Section 1:  SI Crap

A Dark World

Chapter 8


        Tomas made his way back into the shrine, stumbling at times
but seemingly to regain a touch of strength with each determined step
into his shattered home.  He ignored the bullet holes in his couch and
wall as he moved past them, completely unconcerned with them now that
there were no longer going to be new ones joining them.  Likewise he
passed the kitchen door he'd blasted down the hall with his Reiki and
stepped over the man who's throat he'd crushed, paying the body only a
cursory glance to see that as he'd expected the man's gun was missing,
taken by the one he had knifed outside.

        Nene, the short, blond young woman following him into his
home, wasn't as blasé to the scene.  "My god..." she whispered as she
took in the bullet holes and the blasted door.  "How did that happen?"

        Glancing back over his shoulder as he reached the refrigerator
still partially blocking the way, Tomas' mind drifted from trying to
plan out a rescue and to the door.  He stared at it for a moment
before looking at Nene, and then back to the door.  He gave the entire
idea a few seconds of thought before giving up on coming up with an
explanation.  "I don't know, it was too confusing a situation."

        Nene looking to Tomas and seeing the dead assassin on the
floor swallowed as a slightly sick look appeared on her face.  "I
guess so."  As Tomas made his way over the fridge, she continued, "We
need to call the police."

        Nodding in agreement, Tomas walked into the kitchen and waved
off to the side.  "There's a phone over there.  You should probably
ask for an ambulance too, even if its too late for these bastards."
Glancing down at the face etched in pain of the last man he'd killed,
Tomas shook his head in mild disgust.  He'd proven rather weak against
Soul Eater's hunger and instincts, going so far as to gladly use the
Rune on the man.  First killing that teacher and now this person when
it wasn't necessary, he almost released yet another tired sigh.  The
thoughts of that teacher were the ones that haunted him, and those two
police detectives grilling him hadn't helped matters.

        At those last thoughts, Tomas spun back towards Nene and his
hand shot up as though to grab the phone.  "No!  Wait!  Don't!"  The
scream tore from his throat, the panic clearly felt and heard within
it.  Even as his hand pointed to the phone, a small blue beam of Reiki
shot from it, hitting the phone and denting the receiver a little
before Nene could even touch it, and causing Tomas to collapse on his
face, gasping for breath.

        Nene, who hadn't quite reached the phone yet, fell back in
surprise as the blue energy barely missed her hand.  Landing on her
rear, Nene's eyes quickly went to Tomas, who was now face down on the
floor gasping for breath.  "What the hell was that!"  Her voice was as
panic filled as Tomas' had been a moment before, though Nene's voice
also held a slightly shrilled edge to it.

        From where he was laying on the ground, Tomas sighed in
disgust.  "The ADP wants to go monster hunting, and you're upset that
I can shoot blue stuff from my finger?"  Struggling to push himself up
and completely failing, Tomas chose to remain where he was.  "Heck,
there are already girls in mini-skirts already fighting those
monsters, and you find this shocking?"

        "Yes!"

        Sighing again, Tomas tilted his head to look at the girl.  Her
frightened expression didn't do much to improve his attitude over the
whole situation.  "Help me up and I'll explain everything."  Already,
his mind was beginning to form a plan on how to pull off a rescue of
his daughter.  "I need your help, Nene.  I don't think I'm going to be
able to save Eve without it."

        The thought of the young girl in the hands of the thugs who
had done this scared Nene more then Tomas' small attack.  "Okay..."
The young officer moved to Tomas and slowly helped him to stand.
"Start explaining."

        "Help me to my bedroom, there are some things I need in
there."  As the two slowly began moving out of the kitchen, taking the
effort to go over the still tipped refrigerator, Tomas continued.
"I'll start with the blue stuff.  That was my Reiki."

        "Reiki?"

        "Yeah, pretty much a physical manifestation of my soul.  Or
something like that.  I got a natural talent for using it."  Since I
died, Tomas didn't add in.  "It's what attracted my boss's attention
to me.  I just need to concentrate right to use it."  As the pair made
their way into Tomas' bedroom, he finished, "The only other thing I
know about it is that I should only be able to use it once a day.
That was the third time I've used it in the past, oh, ten or so
minutes maybe."

        "Okay," Nene said slowly.  "So what does that mean?"

        Dropping onto his bed, Tomas looked up at Nene.  "It means I'm
really pushing it."  Pulling open the doors to his nightstand, Tomas
began shuffling through the various things within.  "You need Reiki to
live, even more so then air.  You can hold your breath and you'll
still live for a while.  Use up all your Reiki, and you die.  I
haven't hit that stage yet, but if I get in another fight tonight I
might end up killing myself."

        The look on Nene's face was a mask of confusion.  "I don't get
this at all."

        Shrugging, Tomas stood back up.  "Then don't worry about it."
His temper was getting short again, and he still had a lot to do.
"Damn it, where is that book?"  Moving to the closet, Tomas threw the
door open and began to rifle through the items within it.  "Nene, do
me a favor?  I'm looking for a journal with my name on the cover.
Could you check under the bed for it?"

        "Um," Nene fidgeted for a moment as she looked at Tomas' back,
suddenly remembering why she was there.  The book he'd mentioned was
currently in her purse.  "Okay..."  She wasn't sure she wanted to give
it back to him now, but she also wasn't sure she wanted to get him
angry.  Reaching into her purse, she glanced at Tomas' turned back
once more as she slid the book out and under his bed.  "Is your name
on the spine, too?"

        "'fraid not," came the reply.  "Any book you find under there,
you'll have to pull out on your own."

        Kneeling on the ground, Nene gazed under the bed for a moment
and at the book.  She still wasn't sure what she was getting herself
into, but she knew she had few options at this point as well.
Reaching under the bed, she pulled the book back out and looked at the
cover.  "I think I found it."

        Turning around to Nene, Tomas pulled on his denim jacket, the
Black Ice resting in the pocket.  He was relieved that his room hadn't
been ransacked, and that what he needed was still there.  "Good, I'm
gonna need some of the stuff in that thing if I want to pull this
off."

        "Pull what off, exactly."

        "Well, I don't want to tell you all of it.  Or much of it,
actually.  I do need your help with something, though."  Taking the
book from Nene, Tomas slid it into the other interior pocket of his
jacket as he left the room, motioning Nene to follow.  "I need to get
in touch with the Knight Sabers."

        "The Knight Sabers?"

        "Yeah," an evil smirk came across Tomas' face as he headed for
the corpses he had left behind.  "I have a plan..."

***



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Dark World Possible Sequel Opening


        With his green eyes locked on the passing world outside the
window and his messy black hair falling into his eyes, Tomas couldn't
help but wonder if this had been the right choice to make after all.
He'd left far too much behind when he'd departed Japan.  He had a
home, friends, a job, and he was even going to be starting school,
though that last one didn't really thrill him.  Still, it was a lot to
give up after he'd lost it all once before.

        Turning his attention downward, he gazed at the form between
him and the window.  Eve's eyes were locked on the passing fields and
trees as the train sped along its rails toward their new home.  The
nightmares that had been inflicting her since he and the Knight Sabers
had broken into Torneo's fortress and rescued her had been hard on
both of them.  She'd sleep only a few moments before the nightmares
would awaken her again and her screams would fill the shrine they had
lived in.  For her, when Botan had brought down the offer of a
transfer, he knew the right choice was to take it.

        Besides, he was coming home.  Well, not really.  It wasn't his
dimension, after all.  He wouldn't be running into old friends and
relatives he hadn't seen in the months he'd been gone.  But he was
back in America, and close to where he'd grown up as a child.  Well, a
state off, anyway.  Despite everything that had happened, despite even
dying, he was still a Jersey boy at heart.  That was close enough.

        For the past three months he and Eve had been living out of a
hotel in the City.  A smirk came to his face as he thought of that.
He wasn't sure there were still too many people around, or if there
were any for that matter, who still simply called it the City.  To
those who weren't native it was New York City, but to him it would
only be the City.  There was nowhere else like it, for sure.

        Not even on his home world, not any more.  Here the Trade
Center was still standing, and going to the very top of those Towers
was the first place he took Eve.  It had been the first place he'd
gone to when he first entered the City when he was three.  It only
seemed proper that it'd be the first place he took his adopted
daughter.

        Sighing and shrugging away those thoughts, Tomas returned his
gaze out the window, his eyes catching the beginnings of a town they
were moving into.  Glancing down at the watch on his wrist, he
confirmed that it was his new home.  Bayville.  He had to shake his
head slightly at that, given the most water he'd seen since coming was
the Hudson River.  Oh well, it wasn't like he was any more creative in
coming up with names.

        "Well, Eve-chan," Tomas spoke in English now, glad to be using
his native tongue.  He was still somewhat surprised that dying had
given him the knowledge of how to read and write in a number of
different languages.  One of the side effects of the afterlife, he'd
been told, was the ability to communicate with many different beings,
including spirits.  Although he hadn't had a chance to do that yet,
something which he was grateful for.   Tomas was still sure that the
first time he had to fight a demon or something he was going to die.
"We're almost there.  What do you think so far?"

        "It's pretty."  The blonde ten-year-old girl turned her ruby
gaze up to her adopted father as a smile came to her lips.  She had
replied in English, and with even less accent then Tomas.  She had a
genius IQ and had picked up most of the language in their first week
in the States, and the rest of it fairly soon after.  She spoke the
language clear and easy in her soft voice without the jumping between
accents like Tomas tended to.

        "Nothing at all like Juuban, is it?"

        "No...but I like it.  It's good that it's different."

        Tomas gave a short laugh as he replied, "Yeah, I guess so."
Reaching out, he ruffled Eve's hair, causing the girl to squirm for a
moment.  As he pulled his hand back to himself, Tomas' eyes lingered
on his gloved hands.  Underneath the black leather of his fighting
glove on his right hand was the True Rune Soul Eater.  A nasty little
surprise it was when he picked that thing up in the afterlife.  While
in Japan he'd never really thought about the Rune before, it hadn't
really done anything the first few days he'd had it.  Then everything
had just started rushing forward and he hadn't had time to care about
the Rune.  Now it was different, though, and it would certainly look
odd on him.  Before he'd left Japan he'd found a small store that sold
martial arts supplies and had bought the gloves.  It'd felt a bit
strange the first week he'd spent wearing them, but since then he'd
gotten used to the feeling.

        As the train slowed and pulled into the station, a small
shiver ran down Tomas' spine as Torneo's face appeared before him
again, the pure terror and pain that flooded it as Soul Eater did just
what it's name implied.  Standing there watching Torneo wither away
had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done, and he still wasn't
sure how he felt about it.  He'd done more then just kill the man,
which was something he knew for certain.

        "Daddy?"

        Turning his attention to Eve, Tomas smiled down at the girl.
"Sorry, sweetheart."  Standing up from his seat, Tomas waved his hand
slightly.  "Come on, let's go get our luggage and a cab home, huh?"

        Nodding to her father, Eve smiled again, glad to see the
brooding look that had been starting to cover his face vanish.
"Okay."




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Starless Night
An A Dark World Sequel
By Tomas Megarson
An SI Fanfic
Chapter 1

You can escape a pouring rain
You can run for shelter in a hurricane
Change your face, loose your name
Lie about things you can't explain
But there's one thing that you cannot deny
The fire inside

                -"The Fire Inside" by Bon Jovi



        All he could see was darkness.  His vision was filled with
nothing but the empty void before him, and his thoughts raged through
his head as his mind sought to grasp what had happened.  He had died.
Again.  A groan escaped his lips that was a mix of annoyance, pain,
and anger.  Dying was starting to become a rather bad habit he had
picked up.  What made it worse was that he had been killed the exact
same way as the first time, an insane boomer shoving something through
his chest.

