Prologue
A small, makeshift campfire of broken-up furniture crackled in the lobby of the Yekaterinburg Train Station late in the evening, cutting through the darkness of its desolate halls. There, Baelz Hakos sat nervously still while Sana Tsukumo and Fauna Ceres chipped away at the rest of her crystal prison with chisels and mallets.
Eventually, the two chipped away at a peculiar fragment of crystal and freed Bae's guardian spirit, Mr. Squeaks.
"My goodness!" Mr. Squeaks exclaimed, seeing the crystal prison that he and Bae were trapped in. He looked around and saw the desolate space of the train station and gasped, "What in the world happened!?"
"It's a long story, my friend." Bae patted Mr. Squeaks' head to reassure him, "We'll have time to catch up for sure. For now, stay still." She snickered mildly, "Sana and Fauna can't see you, so they might chip off your tail."
The tiny red rat whimpered and did as he was told. All the while, Bae guided Sana and Fauna around the guardian spirit's outline.
Mr. Squeaks got out first but he chose to stay on Bae's lap. The rat-girl absentmindedly stroked her guardian spirit's warm, red fur and waited patiently for her own freedom. Thanks to her gentle ministrations, the guardian spirit drifted off to sleep in minutes.
A tiny, four-legged creature - albeit one that Bae couldn't see - trotted into the lobby. Fauna noticed the presence draw close and smiled at it.
"Did you come to see Mr. Squeaks, Nemu?" Fauna put away her mallet and patted her own guardian spirit, "He's alright now. Bae says he's tuckered out."
Bae snorted. Her imagination filled in the blanks. She imagined Fauna lovingly scratching beneath the miniaturized green kirin Nemu's chin. Then, the kirin plopped down by the fire to laze about. That mental image made the partially-crystallized Bae utterly jealous.
Oh, what I would give to stretch my legs out just a little.
Sana's eyes wandered from Fauna to Bae and a small frown formed on her lips.
"Yatagarasu's still out there somewhere." Sana sighed, "I wonder if he and Boros are getting along."
"Nemu says that they're probably doing fine." Fauna spoke on behalf of her spirit, relaying whatever she was told, "Yatagarasu is old and wise. He will be a hard spirit to break in the same way Nemu was broken."
"I sure hope so…" Sana sniffed.
"Boros, on the other hand, is fiercely loyal to the Warden of Time, Nemu told me." Fauna continued, "It will only do what Kronii wants him to do."
"But there's the rub." Bae argued, "Before Clover Gosling tried to finish me off, she said that she lobotomized Kronii in the Nephilim's Dream. Whatever that means. That - and the things that happen in that dream translate somehow in the real world." She slouched forward and grumbled, "If a lobotomized Kronii is tricked into doing things, would Boros act against it?"
Sana and Fauna fell silent. Instead, they picked up their tools once more and continued chipping away at Bae's prison. While they did, the one-armed Colonel Omega appeared with a folding chair in hand.
Bae, Sana and Fauna saluted Omega.
"I'm the Colonel of a non-existent army - and all of you would be out of my jurisdiction anyways even if I had one." Omega scoffed, "You don't have to salute me anymore."
"We're not saluting the rank or the hierarchy, Colonel." Fauna answered stubbornly, "We're saluting you - as a person." Still saluting, she wore a smile, "You've got us through so many challenges in the past already. We know you'll get us through this new challenge too."
"You're not a US Army Colonel anymore." Sana beamed, still saluting as well, "You're our Colonel. That means we're totally under your jurisdiction, ma'am. None of us would be here alive and kicking if it weren't for you."
Omega smiled back. She set down her chair across the campfire from Bae, Sana and Fauna. Then, she returned the salute with great conviction.
"I appreciate that, ladies. I really do." Omega lowered her hand and sat down on the chair, "Now let's get back to work, shall we?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am." The three ladies answered wholeheartedly.
