The Dream Shifter

Chapter 169

Tomiko handed off the decorations to Momoko and rushed over to the hall curious what had her husband so excited. When she reached the hallway a surprised gasp escaped her lip. "Mr. Alexander! I'm so glad to see you again!"

The old man bowed politely to Tomiko and let himself be guided into the house. "It's good to see you again as well. But you can call me Demosthenes, Mrs. Hayashi."

"If that's the case then you have to call me Tomiko!" she teased him.

As they came into the living Ken came wobbling in followed by Momoko. They both looked up at the adults with curiosity at the foreigner. Momoko looked over at her mother. "Who's is he?"

"An old friend from work, dear! Why don't you take Ken back to his bed?" Momoko gave her a little confused look for a moment before agreeing. She picked up Ken and exited the living room. Tomiko looked over to her husband making sure everything was safe. "This is quite the surprise. Right, Isamu?"

Isamu motioned over to the couch. "Why don't we sit down? I'd imagine you're quite tired from your trip."

"Thank you." Demosthenes took a seat alone in the end chair while the parents joined together on the couch. He kept a calm and controlled expression on his face, while still maintaining a sense of friendliness. His hand dug into his trench coat retrieving a small box out, the present he promised. "His Majesty sends his best wishes and a gift."

Tomiko accepted the present from him and rested it in her lap. "Thank you! I'm sure Yuki'll be very happy with it!"

"How's he doing?" Isamu inquired. "He left so suddenly."

"Sadly, his health continues to fail."

"Isn't there something you can do with all that you have?" Tomiko asked.

"There's no medicine, no matter how advanced, that can save him. It's a matter of life force."

She lowered her eyes down at the present. It was wrapped carefully and lovingly. She felt bad knowing that such distance sat between them. "I'm sorry, Demosthenes."

The Atlantean lifted his hand palm flat out to Tomiko. "There's no need. He understood the risks. This was important for him. He only asks that you keep your promise."

The thought of the promise that they made shook Tomiko a little. It seemed so wrong to her despite that it was his wish. She nodded along with Isamu to him. They agreed to the arrangement even though they had their doubts. "If that's what he wants. But it just seems so cruel."

"He has many enemies. This is best solution."

"I know, but…" She leaned into Isamu a little having trouble with the memories that stirred. They all knew too well the situation. It only made it more difficult for them. She hoped that things could have been different.

"We understand," consoled Isamu, taking Tomiko into his arms.

Demosthenes stood up from the chair and bowed to them again. He started to make his way out of the living room, but stopped. "Sorry, it has not been my intention to cause you more trouble."

Isamu searched out for him while holding on his wife. "Sure you can't stay longer? Yuki'll be back soon."

"It's best not to confuse him. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality." The old man gave half of a warm smile to them and stepped out into the hall. While he retrieved his shoes Isamu and Tomiko joined him in the hall watching him. He tilted his fedora back on to his head and let himself out.

They stared between each other considering what they wanted to do. Since they agreed to adopt Yuki the whole matter made an oddly dark secret. Much remained unknown to them. They understood a little of the political climate that Atlantis was under, but it always felt too painful to know they never met even once. It was part of the agreement.

Tomiko hesitated in looking up at Isamu. She thought about it frequently, but managed to normally quiet the voice that made her consider the idea. "Perhaps we should tell Yuki, dear…"

"…we can't… Besides at his age he wouldn't be able to understand the full implications."

"We'll have to eventually…"

"I know…and when that day comes he'll have to make a choice. One I don't want to force upon him."

"I'm sorry…"

A knock on their door separated them and sobered them up. Isamu insisted that Tomiko rest herself from the excitement and answered the door himself. When he opened it Yuki and Saki stood jumping up and down eager to greet them. "Hey! Welcome home, Yuki!"

"Dad!" shouted Yuki reaching up for his father to be picked up. He got hoisted up on his shoulders hugging on to his neck. Saki quietly stared up at the two of them trying not to look like she wanted to join. He indulged her and lifted her up joining Yuki on his shoulder grinning back at each other.

"Good afternoon, Kiku!" greeted Isamu to Saki's mother. He invited her in along with the children.

"Good afternoon, Isamu! I hope Saki isn't being too much trouble for you."

"Not at all! Right, Yuki?"

"Yeah!" he cheered, holding up Saki's hand with glee.

They all entered into the living room with Momoko rejoining hearing the noise. Saki and Yuki got down and went over to look at his gifts that rested on the counter by the kitchen. Momoko hung around them leaving the adults together.

"How are you feeling, Tomiko? Must be getting close!"

Tomiko rested a calm hand on her stomach. "He kicks hard!" she laughed. She kept in good spirits for one of her best friends. Isamu kept nearby for support while they talked. Soon Saki's father arrived along with Noriko, having finished a few things at home before heading over. With the last guest, Yuki's birthday party could finally begin. Laughter and cheer continued through the evening celebrating Yuki's seventh year and wishing for another wonderful year.