        Still, at least he knew what to expect from dying, having been
through it all before.  All that mattered was how long it took Botan
to show up and tell him that the afterlife had no place for him.
Maybe he'd haunt Torneo for a few years or something.  It would be
better then being stuck doing paperwork for Koenma.  Tomas wasn't sure
how long he'd be able to hold his tongue against the annoying brat.
Hell, Tomas had no idea how he'd managed to keep his mouth closed this
long with everything that was going on.

        With a mighty effort, Tomas began to force himself out of the
blackness, grateful that this time he at least didn't need to live
through his life again.  He remembered it all quite well, and had no
real desire to see a bunch of stuff he couldn't change a third time.
All he really wanted to do was find out what he was going to do for
the rest of eternity.  Tomas could feel his mind coming back into
focus when a sweet, female voice cut through the haze.

        "Are you awake?"

        Struggling one more time to bring himself back to reality,
Tomas finally managed to force his emerald eyes open and gazed through
the black bangs that were slightly obscuring his view.  He immediately
knew that there was a lot that was wrong.  He was in a room draped
with brown curtains on the wall.  The wall itself seemed to be made of
wood and straw rather then the plaster and paneling he was used to.
Gazing down past his feet, feeling that he was on a bed with thick
covers draped over him, he could see a set of shelves.  It was what
was in front of the shelves, and at the end of the bed, that held his
attention.

        A very cute young woman was gazing down at him with a smile on
her face.  Her long green hair was draped down her back in a loose
ponytail and fluffy bangs covering her brow.  Her green eyes sparkled
with life as she took in her guest's face in a way that was very
appealing to Tomas.  The blue-green dress that covered her was
embroidered in golden colored thread, and a matching color sash was
around her waste, holding the dress tight against her.  Most important
to Tomas, however, was the fact that she was not the girl he was
expecting to see.

        Not really sure just what was going on, Tomas decided to try
to start with keeping things simple.  "Yeah, I am.  What happened?"
Pushing himself up to a sitting position, Tomas took a quick glance
down to see that he wasn't wearing a shirt, that his chest was wrapped
in white bandages, and that he was still wearing the pants from the
ninja outfit he had stolen from Torneo's mansion.

        Moving over to the side of the bed, the girl replied, "I found
you unconscious on the plains.  If you're feeling alright, would you
like to get dressed?"

        "Yeah," Tomas nodded slowly.  "I think I'd be better off
getting up."  He wasn't sure what was going on, but he wanted to know
just what was going on.  He thought for a second of asking the girl to
leave, but he saw only one door, and figured if the girl was here, she
had probably put the bandage on.  "Do you have my shirt?" he asked
instead as he tossed the covers off.

        "Its on a line outside drying off.  I'll go get it for you,"
the woman said as she turned for the single door.

        "Thanks," came Tomas's reply as he swung his legs over the
edge of the bed and stood up.  "Woah."  The word came out of Tomas's
mouth involuntarily as his vision blacked out again and he dropped
back onto the bed.

        "Are you alright?" came the concerned question as the girl
turned back toward him.

        "Yeah, I'm fine," Tomas' words were a bit horse as he rubbed
his eyes.  "I just stood up too fast," he concluded as the spots
finally fled from his eyes and he stood up again, successfully this
time.  "See, all better."

        As the girl turned once more to go outside, Tomas stretched
his arms out, feeling a few kinks in his muscles as he did so.  He
certainly didn't feel any more dead then he had that morning, or
rather, whatever morning it was when he made his final plans to attack
Torneo's mansion and save Eve.  Looking down at the bandages, Tomas
picked at them for a moment before finally getting the edge out and
began unwrapping them.  It didn't take him long to finish and gaze at
a dark, large scar that was across his chest.  It also looked fairly
old.

        "That doesn't look as bad in the daylight.  I couldn't tell
last night when I found you, so I bandaged it to be safe."

        Tomas looked up at the girl as she came back into the room,
carrying the shirt that went with his pants.  Taking the girl's gaze
in his own eyes, Tomas gave a smile, though he was unsure just how bad
the scar had been the night before.  "Thanks, I appreciate it."
Taking his shirt, Tomas's smile became surer.  "Also thanks for taking
me in.  I doubt a lot of people would have."

        "That's alright," came the reply as Tomas began to pull on the
shirt.  "I'm Lyn, of the Lorca tribe.  You're safe now."  The
expression on Lyn's face became slightly concerned.  "Who are you?  Do
you remember your name?"

        "Tomas," came the muffled reply as Tomas tried to find the
head hole for his shirt.  Inside the ninja shirt was the black t-shirt
he had been wearing under it.  Apparently Lyn hadn't either found it
or hadn't thought it could come out.

        "Your name is Tomas?  What an odd-sounding name.."  Lyn's
voice trailed off as Tomas finally pulled his head through and raised
an eyebrow at the remark.  "But pay no mind," she added quickly,
looking slightly embarrassed.  "It is a good name."

        "Thanks, Lyn, I rather like it myself."  Stretching his arms
again, Tomas reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.  "Yuck,"
Tomas continued as he stretched some more.  "Sorry, I'm kind of stiff
right now.  I must have been out of it for quite a while before you
found me."  Like years, Tomas thought as he rubbed his eyes a bit.
There was no other explanation for the age of the scar.  Now if only
he had a clue as to how it had happened.

        "You're clothes are rather strange," Lyn said as she changed
the subject.  "Are you a traveler, and what brings you to the Sacae
Plains?"

        "Eh," Tomas thought for a moment before continuing, "that's
probably the best way to describe it.  I've done far more traveling
then I ever thought I would, and never really have much choice in
where I go."  Tomas couldn't recall ever hearing of any place called
the Sacae Plains before, and glanced down at his gloveless hands,
seeing Soul Eater still embedded in the back of his right hand.  He
was starting to have the feeling that the stupid thing had re-written
the Universe on him...again.  It was like the stupid thing didn't want
him to die and gain eternal peace or something.  "I guess you could
say I came here because it was, well, here."

        "That's a strange way to put it," Lyn said with a smile.

        With a shrug, Tomas replied, "I can be a strange guy at times.
That just makes life more interesting, though."

        "I see," Lyn said with a laugh that sounded like music to
Tomas' ears.  He had far, far too little laughter in his life the past
few weeks.  "Would you share your story with me?  If you're a
traveler, you must have seen so many interesting things."  Before
Tomas could work up a reply, however, something in the sounds that the
animals outside were making changed.  Lyn's head tilted slightly as
she listened.  "Hmm?  What was that noise?  I'll go see what's
happening.  Tomas, wait here for me."

        Before he could make any reply, Lyn was already out the door.
Rather then following her as he was, Tomas used the time to take in
the room around him.  Specifically, his eyes searched out the rest of
his gear.  He couldn't see either his guns or the grappling hook he
had stolen, but resting by the door was Izayoi in its sheath.  Moving
to the weapon, Tomas picked it up and strapped it to his back,
completing his outfit, except for the scarf that had been covering his
face.  He didn't really miss it though.

        Seeing his gloves resting on a chest also by the door, Tomas
reached for them as Lyn burst back into the hut.  "Bandits!"  Her
voice was no longer sweet, but held a hard edge to it, along with a
slight hint of fear.  "They must have come down from the Bern
Mountains!"

        "Calm down, Lyn," Tomas said as he pulled the gloves on, a
grim look coming onto his own face.  It seemed like he was spending
his life fighting criminals.  At least this group wouldn't have
boomers with them.

        "They must be planning on raiding the villages."  Lyn's hard
look changed to one of determination as she continued.  "I...I have to
stop them!  If that's all of them, I think I can handle them on my
own.  You'll be safe in here, Tomas."

        "That's nice Lyn," Tomas said as he cracked his knuckles, "but
you're not alone.  I'm here too, remember, and I owe you for taking
care of me.  Let me help you."  Tomas wasn't too sure this was a smart
decision, but he didn't have a choice.  There was no way in hell he
was going to let Lyn go out to fight on her own.  And besides, in a
worst case scenario, he could always fall back on Soul Eater.
Sometimes having a True Rune was a good thing.

        "You want to help?"  Lyn took in Tomas' figure for a moment,
the muted browns of the outfit he was wearing along with the sword
that was strapped to his back.  All in all, it was an imposing sight
as Lyn realized for the first time that Tomas was a good six inches
taller then she was.  "Thank you, Tomas, we'll go together."  Taking
up her own sword from beside the door, Lyn led Tomas outside.

        Exiting the hut for the first time, Tomas finally got to see
the lay of the land.  Plains was a good way to describe it.  Except
for a few patches of trees near Lyn's home, there was nothing but
grass as far as he could see.  In fact, if anything, it seemed like
there was always more grass entering his field of vision as Lyn led
him into the trees near her home.  The pair were silent for a moment
as Lyn brought Tomas to the edge of the trees and pointed out across
the land.

        "You can see them both from here.  There's one to the west,
and one to the north.  We're going to have to get closer to attack,
though."  Lyn's voice held the mix of fear and excitement that he was
sure his own voice had held as he directed the raid on Torneo's
mansion.  That had been a cause he was all for, and protecting her
home was one that Lyn was for.  As for himself, well, he was all for
protecting a cute girl like Lyn.

        Turning his mind from that thought, Tomas took in what were
going to be his victims, and blinked.  He looked back and forth at the
two places Lyn pointed out and reached up to rub his eyes making sure
they were clear.  "Lyn, correct me if I'm wrong, but I only see two
people out there."

        "Yes, I know" Lyn nodded in agreement.  "What do you think we
should do?  I could use some advice, Tomas.  I've...never been in
battle before."

        Tomas looked again at the two bandits, his face going flat at
the sight, and then once more at Lyn before replying.  "Lyn, there are
only two of them.  How the hell do they expect to raid a village when
there are only two of them?"

        Lyn looked at Tomas for a moment before flushing slightly as
she realized what he was saying.  "These two are just the scouts.
They'll kill the families in the farming homes in the area so that
when the main band arrives, no one can give warning.  If we kill the
scouts, though, they won't be able to report back to their chief that
everything is ready for tonight."  Lyn's gaze went to the ground for a
moment.  "I'm sorry I made it sound like more."

        Reaching out, Tomas put a hand on Lyn's shoulder.  "No, it's
my fault."  Tomas shook his head slightly as he turned his gaze back
outward.  "I'm sorry for the way I sounded, Lyn.  Friends?" He asked
as he began to come up with a plan to handle the situation.  Not that
one was really needed for dealing with two punks out in an oversized
field, but it would be better then running out screaming his head off.

        "Friends," came Lyn's reply as she reached up and briefly
touched the hand on her shoulder.  "Tell me, do you have any advice?"

        "Yeah," Tomas said, removing his hand from Lyn's shoulder.
"I'm a bit of a tactician as well.  I haven't had to do it much, but I
know how to."  One brown covered arm came out and pointed to the
bandit to the west.  "We'll deal with him first.  You approach him
straight on from the east, and I'll come in slightly more from the
north to keep the two separated.  One of us should be able to easily
get in a flanking blow to finish him off fast."

        "Tomas...let me fight him."

        Turning to look at his newly acquired friend, Tomas raised an
eyebrow.  "Are you sure Lyn?"

        "Yes," came the reply with a determined nod, "I am.  I want to
fight this battle on my own."

        Tomas gazed at Lyn for a moment, taking her in.  He didn't
know how good with that sword she was, nor how good the bandit was
with whatever it was carrying, but he could see the determination
within Lyn's eyes.  "Okay," he finally said, "he's all yours, but be
careful."

        Lyn gave Tomas a brief, grateful smile as she nodded.  "I
will."

        Raising a hand, Tomas waved Lyn to go forward while he split
to the north of the field.  He kept his eyes moving as he advanced
along his chosen path, moving as low to the ground as he could and
avoiding even slight rises in the ground that would make him a better
outline.  He felt he was doing alright when Lyn's voice reached his
ears.

        "He's seen me!  He's coming this way!"

