The dreams lasted until next morning.. where Sneaker woke up, clammy and cold, even through fur. The whole carpet she'd been sleeping on, as well, was wet.. especially under her roan clothing, which was actually a dress. She recalled seeing a ribbon in her hair, too. Odd things. But the wetness bothered her, and she stood up.. and wondered. "I didn't really..." before looking around, trying not to blush, even through fur.

Behind her, the font sat, tipped over. It was empty now, though, but that's only because she'd been sitting in what came out of it. Apparantly, these things weren't moored to the floor. "Sheesh.. go me. I don't think I'm quite -that- young, come to think of it.."

Still. Today was probably going to be another hot day, which meant more people to victimise and prod into doing her every bidding. Sneaker had become accustomed to this, but one thing remained to be answer; what would work as a name..? She believed at least some people remembered -the- Sneaker, and it might not do to draw attention to some things. But.. the question.. "I love my name. I'm not going to part with it for this..

*You are, you know. You can either pick one, or I'll pick one. And my picking is final.. because I don't leave any memory of your old one, so you've no choice.*

Le gasp. Sneaker could not part with the memory of her own name. That would be most unfair! That name is worthy of the Sneaker, the him. Still.. She had to concede, and so she put forth all of her collected cognitive effort into working out what could possibly work.

"Rekaens."

*That's just Sneaker backwards, you dimwit!*

"So? Reka is a misspelling of a girls name, if you like! I don't see why you care, anyway."

*Ptth, fine. Be Reka. I don't suppose you'll need the full name too often, anyway.. everyone'll shorten it even if you don't.*

"Think I want to call myself a backwards Sneaker?"

*That makes you forwards again, by the way.*

And you can't argue with that.

So.. Reka (as we shall learn to call her) looked about the temple. Nobody here that wasn't asleep themselves, so.. off she went. Early pickings around the city.. as people would be waking up, and going about their routine right now. This meant heading back towards the city.. something done at a healthy run - that resembled a skip, much to Reka's strange glances at the passing-by of the sands and the stony embankment.

The city wasn't busy. Not that we'd expect it to be. Not so much a city since very few cars actually were here at all; nobody bothered. A few bikes, some walkers, one unicyclist (Reka stared, and decided such people were better left to their own) and.. her. The bell jangled as she skipped along, not really loudly, but enough so that people she passed would turn.

Whether they thought about her much, or considered; "Gee, I wonder what I can do for her right now.." .. the little kitty didn't much know. Her hair blew back, and she actually felt clean for once.. a feeling, okay, though rather unusual. She had liked the dirt, it carried the lived in smell, and annoyed people some more.

Target sighted. She didn't know why she'd pick people, but.. it worked. This guy was listening to a headset - and though the music was unknown to her from this distance, she seemed like she might know it. It was a guy, a human.. easy pickings, as far as she was concerned. So, waltzing up like the world was her oyster (which it WAS), Reka tapped him on the side.

"Hmm?" He turned, and.. his eyes glistened just as he caught sight of Reka. She noticed it immediately, and honed in for the kill, without really trying. "Hey, you seem like a nice enough guy. Would you mind doing something for me?"

Reka didn't know if her bell was effective enough that she could just demand things be done. It might be, but.. this way was ever so slightly more fun. "Uhh.. Yeah. What is it?"

Let's see.. what can we test.. Start simple. "Can you give me some money? Just for a little while..." Little being definable as forever, but this human wouldn't really care. "Sure.. how much..?" Waver in his tone. Perhaps she needed to try, to avoid this. Feeling like she'd fail.. that was not good.

"Uh, I dunno.. Best give me all of it, to be sure." she said, beaming. The beam seemed to help, because even this rather strange and unreasonable demand got a nod. "Yeah, I guess.. I should note that I need that back at some point, but you don't look like the sort that needs telling.." he went off in a little dreamlike voice, before handing a number of bills over to

Reka. Enough to prove this wasn't just generosity, anyway.

"Ooh.. Yeah! You'd be just the guy for this next one, as well! If you want?" Reka cackled inwardly. Want? What is that? Her regime has no place for petty 'want' of anyone that.. isn't her, of course..

"Well.. Yeah. Depends what it is, though." It didn't, he'd do it, but.. one must go through the motions. The guy had no idea why he'd give all his money to this young meowth morph, but.. it didn't seem wrong.

"It goes kinda like this..."

***

Reka was happy. The second test had gone okay, as well. Doing something completely against nature, and self-dignity. That's why she was currently being chaired up the mountain behind the city, by a human.. dressed in a Nidorina costume. The effect was useless, but nobody had taken notice. After all, people are allowed to do somewhat stupid things in the aim of letting children have a good time. "You know, this is quite a long way up.." said the guy. In a differing voice, even - she'd been insistant on that. "It's not much farther! You're doing great!"

And it wasn't. A midpoint of the mountain held a large cliff, which just towered over nowhere and did it rather well. Reka got off, and patted the Nido-cosplay on the head. "Thanks. Do that noise one more time, then.. just for show."