…
With that, the one-armed Colonel Omega gave Sana and Fauna some guidance through the process, calm as a cucumber as always. Bae craned her head and turned to the Colonel with curiosity.
"You sound like you've been through this before, Colonel. This crystallization thing." She asked.
"Yes and no. It's complicated." Omega replied, absentmindedly rubbing the stump where her mechanical arm once was, "If anything, the expert on crystallization here isn't me but Dr. Ceres. Astronaut Tsukumo too."
"Sana and Fauna are?" Bae's jaw dropped.
The two accomplished women set down their tools and wore warm smiles for Bae.
"I was in charge of unleashing Irys' potential as a Nephilim and enhancing her powers, remember?" Fauna explained proudly, "I know a thing or two about crystallization because of that." She gave Bae a small smirk, "Did you think I spent all my time flirting with Irys in London?"
"You were flirting with Irys!?" Bae gasped.
Fauna winked, "That's classified information."
Bae pouted.
"Nah, I believe FauFau." Sana insisted, "She might seem happy-go-lucky, but when she puts herself into her work, she gets results."
"Finally, someone who understands!" Fauna cheered. She leaned against Sana fondly, nuzzling her like a happy cat.
Sana grinned. Then, she faced Bae.
"As for me, I read about Nephilim magic and its unique properties while I was in the Infinite Library." Sana explained calmly, "I had a chance to speak with the leading authority on Mythical Physics too, the one I based my thesis on. Because of that, we're able to break down the supposedly strong red Nephilium crystals with everyday tools!"
Bae looked down at the tools that Sana and Fauna wielded. She saw faint wisps of green and gold magic emanating from them - the powers of the Keeper of Nature and the Speaker of Space working in tandem.
"Thanks to them, we were able to get you - and a lot of other people - out of the ruins of GKTV-5." Omega concluded, "Not a moment too soon either. Sparrowhawk had that goddamn pet of hers, the so-called Apocalypse Bird, scouring Yekaterinburg."
Outside the train station, she saw a handful of soldiers and civilians going about the area. All of them were armed with whatever weapons they could salvage. They all kept their eyes glued to the skies, searching for any sign of the fearsome black bird.
"Is that so?" Bae rubbed her chin. She moved around as best as she could given her semi-crystallized state. Her eyes turned to Omega and she asked, "You said you've sort of been through this before. What did you mean by that?"
Omega's gemlike eyes met with Bae's.
"A dear junior of mine had a somewhat similar experience. I only learned of her story recently." Omega recounted, "She got turned into a rock in KW08. Irys' homeworld."
At the mention of Irys, Bae lowered her head thoughtfully.
Sana's and Fauna's expressions also deflated. The both of them were weighed down by guilt. They knew that the two of them had a hand in the crystallization of the world at large.
Omega sighed.
"Don't beat yourselves up over this, ladies." Omega reassured, "The Manipulator has been using talented, well-meaning people to execute the will of the Ancient Ones. You're not the first ones who got baited and switched in that spider web of lies." Then, she laid her hands on her knees and grinned, "But now, you've got a chance to make it so that you're the last."
Sana, Fauna and Bae all turned to Omega. The Colonel looked them in the eyes and made her declaration.
"We're gonna take down the Manipulator in this world. We'll make sure of it."
The three ladies nodded, but Bae still fidgeted with lingering doubt.
"As much as I want to see The Manipulator pay for all this, we just got our asses handed to us." Bae frowned and closed her eyes, "They have Irys. They have Mumei and Kronii. Aside from Boros and Yatagarasu, they've got that huge-ass bird with many eyes you told me about too." She gripped her partially-crystallized kneecaps and gnashed her teeth, "How the hell are we gonna stand up to her with just the four of us and a bunch of militia?"
When Bae said this, a trio of footsteps echoed in the dark halls of the train station and drew their attention. Omega shifted her legs and smiled.
"You kids ain't fighting this fight alone." A gruff, husky voice echoed in the train station halls, "The first of your new friends are already here. You've already met them, I believe."
