DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.


The End of the Circus: A Tale of the Yizibajohei
Omake: Crystal King, Wraith and Youngblood
by Regina Magia


Houston, the Pendulum Club, the third Wednesday of November in 2012, two hours before midnight (Tōkyō time: Thursday, an hour after lunch)...

"So that Mizunokōji woman's out of the picture, huh?!"

"Yeah," Alan Molnar said with a smile. "My parents have done business with a lot of rich folks from Japan, including both big families from Tomobiki." Snorting as he sipped his drink, the young heir to Texas' largest construction firm could only shake his head. "Let me tell you this, guys: The way Mom went on and on about that 'man-hating bitch' when she helped in the planning for the Mizunokōji Sportsland in Baytown, you'd think she was the leader of a feminazi cult, not the chief executive officer of Japan's second biggest company! Thank GOD for Captain von Zeppelin!"

His friends whooped as they raised their drinks. "An Amélie von Zeppelin! Prost!" Skylar Eckles toasted in German before they took sips. While he and his friends were still minors by local law, they were able to get into the Pendulum without bothering with fake IDs; their mutual friend Rory Tilman — now seated beside Alan — was the owner's son. The high school seniors often went out on the town to drink, party and get laid with college age girls who didn't mind having hot action with younger and more virile partners than the normal run of football jocks attending their places of study. Despite such a hedonistic lifestyle, they never did anything more illegal than underage drinking.

"These Yizibajohei sound awesome," Rory mused as he beckoned a nearby waitress over. On wall-mounted television screens, scenes of devastation were being projected, that accompanied by a legion of "talking heads" doing their analyses concerning what the final outcome of Japan's proclamation concerning ending the continued alien presence within the Tōkyō suburb of Tomobiki would result in...especially when one factored in a STARFLEET now in orbit over the planet. Given how much a certain event that went down after the Tag Race the previous fall might have affected Texas...! "Sure, they don't use money...but it sounds like they do alright without it. And those 'fight scenes' of theirs..." He shook his head before sipping the last of his drink. "Sounds like a worldwide 24/7 party to me!"

Alan and Skylar whooped in agreement as they leaned in to high-five each other. "If you had the chance, would you become Yizibajohei?" the waitress — she was a pretty Asian girl with LAURA YIN on her name tag — asked as she moved to clear the empty glasses.

"Hell, yeah!" Alan snorted.

"Damn straight I would!" Skylar agreed, toasting the air with his shot glass.

"Ditto!" Rory declared before gazing on Laura. "Anyhow, I'll have the Bloody Alabaster, Laura. Alan needs a piña colada and Skye wants a White Russian."

"And a slice of cheesecake each, please," Skylar then asked, holding up his finger. "With whipped cream for everyone. Strawberry syrup on mine."

Laura smiled. "Alright! Be right back!"


Twelve hours later, somewhere...

"Oh, man...! My head...!"

Grunting, Skylar blinked as he sat up from the strange bed he just woke up in. Damn! He had experienced nasty hangovers before, but THIS took the cake...!

"Hey! This isn't my room!"

Hearing Alan's shout of disbelief, Skylar looked over...then gaped on seeing his best friend sit up in a bed similar to what he had just woken up in. A glance to his right revealed a moaning Rory slowly sliding up from under the covers of his own bed. Blinking, the young heir to the largest private family-held stock in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation and its namesake railroad then took a moment to scan around the room they were in. It was clearly a hospital room of some sort, one far more advanced than anything that any of the boys had ever visited in their lives, even with their families holding considerable private insurance and their ability to access the most advanced health care facility American medical science could offer. It was still a homely place, with wide windows opening out to show a very futuristic city that seemed to leap out of some science fiction movie...

"Habitation Nine...!" Rory whispered.

"What...?" Skylar began...then he blinked as images of this city seemed to replay in his mind. Images that were both quite unfamiliar...yet VERY familiar. As if he HAD lived here! "What the fuck...?!"

"What's wrong, man?!" Alan asked.

The young heir to a lot of BNSF Railway stock gaped. "We're on Yiziba, Al," he declared, making his friends both gape. "This is the man hospital in Habitation Nine; Ko'otyuo as it used to be called..."

"The old capital city of the Empire of Meketuo," Alan finished, his own eyes widening in shock on realizing what his friend was talking about. "Holy shit...!"

"Sorry about that, guys."

Heads snapped over. "Laura!" Rory called out...

...before his jaw dropped in shock on seeing his favourite waitress now standing at the doorway, dressed in the familiar halter top jumpsuit design that had made an appearance on American national television thanks to President Josiah Bartlet revealing the existence of Terran-born Yizibajohei.

Which Laura Yīn — "Yīn Zhèngyáng" as she would be known back in her native Guǎngzhōu — obviously was given her current clothing. "Kimsyo'o...!" Skylar breathed out.

"I go by Tiānlóng, actually," the waitress who was now the current incarnation of the Heavenly Dragon of the East stated as she walked in, turning to display the flame yellow jumpsuit with red boots and belt, the snarling green dragon-like animals rising up the outsides of her legs to form a curving "X" insignia over her cleavage. Taking that in, the three Houston natives remembered that Laura's first-self was the crown prince of the throne of Matatuto not far from the Isles of Meketuo, then one of the more despotic absolute monarchies on the eastern equatorial continent before the Dawn of Power; since that time, successive generations of the Heavenly Dragon varied between being a nasty heel and a vicious anti-face. "Sorry for the rushed Gifting, but we had no choice given it was either that or death!"

