you a free pass against her…also, she's probably dead tired from that race."
The thought of combat worried Mimi; unbeknownst to her new friends, she had training in numerous martial arts, and certainly wasn't afraid to unleash any part of them. But she didn't want to hurt her friends; regardless, she was ready to fight.
Stepping onto her side of the ring, facing Tomo, Sora once again stood by the sides, acting as the referee, knowing she would be next to face Mimi. The others stood by as spectators, watching as Mimi and Tomo circled each other, the former trembling slightly in preparation for what was coming.
Tomo, energetic as ever, jumped into a heavy battle stance, before proclaiming, "I'm about to turn up the heat on your little bubbly attitude! And shut up about the bad pun!"
Her hands began to glow and pulsate with energy, as she waved them around in a slow, concentrative motion. From her hand motions, there formed a fiery Japanese character.
"Secret Technique: Flame Dancing!"
In an instant, Tomo was now twirling about, flames literally spinning and dancing with her with every hand motion. She then shot her hands out in front of her, before pulling them back, clenching them into fists, then into a prayer formation. Sure enough, a ball of fire roughly the size of her hand formed within her palm.
With all her might, Tomo hurled the fireball straight at Mimi, who had barely enough time to leap out of its trajectory. But as she got back to her feet, she was forced to dodge a second fireball that whizzed right by her head.
"Keep dancing, Light Girl! I could keep this up all night!" Tomo declared, now practically showboating to the crowd by firing off another fireball from the tip of her thumb whilst admiring herself in a mirror.
Poor Mimi found herself jumping all across the arena floor, desperately trying to avoid getting singed by Tomo's flame barrage. Soon enough, she found herself in a corner, the spectators jeering at her misfortune, all but one: Jimmy. "Aw'right, Tomo! Sock it to her! Make a Light Girl Barbeque! OW! Again with the hitting!"This time, it was Owen who slapped him upside the head. But Tomo, in her energy-driven state, was all but happier to end it.
Focusing all her energy into the palm of her hands, she created a mighty fireball bigger than the size of her head. Raising it up, Mimi could even see flames in the cores of her eyes, as a huge smile formed across her face. She was now completely helpless.
"Say your prayers, little Mimi! Because you're about to be a shish kebab!" Arching back, Tomo let her massive projectile fly with a mighty throw. Mimi could only barely brace herself, shielding her face with her hands moments before the flames hit her.
When the smoke cleared, everyone, including Tomo, was left staring in disbelief. Not only had Mimi survived the blast, the massive fireball was now being clutched in her hands. Her hands were encased in two translucent orbs of light, which allowed her to grasp the fireball as if it were light as a feather. It took Mimi a moment to realize what was going on, but then, with an equally wicked smile, she wound herself up and threw the ball back towards Tomo, who just barely dodged its trajectory.
Brushing herself off, Tomo was not ready to admit any defeat.
"You're quite the trickster there, aren't you? I admire that." And she began to unleash another barrage of fireballs. The crowd gasped, but Mimi kept them cheering by expertly catching every single projectile, and throwing them back at their maker. After several rounds, one good deflection sent a ball of flame in the right path, singing Tomo across her leg. Yelping in pain, she clutched the spot where she was hit, cringing.
This resulted in more spurring on from the crowd.
"C'mon, Meems! Show her you've got a pair!...Oh wait, you're a girl." Osaka went.
"Keep at it, Mimi! She's got more tricks up her sleeve!" Chiyo warned.
And she was right. Prepping herself back up, Tomo, still full to the brim of adrenaline, faced Mimi once again, a fresh burn mark running down her leg.
"I'll be damned, Meems. You actually hit me! But let's see how you handle THIS! Go, Flame Jet!"
She now threw her hands in front of her, forming a triangle with her pointer fingers and thumbs. A tiny ball of fire formed in-between, which then shot out as a long jet of fire. That's when Mimi revealed another aspect about herself; she was incredibly agile. She only gracefully dodged the Flame Jet's every movement, even when it whipped across the floor, trying to trip her up.
As Mimi's gymnastic dodging continued, Sora watched on in wonder, thinking to herself about this display.
"Good God, she's something else. She seemed like just a little miracle when I found her, but…now….she's become much more….maybe she could be the one that could save this world!"
But then, a deeper voice played in her head; one that sounded most inhuman. Unbeknownst to everyone but herself, Sora was being watched by dark forces much more powerful than her or any of her friends.
The voice spoke in a sultry, venomous female addressing Sora directly.
"Maybe you've forgotten about the four people that easily conquered this realm, one of them being me. Now you will face that girl next, and you will prove to her who the superior one is." Statement finished, Sora's pupils flashed red, possessed.
At last, Tomo's Flame Jet at last died down, her energy nearly drained. Mimi threw her ponytail back, ready for whatever Tomo was going to throw at her next. She was right to do so.
"Gah….ugh….you're proving to be something else, Meems. But I'm not ready to quit now. So let's end this. Mighty Flame Tornado!"
Standing back up, Tomo threw her hands out by her sides, both encased in orbs of fire. Very slowly, she began to spin around, trails of fire forming with every motion of her hands. Gradually, she began to spin faster and faster, become enveloped in the slow-forming vortex around her. A joyous cackle echoed from the center, as at last, a massive tornado of fire filled the room, causing all but Mimi to flee the room.
Chiyo was terrified, knowing that Tomo only pulled this sort of move when she was in a most desperate situation. Owen held her close, trying to calm her down.
"Mimi's gotta stop her! Or else, this whole house will burn down to the ground!"
"Easy, Chiyo, easy. I know Mimi can do it…I know she will." Sora said, trying to instill one last bit of hope into her people.
Back in the dojo, the light from every solitary lantern had been sucked into the growing flame vortex, making it the only source of light in the entire room. Mimi was left standing there before the twister, Tomo's power-hungry laughter echoing from within the center of it.
"What's wrong, Mimi? Afraid to fight now? Just look at me; I feel like I could burn the whole place down! Just try and stop me!"