        Swearing softly under his breath, Tomas split his attention
between Lyn and her approaching opponent and the other bandit whom he
could now tell was standing by a hut.  His concentration broken by
that thought, Tomas turned to glance at Lyn's home to see that the two
were built the same.  The clash of blades and their ringing steel,
however, brought him back to the situation at hand.

        The bandit, he could now see, was wielding a large axe against
Lyn's sword.  It was clear fairly fast that Lyn was faster then her
opponent, but when a vicious kick slammed into her stomach, Tomas was
racing toward the fight, knowing, without a doubt that there was no
way he was going to make it to the fight in time to save Lyn.

        His worry was proved useless, however, as Lyn rolled away from
the follow up axe strike and got back to her feet, her blade held in
front of her.  The bandit, not wanting to waste what advantage his
strike had given him charged in at Lyn to finish the fight, swinging a
massive horizontal slash at Lyn's neck.

        Even as Lyn dropped to one knee, Tomas was sighing as the
fight had reached its end.  The bandit, having put too much strength
into the blow and meeting no resistance, couldn't halt himself from
spinning partially around.  That was when Lyn struck, almost exploding
out of her stance and driving her sword into the bandit's side, the
upward angle of the blade biting deep into the bandit and causing him
to fall to the ground as Lyn yanked her sword out of the man, the
blood gushing from the would as his life fled away.

        Spinning himself around, Tomas quickly took in the other
bandit.  From the few hundred yards away that Tomas was, it seemed the
other man hadn't even twitched as Lyn cut down his comrade.  That made
Tomas wonder briefly what the man was doing, but he shrugged it off as
he turned back to Lyn, finding her on the ground holding her stomach.

        Hurrying over to the emerald-eyed woman, he knelt beside her.
"Are you alright?  That's quite the kick you took."

        "I'll be alright," came Lyn's reply as her free hand dug
through a pouch at her side that Tomas hadn't taken much notice of
before.  "Just give me a moment to use one of the vulneraries I have."

        Frowning in a slight bit of confusion, Tomas took in the small
brown vial that Lyn removed from her pouch.  "What's a vulnerary?"

        "It's a healing potion," came Lyn reply as she took a quick
drink of the potion in her hand.  She made a slightly disgusted face
as she stood up.  "It has an awful taste, however.  Where's the last
bandit?"

        Turning back toward the distant building, Tomas frowned.  "He
still hasn't moved.  I've got a feeling he likes the defensive
position he's in.  I suppose we could try to draw him out, but if he's
smart he won't fall for it."

        "Tomas, please, let me fight this one as well."  Lyn's face
was determined as she gazed toward the north and the last of the two
bandits.  "This is...important to me."

        Tomas' gaze took Lyn in for a moment before going back to the
bandit.  "Alright, but if you get into any trouble, and I do mean any,
I'm going to step in.  There's no way I'm going to stand by while some
idiot bandit tries kills you."

        The slightly grateful look that had appeared in her eyes
before returned to Lyn for a moment before it was buried under
determination once more.  "Let us hurry."  She only managed one fast
step when Tomas' hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her forward
movement.

        "Let's walk instead."  Stepping next to Lyn, Tomas continued
as the pair moved slowly to the finally bandit.  "It's not too smart
to be out of breath when you're picking a fight."  Casually raising
his left hand as he let go of Lyn's arm, he continued, "He already
knows we're here, and if he was going to run, he'd have done so while
you were fighting the other one."

        Lyn didn't give Tomas any response, her attention instead
focused on the man they were approaching.  Like the previous bandit,
this one was carrying an axe, though he held it in a fairly casual
matter.  As the two drew within ten yards, Tomas stopped moving as Lyn
continued to approach.

        "Who do you think you are?" the man sneered as he raised his
axe and gripped it with both hands.  "You think you can stand up to
Batta the Beast?"

        Lyn didn't reply, instead simply raising her sword into a
guard position.  She paused for a brief moment before rushing in,
leveling a horizontal slash at Batta's waist.  The large man stumbled
back a step as Lyn's speed caught him off guard, and a small slice
appeared in the thick brown fur shirt he was wearing.

        The speed didn't detour the man, however, as he quickly
stepped forward and lashed out with his axe, the speed of the man's
blow taking Lyn by surprise as well.  She quickly raised her sword to
block the blow, but the man's strength was as great as his size
suggested.  The only good thing was that Lyn had blocked with the flat
of her blade rather then the edge.  She found her own sword slammed
into her head as the follow through of the axe knocked her to the
ground.

        With her vision blacking in and out from the blow, she could
barely make out the man standing over her with his axe raised over his
head.  She pushed against the ground trying to move out of the way of
the overhand blow that she knew was coming, but found her body unable
to respond.  Her teeth clenched in fear as she was sure she was going
to die, regretting that she had insisted on fighting this battle
alone.

        Her vision cleared up just as the sound of steel ringing on
steel reached her ears, her eyes now filled with the brown clothed
back of Tomas.  Finding herself able to move, she shifted slightly to
see that Batta had backed off slightly as Tomas stood guard over her,
his sword held loosely at his side.

        "Are you alright, Lyn?"

        "Yes," she replied as she stood back up even though she was
still a bit dizzy.  "I can finish this."

        "No, just relax.  I'll end this."

        Lyn gazed at Tomas a bit strangely as his voice grew grimmer
at the end of his words.  Not knowing what else to do, Lyn backed up a
few yards and moved off to the side so that she could watch the fight.

        "What, you think you can kill me, boy?"  Batta gave Tomas a
look of contempt, even though there was a bit of caution in the man's
stance.  "I was killing people before you ever even held a sword!"

        "Yeah," Tomas replied as he brought Izayoi up so that it was
held in both hands with his wrists crossed, the hilt by his ear and
the tip of the blade aimed for Batta's throat.  "But I've gone against
an army with only a few people in support.  Having to only worry about
a single opponent is a nice change.  Come on," Tomas finished with a
smirk, "let's see what you got."

        Lyn watched as Batta looked worried for a split second before
he charged and began to raise his axe for an overhand strike.  That
move, however, was the man's mistake, as Tomas also charged.  Izayoi
was already raised, however, and Tomas only needed to flick his wrists
to bring the blade around over his head and begin his own slash.
Batta's axe hadn't even reached the top of its upward swing when
Tomas's sword bit into his neck.  The slash of the blade continued
down leaving a long, diagonal slash through the man's chest, the blood
almost exploding out of him as his now lifeless fingers dropped his
axe.

        Shaking his head at the site, Tomas flicked his wrist, most of
the blood on his sword splashing off onto the ground.  Turning back to
Lyn, Tomas walked calmly over to her.  He stepped close to her and
ignored the look of awe he could see in her eyes as he planted his
sword into the ground.  Reaching up with his left hand, Tomas gently
cupped Lyn's chin in his hand.

        "Umm..."  Lyn stuttered for a slight moment, "what are you
doing?" she asked as Tomas tilted her head to the side slightly.

        "He got you good, didn't he?" Tomas asked as he took in the
bruise that had formed on Lyn's face.  "The next time you fight
someone stronger then you, either dodge their attacks or deflect the
blow to one side or the other."  His right hand came up and lightly
traced the bruise.  "That way you won't end up with something like
this again, or worse."  Then, letting Lyn go and stepping back while
drawing his sword out from the ground, he asked, "Will that Vulnerary
of yours handle it?"

        "Yes," Lyn replied as she removed the potion from her bag.  As
the two began walking back toward Lyn's home, she got up the nerve to
ask, "What did you mean when you said you had fought against an army
before?"

        Tomas frowned for a moment, unsure how to respond.  He wasn't
even sure he could really sum up everything that had happened to him
in the past few months, either by the events or the emotions they were
causing.  He frowned as he realized he was already trying to latch
onto Lyn for emotional support in his own way.  He had found someone
who needed his help, and then needed his protection.  It didn't hurt
that she was cute.  "Well, that's a long story Lyn, and I'm not sure
you'd believe it all."

        Lyn looked up at Tomas questioningly.  "What do you mean?"

        "Well, I've had...an interesting life lately."  Tomas shook
his head as he realized how bad an understatement that was given what
his life had been like before.  "But basically, the story goes that
a...friend of mine was kidnapped by some thieves.  I hired a small
group of mercenaries to help me go after them.  It turned out that the
thieves were working for a guy who had his own private army."

        "Wow...well, what did you do?" Lyn asked as she replaced what
was left of her potion into her pouch.

        Looking at Lyn, Tomas shrugged.  "Lots of misdirection, lots
of ambushes, and a lot of luck during the attack.  We won, though not
without some other help we came across inside."  Before Lyn could ask,
Tomas added, "There was quite the bounty on the head of the leader of
all those guys, and some bounty hunters had decided to attack the
place at the same time.  We had similar goals, so we worked together."



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yet Another A Dark World Sequel



        It was school all over again, Tomas thought as he walked into
the room and saw the desk/chair combinations in neat rows.  Reaching
up, he tugged lightly at the color of his white military uniform and
he went to the front row and took an empty seat.  Not quite school,
his thought changed, since I want to be here.  It hadn't yet been two
months since he had signed up to join the UN Space Forces, and he knew
he had been surprising a lot of people.  He picked up all of the
military regulations fast, and the combat strategies faster.  The most
impressive aspect of his rapid schooling had been his leadership
skills.  A lot of that, of course, came from the fact that he had
already led an army and had been the chief strategist for a second.
Fighting battles and leading people into war was getting to be a habit
for him.

        The fact that he was able to breeze through those classes left
him plenty of time to learn what he was behind on, how to fly a
fighter.  He'd played plenty of flight and space combat games as a kid
during his first life, and that helped ease the transition somewhat.
He had no clue how the Valkyries managed to disobey various rules of
physics, but he wasn't going to argue about it.  It meant all those
weeks spent playing games like Wing Commander and X-wing had been
training simulations for what he was being asked to do.  Most of his
time had been spent learning the controls of what would become his
craft.

        Tomas' deep concentration and near obsession with learning the
controls of the Valkyrie left many of his fellow cadets to think that
he was rather aloof.  What they didn't know was that he had had to
lie, brag, and eventually bet to get himself even in the training
program.  He wasn't sure whether that lieutenant who had given him
such a hard time was ever going to show up for that bet, but he had to
be prepared just in case.  With this thought in mind, he pulled out
what was his current regular reading material, a repair manual for the
VF-1.

        He was so caught up in memorizing various emergency repair
situations that he didn't notice when his instructor, a Captain in the
UN Spacy, entered the classroom with another man at his side.  Most of
the rest of the class, who were either talking to each other or going
over the class' material, didn't take much notice either, until the
call for attention came to.  Everyone, Tomas included, shot to their
feet and brought their hands to their brows in salute.  It was an act
that had been drilled into every cadet within the first two weeks,
mostly through the punishment of physical exercise.

        That had been an aspect of the training Tomas had also had few
problems with.  Being in good shape from the numerous battles he had
been through in the past three years had allowed him to get through
the necessary physical training faster then the other cadets, and this
had gotten him ahead of his "class" in other areas.  The forces of the
Macross were believers of getting everyone through as fast as
possible.

        As his instructor and the other man returned the salutes,
Tomas wondered at where he was now.  It was strange that he kept
getting thrown into new universes, and never with familiar faces.  Or,
rather, with too familiar places at times.  He was sure that out
there, some god had to hate him.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The A Dark World Sequels keep coming


With his hands stuffed as deeply into the pockets of his denim jacket
as he could make them, Tomas wandered aimlessly around the semi-
familiar streets of Tokyo.  As his tired emerald eyes drifted around
to take in the scenery, he could only marvel at how peaceful this
version of Tokyo was.  No boomers running rampant through the streets.
No super powered corporations kidnapping people for their experiments
in creating super soldiers, and most importantly, no world wide
criminal organizations out for his head.

