Lady Bard's Musings

Here’s my chosen topic and it’s full outline.

Character: Yokou Matsuru (Modern Samurai)
Working Title: “By My Sword”
Summary: Set in a world where guns were never developed but otherwise modern, the samurai still exists. Yokou Matsuru becomes a ronin. What will she do when she becomes the last?

Prologue

Tsume no ookii ookami (Claw of the Great Wolf or Great Wolf’s Claw) travels the streets of Japan searching. While she does, her mind wanders. She thinks upon her situation and her goals.

Chapter 1

Yokou lives with an unusual family, who lives, trains and fights together. But similar to the wolves they named themselves after they are indeed a family. They are beholden to the current Lord of Kyoto (Daimo).

Chapter 2

Rites of Adulthood (age 20) are underway for Yokou and she has to prove herself in order to become a full fledged Samurai. Her task is a bit unusual and given to her by the Daimo himself?

Chapter 3

Yokou realizes that the honor of her clan is at stake. She must off on a journey to complete her task. She has one month to find the source of the myth (the mirror of Susanoo, a relic of the old imperial family).

Chapter 4

Yokou leaves and feels as if she’s been put on a wild goose chase, but knowing that the item did exist she looks up museums and old records to see if she can find out anything about it. She gets a lead to Fukuoka.

Chapter 5

She finds out that she’s not the only one looking for the mirror and overhears some useful information. The mirror is rumored to have a special power that she hadn’t found when she was researching.

Chapter 6

She leaves quickly using the information she overheard to go to a new destination and to try and get ahead of her fellow hunters. She heads for Nara.

Chapter 7

Her bike breaks down and she swears its sabotage. Being stuck in the middle of the rice fields she hikes to a nearby community. She gets some more information about Susanoo.

Chapter 8

It’s a day or two before she’s able to get someone with a truck to pick up her bike and haul her to the nearby Yamaguchi. She has to waste time getting her bike fixed, but meets up with an interesting stranger.

Chapter 9

She continues on to Nara. She meets up with someone at a museum who recognizes her sword. The other informant attempts to kill them. She escapes with the historian.

Chapter 10

The historian’s name is Natsumo Omonaru. He points her into the direction to go for the mirror and is determined to help her get there first.

Chapter 11

Due to running for a while, they have to take time to regroup. Supplies are gathered. Apparently, Natsumo neglected to tell the others a few important details.

Chapter 12

They head out again. This time on a trip towards Mie. Natsumo knows that there’s been a rumor about where the mirror is hidden, but is confident that even if the others get there that they can’t get the mirror. He doesn’t explain why.

Chapter 13

They reach Mie prefecture and the Ise Grande Shrine. Yokou feels strange and the sword seems to be reacting. They run across the brothers in crime.

Chapter 14

It’s a standoff. They talk for a bit. Natsumo tries to keep them talking to delay them. He knows what they’re really after.

Chapter 15

Yokou seems to be possessed by a spirit and ends up talking and attacking the brothers. They are forcibly ejected and kept out as the spirit ends up grabbing the mirror for her.

Chapter 16

The mirror doesn’t seem to be anything special. When they leave, the brothers are gone. They go to collect their thoughts at a nearby inn. Natsumo watches the news and finds out that things are going crazy.

Chapter 17

Yokou discovers that there’s also a gem, and Natsumo thinks it’s too powerful to be in the hands of the brothers. Natsumo tries to look into the mirror and seems to be confused by it. Yokou sees a strange scene which horrifies her.

Chapter 18

Driven by desperation to discover if the mirror could show her such a thing, she rides home and Natsumo quietly comes with her. What they discover is terrible. Yokou is broken.

Chapter 19

Yokou attempts to blame Natsumo for her loss and refuses to talk to him for several days as she begins burial rites. It is only after several days of mourning that Yokou gets up and it’s not with gathering the jewel in mind.

Chapter 20

They leave together. Natsumo convinces Yokou that the brothers will be going after the jewel, so if they look for the jewel then they’ll find the brothers. Yokou agrees.