Long entrails of fire whipped out from the vortex, lashing out at Mimi like vicious serpents. That's when she knew she had to act fast to stop the rising inferno. Without warning, the fiery tornado began to move, advancing on her. She had just enough time to sidestep out of harm's way, but now found herself being chased around the room by the swirling inferno. Every other second, it came close to catching her in its wake of hot destruction. The room was slowly being set ablaze with every wasted second; Mimi knew she had to act.
Once again, she found herself caught in a corner, with the menacing tornado before her. Another victorious cackle from Tomo echoed from inside. "Sayonara, little girl!"
But this is exactly what Mimi was waiting for. Just as the flame vortex closed in on her, another whip of fire shot out towards her. With the right timing, Mimi was able to grab it, keeping a tight grip on it.
"Huh? Hey, you're not supposed to do that!" Tomo began to struggle within the tornado, trying to regain control of her creation. But Mimi held strong, holding the fiery trail in her hands and beginning to swing in the opposite direction that it was spinning. Even Mimi couldn't believe she was doing this, lifting the tornado up off its center of balance and weaving it around her clenched fists.
Soon enough, everyone else who had escaped the room was in pure astonishment; Mimi was swinging a tornado made of pure fire around the room. From inside the tornado, Tomo was screaming her crazed head off.
"Ahhhh! Let go of me, please! I promise I'll only leave you with sunburn!"
But Mimi was not listening to her meaningless words for one second. With one last wind-up, Mimi let out a strained cry of power, holding the tail of the tornado in her fists with all her might and whipping it out in front of her, sending a colossal pillar of flames flying out, burning right through the roof of the room and releasing one last prolonged, defeated wail from Tomo.
When at last the smoke cleared and all the light in the arena was restored, Sora and the others found it safe to reenter. What they saw sent them into one last shock; standing face to face with Mimi was Tomo, her entire body charred and burnt. Whimpering heavily and her pep and energy completely sucked dry, she managed to utter one last cry. "Agh…Mommy…I don't feel good at all." And she fell to the arena floor, unconscious but still breathing.
A brief silence followed suit, before a raucous applause broke from the crowd. They were all totally blown away by Mimi's stellar fighting performance, and even little Mimi was amazed she had done such a thing.
Back in her mind, Sora was bursting with joy.
"My God, she actually might be the one that can help us! We're saved!"
But then, the darker female voice rang out inside her head. "Hey, cool it, sweetheart. You're up next. Now, show her what true power really is."
Sora then joined Mimi in the ring, the others resuming their spectating posts. Wielding a Bo staff, she was already well prepared to face Mimi. Twirling it around in her fingers, she was not taking no for an answer to her challenge.
"Alright, Mimi. You pretty much showed Tomo that you're no joke. But let's see how you fare against me!"
Without so much as a moment of preparation, Sora came out swinging, Mimi just barely dodging the staff in the nick of time. But she had no time to rest; several more swings came her way, Sora intent on making her submit.
"No hard feelings, Meems! I'm just trying to put up a good fight for you, unlike Tomo!"
As the fracas continued, the others were split down the middle on which girl to root for.
"Get her, Mimi! You're just as strong as she is! Keep fighting!" Chiyo cheered.
"C'mon, Sora! You've been around longer than she has, so you got a better chance at beating her ass!" Jimmy decided to act like a hard-headed dunce, as usual, where he was immediately greeted by his usual slap against the back of the head. He quickly resumed watching the match in silence.
As the fight raged on, Sora was still swinging her staff good and hard towards Mimi. She was showing absolutely no signs of tiring down, nor was Mimi. She expertly dodged every one of Sora's attacks, even as her staff came dangerously close to cracking her skull.
"Oh, you're good, Mimi! Never thought I'd face someone who was as fast as I was! But you still don't have a chance!" She swung her staff down to the floor in a low sweep, tripping up Mimi and sending her flying through the air.
But Sora's advantage was short-lived; Mimi, in another amazing feat of acrobatics, landed on the floor in a perfect handstand. When Sora took another frenzied swing with her staff, Mimi caught it with her feet; a move that shocked Sora greatly. As she struggled to regain control of her staff, Mimi took the opportunity to perform her own maneuver; forcing her end of the staff down, bringing the other end up, and clocking Sora square in the jaw.
Staggering backwards, Sora was not as gleefully happy anymore. In fact, she felt a small, angered growl escape her lips. The voice in her head spoke to her again.
"Are you just going to let that girl and her fancy flashlights overpower you like that? Get back in there!"
Picking her staff up, Sora was now through playing around. And everyone, especially Mimi, could see that.
"Alright, alright. So you want to bring out the bad girl in me? We can do that!" She immediately began to swing her staff much harder and faster, twirling it deftly about at such a speed that Mimi was almost unable to dodge it as much as she had been able to. She also found that the more Sora missed, the more frustrated she grew.
As her anger mounted, the voice in Sora's head continued to egg her on.
"You're really that worthless, aren't you? Maybe I should've picked the body of someone much stronger." Naturally, this further angered Sora, who attempted to take her rage out on Mimi, still dodging her every move with no effort.
"Oh, come on. Hit her already! You're not even trying, you stupid girl!"
That last insult hit Sora were it hurt. With a clearly audible growl, she shouted, "Hold still!" before thrusting her staff out in front of her, attempting to jab Mimi. What she found instead was her staff connecting and breaking a hole into the wall, wedging it within.
Sakaki suddenly called out to Mimi by that point.
"Mimi! Watch yourself. We all know that Sora can get pretty angry, but this isn't like her."
Mimi nodded at her, before redirecting her attention to Sora, who was now trying to force her staff out of its jam. Mimi knew she had to act before Sora could even begin to swing again.
The two orbs of light returned to her hands. As if acting on their own, they hovered close to Sora's staff, which suddenly began to wobble. Thinking on her own accord, Mimi moved her light-covered hands, and the staff began to jimmy its way out of the wall on its own. She found that she could move and bend the staff in any direction she moved her hands in with this newfound telekinesis.