Of course, he was now stuck with other problems to make up for them.
He was pretty much powerless now, for starters.  Soul Eater was once
more sealed away and off in a vault in heaven where it could hopefully
do no harm.  The nanites that had given him his healing abilities and
extra strength and speed were also gone, lost to him with the whole
dying and being reborn bit.  The only power he had left was his reiki,
and even that was weakened to the point that he could only use his
Rei-gun a single time a day.  He was tempted to remove his Spirit-
cuffs to make up for the lost power, but in the end had decided it
would be better to leave them on to help build his strength quicker,
even if it made him weaker now.

And then there was the whole loss of age bit.  Again.  When he first
came into this particular set of Universes, he had lost two years and
his memory.  While he got his memory back with his first death, he
never regained the age.  With his third and most recent death, he
apparently lost another two years of age, finding himself to now be
the ripe old age of 14, as of yesterday.

On the family side of life, his simply got worse, in what seemed to be
a usual occurrence.  He rather quickly managed to find out that he had
no parents, no last name, and used to be routinely in trouble with the
local police for sleeping in places he shouldn't have been.  Of
course, he managed to learn this by sleeping under a tree in a local
park and getting tossed in jail for the night.  On the bright side,
though, the police were kind enough to give him the address of where
he was supposed to be living now.

Thanks to some kind of out reach program that was supposed to help
poor kids (and the fact that he produced test scores of the partial
college level in some subjects) he had a single room apartment (which
contained a single chair, a small TV table and TV, and a bed) that he
could call his own.  He also received 2000 yen a week for covering
food costs.  While he had certainly lived better when he was playing
the role of a thief, Tomas wasn't sure he wanted to go back into that
life style just yet.  He'd survived the four days on what he had so
far, and that was good enough for him.

Of the four days he had lived this new life so far, the worst part of
it had been school.  It didn't help matters that he had to do good to
continue getting his financial support, but he found out rather fast
that the he had the role of the tough bad guy loner at school.  With
the frighten glances he received whenever he simply tried to approach
other people, he didn't use his days in class to make friends.
Instead he slept through the classes that were on subjects he knew
about, such as math, science, and English, and paid attention to the
classes he had material he had to learn, such as Japanese history.

Through his four days of school, only a single incident really stood
out.  As he was wandering the halls on his second day of classes at
lunch, he came across a group of boys towering over and threatening a
girl who seemed a bit younger then his current age.  He moved to stop
the incident before he could even consider whether it would be out of
place for who he was now or not.  It wasn't that hard to diffuse the
situation, either.  A few glares, some vague threats, and the boys
were backing off.  Having gotten rid of the boys, he finally took in
the girl, only to recognize her as Hotaru Tomoe.

At that point, he backed off from the situation, not completely sure
what was going to happen from that point on.  While he gave her a
small, quick wave as he walked off, his mind was racing trying to
figure out what he should do from that point on.  While he was sure
that it meant that he was soon going to be up to his eyebrows in
demons if he stuck around, he couldn't bring himself to just walk
away.  Hell, maybe he just needed the violence in his life now.  It
was probably like a drug.

A crack of thunder and a shot of lightning flew through the air,
perhaps to accent those thoughts of his as a downpour of rain fell
from the cloud filled skies.  As the crowds of people who filled the
streets raced for cover, Tomas simply ducked his head so the rain
poured down his bangs and in front of his eyes rather then down his
face as he continued to walk.  The falling water didn't bother him too
much for some reason.  Perhaps it was just the way his mood was with
all the introspection he had been doing, or maybe it was simply a
general indifference to life given it was starting to seem he could
never really die.  After such things as having his chest punched out,
a bullet splattering his brains, and being in the middle of an
exploding building, the threat of a cold from a fall rain didn't seem
all that big a deal.

As he turned a corner, not wanting to stand around waiting for a light
to change, Tomas raised his head to take in the city again.  As his
eyes drifted up and down as the sheets of water continued to storm the
city, his eyes caught a familiar face a bit of the way down, standing
at the very edge of a pavilion cover, but on the wrong side, the water
soaking the person through.

Even as he took another step down the road, the person turned away
from him, looking into the crowded cover where there was no more room.
His mind began running through the possibilities of the actions he
could take, doubts that had always haunted him when he had to take
decisive action where his personal life was concerned reared their
heads once more.  As his steps continued to bring him closer, he
thought back to some thoughts he'd had years before when writing his
resume for the first time.  Destiny, he had said, has a way of
dropping leaves into your path and waiting to see if you'll pick them
up.  He was quickly approaching such a leaf, and his mind worked hard
to decide whether he would pick it up or not.

As he came to within a few steps of the person, his mind did what it
always did in such situations for him.  It shut down and let his heart
lead the way.  In another step his denim jacket was off of his
shoulders and being spread out.  In the final step toward that leaf,
he wrapped his jacket over the shoulders of the girl and gave a
surprised Hotaru a slight smile.  "It's not much, but it'll help a
bit."



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Last A Dark World Sequel in this thing



It began with pain.  Funny how that was.  For him, life always began
with pain.  Well, except for his first life, anyway.  As he once more
swam out of the darkness, faces flashed by him.  His family; the
people he was related to by blood.  He could no longer recall their
voices or the words of advice he had received from them as he grew up.
Their faces were beginning to blur as he forgot the details of their
features.  It didn't really matter to him anymore, though.  He knew
that he'd never see them again.  He could remember the love they gave
him, though, and that was enough.

There had been other loves in his life that he kept in his heart.
First there was Eve, the young girl who had thought of him as her
father.  Then came Lyn, the young woman who had taught him to fight
with a sword.  Most recently there was Shang-Xiang, the Chinese girl
who had taught him how to have fun even through this black pit of a
life.  He had died protecting all three of them.  Funny how life
worked out.

Finally, he reached the end of the darkness, and slowly his eyes
opened.  He blinked a few times before using his standard opening
line.  "Unfamiliar ceiling.  Heh."  Smirking slightly, Tomas pushed
the covers away that were covering him as he sat up, looking around to
take in his surroundings.  Looking left and right there was nothing to
see but a couple of plain white curtains.  Turning around, he noticed
a tact board with a few various papers with scribbles he couldn't make
out.  Shrugging a bit, he swung his feet over the edge and dropped to
the ground, frowning as he did so.

"Damn," he muttered, "that's a tall bed."  Giving a small sigh, Tomas
padded past the curtains and looked around the rest of the room.  His
eyes caught a couple of machines that he recognized as intravenous
machines.  "Huh, must be a hospital then."  Noticing a mirror, he
moved over to take in his face, prepared once more to see slightly
different features.  What he saw, however, was a face he hadn't seen
in a long time.  "Oh shit."

The hair on his head was dirty blonde, the light golden hair streaked
with auburn color.  The face was more round then angular and there
wasn't a hint of fuzz on his face.  He looked like he was eight again.
Reaching out with his right hand, Tomas slowly touched the mirror.
"So many years lost..." Tilting his head slightly, he frowned as he
noticed the faint scar under his right eye.  "The wounds are still
there, though."

His eyes going to Soul Eater, once more in his right hand, Tomas
frowned and concentrated for a moment, frowning as only one finger
began to glow with Reiki.  "Crap, I'm back to one use of my Reigun,
again.  I hope I don't run into a demon anytime soon."

Looking in the mirror for a few moments longer and not finding
anything else to say, Tomas turned and headed for the single door he
had noticed as he looked around.  There wasn't, he felt, any reason to
stick around waiting for someone to come to him.  Besides, he needed
to go to the bathroom.

Opening the door, Tomas came to a complete stop as he found a pair of
blades at his throat.  Blinking twice before looking down, he took in
the two weapons that were being held to something near and dear to
him.  What little he could see of the blades were black iron, though
he didn't doubt their sharpness nor the steady gloved hands that held
them.

Swallowing slightly and feeling the blades bite into his neck with the
movement; Tomas turned his eyes upward, taking in a pair of white
painted masks.  Licking his lips slightly, he finally spoke.  "You
know what, I think I'll just go back to the bed and lie down.  That
seems like a very good idea."

One of the wooden masked nodded once, and Tomas took a very slow step
backward, away from the daggers.  As one of the masked figures
followed Tomas by a half step, the other turned and left.  Swallowing
again, Tomas, continuing to move slowly, turned and walked back to the
bed, pulling himself onto it, pulling the covers up, and laying back
down.  Just because he couldn't really die didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Besides, it would be nice to die of old age as opposed to being
stabbed, shot, blown up, stepped on, etcetera.

The pair remained like that for a while, Tomas on the bed and the
masked figured standing nearby with his weapon in his hand.  Tomas
could tell simply by the way the figure stood that he'd be killed in
an instant if he made the wrong move.  As tempting as it was to use
his True Rune and run, Tomas stayed where he was.  He didn't really
want to make the situation any worse then it already was.

Eventually, a new man entered the room.  Taking one look at the guy,
Tomas new instantly that this was also a killer.  He could see it in
the man's brown eyes.  The semi-cheerful smile on the man's face
didn't reassure Tomas any.  Before he could say anything, though, the
man spoke.

"You chose a good time to wake up, kiddo.  The Hokage's meeting will
be ending in a few minutes so she can see you right away."

Blinking at the man, Tomas thought for a moment before he replied.
"The who's meeting?"

"The Hokage is the leader of this village," came the man's reply as he
tossed a bag onto the bed.  "Get dressed.  We have to do a bit of
walking, and going in a hospital robe isn't the best way to make an
impression."

Not really sure what else to do, Tomas nodded, and opened the bag
before blinking and looking at the two figures watching him.
"Umm...do you mind?"  Tomas asked as he waved to the curtain.  The
masked figure simply nodded and walked out of the room while the man
who had tossed the bag laughed and moved to the other side of the
curtain on the door's side.

Not really wanting to waste any time, Tomas pulled out the clothes,
finding a plain white shirt, black pants, boxers, socks, and a pair of
cheap looking shoes.  Shrugging out of his hospital gown, Tomas
quickly put on the clothes and stepped around the curtain.  "Okay,
let's go."

***

As the door to her office closed, Tsunade leaned back in her chair,
her blonde hair framing her round face.  Looking at the pile of papers
before her, she managed to suppress a shudder at the amount of work
she had to do.  No matter how much she tried, she could never get the
load reduced.  It wasn't her fault that it was so boring that it kept
putting her to sleep.  Really, it wasn't her fault at all.

As the door to her office again opened, Tsunade looked up to see her
friend and aid, Shizune, enter the room.  The dark hair and robes of
the medical specialist did well to accent her features as she spoke.
"Tsunade-sama, the boy the ANBU found is here."

"Ah, good Shizune, send him in."  Turning her head to the side as
Shizune left, Tsunade gave her attention to her pink hair, green eye
student.  In the year that had passed since she began training Sakura
Tsunade had been very pleased with the progress.  "Sakura-chan, will
you go get the boy's sword.  Whether he stays or leaves, it is his,
after all."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."  Sakura replied as she began to sift through a
pile of papers on the desk in hopes of finding the key that would open
the locked case where the sword was currently stashed away.

As Sakura was looking for the key, the door to the office again opened
as Shizune re-entered the room, though this time followed by a young
boy.  Tsunade watched with interest as the boy's eyes flicked around
the room, the gaze not in wonder but seemingly searching for
something.  As the boy approached her desk, she realized two things.
First, that his eyes had only stopped at the window behind her, and
second that the look in his eyes seemed far more mature then his age
would suggest.

A small smile came to Tsunade's face as the boy placed his right fist
into his left palm and bowed to her.  "Greetings," His voice had a
slightly high pitch and away from the tenor of maturity.  "I am Tomas
Megarson."

Tsunade stared calmly at Tomas for a moment before nodding her head.
"I am Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha.  Tell me, do you know how you got
here?"

Tomas gazed at Tsunade for a moment before shaking his head.  "The
last thing I remember was being in a battle and seriously
outnumbered."