"Riii!" came the reply. "You have some odd ways of fun, but I'm sure all you kids do these days.."

Yeah, yeah. Test three. One of a slightly less fair nature. "Hm. You know, you look trusting enough to do this next one. Maybe."

The Nido tilted his head.. and then removed the head part of the costume, revealing his slightly painted face there. "Hm?"

"Jump off the cliff."

The guy looked sheepish there. "That sounds like a bad idea."

"Do it for meee?"

She hadn't actually expected him to do it, that would have just been strange. But, to her utter surprise and instant spot panic.. he stood up, took himself to the edge, and fell off it. And immediately started shouting, as people generally do when in freefall without any form of parachute.

"Hey. HEY! You weren't supposed to do that! GET BACK UP HERE!" she shouted after him, uselessly.. That wasn't her intention. Making guys go splat on the floor is a bad idea generally, it draws attention.. but she was going to do it, oh yes. Here's to the overcuriosity of the young child.

"Now why did I expect that to work again..? Oh, wait.. I even said it to him. 'Whether it kills them or not'. Jeez, I didn't think.."

She sat down. Today was going to be strange. The screaming had stopped. Reka supposed she should let someone know.. but keep the money. Maybe she'd need it for a lawyer. That thought died instantly.

She watched the birds flying in the sky from her nice elevated position.. before leaning over the cliff, looking down. Too far down to see anything, really. Still, who needs to see? Turning back up to the air, she watched the blue.. and just stared at it, like it had all the answers.

Her view was masked for a while by something covering it. Sitting up immediately.. Oh hey. It was one of those dumb birds she'd just looked at. "Aagh! Lean on a cliff grieving someone and you're treated like a ledge. Get off!"

It hopped off immediately, before speaking in pretty average speak for a Pidgeotto. *I came back up, like you said.*

Wait.

"You..." The world suddenly ceased to make sense. That blue felt good to look at.

*You told me to jump off the cliff, then you said get back up. So I did.*

"But.. but but but that can't happen." Reka wailed slightly.

*And adult male arrogant Meowths don't suddenly become nine year old girls. But since when did I care about anything like THAT?* went the bell in her head. Yeah, this sounded fair, but.. Oh wow, the possibilities just got bigger.

*Need anything else?* the Pidgeotto went, spreading his wings like he'd had them forever. But we knew better. Reka's stomach was lurching, but.. this would be coped with. Such power.. That statue was so not kidding.

"Nah. I think I'm done. Go rejoin your flight, they might leave without you." Reka said, needing a rest from the order giving for just a while. *Sure thing.* he said, before taking back off. Seemed so natural.. and the young feline didn't know why. Did he have any idea of the past? Maybe he just accepted it. Kinda like she'd almost done back at the temple. What with the self-explaining stuff...

"I'm confused now. I wonder if I can control this.. Maybe I can just tell someone flat out, and stuff'll happen. Well.. I suppose the world does become mine in the light of this." she considered. And suddenly.. everything felt better. "And I saved that guy. Well, yeah, I saved him. That's that."

Reka glossed over the details purposely. It was so much easier to do. And she realised that she needed to get down from here. So maybe she did have one more use for the birdie. But.. they were too far away now. She couldn't shout that loud. So.. "I get to walk down?" Correct. She started walking.

***

It had taken too long, but.. she got back just in time for the sun to stop down in the sky. Mid-afternoon. Reka would do well to remember to have a Plan B next time she even considered climbing that thing.. She was pretty exhausted. It was, however, still daytime, and she hadn't even been to the beach yet. Certain people might be there that need a little bit of ordering about..

She still had that guy's headset, too. Apparantly he'd been listening to the Hamster Dance. Which Reka knew rather distinctly, since it had been the deity's song of choice in her dream.. Hm. Maybe she should honour this deity

with the same song. Some wondering thoughts crossed her mind, as she wandered off towards the beach.. omitting to skip, as her fatigue was slightly too high for that right now.

Sand shifted under her feet again, but she ignored it. The wiry black kittygirl was busy checking if anyone was here that was here the other day... and, surprise, there was. Which made this part worth it. As well as time for another test.. She made a beeline for the nearest and only source of music playing on the beach.. a sound blaster that someone owned and had on low. It was Reka's want that this be changed.

The abrupt halt to the music made those around her notice instantly. "Don't worry about it." she offered. So they didn't. She changed the song for the one on the CD she put in herself.. flicking to the track it was, still low for now.. And then. Test four would be.. can we order everyone around with one command? She pushed play, and sunk the volume button pretty close to complete deafness.

In the blank before the song started; "Hey everybody! Dance!" took the auditory trip about the whole gathering... so that when the thing started playing.. they did. Oh, they did. Reka even did too, but because she wanted to. It was a fun thing to do, and besides, she could actually watch the ten-foot Charizard guy spinning along to it. Although.. maybe a suggestion wouldn't hurt.