Chapter 21

Not believing that they’ll truly will attack the current Daimo of Tokyo in order to get the jewel, they try to use the mirror to see where they are. However, the mirror seems to be clouded. They believe that they’re up to something in the Tokyo undercity.

Chapter 22

They reach Tokyo, but are unable to close in on the brothers. They try asking around, but to no avail.

Chapter 23

Their final option is to warn the Daimo of Tokyo. They are granted entrance, but they are scoffed. Especially as Yokou finds out that she’s a true ronin. Her lord was murdered less than a week ago and she did nothing.

Chapter 24

Rejected, but knowing that as least they still have their relics, they plan to lay in watch for the brothers. They know where the last item is. All they have to do is wait for them to try and get it.

Chapter 25

Several nights pass which close calls with the guards, but they finally catch sight of one of the brothers by seeing a dead body. They slip in and try to follow and stop him.

Chapter 26

They confront the brother, but it turns out the other brother has already fled with the necklace. The imperial guard surround them and blame them all for the deaths. They’re taken to prison.

Chapter 27

Their sentence is betrayal and they will be executed. Yokou paces wildly as the brother gloats how his brother will get their weapons as rescue him. He discovers as things begin to go crazy that his brother is beginning the Rite of Ascension without him having already acquired the three items.

Chapter 28

It is thanks to Natsumo’s quick thinking that they manage to escape. Yokou convinces Naito that Ketsu never wanted to share. It was best to stick with them if he wanted to live.

Chapter 29

Tokyo’s Daimo is dead and they find Ketsu on the throne in a while purification robe. He is attempted to become like Amaterasu herself. They can’t get close, but as Yokou tries wildly the sword seems to respond to her. They discover that he is broadcasting himself all over Japan as the “new god-like emperor”.

Chapter 30

The sword breaks free singing and responds to its true name. It slices easily through the barrier and she steps into the storm that’s the ascension ceremony. All the elements tear at her, but she steps forward and matches up with Ketsu. He is ‘unkillable’. But nothing is unkillable to the grasscutter. The final battle rages.

Epilogue

Yokou declines any honors. Nassumo is being ‘crowned’ as the new age Emperor of Japan. However, he doesn’t want Yokou to leave. He tries to stop her, but she reminds him of what she believes her new purpose is in life and leaves him with a gift. Natsumo makes a final declaration as Yokou speeds out of town.

Characters:

Good Guys

Yokou Matsuru - main character

Yokou’s determined, always pushing others forward, but you wouldn’t trust her at a strategy meeting.

Natsumo Omonaru – historian

Natsumo speaks well, knows and understands history, but couldn’t hold his own in a fight.

Kita Matsuru – lil sister

Fukan Matsuru - father

Reigi Matsuru – mother

Ishiru – best friend

Bad Guys

Ketsu – partners in crime (brothers)

Driven, greedy, but you can trust him to pay his debts.

Naito - partners in crime (brothers)

Smart and clever, but is blind to family.

Welcome to all stepping by as I prepare for the next month of writing!

First thing I want to do is to drop out some ideas and see what people think. These are all possible stories that I might do at any time. Which one do you like?

Character: DJ Catscratch (Female Shadowrunner)
Working Title: “The Off-Time”
Summary: What do Shadowrunners do when they’re not running? This one keeps herself busy.

Character: Elaina O’Conner (Waitress – Shadowrun)
Working Title: “Not Today”
Summary: What happens to a young waitress who gets caught up in a run? An unpreditable element that changes one person’s world.

Character: Victor Flynn (Male Half-Dragon – Personal World)
Working Title: “Discovering the Sky”
Summary: What happens when things are not as they appear to be and a young man awakens to his purpose? Will he choose to be a hero… or a monster?

Character: Self (Humorous)
Working Title: “Diary of a Fangirl”
Summary: Do you think you know what makes a fangirl tick? A personal experience and humorous point of view writing on what makes a fangirl. To be taken tongue in cheek and not personally.

Character: Alex Baird (Male Battletech Pilot)
Working Title: “To Love a Machine”
Summary: What comes first… man or machine? When a machine is your only haven between life and death, what would you choose?