"I see," Tsunade spoke calmly.  "That would explain the blood that was
found on the sword with you."  Her eyes narrowed slightly as Tomas'
own eyes widened, as though surprised by the mention of the sword.
"You were found by an ANBU team returning here after a mission."

One of Tomas' eyebrows rose as he inquired, "ANBU?"

As Sakura moved away from the desk, key in hand now, Tsunade replied,
"Tell me, what do you know of our village?"

Tomas shrugged slightly as he answered.  "Only what I've seen.  You
have a nice, clean hospital, an interesting market, and a very
peaceful atmosphere."

Tsunade nodded in acceptance.  "This is a ninja village.  The ANBU are
the elite unit of Konoha."

Tomas' eyebrows rose with surprise.  "A ninja village?  Wow, that's
pretty damn cool.  What style do your ninja's practice?"

The Hokage gave the boy before her a strange look.  "Don't you what a
Ninja Village is."

"Yeah, it's a village where ninja live."  Tomas' voice made it clear
that he at least thought it was a dumb question to ask.

Tsunade's eyes, however, spoke differently.  "That's it at a most
basic level.  In truth, it is a village where many families of ninja
have gathered under a single banner to support their country.  Did
your home have dealings with ninja?"

"I...don't have a home."  The sound of loss and depression filled
Tomas' voice.  "I can barely remember my parent's faces or the sound
of their voices."

"That's so sad."  Sakura's voice, holding true sympathy, came from
beside Tomas as she past him, a red-sheathed sword in her hands.  The
slight, sharp intake of break next to her caused her to look at the
boy, instantly noticing that his eyes were locked on the weapon she
held.

"That sword," Tsunade said, "was the one found in your hands.  I take
it that it does belong to you.  It's of very fine quality.  Tell me,
does it have a name?"

"Yan Hong Se Hu.  It was a gift from someone very special to me."

"Yan Hong Se Hu..." Tsunade repeated, feeling her way around the
strange name.  "What does it mean?"

The reply came fast.  "Crimson Tiger.  May I?"  Tomas' hands were held
out toward Sakura and the sword, a look of almost reverence on his
face.

"Of course," Tsunade said, nodding to Sakura.  "It belongs to you,
after all."

Sakura approached Tomas, holding the Crimson Tiger out to him.  Her
eyes were interested as she took in how reverently he took up the
blade, drawing an inch of the deadly steel from the sheath and allowed
his eyes to drown in it.

After a few long minutes, the sword was slid back into its sheath, and
Tsunade wondered just what had happened that could form such a heart
wrenching sounds as the boy before her thanked her for returning the
blade.

Tsunade, watching the scene, coughed slightly to regain the attention
of the boy before her.  "Tell me, what are you going to do now,
Tomas?"

"I don't know.  I guess I'll go continue searching for a home."  The
young boy released a tired sigh.  "I just want to find a place I can
grow up in.  Make friends.  Fall in love.  Grow old in."

"You could make your home here, you know."  Sakura gave Tomas a small
smile as she looked down at the boy.  "Konoha is a good place to grow
up.  I should know, after all."

"Heh, thanks, but I really can't.  I have no desire to get tossed in
an orphanage and no want for a substitute family."  Tomas gave a small
shrug as he continued talking.  It was becoming clear that it was a
habit of his.  "I know myself well enough to know that I won't except
any adult as a mother or father.  Its been tried before.  I'm just too
independent these days."

Sakura gave a small frown.  "That's not very good, you know.  We all
need love and support to grow up.  Being alone isn't good for anyone."

Reaching up a small, childish hand, Tomas brushed his blonde bangs out
of his eyes.  "I'll find friends.  I can get by with their support.
Maybe not anytime soon, but I will.  Hope can keep even the most
downtrodden alive."

"There is a way," Tsunade said, breaking into the conversation, "for
you to remain here and be independent, Tomas, though it would place a
burden on your shoulders."

Sakura looked at her teacher in some surprise.  "Really, Tsunade-
sama?"

"The Third added a small law to Konoha six years ago, thanks to your
friend Naruto, Sakura-chan."  Tsunade turned her serious brown eyes to
the boy before her.  "What Sarutobi-sensei put into law is that any
orphan who enrolls into the Ninja Academy is eligible for a weekly
allowance to allow him or her to live on their own."

A serious gaze of his own was returned to the Fifth Hokage as Tomas
slowly spoke.  "So, what you're saying is that to stay here in the
manner I desire, I would have to bet my life on your village."

"Exactly."  Tsunade ignored the slightly upset look that Sakura held
as she watched the boy before her.  It was his eyes, she decided, that
brought her to make the offer.  It took her so long to figure out, but
what his eyes had kept doing was searching for escape routes, no
matter how crazy the chances where.  She ignored it, she had realized
finally, because she didn't expect it in someone so young.

Tomas, meanwhile, had closed his eyes, a slight frown on his face as
he mulled the offer.  Finally, he raised his head and gave a grin.
"It sounds like fun.  Why not, where do I sign up?"

"Very well."  Tsunade nodded her head to the boy.  "Sakura-chan, take
Tomas to the Ninja Academy and get him registered.  By the time that's
done, Shizune should have caught up with you.  I'll have her get the
paperwork for the allowance done as well as well as an address for an
apartment and a letter for making purchases."

"Purchases?"  Sakura's voice was filled with the question she asked.

"Yes, Tomas had no packs with him.  He'll need clothing and food."
Tsunade began to dig through the paperwork stacked on her desk in an
attempt to find her official stationary.  "Get going Sakura.  Shizune,
start looking for an apartment for our new student."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," both girls replied as they went to began their
separate tasks.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Slip in the Creek
Expanded Version
By: Tomas Megarson
A Sailor Moon/SI fic
Email: NighthawkTM@yahoo.com
Website: http://nighthawk.anifics.com


        The ethereal light bathing the room wasn't even able to give a
glow of cheer.  The perverse evil that filled the room with a stench
that was forced upon the mind and soul of those within its grasp stole
all touches of kindness and humanity.  The room was vast and made of
cold hard stone that refused to take in any heat, making those within
suffer from its chill.  It was a chill that would seep into the bones
of those compelled into it.

        Those within the room could hardly be counted as human.  Of
the hundreds of beings present only the four at the front of the room
appeared human.  The others that filled the room had some human
aspects that led those who saw them to consider them demons rather
then true monsters.  All of these creatures, these youma, gazed
forward with fear.

        Upon a throne that sat on a raised dais, Beryl gazed at the
black stasis crystal containing Jadeite.  Her general had failed her
for the last time, and she wouldn't give him the chance to fail her
again.  She would savor the terror filled face later, however.  For
now she had far weightier matters to deal with.  Turning her gaze to
her subjects below her throne, she let her anger filled eyes sweep
over them.

        The lesser youma present shied back from that gaze.  They knew
that in that state she was as likely to strike out against them as
though they had failed her like Jadeite.  Her other Generals stood
quietly watching her, their faces calm but their eyes also holding
fear.

        Behind their fear, however, Beryl could see in each a greed, a
desire, to attempt to succeed where Jadeite had failed.  Each of the
three remaining generals was sure of his own power and strength, and
each was just as sure that he would succeed where the first of their
number had already failed.

        Beryl almost found it amusing at how competitive each was.
The more one of them succeeded the more the others would try to stab
him in the back.  The entertainment value of this alone made it worth
while to keep them around.  The internal power struggles always made
sure each was fit for duty and for battle when she called upon them.

        "Now then..." Beryl stopped her speech and gazed over her
generals.  Kunzite, Zoicite, and Nephrite were present.  That was
three of her Generals, but she had four Generals left.  "Why is
Saphite not present?"  Her voice seemed to gain another layer of frost
as she bit her words out.  A deep rage filled her as she realized that
her summons had been ignored.  The fire of her anger rose in her eyes
even as her voice grew colder and colder.  "SAPHITE!  APPEAR!"

        Beryl's gaze swept over her other Generals as they looked at
each other with questions in their eyes and fear across their faces.
Where had Saphite gone?  While he was the youngest of the Generals
that wouldn't protect him from her wrath.  Nor would it protect the
others responsible for his training from her rage.  One General had
already paid a price to Beryl today, and it was looking as though the
rest would soon follow.

        Before Beryl could demand Saphite's presence again a snore
reached her throne, causing her eyes to widen at the insolence of it
all.  Someone dared to SLEEP in her court, and when she was giving
orders no less!?  All this act did was send her already towering rage
outside the atmosphere.  "WHO DARES!"

        The entire court of monsters looked around attempting to find
the source of the snores that were filling the chamber.  Finally,
after what seemed like eternity as Queen Beryl sat fuming on her
throne, one of the youma far in the back roared in victory and yanked
someone to his feet.  A path quickly formed to the throne giving Beryl
a clear view of her missing General.

***

        With a groan, Tomas slowly began to open his eyes and gaze
around.  His eyes had barely opened into slight slits letting his
green eyes gaze through when he shut the tight again.  Even the dim
light within the throne room caused him pain.  Perhaps going back to
sleep would be a better plan.

        If only whatever was holding him up would let him go now.
Through his 20 years of life, the black hair youth had never learned
the art of sleeping while on his feet.  Or on his back.  Or sitting.
Or in a moving vehicle.  Or when the room was totally silent.  As he
came to think of it, there were lots of things that kept him from
sleeping.

        As he felt his body bounce while whatever was holding him
shook him, Tomas slowly came to realize that he wouldn't be getting
back to sleep anytime soon, which really sucked in his opinion.  The
stupid headache wasn't giving any signs of leaving, and he would have
preferred to sleep it off.  He opened his eyes slowly letting them
adjust to the light as he tried to recall what had happened.

That fall had really hurt, stupid creek, and it seemed like it messed
up his mind.  For some reason he was seeing a bunch of stupid looking
monsters.  "Ugh...the hell...?"  Something was feeling wrong within
himself.  It was a feeling that reminded him of heartburn, but a bit
more wide spread.  Breathing was beginning to become a problem as
well.

The heartburn problem was going to take awhile to deal with, he was
sure.  He'd have to wait until he got home before he could deal with
that.  The breathing problem was easier.  He just had to get whatever
was holding him up to quit choking him.

        Before he could, however, Tomas was thrown to a hard floor by
whatever had been carrying him.  Besides the fact that his head was
still hurting, he realized that his hands were getting cold.  Stupid
floor, like the bad circulation he had in his hands wasn't doing a
good enough job of getting them cold.  Pushing himself up, Tomas
rubbed his neck where his clothes had been previously choking him.
His head was bent to the ground his eyes searching it as he worked his
mind around what the hell was going on.

        "SAPHITE!"

        The yell caused Tomas to look up at the person who yelled.
Upon seeing Beryl he blinked twice.  Hard.  After that he turned his
head one way and then the next gazing around the room.  No one else
said anything, in fact they all seemed to be holding their breaths.
Not having any better ideas, Tomas hazard a guess.  "Uh...yeah?"  This
was some freaky dream.  Though why he wouldn't be using his real name
in a dream, he had no idea.  Maybe he was wrong and this Saphite was
someone else.  He hoped so, because the red head bitch looked pissed.

        It had to be a dream, right?  He knew he had slipped and hit
his head.  He remembered that.  And he knew who the bitch on the
throne was.  He'd seen Sailor Moon enough times to know that, and
everyone knew that anime wasn't real.  At least anime characters were
not real in his dimension.  And while Tomas was a great believer in
parallel worlds, he knew which world he belonged in.

So all of that meant that this was a dream that was caused by hitting
his head in that stupid creek.  And if it were a dream, everything
would be fine.  After all he'd fallen into lava in dreams before and
hadn't even gotten warm from it.  Yup, it was a dream, and as such he
had no need to worry.  But it might be fun to play the part.  For a
bit.  Maybe.

        "WHY WERE YOU SLEEPING!"

