Chapter 71 – A Dreamy Threat
Mugi's POV
"*moan* M…M-My head. S-So fuzzy…wh-what happened?"
This was all I could think to say with the huge migraine I suddenly woke up to. And to make things weirder…I was outside. Laying in an empty field not far from the Eiffel Tower.
Basically…pretty far from the hotel.
Wh-What the…h-how did I get here? What am I doing outside? I remember being…being…
…
W-Wait…wh-why don't I remember a thing from last night? It's a total blank…
As I continued to look around the area in confusion, I eventually noticed the sky not being its usual blue color. Instead, it was more of a rainbow.
A rainbow-like sky…that could only mean…
"*sigh* Thank goodness you've awoken. I wouldn't know what to do if that mist did what it was intended."
And after hearing the familiar voice once more, I got up and saw the owner of the voice…who looked all too familiar herself.
…
Mainly because…well…she's me. Technically.
"Dreamy Mugi…wh-what's going on? Why am I in the Dream World all of a sudden?"
"It wasn't "all of a sudden". Your lives were in danger and this was a last-minute attempt to prevent such a thing."
"O-Our lives?" I then thought for a moment. "Wait…who else is here?"
"Hey, Mugi. You're up." And at that moment, I saw Miharu walking up to us. Drinking a Slurpee like everything's normal. "You are NOT going to believe this: the Dream World has their own exclusive Slurpee flavor! Dreamsicle Paradise! *slurp* MMMM! SO GOOD!"
"*giggle* Glad you like it, Miharu." Dreamy Mugi said. "It's our latest addition to make the Dream World feel more like the real deal. Just so the souls here could rest more easily."
"Well, you nailed it out of the park with this one." Miharu then took another sip of her dreamy Slurpee. "Man! I wish this was real!"
"Um…okay, seriously. What's going on?" I asked…more confused than ever. "Why are we here?"
"Wait…Mugi, do you not remember?"
"Remember what?"
"Keep in mind, Miharu, that she has just woken up." Dreamy Mugi said. "It took you a while for you to remember the events prior to this encounter."
"Yeah, that's true…"
"What am I supposed to remem-" As I was asking yet again what happened, a sudden jolt ran in my head as if it was some kind of mental spasm.
…
And then it hit me.
"As for you two…you've pissed me off so damn hard! I'll knock you both out for getting in my way!"
"Ha! Just try me, bitch! I'll give ya seven across the ass for messing with my friend!"
"Is that so? Well, then let's see you try with this affecting you! Mulserokgyus Fuxo! *SNAP*"
"*moan* Wh-What? Wh-Why am I…"
"…S-So sleepy…c-can't…m-move…"
"*demented giggle* Sweet dreams, asswipes~."
"Th-That's right…that girl…that Akari-chan look-a-like. She kidnapped Yoko-chan and put us both to sleep!"
"Sounds like your memories came back. *sigh* What an honest relief…" Dreamy Mugi said as all of the worry and stress inside of her seemed to have quickly evaporated.
"S-So, that mist she spewed at us…"
"That was a corrupted version of a powder we have here called Dream Aura. That girl stole a huge chunk of it and fused it with her own powers. Calling it "Narcoleptic Haze", her intent was to put you both into a deep sleep. Suffering from endless nightmares for all eternity."
"Narcoleptic Haze…so, it was literal nightmare fuel."
"Wait, you understood what that was supposed to be? It sounded like complete gibberish." Miharu said.
"The spell was in a language known as Uryuomoco. It's a language only native to the parallel world that girl hails from."
"A-A parallel world?" We both said in complete shock.
So, I guess that girl really wasn't Akari-chan. That's a huge relief…
"I don't know much about this parallel world…but having you two sleep for eternity was going to doom this world from being restored. So, just before the spell's effects took place, I pulled you both in here. And waited patiently for you to hopefully wake up. *sigh* I'm glad that such a last-minute tactic managed to work…"
"Holy crap…to think that we would've been suffering from endless nightmares had we weren't saved in time." Miharu said.
"Yeah, no kidding…" I replied. "…It's pretty lucky for us that we've got ties to what's basically the afterlife. It pretty much prevented us from being actual residents."
At least not yet, anyway…
"You both can thank me later." Dreamy Mugi said. "Right now, we need to stop all of this before it truly gets any worse."
"But what do we do? We don't know where that girl took Yoko-chan to or why she took her in the first place."
"We may not know…but someone here does."
"Huh?" We were going to ask what she meant by that…but then…
"Tsumugi-san. All defensive measures have been placed. We should be stabled for now."
"That's good to hear. You've grown a custom to this new job of yours rather quickly. I truly appreciate the help…Yoko-chan."
…
…
…
"W-Wait…Y-Yoko-chan?!" I shouted in shock after seeing the familiar face in front of us.
