Dreams of the First Minds

Kiyoshi hung suspended in the air above the yawning maw of the pit below. Blood streamed freely from his freshly reopened wounds and the tattered remnants of his kimono flapped about him like macabre wings. He was held aloft by Una, in her raptor form, invisible to all so that it seemed that he flew of his own accord, the purple gleam of Keibatsu gripped in his fist. He had to stop the snipers, and quickly, or they would kill Moses and the others. As the air rushed by him he was calm, for he floated in the Void, without thought, without fear. Suddenly an inkling of danger came, but too late. He had only started to move when the first sniper's bullet ripped through his chest, tearing and destroying everything in its way. Cold spread through his chest and his vision started to fail. He was not done yet, however; he sensed a split-second later that another bullet was rushing in to finish him. This time, he was ready. Keibatsu flashed with impossible speed and deflected the shot that would have ended him. With this final effort, Kiyoshi was unable to stave off death's cold grip any longer and he slumped in Una's talons. The last thing he saw was his glasses spiraling down into the darkness. His grip on Keibatsu never slackened in the slightest.

Across the cavern, the Biomade sniper had only the briefest moment of surprise before his own deflected bullet took him between the eyes.

I awaken in a beautiful garden. I am whole and, thank the First Minds, clean for the first time in what seems like forever. All around me are beautiful flowering bushes and drifting cherry blossoms. I can hear the trickle of running water from a nearby stream, and the sound of songbirds in the trees. Across the stream is a little wooden bridge, and upon the bridge stands a figure. I frown. It is odd; this person's hair is the same silver color as mine, marking him as a member of the Silver Phoenix clan. But true silver hair is rare even within the clan; I only know of one other, one of my father's cousins. This was obviously not my father's cousin, however, for she is a woman, and wears her hair shorter than I. The silent figure standing alone looked very much like me from behind, in fact.

I decide to investigate, so I stand and walk to the bridge. When I step upon it, my sandals clack against the wood, alerting the stranger. He turns, and it is me; or rather, a demon that has taken my form. It is a perfect doppelganger, except that its eye sockets are empty and weeping blood, just like the other demons I have fought recently. I cannot let this abomination be! In less than the time it would take to think of the action, Keibatsu is sweeping across the air and removing the foul thing's head from its shoulders. Body and head fall into the stream with a splash.

A girl's voice speaks behind me. "Who was that?" she asks. I turn to find Rei standing on the bridge beside me, peering down into the stream. So much for the idea that this was a heaven; first a demon, and now a telepath.

I reply "A demon mimicking my form. It is no longer important." I smell incense coming from a pagoda on the other side of the stream.

"Are your dreams always like this?" Rei asks. "It's so... boring."

I glance back at her with disdain. "If you do not like it, you can leave. I am going to investigate the pagoda." I follow the smell of the burning incense to do just that. I hear Rei sigh and start to follow.

When I come to the pagoda, I see many pairs of sandals laid out neatly by the door. I recognize the smell of the incense, the sounds of the chants coming from within, and the symbol of the First Minds above the entryway. This is a temple, such as they should be made to honor those who came before, the Trinity, the Unity, the symbol of Cheldrun potential. I remove my shoes and enter, Rei following behind somewhat reluctantly.

Inside I see a line of men kneeling before the altar, many of them wearing the symbol of the Silver Phoenix. Upon the altar is a giant gong, the symbol of the First Minds prominent upon it. I make my way up to the alter and fish within my purse for a silver coin, which I proffer as an offering with a deep bow. As I move to take my place in line, Rei speaks. "These men..."

I nod. "My ancestors." Indeed, I see my father and his father, and many other luminaries of the clan, some of whom I had only ever seen in portraits. I also see my sensei, Master Yoshitaka of the Swooping Crane Resplendent dojo.

"Do you always dream about your ancestors?" she asks, looking very puzzled.

"Why would I not? Now hush, it is time to pray." I kneel and start chanting the mantra in unison with my ancestors. For precisely three hundred and thirty three cycles I pray, and a bright white light from behind the gong grows brighter and brighter as I do so. When finished, the gong rings on its own, and the light becomes so bright that the gong can no longer be seen. My ancestors form two lines on either side of me, with my father at the head of one and Master Yoshitaka at the head of the other. I turn to face the light.