Bae, Sana, Fauna and Omega all turned towards the approaching voice. Three figures stepped into the moonlight and their faces were illuminated by the flames of the campfire.
They were the same three figures that Bae fought on the streets of Yekaterinburg earlier that day: the towering amazon Jacqueline Chadwick, the gracefully brave phoenix Kiara Takanashi and the calm and composed grim reaper Calliope Mori.
Their presence startled Bae at first. However, she saw that none of them had their weapons drawn. Sana and Fauna also weren't afraid of the newcomers either, choosing to greet them with polite nods instead.
Omega stood up from her seat and wanted to introduce the trio. However, Calliope Mori suddenly broke rank with Kiara and Chadwick and quickened her pace. An intense shadow hung over the reaper's eyes and she made a beeline for the partially crystallized Bae.
Bae's heart raced and beads of sweat formed on her brow. Even Sana and Fauna scrambled to get out of the reaper's way.
Then, Calliope laid her hands on Bae's shoulders.
"Please…" Calli urged desperately. Tears started streaking down her cheeks and sparkled in the moonlight, "Help me save Irys."
Bae exhaled. Then, she looked up to the reaper and spoke firmly, "I'll do everything that I can."
With that, the rat-girl and the reaper shook hands firmly.
Eleven
Through The Eye Of The Mind
Ninety-Fifth Scene - Tapestry Worlds
Work on freeing Bae from her crystal prison continued into the night.
While waiting for her freedom, Bae told the two about what she had seen in the realm of the Nephilim's Dream. In turn, Sana, Fauna and everyone else gathered there in the train station lobby gave Bae a rundown of everything that's happened in the real world while she was asleep. Every single one of them had a lot of things to tell Bae, but the partially-crystallized Bae wasn't going anywhere.
They had time.
Once Bae managed to separate herself from the red crystal, she heaved a sigh of relief. The rat-girl brushed off the last fragments of the red Nephilium Phosphopylyte and stood up slowly - urging her sleeping legs to support her.
Sana and Fauna smiled, embraced Bae gladly once more and retired to their quarters for a much-needed rest. Bae watched the sleeping Mr. Squeaks start levitating before her - his fur rustled by the mouth of the kirin Nemu as she, in Bae's imagination, carried him with her.
Omega stretched and followed suit, taking Jacqueline Chadwick along with her to talk business. Kiara thought about staying, but Calli reassured her that she would be fine.
That left Bae alone with the reaper that Irys used to talk about with great regard - the same reaper that she clashed with and berated just moments before Bae made the greatest mistake of her life.
Bae hunched forward nervously, watching the dying flames of the campfire.
From where she sat, she saw Calli summon her reaper's scythe. Its blade shimmered in the moonlight and unsettled the rat-girl. However, Calli simply used her weapon of death to chop down old wooden furniture from the old Yekaterinburg barricades into smaller pieces. The reaper added those pieces into the campfire at a thoughtful pace, stoking the dying flames to keep them going while keeping them from burning too bright.
Every so often, Bae saw Calli scanning the skies through the train station windows and the glass-covered sunroof. Without a doubt, she searched the night sky for any sign of the fearsome black bird with eleven eyes - the beast that, according to Omega, had been perching on Mumei Nanashi's very soul.
Thankfully, this 'Apocalypse Bird' was nowhere to be seen.
Satisfied, Calli sat down on the ground before Bae across the campfire.
"Your friends have been busy while you were asleep." Calli revealed, pointing to the tools that Sana and Fauna had left behind in the lobby, "They've been freeing people from their crystal prisons left and right for days on end. That's on top of hauling your crystal from the ruins of the TV station. All the while, they had to hide you - and everyone else - from the many eyes of that Apocalypse Bird."
Bae stretched her legs and then leaned forward.
"So, the 'keep things on the downlow' they told me applied to the real world too." Bae hummed.
Calli nodded in agreement. She warmed her hands by the fire and spoke.
