Lost in Dreams (part 11 of 14)

a Angelic Layer fanfiction by Munkii

Back to Part 10
Ooo... A chapter for those who read me works... Enjoy and review if you 
feel like it! I would especially appreciate constructive reviews, as it 
gives me a chance to improve the story. I will not hesitate to revise a 
chapter to fix little errors and such.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Deadly Love

"Love will blind the unwise into hate. Love is not a power to be foolish 
with." unknown source

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Misaki formed a spiritual prison around the dripping wet Sayoko, and the 
seawater fell from her clothes in a puddle at the bottom of the barrier. 
She threw her fists against the wall, but it was a fruitless attempt.

"What is this devilry, child?" Sayoko demanded loudly. Her body floated 
next to Misaki-chan as she led the way back to the catamaran.

"The magic of love." Misaki responded. Her concentration had surpassed 
its normal capacity, and she was talking in regular sentences now.

"Do you think I believe that rubbish? Kill me already so I can leave 
this hellish place."

"You said you knew my mother. You will talk to her now." Upon reaching 
the boat, Misaki-chan stopped and brought her prisoner around to face 
everyone. Shuuko stood.

"Sayoko...-chan," began Shuuko hesitantly.

"The traitor herself, Shuuko, it has been a long time." Sayoko said 
darkly. Shuuko, who was slightly shocked at seeing her old girlfriend, 
as it was, changed her attitude.

"What are you doing trying to kill my dear Misaki," Shuuko demanded.

"It was some time ago, Shuuko... We were together and happy..." Sayoko 
replied, ignoring Shuuko.

"Why?"

"You were the love of my life, even though you were indecisive and 
subjected by what others told you to do. When my sister showed up and 
barged in that night long ago, like a weak-minded fool you listened to 
her every word." Sayoko stared at Shuuko with such intensity that she 
turned away. "Look at you, still weak at heart."

"Why?"

"My sister told you to beat it, told you that you didn't really love me, 
and you believed her. You left me... Alone, desperately alone, for 
years, only to marry that 'man'."

"I loved him, Sayoko!" cried Shuuko, tears forming in her eyes as she 
turned back to the dark woman. Misaki, wanting to hear the whole story, 
kept Sayoko in front of Shuuko, but it hurt her heart to see her mother 
in tears.

"What? Was I not good enough? You wretch, I gave you everything!"

"That is not... why..." Shuuko replied softly.

"Then?"

"Your love for me blinded you. It blinded you so much, you failed to 
realize your sister loved you like you loved me. Every time I saw her 
with you, I could tell..." Shuuko explained after a few moment of 
silence, as she gathered herself.

"So what? I would have pushed her aside for you in an instant."

"I left you so you could be happy with her. I didn't want her to be sad. 
I felt like I was intruding upon her territory."

"Your selfless attitude put me into depression for two years. I hated my 
sister for her getting in our way, I hated you more for letting her, and 
yet every night I found myself dreaming of you... Wanting you..." Sayoko 
temper disappeared suddenly, and she fell into a kneeling position in 
the barrier. She looked down. "I asked my sister to poison your husband 
in the hopes that you would return. I told her it was revenge, and if 
she succeeded, I would consent to love her. My sister killed him."

Shuuko found tears streaming from her eyes now, and Yuuko gently wiped 
them away. Icchan and Trent stood, motionless, captivated by Shuuko's 
love life. Hatoko could feel Misaki's rage, and the pendant grew dark, 
and only a black light shone from it. Her heart felt heavy as she willed 
Misaki to let it out, and the pendant dropped silver tears. The tears 
moistened Hatoko's clothing near her chest, but she didn't notice nor 
care.

"How could you..." Shuuko stammered quietly.

"I loved you to much to let you go, and now look at what has happened. 
After my sister killed that disgusting man, she returned. Seeing that 
you didn't come to me, I ran away and hid in a remote village. My sister 
was heart-broken of course, but she deserved it. She blamed everything 
on you, Shuuko."

"Your sister thought that loving a girl is wrong." Misaki said, and 
Sayoko turned to the angel.

"She said that, trying to hide her emotions. She was a fool, and she was 
blinded by her own love until she died. She never realized I never loved 
her."

"Your thoughts are twisted, Sayoko. You have been corrupted. Your sister 
was corrupted as well." Misaki replied.