Character: Self (What If Romance)
Working Title: “Gaijin Sakura”
Summary: A lonely girl runs to a foreign country to follow her dreams. Resolved not to give up, her dreams bring more than she could have ever bargained. Will take the final step?

Character: Yokou Matsuru (Modern Samurai)
Working Title: “By My Sword”
Summary: Set in a world where guns were never developed but otherwise modern, the samurai still exists. Yokou Matsuru becomes a ronin. What will she do when she becomes the last.

He stood in the crumbling remains of a living room. There in the corner the young man saw what he’d been searching for. A glimpse of the short brown hair was enough. He had no wish to see her face. He’d been talking to her only a few hours ago when it happened. It was when her icon has ceased to exist. All of her records, her files, and any trace of her had disappeared faster than he could blink.

He could still remember the exhilaration of the plug sliding home for the first time. She’d taught him to be what he was. There was no description for what he did. People didn’t hire him, nor did he wish to be hired. He did what needed to be done. The lessons were over now that she was gone, though. He was on his own. He could, of course, take on his own protégée, but he saw no reason to.

His fingers found the keys on her deck that would release her body from ‘there’, but the mind was already gone. Her eyes were surely already glazed over from whatever had gotten her. There were no marks on her body. It was almost as if she’d been deleted. There was no one who’d ever successfully deleted a decker. As he typed the final sequence the cord fell to the floor, and the screen flickered to life.

 “Eric Shriller”

The letters continued flashing on the screen for several moments, then slowly died out again. Was she still alive? His regretted his hopeful glance at her face immediately. The gaunt look of shock set on her face was almost too much for him. He closed his eyes, and opened them to gently shut her deck. He set his deck near her and quickly plugged in.

He blinked with a new set of eyes and he saw two versions of his world at once. The electronic was an echo of the real world as he stared down at the screen of his deck. The message he sent was clear. It was time for her friends to pick her up. There was nothing else to do. As he keyed in the escape sequence, he pulled the plug from his right temple. He shut his deck and closed his eyes in a moment of silence before he rose up. He walked out without looking back, and with a deck in each hand. The only difference is that one had a single mark on top. A silver dragon was drawn on the corner of the deck. The only other thing he had left of her besides those was a real name that had no meaning and her code. She was Changeling amongst her friends and that was the only thing that might keep him alive.

A few hours later he sat at a simple desk. Changeling’s deck was open in front of him. He still didn’t understand why his name was the only thing that had been left on the screen, or even why it flickered on for the moment after he typed in the end sequence. The only way to find out was to go into her deck. He reasoned with himself that even if he didn’t find the reason why his name was there that was sure to be something that he could use.

Reluctantly, he plugged into her deck and detached himself from the meager surroundings of his apartment. He saw the glittering world before him in a fullness he’d never dared to let himself before. His body was just a shell now. He was a part of the electronic world, the matrix. He changed the icon to his own, a shadow. He was ShadowWalker, and there was no part of Eric left. He stopped. Did he hear something?

The voice was soft, yet high. He couldn’t be hearing anything; he was in her deck. There was no one else here. He heard it again. This time he understood it. “I’m not dead.” He started to spin around and tear through the files. Where was that damn voice coming from? It couldn’t be her. She was dead. She was dead, dammit! He caught a glimpse of something. That had to be it. As he pushed the file aside to see what it was, he nearly ripped the plug out of him. He didn’t use any escape sequence and the hard reality of his desk nearly caused him to pass out, but at least he was out.

He couldn’t believe what he saw. It just wasn’t possible. Only one person used that icon. It had platinum blond hair with wide violet eyes. It was so elfin and delicate, and had a voice that was musical in itself. It was her. Was he hallucinating that he saw his sweet Changeling, the friend that had taught him to survive on these cruel streets? Obviously, it couldn’t have been anything else. He must be under too much stress.

There was only one way to find out, though, and he had to know. He sighed and slowly rose from his seat. It was time to put an end to this nightmare before it consumed him. Yet, in some strange way he had no wish for the nightmare to end. He had her back in the alternate electronic reality she’d created for herself, and, now, for him as well. Some unrealistic thought still worked its way into his conscious mind. What if she wasn’t dead? Could she be trapped?

