Author's Note: welcome to the second part of the Dreamthorn Trilogy, a crossover between Revolutionary Girl Utena and Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" graphic novel series. If this is the first you've seen of it, I highly recommend reading the first part, "Objects of Desire," which can be found in my profile. Thank you for reading.

". . . and someday, we'll shine. Together."

The lights went up, and the crowd went wild.

By The Rose, Chapter 1: Letterbomb

It wasn't much of a crowd; the anime club at Sir Wilhelm Prep School wasn't exactly large. Most of the time, there was just the eight of them in the third-floor classroom with a TV on a stand at the front and about two dozen chair-desks and math posters papering the walls. But eight people could make a lot of noise when they wanted to.

"See, I told you we should stick with this one!" Henry, one of the club's founders, leaned back in his desk, nearly knocking his uniform coat off the back of his chair, and exulted in the cheering. He ran his hands through his short, messy blonde hair, then turned and smirked at his brother. "And you said they wouldn't like it."

Henry's twin, Eric, shrugged his broad shoulders. "You got me. But the first few episodes were about the girliest thing we've ever watched." Unlike his brother, he still had his school uniform's tie tied. His short hair and stronger build gave him an athletic look that his brother lacked. "But I'm glad we kept it. That was worth it."

Henry stood and posed in front of the TV as the DVD went back to its main menu. "I promise you good stuff, and I deliver! Yea or nay?"

"Yay!" Amelia cheered. As always, she sat in the front row. She'd been one of the first to join the club, and while her enthusiasm for what they watched never faded, she'd been banned by majority vote for ever again suggesting they watch Sailor Moon in its entirety. Her height, or lack thereof, had led to more than a few jokes about her being much like her namesake from Slayers. "That was so beautiful – they finally get to be together!"

"It seems that way; it's left open enough." Sharon, half-folded into a corner with her boyfriend Chris, leaned forward, despite his arms wrapped around her waist. She seemed serious, as always; her dark red hair was bound into a tight bun, giving her a stern look. "There's something oddly familiar about how it all turned out, though. It's definitely an unusual take on the classic fairy tale."

"So, did you like it? I can't tell," Chris said, then laughed when Sharon gave him a cross look. He then did his best to get away as she tried to adjust the narrow end of his tie about six inches. She settled for flicking at his short ponytail, prompting him to try to undo her hair, and the struggle continued.

Sean, the most recently joined member, leaned back in his desk with a grin, then pushed up his ever-present sunglasses. "I can't get past the ending of that last episode. Anthy friggin' stabbed her!"

"I can't believe we had to wait a day before watching this one," Amelia said, turning quickly to look at Sean. "I hardly got any sleep last night, wondering how that was going to turn out." She shook her head, her dark brown curls flying back and forth.

"That was pretty intense," Eric said, and rose to stand next to Henry. "Everyone, any thoughts on what we should watch next?"

"Something with giant robots," Chris said. He let go of Sharon with one arm, and pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses. "I think we need a break from drama for a while." He paused. "So definitely not Evangelion again."

"Once was enough," Kara said, shooting Chris half a glare. She sat on the back of one desk chair, her black-stockinged legs kicked up onto the desk in front of her. She blew her black bangs out of her face, then crossed her bare arms over her chest. "That was really something, though."

"I told you guys it'd be worth it," Henry said.

"I still want to know how Akio drives when he's sitting on the car." Doug, the club's overly tall techie, was sitting near the TV as usual, just in case something went wrong. He chuckled when Henry turned and glared at him. "What, would you ride in a car with no one driving it?"

"I wouldn't go anywhere in Akio's car!" Amelia shivered. "I swear, I'm going to get creeped out by red cars for the rest of my life."

"Note to self," Chris said, "get my car painted red."

"Could you sabotage his car for me, Doug?" Amelia asked.

"All right, c'mon," Eric said, waving his hands. "We've only got a few minutes before lunch is over, we need to decide – oh, hi, come on in."

A new girl stood in the classroom door. She was fairly short, with pale skin and green eyes and wavy brown hair tied back in a ponytail that reached nearly to her waist. She wore a grey sweater and long blue skirt, the standard girls' school uniform in the cooler months. She leaned partway into the room and glanced around. "Is this the anime club?"

