DREAMWORLD
By Greg Taylor

     Crystal gradually regained consciousness.  It was dark.  She
was lying in a puddle of water.  This struck her as being very,
very wrong.  She sat up quickly - too quickly, her head started
spinning.  Which was when she heard the voice coming from the
shadows around her.  "What do you know, it worked..." a person
seemed to be saying.
     Crystal spun, trying to locate the source of the voice.  "How
did I get here?  Why am I here?  What's going on?" Crystal demanded,
stumbling to her feet.  Panic and fear threatened to overwhelm her, 
but she forced herself to remain calm.
     A figure stepped out of the darkness before her.  He was male,
had purple hair, wore a pointed hat and carried with him a long,
curious looking staff with metal loops on it.  He smiled.  For some
reason, he seemed vaguely familiar.
     "I have summoned you here," the man said.  "Because, you know,
you are his last hope.  But first things first, you know.  Do you
know where you are?"
     "I..." Crystal's voice trailed off.  In fact she didn't know
where she was, nor did she know where she had been before coming
here.  She swallowed uncertainly.  "I just know I can't stay here,"
she murmured, inching away from the man.  She almost slipped on
another puddle of water.
     "Do not be afraid," her companion assured.  "No one will hurt
you here, you know."
     "But this place is all wrong," Crystal protested.  "I mean
it's... a hot springs," she suddenly realized.  Which explained the
water on the floor.  The water that was scaring Crystal more than
she cared to admit.  Before she knew it, she was running out the
door.  She had to get away from here.
     "Wait!" the man called out behind her.  "You know, you'll want
to be heading west!"
     His words barely registered.  Right now, Crystal just wanted
out of the building.  Fortunately the layout seemed familiar, so it
was not long before she succeeded in that goal.  Yet once outside
she found her attention drawn back to the sign by the door.  It
read 'Hinata Inn'.  Crystal frowned.  How could she possibly be at
Hinata Inn?
     "Do not dally in the dream," someone said nearby.  Crystal
turned to see three elderly men staring at her.
     "Time grows short," the second man continued.
     "West is that way," concluded the third, raising a hand to point.
     In the distance, thunder rumbled.  Crystal felt a chill run down
her back.  She didn't know what was happening.  But if she obeyed the
advice of the people around her, perhaps it would lead her to some 
answers.  She headed west.

     The road seemed to stretch on forever.  Where did it lead?  Why
did Crystal now feel like she had to reach the end of it?  What was 
this all about?  It wasn't long before Crystal decided it would be 
useless to keep going without further information.  So she entered a 
nearby ice cream shop.  Inside there was a girl with red-brown hair 
in a pink visor and a boy with blue hair in a yellow visor; both the
visors read 'Bobson's'.  Crystal approached the girl first.
     "Excuse me," Crystal began.  "I think there is somewhere I'm
expected to go now, but I don't understand why.  Can you help me out?"
     "You're the one who needs to provide the help," came the
reply.  "For it is all a matter of love.  Sweet yet bitter love."
     Crystal blinked.  "Love?" she asked.  "What do you mean?"
     The boy with the blue hair now spoke.  "Haven't you figured out 
where you are yet?"
     "I... I'm in an ice cream store," Crystal said matter-of-factly.  
"One that... wait a minute, I know this place," she realized.  "I saw 
it in an anime.  And all of you, everything I've been seeing, it's 
all from anime!  How is this possible?  What is going on here?"
     The boy shrugged, then walked over to a piano sitting in a
corner of the room.  He began to play a haunting tune from the old
west.  Crystal opened her mouth to speak again, but before she
could, the main doors opened and in walked a blond man wearing a
red overcoat.  "Love and peace!" he declared, smiling and raising
his fingers in a 'V'.
     Crystal gaped.  "But... but how can all these anime be
coexisting?  What are you doing here?" Crystal demanded of the new
arrival, as she backed up against a wall.
     The man in the overcoat turned to look at her, at which point
his demeanour became serious.  "Why I am here is not important.  Why 
you are here is," he stated.  "You're killing him, and you must stop."
     "Me, kill?" Crystal choked out.  "What are you talking about?"
     Another man stepped into the shop, smoking a cigarette.  "It's
simple really," the preacher observed as he put down the large cross 
he was carrying.  "Your love is killing him."
     All eyes were now on Crystal, but she could only stare back in
bewilderment.  Why were these people implying that she was loving
someone to death?  How could they know that anyway?  They were from
anime, and Crystal knew that she was not an anime character.  So
what did it all mean?  No one seemed about to elaborate.
     A drop of water fell from a nearby faucet.  Crystal's eyes
snapped over towards the sink at the noise.  She felt her heart
rate quickening again.  "Please, someone just tell me what's really
going on," she said.  No one spoke.  "Please, what am I expected to
do??" Crystal insisted.
     A curiously dressed cat walked out from a door behind the ice
cream counter, then looked over at Crystal.  "This is not where you
should stay, no one here can show the way.  However, to learn more
today, go though that door, and don't delay!"  The feline motioned
to the back room before turning to everyone else.  "Now, pizza for
anyone?  Or maybe a rocket gun?"
     Crystal quickly edged around to the door in question and
bolted through.  She hoped that she would find the answers she
needed somewhere behind it.

