Ryoutaru hadn't been sure what to expect from Yuuko – maybe she'd scream at him, or think he was joking, or just outright laugh in his face. But he hadn't expected, well…this.

He hadn't expected her to say nothing as he spoke, tripping over his words in the sudden silence, starting to feel desperate from the way her expression had gone totally blank. Nor had he expected her, once he'd finished, to simply say, "Huh."

And he really hadn't expected her to then take his plate, still with the half-eaten omelette on it, and tell them to go watch some TV.

I don't get it, he said in confusion, floating aimlessly in the back of his own head. Ryuu had immediately taken over again, and was bouncing them happily along to the Gekiranger theme song.

She's thinking about it, Ura said, and he got the impression of a shrug from her. But the real question is –

Why the fuck didn't you tell us about it?! Momo snarled. Ryoutarou forgot he didn't have a body at the moment and tried to cringe.

That is, he started. Um. I mean. The thing is –

"Like we would have believed you anyway!" Ryuu said cheerfully. "Now shut up, I've been waiting all week to find out what happened with the blue ranger's long-lost brother!"

He's secretly a werewolf, Ura said sarcastically. Ryuu wailed and she quickly added, Oh, shut it, I was just making it up –

IS SOMEBODY CRYING?? Kin demanded, and Ryoutarou gave up. He settled down in the ether, watching the show (and it would never not be weird, seeing things through his eyes but not) and wondering what Yuuko was thinking. Did she believe him? Did she think he was totally nuts? He wouldn't blame her if he did. He'd think he was totally nuts, too.

If this were Yuuto, he'd never believe him. Poor Ryoko must be having such a hard time – at least Yuuko was friendly, and seemed willing to help (even if she was sort of insane when it came to fighting). Oh god, he didn't even want to think about Yuuto's reaction to seeing him as a girl…

Yuuko waited for the commercial break – apparently she knew Ryuu better than Ryoutarou had thought – before she came over and sat next to them. She no longer looked blank; now she looked thoughtful, and sort of amused.

"Well," she said, as Ryuu ogled the plastic toys being shamelessly advertised onscreen. "I have to say, it sounds pretty crazy."

Ryoutarou's heart sank. No, he wanted to say, what would sound really crazy is if I said, "Hey, I talk about people who don't exist, but that's because they were erased from the timestream by evil memory-eating demons that I hunt down because I'm a superhero who flies around on a magical time-travelling train from the fourth dimension, and I know all this because the voices in my head told me so" – but he restrained himself.

It was a good thing, too, because then Yuuko grinned and said, "So, how do we find this guy again?"

"I can't hear you," Ryuu said placidly, "it's back on. Geki!"

Ryoutarou was forced to wait through the rest of the episode, along with a running commentary from the Imagin (although Ura fell oddly silent about halfway through, for some reason). Yuuko went off to get the mail in the meantime – "Deneb subscribed me to all the supermarket coupon-mailers within three miles," she explained – and she sat by them, shuffling through the stack as the ending theme finished and Ryuu finally slipped away again. Ryoutarou sighed in relief and turned back to Yuuko.

"So," he said, "about this guy –"

Yuuko had a very strange look on her face. Ryoutarou broke off, hoping he hadn't accidentally offended her – and then she held up a manila envelope that had been in her stack of mail, and Ryoutarou just stared.

There was no address on the envelope; instead, written across the front, was "To: Stupid-Looking Kid, c/o Insane Assault-Happy Split Personalities". There was a smiley-face underneath it, drawn in hot-pink ink.

Well, Ura said, after a moment. It seems we didn't quite scare him off after all.

"I think it must've just been dropped in the box," Yuuko said slowly, handing him the envelope. Ryoutarou stared at it stupidly. "Okay, I admit it – I wasn't really that worried before, I mean, you said the Imagin scared him off…but he knew you were here. He knew my box number."

Now the look on her face was troubled. Her hands were slowly clenching and unclenching, a habit that Ryoutaru had noticed in Yuuto (and even, he remembered distantly, Sakurai-san) as something he did when he was unsettled.

