OMG!!! I am SOOOOOO sorry for my lack of updates!!! A thousand apologies! TT^TT I am so disappointed in myself... (cries in the corner) I can't believe I haven't updated in, lyk, 2 months! Please feel free to flame me... I need the punishment...
This is going to seem lyk an excuse, but it's the truth. You see, my computer had a virus and I couldn't go on the internet. Being the idiot I am, I decided to type out all of the chapters I had written out. Of course, when I got my computer fixed, EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER I HAD TYPED OUT DURING THE TIME I HAD THE VIRUS WAS DELETED!!!!!!!! And to make matters worse, my computer was returned to me the NIGHT BEFORE my two-week trip to Japan! I was so discouraged when I came back (because the chapters were deleted and all), I didn't have the heart to type them out all over again. Well, I FINALLY typed out the next chapter...
Again, I AM SOOO SORRY!!!!! I've been feeling so guilty for not updating, that I just HAD to type out at least one chapter! TToTT And again, please feel free to flame me... (Actually, I'd rather you not, but if you do, it's understandable...)
Edonis
When I woke up, I was in a 'Dream Capsule,' back in my regular clothes. Memories came flooding back: we had landed in the 'Dream Capsules' when we first arrived. Kurogane was shouting and Fai was about to climb out of the egg-shaped container to see what kind of world it was. Several female workers greeted us in floating transportation devices. They asked if it was our first time. We said yes. They temporarily erased our memories of 'Edonis.' The 'Dream Capsules' closed. We couldn't leave. The workers wished us 'sweet dreams.' We became tired. We fell asleep. We arrived in 'Outo.'
I felt around my neck for the necklace. It was still there. Seishirou kept his word.
When the 'Dream Capsule' popped open, I stepped out and looked around. There were 'Dream Capsules' everywhere I looked. Then I realized that I was alone. "Fai-sa~n!" I called. No one answered. "Fai-sa~~~n!!!" I started to panic. Where was he?! I wasn't fighting that long, was I? His capsule was right next to mine, but he wasn't anywhere near it! A worker came by and asked me what was wrong.
"I'm looking for my friend. He's tall, thin, has blond hair, blue eyes, and is wearing a large, fuzzy coat."
The worker smiled politely. "Don't worry. He's just looking around and asking questions. I can take you to him if you like."
"Really? Can you, please?"
"Of course," the worker, standing on a floating platform with a waist-high railing all around, let me in and floated to our destination. We took a few twists and turns, until finally, I spotted him. He was following another worker; both were on foot.
"Fai-san!!!" I called. He turned around and waved as he saw me get closer. When I was close enough to the ground, I jumped over the railing of the transporter thing and ran into Fai's outstretched arms. "Are you alright, Fai-san?! I already knew 'Outo' wasn't real, so when I 'died,' I knew I'd be fine. But Fai-san, you didn't know…!"
"Don't worry," Fai interrupted with a stern expression. "I'm more worried about you! What happened?! Why are you here?!"
"Seishirou-san 'killed' me," I said hesitantly.
"What?! He…!"
"It was because I knew too much. But I made a deal with him: he could 'kill' me any way he wanted if he made Syaoran-kun's sword, Hi-En, and my necklace real… for both practical and personal reasons." I knew Syaoran needed his sword, but technically, I didn't need my necklace. I only wanted it as proof that this adventure really happened and that I wasn't dreaming. I wanted to know for sure that I had really met my companions and that everything that happened wasn't just fantasy.
"Seishirou… How did he kill…?!"
"He made me fight for my life. I'm actually kind of proud of myself about that!"
Fai became puzzled. "Why?"
"I lasted a while before I got crushed, but I was strong enough to attack a '5th I' oni and distract it long enough to dodge attacks from the other one! It was only when they started working together did I die!"
Fai looked at me strangely, almost like he was sad. "I'm so sorry you felt like you had to fight, Yuki-chan." He kneeled down in front of me and gripped my hands. "But if that had been real, you'd really be dead. I don't want you to get into situations where no one can help you get out."
For a split second, I thought he was my dad. I instantly became home-sick and felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes. "I'm sorry…"
Fai pulled me close and hugged me for a moment. "I'm not mad at you, Yuki-chan, just worried."
When he let go, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and said, "I know… I just got a little home-sick all of a sudden." I plastered on a grin. "So who's your friend?" I asked.
The woman who had been leading Fai introduced herself. "My name is Chitose." This woman was attractive, with long wavy hair and intelligent eyes. "I was telling Fai-san about the 'Dream Capsules.' He told me that you probably knew about them already."
"Yes, that's right."
As Fai stood up, he said, "I'm a little curious. How does time pass in 'Outo'?"
