DREAM-SOULS
Rachel Seyujia Filteau
Chapter Two: Dead Man
Chibi-usa found herself in the middle of what seemed to be a storm cloud. There was smoke and lightning everywhere and no sign of the creature that she had seen before. "Hello?" she called. "Are you alright? I know you're in here!"
"She can't hear you," a voice behind her said. "She's being tortured."
Chibi-usa squealed with fright and whirled around. For a moment, she thought that he was the creature she had seen, but then saw subtle differences. He was much larger, for one, and he had a snout where the other had had an almost human face. Not that either of them could've even been mistaken for human.
He was tall, much taller than Chibi-usa's father. He was also more muscular. And furry; every inch of his body was covered with long, soft looking yellow fur with random black spots all over it. His hair was like that, too, but a darker yellow. He had a long tail that lashed back and forth around his legs, which seemed to be put together all wrong until Chibi-usa mentally compared them to Diana's hind legs. That's when it occurred to her that he looked like some strange cross between a human and a cheetah.
"Who are you?" she asked him.
He smiled at her. "My name is Chehdero, little one," he said quietly. She found it strange that she could hear him over all the noise that the storm cloud made around them. "I'm a Himmelian. Your race did not discover mine until the year you call 7284 in my dimension. So, technically, that means you're from my past and I'm from your future. That is not quite accurate, but it is close enough."
She blinked. "Wait! If this is not your bubble, then why is it blue? Foggy or not, if you're in here with the bubble's owner, then the bubble should be yellow!"
He laughed. "That is right, little one! But, the colors you noticed do not work for those who have passed from the material universe." He sobered as he looked past her into the cloud. "And because of that, I cannot provide my daughter with the help she needs."
It was quite a few moments before Chibi-usa figured out what he meant. "You mean... you're dead?!"
"Very much so, I'm afraid." His eyes hardened as she opened her mouth again. "And it was a terrible enough experience that I don't want to relive it."
Since her next question was going to be how he died, she shut her mouth with a snap, and then thought a bit more about the situation of the bubble's owner. "You said that she's being tortured and cannot hear me. How? Why? Is there anything I can do to help her?"
"She is being tortured by Ma-Kah-Phet, the force that controls all mishaps and disasters. Why he tortures her, I do not know; maybe she plays an important role in a vital situation that he is trying to ruin." He gave her a piercing look, as if he was trying to read her mind. "As for something you can do... perhaps." He pointed. "Go that way. You'll know you've found her when you get out of the clouds. Ma-Kah-Phet tortures her by forcing her to relive her more terrible memories, the ones that convince her she is worthless. If you tell her that her past experiences do not make her so, and convince her of it, I'm sure Ma-Kah-Phet would have to leave her be."
"How is it that he can torture her so? Wouldn't she just wake up?"
"No. She is inside a capsule that keeps her in an ageless sleep until someone opens the pod. He is using this to his advantage, knowing she is unable to wake."
"Is that why the bubble is foggy instead of clear?"
"Yes."
Chibi-usa thought carefully. She was young and knew she didn't know everything (Usagi had enjoyed rubbing that in her face on more than one occasion), but she wanted to help this unknown female. She looked as if she had been in so much pain. That had to be a way to help her.... "What's her name?"
"Chena."
Chibi-usa nodded, her mind made up, and ran off towards the direction he had pointed in. "I'll save her for you, Chehdero! I know I will!"
'I hope I will....'
End of Chapter Two
Chapter Two: Dead Man
Chibi-usa found herself in the middle of what seemed to be a storm cloud. There was smoke and lightning everywhere and no sign of the creature that she had seen before. "Hello?" she called. "Are you alright? I know you're in here!"
"She can't hear you," a voice behind her said. "She's being tortured."
Chibi-usa squealed with fright and whirled around. For a moment, she thought that he was the creature she had seen, but then saw subtle differences. He was much larger, for one, and he had a snout where the other had had an almost human face. Not that either of them could've even been mistaken for human.
He was tall, much taller than Chibi-usa's father. He was also more muscular. And furry; every inch of his body was covered with long, soft looking yellow fur with random black spots all over it. His hair was like that, too, but a darker yellow. He had a long tail that lashed back and forth around his legs, which seemed to be put together all wrong until Chibi-usa mentally compared them to Diana's hind legs. That's when it occurred to her that he looked like some strange cross between a human and a cheetah.
"Who are you?" she asked him.
He smiled at her. "My name is Chehdero, little one," he said quietly. She found it strange that she could hear him over all the noise that the storm cloud made around them. "I'm a Himmelian. Your race did not discover mine until the year you call 7284 in my dimension. So, technically, that means you're from my past and I'm from your future. That is not quite accurate, but it is close enough."
She blinked. "Wait! If this is not your bubble, then why is it blue? Foggy or not, if you're in here with the bubble's owner, then the bubble should be yellow!"
He laughed. "That is right, little one! But, the colors you noticed do not work for those who have passed from the material universe." He sobered as he looked past her into the cloud. "And because of that, I cannot provide my daughter with the help she needs."
It was quite a few moments before Chibi-usa figured out what he meant. "You mean... you're dead?!"
"Very much so, I'm afraid." His eyes hardened as she opened her mouth again. "And it was a terrible enough experience that I don't want to relive it."
Since her next question was going to be how he died, she shut her mouth with a snap, and then thought a bit more about the situation of the bubble's owner. "You said that she's being tortured and cannot hear me. How? Why? Is there anything I can do to help her?"
"She is being tortured by Ma-Kah-Phet, the force that controls all mishaps and disasters. Why he tortures her, I do not know; maybe she plays an important role in a vital situation that he is trying to ruin." He gave her a piercing look, as if he was trying to read her mind. "As for something you can do... perhaps." He pointed. "Go that way. You'll know you've found her when you get out of the clouds. Ma-Kah-Phet tortures her by forcing her to relive her more terrible memories, the ones that convince her she is worthless. If you tell her that her past experiences do not make her so, and convince her of it, I'm sure Ma-Kah-Phet would have to leave her be."
"How is it that he can torture her so? Wouldn't she just wake up?"
"No. She is inside a capsule that keeps her in an ageless sleep until someone opens the pod. He is using this to his advantage, knowing she is unable to wake."
"Is that why the bubble is foggy instead of clear?"
"Yes."
Chibi-usa thought carefully. She was young and knew she didn't know everything (Usagi had enjoyed rubbing that in her face on more than one occasion), but she wanted to help this unknown female. She looked as if she had been in so much pain. That had to be a way to help her.... "What's her name?"
"Chena."
Chibi-usa nodded, her mind made up, and ran off towards the direction he had pointed in. "I'll save her for you, Chehdero! I know I will!"
'I hope I will....'
End of Chapter Two