"And you are a demon from hell. I planned and killed you once my sister 
informed me that Shuuko had a child. It took me a year, but I did it. I 
knew Shuuko would cherish you like she cherished me, and I knew it would 
hurt when you died." Sayoko said, venomously.

"Why did you deny the love of your sister?" Shuuko asked. "She was there 
for you..."

"It is wrong to have a romantic relationship with a family member, 
Shuuko, you should..."

"No, it isn't," interrupted Misaki, her voice loud and clear now. "Love 
is love. There is no other. You loved your sister very much, didn't you? 
And you let the world corrupt your mind and squelch your heart. Look at 
the pain it has caused you, and us. The pain it caused your sister, and 
the grief."

"But... The..."

"Idiot!" Hatoko screamed suddenly, and the entire group jumped. Sayoko 
looked at the small girl, and dropped her head.

"You would never understand..." Sayoko replied.

"I do understand, perfectly in fact. You never understood Shuuko-san. 
She was always shy, but she always saw the truth in love. It was not her 
with the weak mind, but you. You could not accept the truth..." Hatoko 
stated, standing now. "You could not accept your sister..."

"Bold words for a six-year old. You know nothing about love. Misaki and 
you will fall to pieces eventually. Your love is a fluke, stupid..." 
Sayoko retorted, but she was cut off.

"How dare you!" yelled Hatoko, furious now. "You killed my Misaki!" A 
shard of ice formed in mid-air next to Hatoko. It's sharp edged gleaming 
in the sunlight. Horror filled Shuuko's face, and she looked away as the 
bolt slammed into Sayoko's chest. The woman was thrown against the back 
wall of the barrier, and a red liquid fell from her body to the bottom 
of the cell mingling with the sea water. Sayoko looked up at Shuuko once 
more, her eyes hoping to glimpse Shuuko's once more, but Shuuko refused 
to turn. The woman slumped over into the pool of blood. Misaki quickly 
sent the entire prison into the sea, and sent it down deep, laying the 
black woman to rest among the creatures on the seafloor.

Hatoko found her knees weak, and she found herself sprawled on the deck. 
Everyone, save for Misaki, was far to stunned to move. A light wind 
whipped about their clothes, and the great waves ceased, only to become 
only small swells. The clouds in the sky remained however, as proof of 
Misaki and Hatoko's overwhelming power and will.

Misaki-chan glided down to Hatoko, and landed to stand in front of her.

"Hatoko-chan..." whispered Misaki, "Hatoko-chan... Be strong. Push those 
memories out of your head. It is time to go." Hatoko was about to cry, 
but she didn't. Misaki's words filled her soul and she stood.

"Let's go, Misaki." Hatoko replied fiercely. "Icchan-san, Trent-san, go 
inside."

Icchan didn't hesitate to move, and he pulled Trent behind him. They 
closed the hatch.

"Keep each other company." Misaki added. Hatoko pulled off her clothes 
and turned to Shuuko.

"Shuuko-san, I am sorry for what I did, but I promised I would not let 
her get in the way of my relationship with Misaki." Hatoko kissed Shuuko 
on the cheek. "Have faith in me, I will save Misaki."

Hatoko spun, and without hesitation, she jumped off the side of the 
vessel, the glowing pendant around her neck shining brightly. 
Misaki-chan followed, a nearly invisible barrier surrounding her. The 
group on the boat's deck rushed to the side and looked over, watching 
the young girl and her angel descend into the deep water. Hatoko was 
swimming effortlessly down.

"They will be okay, Shuuko-san." Kaede whispered. She crossed her 
fingers, but Sai, standing next to her, took Kaede's hands.

"There is no need for that, Kaede." Sai whispered, pulling Kaede into a 
warm embrace that wreaked of longing. Again the vision of her younger 
sister, dying, filled her mind. Kaede sensed Sai's weakness, and 
returned the embrace.

"You are right, Sai-san."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Misaki... I killed her..." Hatoko began.

"Hatoko-chan, please, for me... Put it aside. Once I am whole again, we 
can cry on each other's shoulders for all eternity if we so please." 
Misaki replied warmly.

"I know, it's just... Death scares me. It takes away someone from this 
world. It hurts people."

"Hatoko-chan, you would know it best, but it doesn't mean you should 
stop pursuing your dreams and happiness, and love. We have come this 
far, but we most both be clear-minded until this ordeal is over and then 
you can hold me in your arms and do as your whim desires." Misaki 
replied softly, and Hatoko nodded.

