The Dreamers
Prologue: Fire
*Think Ryoga's outfit
**Original Rebel Base
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was asleep when it happened, a frightened 4-year-old with no dreams and no hope. Somehow, she knew it was coming. The past few months had left hints that couldn't be traced by anyone but the ones with minds too innocent for sense. Small things, things like how a nuclear bomb exploded in a lab in Florida and wiped out most of the state's population. Things like how the sky darkened more day after day until the sunlight was a thing of the past. Things like how 'natural distaters' suddenly wasn't so natural after all. Things like how suddenly she knew they were coming.
Yes, things were getting flaky around the edges.
And now the flakes have broken the center...the core.
They were here.
And they wanted what was theirs.
She was asleep when the fire erupted in her city. Asleep...but the screams woke her up. The agonizing screams of human torture and human pain...of human self-destruction. She sat up in her small, pink twin bed, her terror-ridden sweat matting her dark hair to her head. The room she once knew was so dark and the door burst open as her mother rushed in. The moment she saw her mother's blank, panic eyes she started to cry.
Long screams of a child's pain.
Her mother rushed over to pick her up and rock her as a blast erupted nearby.
The Dreamers' were here to take what was rightfully theirs.
She cried even harder.
The woman carried her...(now)...only child out of the house and into the lawn where chaos ruled. The child continued to cry but a blast of fire hit the woman on her back, killing her in an instant. The child continued to sit there on the ground and cry. Her small, pudgy hands rubbing her eyes and tears away. The black, charred hole on her mother's back
did little to comfort her. The blood oozing around her tiny legs even less so.
And around her death came.
But the fire did not touch her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dreamers
Chapter 1, Tekken
She entered the resteraunt and sat herself down at a table in the corner, careful not to make eye contact with anyone but the busboy/waiter. Seating herself, she took off the heavy object off her back. Her silver-lining sword was 40 lbs. not including the case it was in. The case itself was wrapped in yards of brown fabric. She wore a loose white shirt that
was tucked into dark brown pants. The pants themselves ended a couple inches lower then her knee, the edges tucked tight into white fabric that was wrapped with strings to make a criss-cross which ended in light, dirty brown shoes.* Her hair's color was almost black and was tied into a severe ponytail with a long braid holding it together. Two thick, shoulder-length braids covered each side of her face (the closest one not quite meeting the farther edges of her eyes).
The busboy/waiter was a young, thin kid with gangly arms and legs barely reaching the age of 15 years. He wore a brown shirt and black pants with a white cloth slung over one of his shoulders. His face could be considered gentle if it wasn't for the nasty scar and the grim set of his mouth.
"What'll it be?" he asked in a rough tone.
"Glass of water and a fried mansinio with the head cut off," the figure replied softly, quietly. The busboy/waiter gave a slight movement of his head to show he understood before leaving the figure in peace.
//He seems nice//
"Yeah," the girl snorted as she flipped one of the small, ceramic cups on the table over and poured herself some tea from the round pot.
//What kind of tea is it?//
Smelling the cup, she said, "Yaruniis."
//I hate Yaruniis//
"I know," she smiled as she drank the cup. She instantly got a pounding headache.
"Okay, okay, no more tea," she laughed as she put the cup down. The headache stopped.
"Hey, Tek, the busboy, Dreamer or Original?" she asked.
//Both. His blood's Original but his mind's Dreamer//
Akane flinched, "I hate those."
//Me too// came the soft reply.
//Akane...//
"What?"
//The group of guys to your far left. They're thinking about things they want to do to ya and believe me, they ain't good. I suggest we make like a banana and split//
"But my food's not here yet and I'm really hungry," she whined, "You may not get hungry, Tek, but I still have my physical form and I need to nouri-"
///Duck!//
She did as she was told and a large, hairy hand missed her face by a few inches. Looking up, Akane saw four guys with an expression of anything but friendly on their faces. Jumping up, she grabbed her sword and strapped it onto her back as she said, "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to interrupt a lady when she's eating? Or was she too busy screwing the closest farm animal to notice?" The man's face turned an unhealthy shade of burgendy red as he lunged for her, "You're going to pay for that!"
Akane ran towards him and ducked under his opening arms, causing the poor fellow to crash into a nearby table. She suddenly felt two thin arms grab her hips and an alcohol-odor voice say in her ear, "C'mon, we know you're an Original. You should feel lucky we even notice you."
//Bad choice of words, big guy. Now you're going to get your butt kicked and I'm not even going to say I told you so//
Ignoring Tekken, Akane felt a pukey bile rise in her throat and she flipped the guy over her to a nearby table. Pushing her briads angrily out of her face, she huffed, "Original or not, I can still kick all ya'll Dreamers butts."