With this new power in tow, Mimi decided to take it for an immediate test run. Pulling her hands back, the staff bent towards her, creaking. Sora had let go due to being surprised by her own weapon being controlled by someone else, and was completely unprepared for when Mimi threw her hands out in front of her. An invisible lightforce whipped the staff out, slamming it hard into the side of Sora's skull.
Once again, Sora was sent sprawling across the floor, clutching the spot where she had been whacked in wincing pain. The voice continued to berate her.
"Oh, you can NOT be serious! What do I have to do to get it through your head that you're better than Little Miss Flashlight here? Get back up!"
Now further frustrated, Sora struggled to get back up. Panting laboriously, she reached for her staff again, a move that worried Mimi. She could tell now that something was not right with her friend. And as Sora threw another lazy swing, Mimi easily caught it, pleading with her whilst struggling to keep her from swinging the weapon again.
"Sora, please. Just stop and listen to me. I really don't want to hurt you again!"
After that last sentence, things immediately took a turn for the worse; Sora stopped fighting for the staff back, and looked into Mimi's eyes. Sora's own eyes were now completely metamorphosed; running blood red and deep with no remorse. Her voice even sounded much darker than before. "Oh, that's a pity—because I certainly have the urge to hurt you really badly!"
"That's the spirit! Now let me show you how it's really done…"
The spectators gasped; Chiyo and Tomo were the most horrified, since they had previously witnessed Sora reach a level of anger such as she had now, and they knew what would follow.
"Tomo…I-I'm scared. I don't like it when Miss Sora gets angry; that's when my friends get hurt!"
"It's okay, Chiyo. I know Mimi can beat her down, just like before!"
But Owen quickly shoved her off. "Oh, get off it, Tomo. Let me handle this." He held the shuddering girl in his arms, wiping a few stray tears from her cheeks. "Shh….easy there, Chiyo. Nobody's gonna get hurt…" He turned away and said to himself, "…I hope."
Hearing her own new friend say what she had said was enough for Mimi to let go of the staff, only for Sora to heave it across the room. Eyes still glimmering red, she spoke again.
"But why use a dinky little weapon like that? Let's have some real fun…"
Still keeping her courage in check, Mimi dared to look down at Sora's hand. Something was now protruding from the skin; more so, something was sprouting out of the palm of her hand. Even though Sora was visibly straining, she still kept that gleefully wicked smile on her face. After a few seconds, a sharp, bone-like appendage began to slither its way out of her palm. Slowly raising her arm high, the appendage slowly began to branch out and grow larger as the skin and muscle on her arm shriveled away and fell off, all while Sora laughed a dark chuckle, her voice turning into more of a venomous, low snarl.
A minute passed before Mimi was left staring at a humongous, bloodied, bony blade-like appendage that lay in place of Sora's arm. As Mimi and the spectators looked at it in sheer disgust and terror, Sora began to speak like the voice in her head; they didn't know it yet, but the voice had now taken over Sora, controlling her like a helpless puppet.
"What's wrong, Mimi? Don't you recognize your best friend?"
"Sora, please! I know that this isn't you! You've gotta fight it!"
At last, the true shock of the matter came. "Who's Sora? She's gone, sweetheart; I'm Ophelia."
Everyone in the room froze immediately. The atmosphere seemed to turn to ice upon hearing the words that had come out of "Ophelia's" mouth.
"I KNEW that voice sounded familiar!" Owen exclaimed.
"Oh God, how did she get here! Why would she do this to our friend!" Tomo shouted out.
"Ophie's in Sora?...How did she do that?" Osaka wondered.
"Guys, who's Ophelia?" Mimi questioned. However, she got no answer; instead, she was greeted by a heavy swipe from her opponent's bone sword, catching her across the side of her body, knocking her clear across the room and leaving a deep gash. Clutching where she had been hit, Mimi looked up to see Sora looming over her.
"Who am I? Oh, I'm nobody; just somebody that these losers forgot about long ago!" She snarled at the rest of the group before continuing. "When they left my group and I behind long ago, I made a promise to myself to make them ever regret turning their back to me. But nobody loved me—not even the person that gave life to me. So I was forced to find a host to live off of until I was strong enough; and luck be a lady, your little lady friend Sora proved to be all I ever needed."
Mimi tried to take all this in; her own friend—the leader of this group of outcasts—was the host of a force darker than anything she had encountered before. Too weak in that moment to get up, she couldn't stop Sora from striding over to her friends, bone sword at the ready. She began to talk each of them down.
"Oh, hey, Tomo! Crazy as ever are you? Maybe your friends ought to have stuck you in a mental ward when you were crazy enough to have forgotten me!"
"Hey, no fair! Only I can crack jokes like that!"
"And is that—it is! It's the boy with the biggest motor mouth in the world-Jimmy! Tell me—did you even think to run your mouth about me at all?"
"Hey, you're the one who went frickin' nuts whenever we didn't pay attention to you! Why would I want to remember y—"Her weapon came in close to his throat, releasing a terrified squeak. "I mean…good to see you again…hehe…"
"Ahh, Osaka—still got your head in the clouds, I can see. Hell, you're so ditzy, you could be the Moon if you stuck your head up there any further!"
Osaka took it surprisingly well, simply looking up and saying, "I'd love to be up in the sky…I like flying dreams." Sora shook her head, not wanting to lose any more of her words to Osaka's heavy-headed nature.
"If it isn't Owen! Biggest whale I ever did see! Still eating everything plain sight, I can see!"
"Y'know, if you're going to make fat jokes, you may as well look for another fat guy. They don't hurt me, you silly girl."
"Oh, fine. Go eat some more donuts, why don't you? Now you two—"She turned to 'Splosion Man and Ms. 'Splosion Man. But she couldn't come up with anything to say them that would insult them. "Fuck it. I got nothing. You're just both annoying." Naturally, both snarled at her; annoyingly, but still angrily.
