A Door that Opens Part 5

Previous: A Door that Opens Part 4

''Nikk stood at the bottom of a very tall hill, one that had the most red grass she had ever seen. In fact, everything was red there. The tree branches were a slightly darker shade of red, the sky was a bright, bright red, some would even call it pink. Cardinals flocked away from the tree as they saw Nikk's movement, but all of the cardinals combined to make one gigantic cardinal, who also continued to fly. She looked at this with a face that was a mixture of intrigue, and ambiguity. She looked down toward the other side of the hill to see a running river of blood-colored water. She couldn't help but admire how evenly it flowed down from a little crook in the maroon-colored rocks above, down onto the sandy red mud and into a small little stream down toward a crimson lake. Then there were the leaves on the scarlet willows, so divine in their beauty, so smooth and swaying. That's when she saw it, a piercing blue light in the midst of the lake, there stood someone that looked very much like Alice, only she was clad in a very different dress than before.''

''She stood in a graceful stance, her hands to either side of her, and her nose raised toward the sky. Her eyes were closed, and she stood silent as the light emitted from her all around. She stood there in sweet bliss, her dress was that of great royalty, all made out of a fine blue fabric like mink with a golden trim. Her tiara was now more like a real crown. It was a beautiful white gold with a sapphire tear-drop gem in the center of it. ''

Nikk: Alice?

''This made the girl's eyes open wide, and stare directly at Nikk. The simple bright blue color of her eyes convinced Nikk that this was not Alice. ''

Nikk: Who are you?

''The girl grinned at her and raised up her hand, which glowed a dark blue. ''

????:You're the reason I am free now... You're the reason I came to be in this world.

Nikk: You didn't answer my question...

Alys: I'm Alys, and now I shall be Queen of Wonderland. Then, when I rule on high in both the red kingdom and the white kingdom, you shall be the reason I escape this world, and conquer all of the seas of your world.

''Nikk wasn't quite paying attention at that moment, she was too busy scribbling something down in a notepad. There was a long pause, a pause that annoyed Alys quite a bit. ''

Nikk: How's this? [held up a drawing of a stick figure with a crown and a dress while it's on fire]

Alys: Don't mock me! You'll pay for your insubordination! [Opens her hands toward Nikk and unleashes a gigantic, white dragon that materializes out of absolutely nowhere, and flies directly toward her]

''Nikk wasted no time in putting her hands out to either side of herself. ''

Nikk: Osore! Bukkakou! [Created a gigantic black serpent's head that seemed to be made of an oozing ebony muck. She unleashed the full length of the gigantic black reptile.]

''To Alys's surprise, the White Dragon was spattered all over its maw with the black, oozing waste of the oily serpent. Before long it was entirely engulfed. The now-black dragon stopped in its steps, and turned around, back toward Alys. ''

Alys: What... ?

With no warning, it charged back straight toward the so-called "Queen of Wonderland."

Alys: No! [held up both hands and caused golden chains to bind the dragon to the ground. It struggled, chomping at Alys as it was under Nikk's control.]

''With no more use for it, Alys quickly put her hand on the very tip of its maw, and in no time, it began to shine underneath the black muck. In an instant, the dragon was decimated. The flares and sparks flew, and the great, red lake calmed down with the two of them staring each other down. ''

''Before Usagi knew it, she was in a small raft boat with two paddles on either side of her. So many sights to see in such a new world. Was this THE New World? She didn't remember anyone mentioning a lizard man having a serious talk with a bee, while both of them wore rain jackets. She floated down the river, and while the lizard and the bee were intrigued sights, indeed, she happened upon a stone that tried to come up with jokes off the top of its... head? The stone had a face carved in the side of it, and it kept talking... and talking. ''

Stone: Why is peanut butter different from jam? You can't peanut butter your thumb in someone's eye! Hahaha! Thank you, thank you, I'm here forever... Now then... why---

''Usagi was somewhat glad to be rowing away from that one there. Then, that's when she heard a very calm, soothing music in the air. In fact, it was very much cultured toward her own homeland, if maybe a little heavy toward the flute. She rowed closer toward the beautiful music, she passed many small bits of land that stuck out of the water, many of them with flowers that looked deflated. The grass, however, was the brightest green she had ever seen. Then, to her surprise, sakura blossoms began to fall. All around her they fell and floated atop the water. They were as pink as her hair, and flowed so evenly with the wind, that if someone were to tell her that this was, indeed a dream world, she would believe them undeniably. That was when she came to the music, it was being played from a record player. And who was this young lady sitting on a blanket on the shore of a smaller isle in the middle of a seemingly endless ocean?''

''She sat peacefully on the blanket, her eyes closed, and her tea set across the blanket in front of her. She poured herself another cup of sake, and slowly sipped it, admiring the taste.''

Usagi: Excuse me... [Stepping out of her raft and onto the shore of the island.] Do you know where we are?

''Sakura simply opened her eyes toward Usagi, at least acknowledging her existance. She sipped her sake some more, the steam from the sake going a good ways up before dissipating. That was when Usagi began to take a closer look at the sword Sakura wore on her side. It was an absolutely gorgeous sword, an O Wazamono, a very rare type, indeed. She noticed that the young lady was also admiring Migoto Hoshi at Usagi's side. ''

Usagi: I'm... sorry? Did I interrupt you?

Sakura: No, I was beginning to bore of this anyway, I'm happy you happened along. To answer your question, yes, I know exactly where we are [sip].

Usagi: Oh?

Sakura: The dream world, as there is no other explanation.

Usagi: Yes, I assumed something was wrong when I saw a fly eat a venus fly trap whole.

Sakura: [sip] And as such, my boredom can easily be satiated...

Usagi: Your boredom? What would satiate y-- [In an instant, Sakura's sword was out, along with Usagi's and directly in front of each other, their swords clashed.]

''Usagi held her sword and sheathe with the blade only partially exposed, just enough to catch the attack in time. Her arms felt as if they would tremble under the pressure of Sakura's slash. With that one attack, both fighters gauged one another's strength. Sakura jumped back as Usagi unsheathed her sword completely and sliced toward her. Their stances were very different, while neither of them left any visible openings, they both noticed an obvious difference in training. ''

Usagi: What are you doing??!

Sakura: You agreed, this is the dream world. Since I am bored and dreaming, I wish to use my time more wisely. If I can train in my sleep, then the world will be my oyster.

Usagi: But you don't understand! I'm not-- [Held up her sword once again to catch Sakura's oncoming slice, just barely holding her at bay.]

Sakura: Itoryuu: Jinsoku Oni...

''Gaining up a great amount of strength, Sakura was able to plow straight through Usagi's defence and force her to dive to the side as the blade cut a shallow bleeder on the side of her cheek. She had had enough! The swordswoman of the Daro Daro family sheathed her sword and prepared for the next strike before Sakura could fully even turn around. ''

Usagi: ItoryuuIai! Rakugaki!

''Usagi lunged at her with her sword a simple blurr of traces in the air, and Sakura actually putting forth a good amount of effort to block each and every one at the exact point that they appeared. Their blades moved with amazing bright flashes reflecting the light around them before Usagi finally caught their blades together in a battle for strength and endurance. Finally, both of them actually moved around one another, their sword blades sliding off of one another, causing Usagi to catch herself on one hand and flip in the air twice before landing on her feet and facing down her new opponent. ''

''That was when Dracule Sakura's sleeve cleanly sliced open. As this happened, a very small grin appeared on Sakura's face. Before Usagi could even ask another question, Sakura spoke.''

Sakura: Life is good...

A Door that Opens Part 6