"Damn right," Henry said, putting his hands on his hips. "You should have come here a few weeks ago, you just missed something good."

"Relax, bro," Eric said. "Yes, we're the anime club. Did you want to join?"

"I think so," the girl said. "I've heard a lot about it."

"Welcome!" Amelia said, rising from her desk with a bounce and walking over. "What's your name?"

"Marie."

Sean laughed, then slung his grey uniform jacket over his shoulder. He pushed his sunglasses up atop his short black hair. "You're still thinking about that?"

He was walking with Eric and Henry, as he shared his last class of the day with the twins. Granted, he'd much rather share a class with Eric than Henry; Eric was the calmer of the two and stuff like that. But it'd been a good day, so Sean didn't really care.

"C'mon, there's a lot to think about," Henry said. He had a look on his face Sean knew – the guy was still obsessing about something. "I mean, we never got to see Utena and Anthy get back together. Can you really call that a revolution?"

"Depends. You think that bed rotates?" Sean cracked, then laughed when Henry glared at him. "Relax, man. . . ."

"I think the revolution was supposed to be personal," Eric said. He'd shed his uniform coat at the end of the day, and was carrying it under one arm. And of course, Eric being Eric, he still had his tie on. "I mean, in the end, it was all about freeing Anthy. She just needed a prince."

"You think it could have been anyone, or did it, like, have to be Utena?" Henry asked.

"Juri being her prince would have been cool," Sean said. "The chick seems to have a thing for purple hair anyway."

"I don't really know," Eric said. Sean wondered if either of the brothers had actually heard him, or if they were ignoring him on purpose. "Maybe, maybe not."

The three of them continued down the hallway of the school's second floor. All around them, fellow students walked and ran and called out to each other; the usual chaos at the end of the day as everyone just wanted to get away. They reached the row of beige-painted lockers, and the chat stopped for a moment while they spun their combinations.

Sean opened his locker, went to put his books inside, then stopped. There was something in there that wasn't his. A small white envelope.

He paused, set his books down and took out the envelope, then turned it over. A wax seal held it closed. A red wax seal, with a familiar rose imprinted.

Sean laughed, then looked over at Henry and Eric. "Okay, who's got my locker combo-"

Henry and Eric also held envelopes. Sean's locker was on the bottom row, so as he looked up, he could see that theirs both had the same seal. They looked too surprised for this to be a joke, or at least, a joke they were in on. Neither of them said anything.

"Red pill, anyone?" Sean asked. "Or maybe, red rose."

Eric looked over at Henry. "You didn't do this?"

"You think I would?" Henry snapped, his face flushing for a moment. "No, I didn't do this. Do I look like Akio?"

Sean flipped his sunglasses down. "In the right light, with a good dye job, maybe some actual charisma," he said. He jammed his books into his locker, then got to his feet. He thought Henry might flip out at him over the joke, but the twins just looked at each other.

"I didn't do this either," Eric said. Sean held back a 'duh;' this was totally not Eric's style. "You think we should open them?"

Sean folded his coat and stuffed it into his locker. "Gee, let me think. Yes." He waggled the envelope back and forth in front of the twins' faces. "It's probably just a joke, might even be a funny one."

All three of them opened their envelopes. A moment later, they were all reading the same thing.

"To one chosen by Ends of the World," Henry read. "The gates will open at Banner Hall at 3:00 PM." He paused. "What the hell?"

They stood there for a moment in silence. Two students passed nearby, talking loudly as they made their way toward the building's exit.

"So that's it? That's the end?"

"Something like that. I don't know what to do."

"I didn't really expect this to happen to you – everything always seemed so good between you two."

"Yeah, but I was always hoping. You know how it gets, no matter what you have, you always want something more, even if you're happy."

"Well, you've got more now. Even if it's just more free time. You know the saying – be careful what you wish for and all that."

"That's not nice. . . ." Their voices faded as they went down a staircase.

Sean looked at Henry and Eric. "Dude, where's my ring?" he cracked.

"You got a letter too?"

