Tales of the Dreamworld, 2nd Night - The Emperor's Tale
Rated R


	Phantasm: (n) 1. a product of phantasy.   a: delusive 
	  appearance; illusion; deception.  b: ghost, spectre, 
        spirit

			  -Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary



	Just as every breath possesses an instance that can be brought 
to life in words, the event becomes a chapter in a book, a story for 
others to gaze upon and be swallowed whole within the tale.
	A realm beyond the waking hours, forged from the magik of a 
thousand dreamers and their dreams. Within every soul lies a story 
to tell, each event a tale to give unto others.
	These tales, both surreal and sensual, are but a few of many 
chapters in a world given breath by a creator. Her name is Naoko
Takeuchi. The people and their lives are of her heart and soul. 
They belong in her embrace. But the dark angels, these Shadowdemons 
and their Empress belong to another, and they are of my skin and 
soul. I embrace their world and their shadows as my own children.
	I ask that none may steal any of them away from their 
creators. The world of the Moon Princess and her royal court belong 
to Naoko Takeuchi. Their hearts and souls belong to her; they are a 
part of her stories. But the realm of the waking dreamers, and both 
the angels and the demons that exist within them, are a part of my 
own story.  Milady Naoko's princesses belong in their castles 
beyond the moon, and my Shadowdemons belong in their realms where 
the nightmares lurk. 
	One of honour does not become a petty thief; I ask for your 
requests if you wish my Shadowdemons to wander into other worlds 
and other stories.

	-His lordship Chaos  (hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com)



	 Let those love now who never loved before,
	 Let those who always loved, now love the more.

				-Unknown, "Vigil of Venus"



	There they rise again, a chorus of fierce howlsongs and 
roars to echo across the valleys and mountains and plains 
that make this place the Dreamworld.
	I can see them perfectly now, an entire pride of them 
moving faster than an eagle over the treetops. Leaves are
raining down from the winds they stir in their wake.
	Dragons: lords of the skies, beasts of fire.
	In many of my wanderings I have encountered the forms 
of these winged creatures soaring through the eternal skies 
of night, their shadows cast in an eerie pride of 
silhouettes before the light of a pale moon.
	Ancient faery tales have cast a dark light upon 
dragons, making them wild and destructive creatures. When 
knights struck them down and slayed them, it was seen as an 
act of justice. Yet the tales have never been so simple.
	In my walks from one corner of the Dreamworld to the 
next I have learned of legends regarding these winged 
beasts. They are almost extinct even in this world, though 
rumours still abound of a sanctuary kingdom where the 
dragons live in peace and serenity.
	I have yet to stumble into such a place.
	Perhaps it is just as well that I haven't.
	Regardless of how myths have portrayed them, dragon 
souls are not unlike ours. They can be kind or cruel, 
peaceful or rampant. It is all a matter of their hearts. And 
their loyalty to their emperor, and the magik he wields.
	Let me tell you a story....


	THE EMPEROR'S TALE


	It was rain that fell before her vision, though not of 
droplets of water that splashed against the skin. The storm 
was of petals. Cherry blossoms, delicate and in pale flush. 
They were caught by the breeze and danced in the winds.
	Some were then caught by her hand, fingers closing 
around the petals. She brought them close to her face, 
opening up her palm to catch their fragrance before 
releasing them back into the winds.
	"Strange that it should rain these blossoms here," she 
said to no one but herself, brushing some trusses of long 
blond hair from her shoulder. 
	She stood atop an ancient step pyramid, grey stone 
shining like silver from the light of a pale crescent moon 
high overhead. Glyphs and carvings marked the pyramid's 
structure, running down along the steep stairways that led 
into the dense jungle forests far below.
	Her fingers touched her clothes: a blouse of silk, dark 
like the wings of a raven. A beautiful sash of gold draped 
over her shoulder, the ends fluttering in the winds near the 
formal dress pants of pearl white that disappeared into 
black boots. 
	So formal in appearance, yet so elegant, deserving of 
royalty. In truth she had been royalty in another life, far 
away and long ago from this one.
	Closing her eyes to feel the burst of the winds cool 
and refreshing against her face, she sighed. He would come 
again, just as he had night upon eternal night. Just as he 
had promised whenever they were forced to draw away into 
their own worlds.
	She turned and stared up at the massive torii towering 
before her. A gateway between worlds, a marker between 
borders. It was here that she had found him riding the wings 
of a thousand beasts breathing the essence of fire and 
flight.
	"Kishi," she whispered, calling out his name.
	The torii burst into flames of crackling blue and 
white, consuming the form of the gateway yet not the gateway 
itself. The blue aura lit up the entire horizon, and she 
could now see from one end of the world to the next. There 
was jungle forests, dense and thick and swelling with warmth 
in the air. Hundreds of sounds came to life as creatures 
stirred with the explosion of ancient magik.
	Countless other step pyramids reflected the light off 
their silver stones, each one rising up like a plateau from 
the green realm of the jungle forest. And there were shadows 
moving on those pyramids, with form and life.	
	The fires of the torii faded though they did not die out. 
Instead the gateway was filled with the glowing embers of 
the magik's aura. A brilliant violet was cast upon her face 
as crimson met blue.
	And standing before her beneath the gateway was a 
shadow flickering with shades of purple. He stepped out 
towards her, hand outstretched. Dressed in a black gown with 
a crimson cloak around his neck and billowing behind his 
figure, he gently lifted the back of her hand to his lips.
	"Milady," he said with a kiss. "I am here."
	The broad collar of his robes fluttered around his face 
where flowing moss green hair danced around his sapphire 
eyes. Her fingers brushed away the strands of blue-tinted 
bangs located above his right eye.
	"How long has it been?" she asked.
	"Too long," he answered. "Eternal night has passed 
before me and yet it has flashed by in a heartbeat now that 
you are here."
	She giggled slightly, flattered. "Ever your charming 
self, Ki-chan." She turned around in his embrace, shivering 
as his warm breath touched the back of her shoulders.
	She moaned softly as she felt the caress of his fingers 
move down her neck and breasts. Her own hands clasped with 
his and she directed their movements down the contours of 
her body.
	"I would enjoy your company atop the back of a dragon," 
he said quietly. "The chance to see the beauty of their 
kingdom, and for them to see your own beauty." 
	Her arms reached out behind her head to cradle the back 
of his neck. Eyes closed, she was lost in a world of his 
touch and caress, of his breath and voice.
	"Milady Minako," his words whispered into her ear, 
causing her entire body to tingle. "Fly with me tonight."
	"Kishi," she answered, slowly turning to gaze into his 
eyes. Sapphire met sparkling sapphire. "I--"
	And then the chimes sounded.


	She groaned as her alarm clock went off, snapping her 
out of that other realm. Groggily she stirred from beneath 
the covers of her warm bed and slapped a hand down on the 
alarm. 
	The chimes were silenced, and slept.
	"Why couldn't I have set it later?" she lamented, her 
mind still lost in the memories of the kingdom of the 
dragons.
	A single red rose was suddenly before her, hovering in 
the air for a moment before it softly touched her pillow. 
Two rouge petals parted and chose their own path through the 
air.
	One was caught in her palm.
	"Arigato," she said quietly, unable to hide her smile. 
A finger traced its way between her breasts, down her 
nightgown. Oh how she wished to find herself in those robes 
once more, in his embrace.
	Her eyes drifted over the alarm clock and panic set in. 
"Seven fifty?!" she exclaimed, throwing herself out of the 
reverie and her warm bed. In the process she also managed 
to send her feline companion tumbling onto the floor. 
Contrary to popular belief cats didn't always land on their 
feet.
	"I'm getting too old for this," the cat muttered, 
picking himself off the floor. He spoke and could be spoken 
to, for he held within him a magik that had existed for over 
one thousand years.
	His white body slowly turned to his frantic master. 
	"Artemis!" she said. "Why didn't you wake me when the 
alarm went off the first three times?"
	"I did," the cat replied. "and all you did was roll 
over. Come to think of it, I don't even think you woke up at 
all. You were just mumbling to yourself in your sleep." 
	Her eyes rested upon the single red rose, still upon 
her pillow; they widened. She quickly snatched up the rose 
and hid it behind her back before the feline could see its 
presence.
	Suspicious eyes narrowed before her nervous giggling. 
"Minako?"
	"Ne, Artemis?"
	The glaring time caught her attention, and she was 
thrown into another fit of chaotic disarray as she scrambled 
to prepare for high school.
	"You think finally entering high school you would be 
mature enough to get there on time for once," the cat 
remarked, and was promptly rewarded with a nightgown flung 
on top of his body.
	She grabbed a hairbrush and quickly brushed out her 
long blonde hair. Time was of the essence and while she was 
late, the faster she ran the more she could arrive on time.
	She raced out of her bedroom, school bag in one hand 
and the other reaching out to toss a slice of bread into the 
toaster. After a few seconds of waiting she slipped into her 
school shoes, and with bag and breakfast slipped out through 
the door.
	The September sun was still hot and bright, on the 
verge of being relinquished into October. For a moment she 
forgot about school and enjoyed basking in the warm rays. 
She paused, glancing down at the darkness beneath her feet.
	Her shadow.
	And within the darkness she could see fires both 
crackling blue and fiery red flicker behind the mist. And 
with them was the face of her guardian. 


	Her friends had gathered together beneath the shade of 
a tree as a morning full of studies passed by. Now a noonday 
September sun was overhead, the tree's full blossom shading 
them from the light.
	"Ami-chan!" the odango-haired blonde exclaimed, yanking 
a book from the blue-haired genius' hands. "We're not here 
to study! We just came from that!"
	"Gomen," the blue-haired genius courtly replied, 
snatching the book back and opening it up to a specific 
page. "It was just a passage that fascinated me:

	     'The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
		But I have promises to keep,
		And miles to go before I sleep.'
				
