There I was, floating above Misty Lake. It was one of those blue moments that seem to last forever, and the air was so warm and soft I might have as well be lying in my bed. The sky was starless, but it didn't matter. I had all the stars I needed in my pocket.
Aya flew over, she wanted to interview me. I told her I hadn't the time, I had to explore the sky. She still tried to take photos, so I had to unleash my lasers at her to escape.
It started to rain, first a light drizzle, then a full-on storm. As I tried to find shelter, I ran into Yuuka. She said she liked the rain, because it made flowers grow. It ended up as another fight. Those purple petals have really sharp edges.
I flew further up, through clouds of red mist. I must have found Yukari's abode, because Chen showed up and tried to claw my face into shreds. I told her it was a mistake and I wasn't trying to intrude, but she refused to believe me. Her danmaku tailed me, it was fun.
I flew beyond the clouds, and found out Aya had been hiding in them, as she suddenly appeared before me still looking for a scoop. She left as soon as we ran into Youmu, slashing the air with her swords. She said she was practising her danmaku to be a better bodyguard and I promised to help her. She had improved a lot, but so had I, and soon I had won and was on my way to space.
It was my first time in space, and it wasn't quite what I had imagined. All the stars were gone and replaced by strange cages made out of light. Those space fairies were surprisingly strong, but I outmanouevred them no problem. Yuuka was there, growing red and purple flowers. She got angry when I told her you couldn't grow flowers in space and attacked me. I don't understand why she was so upset, everyone knows you can't grow flowers in space.
I flew towards the moon. Suika floated next to me, laughing, saying she wanted to match her strength with mine without any pesky gravity in the way. I accepted. Her space danmaku was really neat, I need to steal some of that. My annihilation of love won out in the end. She vanished, and in her place there was a black hole. I flew into it. Who knows when I'm going to get the next chance to do so.
The first thing I saw after my eyes got used to the light was a gigantic waterfall, starting out of thin air and making no sound. I flew towards it, and there, floating on top of the source of the waterfall was Lady Mima. She didn't say anything, but she smiled at me and flew closer in. I smiled back. Time to show her how strong I had gotten.
She emptied her pockets and filled the sky with the missing stars, all the colours of the rainbow. I pocketed my mini-hakkero and fell back on my stardust spells, the first ones I ever learned. Her eyes flashed with glee when she saw them and she unleashed everything she had at me.
Even when all the stars had returned to their rightful places and all her spell cards were spent, she wouldn't say a word. However, her smile grew wider and wider as her body slowly grew transparent, fading as the sun rose, until she was merely a shadow that melded into the air, only her smile remaining.
Finally, I had...
Marisa opened her eyes and was greeted with a familiar wooden ceiling. She had kicked her sheets aside in her sleep, and now they barely covered half of her. Alice was lying next to her, hands close to her face and eyes shut.
Marisa covered her forehead with her hand, trying to reorient herself.
"Woah," she muttered quietly. Even though she was lying in place it still felt like she had gotten the wind knocked out her.
"What is it?" Marisa turned her head to see Alice looking at her questioningly, fully awake.
"Nothing. Just a dream I had."
"Really? What was it about?" She rolled out of bed to open the curtains, leaving Marisa to lie there alone. With that done, she picked up her day clothes, ones she had neatly folded onto the dresser before she had retired to bed last night, and removed the nightgown she was wearing.
"Uhh..." Marisa scrambled up into a sitting position on the bed. "No idea. It vanished as soon as I opened my eyes. Poof, just like that."
Alice shrugged as she put on her hairband. "That's what usually happens." She straightened up her dress and turned back to Marisa "Aren't you going to-" her voice petered out midsentence, her mouth hanging open.
Marisa frowned. "What?"
"Is something wrong?"
"What? No, 'course not."
"Then why are you crying? Was it a nightmare?"
Marisa touched her face, only now feeling the warm tears streaming down her face. The wet marks they left on her fingertips glistened in the morning sun.
"Huh," was all she could come up with. Even now that she was aware of it, she couldn't get the tears to stop.
Alice sat on the side of the bed next to her. "Are you sure everything's alright? I hardly ever see you cry."
Marisa wiped the tears away with both hands, ignoring the fact they kept streaming down regardless. "Yeah, I'm sure. I think it's just the dream I had."
She fell silent. Now that she wasn't actively trying to grasp them, some fragments of the dream returned, not quite into her conscious mind but close enough for her to remember some of the emotions she had gone through during it.
"Hey, Alice," she said suddenly, "Do you think it's possible for people that are gone to come back in your dreams? I mean, not that you're just dreaming about them, but that they're really there?"
There was a brief pause as Alice considered this. "I don't see why it would be impossible. Far stranger things have happened here." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare?"
"No, it was a dream." Marisa blinked rapidly and stared out of the window at the beautiful morning outside, the ghost of her dream still lingering at the edge of her mind. "A beautiful dream."