Amelia nodded quickly. "This is really weird, Sharon," she said. "I mean, it's like someone knows we just finished watching Utena. Wouldn't you freak out if you got something like this?"

"I did, and I didn't," Sharon said. She smiled down at Amelia, then looked at herself in the small mirror inside her locker and adjusted her bun. "But I think you're right. This has to be a joke. Life imitating art is well and good, but things like this simply don't happen."

Sharon closed her locker, then jumped back at finding Chris there, his coat hanging open from his shoulders. His light brown hair was down, though that wasn't saying much – the dress code prevented the boys from having hair that touched their collars, so Chris barely kept his long enough to fit into a ponytail.

Chris threw his arms wide. "Come with me, as one chosen by the Ends of the World!"

"Your hair's too short for that," Amelia said, pointing at his head, then his chest. "You're just not bishie enough. And your shirt should be open."

"I can fix that," Chris said, reaching for his top button.

"Not in public, dear," Sharon said. She swatted his hand away, then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "But you're part of this little joke too?"

Chris deflated. "What, did Henry put you up to this?"

"You think it's him?" Amelia scowled, then thought about it for a moment and frowned. "I was . . . I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't want to ride in the Akio car, like we said. But I was kind of hoping that this was for real."

"'Roses are red, violets are blue, everything is possible, nothing is true,'" Sharon quoted. "Thank you, Alan Moore." She paused. "And I suppose that the saying involves roses doesn't help."

Amelia shook her head. She had PE for the last period, so she'd already shed her uniform, and now wore jeans and a t-shirt with an image from Escaflowne on it. "Nope. I can't help thinking, though, what if there's something to this?"

"I honestly don't think there could be," Sharon said.

"But what if there is?" Chris said. "You were there, we've all had that talk about what anime we'd live in if we had the chance."

Sharon tilted her head as she looked at him. "And not a single one of us chose Utena."

"We hadn't seen Utena yet," Chris said, smirking.

"Hmm. You do have me there." Sharon swept the coat off of Chris's shoulders and donned it, then looked to him and Amelia. "It's nearly three. Shall we go?"

Amelia nodded. "Yeah. I'm nervous, but . . . yeah."

The three of them headed out of the old brick building and into one of the grassy courtyards scattered across campus. A few still students still walked around, easily recognizable in the school's grey-and-blue uniforms, though most headed toward one of the exits from campus. Sharon looked around as they walked, then saw who she was searching for. Not that he was easy to miss, with his close-cropped hair and his towering height. "Doug!"

Doug looked over, then headed in their direction. He held up an envelope as he approached. "Going to Banner Hall, I take it?"

"Yeah, we heard something about a rose and a sword," Chris said, chuckling. "Sharon thinks it's all some kind of joke."

"I was kind of thinking the same thing," Doug said. He tugged at his brown goatee. "My locker's near Kara's, she got a note too. We thought it was something Sean did. He's probably waiting for us all to show up so he can laugh."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Sharon said.

"I don't know, I don't think he's that bad," Amelia said, looking at each of them in turn. "I mean, I know he doesn't take anything seriously. But I don't think he'd really go to all this trouble. And . . . wait." She held up her envelope, flipped it back and forth, then stared at it. "This wouldn't fit in through the slots in the lockers."

For a moment, none of them said anything. Then Chris glanced at his watch.

"Almost three," he said. "Let's go."

When they reached Banner Hall, an ivy-covered old building of red brick, Kara was already there. At first, Sharon thought the dusky-skinned girl had already changed, then remembered that Kara's 'adaptations' to the school's uniform tended to make her look a bit different than others. It might have been that she'd cut most of the sleeves off of her sweater, or the pins she wore on her chest, or the black tights she wore under the dark blue skirt. Either way, she was always easy to spot from a distance – her jet-black hair, cut fairly short save for the long bangs and the three thin braids at the back of her neck, marked her as quite distinctive at this school.

"Doug," Kara said as they approached, and nodded at the rest of them. "This is messed-up."

"That someone's playing a big joke on all of us," Doug asked, "or that this might be for real?"

"Both," Kara said, then rolled her eyes. "I don't like it either way."