"Maybe it's not from him?" he said weakly. (Yeah right, Momo grumbled, around Ryuu obliviously singing the Gekiranger theme song again.) "I mean, maybe there's…some other stupid-looking kid with split personalities who lives in this building."

Yuuko just looked at him. Ryoutarou hung his head in shame for having even made the suggestion.

Face it, you're the stupidest-looking kid for miles, Momo snapped. Open the damn envelope!

That might not be the best idea, Ura said, as Ryoutarou eyed the envelope as though it were about to leap up and bite his face off. Given his luck, he wouldn't be surprised if it did just that. We don't know who he is, and somehow, I doubt he's filled it with sparkles and sunshine and free kittens.

"Maybe I should open it," Yuuko offered, apparently thinking along the same lines. "It might be dangerous. Or we could make Deneb do it." (Once again, Ryoutarou was struck by how similar she and Yuuto really were.) "Or we could take it to DenLiner, any trap he might've set in there might not work on the train –"

Ryoutarou was already opening the envelope. He didn't quite know why, but even though he knew there was no proof that this guy was on their side, that chances were very likely that this was some kind of deadly, horrible trap that would kill or maim or horribly violate him…somehow, he couldn't stop himself. It was like he also knew, deep down, that this was something very important, that he needed to do…

"Ryoutarou," Yuuko said in surprise, having seen what he was doing, but it was too late. He reached in and pulled out –

Holy shit! Momo shrieked. Ryoutarou's hand trembled slightly; the 6x8 glossy in his fingers caught the light and threw it back at him, looking oddly sinister. That's –

There was a short, baffled pause.

That's a really bad photograph, that's what it is, she said finally. Look, you can't even tell what it's of. Why the hell is he sending you weird photos?

Maybe he really is a psychotic stalker, Ura suggested, and Momo said something extremely rude that made Ryuu gasp and break out into giggles.

Ryoutarou wasn't listening. The Imagin may not have recognized the picture, but he did – the face was fuzzy, blurred and overexposed, but he knew those clothes, and he knew where he'd last seen them.

"Ryoko," he whispered. The Imagin fell suddenly silent.

How could they not have seen it? It was undeniably her, even through the general horribleness of the photography; in fact, he thought he could almost make out her features through the blurriness, if he focused hard enough. The light was catching on the glossy paper, which didn't help, and he tilted it back and forth, trying to see through it…

"Ryoko?"

He hadn't said it, but it didn't sound like Yuuko, and it hadn't come from the Imagin. Maybe he was imagining things –

"Ryoko! Hey, Ryoko –"

"Nougami!"

Ryoutarou looked up in surprise, and nearly fell over. The world was – strange, twisted and blurring around him. His focus snapped onto the one thing that wasn't morphing – Yuuko's face, staring down at him in concern. Had he fallen over…?

Wait a minute.

The hair was different – Yuuko's had slightly more of a curl to it, and it fell differently around her face. And there was something not right in the set of the eyebrows –

"Yuuto?" Ryoutarou said in disbelief. Yuuto frowned and folded his arms, his glare intensifying.

"What happened?" the first voice said, and much to his shock, Ryoutarou realized it was Hana. He tried to turn to look at her, but his body wouldn't move. That was weird; it didn't feel like he was possessed –

Yuuko? a familiar voice said faintly, and something shifted, and suddenly it was Yuuko in front of him, not Yuuto. The world was still moving like an insane carnival mirror, and Ryoutarou suddenly realized what it was. Just like in the dream, the two worlds were overlapping – only Ryoko wasn't in the same place as he was this time, which must be why it looked so strange. There, now that he was looking, he could sort of separate the two, although it was giving him a headache to try…

Yuuko was calling his name, sounding worried; at the same time, Yuuto was saying, "I don't know, she just pulled out that picture and now she's calling me Yuuko –"

What's going on? Ryoko said, sounding panicked. Ryoutarou felt a bit like panicking himself. Am I back…?

Her voice was distant and echoey, resounding in the back of his head like the Imagin's did. He looked around for her – okay, that was a mistake; the way the double-layered world reeled made him feel even sicker. It was a good thing he was already sitting down.