        "Uh...because I was tired?"  At the glare of ice he got, Tomas
guessed that was the wrong answer.  Just because it was a dream and he
couldn't be hurt didn't mean he wanted to fight.  He'd had problems
fighting with magic and such in dreams before.  Sure he'd seen a lot
of Slayers and knew the incantations to the spells but they rarely
worked.  Fighting with ki was even less likely to work for him.  He'd
gotten ki to work once in a dream, and even then it did nothing.

        Bringing himself out of his thoughts, he realized that Beryl
was still staring at him.  He needed a new excuse and fast.  Too bad
being tired didn't work, now he would have to get creative.
Thankfully he could ramble with the best of them, and lie as well.  "I
was not sleeping, my Queen."  That was good.  Try to be formal and
refuse to accept the event ever happened.  Kuno logic seemed standard
in Sailor Moon with the villains.  "Your awesome power was so
overwhelming to my small being that it overwhelmed me."  Yup, flattery
worked too, and he even managed to keep from sounding sarcastic.  That
was a real surprise, but something more was needed.  Seeing Jadeite in
the stasis crystal, he hazard a rough guess at where he was.  If he
was wrong then he'd look like a fool, but that was normal for him.  He
just needed one more line with some trembling and groveling thrown in
for good measure.  "Please, Your Majesty, forgive me, for I am not as
strong as your other Generals, and Jadeite's failure and punishment
have overwhelmed me."

        Beryl's gaze held him for a long time.  Tomas wondered if she
had bought all that.  It was such a load of shit that even a farm
couldn't have used it, and they used shit for everything.  He
swallowed as a nasty grin came to Beryl's face.  "You will be taking
up where Jadeite left off, Saphite.  You have one chance, and only one
chance, to prove to me that having you as a General isn't a waste of
power."

        "Your Majesty!"  Nephrite called out stepping forward.  "How
can you send HIM next?  He's weaker then Jadeite was!  You should send
me!"

        "QUIET NEPHRITE!"  Beryl's eyes glowed red as she gazed at the
General.  "You will never question my orders again!"  Nephrite stepped
back in fear as Beryl turned back to Tomas.  "Choose a Youma and begin
to drain energy again!  You will take up Jadeite's burdens.  And
should you fail me your life is forfeit."

        Tomas blinked in confusion.  This was not what he was
expecting.  He was actually expecting to get zapped with magic or
something.  But he had to go with the flow.  Still, he did have some
questions.  "Umm...shouldn't I kill the Sailor Senshi instead?"  Sure
Beryl was stupid in canon Sailor Moon, but she had to be smarter in
his dream.  Didn't she?  Well, maybe she just needed a hint to get the
right idea.

        "No, you will ignore the Senshi!  They're nothing but flies!
They will be crushed whenever I want them to be!  You will gather
energy for me just as Jadeite had been doing!"

        Maybe a stronger hint was needed.  With that idea, Tomas tried
again.  "But...they continuously beat up on Jadeite, destroyed his
youma, ruined his plans, and made us look like fools.  Doesn't any of
that make you think they're a threat to your plans?"

        "No, it doesn't!  And DON'T question me AGAIN!"

        Tomas blinked as he looked at her.  Maybe hinting wouldn't
work at all.  This was starting to get to be a pain, and he'd barely
started the dream.  Sure, being an evil villain in a dream he could
deal with.  Being a stupid evil villain in a dream was too much
though.  Oh well, it wasn't like this could come back to haunt him
anyway.  It was just a dream.

Deciding that hinting was out of the question, and that working for
Beryl would be hell, Tomas changed tactics one last time.  It was time
to go solo.  "You're a fucking idiot, you know that?"

Beryl's eyes bugged out and everyone in the room stepped back.  The
contempt that Tomas held for Beryl seemed to just reach out and bitch
smack the evil that the Queen radiated.  The best part was that Tomas
was just getting started.

Taking a breath, Tomas truly began.  "I mean, damn it, your General
got his ass handed to him by some school girls.  That has to be the
worst insult you could take."  Tomas turned his gaze briefly to the
other Generals before looking back at Beryl.  "Here you are with
Generals who supposedly where trained in a military and then enhanced
with magic, and yet they're still going to get whipped by some
fourteen year old chicks."

Tomas gave a long-suffering sigh before going on.  "And then there's
you, the big idiot on the block.  Jadeite there fails at the most
basic of tasks, and then you KILL him for it.  You've just weakened
yourself because you had a temper tantrum.  If the Senshi don't kill
your Generals because they're idiots, YOU'RE gonna kill them because
you're an idiot."

" So in the end I have one question for you.  Where you born this
stupid or did you have to work at it?  I mean, do they teach you how
to be a complete moron at Queen School or where ever you went to get
your crown?"  This was getting to be fun.  Beryl looked like she was
going to have a heart attack right before him.  If Tomas was lucky she
would.

        Hearing a silent room, Tomas decided to press on.  "Are you so
fucking dumb that you think I want to get killed like Jadeite?  I'm a
thousand times smarter then those other three bafoons and you put
together.  I'm supposed to get myself killed working for an idiot?  No
thank you."  Tomas shook his head indicating how he felt about all
this.

"This job was fun for awhile, but the benefits are gone.  I quit.  You
can find some other fall man to play this role."  Now he needed the
dramatic exit.  Reaching out, he prayed that this would be one of
those rare times he could get magic to work in a dream.  "I'll see you
fucking idiots around.  Assuming you ain't killed first, of course.
Oh, and don't expect me to call."

        He knew the basics of how to teleport or at least sorta.  He
had one explanation from a Dragon Ball Z episode.  First he visualized
a place he knew that was in the Sailor Moon Universe.  Then reaching
out to that power he tore himself apart, vanishing in a flash of
light.

        The throne room was silent for almost five minutes after his
departure.  Then Beryl screamed.

***

        A flash of light at the Hikawa Shrine left behind a dizzy
person in the night air.  Tomas blinked and promptly sat down on the
ground waiting for the world to stop moving.  It made him glad he
hadn't eaten earlier or he might have gotten sick from it.  Slowly the
world slowed its spinning and Tomas looked around him a smile forming
on his lips.  It had worked.  It had actually worked.  He could
teleport in this dream.  Cool...

        Teleporting was going to be a lot of fun, at least until he
woke up.  He'd play with it some more, but for some reason he felt
rather tired.  That in it self was strange as he'd almost never been
tired in a dream before.  He pushed himself up and began walking
toward the shrine.  Maybe it would be best to end the dream now.  The
last time he'd tried to sleep in a dream it had caused him to wake up.

        As he reached the door to the shrine he knew he had to decide.
It could be fun to wake Rei up dressed in this general's uniform...but
being a dream, who knew what would happen then.  Of course, if he knew
what would happen where would all the fun be in that?  It was a lot
better to just wing it and see where it took him.  Besides he didn't
want the dream to end yet, it was too much fun.

        Reaching out, he quietly opened the door grinning.  It was so
nice of his dreams not to bother locking the door for him.  It made
breaking in so much easier when he didn't have to try to pick the
lock.  Quietly Tomas closed the door behind him taking every care not
to make a sound.  This could be a lot of fun.

        Tomas managed two steps into the temple before stopping and
frowning.  "Damn," he whispered, "where's Rei's bedroom?  Come on
Tomas, remember now, where is it?  Where have you seen a layout of the
Temple before?"  After concentrating a moment he smiled.  "Got it,
down the hall and on the right.  Thank Kami-sama for that RPG."

        Now that he had his destination locked into his mind, Tomas
crept quietly, careful to place each step slowly to keep from risking
the floor creaking under his feet.  Waking up the old priest would be
bad right now.  He wouldn't be dead tired from fighting Jadeite, so
slipping one past him would be a problem.

        Finally, after what felt like forever, he reached the door to
Rei's bedroom.  His hand slowly reached out for the door, ready to
slide it open, when he paused.  He wondered why his brain chose now to
remember that he had no idea what to do.  "Damn," he whispered, "I was
never good at pranks."  With a frown on his face, Tomas slid open the
door to her bedroom.  He was glad that by this time his eyes were used
to the dark.

        Tomas let his eyes drift around the room, taking it in.
Despite its darkness Tomas could tell it was at least fairly nice.  It
was cleaner then his room normally was, but smaller too.  That he
shrugged off to being in Japan what with the lack of space and all.
Finally he looked at Rei who was sleeping in her bed.

        He let his eyes look over her peaceful face as her black hair
was spread across her pillow.  "Man," he whispered, "she's pretty cute
when she's sleeping.  Too bad she's too young for me."  With a slight
shrug, Tomas looked around the room for any prank material.  "Ah,
well, I'll probably forget all this a half hour after I wake up
anyway."  Well, now all he needed to do was figure out what prank to
pull.  After a few moments, he smiled.  "I got it."


*** ]

        The sky lit into a dull gray before the sun rose in the sky.
As the sun rose farther into the sky, it became the color of tempered
steel, a light blush forming on the horizon.  Within the Hikawa Temple
it was also a sign to rise and begin the morning chores.  Rei rose
with the light, though not very willingly.

        That had been a strange dream she had had the night before.
Waking up in the dark and feeling her bed shaking all around her.
Immediately she had gazed around her room only to find it empty.  It
was her room, she knew, but everything had been removed.  And then the
voice that spoke...it seemed so hollow.  But...what was it's warning?
Try as she might, she just couldn't remember what the voice had said.

        Looking around her room now, however, everything was normal.
Everything was in its proper place.  The used tissue that she had
placed on her nightstand the night before was even still there.  She
took the familiar surroundings and allowed them to calm her from her
dream.  Things were alright now that it was morning.

        It didn't take Rei all that long to get dressed.  Stepping
from her bedroom she breathed in the morning air that was slowly
blowing down the hall from an open window.  It brought with it the
beginnings of a brand new day.  And a new day it was going to be.
They had done it, killed one of the Dark Kingdom's Generals.  It was a
good day to be alive.

        Opening a small closet, Rei removed a broom and headed for the
door.  After sweeping the walkway clear she would change to go to
school for the day.  Nothing was going to go wrong for her, she was
sure of it right up until she opened the door.  After the door was
opened, however, everything changed.  Mainly because a man dressed in
what looked a lot like what Jadeite had been wearing the night before
fell backwards so his head landed on her feet.  She would have cried
out in fear if it weren't for the fact that he was snoring and that
her mind still wasn't working from the lack of sleep.

        It was with a sort of stunned awe that Rei stared as the man
continued to sleep with his head resting on her feet.  His face looked
so peaceful and relaxed.  Her mind's eye began trying to match
Jadeite's face to the stranger's but failed every time.  There were no
similarities to the two that her mind could make.  After almost a half
a minute her nerveless hands finally dropped the broom that it was
holding.  Right onto the man's face.

***

        Tomas's eyes snapped open just as the broom touched.  He
blinked as he stared up the legs that rose in front of his eyes.  His
brain immediately shut down the perverted side as he was sure comments
like that would only get him hurt.  Hurt more then he already was
anyway.

Stupid creek.

Letting his eyes drift farther up the body before him, Tomas's gaze
sped past the girl's chest.  Looking there, he knew, would only get
him into more trouble.  Finally he looked into the girl's face.  It
took him a few moments to place the face from where he knew it.  Rei
Hino.  And he knew she was just from an anime and manga.  But that was
impossible.  All that stuff with Beryl and stuff had just been a
dream.  And he went to 'sleep' after that, so he should have woken up.
He felt woken up.  He felt like he had slept.  So this was all just a
dream  Right?  But...he was sure he felt awake.

        And for the first time he realized something that should have
occurred to him the 'night' before.  He had ALWAYS dreamed in third
person, like a camera over the shoulder of himself.  But...he'd been
seeing everything in first person.  He couldn't see himself.  He WAS
looking out his eyes.  That never happened when he dreamed.
This...was a bad sign for him.  This was getting, in fact, even
scarier then his worst nightmare.

He was starting to believe that this was...real...and not a dream.
And he had pissed the hell out of someone way more powerful then he
was.