"And hey, it's Sakaki!" Hearing her name, Sakaki looked up from staring at the ground. "How's your social life? What's your social life? Ha, ha!" Sakaki simply gasped, but did manage to glare from her shy stature. "What would you know about me and my friends? You hardly even know anything about us at this point, Ophelia. I bet you don't even remember the one that made you possible, unlike us!"
That stopped Sora dead in her tracks. Slowly turning around, everyone could see she was red in the face, and not just from her glaring red eyes.
"Excuse me? What did you just say to me?"
"You only needed us to fill in that blank in what's left of your heart after he vanished. Just face it, Ophelia. Ever since he left, you're nothing!"
That last remark hit her where it really hurt; in an instant, Sora/Ophelia was breathing down Sakaki's neck, or would've if Sakaki were not so tall.
"Don't you DARE bring him into this situation. All my pain, all my sorrow, and all my life going downhill; you all know full well that I've attributed that to his disappearance. And you have the gall to use that against me?...You just be lucky I don't skin you alive in front of little Mimi there." She gave one final snort, before redirecting her attention to the fallen Mimi. As she went to go finish the job, a small voice stopped her once more.
"You know, Ophelia? You're nothing but a big crybaby meanie! We tried to be friends with you and the other three, but after he left, you blamed all of us! Grow up already!" Everyone in the room turned to the source to find Chiyo, who had run up to Sora/Ophelia, angry as all hell.
A minute passed before anything happened. But then, Sora turned round to face Chiyo. The biggest smile grew on her face as she looked down on her.
"Well, well, well….how could I forget little Chiyo? Did you shrink at all? You look smaller last time I saw you…all those years ago…" She knelt down to Chiyo's level, which immediately wiped away any confidence Chiyo may have had. "What was that you said about me? That I'm a big crybaby? That I should grow up?" Chiyo started to back up in fear. "Well, maybe I should show you what it means to grow up." As she started to run, Sora grabbed Chiyo by the arm, and she cried out in fear to Owen.
"Ah! Owen! Don't let her hurt me!"
"Hold still, you little brat! I'll make this quick on you!" Raising her bone sword high, Sora had no hesitation in her possessed state to kill a little girl like Chiyo. But from behind her, Mimi had seen everything, and was suddenly filled with a vigorous anger, which was enough to give her the strength to get back up and stop her bleeding.
"Leave her alone, Ophelia! And get out of my friend! They have nothing to do with this!"
Sora whipped around to look at Mimi, much to her surprise. But looking at Mimi, she did nothing more but smirk at her, tightening her grip on Chiyo.
"Aww, does Mimi want big bad Ophie to let go of wittle Chiyo? Is wittle Chiyo gonna cry for her mommy or lardass "brother" to save her?"
"Okay, now THAT hurt." Owen quickly said.
"You don't scare me, Light Girl. You may have been accepted into this stupid little posse, but to me, you'll be remembered as the bitch that stole my friends! Now this little brat is gonna be the first to die! Who's next!" She picked up Chiyo by the back of her shirt with the tip of her bone sword, as the crying girl wailed desperately.
"Aah! No! Put me down, put me down! Somebody save me!"
"PUT HER DOWN!" Mimi had had enough of it. Without thinking, she threw both her hands out, and as if on cue, a vivid beam of light shot out, hitting its mark and knocking Sora/Ophelia to the ground, releasing poor Chiyo. She hastily ran to Owen, with his arms spread out ready to catch and hug her, which is exactly what he did to the shaken girl.
Mimi looked down at her hands, which were sparkling brightly with light energy. She realized she was learning more about her powers all over, but she had no time to revel in this knowledge. Sora/Ophelia sprung back up, gnarled weapon at her side.
"On second thought, why should I waste my time on a stupid little child when my real rage is being directed to the girl who took everything away from me?" And she lunged at Mimi with intense venom, only to get blindsided by her own staff, which Mimi had gotten a hold of.
"Sora, you've gotta fight this! She can't keep her hold on you forever!"
"I'M Sora now, honey! Submit!" She began a long duel with Mimi between her bone sword and the staff, each girl unwilling to back down. Every swing they threw at each other was deflected by the opposing side. Sora/Ophelia did all she could to belittle Mimi.
"Come on, Mimi. Just give up! Your friends will all be gone soon enough, you know!"
"Ugh—I. Won't. Back down!" She said in-between swings. She increased the pressure, surprisingly bringing Sora down to her knees, despite her raising her bone sword in front of her like a shield.
The rest of Mimi's friends look on in solemn silence, but were all praying for her victory over this monster.
"C'mon, Meems…you're a tough, bubbly girl. You can do this." Tomo thought.
"We're all here for you, Mimi. Never give up; that Light of yours will help you." Sakaki thought.
"Never thought I'd say this, but you got this, babe. You're a tough little cookie, and you could beat anyone!" Jimmy thought.
As she kept fighting, Mimi could feel her friends praying for her. It all made her stronger, and gave her more will to fight. She brought the staff down even harder on her opponent's shield, finally breaking it into pieces. Sora gasped, looking down at the shards of her sole weapon in disbelief that someone weaker than her had just broken it.
But that disbelief quickly turned to more anger, as she lunged at Mimi, breaking the staff with such force that both ends flew into the air, coming back down at Mimi's feet. She then clocked Mimi right in the face, knocking her back with such force that she was blasted through the wall into the outside. The others tried to run, but Sora whipped around and glared at them, keeping them at bay.
Now heavily bleeding, barely conscious and harboring a black eye, Mimi began a desperate crawl to safety. But Sora brought her foot down on top of her, pressing her down into the ground, a pained squeak escaping her throat. She looked up at her tormentor, and found a most horrible transformation had begun; where the bone sword had been, a new arm had grown in its place, but it wasn't Sora's. The new limb was of a pale light blue tint, with bands of black goo oozing across it, and a glove made of the same goo.