//I'm not even going to say it//
//Akane...//
"Not now, Tek," the girl whispered.
//Have a look-see around you. I think you angered some people//
Looking around through wide eyes Akane saw a group of narrow-eyed people who looked at her as though she was a rodent to be murdered on the spot.
//Looks like they know our little secret//
"Damn!" She cursed before a sneering voice rang out, "Original, are ya? What is your master doing lettin' ya out? Get back home Ri-ri!" She ducked a flying knife just in time.
//Get out Akane. These people are out for blood and they won't be happy until they get it//
Looking towards her only exit and seeing it blocked, Akane bit her lip.
//Use the force, Luke, use the force// Tekken imitated in a deep voice.
"You still remember that?" she asked.
//Course, dah-ling, once a Star Wars fan, always a Star Wars fan. To the death shall I part with my Star Wars//
"Stop joking, Tek, I could really get hurt!" she whispered harshly.
//Doll-face, I would love to watch you get your butt kicked, it'll give that ego of yours a kick in the bee-hind that it deserves. However, these people look serious so I'll save the self-esteem beating for later. Just concentrate, doll-face and this time...try not to blow anything up//
"Gee, Tek, you're always a help. Why don't you try to-"
//They're surrounding you and you're standing there babbling. I don't know why I bother sometimes//
Sighing, Akane saw that he was telling the truth and she closed her eyes tight trying to picture some near-by hills. Her head started to get a dull ache and her skin started to feel cold and clammy. The dark hair turned silverish at the roots and her fingernails turned a dark shade of black. Suddenly, a white lightening pain slashed through her mind and it was all over.
Instead of seeing the hills when she opened her eyes, she just saw an empty resteraunt.
//Looked like you messed up again, mon cherie//
"Where is everyone?" she asked in confusion.
//Looks like instead of transporting yourself, you transported everyone else. Just be lucky you managed to move them all the way and not leave them stuck in limbo. I've been there, it's not a very happy place to be. The food sucks. Hygene is non-existent. And you do
not want to know what *true* weightlessness feels like. If I could shiver it would be at this moment//
Akane suppressed a groan and slapped her hand on her forehead for bringing on any topic even close to the limbo speach.
//I heard that missy//
"Okay, okay, now tell me what I should do now?" she tried to change the subject.
//You have two legs that are workable. There's an open doorway on your left. You do the math//
"I am geting really tired of your sarcasm, Tek. Couldn't you lay off it?" the dark-haired girl complained.
//Sorry, babe, no can do//
"Cynic all the way, huh?" she asked with a wry grin.
//Yep. Now, either get your butt in gear and get out of here before that mean mob of people from before decide to use *their* legs and get back//
"I hate it when you're right," she mumbled as she stomped out the door. The moment she exited, a figure walked from behind a stone pillar and stared at the doorway in a mixture of amazement and disbelief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He didn't know when it happened. He didn't even know if he could think about it anymore. Think. That seemed like such a far-away thing to him now. It was horrible. It was wonderful. It was nothing.
He didn't feel.
He barely thought.
And he wasn't even sure if he knew what the five senses were.
How soon you forget things once they're gone. Time was non-existent as well. No-that wasn't true. Time existed...and it hid in the shadows like a dark being from one of Stephen King novels...a monster under the bed that you never saw but always knew was there.
Yes.
He learned to be afraid of time.
But he was terrified of the...the...*un*-feelingness...of how his senses just seemed to shut down. For awhile, he believed he was dead...but somehow he knew he wasn't. He was past death....and before birth.
Limbo.
Suddenly, a mind-wrenching, gut-tearing pain erupted through him and instead of feeling terrified, he rejoiced in it's dark pain. Because pain as horrible as it is...is still feeling. Suddenly there was blackness and he rejoiced in the color.
But somehow through the darkness...he knew he wasn't alone...and this time...he wasn't afraid.
//////ccccmmmmmmm ooootttt////////
It was his voice.
And he thought it.
But he didn't say it.
Come out, I meant to say come out. What happened to my voice? It's so hard to talk now
There was a sound.
He stopped all thought.
Yes...there it was again...a sniffle...a tiny sniffle...
He would have laughed at his own cruel irony. His first and probably only companion in so long...a child...
He concentrated harder ////Cooommmeee ooouuuttt, Iiiiii wooonn't hhurt yyou//
From the darkness walked out a tiny child of about only a few years. Her thumb was in her mouth and he would have winced at seeing the bloody jammies she wore...but he couldn't wince...because he didn't have a physical form.
Really concentrating this time, he thought ///It's alright. I won't hurt you. I'm scared too//
She hesistated a moment before lunging herself at his form and though he saw her clutching him...and he touched her...he couldn't feel her...because this wasn't his physical form.
