Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Yumekui Merry. All rights belong to Ushiki Yoshitaka.

Chapter 3: Explanations

"What the heck is going on?"

Yumeji asked his question again after not getting an answer right away. Lieselotte and James just looked at the three people in front of them blankly. Then, Lieselotte stated simply, "I am kissing the man I love after that foolish girl nearly killed him. In fact," Lieselotte suddenly vanished from where she stood beside James, only to reappear behind Merry, nails extended into claws that she pressed into the back of Merry's neck. Lieselotte then continued, "I should kill you now for nearly taking him away from me, and my weaker self."

Merry, for her part, was extremely nervous, confused, and slightly scared. She just turned her head in Yumeji's direction, a silent plea for help in her eyes from coming to face something that she didn't understand in the slightest. Yuemji was also extremely nervous and somewhat frightened; in all he had seen since he began helping Merry get back to the Dream World, he had never seen someone just vanish and reappear like that, nor had he ever seen anything like what had happened when he had seen Merry fighting the girl who now had her nails pressed into Merry's neck. John though was not showing any signs of fear or nervousness, but rather he only seem interested in what had transpired and hoped to find an answer to everything.

Suddenly, after a few minutes of watching all of this unfold, James just told Lieselotte, "That is enough, my precious angel. These three were merely doing what they thought was right. They assumed we were creatures coming to invade their world. They are not our enemy, so please stand down."

Lieselotte looked over at James for a moment, a look of disappointment and slight anger in her eyes. But, she eventually sighed and nodded her head. She pulled her claws away from Merry's neck, which proceeded to shrink back into normal nails. She then walked over to James and told him, "Very well, my love. For you, I will allow them to live, for now at least."

James simply nodded, and once Lieselotte was once again standing beside him. He looked up at her and gave her a gentle smile. However, it quickly vanished and was replaced with a small frown as he told her, "Thank you, Lieselotte. But, how exactly did you break the seal I placed on you?"

Lieselotte looked at James with confusion for a moment, before it dawned on her that she had in fact managed to break James's seal on her that kept her locked away so that Lisette could control her body. "I'm...not sure. All I know was that Lisette and I were filled with sadness and despair at the sight of you when you appeared dead. I guess...the pain we felt caused something to happen and free me."

James looked at Lieselotte for a moment, then stated, "That isn't entirely impossible. Emotions are powerful things after all, so perhaps when you both are feeling an extremely powerful emotion at the same time, it is enough to free you. It also may have to with your seal only being designed to allow Lisette to control your body; it isn't meant to permanently lock you away." James closed his eyes in thought for a few more moments, then continued, "But for now though, I think it might be best that you allow yourself to return to the seal. I am not entirely sure if you releasing yourself has hurt Lisette, and I must make sure she is okay. Don't worry though. I will free you soon so that we may spend some time together. On that you have my word."

Lieselotte had a look of slight sadness as she realized this, but sighed and gave him a nod of understanding; she did understand that she had to share James with her light half, given that they were technically the same person (though she didn't really like it). After a few moments of silence, the air seemed to be responding to some unknown force, everything vibrating with power once more. After a few moments of this, the world cracked like glass once more, and the world blew apart. When everyone could see again, the Daydream had returned to normal, the sky being a normal blue, and the black moon and pillar were gone from the sky, but James was still in his Night form.

While this happened, James began whispering some words in Ancient Egyptian, and a red pentagram appeared underneath Lieselotte's feet, and slowly began to move up her body. As the magic symbol did this, small white shoes appeared on her feet and her dress started to turn from black and purple, back to a pure white. Once the symbol passed her head, her eyes changed from a crystal green with slitted pupils to a gentle blue with normal pupils.

Lisette stumbled slightly from the change, but James used some of his magic to help keep her steady. He then turned to face the three figures before him, two of which were staring at him with complete and utter shock. James just gave then a hard glare while he asked them, "So, any questions?"

(Yumeji's P.O.V.)