Sora clutched the arm in glee, her eyes going from fully red back to regular white, but with violet pupils in place of Sora's brown. "I'm almost there, guys! Almost there…we'll be together forever now…right after I put out this girl's light for good."
Mimi's mind was racing. She could still feel her friends' love for her, and she knew she couldn't submit now. She would never back down from a challenge, even if she was frightened or hurt. She knew she had to find something that could give her an edge against her tormentor. Scanning the surrounding area, she finally saw it; the beautifully crafted sword she had seen earlier, still wedged in its rock prison.
She saw her chance, but as she tried to crawl away, Sora pressed her foot deeper into Mimi's back, squeezing her ribcage and nearly squeezing the life out of Mimi.
"My God, why won't you DIE already!" She grabbed Mimi by the back of her shirt, forcing her to face her. But that was just what Mimi needed; from the palm of her hand, she had conjured up another orb of light. She threw it right into Sora's face, where it burst into a bright flash, blinding the transformed girl.
"OW! Fuck! My fucking eyes! Where did you go, you little bitch! I'll find you!" She clutched her eyes in agony, giving Mimi the perfect head-start to make a break for the sword. She suddenly remembered it now; it wasn't just any old sword—it was her sword.
"Where the hell's she going? She's frickin' scared!" Jimmy called her out.
"No, no, wait, Jimmy. I think she's going for that sword." Sakaki pointed out.
"The sword? This is no time for a re-enactment of The Sword in the Stone! We've got a friend in trouble!" Tomo reminded everyone.
Eyes watering heavily, Sora could only rely on sound to find her way. And when she heard that Mimi was making a break for the sword, she tried to chase after her, but could only stumble blindly about. She then decided to call her out.
"Don't do it, Mimi! Sora would've wanted you to finish the fight, wouldn't she?" But Mimi would not listen to her, even if it was tearing her heart in two. Now she wanted desperately to save her friend from this "Ophelia." She had to get to that sword.
With a couple more blinks, Sora's vision returned, much to the dismay of everyone else. But they, however, decided to act: Owen and 'Splosion Man jumped onto her, grabbing both her arms and holding her back, preventing her from going anywhere. She snarled and thrashed at them, but to no avail.
Mimi had already reached the sword's rock at this point. Deep down in Sora's mind, Ophelia knew about the sword, and how its power was beyond anything she could imagine. She knew she had to stop Mimi from getting it back, or she'd surely be defeated. She tried to call Mimi out again.
"You don't know anything about that sword! The truth would kill you!"
Mimi's energy was beginning to deteriorate, as she flung herself onto the rock. She strained to pull herself up, ignoring anything else that anyone had to say.
"I promise that you'll regret doing this! You're messing with powers you know nothing about!"
"Shut up! You can't stop me! You've hurt my friends, and now, you're going to pay!"
She pulled herself up to her feet, grabbing the sword by the handle, ready to pull. "Light…guide me."
Sora had had enough of toying around now. With a mighty fling, she threw 'Splosion Man and Owen off of her. But they still had not given up.
"Do it, Mimi! It's your only chance!"
"Get da choppa!"
"MIMI! NO!"
It all happened in an instant. Mimi gave a great tug, and the sword was arisen from its prison as if it were as light as a feather. She was thrown back, sword in hand, aglow with light. Everybody in the area was incredibly amazed.
"Holy crap, she got it!"
"How did she lift it out like that when I couldn't!"
"She's covered in light….she's like a nightlight."
"Way to go, Mimi!"
Holding the sword in her hand at long last, Mimi felt an even greater power surging through her body now. The vibrant aura of light that had surrounded her when she first entered this world had returned to her; it entered her, which caused her to shudder violently. She whimpered greatly, as she felt the power of the sword reenter her tiny body. But then, she felt it; she felt memories entering her mind; memories of her creation from this land; she saw him—the one her friends had been talking about; only a silhouette, but she saw him—the one who had given everything in this world life. She could hear him talk to her. "With this Light, I bestow upon you the power to overcome the darkness; something I could not do by myself. You must go and find the Four that have left us. Only then, can I be whole again…"
She felt it. She felt a sense of booming pride, strength and everlasting power course through her veins. She remembered it all now; this was indeed her sword. She was indeed the one who would save this land. And she was going to start with her possessed friend Sora.
"Light, give me strength!"
She held her sword up to the sky triumphantly. As she did so, the red evening sky cracked open, a bright, dazzling column of light shot down, and channeled through the sword. Mimi felt herself becoming stronger than ever, mass and mass amounts of light energy surging through her at an incredible speed. With one wave of her sword, Mimi filled the sky with many, many stars, where they belonged. The sky was lit up like a stage, every star twinkling brightly. Everyone cheered her on, as Sora tried to shield herself.
"Agh, the light! I can't take it! Stop the stars, stop the cheering, stop it all!"
Mimi clutched the blade and handle of the sword tightly, creating a surge of white electricity across it.
She then slid her clenched fist across the blade, transferring the electric charges into her hand. Then, with an incredible speed that she had never gone, she charged towards her enemy in a near-blinding comet. Sora found herself caught in the path of an almighty uppercut, which launched her high into the air before coming back down with a massive thud.
When she recovered, the two girls locked eyesight, staring each other down. Sora attempted to keep an angered visage against Mimi, but could no longer do so. She knew now that she had no chance against Mimi now that she had reclaimed her sword. She quickly turned scared, and as she got back to her feet to attempt and fight her some more, she was forced to catch Mimi's weapon as it was thrust towards her, just inches from her heart.
In a last ditch effort to save herself, Sora began to plead with Mimi.
"Wait, Mimi, please! Please don't do this! I just wanted to be your friend! I didn't want to be lonely anymore!"
She struggled as hard as she could, clinging onto the sword with all her might as Mimi pushed it closer towards her chest, the glowing aura around the blade intensifying. . Sora pleadingly shook her head, a tear escaping her eye.
"Don't do this, please! I can't leave this body just yet! I'm so close to being whole again!"