The brisk march over the grasslands of Atlantis continued on with a slow history lesson. Eudokia explained the details about the barrier and Atlantis. Most of it probably unnecessary, but once she got started it seemed difficult to stop her from going on. They all saw the pride that she had for her country from the way she spoke. A glow in her face and eyes sparked when talking about old traditions.

After more than an hour of constant walking those required to be the pack mules of the group got tired. Seiji was the most vocal physically halting forcing the rest helping to stop as well. "Why the hell am I still carrying this damn boat of yours?!" Along with Seiji, Yuki, Haruo and Saki spaced out along the length of the boat carrying it over their heads. Most of the fatigue came from holding their arms above their heads rather than weight. Saki managed most of the weight effortlessly, the rest ended up being around most for balance (though Seiji was a matter of a male pride and not wanting to be shown up by a girl).

She tilted back over her shoulder to meet with Seiji. "I have a place to leave it. It's further ahead."

"How much further?"

Eudokia searched around the area acting pensive for a while. She stayed silent seeking out landmarks. Eventually, she knew their position exactly. "About fifteen minutes." After those words she continued her lead not giving them further chance for pause.

The arrival of a plain location unremarkable left everyone confused. Seiji gladly got rid of the boat, but still have his questions. "You just going to leave it out here in the open?"

"No, I'm going to be burying it."

"We'll be here for hours! I thought you said we didn't have time to waste!"

"I'm not. Just watch." Eudokia closed her eyes and focused drawing out rings of light from her feet. As her field came alive her clothes floated in the air uninhibited by gravity. However, their surprise came when the ground under her began to crater. The boat rose up followed by her command and lowered with her as a clean invisible sphere cut into the earth making it all disappear. Before she left their sight a couple of them leaned over curious.

In the bottom of the crater dug out revealed a metal case. The sphere carved through the case letting the empty space inside breath out. The boat they carried became positioned over and then in the opening. Once allowed to rest, she rose back up with the grass returning in her ascent. Eudokia exhaled shortly when she finished. "It's stored now." She received several blank stares in response to her method.

Yuki watched the whole event carefully trying to understand how she managed it. He still felt confused by what she achieved. "Hey, Ayumi… I thought our powers couldn't go into the ground like that. I would have fallen through the Earth probably!"

"Or suffocated. It takes a certain level of concentration and focus to be able to achieve that. By default the surface of the Earth is where we stop." She did not have a good answer for him. The point that those with the powers had reached simply accepted it as a given fact. No one questioned why.

The rough remark from Eudokia made Yuki swallow a little rough. He tried to ignore the thought and pass on casually. "I sort of feel like that was all a little random. But that's all pretty convenient to work out that way for us, huh?"

"…yes…" Eudokia focused back on the horizon barely catching the light of a village. 'Almost there… It's a huge risk, but we don't have a choice. The capital's still more than a week away on foot…' The dangers became worse the longer that they stayed. It may have been her homeland, but she knew that she had a great disadvantage with the entire military hunting for her. The fact became worse when they eventually learned of her return.

Bordering on the evening hours, the sun remained holding out for just a bit longer as to give them the time they needed to reach rest. No more than a few minutes away from a small village Eudokia stopped them. She looked more serious than previously, a difficult feat for her. "Listen carefully, this is very important. When we enter the village speak to no one and look at no one. Don't linger. Just follow me to the inn."

"Is something wrong?" Yuki asked searching around at the others. "Why can't we talk to anyone? Shouldn't we be friendly?"

"Do you speak Atlantean Greek?"

"Of course not!"

"Then don't speak to anyone."

"But my powers—"

"Don't speak to anyone! Stay in the inn and let me do all of the talking."

The rest of the group started to become uneasy and restless hearing her talk to them as she did. Yori leaned forward a little to get her attention. "Is there something we should know that you haven't explained to us?"

She sighed not waiting to have to explain the obvious. "You're all Japanese. It's very clear you don't belong here. Between not speaking the language and your appearance, you're only going to cause trouble in the village. We need to stay in a low profile."

"If we're going in I assume you have a plan for them not to be scared of foreigners entering their home?"

"I was getting to explaining the plan. I'm going to be using my power to change everyone's appearance. So long as it is up you'll look like an Atlantean. We're just going to be a vacationing group of friends from a nearby town." She motioned to the entrance of the village, a modest gate lacking any walls. A simple road ran through it under the column and archway that made the gate. Further inside, the inn waited for them. "I'll only leave it going until we get a room. After that you stay in the room and out of sight. I'll take care of the work of getting supplies."

Yumi took a step forward out of the group. "That's a lot of supplies for our group. You'll need someone to go with you."

