Felidae: Hehehe! I got it done! I actually wrote a second chapter!
Genkimon: Um … kay…
Felidae: Oh, and I don't own Digimon, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, or ElHazard
Genkimon: We knew that
Felidae: Shut up.
Title: Across Dimensions
Written By: Felidae Silvestris
Chapter: One, ElHazard
"Himeko!" Shiyama Hogosha, a green-haired, crimson-eyed sorceress, ran toward her lover, carrying a pair of backpacks and a well-worn staff. On her shoulder sat a black cat with odd blue and red markings on its forepaws and purple stripes on it's tail.
"Hogosha-chan, I don't think I know where we are." Sorano Himeko, Hogosha's brown-haired, blue-eyed lover, turned, a panicked look on her face. "Genkimon doesn't look much like himself and his collar's gone! And BlackTailmon! Look at her."
The cat on Hogosha's shoulder titled its head to one side. "Nani?"
Hogosha glanced at the feline and jumped. "Holy !"
"I don't look that bad, do I?" asked BlackTailmon, jumping to the ground.
Another cat, this one with grey points on brown and a grey mohawk, peeked out from behind Himeko's robes. "You do look kinda funny, BT."
BlackTailmon swatted his nose, claws kept in. "I wasn't asking you, Genkimon."
"Oh, this is all my fault," Himeko groaned, covering her face with her hands. "If only I hadn't insisted on practicing my portal-making…"
"Hey, it's okay," Hogosha said, setting down her items and taking Himeko in her arms. "Nobody's hurt, and we're together, aren't we?"
Himeko nodded. "I guess so."
"Good. Now, let's try to get back home. Hartia-sensei won't even know we were gone."
Himeko nodded again and moved out of Hogosha's embrace. She folded her hands together and shut her eyes. "Here goes nothing." She stood for a few moments, trying to draw on her power. "Anou ... Hogosha-chan?"
"Nani?"
"It's not working."
"What do you mean, 'it's not working'?"
Himeko dropped her arms and turned toward Hogosha. "I can't get any power, not even from myself. It's not working."
"Try it with your staff, I brought it for you."
"Yoshe." Himeko took her staff and held it before her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. This time, power concentrated at the tip of the staff and began to form into a blue disk. The disk grew, but suddenly disappeared. Himeko leaned against her staff, breathing hard. "Crap."
"Doo shimashita ka." Hogosha asked, looking concerned.
"She's too tired," Genkimon told her, rubbing himself against Himeko's legs.
"Gomen nasai," Himeko said, her voice small.
"Daijoubu desu," Hogosha replied, wrapping her arms around her lover. She kissed Himeko's forehead and allowed the older girl to lean against her. "Change of plans, find a village and see if we can't get some rest. We'll try again later, yoshe ka."
Himeko nodded. "Let me rest just a few minutes, though, my legs are all shaky."
Hogosha nodded. "BlackTailmon, go scout a bit, we'll follow when Himeko's ready."
"Hai!" BlackTailmon replied, cocking her tail in a mock salute.
"What about me?" Genkimon asked.
"You stay here. You're Himeko-chan's familiar, you should be able to help her a little."
Genkimon grinned in his way and Himeko looked up at Hogosha. "Arigatou," she said.
"No problem," Hogosha replied, kissing Himeko fully.
Himeko and Hogosha stumbled into a diner, followed by their Digimon familiars. Hogosha helped Himeko into a chair as a butch redhead came running from the kitchen.
"Hogosha-kun! Doo shimashita ka."
Hogosha looked up at the redhead. "Anou, do I know you?"
"Of course you do. So what's wrong with Himeko-chan?"
"She over-exerted herself. Now, let's pretend I had a random bout of amnesia. Who are you and where are we?"
"Watashi wa Jinnai Nanami. We're in ElHazard."
"And where is that in relation to the Tower of Fang?" Hogosha asked.
Nanami gave Hogosha a look that said she was totally baffled. "The Tower of what?"
"Different dimension, Hogosha-chan," BlackTailmon reminded her. "The Tower of Fang may not exist here."
"Anou, could I please have a glass of water?" Himeko asked, tugging lightly on Hogosha's sleeve.
"I'll get you something." Nanami rushed toward the kitchen.