I just turned to look at Merry, who was now giving me a look of confusion and slight fear. I for one was just as confused, if not more so, then her. I mean, I had watched some giant of a man face off against John Doe, and was about to kill him before I stepped in, only to get knocked out myself. Then, when I woke up I found myself in some kind of weird distorted form of John's Daydream with a red sky and slowly growing black moon. Then, that girl who just a moment ago was dressed in black and purple seemed to be completely insane and looked about to ready to kill us all. Weird black, blob-like creatures had then shown up out of nowhere and surrounded us. We had tried to fight them, but for every one that Merry or I killed, two more would appear to take its place. Then, this new kid appears out of nowhere, destroys the creatures with ease (and for some reason no more were appearing), then flies up to the insane girl, only for that black and red orb above her to explode. Now, that strange place with the red sky was gone and that insane girl in black and purple was now wearing white.

I looked at Merry for a moment, then we both looked down at John Doe, who was staring at the two figures with interest. Then, I faced the small boy and asked, "Could you get John out of the ground?"

The boy nodded, then pointed the strange stick he had in his left hand at John. Suddenly, John's form flickered and vanished, only for him to reappear a second later, standing on his feet, and oddly enough with his guillotine sword fixed and in his right hand again, as well as his mask being completely repaired. He then told us, "I took the liberty of repairing your sword and mask, John Doe. But if you try and attack Lisette or me again, then I will kill you."

When the boy said that, I really became confused. I asked nervously, "How do you know John's full name?"

The boy regarded me blankly for a moment, and I could not help but look into his golden irises. When I did though, I almost immediately turned my head away. Those eyes were burning with an intense hatred the likes of which I had never seen, and it unnerved me. It just felt...wrong.

The boy then spoke in a somewhat irritated tone, "If I were to tell you how I knew who John Doe was, then you would not believe me, Fujiwara Yumeji."

That only made me more confused. I asked him, "Okay, how do you now my name? I never even told you who I was."

The boy regarded me for another moment, then asked, "Tell me Fujiwara-san, how is your quest to get dear Merry Nightmare back to the Dream World going?"

When I heard those words, I paled slightly. I looked over at Merry, but she only had a similar look on her face. It was clear that this Dream Demon...kid...whatever he was, knew more about us then we would have liked.

Suddenly though, John lightly chuckled and stated, "Now, this is interesting. A boy and girl, both claiming to not be Dream Demons, and yet are clearly not pure humans. One who has a unique dual personality, and another who's shape has altered for a currently unknown reason. Just what is the truth behind the two of you?"

(third person P.O.V.)

Everyone was silent for some time, trying to digest what had just happened and what John had just asked. Then, James gave John a very fake, yet calm smile as he told the cat-like man, "Finally, someone is asking the right questions. Though, I should not be too surprised that you would be the one to ask them, Chaser of Truth."

While Yumeji and Merry were only being further shocked into silence, John seemed to be smiling under his mask as he stated, "It certainly is interesting, seeing individuals such as the two of you. I think the best question to ask now though is...just who, and what, are you two? You are obviously not human, yet you are clearly not Dream Demons. Just what are you?"

James shared a look with Lisette, who was very nervous and still very much afraid of John. But, she managed to steal her nerves just a bit, and gave James a shaky nod of her head. James then turned to John, Yumeji and Merry, and told them, "As I said, my name is James Mellenor. The girl who stands before me is one of the loves of my life: Lisette Vertorre. The other girl you saw, the one dressed in black and purple, is the other love of my life: Lieselotte Werckmeister." James then turned to Lisette as he continued, though when he spoke it was obvious that he was talking to everyone. "It would seem...that we have fallen into your reality. We are not Dream Demons as you believe, but rather are beings of different realities entirely. Parallel worlds that exist alongside this one. Somehow, we have been pulled here, into a world in which dreams are more then they are believed to be. And, to answer your questions Fujiwara-san, I know who you, Merry, and John are because in my world...you are all nothing more then characters in a manga."

Everyone let that information soak in for only a fraction of a second. Then, Yumeji, Merry, and Lisette all shouted out in shock, "WHAT?!"

Lisette asked, "How are we in another world?"

Merry asked, "How in the hell did you get into this world?"

Yumeji asked, "How is this world a manga?"