The blue-haired child whispered something and he had to strain to hear her,
"Don't go." And he knew that even if he had a choice...he wouldn't. He was irrevocably tied...and he never even stood a chance. Taking a closer look at her...he saw her...but he didn't...he knew she had eyes...but he couldn't tell their shape or color. He knew she had a face but he couldn't see it.
///How long have you been here?//
"I don't remember. It's been too long," she murmured and somehow he understood what she meant perfectly...both in words and not.
//Do you know where we are?//
He felt her nod in what would be his shirt as the child clutched him tighter still. When she didn't talk, he found it strange that he understood what she wanted to say anyway.
//Don't worry// he thought //You can tell me when you're ready//
And he knew without knowing that she smiled.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly after awhile...an eternity.
//My name...// Did he still remember? It seemed so long ago and so unimportant now. What's in a name after all? 'A rose is still a rose...' Now, who said that? He couldn't remember anymore. Memory, one of the many things we take for granted.
"It's okay, I don't remember either," he felt her whisper more then heard.
//Okay, so the kid can hear me thinking. There goes all my evil thoughts and intentions//
She gave a slight giggle.
//My name...my name...the name's Tekken...//
//"Like the video game"// they both thought in perfect unison.
"Do you remember your name?" the boy now and forever knowned as Tekken asked.
"Mm-hm. It was...Akane. Yeah, I remember, Akane," she said wistfully as if lost in a memory.
//"Like fire"// they both thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And she made them disappear!" the guy said in amazement. He sat on a patient's bed in a white medical room with his feet dangling on the sides. There was a metal sink on one side and some clear, glass cupboards with cups and jars filled with all sorts of stuff inside. The
boy was in his early twenties, barely reaching 22 years. He was of average height with dark black hair that was tied in a neat pig-tail. He would almost look like an Original if not for the strange, grey-blue eyes that covered half his face. He was Dreamer all the way.
The doctor stood in front of the patient, a cool man in his early thirties with light pepper-sprayed brown hair and round, clear glasses that showed intelligent light champagne eyes. Yup, he was Dreamer too. The doctor known to his patients as Tofu-sensei and to his friends and close aquantainces as just plain Tofu was in the process of bandaging the arm of the pig-tail guy where a nasty cut lay.
"And you're saying she was an Original?" he asked.
"Yeah, I could sense it. I don't get it! You know it usually doesn't take me much to bring down so many Dreamers but I had to use most of my power just to not get transported with the rest of the group. Even then, I got this cut from the flying knife that she nearly transported. I'm tellin' ya, doc, that kid's unstable as unstable can get and I just don't know how to figure it out. An Original that has the Dreamer's magic? Is that even possible?" he rambled on, his brows crossed in thought.
Nearly nothing troubled Ranma Saotome. He smiled when he fought, he laughed when he hurt and he joked when he was in deep danger. But this was one of the things that did trouble this young mind. Tying the knot to the bandage, Tofu-sensei leaned back against a counter and rubbed his chin softly.
"In logic and sense, no, it's not possible. But when did we Dreamers ever talk about logic and sense? This is new and before we figure out who she is and why she's here, we shouldn't tell the Committee yet. They might get frantic and then where would we be? No, we mustn't tell anyone. Not yet. Not until we're sure if she's from the ORB**. But if she is and she does have the Dreamer's Magic...then we'll tell the Committee. But for now, we need to find her and bring her here...just in case. Do you remember what she looked like?" the doctor questioned.
Ranma groaned as he jumped off the patient's bed, "No! That's the problem. I didn't get a look at her face. She moved too fast..." Tofu heard the strain in the boy's tone and he walked over to clap a hand on his shoulder.
"Ranma, it's okay. I know you're worried...but you don't have to be. Anybody could have missed her face. We're not even sure who she is or what she is. Original or Dreamer. But for now...just try to relax," the doctor reassured him though he couldn't believe his own words.
"But what if...what if she's..."
"Don't," came the stern interruption, "That's just a legend meant to scare kids. Just get some sleep and we'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay, doc, I'll see you later," he sighed as walked out the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're in my mind, you know," he barely heard the child whisper. It's been...who knows how long since he went out of limbo to this non-existant place where the child named Akane was. A roaring fire that she made appear sat cackling in front of him. He didn't question her about it...but he always wondered how she coulde just make things appear like that.
//You're mind?// he asked and yet somehow it made sense.
"Yeah," came the soft reply. After a moment of silence and an eternity of thought he asked quietly
//Akane, why are you telling me this now?//
It was a long while now of deep silence. He was positive she wasn't going to answer when she said,
"Because I want to leave now. I didn't want to tell you earlier because...because I know something."
