Yume Daughter of the
Creator
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Bad things happen in threes, and since the
first thing was getting sick, and the second thing was the
service interruption that has kept me offline all day long,
I'm still waiting for the third one to drop. Anyway, here is
the long-awaited finale to the sixth round.
---
Chapter 6: Catching Up With The Past
The platform floated above everything else in Memoria.
It’s crumbled archways held no roof, and beyond them was only
the vast expanse of space. Yume sat on the platform, her feet
dangling off the edge, as she tossed bits of broken stone into
the endless night sky. “So... Ito wants me to walk among
them... Use Memoria on myself...” She tossed another stone.
“Heh... But he doesn’t know that Memoria won’t work on me. The
memories I inherited from my mother easily overpower my own.”
Another stone. “Besides, I’m not stupid. I know why I’m like
this. The dreams... and the thought of being normal...”
Yume stopped in the middle of throwing another stone,
and she remembered. She remembered the time that she had given
herself massive burns with a simple fire spell, and the time
that she had demolished half her school with an accidental
lightning storm. She remembered how her classmates had at
first feared her, and then had begun to mock her lack of
control. She remembered the day that she had been taken home
by Saint, after being expelled from the school due to the
incident... the incident...
She suddenly realized that
she had blocked those memories, and desperately, she tried to
force them back into submission. But it was too late.
Carol... It was the incident with Carol... She...
she was the only one who stood up for me, the only person who
LIKED me. She was my only friend... In our Science class, she
was called up to demonstrate the day’s experiment. But the
chemicals were mislabelled. The explosion wasn’t large, but
she was so close... When the teacher went to get the medical
staff, I ran up to her comatose body. She had no pulse. I had
learned CPR, and went to do that, but... My hand glowed white
as soon as it touched her chest. Her eyes flew open, and she
sat up and hugged me, saying that she had been so scared.
But... she was still cold... and I couldn’t feel any pulse at
all. She returned to her seat, and when the teacher... Hewing,
that was his name... when he came back with the medical staff,
she told them that I had healed her. They got her to lie down
on their stretcher, and they attached their heart monitor to
her. And their faces... when the monitor made the flat,
non-broken tone... their faces went as pale as snow...
Yume felt faint, and almost collapsed off the side of
the platform before she caught herself. “That’s my reason...
Even when I seek to heal, I hurt... There is no point to me
having these powers any longer...”
She cast her spell,
her familiar spell, and she felt a slight breeze as the air
behind her was pushed aside by the three dozen participants.
Standing and facing them, she said, “If I may please have the
six remaining contestants come to the front, I will then judge
who shall accompany me to the final round.” The six
semi-finalists separated themselves from the crowd, and lined
up in front of Yume. “Today, you have faced not only each
other, but your own pasts as well. For some, this may have
been damning, but for others, it may have been enlightening.”
She walked towards the first contestant, the large
blue Montavian. “Gryz, you seek revenge for what happened to
your homeland. But what vengeance you could gain has already
been found in this tournament, and now it is time for you to
begin the healing process. For if your hatred consumes you,
what makes you any different than those that grieved you so?”
“Mia Ausa... and Lemina Ausa. It is appropriate to
address you at the same time, for though you come from vastly
different times, you both seek the same thing: the restoration
and protection of your beloved city. But though I could change
the hearts of thousands and make them flock to your aid, I
doubt that either of you would wish for that. You would rather
that your goals came to pass through dedication and hard work,
not coercion and trickery.”
“And Setzer Gabbiani...
You would make a great finalist, but were you to win, I would
be unable to grant your wish. For while my powers are great,
they do have their limits, and I’m afraid that I cannot give
dreams to anyone. You must find your own dreams, gambler, and
at that I wish you luck...”
Yume turned away from
them, and looked into the starry expanse once again. As she
watched, a bright portal opened in the distance. “Archfiend of
Fire. Commander of War. Walk into the portal when you are
ready. There, the final battle shall take place.”