Hogosha sat down next to Himeko and put an arm around her shoulder. "Daijoubu ka?"
"Hai, daijoubu," Himeko whispered, leaning her head on Hogosha's shoulder. "I'm just really tired and really thirsty." She sighed. "Gomen nasai."
"Daijoubu desu."
"Hey, we're alive, aren't we?" Genkimon said, jumping into Himeko's lap. "Stop sulking, we're all okay. A bit different-looking, sure, but still okay."
"Here ya go!" Nanami reappeared and handed Himeko the glass. "So, doo shimashita ka."
"Himeko-chan opened a portal from our world to this one," Hogosha explained, "which was bad enough, but then she tried to open a new one, to get us back home."
"I didn't think I used up too much power," Himeko said, after taking a gulp of water. "Apparently, I was very wrong."
"Okay … I'm confused," Nanami told them. "You opened a portal to our world, and then tried to open another one to the same place?"
Hogosha shook her head. "We're not from your world, Nanami-san. We're from a different world. Himeko-chan opened a portal from our world to this world and then tried to open a portal back to our world." She watched as Nanami's expression got even more confused.
"I don't think she gets it, Hogosha-chan," BlackTailmon said, looking up from washing her paws. "Maybe you should wait for someone who will understand."
"Like who?"
"Do I look like I know?"
"Maybe you should talk to Mizuhara-kun or Schtalubaugh-sensei," Nanami quipped. "I'll take you guys up to the palace. I have to give Makoto his lunch anyway."
"That's be great," Himeko said, grinning.
"You say you're from an alternate universe, eh?" asked a short old man called Schtalubaugh. "A different world from even the one Makoto, Nanami, and Fujisawa?"
"That's right," Hogosha nodded.
"This is very curious. You see, the Himeko and Hogosha from this world have disappeared. This happened, most likely, just around the time the two of you arrived."
"Four," BlackTailmon added.
"Four," Schtalubaugh conceded. "In other words, I believe that the four of you may have started a chain reaction, sending the Himeko and Hogosha from one dimension into another."
Hogosha bent her head onto one hand. "Crap."
"You're all welcome to stay as long as you need."
"Thanks." Hogosha pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going to talk to Himeko-chan and then we'll get back to you, Schtalubaugh-sensei."
"Of course."
"Come on, BT." The pair strolled out of Schtalubaugh's lab and toward the room where Himeko slept. Hogosha's eyes drifted to the ElHazardian architecture which was so much more advanced than the architecture of the Tower of Fang. Ornate arches rose above each doorway, giving the palace a more regal look.
"And just what is the matter with you?" came a snappish female voice, jerking Hogosha out of her thoughts.
She looked up to see a brown-haired, brown-eyed girl about her age with her hands on her hips. Peering out from behind this girl was another, this one shorter and with blue hair and big pink eyes. "Sumimamasen ka."
"You're looking around with this weird expression on your face," said the brown-haired girl.
"And this is your business, why?"
"Hogosha, don't talk that way to Fatora Hime-sama," quipped the blue-haired girl.
Fatora Hime-sama, huh? Nanami had warned Hogosha about the amorous lesbian princess and her equally amorous "hand-maiden", Alielle. "Just because I'm living here, doesn't mean I have to tell you everything."
Fatora slid up beside the sorceress and latched on to her arm. "Now really, Hogosha, don't be so mean. I'm sure if you come play with Alielle and I, you would feel so much better."
"Yes, yes, come play with us, Hogosha!" Alielle giggled, latching onto Hogosha's waist.
"Iie, I don't think so." Hogosha pushed at her captors, trying to escape. She looked toward BlackTailmon. "A little help here?"
"What do I look like, a dog?" BlackTailmon said. "Wait a few seconds, your hime-sama is going to be here in a few moments"
"Dude, hands off my girlfriend!" Himeko appeared around a corner, holding her staff in one hand.
"And just what are you going to do about it?" asked Fatora.
Himeko held her staff out before her and shot a stream of water at Fatora. "Let her go, Fatora Hime-sama, or I'll drench you again … with something less than pleasant."
Fatora and Alielle scattered, leaving the sorceresses and their familiars alone in the hall. Himeko ran forward and flung her arms around Hogosha's neck. Genkimon and BlackTailmon had a similar reunion, which consisted of pouncing at each other's tails.