James just shared a look with John, then he sighed. "And this is what I meant when I said you wouldn't believe me. While I can't prove that you are manga characters in my world, I can easily prove that I know who you all are." First, James looked to Merry and stated, "Merry Nightmare, the lost lamb and Gatekeeper of Dreams. You were mysteriously removed from the Dream World ten years ago, have no memory of how or why you are here, and have since been looking for a way home." He then turned his gaze from a stunned Merry to a shocked Yumeji. "Yumeji Fujiwara, the enigma who is supposedly half-human and half-Dream Demon, and carrier of the power known as the Lucid Gadget." James finally turned to John and stated, "Chaser John Doe, the self-proclaimed Chaser of Truth, and the first Dream Demon to attack Yumeji and try using him as a vessel so you could enter the Real World." He looked back at all three of the people before him and asked, "Need I go on? Perhaps I could explain what I know of Yui, or Engi, or Isana?"

Yumeji and Merry shared a look of utter disbelief, then turned back to James. Yumeji nervously rubbed the back of his head and stated, "Well, that is quite a bit of information you have on us all, but-"

Merry suddenly cut Yumeji off and told James in a slightly angry tone, "But that doesn't mean we believe you. For all we know you could have been stalking us to get all that information."

John just stated plainly, "Come now, Gatekeeper, how could that be? None of us have seen these two before this day, and I am certain I would have noticed someone had they been spying on us." John then looked to James once again and asked, "While I don't entirely believe you, I do not detect any lies in your words. If you could, then tell us just what you are doing here in the first place."

Once again, James shared a look with Lisette. For her part, Lisette just couldn't believe what was happening; she had supposedly been pulled into another world, away from her true home, and now thrust into this strange new reality. She was scared out of her wits, but she did her best to stay calm. Seeing James's golden eyes, and how he looked at her with only love and concern warmed her heart. She may not have known him long (hardly a few hours really), but she still felt that she loved him. So, with that knowledge in hand (as well as the still angry voice of Lieselotte doing her best to calm the pure-hearted girl), Lisette gave James a nod so as to tell him to explain.

James began his explanation, "To understand how we came to be here, as well as answer any other questions you may have, I will have to tell you quite an unbelievable tale."

He took a deep breath, then continued, "As I have already told you before, my name is James Mellenor. I am the first child to be born from a union of two very ancient families in my world: the Families of Light and Darkness. Because of this union, I was born with a unique ability that forces me to change between two forms whenever the sun rises and sets. The me you see before you now is my Night form, or the form given to me by my mother, who is a member of the Family of the Darkness. If you remember, there was a boy from before with pitch black hair, silver eyes radiating kindness, and was extremely tall and muscular. That boy was my other form: the Day form, which my father who is a member of the Family of the Light gave to me. During the day, I will take on the Day form, while at night I take on the Night form. Normally, during the respective times of day I cannot be harmed at any reason due to natural invulnerabilities that make it impossible for any true harm to befall me unless the object that causes the harm is an item or weapon of extremely powerful magic. My two forms are extremely different in terms of personality, appearance, and abilities as well, but that is not important at the moment." James took a moment to catch his breath, then continued, "Now, one day I had finished a project of mine that I had been working on for several months; a necklace that allows me short glimpses of the future. When I finished it, a strange portal appeared in my room, seemingly opened due to my love for Lisette and Lieselotte." At this comment, Lisette started to blush as red as a tomato, but couldn't help the soft smile that covered her face. "Somehow, and as far as I can tell, my love pulled me into Lisette and Lieselotte's world, but about a week after they had been killed. I spent a month in that world, and had befriended a few people who were very important to that world, only for us all to get pulled 64 years into the past. We all spent a month in that time before going on a mission where we were meant to kill Lieselotte. However, after everyone else had lost consciousness and only I remained, I managed to show Lieselotte that something she was trying to do was wrong, and through some rather strange means I was able to save her from herself. After I had set things right so that there were no paradoxes though, something happened. The Red Night, the place where we had just been, fractured for an unknown reason. Everything went black, and when we could see again we were in this world. Then you all confronted us, and here we are."

When James had finished explaining, everyone was silent. Nobody, not even John, could fully comprehend the explanation they had just received. Suddenly though, Merry walked up to James with narrowed eyes. She then jabbed a finger into his chest and told him, "You actually expect me to believe any of that?! There is no way any of that is true. You two are just insane kids!"

