BW! FY"Well, if it isn't the little lost lamb..." Celly chuckled. Susanne just stared at her like a deer caught in headlights. It had been ridiculously easy to find Hotohori no Otaku... one of them at any rate. Celly still couldn't pinpoint the location of the second Hotohori no Otaku. Celly's eyes widened in anticipation as she watched Susanne take a defensive stance. "Good, you're not going to make it too easy. I dislike boring games. I have no patience for them."

"Patience isn't the only thing you're not gonna have once I get through with you!" Susanne spat. Something in her had snapped when she had faced that looney Celly. Something inside her sang in joyous tones. Yes... the voices whispered. Fulfill your destiny... your purpose... fight... Fight... FIGHT!!! Susanne grinned as she listened to the voices. "Listen," she growled. "I've just about had it with you! You come outta nowhere, attack me, hurt my friends, threaten whomever you please... well it just ain't gonna be that way with me!" Susanne's aura flared a deep chocolate, flickering and flashing.

Celly smiled, nonplused by her opponent's threat. "Pretty words, but can you back it up? Actually... I'm not here to fight you... yet."

"Then what do you want, you psycho?!?"

"Psycho... loved that movie..." Celly mused, then turned her attention back to Susanne. "I'm here to tell you the truth. I am technically the Moderator, you know... I'm just Otaku as well. As Moderator it is my duty to inform the Otaku of their purpose in the Game."

Susanne's interest was piqued. She did want to know what the hell was going on, just so that she could be done with it all and go back home. She didn't know how much time had passed... she just wanted out. Now. Her aura simmered down and she relaxed her stance a little, but was still on guard. "Fine. Talk. I'll listen."

"Smart girl. You know you are Otaku, right?" A nod. "You know you have to fight for your Bishounen, right?" Nod. "And your Bishounen is Hotohori, right?" Nod. "Do you know why you must fight?" A pause. Celly smiled archly, as if divulging a secret. "You fight because They make you."

"What? That made no sense at all. 'They' make me?!? Do you watch the X-Files or something?!?"

"Yes. I do, on occasion. But really... They are the ones who write our actions. They are the ones who control our lives. We are nothing more than an amusing Game for Them." Susanne's faced belied the fact she didn't understand. Celly glided over to her, their faces inches apart. "Don't you see? Don't you understand?"

Her voice dropped to a malicious whisper. "You... Are... Not... Real..."

Susanne's face contorted with shock. Celly only smiled. "You're not real, I'm not real." Celly bent down and picked up a handful of dirt, letting it slip slowly through her fingers. "This whole damned world is NOT REAL. We are Their creations. Their playthings!"

"No..." Susanne whispered. Her thoughts reeled. No... it couldn't be true! She was real, damnnit! She was a living, breathing human being! She could feel pain and cold and... "My memories!" she suddenly cried out. "Mom... dad... my sister..." She turned her eyes on Celly. "You're lying damnnit! You're trying to screw with my head! I'm real! I'm alive! I have parents, friends, a home... I have memories! I'm ALIVE!!!"

"Merely written in by Them. To give you depth and character. Fiction. Nothing."

Susanne covered her ears with her hands. No! She was real... she could feel... she HAD to be real...

"This is your family, isn't it?" Celly's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Susanne's head snapped up and she gasped. There in front of her was the living room of her house. Her dad was sitting on the couch, watching the Channel 4 reports.

"We're going to the beach tomorrow, Susanne," he said to her. "Make sure to be ready to leave early, we don't want to get stuck in traffic." He returned to the TV, where the traffic reporter was saying something about an accident on the 405. Surprise, surprise.

"Hey, Suzy!!!" a voice bubbled. Susanne turned to see her blonde-haired little sister come bouncing in. "I just got some really cooooool ideas for a new Sailor Senshi! Come on! I wantcha to see 'em!"

"Susanne..." her mother's voice called. "Don't forget to get dinner started. And were we going to try to fit in a couple sets, too?"

"Suzy!!! Come on!!! I want you to see my pictures!!!"

Susanne looked at her sister's proffered hand. She reached out to take it but the instant their hands connected, the blonde little girl disappeared.

"No..."

The living room ripped, reality warped. Her father melted into a pile of goo while her mother simply evaporated. Everything spun dizzily. She could only watch as her house imploded on itself, disappearing in flash. Nothing was left... only blackness.

"No..." Susanne sobbed. "No. No. No. No. No. No...!!!" She fell on her knees, looking for any trace of her family, her home.

"Do you see? You are nothing."

Susanne spun as her anger and grief gathered. Her reality had been turned upside down. She didn't know what to do. She needed a target for all of her emotions. Her aura flared to levels unseen before, shooting out sparks of...

"Purple?" Celly thought, just before she heard Susanne's scream.

"BITCH!!!" she screamed, throwing out her hands. A bolt of energy ripped from her hands, slamming into the unsuspecting Celly. Susanne went out of control, unable to check any of her emotions. She let bolt after bolt of pulsing energy tear from her hands into Celly. The black-haired girl was buffeted by the blasts, tossed around like a rag doll, unable to for her own defense. "Bitch!!! You took them away! You're the one messing up my life!!! I never wanted this! I'll make you PAY!!!

TBC...