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Seishin yume tantei!

Cardinal Pippin the Short was preparing the communal wine. Suddenly, the wine turns to blood and he drops the chalice. The blood flows through the ground and it takes the shape of the number of the beast. Shocked, Cardinal Pippin wakes up, sweating from head to toe. At that moment, he decides to tell his flock not to go to church anymore. The dream has manifested his suspicion. The Catholic Church was corrupted. The flock should refrain from attending church, until it has been cleansed.

Before Cardinal Pippin carries out his plan, he consults with his mentor. The next day Cardinal Pippin was found murdered in his bedroom. The police have been investigating his murder for days. So far, all signs point to a mob hit.

Meanwhile, in American a teenager of Japanese descent was struggling to keep awake in class. James Saito was not the most studious of fellows. He always maintained a straight B average, and always prioritized playing video games than doing homework. Whenever there was a new game, he was always in the habit of staying up late playing. His mother was an American, so she allowed him plenty of liberties, as long has he maintained his grades and did not get into trouble.

Whenever this occurred, the following morning he would sleep past first period. This time he was awake, though with much effort. Surprised, his Language Art teacher Mr. Godfrey asked, “Is there something wrong, Mr. Saito?”

“No? Why do you ask?” asked James yawning.

“Today, the new Dark Souls 3 game came out. So, I was expecting you to sleep through my class, so,” said Mr. Godfrey. He knew James liked the game because most of his creative writing assignments were akin to fan fictions.  Mr. Godfrey did not mind seeing as though James was one of the few students who could string together more than 5 sentences that made sense.

“My father heard I was falling asleep in class…so,” said James lying.

Not wishing to press the matter, Mr. Godfrey continues with his lectures. The day passed for James in a state of somnambulism. He was not quite awake, but not quite asleep either. He was so dazed; he almost crossed the street when the light was green. It was a good thing that his friend Fu was there, to keep him from making a deadly mistake.

Alarmed, Fu asked, “What’s wrong with you, James?”

“I don’t know, I just haven’t not been feeling great as all, alright,” said James yawning.

“That’s not even a real sentence,” said Fu frowning.

“I just done sleep as much,” said James yawning again.

“How come? Problems at home?” asked Fu genuinely concerned.

“Dunno, I, for some reason I am afraid of falling asleep,” said James.

Laughing, Fu asked, “Getting stalked by Freddy Krueger?”

Fu continued pocking fun at James’ fear of falling asleep all throughout the bus ride, and walk home. By the time James had arrived home, his mood had lightened up. He dismissed his irrational fear of falling asleep. At night, he finally allowed sleep to overtake him.

When he fell asleep, he had a continuation of “That” dream. It was not often, but at times he had dreams in parts. He would only remember that the dream would continue inside the dream. Usually, he was just following up on complete nonsense. When he became aware in the dream, he saw an angel floating by his bedside.

As usual, the things in his room were inverted, as if looking through a mirror. The angel in the white kimono was repeating over and over, “Mewosamasu, Seishin yume tantei-kun!”

This strange angel had been visiting James for the last 3 days. He was saying the same thing over and over. Today, James finally got out of bed and said, “I don’t speak Japanese! And I am not even Christian! Leave me alone, angel!”

“Oh! My apologies, Dream Spirit Detective-kun,” said the angel bowing.

“What do you want?” asked James getting up from bed.

“Ah! Yes, straight to the point. You have been chosen to participate in a holiest of missions, you must…” said the angel before James interrupted him.

“Sorry angel. If this is one of your callings, I must inform you that I am not interesting in becoming a priest. The whole giving up worldly wealth and women is not really my thing,” said James chuckling.

“This is a calling yes…but not of the priestly variety. And besides, true callings rarely occur. Most of the times, I fear the petty humans are hallucinating,” commented the angel folding his arms.

“I thought so, as much. Let me get this straight, you are not giving me much of a choice in the matter, are you. When I wake up tomorrow, I am going to have to do some grand feat or go preach to the masses, before getting betrayed,” said James yawning. He was sleepy even inside his own dream.