"I wanted to talk with you about your experience in the Nephilim's Dream… Irys' dream." Calli started, "You're the leader of this world's heroes - the Eleventh Council."
"Am I?" Bae scoffed, "No matter what Omega said, eighty percent of the world or so's been crystallized because of my actions and the actions of my Council."
"You are." Calli answered without hesitation, "Trust me. What you're going through right now. That anguish and frustration… I feel you, man." Her pink eyes burned, reflecting the flames of a different fire, "I know what it's like to do things that you regret with your heart and soul. I know that burning desire to make things right."
Bae looked into Calli's fiery eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw an image of Kiara Takanashi torn asunder by a reaper's scythe. The image was so intense that Bae couldn't bear to look at it for long.
When Bae backed down, Calli continued to speak.
"I want to help you as best as I can." The reaper joined her hands together, "These come from the theories of my friend Watson about these things, so there's a chance that I'm talking out of my ass here."
"But that's better than nothing." Bae reassured, "The Amelia Watson of this world had a brilliant mind and a heart of gold. I have no doubt that the Amelia Watson of your world is trustworthy."
"Is that so?" Calli smiled a little, "I'll tell her you said that."
Bae nodded, urging Calli to continue. The grim reaper fidgeted for a moment. The reaper rubbed her hands together and pensively watched her breath fog up before.
"My friends and I experienced something similar when we were fighting against Lady Knowledge in the Infinite Library." Calli recounted. Her brow furrowed and her expression got sharper, "We got stuck in these things called 'Tapestry Worlds'. Our own personal hells - prisons of our own creation."
"Personal hells…" Bae muttered, "So my eyes weren't deceiving me. Irys was suffering in silence."
Calli nodded soberly.
"I would believe so. Listening to your account of things, I think that Irys - my junior - is stuck in her own Tapestry World. " Calli's pink eyes darted towards Bae's, "The dreamweaver this time around is The Manipulator herself."
Bae closed her eyes and thought back to the things she saw and heard in the maroon-tinged dream world.
"There were a lot of people who blended into the background - so much so that I don't recall seeing their faces all that well." Bae explained, "Only a few people really stood out. Irys, of course. Kronii and Mumei. Sana and Fauna. Me."
"And Clover Gosling." Calli chimed in.
"Yeah. Her." Bae spat on the floor with displeasure.
"Those blurred people are probably figments of Irys' imagination - or agents of the dreamweaver who keep Irys docile and keep her within the dream." Calli deduced, "Watson told me that it's like the body's immune system. Anything that steps out of line in the dream gets cut down mercilessly."
"An immune system?" Bae tilted her head, "How so?"
"Anything that disrupts the dream or threatens Irys' suspension of disbelief will get crushed." Calli theorized. Her lips twisted into a frown, "Irys and I had bad blood between us before she crystalised the world. I don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that Irys would eject me from her dream immediately - or worse."
Bae remembered the anger painted on Irys' face when she fought against Calli. She disliked it, but she had to agree with the reaper's assessment.
"As for you and your friends?" Calli continued, "You're probably the ones that Irys thought about when she fell into despair. That makes you folks welcome guests in Irys' dream. The figments of Irys' imagination won't attack you for existing in the dream." She raised up her pointer finger, "But if you catch the attention of the dreamweaver and her agents…"
"I'll get stabbed through the fucking heart." Bae lamented, shuddering from the stark memory. She turned to Calli and asked, "So, how do we save her?"
"There's only so much we can do in a Tapestry World - especially when Irys herself is deep in enemy territory." Calli replied, "Right now, the only one who can save Irys in her own personal hell is herself." The reaper managed a small smile, "But you and your friends? Get yourselves re-invited into the dream. Once you're in, keep the agents of the dreamweaver away from Irys - then, you can nudge her in the right direction."
Bae buried her face in her hands.
"Back into Irys' dream, huh?" Bae croaked.