        And then he shifted into Panic mode.  He needed a plan, he had
to have a plan.  He was good at plans, he knew he was. He could come
up with a plan on the shortest of notice, like this.  And he had a
plan.  He was going to wing it.  Not much of a plan, but he could do
it.  "Hi."  Tomas smiled next.  A smile was good.  Trying to be
friendly was good.  Not getting killed was very good.  If he didn't
get Rei mad he wouldn't get killed.  That would be good.  "Sorry about
this.  I didn't realize that was a door.  I had thought it a wall.  It
was dark when I got here last night."

        Tomas watched as Rei slowly swallowed. That could have been a
good or bad sign.  By the Kami did he wish he had seen Sailor Moon
recently.  Forcing his attention off that track, he listened to what
Rei was saying.  "Can I...help you?"

        "Umm...only if you can get in touch with the Sailor Senshi."
Of course, Tomas knew she could.  He knew who she was after all.  Now
if she could get in touch with them without telling them to kill him,
that would be even better.  "I'd like to talk to them."  About this
point Tomas realized that his head was sitting on her feet.  He
contemplated moving but decided against he.  He didn't want to make
her any more afraid.  Besides, it was kind of comfortable.

And he didn't think his back was working.  Sleeping sitting up had
been a bad move.  He made a mental note to never try to sleep sitting
up again.

        "Why...why would you want to see them?"  Tomas could easily
tell that Rei was nervous.

        "Well..." At this point Tomas grimaced.  Now he had to decide
how much he could tell and how much he had to keep secret.  And he
didn't exactly have a long time to decide.  "I realized that my boss
and fellow workers were a bunch of complete idiots.  They have less
then no knowledge about even semi-decent tactics."  He gave a small
shrug.  That was the truth.  Of course he didn't say who his boss was
yet, but that would come up eventually, he knew.  "Since I'd rather
not be killed because of a bunch of idiots I decided I'd defect."  And
then he grinned, just because he couldn't help himself.  "Also, from
what I've seen, the Senshi are a lot more attractive, too."

        Rei was about to say something when Tomas finally got off her
feet and stood up.  She had to swallow as she gazed up at him.  He
stood a good 8 inches taller then her.  If it weren't for the good-
natured smile on his face it would have been an imposing sight.  Well
that and how thin he was.  It seemed as though he'd been starved his
entire life.  "Well...I've seen the Senshi a few times," she said,
"but I don't know them."

        Tomas forced his face to frown and then sighed as though
depressed.  "Well, a fellow bad guy once used this place for some evil
plot that was rather poorly thought out.  Would it bother you if I
hung out here and waited to see if they showed up again?  I promise
not to attack anyone."  He raised his right hand.  "Scout's Honor."

        Rei blinked.  "You were a Scout?"  Tomas saw her blink again
and raise a hand.  "And what do you mean fellow bad guy?"

        Tomas couldn't stop the nod at the first question, so he went
with that first.  "Yup, I was a Boy Scout.  Did it for about five
years.  Then my family moved and I didn't fit in well with the other
kids so I quit it."  Then he frowned.  "As for the bad guy thing,
well, somehow after I moved I became an evil general for an ugly bitch
who wants to take over the world."

***

        Rei was doing her best to get her mind around everything that
the man had said to her.   She watched as he shook his head before
reaching up to scratch an itchy spot behind his ear.  "I still haven't
figured out how that happened.  So," he raised his head, "can I hang
out here?"

        "Umm..." Rei continued to fight with herself over what to do
about this.  On one side he had admitted to being an evil bad guy.  On
the other he had said he wanted to defect.  On the third he wanted to
stay at her shrine.  What to do, she thought, what to do.

        Then, slowly, the voice from her dream came back to her.
Parts of what it had said came to her mind.  Help would be found...she
growled in frustration and failed to notice as the stranger took a
step back.  Well, the dream had mentioned help...maybe this person was
it.  She looked up at him.  "I don't even know your name.  How can I
let you stay here?"

        She watched as the man before her slapped his own forehead.
"Oh yeah," he said, "How could I have forgotten that?"  She watched as
the man bowed deeply to her.  "I am Tomas.  I have been called Saphite
as well, though I'd prefer never to hear that name again."

        Rei gazed at Tomas for a moment with a frown on her face.
Still she struggled about what to do with him.  This was getting to be
too much stress to deal with.  She needed to talk to Luna.  But she
didn't want to risk turning Tomas against the Senshi either.  This was
too hard a choice, but she had to make it.

        "Tomas-san," Rei swallowed at what she was about to do, "you
may stay here if you like, however, do not go inside the shrine
itself."  That would have to do until she got a chance to talk to
Luna.  And Ami, as well.  She waited until Tomas bowed to her before
turning and going back inside, closing the door behind her.  This was
going to be a long day, she was sure.

***


Tomas let his gaze drift down the long, stone steps that led up to the
shrine, his eyes taking in a small group of people down below.  It was
strange, suddenly being somewhere he'd never been before, and yet
knowing so much about it.  As a couple of young children ran by the
steps playing with a bouncing, sky-blue ball, he shook his head in
slight wonderment, questioning where his childhood had fled to.

Reaching up, Tomas scratched a small spot on the back of his head that
had begun to itch.  A frown took over his face as the itch seemed to
move around his skull, trying to get away from his scratching.  He had
begun to scratch his forehead when a set of long, slightly tanned legs
came into view.  He paused in his attempt to kill the itch to grin.
"Wow, now this is a good view."

"What!"

The shocked, slightly scandalized cry caused Tomas to look up at the
rest of the body it was attached to.  The itch seemed to disappear as
he took in the girl. She had long blond hair in a two-bun style that
hung in twin ponytails down her back.  "Well, hello there beautiful,
how can I help you?"

"Who are you?"

Shrugging, Tomas pushed himself to his feet.  "Who am I?  Who are you?
Who is anyone?  The philosophers have been discussing that for ages.
I took a Phos class last quarter, its rather dry stuff.  Are you sure
you want me to get into it?"

"What the...I don't..."

Tomas couldn't help but grin at the girl, finally matching her face to
that of Sailor Moon, even though the hairstyle had given it away long
before.  It had been a slight challenge, give she was no longer a
drawing but a breathing person instead.  Confusing her sure had been
fun, though.

"She meant, what's your name?"

Looking off to the side, Tomas nodded at Sailor Mercury.  He never
really liked her character, and couldn't for the life of him figure
out what the fascination with matching her up with Ranma a few years
back had been, but that wasn't something for him to deal with now.
"Then she should have said so.  I be Tomas, ex-evil villain and
sarcastic, flirtatious college student, at your service and very
pleased to get the chance to speak with you," he finished with a
sweeping bow.

       "Why would you want to speak with us?" asked Mars. She knew
what he
wanted, but had to keep up the facade.

        "Simple, really."  Tomas shrugged and promptly dropped to his
knees.  "Please don't kill me!  I quit the evil business!  I don't
wanna die!"

        "What in the...?"  Sailor Mars blinked at the young man on his
knees before her and the others.  She looked at her fellow Senshi and
saw the same stunned look that she was sure graced her face.  After
how confident the young man had been earlier today, this came as a
complete surprise.

        "Umm...why...why would we kill you?" Sailor Moon stammered.

        "Oh."  Tomas stopped his begging and got back to his feet
without bothering to use his hands to help himself up.  "Well, you
see, before I quit the evil villain scheme, I was the smartest of your
enemies."  Tomas shrugged at the girls.  "No offense, but you wouldn't
have stood a chance against me."

        Usagi looked at the tall American before her and blinked.
"Why not?"

        "Well, it's like this."  This, Tomas knew, was going to be
fun.  "The first thing I would have done was send out some really
ugly, stupid youma to attack a children's playground in the middle of
the afternoon.  Being the heroines that you are, you of course would
have come rushing to the children's aid and killed the monster,
right?"

        "Of course," Usagi nodded.  It sounded fairly reasonable to
her.

        "Then you all would have gone home to your normal lives to
have a fun time the rest of the day.  However, in the background I'd
have had a youma for each of you follow you home.  Once I knew where
you lived, I would have recalled them and gotten the information."

        Looking at Tomas, Mars swallowed slightly.  Having their
enemies knowing where they lived would be terrible.  They and their
families would be under constant threat, and there would have been no
way to keep their identities a secret.  "So, if you recall the youma,
then what?"

        "Well," Tomas grinned, as this was the fun part of the plan,
"there are all these nice little Japanese Defense Force bases
scattered around.  I'd take a group of Youma with me and use my
formally evil magic powers to make the people on the base think that
we belonged there.  Then I'd have my youma crew load up an F-18 with a
ground attack load of five hundred pound bombs, wait until 2am or so,
take off, and drop my payload on you!"

        "WHAT!"

        Tomas stepped back from the combined shout and shrugged.
"Okay, so its extravagant, somewhat complicated, and on the over kill
side," Tomas grinned as he finished up, "but there'd be explosions!"

        Ami blinked at the man before her for a few moments before
finally responding to the plan.  "Are you insane?"

        Blinking himself at the question, Tomas replied, "Possibly.  I
haven't gotten to a quack yet to find out if becoming an evil magical
general for a dumb red-head bitch killed my mind.  It's on my list of
things to do, though."

        "Does it seem like something is wrong with you?"

        "Hmm..."  Tomas thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, that plan was way to complicated for my normal self.  A plan
I'd actually use, because it'd have a good chance of working, is at
one or two AM when I know where you live to pick the lock on your
front door, sneak up to your bedrooms, and slit your throats while you
sleep."

        A disgusted look came to Rei's face as she thought over that
last idea.  "That's horrible!"

        "Effective, though.  Look, I'm not some kind of saint.  No I
haven't killed anyone, haven't stolen anything since I was twelve, and
haven't even been in a good fist fight since I was thirteen.  I read a
lot, though, and I pay attention to things around me."  Sighing, and
shaking his head, Tomas took a step back to give himself a bit of room
for what was coming next.  "None of that matters, though.  I quit the
evil business, am not planning to get back into it, and just want to
live a semi-normal life.  So, if you want to kill me, lets get this
fight started.  If you believe me, then I'll be on my way."

        The three girls grew silent for a few moments before walking a
few steps away from Tomas and huddling up for a discussion.  Rei
looked at the other two Senshi for a few moments before being the
first to speak up.  "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I
believe him.  At least somewhat."

        Ami looked at her friend with a frown on her face.  "Not that
I disagree too much with that, why do you believe him?"

        "For one thing, I don't feel any evil from him.  Even when
Jadeite was using this shrine for his energy-draining scheme, there
was an underlying sense of evil about the shrine.  Tomas has been here
since at least sometime last night, and I haven't felt any evil
anywhere."

        "Well, he did defect, so he can't be evil, can he?"  Sailor
Moon asked her friends.  Then, with a blank look on her face, she
asked, "What does defect mean?"

        As Rei sighed in disgust, Ami replied, "It means that he's
abandoning this red-head...woman and wants to join us.  He could be of
some help to us...though I don't know how much we can trust him."

        "Well, then I guess we won't be trying to kill him..." Sailor
Moon looked at her two friends for a moment to get their affirmative
nods before turning to walk back to Tomas and trying to look resolute
in the decision, though in truth the expression was rather exaggerated
and somewhat silly.






+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Section 2:  Original Story Crap


An Original Story


Part 1:  Ties of the Past


Present Day

        The warm sun beat down upon the City of Sanpris, no clouds in
the sky and the songs of birds filling the morning air as the rush of
traffic went about its normal routine, cars, busses, and trains taking
adults to work and children to school.  It was a routine so familiar
that anyone whether they were from the City or not would feel at home
with it.  It was like a sirens call, bringing people to begin their
day and let the pulse of the City drive them.

