El-Hazard is the property of Pioneer/AIC. This fanfic and all original
characters are property of dooky. Do I make myself clear?

EL-HAZARD: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

The Shape of Things So Far-

After four years, Makoto Mizuhara has rescued his beloved Ifurita.
Roshtaria is struggling to adapt to the Opaques- the oppressed Phantom
Tribe dissidents without illusory powers, doing their best to integrate into
normal society. Afura Mann is concerned about the state of El-Hazard
theology, and seeks approval to track down a lost, previously forbidden
prophecy. Thanks to some discreet intervention by her sister, Princess
Fatora has avoided a seemingly inevitable political marriage by opting to
marry Alielle instead. Meanwhile, Makoto's dimensional travels have,
unbeknownst to him, brought two others to El-Hazard, one of whom has
found herself mistaken for somebody rather more important...

THE SECOND MONTH: "DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY"

Day 36

Mari Kurai was Death.
Now, admittedly it wasn't the first time in her life that such a comparison
had been made. She got this sort of thing all the time at school. But this
was no joke. These people honestly believed she was Death.
Evidently, they'd never seen a goth before.
Being Death had plenty of advantages. You got what you wanted. You
didn't have to answer awkward questions. But she really didn't like
deceiving these people, despite all the perks. The trouble was, it was
becoming more and more difficult to come clean.

To begin with, she hadn't realised what was going on. She was so relieved
to have found people after almost a week alone in the forest, that she had
thought nothing of the fact that the soldiers were rather jumpy, and
predisposed to do whatever she asked of them very quickly indeed.
She probably should have owned up as soon as she realised who she had
been mistaken for. But the idea that somebody could look at her and think
that this assembly of torn black clothes, black lipstick, over-applied
mascara and congenitally pale skin was actually Death incarnate... you had
to admit it was amusing. So she started to make the most of the role,
assuming that sooner or later they'd figure out she was just an ordinary
person.
First, she had to convince the soldiers that she wasn't intending to kill
them. She was after, oh, somebody else. But she had decided to follow
them because... um... destiny would bring them to her target. She was
quite proud of that one. Very foreboding, very death-like.

And so, the soldiers had found themselves with an unlikely new travelling
companion. They continued their tour of strategic spots around the forest,
all the time with Mari wondering how long it would be before they found
her out. After a few days had passed and nobody had dropped dead, she
guessed they were growing suspicious. But then something happened
which firmly re-established their belief in her.
By chance, she happened to do the water thing.
Somehow, she now had the ability to boil water.
It must have scared the soldiers the first time it happened. It certainly
scared the hell out of her. She was holding a drink, not thinking about
anything in particular, when she noticed it was heating up. Rapidly. With a
little practice, she found she could do it at will.
From then on, there was no question about it. She was Death.

She had tried not to give her situation too much thought. It wasn't easy,
though. The soldiers weren't exactly talkative, for obvious reasons. She
didn't want to be Death forever. But over the past month she'd managed
to pick up some rather important information.
She was in a country called Roshtaria, apparently some sort of absolute
monarchy which was central to a large alliance of nations. The forest they
were in was enormous, and the soldiers' mission was to detect smugglers.
There was other information too. Enemies with names like Bugrom and
the Phantom Tribe. Something called the Eye of God. It all made very
little sense to her.

They were on the edge of the forest now. The younger soldier was visiting
a nearby town for supplies. The captain, the sergeant and Death remained
hidden amongst the trees.
God, she could do with a bit of shopping right now. Unfortunately, if the
soldiers' reaction to her appearance was anything to go by, walking
casually into a crowded area might not be the best idea.

The bushes ahead rustled. The young soldier had returned from the town.
"I brought food," he called. Nodding to his superiors, he set down four
small bags on the ground.
Mari suddenly gasped and picked up one of the bags.
"What's this?" she demanded.
"W... well, the soldier stammered, "it's a type of sandwich..."
"No!" Mari interrupted. "I mean the bag!"
She stared in wonder at something she hadn't seen in over a month.
Kanji.
The writing on the bag was mostly foreign, but a single word was written
in Japanese. It said "Shinonome".
"You! Why does this bag have Shinonome on it?"
The soldier panicked, having apparently upset Death. "It's the name of the
company, Lady Death. I... I think it's the name of the town that the
manager came from..."
"Where do they live now?" Mari urged. "Tell me!"
"Florestica. But..."
"Take me there!"
The captain stepped forward. "That's impossible. Florestica is on the other
side of the forest. It would take..."
"I don't care!" she shouted. "Does thou wish to feel my... deathly wrath?"
She picked up a nearby cup of water and made it boil in an attempt to
prove her point.
The captain relented. "On foot, it will probably take more than a week.
But if you insist..."
"Of course I insist!" she replied, trying her best to disguise just how
sorry she was starting to feel for these people.