"It's simpler if I go alone. There'll be fewer problems."

"Won't it look stranger that only one person from a visiting group is going out? I'll go with you." She caught the look from Yori wanting to protest her going alone with Eudokia. "There won't be any danger in the village, Brother. I'll be fine."

Eudokia wanted to refuse, but knew that a further debate would delay them. She gave in to the request. It took her a while to focus on the mental imaging of changing so many people. The effort did not have to be powerful, but it had to be perfect to get them in without any suspicions. For her, the exercise strained her concentration. "Stay close to me. I won't be able to make it last for long."

The South Gate Captain paused in the middle of the field viewing the terrain. He knew the region well. All of the hiding places and shortcuts were no secret to him. Yet he remained cautious and concerned about his new prey. The enemy left the entire search party relatively unharmed and yet executed action quickly. 'They eluded my men for hours before making a move. An odd decision considering their success. What changed their tactics? Were they discovered?'

While on their march he tried to get inside the mind of his prey to know the next move. Unfortunately, he found contradictions within his information. He lacked the whole picture of what happened, that he knew. However, he expected each action to follow a similar flow. 'We know it was a group of individuals. None of the researchers from the bases ever stumble into here in such large groups. The actions make it seem like there isn't a leader or perhaps they don't have unity. That could be our advantage.' He rubbed his chin keeping to his statuesque figure.

His team searched the area for clues to the path of their intruders. Only a few clues remained making it difficult to track and uncertain due to the high traffic from the patrols. A more important clue deduced from them worried him more than anything else. 'Most intruders fall asleep upon entering. Yet they did not. Even being lucky or careful wouldn't account for that. They must have had a countermeasure to it. If so they had to be aware of the barrier and its effects. This could be a deliberate invasion. But how? And who?' A deliberate intrusion worried him. It meant the secret no longer held, for at least one group. The implications would be grave for them.

He only had speculation and supposition to rely on. Nothing could be proven yet, but the unease he felt persisted. When such a feel lingered he knew to trust it. The Captain motioned out to his team to bring them back. "We're moving out! Send out the signal to Delta Team!"

The young soldier nodded and stiffly pressed his fist against his chest in salute. "Yes, Captain! Where should I tell Delta Team to search?"

A map of the region came out in his mind to plan his next move. 'They couldn't have gotten too far on foot. There's only two villages within the time that they've had.' The border village of Skoupa and Kapni rested within range of the break-in point. Both received much traffic from the soldiers on the border. They were used to their presence, but like the rest of the land knew nothing of the outside world. Intruders never made it so far before. The panic from foreigners in their village could give rise to new problems. He had to be swift. "Send Delta to Kapni. I want to investigate Skoupa personally."

"Captain? Wouldn't it be more likely they'd go to Kapni? Kapni is closer to the border."

"You'd expect that of someone panicked and scared trying to find a new hiding place as quickly as possible. But not this foe. This foe is unlike the others. My gut is telling me they went to Skoupa. They know they're being hunted and expect us to search Kapni first. They have intelligence and calm in their actions."

Seiji and Saki sneezed roughly in their room. The rest of the group looked back at them a little surprised by how loud they were. It took them a few moments to recover from the full body reaction. Saki and Seiji glanced up at each other feeling a little odd that them both responding as the same time. "That was strange."

"I'm glad we got in without any troubles," sighed Yuki, dropping himself on the edge of the bed. Their room only had two beds, but enough room on the floor as Eudokia said. They had no plans on staying past the morning. Where their powers did not strain and force them to remain awake. He welcomed the break.

As planned, Yumi and Eudokia shopped for the group to resupply their nearly spent food. In all of the traveling and excitement they had nothing to eat for the majority of the day. While no one said anything about hunger everyone knew that it lingered on their thoughts. So they wasted no time going out while the rest waited. The waiting made it more difficult not to focus on the lack of food.

Fumiko hung by the window though keeping out of sight. She saw a few villagers passing by carrying farming tools back from a long day of work. "For being so legendary, the people seem pretty normal and average. …it's a little disappointing…"

Yuki nodded remembering their uneasy walk into the village. Everything that he saw up before the village gave a fantastic appearance. A barrier protected an entire people and kept them secret. The legendary city of Atlantis turned real. He expected to find something more akin to a fantasy setting. Yet the citizens looked no different than any other foreigner. Their homes shared nothing with an unreal setting, very practical in fact. They had a rustic and ancient appearance like from history books, but nothing out of place. "Yeah I know… I know Ayumi said most of the people were normal, but being Atlantis I just thought they would be really advanced in technology or magical something…"

"Considering the powers that some do possess it is strange," comment Yori. He sat on the floor with his back propped against the hand carved wooden dresser. "I would have expected they would have made use of that, but I'd dare say they are stuck in the past. It's like time stopped for them."