Arashi gazed at the skies above him, questioning the goal behind this game. Why had he been given the pendant? What force had sent him to a parallel dimension? And would it happen again? The only way he could think of that happening is if he defied the invisible set of rules written for him to follow. What those rules were, he had no clue. How he was expected to follow them, he was equally as clueless. If he was up against an enemy like Dominic, however, he would have to keep his guard up.
"Hey, wake up, sleepy head!" Saki exclaimed, nudging him playfully. The two were walking to Lavender Basin, as they had planned. "Geez, you're so dull. Taking a girl out on a date and falling asleep while walking with her? How lame!"
"This isn't a date..." Arashi said, blushing a bit. He didn't want to get Saki involved in this game if he could avoid doing so, especially if this version of her was already different from the one he was familiar with. If I'm destined by fate to play this game, I have to keep my friends out of danger...
"I said wake up!" Saki said again, noticing Arashi's daze increase. "Sheesh, you're gonna bump into something." He sighed. He considered looking at the pendant again, but at this point he already knew what he'd be seeing. There wasn't any more time to be asking stupid, pointless questions he already knew the answers to. All that was really left to answer was the question of where he would meet Dominic next.
As they arrived at Lavender Basin, a man with black hair wearing a red and white jacket stood by the entrance, reciting some odd poetry. "The autumn air, refreshing as it's there, remains cold, but warm, as it's old." He spoke in a refreshing, relaxing voice. "Yet still the sun will rise, to escort the ill into its greater skies. The weary will become more cheery, and the dead will become alive instead..." He smiled as Arashi and Saki approached him.
"Doesn't that perk your interests?" he asked them, "Should I go on?"
"I'll save the riddles for another time," Arashi declined. "Besides, I think that was enough Doctor Suessery for one day." The man shrugged.
"Suit yourself," he said. "Now, what brings you here to Lavender Basin? Surely you must have a reason, as not just anybody treks to a production studio just for tourism."
"I didn't question your obscure poetry, now did I?" Arashi asked. The man laughed.
"Touche, sir," he responded, "Touche. I'll allow you to be on your way. Perhaps we will meet again another day. That's all I have to say." The strange character chuckled as he walked past Arashi and Saki.
"He was interesting," Saki remarked. Arashi shook his head and entered the basin with his friend at his side.
"I'd rather not make any judgments against someone I don't know," Arashi stated. He looked around at the expensive recording equipment displayed through windows on each side of him. There wasn't any sign of Desiree here. It seemed as though his efforts would go in vain.
The floors and walls of the building was coated in a light purple tone, which was where the place got its name from. 'Lavender Basin' as it was called had been used for other purposes than recording for commercials. Aside from a renouned perfume distributor, it was also known for creating jewlery. The silver metals distributed by this company had a purple tint to them, and it was considered an eternal blessing if you gave your loved one a metal from this place.
Way to make me feel like shit, Desi... Arashi sighed as he glanced at the tint on the metal of his pendant. Averting his gaze from the shiny metals in the factory rooms, he saw a shadow ahead of him.
"Is that someone you know, Arashi?" Saki asked, following her friend's gaze toward the shadow.
"Unfortunately..." Arashi groaned. "Maybe we should leave." A clash of metal sounded from behind them, and the violet tint on the surface disappeared. It was soon replaced by a flashing red emergency light.
"What's going on?" Saki asked, unaware of what was happening. A siren sounded in the area. The building was placed on lockdown.
"Remain calm!" the voice over the loudspeaker said. Those two words were always a good sign. "The facilities have undergone a brief lockdown. Please remain stationary and calm until further notice!"
Screw that. Arashi knew that whoever was behind this was after his pendant, especially since it seemed to have been manufactured here. I know he's here for me. He took Saki's arm and pulled her away toward the entrance of the building. And I'm not letting him hurt her!
A pair of shadows emerged from the surface. One held a knife, the other held a gun. The one holding a gun aimed the gun at Arashi, while the one with the knife charged at him. The shadows resembled humans, with forms similar to Arashi's and Saki's. Shadows. They're obviously Dominic's. He looked around for something to fight back with. There wasn't any writing on the walls, nor was there any sort of colored silhouette of a companion for him. He was entirely on his own.
"What's going on, Arashi? I'm scared!" Saki cried, clinging to his arm.
"Don't worry," he told her, "We'll make it out of here."
The shadows closed in closer to them. There were more than just two of them now. The shadows were multiplying. With each additional shadow, Arashi could see a distortion in their shapes. They're not real, he told himself. With that in mind, I have nothing to fear. He pulled Saki forward as he ran through the shadows. They collapsed as he made impact with them.
"Wow, that was amazing!" Saki cheered as she and Arashi arrived on the upper level of the basin. "How'd you know they were harmless?"
"Better question..." Arashi said with suspicion in his voice, "How did you?" His judgment pierced through the shadow of Saki that stood before him, as did his fist. He punched through the darkness surrounding her, and it shattered, just like the other shadows. "Show yourself, Dominic. I'm not here to play games."
"So you knew all along, didn't you?" Dominic's voice echoed in the darkness. "You knew from the very beginning that she wasn't really there?"
"I caught on somewhere along the way," Arashi answered. "After all, why would anything keep me happy when I've lost what's most important to me?"
"How vain," Dominic said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Doth thou care for any other than himself?"
"It sounds selfish from the outside, I know," Arashi said, "But on the inside, it holds more meaning than anything else could."
"You deserve to be crushed," Dominic taunted. "And so you will, beneath this darkness."
"Guide me," Arashi said, somehow summoning Kiri from behind him. The girl's pink hair spread out behind her as she exited the shadows. "And before you ask, I know she's still alive."
"Your friend?" Dominic asked, "Or your lover?"
"Both of them," he said. "Because just like the Saki you took from me, the Desiree you took from me wasn't the real one either."
"How vigilant," Dominic said, impressed. "A galaxy of clones, is that what this is to you?"
"The real ones all exist in one dimension," Arashi said, "The one where I belong." He looked to Kiri. "Now stand down. I don't want to hurt you."
"After all the spite I've granted you?" Dominic asked, "I really will kill you, you know.
"So be it," Arashi said. "If that's how I'm destined to die, by your hand, then kill me. Right here, right now." Kiri raised her sword, as if she was prepared to fight back. "Just like the shadows down there... If I was really going to die, I would have done so back there."
"You vain fool!" Dominic scoffed, raising his head. "You're truly prepared to die?"
"You don't have the guts." Arashi taunted his foe. "And if you do, then the answer is yes."
"Very well," Dominic growled, "Then you shall never see the light of day again!" He held his arm in the air, the ring on his finger radiating darkness from the lotus in the center of it.