Day 38

Although Miz had retired some years ago, like all ex-priestesses she
remained an associate member of the seminary's leading council, and her
highly successful stint as chief water priestess made her one of its
strongest voices. She had been reasonably confident that with her backing,
Afura's proposal to further investigate the Heretic Prophecy would be
approved. But even she hadn't anticipated quite this level of support.
Clearly, many members of the council shared Afura's curiosity.
"You have their full approval," said Miz. "In fact, they're prepared to
support a mission to retrieve the prophecy."
Afura was surprised. When Miz had asked her to her home, saying she had
news from the seminary, she hadn't expected this.
"A mission? That's a little premature, Miz. I found a reference to the
prophecy being hidden away. I have no idea where."
"I received this from the seminary today." Miz unfolded an ancient
looking map. Afura stared at it in disbelief.
"They have a map? Are you saying they already know the location of the
Heretic Prophecy?"
"It seems they always have," Miz observed. "But up until recently, they
wanted nothing to do with it."
Afura studied the old map, trying to recognise the landmarks. "Even if we
can locate it, the texts say it was written in code. There's no guarantee
we'll be able to translate it."
"Well, the seminary council seem confident you will be able to translate it.
It's in your hands, Afura. Of course, you'll need the co-operation of
Qawoor and Shayla, but..."
Miz was interrupted by a knock at the front door.
"Excuse me," she apologised. She stood up and made her way out into the
hallway.
The blue-skinned woman standing patiently on her doorstep was greeted
with a poorly disguised expression of surprise.
"May I help you?" Miz asked.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," the woman replied politely. "I was hoping
to speak with Mr Fujisawa. My name is Doctor Amiri..."
"Oh, I forgot. Masamichi mentioned you were coming. Please, come in."
Miz led the visitor inside, then looked angrily up the stairs. "Masamichi,
she's here!" she called.
"What?" came the reply. "Oh, just a minute, honey!"
Amiri cautiously entered the living room and came face to face with
Afura.
"Priestess Afura Mann?"
"Doctor Amiri!" Afura smiled in recognition. "It's been a long time. Miz,
this is the woman who led the Opaques' rebellion against the Phantom
Tribe."
"That's an exaggeration," Amiri replied. "I actually played a very
minor..."
"Masamichi, look at you!" Miz lectured her husband. "We have guests,
you could at least make the effort to look presentable."
Fujisawa skulked into the room wearing a loose fitting vest and sporting
noticeably more stubble than usual.
"This is Doctor Amiri," Miz continued.
"Yes," Amiri nodded. "My son will be starting at your school tomorrow. I
wanted to meet you in order to discuss..."
"You're the parent?" Fujisawa interrupted. "I wasn't informed that you
were... um, that is to say..."
"I'm an Opaque," she acknowledged. "As, of course, is my son. He'll be
the first Opaque to attend a Florestican school. I don't think I'm being
over-cautious when I say there could be difficulties, which is why I
wanted to talk to you specifically."
Fujisawa scratched his head. "Well, gee, I'm honoured, but I'm just one
teacher out of many."
"I know, but... like the Opaques, you're something of an outsider. You've
had to adjust to life in Florestica just as we have. If it's not too much to
ask, I'd like it if you were to keep an eye on my boy."
"Oh, I see... I understand your concern. Let me assure you that I will not
tolerate racist attitudes from any of my students."
Amiri looked a little guilty. "That's not what I mean... exactly. He's going
to have to get used to being different. Protecting him now is only going to
make it harder for him later on..." She looked to the floor. "Listen to me.
That probably sounds awful, doesn't it?"
"You have our sympathy," Miz sighed.
"I just don't want him getting hurt."
"I'll see that he doesn't," Fujisawa promised. "You can rely on me."

"Amazing." Shayla took the map in her hands and shook her head. "The
Heretic Prophecy."
"I'm not at all sure about this," Qawoor frowned. "The Heretic Prophecy
was denounced. Isn't it better left alone?"
"There's no reason to fear it," Afura replied. "It was denounced for all the
wrong reasons."
Nanami walked over carrying a tray. "More tea?"
"Thanks," Shayla nodded.
"Hey! Mycea!" Nanami called to her assistant. "Three more teas, okay?"
She turned back to the priestesses. "So, where is it?"
"Where's what?" Afura asked.
"This prophecy thing. Are you gonna look for it?"
"Miss Nanami," Qawoor sighed. "This is holy business, it's classified."
"Well, you're not doing a very good job of classifying it," Nanami
taunted. "I could hear you from over there. Come on, let me see the map!"
She leaned over Qawoor's shoulder. "Oh. All the way over there, huh? So
are you going after it or not?"
"The seminary council has approved a mission to find it," Afura revealed.
"I don't see anything stopping us."
"Um... well, actually," Qawoor hesitated, "there is one problem." She
pointed to the area of the map where the prophecy's location was marked.
"Isn't that Bugrom territory?"
"It was Bugrom territory," Afura corrected. "Their numbers were so
reduced by the Eye of God that they'd never be able to occupy such a
remote area. Alliance defences haven't reported any Bugrom activity for
over a year now. I think we can safely assume they're not a significant
threat."
"Hey, Nanami!"
Nanami looked up. Makoto and Ifurita had just entered the restaurant.
"Oh, hi, you two. The usual?"
Makoto nodded to his old friend.
"You're looking much better, Ifurita," Afura observed. "How are you
feeling?"
"Very well, thank you," Ifurita smiled back. "It's taken me a little longer
than I'd hoped to recover, but I'm just fine now."
Qawoor stood up. "Please, come and join us," she offered, taking Ifurita's
arm.

Ifurita felt a sharp pain in her back. When she awoke, Makoto, Nanami,
Shayla, Qawoor and Afura were staring down at her with a collective
expression of concern.
She was immediately compelled to apologise.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I don't know what happened. One minute I was fine,
the next..."
"This isn't right, Ifurita," Makoto declared solemnly. "You shouldn't just
be passing out like this. I think something might be very wrong."
"But I'm fine!" she insisted. "Really." She swung her legs over the side of
the table which was serving as a temporary stretcher, and stood up, in an
attempt to prove her point.
"Well, um, I think we should go home anyway." Makoto suggested
apologetically.
"If you insist, Makoto," she replied. "I'm very sorry to have caused so
much trouble," she called to everyone as Makoto led her out.
When they were safely outside, Makoto turned to Ifurita with a pained
expression.
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
"It's nothing very important," Ifurita sighed.
"I know you inside out, Ifurita. You know why you passed out, don't
you?"
"Not quite." She looked to the floor. "There's something about the water
priestess, Qawoor. I mean, she's a lovely girl, but... whenever I'm close to
her I feel unsettled. I sense a conflict within myself. And when we're in
direct contact, the conflict becomes too much to bear..."
"Exactly what sort of conflict do you mean?"
"I really... don't know."

