"Motoki?!" Chibiusa gasped.

The blonde leaned out of the carriage. "Well hey there, Chibiusa. It's actually Akinosuke now." He waved at the caravan to stop, dismounting from the carriage to meet the three on the docks.

"Akinosuke?" Chibiusa repeated.

Motoki nodded. "I was approached by this royal procession when I was sleeping under a tree. The emperor told me that he wanted me to marry his daughter who rules over Horai. Can you believe that?"

The story nearly threw Chibiusa off, but it hit her pretty quickly that perhaps he was taking part in some legend she couldn't quite recall. She recalled Fakir telling her to play along with the story at first, so that was just what she intended to do. "That's pretty crazy, Akinosuke," Chibiusa nodded.

"A step up from running a game stand at festivals," he nodded assuredly. "What brings you and your friends all the way out here?"

At least one thing matched up. He was still running a place with games, just like he did in Tokyo. "We're hoping to travel to Horai, actually. We want to go see that tower over there." She pointed across the water at Tokyo Tower, watching Motoki's reaction.

And he glanced over to the tower, not finding anything unusual about it. "That's the Tokoyo Tower," he named it. "It's the palace where Princess Inoe lives. Why don't you all sail across the seas with me as my honored guests?"

"Really?" Duck asked cheerfully. "I want to meet a princess!"

"Then come, let's away," Motoki beckoned them to follow him. "We have our own personal ferry to take across the seas."

As Duck excitedly stepped forward to the boat, Fakir placed a hand on Chibiusa's shoulder. "Who is this guy?"

"He owns an arcade back in Tokyo," Chibiusa replied. "I've known him for awhile. I'm pretty sure he's following a story, but I can't tell which. I just don't recognize it." She watched Motoki and Duck chat as they headed for the docks. It sure seemed like the friendly Motoki she remembered, and he even knew Chibiusa, but he was definitely following the line of some story. She wondered how many other people would be pulled into this story world. "His name is also Motoki Furuhata. He's never gone by Akinosuke before."

Fakir watched Motoki carefully. "You think he's the source of the story?"

"I'm not sure," Chibiusa shook her head, "but I definitely think he's part of it, especially with how he's changed his name. The tower is part of it too. I just can't figure out why he called it Tokoyo and not Edo or Tokyo."

"We'll figure it out, but for now, we'll play along," Fakir nodded, patting the paper sticking out of the collar of his kimono before heading off towards the docks.

Chibiusa nodded. They'd definitely figure it out and protect everyone's dreams. She quickly followed the others and the regal procession onto the boat. She stared at Motoki as they sailed. He was definitely the same one from Tokyo, playing out the part of a story, but she couldn't tell which. Akinosuke should sound familiar, but she just couldn't put a finger on where it was from. It really just sounded like a feudal samurai name or something.

She also wondered if Reika were here or if the story had only pulled him and he'd forgotten her. She frowned a bit. It was just a story. He wouldn't forget Reika in Tokyo, after all. They loved each other dearly.

She stirred from her thoughts, hearing the sounds of horns as they approached the docks. That seemed a rather short time, but it could be that she was too stuck in her thoughts to actually enjoy the trip over. Perhaps it was another plot hole, but she really didn't understand how they actually worked in a world she was experiencing. Sure, she'd seen them in stories, but this was like living a story. It was all disorienting to the point she thought she'd get a headache.

Regardless, she stuck to the experts. Duck and Fakir had been through this before. While Chibiusa had handled the first few stories alright, there was something really disorienting about this one. Perhaps it was the setting or that Motoki had been pulled into it. Maybe it was the boat. Probably the boat. She adjusted her kimono and followed her friends and the procession off the boat and onto the docks.

The island laid out before them was idyllic. Trees scaled impossible heights, green with life and bearing fruit. Bushes provided more fruit and flowers sprout up from the ground. The beach was plentiful with small shoreline creatures, and fish leapt out of the water in the nearby sea. The temperature was warm and the air smelled like flowers and sand. It was too idyllic.

The Tokyo Tower loomed over the island like a metallic monster that didn't belong. It was decorated with mounted flags and hanging banners that reminded Chibiusa of a samurai drama she'd watched recently with Minako. They had mostly watched it as GACKT had taken a leading role in it, but they both ended up liking the story in general.

They were greeted by yet another royal procession with people wearing far too many layers for the warmth of the island. Within the group was the princess, a regal young woman who looked like Reika was dressed up for a period drama. This was all too strange, Chibiusa reasoned. The trio was invited in, given a tour of the tower itself, and then bid to rest for the night in an unreasonablely short period of time.

But the trio didn't quite stay in the palacial tower, instead retreating outside and to the beach.

"I feel like I'm missing time," Chibiusa stared up at the stars in the sky. They looked different than the stars she was used to seeing, different constellations yet there was at least still the brilliant streak of the Milky Way in the center of the sky. "I can't remember where half this day went."

"It's really strange," Duck agreed. "Normally I can remember pretty much most of the day and all that we've done. I know this has been a pretty exciting day, but I feel like we've missed time too."

