Chapter 72 – The Truth No Longer a Dream
Mugi's POV
And so, with the guidance of Dreamy Mugi somehow talking to me in my own mind, Miharu and I told the others everything that's been going on since we arrived in Paris. And before that, even. As we had to explain to them what the Dream World actually was. An even harder explanation than the rest.
"So…this whole time, you were taking all of these pictures because your dreamy self tasked you to restore this "Dream World Version" of Paris…which actually belongs to Miharu's Mom?"
"Yep." I answered Ricchan.
"And everything was going fine until tonight…when Sasaki-san was kidnapped by this girl you mentioned…"
"That's it…" Miharu answered Mio-chan.
"And the reason for that is because Yoko's "Dream Aura" powers the entire Dream World?"
"Pretty much." We both answered Mika-chan.
"Geez…all of this sounds like it came out of some kind of sci-fi drama or something."
"It's so bizarre that it oddly fits someone like Yoko…" Himeko-chan added with a sweatdrop.
"Okay, so…" Nodoka-chan spoke out. "…The biggest thing we can pull from this that the people responsible for Sasaki-san's kidnapping are part of that suspicious group Suzuki-san mentioned earlier. The STC Foundation, was it?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Jun-chan said. "The same people that's been chasing Avery all over Los Angeles."
"And the same group in which my grandfather fled from." Éliott added. "Sounds like they really are still active."
"But what I don't understand is that girl you told us about." Yui-chan said. "She looks like Akari-chan? How is that even possible?"
"I think the better question is…how do we know that it really is a look-a-like?" Mio-chan asked.
"Y-You're really suspecting Akari, Mio-senpai?!" Azusa-chan yelled in shock.
"Look, Azusa…I know you and Akari are best friends, but…if two people say that this kidnapper looked near-identical to her, then who's to say it isn't her? I mean, it makes some sense. Considering where she came from…"
"So, you're just gonna suspect that it's really Akari simply because she's from Takaoka?" Ricchan asked.
"That's low, Akiyama-san. Even for you." Eri-chan said with a disapproving look.
"I-I'm just suggesting it!" Mio-chan began to panic. "A-And what do you mean "even for you"?!"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to implicate your friend or anything…" Miharu said to Azusa-chan.
"*sigh* It's fine. But I can assure you all that it's not Akari. In fact…once Sakurako gets back, this whole accusation will be buried in the dust once and for all."
"Once Sakurako gets back?" Jun-chan asked. "I didn't even know she left."
"She had the same feeling I had about this kidnapper and went searching for her. It was in the middle of Miharu-senpai and Mugi-senpai's explanation."
"Huh…well…I'm not entirely sure if she really can prove anything…"
"I CAN PROVE IT RIGHT NOW, JUN!"
"GAH!" We all shouted in shock from having Sakurako-chan pop out of her Space-Time Box out of nowhere scaring us all.
"S-Seriously! Use the damn door!"
"Where's the fun in that?"
"I seriously got scared shitless by a damn box…" Éliott said in a disgruntled tone.
"There goes my dignity…" Danielle added in the same tone.
"It is not arru that embarrassing." Zoé said. "At the very reast...you were not scared intó ejacuration. Arthough, that courd be a new fetish..."
"Wh-Why would anyone WANT that, Zoé?!" André yelled in panicked disgust.
Even in tense situations, Zoé can still be a pervert…
"A-Anyway…" Azusa-chan said. "…Did you find that girl, Sakurako?"
"Oh, yeah!" Sakurako-chan shouted as she stepped out of the box. "*clears throat* Ladies and gentlemen…YOUR KIDNAPPER!" She then yanked this rope she was holding and out from the box came a girl completely tied up as she fell to the ground.
A select few of us were in shock. Because really…the short red hair, the single purple eye, the rather insane growth in her breasts…this girl really was a splitting image of Akari-chan!
…
Although…now that I'm looking at her more clearly…Akari-chan had her LEFT eye removed. This girl has her RIGHT eye removed. And that's really the only difference.
Holy crap…I truly believed at one point that it really was Akari-chan!
"*groan* How the hell did I lose to Sakurako of all people~?! This is bullshit~!"
"What's bullshit is that you never seem to learn your lesson, Akemi." Sakurako-chan said to the girl. "No matter how many times we beat you."
"Sh-Shut up~! You definitely cheated~! There's no way in hell I should be able to lose to the likes of you~!"
"Yeah, yeah…just keep telling yourself that, bitch."
"W-Wait…Akemi? Is that her name?" Ricchan asked while being totally confused.
"Everyone…this girl right here is Akemi Akase." Azusa-chan said to us all. "Akari's parallel doppelgänger."