        Lying on his back in one of the many parks, Calis ignored the
call of the City.  At twenty-two years of age, he should have already
had a job and have been moving his life into the nine-to-five style
that dominated so many people.  Calis, however, was not one of the
many people.  Pushing himself up and opening his eyes, his gaze
quickly took in the large waterfall that dominated the far end of the
park.  It was always ironic, he thought, that the entrance to the
Sphere of Air was a waterfall.

        It was the Spheres that made the City of Sanpris unique when
compared to the other cities of the world.  Within the City were gates
to five different planes, each plane a Sphere with a three-hundred
yard diameter.  During the first two hundred years of Sanpris'
existence, the Spheres were simply thought of as a unique place to
visit, something far outside the knowledge of the world and what laws
governed it.  It was then, however, that a young woman who had been
spending time within the spheres found something special, how to use
them.

        Through a great deal of study and experimenting, the young
woman, Bellana Gorcan, found that the Spheres could grant to some
people the ability to manipulate various forces of the world.  Through
the research it was found that only some people were blessed with the
abilities, not everyone who entered the spheres.  Soon, a college
arose where the study of the powers that the Spheres granted could be
conducted.

        As knowledge of the powers grew, the Lords of Sanpris, those
select few whom governed the City, realized what danger those with
powers could be.  Rather then forbidden the study of the Spheres or
attempting to seal them, the City instead declared that those whom the
Spheres blessed would be like nobles in the City.  Every Student of a
Sphere was given a check by-weekly from the Lords to act as living
expenses so that they wouldn't have to find a regular job.  As one
improved in ability and moved up in their studies, the government
would grant them a larger sum of money to live by, encouraging study
and growth among the Blessed.  There was only one requirement to both
receiving one's check and being granted the opportunity to study the
Spheres.  One had to swear an oath, to defend the City of Sanpris with
one's life, to go to war if needed and to aid in all possible ways.

        Thinking back to the check he had received the day before,
Calis couldn't keep the grin off his face.  The amount it had
increased was a wonderful amount that would allow him more free time
to do what he wanted.  Two weeks before he had completed his last
project and now he was a student no longer.  He was an Air Master.

        "Heh."  The title didn't really impress Calis all that much.
Everyone who graduated from one of the Sphere schools was given the
title Master.  It meant about as much as a bachelor's degree from a
normal college did.  Still, it meant he was no longer required to go
to school, get a job, or anything else that would restrict him.  His
life was now his own.  Assuming a war didn't break out, after all.

        Flopping back down, Calis' grin seemed to grow as he stared up
along a pair of very long and light tanned legs as his head came to
rest on someone's feet.  His grin became an open laugh as he casually
looked up the girl's skirt and at the black, tight shorts that were
underneath the skirt.  "You never change, do you Sahra?"

        The long legs bent at the knees as the young woman sat down,
letting her thigh length black skirt slide up toward her waist and
allow the black shorts underneath to be visible, a rich voice replied,
"With you around, Calis, why should I?  Or would you enjoy a peep
show?"

        "If it was you, Sahra, of course I would.  Any straight male
who would say otherwise is either blind or a fool.  And even with the
beating you'd give me afterwards, it'd still be worth it."

        Sahra's deep emerald eyes sparkled in the sunlight, the
occasional speck of gold within her eyes reflecting the light, adding
a mystical quality to them.  "If it was you watching, Calis, I
wouldn't mind giving the show."

        "If that was true, you wouldn't be wearing shorts now."

        The two shared a laugh, their grins almost matching as they
enjoyed another variation of one of their private jokes.  The joke,
along with their friendship, had begun eight years before...




8 Years Ago

        "Come on, Calis, you're not afraid, are you?"

        Calis gazed into the brown eyes of his closest friend, taking
the fiery, combed back hair at the same time.  "Of course not, Brad!
Don't even think about talking about me like that!"

        "Then prove it to us!  Go on in, unless you really are
scared."

        Biting back a snarl, Calis turned to look at the door.  Ladies
Locker Room was written on the metal sign that was screwed into the
hard oak door.  Drawing in a deep breath, he let out a slightly
trembling breath.  Why was he scared?  School had been out for over an
hour now, and there weren't any afternoon sports activities.  The room
would be completely empty.  There was no reason at all to be nervous.

        Finally, Calis closed his eyes, threw caution to the wind, and
pushed his way through the door, waiting until he heard it slam shut
to open his eyes and look around.  To his left where three sinks and a
huge mirror that stretched above all three.  Past them were bathroom
stalls.  Now being in the locker room, Calis wasn't going to walk out
until he saw the whole place.  After all, getting through the door had
been the hard part.

        As he walked toward a curve in the room, a small hallway that
led from the bathroom portion to the locker room portion, Calis
noticed with relief that all of the stalls were empty.  That calmed
him down and allowed him to confidently move to the locker and shower
area.

        Walking around the corner, Calis glanced into the shower and
stopped in surprise.  Only now did he realize that the showers were
actually running, and not only that, but occupied as well.  There
under one of the central shower spouts was what Calis at first thought
was a dream with the way the steam was wrapping around the figure.  He
took in the thin, tanned legs, the firm ass, and the dark, water
soaked hair that reached mid back on the girl.  As he gazed at the
female in the shower, he couldn't stop himself from speaking.
"Wow..." His voice was trailing in sound as his awe in what he saw
came through clear.

        At the sound of his voice, the girl turned around, her eyes
wide with shock.  Calis found himself unable to move, taking in the
whole of the naked girl before him, a blush forming on his face as he
took in her water glistened breasts and the dark area at her crotch.
Calis' mind was frozen as he stood there watching the girl until all
of a sudden she collapsed, her arms wrapping around her knees.

        Calis took a quick step back, his mind completely intent of
fleeing right up until his ears caught under the sound of the water
from the shower splattering the ground and the girl a quiet sob.  With
his eyes still on the girl, he could see the slight tremble in her
body.  "Oh, damn," Calis muttered as he continued to watch her and
listen to her crying.  Finally unable to take it anymore, he put his
hand on the low wall that divided the shower from the rest of the
locker room, vaulted over it, and quickly went to the girl, ignoring
the fact that he was now being rained on by the showers.

        Dropping to his knees, he reached out and placed a hand on the
girl's shoulder, watching as she cringed back from his touch.  "It's
alright," Calis' voice was soft as he spoke, "I'm not going to hurt
you.  I'm sorry about this, I didn't know anyone was in here."  Calis
watched as the girl, still cringing, crying, and trembling seemed to
get into worse shape.

        Doing his best to ignore the excitement he felt from seeing
this naked girl, and how much more it got him now that he was actually
touching her, Calis shifted so that he was now sitting cross legged.
Reaching out to the girl, Calis pulled her onto his lap, his arms
wrapping around her in a gentle hug as he continued to whisper into
her ear how things would be alright.  The girl's fingers suddenly
grabbed onto Calis' soaked shirt as she buried her head into his chest
and her crying became louder.









Present Day

        "And what are you going to be doing today, Calis?" Sahra
inquired as their laughter subsided.

        "Well, I have to go to the bank when it opens in an hour.
Then I'm off to find a place to live, as I get kicked out of the dorms
in a week.  I also figured I'd see if you wanted to head out and get
some lunch around noon."








++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Section 3:  Fanfic Crap



Dual Shadows



Chapter 2: Demon Spirits


        Keikan frowned as he gazed around the darkness, his head
twisting around, trying to see anything.  It was a strange darkness,
like nothing he had felt before.  It was cold and hot, lonely and
comforting.  Shaking his head a bit as he tried to get his mind clear,
he twisted around some more, looking for some kind of light, when he
came face to face with someone he hadn't seen in years...his younger
self.

        "What's going on?"  Keikan frowned as he realized that his
voice had made no sound.  He tried asking his question a few more
times, each time grimacing as he found the words unable to leave his
body.  Instead of continuing his fruitless attempts to speak, he took
in his younger self, wondering at the contorted face of pain,
frustration, and anger that covered it.

        This went on for a few minutes longer before in a sudden rush
the darkness was torn asunder, Keikan's younger self dropping to the
floor and curling up, his body racked with shakes.  Keikan watched as
two figures raced to his other self, a young woman wrapping what
seemed to be a fur blanket around him as another boy spoke comforting
words to him.

        "I loved her, you know."

***

        "She was special."

        Ranma spun around, his eyes going down to stare at himself
resting against a tree.  This other self was dressed in the same navy
blue uniform that the rest of the male body at the school was wearing.
"What'ya mean?  And who are you?  What the hell is this?"

        A soft smile formed on the other Ranma's lips as he stared
past himself.  "She was soft, gentle, kind, everything I had never
known in a girl.  I didn't even notice myself falling in love with
her."

        Ranma looked back at the girl, taking in her hesitant way she
moved, the way she kept her eyes down and lack of force that seemed to
fill the air around her.  Ranma slowly nodded his head in agreement.
That girl was like no other he had ever run into either, he was sure.
"So...what happened?"

        "She was murdered."

***

        "I gave my life for her."

        "You died for her?"  Keikan blinked for a moment, his face
screwing up in confusion as he shook his head.  "Wait a minute, you
look like me, and I sure the hell haven't died.  I don't get any of
this.  God, this is a weird dream."

        "This isn't a dream."  Keikan blink as his other self frowned
at him.  "These are memories.  This is what our life used to be."

        "I don't get this."  Keikan dropped to the ground, sitting
there with his head buried in his hands.  "This just makes no sense.
If all this is just a memory," Keikan's voice was filled with doubt as
he spoke, "then how the hell are you talking to me.  What the hell are
you?"

***

        "I'm who you were and who you have to be."

        Ranma glared at the figure sitting under the tree.  His life
had been plenty strange, but this was starting to reach the top of his
list.  "What the hell does that mean?"

[Scene continues with Ranma waking up due to a bucket of water, goes
on to breakfast with Genma informing Ranma of the first temple they'll
visit (the temple with the sealed Oni in the Ranma OVA)]

***

[Rei wakes up next morning, still feeling rotten.  Wakes Usagi up with
some effort, and the pair talk over breakfast about dealing with
nightmares before going to their separate schools]

***

[The outer senshi in a car, driving to Ginza to drop Setsuna off
before getting to their respective schools.  Senshi ask Setsuna about
who she's looking for, and she mostly evades their questions, except
that the two are a couple of friends she lost track of with all the
Senshi business]

***

[Keikan wakes up in the woods.  Confused about where he is and what's
going on, he picks a direction and starts walking, eventually coming
across a dirt path to follow]

***

[Ranma, Genma, Soun, Cologne, and Akane are all at the temple.  They
are greeted by the monks, the situation is explained to them, they
agree to help.  After some comedic attempts to exorcise Ranma, the
monks admit defeat, much to Ranma's annoyance after all his
suffering.]

***

[Ami, Minako, and Makoto are sitting outside their school at
lunchtime, eating.  Ami is working on the Mercury computer, and Makoto
asks her what she's doing.  Ami tells how she's trying to find out
more about the silver millennium.  Usagi joins the three and tells
them about Rei's vision.  The group grows serious]

***

[Rei at school, just getting back to class after lunch.  She's drawn
out, looking down, and generally in bad mental shape.  The teacher
notices and finally sends Rei home for the day]

***

[Its late afternoon, and Setsuna finally gives up her search for the
day.  She's rather depressed that she hasn't found any information
yet, but she knows that she has a long road of searching ahead, as
it's a matter of going through family records to try to find anything
even closely resembling her knights]

***

[The Saotome and Tendo families arrive back at the Dojo, also somewhat
depressed at the day's complete failure.  They talk about things over
dinner, before deciding their next temple visit for the following day,
this time a temple within Taito]

***

[It's early evening and Keikon finally collapses in exhauston and
hunger, unable to go on and having seen no signs of human activity.
After some mutters about how much he hates his life he falls into a
fitful sleep]



Author's Notes:  As can be seen, this is just an outline for chapter
2.  It took me a day to figure all this stuff out.







++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++