	"Robert Frost," the blue-haired genius said. 
	"How magical," the tall brunette sighed, leaning into 
the arms of her lover. "I wish I could see those woods one 
day."
	"Perhaps one night, then," the dark-haired angel 
replied, arms wrapped tenderly around the tall brunette. The 
tall brunette giggled as the dark-haired angel tickled the 
skin beneath the school uniform.
	She smiled at the young couple. It had been an 
incredible experience to share when the raven angel had 
brought them all into the Dreamworld and then returned to 
forever be with the tall brunette.
	Now a guardian of a mystic realm was living with them, 
with the tall brunette. It was magik that had given the 
raven angel a new life here in Tokyo, at their school.
	"My world," the dark-haired angel said. "holds a 
hundred different forests, each one as beautiful as the 
next. Mako-chan, we can visit the springs again."
	"It's a date, Sora-chan," the tall brunette answered.
	As the others enjoyed the company of the lovers' magik, 
she found herself lost in thoughts of silver step pyramids 
and a fury of fire and dragons.
	"What about a jungle forest?" she asked.
	Sora gave her a quizzical look. "Why do you ask about 
that?"
	She could feel her face heat up, though not from 
blushing at the raven angel's pretty face. The memory of a 
promise made surfaced, a request of her Dragon King.
	"No reason," she said, nervously giggling it away.
	"Minako-chan," the odango-haired blonde said 
suspiciously, leaning closer to her. "Are you hiding 
something from us?"
	"No!" she said, nervous laughs returning. "I just 
happened to see this jungle forest in the distance one 
night."
	"Out looking for a boyfriend?" the tall brunette asked. 
"Well, my Sora-chan's taken. You'll have to find yourself 
another raven angel in your dreams."
	They all seemed to sigh wistfully at the memories of 
such dreams, of magik rippling beyond boundaries and 
crossing into their world. The first night the tall brunette 
and the dark-haired angel had slept together set off an 
incredible spark within each one of them.
	She knew that they all were looking for someone to 
watch over them and protect them, to love them and walk 
through worlds to be with them. Such a love the tall 
brunette and the odango-haired blonde had found.
	And so had she. But she kept silent, not of 
embarrassment or out of fear. It was out of a promise he had 
asked her to make. That her friends would not learn of his 
name or of his world. Though she did not understand his 
reasons, she could see his eyes of sapphire pleading to her 
to grant his request. 
	Sora's arms held the tall brunette as they leaned 
against the base of the shading tree. Such fragile 
compassion in those crimson eyes; it was no wonder the tall 
brunette had fallen in love with those eyes. 
	But the eyes she had fallen in love with were of 
brilliant sapphire, belonging to a young man in black and 
scarlet who was a gentle emperor over his pride of dragons. 
She looked up into the leaves of the tree.
	A hundred eyes flickered in the shadows, staring down 
at her, watching over her. Though confined to the darkness, 
raven wings clipped, they still found a way to find her in 
this realm. A hundred eyes of dragons keeping her safe.
	She knew that somewhere amidst those eyes, he too was 
watching and waiting.


	The sunlight had faded, giving birth to another night 
to sleep and perchance to dream. Her feline companion was 
gone for the night, out upon her request. Curious but 
complying the white cat had given her leave to be alone.
	And yet not alone.
	With one final stroke through her hair she set down the 
hairbrush and turned to the mirror of her vanity. Sapphire 
eyes that belonged to her reflection stared back, and then 
fingers reached out to touch the glass surface.
	For a moment she stared at herself. A soldier of love 
unable to tell of her own feelings because of a promise. 
Such was the extent of her love for her Dragon King. Weeks 
had passed since he first came to her, since she first found 
herself standing atop the silver step pyramids with a torii 
high overhead.
	She rubbed the base of her neck, her hand trailing down 
between her breasts and then tracing around them, drifting 
down her soft belly. She could feel his magik drifting with 
the winds of her room, opening her up to his caress and his 
touch.
	Her body tingled, hairs rising. 
	The shadow upon the floor looked up at her with eyes of 
darkness and a form becoming only of her. It had been this 
way for so long, stepping where she stepped. Once it had 
been the perfect mimic.
	Once. Now it was possessed of his magik.
	The shadow of her body rippled, changing with 
metamorphosis invoked only by ancient magik. Slowly the 
shadow rose up from beneath her feet, contours growing and 
filling out until arms and legs and breasts became visible.
	Fingers parted and reached out, clasping her own hands 
and feeling the warmth of her breasts. She moaned softly as 
these fingers played with a nipple.
	She was staring at herself now, face to face with 
Minako. Long blonde hair wrapped around their bodies like a 
warm blanket, smothering her with crackling magik.
	Minako-of-the-shadows gracefully slid behind her as she 
stood, arms brushing against her skin and then tenderly 
holding her. She sighed, closing her eyes as she felt her 
shadow's warm breath tingle across her neck.
	Small kisses worked their way up to her lips, and she 
turned her head so that their lips could meet. Minako-of-
the-shadows faded into darkness, its form changing once 
more. Long blonde hair became shorter and moss green, the 
fingers laced with hers gripping her hands tighter.
	"Kishi," she whispered.
	Her pleas were met with his kiss, passionate and 
filling her body with a desire to join with him once more. 
It had been so long since her shadow had become a part of 
his strange magik. 
	"Minako-chan," he said quietly. "My princess of love."
	Her eyes closed, her body sinking into the covers. She 
could feel cloth and covers wrap around her body as she fell 
into the realm of the waking dreamers. With one last, warm 
moan she slept. And her shadow dissipated as the lights in 
her room faded to night.


	A thousand eyes overhead seemed to glow down at her, 
not eyes of stars but of winged creatures flying amidst 
them. She leaned up against the torii, watching the dragons 
dance and swoop, spouting fire in brilliant infernos.
	A smile crossed her face as she felt someone come up 
behind her, wrapping arms around her waist. "You were late 
tonight, Kishi," she scolded him softly.
	He nuzzled his cheek against the base of her neck. 
"Gomen, Milady. It couldn't be helped." 
	A black rose with tangled thorn appeared in his hands, 
lifted up so that she could smell its sweet fragrance. With 
her touch the petals curled back into blossom, the tips 
changing to a radiant shimmer of blue. 
	She sighed, leaning against him. "It's beautiful. And 
after all, you still call a rose sweet only if it doesn't 
prick you first."
	A smile grew across his face. "That's 'a rose by any 
other name would still smell as sweet', Minako-chan." He 
opened his palm and the winds scattered rose petals across 
the starry sky. "Though when I found it I though of your 
face, this flower pales when compared to your beauty."
 	"You always know when to say the right things," she 
said, playfully tickling his sides. He laughed, squirming 
out of her expert fingers.
	"It's hard keeping up the messenger of love," he 
stated, kissing her forehead. He turned towards the 
expansive green realm spread out across the horizons.
	"The jungle forests are so pretty tonight," she said.
	"They are, Milady." For a moment he seemed lost in 
another realm apart from both dreams and the waking hours. 
The brooding in his eyes faded as he surveyed the jungle 
forest below them.
	"Ki-chan," she asked. "What is it?"
	He blinked, shaking himself free and with a tender 
smile looked into her eyes. "Nothing, Milady. Just random 
thoughts not deserving any more attention. I want you to be 
my focus."
	With a sweep of his arms she found herself pressed 
against him, chest to chest and lip to lip. They embraced 
and kissed, the winds throwing up a gale that flung his 
cloak of darkness over them both, the crimson interior 
concealed beneath its veil of a starless night.
	Yet when they parted from the kiss the winds did not 
stop. They continued, furious gales that reached out across 
the jungle forests of an eternal night. The skies lit up as 
streaking bolt of lightening flashed in the distance, 
casting a brilliant violet shade across their skin.
	"We should get inside the pyramid, Minako-chan," he 
told her. "The storms are always soon to follow."
	There was no rainfall. Instead there was an army of 
lightening and rumbles of thunder that echoed across the 
darkened sky. The full moon grew hidden as pulsating furies 
of black clouds poured out across the heavens.
	"Such an odd storm," she remarked, staring at it from 
the safety of the pyramid's entranceway.
	"The furies of my kingdom are unlike those of the other 
domains within the Dreamworld," Kishi answered. "There is no 
rain, but a brilliant display of lightening. I must admit I 
find these storms rather beautiful to watch."
	"Usagi-chan would be terrified of this," she said.
	A streak of lightening erupted before them, a flash of 
light flooding the entranceway as a rumble of thunder shook 
the step pyramid. Though the silver stone monument was more 
than firm enough to handle such a storm, she found herself 
leaping into her Dragon King's arms with a startled cry.
	He laughed, not cruel or malicious, but just because he 
loved being with her and sharing in her sometimes immature 
antics. 
	"Now you see why I enjoy these storms so much," he 
said, staring down into her eyes with playful sparkle of 
sapphire.
	She responded with a run of fingers up his sides, 
causing him to laugh with her touch. He squirmed a little 
more before catching her up in his embrace and kissing her.
	"Come," he said, parting lips to lead her down into the 
heart of the pyramid. "Let's get away from the storm, 
Minako-chan."
	Inside the step pyramid she found herself in the 
company of dragons, the interior of the silver structure an 
enormous cavern dressed like a ballroom. Pillars, columns 
and caryatids adorned much of the rotunda, with a series of 
waterfalls and fountains carved out from the rock.
	Numerous dragons of all sizes and shimmering colours 
looked up with her and Kishi's entrance. Their heads bowed 
reverently--though more to her than to their emperor. They saw 
Kishi as one of their own dressed in mortal skin. But the 
dragons saw her as one deserving respect just by the way her 
long blonde hair danced around her shining face and slim body.
	Tiny claws playfully wrapped around her shoulder, and 
she giggled under the tickling tongue of a dragon no larger 
than a small cat. 
	"Suna-chan!" she exclaimed under the affectionate licks 
of the sandy-coloured dragon. She had named him after the 
beach sands its hues so resembled. The dragon gave a series of 
hoots and clicks.
	"Ah, it would appear he smelled you coming," Kishi 
remarked.
He called to the tiny dragon in their own language, of 
whistles and clicks and strange-sounding words that might be 
used to invoke magik. But she had grown used to dragonspeak, 
and was actually catching onto their speech.
	She smiled as she watched emperor and dragon play 
together. When she had first come to this place, to this 
pyramid beneath the torii, Suna was a mere new-born, small 
enough to fit into her palm. That dragon was of a breed who 
were lesser in size, acting more like pets than the grand 
fliers who were either sleeping or lazily looking around the 
rotunda.
	With Suna perched on his shoulder, he led her past the 
relaxing bodies of the greater dragons. Her eyes widened and 
she nearly started to drool at the sight presented before 
her.
	There was a large series of fountains with water 
splashing and moving before a window that gazed out to the 
thick tops the jungle forests. But beside these fountains was 
a dining table and chairs, carved from exotic crystals and 
set for a meal. A thick but moist, chocolate brown pudding 
was laid out in a series of small silver bowls to be eaten.
	"Chocolate mousse!" she exclaimed happily. "You 
remembered!"
	"How could I forget?" he replied with a mischievous 
smirk. "You ate nine bowls of that dessert the last time I 
offered you some. I swear you have the appetite of my 
dragons."
	He laughed despite having her elbow playfully jabbed 
into his ribcage. 
	"You're so mean!" she teased, and then darted over to 
the table. "Itadakimasu!"
	As they sat down, he seemed content to watch her as she 
hungrily wolfed down the mousse with a speed and ferocity 
that matched her odango-haired friend. Yet for a moment, 
only a moment, he looked out into the storm and the brooding 
returned as he saw himself within the clouds. But that faded 
as he returned to the warmth of her smile.
	"What is it?' she asked.
	"Nothing to worry over," he answered.
	The storm continued throughout the night, and when it 
came time for her to return to the waking hours she asked to 
lay in his embrace. With gentle love in his eyes he nodded.
	"Anything for you, Milady."
	Safe and secure, the company of dragons and their 
emperor to keep her warm from the raging furies and rolling 
thunder, she slept.  


