[mirage]
                                                     seen by Ducky



   mirage (mi räzh') n. an optical illusion, caused by the 
   refraction of light, in which a distant object appears  
   nearby 



                              ('What do you dream of?')


     (She blinked.  The question had come from out of the blue.)

              ('Having a family ... being happy.')

                       (His smile was perfect.  But his eyes ...)  

('That's a good dream.')

               (She smiled faintly.)



                                    [act 03: inquisition // begin]



The silence was unnerving.

Makoto fidgeted in the bed, watching Haruka standing in the middle 
of the room.  Listening on her cell phone.  She hadn't spoken in a
while.  That wasn't a good sign.

  'Okay.  Be careful.'

The phone clicked shut.  She didn't turn around.  

Curiosity, however, was killing Makoto.

  'Haruka?'

She finally turned to her.  Saw her try to hide her emotions.  But 
it was too late.  And knowing that Haruka was afraid completely 
terrified her.

  'What happened?'

Haruka didn't answer immediately.  She slid her hands into her 
pockets.  Thinking.

The silence was making her itch.

Just as Makoto was going to ask again, Haruka spoke.

  'There were three other cases.  All of them occurred within this
   month.  They're at the last one.'

Her gaze lifted.  Looking her straight in the eye.

  'The first two died a week after they were admitted to the 
   hospital.'

Makoto stopped breathing.

     Oh god.

But Haruka wasn't finished.

  'The last one was the most recent.  She had been admitted to the
   hospital 10 days ago. Her health worsened each day.  The 
   doctors thought she was going to die.'

Haruka shifted in her seat.

  'But on the seventh day, three days ago, she woke from her coma. 
   Perfectly fine.'  

Haruka watched as incredulous disbelief, then horror pass over 
Makoto's face.

  'That was ...'

Haruka nodded.

     The same day of Usagi's incident.

  'Oh dear.'

Hotaru and Michiru took in the small room with wide eyes.  There 
were clouds everywhere.  Every inch of the room was covered with 
pictures of clouds.    

It was unnerving.

  'Who are you?'

They turned, spotting the small figure sitting on the floor.  
Staring at them. Dark eyes starkly contrasted with her pale face.  
Almost otherworldly.

Hotaru stepped forward.  Slowly.  Not wanting to startle her.

  'My name is Tomoe Hotaru.'  

Wondering if she could understand.  

  'We went to school together.'

She just stared at her.   

Hotaru looked to Michiru in askance.  A furrowed brow marred the 
older woman's face.  Trying to reach out, to feel the girl's
presence, but

Nothing.

She couldn't sense anything.  That worried her all the more.

Hotaru tried again.

  'I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.'

She crouched down in front of her.  The blank gaze followed.

  'Yuki ... can you tell me what happened 10 days ago?'

Dark eyes blinked.  Staring through her.

     This is going nowhere.

  'These pictures are beautiful.'

Both Hotaru and Yuki turned to her.  

  'You haven't been there, have you?'

They almost didn't hear her.  The soft, lofty voice unnatural for 
a girl her age.

Michiru kept her own voice quiet.  Gentle, curious.  

  'Been where?'

Yuki turned away.  Staring at her pictures.

  'The Ideal.'

Michiru and Hotaru exchanged glances.

  'Is this what the ... Ideal ... looks like?'

She started to nod.  But changed her mind.  Shook her head.

  'No.'

Dark eyes suddenly sparkled.

  'It's even more beautiful.  Like a dream.'

A very unladylike snort.

  'Bullshit.'

Haruka felt her temper starting to flare and had to consciously 
control her growing annoyance with Makoto.  The girl was being 
incredibly stubborn and her own patience was thin due to lack of 
sleep.

  'It's not safe for you to get out of bed.'

The fifth time.

  'It's not gonna be safe for *you* to keep me in this bed.'  

Haruka turned.  Fixed her with a hard stare. 

  'You threatening me?'

For a moment, Haruka thought the younger girl would take up the 
challenge.  In her own state of mind, she would have welcomed it.

But Makoto looked away. 

  'I can't just lie here and do nothing.'

Haruka heard the frustration.  Knew the feeling.  Sighed.

  'I know.  But we don't have our powers and it wouldn't do any 
   good if we've got to worry about you too.' 

Speaking from experience.  

     Scared the shit out of Michiru.

     Scared the shit out of me, seeing her cry.

The memory triggered another image.  Michiru crying.  But not in 
relief. 

     It all comes back to me, doesn't it?  

     I was the idiot, the scared little punk that chose the easy
     way out. 

     Who chose to run away.

     But now, I have a second chance.  Completely inappropriate 
     situation, but a chance all the same.

  'So what do we do?'

The five of them were congregated outside, trying to piece 
everything together.  Yuki had said nothing else, only staring 
into nothing, a strange dreamy look on her face.  The others had 
talked with Yuki's mother, but they were left empty-handed.

Rei bit her lip.  

  'Was there any drugs involved?'

Ami shook her head.

  'Records said she was clean.  No drugs, no injuries ... it was 
   like she was just -'

  'Sleeping.'

They turned to Michiru.  She had been quiet ever since she and 
Hotaru had emerged from the cloud-paneled room. Now she looked at 
them with understanding dawning in her eyes.

  'She was dreaming.  And in her dreams ... she was in the Ideal.'

Hesitant glances were passed.

      How can I explain this?

  'Have you ever had a dream that seemed too real?  A dream where 
   you were convinced that it was reality and when you woke up you 
   didn't know if you were still dreaming?'

Silence.  Thinking.

  'I couldn't sense anything from her.  She was empty.'

      Like a part of her was missing.

Realization started to appear.

  'But she came out of the dream just in time.'

  'But how did that happen?'

  'And why her? Why Usagi?'

  'There has to be a connection, a link between all of them.'

  'There must be someone behind this.'

  'We have to figure out how to stop this.'

     But how?  



                                            ('What's your dream?')

      (The gleam disappeared from his eyes.)

                    ('My dream?')

                 (He blinked. Thinking.  Then simply)

                        ('To help others fulfill their dreams.')

        (Curiosity was turning into uneasiness.)


           ('You can do that?')

   (He nodded.  Smiling maniacally.)

                     (The gleam had returned.)



                                      [act 03: inquisition // end]



 

Ducky
20 June 2003 - 27 June 2003