…
…
…
"H-Her WHAT?!" A good chunk of us shouted in pure disbelief.
"Hmph. So, Akari's told you about me? I knew that idiot couldn't keep her mouth shut." The girl, now known as Akemi, spoke in a voice that was EXACTLY like Akari-chan's.
"She told me as a warning because you're so damn unpredictable." Azusa-chan said. "With the stuff you've done…neither Tsukasa nor I can comprehend on why she keeps you alive."
"Because she knows she can't beat me no matter what she tries. And that goes double for you…Azu-nyan~! *giggle*"
"Tch! You little…"
"Wow…she REALLY hates this girl." Miharu whispered to me. "What kind of "stuff" could she mean?"
"Who knows honestly…" Was all I replied with.
"W-Woah, woah, woah! Back up a freaking moment! P-Parallel doppelgänger?! When the HELL did Akari get such a thing?!" Mio-chan asked. Probably the most baffled she's ever been in her life.
"Well…it's a really complicated story…" Sakurako-chan said. "…But she's not the only one. Basically, for every single person in this room, there's a possible chance that there's a parallel doppelgänger of yourselves."
"Woah…that's actually SO cool!" Eri-chan and Hikari-chan yelled in excitement.
"Possible chance, though?" Danielle asked.
"W-Well…there's also a chance that they're dead. Akemi here destroyed the entirety of her world and reshaped it into a twisted apocalyptic wasteland known as the Nega Dimension. Very few people survived."
"W-Woah…" A good chunk of us said with chills.
"I still don't regret that, you know." Akemi said. "Every last one of those shitheads made my life absolute hell when I lost my eye. So, I dragged them down with me. And even further down for a specific few~. *giggle*"
"You're just REALLY proud of being an absolute monster, are you?" Azusa-chan asked with a look of pure disgust and hatred for her best friend's look-a-like. Also proven by her shaking fist…trying so hard not to punch this girl in the face.
Never knew she had such self-control…
"In any case…" Akemi then stood up from the floor and easily disintegrated the rope around her body with a small flame. "…the hell is your problem, Sakurako?! Ambushing me and tying me up like a damn hog…you've got a lot of nerve!"
"Oh, really?" Sakurako-chan replied in a sarcastic tone. "What about YOU, Akemi? I didn't think you would stoop so low as to kidnap people while they're taking a bath."
"Oh…so, this is about that dream girl. What's the big deal? I was only doing a simple job."
"A job? Someone hired you to do this?"
"Gotta cure my boredom somehow. I've been stuck in this rip-off of a world ever since the Raspberry Incident and it's hard to cause trouble with the damn government constantly on my ass."
"The Raspberry Incident?" Some of us asked.
"It's…something that happened. PLEASE don't ask about it." Sakurako-chan said with a pale look on her face.
To traumatize someone like Sakurako-chan, it must be bad…
"So, where did you take Yoko to after you left us unconscious on the bathroom floor?" Miharu asked Akemi.
"Uh…why the hell would I tell you? I may not care what the job was about, but I'm not going to blab about it to people I don't know and/or hate with a burning passion."
"But we really need to find her." I said. "This shady company could be trying to do something involving Time & Space…and are using Yoko-chan as a sacrificial power source."
"Oh, I see…still don't care."
"A-Are you serious?!"
"Listen, Akemi!" Sakurako-chan yelled. "Whatever loyalty you got for this fucked up company isn't gonna save your ass from being beaten again! So, why don't you do something nice for once in your life and tell us where you took this girl!"
"Loyalty?! Now, you hold on a second! The God of the Nega Dimension is loyal to NOBODY! Not to that damn company…and ESPECIALLY not to any of you plebs!"
Then, while raising her left arm, Akemi made a dark red triagonal-shaped symbol appear over her hand. Looking like she was about to attack Sakurako-chan.
"And if you think you can boss me around, Sakurako…then you've made a pitiful last mistake~! *demented giggle*"
"Cr-Crap! She's gonna do something!" Ricchan yelled in a panic.
"Everyone get back!" Sawa-chan shouted. We all then stepped back as far as we could from the impending attack. With the only person who didn't move being Sakurako-chan…who oddly had a small smirk on her face.
"*giggle* You think you can do me in, Akemi? I've already faced death once before. So, I'm not afraid of anything you blast at me."
W-Wait, when was THAT?!
"And besides…I highly doubt you can once I shove THESE down your throat!" And then Sakurako-chan pulled out from her bag, I kid you not, a container of strawberries.
"Tch! Wh-Why do you…" Which, for some reason, made Akemi tense up in fear.
Is she seriously…
"Come on, Akemi~…time for a snack~!" Sakurako-chan said in a creepy voice as she inched closer to Akemi with a single strawberry in her hand.