"Good, you both noticed that too," Fakir pulled the paper from his sleeve as he sat on the shoreline, digging his toes into the impossibly soft sand. "It's like this story isn't complete, like fragments are missing."

"But our original story wasn't complete either," Duck pointed out. "You wrote the ending there."

"True," Fakir agreed. "But unlike The Prince and the Raven, this story probably isn't missing an ending, but perhaps a few pages in the center." He took out the quill, writing so fast that Chibiusa wondered how he hadn't burnt a hole in the page.

Duck knew that style of writing. He only wrote like that when he was spinning. "Are you filling in the story?"

"Just watch," Fakir answered vaguely. As he wrote, the stars began to move in the sky, first slowly, then quickly as if someone were spinning a globe. Dawn began to reach across the horizon, the colors of a sunrise casting a brilliant rainbow. The sun quickly rose, bringing daylight across the land. And as soon as the day had started, it ended, the sun dropping below the horizon, casting rainbows in the sky before completely ducking out of sight. Stars lit up the night sky once again, the moon lazily floating across the night.

Chibiusa rolled over, watching the days move in front of her. It was like watching the days in an anime fast forward suddenly. "Wow, this is amazing. Days are going by, but I don't feel any different."

"This is really cool, Fakir," Duck agreed.

"I don't feel like being subject to the gaps," Fakir admitted. "I'd rather move the story along at our pace until the next chapter properly starts. If we keep waiting, then we may be stuck in this story forever." He worried that they'd become part of the story again, subject to becoming the characters in this tale no one knew. While the island was very beautiful and more like a place he would want to visit after they found the spinner writing the current tale, it wasn't quite time for that just yet.

The days rolled by again and again until Fakir simply stopped writing.

"Is something wrong?" Chibiusa peered at him, worried.

"Nothing's happening," he frowned. "If there were more to this story, it's just not happening." He peered back at the island and the tower behind them. Nothing changed at all. "Perhaps the story doesn't continue for years."

"Quaaaaa!" Duck exclaimed. "We can't wait years!"

Chibiusa pulled the Time Key out of her shirt. She wasn't even sure this would work here, not that she'd ever done anything with it other than leap through time.

"We're not waiting years," Fakir shook his head. He tucked the paper back into his sleeve. "I'm pretty sure this island is part of the story. I just sped up the days by nearly a month. Nothing has changed. Not even the sand moved. No leaves fell. Nothing."

"This place doesn't seem real," Duck agreed. "What is this, Rip Van Winkle?"

Chibiusa turned around, looking back at the island as Duck's words practically smacked her in the face. "That's it!" She stood up suddenly, pulling her brooch out from her sleeve. "Now I remember where I heard of Horai before! It's an illusion that only appears in dreams! And it's probably Akinosuke's story where it appears!"

"If he's the source, we'll need to wake him up," Fakir reasoned. "Let's get to the tower."

The two girls had agreed, both transforming into their magical counterparts and quickly headed towards the tower, Fakir quickly following behind them. They soon reached the entrance in a reasonable amount of travel time, not feeling like they had suddenly stepped into a time gap. As Tutu reached forward, something repelled her backwards straight into Fakir, nearly knocking the two down.

Setting Tutu back on her feet, Fakir pulled the quill from his sleeve, tossing at the tower. It bounced off, blowing past them and getting stuck in a tree.

"Why won't it let us in?" Tutu worried. "We won't be able to reach Motoki this way."

Chibi Moon stared at the tower. She stared some more. "What if Motoki isn't the source?"

Tutu glanced over at Chibi Moon with worry. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Chibi Moon stared at the tower some more. "Horai is an allusion that appears inside dreams. If I remember right, Horai appears as a result of something tampering with someone's dream. What if Motoki really is just acting out the part and it's the island itself that is the dream?"

"That's pretty wild, but it makes sense," Fakir stared up at the tower. "No matter how I try to affect this island, nothing happens. It's like the other stories that I couldn't affect anything but the world around them."

"Like how you returned Tutu's power to me," Tutu reasoned, "when I wasn't part of The Boy who drew Cats."

"Exactly," Fakir agreed. "For some reason I'm not able to affect the story itself, like I couldn't take hold of Drosselmeyer's story at first. I'll find a way, though. This spinner can't be worse than that old man."

"Then we'll stop this dream," Chibi Moon announced assuredly. "We're the guardians of dreams right now, and until we can find the spinner or overcome him, we need to keep stopping the dreams the only way we know how." She knew what it was like to feel that she couldn't help anyone. Fakir seemed much stronger than she did, able to handle that he couldn't unspin the story right now, but she still didn't want him to feel like he couldn't help. She'd been there, done that, and only with her friends and the help of Helios did she start feeling like a true sailor guardian.

She summoned her Chibi Moon Kaleidoscope. "Please, Kaleidoscope! Reveal what's destroying their dreams! Moon Dream Meditation!" Rainbows burst from the kaleidoscope, enveloping the tower but completely not affecting it, the light passing through it and fizzling out in the distance.

She stared at the tower, worried. "Kaledoscope!" she shouted, sending more beams of rainbows through the tower, each time the light fizzling out. She stared at the weapon. "Kaleidoscope, what's wrong? Why isn't this working?"