"We modify the capsules to make the mind think time is passing normally when it's actually not. It would take a while to explain the details, but… it's about nighttime there right now."
When Chitose said 'nighttime,' I remembered that Syaoran would be waking up. I tugged on Fai's sleeve and said, "Syaoran-kun 'dies' at night." Fai nodded. Then he asked if we could be excused. Chitose didn't mind. She told us that our capsules were straight down this path. We thanked her and headed for the capsules. We made it just in time; Syaoran was waking up.
Fai knocked on the capsule. "Syaoran-ku~n!"
"Fai-san!! Yuki-san!!" exclaimed Syaoran in surprise and relief. His capsule popped open and he stepped out. Fai showed him around. "Thank goodness," Syaoran said.
"That we're alive?" I asked.
Fai chuckled. "We 'died' in 'Outo' though." Syaoran was puzzled. "I 'died' first, so I decided to ask around. This place actually isn't 'Outo.'"
"Eh?"
"Well, 'Outo' doesn't exist in reality." Fai opened a large door to reveal a bright theme park. "We're in the country of Edonis, in Fairy Park." As we walked around, Fai explained that 'Outo' was a virtual reality game. I noticed that the style around this country was similar to my bracelet. I would have to ask Yuuko about that later.
Fai led us to a small building. The door was automatic. We stepped inside and a woman came forward. The room was dark, with electronic screens an the walls, and we couldn't see her face, but I knew it was Chitose.
"For those who use the 'Dream Capsule' for the first time, we temporarily erase their memories of this country in the database so that they may smoothly transition into that one and enjoy it."
Syaoran suddenly winced and clutched his left eye, the one that could see. Memories were flooding his mind.
"Do you remember now?" I asked. He nodded slowly and regained his composure.
"In other words," Fai said, "you make it seem like that world is real. That's why we forgot all about this theme park."
Syaoran glanced at my necklace and then at his sword, Hi-En.
"My name is Chitose." The woman stepped out into the light and introduced herself to Syaoran.
"She's one of the people who helped develop the theme park!" Fai explained.
"I'm aware that you are acquainted with a certain man in the 'Dream Capsule' system," Chitose said. "I would like you to tell me about him."
"And why is that?" asked Syaoran seriously.
"If things remain this way… then the game will no longer be just a game."
"What do you mean?"
"Our job is to keep the game safe. For example, if a player injures himself in the game, it will not become reality. Just like a dream… until that man arrived. Here in Fairy Park, we control the 'enemies' of the game, the Oni. But he's somehow controlling them some other way and we are powerless against him. If things remain like this, the dream will…"
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. One of the larger screens on the wall glowed brightly. It showed an image of hundreds of Oni destroying Fairy Park and people running away in terror.
Chitose gasped. "It's become reality. We don't have anything in Edonis that makes virtual reality real. We need to find how that man is doing this and stop him!" The ground shook more violently. "Not only Fairy Park, but the Oni from 'Outo' will destroy the whole country as well!"
Syaoran began to head for the door. "I'm going to look for Princess Sakura!!" he called over his shoulder.
"In that case," Fai said, pointing to one of the screens, "I think I found them!"
The boy dashed back to Fai. "Where's Kurogane-san?" he asked. The screen showed Sakura, Mokona, Kusanagi, Ryuu-Ou, Souma, and Yuzuriha, but no Kurogane.
I scanned the other screens quickly and spotted him standing on the ruined Ferris wheel and facing a giant Oni. "I found him!" the image on the screen changed to a close up of Kurogane on the Ferris wheel then of Seishirou on the Oni.
"Kurogane-san!! Seishirou-san!!" Syaoran cried. And then he ran out of the building.
"Wait!" I shouted, running after him. Fai and Chitose followed. We ran all the way to where everyone else was. They were all very surprised to see us. In fact, Ryuu-Ou and Mokona squeezed Syaoran as soon as they saw him. When Mokona was done, she moved on to Fai then me.
Ryuu-Ou let go of Syaoran and exclaimed, "Thank God! I thought I wouldn't be able to recognize you after we left the system! Whew!"
"That world wasn't real, right?" Syaoran said.
Yuzuriha was puzzled. "You didn't know?"
"Well, that's because we're travelers," Fai explained to her.
"The princess…" began Syaoran. Souma told him that she was just sleeping.
"But," Kusanagi looked up at Kurogane and Seishirou fighting on the Oni, "over there doesn't seem alright to me."
Syaoran watched the two of them fight. "Seishirou-san…" he whispered. Fai asked what was wrong and Syaoran continued, "… he's serious."
