Chapter 1: Close Your Eyes, Keep Silent
She woke up in darkness. Everything hurt. She could barely breathe. Her body felt like it was on fire. She knew she was alive by the pain she was feeling. Someone, please save her, anyone.....
**********
Hours later, she was finally able to move her limbs. It was still dark, but hints of the red sunrise peeked out from the horizon. She struggled to get up. Her legs were still wobbly and her balance shaky, but she hobbled on, towards the sunrise.
**********
The sun was on her back. It illuminated everything in a red glow. The sky was black. Everything was in ruins around her. They were as black as midnight. Everything was either red or black, besides her. She was a speck of white. She wanted to stop and rest, but she had a feeling that if she stopped, something will come and get her. So she trudged on.
**********
As the sun started to set, she saw signs of life. Rats scurried to and fro underneath the ruins. Sometimes, in their haste, they would scurry over her boots. But, she didn't mind. Seeing them live gave her hope.
**********
She was so tired. Maybe she could rest a bit... She had been walking for the entire day, the moon peeked at her from behind the black clouds. Sleep, my child, Sleep. It said to her. Rest your weary bones. I'll watch over you. 'No.' She shook her head. If she stopped, then it would all be for naught. She had to keep going.
**********
Her arms and legs were bleeding. She was scratched by all those thorns. She had just crossed a patch of thorny vines. She couldn't go around it. She had to go through it. It was endless. She felt as if it took days. But, she made it. They would be so proud of her. She was able to make it.
**********
The next obstacle she faced was a mountain. Now how a mountain appeared out of nowhere, she had no idea, but it was there. She inwardly sighed and started climbing. The air got harder and harder to breathe. By the time she reached the top, her lungs were burning and yearning for air. At the top, she thought she heard singing.
**********
After the mountain and thorns, everything went smoothly. Nothing happened. The rats hadn't appeared in a while. She was sad.
**********
Day in, day out. Red and black, black and red. Sun, Red. Moon, black. Only be looking at her white hands, she knew there were other colors.
**********
She started to hear voices in her head. The rational part of her brain rejected them. The lonely part of her said stay forever.
**********
She didn't remember a thing from before. It was all a blur. A splash of pink, a yellow blur, a red spot. Dark blue eyes. She could only remember bits and pieces.
**********
Sometimes if she was really in despair, she would see a blue and gold blur. Sometimes when she was half dead on her feet, she felt arms wrap around her. Those moments made her take comfort in her madness.
**********
She talked for the first time. Her voice sounded hoarse and sad to her ears. She didn't know what her voice was supposed to sound like, but she knew it was not supposed to be how it was. Light and bouncy and full of life. She wishes she were that person.
**********
What happened to Crystal Tokyo? She had no idea what Crystal Tokyo was, but she wondered anyway. One of the voices, Rei, kept asking that. She had no answer for her friend. No answer at all.
**********
She started to see a hulking mass in the distance. It was huge, that much she could tell. Something told her to go towards it. All her problems would be solved if she went to it. She started hobbling with renewed vigor.
**********
It was beautiful. She finally realized what it was; a castle. It was tall, dark and imposing. Spires shot up from every corner. The windows were stained glass, consisting of beautiful shapes and colors. They clashed nicely with the black of the stone walls. A wooden door opened. A figure stepped out into the dim light. She was extremely beautiful, with long shiny black hair and luminous golden-silver eyes. Her smile was cold and malicious and her ears pointed. 'Nehellenia. Run, you fool, run!'
"Hello again, Princess," the woman said, her voice deep and spiteful. "I've been waiting for a long time. Princess. Now you're finally here. The party can start!"
A shadow moved behind the woman. It stepped into the light to reveal a scantily-clad woman. Her blonde hair was short and messy and her green-blue eyes were dancing in dark amusement.
"Koneko," the blonde haired woman purred. The woman disappeared and reappeared beside her hapless victim. "Koneko," the woman purred in her ear. "I missed you all these years. Where were you?"
She knew she had met this woman before. Her heart tugged in a painful way. "I don't know what you're talking about." she whispered.
The woman revealed a long sword. "Koneko, you need to atone for what you've done." the woman raised the sword up high, intending to end it all with a swift strike.
She braced for the hit that would never come.
"STAR SERIOUS LASER!"
A bright beam of light hit the blonde woman's hands. The sword went flying. The woman clutched her hands and yelled at the dark-haired woman. "I need a bit of help here, Queeny!"
The dark haired woman rolled her eyes and returned to the castle with a flip of her hair. The blonde snarled and looked in the direction where the beam came from. "Show yourself, Sei-Sei," the woman's voice had turned sultry. "Sei-Sei, come out, come out wherever you are..."
She felt an arm snake around her waist. "I won't let her have you Odango." was whispered into her ear before she finally fainted.