Yuuko had grabbed his shoulders and was calling his name, getting increasingly louder, but he couldn't make himself focus on her voice. Instead he looked for Ryoko; for some reason, it seemed vitally important that he find her, make sure she was okay –

She was nowhere to be seen. Instead, when he focused on her world – or his world, really – all he saw was Yuuto and Hana staring at him and the Imagin crowding around, all of them demanding to know what was happening. If they could see him, did that mean that Yuuko could see Ryoko, like some weird exchange or something? And wait, why were the Imagin manifesting physically? This didn't look like Den-Liner…

Ryoutarou? Ryoko whispered. Her voice didn't seem to be coming from anywhere but in his own head, and in a moment of inspiration, he looked down.

Ah. That explained it.

Don't do that, Ryoko said, sounding pained. ("Don't do what?" Yuuto demanded, but she seemed to be in the same sort of daze that Ryoutarou was in, and just ignored him.) You're right on top of me – or I'm on top of you – you're going to give me motion sickness…

"Sorry," he said automatically, starting to shake his head before he thought better of it. "Did you get one, too?"

It occurred to him even as he said it that he probably could not get even more vague, but she seemed to know what he meant anyway, and nodded. (Okay, she was right – he was seeing his world through her eyes, and it was extremely disconcerting to have a shimmery, not-quite-there overlay suddenly bob up and down.)

He glanced down at the photo in his hand; she did too, their pictures in the same hand and angled in the same way so that they seemed to line up over each other. Hers was of him, which didn't surprise him – it must've been the picture the guy had taken after Kin had jumped him, judging from the background. It was just as awful as his picture; the scene looked fractured, and there was an overexposed smear that almost looked like –

Ryoko shifted her picture slightly, and Ryoutarou's heart nearly stopped.

It was vaguely humanoid, with long pointed ears and a snout-like face – he couldn't make out any real details, the picture really was awful, but there it was. With the pictures lined up, it was standing right there between him and Ryoko, one claw-like hand on the top of their heads.

He dropped his own picture in surprise, and the image vanished – so did the strange over-world effect, leaving him sitting there stupidly in Yuuko's apartment as she yelled in his face. The Imagin were yelling, too (how had he not heard them before?), telling him to snap out of it, to come back to the train, and (at Momo's suggestion) to do something obscene with a goat.

"I'm okay," he mumbled, and then, when Yuuko didn't stop, "I'm okay! I just –"

What the fuck was that?! Momo shrieked. You went all weird and shut us out –

"Were you talking to the Imagin?" Yuuko demanded. She still hadn't let go of him, and her fingernails were digging into his shoulders; Ryoutarou shook his head, trying to wiggle out of her grip. It didn't work.

"It was Ryoko," he said, and that got her to let go. She sat back and stared at him, and he continued in a rush, "The photo did something – I don't know, it kind of…merged us, or something – but that's not the point, the point is what else was in the picture –"

He picked it up again, half-expecting it to happen again, but this time there were no special effects. Yuuko stared at him in bewilderment.

"You saw Ryoko?" she said finally. "What, like – in your dream? Is she okay? Did it hurt either of you? Why did –"

"It was an Imagin," Ryoutarou interrupted. He couldn't stop himself; it felt like if he didn't get this all out, he was just going to explode. "I think it was an Imagin, anyway –"

What, that kicked us out and made you go stupid? Momo asked. Ryoutarou had to stop himself from shaking his head – then he remembered that Ryoko wasn't connected anymore, and he did it vehemently.

"No, that caused this in the first place," he said. "Or at least, it has something to do with it." He looked down at the photo in his hands, trying to find any trace of the creature – it had been right there, clear as anything, but there was nothing but a bunch of overly-saturated colors. "He must've been trying to tell us that was what it was…"

A sudden chill ran down his spine. Oh god, what if it was still here? What if it still had its hand on his head, and he just couldn't see it or feel because – he didn't know, maybe it could only be seen with a special camera or something, or…

"It's in both places at once," he realized. "Or it's inbetween, or something, and that's why we haven't been able to figure out what's going on, because we can't find it if it's not completely in one world –"

"What are you talking about?" Yuuko shouted in frustration, only to be cut off as the door slammed open and Deneb ran in, tripped over the coffee table, and fell right on top of Ryoutarou.