The fight between Kurogane and Seishirou was amazing. They were both incredibly strong and they were both using swords. Seishirou's attacks were graceful, like a dance. Kurogane's fighting style was quick, powerful, and very strategic. It was hard to tell who was better. They paused their fight to talk for a moment, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then they stopped talking and were about to strike again with their swords when an object came shooting out of Mokona's mouth and interrupted their fight.
While everyone else around me was surprised, Fai simply clapped. "Cool!! Something came out of Mokona's mouth!" Syaoran and I were speechless.
"YOU GUYS…!!!" Kurogane was the most surprised of all. After all, he thought we were all dead.
"He~y! Kuro-sama~!" Fai waved to the ninja.
"Looks like they made it back," Seishirou said, "all three of them."
Kurogane was confused. "What do you mean…?" Then Seishirou's chest began to glow. Mokona's eyes immediately went "Mekyo!" as the man eased a glowing object out of his chest.
"Princess Sakura's feather?!" shouted Syaoran in a mix of alarm and surprise. "Why does Seishirou-san have that?!"
Whatever Seishirou said after that, I didn't hear; I was too busy watching the world of 'Outo' materialize in the middle of Fairy Park. Chitose stepped forward and confirmed that the feather was the energy making the dream reality. When Syaoran heard that, he immediately began to head for Seishirou, taking Hi-En with him.
Suddenly, a GINORMOUS Oni arrived. There was a woman standing in its hand. It was Oruha, the singer from the bar, 'Clover.' "It's the 'First I' Oni." I heard Seishirou announce.
"You found me!" winked Oruha in a rather flirtatious way.
"It's Oruha! From 'Clover'!" Fai exclaimed in surprise.
"Why is she with that Oni?!" demanded Kurogane.
Oruha, from the claws of the giant Oni, ignored them and began speaking to Seishirou about the game. I already knew what she was talking about, but to everyone else, it was new. I continued to watch as Seishirou asked Oruha if her real name was 'Subaru.' It wasn't. After a few moments more of speaking with the singer, Seishirou said that if those two weren't here, then there was no need for him to stay either.
Syaoran, who heard this, shouted, "Wait! That feather…! I'm traveling so that I can find that feather!"
"But it doesn't belong to you, Syaoran," Seishirou pointed out.
"It's an important thing that belongs to an important person."
"Unfortunately, I can't give it to you, sorry," Seishirou smiled. "I wonder if you're going to fight me."
"You are the one who taught me how to fight. Right now, I won't be able to defeat you. I realized that when I fought you in 'Outo.' But," Syaoran began to unwrap the cord that bound his sword, "I swore that I'd retrieve that feather." I noticed Kurogane wince slightly when Syaoran pulled Hi-En from it's sheath, saying that even if his chances were near zero, he'd take that chance.
Despite being far away, I could feel the heat of the flames coming from Syaoran's sword. He tried to attack Seishirou, but the man dodged. It was so fast, I couldn't even see it.
The man said something to his former pupil, but I couldn't hear. I was a tad too busy dodging a falling piece of rubble. After I safely made my way next to Fai, Seishirou had already activated the magic circle used to travel between worlds.
"See you later," the handsome man said as he began to disappear, "Syaoran." And then he turned to me and whispered, "… little girl…" WTH! You know what?! Just because I'm small for my age doesn't mean you have to call me little!
"Seishirou-san!!" Syaoran cried as he tried to reach his former teacher before he completely disappeared. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach him. He didn't have much time to feel despair though, not in this world anyway. Mokona's wings emerged and she unconsciously summoned the magic circle.
"What the…?!" Ryuu-Ou shouted in surprise.
"The magic tool Seishirou-san used is causing our magic tool to activate," Fai explained to no one in particular. "Both of them came from the Dimension Witch, so it must be because the source of the power is the same." Then he turned to Kusanagi and took the sleeping Sakura back from his arms "Thanks for taking care of Sakura-chan!
"Kuro-rin! Syaoran-kun! I think… it's time to leave."
Kurogane and Syaoran were somewhat surprised, but not as much as everyone else; they were watching Mokona's magic circle activate. Ryuu-Ou and Yuzuriha however, were probably the most surprised.
"What do you mean by 'time to leave'?!?!"
"Hang on a sec!!" They didn't want their new friends, Syaoran and Sakura, to leave.
Around us, the remains of 'Outo' were disappearing, as were we. Mokona had opened her mouth and my fellow travelers and I began to dissolve into the visible wind. Ryuu-Ou and the others' clothes were returning to the way they were in the country of Edonis.
Ryuu-Ou ignored this and began yelling something to Syaoran. Meanwhile, Yuzuriha was begging Fai, Sakura, and I not to leave.
"Don't worry," I told her right before we completely disappeared, "we'll see each other again sometime. I'm sure of it." I gave her a quick smile and said good-bye as I dissolved into wind.
And so we left the world of Edonis.