     She found only darkness.  Darkness which contained a small
pool of light.  Crystal approached it, soon catching sight of a
girl sitting inside.  The girl had short hair, distinctive facial
features, and a deck of tarot cards in front of her.  When Crystal
reached the perimeter of the light, the girl looked up, causing the
pendant around her neck to swing slightly.
     "Hello... can you explain to me what's going on?" Crystal asked.
     The girl reached for the cards.  "No.  For this crisis is the
fault of the past," she observed.  "However, I can show you what
will happen in the future, if you fail to act."
     Crystal paused.  "Okay," she agreed, biting her lip.  "What is
going to happen?"
     "This."  A tarot card was drawn from the deck almost faster
than Crystal could see, then placed onto the ground.  Crystal took
a step forwards to see it better, only to find that she wasn't
standing inside the pool of light.  She was standing in a
graveyard.  With a tombstone in front of her.  Crystal's eyes
widened and she backpedaled frantically as soon as she saw whose
name was written upon it.
     "No," Crystal gasped.  "No, I won't be the one responsible for
his death... that can't be right...!"  She spun away only to come
face to face with someone else.  A girl who had brown hair, and who
was brandishing an odd looking staff.
     The girl smiled at Crystal before walking past and taking up
an offensive stance.  "Return to your true form, tarot card!" she
shouted, the tip of her staff hitting an area just in front of her.
     A wind whipped up from out of nowhere, and a flash of light
forced Crystal to raise a hand to cover her eyes.  When she took it
away, both girl and graveyard scene were gone.  In fact, Crystal
had been left once again in darkness.  There was no light anywhere. 
She took in a shaky breath.  "But I think I know what's going on
now," she whispered.  There was the sound of a door slamming and
suddenly Crystal could see again.