"Yup." Calli confirmed, "You said it yourself, didn't you? You were the one who supported her when she needed me the most. She's waiting for you , Baelz Hakos."
Bae raised her head and looked up to the shrouded moon.
"In that case… I shouldn't keep her waiting." She turned to Calli again and declared, "Let's do this."
"We will." Calli smiled, "When the time is right."
Ninety-Sixth Scene - The Known Worlds' Symphony
Timer-bound streetlights started shutting off block by block in desolate Yekaterinburg, plunging the city into deep darkness - but it wouldn't last for long. Sunrise broke in the East, illuminating the city and the rest of the Oblast. Beneath that curtain of shifting darkness and light, Baelz Hakos watched the Yekaterinburg Train Station come alive and turn into a hive of activity.
Through the windows of the lobby, Bae saw soldiers and civilians alike hard at work. They raced against the sunlight, preparing defensive positions throughout the train station. Meanwhile, the one-armed Colonel Omega and her associate J-chad gathered Bae, Calli and all their companions by the campfire one last time.
"Alright gals, listen up! I hope you got some rest last night." J-chad spoke with her deep, husky voice, "It might be the last bit of R&R we're getting for a long while - but y'all are used to long campaigns by now, ain't ya?"
Calli wore a complex smile, but she didn't say a word. With that, J-chad turned to Omega and passed the baton to her.
"So here's how things are gonna go." Omega explained firmly. She turned to the three members of the Council gathered before her and continued, "Baelz, Sana and Fauna will be going back into the Nephilim's Dream. You already know your objectives: stop Irys from selling her voice to Sparrowhawk and stop Mumei Nanashi from joining her 'Disciplinary Committee'." She pointed to Bae and added, "When you get there, Baelz Hakos will be your field commander. You'll be calling the shots."
"Permission to speak, ma'am." Bae raised up her hand.
"Granted." Omega answered.
"How are we doing that, exactly?" Bae asked, "I took a nap a while ago and I didn't end up back in Irys' dream."
Omega turned to Fauna and asked, "Care to explain your method, Dr. Ceres?"
When Omega said this, Fauna brought out three cassette tape players with matching headsets.
"I have recordings of Irys' broadcast that crystallized the world in these tapes." Fauna explained, "Sana helped me change the frequency and edit it enough to filter out the crystallizing effect. Then, I replaced it with soothing, sleep-inducing properties instead." She passed one device to Sana and then one to Bae, "We'll listen to these tapes at the same time. When we fall asleep, we'll be able to weasel our way into the Nephilim's Dream."
"We're boarding the school bus, so to speak." Sana beamed, "These tapes are our fares."
"Is that so…" Bae held the device in her hands, "So what are we waiting for?"
"Two things." Omega answered curtly, "Firstly, when you girls establish your mental link with Irys, we can expect Sparrowhawk to send Apocalypse Bird to hunt you dreamers down and kill you while you sleep." Omega explained grimly, "That's why we have to be prepared for whatever Sparrowhawk throws at us."
Omega brought out a tactical map of Yekaterinburg and the surrounding Oblast and walked them through the defensive lines scribbled with pencil.
"I anticipate that the attack will likely come from the direction of Koltsovo Aerodrome. Sparrowhawk had been massing her forces there when Dr. Ceres and Astronaut Tsukumo rescued me." She pointed to Koltsovo Aerodrome on the map emphatically, "Our task will be to delay that bird, protect the dreamers and minimize casualties on our end."
"That's where Calli and I come in, I'm guessing." Kiara chimed in, eyeing the map with her bright purple eyes, "Hit-and-run, delaying actions and all that good stuff." She flashed Bae a smile and gave her a thumbs up, "We'll keep you guys safe, so sleep tight."
"Are you gonna be alright on your own?" Bae asked.
"I don't step into these grand battles unprepared, 'Captain Hakos'." She pointed to the railroad network around Yekaterinburg and smiled, "I've sequestered an old Soviet armored train - fitted it with as much anti-aircraft armament and artillery our forces could get our hands on. That'll be the anchor of our defense."