"What's so bad about it?" Amelia asked. "If it's a joke, okay, we all laugh and go home. And if it's not-"

"It has to be," Sharon interrupted. "It's anime. It's not real."

Kara looked back over her shoulder, to Banner Hall's closed and locked doors and up to the scorch marks where the roof met the walls. "And I got no idea what's behind the doors if it's real," she said. "Didn't they close this place up years ago?"

"Since the fire, yeah," Doug said.

"Maybe it's like Nemuro Memorial Hall," Amelia said. "I wonder how many people died in the fire."

Kara turned and gave her a strange look, then cracked a smile. "You're really hoping for this, aren't you?"

Amelia blushed a little, then turned away. "Not really," she said. "I mean, if there's a duel game, then there's an Anthy. And no one should have to be like that."

"Damn right," Kara said, then nodded toward something behind them. "Here come the other guys."

Chris turned and looked. "About time – Sean, you ass!"

Sean, walking at the front of the small group, held two swords in one hand. "What?" he asked. "Sorry we're late, I had to bribe someone in the drama club."

"Okay," Kara said quietly to Amelia, "he's worse than you." Amelia just smiled.

The eight of them gathered around the entrance to Banner Hall. A chain and padlock bound the handles of the large double doors, and looked like they hadn't been opened for a very long time. Tall trees grew around the hall, blocking off most of the rest of campus. Everything was quiet.

"So," Chris ventured, "now what?"

"I dunno," Sean said. "Anyone else not get their ring in the mail?"

The padlock snapped open, and the chains stirred, unwinding themselves from the handles. The gathered friends stared as the chain fell to the ground, and the doors swung open, revealing only darkness.

"What the hell," Henry murmured.

"Anybody got a flashlight?" Doug asked.

"I don't think we need one," Amelia said, taking a slow step toward the open doors. "Think about it . . . it was night, sometimes, when Utena went to duel, or it was always sunset, with the Black Rose duels. But there was always light in the arena."

"Yeah, but the arena had the castle above it," Chris said.

Sean looked up. "Nope. Oaks."

"This is insane," Sharon said. "Or maybe just inane. I'm going in." She walked out from under Chris's arm, and headed for the door. The others followed.

Once they passed the threshold, they could see.

"Doug?" Amelia asked in a small voice. "How many stories was Banner Hall?"

"Three or four," Doug said, scratching his head. "That's a lot more than three or four floors."

A great, wide, winding stairway stood before them, leading up into a haze. Clouds of mist floated all around them, and light with no source suffused the place. A single stone pillar stood at the middle of the staircase, which itself had no railing.

"Holy shit," Kara breathed, no force in her voice.

"All right," Eric said. "We've got to find out what's going on here."

"And you didn't realize that this is impossible?" Sean asked. He didn't sound like he thought it was a joke anymore.

"Roses are red, violets are blue," Chris said quietly, then trailed off.

After that, there was nothing to do but climb.

No floating castle waited when they reached the top. What they found was a vast expanse hidden in the mist, a large flat place of black stone with the rose seal done in white stretching across it. Crenelations, like the top of a castle wall, stood all around the edges. They entered through a wide, round-topped doorway in the wall, and a similar place stood across the arena from them.

The eight of them walked into the arena, looking around. The mist overhead shined a dull grey, and the black stone underfoot reflected them in its polished finish. Their footsteps echoed, small and hollow, in the silence.

"Still think it's impossible?" Kara asked no one in particular.

"This simply . . . shouldn't be," Sharon said. "It shouldn't. There's no way to fit this into a building."

"This is awesome, is what it is," Henry said. "It's real."

Chris turned all the way around, looking over the entire arena, then burst out laughing. "And we're the ones chosen by Ends of the World?" He snorted. "Come on, man. I want to live in an anime just as much as any of us, but this is just wrong."

"You're not kidding," Eric said. "Something's not right here. Everything's not right here."

Amelia's eyes were wide. "But we're standing here, right? I mean – it has to be real, if we're all here, right? And-" She turned. "Oh my god! Isn't that – it's the new girl!"