     She discovered that she had been shut up inside a small room. 
It contained a chair, so Crystal took the opportunity to sit, her
pulse racing and her mind in chaos.  However, things had started to
click.  She just needed a minute to sort through her thoughts.  "My
name is Crystal Chambers," she stated, unintentionally speaking aloud.
     "Then please begin," came a voice from out of nowhere.  The
elevator Crystal was in shuddered as it began descending.  Somewhere, 
a piece of black rose panelling slid softly by.  Crystal did not 
notice; she merely continued to speak.
     "I had this friend from school... his name was Charles.  We
used to watch a lot of anime together.  We even started dating. 
Except... that was his tombstone I saw."  Crystal took in a deep
breath.  "Which must mean he's now near death.  I'm not entirely
sure why, but... but..." Crystal's voice started to catch.
     "Deeper.  Go deeper."
     "But I'm the only one who can save him.  Because... because
I'm currently inside his mind," Crystal realized with growing
apprehension.  "I've been brought into his mind to try to save his
life.  Since I'm the reason his life is in jeopardy!"  The elevator
began to pick up speed.  "It's because we love each other, yet we
can't be together," Crystal fairly blurted out as the pieces came
together in her mind.  "And for some reason, being apart is killing
him.  So I have to get in touch with him soon, or he won't survive! 
I have to find some way to reach Charles before it's too late!  But
how am I going to do that when I don't know how to navigate through
his psyche??" she choked out in desperation.
     The elevator crashed to a halt.  "I understand," came the
mysterious voice again.  A pause.  "The way before you has been
prepared."
     The elevator door opened and Crystal turned to see a small,
strange looking creature on the other side of it.  It blinked
curiously back up at her.  "Pika ChuChu," it said.

     Crystal ran.  The little animal had pointed the way back to
the road she needed to follow, so she was now following it as fast
as she possibly could.  It had apparently just rained too; there
were puddles of water all over the ground.  As Crystal stepped in
one of them, splashing some water, she felt her throat go dry. 
Part of this situation was still eluding her.  But what?  She hoped
it would become clear by the time she reached the end of the road,
where she now knew that Charles was waiting.  Yet there was still
no end in sight and time was growing short.  Was there no faster
route she could take?
     "You're late!  You're late!" came a new voice.  Crystal turned
in time to see a girl in a bunny outfit breeze past her on a
skateboard.
     "Tell me something I don't know!" Crystal panted back in
frustration.
     "Study, study, study, study, study," advised a boy as he rode
by on a bicycle.
     This was crazy.  Crystal needed better transportation.  "Wait!" 
she called out.  "Can you lend me your bike?"  However, the cyclist 
had been going so fast that he was already out of earshot.  Crystal 
fell to her knees in another puddle, fighting the urge to cry out.
     "Don't be an idiot," came a quiet comment from the sidewalk. 
Crystal turned to see a young looking girl with silver-purple hair. 
It was done up in two ponytails and held in place with the help of
two small red balls.  "You need something faster than even a
bicycle at this point," the observer continued.
     "You have any better ideas then?" Crystal shot back, feeling
like she was nearing her breaking point.
     "Of course," the girl replied.  "After all, I know a thing or
two about anime within anime.  Keep going, I'll send someone to
catch up with you shortly."  She then turned away and walked down
a side street.
     Throwing her hands up into the air, Crystal resumed her former
pace.  She wondered exactly what she would say to Charles when she
finally reached him.  Perhaps advise him not to clutter his mind
with quite so much anime in the future.  That is, assuming he even
had a future.  Crystal bit her lip again and forced herself to run
even faster.  Which was when she heard the squealing of car tires
and saw the surprisingly realistic looking white car pull up
alongside her.
     "I heard you needed a lift," the driver of the Trueno AE-86
remarked in an unemotional tone.  In some sense it was bizarrely
reminiscent of the way that girl with the ponytails had spoken.
     "Please," Crystal panted out gratefully.  "I need to get to
wherever this road leads as fast as possible."
     The driver nodded.  "No problem," he assured.  "Just make sure
you're wearing your seatbelt."  Crystal jumped into the car.  They
took the first bend in the road at over 100 kilometres an hour.

