Chapter 2- A Painful Premonition
It was a new day in Neo-Tokyo, and for once it seemed, there were no clouds in the sky to obstruct the sun's glorious rays. But Kaneda, the last person to see Tetsuo and the strange children, ignored the beauty of the early morning. Ever since that fateful day, a cloud of misery seemed to hang over him. He knew that he should be thankful for what he had. He had Kei and Kai, who had helped him get them all jobs at a garage despite it being deep in clown territory. But despite all of the good that was just now coming his way he still missed his friends. A loud beep from his watch told him that it was time to go to work in a couple of minutes. He heaved a great sigh and left the sunshine filled bathroom of the small apartment they all shared. Kai was standing next to the door, and Kaneda could tell by the look on his face that he had been waiting to get in for quite a while.
Kai- "Well are you all squeaky clean now, huh? What the hell were you doing anyway?!"
Kaneda- "If you really want to know, I was doing what you're about to do to your pants if I don't get out of your way." *snicker*
Kai- "THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Kai then pushes Kaneda off to one side, runs into the bathroom and slams the door. Kaneda could hear a sigh of relief coming from the room. Just to be a pain in the ass, he started to kick the door.
Kaneda- "Come on now! We all have to go to work soon!"
Kei suddenly appears from the opposite end of the hallway, laughing her butt off.
Kei- "NANI?! Shotaro Kaneda would rather go to work on a Saturday than stay here and work out in the basement or tinker with his bike? That's a good one!"
Kaneda- "Oh be quiet, I just feel like I've been cooped up a little lately and.
Kai (yelling from the bathroom)-"She isn't kissing you, huh?"
Kaneda and Kei- "Shut the hell up Kaisuke!"
Just then the phone in the hall rings. Kei tells the two friends to be quiet so that she can answer the call."
Kei- "Hello, this is Kei speaking.Oh hi Valerie, what's up? .Oh really? That is strange.A kid?! So where did you find him? .The stadium, what were you doing there? Parts huh? .Well if he won't tell you his name, then he must be shy. I think that I can help you out. So Valerie, when do you want us to.hey, you okay? You don't sound too good, maybe you should.*a scream of pain is heard on the other end of the line followed by crashing sounds and frightened yells before the line gets disconnected. * Hello? HELLO?!"
Kei slams the phone down and turns to Kai and Kaneda, Kai having just stepped out of the bathroom. Kei had a terrified look on her face. The same kind of look she had had when she and Kai saw the vortex a year ago.
Kei- "I think Valerie's in trouble, we've got to go, NOW!"
The trio was on their way and reached Valerie's garage within ten minutes. Hastily parking their bikes in the garage, they searched for Valerie frantically. Then Kai spotted someone moving in the side room were Valerie kept all of her spare parts, so they ran in. There they found their boss and the little boy that Valerie had mentioned to Kei on the phone, looking very scared. Valerie was lying on the floor, moaning and sobbing in pain, clutching her head as though it was about to explode. Kaneda, acting on instinct, rushed over to her and tried to ask her what the problem was. And all she could say was.
Valerie- ".pppaaaiiinnn.it.ahhhh! He's coming.AAAAHHHH!!"
Kaneda became very scared all of a sudden. He remembered that Tetsuo had acted this way when he had received his powers. What was making his boss act this way? Why was she in so much pain? She was just fine yesterday. And what did she mean by "He's coming"? Right then and there, Valerie suddenly became very quiet. She was not moving. She had blacked out. The little boy that had been right by her side the whole time was having a very hard time calming down, so Kei tried to help him.
Kaneda- "Kai, help me carry her into her living room, and Kei, make sure that the kid is okay. Just tell him that she'll be fine. Let's hurry!"
She stood in an enormous room that was lavishly decorated with fairy tale pictures and scenes of nature. The center of the vast room sported a tall tree, which appeared to be growing healthy. Valerie also noticed the many toys that were scattered all over the floor, and that one section of the room was partially closed off by what appeared to be a castle battlement. She felt as though as she was flying through the room, moving past the tree and through the battlement, and what she saw completely shocked her. Someone was attacking three children, all of whom had wrinkled blue skin. They were being beaten very badly. She called out to the one who was attacking them.
Valerie- "Hey, stop it right now! .Oh my god.it's you.how."
The boy sneered at Valerie, muttering something about going home, and with a flick of his wrist, the boy moved in for the kill.
Valerie- "STOP IT TETSUO, STOOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!"