That was all Mimi needed to hear. With one final push, she pushed the sword past her opponent's grip with her open palm, plunging the blade right into her heart. As soon as it hit flesh, the sword filled Sora with a light stronger than she had encountered. Every orifice of her dark body began to glow like a Christmas tree; even her eyes lit up as she let out one last wail of agony.
The area was covered in a blinding flash, and when it cleared, Mimi was standing over Sora's barely conscious body. A profound silence fell, as Mimi shook her head, looking down at her sword, then back to Sora. There was no stab mark on her chest; there was not even any blood on her sword. What Mimi had really done was expunge Ophelia from out of Sora's body.
All of a sudden, an uproar of thunderous cheers came from behind her, as Mimi's friends ran up and hugged her all over, graciously thanking her for such an amazing display of strength and courage.
"Ain't no hollaback girl!" Ms. 'Splosion Man spurted out.
"That was even better than any fireworks show!" Osaka dreamily said.
"Oh, you saved our friend, Mimi! You're a hero!" Chiyo exclaimed.
"Every doubt I had about you has officially gone away with that little fight, little Mimi!" Tomo added.
"Wait, guys. Where's Ophelia?" Sakaki questioned.
Everybody quieted down when they heard that, immediately scanning the area for any sign of the girl who had possessed Sora. But when Chiyo suddenly cried, "Look! Over there in the shadows!" everyone instantaneously looked in that direction to see Ophelia covered in darkness, save for the glow of her violet pupils. Clutching her chest as what appeared to be blood spurted from the wound she had gotten, she glared at Mimi, before vanishing in a shroud of dark clouds. "Another day, Light Girl. Another day…"
Amidst the descending chaos, Sora had woken up. The others turned to face her as she rubbed her head, and that's when she noticed the hole that she had punched Mimi through in her possessed state. Before she could ask if she was the cause, she then noticed the deep, bleeding gash down Mimi's side.
"Oh, Mimi…d-did I do that?"
Tears had already started streaming down her cheek, as she flung herself into Mimi's waiting arms, desperate to be held. "Mimi….I'm s-s-so s-sorry I hurt you. I-I-I had no control over anything. It was her that did all that stuff to you. I could never h-hurt you…"
"Shhhh…." Mimi hushed her friend's crying, lifting her chin so that they might look into each other's eyes. Then, a move nobody expected; Mimi leaned in, and planted a long, passionate kiss right onto Sora's lips. Surprised at first, she found herself returning the kiss, each girl holding each other close. Not surprisingly, the men of the group whooped it up, sans Owen.
After several long seconds of kissing, Sora and Mimi looked back at each other, Sora heavily blushing.
"Oh my….thank you, Mimi." The two girls smiled at each other, before earning another set of cheers from their other friends. Sora then told all that they would be going back inside, where Mimi would be given what she had rightfully deserved for saving everybody.
An hour later…
After resting up for a while, Mimi was now sitting down in the room she was given, eating some of the many sweets the others had given her. As she happily nibbled and suckled on a chocolate bar, she heard a knock on her door.
"Hey, Mimi? Could I come in, please?" It was Sora.
"Of course."
Sora sat down in front of Mimi, taking an open candy bar that Mimi had offered her. As the two finished their treats, Sora began to speak to her savior.
"Mimi…I can't even describe in words how amazed I am by you. I mean, meeting a ditzy, bubbly little girl that's the embodiment of Light? That's a marvel. But when the same girl shows off an astonishing display of power with a weapon none of us thought could be used, and saving me—the leader of this group of outcasts? That's a pure miracle."
Hearing such kindness come from her best friend, it made Mimi blush in happiness. "Aw, thanks, Sora. I didn't know my mere existence was so important to you guys."
"Are you kidding? You've made everything better here! You helped Miss Sakaki break out of that little shell of hers. You showed us that you're really no pushover. And most of all, you drove off a good piece of the dark forces that were haunting this place. But…that's one reason I came here to get you. The others and I wanted to know more about how you got here."
"Oh….okay. I'll do my best." As she stood back up, Sora requested, "Oh, and bring that sword with you," before leaving the room. Hearing this, Mimi turned to her sword, which she had hung on the wall by her bed. Carefully removing it from its holster, she caressed it in her hands for a moment, taking in the fact that it had been so long since she had used it. Another few seconds of remembrance passed before Mimi left the room, sword in hand, and headed for the front porch.
When she stepped out the front door, she found everybody, including Sora, seated before her. She jumped for a second.
"It's alright, Meems. We just want to know your story. We're all listening."
"O-Okay." Sitting down in front of her friends, she placed the sword by her side. Digging deep into the lost memories she had reclaimed, she began to tell of her entrance to this world.
"*sigh* Alright. I might go a little slow, since there's a lot to tell, but here goes:
When I was first born, the first thing I saw was this red evening haze, and a house behind me. It looked like a quaint little house, and of course, I wondered who could be living out there. But then, when I looked back in front of me, there was this silhouette of a man." She paused for a moment to clutch her head, trying to remember. "He-he started talking to me. He said that he had created me as his Light, that this was the world he had shaped with his imagination. He told me to "find the Four," so that he could be whole again." Everybody instantaneously gasped. They all knew who she was talking about, and they couldn't believe it.
"Oh my God, Mimi—you saw Him?" Tomo gasped.
"Well….it was a guy that talked to me, so yeah, I guess I saw him. But who is He?"
"You don't know?" Chiyo added. "He's the one that made this world possible; the one that made us possible. And He was the first person you saw when you came here? That's more than luck, Mimi."
"So he's really important to us all? Then where did he go?"
"That's why we're all worried, Mimi." Sora continued. "He vanished one day without a word, and this place quickly fell to the darkness. We thought we'd all be screwed, until you came along. So what else do you have to tell?"