	She awoke to the beams of a September sun trickling in 
through her blinds. This was a day afforded to sleeping in 
late; no worries about racing to school. Rising from beneath 
warm covers was slow but rewarding.  
	A quick glance down at herself gave the revelation that 
she had slept without her nightgown, the garment crumpled 
next to her bed. With a stifled gasp she snatched up the 
nightgown and tried to cover herself as best she could.
	Luckily her feline companion was still sleeping. She 
slipped into a change of bra and panties before the feline 
awoke; when the white cat did stir, a bath followed with the 
opening of two weary blue eyes.
	"When did you get in last night, Artemis?" she asked, 
reaching for a hairbrush.
	The white cat looked up from the bathing ritual. "Late 
enough to find you in bed," the feline replied groggily.
	"Didn't get any sleep?" she asked, teasing her 
companion. "Were you out with Luna all night long?"
 	Defensive panic set in. "No!" the white cat protested. 
"Nothing of the sort! But you were moaning and moving around 
so much last night I couldn't get comfortable. What were you 
dreaming about last night?"
	She paused in brushing out her blonde hair. Her Dragon 
King, a brilliant storm, sleeping in his embrace and gentle 
kisses; they all passed within her memories. 
	"Why do you ask?"
	The bathing ritual for the feline abruptly ended. 
"You've been acting strange lately," the white cat said, 
both concerned and suspicious. She tried hard to act 
natural, and unfortunately succeeded. It was impossible to 
hide the look of someone who just let a secret out, the look 
of...of the cat who ate the canary and just got caught.
	The feline's eyes narrowed. "Are you hiding something 
from me?"
	She gave a nervous laugh. "Like what Artemis?"
	"What were you doing last night before you went to 
bed?" the cat asked cautiously. "I mean, you 
weren't...wearing your nightgown."
	"Artemis!" she exclaimed, lobbing a pillow at the cat. 
"Hentai!"
	"I wasn't the one having the erotic dream last night," 
the white feline muttered darkly after having taken the full 
brunt of the flying pillow.
	She sighed, choosing out her attire for the day: a 
white t-shirt under a set of bluejean overalls. Keeping her 
romance with Kishi a secret was really starting to take its 
toll on her. Everyone was growing in their suspicions.
	"Where are you going?" the white cat asked her, hopping 
onto her vanity.
	"To the Fire River Temple," she answered.
	The white cat's ears twitched. "What have you been 
eating, Minako? Chocolate?"
	She froze, moving a hand in front her mouth. Another 
problem with walking through two realms. Again a nervous 
laugh. "Just another midnight raid to the fridge!"
	Before her companion could get any more words in, she 
spun around and charged out from her bedroom, out from 
potential danger to her promise.


	"Is this all a dream?" she had asked him a long time 
ago, a time when the wonder of his domain could capture her 
with a mere gaze upon the jungle forests. 	
	He nodded. "It is, Milady. A realm apart from yours yet 
joined together at the soul."
	She swung around behind him, this time the one to 
embrace her arms around his waist. Kishi's hands clasped 
with hers. A hint of innocent curiousity arose as she felt 
her breasts press into his back.
	"Where are your wings?" she had asked.
	He became tensed, his grip tightening around hers. "Not 
all the guardians here are given wings," he answered, a 
strange sadness locked within his voice. 
	"Something wrong, Ki-chan?" she had asked.
	He shook himself free of his solemn expression, the 
smile returning as he cast his gaze upon her. "No, Milady. 
So long as I can look into your brilliant sapphire eyes, 
nothing could possibly be wrong."
	"Charmer," she said, playfully tickling his sides. As 
much as he pretended to hate it, he was unable to hide the 
fact that he rather enjoyed her "attacks".
	Atop the largest of all the step pyramids of silver 
stone he took her hand in his, bowing slightly to kiss it. 
"I would be honoured," he said. "if Milady would dance with 
me."
	"Anything for a dragon king," she answered
	And so they had danced before a pale crescent moon, to 
music that somehow came to life across the darkened skies of 
the night with chimes and whistles and woodwinds as the 
evening breeze swept past them. And in the final moment when 
everything came to crescendo, when a pride of dragons took 
to the air in a majestic parade of fire, he held her close 
and kissed her passionately.
	That had been her final memory before she had awoken in 
her own bed, in her own world. 


	This time she hid her emotions well from her friends, 
though not with something concealed in perfect darkness. The 
warm glow on her face and the giddy smile of having spent a 
night together with her Dragon King hinted to the others 
that something was up.
	"I know that look," the odango-haired blonde said, 
frowning on being left out of a secret. "That's the same 
look Mako-chan had when she first started dating Sora-chan."
	She blushed slightly; had she been that obvious all 
along? A burst of nervous giggles escaped her lips as she 
waved it all aside. The odango-haired blonde also began to 
giggle, and then was suddenly right in her face with a 
solemn stare.
	"Who are you dating?" the odango-haired blonde 
demanded.
	She toppled over by the close proximity of her friend's 
voice, letting out a startled yelp that seemed to cause a 
lapse in everyone's suspicions.
	"Usagi," the dark-haired shrine girl said with a weary 
sigh. "Let her be. If she had a boyfriend, Minako-chan would 
have told us already."
	She giggled nervously again. "Rei-chan's right. After 
all, I'm Sailor Venus, the messenger of love! And you can 
only trip while running into love so many times!"
	"That's 'only fools rush into love'," the blue-haired 
genius groaned, correcting the muddled quote. "Minako-chan, 
how much studying have you been doing?"
	She feigned deaf ears, still nervously giggling. 
Thankfully the right distraction came with the tall brunette 
and her dark-haired angel entering the cafe.
	"Sorry we're late," the tall brunette said, sliding 
into the booth.
	"And where were you two?" the odango-haired blonde 
asked with a teasing suspicious tone.
	"We woke up late," the dark-haired angel said. "We 
forgot about the time and spent the entire dream riding 
through the beaches of the northern shores with a herd of 
Silvermanes." He slipped into the booth next to the tall 
brunette and then tenderly clasped her hand. "It was 
breathtaking, wasn't it, Mako-chan?"
	The tall brunette nodded, and they met with a quick 
kiss.
	She sighed at their affection, eyes darting over to the 
blue-haired genius. "Ami-chan," she whispered. "You're 
blushing again."
	"Oh...am I?" the blue-haired genius remarked, turning a 
new shade of red with embarrassment.
	The conversations began anew, and they all seemed to 
forget about her hidden romance as the tall brunette and her 
raven angel told a tale of a dream filled with crisp ocean 
air and a dozen galloping steeds of silver throwing up sand 
as the waves licked their hooves.
	She found herself lost again with a haunting image of a 
silver step pyramid lost within the dense green realm of a 
jungle forest, the crimson torii's silhouette cast in the 
moonlight. A pride of dragons rising up from the pyramids, 
taking to the skies with a brilliant display of fire and a 
rainbow of sparkling scales. An emperor of strange magik and 
an even stranger past, yet one whose fiercely determined 
eyes of sapphire softened when they saw her.
	"Ki-chan," she sighed quietly.
	No one seemed to notice her quiet calling, and lost 
within that memory of a dream she didn't care whether or not 
the world had heard.


	"I've always wanted to ride a Silvermane," she had said 
once. "To feel the wind race past me atop the steed, and to 
feel you pressed against me."
	Many nights she had flown with him on the backs of 
winged dragons, and saw the beauty of his realm spread out 
before her in an exciting blur of winds and skies. Yet while 
she enjoyed the company of dragons, the tales of the tall 
brunette's encounters with her raven angel and the 
Silvermanes left her wishing for such an intimate prelude.
	"I cannot call a Silvermane," he had answered solemnly. 
"They do not roam through this part of the Dreamworld; the 
jungles are too thick for them to pass."
	"What about Sora?" she asked. She was certain all those 
who existed within the Dreamworld knew of the legendary 
raven angel. Not the first, but of the few who were able to 
cross through realms and destinies into the embrace of their 
beloved.
	He smiled, and for a moment she thought it was a smile 
of bitterness. "His domain was central to the roams of the 
Silvermanes. And now that he is not longer a guardian angel, 
he can ride them out from the domain that would otherwise 
bind him here in this realm."
	Her eyes widened. "You can't leave these pyramids?"
	He nodded. "Hai, Milady. Each guardian is sworn to 
protect a kingdom of the Dreamworld. Unless they wish to see 
its destruction they must never wander from its boundaries. 
All that is of lush jungle forest is for me to watch over. 
That is what binds me here."
	For a moment something clouded over his sapphire eyes, 
a grave secret of the shadows. "That is all that binds me 
here...." he whispered, as if wishing to believe his own 
words.


	The night was swept in by a radiant moon and an army of 
stars in the heavens. And with it a night spent beneath a 
pale moon atop a silver pyramid.  
	She smiled as she looked upon the familiar jungle 
forest. Tonight her feline companion had been in her bedroom 
when she had slipped beneath the covers. As much as she had 
wanted to feel his caress, she knew that her cat also 
mattered.
	The black robes around her ruffled in the cool winds, 
her crimson sash fluttering around her shoulder. She 
shivered slightly; the breeze was cooler tonight than usual.
	Abruptly she felt warm, tender hands run up her sides, 
and she fought off the urge to laugh at the tickling. She 
failed, giggling and squirming out of Kishi's grip, spinning 
around to face him.
	Demurely she wrapped her arms around his neck and 
kissed him. He did not hold back, responding with equal 
passion in his lips. Another wind swept past her and she 
shivered again.
	"Are you cold?" he asked, concerned.
	She nodded. "A little."
	He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Allow me, 
Minako-chan." Closing his eyes he brought his palms up to 
her cheeks. She moaned softly as suddenly the aura of his 
mystic magik around her.
	She felt as if she was slowly lowering her body into a 
steaming hotspring on some faraway mountain peak. Her legs 
tingled right up to her thighs, a warmth spreading out from 
her torso. 
	"Open your eyes," his whisper came.
	When she did she discovered that she was now waist-deep 
into a steaming hotspring. Tucked into the side of another 
step pyramid in the far corner of the jungle forests, she 
could see out beyond the rocks a realm of beautiful valleys 
and gorges laid out in a green carpet of plants and trees.
	Her breath was taken away by the magnificence of it 
all. "How did you...?" she asked. Her robes had vanished, but 
this would not have been the first time he had seen her 
naked breasts. Or her naked for that matter.
	He smiled, a mischievous sparkle of sapphire in his 
eyes. "Magik is not unknown to me, Milady." Leaning back in 
his seated position, his garments had also vanished but 
submerged up to his shoulders in the warm waters. "I hope 
this will warm your beautiful body."
	"There's something else I need," she said coyly, slowly 
approaching him. Her long blonde hair danced around her 
glistening body.
	Kishi glanced around the hotspring, suddenly uncertain. 
"Did I forget something?" he asked.
	His answer was her lips pushing against his, her body 
pushing his onto the rocks surrounding the spring. Her 
breasts pressed against his skin, warm and tender. Their 
arms wrapped around each other, though quickly moved to 
explore. She moaned softly as she felt his fingers caress 
one breast, drifting down her belly.
	"Ki-chan," she whispered into his ear. Her tresses of 
blonde hair covered them in a golden blanket.
	She took the initiative, and together they moved 
together in a rhythm of passion. The magik was spreading all 
across the hotspring, their bodies tingling as their motions 
of making love drew about a wave of exhilaration shared 
between them.
	"Ki-chan!" she cried out in that vital moment.
	A wave struck, washing over her with an incredible 
feeling of pleasure and magik. Her skin was tingling as if 
he was caressing and stroking every inch of her body. She 
laid down on top of him, exhausted but smiling as she looked 
into his eyes.
	"Minako-chan," he whispered, brushing away some of her 
blonde bangs. He cared for so much for her, the compassion 
shining through his sapphire eyes.
	She closed her own eyes, arms wrapped around his body 
as they shared in the warmth of both the hotsprings and each 
other.
	"Minako-chan," his voice whispered beyond realms. "I 
love you..."