Valerie sprang upright from the couch, which caused the cold compress on her forehead to fall into her lap. She was still screaming when she felt a strong pair of hands grip her shoulders, and that was when she saw Kaneda holding her, trying to calm her down.
Kaneda- "Hey boss hush up now, it's okay, it was just a bad dream! Just a dream, calm down okay?"
Valerie slowly stopped her frightened yells, and breathed slowly to try and relax herself. She looked around her living room and saw Kei sitting with Spark on the other couch opposite to the one she was lying on. A few quiet minutes clicked by and then Kai walked in with a few cups of coffee for everyone, except for Spark that is. Spark's drink was a big steaming mug of hot chocolate of Kai's own recipe, minus the alcohol. After passing the mugs around the room, everyone sat down together around the coffee table, trying to sort out exactly what had happened to Valerie, and also what to do about Spark. After an uncomfortable silence that lasted about a minute, Kaneda spoke up and directed a question towards the blue haired mechanic.
Kaneda- "Did you happen to find Spark anywhere in the Olympic Stadium were there was a large stone official's throne by any chance?"
Valerie- "Yes I did Shotaro."
Kaneda- "Were there any broken jars there or something?"
Valerie- "How did you know that? What is it that you guys know about all of this?"
Kei- ".Valerie?"
Valerie- "Yes Kei?
Kei- ".Does Spark have a tattoo on his hand?"
Valerie- "Yes, a number twenty eight."
It was here that Spark began to fidget and whimper. He also had a very guilty sort of look upon his face, which told Valerie that this number and stadium business was distressing, but especially to him. She also noticed the very fearful look in Kei's eyes.
Valerie- "Kei, why is Spark's tattoo such a big deal here?"
Kei- "It's because, Valerie, that his name is not Spark at all.he is the very definition of energy. Valerie, his name is ..."
But at that precise moment, Spark looked over at Valerie and spoke with an eerie intelligence to his voice.
Spark- ".I saw what you dreamed, I saw everything. The power is coming to you and that should not be taken lightly. Think of me what you will when all of this has come to a conclusion, but you must hear this. When he was talking about going home, he meant it."
They all sat there holding their breath, for the next words that he would state would change their lives once again.
Spark- "My name is Akira, and Tetsuo will be coming home very shortly, make no mistake about that."
It was a new day in Neo-Tokyo, and for once it seemed, there were no clouds in the sky to obstruct the sun's glorious rays. But Kaneda, the last person to see Tetsuo and the strange children, ignored the beauty of the early morning. Ever since that fateful day, a cloud of misery seemed to hang over him. He knew that he should be thankful for what he had. He had Kei and Kai, who had helped him get them all jobs at a garage despite it being deep in clown territory. But despite all of the good that was just now coming his way he still missed his friends. A loud beep from his watch told him that it was time to go to work in a couple of minutes. He heaved a great sigh and left the sunshine filled bathroom of the small apartment they all shared. Kai was standing next to the door, and Kaneda could tell by the look on his face that he had been waiting to get in for quite a while.
Kai- "Well are you all squeaky clean now, huh? What the hell were you doing anyway?!"
Kaneda- "If you really want to know, I was doing what you're about to do to your pants if I don't get out of your way." *snicker*
Kai- "THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Kai then pushes Kaneda off to one side, runs into the bathroom and slams the door. Kaneda could hear a sigh of relief coming from the room. Just to be a pain in the ass, he started to kick the door.
Kaneda- "Come on now! We all have to go to work soon!"
Kei suddenly appears from the opposite end of the hallway, laughing her butt off.
Kei- "NANI?! Shotaro Kaneda would rather go to work on a Saturday than stay here and work out in the basement or tinker with his bike? That's a good one!"
Kaneda- "Oh be quiet, I just feel like I've been cooped up a little lately and.
Kai (yelling from the bathroom)-"She isn't kissing you, huh?"
Kaneda and Kei- "Shut the hell up Kaisuke!"
Just then the phone in the hall rings. Kei tells the two friends to be quiet so that she can answer the call."
Kei- "Hello, this is Kei speaking.Oh hi Valerie, what's up? .Oh really? That is strange.A kid?! So where did you find him? .The stadium, what were you doing there? Parts huh? .Well if he won't tell you his name, then he must be shy. I think that I can help you out. So Valerie, when do you want us to.hey, you okay? You don't sound too good, maybe you should.*a scream of pain is heard on the other end of the line followed by crashing sounds and frightened yells before the line gets disconnected. * Hello? HELLO?!"