//What?//
"I have a body. You don't. We're going to have to share mine," and he knew she was crying again.
If he could smile, he would now.
//Hey, kid, it's okay. It's not like you're really ugly, right?// There, he got a laugh out of her.
"I'm going to try it now...and it's going to hurt you alot because I'll have to bring you to the surface. Do you...do you want to?" she asked and her voice told him she was begging for him to say yes.
//Course, kid, I'm from the generation X, nothing scares me// but he was shaking with fear.
"Okay, hold on..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//Can't we go somewhere without a mad, angry mob of people trying to kill you?//
"Let's just say I'm not a people-person," Akane growled out as she chopped down some more leaves and stomped through the forest. It was mid-morning and the birds were chirping slightly as bits of bright sunshine escaped through the treetops and made it to the forest ground. Leaves crumpled underneath her foot and sweat poured down her body in beads.
//Hey, Akane, you remember the songs from the old days? Of course not. Let me just sing some for you. Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock, jingle bell...something...and jingle bell somethin'. Nah, let's try another one. Jingle bells, batman smells, Robin laid an-//
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!" she screamned as she stomped on the ground. The treetops shook as all the birds and animals scurried away in fear.
//Touchy//
"Grrr-" but her growl was cut off by a female screech somewhere nearby.
//Now, Akane, I suggest we mind our own business and just continue on our-//
"Someone's in trouble! We gotta help!" came the yell as she charged through the wilderness.
//I don't know why I bother//
The sight that greeted Akane stopped her in her tracks. Three poachers were glaring at a large panda in a barred cage. The poor creature was whining and beating at the bars in a piteous fashion. It would have been funny if not for the fact that the panda was three seconds away from being bar-b-q meat.
"What do we do?" she asked.
//What goes around comes around//
"Huh?"
//Do unto others as you would do unto yourself//
"What?!"
//Give them a taste of their own medicine//
"Okay, Tek, I'm serious, what-"
//Turn them all into pandas. Sheesh!//
Closing her eyes, Akane concentrated on trying to see three pandas as she whispered ///...pandapandapanda.../// over and over in her head. After the blast of white light past through her, she opened her eyes to see that the poachers were gone and the panda in the cage had shut up.
"What'd I do?" the fearful voice asked Tekken.
//Look around the cage. What do you see?//
Akane looked and what she saw made her slap her forehead.
"I said panda! Not banana! What am I going to do with three bananas? Tekken, they're going to be alright, right?" she asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
//Don't give yourself that much credit, doll-face. You're spells never last that long. They'll turn back to they're greasy, mean selves in no time at all. That is, if they aren't eaten first//
Hearing this, Akane's heartbeat went back to beating something close to normal as she walked over to one of the pile of clothes and fished out a key. Walking over she unlocked the cage and opened the door.
"Now go! Shoo!" she gestured to the panda but the stupid animal just looked at her dumbly before pulling a pair of glasses (without glass) from it's fur and putting it on. The blue-haired girl watched in utter amazement as the panda pulled out a large sign from nowhere.
[Thank you, m'dear] it said. Or rather, that was what was written on the sign.
"Tekken?" the girl asked the person in her head.
//Don't worry, doll, the panda can't harm you, it's too stupid to.//
The panda flipped the sign over as it growled.
[Who you calling stupid?]
"You can hear Tek?" Akane asked the panda in disbelief.
//Of course it can hear me, Akane. It's a spirit just like me. Before the invasion of the Dreamers, it was a human just like you and me but during the invasion, it's spirit got sent to limbo, like mine. It's physical form got destroyed like mine and whoever it is that deals with stuff like this gave it another body instead of making it share one like me. The body it got was a panda's form.//
Nodding, the panda flipped the sign over again, [The kid's right, m'dear]
//Who are you callin' a kid-// but he was interrupted by Akane.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The panda flipped the sign over again, [Genma]
Akane's eyes scrunched slightly in bewilderment, "How do you do that? I don't see you write on the signs."
//He can transport his thoughts onto the sign and onto many other things//
[The kid's right again]
//Don't call me a kid, Genma-panda//
[Then don't call me Genma-panda!]
Now Akane rarely like people. The only person she liked having be Tek. But for the second time in her life, she actually liked another person-er-panda. She felt the familiar connection with Genma so she smiled brightly as she said, "Guys, guys! Stop acting childish. My name is Akane. The idiot in my head is Tek, Genma. Since you're all by yourself, do you want to travel with us, Genma? We would love to have you along."
[I would love to, Ne-darling]
//Nuh uh! No way!//
"Sorry, Tek, it's settled. You never got to vote," and in the back of her mind she could feel the spirit pout.