	No one spoke of the night before; they all understood 
what had happened. Ever since the tall brunette and her 
raven angel had made love that one night, everyone could 
feel the magik stir the passion inside their bodies and 
souls.
	In dreams they felt one another kiss. In waking their 
bodies tingled with sensual touch of a passionate night 
spent in the borders of those dreams.
	She smiled quietly, knowing that even though she and 
Kishi had been together last night, there were two other 
couples of the same echoing magik who were active in their 
waking dreams. Perhaps at a waterfall, or in the hotsprings 
atop the ancient plateau far beyond Sora's domain.
	They were learning where to travel at will.
	All around them the autumn season was starting to take 
hold of the Shinto shrine's grounds, the leaves going from 
green to gold. With the warm winds still blowing, sitting 
out on the building's verandah gave them the chance to enjoy 
the scenery of changing leaves.
	"So, who still doesn't have a boyfriend?"
	She was unsure of who spoke the words, though everyone 
grew silent in their thoughts.
	The odango-haired blonde leaned against the chest of 
the dark-haired prince. The tall brunette was also sitting 
in the embrace of the raven angel. Both were basking in 
their own warmth, in the afterglow of a beautiful dream.
	The dark-haired shrine girl sighed. "No luck here."
	"Rei-san," came the voice of the shrine keeper's 
protege. A scruffy but handsome young man came from around a 
corner, dressed in the robes of one who tended to the Shinto 
shrine. The young man paused upon seeing all the others.
	"Oh, you're busy," the young man remarked, rubbing his
tanned neck beneath the thick brown hair. "I take it I can't 
talk to you right now."
	"Not now, Yuichiro," the dark-haired shrine girl called 
out. "I'm with my friends."
	The scruffy but handsome young man bowed and shyly 
retreated back around the corner. The man's affections for 
the dark-haired shrine girl had not gone unnoticed by 
anyone...including the shrine girl herself.
	"What about Yuichiro-san?" the odango-haired blonde 
teased.
	"Usagi!" the dark-haired shrine girl snapped, on the 
defensive.
	"Rei-chan's always so mean to me," the odango-haired 
blonde sniffled, hugging the dark-haired prince.
	"It just goes to show how good of friends you really 
are," the dark-haired prince whispered back. Deep blue eyes 
turned to the blue-haired genius. "What about you, Ami-
chan?"
	The blue-haired genius was hesitant, blushing shyly 
with the admittance that there was no boyfriend in her life. 
There was a careful omission in that there was, however, a 
search for such a boyfriend. 
	"What about you, Minako-chan?" the dark-haired angel 
asked.
	She grinned playfully despite trying to hide the fact 
from her friends that she was indeed in love. She couldn't 
hold back this secret anymore; it was bursting out from her 
eyes and her lips every time she looked or wanted to talk.
	"I knew it!" the odango-haired blonde exclaimed. 
"Minako-chan's got a boyfriend!"
	"How long has this been going on?" the tall brunette 
asked, sitting in the embrace of the raven angel.
	"Weeks," she said quietly, looking away.
	"You've been seeing a guy for weeks and only now 
decided to tell us?" the odango-haired blonde said, feigning 
hurt. 
	She laughed nervously, waving it aside. "It's not like 
we've been really dating or anything, Usagi-chan. We've just 
been meeting inside our dreams."
	"He must be a lucky soul," the raven angel said. "It's 
not every day a man meets the messenger of love."
	She blushed slightly at that; the face of her friend's 
lover was still beautiful enough to capture anyone's 
attention. Yet the face she longed to see once more held 
with it a fierce dedication and at the same time a charming 
smile.
	"So what's his name?" the dark-haired shrine girl 
asked. 
	For time she was silent, contemplating. Was this the 
right time? Would he understand if she told them of his name 
and of his world? But in truth the point of no return had 
been crossed.
	"His name is Kishi," she answered. 
	"Aren't you going to tell us anything else about him?" 
the blue-haired genius asked.
	She shook her head. "Not yet. Another time, perhaps."
	"She's just doing it to tease us," the tall brunette 
said.
	"Or make us jealous," the odango-haired blonde added 
with a pout.
	"Usagi-chan," the dark-haired shrine girl said. "You 
have Mamoru-san...Baka."
	The odango-haired blonde laughed. "That's right! I have 
Mamo-chan!"
	She smiled at her friend and her leader; more vivacious 
and childish than any of them, when push came to shove the 
odango-haired blonde always had the strongest will. 
	Her blue eyes saw the dark-haired shrine girl. "What 
about you, Rei-chan?" 
	The dark-haired shrine girl shrugged, and sighed, 
casting deep violet eyes out to the shrine's main pavilion. 
Somewhere out beyond the trees a faint ghost seemed to walk 
by. "Perhaps. Maybe. I don't really know yet."
	"Rei-chan's got a crush on Yuichiro," the odango-haired 
blonde teased again.
	"Usagi!" the dark-haired shrine girl exclaimed 
indignantly.
	"We've known that for a long time already," the tall 
brunette remarked to the raven angel. That got a quiet 
chuckle in response.
	As the two good friends, hair of night and day, began a 
usual routine of trading insults and raspberries, the blue-
haired genius sighed quietly, a silent wish for the touch of 
a raven angel's magik.
	The sands of the hourglass that marked sunset were 
falling fast, and dusk was close to setting upon them. 
Excitement rose within her just as the moon slowly rose into 
the night. Soon she would be with him again.
	She parted company from them in good feelings, relieved 
to have the burden of hiding her Dragon King from the 
others gone. But there was a moment where she suddenly felt a 
cold chill run through her body.
	That was when she saw Sora's face watching her, solemn 
and dark.


	She was surprised to hear the call of her mother in the 
later hours of the night. "Minako!" came her mother's voice 
from downstairs. "A visitor for you! It's Sora!"
	She ventured down the stairs to meet him, and then 
showed him up to her room. The raven angel had made quite an 
impression on her parents despite the fact that they knew he 
was the tall brunette's boyfriend. She had overheard them 
talking about how, if he wasn't already taken, he'd be 
perfect for her.
	"Did you want anything?" she asked. 
	Sora shook his head. "No, thank you, Minako."
	Her eyes bulged at the sight her less than tidy room. 
With a gale of nervous laughter she tried to scramble and 
throw aside her clothes and books and stuffed animals.
	"I'm not usually this messy," she said.
	"Not around visitors," the white cat added, looking up 
from a place upon the foot of the bed. "What brings you 
here, Sora?"	
	"I need to talk to Minako," Sora said, eyes darting 
over to the white cat. "Alone. Gomen, Artemis."
	With a roll of blue eyes the feline hopped off the bed 
and started for the bedroom door. "That's alright. I'm used to 
it by now."
	"Have you at least told him?" Sora inquired, closing 
the bedroom door behind the cat.
	"I told him when I came home," she answered. "He was 
more suspicious than any of you. I think I hurt his feelings 
by keeping it a secret."
	Sora glanced away, something flickering within his 
crimson eyes. Something that gave dire prophecy to a grim 
destiny. "You said his name is Kishi," the raven angel said. 
"Minako-chan, do you know him?"
	She nodded, smiling with his image standing before the 
step pyramid's torii. She could see his shadow robes and 
crimson cloak, that strange streak of blue bangs with his 
moss green hair.
	"Do you know him?" Sora asked again, voice gripped with 
a solemn tone. This was not a mere question. It was a 
challenge.
	"He is without a past that he can remember," she 
admitted. "That shouldn't be a problem." She smiled, trying 
to catch some reassurance from Sora's face. "Ne, Sora-chan?"
	Sora played with her hairbrush for a moment, 
contemplating the next words to be spoken. "Minako-chan, 
what I have to say will hurt you more than you can imagine, 
but I fear that my silence will only bring about more 
damage."
	"Sora?" she asked, her eyes starting to tremble. Did 
her Dragon King possess a shadow? And what lurked within the 
darkness there?
	"He is not one of us," Sora stated. "I don't know what 
he told you or what you saw, but he is not a guardian of the 
Dreamworld."
	She felt as if her heart had been smashed against her 
ribcage, a chill seizing her body. Now more ever than her 
eyes trembled.
	"He bares no raven wings," Sora continued. "and if I am 
right he has told you that he has no wings. In truth he 
holds another set of wings, ones I know he hides."
	"But the gateway," she protested. "That realm of the 
jungle forests!" There had to be a hope to cling to. A 
chance that everything was simply a misunderstanding? Was 
love to be so fragile that a secret could dash it to shards. 
	"They are not his," Sora answered, crimson regret 
looking at her. "He belongs to those who would threaten the 
peace of the dream realm. He is a Shadowdemon. That place 
you visit when you enter the Dreamworld is one he conquered. 
The guardian angel protecting it was killed."
	An invisible force struck her, but she able to keep 
from reeling. Standing as tall as she could, hands clasped 
together as if to pray, she pleaded in her eyes to the raven 
angel.
	"No...." she whispered. "It can't be."
	"I'm so sorry, Minako-chan," Sora said, placing a 
gentle arm on her shoulder. "The one you love belongs to the 
evil that is against your very dreams. I wish there was 
another way to tell you."
	She lowered her head, a shadow cast over her eyes as 
the light instead struck her blonde bangs. Desperate to keep 
herself from crying before the raven angel, her voice only 
came out in a low whisper.
	"Please...leave me alone, Sora. Please."
	Her entire body was quivering.
	The dark-haired angel sadly watched her tremble, but 
conceded. No other words could possibly help, nor could any 
embrace. She felt so alone all of a sudden, so cold and 
alone.
	Sora paused as he stepped through the door. "I'll tell 
Artemis to let you be."
	She never responded.
	When the door clicked shut behind Sora, she burst into 
tears and flung herself onto her bed, burying her face into 
her pillow. Tresses of thick, blonde hair billowed down over 
her trembling form.
	This was the first time in a long time she had ever 
cried herself to sleep. But the tears of sadness reached out 
into the Dreamworld long before she forgot her pain and was 
lost in the darkness of the dreamers.