That sent chills down the three teenagers' backs. The concept of Gifting had been well-explained by the former governor of New Hampshire at that conference at the White House on Tuesday morning, a day before they went to the Pendulum to party. "What happened, Laura?" Alan asked, trying not to shudder too much as heavy flashes of memories from many past lives appeared before his mind's eye.

The native of what was often called "Canton" in the West sighed. "Long story short, a few native Yizibajohei popped down to Houston for a visit. The stories of people like myself make a lot of the natives quite curious about how a planet full of 'norms' with hidden groups of 'sames' live like. Two came to the Pendulum last night. One was Sundown and the other was Trigger."

"Sundown's a face; independent from the city here," Rory noted as the memories of his past self — he now realized he was the current incarnation of the Passionate Fighter of the Zone, Koeke Riemim ("Youngblood") — came back to him. "Trigger's a heel from the southern polar continent; he loves to hang around the Battlezone picking fights all the time. My past-selves fought him a lot."

"I take it the tempers flew," Alan noted, shaking his head.

"They did!" Laura breathed out, rolling her eyes. "It was actually an innocent thing at the start. The girls in the club freaked on seeing two of us there in battlesuits of all things, then crowded them both. After they got some drinks into them, Lum and Dusogum — Trigger and Sundown, by the way — decided to have a mini fight-scene to show off." She shook her head. "It got out of control; you know how stupid it is to fight when you're drunk. You guys got hit with some stray shots!"

Skylar moaned as he moved to stand. "Must've gotten really hammered..." he muttered, placing a hand against the wall to steady himself...then he nearly fell over when his hand went through it! "HOLY...!"

Alan chuckled. Even if they were in hospital gown-like clothing, the colour patterns were clearly familiar. "Look what you're wearing, dude," he warned, pointing.

Skylar gaped before he straightened, then concentrated automatically to solidify himself. Gazing down to see the white gown with the neon green trim, he shook his head. "Wraith...!" he breathed out.

"Yo'osyuo," Laura translated in Yizibajohei, acknowledging that the heir to lots of BNSF stock was the current incarnation of what was normally known on the World of the Forge the Stealthy Spirit. "It clear to you now, Alan?" she then asked the young construction firm heir.

"Yeah. Crystal King; Roer'buo Uo here," Alan affirmed with a nod. His gown was a light blue overall with dark grey trim. He then smirked as he gestured with his hand, using his powers as the Princely Moulder of the Atom of Life to create a beautiful mesonium sceptre to hand over to his fellow "royal"; in his first life, Alan had been a young king in one of the constitutional monarchies in the central equatorial continent north of the modern-day Battlezone. "Your Majesty," he formally greeted.

"Jerk!" the Heavenly Dragon groaned out...even if her cheeks were as red as cherries at that gift.

Skylar and Rory hooted their friend at such a slick move, then the latter got out of his bed and moved to stretch. With just a thought, he transformed his scarlet-and-purple gown into a proper fighting jumpsuit; the purple went into his boots and belt, not to mention the flame-like insignia in his chest. "How did that lead to us getting Gifted?" the son of the owner of the Pendulum asked.

"I remember a sharp pain in my side before I passed out," Alan mused before he shook his head as the bits of memories came up from his subconscious. "At least I think I did...!"

"You all were in pretty bad shape," Laura admitted. "I figured that a quick dive in the Great Crystal would help you recover." She gave them a sheepish grin. "Tariko's going to give me hell for this. The current Dominatrix pulled a stunt like that after the Tag Race when a friend of hers OD'd on crack."

"What did she become?" Skylar asked as he willed his gown into his own fighting jumpsuit, which was soft white overall with neon green belt, boots and a drifting cloud-like insignia on his chest. Seeing himself in a mirror, the new incarnation of the Stealthy Spirit smiled in approval at how good he looked.

"Manacle."

All three men mock-recoiled. "Oh, fuck! It's Superfuzz! She's here to bust us!" Rory moaned.

The other guys laughed, making Laura shake her head as she hoped that crude comment about Regina Morrow didn't get to Molly Hecht's ears. The current incarnation of the Mistress of Pain of Pleasure and one of the most powerful FISS-type Yizibajohei alive today, Kanae Matotukhebae (the "Dominatrix"), was VERY overprotective of her girlfriend, the current incarnation of the Queen of Traps, Kiluo ("Manacle"). If Molly heard her boss' son said something like that even when Regina wasn't listening, she would gladly drag Rory into the Battlezone and beat him into a coma.

"Well, still, I AM sorry I didn't ask, but...!" the waitress flustered.

"What are you sorry for, Laura?!" Skylar's grin lit up the room. "We did say we'd get Gifted if we got a chance!" He then allowed gravity to fade as he rose into the air. "TOTALLY WORTH IT!" he whooped.

Rory laughed. "Amen to that, man!"

Fin...


WRITER'S NOTES

This omake occurs prior to the start of Part Thirty-Nine of Book One.

Translation list and source languages: An Amélie von Zeppelin! Prost! — To Amélie von Zeppelin! Cheers! (German); Ko'otyuo — Literally "eastern capital", the analogue of Tōkyō on Earth (Yizibajohei); Meketuo — Literally "birthplace of the sun", the analogue of Japan (Yizibajohei); Tiānlóng — Dragon of Heaven (Mandarin); Matatuto — Literally "nation in the middle", the analogue of China (Yizibajohei).

The nickname used normally with Regina Morrow (Manacle) — who first appeared in the Sweet Valley High novel Kidnapped! (novel #13) — was first mentioned in Fred's aborted story Manacled Dominatrix. Fred does plan a side story to explain how Regina was gifted with the help of Molly Hecht (the Dominatrix); she appeared in the fortieth novel On The Edge.