"And the second point." J-chad chimed in happily, "We've got the rest of your allies arriving here shortly."
"Arriving here?" Bae gasped, "How!?"
"The same way Astronaut Tsukumo did when she made her way back here." Omega explained calmly.
"Dimensional recall!" Sana cheered happily.
J-chad smiled at Sana. Then, she looked at her wristwatch and mused, "We have ten minutes before they get here."
"It's gonna cause quite a racket when they arrive." J-chad explained, "Hopefully, their arrival can distract Sparrowhawk and her forces long enough for you to slip in unaccosted."
"We won't be able to say hi to them?" Sana suddenly frowned.
"What we're doing here in the real world is buying you folks time. It's the three of you who will turn the tide of this hopeless battle." Omega declared honestly. Then, she managed to smile, "Accomplish your mission in the Nephilim's Dream and they'll be waiting for you in the real world."
"I see…" Sana cheered up, "I hope we'll have a good story to tell them when we get up."
Ninety-Seventh Scene - Into The Breach
Bae, Sana and Fauna walked through Yekaterinburg Train Station once more. At the train station basement, in the relative safety of the underground air raid shelter, three sleeping bags made out of battered sandbags were waiting for them - the three dreamers.
On their way there, they saw Omega marshaling the soldiers and civilians while inspecting their defenses one last time. J-chad stayed at the platform, checking her wristwatch and the skies above with great anticipation. Then, in the corner of the train station, they found Calliope Mori and Kiara Takanashi by themselves in the distance.
The Grim Reaper and the Phoenix were locked in a tight embrace Kiara rested her head on Calli's shoulder and the two of them were having a conversation that only they could hear.
Mr. Squeaks poked his head out from Bae's coat pocket, but Bae covered the guardian spirit's eyes.
"Let them have their moment, Squeaks." Bae urged, "We've got a job to do."
With that, Bae, Sana and Fauna descended down into the underground shelter and claimed their sleeping bags. Bae plopped down on the bag, brought out her cassette tape player and wore her headset. Her two companions followed suit.
Then, at half past ten in the morning, the three dreamers turned on their cassette players.
They heard the muffled rumble of armored trains rolling into the platforms of the train station above them. Faint crackles of lightning and electricity followed soon after. Then, the hellish shriek of a fearsome creature echoed throughout Yekaterinburg.
All of those noises made Bae's heart sink, but familiar musing soon filled her ears. Irys' voice and music washed away the cacophony of noise like the ebb and flow. Sleep took them, dragging their projections of themselves away from their sleeping bodies. Then, the music dragged them all away from the real world and into that red-tinged dream.
Their projections fell into that deep, dark sea together.
All around them, Yekaterinburg gave way to the metropolis of London, England. Their tattered and torn military surplus rags they wore were replaced by the prim and proper black winter uniforms of the Occidental College for Young Ladies. But more importantly, Mr. Squeaks remained in Bae's coat pocket.
Beside them, Bae saw the guardian spirit Nemu materialize at Fauna's side. Sana watched the little green kirin and the tiny ball of fur in Bae's pocket with delighted, shimmering eyes.
Looks like they reveal themselves in the dream world.
Before long, the darkness in the sea was pierced by blinding light. Everyone, even the guardian spirits, shielded their eyes.
Then, when they all came to, they were seated at the back of a double-decker London bus. Just like before, Bae found a local newspaper laid out on her lap.
She took that paper and started to read through it. Sana, Fauna, Mr. Squeaks and Nemu all regarded it as well. Their eyes soon found the date.
It was Friday in the Nephilim's Dream - the day that Irys was planning to sign off her voice to the recording label.
Bae folded the newspaper and clenched her fists.
"We made it…" Bae looked out the window and saw the campus of the Occidental College draw close, "Let's make this count." An intense fire started to burn in Bae's eyes, "Let's save Irys... let's save everyone from this hell."
To Be Continued