A silhouette the doorway across the arena slowly came into the light. Marie stood there, her hair done up in an elaborate arrangement of braids and curls, looking at the group with a placid expression on her face. She wore an off-the-shoulder dress done in red and white, the red coming around from the sides and forming an hourglass shape with the white at the front of the dress. The edges of the red silk were scalloped and trimmed with rose vines done in green and gold, and more vines and leaves wrapped around her torso in no apparent pattern.

Marie walked halfway across the arena, then stopped. The look on her face suggested that she was waiting, that she could wait forever if need be.

"So she's the one who's doing this," Sharon said. "I might have guessed."

"But she just showed up today," Amelia said.

Doug shook his head. "Doesn't mean she's new to the school. I think she's in my math class, but I didn't really notice her before."

"So?" Amelia asked. "We just finished Utena today."

"And we're being plotted against by a bunch of bored otaku?" Chris asked, then snorted again. "Come on. You really think someone would do all this just to play a joke on us?"

Henry took a few steps forward, but didn't say anything. Before he took another, Eric spoke up.

"Henry," he said. "You're not . . . ?"

Henry looked over his shoulder, a scowl forming on his face. "Leave me alone, Eric. You know how the story goes."

"Yeah, but I don't think any of us saw some prince when we were kids," Kara said, then rolled her eyes. "Tell me you don't want to duel for her, Henry."

"What she said," Doug said.

Sean took a step forward, walking toward Henry. "What she didn't say. You know what the one engaged gets, don't you?"

"This isn't-" Eric motioned to Henry, who ignored him. "Damn it!" He hurried toward the middle of the arena, trying to catch up with his brother.

In time, they all met in the center, standing opposite Marie, who said nothing. Once they had all gathered, Eric stepped forward. "Are you going to tell us what this is all about?"

"I am the Rose Bride," Marie said.

"No you're not," Doug said, "you're a girl in my Trig class!"

If Marie heard him, she didn't show it. "The path before you has been prepared. You know what you must do."

"That's not one of Anthy's lines," Amelia said quietly. "That's from the Black Rose saga. Why would she say that?"

"This is messed-up enough, and you're wondering why she's saying the wrong lines?" Chris asked. He looked disturbed, though.

"There was no Black Rose saga," Sharon said, more subdued than usual. "Everything was Akio's doing. Mikage might as well have imagined it all, and Mamiya was Anthy."

"So it could have been her saying that," Amelia said, her eyes growing wide. "I don't – this has . . . this is just too much."

"So we duel for you," Henry said, cocking his head at Marie. "Like in the show."

"You know what you must do," Marie said. "And you know the rules of the duel."

"Deal." Henry turned to the rest of the group. "Who's first?"

"Come on, bro," Eric said. "You've got to be kidding."

"Leave off, Eric!" Henry snapped. "Unless you're challenging me, just – go away. I don't want you distracting me."

Sharon took a step forward. "Henry, don't be a-"

"Let him go, babe," Chris said. "You're not challenging him, right?"

"Nope," Sean said. "I am." He tossed Henry one of the swords he held–

And suddenly everyone but Henry, Sean, and Marie stood at the edge of the arena, near the doorway where they'd come in. There were cries of surprise, and Eric yelled for his brother again. Kara turned and looked at them all.

"I don't think this is a joke anymore," she said, then started to scowl. "And I don't like what that means."

"For the guys?" Amelia asked, her eyes still open wide. "Or for Marie?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "Both."

At the center of the arena, Marie spoke: "If the rose is knocked from your chest, you lose the duel." She placed a green rose on Henry's chest, attaching it to his shirt pocket, then did the same with a purple rose for Sean.

Henry raised one of the swords Sean had brought, saluted him, and bared his teeth in a fierce grin. "I think we know how this one goes."

"Didn't Saionji lose, like, three times?" Sean said, then laughed and gave Henry a mocking salute.

"Anthy never dueled," Henry said. "Who's got the better rose now?"

From somewhere in the haze came the sound of great bells ringing. The duel had begun.

They know best how they can mess with us – Nursing an opinion's getting dangerous

Henry took a step back, then leaped for Sean and swung, yelling. Sean ducked and ran off to the side, swinging behind him as he went. His sword smacked into the back of Henry's leg, sending him tumbling as he tried to land.