He’d heard of ghosts in the matrix before, but never encountered one. Until now, he’d thought that the ghosts were just stories, or legends. No one had heard or seen one for years. They were as much legends nowadays as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. He must be under more stress than he realized if he even thought of believing that. The closest she could have come to that would be to have made an AI of herself. Perhaps, she had an AI of herself on the system to protect against any trespassers who weren’t properly coded. Either way, it was time to find out the truth.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Listen, Shadow, this isn’t a game. You could get me killed by doing this. There’s no telling what defenses she has up in there. It’s not worth it. Just scrap the toy and get on with your life…” The older man’s words were cut off as ShadowWalker took him by his shirt collar and pulled him inches from his face.

“Sniffer, you will do as I say, and you will be properly satisfied with your payment. Money is not a problem. If you do a satisfactory job, then you will be paid enough where you will not have to do such menial work again. Until then, this lies in your expertise, and I do not wish to hear another complaint. Unless you would rather me call them.” His words hung with a shadow of threat behind them. His face was twisted with anger and… obsession. The once bright eyes were bruised and swollen from lack of sleep. Overall, he looked like a man on the edge, and the older man did not want to be the one to cause him to go off.

As the older man nodded, ShadowWalker set him gently down. Sniffer smiled uneasily. Shadow was too fried. What could do that to a decker? He wondered only briefly what might have pushed him in such a direction before settling down to work. Pay was pay. It didn’t matter what the job was. He spoke carefully, “Where is the laptop? I’ll do everything I can.”

Shadow brought the laptop from under his coat with his hand over the distinctive markings until he set it down. When he removed his hand, he watched he look of pure fear pass over the man’s face. “You’re one of the soulless ones, aren’t you? One of you hasn’t died for…” He cut his words off quickly. “I’ll do anything you tell me, and there will be no record. You may deposit what you wish directly into my account. No one will ever know you were here.”

A slight smile played over Shadow’s lips. He nodded and seemed more satisfied than before. He had chosen well. This man would be very cooperative. He sat down, and spoke slowly and clearly. “You will jack in. Once you are situated the password box will appear on the screen. I will type in the code. While you are in the deck, I will be monitoring you on the screen. This deck is rigged with a special double decking port. If you are in need, I will join you. You are not in danger. I will give you time to log out. It will not harm me.” To show the meaning of these words, Shadow pulled a single cord from his pocket as if this was its only purpose.

Sniffer nodded. He was very happy to have this man asking for his help than after him. These were the legends of the decking community. Their actions were everywhere, but they were never seen. It was said that to see one in real life was to be death incarnate, and if you saw them in the matrix you would be haunted for the rest of your life with their ghost. The hair on the back of his neck was raised, but he would not deny him what he asked. He slid the plug into the port…

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It has been a day since he hired Sniffer. Shadow was now sitting back in his apartment with the information he’d needed, but with no idea how to use it. This was his quest and he could not ask them to help him with it. There was no reason to endanger the others. As it was, he was uncertain as to whether he could make it back. He would send a data burst telling them what he planned so that if his signal was lost he’d be picked up. He’d barely made it out with Sniffer and himself intact the last time. At least, Sniffer was paid off for long enough that he would not have to work for a very long time.

He didn’t tell them everything. They would have put him offline days ago. He was now a danger to them all unless he could correct things. He had to jack back in and find her. She was alive somewhere! Damn it! He knew there was something strange about her. There always had been something different and unusual. She was just like any other physically, but it seemed to do with her code name. How had she earned the name, Changeling? How old was she? What had her family been like? There were so many things that only now did he realize that he didn’t know. They hadn’t been so important as long as he’d been under her wing, her protection. Nothing could go wrong with her at his side. Now something had gone so terribly wrong. Was she stuck in her laptop? Was she doomed to spend an eternity in the matrix, and only a shadow of what she had been before? He couldn’t let it happen. She was his best friend and much more. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt that she still lived in some sense. Yet, he’d felt her cold skin, the dead pulse, and seen the grotesque scene. She was dead.