So off they went into the woods. Three spirits in the body of a panda and a young woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prologue: Fire
*Think Ryoga's outfit
**Original Rebel Base
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was asleep when it happened, a frightened 4-year-old with no dreams and no hope. Somehow, she knew it was coming. The past few months had left hints that couldn't be traced by anyone but the ones with minds too innocent for sense. Small things, things like how a nuclear bomb exploded in a lab in Florida and wiped out most of the state's population. Things like how the sky darkened more day after day until the sunlight was a thing of the past. Things like how 'natural distaters' suddenly wasn't so natural after all. Things like how suddenly she knew they were coming.
Yes, things were getting flaky around the edges.
And now the flakes have broken the center...the core.
They were here.
And they wanted what was theirs.
She was asleep when the fire erupted in her city. Asleep...but the screams woke her up. The agonizing screams of human torture and human pain...of human self-destruction. She sat up in her small, pink twin bed, her terror-ridden sweat matting her dark hair to her head. The room she once knew was so dark and the door burst open as her mother rushed in. The moment she saw her mother's blank, panic eyes she started to cry.
Long screams of a child's pain.
Her mother rushed over to pick her up and rock her as a blast erupted nearby.
The Dreamers' were here to take what was rightfully theirs.
She cried even harder.
The woman carried her...(now)...only child out of the house and into the lawn where chaos ruled. The child continued to cry but a blast of fire hit the woman on her back, killing her in an instant. The child continued to sit there on the ground and cry. Her small, pudgy hands rubbing her eyes and tears away. The black, charred hole on her mother's back
did little to comfort her. The blood oozing around her tiny legs even less so.
And around her death came.
But the fire did not touch her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dreamers
Chapter 1, Tekken
She entered the resteraunt and sat herself down at a table in the corner, careful not to make eye contact with anyone but the busboy/waiter. Seating herself, she took off the heavy object off her back. Her silver-lining sword was 40 lbs. not including the case it was in. The case itself was wrapped in yards of brown fabric. She wore a loose white shirt that
was tucked into dark brown pants. The pants themselves ended a couple inches lower then her knee, the edges tucked tight into white fabric that was wrapped with strings to make a criss-cross which ended in light, dirty brown shoes.* Her hair's color was almost black and was tied into a severe ponytail with a long braid holding it together. Two thick, shoulder-length braids covered each side of her face (the closest one not quite meeting the farther edges of her eyes).
The busboy/waiter was a young, thin kid with gangly arms and legs barely reaching the age of 15 years. He wore a brown shirt and black pants with a white cloth slung over one of his shoulders. His face could be considered gentle if it wasn't for the nasty scar and the grim set of his mouth.
"What'll it be?" he asked in a rough tone.
"Glass of water and a fried mansinio with the head cut off," the figure replied softly, quietly. The busboy/waiter gave a slight movement of his head to show he understood before leaving the figure in peace.
//He seems nice//
"Yeah," the girl snorted as she flipped one of the small, ceramic cups on the table over and poured herself some tea from the round pot.
//What kind of tea is it?//
Smelling the cup, she said, "Yaruniis."
//I hate Yaruniis//
"I know," she smiled as she drank the cup. She instantly got a pounding headache.
"Okay, okay, no more tea," she laughed as she put the cup down. The headache stopped.
"Hey, Tek, the busboy, Dreamer or Original?" she asked.
//Both. His blood's Original but his mind's Dreamer//
Akane flinched, "I hate those."
//Me too// came the soft reply.
//Akane...//
"What?"
//The group of guys to your far left. They're thinking about things they want to do to ya and believe me, they ain't good. I suggest we make like a banana and split//
"But my food's not here yet and I'm really hungry," she whined, "You may not get hungry, Tek, but I still have my physical form and I need to nouri-"
///Duck!//
She did as she was told and a large, hairy hand missed her face by a few inches. Looking up, Akane saw four guys with an expression of anything but friendly on their faces. Jumping up, she grabbed her sword and strapped it onto her back as she said, "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to interrupt a lady when she's eating? Or was she too busy screwing the closest farm animal to notice?" The man's face turned an unhealthy shade of burgendy red as he lunged for her, "You're going to pay for that!"
Akane ran towards him and ducked under his opening arms, causing the poor fellow to crash into a nearby table. She suddenly felt two thin arms grab her hips and an alcohol-odor voice say in her ear, "C'mon, we know you're an Original. You should feel lucky we even notice you."
//Bad choice of words, big guy. Now you're going to get your butt kicked and I'm not even going to say I told you so//
Ignoring Tekken, Akane felt a pukey bile rise in her throat and she flipped the guy over her to a nearby table. Pushing her briads angrily out of her face, she huffed, "Original or not, I can still kick all ya'll Dreamers butts."