Day 39

Calm.
There were many, many people, but all was quiet. They all stood silently,
observing. Oblivious.
Something truly awful was about to happen. Why didn't they do
something?
But they couldn't. They didn't know. Only he knew.
Makoto could sense it. It was coming. He had to warn everyone.
He screamed, but no sound came out. In desperation, he pulled the people
nearby towards him, to get their attention. They'd listen. They had to.
But... they were all smiling.
What was wrong with them?
A shot rang out across the crowded square.
And all became chaos.

"No..." Makoto moaned. "Stop them, somebody..."
"Makoto!" Ifurita urged. "Wake up!"
Makoto held his breath, staring up at his own ceiling. Before he made
another move he wanted to be absolutely certain he was awake.
"Ifurita," he murmured. "Something terrible... I saw it. Something
terrible's going to happen.
"You just had a bad dream," Ifurita reassured.
"That's right," Makoto replied, still shaken. "That's all it was. A dream."

Fujisawa was feeling more than a little apprehensive about today. That
wasn't good. Kids could smell fear.
"Good morning, class."
He entered the classroom and greeted the children without even looking at
them. 'Act like everything's normal,' he kept telling himself.
Taking his first proper look at the class, it was obvious that everything
wasn't normal.
All of the familiar children were seated at one end of the room. The new
boy was sitting at the opposite end. For them to be any further apart would
have been physically impossible.
Fujisawa sat down in his usual chair and wondered what the hell he should
do. The next few minutes were very important. They could make all the
difference. He'd have been naive in the extreme to expect the new student
to be welcomed with open arms, but surely there was something he could
do to make this easier.
"Now, class, you've probably noticed we have a new student joining us
today."
Well, that was almost certainly the understatement of the decade.
"Everyone, this is Cerev. Now, Cerev, would you like to tell us about
yourself?"
As a rule, Fujisawa didn't subject new students to this routine. It was hard
enough starting at a new school without this sort of thing to contend with.
Even the most articulate new students rarely got through it with their
credibility intact. But this was a special case. The sooner the kids got to
know him, the better.
The boy stood up and looked straight ahead, despite the fact that the
people he was supposed to be addressing were to his right.
"My name is Cerev," he announced. "I live here in Florestica with my
mother. She's a doctor. I want to be a doctor too."
Seems confident enough, Fujisawa thought. The other children looked on
with curiosity, but none were prepared to respond.
One of them eventually broke the silence.
"Why is he blue?" a girl asked.
"He just is," one of the boys answered. "All of the Phantom Tribe people
are blue."
"I'm not one of the Phantom Tribe!" Cerev insisted.
"Now, hey, come on, kids!" Fujisawa interrupted. "Cerev's not one of the
Phantom Tribe, he's Opaque. There's a big difference."
The children stared blankly back.
"Okay, just because two people look similar or come from the same place,
it doesn't mean they act the same. One could be your enemy, and another
could be your friend. I come from the same place as Katsuhiko Jinnai, and
that doesn't make the two of us the same."
That seemed to have an effect on the kids. Fujisawa could almost see the
questions forming in their heads. He sank back in his chair and started to
explain who the Opaques were. Admittedly it was a rather simplified
version of a complex political struggle, but the kids seemed to understand.
After all, it made for a familiar story of heroes and villains, particularly
as one of the main protagonists was Cerev's mother.
It was possibly the most stressful twenty minutes of his career, but it
seemed to have finally paid off now. As the kids settled down to work, he
could finally relax.
"Mr Fujisawa?" one of the girls asked. "These questions are too hard."
"You've only been at them five minutes. Just put some thought into
them."
"But I don't understand them," she reiterated.
He stood up and wearily walked over to her desk. "Let me take a look."
Glancing at the question sheet, he realised what was wrong.
"Sorry kids, my mistake. These questions aren't meant for you, they're for
the older kids. I must have put these out by accident."
He moved from one desk to another, collecting the sheets. Finally, he
came to Cerev.
"I'm sorry, Mr Fujisawa," the boy said. "I didn't realise. I already
started."
Fujisawa looked in wonder at Cerev's answers. After just a few minutes
he was halfway through a sheet of questions meant for children almost
twice his age. And every answer was correct.
My God, Fujisawa thought. The boy's a genius.

"I'm telling you, Nanami. It was terrifying."
"Oh, Makoto. You're so easily freaked out. Here, have some more coffee
and try to calm down."
Nanami re-filled Makoto's cup, shook her head and walked back to the
counter.
He sighed to himself. "A crowd of people. Then someone gets shot. And
everyone panics. If it was just a dream, why can't I get it out of my head?"
Parnasse skulked into the restaurant and slumped down next to Makoto.
"Hi Parnasse," Makoto greeted. "You look like I feel. What's up?"
"Lady Qawoor and the other priestesses are off on some mission. Alielle
and Lady Fatora are still away on honeymoon. I have nothing to do."
"You're missing your big sister, huh?"
"I suppose," Parnasse reluctantly admitted. "She's so lucky, Alielle. She
has Lady Fatora all to herself. Well, most of the time." He sighed. "You're
lucky too. You've got Ifurita. Makoto, did you know I've never had a
steady girlfriend?"
"Actually," Makoto reasoned, "that does surprise me."
"There have been... well, you know, girls... but I've never had anyone I
could take home and introduce to my mother."
"So you're feeling lonely?"
Parnasse nodded.
"Well, I don't think you can rush this sort of thing," Makoto advised.
"Before Ifurita, I'd never had a steady girlfriend. You just have to be
patient."
"Yeah, I know," Parnasse frowned. "But I'm sick of waiting."
"You know, Parnasse, your problems don't just disappear once you're in a
relationship. If anything, they get more complicated."
"Love's got to have something going for it," Parnasse countered. "Why
else would it be so popular?"