"Does this usually happen?" Rei asks. I ignore her.

A chorus of voices, all speaking as one in perfect harmony, issue from the light. "Daitokuji Kiyoshi," they say, "you have earned the right to one answer."

Whether this is a vision or just a dream, I do not intend to waste my answer. I think for a few moments, then ask. "The eyeless demons that I have lately encountered; where do they come from?"

Everything is silent for a minute. Two. I begin to wonder if they heard my question. Then the voices speak again. "They are the beginning and the end of Malice." My blood runs cold to hear this. There is only one thing I can think of that fits such a description. But They could not have found us... could they?

My father suddenly steps forward and bows to the light. "Honored First Minds, I would sacrifice my answer that you grant my son a boon." He steps back into line.

There is a pause, then the voices speak again. "Noboru, you presume too much. One answer is not sufficient for what you ask."

Without hesitation, Master Yoshitaka steps forward and says "Then I, too, offer my answer." There are similar words from all of my ancestors as they step forward and nod their assent.

Another pause. Then "Very well. Know this, young Kiyoshi. Heritage is Heredity. Come to know this, and you will be on the path to understanding."

I nod. "Thank you all, Honored First Minds, Honored Ancestors. I will not fail you." Suddenly there is a flash and the light is gone, leaving only the temple behind. As if a spell was broken, my ancestors break into smiles and come to greet me and offer advise. We leave the temple where some of them bring out pots of tea, bowls of wine and sticky buns. I am about to sit and break fast with them when I notice a familiar pink-haired figure standing on the bridge. Are my dreams not even safe from intrusion now?

I glance up at Rei and gesture toward the bridge. "Can you take care of her please?"

Rei looks surprised and walks toward her sister. "What are you doing here?"

Aimi looks at her sister, equally surprised, and exclaims "What are you doing here?!" She peers over at me and my ancestors, then rounds on Rei. "You slut!" she cries indignantly.

"What?!" Rei squawks.

"You can't have him, he's mine! I saw him first! Or are you here for all the old men?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! And you want to talk about old? Kiyoshi is, what, eleven years older than you?!"

Aimi's face tries to match her hair at this point, and she opens her mouth to retort when I interrupt. "Would you ladies like some tea?" I proffer a pair of cups.

Both sisters gape at me like I had just grown an extra head, then Aimi smiles sweetly and says "Yes, thank you." Rei mumbles something that might be assent and takes one as well. She does not drink it, however, but instead starts right back in on her sister.

"Just what are you doing in Kiyoshi's dream, anyway?"

Aimi smirks. "This isn't the first time I've been in his dreams." She winks lasciviously at me. I am flabbergasted, and start to blush.

Rei rounds on me. "What?! What have you been doing with my sister? She's only fifteen!" I try to stammer out a reply when Aimi interrupts.

"Oh, we don't have time for this. Blade only gave us a limited window to get you out of there, sis. You were expensive, after all. But time's up, I'm afraid, and they're coming for you. You have to get out of there now; the Hei Shi are on their way."

Rei and I both pale to hear that. "You do realize that we are both unconscious, do you not?" is my sardonic reply.

Aimi frowns. "Oh yeah." Her face screws up in a pout as she thinks. "Okay, I think I know of a way to wake you up. It'll hurt though." Why am I not surprised? I nod. "Good. When you wake, just make sure you get out of there; I'm sure you have a back way, just go through there and I'll meet up with you." She turns to Rei. "We'll talk about when and how you'll return later."

Rei scowls at her suspiciously. "Why are you helping us?"

"Because I don't want you getting hurt, silly." She says flippantly, an obvious lie. She steals a glance at me as she says it though, and blushes slightly. "What the Hei Shi will do to you is permanent. We want to avoid that."

I nod. "Very well. Wake me up; time is running short." She nods and walks up to me. I cannot help but tense, but all she does is lean up on her tip-toes and give me a kiss on the cheek, just like at my father's funeral. In the same spot, too. But where that kiss had been unexpectedly pleasant, this one delivers me into a world of pain. I feel like every muscle in my body is straining to break free of its fleshy confines. I scream and scream, and everything goes black. Then, a flash of brilliant blue light...