“Nothing of the sort Dream Spirit Detective-kun, everything will take place in the dream world, through the blessing of the Anchor. And I promise not to make it an every night thing either. Once you solve the case, you can return to your regular night terrors,” said the Angel happily.

“I don’t have any night terrors,” protested James.

“Sure you do! Now back to the matter at hand. I need you to investigate a crime scene. Look through the details and discover who were the murderers of Cardinal Pippin,” said the Angel looking serious.

“Cardinal Pippin…that sounds like a made up name, but fine…let’s just get this show on the road. I have school tomorrow,” said James taking hold of the chains of the anchor. 

The angel tied the chains around James’ legs. Afterwards, James started to hover a little before sinking into the floor. The anchor dragged him into the crime scene. James then sees several cardinals whispering to one another while the police investigate. A thought suddenly crosses James’s mind. He then says out loud, “This is stupid! I don’t speak Italian and I have no idea what I am supposed to look for. Angel, go find someone more capable to do the job.”

As James starts leaving the scene, some obvious spooks start to accost him. He tries to return to the crime scene to do his job, but the spooks will not leave him alone. His blood turns to ice when demons appear, laughing and jeering. The bizarre things did not harm him because of the blessing of the anchor. However, it made it impossible to focus on the crime scene.

In anger, he starts striking the intruders with whatever he can find. One of the specters was a cute Victorian maiden with a large chest. Her figure was pale, and almost see-through. Curious, James makes the mistake of poking her in the chest. He had wanted to see if his hand would pass through her. Instead, he came out like a huge pervert. In anger, the ghost grows frenzied. Since she was bothering him, James throws her down a cliff.

Later on, James runs into a little ghost girl. The only thing she did was yell at him. Exasperated, James screams back, “Ah!! Ah!! How do you like it! How do you like it!?” 

Since he could not stand her yelling, he throws the little girl out the window. Finally, James rips off the anchor and finally wakes up. In the morning, James only had a faint memory of the previous events. He found himself well rested, and in time he completely forgot that he was the Dream Spirit Detective.

The following night, he finds the angel looking furious. He asks, “What did you do to the Countess of Dudley?”

“Throw her out the window. It is not as if you were much help in keeping those things away from me,” said James raising his voice.

“The Countess said you took her honor!” said the angel horrified.

“Oh…no, no, no! I just wanted to see if she was see-through or not. And, don’t make this about me! This job is impossible! Those spooks and demons will not leave me alone. Either; get me an escort, or I am going back to bed,” said James lying back down.

“You are already in bed. If you don’t remember,” the angel adds, “And besides, you should not have rip off the anchor. My peers have been looking it for days, and have yet to find it. Here is a new one! Don’t lose it! I will also see about getting you that escort.”

“Thank you,” said James smiling. He frowns when he notes the little girl in the corner of his room. She points and starts yelling at James. James tells the angel, “Can you please do something about that annoying brat?”

“What brat?” asked the angel looking in the direction James was pointing at. Indeed, the angel could not sense anything living or dead. Smiling sadly, the angel says, “I think that girl is imaginary.”

“Great! Just freaking great!” said James exasperated.

James putted on the anchor. When he then looked in the mirror, he saw that he looked like a black guy. Frowning, he asked the angel, “Why do I look like a black guy?”

“What’s wrong with looking like Will Smith? Or are you racist, in addition to being a pervert?” asked the angel annoyed.

The pair continued to argue for some time. In the end, James leaves reluctantly in his search to find the killer of Cardinal Pippin. This time he had a bodyguard. Whenever a ghost or something would get close to him, the Terminator would shoot them. Again, between the wailing and the shotguns, James was not progressing one bit.

Eventually, James is able to associate the murder weapon to one of the conspiring Cardinals. They were paying money to the mobster who did the deed. Sighing, James said, “I do not know the names, of these bastards. I do not even know why they are named after a bird.”

The angel manifests behind James and says, “I am proud of you. The names of these sinful Cardinals are…”

Raising his hand, James says, “Let me stop you there! It will not be useful for me to know their names because I won’t remember anything when I wake up. I already did what you ask, so please, please leave me alone!”

The following night, James throws away his dream catcher for reasons he does not understand.