	Kishi was standing beneath the torii, stern and grim 
eyes staring out at the jungle forests. His cloak of night 
fluttered around his body.
	And even though he did not face her eye to eye as she 
closed in the distance between them, she knew he was focused 
on her every word and motion.
	"Is it true?" she asked, her voice shaking. She was 
crying out to him to say it was all a lie.
	He slowly nodded. "It is, Milady. Every word. I was 
once a Shadowdemon, and by essence I still am. But I no 
longer fight with them. I am a lone wolf now, Minako, 
without angels nor demons to call my own. That is why I have 
no past."
	The dam burst, and now the tears flowed in a river of 
pain. So this was why he had wished for her to keep a 
secret: he had secrets of his own. She felt betrayed, 
deceived, and all the more frightened of a love that 
threatened to become extinguished.
	"Why didn't you tell me?" she cried.
	Now he turned, sapphire eyes of his own pain watching 
hers. "Because I didn't want to hurt you." He cast his gaze 
up to the crescent moon. "Perhaps it is cruel fate that 
would bring us together like this. I will make no apologies 
for what I once was, Minako. All I hold are regrets. Despise 
me. Spit on me. Burn my soul in anger or plunge it into 
eternal darkness. But know this, Minako-chan: I love you. 
And nothing will ever change that, not even if you decide to 
leave me now and never return."
	"Kishi," she whispered.
	This was a new face before her, one revealed with the 
tearing off of a mask that was so perfect she had never 
known its existence. The face before her now showed an 
honour unlike any other. A willingness to protect her, to 
die for her even if she hated him until eternity's end.
	She walked up to him, bringing his eyes to hers with a 
gentle touch her fingers brushed his cheek. And then she 
threw herself into his embrace, their pain becoming one that 
they would share together.
	"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly.
	"As much as I believe in love," he answered, wrapping 
his arms tightly around her back. "this was a risk I found 
myself unwilling to take. I have seen the raven angel called 
Sora walk with you and your friends. Make no mistake, he and 
I have met before...and the encounter was not a pleasant 
one."
	He stepped out of her embrace, his hands trailing down 
her arms until fingers clasped together. And he began to 
turn the light upon his shadow.
	"Shadowdemons are borne without a face or form," he 
explained. "When I came to this gateway to claim it for my 
own domain, the raven angel here fought fiercely to defend 
this realm. Only until the end of the battle did I finally 
see why."
	His fingers slipped out from hers, and he seemed to 
feel more comfortable avoiding her gaze. Indeed he wanted to 
avoid his own gaze into a soulless creature that still lived 
dormant inside.
	"His last words were of you," Kishi said quietly, 
kneeling down to brush his fingers along the stones. "All he 
asked was 'please'. Before I could do anything his hands 
touched mine and I saw your face.
	"He had fallen in love with you, Minako. His raven form 
watched over you from afar since you were a child. And he 
could not bear to lose you or your beautiful dreams to the 
Shadowdemons. That is why he fought with every last drop of 
magik in his blood."
	Kishi's voice became choked, the forgotten memories 
surfacing and returning with the pain and scars of a life he 
did not wish to possess.
	"When...when I saw your face, your smile, I realized 
just what I had done. Never before had I wished to erase my 
actions. But there was nothing I could do, and he died in my 
arms."
	A tear caught a beam of moonlight as it fell down his 
cheek. It dropped to the stone floor of the pyramid, and 
became lost as it began to rain, soft yet cold.
	She found herself at a loss for words, unable to voice 
the storm of emotions raging inside her heart. Betrayal, 
lies, hope, penance, devotion. And above all else love.
	Kishi turned, staring out at the jungle forest sprawled 
out from one moonlight horizon to the next. "I defied the 
Shadowdemons that night, seizing the fallen raven's domain 
as my own. I became its protector, thought dead by my own 
shadows and scorned by the raven angels."
	He ran his fingers down his cheek. "This face was--is 
the one of the soul who loved you until the end, Minako-
chan. I discovered his love and honour, making it my own. 
And I swear that I shall do nothing to cause you pain."
	They turned towards the jungle forests as the pride of 
dragons he commanded once more spread wings and soared up 
into the night skies.
	"What are the dragons, then?" she asked.  
	Brooding returned to his face, though with the secret 
coming to light the burden was fading from his heart. "They 
were once serpynts, the rampaging beasts of the Shadowdemon 
riders. When I became a rogue soul within this dream world, 
all of my serpynt pride stayed loyal with me. They are now 
peaceful, and thus dragons. This has become their haven as 
it is now my sanctuary."
	Kishi's fingers laced with hers. "All I can do is pray 
that what I do now will wipe clean the blood of the raven 
angels I have slain, that you can still find a reason to 
look upon me with those sapphire eyes, Milady. I won't hold 
any ill will towards you if you leave. If you wish to strike me, 
I will not strike back. Your scorn is truly what I deserve, 
and all I ask is that, even if you do not return to my kingdom, 
please know that I will always love you."
	She turned away, still overwhelmed.
	So many secrets, so much pain. It would take time to 
heal this bridge burned, but at least now the process could 
begin. Yet could she forgive him for such incredible 
deception? She needed time to think.
	Time alone, away from both friends and dreams.
	She opened her mouth the speak, to tell him of her need 
for a sanctuary of solitude. But no voice came through her 
lips, cut off by a new voice entering the Emperor's kingdom.
	"Get away from her, Kishi."
	She turned, stunned by this new voice. There was such 
malice laced in those words that she could hardly believe 
they were spoken by a soul with such a gentle voice.
	"Sora," she whispered.
	Sora's eyes locked on Kishi. "Get away from her," Sora 
said icily, emerging from the torii.
	Kishi bristled, growling. His sapphire eyes flashed 
fiery red. "On what authority?"
	"You would deceive her with lies," Sora said, stepping 
forward with visible intent to unleash magik. "You would 
give her pain and torment. I thought I had seen all the 
evils of your kind, but this is unforgivable."
	"How would you know what hell is?" Kishi snapped 
angrily. 	
	"I'll warn you only one last time," Sora said. "There 
will be no other chance, demon."
	She looked to her lover, who simply broke free from her 
and took a defiant step forward. "So be it then," Sora 
growled. A chill with the winds swept past her, and she 
recognized the aura of his growing magik. 
	"Kishi, no!" she cried out.
	But she was too late in her hopes to end a conflict.
 	Draygn's Fyre erupted, a stream gushing out to the 
raven angel and striking him in the chest. With a scream 
Sora was thrown onto the stones of the pyramid, vests 
scorched and tattered. Blood dripped from the cut across the
raven angel's chest.
	Yet Sora arose and faced Kishi, the two warriors glaring 
at each other as fierce auras erupted from their bodies. She 
was looking from one the next, the events happening too fast 
for her to react. And then she found herself lost in a 
shadow.
	The dragons were swarming.
	"No!" Kishi barked, a swift gesture of his arm to hold 
the creatures at bay. "This is my fight, and I shall take 
care of it."
	Within Sora's palms a fury of whirlwinds gathered, 
cycling and swarming and eager to be unleashed. The power of 
a typhoon, a Devil's Tail soaked in water, summoned upon Sora's
call to the magik still locked inside.
	She could hardly believe what her eyes saw. They were 
both ready to kill each other over her! "Stop it, both of 
you!" she exclaimed. She tried to step forward but a wave of 
their combined magik forced her back, nearly throwing her 
from the top of the pyramid.
	"You really haven't changed since you last tried to 
take my domain of the Dreamworld," Sora said. "All this talk 
of penance is as much of a lie as the stolen face you now 
wear."
	Kishi's eyes widened in burning fury. "KUSO!!" he 
shouted.
	Suddenly the stone beneath Sora's boots shattered, 
exploding and venting up both blue fire and shards of the 
broken rocks. The raven angel screamed as he was caught in 
the eye of the storm, the full power unleashed at ground 
zero.
	The angel's eyes were closed, body tumbling across the 
roof of the pyramid, limp as a ragdoll. Sora finally rolled 
to a stop, bloodied and beaten. Wings were limp at his 
sides, feathers torn off and others still glistening with 
blood.
	Kishi slowly stalked towards the fallen raven, a dark 
glint in his eyes. "Now," he said with pure malevolence in 
his voice. "it's time I finish what I once started."
	Something snapped within her. Now she had a chance to 
react, and all she could fixate on was Sora's eyes weakly 
fluttering open to behold Kishi's final invocation of death. 
 	"Stop it!" she screamed. "Please stop!"
	She came between them, cradling the fallen raven in her 
arms. Sora's eyes closed once more, and he moaned quietly as 
she held him. With their embrace Kishi froze, and then turned 
away.
	"Ki-chan?' she asked.
	He slowly walked away, turning his back as the cloak of 
night swung out around his form. "Leave me now," he said 
quietly. He did not look back.
	"Ki-chan," she whispered, stepping forward with her 
hand outstretched. Now she understood. She had seen his past 
and his pain. There was nothing left for him but a love to 
protect her to his death.
	Suddenly the emperor whirled, eyes ablaze. A fury 
exploded from around him, the gales forcing her back. She 
clung to Sora, holding him tight in fear of his weakened 
form taking more injuries. 
	Kishi seemed oblivious, lost in his own private rage. 
"I said leave me!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the 
jungle forests. 
	A wave of fire unleashed wrapped around them, fierce 
but not consuming. Yet with it was incredible power: the 
magik to send them back to their world.
	The realm of the waking hours.
	As the flames overtook her vision, she was able to see 
the dragon emperor one last time. He had dropped to his 
knees, hands crossed over his chest and clutching his 
shoulders, eyes shut and squeezing out tears. One single 
teardrop shed hurt her more than any number of drops of her 
blood shed.
	"Ki-chan!" she cried out desperately. If only she could 
tell him how much she loved him, that she understood his 
pain. But her voice was lost to the firestorm. And her 
senses lost to the magik of the Dreamworld.