Qawoor's transport sped across the wilderness.
Since Qawoor wasn't a qualified pilot, Afura was at the helm. Soon, the
three priestesses of Muldoon would be the first people in modern times to
cross to the other side of the Holy River.
"You are certain that there won't be any bugs, right?" Qawoor called to
Afura.
"Well, I for one hope we run into a few," Shayla taunted. "I could to with
a decent fight."
"We're going after a prophecy, Shayla," Afura sighed. "We are not
looking to start a war. If the Bugrom don't bother us, we don't bother
them."
"We don't get to have any fun any more," Shayla moaned.
The transport moved onwards.

Day 45

"Will the three of you try to keep me covered a bit better?"
"Sorry, Lady Death," the soldiers replied in unison.
"And stop calling me that! I thought I told you not to draw attention to
me!"
This was the first time since arriving in this world that Mari had entered a
populated area. Her reluctant companions surrounded her, obscuring her
from view as they walked through the city.
Florestica.
It wasn't like any city she'd seen before. It looked Middle Eastern,
although most of the inhabitants didn't. She was reasonably sure she'd
seen a few people with blue skin, although she couldn't say for certain.
"Isn't it a little crowded today?" the sergeant observed.
"The speech is this afternoon," the captain explained.
They stopped. Mari collided with the captain's back.
"What?" she enquired.
"We're here."
Mari peered over the captain's shoulder. Ahead was a restaurant. Across
its entrance was the word "Shinonome".
She couldn't wait any longer. She pushed between the captain and
sergeant and darted out into the square.
It was approximately two and a half seconds before somebody noticed.
It was an experience both familiar and unfamiliar to her. Getting abuse on
the streets was one thing, but the people weren't usually screaming.
'I can't hear them, I can't hear them,' she told herself as she approached
her target.

'Oh, what now?' Nanami thought as one of the customers screamed. In the
doorway was an extremely pale, dishevelled looking girl dressed in black.
The girl's face lit up.
"Nanami? Nanami Jinnai!"
The girl ran, laughing, towards her. She vaulted over the counter and
charged into Nanami, embracing her with undisguised relief.
"Nanami, I can't believe I finally found somebody! One minute I was in
Shinonome, the next I was stuck in this weird forest..."
Nanami focused on the girl's face. Wait, she WAS from Shinonome. She
was that goth in the year above her...
"Mari Kurai, right?" Nanami checked. "I had no idea more people got sent
here. How long have you..."
Nanami noticed her arm was bleeding. She'd caught it on one of the
surface edges as Mari ran into her.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Mari said, noticing the cut. "That's my fault. Here, let
me..."
Mari took hold of Nanami's arm. Suddenly, the cut faded and disappeared.
"How... how did you do that?" they asked each other.
"That must be your special ability," Nanami observed. "You can heal
injuries. Wow, this is amazing! I'll have to get Makoto. Mari, go and sit
down, get yourself something to eat. You look like death."
"So I heard," she replied. "That reminds me. You see those three heavily
armed men at the door?"
Nanami noticed the visibly nervous soldiers. "What about them?"
"Could you break it to them gently that I'm not Death incarnate? I really
don't have the heart..."

Makoto, Nanami, Ifurita and Mari sat in the small back room of the
restaurant. Mari listened closely as Makoto related the story of how he and
the others were sent to El-Hazard.
"So you've been here four years? I've only been here a month and a half."
"Right, but we were all transported from Earth at roughly the same time,"
Makoto nodded. "You and I used to be the same age- now I'm twenty one
but you're still seventeen. Somehow we got sent to different points in
time."
"This doesn't make sense," Nanami objected. "I'm no temporal physicist,
but if the rest of us all got sent to the same point in time, why should it
be any different for Mari?"
"Proximity, perhaps..." Makoto pondered. "Ifurita sent us here by creating
a bubble of dimensional energy. Now, you, me, Katsuhiko and Mr
Fujisawa were all very close to the epicentre of the bubble, so we got sent
to the correct place and time. But around the edges, a dimensional bubble
can start acting up. Mari, you must have been at the edge of the bubble.
Where were you?"
"Outside the school," she replied. "Now that I think about it... there were
two people on the playing fields. One of them... looked a lot like you."
She pointed at Ifurita. "Then they disappeared. But not all the energy was
gone. There was some left over, like static, you know? And when it hit
me, I ended up here."
"My God..." Makoto murmured. "Those people you saw... were me and
Ifurita. What have I done? I was sure there wouldn't be any side effects
from my experiment! I checked the calculations before and after. But... it
looks like I'm the one responsible for sending you here, Mari."
"Was there anyone else around you when you were transported?" asked
Nanami.
"There was a woman," Mari said, remembering Sakura. "But I think she
got away."
Parnasse quietly entered the room. He'd heard a rumour that there was a
new girl here and, naturally, had come to investigate.
"Aaagh!" he suddenly recoiled. "D... Death!"
"Will you knock it off?" Mari snapped. "Haven't you ever seen anyone
with pale skin before?"
"Oh. Sorry."
So this was the new girl. Actually, she was sort of cute, in her own unique
way, It certainly wouldn't hurt to get on her good side.
"Hi!" he beamed. "I'm Parnasse!"
"Mari," she nodded.
"So, tell us about your powers," Ifurita prompted.
"Well, so far I've discovered I can heal people and make water boil," Mari
recounted. "They don't really seem connected as far as I can see..."
"They could be connected at a subatomic level," Makoto theorised. "By
increasing the energy of the body's repair systems, you're able to speed up
the healing process exponentially. Likewise, increasing the energy of
water will eventually cause it to boil."
"So the boiling water thing is more of a side effect than an ability?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Makoto mused. "But it could be handy in the kitchen, I
guess."
Nanami peered through the door into the restaurant. "I'd better get back to
work. The place is really filling up."
"Of course, Princess Rune's speech is today," Ifurita acknowledged.
Makoto, Nanami and Ifurita got up and walked through to the main
restaurant area. Mari was left sitting, confused, in the back room.
She noticed Parnasse was still there, smiling at her.
"Did I mention my name is Parnasse?" he grinned.
"Yes," sighed Mari. "You did."