"Yuuko! I heard yelling! Is everyone all right?" he gasped. Ryoutarou supposed he should have expected something like this; for a minute there, things had almost made sense.

"I don't get it at all," Momo complained, glaring at the photo as though he expected it to leap up and attack him. Ryoko held it up and peered at it.

"It was right there," she murmured, tracing the area where the creature had been. "And its hand was right on my head…"

Everyone stared at her head in horror. Ryoko didn't really notice; she was still just staring at the photo, trying to figure out what this all meant. It was probably an Imagin, but how were they supposed to find it? Obviously Momo hadn't sensed it, probably because it was sort of…in both dimensions at once, or something else strange like that. How did you find something that wasn't even totally there…?

They were back on DenLiner now, the station shrinking off into the distance behind them. Yuuto had stayed at the station with Deneb, and Ryoko was glad for it; Hana and the Imagin were being surly enough already after the wasted trip, and she had no illusions about what would happen if you added a irritable Yuuto into the mix. There would be explosions.

"I'm sorry," Hana said, sitting down next to her. She sounded it, too, and she was frowning as Ryoko looked up. "I'm really sorry, I thought for sure we'd find something at the station –"

"It's not your fault," Ryoko said quickly, slightly traumatized. Hana shook her head.

"I just…I wish I could help," she sighed. "I hate not being able to do anything – it feels like that's all I've ever done, is nothing. It's just so frustrating…"

Ryoko had the horrifying thought that Hana might cry. "It's all right," she interrupted, as Hana looked like she was about to go off on a long monologue, "really, you've been helping me so much already. If it weren't for you, I would've – um…well, I'd've been…I just don't know what would have happened!"

It was true, at any rate, and Hana looked appeased. Ryoko sighed in relief.

There was silence in the car after that; a long, unhappy one, broken only by the occasional noises of Owner chewing on rice. (Well, and Ryuu humming, but that was practically white noise at this point.) After a few minutes or so of this, though, Hana seemed to get impatient.

"Are you sure you want to go back to Milk Dipper?" she asked. "I mean, you can stay on the train if you want…"

"No," Ryoko said quietly. "No, I think I need to be somewhere…more familiar right now. Thank you, but…"

She trailed off, not really sure how to say it. That she needed to be there right now, even if her brother wasn't there, even if – what was her name? Airi? – was there in his place…it was still Milk Dipper. It was still home.

It wasn't her home, but it was as close as she was going to get right now.

The train came to a stop right in front of Milk Dipper – there was one convenience to magical time-travelling flying trains; you never had to walk more than a few feet – and, on some strange impulse, Ryoko gave Hana a hug as she was standing up to leave.

"Thanks," she whispered. At least she'd tried to help, she'd wanted to; that counted for something, didn't it?

She hugged Momo, too, for the same reason. Kin was asleep but she hugged him anyway, and then Ryuu, although he squirmed and giggled the whole time, and Ura…well, Ura leered and held his arms out, and Ryoko gave him a nice firm handshake.

She sort of wished Yuuto were still here, but then…somehow, she got the feeling he wouldn't appreciate a hug or a handshake. She missed Yuuko so much…

Milk Dipper's familiar door was comforting, though, soothing her subconscious even though her brain knew that it wasn't her Milk Dipper. She stepped off the train, eyes on the door –

– and nearly tripped over the boy sitting right in front of her.

Oh shit, was her first thought, he saw the train, he saw me get off the train, oh shit –

But the boy wasn't freaking out, or even looking panicked. Instead he was just staring at her, his face totally expressionless, and Ryoko relaxed a little. He didn't seem weird or evil at all – okay, so he was wrapped up in a heavy black scarf despite the summer heat, but…that didn't make him evil.