     The road ended at Tokyo Tower.  It felt oddly appropriate. 
There was even a circle of people gathered there, who parted as
Crystal approached, making a path into the middle for her.  Which
was where Crystal finally saw him, lying on the ground.  There was
another girl kneeling next to him, who stood as Crystal approached.
     "There is nothing more I can do," the girl concluded, brushing
some blue hair back off her ear as she closed her minicomputer. 
"And nothing more any of us can do.  You are truly his last hope."
     The Senshi of water stepped back, allowing Crystal to collapse
down next to the prone form.  "Charles?" Crystal gasped out. 
"Charles, can you hear me?"
     His eyelids fluttered.  "Crystal?" he murmured.  "Are we
together at last?"
     "Charles, you've got to hold on.  Do you understand?  You've
got to fight for your life!"
     "Why?" came the tired reply.  "I thought my actions quite
poetic really..."  He flashed her a tired smile.  "After all,
remember the first anime we ever watched together?"
     Crystal stared at him in confusion.  "Ranma...?" she replied. 
And the missing piece snapped into place.  Her reactions to water
made sense.  She felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach.  "I
died," Crystal realized numbly.  "I drowned two months ago."
     For a moment, everything was deathly quiet.
     "And now I've come to join you," Charles concluded softly. 
"Throwing myself into the same pool where you died.  So that we
will always be together."
     Crystal felt a lump forming in her throat.  "No," she
whispered.  It was too late for her, but she couldn't let things
end this way for him.  That's why she had been brought here.  "No,
this... this isn't right Charles!  You still have your whole life
ahead of you!" she protested.  "My death was a tragic accident but
that's no reason for you to die too!  I'm not the sort of person to
kill yourself over!"
     His eyes focused upon her one last time.  "Crystal," he
murmured.  "I simply can't go on living without you."  His eyes
closed.
     "Charles!" Crystal cried out, tears welling up in her eyes. 
"No, you can't give up yet, listen to me!  I've been summoned back
from the dead to help give you another chance so please, take it!!"
     "People can't come back from the dead," Charles countered
quietly.  "This isn't Yuu Yuu Hakusho."
     "Damn it, Charles, enough with the anime!" Crystal shouted,
balling her hands into fists.  This wasn't working.  She was about
to fail, and all the effort that had been put into bringing her
here would amount to nothing.  Or would it?  "Wait," Crystal
continued.  "If I am with you now... brought here by your own
subconscious mind... that can only mean one thing, Charles. 
There's no need for you to die!"
     An eye reopened.  "I don't understand," Charles protested.  "I
have to die so that we can be reunited."
     "No, Charles, don't you see?  If I am here, a part of me must
still be alive inside of you!  You don't have to die to be with me! 
As long as you keep me inside your heart... we will always be
together," Crystal finished, laying a hand upon his chest.  His
form started to blur before her eyes.
     "You're disappearing," Charles breathed, eyes now opening
wide.  "Crystal, no... don't leave me again!"
     Crystal blinked down at her hand, discovering it was becoming
insubstantial.  "My time in this form is coming to a close," she
realized.  "But there is no need for tears.  For I am not leaving
you... and I never will, not as long as you remember me."  She
smiled.  "So promise me two things.  First, that you will fight for
your survival!  For if you follow your dreams... then my dreams may
live on through you."
     Charles felt his whole body starting to shake.  "I don't know
if I can keep going... it might even be too late already..."
     "It's not too late," Crystal asserted.  "The strength to
survive is still inside you.  Please, Charles.  You have to live."
     "O-Okay," he choked out in response.  "I'll try... for you." 
He paused to wipe his cheeks dry.  "A-And the second thing?"
     Crystal's face lingered briefly even as the rest of her body
seemed to evaporate.  "Take swimming lessons," she said, her voice
floating gently on the breeze.
     A few dead leaves blew silently through the void created by
her departure.  "I'll never stop loving you," Charles whispered. 
And his dreamworld faded away.


Addendum (not part of the story):
Characters from the following anime were directly and indirectly
referenced in preceding fanfic:  Fushigi Yuugi, Love Hina, Marmalade 
Boy, Trigun, Samurai Pizza Cats, Escaflowne, Card Captor Sakura, 
Revolutionary Girl Utena, Pokemon, Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, 
Golden Boy, Martian Successor Nadesico, Initial D, Sailor Moon, 
Ranma 1/2, Yuu Yuu Hakusho.  If you caught them all... you really 
might be watching too much anime. ^_-