Princess Rune stepped onto the main balcony overlooking the square,
which was packed with onlookers. She was greeted by Chief Servant
Londs.
"Your public awaits you, princess."
"Thank you, Londs."
The monthly speech was, effectively, invented by Rune herself some years
ago. As Roshtaria's head of state she felt it was important to be seen to
communicate with the public. A monarchy which spoke to its public via
press releases was, in her opinion, not doing its job.
"People of Roshtaria and El-Hazard," she began. "Last month I had the
pleasure of witnessing my sister Fatora's marriage. On behalf of Fatora
and Alielle, I would like to express our gratitude to the public for the
continued support..."

Makoto, Nanami, Ifurita, Parnasse and Mari watched the proceedings
through the restaurant window. Now wearing a set of Nanami's clothes,
Mari looked a little less like death, and although wearing a colour other
than black outside of school hours was a novel experience, she could at
least be reasonably confident she wasn't going to cause mass hysteria.
"That's Princess Rune Venus," Ifurita pointed out to Mari. "The chief
monarch of Roshtaria, along with her sister Fatora."
"Yeah," Nanami continued. "Fatora's away on her honeymoon at the
moment. Last month she got married to Parnasse's sister. You want to
watch out for those two..."
Nanami smiled at Mari's blank expression. "I guess I made that sound
more complicated than it really is."
"Makoto?" Ifurita said. "Is there a problem? You look troubled."
Makoto stared through the glass at the princess. "Just... a touch of deja
vu, that's all. I don't know how, but this whole set up seems..."
"Aaaaagh!" Nanami screamed. "Makoto! There's a guy out there with a
gun!"
"What? Where?"
"Right outside the window! Can't you see him? It's one of the Phantom
Tribe!"
"I see him," Ifurita confirmed, standing up. "As a machine I am unaffected
by illusions. He is directly ahead."
"My God!" Makoto panicked. "We've got to warn them!" He stood up
and ran to the doorway.
"He is aiming his weapon," Ifurita commentated.
Makoto ran out into the crowd.
"Makoto!" Ifurita called after him. "It's not safe!"

The scene was horribly familiar. Makoto came to the grim realisation that
this was what he had dreamed last week. He had to stop it from reaching
its conclusion.
What the hell was he doing? He was going after somebody he couldn't
even see.
Princess Rune continued her speech, unaware.
"I plead with the Roshtarian public to show consideration towards the
Opaque community..."
Makoto could hear the shot even before it was fired.
The crowd became a frenzy. Suddenly he was in serious danger of being
crushed. His only option was to return to the restaurant. Fighting his way
back, he briefly caught sight of the palace balcony. There was blood. The
princess had been hit.

Nanami, Ifurita, Parnasse and Mari stared in horror at the spectacle.
Makoto stumbled inside.
"Is she dead?" he called.
"I do not believe so," Ifurita replied. "The projectile struck the lower
abdomen. Such a wound should not cause immediate death. However, she
is bleeding heavily, much more so than one would expect from a single
shot."
"Isn't there something we can do?" Parnasse asked, desperate. "Mari!
Aren't you supposed to be able to heal injuries?"
"I only did it once," she responded. "But if there's any way I can help..."
Nanami nodded. "It can't hurt to try."
"But how do we get her through that chaos?" Makoto pointed to the crowd
outside.
"Allow me." Ifurita took hold of Mari. "Hold on to me. And do not be
alarmed."
"Don't be alarmed by what... hey!"
Ifurita took off, with Mari under her arm. Ducking underneath the
restaurant doorway, she flew high above the crowd and towards the
palace.
"How the hell do you do this?" Mari shouted.
"I used to be the ultimate weapon," Ifurita replied, eyes focused on the
palace.
"I see," Mari said. "I used to be Death."

Ifurita swooped in through one of the palace's open windows, and soared
along the corridor.
"Where are we going?" Mari asked.
"The palace surgery," Ifurita responded. "I assume the princess will have
been taken there."
They turned the corner into a second corridor, much more crowded than
the previous one. Ifurita and Mari shouted apologies to the servants who
were forced to dive out of the way, as the pair hurtled at breakneck speed
towards the surgery.