James proceeded to glare up at Merry, then told her, "If that is true, Gatekeeper, then answer this for me: how is it that we are in John's Daydream when we are clearly not vessels for Dream Demons?" At this comment, Merry's eyes widened. He did have a point after all, as only Yumeji was somehow able to appear in a Daydream without being a vessel (and Merry didn't count because she was a Dream Demon). James continued, "But, if you are still skeptical, then perhaps John could take us back to the Real World. It would seem that the nature of Daydreams keeps me locked in whatever form I am in when I enter it, but since I was in the Red Night it has forced me into the Night form. Since time doesn't pass in the Real World for those inside a Daydream, just take us back and you will see me change form. It should also help to prove that what I said about Lisette, Lieselotte and I are not Dream Demons."

Merry looked back at Yumeji for a moment, but the orange-haired boy didn't really know what to make of the situation. So, he simply shrugged. As if taking that as his signal, John released his hold on his Daydream. In an instant, all of them were back in the park they had been in before, and John was once again within the cat he used as a vessel.

The moment that the Daydream was released, James collapsed to the ground in unimaginable agony. He screamed out in pain as he felt his body change into his Day form. Upon hearing James scream though, Lisette panicked. She got to her knees and took one of his hands as she frantically asked, "James, what's going on? Please, oh please tell me you're going to be okay!"

However, James couldn't even form a complete sentence, as all he could do was scream again and again from his pain. Everyone watched in different levels of surprise or interest as James wreathed in pain on the ground. Lisette actually started to tear up from seeing the man she loved in so much pain.

Finally though, after about ten minutes, James finally stopped screaming. Having retaken his Day form, he slowly pushed himself off the ground and stood at his extreme height of seven and a half feet tall. His clothes had somehow turned from the brown robes into a simple t-shirt and jeans, while his hair had retaken its black color, and when he opened his eyes they now shown like polished silver. However, as he was starting to get over the pain, he could hear soft sobbing from beside him. He turned his head down toward Lisette, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw that she was crying. He quickly got down on one knee, and brought up one of his large hands to her face and wiped away her tears. He then pulled her into a tight and warming embrace and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry my love, I am okay. I'm so sorry that I made you cry, but this is how it is for me. Please, don't ever cry. It hurts me to see you shed even a single tear."

Lisette's sobs slowly started to end, she started to calm down, and looked up at James with love in her eyes as she gave him a small, soft smile. Then, she and James turned to face Yumeji, Merry, and the cat that John now used as his vessel. Yumeji and Merry were just staring at them with their mouths hanging open in shock, while John looked more then a little interested. James gave the three a warming smile, then told them, "I hope this proves that what I've said is at least somewhat true in your eyes. I'm sorry if we caused you any trouble, so I think we will be taking our leave now." Then, before anyone could ask anymore questions of the large boy now before them, he simply turned around and walked away, Lisette quickly falling in step at his side and placing one of her little hands into James's own.

(Yumeji's P.O.V.)

As the two figures began to walk away, all I could do was stare at them in utter shock. I mean, that explanation the boy, James, had given was just...impossible to believe, and yet a part of me knew he wasn't lying. It was just so hard to even begin believing.

Suddenly though, Merry stated, "Okay...anyone in favor of just pretending none of that happened?"

All I could do was nod in agreement with Merry, and John simply remained silent, as if he was trying to make sense of all that had happened. So, with that we all made our way back to the café. When I opened the door, Isana's head popped up from behind the counter. "Yumeji-kun, Merry, you're back. How was it out-" Isana's cheerful smile soon disappeared though when she got a good look at me. She suddenly asked in utter shock, "Yumeji-kun, what happened to you?"

I actually got a look of myself, and I had to admit that I looked pretty bad. My clothes were torn and covered in dirt and dust, there were a few cuts and bruises scattered around my body, and there was a big, black scorch mark on my chest where I must have been electrocuted by that boy's hammer, which I oddly found to be the most normal thing about that entire fight. I just scratched the back of my head nervously and glanced at Merry. She wasn't doing any better though, and looked just as nervous as me, if not more so. All I could think to say though was, "Well..."