"Uh," she said awkwardly. "This is – um, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this…"

The boy's lips twitched slightly. Ryoko gibbered.

"This is a dream," she said finally, in desperation. "A crazy dream where trains fly from the sky and – whoo! A dream!"

Oh, Ryoko-chan, Ura groaned, that was physically painful to listen to. Why don't you leave this to me –

He didn't get a chance, though, because just then the boy stood up – oh geeze, he was taller than he'd looked, even taller than Yuuto or Haru. He had a weird grin on his face, and Ryoko began to wonder exactly why he didn't seem to be freaked out about the train…

"It took you forever to get here," he said. Ryoko knew that she should move, get away from this obviously crazy boy, but she couldn't force herself to take the few steps into Milk Dipper. "I was getting impatient. I look it, don't I?"

Ryoko tried to ask who he was, but he cut her off just as she was opening her mouth. "It's your fault this happened, you know," he continued. "If you'd just minded your own business, I could've just left you alone. But no, instead you had to make me go out of my way…"

Now, here, Ryoko should've done something intelligent – demanded to know who he was, if he was with the guy from her dream, or even just let one of the Imagin take over and sit on him until he told them what was going on. Instead, she said, "What?"

"It should've killed you," the boy was saying, and he looked almost petulant, as though Ryoko's continued state of existence were incredibly inconvenient for him. "It should've killed both of you, but something went wrong –"

Get out of here, Ryuu said suddenly. He sounded strange – maybe it was just because this was boy-Ryuu, but he sounded almost…panicked. Momo was growling something incoherent about killing the guy right then and there, but Ryuu was getting louder, shouting over him that Ryoko needed to move right then – and now Ura was explaining things to Kin, who had woken up from the noise (only in Ura's version, there was an exciting car chase, and girls in bikinis playing volleyball). It was probably only because Momo and Ryuu were both fighting for control at once that neither of them was getting it – and Ryoko really wished they would. The boy didn't look like he'd be much of a match for her when she was possessed, but if he'd caused this whole mess to begin with, who knew what he could do?

She began to move slowly backwards, not really sure where she was heading. The train had already pulled away, and she couldn't go into Milk Dipper; if this guy really was dangerous, she couldn't risk Ryoutarou's sister, or any other innocent people that might get in the way. No, she should just try to get away in general, and maybe the Imagin would stop fighting long enough to figure something out –

"So now I have to come out and personally kill you," the boy said, and Ryoko tried to walk backwards faster. All she managed to do was trip.

Shut it, you fucking brat, this is not the time! Momo was screaming, and she could still feel him and Ryuu still struggling for control even as she fell. Ryuu was talking over him, shouting, No, no, you don't know who he is, you don't get it –

Someone caught her.

At first she was relieved, but then it occurred to her that there was no one else around, especially no one who had incredibly huge golden-armored arms and oh fuck, oh fuck, there was a giant metal claw on the end of one of them. Against her better judgement, she looked up.

Don't worry, girl-Ryoutarou, Momo said, we're not going to let him JESUS CHRIST IT'S A LION WHAT THE FUCK.

Momo's concentration had been broken, though, and it was Ryuu who pushed his way in. Their hands were still free, and he snapped his fingers expectantly –

"Oh, please," said the boy. "Don't insult me like that. Now…"

He trailed off, looking thoughtful; the next thing Ryoko knew he'd come up and was right in their face, taking a closer look at them. Apparently he'd seen something funny (what, was there something in their teeth?), because he started to laugh, a high-pitched cackling sound that made their eardrums want to curl up and die.

"It's you," he said, "and I was starting to wonder where you'd gone. Oh well, you're all going to die now anyway –"

What is he talking about? Ryoko said, bewildered, but Ryuu didn't answer. Instead he tried to slip out of the lion Imagin's grasp – and he almost succeeded, but its grip tightened on them before he could get all the way out, and he had to stop struggling or end up with a chest full of broken ribs. The boy was still laughing.

"What were you expecting, after you went traitor on me? That we'd just have a big dance contest?" he said, and then, very abruptly, his laughter cut off. "I'm tired of this. Just kill them."