"How did you know who those girls were?" Hogosha asked, nuzzling Himeko's neck.
"I ran into Mizuhara-kun and he told me," Himeko replied. "Ara!" She pulled back a little. "Mizuhara-kun wants to meet you! Come on!"
"Mizuhara-kun!" Himeko dragged Hogosha into a cluttered workshop. "Mizuhara-kun!"
"Soran - itai!" a brunette male stood, hitting his head on a table in the process. Hogosha couldn't help but notice the similarities between him and Fatora. "Sorano-san, konnichi wa, again."
"I brought Hogosha-chan. Hogosha-chan, this is Mizuhara Makoto. Mizuhara-kun, this is my koibito, Shiyama Hogosha."
"Mizuhara-kun." Hogosha bowed, all but ignoring Himeko's arm around hers. "Himeko-chan forgot to introduce my familiar, BlackTailmon."
"Charmed," BlackTailmon said.
"Hajimemashite doozo yoroshiku. Shiyama-san, Sorano-san had told me all about your predicament," Makoto said. "I have something for you that will help you use your powers, much like Sorano-san's staff."
Hogosha raised an eyebrow. "Sou desu ka."
"Hold on a sec." Makoto ducked down again, looking for something.
"Mizuhara-kun is an inventor," Himeko explained.
"He has cool stuff in here," Genkimon said, grinning in his cat-like way.
"Ah! Here it is!" Makoto rose, holding up a black ring triumphantly. He stumbled over his inventions as he made his way over to Hogosha. "This is a ring that channels power."
"Does it actually work?" Hogosha asked, turning the ring over in her hands.
"Only one way to find out."
Hogosha slid the ring onto her finger where it glinted in the light, like onyx. She pointed to one of Makoto's inventions and concentrated on levitating it. The object shot up into the air, slamming into the ceiling and breaking apart. "That … packs a punch."
"Amazing!" Makoto latched onto Hogosha's hand, examining the ring. "Look, when you use it, it turns red."
"She broke the flutter-invention!" Genkimon exclaimed, batting at on of the pieces.
"Anou, sou desu, gomen nasai," Hogosha said, laughing sheepishly.
"Not a problem," Makoto replied. "I have others."
"Hogosha-chan…" Himeko tugged on Hogosha's sleeve. "Don't we have to try going home?"
Hogosha nodded. "Mizuhara-kun, we really do need to try getting home. Would you tell Schtalubaugh-sensei that we've gone, if we do end up going somewhere?"
"Of course," Makoto agreed, taking a step backward. "Mind if I watch? For scientific purposes?"
"Doesn't bother me," Himeko said, getting into her portal-making position. "Just be quiet." She began to concentrate, which caused a blue disk to begin to grow at the tip of her staff. The disk grew quickly, until it was the correct size. "There. Ready?"
"See you around, maybe," Hogosha told Makoto as she grabbed Himeko's hand. "Oh, and thanks for the ring!"
Together, with their Digimon on their shoulders, the sorceresses stepped through the portal, which promptly closed.
Your very own Japanese dictionary! (definitions are according to the Random House Japanese to English, English to Japanese Dictionary)
-chan - (the "a" pronounced like cha-cha) used after a person's given name to express intimacy and affection
Nani - what
Sensei - teacher
Anou - (not in the dictionary) pause (like um…)
Yoshe - Good!
Doo shimashita ka - what happened/what's the matter?
Gomen nasai - sorry
Daijoubu desu - It's okay
Ka - particle used as a question marker
Hai - yes
Arigatou - thank you
-kun - Mr./Ms.
Watashi - I/Me
wa - am/is
-san - Mr./Mrs./Ms.
Hime - princess
Sumimasen - Excuse me!
-sama - Mr./Mrs./Ms. Formal (used mainly for royalty, gods, and goddesses)
Ara - Oh!
Itai - ow
Koibito - lover; boyfriend/girlfriend
Hajimemashite doozo yoroshiku - Nice to meet you, for the first timeSou desu - yes or really
Felidae: Okay, this chapter, due to the appearance of Princess Fatora, took place in an alternate OAV universe. Sorry for the lack of the other characters, I didn't have enough room. Get over it.
Genkimon: That was kinda harsh.
Felidae: They'll live. Till next time! Ja!