"Th-The hell?! We saw you get kidnapped! How are you here?!" Miharu asked. Just as shocked as I was.
"Ah. So, you're the other Tsumugi and Miharu. I know this may be quite the shock…but there's a bit of mistaken identity here."
"H-Huh?!" We didn't get it.
"Allow me to explain in layman's terms." Dreamy Mugi said. "Tsumugi…do you remember the Dream Camera I gave you in order to help restore Dream World Paris?"
"Y-Yeah, I do. I took a bunch of picture of different locations and such like you asked me to…"
"Anything else?"
…
"Well…I took a picture of Yoko-chan that day…" And once that moment came to mind, everything about this started to make sense.
She did say that every picture I take in the real world would materialize in this world. So, that would mean…
"I get it now…" I said to the Yoko-chan look-a-like. "…you're the dreamy version of Yoko-chan."
"Yep! I'm Dreamy Yoko Sasaki! It's an honor to be meeting you face-to-face, Real World Tsumugi-san. After all…you are responsible for creating me."
"I see…well, it's nice to meet you too, uh…Dreamy Yoko-chan."
"So, is this what you meant by someone knowing where Yoko is?" Miharu asked.
"Indeed it is." Dreamy Mugi said. "Us dreamy selves are a subconscious of our real world counterparts. So, we share a small between our minds. Allowing us to see what the other sees in the real world."
"Wow…that's kinda cool. I wonder if my dreamy self is keeping tabs on me like that."
"Well, there would have to be a Dreamy Miharu for that to happen. And due to the condition of this Dream World, that's not really a thing right now."
"Oh, yeah…" Miharu gained a sweatdrop.
"So, do you really know where your real-world self was taken to, Dreamy Yoko-chan?" I asked.
"Of course, I do." She then went silent for a bit. "But…there's something you should know about my real-world self. Something that explains why she was kidnapped in the first place."
Neither of us understood where she was going with this…but if it helps with finding Yoko-chan, then we'll take all the tidbits we can get.
"First off…everyone has these wavelengths that, whenever they sleep or daydream, connects their mind to the dream. Thus producing the source of power known as Dream Aura."
"Dream Aura…that's the same stuff that fake Akari girl tried to use on us." Miharu said. "It comes from our dreams?"
"Yes. It's actually the power source for the Dream World. Without that, the concept of dead souls eternally living their dreams would not exist at all. We truly rely on it."
"Wow…so, I guess that's an excuse to sleep in class, huh?"
"You shouldn't sleep in class, dummy." I retorted with a sweatdrop.
"But what does that have to do with Yoko?"
"Well, you see…" Dreamy Yoko-chan continued. "…Yoko's wavelengths are WAY greater than that of an average human. Meaning that she creates more Dream Aura than anyone else in the world."
"She's actually our greatest source for Dream Aura." Dreamy Mugi added.
"Huh…" I thought about this new info given to us. "…You know, that would actually explain why Yoko-chan spaces out a lot."
"It could also explain why she's been falling asleep at random moments lately." Miharu added. "And even weirder…not remembering doing so."
"Yeah…with hers being greater than average, it can also be a bit unstable." Dreamy Mugi said. "Causing her to fall asleep at random."
"Huh…" We both found that last part interesting.
I always thought she just loved to sleep…
"Now…with her being able to create the most Dream Aura, we feared that she would be a huge target for somebody evil and shady. And unfortunately…our fears came true."
"That girl who kidnapped Yoko…she was hired by a shady company who has a huge desire for that high amount of Dream Aura." Dreamy Yoko-chan added. "A company known as the STC Foundation."
"Th-Those guys again?!" We both yelled in shock.
"You've heard of them?"
"Only recently." I said. "According to Jun-chan, they've been chasing after this girl in America because she filed them doing something."
"And a friend of mine's grandfather used to work there." Miharu added. "But he fled once her learned of their "true intentions". Whatever those are."
"*sigh* So, they've been around longer than we thought. Now, I'm really worried about my real-world counterpart."
"Then, let's hurry and save her! I'm sure she's freaking out over being kidnapped while taking a bath! I know I sure as hell would be…"
"H-Hey…just so you know…" Dreamy Mugi said. "…What you're about to do is highly dangerous. We still don't know much about this STC Foundation. Their "true intentions" could get dark and inhumane. Are you sure you wish to do this?"
"What are you asking that for?" I replied as I got up to my own dreamy face. "If you and I are the same person, then you would have the same feeling as I do: to do whatever it takes to help out our friends. No matter how absurd…or, in this case, dangerous…it may be."
"Tsumugi…" Dreamy Mugi went silent for a bit before gaining a huge confident smile. "…*giggle* You're right. We'll rescue Real World Yoko-chan no matter what!"
"Hell yeah!" Miharu cheered as she latched onto the both of us. "We've got this in the bag! That STD group's got NOTHING on us!"
