Chris was having nightmares again. Due to the rather graphic content of these terrors, I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that it was horrible.
"Poyo!"
Then there was a sound of rushing wind, and then the whole horrible world flowed away, leaving Chris sitting in a beautiful green meadow under a clear and starry sky.
"Poyo!" Kirby said brightly, walking up to her and handing her a donut.
Chris accepted it, and flopped down on her back.
"You're not so bad after all, are you," Chris said, reaching over with her free hand and patting Kirby on the head. He was soft and squishy, and felt like a very big stress ball.
Chris bit the donut.
To her surprise, it was light and fluffy, instead of heavy and greasy, which is what she had been expecting.
She sat up again, so she could properly eat the donut, and when she was finished, she wiped the crumbs off her face with the sleeve of her nightgown, and looked around herself.
"Where did you get that from, anyway?" Chris asked, forgetting to say thank you, and in a more aware tone, she continued "And where the hell are we?"
Chris couldn't help but feel that the world around her looked… Fake. It was too cutesy. The fruit in the trees above them was comedically oversized, the grass on which they sat was too soft and fluffy, and the stars in the sky above them were literally star-shaped, and Chris knew THAT couldn't be right.
"Well, assuming this is a dream, it doesn't really matter," She said as she stood up and brushed herself off, "As I'll probably be back in my bed when I wake up anyway."
Then an idea struck her.
"So if you're in my dream," She said, turning to Kirby with a wicked grin, "Does that mean we can go into anyone's dream?"
"Hibiki Tachina, this is your brain talking," The cloaked figure said as it grabbed Hibiki away from the all-you-can eat buffet she was dreaming about, "It's time you listened to me - PUT THAT FOOD DOWN. THIS IS IMPORTANT."
Hibiki swallowed, and turned to her accoster in confusion.
"Chris-Chan?" She asked, recognizing the voice immediately.
"I am not "Chris-Chan" I am your brain," The figure snapped angrily, "I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me, you don't use me much."
"Now listen to me: Don't you think it's a little bit unusual that you and Miku STILL share a single bed as adults?" The figure asked, and Hibiki blinked.
"No," She said finally, "Can I go back to the buffet now?"
"Really?" The cloaked figure asked incredulously, "You don't see ANYTHING weird with two adult women sharing a bed."
"I've always shared a bed with Miku," Hibiki replied blankly, "What difference does it make how old we are?"
Not Chris-Chan slapped her face.
"YOU'RE GAY, YOU MORON! She screamed, grabbing Hibiki by the shoulders and shaking her, "YOU ARE ROMANTICALLY IN LOVE WITH MIKU!"
Hibiki blinked again.
And then she slowly turned bright red.
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" Hibiki replied, blushing fiercely, "But we're both-"
"Shut up!" Not-Chris chan shouted, stamping a foot angrily, "You're gay! Miku is gay! Sem-Uh, Tsubasa, Maria, Kanade, Kirika, Shirabe - ALL GAY!"
"And Chris-Chan?" Hibiki asked, her eyes wide.
"NEVER YOU MIND ABOUT THAT," Not-Chris shouted indignantly, "You just remember that you're gay, and that you love Miku!"
Then Not-Chris smacked her again, and Hibiki woke up.
Hibiki blinked, trying to remember the dream she'd just had. Something about being gay and being in love with Miku.
Well, that made enough sense, Hibiki thought drowsily, only half awake, she knew from personal experience that her life without Miku was an empty shell devoid of any meaning.
Hibiki snuggled close to Miku, and wrapped her arms around her.
"I love you, Miku," She said softly, and then immediately fell back asleep.
Miku, on the other hand, was now very much awake. And she was having thoughts. Lots of thoughts. Thoughts like "!" ,"!?" and "!?"
Miku swallowed, trying and failing not to panic.
Was this it? Was this how it happened?
Miku steadied her breath.
"H-Hibiki," She began hesitantly, "Hibiki, what did you mean by that?"
Hibiki snored softly.
"Hibiki," Miku said again, louder this time, "Hibiki, what did you mean by that?"
Hibiki mumbled something unintelligible.
"MOU, HIBIKI, WAKE UP!" Miku shouted, shaking Hibiki's shoulders, "WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT!?"
"Uwaaah!" Hibiki shrieked in surprise, her eyes flying open, "What!? What!? Mean by what!?"
"Nothing," Miku said, chickening out at the last minute. She rolled over to face away from Hibiki, and tried not to cry.
"EHHHHHHH!? Why?" Hibiki asked in surprise - and then she noticed Miku was crying.
"…Miku?" She asked gingerly, putting a hand on Miku's shoulder, "…What is-"
"What am I to you!?" Miku demanded suddenly, facing Hibiki once again, her eyes streaming with tears and her composure in tatters.
Hibiki pulled Miku close, and stroked her back.
"You're my precious-"
"Friend!?" Miku blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut, her whole body going tense.
"-Sunflower," Hibiki finished, somewhat thrown.
"Next to you is my warmest spot," Hibiki said slowly, "I want to be with you forever."
"Even if we get married?" Miku asked, realizing in horror how that had sounded only after she had said it.
"I mean, when we get married to other people," She said quickly, "Not that we-"
"I don't want to get married to someone else," Hibiki interrupted, very taken aback "I want to marry you!"
There was a long silence.
And then they both started laughing.
Miku relaxed. Hibiki might reject her, but she wouldn't abandon her.
"Hibiki," Miku said, sitting up in bed, "I'm going to make love to you now."
"Eh?" Hibiki said, flushing violently, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"
"You don't want to?" Miku asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and Hibiki looked away.
"…It's not that I don't," She mumbled, "I just… Was surprised…"
"If you want me to do it, say so," Miku teased, and Hibiki softened.
"…Please…" She said quietly.
Chris found herself back in the strange dream land.
"Poyo?" Kirby asked, walking over and looking up at her, looking somewhat worried.
"Who, me?" Chris asked, sitting back down again, "I'm fine. Always have been."
Kirby looked as though he didn't believe this, and though she would never admit it, Chris didn't believe it either.
"Hey," Chris asked after a moment's silence, "I don't suppose you know why any of this is happening?"
"Poyo?" Kirby asked, sitting down next to her and putting an arm on her shoulder.
Chris drew her knees up in front of her face, and wrapped her arms around her legs.
"People who died are coming back to life," Chris said quietly, "Kanade, and if I'm right, also Serena."
"And I figure," Chris said, her voice starting to shake, "That if people related to Symphogear users are coming back to life, people from my life might come back as well."
Chris laughed through her tears. "It's funny," She said as she looked over at Kirby, "I've wanted nothing more than for my mama and papa to come back, and now that it might happen, I don't know how to feel."
"But honestly, I don't think they are coming back," Chris whispered into her knees, her eyes wide with fear, "I think someone else is coming back for me. Someone I never want to see again."
Kirby looked at Chris, and then produced a cellphone from somewhere. "Poyo," He said into it, and a star fell from the sky, coming to a stop a few feet in the air a short distance away and in front of them.
"Poyo!" Kirby said, grabbing onto the star, and he motioned for Chris to do the same.
She did. It felt sort of as if she had attached herself to it. She didn't feel stuck to it, but knew that holding on would be easy.
And it was a good thing too, because just after she grabbed onto it, the pair rocketed away, up, up into the air, and disappeared into the sky.
End Chapter Five
End chapter.