>>"Roger," she finally managed to say, "you packed a Pete Townshend signature Strat in my HammerSpace?" Roger just grinned.<<



In a place that is Somewhere and Nowhere, just before Anaera whups the tar out of the gang...



She was exhausted.

Despite the knowledge she held as Moderator, she could do nothing against the unstoppable force that wrote her actions and twisted her will. So now she was trapped here on the astral plane... trapped in her own mind, while another wore her body and used it for her own ends.

I don't want to kill...

~Too bad.~

Why are you doing this to me?

~Because I can.~

Why didn't you let me explain?

~Because then it wouldn't be fun!~

You won't win. I won't let you.

~How are you going to stop me?~

How was the question. Here on the astral plane she had no access to her powers. She couldn't even stay in control of her body! But a flash of inspiration struck her. She was trapped here, yes. She could not inform the other Otakus, yes... but...

The rules that cannot be broken, can surely be bent...

With her last waning amount of strength, will and power, the Moderator searched for a familiar presence... and pulled.

Then the darkness claimed her.



After the battle...

The sound of clapping filled the street. Anaera, Orpheus, Susanne and the human Roger all turned to see a lanky figure in the shadows, leaning against the wall of a building. They all tensed, not knowing the purpose of the interuption.

"Oh bravo..." the smooth voice announced. "I've never seen anyone use a guitar with that kind of skill before. Do you play tennis?"

"Who are you?" Anaera demanded.

"Yeah, we're tired of getting jumped by loonies all the time," Susanne added, still clutching the guitar.

The figure stiffened as he heard the word "loonies" and growled low in his throat. "Don't you dare call her a looney, little girl. You have no idea what's going on in the big picture of things. Ce-ko isn't herself."

"Ce-ko...?" Roger mumbled to himself. Then his eyes widened in recognition. "Dionysus?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows and mocked a bow. "In the flesh."

Anaera and Susanne's jaws dropped.

Dionysus was... he was...

He was a tall, lanky man but they could sense the power he had within him. He wore a strange white outfit with a shirt that wrapped around the pants and had a hole cut out, exposing his bellybutton and toned stomach. His pants ended at a pair of ankle-length black boots. His chin-length white hair was streaked with black and swished whenever he moved his head. He also had really long bangs that reached the middle of his chest. His silver-grey eyes twinkled mischieviously.

And a crescent moon adorned his brow.

"Why do I get stuck with people who can't form complete sentences around me?" Dionysus grinned at the two girls. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"Lay off the flirting, Dionysus," Roger snapped, blocking him from Susanne. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Uh... do you two know each other?" Orpheus asked.

"You could say that," Dionysus answered. He winked at Anaera, who shut her mouth and blushed, much to Orpheus' annoyance. "When you're a Guardian, you tend to run into other Guardians from time to time."

"You-- you're a Guardian too?" Susanne asked. "Whose?" Whoever she is, she's damned lucky, was her unspoken thought.

"I'm Ce-ko... uh, Celeste's Guardian."

"WHAT?!?" came from everyone but Roger, who merely shook his head in disgust.

"You're the Guardian of that harpy from Hades?!?"

Dionysus' eyes flashed and he soon held a sword at Anaera's throat. "I warned you before... never refer to Ce-ko in that way ever again."

"Dionysus! Back off! If you had seen the way Celly's been acting--"

"She isn't Ce-ko."

"What are you talking about?" Roger asked crossly. "We all saw her. She's snapped. And what are you doing here? You know you you were stripped of your position because of your... involvement with Celly."

Dionysus cursed under his breath and his sword slipped back into HammerSpace. "I'm here because of the Moderator. I told you before, it isn't Ce-ko! She's being moved by some force. It's like another person wearing a Celeste mask."

"Why would Celly, uh... the Moderator, call you Dionysus?" Orpheus asked. "The Moderator is not supposed to involved in the Game and Guardians aren't supposed to leave their charges."

"I'm here by proxy. Sort of to take the Moderator's place since she can't do her job anymore," Dionysus' voice was laced with anger and sadness. He was hiding something. "Anyway, everyone else's Guardians showed up. Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you were stripped of your position!" Roger yelled. "Don't you get it? You're not a Guardian anymore! And it was all because you--"

Dionysus turned angrily on Roger. "Don't you dare go there, buddy boy! My life is MY LIFE... not yours! And my life was Ce-ko! You were all a narrow-minded bunch of bakayaros in the first place!"

"What's going on here?" Susanne asked Anaera, perplexed. The two Guardians were yelling at each other openly now, and in each other's faces.

Anaera only shrugged. "Orphy? Do you know what's going on?"

The mouse only shook his head sadly. "I know. All Guardians know. But it isn't my place to tell. Only Dionysus and Celeste have the right to tell if they wish. Roger shouldn't have brought it up in the first place."

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Susanne asked.

TBC...