'She's an angel in her sleep.' Millie thought as he stared lovingly down at her sleeping form. He stroked her hair. Millie was sitting beside her on the bed. He had stayed with her till slumber called and her lids grew heavy and she drifted away in his arms. He smiled. So much like the time before. If he closed his eyes this world would disappear and their lives would be normal once again--well, as normal a life as they could lead. "My sweet Vic..." He bent low and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

She stirs and wearily opens her eyes. "You're still here?" she remarked. "I thought you would have gone by now."

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know. But I'm glad you're here." Nyx noticed the white gold band which hung around Milton's neck as a pendant. "What's this?" Her fingers grazed agaisnt the surface of the ring. Nyx sat up and proceeded to examine it.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes. But I don't get it. It's too small to fit your finger. It's a woman's ring." Her voice grew softer, almost in a whisper. "It looks like a..."

The gleam in Millie's eyes betrayed his placid expression. He got up and walked to the window where the afternoon sun played against his golden skin.

Nyx's throat suddenly went dry.

"It belonged to my wife." He turned to her. His eyes took on a somber hue. "She was taken from me."

"Gomen ne." After a moment... "I had a strange dream, that I was back in L.A. I mean for real this time. I wonder if any of the others remember what lives they led before all of this began. I know I'm not alone on this."

"You shouldn't dwell on it too much."

"We were... um... together in our world, weren't we? We had something going, right?"

"Yes, something." Millie kept a straight face. He looked from her to the cold wood flooring of the room. He could not stare into her eyes any longer. With each word he spoke next, his mind sat idle as his heart imploded. "But i don't think it's wise if we continue."

Nyx was totaly caught off guard and replied almost in suprise. "You don't?" Then she caught herself. "Oh, me either."

"I shouldn't have... what happened this afternoon will not happen again. I give you my word. My word is my honor."

"Alright."

Nyx had not the faintest inkling as to the level of strength it took for her companion to get through those few lines. But he had made up his mind.

He would not turn back on his word.

Nyx threw the covers bcak and jumped up. Millie abruptly turned away, out of respect to her for she only had on a long black shirt. Nyx quickly wriggled into her clothes and threw on her trench.

"Well, let's not waste our time here. Let's go find Celly. Maybe then we'll locate the other Otaku and whoopass!" Nyx was eager to get back into the game.

"Where do we start looking?"

"If I fall into Hammerspace enough times, there's possibility that I will end up in Castle Anthrax sooner or later. She's bound to be there." Nyx grinned. "Come on."

"What about Seth?"

"Let him sleep off his sake."

Millie and Nyx entered Hammerspace to try their luck.

TBC................