//I'm not even going to say it//
//Akane...//
"Not now, Tek," the girl whispered.
//Have a look-see around you. I think you angered some people//
Looking around through wide eyes Akane saw a group of narrow-eyed people who looked at her as though she was a rodent to be murdered on the spot.
//Looks like they know our little secret//
"Damn!" She cursed before a sneering voice rang out, "Original, are ya? What is your master doing lettin' ya out? Get back home Ri-ri!" She ducked a flying knife just in time.
//Get out Akane. These people are out for blood and they won't be happy until they get it//
Looking towards her only exit and seeing it blocked, Akane bit her lip.
//Use the force, Luke, use the force// Tekken imitated in a deep voice.
"You still remember that?" she asked.
//Course, dah-ling, once a Star Wars fan, always a Star Wars fan. To the death shall I part with my Star Wars//
"Stop joking, Tek, I could really get hurt!" she whispered harshly.
//Doll-face, I would love to watch you get your butt kicked, it'll give that ego of yours a kick in the bee-hind that it deserves. However, these people look serious so I'll save the self-esteem beating for later. Just concentrate, doll-face and this time...try not to blow anything up//
"Gee, Tek, you're always a help. Why don't you try to-"
//They're surrounding you and you're standing there babbling. I don't know why I bother sometimes//
Sighing, Akane saw that he was telling the truth and she closed her eyes tight trying to picture some near-by hills. Her head started to get a dull ache and her skin started to feel cold and clammy. The dark hair turned silverish at the roots and her fingernails turned a dark shade of black. Suddenly, a white lightening pain slashed through her mind and it was all over.
Instead of seeing the hills when she opened her eyes, she just saw an empty resteraunt.
//Looked like you messed up again, mon cherie//
"Where is everyone?" she asked in confusion.
//Looks like instead of transporting yourself, you transported everyone else. Just be lucky you managed to move them all the way and not leave them stuck in limbo. I've been there, it's not a very happy place to be. The food sucks. Hygene is non-existent. And you do
not want to know what *true* weightlessness feels like. If I could shiver it would be at this moment//
Akane suppressed a groan and slapped her hand on her forehead for bringing on any topic even close to the limbo speach.
//I heard that missy//
"Okay, okay, now tell me what I should do now?" she tried to change the subject.
//You have two legs that are workable. There's an open doorway on your left. You do the math//
"I am geting really tired of your sarcasm, Tek. Couldn't you lay off it?" the dark-haired girl complained.
//Sorry, babe, no can do//
"Cynic all the way, huh?" she asked with a wry grin.
//Yep. Now, either get your butt in gear and get out of here before that mean mob of people from before decide to use *their* legs and get back//
"I hate it when you're right," she mumbled as she stomped out the door. The moment she exited, a figure walked from behind a stone pillar and stared at the doorway in a mixture of amazement and disbelief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He didn't know when it happened. He didn't even know if he could think about it anymore. Think. That seemed like such a far-away thing to him now. It was horrible. It was wonderful. It was nothing.
He didn't feel.
He barely thought.
And he wasn't even sure if he knew what the five senses were.
How soon you forget things once they're gone. Time was non-existent as well. No-that wasn't true. Time existed...and it hid in the shadows like a dark being from one of Stephen King novels...a monster under the bed that you never saw but always knew was there.
Yes.
He learned to be afraid of time.
But he was terrified of the...the...*un*-feelingness...of how his senses just seemed to shut down. For awhile, he believed he was dead...but somehow he knew he wasn't. He was past death....and before birth.
Limbo.
Suddenly, a mind-wrenching, gut-tearing pain erupted through him and instead of feeling terrified, he rejoiced in it's dark pain. Because pain as horrible as it is...is still feeling. Suddenly there was blackness and he rejoiced in the color.
But somehow through the darkness...he knew he wasn't alone...and this time...he wasn't afraid.
//////ccccmmmmmmm ooootttt////////
It was his voice.
And he thought it.
But he didn't say it.
Come out, I meant to say come out. What happened to my voice? It's so hard to talk now
There was a sound.
He stopped all thought.
Yes...there it was again...a sniffle...a tiny sniffle...
He would have laughed at his own cruel irony. His first and probably only companion in so long...a child...
He concentrated harder ////Cooommmeee ooouuuttt, Iiiiii wooonn't hhurt yyou//
From the darkness walked out a tiny child of about only a few years. Her thumb was in her mouth and he would have winced at seeing the bloody jammies she wore...but he couldn't wince...because he didn't have a physical form.
Really concentrating this time, he thought ///It's alright. I won't hurt you. I'm scared too//
She hesistated a moment before lunging herself at his form and though he saw her clutching him...and he touched her...he couldn't feel her...because this wasn't his physical form.