Londs paced up and down outside the door, visibly stressed for one of the
first times in his long career. He almost jumped a mile when Ifurita landed
next to him, depositing her passenger safely on the ground.
"Mr. Londs," she enquired. "Is the princess alive?"
"I am not at liberty to disclose..."
"Answer, or I will be forced to enter without your consent!"
He relented, thinking it best not to get on the wrong side of Ifurita. "She
is alive, for now. However, her injuries are so severe that she..."
"This woman is from Earth. We believe she may have healing powers."
Londs very nearly tripped over his own feet as he hurriedly opened the
door to the surgery.
"What is it?" Doctor Schtalubaugh barked as he and a team of surgeons
clustered around the unconscious princess. "I specifically said no
interruptions!"
"This girl has healing powers!" Londs said, steering Mari towards the
doctor.
"I don't want to get anyone's hopes up!" Mari interjected. "Just let me see
what I can... oh my God!"
Mari saw the wound for the first time, and just managed to avoid being
sick. It was far, far worse than she'd envisaged. She wasn't usually the
sort to be affected by gore- she'd watched and enjoyed many televised
operations in the past. But seeing it for real was almost too much for her.
Almost.
"This... wasn't caused by an ordinary bullet, was it?" she observed. The
answer was obvious enough. A bullet left a hole. This injury would be
more accurately described as a trench. Wide and deep, and unlikely to be
rectified by conventional surgical techniques.
"I have never seen an injury like this before," the doctor answered. "A
sizeable area of her lower abdomen has simply been... vaporised, for want
of a better word. Severe blood loss, critical organ damage- a few have
gone completely- this is a no-win situation. My girl, only a miracle will
save the princess now."
Mari approached the patient determinedly. She tried not to flinch at the
sight of the injury. Just think of it as a collection of parts, she told
herself.
It was the advice her biology teacher had given the class when performing
dissections. And it had persuaded Makoto Mizuhara to cut up a sheep's
heart, so it must have been pretty convincing.
She placed her right hand on the area above the wound, and concentrated.
Come on, heal. She could feel the process starting to work... but there
were no visible effects. It wasn't fast enough!
She concentrated harder, shutting her eyes and ignoring the noise around
her. The process was pulling her into a trance.
'Help,' the body said. 'Dying.'
Amazing. The princess's body was crying out for help, and she could hear
it.
'Need blood,' the body said.
Mari forced herself deeper into the trance, then applied every ounce of
mental energy she had to the healing process. She couldn't see it, and yet,
she perceived it. The damaged organs began to grow, and knit back
together. At the same time, she energised the bone marrow, stimulating
the rapid production of millions of new blood cells. It was working. But
the body still begged for more energy.

"Unbelievable." Schtalubaugh could only stand and watch as the body
gradually, but quite visibly, reconstructed itself. The surgeons, too, had
stopped. Their efforts had been largely pointless anyway.
Suddenly, the doctor could see a way through this. The princess may not
die after all. This realisation was enough to jerk him back into action.
"You! Give her more fluids, get her blood pressure up. Increase the
anaesthetic dosage by one quarter..."
Mari didn't hear. She was too far into the trance to notice any peripheral
sensory stimuli. And this was starting to get difficult. She was getting
tired. Not in the usual, physical, sense- this was a complete, all-
encompassing exhaustion. But the body needed more. It was desperate,
she could hear its cries. She couldn't stop now, not yet. She'd done a lot,
but there was still so much more...
Everything went silent. Mari quietly collapsed on the surgery floor.

The ball of fire which Shayla held cupped in her left hand was all that
illuminated the cavern. The three priestesses cast huge, deformed shadows
against the walls as they slowly but purposefully ventured further into the
unknown.
"How much further is it?" Shayla asked.
Afura let out something intermediate between a sigh and a growl. "For the
last time, Shayla, I don't know. The map says the prophecy is somewhere
in here, and that's all I know."
"I can't believe the seminary council approved this mission. We're
priestesses, not archaeologists," Shayla moaned.
"The prophecy is very important. A major prophecy, wrongly condemned
as heresy. It's left a serious hole in our theology all this time."
Qawoor voiced her agreement. "Afura's right. Many of the texts say that
in ancient times, followers of this prophecy were hunted down and killed
for blasphemy. I think we owe it to them to find out what it really said."
"Well it had better be good stuff," Shayla warned. "After all this trouble,
I'd like something explosive to show for it."
"Wait!" Qawoor froze, stopping the others in their tracks. "I think I saw a
light up ahead!"
"I don't see anything," Shayla said sceptically.
"No, she's right," Afura replied. "It was a reflection. Something's
reflecting your light."
They advanced into the darkness, and came to a dead end. A door. At its
centre was a glass panel, which reflected Shayla's orange fire.
Afura looked closely at the panel. "Could this be where the prophecy's
been concealed?"
"Let's find out. Shayla placed her free hand on the panel, which began to
glow slightly. Afura and Qawoor lent their assistance, and finally the door
slid reluctantly open.
Inside was a small stone cube.
Shayla picked the strange object up. "There's an inscription. Looks like
Ancient Roshtarian... damn it, half these symbols I've never even seen
before. Hey, Qawoor, you're the expert on old languages. You try."
The water priestess took the cube and scanned the writing.
"Within this shell lies the great prophecy. Many have mocked its
followers, but there will come a day when the truth contained herein shall
be recognised by all."
"Interesting," Shayla mused. "So the prophecy's in there. Can we get it
out?"
Qawoor turned the box end over end and looked perplexed. "I can't see
any way of opening it. How strange."
"We should take it back to Roshtaria," Afura advised. "Opening it may
require further study. Plus, Makoto has a way with ancient artefacts like
this. Let's go."
"Thank goodness," Qawoor sighed. "I don't want to spend any more time
in Bugrom territory than necessary."

Immersed in the warmth and softness of the bed, Mari awoke so gently
that, for a few minutes, she forgot where she was. She was comfortable,
that was all that mattered.
Gradually, unwelcome doubts started creeping into her barely conscious
mind. Something wasn't quite right...
The princess!
Mari desperately pulled herself up. Where was she? This bed was
unfamiliar. What about the princess? She hadn't been able to heal her
fully.
"Hello?" she called weakly. "Is anyone there? Where am I?"
Doctor Schtalubaugh hurried into the room. "You're awake!"
"What happened to the princess?" she asked immediately.
"Princess Rune is alive, thanks to you. We owe you a great..."
"But I don't remember healing her properly. I got so far, and then... I must
have blacked out."
"Your efforts exhausted you, my girl. Even though you didn't completely
heal Princess Rune, you repaired much of the damage. We were then able
to take over and operate. It was still a struggle, but we saved her. She
should regain consciousness soon."
Mari heaved a sigh of relief. "So she'll recover?"
"A full recovery might be somewhat... unrealistic," he said, in a
momentary lapse from his previous upbeat demeanour. "Certain rather
drastic procedures had to be performed. But what I do know is that a
woman whose chances of survival were practically nil is now alive,
against all the odds. This nation is in your debt, Miss..."
"Kurai," Mari responded blankly. "Mari Kurai."