"Well….when He told me I was his Light, I was a little confused at first. I didn't know I was so important to this world, but He took me under his wing, and he trained me in more martial arts and fighting styles than I can remember. I had done better than His own expectations; that's when He knew he had done the right thing in creating me. And…that's how I got this." She held up her sword for all to see. They all marveled at its sheer beauty, before Tomo once again added, "So you not only met Him, but he also gave you all those combat and magic tricks? You, Mimi, are something else."
"Well…this sword—He called it the Lightforce Sword. He told me that he had crafted it specifically for me to use; that I was the only one who could use it. It filled me with light energy, and it made me stronger than I ever was before. He told me that with this sword and my strength and heart, I would be nearly unstoppable. And that was the last I saw of Him; he had sent me here to help you guys. And that's all I remember now."
She felt less shy in front of everyone now, and her friends were certainly incredibly impressed with her story, giving her a small round of applause. But Mimi still had more:
"But I still don't know. What was he talking about when he told me to 'find the Four'?"
The others suddenly took on very grim looks, before Sora answered her question.
"The Four….boy, it's been a while since I heard that name. We've since forgotten almost everything about them, but they were our friends before He vanished. By any chance did He say anything about them to you?"
"Well, now that I think about it, I actually do remember him saying one final word to me before I left him: 'Who are the Four, you might be wondering, little Mimi? They are….or rather, were, my guardians. They watched over this land with me, and protected me as well. But they've split apart across the land for reasons even I myself don't know. That is why I leave you with this solemn mission: find the Four, reunite them with you and your new friends, and finally purge this land of the darkness that currently engulfs it. Alone, I am far too weak at the moment to do anything; but you, little Mimi, are a true army of one. Alone, you are formidable. But united with others, you are unstoppable. Now go. This new world awaits you.'"
"They helped Him? Even after all they've done to this place?"
"Well, that's what he told me. Too bad I have no clue where any of them are."
"You're a smart girl, Mimi; almost as smart as me!" Chiyo said. "I'm sure you could figure it out somehow!" Mimi smiled, before she let out a long yawn, which she had been holding back for quite some time.
"Alright, everyone. I think it's about time we all hit the hay. We've all been through quite a lot with Mimi's spectacular performance today, and we're all worn out." Everyone else nodded along with Sora, stretching as they stood back up and going back inside. But Sora suddenly pulled Mimi aside, a move which surprised Mimi.
"Hey, look, Mimi…about that kiss you gave me—I, uh…sorta liked it. It's the first time something like that's ever happened to me, and—God, I better make this quick." In a split second, Sora had kissed Mimi before pulling away, attempting to hide her blush. Both girls then giggled with each other, happy once more, before returning to their respective rooms, ready for a long night's sleep.
That night, Mimi dreamed…
As Mimi woke up, she found herself in a place that was far from anywhere she recognized. The sky here was even redder and darker than it already was, with many lightning cracks arcing across the haze. What had been her bed was now a long slab of red, darkened rock. Feeling cold, hard earth against her cheek caused her to jump from the platform onto the hard rock.
As she looked all around her, Mimi saw there was absolutely no light in this place. She began to panic again, knowing she was far away from her friends or anyone that could help her. She tried calling out.
"Hello! Anybody! Somebody! I don't want to be alone! Someone help me!" But it was no use. Her cries simply echoed throughout the vast canyons, and as she looked down over the cliff she was on, she saw a most horrifying sight: an ocean of blood, massive waves crashing against the canyon walls.
As she fell on her bottom and backed up from her nightmare, she suddenly bumped into someone. She slowly turned around to see the silhouette of a man. But it wasn't Him. This shadow was much different; the man was slightly taller than Him, and wore a hooded cape. On her right hand, she saw some sort of glove-like apparatus. As the man turned to look down at Mimi, she froze in place as she saw only two large, glowing red eyes looking back down at her; and she could feel him staring deep into her soul.
He spoke to her, but when he spoke, Mimi could tell he was not human; his voice was of a warped, demon-like nature.
"So, it was He who tasked you with finding the Four?" She shakily nodded, "Y-yes."
Mimi couldn't see the figure's face from under the darkness of his hood, but as his eyes narrowed, she could feel a most evil grin form on his face. A grim chuckle escaped his lips. "Well—I certainly found you. And I shall certainly be keeping my eye on you…if you survive the other three." The chuckle blew up into a full cackle, as from the apparatus on his hand, five long, cold steel knives shot out, ready to slice.
Just as he raised his weapon hand up, ready to strike, Mimi screamed and closed her eyes, awaiting her death…
But it never came. In a heartbeat, Mimi had sprung up in her bed, still alive and back in her room, herself and her bed sheets drenched in sweat. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, relieved that it was just a bad dream.
But yet, in a sense, Mimi felt as if it were not a dream; that she had really felt the presence of the hooded figure, but was pulled back to reality by some unseen force just before he struck her. Stripping her sweat-drenched sheets off of her, she stood up in the middle of her room and stretched. As she looked in the mirror, she pouted at her dismal reflection.
But then, she heard it: a familiar voice emanating from beyond.
"Mimi….can you hear me?" She gasped.
"Is it really you?"
"Yes, Mimi. You're speaking to He himself."
"B-but I thought the others said you had vanished?"
"Mm, not quite. I've just been in a weakened state ever since all of the events that have transpired since the Four's disappearance and your birth."
"Oh…well, what do you need?"
"Mimi, I could not be more proud of you, than from the way I saw you handle the Lightforce Sword. Truly, I made the right choice in bestowing its power upon you; and it shows from the display of bravery and strength you showed in saving your friend from the dark forces overshadowing her."
"Oh, my...I've never felt like I was so important before. But I have no idea where any of the Four are. I don't wanna let you down..."
"As your friends said, you're a very intelligent girl. But you also have something else that can help you." She looked over at where her sword was, but saw that it had somehow disappeared. She did not panic, but instead thought hard of where it could have gone. As she thought, however, she suddenly felt a weight in her hand. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised; she had consciously summoned the Lightforce Sword to herself in a bright, yet brief flash of light. Thinking hard again, she thought of it vanishing, and it did just that. Smiling at her new discovery, He continued speaking to her.
