Sleep continued to elude Lucy into the wee hours of the morning as she lay comfortably next to Kohta. With his arm draped over her, she laid on her back staring up at the dark ceiling, listening to the sounds of the night. She glanced at the clock beside their bed for the tenth time, tilting her head slightly in the process. 4:45 AM lit the display. Heaving a gentle, depressed sigh, she resumed her detailed examination of the ceiling. For three days in a row, sleep refused to come to her. By this time, she had given up trying to fall asleep. The first two nights she closed her eyes, regulated her breathing, positioned her body in a relaxing position, and anything else she could think of to help her fall asleep. However, too many things weighed on her mind, preventing her from concentrating on anything else. Finally, Lucy decided it was better this way because if another diclonius should attack the house, she would at least be able to sense them and be awake to stop whoever it may be. Yet that prospect didn't set very well with her at all. Since the recent attack by the mysterious girl three nights ago, she grew increasingly paranoid. Even the faintest of sounds caused her to either jump, or go into a defensive stance. Thankfully, nobody was ever around to see her when it happened. At other times, she found herself hopelessly depressed. It felt as if her happy family life was crumbling behind the scenes. What made the feeling even worse was not knowing what to do. With the weakening of her powers, she wasn't even sure she could protect the others if they were attack. She'd barely survived the first attack.
Lucy leaned to her right, looking at Kohta's sleeping form as he snored peacefully, most likely in the middle of a whimsical dream. She considered telling Kohta everything at one point, but thought better of it. Telling him might only make it worse. Lucy remembered the lengths he'd gone to protecting his family in the past. Besides, she was worried enough for the both of them. She didn't want him to feel the way she did. As long as Nana knew, she felt free of carrying the burden alone. Lucy reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from Kohta's face as he stirred. While he slept, she thought of what she might do if she lost him. She imagined herself back where she was before…lost and alone in the darkness of the world; a feeling she never wanted to feel again. Then she imagined if she lost Mayu, Nana, or even Yuka and Nyu. Everyone was so precious to her. A small tear made its way down her cheek. Unable to hold back, she sobbed silently, lost as to why this was happening.
Nothing felt real anymore. It was as if reality was creeping into her own whimsical dream, slowing invading and destroying it bit by bit. Everything was quickly reverting to the way it was before. What was going to happen next, Lucy wondered. After hours of simply gazing into Kohta's face with tear-blurred vision, her sleep deprived body and mind refused to stay awake any longer. The three nights without sleep finally caught up with her all at once. Lucy yawned as her eyelids felt like weights, slowly falling over her eyes. She desperately fought the feeling, afraid to fall asleep in fear of an impending attack. Slapping her cheeks, pinching herself, Lucy did everything and more to remain awake. However, it was in vain. Within minutes, Lucy lay sound asleep next to Kohta as she entered into her own dream.
Lucy stood alone in the middle of the dinning room, the door to the outside garden flung wide open. A short, chilling breeze wafted into the room, causing her to shiver. Lucy looked around, examining her surroundings. She quickly realized it was unusually quiet. She stepped over to shut the door to the garden, taking a quick look at the dull gray sky and clouds that hung over Kaede House. However, this sky and these clouds looked different somehow. Lucy couldn't really describe it, but something about the way they looked felt unnatural. Looking up at them, Lucy felt certain something dark and evil was reaching out to touch them, tainting them with malice. Quickly locking the door, Lucy walked into the hall and called out.
"Hello," she yelled, cupping her palms around her mouth to augment the sound. No one answered. Only the echoing sound of the grandfather clock by the front door as it counted the seconds with a loud, foreboding tick answered her. Taking brisk strides, Lucy marched down the hall to the kitchen. Opening the door, she took a quick look inside and called out again. Again, no answer. The room was completely empty…a tomb. Chills began racing down her spine as an unspeakable fear started clawing at her mind. Suddenly, all the lights inside the house flickered on and off then died. Now, only the dim gray light shining in through the windows from the outside lit the house, creating ominous shadows and pits of darkness. Lucy's eyes widened as an eerie coldness spread throughout her chest. Her palms became clammy and perspiration beaded on her forehead while she quickly checked all the rooms on the ground floor of the house, finding them all empty. Feeling increasingly nervous, Lucy walked with caution in every step; the clock's ticking seeming to match her pounding heartbeat, growing louder with every passing minute. At the bottom step of the staircase leading to the next floor, Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat, seeing nothing but a long, dark passageway. Lifting her foot onto the first step, she heard the clock behind her bong...its deep reverberating sound shaking the house, her ears, head, and chest. She turned with fright, heaving a huge sigh of relief and clutching her chest afterwards upon recognizing the clock. With every step on the staircase, the clock chimed to signal another hour…its tone deeply ominous. The sound penetrated Lucy's core, causing a sinking feeling in her heart. As Lucy reached the top of the staircase, the ringing of the clock ceased, as well as its ticking. It now sat eerily silently at the bottom of the stairs, causing the sinking feeling she felt to become a freefall.