"M-Miharu-san…it's "STC" not "STD"…" Dreamy Yoko-chan said with a sweatdrop.
"Still, though…" Dreamy Mugi continued. "…there's no telling what could happen while you do this. So, I'll give you this just in case." And then, in the same way she gave me the Dream Camera, a bright ball of light appeared in front of us and slowly landed in my hands. The light then disappeared to reveal…some sort of crystal."
What is this thing? Simply holding it is giving me chills…
"Hopefully, it won't come to this…but only use this if it's an absolute emergency."
"Th-Thank you, Dream Mugi." I said. "But what is this thing?"
"N-NO FREAKING WAY! I-IS THAT A…" Before Miharu could finish, our bodies began to glow and sparkles formed around our feet. With our bodies disappearing, we knew it was time to go back.
"Good luck, you two."
"Please! Do whatever you can to rescue Yoko! You guys are our only hope!"
These were the last things we heard from the two dreamy girls before everything went brighter than the dreamy sun. Engulfed inside of it while we returned to our world.
And hopefully, explain to everyone what was truly going on…
"*tired moan*"
"Guys…Guys! They're waking up!"
"Oh, thank God! They really are okay!"
"*moan* Wh-Wha…? Geez…wh-what happened?" I asked as I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was lying in a bed inside the hotel.
"Mugi-chan! You're awake!" Then, out of nowhere, I felt Yui-chan clinging to me in a rush of excitement…and a little relief.
"H-Huh?! Yui-chan?! Wh-Why are you hugging me?! And what do you mean by "awake"?!"
"You don't remember? Both you and Miharu were conked out on the bathroom floor." Ricchan said.
"W-We were?"
"Ahh…damn…my body's so freaking weak. What the hell kind of nap did I take?" Miharu said as I saw her right next to me.
"MIHARU-SENPAI!" She was then rushed by Azusa-chan as she hugged her, too. Crying hard tears of relief as she squeezed her girlfriend…probably harder than what Yui-chan was doing to me.
"Damn, girl…you had us all worried." Danielle said. "When we got the call that you were passed out cold on the bathroom floor, we didn't know what to think."
"I honestly thought you guys overdosed on something…" Éliott added.
*NUDGE*
"Ow! Well, it looked like it!" He then received a hard elbow to the arm from Danielle.
"Why were we on the bathroom floor?" I asked.
"You guys tell us." Ricchan said. "After we heard a loud crash coming from your room, we found you both unconscious next to the overflowing bathtub."
"And Yoko wasn't there, either. Where did she go?" Himeko-chan added.
"Yoko…" I then went silent for a bit…until a sudden jolt came to my already foggy mind. "Ah! I remember now! Yoko-chan was kidnapped!"
"K-KIDNAPPED?!" Our classmates yelled in shock.
"Yeah…I'm starting to remember, too." Miharu said. "That girl…she knocked us out with some kind of powder and ran off with a naked Yoko."
"H-Hold on…a GIRL kidnapped Yoko?!" Eri-chan asked.
"A-And she's NAKED?!" Himeko-chan and Mika-chan shouted with absolute horror…thinking about their childhood friend being taken without any clothes on.
"Alright, everyone calm down!" Sawa-chan yelled out. "*sigh* Now…to the best of your abilities…I want you two to explain EVERYTHING that's happened. No skipping out on details, either."
"E-Everything, huh?" I replied with worry.
"So, do we tell them about THAT?" Miharu asked me.
"Well…"
"It's okay, Tsumugi."
H-Huh? Dreamy Mugi? H-How are you…
"Never mind that. If it helps us in rescuing Yoko-chan and saving the Dream World…then you have my permission to tell your friends."
A-Are you sure?
"Normally, I would be highly against this…but what choice do we have at the moment."
That is true…
…
…
…
"…Alright. We'll tell you." I said after a moment's thought. "But all of you have to promise that what we're about to say NEVER leaves this room."
"She's dead serious." Miharu added. "If the whole world knows about this, we're screwed."
Nobody understood where we were going with this. But after thinking about it, they all agreed. A secret between the 18 of us (which was already too many, to be honest) was about to be made.
I can only hope that it doesn't backfire on us later…
Author's Note: With the aftermath of Yoko's kidnapping, Mugi and Miharu learn that she's been targeted for a while. And that they need to save her FAST!
Sorry for the longer-than-normal gap. I've been busy posting this story over on AO3 for quite a while. With Fanfiction continuing to have issues with emails and notifications working, I'm preparing myself to eventually fully migrate to AO3 if it REALLY comes down to it. I'm still willing to give this site a chance to fix everything…but just in case, other stories will be migrating sites in the near future.
On a somewhat related note…because of this story being migrated, chapters 1-34 have been mostly rewritten on here. So, if you haven't checked it out, I recommend you do. It's not the same as you remembered it.
Thanks for reading. Later.