The Nightmare

Jimmy was walking in the forest as he would always do after completing his chores. He lived in a little cottage with his family. For generations, they had been friends with the fairy folks. While neighboring lands became infertile, this family always had enough to eat. Since Jimmy was the youngest of the family, he was tasked with bringing offerings to the fairies. They usually opened up to little children.

The fairies approached him and ate their fill of grapes and oranges. After accepting the offering, one of the fairies commented, “You don’t seem happy Jimmy.”

“I have been having a lot of nightmares as of late,” said Jimmy sadly.

“Tell me of your nightmares, Jimmy. Maybe we can help you,” said the fairies gathering around him.

“They always start the same. I put down a book, and then bad things happen,” said Jimmy sadly.

“What sort of bad things?” asked one of the fairies.

“Well, just the other day, I putted down the book, and then a strange man dressed in leaves starts yelling at me. To all his insults, I simply respond blindly sir, yes sir. The bad man then makes me exercise till I drop dead from exhaustion. I usually wake up, whenever he returns to reading his book,” explained Jimmy.

“A perplexing nightmare indeed,” commented Oberon, the fairy King entering the scene. He added, “Do not worry. I will make certain your nightmare comes to an end soon.”  

The following week, Jimmy returned with new offerings for the fairies. Oberon was waiting for him at the edge of the forest. He had a concerned look on his face. He smiled when he noted that Jimmy seemed back to his old self again. Smiling, Oberon asked, “Did the nightmares finally go away?”

“Yes, I have been sleeping peacefully these last 2 days. Still, the last few nightmares were particularly painful,” commented Jimmy sadly.

“How so?” asked Oberon.

“Well…in one I remember fighting this guy because he took my book and was making fun of me. In the last one, I was in a metallic box that could float in the ocean. It was raining and I was surrounded by grown men, dressed in leaves clothing. As soon as the boat arrived at the beach, the door opened. The men dragged me outside, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest. The sensation lasted for a short time. Unlike the other nightmares, I woke up without having to read the book,” said Jimmy thoughtfully.

“I have a feeling that you won’t be having anymore nightmares from now on,” said Oberon smiling.

“I…hope you are right,” said Jimmy, his voice trembling a little.

Seishin yume tantei! 2

For the last two months, James had been having a hard time sleeping. One day, his sleep problems all, but disappeared. He had finally come to grips with the terrible situation he was experiencing. The sad fact was that he could not quite put his finger on the origin of his woes. His life was pretty much uneventful: his grades were fine, he got along with his parents, and none of the others students bothered him.

His waking life was blissful, without any real problems. At night, it was another story, for he was the Seishin yume Tantei. James one night found himself in dreaming in his bedroom. Normally when he dreamt of his bedroom, it was to answer the summons of the angel. This time the angel was no were to be found. Hours passed and he was still unable to awaken.

This was not an issue since in his dreams days could pass, while his sleeping form stayed in one place. At times James wondered if the anchor had some time traveling properties. Not that it matter, seeing as though this recurrent dream might be just a figment of his imagination.

“Pity, I never watched detective shows, or even played video games of the kind,” said James out loud.

Getting up, he felt the anchor drag him down under. It always did this whenever there was an important case afoot.

“Mmm! What to do what to do?” said James to himself. He had developed the habit of talking to himself when acting as the spirit detective.

James wandered the city alone, counting the hour still he would finally awaken. He grimly wondered if he had died in his sleep. It was a notion worth entertaining. The juxtaposition of baroque architecture and stale postmodern art made James think he was in Europe. He had done sufficient missions in Europe to recognize the place.

For him, all European cities and town looked the same. He was in fact, in Warsaw, not that it mattered much to him in the very least. The power of the anchor made all voices sound English in his ears. While crossing the river bridge that separated the city in two, he caught the eye of a girl who was looking straight at him.

This was a bit unusual, seeing as though all people he came in contact with could not see him. The girl reminded him of those Emo maidens who used to cut themselves, in the staircases.  He always found it laughable since they all came from rich and loving families, and they still managed to make themselves feel miserable.

The blue eyed, raven haired, lass, with the thick makeup, and the leather vest said to him in a high pitch voice, “What you want pervert! Do little girl thrills you pervert! You fucking Asian pig!”

James narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Putting out her cigarette, the girl threw at him her half empty beer can. James dodged it to maintain the illusion that he was a being of flesh and blood. Somewhat amused, and a little bored, James started stalking the troubled girl. He needed a way to amuse himself till the angel summoned him for another mission.  

After stalking her a bit, James thought, Maybe I am a pervert. Then again, it is not as if I have anything else better to do. Maybe helping her is the mission.

James watched her for an hour. The way she acted and spoke to people led him to believe she had been raped, at some point. He knew a girl from his class that had been raped by the jocks. She turned from a nice airhead, to a porcupine, always bearing her pins at anyone of the opposite gender.

James did not have much experience as a stalker. She led him to a dark alley, and then she ran and took a strong turn. James hurried to catch up to her. When he turned the corner, he passed right through her. She had apparently planned to mace him. Instead, of surprising him, she was the one who got the big surprise.

Pale as ice, she said stammering, “Just-justa your arsese iss see through…you, you have no right to haunt me.”

Using the anchor, James sank to the ground. Flattening his shape, he is able to watch her from the floor as she looks up towards the reddish dusky sky. A drop falls on her nose. The girl decides to go home, with James following behind from his new vantage point. When she arrives home, she finds the door locked. After knocking for 7 minutes, she gets angry and kicks the door. She had forgotten her house key and her mother was having a nightshift.

Since the porch of her flat did not provide any protection from the rain, the girl makes her way towards the old bridge. Taking shelter, she opens her black vest and takes out a cigarette. With a trembling hand, she lights up a smoke, relieved that the lighter had not gotten wet. She breathed, and exhaled a round cloud of smoke. Even though he could not smell the smoke, James unconsciously coughed lightly.

Looking over her shoulder, the girl trembled at the darkness. Taking out a pocket knife, she begins to lightly cut her arms. Fearing for her life, James takes on a new form. His most recent case had involved the murder of a blonde altar boy. Taking the form of this teenager, he ran toward the girl and yelled, “Suicide isn’t the answer, you have so much to live for.”

Taking the knife, she stabs James’s shoulder and yells, “You are just pretending to care! All men are the same! You just want to rape me, just like him.”

She takes another stab at James, but he runs away, forgetting that he was a spirit. After checking his arm, he is relieved to see it was not damaged. Going back to where she was, he was relieved to see she had gone home. Symbolically washing his hands on the entire situation, James tries to leave town. However, the anchor does not allow. Wherever he goes, he keeps running into her. Close to morning, angel summons him for another mission.

The Looters

Reggie and his twin Marcus were vacationing in the Canary Island with their mother. Marcus, the eldest by two minutes, had just graduated from the university. His brother had chosen a different path. It was ironic that Reggie’s bizarre online marketing scheme had paid for the trip. Even after explaining his job like 100 times, Marcus could still not understand how that made Reggie money.

For the moment, the twins were lazily floating on a surf board. They felt it was a good a time as any to learn the craft, since they had nothing better to do. They had come to the El Medano beach in the island of Tenerife because it was said to be a good surfing spot. Instead of good waves, the sea was calm as the water in a lake. It had been like that for the last two hours, with the water level ever dropping.

From the shore, the raven haired twins heard their mother screaming, franticly. This was nothing new, so they chose to ignore her. Reggie, then said to his brother, “You don’t think there are sharks in this water do you?”

Marcus’ green eyes narrowed, as he said coyly, “There are sharks in practically all the beaches in the world. If you are scared of the ocean, I won’t hold it against you if hang back while I have all the fun.”

“You would get lonely without me,” answered Reggie winking.

When they saw their mother going inside the water after them, the twins decided to head out. Their 50 year old mother was not particularly the strongest swimmer, especially after the accident that had left her reduced the mobility of her right arm.

Reggie became alarmed, when he saw his mother’s frantic look. She was yelling, “Tsunami! Tsunami! We must head to higher ground.”

“What Tsunami mother?” asked Marcus, “There is no tsunami coming! The water level is just low as all; probably a red tide event in this year.”

“We should still head for higher ground,” commented Reggie. He was always keen on indulging his mother’s wild fancies.