The blue-haired child whispered something and he had to strain to hear her,
"Don't go." And he knew that even if he had a choice...he wouldn't. He was irrevocably tied...and he never even stood a chance. Taking a closer look at her...he saw her...but he didn't...he knew she had eyes...but he couldn't tell their shape or color. He knew she had a face but he couldn't see it.
///How long have you been here?//
"I don't remember. It's been too long," she murmured and somehow he understood what she meant perfectly...both in words and not.
//Do you know where we are?//
He felt her nod in what would be his shirt as the child clutched him tighter still. When she didn't talk, he found it strange that he understood what she wanted to say anyway.
//Don't worry// he thought //You can tell me when you're ready//
And he knew without knowing that she smiled.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly after awhile...an eternity.
//My name...// Did he still remember? It seemed so long ago and so unimportant now. What's in a name after all? 'A rose is still a rose...' Now, who said that? He couldn't remember anymore. Memory, one of the many things we take for granted.
"It's okay, I don't remember either," he felt her whisper more then heard.
//Okay, so the kid can hear me thinking. There goes all my evil thoughts and intentions//
She gave a slight giggle.
//My name...my name...the name's Tekken...//
//"Like the video game"// they both thought in perfect unison.
"Do you remember your name?" the boy now and forever knowned as Tekken asked.
"Mm-hm. It was...Akane. Yeah, I remember, Akane," she said wistfully as if lost in a memory.
//"Like fire"// they both thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And she made them disappear!" the guy said in amazement. He sat on a patient's bed in a white medical room with his feet dangling on the sides. There was a metal sink on one side and some clear, glass cupboards with cups and jars filled with all sorts of stuff inside. The
boy was in his early twenties, barely reaching 22 years. He was of average height with dark black hair that was tied in a neat pig-tail. He would almost look like an Original if not for the strange, grey-blue eyes that covered half his face. He was Dreamer all the way.
The doctor stood in front of the patient, a cool man in his early thirties with light pepper-sprayed brown hair and round, clear glasses that showed intelligent light champagne eyes. Yup, he was Dreamer too. The doctor known to his patients as Tofu-sensei and to his friends and close aquantainces as just plain Tofu was in the process of bandaging the arm of the pig-tail guy where a nasty cut lay.
"And you're saying she was an Original?" he asked.
"Yeah, I could sense it. I don't get it! You know it usually doesn't take me much to bring down so many Dreamers but I had to use most of my power just to not get transported with the rest of the group. Even then, I got this cut from the flying knife that she nearly transported. I'm tellin' ya, doc, that kid's unstable as unstable can get and I just don't know how to figure it out. An Original that has the Dreamer's magic? Is that even possible?" he rambled on, his brows crossed in thought.
Nearly nothing troubled Ranma Saotome. He smiled when he fought, he laughed when he hurt and he joked when he was in deep danger. But this was one of the things that did trouble this young mind. Tying the knot to the bandage, Tofu-sensei leaned back against a counter and rubbed his chin softly.
"In logic and sense, no, it's not possible. But when did we Dreamers ever talk about logic and sense? This is new and before we figure out who she is and why she's here, we shouldn't tell the Committee yet. They might get frantic and then where would we be? No, we mustn't tell anyone. Not yet. Not until we're sure if she's from the ORB**. But if she is and she does have the Dreamer's Magic...then we'll tell the Committee. But for now, we need to find her and bring her here...just in case. Do you remember what she looked like?" the doctor questioned.
Ranma groaned as he jumped off the patient's bed, "No! That's the problem. I didn't get a look at her face. She moved too fast..." Tofu heard the strain in the boy's tone and he walked over to clap a hand on his shoulder.
"Ranma, it's okay. I know you're worried...but you don't have to be. Anybody could have missed her face. We're not even sure who she is or what she is. Original or Dreamer. But for now...just try to relax," the doctor reassured him though he couldn't believe his own words.
"But what if...what if she's..."
"Don't," came the stern interruption, "That's just a legend meant to scare kids. Just get some sleep and we'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Okay, doc, I'll see you later," he sighed as walked out the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're in my mind, you know," he barely heard the child whisper. It's been...who knows how long since he went out of limbo to this non-existant place where the child named Akane was. A roaring fire that she made appear sat cackling in front of him. He didn't question her about it...but he always wondered how she coulde just make things appear like that.
//You're mind?// he asked and yet somehow it made sense.
"Yeah," came the soft reply. After a moment of silence and an eternity of thought he asked quietly
//Akane, why are you telling me this now?//
It was a long while now of deep silence. He was positive she wasn't going to answer when she said,
"Because I want to leave now. I didn't want to tell you earlier because...because I know something."