And in a world where good's not good enough – Let's get loaded and kick up a fuss

"Son of a bitch," Henry muttered as he stood. "That's not how you're supposed to do it!"

"Cry some more," Sean said, holding his sword ready. He chuckled. "Not my fault you don't know how to use a sword."

"Like you do?" Henry spat, then charged again.

The boys wanna fight – But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys wanna fight – But the girls are happy to dance all night

"I've had my moments," Sean said, blocking Henry's strike. He spun his blade, sending Henry's sword out wide, then swiped at the rose on his chest. Henry jerked himself back, nearly going to one knee, and managed to avoid the strike.

Henry then dropped his shoulder and slammed into Sean from the side, knocking him to the ground. Sean rolled, dropping his sword, and got to his feet easily.

"Weren't you just saying," Sean said, breathing hard, "that wasn't how it was supposed to go?"

"Like you listen," Henry said, then took a few quick steps toward Sean and swung.

What a mess we've made, it's ridiculous – The whole wide world's a stage of complete chaos

"Like I should listen to you?" Sean ducked the swing, then rushed around Henry and grabbed his sword from the ground. "Come on, man. You know I should – ack!"

Henry spun again, and Sean caught the strike just before it hit his rose. The two of them traded attacks back and forth, neither gaining an advantage. All the while, Marie stood there, just outside the white stone rose seal, her expression showing nothing.

"You really want a girlfriend that bad?" Sean asked, then sidestepped one of Henry's attacks.

It's gets so funny that we get confused – We don't know where to turn cause we've all been used

Sean whipped his sword at Henry's chest. Sparks flew as Henry barely blocked. He pushed forward, and the two of them caught in clinch, the hilts of their swords scraping against each other.

"Everything we've seen today," Henry said, "and you think all I want is a girlfriend?"

Is there anybody else?

"Well, she's kinda cute," Sean said, then stepped back and away from Henry, spinning around him again. "Can't say I like the silent type much, but. . . ."

Is there anybody else?

"This isn't a joke!" Henry yelled.

I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing

Sean back-stepped away from Henry, and held his sword before himself in both hands. "Everything's a joke, Henry," he said, sounding more serious than usual.

Sick sick sick sick of doing nothing

"You just don't get it."

Henry charged again. Sean held up his sword, then took one step to the right and swept forward.

I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing

There was a scrape of metal, a faint thud and rustle, then a cloud of green rose petals billowed over the dueling arena. The bells rang, their tones drowning out everything. Henry fell to his knees, and dropped the sword. Sean turned, looked at Marie, and grinned.

"Do you think she said it to him? 'From this day forth, I belong to you,' and all that?"

Kara gave Amelia a blank look, then closed her locker. "I don't want to know," she said. "I'd kinda like to forget yesterday happened."

"I don't think I could," Amelia said, shaking her head quickly. "I mean, think about it. We saw – everything. It all happened. Just like in Utena. Everything was there, right down to the duel bells."

"Doesn't make it good," Kara said. She turned, and started heading down the hallway, moving for the doors. Amelia followed.

"I don't know what it is, but I'm really excited," Amelia said, talking fast. "I almost expected my cat to start talking to me when I got home last night."

Kara gave her a weird look, then laughed. "Yeah, you would."

Amelia frowned. "Hey. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing bad," Kara said, shrugging. "Just that you get into this anime stuff a lot more than I do."

"Then why'd you even join the club?" Amelia asked.

"I dunno," Kara said. "It seemed fun, and I was curious. I'd heard about anime and all that, just hadn't really seen what it was about." She shook her head. "I'd heard that some people really get into it, dressing up and shit like that, and I like watching it, but this? No."

"Yeah, me neither," Amelia said. "I never thought – oh, look." She pointed.

Kara looked. Sean was there, walking toward the parking lot. He had a huge grin on his face, and it wasn't hard to see why. Marie walked beside him, clinging to his arm, looking like she was made to be there and was perfectly happy about it.

Kara turned back to Amelia. The shorter girl frowned, and Kara did the same a moment later. "Something about all this sucks," she said. "It just does."