Ever since she was twenty, their mother had suffered from tsunami related dreams. Her psychologist believed that those dreams had something to do with a part life. That was the last time she ever sought psychiatric help, to deal with her fears. As a Protestant lady, she did not believe in reincarnation.

The twins took their mother to the highest floor of their hotel villa. She was still nervous because they were only three floors above the ground. Giving his mother a condescending smile, Marcus asked, “If you want to, we can try and go to the nearby church. The stairs case leading up the entrance alone is higher than this raggedy old villa.”

“Why bother. I doubt we will make it,” protested the mother.

Dusk came, and with it a sense of serenity. The ocean was back to its normal form. For the sake of peace, Marcus suggested they order room service. Marcus had papas arrugadas with mojo( wrinkly potatoes with mojo sauce) and pescado fresco (or dry fish). Reggie had pizza with lemonade made with ginger ale. He always ordered this drink whenever he was on vacation. Whenever he tried to replicate the recipe back home, it never came out right.

Marcus always liked to take a single sip from his drink, because he liked the punch of it. For dessert, the twins shared a quesillo or cheesecake made of caramel. The taste of it was to die for. The twins slept together, as they did as children. To save money, they had rented a single room with twin beds. None were too keen on sleeping near the mother, because she snored.

Close to sunrise, Marcus had gotten up early. He took a shower, bathed, shaved and washed his perfectly white teeth. He had always perfect grooming habits, which were rooted in a mild case of obsessive compulsiveness. Even when vacationing, he always awoke at 6 a.m. As for his brother Reggie, he always woke up at 12 p.m., even when he went to sleep early.

Marcus went toward the gift shop, which had not opened to look at some of the trinkets on sale. There was not a single item he would like to give Caroline as gift. All the wooden items seemed as tacky as the Mayan mask he had gifted her from his trip to Mexico. Looking at his cellphone, he read the texts he had received from Caroline and gave a listless account of the events that had transpired the day before.

The sound of rushing water then filled his ears, as his eyes widened. Marcus could not remember how he got up the stairs and got back to his bedroom. The villa groaned with the weight of the rushing water below. Anymore strain and it would get pushed off the foundation. He staggered toward his bedroom door, feeling his sides looking for the card key. Since he could not find it, he started pounding on the door.

The water rose up to his knee, he fell to the ground and rested his head against the door. He had not realized the size of the cut on his thigh and on his arm. One of the guests, a Russian doctor happened upon him, and dragged him toward his bedroom. He made a quick tourniquet with the bed sheets, and then set about to locate his luggage.

Ever the paranoid fellow, Dr. Pirogov always took with him a first aid kit. His satirical smile always appeared whenever he was in a tense situation. In this case, he had the look of a complete maniac. Running toward all the rooms, he assembled the survivors on the roof.

When Dr. Pirogov returned to stich him up, Marcus said, “My mother and brother… they are still.”

Dr. Pirogov pointed toward Marcus, and then towards the roof. Biting his lower lip, the small 5’2’’ doctor placed the wounded Marcus over his shoulder and carried him through the water, and up the stairs like a sack of potatoes. All the while, he was murmuring and cursing in Ingush, one of the many other languages spoken in Russia.

By noon, the water had somewhat settled down. Resting under an umbrella, it did not seem to him that rescue was coming anytime soon. Marcus rested his head on his mother’s shoulder, and slept in the afternoon for the first time, since he was a toddler. The name did not last for long, since Dr. Pirogov came with a plastic water bottle. He drank it, and then settle down to sleep again.

While Marcus slept, Reggie went about toward the lower floors, with other hardy fellows to see what they could salvage. As he passed by his half flooded room, he smiles at the fortuitous thought that had crossed his mind. Had he brought his computer, it would be ruined by now. Together with five others, they took everything from the minibars and scurried back to the roof.

The tsunami had knocked out the power in the resort, and in other surrounding buildings. Reggie was a bit surprised that this old hotel villa had survived more or less in one piece, while the more modern constructions had started to cave in, or had been completely washed away. A black fellow too looked in the direction of the new hotels, and commented something Reggie could not understand.