The sun was setting on the barren, featureless landscape. The holy trio had
almost completed their mission. With skill and professionalism they had
rediscovered a long lost relic in potentially hostile territory. There now
remained the comparatively trivial matter of getting home.
Perhaps not quite as simple as it sounded.
"Come on, Shayla. Try to remember where we left the transport," Afura
urged, trying to maintain her composure.
"It's getting dark. Think, Shayla," Qawoor encouraged.
"Will the two of you get off my case?" the fire priestess snarled. "How
should I know? Afura, you're the one that parked it, not me."
"I remember," Qawoor interjected. "Afura, you left it next to a rock. You
said that way, we'd be able to find it again."
"What sort of logic is THAT?" Shayla exploded. "This place is FULL of
rocks! There are rocks everywhere! What were you thinking?"
"Well, a rock was the closest thing I could find to a landmark," Afura
snapped. "Okay, I'll fly up and see if I can spot it from the air."
Afura took off, soaring effortlessly upwards until her companions were
just dots below her. She thought she saw something moving on the
horizon.
A few seconds later, Afura returned to the ground greeting Shayla and
Qawoor with an expression of uncharacteristic shock.
"Did you see the transport?" Qawoor asked.
"Forget that. We have bigger problems. I've just seen something
disturbing."
"What?" Shayla probed expectantly.
"Bugrom. Thousands of them."
Qawoor went totally white, and had to sit down on a convenient rock.
"Oh dear," she said, understating her true feelings on the matter by several
orders of magnitude.
"That can't be!" insisted Shayla. "The Eye of God wiped the Bugrom
out!"
"A handful survived," Afura countered. "We know that."
"Maybe so, but not thousands. The Eye of God couldn't have been that
sloppy!"
Afura sighed. "Sorry, but I know what I saw. There are definitely Bugrom
here, and plenty of them."
"Where are they?" Qawoor asked gingerly.
"To the east..." Afura responded.
"Thank goodness, we're heading west."
"...and west," she finished. "They were marching in formation. They must
be using this remote area of their territory for training."
"We have to get back," said Shayla. "Warn the Alliance!"
"But how do we get back?" Qawoor challenged. "Our route back is cut off
now. How do we get out of here without being seen?"
"One thing's for sure," Afura said wearily. "The transport's out. On flat
terrain like this they'd see it a mile off. It's a miracle we ever got in
here in the first place. The only solution is to make our own way back,
and try to keep out of sight..."

The Glorious Fatora IX's engines were pushed to previously untested
limits as the craft sped across the cold desert night. A pilot stood
solemnly at the helm, trying to concentrate on the task in hand rather than
the circumstances surrounding it.
Fatora stared out across the wilderness, observing the scenery as it flew
past. She had been staring for over an hour now.
Alielle sat wrapped in a blanket at the other side of the transport, looking
smaller than ever. She was worried about Fatora. The princess was putting
a brave face on it, but the news about her sister had obviously left her
very shaken.
"Fatora?" Alielle offered. "Why don't you come down here? It's cold up
there."
"I'm fine," Fatora lied. She turned to the pilot. "Can't you make this thing
go any faster?"
She already knew the answer, of course. She'd asked the same question
approximately every twenty minutes since they'd received the message
about Rune. Complaining was just a way of taking her mind off matters.
Alielle joined Fatora, leaning over the side. She didn't know what to say,
so she just rested her head on Fatora's arm, not being quite tall enough to
reach her shoulder.
"Now you'll get cold too," Fatora commented, still gazing into the
distance.
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Fatora," Alielle whispered. "She has all the best
doctors..."
"Naturally, she's royalty, of course she does," Fatora babbled nervously.
"No, this is what I want to know- where was her cat when all this was
going on? Somewhere else, I'll bet. Useless, that's what they are."
"I'm worried about Rune as well. Do you want to talk about it?"
"What? No, no, no. Not necessary. I'm dealing with this just fine. Can't
you tell? I don't allow myself to get worked up about events beyond my
control. Calm. Pragmatic. That's me, right?" Fatora looked to Alielle for
the approval she knew she wouldn't get.
Alielle could see right through the confident front. Fatora was a deeply
private person. When they were alone together, sometimes she would let
her true colours show. But as a rule, she preferred to keep her innermost
feelings ambiguous to others. Even now, the presence of the pilot was
enough to keep her from confiding in Alielle. Perhaps she was afraid of
appearing weak. After five years, Alielle still didn't really know what
made Fatora the way she was.
"You're very close to your sister, aren't you?" Alielle observed. "When I
first met you, I found it a little..."
"Surprising?" Fatora guessed.
"It's just that the two of you are so different. I definitely didn't expect
her to approve of me."
"To begin with, I don't think she was too sure. But she gave us the benefit
of the doubt. All she really wanted was for me to be happy. That's why
she takes so much responsibility for everything."
Alielle nodded. "She's still protective of her little sister."
"Well, both of my parents were dead by the time I was seven. After that,
Rune was all I had."
"It must have been tough."
Fatora's expression changed, almost imperceptibly. "I managed."
It was enough to let Alielle know that this conversation was beginning to
upset Fatora. Nothing she could say would improve the situation.
She moved closer. Fatora instinctively wrapped her arms around Alielle
and held her as tightly as she could.
"Poor Fatora," Alielle whispered, her head now buried in Fatora's chest.