"Y-You wouldn't dare…g-get that thing away from me, you crazy bitch!"
"ITADAKIMASU~!"
"GAAAAAAAAAAH!"
*THUD*
Sakurako-chan had lunged at Akemi and the two fell to the floor hard. With the former fighting to get the strawberries consumed by the latter…who was freaking out like crazy.
This went on for a few minutes while the rest of us watched on in pure disbelief and confusion. Just seconds ago, we were in fear for our possible lives. And now, something out of an old cartoon was happening right in front of us.
"Man…this is NOT what I had in mind when thinking about French public sex." Hikari-chan said.
"You shouldn't be thinking about that in the first place…" Mika-chan retorted with an agitated sweatdrop.
"And…GOTTCHA!" By this time, Sakurako-chan had managed to shove a handful of strawberries into Akemi's mouth. Grinning confidently as she got off the floor.
"*cough* *cough* Tch! Y-You little…" And as Akemi was slowly getting up…
*TWITCH*
"Hahahahahahaha~!"
*TWITCH*
"D-Damnit! It's already starting to take effect!"
*TWITCH*
"Heeeeeey, bitches~…*giggle*"
*TWITCH*
"NO! And I've spent so much time avoiding this damn fruit!"
…
"Uh…what was THAT just now?" Miharu asked as we were all confused about Akemi's sudden condition.
"Holy crap…it's Akari's allergy!" Azusa-chan yelled.
"Akari's allergy?"
"You guys remember when I told you about Akari being allergic to raspberries? I didn't think Akemi had the same thing…"
"*giggle* Yep! It's the exact same thing!" Sakurako-chan cheered. "The only difference is that Akemi's allergic to strawberries! So, I brought some along with me…knowing she would put up a fight while we interrogate her! A genius plan concocted by yours truly! Hahahahahaha!"
"W-Wow…that's some diabolical thinking, Sakurako-san." Nodoka-chan said.
"If only you would put such thinking towards your schoolwork…" Sawa-chan gained a sweatdrop.
"D-Damn…beaten by you AGAIN! Wh-When did you…b-become such a pain in the ass, Sakurako?" Akemi asked as she was struggling to fully stand. She had gained these swirly red markings all over her body and was now drooling an icky red substance.
"You know, Akemi…I did also bring the medicine with me. It can be yours…if you tell us what you know~."
"Y-You think I'm gonna bow down to you so easil-"
*TWITCH*
"I wanna go to DIDNEY WORL~! HAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Didney Worl?
*TWITCH*
"GAAAAAAAAH! THIS NONSENSICAL CRAP! Fine! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Just give me the medicine so that I can STOP WITH THIS TORTURE! PLEASE!"
"*giggle* Glad we can come to an agreement, Akemi."
Sakurako-chan then dug into her bag and took out a needle filled with this grape-looking goop and jammed it into Akemi's arm. Slowly infusing her with whatever this "medicine" is.
"*pant* *pant* Th-Thank…g-god…" Akemi said as she fell back onto the floor.
"Alright. Start talking. What's with this company that hired you?"
"W-Wait, what's make you so certain that she won't try to attack us again?!" Ricchan asked.
"Tch. Trust me…if I could, I would've done so by now." Akemi said. "Being in that allergic state made me weak as hell…"
"She definitely won't be doing much of anything for a good while." Sakurako-chan added.
"Ehh…I'm still unsure. But if you say so, Sakurako…"
"Ugh…I can't believe I'm actually going to do this…" Akemi grumbled to herself in agony before finally starting. "…So, I'm sure that you already know what this group's called, right? The STC Foundation?"
"Yeah, we're aware of it." Miharu said. "To an extent."
"They're a sussy company that's trying to do something with Time & Space, right?" Jun-chan asked.
"Heh…"sussy" is a huge understatement. Whatever suspicions you guys have of them are all true. Those nutjobs want to control the universe."
"C…C-Control the UNIVERSE?!" Mio-chan yelled in disbelief.
"Th-That's absurd!" Mika-chan yelled. "How do they even believe they can do such a thing?!"
"By manipulating Space, Time, and even Dreams to their will. Doing countless experiments on unsuspecting people so that they can perfect it fully. Their latest one being a computer virus called PORTAL-IO."
"S-Seriously?! PORTAl-IO?!"
"Geez…why'd you yell like that, Sakurako?!" Ricchan asked mer.
"Th-That virus…I've dealt with it before!"
"S-Seriously?!" The rest of us shouted in shock.
"I bought this computer off of Amazon last December and that same program just downloaded itself on there. It ended up warping both me and Himawari to a completely different world. Weirdest thing about it is that it never showed up again after that."