"I'm going to never let go of you again. I'm going to snuggle you and 
kiss you and bathe you... I want to always be near you, and see you. I 
want to dress you up in beautiful kimonos and race among field of 
flowers and under cherry trees in the spring, and hold you close when 
winter comes, near a warm fire with a blanket and hot chocolate." Hatoko 
explained, losing herself in the thoughts.

"We can have those wonderful things, Hatoko-chan... They are close 
now... Once I can hold you again, we have an eternity to delve into each 
other's dreams and share moments together. We will have the power to do 
anything we want."

Hatoko was silent for a few minutes, and they descended deeper. The 
water became darker, but the pendant grew brighter, and it was easy to 
find their way farther down. Hatoko swam deftly, and Misaki-chan glided 
under her stomach in the same direction.

"I," Hatoko began, "I expect you to lose your virginity to me as well, 
what ever that means. All I know is that you have to love each other 
very much..."

"I have no idea what that means either, but I hear it all the time. 
We'll have to ask someone later. Kaede-san might know. She's smart. As 
for having to love each other very much... I think we have that 
covered."

A patch of sand could be seen in the distance, and Hatoko swam furiously 
to it. They reached it quickly, and stood on the ancient seafloor. They 
looked up, but saw only blackness.

"How far do you think we've gone?" Hatoko asked.

"Mmm... 300 meters? Let's see what we have here... I'm going to borrow 
my soul for a moment." Misaki-chan pulled the silver chain up and over 
Hatoko's head, swimming up for a little bit. The pendant began to glow 
brighter and brighter, and eventually it was as bright as the Sun. The 
entire sea floor for a kilometer in each direction could be seen where 
no objects obstructed their view.

"Hmm... Lets see..." Hatoko began, but she found she could not say 
anything more. She looked in awe at what they had found.

"The ruins of a great city," Misaki began. Hatoko nodded. They knew that 
they were at the right spot now.

"There is supposed to be a mesa... Hmm..." Hatoko looked around, and 
seeing nothing, she swam up above the ruins. This time she did see 
something. A great wall in the near distance. She pointed towards it. 
"There. That is where he is."

"Put on your bunny hunting gear, it's time to go bunny wabbit hunting." 
Misaki said brightly, and they swam over to the cliffs as fast as they 
could. The sea life around them made way for the visitors, but they 
seemed almost ready for their presence, turning to look at the girl and 
the angel. A few sharks in the area found their way over as well, but 
they didn't wait at a distance, and instead approached the girls.

"Ah, Misaki, sharks!" Hatoko exclaimed, but Misaki knew better then to 
be afraid.

"I don't think they are going to eat us, Hatoko-chan. I have a feeling 
they are here to meet us and take us to Yano-san." Misaki replied, and 
she had guessed correctly. The watery predators stopped a few feet from 
Hatoko.

"Yano-san... Awaits thee. Please, my mistresses... Hold onto my 
upper-most fin. I will take you to him under the protection of the 
Atlantean Guard. My name is Uruhatachirusu. Call me Uru." The voice came 
over the water, but the shark in the front of the pack, who appeared to 
be the leader, did not move his mouth.

"I... Okay," Hatoko stammered slightly, and she swam over and grabbed 
onto the shark's dorsal fin.

"Don't be shy, I have waited for you for many, many years. The sea life 
in this area is at your command, my mistresses. The creatures here have 
been charged with protecting the ruins for all eternity. That is why 
human-kind has yet to find it." Uru explained, and he began to speed 
through the water.

A light appeared in the distance, and Misaki dimmed the pendant so it 
could be seen better. They watched silently as it became closer and 
closer until finally they had arrived at a large structure. Hatoko, with 
Misaki holding onto the top of her head, floated off of the shark that 
had carried her.

"The Greater Temple of Atlantis. Yano-sama awaits you inside. Good luck, 
my mistresses." Hatoko stroked the shark's snout and thanked him, and 
she proceeded forward with Misaki-chan lighting the way. They entered 
the elaborately designed temple.

Misaki brought the shining pendant back to its normal glow, the hall 
they had entered was lit well, and at the end sat the person they had 
been searching for for some time.

"Welcome, at last." Yano greeted.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Author's Notes:

Finally, the great and mysterious Yano! Woo! Stay tuned for the next 
chapter!

Revised August 16th, 2004

.o. Munkii 

Onwards to Part 12


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