Kei slams the phone down and turns to Kai and Kaneda, Kai having just stepped out of the bathroom. Kei had a terrified look on her face. The same kind of look she had had when she and Kai saw the vortex a year ago.
Kei- "I think Valerie's in trouble, we've got to go, NOW!"
The trio was on their way and reached Valerie's garage within ten minutes. Hastily parking their bikes in the garage, they searched for Valerie frantically. Then Kai spotted someone moving in the side room were Valerie kept all of her spare parts, so they ran in. There they found their boss and the little boy that Valerie had mentioned to Kei on the phone, looking very scared. Valerie was lying on the floor, moaning and sobbing in pain, clutching her head as though it was about to explode. Kaneda, acting on instinct, rushed over to her and tried to ask her what the problem was. And all she could say was.
Valerie- ".pppaaaiiinnn.it.ahhhh! He's coming.AAAAHHHH!!"
Kaneda became very scared all of a sudden. He remembered that Tetsuo had acted this way when he had received his powers. What was making his boss act this way? Why was she in so much pain? She was just fine yesterday. And what did she mean by "He's coming"? Right then and there, Valerie suddenly became very quiet. She was not moving. She had blacked out. The little boy that had been right by her side the whole time was having a very hard time calming down, so Kei tried to help him.
Kaneda- "Kai, help me carry her into her living room, and Kei, make sure that the kid is okay. Just tell him that she'll be fine. Let's hurry!"
She stood in an enormous room that was lavishly decorated with fairy tale pictures and scenes of nature. The center of the vast room sported a tall tree, which appeared to be growing healthy. Valerie also noticed the many toys that were scattered all over the floor, and that one section of the room was partially closed off by what appeared to be a castle battlement. She felt as though as she was flying through the room, moving past the tree and through the battlement, and what she saw completely shocked her. Someone was attacking three children, all of whom had wrinkled blue skin. They were being beaten very badly. She called out to the one who was attacking them.
Valerie- "Hey, stop it right now! .Oh my god.it's you.how."
The boy sneered at Valerie, muttering something about going home, and with a flick of his wrist, the boy moved in for the kill.
Valerie- "STOP IT TETSUO, STOOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!"
Valerie sprang upright from the couch, which caused the cold compress on her forehead to fall into her lap. She was still screaming when she felt a strong pair of hands grip her shoulders, and that was when she saw Kaneda holding her, trying to calm her down.
Kaneda- "Hey boss hush up now, it's okay, it was just a bad dream! Just a dream, calm down okay?"
Valerie slowly stopped her frightened yells, and breathed slowly to try and relax herself. She looked around her living room and saw Kei sitting with Spark on the other couch opposite to the one she was lying on. A few quiet minutes clicked by and then Kai walked in with a few cups of coffee for everyone, except for Spark that is. Spark's drink was a big steaming mug of hot chocolate of Kai's own recipe, minus the alcohol. After passing the mugs around the room, everyone sat down together around the coffee table, trying to sort out exactly what had happened to Valerie, and also what to do about Spark. After an uncomfortable silence that lasted about a minute, Kaneda spoke up and directed a question towards the blue haired mechanic.
Kaneda- "Did you happen to find Spark anywhere in the Olympic Stadium were there was a large stone official's throne by any chance?"
Valerie- "Yes I did Shotaro."
Kaneda- "Were there any broken jars there or something?"
Valerie- "How did you know that? What is it that you guys know about all of this?"
Kei- ".Valerie?"
Valerie- "Yes Kei?
Kei- ".Does Spark have a tattoo on his hand?"
Valerie- "Yes, a number twenty eight."
It was here that Spark began to fidget and whimper. He also had a very guilty sort of look upon his face, which told Valerie that this number and stadium business was distressing, but especially to him. She also noticed the very fearful look in Kei's eyes.
Valerie- "Kei, why is Spark's tattoo such a big deal here?"
Kei- "It's because, Valerie, that his name is not Spark at all.he is the very definition of energy. Valerie, his name is ..."
But at that precise moment, Spark looked over at Valerie and spoke with an eerie intelligence to his voice.
Spark- ".I saw what you dreamed, I saw everything. The power is coming to you and that should not be taken lightly. Think of me what you will when all of this has come to a conclusion, but you must hear this. When he was talking about going home, he meant it."
They all sat there holding their breath, for the next words that he would state would change their lives once again.
Spark- "My name is Akira, and Tetsuo will be coming home very shortly, make no mistake about that."