This just made Isana look at me worryingly. She came over and placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with concern clearly visible in her eyes. "Yumeji-kun, you know I want to help Merry get home just as much as you. I may not be able to do much, but I want to help you when I can. Please, tell me what happened."

The look Isana was giving me made me feel bad for wanting to keep secrets from her, but at the same time I still felt it was best that she didn't know everything. So, with a heavy sigh, I began to tell Isana what had happened, but decided to leave out the part where I got knocked out, and the part where that James kid had said something about the world being destroyed. When I was done explaining everything, Isana looked at me with an expression that made it look like she was asking me if I was crazy. She asked me if that was really what happened, so I told her, "I promise you Isana, that is what happened."

That seemed to calm her down a bit, since she knew I always did my best to keep my promises no matter what. After a few moments, she just sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. She gave me one of her heartwarming smiles and told me, "Well, whatever this all means, I'm sure it will all work out eventually."

I gave her a nervous smile and replied, "I hope so too. Something about those two...just didn't seem right. They did things that just didn't make any sense, even by our new standards. It was almost like magic."

Suddenly, at that moment the door to the café opened, and to my shock a familiar voice spoke up, "Did somebody mention magic?"

Merry, Isana, John (who was standing beside Merry on her left side) and I all turned around at the voice. Then, Merry pointed at them and asked rather rudely, "What are you two doing here?"

(Lisette's P.O.V.)

As James and I walked away from those people, I couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. James said we had somehow been pulled into another world, but how could I believe that? I mean, I had been brought up to believe there was only one world: the world that God had created. To even think that other worlds existed would go against everything I had been brought up to believe. But, at the same time I somehow knew he was right, and that we were in fact in another world.

As if she had read my mind (which was more then likely the case given that we have to share a body), Lieselotte told me, "You know, you could put a little more faith in him. Even if we both have only just met him, you can feel it just as much as I can that he only wants us to be safe. That is why he acted the way he did when that creature in the mask attacked you after all. He is probably concerned regarding what being in another world could mean for us."

All I could do was shake my head at that. I told her, 'I can't believe that we are in some other world though. I mean, the Sisters taught me-'

Lieselotte cut me off, "Those women died nearly 800 years ago, you silly girl!" I could tell that she wanted to call me something far worse then a 'silly girl', but was probably holding back for some reason that I didn't know. She continued, "You must learn to open your mind to new things now. According to James, we weren't even meant to survive that battle as we did, and the only reason we did was because he interfered. If he can somehow defy the will of 'fate' then the least you can do is open your mind to new ideas."

I had to admit that she had a point. I had grown up in a different time, and now I had to learn to adjust to all the new things of the world. But, as we were leaving this little area where we had appeared, I almost immediately lost my nerve. This...place, was just massive. The buildings reached all the way up to the sky, the streets were painted black, and strange poles rose out of the ground. It all intimidated me to the point that I could barely voice my questions. But, eventually I steeled my nerve enough to stutter out, "J-J-James, w-what did you m-mean by us b-being in another w-world?"

James turned his head toward me, and as he looked at me I couldn't help but blush and look away. Those silver eyes of his were just so different from those of the golden eyes I had seen when we first met, so warm and full of kindness and love that it made me feel funny inside, but in a good way. When I looked back at him, he had a smile on his face as he told me, "Well, it won't be easy to explain, but I'll do my best." He took a moment to be think, then began, "This world...is not like the one you once knew, Lisette and Lieselotte."

I could tell that Lieselotte was interested in this when he mentioned her; I could literally feel her curiosity in my head. James continued, "This world, like your own world, is a form of fiction in my world. In the case of this world, we are in the world that is a manga known as Yumekui Merry. Those three people that we met are actually some of the more important people who are involved with this manga. The manga in itself follows a boy by the name of Fujiwara Yumeji, who one day has a rather interesting meeting with a girl named Merry Nightmare. Merry is in fact not even human, but rather a creature known as a Dream Demon, or a being of a parallel world known as the Dream World. In this world dreams are far more then fantasy lived while someone is asleep. They are a whole other realm of existence. And, the figure who tried to harm you, Lisette, was one of those Dream Demons; he is known as Chaser John Doe.

