Silent
Mobius: Red Destiny
Book 0:
Chapter 0:
Vision
Authors:
OSTOCOM
Email: [email protected]
Rating:
PG
Disclaimer:
See Author's Notes, Book 0
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Darkness
covered the world. Yuki whimpered as she
looked around, unable to see anything other than the all-encompassing
blackness. Stumbling, she managed to
catch her balance against a wall.
Keeping
one arm against the wall and one out in front of her, she started to walk. Turning the corner, Yuki blinked against a
sudden illumination. A red moon shone in
the sky, lighting a figure in the distance.
Yuki rushed forward.
Katsumi
was lying on the ground, still as death.
A red rose, the most perfect bloom Yuki had ever seen, was thrust into Katsumi's
heart; a bit of blood crusting around the stem where it had entered her. "Katsumi-san?"
The
sorceress did not answer. "Katsumi!" Yuki cried, kneeling by her friend. She
felt for a pulse, but in her heart she knew it was too late. "Katsumi," she sobbed.
She
looked into the still face of her friend.
Suddenly, Katsumi’s eyes snapped opened. She smiled.
Yuki
screamed and jumped back as reality shifted.
She now found herself in the middle of a desert, and sand was all she
could see. The wind whipped around her as she looked at the barren landscape
with frightened eyes. "Katsumi-san?"
From her
left, she caught sight of a cloaked figure walking. "Hello?" Yuki called out
hesitantly. "Is anyone there?"
The
figure turned to her and Yuki gazed into the darkest eyes she had ever seen. The wind continued to howl and the robes of
the woman began to swirl around her as she lifted herself toward the sky,
hovering above the sand, her hands spread as though in prayer.
Yuki was
mesmerized and she took a step forward, only to find herself free-falling.
With a
sharp cry she hit the ground, rolling to absorb some of the impact. "Ouch," she muttered as she rubbed
her leg. Then she looked up, suddenly
awestruck at her surroundings. Rolling
green hills and stone walls, the ocean in the distance, and she could smell the
salt on the chilling wind.
An older
man was standing next to her, and though it was daylight, his face was hidden
in shadow. "Do you know where you
are?" he asked.
Yuki
shook her head.
"Do
you know *who* you are?"
Before
she could answer she was swept away again, this time to a craggy cliff
overlooking a beautiful tropical beach.
Children were playing in the sand, laughing and running. From behind her she heard a soft voice. "All is lost," a man said. "Time and the infinite tomorrows must be
sacrificed." He seemed sad, and
Yuki wanted to comfort him even though, like the last man, she couldn't seem to
make out any of his features.
Suddenly
however, he seemed to shift and the darkness clung to him even tighter. Yuki pulled back as she felt the malice
dripping off of him. "All is lost,"
he repeated. "Time *must* be
sacrificed. The path is clear and those
who stand in its way merely victims of their own foolishness." His voice was full of scorn.
Yuki
backed away from the figure slowly.
Suddenly she felt her foot slip and with a start she realized that she
had unknowingly backed up to the cliff’s edge.
She started to fall...
And
abruptly found herself in the middle of an
office. The entire room was painted
almost glaringly white and the floors were polished marble. She saw someone sitting at the lone desk in
the middle of the room. "Beauty is
in the eye of the beholder," the woman said. "The world...it is neither as black nor
as white as we would wish to see it.
Shades of gray permeate, infusing ambiguity."
The door
opened and Yuki turned to find herself atop what seemed to be a huge plateau,
the red earth around her gleaming in the light of a setting sun. A man stood
with his back to her, and like all the others she had encountered on her
journey, she could not see him clearly. "The
time is nearing," he said in a deep, grave voice. "All will be lost and the Earth will
weep for her children. Does hope remain?"
Yuki
wanted to shout that she still had hope, and that she and her teammates would
protect the Earth. But she found herself
unable to speak as the scene receded from her.
She felt
herself flying, careening through the air as though a giant hand had snatched
her and was dragging her backwards.
Light and sound rushed past her in a cacophony of sensation.
------
Yuki
gasped and sat straight up in the bed. Sweat
dripped down her neck and disappeared under her nightshirt. The silence of the dark room enveloped her,
even as her heart hammered an erratic beat. She sat still a few moments, attempting to
breathe through the panic brought on by the vision.
Finally,
her heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal. Yuki wished she could simply go back to sleep
and ignore the feelings now churning within her, but she knew that would be
impossible. Fumbling with the dampened
sheets now twisted about her legs, she reached for the phone.
"Rally
"Chief,
I just had a vision. Something big is coming."
"I
know. I felt it as well."
"What
should we do?"
"The
only thing we can do. Be ready for
whatever comes."
"What
about...?"
"Katsumi. Yes. We need her back."
"But
will she...?"
"She
must," Rally said firmly.
"Goodnight, Yuki."
Yuki slowly
placed the phone back on its receiver.
She took another breath and stared into the dark. The final image of her dream played out
before her like a never-ending memory.
//The
world was spinning out of control. And
everywhere, everywhere the six-pointed star.//
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Next
Episode Preview:
Katsumi
Liqueur: "Four years have passed since my last battle with Ganossa. I've left AMP behind me and started a new
life. But the peace can't last. Soon, I'll have to make a choice, a choice
which will set in motion the wheel of fate.
Will Mobius begin again?"
Episode
1: Realizations