Close to the stairs leading toward the second floor, Reggie saw something terrifying. The fellow detained Reggie by grabbing his shoulder. Once he stopped him, he gestured in a matter that made Reggie think the man wanted to know what he had seen. Using his thumb, Reggie drew a line over his own neck, and rolled his eyes to the back of his head. Nodding, the fellow too left the side of the stairs. A fish swam though the murky water, brushing lightly against the sandaled leg of the black fellow. He stumble, and fell toward the water, before running upstairs splashing ever wish way.

Reggie could not help but smile, after seeing this. He too decided to follow behind with his loot, since he was not a fan of fishes either. Dusk fell and rescue was still nowhere in sight. Reggie was by now bored of waiting to be rescue. He wanted to go home, and put the entire incident behind him. Checking his pockets, Reggie was relieved to find he still had the passports and the wallets. It was the first thing he had taken with him, as soon as the water started pouring. Safely dry inside a Ziploc bag, they were his family’s only way of getting home. 

He thought, Tenerife-South Airport is not far from here. If it is not underwater, we can get on the first plane, and leave this Gods forsaken island.

Looking over the side of the balcony, Reggie scanned the area for anything that could be of used. As if reading his mind, Dr. Pirogov too came and started looking about. They were joined by the 5 others who were in one piece, with sufficient wits about them.

Dr. Pirogov pointed and shouted in his incomprehensible language. Looking at where he was pointing, Reggie saw an orange colored, wooden motor lifeboat. The lifeguard was a bloody mess, with debris lying on top of him. Using the rod of used to fish corpses from the pool; Dr. Pirogov tried to get the boat closer. Others too saw the boat, and tried to do the same with makeshift ropes. Through cooperative, randomized efforts the boat was safely secured. The first order of business was to remove its current occupant.

Dr. Pirogov removed the lifeguard’s life jacket, his wallet, watch and shoes. He also cleaned the deck to the debris to make it safe for others to come inside. Holding up the shoes, he gestured to Reggie to come closer. Once Dr. Pirogov had his attention he held up the number 9. Reggie then said to the others, “The stiff is size 9, if anyone needs a pair of Nikes.”

A haggard elderly gentleman said, “I’ll take them.”

Some of the guests made slight protestations. However, they soon quieted down in the face of the carnage which surrounded them. The others slowly started to board the lifeboat. After tinkering with the motor, the doctor managed to make it come alive. With a working boat, a slight feeling of hope entered the group of survivors.

Reggie’s mother asked, “I wonder why help has not arrived?”

Waking up slightly, Marcus whispered, “Maybe other islands have been hit as well. With such a damaged infrastructure, it could take some time for help to arrive.”

“Where do you suppose we go?” asked Reggie.

“The airport maybe? We need to get as far inland as possible, till we reach an unaffected populated area,” suggested Marcus.

Scanning the mainland, it seemed to Reggie that everything was underwater, except for the volcano looming. It made sense to use it as way landmark to get out of the devastate area. Pointing toward it, Reggie gestured to the Doctor. The Russian Doctor nodded in response.

As night came forth, Reggie and the others survivors entered the small boat. Very slowly, the boat ventured through the flooded city. Dr. Pirokov used the steel rod used to fish drowned people to help maneuver through the debris. He was always feeling the water bellow, testing its debts to see if it was safe for the boat to proceed.

When it started to rain, fellow piloting the boat stopped the boat and docked near by the 4^th floor window of a colonial housing. They resolved to spend the night there, since the building looked more or less in one piece. While his mother and brother slept soundly, Reggie was wide awake.

He wandered if anyone was still alive. Opening the closet in of a bedroom, he noticed a nice collection of tuxes. He picked the combination that he most liked and trading in his wet attire, and sandals. He took care to move into his coat pocket his key possessions. He also took with him all the small jeweled pins, inside a small case.

He also noticed looked through the woman’s closet, and jewelry case. He saw a beautiful diamond ring. Taking it, he thought, Marcus can give this to Caroline when he gets back home.

Looking up, he saw the Russian doctor give a faint suggestion of a smile. All around him, he heard the motion of the survivors rummaging through the bedrooms, looking for anything of value. The biggest cause of celebration was when the wine closet was discovered. This made the group quite merry, and it made the entire situation all the more tolerable.