At the mention of that figure, I couldn't help but shudder. Lieselotte just remained silent, probably trying to take all of this information in. So, I asked, "Why would that thing want to hurt me? I never did anything to him."

James just hung his head for a moment, then sighed. "It wasn't so much what you have done, as it is what he thought you were. You see, Dream Demons like Merry and John are not meant to exist in the Real World. Merry is in fact the Gatekeeper of Dreams, and it is supposed to be her duty to oversee the Dream Gate, the boundary between the Real World and Dream World, and make sure that no Dream Demons escape the Dream World. Each time one does, the Dream Gate is damaged. However, Merry has a very powerful connection to the Dream Gate. The Dream Gate is her...Garden, I guess you could say. A Garden is the plain in which a Dream Demon controls in the Dream World, but a Daydream would fit it better. Where we just were was, in fact, John's Daydream. John is meant to have absolute control over that place, and he is meant to be the most powerful entity there. But, if he were to die, then his Daydream would die with him. So is the case for the Dream Gate: if Merry dies, so does the Dream Gate, and visa-versa."

I just stared at the ground for some time after that. It was all just so much to take in all at once. Even if I did have faith in James, I couldn't help but wonder if he was a little crazy. However, as I was thinking over all of this, Lieselotte told me, "Ask him how this other world could effect us. I do not want to run the risk of him losing his life again."

I asked him Lieselotte's question (though I voiced it as my own since I don't think he knew Lieselotte and I could speak to each other in our minds) and he was silent for a moment before replying. "Honestly, I have no idea how this could effect us. Clearly the magic of the Voidstone and your world's magic still work here, given that you managed to establish the Red Night inside of John's Daydream; though that does confuse me as to how you could have done that, as a Daydream is much like a Reality Marble in that instance. It leaves us with a number of questions." James was silent again for a few moments, but then just smiled at me and said, "Well, I'm sure that we will figure everything out eventually."

I just nodded, not really wanting to get anymore confused then I already was. Lieselotte tried her best to reassure me, but I could tell that she wasn't really that good at it (though from what I was told of her, that was to be expected). So, I just decided to ask about something else, to help ease the tension. "James, why does the ground have large metal poles sticking out of it?"

I tried to ask that question and a few others as we walked, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. All he would say was that it was hard to explain to me, and that it was 'after my time'. I didn't exactly get what that meant, but I figured he would tell me eventually.

Suddenly, I heard a deep rumbling sound. Almost instantly I panicked and grabbed hold of James in fright, thinking it was some monster that was going to try and hurt me again. However, I was quickly shocked to realize that the sound was actually coming from James. He just looked at me and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well, looks like I finally need to eat something."

We ended up wandering around for something that James called a 'restaurant', whatever that is. I could actually hear Lieselotte laughing in my head, and when I asked what she was laughing about she would only say it was nothing and then continue with her laughter. Eventually though we found a building called the 'Old Man café', when James suddenly stated, "You know, if I actually believed in fate, I would say we were destined to come to this specific restaurant." We walked up to the building, but just as we were about to open the door we heard someone talking from inside, and that same someone mentioned magic. At that moment, James decided to open the door and say, "Did somebody mention magic?"

The moment he spoke, three people and a cat (who I could have sworn I'd seen before) turned to face us. I recognized two of the people from before, but the other girl, the one with blue hair, I did not recall, nor did Lieselotte. Then, the girl with purple hair pointed at us and stated in a rather rude tone, "What are you two doing here?"

(third person P.O.V.)

There were a few tense moments of silence in which Merry, Yumeji, Isana and John were looking at James and Lisette, the latter two seeming to be slightly nervous. However, after a few moments, James just held up his hands as a sign of peace and stated simply, "We are just here to eat, nothing more and nothing less. We don't want to give any of you anymore trouble." With that, James and a very nervous Lisette walked passed the others and sat next to each other in one of the open booths. After another moment in which Merry and Yumeji shared a silent conversation, Merry just sighed and went in the back. A few minutes later she came back out in her maid outfit, walked up to the booth that James and Lisette sat in, and asked in a slightly irritated tone, "What would you like to eat?"