	Sora was still in her arms when she snapped back her 
head to let out a stifled cry. She was half expecting the 
flames to be at her bedside too, but it was not so. The room 
was dark and quiet.
	The red numbers of a bedside clock proclaimed five 
hours since midnight had passed.
	"Minako?" came a groggy feline voice at the foot of her 
bed. Blue eyes widened at the sight of Sora. "Minako! What 
happened?"
	The raven angel moaned weakly, hoarse gasps for breath 
the only sign of life. And those were only making her feel 
worse. His wings were still sprawled out, bleeding and torn 
apart. Feathers littered her room.
	"There was a fight in the Dreamworld," she answered. 
The black robes and crimson sash were still around her body, 
once worn when she lived with Kishi inside her dreams. Had 
the Dragon King used that much magik to fling her out from 
the dream?
	"He needs help badly," the white cat said, voice 
quivering over such a shock.
	She felt Sora's wings rustle, brushing her hands.
	How would the hospitals treat a broken angel's body? 
Did his wounds need medicine or magik? She knew that the 
only ones she could turn to were her friends...and they were 
the ones she feared to face. 
	"Call Rei," she said quietly. "We'll take Sora to her 
temple."


	"He'll live," the dark-haired shrine girl said, closing 
the shoji behind her. Beyond the partition laid a recovering 
angel, though not far from turning the other way.
	Everyone sighed in relief; they all had been called 
about Sora's condition, told to come out to the Shinto 
shrine. But while her friends wore faces of distraught 
shock, she found herself lost in brooding silence. It had 
been a long time the messenger of love had found herself in 
such a state.
	"How long will it be until he recovers?" the blue-
haired genius asked.
	The dark-haired shrine girl's eyes already answered 
before the words came. "He's wounded badly, and slipping in 
and out of consciousness. I don't know how his body heals 
itself...Gomen."
	"You did the best you could," the odango-haired blonde 
said with determined hope. "Don't worry, Rei-chan. He'll be 
awake soon."
	She turned away as a few eyes were cast in her 
direction. She was feeling sick to her stomach. As much as 
she wanted to avoid facing them with the dark truth, she 
knew she had to let it come to light.
	"Who did this?" the tall brunette growled, turning to 
her. She recoiled slightly as the tall brunette's fist 
struck a timber of the building's verandah, the force enough 
to leave a visible dent in the wood.
	The white cat looked at her. "Minako?"
	She lowered her gaze, unwilling to look at her friends. 
"Kishi," she said quietly, the tears starting to gather at 
her eyes once more.
	The second shock of the night hit, and for a moment 
silence reigned.
	"What?" everyone chorused.
	And so she explained everything, omitting nothing from 
Kishi's past or from her dreams. When she finally finished 
describing the battle between Sora and Kishi, no one else 
spoke for a long time.
	Then the tall brunette started stalking out from the 
shrine grounds.
	"Mako-chan, where are you going?" the odango-haired 
blonde asked with concern.
	"I'm going to find this bastard Kishi," the tall 
brunette answered. "I'm going into the Dreamworld." 
	Panic set in for her. "Mako-chan, no!" she screamed, 
racing to stand before her friend. "Please, don't face him! 
He's not a Shadowdemon anymore. Please, let me go to him 
first. Kishi is not evil, Mako-chan!"
	She was crying now, uncontrollably.
	"I don't care," the tall brunette growled. "He's going 
to pay for what he did."
	"Mako-chan...." she whispered with her last plea.
	But despite all this she knew why her friend was going 
to face the Dragon King. Sora had been the first true love 
the tall brunette had ever experienced, crossing through realms
to be with the young woman. And if something attacked the 
raven angel, then they attacked the tall brunette.
	The tall brunette disappeared beneath the Shinto 
shrine's torii and down the front stairs. The others could 
only stand and silently watch the vengeful lover leave them.
	She whirled to the dark-haired shrine girl. "Do you 
have any sleeping pills?"
	The dark-haired shrine girl blinked in surprise. 
"What?"
	"I need to reach Kishi first," she answered.
	"Minako-chan," the blue-haired genius said. "Why?"
	"Don't you understand?" she pleaded. "Kishi's soul is 
torn apart now. If Mako-chan attacks him in this state, he 
will kill her!"
	Her friends still wavered, uncertain to where their 
loyalties were.
	"I love him!" she cried out, dropping to her knees. "If 
you don't give me the pills now, I'll go home and get them 
myself."
	The dark-haired shrine girl looked to the two other 
young ladies for guidance. They could only mirror the girl's 
uncertainty with their own eyes. 
	She felt so alone as she knelt upon the ground. Sora 
was hurt because of her, Kishi was hurt because he loved 
her, and now her friends were being divided because of her. 
Was this love? Or was this the curse of such love?
	Her eyes slowly looked up as she felt a gentle arm rest 
upon her shoulder. The odango-haired blonde was smiling. 
"We'll help you, Minako-chan. I believe in you."
	She felt her soul lift with her friend's smile. "Usagi-
chan," she said quietly, gripping the odango-haired blonde's 
hand.
	The blue-haired blonde looked to the dark-haired shrine 
girl. "If Kishi's as powerful as Minako-chan says, then he 
could seriously hurt Mako-chan. We need to protect her."
	The dark-haired shrine girl sighed. "Okay. For you, 
Minako-chan, I'll get the sleeping pills."