"You see, Mimi? With the sword, you have no reason to fear a challenge. It will always point you in the right direction. Now, I must go. And you, little Mimi, have a task to fulfill."
"Wait! Don't go just yet!"
"Hm?"
"I…I had a dream. I was in these rocky canyons with an ocean of blood, and I saw…this man. I couldn't see his face, except for two red eyes, and…he nearly hit me with this bladed glove thingy."
She waited for an answer, before He revealed something to her.
"So you have seen him, have you? He has appeared to you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Then he is still alive—the oldest of the Four. He must have felt your presence after you saved Sora. There's no doubt on my mind that he will tell the others. Although, knowing his nature, he'll probably bide his time until you reach his domain. But—argh….I can't speak anymore. Talking to you like this for so long greatly drains what little power I have left. I must go now. Good luck and farewell, little Mimi."
And He was gone.
Mimi was left standing in the middle of her room, alone. But with all that He had told her, she knew now that she could not stand around anymore; she had to find and re-unite the Four. And she had to do it now. Re-dressing herself in her sweatpants and white, sleeveless belly shirt, she tiptoed out of her room for the front door, trying her best not to awaken the others. As she sneaked about, she practiced summoning her sword and sending it away. As she kept doing it, it got progressively easier to do so. By the time she had found her exit, she could summon her weapon in less than a heartbeat. Incredibly proud of herself, she began to turn the knob, when:
"Mimi? Is that you?" Mimi whipped around in fright to see Sora, standing by the adjacent hallway in a red nightgown. "What are you doing up this early?"
Mimi could see she couldn't lie to her best friend, so she told Sora the whole story.
"I…I had a dream—no, not a dream, a vision. I saw this man in a hooded cape, who said that he was watching me, along with the rest of the Four. But before he could hurt me, I was pulled out of the dream by...H-Him. H-He spoke to me again. He said I had to go find the Four now. I can't let him down after all that he did; he gave me life, Sora. He made me possible! He taught me everything he knew, and made me his Light! I look up to him, Sora! I can't let him down…I've gotta fulfill this destiny of mine; to save this world."
"Then go, Mimi."
"I'm sorry, Sora, but I'd ask that you please not stop me—what?"
"I know of your connection with him, Mimi. I know you and Him share a bond—both mental and physical. And I know how much he means to you; how much you look up to him for all that he's done for you, for us, and for this world. This is your destiny, Mimi; I won't stop you. I know in the end, you still care for me and the others, no matter where you go." Mimi blushed once more.
"So go. Find the Four. Save this world. We'll be praying for you." And with that, Sora and Mimi shared one final kiss and a smile, before Mimi went out the front door, and down the road from the hideout; before long, her light figure disappeared into the darkness of the surrounding woods.
"Good luck, Light Girl…"
The following morning….
"Guys! Everybody, wake up! Mimi's gone!" Chiyo's scream was the first thing that had awoken everybody. A massive rumbling of feet scattering to get up was heard as everybody, still in their respective pajamas, made a mad dash to Mimi's now empty room. Everybody was left aghast at the disappearance.
"First Him, now Mimi! No! I was just beginning to like that girl!" Tomo cried.
"A runner! On the run! Ver' fast!" 'Splosion Man babbled.
"Maybe she turned into the Moon, like Ophie said I was gonna do? Y'all had to agree with that." Osaka said. But then, Jimmy opened his mouth, ready to blame their friend for leaving them.
"I knew it! I knew we couldn't frickin' trust her! She buttered us all up, and just as we think she'll help us, she takes off on us! LIAR!" He emphasized the last part heavily, before naturally being shut up by Owen, who continued for everyone else.
"Come on, guys. Surely, she couldn't have just left without having a good darn reason for doing so. She must've told somebody that she was leaving!"
"She did…" Everybody immediately hushed, and turned to face Sora, the last one walking down the hall with Sakaki by her side. She had a very solemn look on her face, and as she faced her followers, she knew she could say nothing but the truth.
"I caught Mimi leaving in the middle of the night last night. And she did have a truthful reason why; she told me that He had told her to find the Four again. She went into hysterics, telling me she owed her life to Him for all that he did for her, especially giving her life. She said it was her destiny to fulfill His wishes and save this world, so…I did it. I let her go."
Everybody silenced themselves once again, broken then by Chiyo's realization.
"Sora's right, guys. If He spoke to Mimi, then she would have no excuse not to leave. I know she can save this world, right, guys?" The others soon agreed in unison, turning towards each other and conversing on the matter at hand. The monotony, however, was soon broken by Tomo.
"Well, why are we just standing here? We should go follow her!" Osaka and Chiyo chipped in with her.
"Yeah! C'mon, y'all; we saved her, and she repaid the favor. Now we gotta do the same for her!" Soon, the others followed suit, all willing to risk their lives to follow their savior.
Sakaki then spoke to all, in place of Sora.
"Guys, now listen up. Mimi's changed all of us; she's brought us all together as a true team. She even helped me overcome my shyness. It's like I can finally talk to people again."
"But why were you all clammed up in the first place?" Jimmy questioned.
"Because you tried to force the words out of my mouth all the time! Mimi could see I didn't want to talk, and she respected that! She knew I was shy, yet she didn't get up in my face when I didn't respond!"
Jimmy jumped back from hearing Sakaki assert herself, but she immediately reverted back to her usual calm nature.
"Anyway, again, Mimi's simple presence here was enough to change us all. And the fact that He—the one that made us all possible—looks over her is really something special. I think we owe it to ourselves to try and follow her."
Sora, who had been wearing a worried look as this whole conversation transpired, was spontaneously filled with a brave, courageous feeling. In an instant, she had run back to her room, gotten dressed, and returned with a new Bo staff in hand.
"Let's go, team! We've got a world to aid!" A thunderous cheering fit, and everybody was running out the door, into the darkness.