"This dream is too strong," the Kaleidoscope answered.

Fakir stared at the thing as it spoke. "Wait, that thing can talk?"

"There are talking cats the size of people here, why is this so surprising?" the Kaleidoscope sassed him.

"The Kaleidoscope has a will of its own," Chibi Moon explained. "It has since Helios gifted it to me." Helios. That's right. Reaching into her pocket, she found the tiny Crystal Carillon still there. He was a powerful source of magic and warmth, and she really wanted to see him again. But would calling upon his power for help even work? Would he get stuck here if she did or would he simply not hear her call.

Normally she'd rely on Sailor Moon to break free of such magics, but Sailor Moon wasn't here. Chibi Moon felt that pit in her heart, the one where she still felt like she paled in comparison to Usagi. She stared at the Carillon in her hand. No, that wasn't true anymore. Helios had sought her out to be the maiden who saved him. Sure, she hadn't fully awoken the power of her pink crystal, but she was still a sailor guardian and a princess in her own right.

"There's one last thing I can try." She released the Kaleidoscope from her hand, taking a knee with the bell grasped between both hands. Helios, I'm sorry to possibly pull you into this mess, but I... I know your power can help. And I want to see you again. She stared at the bell some more, hoping with all her heart that he could hear her words. "Helios, please! Protect everyone's dreams! Twinkle Yell!"

Light burst forward from the bell as she rang it. An image of someone appeared before them completely enveloped in light. He reached forward. Chibi Moon recognized that form. It was the one she'd seen many times in her own dream as Helios reached out for her. This time, she was doing the reaching, asking for his help.

"Wake up, beautiful maiden."

"Wake up?" Chibi Moon echoed the words.

"Wake up?" Tutu repeated.

"Yes, wake up."

The world suddenly fell dark, the illusion of the tower quickly fading away into nothingness. The feeling of cold ground met her bare arm and face as she felt like she could finally move again. Chibi Moon stirred as she felt Tutu leaning against her. Fakir was no doubt nearby as well. Then she nearly jerked awake as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Maiden..."

She pushed herself up to her knees, rubbing at her face. She felt groggy like she'd fallen asleep. But then it hit her, the realization that she knew that voice. "Am I dreaming?"

"Not anymore," Helios replied, offering her a soft smile.

Chibi Moon reached forward, expecting him to simply fade away, but instead he took her hand in his. "Helios!" She dove forward, hugging him tightly as if she still expected him to disappear. "Helios, it's really you! It's really you!"

"I'm here, Maiden," he embraced her deeply.

"I'm really sorry to pull you into this, Helios!" Chibi Moon apologized. "I couldn't think of what to do!"

"I heard your words and your heart," he added. "I'm just happy that you are safe. To think you'd been entangled in such a dream."

Tutu took to her feet with the help of Fakir, watching the two. Chibi Moon was so happy to see whoever this was again. "Are you the one who saved us?"

"It was Chibi Moon here," Helios shook his head. "She called out to me to help wake her and all of you."

Fakir quickly glanced around at the settings. They were standing on the docks where the adventure had first started. Glancing over the water, he could no longer see the tower in the distance, just an endless sea. "We were dreaming?"

"There are legends that ants can cause people to dream," Helios indicated an army of ants marching off towards the shoreline. "After Chibi Moon called out to me, I saw them march around you and leave."

"Ants? What a peculiar thing to cause a dream," Tutu watched them march away. "But what of Motoki? Was he nothing but an illusion?"

"I found him some ways down the docks," Helios replied. "Seems he was caught in the dream too. Maiden, you don't need to hold me so tight. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want you to have to leave again," Chibi Moon spoke into his shirt. "But will Mamo be okay without you nearby?"

"I'll stay right here," Helios consoled her. "I'm sure he'll be fine. The prince is strong, after all."

She sat back, rubbing at her face. "I'm sorry to make you stay in this strange story, but... I just want to see you again."

"I'm happy to be with you again, too, Maiden," Helios smiled, finally seeing that bright smile return to Chibi Moon's face. He peered up at the other two staring back at him. "Forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Helios, guardian and high priest of Elysion. Chibi Moon once saved me, so now's my chance to return the favor. And spend a bit more time with my Maiden."

Fakir stared for a moment. It honestly wasn't the most bizarre thing he'd heard all day. After all, he'd been subject to a dream by an army of ants in Feudal Japan with a modern structure on an illusionary island. This just seemed normal, and he had served a prince himself. "You'll need a place to stay. You can't stay in the girls' dorm, so stay with me instead. We'll figure out where you have been written into the story, or I'll just write you in myself."

...

Author's musings

This is a long chapter. I give up on keeping them short.

Anyway, the two legends entwined here are "The Dream of Akinosuke" and the tales of Horai.

Horai was generally an idyllic island that appeared here and there

Akinosuke is essentially Rip Van Winkle. Motoki's tale about how he went to the island is the first part of how this tale begins. The ants cause the dream and eventually he wakes up because the queen he'd been sent to marry died. The part that isn't included here is that when Akinosuke wakes up, he find a dead ant queen with him and ends up burying her.