Now that I knew the truth, I couldn't hesitate any longer. Alone or not, I had to go investigate. I spent the night in the café, and went to the jewelry shop first thing in the morning. Surprisingly enough, nobody was there. Strange... the door had been open...
Somebody! Come here!
I stood up straight and looked all around. I knew I'd heard a voice just then, but where was it coming from? A warm haze surrounded me, and I found myself standing before the answer.
The wooden box was huge, large enough for a human to sit in, and octagonal in shape. The lid popped open, and a small woman smiled out at me. Her auburn hair was done up simply, and her blue robes hung about her body like flower petals in the wind. A whitish-purple core shone out from her chest. A Jumi! This wasn't Alexandrite, though...
"Hello," she said to me. "I am Florina, the Jumi of Fluorite."
The healer! She was alive! That meant there could be hope yet for the Jumi.
"Alex hides me here, away from the jewel hunter," Florina continued, "but I have a lot of bad dreams..."
Obviously, Florina didn't know the truth. "Alex does?" I asked her.
Before she could answer, we both heard a "Pufwa!" from behind us. I turned around, and saw a strange creature floating there. It looked almost like a rag doll, but it spoke with a fairly normal voice.
"Who are you?" Florina asked, confused.
"Do not ask who I am!" the doll-thing ordered. "Your nightmares are so bad that even the tapir was scared away! Why are you having such scary dreams? Explain!"
Florina's mouth hung open, as she searched for a response. "How am I supposed to know?" she asked, on the defensive. "I should be safe in here."
"Safe?" the thing chortled. "Ha! I can't even go for a walk in your dreams." It paused again. "Oh! I haven't introduced myself. I am Belle, the witch."
Florina raised her eyebrows. "Well, pleased to meet you," she said courteously. "I am Florina, Jumi of Fluorite. And this is..."
"Leora," I supplied.
"Why, hello, Leora," Belle said to me. "Looks like you were drawn here by the gravity of her nightmares... but nightmare gravity theory is something I'll discuss later. Yes."
"What do you mean, 'drawn here'?" inquired Florina.
"Dreams," Belle explained, "are structurally complex things. The memories of day become the dreams of night. So dreams are based on the world of reality. Dreams are created by the self. Dreams change when reality changes."
Florina shook her head. "I just don't understand." I, myself, suspected that Florina was hiding something... I didn't doubt she was confused, but I didn't think she was telling us everything, either.
"Well, all I can say is 'have a nice dream!'" Belle crowed. "That's all. This person was called to enter your dreams and kill the bad bugs inside!"
"Huh?" I asked.
"Well, are you ready?" the witch asked me.
"Yeah, I guess," I replied.
"Well, here we go!" Belle cried. I closed my eyes as I felt the solid ground below me disappear. I didn't open them again until I felt my feet touch home. When I looked around, I found that I was in the Duma Desert...only it wasn't the desert I knew, the colors had been muted all around. This was truly inside a dream. I looked around. Oh, jeez! Why was Niccolo in Florina's dream? Perhaps they'd met...
"Hello there!" Nic said to me. "I'm the wandering Niccolo, peddler of smiles! I'll guide you into Florina's dream, for the special low price of 200 Lucre!"
What could I do? I hadn't a choice. I didn't want to get lost in the dream. I fished the money out of my pocket--money which was no dream--and handed it to him.
"You sure know how to make the most of your money," Nic said, grinning.
"Heh," I said back to him. He led me through the desert.
We stopped when we reached a huge group of... fish-men? Florina was having strange dreams. Among them, I noticed one humanoid... a girl.
"Why can't I breath? Are my gills clogged?" murmured one fish. "Nope, that's not it. It's because your sighs take my breath away."
"When I see your sad face," another said, "it makes me sad, too. That's why I'll always be with you. Because I want to see your smile."
The girl looked revolted. "Get away!" she cried. "Don't touch me! Get out of here!" she took a ragged breath, and continued. "I hate scales! I hate fins! And I hate gills! Aaaaaah!" she shrieked. "I hate it all!"
Could that represent Florina being trapped somewhere she didn't like? It was a possibility. I talked to Niccolo again, who charged me another 200 Lucre to take me to the next spot.
Here, there was a small, walking cactus. Huh? It looked just like the one I had at home... but I guess it couldn't be the same one. "Desert, the desert!" it sang. "The desert is the home of my soul. Yup." The little cactus smiled. "I like desserts, too, but I can't live in a dessert. Nope."
Some dreams make no sense whatsoever... I hoped this was one of them. I paid Nic yet more money, and this time I hit pay dirt in the dreamworld. There stood Elazul and Blackpearl, deep in discussion.
"A Lapis knight?" asked Blackpearl. "What is your destiny?"
Elazul bowed his head. "I have none."
"Are you saying you are a knight with no one to protect? A Jumi all alone in the world is just like a pebble in the desert." Blackpearl looked at him critically.
"With Florina's tears," the young knight declared, "my destiny shall be revived."
"I have heard enough!" Blackpearl ejaculated. "I would never cut away her life for a cowardly knight who let his guardian die!" Then, a funny thing happened. Blackpearl took a few steps away, and where she had been standing, there was an apparition of Pearl. Elazul, came her voice, I'm sorry. I can't cry for you anymore...
