The Dream Shifter

Chapter 250

New questions surfaced for Photine. She felt like their fight disappeared further from her grasp. 'Is this the other personality that she spoke about? I went with it since it made matters simpler at the time, but if it is true there's another personality inside. What happened to cause this change? She reminds me of how she was when I first fought her…' Photine needed new answers. Her opponent kept changing. She wished she actually understood her. It was the only way to win. "Are you claiming not to be Masa?"

"I don't know a Masa. My name is Yumi, not Masa."

"Different names?" It made her eyes narrow. 'She's not lying from the look of it. So the one before was telling the truth? Two completely distinct personalities…' The thought brought a bit of a smirk to her face. The situation changed back to her favor. "So you're the original? Whichever, I have you surrounded. There's nothing you can do to resist me! You mine now!"

In spite of her injuries, Photine bore out confidence in her words. She could still stand and move, though slowly. However, she did not need to do anything to capture Yumi. She knew the situation better after Yumi revealed her identity. Everything was in her hands.

She tightened the position of the weapons on Yumi. Photine wanted Yumi to pay for everything she did, but with her emotions back in check, she knew what needed to happen. The images of infirmary still haunted her and challenged her, however she resisted. 'Death is too easy,' she agreed.

Yumi still felt confused with the question. 'Why'd she think I was called Masa? Is it because of the other person? She was trying to kill her…' Pieces of her jumbled memories came back to her. Everything when she woke was hazy. She did not understand everything. She only understood one thing. The feeling of wanting to kill alerted her. It was a terrible dark feeling she never felt before, but somehow understood. She recognized it.

Photine tried to conclude their fight, but Yumi was not willing to accept. 'My barrier doesn't work… I need something else…' She moved her hand to act. A tinge of pain bolted down her arm. Previously sustained injures made her realize more happened while she was unconscious. She pushed through the faint stings to focus on her goal. 'I just need to crush them, like before. Then I can counter her…'

Her mind started planning ahead of what her moves would be. She remembered the bits from her first fight with Photine. The tactics and abilities the woman wielded worked into her strategy. Yumi knew she needed to keep in mind the dangerous potential of their power. It slowed her down, but did not stop her from making calculations.

However, she got ahead of herself.

It was not doing anything. 'What?!' She squeezed her hand thinking the physical action would make a difference. Nothing happened regardless of her effort. Her eyes widened again realizing the meaning. 'I can't crush them. My power is gone.'

Yumi looked over at Photine, while trying to hide her reactions. The awkward stifled look in her eyes failed to protect her. She caught sight of a knowing smirk from the woman. 'She did something. Is that what she was referring to before? How did she seal my power?' Her hand lowered to her side.

"Reconciled yourself finally?" Photine took a couple steps forward. Blood dripped from her ignored wounds. Nearby her feet, the ground suddenly cratered and then swelled. Out of the earth, a wood block appeared with two metal poles embedded at the top. Their shape indicated they supported or held something, but nothing was present. "This will end your troublesome ways for good."

Light sprung from the air above the block. Chunks disappeared from the arid rock gathering into the light. It slowly expanded.

Yumi did not know what Photine had planned, but she did not want to wait to find out. She frantically looked around her for ideas. 'She sealed my powers…but when? I could use my barrier before…was it after that? I didn't notice a difference…' Her barrier gave her an idea. Green squares of her barrier materialized around her in a very loose pattern. 'I still have them…so she only sealed my crushing power?'

Her mind worked the problem quickly. She knew that she did not have much time. After the confirmation of her barrier, she made them disappear. Her eyes glanced at the weapons that still held her under guard. 'But my barrier doesn't work on them… So the swords made my barrier useless and my crush is gone too… Is everything else gone?'

Trial and error ended up being her only options. She gained nothing more from Photine. It made sense to Yumi that her opponent would not give away important details about what countermeasures she made. Making it as discreet as possible, Yumi worked through her known abilities. 'I can fly, or at least hover still and make my barrier, but it has no use against her… My crush and telekinesis is gone completely… The only one I don't know is…' Yumi glanced back up at Photine and her work. It seemed like she was almost finished with whatever she had planned.

The shortness on her time forced to her to become reckless. 'I don't know if this'll work, but it draws too much attention… I just have to go with it…' Yumi tightened her hands to prepare for the next part. She knew pain was likely the next thing she would feel, but she did not let it stall her. Her teeth bit down a little on her lip as she prayed.

A swift motion through the air ignited several of the swords. Shards of metal rained down, but not without attracting Photine's attention. Her eyes focused on her work, not expecting anymore fight from Yumi. However, she was missing from the cage her swords constructed. The scene looked all too familiar. 'She figured it out as well…damn, she's smarter than I thought… Worse, I still don't know what ability they're using, so I can't neutralize it…'

Reacting to the defensive need, the remaining swords disappeared and surfaced around Photine. Her eyes scanned the area in search of Yumi. 'Damnit…where'd she go?' A bright light signaled Photine too late. When she turned her gaze up an explosion already went off. Something hit her swords. It blocked the attack, but pelted her with chunks of blades. Jagged edges sliced across her face before she could remove them.

Blood dripped down her cheeks. Painted in crimson, Photine stared through the cloud undeterred. She sent new weapons up into the air checking for Yumi. They seemed to find nothing and the night did not help her.

Yumi darted around in front of Photine. She wanted something more direct and stunning. The close range would hopefully get through her weapons' defense. A motion from her hand drew up green particles, but Yumi suddenly froze. Her eyes widened in shock that ran down her body to start shaking her legs.

The blood on Photine's face transformed her appearance into Yori. He had an empty stare at her. Blood soaked his skin turning his eyes almost all white. A wicked grin grew to produce the white fangs of a beast. He looked ready to cut her down.

Weights fell down on her arms holding her from moving. Pressure buckled her knees with the shaking only make it worse. She wanted to turn away, but could not. Invisible hands seemed to hold her head from moving. Yumi wanted to scream, but her mouth clamped shut. '…Yori! No! It's just delusions! They're not real!'

A force slammed into her body knocking her off her feet. Yumi slid over the cracked earth until her head slammed against a stone column. Pain jumped from her head down to her arm. 'What just happened?' Blinking through a stabbing pain in her arm, Yumi glanced down at the wound. Blood poured out of her forearm with a wide gash cutting into her flesh. 'Blood…so much…from where? I'm not falling back in again?'

Yumi looked around only see the empty wasteland of Photine's field. In the distance, Photine stood as she had before. It returned to normal, not a nightmare anymore. 'It was her…' Yumi pulled herself up feeling the strength returning her body. She could deal with reality.

Swords appeared all around Yumi once more. They forcefully put themselves in her path destroying the column of rocks behind her. It made her glance back for a moment. A brief haunting image stirred inside her, remnants of her unease. '…focus…she's planning something…trying to keep me from moving…'

Moving her hand up, Yumi stared down in thought. She needed something to turn the fight. The previous tactics were not enough against Photine. 'I need to throw her off…something she wouldn't expect…' A thought came to her. She lifted her head up to glance around at the weapons. 'I wonder…she does have great faith in them…it might work…if I can get the timing…'