Day 46

"So, have you seen her yet?"
"What?" Fujisawa looked up from the newspaper he was semi-reading as
he and Miz walked through the city's early morning crowds. "Seen who?"
"Your student," Miz replied. "Makoto told me. Another one of your
students arrived in Roshtaria and helped save Princess Rune. Mari
something..."
"Kurai," Fujisawa said, remembering. "I wouldn't call her one of my
students, exactly. I hardly know her."
"Well, I'm sure she'd still appreciate your company," said Miz. "She's
stranded in a strange land, and you're one of her teachers. She may need
your guidance."
"Makoto and Nanami are in a much better position to do that than I am."
He held up the newspaper. "Have you seen this? They think the person
who shot the princess was Phantom Tribe."
"So I heard," Miz sighed. "It's worrying. And everyone was just starting
to relax after the Bugrom War."
"Yeah," Fujisawa agreed. They turned the corner of the road leading to the
school, and stopped suddenly.
Outside the school was a small crowd of people. Fujisawa immediately
recognised several of them as parents of some of his pupils.
"What are they all doing?" Miz asked.
Fujisawa frowned. "One possibility springs to mind. I just hope I'm
wrong."
Quickly he made his way to the centre of the crowd, and suddenly found
himself surrounded by angry faces.
"Yes? Can I help you people?"
"You're teaching a Phantom Tribe boy at this school!" a woman shouted.
"Why weren't we consulted?"
"It isn't school policy to seek the approval of parents when admitting new
students," he rebutted.
"This is different!" a man insisted. "Those people can't be trusted!
Yesterday one of them almost killed Princess Rune! If something isn't
done, we'll withdraw our children!"
Fujisawa shook his head. "You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
You know as well as I do that the princess supports the Opaques. Would
she approve of this? Taking your anger out on a five year old boy, in her
name? If you really want to withdraw your kids, then go ahead, because
I'm not budging on this. But it'll be their loss."
A distinct murmuring rippled through the crowd. Fujisawa stood his
ground. Eventually, parents on the edges of the crowd began to leave
discreetly. The numbers dwindled further until only a few hard-liners
remained. Miz walked over to her husband.
"Damn," he said. "I knew something like this would happen sooner or
later."
"You should be proud," Miz reassured. "You broke them up."
Fujisawa's brow furrowed. "For now," he sighed. "But this isn't over. Not
yet."

The transport had barely stopped moving as Fatora descended the steps.
Alielle, who still hadn't slept, followed as quickly as she could.
A palace guard met Fatora at the foot of the steps.
"Your majesty," he acknowledged.
"Well?" Fatora desperately prompted. "Is she alive or isn't she?"
"The princess is in a stable condition, majesty," the guard revealed. "She
regained consciousness last night. If you'll wait just a moment, there's a
full escort on the way for you. Under the current circumstances such
precautions are..."
Fatora was already halfway over to the palace. The guard turned his
attention to Alielle, who was wearily making her way down the steps.
"Do you require assistance, princess?" he asked.
"Princess?" Alielle glanced over her shoulder, looking for the mystery
royal, until she realised it was her. "Oh yeah. That's me. I'm okay."
This was going to take some getting used to. She trotted after Fatora.
"Fatora! Wait up!"

"Rune!"
Fatora burst into the bedroom, with Alielle behind her. Rune was lying,
almost flat, in bed. She tried to raise her head, but could only manage to
tilt it to one side.
"Fatora, Alielle... there was no need for you to rush back."
Fatora took no notice of this and knelt down next to her sister. "Oh, Rune,
you don't know how relieved I am to see you again. When the message
came through, I was so afraid you'd been killed."
"They tell me I came close. I was very lucky."
"Just as long as you're okay," Fatora sighed. "That's all that matters."
This statement triggered a sudden change in Rune's expression. She
started to sob.
"W... what's the matter, sister?" Fatora asked, concerned.
"I'm so sorry..." Rune said weakly.
"What for? You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything's fine!"
"No, it's not! Please forgive me, Fatora. I just wanted you to be happy...
and now everything's ruined..."
Fatora looked to Alielle, who was just as confused as she was.
Londs entered the room.
"Your majesties, the princess needs rest."
Alielle nodded. Fatora looked back at her sister.
"I'll be back later, Rune."
Londs led the pair outside and closed the door quietly.
"What's she upset about?" Alielle asked. "Is she okay?"
Londs looked apprehensive. "A certain... situation has arisen." Looking to
Fatora, he continued. "Princess, I must speak with you in private."

Fatora emerged from the conference room a few minutes later, white as a
sheet. Alielle stood up immediately.
"What is it, Fatora? What's wrong?"
"Come on," Fatora said, leading Alielle down the corridor. "I need a
drink. So do you."
"You don't drink," Alielle reminded her.
"I start today," she replied. "There's a... problem. Rune's been badly hurt.
The surgeons had to take some pretty drastic measures to save her. The
damage is permanent." She stopped, and looked Alielle in the eyes. "It
seems this incident has left my sister... sterile."
"Sterile?" Alielle echoed. "But doesn't that mean..."
"I'm afraid so," Fatora nodded, expressionless. "It's down to me now. I
must give birth to the next royal generation."

TO BE CONTINUED

"Death Takes a Holiday" featured-
Makoto Mizuhara, Mari Kurai, Afura Mann, Masamichi Fujisawa, Ifurita,
Nanami Jinnai, Miz Fujisawa, Shayla-Shayla, Qawoor Towles, Princess
Fatora, Princess Alielle, Parnasse Ralielle, Doctor Amiri, Doctor
Schtalubaugh, Princess Rune Venus, Londs and Cerev.

dooky
29th April 2001

Proofreading by the magnificent Firebird... cheers!