//What?//
"I have a body. You don't. We're going to have to share mine," and he knew she was crying again.
If he could smile, he would now.
//Hey, kid, it's okay. It's not like you're really ugly, right?// There, he got a laugh out of her.
"I'm going to try it now...and it's going to hurt you alot because I'll have to bring you to the surface. Do you...do you want to?" she asked and her voice told him she was begging for him to say yes.
//Course, kid, I'm from the generation X, nothing scares me// but he was shaking with fear.
"Okay, hold on..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//Can't we go somewhere without a mad, angry mob of people trying to kill you?//
"Let's just say I'm not a people-person," Akane growled out as she chopped down some more leaves and stomped through the forest. It was mid-morning and the birds were chirping slightly as bits of bright sunshine escaped through the treetops and made it to the forest ground. Leaves crumpled underneath her foot and sweat poured down her body in beads.
//Hey, Akane, you remember the songs from the old days? Of course not. Let me just sing some for you. Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock, jingle bell...something...and jingle bell somethin'. Nah, let's try another one. Jingle bells, batman smells, Robin laid an-//
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!" she screamned as she stomped on the ground. The treetops shook as all the birds and animals scurried away in fear.
//Touchy//
"Grrr-" but her growl was cut off by a female screech somewhere nearby.
//Now, Akane, I suggest we mind our own business and just continue on our-//
"Someone's in trouble! We gotta help!" came the yell as she charged through the wilderness.
//I don't know why I bother//
The sight that greeted Akane stopped her in her tracks. Three poachers were glaring at a large panda in a barred cage. The poor creature was whining and beating at the bars in a piteous fashion. It would have been funny if not for the fact that the panda was three seconds away from being bar-b-q meat.
"What do we do?" she asked.
//What goes around comes around//
"Huh?"
//Do unto others as you would do unto yourself//
"What?!"
//Give them a taste of their own medicine//
"Okay, Tek, I'm serious, what-"
//Turn them all into pandas. Sheesh!//
Closing her eyes, Akane concentrated on trying to see three pandas as she whispered ///...pandapandapanda.../// over and over in her head. After the blast of white light past through her, she opened her eyes to see that the poachers were gone and the panda in the cage had shut up.
"What'd I do?" the fearful voice asked Tekken.
//Look around the cage. What do you see?//
Akane looked and what she saw made her slap her forehead.
"I said panda! Not banana! What am I going to do with three bananas? Tekken, they're going to be alright, right?" she asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
//Don't give yourself that much credit, doll-face. You're spells never last that long. They'll turn back to they're greasy, mean selves in no time at all. That is, if they aren't eaten first//
Hearing this, Akane's heartbeat went back to beating something close to normal as she walked over to one of the pile of clothes and fished out a key. Walking over she unlocked the cage and opened the door.
"Now go! Shoo!" she gestured to the panda but the stupid animal just looked at her dumbly before pulling a pair of glasses (without glass) from it's fur and putting it on. The blue-haired girl watched in utter amazement as the panda pulled out a large sign from nowhere.
[Thank you, m'dear] it said. Or rather, that was what was written on the sign.
"Tekken?" the girl asked the person in her head.
//Don't worry, doll, the panda can't harm you, it's too stupid to.//
The panda flipped the sign over as it growled.
[Who you calling stupid?]
"You can hear Tek?" Akane asked the panda in disbelief.
//Of course it can hear me, Akane. It's a spirit just like me. Before the invasion of the Dreamers, it was a human just like you and me but during the invasion, it's spirit got sent to limbo, like mine. It's physical form got destroyed like mine and whoever it is that deals with stuff like this gave it another body instead of making it share one like me. The body it got was a panda's form.//
Nodding, the panda flipped the sign over again, [The kid's right, m'dear]
//Who are you callin' a kid-// but he was interrupted by Akane.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The panda flipped the sign over again, [Genma]
Akane's eyes scrunched slightly in bewilderment, "How do you do that? I don't see you write on the signs."
//He can transport his thoughts onto the sign and onto many other things//
[The kid's right again]
//Don't call me a kid, Genma-panda//
[Then don't call me Genma-panda!]
Now Akane rarely like people. The only person she liked having be Tek. But for the second time in her life, she actually liked another person-er-panda. She felt the familiar connection with Genma so she smiled brightly as she said, "Guys, guys! Stop acting childish. My name is Akane. The idiot in my head is Tek, Genma. Since you're all by yourself, do you want to travel with us, Genma? We would love to have you along."
[I would love to, Ne-darling]
//Nuh uh! No way!//
"Sorry, Tek, it's settled. You never got to vote," and in the back of her mind she could feel the spirit pout.
So off they went into the woods. Three spirits in the body of a panda and a young woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