Perhaps, it’d all been his imagination, but Sniffer had seen her, too. Strange that she’d nearly killed Sniffer, but hadn’t raised a hand towards him. The system recognized him as a friend, but even with the codes it wouldn’t recognize Sniffer. Had she coded her deck to recognize icons and only accept her icon and his? It was the only way. There was no time to debate any longer. It was time to go forward without any regrets. His trembling hands picked up the plug attached to her deck and slowly moved to the socket on the side of his head, and he winced ever so slightly when it clicked and he left the real world for another one.

What he entered was not any part of the matrix he had yet encountered. He stood on a path in a forest. It was cool and the wind was blowing hard, but it felt good. It seemed to be autumn by the way the leaves were changing color. Wait, did he just think that? It felt good? That’s impossible. Senses don’t work the same way in the matrix. He heard something. It sounded like crying. It was a sound that tore his heart apart. He almost couldn’t make his fingers move over the keys, but to an onlooker it would have only seemed to be an indecipherable amount of time that he paused. It would have gone unnoticed, but to him it lasted an eternity.

Step by step he walked towards the sound, though no matter which direction he walked the path was always under his feet. He could hear words now. “Has he forgotten about me? Will he help me? Will he even believe me?”

Another voice answered, “Of course, he will. He is your student. He is also…”

She cut him off with a soft and simple word, “No.” He could almost hear her sigh. He could still remember her beloved face and her icon. “It is not the time to speak of such things. He is here.”

He paused when he heard that last phrase. She knew? How could it be that he could feel, hear, smell, and such here? This could not be happening. Was he having delusions? He heard a quick shuffling of clothing. Were they trying to get away from him? Was it really her or was it just someone trying to impersonate her? He had to find out.

As his feet pounded against the ground he found himself losing his real world senses. Suddenly, the ground felt a little too real. Was his heart beating faster? Was that sweat he tasted? He feel to his knees in a panic trying to concentrate enough to open his eyes and see the screen in the real world. It couldn’t be real! He heard the soft, but familiar voice of a woman, his Changeling. He opened his eyes only to realize that he still saw with his electronic form, but what he saw was too much for him.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The dragon cradled him in its arms as he awakened. “You passed out.” He heard the words, but the dragon’s mouth did not move.

“Oh, Changeling, is it really you?” The dragon slowly nodded its head. He closed his eyes. “Why?”

“You have forgotten so much, my love. I wish that I could answer that for you, but I cannot help you. You are special, just as I am. You will soon learn why, but until then… I cannot join you. You must go back. It is not yet time for you to come forth. You will remember and you will understand. Trust in me. I am your Changeling, but only an echo of her. I will come for you when the time is right. Rest easy. Go back. Go back…”

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He awoke in a cold sweat on his own bed. How did he get here? His jack wasn’t even plugged in. As he remembered the night before, and that it was not a dream, his head slowly fell into his hands. ‘What am I supposed to be waiting for, Changeling?’ he thought. He sighed, as he knew that he would get no answer.

He continued with his ways of surviving. The hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks. The jobs that he used to take on to make money no long interested him. Hacking, code breaking, what’s the use? As the weeks passed he found out that he had a limitless amount of money appearing in his account. As hard as he would try, he could not use up the money in the account. He could not even bring himself to leave the wretched apartment that he’d started to call home. That was when things started going to all hell.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Could that really have been Changeling that he saw in the deck? It must have been a hallucination. Ghosts in the matrix were just legends. Yet, it’d been so real. Slowly, he slipped into sleep, a sleep full of nightmares and sadness.

“Please, come back!” he called to the strange figure in white. He never saw the face, but he knew it was his Changeling.

Then, everything went dark and he was in his apartment. It seemed like it was smaller than he remembered. Something had alarmed him. Shadow sniffed. There were people nearby. From the sound of their footsteps they were coming this way. No one should know where he was! He pulled back into a crouch in the shadows and waited. Something was draped over his shoulders, but it felt so natural that he didn’t think to question it.

Finally, his waiting paid off. He saw the handle shake as they tried to break the lock. A sudden thought occurred to him, “Shouldn’t I have a gun?” He didn’t feel compelled to get it, and his mind quickly dismissed it.