Rubicante took no notice of the abyss lying between
the platform and the portal, and floated between the two under
his own power. Driscoll was understandably more concerned with
the gap between the two. Yume smiled. “Do not worry,
Commander, You shall not fall.” And with that reassurance,
Driscoll stepped off of the platform and walked across the
empty space into the waiting portal.
After she had
seen the two enter the portal safely, Yume turned back to the
rest of the participants. “While the final battle goes on, you
are free to do as you please. This portion of Memoria will not
pester you with memories, and this table...” She held out her
hand and a large table appeared in a corner, with various
party appetizers and beverages. “...will keep you from going
hungry. After the final battle, we shall return from the
portal, and I shall announce the winner. Then you shall all be
sent home, and though I cannot grant any of you your wish...”
Yume suddenly stopped speaking and looked upwards.
“Oh, no... Not now... They can’t have found me now...“ The
contestants looked at each other in confusion, before they
scattered from a bright light that appeared in the middle of
the crowd. As the light dissipated, the first thing Yume saw
was...
“Saint?”
“Yume, we found you! At last!”
He ran up to Yume. “Listen, Yume, you have to stop this. If
you go through with this plan of yours, the results could be
disastrous! Whoever gains your powers could very well destroy
the Multiverse...”
Yume looked into Saint’s eyes. “I
knew that, Saint. But... I have narrowed down my selection! I
have chosen wisely! And I will have dreams!” She pulled
herself away from Saint. “And you won’t stop me from having
them.” She turned and flew, gliding across the gap and into
the portal, which began to close behind her.
Saint
looked towards Mishnu. “The portal! I have to get in it!”
“Then go!” Mishnu cried. “I can’t hold it open for
very long!”
Saint looked back towards the portal, and
then, without even thinking about the space between, he ran
towards it. Diving, he made it through just seconds before it
collapsed.
Both the contestants and the search party
stood silent for a moment, before Keir asked, “Alright... what
just happened?”
And as if to answer him, a cold wind
began to blow through the archways. An unearthly cry rang out
from far below them, and they peered over the side of the
platform to see what caused it: a giant black mass, moving
swiftly across the landscape of Memoria. As it grew closer,
they could discern countless individual shapes in the
approaching mass, but each one was as dark as the night sky.
“The Void...” Septerrus whispered.
Mishnu
stood and turned towards the contestants. “The Void is the
enemy of all existence. It’s only purpose is to return
everything to nothingness. If we do not stand against this
menace, it is possible that they will break into the centre of
this universe, and collapse it by destroying the Crystal. Will
you help us fight against them?”
Almost unanimously,
the contestants nodded their heads.
“Alright, then.
Prepare your weapons. Prepare your magic. And above all,
prepare your hearts...”
And as the contestants readied
themselves for battle one again, a thought popped into Slash’s
mind. Say... where did that Zeal woman run off to?
---
Commander Driscoll - Baka - 15 attacks, 30
reversals - -15 points Rubicante, Archfiend of Fire
- Slipstream - 8 attacks, 10 reversals - -2 points
Lemina Ausa - Luna - 23 attacks, 24 reversals - -1
point Mia Ausa - Terra Lockheart - 15 attacks, 15
reversals - 0 points Gryz, Least Stealthy Thing in
Existance - Simplistic Hero - 10 attacks, 10 reversals - 0
points Setzer Gabbiani - Daigohji - 12 attacks, 10
reversals - 2 points
So, congratulations, Baka
and Slipstream! You have made it to the finals of the longest,
most delayed tournament ever!
And a hearty three
cheers for Luna, Terra Lockheart, Simplistic Hero, and
Daigohji, for making it as far as the semi-finals. It was a
close margin, and if I could have a six-person finale, I
would. But, that would be really weird, so... oh well.
Next round starts whenever the best time for Baka,
Slippy, and me is. I have no clue WHEN that will
be.
---
~ I am
you, and you
are me ~ This defies reality ~ Whether this is false or true ~ You are me, and I am you ~ Rurouni Taikai: The Eternal Dream ~ The Massive Insanity Has Begun! ~
Now, Cross Your Fingers And Hope For The
Best!
Last edited by Yume
on 02-07-2002 at 07:53 AM |