The following day, the group of survivors continued on their merry way. From time to time, they would enter structures that looked the most sound in search of provisions and whatever small valuables they could carry in their person. Occasionally, a new member would get added to their group.

Going to the airport proved to be the right course of action. The authorities were just arriving with helicopters and supplies. Due to Marcus’ condition he was sent via helicopter to the nearest hospital. Once Marcus was strong enough to travel, the twins and their mother returned to the US, and putted the entire incident behind them, just as they had planned. Marcus’ near death experienced helped him get over his apathy toward his girl. He married Caroline in the spring using the ring that his twin had acquired from the trip.

Awakening

It has been two centuries since my trail was completed. It has all been for naught. A light touch is useless when trying to change the grand scheme of things. I see everything, know everything, and yet… My home was attacked yesterday. At this rate, it will soon be wiped off the face of the Earth.

I grow disillusioned with the grand scheme of things. What was the point of becoming this…things, if I was to be powerless in the end. I cannot seem to remember how I became this way. Days pass, and I start to remember bits of fragments of my human life. The way I remember them, it is a bit silly, now that I think about it.

A week has passed the town and everyone that I knew are no longer there. Without attachment to landmarks, I was able to notice something interesting about the pattern of destructions. All the places attacked have a connection to my past. Every second, I feel a fragment of my old self slipping away. Is this the end trail, the final punishment for those who wished to have their personal idol ruling above?

Pity! For all they efforts, the townspeople obtained a crippled God; with eyes, and knowledge, but no strong hands to act upon that knowledge. Ah…yes, I see him! How could I forgotten, my brother. He too attempted the apotheosis, but was led to believe that he had failed.

“You believed it to be so, because I so desired it.”

Yes, now I understand. Now, I see. He is the other half of my power.

Time passes; I cradle in my harms my brother’s head. I hold it above me, and then say, “…”

Seishin yume tantei! 3

Two years pass, and James was nearing the end of his high school career. Soon, he would graduate and he would join the workforce. Despite his grades, James for reasons he did not understand was not in a particular mood to continue with his studies. When not in high school, he was training as a mechanic in his uncle’s garage, much to the dismay of his parents who wanted him to become a doctor.

In addition to this, James was also tinkering with computers, learning the ins and outs of CEO marketing and web design through his own personal website. At night, when he rested his head on his pillow, he would dream of solving cases with the Nameless Angel.

That night, when Angel had called him forth, James asked, “What is your name?”

“Lucifer,” said Angel. Laughing, he added, “No. The name is Malik, which means King.”

“Does that make you King of the angels? Or what the hell?” inquired James.

“Why bother with this conversation? You are not going to remember it when you wake up,” answered Malik.

“But I do remember, yes. I remember how you told me last year I was making a big mistake going to college,” protested James.

“I said, it would be a big mistake to become a doctor in this country. It takes too long, and you practically have to kill the patients with pills, so that they are not alive to sue you for your obvious thieving negligence,” answered Malik, Now, get back to your most gracious, holy calling Seishin yume tantei!”

The following day, James was randomly anchored back to Warsaw. It had been two years since last he had visited the place. This time, he recognized the landmarks. The depressed suicidal girl he had met two years ago had changed a lot. While trailing her, he discovers the source of the problems.

He had read about demons developing a strange infatuation for mortal maidens.  Where he had read this information was a subject of much debate. In the waking world, he had never so much as opened a Bible.

“Well, not since middle school,” said James more to himself.

The girl seemed to be doing quite well. She was dating a particularly boring fellow. James approaches her in his true form. She does not recognize him.

Gesturing at her, he says, “We met two years ago. I came to warn you. There is a demon who is in love with you. He has been ruining your life to make you his forever. I know how to get rid of him for good, but first you need to find a fresh fish, pronto!”

“Are you out of your mind,” she said not recognizing James.

“Who are you talking to, honey?” asked her boyfriend.

“No, one I thought someone was talking to me, but it was some guy talking to someone else,” said the girl.