From the way they opened the door, they expected him to be there. He caught a glimpse of their faces and recognized them. They were two street thugs that occasionally worked as assassins.

He slowly stood and watched their eyes widen. One spoke quietly to the other, “Man, he must be paranoid. He had a shaman create one heck of a guardian. So, how are we going to get past ‘im?” The other thug shrugged.

He was getting tired of this. He was a person, not a summoned creature. Were they stoned? “Hey guys, get out of here before I force you out.” At least, that was what he’d meant to say. All that actually came out of his mouth were snarls and growls. The thugs’ faces turned white. He felt this terrible rage inside, and felt everything go black.

He was screaming when he awoke. The bed was soaked with sweat and stuck to his skin. That was the worst nightmare yet. He took at deep breath. It was still dark out. In fact, he was sure that he’d gone to sleep with a shirt on, but he couldn’t find it. He shrugged. He’d probably just forgotten that he’d taken it off.

A glass of milk would probably help him get some rest. He pulled himself out of bed, and walked to the kitchen. Feeling a little paranoid after that nightmare, he made sure the door was locked. It was unlocked, so he slid the lock over, and was glad he’d woken up.

Walking over to the fridge, he opened it, and looked into the face of his nightmare. Shadow fainted.

A few moments later he awaken to the site of torn, charred, and mutilated skin.  It was in his fridge, but how had it gotten there?  In a panic he opened the door to his apartment to check if anyone was near, and paused, as he was about to close it.  There were deep gouges in the wooden doorframe.  He leaned closer to inspect the scarred, but realized that it wasn’t any item that caused those scratches.  His fingers matched perfectly with were the scratches were on the wood.  Something had come and killed those two men, but had left him alone.  He must have still been in shock when he went in to his bed.  He might have even put the meat in the fridge to hide it.  Shadow could only debate on whether it was coming back for him next.

He awoke hungry.  His stomach was always empty.  He hadn’t touched the human meat in the fridge.  It simply wasn’t right.  Shadow couldn’t ignore his hunger any longer.  There was no other food.  He had no wish to leave the apartment, because someone might question him.  As long as his rent was paid on time, then no questions would be asked.  Shadow heard the rumble of his stomach, and felt his willpower collapsing.  Tearing through the room and to the fridge, he savagely bit into the meat. 

Crouching on the floor, he was more like an animal.  His eyes were wide and paranoid.  It was like he was afraid that someone would steal his meat from him.  Any noise caused him to growl.  Even when the meat was eaten, he curled on the stained, tile floor and went to sleep.

He awoke to find his hunger was strangely satiated.  He stretched and smiled.  It was as if he’d found himself for just a while, and was calmed.  These fits of calm and happiness didn’t last long.  His dreams were of creatures that didn’t exist, of a woman he couldn’t find, and events he didn’t remember.  More than once he wondered if he was sane, or if he only thought that he was sane.

His dreams haunted him. The world had become disjointed. Nothing was real. He couldn’t stand it. Night by night his dreams urged him to do something that he couldn’t understand. It was as if he had some job to finish. She was dead! Why wouldn’t it leave him alone!

Again he awakens into reality without knowing how he got there. He is standing in an alley holding a gun. He vaguely remembers talking to someone earlier that day and walking down the street, but he cannot remember what just happened or why he is holding a gun. He quickly scans the alley. It’s night and the alley is fairly clean despite the dumpster, but he doesn’t see any evidence of having shot anyone.

A soft voice and a silhouette interrupt his thoughts. The shadow moves forward submissively. “You are lost. You need help.” The statement seemed to be more fact than question. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“I don’t any help, Fragger. Get out of my way!” His voice was rough from disuse. How long had he been in that reverie? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Dammit! It was none of this guy’s business!

“You cannot remember. You have calling, but you ignore it. She is waiting.” The figure stepped into the little bit of light provided from the streetlight. A wolf skin covers his head and wraps around him. The man’s face is decorated with war paint. The stench of oils and herbs permeates the alley. The man is a shaman.

“A shaman couldn’t understand what I’m going through.” Shadow Walker’s face was twisted in a sneer.

