A Messenger from Nephelokokkygia

The Sad, Sorry Tale of Chang'e

Chapter 23: The Sad, Sorry Tale of Chang'e

The moon was persuaded, so he pointed at the evil spirit and shouted "Repent and submit, evil beast!" The Jade Hare rolled on the ground and turned back into her real form.

--Cheng'en Wu, Journey to the West

"What's the deal with Mr. Attaboy, or whoever?" Fox asked, not for the first time since the vimana ride. It was a long journey to the moon.

"Somehow, Aitvaras got to the bird city before us." Bennu's crest and tail were at their lowest. "He convinced the Simurgh not to accept our cure. But with Goldtalon's...condition, our previous work still matters."

"We already have four ingredients." Grace tried staying positive, even though all she wanted was to cry. "Halfway done. Simple enough."

"'Simple' is not synonymous with 'easy,'" pointed out Schrodinger. Nobody thought to argue with that. "In Yokai-Town, Aitvaras confirmed that Easter's jailing my friend William Henry, probably forcing him to...ugh...engineer machines."

"Makes sense I couldn't find him on Earth," said Bennu. "He wasn't on Earth at all." His friends had to remind him to keep his claws on the steering wheel and eyes facing forward.

"Then we should have at least one ally on the dream side of the moon," said Schrodinger. "Someone aware of the fungal threat well before anyone else. I don't know if he'll truly need rescuing, but we must move quick. We've no idea how long our griffin has."

"And we're seriously trusting what a witch said?" Fox's tone started incredulous, but lost gumption midway through.

"She cooked good gingerbread men, at least." Blind Diana nodded.

"Mooooon pretty." Goldtalon, for one, did not worry after learning he was infected. Certainly, he witnessed the death of Chiaroscuro, but it was not like the griffin considered that could happen to him. Not when there were still so many delicious foods to eat and shiny objects to collect.

"Are they usually this junky?" Fox shifted uncomfortably on a metal bench. Whatever aid Ridil provided, her iron allergy had returned. While clearly ill, she refused Grace's help.

So, Grace used the sword to heal the bruises Granny Spear-Finger left down the length of her arm.

Bennu shuddered. "For once I know something you don't, Schrodinger the Short, Dark, and Fuzzy. There's an...emptiness between the dreamscapes of the Earth and moon. It's not for nothing people say 'To the moon and back' to mean 'More than anything else.' Creatures swear by the moon, wish by it. My heart breaks knowing not all those hopes are fulfilled."

He turned his long neck and gazed at each companion in turn. His intensity was such that no one reminded him to watch the Milky Way. Bennu rarely acted serious, but Grace learnt when he did, it was absolutely imperative to listen.

"Whenever beings refuse the wonderful madness called life, giving up their dreams as something impractical, instead of merely impossible, their dead dreams remain. A barrier of fear, despair, and...and regret gets left behind in space. Demons have no trouble crossing. But while I trust my mentor Melek with my next thousand incarnations, I'm ghastly anxious about what we're riding into."

An unseen force smacked the front of the ship. There were no chairs, only a few benches and railings to grip. The invisible turbulence tossed the companions together. Physically, at least. Mentally, the six could not possibly be further split.

On entering the Place of Dead Dreams, something forced itself down their throats, plugging their nostril, and, worse, oozing into their ears. What that something consisted of, they could not see, even though (with the exception of Diana) their eyes worked fine. Their living regrets could be felt and heard, but stayed unseen despite the planetarium lights. Regret, naturally, felt like a mix of oil, molasses, glue, and half-dried concrete. Its sound consisted of whispers.