James just smiled at Merry and said, "Just some soup please, I don't really care what kind. Surprise me."

Lisette said nervously, "Nothing for me. I'm fine, thank you."

Merry just raised an eyebrow, but nodded and went to tell Isana's father what to make. While they waited though, James felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked down at the floor near the table, and saw a black cat with a red cape on its back. James chuckled and stated, "Well, we meet again after such a short time, Chaser of Truth."

The cat just continued to stare at James, but then the familiar voice of John Doe was heard from the cat, which caused Lisette to whimper a bit in fear and cling to James a bit tighter (luckily there were no other customers in the restaurant, or else things would have gotten weird). "You just become more and more interesting. You can recognize me in my vessel, and yet until just a little under an hour ago we had never met."

Isana and Yuemji, who had just been standing in silent shock for some time, looked at each other in nervousness. However, Isana seemed to steal her nerves a little bit, and proceeded to walk over and sit across from the two. She smiled nervously and said, "Hello, I'm Tachibana Isana. I'm guessing you are the two that Yumeji-kun and Merry told me about?"

James just continued to smile while Lisette did her best to hide her face in James's arms, her face getting a light shade of pink in her cheeks from embarrassment. James told Isana, "Oh, I already know who you are, Tachibana Isana. An old childhood friend of Fujiwara Yumeji, who caught you when you fell off of a jungle gym when you were about six or seven years old."

For her part, Isana was shocked. She asked, "H-How could you know that?" However, before James could speak, Isana suddenly continued, "You mean...you really are from a different world, just like Yumeji-kun said?"

James continued to smile and nodded. "Something told me you could see the truth, Tachibana-san. It is all true, down to the last word. Why would someone lie about something like that? It is just a ridiculous idea in itself, and I don't really even believe it myself...yet here I am."

Isana, for her part, was speechless. She just stared at James with her mouth hanging open in shock and disbelief. However, before she could get a word out to reply, Yumeji walked up and sat beside her. He rested his arm on the table and leaned over as he looked at the smiling boy. Then he stated, "Look, I'm a pretty openminded person most of the time. With what I've seen in the past few months how could I not be? A part of me wants to believe your story, that you are actually human and are not a Dream Demon, but I just don't know. How can you prove it to me?"

James's smile slowly started to vanish as he thought hard on that question. He said, "I'm guessing you want more then just information about yourself and your past events; something that anyone could get if they really dug deep enough. The only thing I could think of that would fit that description would be the manga, Yumekui Merry. But, I never put that in my dimensional storage rift. What to do...what to do."

After a few more moments of silence, Isana suddenly had an idea. "Why don't you tell us something only Yumeji-kun would know. Something he hasn't even told me about."

James and Yumeji both just looked at Isana with different expressions for a moment, but then Yumeji turned back to face James and nodded in agreement. "That is fine by me."

James crossed his arms in front of his chest, head lowered as he thought. Lisette just stared at Yumeji and Isana with a nervous and tiny smile, not really sure what to do or say in this situation. All of a sudden, James snapped his fingers in realization. "Alright, how about this: every now and again, you, Fujiwara Yumeji, feel some kind of shooting pain go through your right wrist, in the exact same spot where you were injured when you caught Tachibana-san all those years ago. You don't really know what this pain means, but you are extremely curious as to what it does mean."

Yumeji's eyes widened in shock when he heard that, and Isana looked at him with concern. "Yumeji-kun?" was all she said to him.

Yumeji just looked at James with different levels of shock, before saying, "How...can you know that? I haven't told anyone about that. Not Isana, not Merry, not John or Engi or Yui."

James just continued to smile at Yumeji. However, before he could say anything else, Merry finally came back and placed a bowl of miso soup in front of him. "Here's your soup," was what she said. However, she soon saw that Yumeji and Isana were sitting across from James. She also saw the shock on Yumeji's face, but all she could think to say at that moment was, "Uh...what did I miss?"

(several hours later)

"And that's our story."

