"Dreamligter, you must come back to us"
"Why do you keep calling me Dreamlighter??"
"Because you are the Dreamlighter.."
"No I'm not"
"Yes you are...You are the protecter of good dreams....The protecter of humankind.."
"Humankind...?"
"Lina! I really wish you would stop falling asleep all of the time!!"
"Huh..?"
"And you wonder why they always give you detentions!"
Lina reluctantly raised her head off of her deck and stared at a very impatient Amelia. It had only been week since she came to her new school and she had enough detentions to last her the next two years!!
"This is study hour...not nap time"
"Sorry Amelia, but it just happens"
"Yeah I can tell!"
Amelia sighed as she dug in her pocket for a piece of candy.
"Here, maybe this will wake you up" she handed the older girl the candy, who in return, gluped it down happily.
"Thanks Amelia!"
She stared at Lina for a few second before asking "What do you be dreaming about?"
Lina's smile dropped....
"It's OK" Amelia said when she saw her friend's expression "You don't have to talk about if you don't want to. But if you do, you know I'll listen"
"Thanks"
After taking a quick look at her watch, Amelia gathered up her things and walked out of the classroom.
"See ya at lunch!"
Lina sometime envied her always active friend. Being a Teacher's Aid always made sure she had something to do. But she also got to leave class early! Now that's what Lina thought was the best part! She had almost considered signing up to be a TA herself, that is until reality hit her upside the head! The teachers pick who they want to be their TA, and most of the teachers didn't see her( to put it mildly)in the best light. She had a funny feeling that they hated her. Sure sometimes she talked back, and the "sleeping in class" thing didn't help matter much......
"The only one that seems to like me is that nut, Mr Xelloss" she shuttered at the thought of her crazy biology teacher. Maybe it was his eyes that urked her so much, she had never actually seen them.
"What a Fruitcake" she muttered to no one in particular.
After the bell rang she sleeply walked out the class with one question on her mind......
"I wonder if anyone remembers it's my birthday?"
"C'mon! C'mon!!"
"Ok Amelia I'm comin', I'm comin'!"
Somehow Lina had agreed to come to the pet shop with Amelia to look at the new display of kittens that had just arrive. It really wasn't Lina's idea of a good time, but there was a new ice shop next door. So to Lina it was a win/win situration....
"Oh aren't they just soooo adorable?!"
Or not.....
"Come on Amelia! I've already finished my icecream and I've seen enough sweet cuddly creatures to give me cavities! Can we go now?!"
She looked at her watch before relying "No not yet"
"And why do you keep lookin' at your watch every five minutes?!"
"Cause'......"
"Cause' why?"
"Cause'.........Wow!! Aren't these bunnies just sooo cute?"
"Amelia!" Lina patients were running thin.
"Ok" she said finally "Let's go to your house a get something to eat"
"Now you're talkin' my language!"
"Humm....I guess Luna isn't home from work yet"
"Yeah" Amelia agreed " Owning a resturant must be a lot of work"
The two girl had just arrive to the house to find no one was there.
"You would think that she would at least come home early for my birthday" she said unlocking the door.
"Well maybe she has a good exuse"
"Yeah right Amelia. What kinda exuse would - "
"SURPRISE!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"
Lina looked around in amazement at the beautifully decorated livingroom and the people responcible for it!
"Gourry! Sylphiel! Sis! You all did this for me?!"
"Yep" Gourry said happily "And tonight your sister's lettin' us have a big party here!"
Lina suddenly felt light-headed with happiness!
"Oh you guys are so - "
But she could finish her sentence. It was as if the room had started to spin! She couldn't see straight....everything was blurry! All she knew was that she was falling twords the floor....and blacking out.
"LINA!!!!"
"What's goin' here??"
Lina opened eyes and that she was no longer in her living room, but in a strange place. A familar place....
"Where am I?"
"You'er in Dreamscape, Dreamlighter"
"Stop calling me that!!"
She quickly turned twords the "oh so familar" voice and gasped. Out of the shadows stepped a young man in an unusual white suit. It reminded her of the ones that princes wore. At least the ones in Amelia's story books(she liked that kinda thing) that she always carried around. But that's not the thing about him that made her gasp: his skin was blue! And he had stones on his skin!!
"Do you have a problem with the way I look??" he had a hint of threat in his voice...
"I....I.. no I don't" she tried to regain her self control and was failing miserably!
"Well....?"
"It's just that this is the first time I've ever seen you clearly.....your not what I exepted.."
His eyes stared sharply at hers as a respones to her last statement. His eyes were very familiar to her. they were like saphires. Almost like Zelgadiss'. But this wasn't Zel, at least she didn't think is was...
"What did you expect??" he said angerly walking twords her "A tall muscular blond?? A princy lookin' guy??"
Her thoughts instantly went to a certain dumb blond....
"No not really" she said shaking the though out of her head " The truth is I thought you would look like a boy I know. Ya sound alot like him. Guess it was dumb to think ya would look like him"
Yep Zelgadiss had unusually pale skin and dark purple hair like Mr Xelloss. But this guy.......