“Ah. So, wolf cannot understand the call to the wild like the matrix calls to the decker?”  The shaman’s smile looked ghastly in the dim light. The word game was not as interesting as it had been to Eric, though.

“What do you want, Shaman?”

“Wolf wishes to help you find your way. Perhaps we could combine our knowledge. She calls for you. I can hear her. I will help you find her. She is not lost… yet.”

Shadow looks away for a moment, and then looks back up determinedly. “I accept.”

“Good. Then wolf will help you, but you must open yourself. Become one with world. Dog to woods, you to matrix. It is your calling. I come with you.”

“Alright, Wolf. I’ll show you the way to her. You just tell me what to do.” His eyes hardened as he turned away to head to his apartment.

The shaman looks at him almost pityingly. Then softly mumbles, “He does not know himself, or his destiny.”

A few hours later, the shaman enters the apartment with Shadow in tow. Shadow turns on the lights and heads for the kitchen table. “If you wish to join me, Wolf, then you will need this.” He hands the shaman a band with needles on the inside. It looks very painful, but the shaman nods. He places it on his head without wincing.

It’s time again. It’s time to find her. She will not brush me away this time. I must join her. But I must ready myself for this. The shaman will tell me why this has happened. Surely, he can tell me something.

There was a soft click as the jack slide into its slot in Shadow’s head. As the deck was turned on he was pulled into the world with no delay this time. It was as if something was pulling him. He was scared because had no control over it. He hit the keys futilely. Things finally stop in the clearing that he remembered from last time. Turning to survey things he looks at the shaman. The shock and terror on the shaman’s face was apparent.

The shaman suddenly slams the end of his staff into the ground; at least that’s what his thoughts are interpreted as. “You are not human. You do not know what you are and you refuse to see it. You are the one that’s the ghost. You take whatever form you choose, and you make whomever you choose. You lack for nothing and yet you never wonder why you never have to work for your food, worry about your shelter, and why you are never found. You took on the one form that in order to imitate it you had to become it, and you forgot. You forgot yourself!” The shaman laughed. “Look in the mirror… My Lord.” The shaman makes an extravagant.

Whether it was in response to the shaman or Shadow’s thoughts, a mirror appeared. A creature so large and intense that it seemed to dominate the space around it was reflected in the mirror’s surface. The glistening blue scales were almost blinding in their brilliance. Terrifying teeth created a gruesome smile. Claws the size of a human were attached to every toe. Wings that could cause tornadoes and a tail that could cause earthquakes, and worst of all were those eyes. The eyes that had seen so much, and remembered much more than any human ever could. Something that had never been seen by human eyes sat there, and he remembered…

In order to hide from those who would kill them, they became their own worst enemy.  Then, in doing so, they forgot who and what they were. His eyes became unclouded. He was a creature of a forgotten world and it was time to take back what the humans had taken. They had raped the world, and were killing it. He would feel the air on his wings, the fire on his breath, and he would be free to live without fear or anger. The humans would learn who the true masters of their world were.

“Finally, you’ve come to me, my darling.” Another majestic dragon, this time red, stood in place of where the mirror had been. “You only had to look inside of yourself to find me. Only my human shell died. Now, you are truly ready to follow me.”

“Oh, Changeling, it all makes sense now. Why I would hide here, ignore other people, and why I needed you more than anyone else. You are my mate… and have been for all these years. I keep forgetting when I become human. I… I don’t even know how old I am anymore. I am glad that we are together again. I am even gladder that we will take back what is rightfully ours from the humans. Long ago we were few, but through our many lives, we have grown in number. There are almost as many dragons as humans, aren’t there? We just can’t see them normally.” Despite the fierceness of his form, his eyes were thoughtful and he looked truly happy. “Oh, wait! Where is the shaman? He was the one who helped me find you.”

A clawed hand rested on his shoulder. “I’m still here. I am also one of you.” This dragon was beside him; this one was a deep purple. This one he knew very well. It was his father. He was always a guiding force in his life. For a moment he could forget all the pain the humans had caused his kind… no, he couldn’t turn his back now. He’d been waiting too many years to prove that the dragons were ready to be free once again.