"That's what it does." Akemi said. "Supposedly, the program allows you to manipulate Space-Time and travel to wherever or whenever you want. You were most likely a random target for one of their experiments."
"Woah…"
"You seem to know a lot about it despite only being involved with them recently." Azusa-chan said.
"Heh…look at you being knowledgeable. Ironically, the only reason why I know so much about it is because they used that program to interfere with MY world."
"Your world…?"
"W-Wait…so, you're saying THAT'S how you and the other doppelgängers got here?" Sakurako-chan asked.
"Apparently. My own little Nega Dimension was nothing more than another test subject for them. What a pity that we were all being used~…*giggle*"
"Seeing as how they were living in THAT hellhole, I'd say the outcome was a secret miracle…"
" …to manipulating Space, Time, and eventually Dreams…Tch. Fils de pute…it's just like before…"
"Yo…Éliott…you doin okay there?" Danielle asked him while he was mumbling to himself in secret.
"You're not gonna burst into random anger again, are you?" Eri-chan added.
"*sigh* Sorry. It's just…I've got a really bad feeling about this. Judging from past experiences."
"Past experiences…" Miharu said. All of us now knowing what he means by that.
"Look, my point is…your friend needs to be found as quickly as possible. Otherwise, this bad feeling will come true…"
I may know what this "bad feeling" of his is…and I'm just as worried, too…
"So, then where's the girl, Akemi?" Sakurako-chan asked her.
"How the hell should I know? I already had to drag my ass all the way here from Takaoka. You really think I know my way through this fancy-ass love city? Go freaking ask Tsuzuki or something."
"Huh? Tsuzuki? Who's that?"
Once we heard that name, Miharu and I stared at each other with the BIGGEST looks of shock we'd ever had. To know that the strange girl we had unusual encounters with was involved in something like this…our intuitions about her were right from the start.
"Everyone…we must head out now." I spoke out.
"Huh? W-Wait, you know where Yoko is?!" Himeko-chan asked.
"No, but…we know who to ask."
"And it's for the best that it's just us two." Miharu added. "We don't want anyone else getting dragged into this mess."
"*giggle* Well, that's easier said than done~." Akemi said in a teasing manner.
"And why's that?" Azusa-chan asked.
"Because…while I was sitting here ratting those STC nuts out, that fuzzy pigtail girl and her blonde-haired friend snuck out through the window and none of you noticed it happened."
"Wh-What?!" That was when we looked around the room and realized that Akemi was right: Jun-chan and Avery were no longer here.
"S-Son of a…that freaking hypocrite!"
"She gets mad at us for being reckless and she ends up doing the same thing?! The absolute nerve of her!" Sakurako-chan added in the same exact rage.
"C-Come on, you two. I'm sure Jun-chan had her reasons." Ui-chan said.
"So, you're not pissed at her at all, Ui?"
"Oh, no…I'm VERY PISSED at her. And I'm truly going to make her pay when she comes back. She'll think twice about being reckless once I'm through with her~…"
"U-Ui…" The sudden change in tone gave chills to our spines.
Never knew she had that side of her…
"A-Anyway…" I spoke again. "…We're gonna get going now."
"Don't wait up for us. We'll be back soon and in one piece!" Miharu cheered as she held up a piece sign.
"Just be careful, you two." Sawa-chan said. "I'm responsible for bringing all of you back to Japan safe. And that includes Sasaki."
"Don't worry. We'll bring her back. And give those STD jerks a piece of our mind, too."
"I feel like you're saying the name wrong on purpose…" I gained a sweatdrop.
"Aw~…you know me so well, Sis~." Miharu teased as she bopped me on the nose with her finger before rushing out of the room. With me quickly following her in a slightly annoyed mood.
What we're about to do is by far the most DANGEROUS and ABNORMAL thing to ever be conceived in this story. I'm not even sure if we'll get a good outcome out of this…even with all this information we got and this strange crystal I got from Dreamy Mugi.
Am I scared? Yes. Terrified, even. More so than ever before in my life. But I know that I have to put my fears aside for now. Yoko-chan is definitely feeling it worse than I am.
…
But I can only hope that it doesn't get worse from here on out…
Author's Note: The truth comes out not only from both Mugi and Miharu…but also from Akari's parallel doppelgänger Akemi Akase. All three of them confirming that this STC Foundation is a serious threat.
Sorry for the long wait again. Still transferring this story to AO3 and fixing any mistakes that I'd never noticed beforehand. It's honestly taking a lot longer than I thought it would.
Also, this "virus" that will be brought up in further detail later on...it's supposed to be "PORTAL DOT IO". But FanFiction keeps deleting the word every time I upload on here. So, I have to change it to how you see it now. Such a pain in the ass...
Thanks for reading. Later.