Looking down the corridor, Lucy noticed something very odd. The whole hall seem wrapped and out of focus. The doors, roof, and even the floor looked twisted into odd shapes and contorted in different angles. It reminded her of looking through a kaleidoscope. The hall stretched out for what appeared to be miles, going far beyond the length of the house. Several other wrapped doors had also been added, going on as far as the hall did. Sweat dripped from Lucy as she turned to the first door on her right, which normally would've led into Mayu's room. However, when she opened the door, she found herself suddenly transported to an alley of some random city. Looking around the assorted piles of trash and littered the ground, Lucy heard a grunt up in front of her along with shouts and curses. She looked ahead, seeing a circle of boys crowded around something on the ground, stomping it with their feet. Their shouts and curses echoed off the alley walls, enhancing their frenzy. Lucy couldn't get a good look at who or what they were attacking because of how tightly packed they were around whatever it was. The boys stomped wildly, their attacks not the least bit coordinated with each other. Several times, they seemed to stomp on the feet of their own friend next to them while they attacked together. A few of them had been knocked backwards out of the circle by another because of their viciousness. Wicked and cruel smiles painted their features as they laughed maniacally. Lucy's first instinct was to stop the boys, but some unknown force within her prevented from taking action.
Soon, the boys grew bored, and left the alley, passing by Lucy as if she weren't even there. Lying in a lump on the ground was a girl, who Lucy guessed was somewhere near the same age as her. As the girl slowly crawled to one knee and into the light, Lucy noticed some of her features with shock. The girl had short, shoulder length pink hair, as well as the matching horns…the trademark features of a diclonius. The girl hung her head low, keeping her face focused on the ground. Lucy took a small step toward her when the girl didn't move, reaching out her hand to tap her on the shoulder. Just as her hand came within two meters, a vector shot out from the girls back and held Lucy's hand in a tight death grip.
"It's coming, Lucy," the girl said cryptically. The girl raised her head to look Lucy dead in the eye. Lucy gasped, seeing empty eye sockets on the girl's mangled face. Blood spilled out of the sockets and down her cheeks…tears of red. "You can't stop it!" Lucy fought to free herself from the grip of the vector, but the hold was too strong. The girl laughed insanely, revealing rows of jagged, broken teeth with maggots crawling all over her gums. Lucy finally freed herself and ran for the door. The cackling of the girl followed her down the alley and back into the hall of Kaede House as she slammed the door. Afraid the girl might follow her, Lucy sprinted down the hall, passing several identical doors. Making a random choice, Lucy fled into a door to the left, slamming it behind her. She pushed her body hard against the door so it could not be forced open. Lucy's heart pounded so hard against her chest she could feel her whole body throb with every beat. After several minutes of intense panting and fear, Lucy slowly relaxed, certain she was not being followed.
Hello, said a haunting voice that echoed from behind her. In all her excitement, Lucy had forgotten to make sure she was alone in the room. All sense and reason told her not to turn around, but her body acted on impulse. Slowly, she turned around. Stretched out before her was a desolate canyon of gray. The dark sky above blotted out all color. Dead trees lined the tip of the canyon, devoid of any leaves…their branches twisted until they looked like arms, reaching out like claws to drag you into the depths of hell. From the bottom of the valley, stacked to its brim, were the bodies of diclonius and human alike. Their skin was burnt like black ash, and their eyes were hollow and empty. Standing amidst this horrible place as if he were its king, was Tomo.
Lucy and Tomo stared at each other. Neither one of them spoke. Shock and horror racked Lucy's mind as Tomo simply smiled at her. Suddenly, his smile became wider and demonic. Then, he started to laugh…louder and louder. Soon, his laughter filled the canyon as it echoed from all sides. A fiery blaze abruptly engulfed the whole valley, eating away at the trees and bodies.
The end is coming Lucy, Tomo said to her before resuming his laughter. Finally, her body began to move. Lucy turned, ripping the door off its hinges in a panic. Instantly, Lucy shielded her face from the fire that now seemed to have moved into the hallway in front of her, trapping her. The scene started to shrink, drawing everything closer to her. I'm coming to see you. Lucy didn't know what to do. As everything soon came so close they all merged into one, horrific image, Lucy did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.
"LUCY! Please, you have to wake up!"
When Lucy opened her eyes, she saw the faces of Kohta, Mayu, and Nana looked down at her with worried and frightened looks. Her eyes darted around the room to get her bearings. The room appeared to be in the right place. There also weren't any corpses, or fire, or anything else from her dream. Her breathing calmed slightly and she sat up in bed, noticing that she and the covers were drenched in sweat.
