Chapter 5: Inhabitance
Rose
I love this place! It's far away, and there is no one to yell at me! It's so nice! Wonderful in fact! I'm going to stay here always! It's perfect here, absolutely perfect! It's not like the others I've been to, no this one is special. There is no ground, no place to trip; I just keep floating, not exactly flying, but simply floating with the breeze. Always, no, forever, this place will be mine! It's great, fantastic, marvelous! I'm finally truly happy!
Miu
She never answered my question, though the blank look in her eyes was enough of an answer for me. She doesn't know. This has been one of those days, that I question why I decided to help Ayane. A normal life is sounding rather nice right now. But I worry about Ayane. Everyone deserves to be happy, so why can't she just smile for once?
The walk to Reiji's house took longer than necessary. Miu was walking unusually slow, and Satoka was pondering over whether to go home, or find out what happened to Ayane's gate. There was a thick cloud over the trio, none of them wanting mutter a word the entire way there. The entire incident seemed dark and no words could come to any of them that seemed sufficient to lighten the mood.
Ayane
I'm frustrated at how long it took to get here. I want to know what happened. There is no time to think about this, I want an answer now. I don't care how stupid or childish that may sound. The sooner I know, the quicker this can be forgotten.
Miu
I hate coming here so much. Reiji's office is filled with human crystals, and it just creeps me out. He can only revive them in large quantities, so he has to wait to collect enough, so he always has extras lying around. I want to know what happened to Ayane, it's just weird that her gate didn't work, but still, I hate this place!
Reiji remained seated at his desk as the three entered the bleakly lit room. A whirling noise spun through the air as he lifted his hand, catching the bag of crystals thrown by Satoka. He sharpened his gaze on them, "No problems then I assume?"
Satoka lifted her chin towards Ayane, who was staring at her palm in a transfixed fashion. Reiji's look shifted until I fell upon the cold girl. "My gate won't open."
He tossed a concerned look at the simple statement, "It won't open?"
"That's correct, it won't open. I attempted to open it after an explosion occurred. My cell phones no longer worked and I tried to use my gate-"
"And it failed to open," he interrupted her story, "I'm guessing that the Invaders used some sort of electronic wave that shut off your cell phones Ayane. Yet your gate, I can't explain. I can run a test on it if you wish."
Ayane
His answer was too quick for my comfort, as if he expected it.
I remember nodding to his offer, yet I wanted to reject. A test? There isn't a more obvious reason. I suppose that I should follow what he says, so I can erase this event from my memory.
Why? Why is he so sure of this? How did he- or should I say, how could he simply assume everything? He just assumes that the Invaders used an electrical wave and that a test will yield useful results. How can he test gates anyway? I'm guessing I'm about to find out.
Miu
A test? Sounds, um, difficult… I've never been very good at tests, good thing Ayane is the one taking it and not me. I'd probably fail, like when I failed that History test last week. It wasn't my fault that he told us to wrong chapter to study! I hope that Ayane does better than I did…
Reiji reached into a drawer, pulling out a small black device. With a flick of his finger, a light atop the small object flashed a dull green color. His shaded gaze shifted to the three girls, "Ayane, attempt to open your gate."
She nodded and calmly stated the familiar words, "Gate Open."
A small breeze brushed the air in the room, one that they had obviously been unable to feel in the large warehouse, and then quickly faded. A dim light flickered in Ayane's brown eyes, but too, as the breeze did, faded. After a moment, the objects small light turned red. Reiji stared at the small screen on the black surface for a while, before returning his gaze to the three.
"Ayane," he paused to examine the screen again, "You have something blocking your gate."
Satoka took her chance to speak, "Blocking her gate? That's impossible. She simply has lost her powers."
Reiji ignored the dark haired girl, "Your gate of wind cannot open because something is blocking your access to the dimension. In other words, something, or someone, is able to inhabit that dimension."
Ayane
Something blocking the dimension? How is that possible, no one can enter my gate. How does that stupid little piece of junk know anything anyway? Damn it, I thought that Reiji would give me a more realistic answer. Just dimension blockage won't tell me a thing. I need more, something less spiritual as another dimension. I need something I can see, or feel, or actually acknowledge. I can't actually see another dimension to know that it truly is being blocked. Or maybe, maybe I'm getting into that seeing is believing thing.
Reiji
How strange this is. I've never seen such a low abnormal energy reading from someone of her strength. There was nothing, no signal when she opened the gate to dimension of wind. It did read the screen right though, and it said that there was something in that dimension, excising it from Ayane's grasp. Maybe, if I use a more powerful machine, it will give me a reading on it. I suppose it maybe of some use.
Reiji silently placed the object back in the drawer. He motioned for the trio to follow him across the room and into a small room. They followed, with Miu hesitating behind. They all filed into the room silently, ignoring how dark it was. Reiji flicked a switch on the wall, filling the room with a loud hum. Lights flashed on, revealing a scrambled looking machine. Reiji stepped proudly up to the controls, "This is one of AEGIS's original gate modifiers. We used them in the old days to enhance gate power into weapons. I believe with this, we can find out what's blocking your gate, Ayane."