"Come" he said changing the subject.
She followed him down the erie golden path that layed before them. She was going to asked him were he was taking her until she heard a familar voice.....
"You can not stop Dreamlighter!!"
"Oh my god......" she breathed
There in horisen stood two figures. The one that was surrounded by dark waves had short aqua hair and piercing blue eyes while the other, the one that was surounded by a beautiful light......looked just her! (can anyone say "Twilight Zone"??)
"This is just a memory from the past....your past"
Lina looked up to see the blue guy standing next to her. She had almost forgotten he was there...
"My past....." she said tasting the words.
They almost seemed....right...
"You must stop her" he said laying his eyes on her "You must stop the Dreamdarker"
"I....I......I...." she couldn't form the words. This was all to much for her!
"You must stop your sister Martina from destroying the blance of the Dream. She is already starting. Don't let her finish!"
He held out his hand and a blue and pink staff miteralized. He handed her the staff and said softly "We need you...please take the Yume Staff"
Lina fingered the strange object in her hand. The heart shape at the end of it gave her chills when she touched it.
"Don't worry...we'll help you" he touched her hand and gave her a reasuring half-smile.
"Ok...." she said smiling back "But...but who are you?"
"My name is Dreamcloud"
"Lina?"
Lina felt a hand gently touch her face. When she started to move her eyelids the hand jerked away.
"Lina are you Ok?"
She opened her eyes to find a conserned looking Gourry staring at her.
"Whaz up?" she managed to squeek out
"Oh! Your Ok!" relief washed over the young man's face
"Yeah I fine" said she sitting up in her bed "Just fainted I guess"
"That's what your sister said" he responed looking down "I was kinda worried..."
"You were?!" she said in suprised
"Yeah I was"
Suddenly she heard the sound of music coming from down stairs.
"What's goin' on down there?" she got out of her bed and went to the door
"The party. Your sister said that you would be pissed if she cancled it so she let everyone come thinkin' that you would wake up eventually"
"That's right!" came a voice from the hallway.
Luna walked into the room with a smile on her face
"Look who's wake! See I told you she would be alright. Ya didn't havta stay by her side the whole time"
"By my side??" Lina whispered looking at Gourry "How long was I out?"
"About two hours" her sister answered
"Two HOURS!!!???" she cried "You stayed with me for TWO HOURS????!!!"
"Well sorta...." the young soccor player said with a blush "I got up once for pizza and twice to go to the bathroom"
Lina felt her face turn beet red! He had stayed with her all that time!
"Here" Luna said handing her a box " It's your birthday present"
Lina opened the box and pulled out the contents. It was a pink party dress with matching pink socks.
"I usually like red....." she started to say but saw Luna's evil-eye and quickly add" but I LOVE this even more"
When she saw her sister smile she knew it was now safe to breath.
"Then put it on" the older girl said pushing Gourry out the door "I want all of your friends to see you it!"
After they left and closed the door, Lina stared at the dress it front of her.
"It looks like something Amelia would wear...."
And something gave here the feeling the Amelia was the one that helped her sis pick it out.....
"Oh well" she said taking off her uniform "Either this or getting killed"
When she slipped on the dress she found that it really wasn't half bad. The purplish bow in th front actually made her chest look bigger! And the rest of the dress fit great too!
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Thinking that it was her sister she opened the door. But to her suprise it wasn't her sister, it was -
"Zelgadiss??"
"Uh...hi" he said looking at his feet "Can I come in?"
"Yeah sure" she said letting him past "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for the party"
"You? I thought you hated me!"
"I don't. You just get on my nerves"
"Then why are you here??"
"Gourry invited me. Actually he invited the whole soccor team"
"Wha...."
"And your other two friends invited the TA team"
"In other words since I don't have any of my own friends, they invited their friends"
"Yeah pretty much"
"I hope you at least got me a present" she said flopping on to the bed
"I had no choice acording to Gourry" he handed her a long rectangular box.
She had to blush at all the things that the dumb soccor player had done. After all she still thought he was cute, an idiot, but cute none the less....well maybe not such an idiot as she previously thought. She was so deep in thought that she didn't see Zelgadiss silently close and lock the door.....
"Well aren't you going to open it?"
"Sure, sure" she greedly ripped the wrappings off of the box and threw it open. The second she saw it's contents she gasped and dropped it on the ground....
"Your going to be needing it...." Zelgadiss said softly
Out rolled from the fallen box was the Yume Staff!
"Oh my god....." Lina breathed "..it wasn't a dream"
"Yes it was....." Zelgadiss said picking the staff from the ground " ..but dreams can be just as real as reality"
He gently placed the staff in her hand and stepped away. The young girl looked at the staff in disbelief. When she looked back up she saw the Zelgadiss was no long there but in his place was Dreamcloud.
"Your Zel aren't you" she asked
"Yes I am" he answered looking into her eyes "And now your mission has begun....."