"Hey, tall guy. Sing along."

The resulting two-octave-too-low series of doots and de-doos send Reka into a rather uncontrolled fit of laughing.. so, while she did this, the world continued dancing. People that didn't hear Reka were just stood on the boardwalk.. and staring.

A few of the lesser built morphs dropped out after a while. She didn't order them back up, for plain reasons. This was quite funny, and.. Reka decided to suggest to an onlooker up at the boardwalk that maybe it'd be a nice thing to put in the news.

When all was said and done, though.. Reka was about to fall asleep. It wasn't evening, it was just her nice effervescent dancing in front of the TV cameras that did it, along with everyone else, who were gradually going to drop out anyway. So at least nobody would go on forever. It was good to know. She could, therefore, sneak away without needing to tell people to stop.

Something she did.. heading for the safe confines of her apartment - in the dusky Powers block. Probably not a place most suitable for Reka, but she could care less. She lived there, and it was safer than sleeping in public, anyway. Not that she'd be in any danger.. unless they got her while asleep, without words..

Though, of course, the main highlight of today's dream was a mentally hybridised version of that Charizard doing the hamster impression. Class. She even giggled as she slept.

***

No real light could do much to Reka's room at this point. A musky mess of the previous life's mess and her current state.. the black haired kittygirl was just laid spreadeagle without bothering to cover. Not that she undressed at all anyway; that roan dress as all she had. The bell tinkled a little as her head moved about the room, eyes tilting a little to adjust to the light.

Today probably needed to have purpose. The purpose she had the bell for, at least in her eyes.

"I suppose this is all well and good.. but how do I continue from here? And why am I even considering this a minute after waking up? Gyeehh.."

The ceiling responded by shedding plaster into her barely open face. That got her up.

--

The room spun a little, but Reka was fine with that; the plaster had been wiped away, curses mumbled at the ceiling and at certain repetitive deities (and that had got another piece of the ceiling off, but it missed!) .. She had to do some planning, of the nature she was meant to go for. World conquest. She could begin with the island; they still didn't have a governor. Wouldn't be hard to get that.

"My entire campaign could be just a radio and TV commercial in the middle of prime time. I say 'vote for me, Reka', and then I win. Wouldn't cost me a thing, either." Reka considered. "But maybe the flashiness of a proper campaign would be worth it. Just for those people without a TV or a radio. What do I do about people without hearing, though? Sign language? Writing?"

*Tell them to hear you. And they will.*

Reka mumbled. "That's a paradox, though.. What if they don't -have- ears? How do they acknowledge an order they can't hear?" That sounded wrong.

*Let me put it another way. If you told someone to turn into a bird and fly back up that cliff, how would -hearing it- help them to do that?*

*The fact you said it displaces an effect. The bell makes the effect. So as long as you think they can hear you.. they will do.*

Reka thought, and thought... and then shrugged. "You're winding me up, aren't you."

*Good girl. If you write it for them to see, it'll count. Has to be your writing, though. Your order.*

"I'll deal with it later. How many deaf people can they have on this island anyway?!" Reka wondered.

*Fine! Destroy all my speech with your logic.* the bell conceded, before shutting up again.

The black kitty was really getting sick of that.. Though, there's nothing she could do about it really. She could learn to live with it. "So.. I have to find out how that whole governor thing is going. There's got to be an office somewhere...?" Reka wondered. And then remembered.. There was a map in this apartment somewhere.

And so, she whittled through cupboards and drawers.. in the attempt to find this. Maybe it'd help, and maybe she'd just mess the place up. Either way, it was fun to do. But, it was (eventually) the last thing she found, and clearing space on the bed with a swipe.. a swipe that put a clawmark in the mattress, anyway.. she spread the map out. Not big, but she didn't think much of holding a big piece of paper out.

"Let's see.. This apartment is the bloodstain there.. and.. uh.. There's the beach, and there's the blood forest, and there's the mountain, and..." And she saw it, pretty much dead centre. "And there's the mansion where the governor generally lives. They'll know there where I can go."

It seemed odd that this young girl should go perusing over maps and stuff instead of being hyper and all that other stuff before.. but unknown to Reka, the bell had been filing away at that dimwit edge that Sneaker had so well covered. And it had quite a lot more to do yet.. Hey, to have a successful power relies on the being involved. That had been proven already..

Map under the arm, the girl pulled out that wad of money she took from the guy-gone-flying the other day. And then.. remembered. "If I want something, I just ask for it. What's the point?" A small pause. ".. The point is that I like the feel of money on my being, of course. In pocket you go." It went. Reka took one look at the place.. the shambles she'd left, anyway.

"Maybe tonight I'll be in the mansion.. but you have served me well, my home. May people stay out of your way forever, and may ceilings not untimely fall onto mine head." She hopped backwards, expectedly, and right into the falling plaster... and she cursed, before just wandering out the door. Realisation Day had arrived. Now to make everyone else believe it..