"What the hell was that?" Kohta asked her. Lucy looked and everyone and thought about her answer before replying.
"It was nothing," she finally whispered. Unfortunately, Kohta wasn't going to give up that easily.
"It was a nightmare wasn't it?" he probed her.
"What makes you say that?"
"Call me crazy, but when someone wakes up screaming, I doubt they were dreaming about ponies and fluffy pink bunnies," he countered. Lucy hung her head and didn't say anything.
"Are the girls still asleep?" Lucy asked, eager to change the subject.
"They're fine. They could sleep through a train wreck," Mayu answered. Lucy almost hoped her screaming had woke them up. At least then she'd have an excuse to leave the room and go somewhere else. There was a moment of silence when everyone stared at Lucy, silently waiting for her to explain.
"What was it?" Kohta asked again. He sounded so gentle and caring that Lucy, for a moment, considered telling them. However, something inside her told her not to. Something inside her knew that if she said anything, she'd regret.
"Nothing," she finally said, "Just a nightmare is all. I don't even remember really what it was." The look Kohta gave her clearly said he didn't believe her, but he didn't push the issue any further.
"Alright, as long as you're fine. It's late, let's all get back to bed." They all said their goodnights to each other again, and both Mayu and Nana left the room. However, before Nana closed the door behind her, she gave Lucy a grave look and a small, barely noticeable nod of the head. And Lucy knew she understood.
I guess I'll have to talk to her about it tomorrow, Lucy thought to herself. Giving Kohta a final word of assurance she was fine and a kiss on the lips goodnight, she and Kohta laid their heads back down. Lucy knew sleep would not return to her this night. Little did she know that this dream was the signaling of a long, dark series of events that was about to finally unfold.
Sakuroka looked down with a sigh of relief. It had been a long road, both mentally and physically. She had endured many things ranging from hunger, to sleepless nights, and even abuse. Sometimes she wondered if she'd even make it. But now, it would all soon come to an end. Sakuroka had finally arrived in Kamakura. Standing atop a small hill outside the city limits, she admired the simplicity of the town. It was oddly modest, even for a Japanese town. However, this was no time for sightseeing. There were more important matters at hand. With conviction in every step, Sakuroka walked toward the city. The time to get some answers had finally come.
The last helicopter had just dropped the rest of them off and was beginning to make its ascent back toward base, kicking up a strong gust of wind. FOX looked behind him as the small, elite team of soldiers selected for this mission prepared themselves. Getting one last head count to see how many men he had to work with, he saw he had a total of twenty men. Half were human, and the rest were diclonius, who had direct orders not to use their vectors, or reveal their identities unless it was absolutely necessary. Checking his watch to see how many minutes they had until the operation began, he had a bad feeling it wouldn't be long before they would have to resort to that final measure of desperation.
"Ok boys," he shouted to his men, "We have five minutes. Remember, we want to try to keep our presence unknown to the locals. Also, keep the collateral damage down as much as possible. Kill only if necessary. We want to try to make it look like as if we were never here. But personally, I doubt it will happen that smoothly. The completion of our objective is our top priority. Everything else is secondary." FOX looked out at his men. All of them looked back at him with their complete attention and concentration for every syllable.
"And diclonius, do not remove your helmets unless you have to. This is a measure of last resort. Any questions?" Everyone remained silent.
"Then move out!"
The queen was somewhere down there, they just knew. They could sense her as easily as they could see the diclonius standing next to them. Yet somehow, they knew she could not sense them. This fact brought a smile to their face as they arrogantly imagined how easy this was about to be. Even the extra signatures they were picking up did not faze them. In all honesty, it only made them more excited as they growled. Their bloodlust had completely overtaken them now. There was nothing left in them anymore except a desire to kill. This one common interest alone was what brought this small group of diclonius girls together. And that was the only thing that brought them here to this city…the urge to kill.
"Kill…kill…kill." One began it as a whisper, but then a second joined in. When the third started chanting, it was at normal speaking volume. Then a fourth and a fifth joined. Soon, the whole pack was speaking what sounded like a war chant.
"KILL…KILL…KILL!"
Then they all pounced on the city.
"KILL LUCY!
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up, but as some of you may know, there have been technical problems with the site, so I couldn't get it up when I wanted. But good news for everyone. In the next chapter, the real action will finally begin. Sakuroka has finally arrived in Kamakura. But she is not alone. Both FOX and this mysterious organization, as well as many other diclonius have also arrived. And all three are after Lucy. What do they each want? Are they friend or foe? And what does Lucy's dream mean? Find out in the next chapter of Elfen Lied: The End.