James had just finished explaining his and Lisette's full story to Yumeji, Merry, John and Isana (not the shortened version he gave earlier). He left out a few things: he left out Lisette's and Lieselotte's past, as well as the truth behind Phantasmagoria and Hell Fall, and he left out the part where he had to run through the maze of his mind, but otherwise he told them the whole story. Isana was so shocked that it was hard to tell what expression she had on her face. Merry and Yumeji still looked at the two a bit oddly after hearing the updated version of the story, and while Merry didn't really fully believe them yet, Yumeji seemed to at least think some of it was true, which at the moment was more then to be expected. John, who was now laying on top of the table, just stared at them; his interest had only grown more and more as the story unfolded, and while he could tell that some parts were missing, it still left him with several new truths to seek out.

Finally, after about five more minutes of stunned silence, Isana asked, "So...you two really are of different worlds?" James nodded at this question for what he felt was the fifth of sixth time (not that he was keeping score), while Lisette was redder then a tomato in nervousness and could barely manage a nod. She asked again, "You can use real magic?" Again, James nodded with a smile on his face, and Lisette gave a tiny nod on Lieselotte's behalf. Finally, Isana asked, "You...really don't have anywhere you can stay?"

James's smile faltered slightly at this question, while Lisette looked down sadly. Neither of them had really thought too much on it, but they didn't really have anywhere to go. Both of them had nobody to turn to, as James's family was in a completely different world, while Lisette was both in a different world and now 800 years ahead of her time (with everyone she had ever loved and cared about being dead). Finally though, Lisette was able to once again steal her nerves enough to shake her head and say, "No, we don't."

The way Lisette had said that did break the hearts of everyone just a little. Lisette had a strange innocence about her that just made people want to like her, and with how she sounded when she said she and James had nowhere to go, it made them want to help. Isana told them, "You could stay with us if you like."

James and Lisette were both shocked at this remark, and almost immediately James began to deny the help. "We really don't want to impose. I'm sure we can find somewhere to live. I still have a few yen on hand, and if I get a job then I'm sure we can get a little apartment."

However, Yuemji spoke up next. "Look, I'm not saying I believe everything about your story. In fact, if it weren't for what happened at the park earlier today I would probably try to get you placed in a mental hospital. But, I do believe you both are good people. Even that other girl, Lieselotte, seems like she has a good side to her, even if it is hard to see." Lisette smiled a little bit at the fact that someone was at least trying to defend her dark half, but remained silent as Yumeji continued. "You both seem like you could use some help, and I want to help you. And if what you say is true, about the two of you being from different worlds, then I promise I'll do my best to help you on your way back home."

For his part, James was shocked beyond belief to hear this. He knew that Yumeji wasn't one to make a promise lightly, and that he always did his best to keep any promise he made. But at the same time he still didn't feel quite right about staying with them. After all, they had only just met, and not on the best of terms.

He turned his head to Merry, wondering what her opinion was on this. All Merry did though was sigh before saying, "I don't trust you, and I am going to put that out there now so that you understand. But, I know that this idiot," she pointed over to Yumeji as she said this, "trusts you at least a little bit. So, for now at least, I'll tolerate you."

James nodded in understanding to what Merry said. He couldn't expect her to trust him right away, especially after how he had tried to kill John and Yumeji, and after Lieselotte had nearly unleashed Hell Fall on their world. He was already surprised as it was that Isana was placing her trust in them, and that Yumeji was willing to help them after all that had happened. Regardless of that, James looked over to Lisette and asked her, "What do you think, my love?"

When she heard James call her 'his love' it made her face turn a very bright shade of red (again). However, she did manage to give a tiny, and rather cute smile and said softly, "It would be nice...to sleep in a bed again."

When she heard this, Isana almost jumped across the table and dragged Lisette up the stairs, Lisette yelping in shock and almost tripping several times because she was stepping on her dress. James and Yumeji just shared a look, but said nothing as they followed the two girls. Finally, Merry and John followed at the rear. While Merry remained silent, John simply said to himself, "Several new truths have appeared. Just what does it all mean?"

And so chapter 3 is finally out. I'm sorry to say, but I can't guarantee the next chapter to be out in two months. Writer's block is a bitch, so it might be a while.

Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think. Hopefully I didn't make Yumeji or Merry seem out of character, but tell me what you think.