Her lover chose to ignore this, and many other instances she visually displayed her sixth sense. Being raised by a Wicca grandmother, had led her lover to believe in all sorts of foolish things. A month passes, and the happy couple goes to a cruise. Every time the demon tried a new scheme, James was there to interfere with him. Frustrated, the demon takes on the form of a deranged Asian, who kidnaps the girl.

James then goes to the boiler room to mess with the equipment of the ship. The diversion and the chaos helps the girl escaped with her man. The only true victims were the ocean liner itself. At his point, the demon was onto James. However, his omniscient powers were failing him. He knew James’ past and present, but had no idea what James was going to do.

While James was toying with the demon, using the power of the anchor, he starts learning how the demon worked. Whenever they passed through a time zone, all but one of the selves of the demon would disappear.

Suddenly, James was overcome with the urge to go to a lighthouse. By now, the demon was annoyed with James and was eager to be rid of him for good. He followed James to the lighthouse, by trailing his boat. Once inside the lighthouse, the demon said, “May I propose to you a Faustian bargain over the fair lass’s soul?”

Smiling coolly, James said, “Sure. Why not?”

The demon brought out a chess board, to play his game. Frowning, James said, “I never played this game before. It would violate the rules of engagement, if I do not even know how to move the pieces.”

“Pray do tell, what sort of game you would like to play?” asked the demon pensively.

“Yugioh!” said James.

“Yugioh?” repeated the demon.

The demon did not even know such a stupid sounding game existed. Using James’s memories, he learned the rules, and created his own deck. He used overpowered demonic cards made of solid gold. When he naturally won, James said, “I win!”

“Surely, you are mistaken,” said the demon.

“The Konami rules of Yugioh state that you must play with Yugioh cards,” said James smiling.

“And that is what I used,” said the demon growing angrily.

“No! No! You used your own made up cards. Not cards created by the Konami Company, your bootleg, golden imitations are in violations of the rules stipulated by the creator of the game,” said James.

“To hell with Konami!” screeched the demon, “We were playing by demon rules.”

The demon spent an hour arguing. It was then when he noticed that the time zone had changed. Since he was so invested in screeching at James, he almost ended up losing track of the girl. Before, he left; James detained him by saying the “Pater Noster.”

Very slowly, James started saying, “Ouuurrrr fatheeerrr whooooo areeeeee innnnn heeeaaaveeen…”

This prayer caused this form of the demon to freeze on the spot. Since he violated the terms of his powers, he ended up going to hell, empty handed. Smiling, James said to himself, “You were doomed to fail, relying on my memories. I never played professionally the game that is Yugioh. I always used made up rules, with my sister.”

A month passes and the girl marries her boyfriend. Through the influence of another demon or maybe her husband’s Wicca grandmother, he turns into a wife beater. By this time, James and his newly acquired demon stalker had gotten over the girl. He was not particularly impeding James’s work, nor was he trying to turn him into the side of evil.

Eventually, James had to ask, “Why do you keep following me around?”

“I just find you so fascinating,” said the demon.

“Why? Because of the anchor thing?” remarked James.

“No, Just your mind as all, I can’t quite figure out how these bizarre protocols of yours work,” commented the demon.

“Fine. I will enlighten you,” said James condescending, “Since I was small, I suffered from apocalyptic dreams. There were these angels always telling me to become a prophet, to join the church and save it from sin. I had read the Bible, and knew how all those prophets ended up. To deal with the problem, I created a though, within a thought, in an effort to hide my intentions from God. These protocols are designed to confuse beings that can read my thoughts, and who know everything about me. For example, going to that lighthouse was protocol 47. I instinctively knew that I had to go there. I can confuse people like you by acting so impulsively…”

“That all sounds like crazy talk if you ask me,” said the demon interrupting.

After this conversation, the demon traded with James some of the demon cards he had used on his duel. Due to the jungle of James’s memories, the demon had used the Wind Clow cards for his duel, in addition to Digimon and some Energies from the Pokemon playing card came. James ended up trading his Blue Eyes Shining dragon and a full folio card of Mew Two; in exchange for the demon’s Dash, Wind and Wood cards made of solid gold. It was an empty, pointless ritual, but James relished in it. At least in his dream, he could own these particular cards he so desired.