"Pearl!" Elazul cried, then turned to Blackpearl. "If my anger was what kept you moving, then the light of the Clarius will go on huring people. The destiny of us stones is to heal and soothe, shining with light from the sun. So long as men fight over us, we light the flames of anger, and forget the power to heal. If that truly is our destiny, should we just destroy everything? What do you say, Lady Blackpearl?"
She said nothing; Elazul continued. "Blackpearl... I have not your strength... the strength to destroy it all. I can only do one thing... open a small exit."
With that, they parted and faded from my sight. Hoping I'd see them again, I continued to let Niccolo guide me through the desert. A while later, I saw exactly who I was hoping to. They seemed to be continuing where they had left off.
"Pearl!!" Elazul cried. "Let me protect you, just once more!"
"I am not Pearl," Blackpearl told him. "I am a knight with a core of darkness. My destiny is fluorite. The beating in my chest is the black core, my true self. Away with you, Elazul!"
Elazul looked angry. "Florina already had a knight called Alexandra... the lonely pebble in the desert is you, Blackpearl!"
Blackpearl's lips were tight. "Once," she admitted "when my black core died, I left Florina with Alexandra."
"Are you saying you'll turn back into Pearl if you cut away your black core, Blackpearl?" Elazul unsheathed his sword.
"Care to give it a try?" Blackpearl asked, her eyes sparkling dangerously.
Elazul sighed. "Blackpearl..." he said. "A knight should protect but one guardian." He put his sword away. "Everyone has a little power," he said, "and by combining our strength, we become a force to be reckoned with. What are you protecting, Blackpearl!?"
"Florina shed tears for all Jumi. That is why I must fight... fight all who threaten the Jumi." She turned away, the expression on her face unreadable."
Elazul narrowed his eyes. "Don't turn your back on me, Blackpearl," he growled. "That's why I can see my own destiny. Pearl."
Blackpearl said nothing; she simply departed. After a minute, Elazul did the same. Still a bit dazed yet, I reluctantly parted with even more of my money to see the rest. I wondered when this would end.
When we came to the next clear area and I saw Sandra and Blackpearl, my mood dampened. While this was important, I was getting tired. I desperately wanted to leave and think everything over elsewhere.
"Blackpearl..." Sandra was saying. "We are allies, right? What did you come here for?"
Blackpearl scowled. "To the underworld I shall take you. I shall shut you away in darkness so you may never hurt others again."
Sandra shook her head. "Even with only a thousand Jumi lives, Florina will recover! You know how many Jumi lives Florina can save, do you not?"
"Fool" shouted Blackpearl. "Everything will just be repeated! After your powers are gobbled up, you will hunt more Jumi lives and replenish your strength. How long will you continue this?"
"As long as we Jumi cling to life," Sandra said, her chin up defiantly. Her eyes glinted, and Blackpearl suddenly fell to the ground.
"Do not...mock me!" Blackpearl gasped.
"It is over, Blackpearl. Looks like your heart of blackness will not last in the desert."
"Aaarg..." moaned the fallen knight. She collapsed face-first into the warm sand. As she did, I saw Pearl's apparition once again.
That girl will be here soon...hang on!
"I need...no help..." Blackpearl murmured. Sandra chose this moment to run away. Blackpearl disappeared, and I heard a familiar gnashing... oh, hell, not another jewel beast! How many of these did Sandra have? By now, though, I was so used to fighting them, that it was easy. Although it did drill into the ground and one point, hitting me with a rock, I defeated it and came out with only a few minor cuts and bruises. Once the best was gone, Pearl reappeared, lying in the sand.
"Pearl!" Elazul's voice cried. He rushed onto the scene.
"Mmnn..." Pearl muttered, opening her eyes.
"Are you all right?" asked Elazul, helping her up.
"Oh, Elazul..." she said, smiling at him. "Yes, I'm okay."
"What happened to Blackpearl?" Elazul quizzed her. "Why did she turn into you?"
Pearl took her partners shoulders. "Elazul... I'm all right. How about you?"
Elazul blinked. "Me? You ask if I'm all right?"
"Well, Elazul," Pearl continued, a smile on her face and in her voice. "you look a little strange."
"Hmph," Elazul said, disagreeing. "Let's go, Pearl."
"All right!" Pearl said. "Let's go!"
They left, and finally, I saw and felt the desert disappear. In a minute, I was back in Florina's room.
"Looks like she fell asleep," I heard Belle's voice say. "Now the world of dreams is a bit safer. Many think that dreams are make-believe worlds inside your head... but to dream is merely to view reality through a filter."
"What dreams she had..." I murmured. "I think I killed the 'bugs' you were referring to, though."
"Well, I'll be off!" Belle told me cheerfully. "Sweet dreams, kiddo!" she added to the sleeping Florina. "I'll be back if you ever have nightmares again!"
I finally went home from Geo, and straight to bed. Lying there, I thought everything over. Obviously, I knew nearly the whole story now. The only question was, how was it to be resolved?
I knew of only four Jumi left alive, and one of them was the jewel hunter herself. I was running out of time.