	The dragons were eerily silent this night.
	The Dragon King, their leader and emperor, was standing 
beneath the torii as he silently and grimly watched the 
jungle forests that were of his stolen domain. Whether or not 
he noticed her enter the Dreamworld was uncertain. If he 
noticed, he avoided her entirely.
	"Kishi," she said quietly, approaching him. Her royal 
garments of darkness and crimson fluttered in the night 
winds. 
	"I asked to be alone," he said, his voice harsh.
	Harsh but not sincere in his words.
	She could hear the despair, the longing to be with her 
once more. Yet the pain and sorrow pulled him away, tearing 
at his soul.
	"Let me face Sora's princess alone," he stated. "I 
won't ask for mercy. I won't defend myself. Maybe then in
death I can find serenity and peace for a soulless creature."
	Tears were streaming down her face again. "Baka!" she 
exclaimed, slapping his cheek. "You would throw your life 
away just because of the past?"
	He absorbed the blow, and winced. "The past is what I 
am."
	"The past is what you once were," she stated. "I have 
looked into your eyes and seen compassion. I have been in 
your embrace and felt gentleness. And I have kissed your lips 
and tasted love."
	This was not something she had rushed into. This echoed 
of something beyond destiny, growing in power and magik for 
thousands of years. Kishi had watched over her from afar for 
most of her life. Angel or demon, he still loved her.
	This was love, pure and passionate.
	He stared at her, his own eyes trembling. "Minako-
chan..." he whispered.
	"Ki-chan," she said quietly. "I understand. And it has 
made me realize how much I truly love you. So long as there 
is a day to a night, we will always be together. I will never 
leave you."
	He stood before her and then swept her up in his arms. 
With gentle tears of both sadness and joy he cried. She let 
him cry on her shoulder, her own eyes of tender compassion 
trembling.
	"I owe you everything," he said, straightening and 
wiping away the trails of his teardrops. "My life, my realm 
and my love. Without you I would have no heart or soul. 
Milady, I would be honoured if you shared this dance with 
me."
	She smiled, trailing a fingertip down his lips. "You 
always did know what to say, Ki-chan."
	And they would have danced together under the pale 
moonlight. They would have if the winds were not against 
their love.
	Something stirred.
	Something dark, evil and there among the shadows of the 
jungles. Their kiss was cut short as a cold wind swept past 
the three of them. The winds were heralding a creature as 
dark as the midnight where it lurked.
	Abruptly a cold gale swept past them.
	He swung around, defensively staring out at the vast 
expanse of his kingdom. Sapphire eyes narrowed, growing cold. 
She could feel his entire body tense up, though not like 
before. He was not hiding a secret.
	He was facing a fear.
	She held her breath as her eyes caught sight of a 
pulsating mass of stormcloud move towards the pyramid. Yet it 
snaked out with tendrils that pulled the writhing body of 
darkness forward. Rumbles from the living shadows caused the 
jungles to shudder, though not from a storm. But from 
laughter, dark and evil.
	The cloud descended, holding its pulsating form of 
chaotic darkness. It settled before them both, and two eyes 
opened up from the clouds.
	Eyes of malevolence and terror.
	The laughter began again, harsh and sadistic.
	"Kishi," she whispered, her grip on his arm tightening. 
"What is happening?"
	Yet he seemed oblivious to her words. Instead he spoke 
to the contortions of the darkness. "This is my domain, 
Akurei," he stated, raising one hand over his head. The open 
palm burst into the crackling blue flames of Dragyn's Fyre 
magik.
	He had called the creature by its true essence: an evil 
spirit. A demon yet beyond demons. A nightmare of the 
Dreamworld, living to destroy all that was beautiful. 
	The Shadowdemons had come.
	A cruel smile punctured the darkness with glistening 
rows of hideous fangs. "Ah but you are one of us. Her Majesty 
sent me to find you. For a long time we thought you were 
killed in your conquests. When your power resurfaced, the 
Shadowqueen sent me in the hopes that you were still alive."
	The cruel smile became a scornful glare of hatred. 
"Imagine me finding you here living in a dream you were to 
have conquered, frolicking with these mortals as if you were 
a raven angel."
	"Kishi," she said quietly, her growing concern. While 
she was still a fighter, she was in a state without her 
ability to combat something so powerful. She didn't even know 
if Senshi transformations worked in the Dreamworld.
	"Milady," he whispered, still defensively standing. "Go 
to the torii, and escape before the battle begins. I fear I 
cannot guarantee your safety otherwise."
	The writhing mass of shadows cackled. "Such a pity, 
Kishi--if that is now the name you have taken; your conquests 
were once legend. Now they shall be stripped from our 
memories and you will become more hated than those with the 
raven wings."
	"I would rather become your enemy than a consort of 
your evil," he answered. "Now leave my kingdom or face my 
wrath."
	The darkness cackled once more. "You? One who has taken 
on the form of a fragile mortal body? For such impudence, I 
will tear the skin off your bones and hang your rotting 
carcass in my great hall where the Bogeymen dance in my 
honour."
	Kishi stepped forward, and with an enraged wave of his 
hand defied the words of his former self. "A creature of evil 
has no honour!" he snapped, forced to once more face hated 
memories. "My eyes were opened. Don't you see? There is no 
honour is destroying such beauty! We are nothing more than 
petty ravagers!"
	A menacing growl echoed across the tops of the step 
pyramids within the jungle forest. The Dragon King turned to 
her, eyes pleading for her to leave.
	"Minako-chan," he said. "I don't want to see you hurt."
	She shook her head. "Ki-chan, I can't leave you here to 
face this alone. Not after feeling your pain."
	Eyes of darkness slowly fixated upon her, and she 
cringed under their evil glow. But as much fear as she felt, 
this was not the first nor would it be the last time she had 
faced a battle. She was more than a messenger of love. 
	She was a soldier for it.
	"Is this the angelic little soul who has poisoned your 
mind against us?" the pulsating cloud asked, taunting them 
both. "Is it her beauty that is giving you such pain?"
	"Damn you, leave her out of this!" Kishi snapped, 
placing himself between her and the demon.
	"Such pain in those mortal eyes you've claimed," came 
the rumble of the Shadowdemon. "Let me end your pain by 
ending her life."
	No words were uttered as the explosive wave of blak 
magik smashed into his body, throwing him across the top of 
the pyramid. Dust was sent up in a thick cloud as his body 
tumbled over silver stone.
	"Kishi!" she screamed.
	A multitude of dragons rose up, with a chorus of roars 
that shook the forest from one horizon to the next. They had 
stayed with their emperor and found a new life of serenity. 
And they too were ready to die in defending both it, their 
emperor and his beloved princess.
	"Turncoat beasts," the ancient evil snarled, raising a 
clawed hand with which to strike down the pride of this 
kingdom.
	"Wait!" came a new shout.
	The Shadowdemon slowly turned, burning eyes focusing 
upon the lone female soldier challenging its blak magik. "I 
will not let you destroy such a world of beauty with your 
cruel darkness. I am the soldier of love and justice, Sailor 
Venus. And your evil is unforgivable."
	"Bah!" the Shadowdemon scoffed, darkly amused with her 
actions. "Mortals make no difference. Man, woman, child; I 
live to see them all die." 
	Her eyes burned with righteous anger. And her own breed 
of magik, born of an Earth of waking hours, surged out from 
her body, gathering strength in the aura around her.
	"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" she shouted.
	The attack struck the darkness, and was absorbed 
without any visible damage. She recoiled in sudden fear as 
the Shadowdemon laughed.
	"Is that the extent of your powers, little girl?" it 
taunted.
	Suddenly the shadows convulsed, the attack exploding 
out from its sides or front or back with a stream of glowing 
orange light. The creature let out an enraged howl. It 
whirled, glaring at her defiant stand.
	"That," it hissed. "hurt."
	Magik of blackest nights and darkest evils began to 
crackle and gather with its summoning. With incredible speed 
a bolt of magik reached out and struck her body.
	She found herself unable to scream as her entire form 
was subjected to the feelings of agonizing pain, as if she 
was being stabbed with hundreds of tiny needles and burned by 
white hot fires.
	Her body was catapulted from the pyramid, sent hurling 
with debris over the precipice of the highest platform. She 
kept her eyes closed, aware that she was plummeting to her 
death. 
	"Kishi," she whispered.
	And then abruptly she felt herself come to a jolting 
stop followed by a graceful flight. Arms wrapped around her 
body to keep her aloft. She slowly dared to open her eyes as 
she felt the wind flowing past her body, now gathered in firm 
arms. She was in the embrace of Kishi.
	And he was flying.
	Twin wings were at his back, dark and leathery like a 
bat, tipped with claws and appearing like those possessed by 
a demon creature. They had torn out from his garments, 
shredding his cloak into tattered strips that danced out 
behind him.
	He brought her back to the top of the pyramid. "This is 
my fight," he said to her. "Know that I only want to protect 
you, to know that you are safe." He glanced over at the 
crimson gateway. "Run beneath the torii. You will leave this 
realm and awaken, and I will fight to see you escape."
	"Kishi," she said, trying to find words to express what 
she was feeling. So much to tell him and perhaps no other 
time left. To tell him how much she truly loved him.
	They spun to the sounds of dragon battle cries and 
vicious howls. The pride serving their emperor converged in a 
ferocious swarm around the creature threatening their domain.
	The Shadowdemon struck down the valiant beasts, and 
many rained down with blood and broken bodies. Kishi opened 
his mouth and let out a shout:
	"Enough!"
	His winged comrades backed off as the Shadowdemon 
turned to once again face the reason for its coming. "Ah, you 
are still alive? Impressive that such a seemingly fragile 
body could withstand my powers."
	"Beneath this fragile body lies a force that owns the 
same powers you wield," Kishi stated. He turned to her. 
"Milady, please. I ask you to leave me be. Let me be your 
knight, if only for this one battle."
	Despite all that had happened, all the hurt and secrets 
and tears, he was still willing to die to protect her. He 
indeed loved her, and kept his vow of honour.
	In that moment she fell in love with him even more. 
"Ki-chan," she whispered.
	"You've gotten too damned sentimental!" the Shadowdemon 
snapped, and with a wave of a shadowy tendril it sent out a 
wave of blak magik that caught the Dragon King's body.
	He screamed as he was torn from her grip, catapulted 
across the pyramid, his body stopping only when it hit the 
stone structure that was the pyramid. The silver stones 
cracked apart, crushed by the power of the blow.
	Kishi slumped to the ground, still alive but losing 
strength. He lifted his head only to see a second wave 
rampaging towards him. His body was lifted once more into the 
air, colliding with the torii. 
	The gateway buckled as he struck the base, ricocheting 
off the crimson form to land sprawled out near the edge of 
the pyramid. His wings were bloodied and torn, feebly trying 
to curl around his body for one last piece of protection.
	"Milady...." he rasped.
	"Now witness what such useless emotions have given 
you," the creature of darkness proclaimed. "Shin'ne." And 
with that last word came Kishi's sentence of death.
	His eyes never widened as he watched the frenzied storm 
of magik tore through the stone to reach him, a destructive 
power focused to a single shot that would tear through his 
body in a heartbeat. He had not the time nor the strength to 
retaliate. He watched with both a ferocious glare and a grim 
bracing for what might be his last breath of life. To think 
that for all he had suffered through and won, that he would 
die here, like this. Yet if it was for her, then it would be 
his final act of penance.
	The sickening rip of torn cloth and flesh echoed across 
a silence that seized the air. Blood sprayed out in an almost 
majestic geyser, droplets staining everything around them. 
Once beautiful eyes slowly closed. A heartbeat began to slow, 
doomed to stop.
	He could say nothing. His mouth was agape in shock and
horror as she collapsed back into his arms, the blow meant
for him now dealt unto her. Her form was so slender and small
yet not without its own vibrancy that had first captivated 
his eyes in that fatal battle so long ago. 
	And it was her silhouette now that convulsed, snapping 
back in shock and pain as the attack shot through her. The 
sounds of it puncturing her chest only to punch through her 
back echoed with a sickening ring in his ears. He could see 
bits of her fuku lost from her body, torn apart.	
	Crimson droplets rained down, splashing across his 
cheek. Her blood, her lifeblood now stained the side of his 
face. He was frozen in horrific terror, unable and unwilling 
to allow what he had just seen to be reality.
	"MILADY!" he screamed, catching the fallen Senshi in 
his arms as she fell over. Her blood was all over him: his 
face, his hands, his chest. He laid her down on the floor, 
unable to speak or do anything but watch her.
	"Daijo...bu," she whispered, reaching up to clasp hands 
with him, their fingers lacing together. "Kishi...I--"
	He shook his head, a finger pressed gently against her 
lips. "Shhh," he interjected. "I...I can heal you. Dammit, 
don't you die on me, Minako-chan! I won't let you!"	
	His voice was unsteady and unwilling to admit her 
wounds. He ran his fingers through her tresses of long blonde 
hair. Her blood was soaking her garments and his, a growing 
pool of crimson beneath her body. The wound was too large to 
ignore, to lethal to hope against.
 	She smiled softly through the numbing pain, her fingers 
reaching up to touch his cheek. "Such beautiful eyes," she 
whispered. 
	There was nothing else he could say except to call out 
her name, to call her back into his arms instead of leaving 
him alone in two worlds.
	"Ki-chan," her last breath whispered. "I love...."
	His eyes were trembling in horrific refusal to accept 
what he saw. "IIE!!" he shouted in frantic rage, shaking her 
body. "Damn you, Minako! You promised we would always be 
together! You said you would never leave me!"
	But her lips were silent in death.
	He threw back his head, lifting his voice to the moon 
and the stars and the heavens far beyond. And then a howl 
shattered the stillness of the night, one that echoed across 
the jungles and reached into all borders of the Dreamworld.
	"MINAKO-CHAN!!!"
	He was beyond weeping, jaw clenched though no tears 
came to his eyes. Only rage burned within, searching for a 
direction to vent, for a place to lash out.
	"Now you see," came the cold words of the Shadowdemon. 
"She is but of mortal body. Her beauty was destroyed with a 
mere wave of my magik. You can never find such sanctuary is 
something so fragile as love."
	His eyes widened, burning with the blue fury of a 
sapphire. Fists clenched and drew blood, the crimson streams 
igniting in his palms. He whirled, facing the Shadowdemon.
	"You bastard," he snarled. 
	It began to rain, neither cherry blossoms nor raven's 
down, but water, cold and thick. A torrential downpour, 
brilliantly sparkling as lightening turned the skies into a 
pulsating storm of enraged magik. 
	"Return to us," the Shadowdemon's voice drifted past 
him with the gales of wind. "Return to our Empress...or feel 
the frailty of this mortality you have chosen."
	Kishi tore his eyes away from the darkness, from what 
he was, and held his fallen princess. She had loved him 
enough to be willing to die if it meant protecting him. He 
had been willing to face the same fate.
	But why her? Dammit, why her?
	Time became lost as he gently ran his fingers down her 
cheek. He forgot about what he was, the shadowy reflection of 
his past looming before him. All he cared about was her 
stolen beauty, her stolen life.
	"I may be immortal as a demon," he said, his words 
echoing across the winds of the ancient evil. "But I would 
rather spent a short time in the arms of love, in Milady's 
embrace than live forever in a cold black night of the 
Shadowdemons."
	Gently he took her in his arms, holding her body 
against his, nuzzling cheek to cheek. She was growing cold 
already. Such a hideous feeling.
	"I wish I had been the one to fall," he whispered to 
her. "Forgive me, Minako-chan. I failed you." He kissed her 
lips one last time. "I love you."
	Kishi turned, facing his nemesis. The crackle of an 
electrical arc rose up from the ground, wrapping around his 
body. It quickly faded, but was replaced by another. And 
another. And another.
	"One night will come where we shall together again," he 
stated, dedication burning through his newfound soul. "Where 
nothing you can do will destroy our love."
	The Dragyn's Fyre exploded out from his body, 
encircling the top of the pyramid. For the first time the 
Shadowdemon revealed fear at a magik it had never before 
encountered. The flames were still swarming around his form, 
raging out of control. The rippling air that held the fire 
back from sweeping across the entire kingdom in a hellborne 
gale suddenly died, the flames fanning themselves. Forged 
into a new shape the crackling blue flames opened out in 
circular formation, like the petals of a blooming flower.
	And there at its heart was Kishi.
	He growled, reaching up and touching the thick rivers 
of his own blood that were now covering his temple and 
running down his cheek and neck, onto his chest. His hands 
were soaked with blood...her blood. He stalked through the 
flames unharmed, his body moving as if possessed. 
	The court of dragons hissed in low tones, awed and 
terrified by what they had never before seen or felt. He 
failed to hear their voices. His face was lowered to the 
floor, shadows of his shimmering moss-green bangs covering 
his eyes. Yet with every inch of his being he was seething, 
clenched fists trembling in almost uncontainable fury.
	He snarled, slowly raising his head to level a 
murderous gaze with the storm that was the Shadowdemon. A 
deadly reflection of his former self. And two sapphire eyes 
thirsting for revenge gazed into the darkness.
	"Until that night comes," he snarled. "I'll be content 
to see you burn in hell."
	His aura of fire turned the black sky into an eerie 
blue dance of shadows. Not even the rains could end the 
burning flames. The dragons were reaching a frenzy, feeding 
off of his exploding magik.
	"I found a reason to possess a soul," he stated. "I 
found a reason for living. And even if it means my own death 
I will not let you steal the only thing I have left to 
treasure."
	"Damn you," the Shadowdemon hissed.
	"I'm already damned!" he snapped. He raised his hands 
ramrod over his head, palms shaped to cup the crackling blue 
fires that were swarming around his body. "And if it must be 
that way forever, then you shall join me."
	Something swept across the tropical jungles, something 
with enough force to send cracks sprawling across the step 
pyramid, something powerful enough to cause the Shadowdemon 
to brace itself against the blast.
	It was magik borne of a different emotion.
	One that demanded retribution no matter what the cost.
	Glowing sapphire eyes opened wide in rampant ferocity. 
All his hair danced wildly around his face as gales rose up 
atop the pyramid with enough force that the billows of winds 
could be seen as waves of misty grey.
	A battle aura unlike any other erupted from his body, 
tearing the garments from him, fabric scraps incinerated upon 
leaving his skin. The blast sent numerous dragons sprawling 
backwards across the neighboring pyramids with a startled 
yelp. Even the Shadowdemon seemed to back away into the heart 
of the heavens as the aura of hidden magik unfolded before 
them all.
	A mandala of markings appeared on the ground, circling 
around him, each with a different and ancient rune glowing 
upon it. The silver rock just beyond the ring of runes were 
suddenly shattered into dust, the pulverized remains 
exploding into up into the skies.
	His eyes closed, fingers moving into strange gestures, 
lips chanting barely audible words. Suddenly the runes 
glowed, and from the edges of the jungles, pillars of light 
bearing the same designs as the runes shot into the black 
heavens, moving across the skies to form an enormous 
Pentagram that engulfed the entire kingdom. Five seals, five 
magiks, five furies: all were at his call.	
	His command.
	His desires.
	A mark upon his forehead flickered, the rune strokes 
erupting into beams of searing blue light. And it was the 
seal of Shadowdemon, the mark they held as loyal servants to 
their Empress, the pure unrefined magik of their Queen given 
unto them. Black smoke poured out from behind him, flooding 
the pyramid and swarming around those caught up with the 
battle. It engulfed her silent body. It engulfed the dragons. 
And then it swallowed up Kishi and the demon.
	Everything became like night, dark and cold.
	Eyes of pure lust for revenge leveled with the 
Shadowdemon. 
	"HELLION SERPYNT!" he shouted. 
	A raging firestorm exploded from where he stood within 
the circle of runes, and he disappeared from sight in 
crackling scarlet flames that swallowed up the blue fires. 
Scarlet turned to black. And within the darkness two blood 
red eyes slowly opened. A growl escaped the magik.
	The Hellion Serpynt had been awakened.
	And it was hungry.
	"SHIN'NE!!!" Kishi bellowed, flinging the shockwave 
that carried with it the beast into the dense darkness that 
was the Shadowdemon. The Hellion Serpynt, invoked from a 
slumber lasting millennia on end, searched for a prize to 
satisfy its hunger. The magik wrapped itself from flames into 
form, giving birth to a monstrous creature with burning eyes 
that looked to devour what it could. 
	It found the Shadowdemon.
	"Impossible!" the creature of darkness exclaimed. "The 
Hellion Serpynt serves no one but our Empress!"
	But it hungered, and looked to claim a victim. And 
Kishi knew this. The entity of the Shadowdemon would be 
enough to content the rampaging beast and let it return to 
slumber. 
	Jaws opened as it fell upon the Shadowdemon, and rows 
of blazing teeth shimmered as they sheared through its form. 
The Hellion Serpynt clamped down, thrashing about and tearing 
the evil to shreds that were consumed in the coils of the 
fiery beast that closed all around.
	"One of us!!" the Shadowdemon screamed pathetically, 
its howl fading as it became oblivion. "Traitor! You were 
once one of--!"
	And then the evil that was once a Shadowdemon was 
destroyed forever. The Hellion Serpynt unleashed a delighted 
roar, the roar taken up by a chorus of dragon howls. With one 
explosive burst the summoned beast took to the heavens, 
turning black night into brilliant noonday before it was lost 
among the stars and the clouds.
	Serene darkness of the moonlit night returned once 
More before the rains began again.
	The magik faded away.
	Exhausted, both in mind and in matter, Kishi dropped 
wearily to his knees. The dragons of his pride alighted the 
top of the pyramid; some tending to him, others gently taking 
up the body of his beloved princess and carrying her to him.
	"Minako-chan," he whispered, placing himself overtop of 
her, wrapping his arms around her. "I loved you. Forgive 
me...."
	A solitary tear streaked down his cheek, nearly lost in 
the rain. Yet it stayed as a tear until it fell from his face 
and touched the pale skin of her cheek.
	He drew back as the teardrop shimmered with new light
and life on her face. Slowly her body began to glow, caught up 
in an aura he had never known or seen before. The aura of a 
guardian angel's magik.
	Her body lifted into the air, gracefully hovering 
before him. The Dragon King slowly rose to his feet, reaching 
out to touch her floating form. Upon his palms resting over 
her chest, the aura exploded into a blinding light.
	He flung his arms before his face to shield his eyes. 
And when he lowered them, he realized how much of a soul he 
truly possessed, for he felt it suddenly take flight as his 
princess stood before him.
	"Kishi," she said, taking his hand in hers.
	Her wounds were healed, her life returned. Those wide 
and sparkling sapphire eyes stared out at him, a smile across 
her face. For a moment he was too stunned to react. Recovery 
was a heartbeat away and he swept her up in his arms, raising 
her up off the ground with a wondrous laugh.
	He gently brought her down, their cheeks nuzzling and 
their lips meeting together in a fierce, passionate kiss. A 
new magik had been born unto the angel with demon's wings, 
and with it a miracle had been granted.
	"Milady," he whispered. "My princess of love."
	"Never again shall we be apart," she said, holding him 
tightly.
	Abruptly his entire body convulsed, jerking him away 
from her grasp. But this was not of pain or death; instead 
something else born of a new magik. And with new birth came 
new pain. But unlike the torment of a demon's wings, this 
pain would pass away quickly.
	With an explosive flood of raven's down, Kishi was lost 
from her view. Water turned to feather, raining down gently 
upon the pyramid. The storms ceased, and as the cascade of 
raven's down washed past her, there the Dragon King stood.
	He now wore the wings of a raven angel.
	Lifting his eyes up to the moon, he smiled. "Arigato," 
he whispered as a flight of raven shadows left their perch 
upon his torii and faded into the pale light of the moon. For 
a moment he caught sight of a young man with shining white 
hair and a golden horn watching him from above before the 
figure disappeared with the ravens.
	Arigato....
	He turned to her, holding out a hand. 
	"Please," he asked of her. "Show me your world."


	The morning sun of a dying September month rose up to 
bring light and heat to the world. New life was stirring 
within the city, yet in the grounds of a Shinto shrine there 
was no sleep to wake up from.
	Four weary young women found comfort in seeing the 
sunrise, for the night had brought with it turmoil and 
apprehension. The tall brunette had been called back, now 
laying next to her fallen raven.
	It was the blue-haired genius who saw the two figures 
slowly walked up the steps and cross beneath the torii. 
"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing to the silhouettes.
	The rays of the sun cast a new light upon the shadows, 
revealing a young man and a young woman walking side by side, 
hands clasped together.
	The young man wore royal garments of black and crimson 
that had once belonged inside a dream. His now tattered cloak 
had been discarded. The young woman also wore royal garments 
of black and crimson, the shoulder sash ruffling in the 
breeze.
	"Minako-chan!" the odango-haired blonde exclaimed, 
racing out and embracing the young woman.
	She smiled and patted the odango-haired blonde's head. 
"Usagi-chan," she said quietly. 
	One by one the others came out, each one watching the 
young man. The dark-haired shrine girl had suspicions. The 
blue-haired genius had concern. The tall brunette had eyes 
fit to kill.
	"If I have hurt you in any way," the raven knight said, 
bowing to them. "then I am indeed sorry."
	The tall brunette growled, but was cut off.
	"Let him be," she said to her friend. "You don't know 
what happened last night. Please, Mako-chan, let me explain 
first."
	Against her better wishes, the tall brunette backed 
down.
	"Kishi," came a new voice.
	All eyes turned to Sora, who had awakened. Recovery 
with his magik seemed to come quickly, and though his walk 
was wobbly it was till strong. The tall brunette came to his 
aid, letting the raven angel lean against her for support.
	Two souls, once enemies now faced each other.
	"I don't care how you see me," Kishi stated. "I don't 
care if you love or hate me. But I have gone through hell to 
be with Minako-chan, and I will ask that you at least respect 
that. You have every reason to hate me, Sora."
	The raven angel nodded. "That I do. Why should I 
believe you now?"
	"Other than the fact that I am here?" he inquired, eyes 
narrowing. Suddenly two enormous wings of raven's feathers 
erupted from his back, spreading out to encompass them both. 
Sora barely flinched as the torrent of feathers blew past 
everyone.
	"Then you indeed summoned the Hellion Serpynt," Sora 
stated solemnly. "For the sake of Minako-chan, I will accept. 
Betray her once more, and I will not hesitate to destroy 
you."
	Sapphire gazed coldly into crimson.
	Neither one backed down. Yet neither one attacked.
	"So be it," he finally agreed.
	It was once said by an enigmatic wanderer that every 
soul was destined to possess a ghost, something that would 
haunt every living creature. A darkness to the light perhaps, 
or a demon to the darkness already there. To remind us of 
what we are, to show us of what we have become no matter how 
much we are terrified by the mirror's true reflection. And 
other times...to give us the chance to forge a new destiny. 
To change what we were and follow a new life.
	He looked upon her face, and it shone like an angel's. 
	She turned to her friends, to the raven angel standing 
in their midst. "Everyone, this is Kishi, my raven knight. I 
have a story to tell you...."