• Chapter 1
    The midday sun beamed down on the city park. A mirthful laughter could be heard from a woman sitting at a picnic table. She was young, and didn't seem to look any older than about thirty. She had bright green eyes, which glittered brightly behind a curtain of dark brown hair. Her mouth was curled up into a beaming smile, the laughter spilling from it like a clear stream flowing over stones. Beside her sat a man whose arm was intertwined with her own. He had mousy-brown hair, and was bespectacled. Opposite them sat another couple, a woman with platinum blonde hair and a man with jet-black hair that had been tied back into a long braid.
    All their attention was directed to the two children who sat a few metres away, a young boy and girl, both of which were no more than three years old. They were currently fighting over a chocolate bar, each with a firm grip on each end of the wrapper. The boy, who had inherited his mother's blonde hair and his father's brown eyes gave up interest, and abruptly released his hold on the foil. The girl fell over, sending the Moro bar spinning into the bushes. She slowly sat up, looking for her lost treat. Rocking back and forth, she began to sob uncontrollably. The brown-haired woman leapt gracefully from the table and scooped her daughter up in her arms.
    “Sssh,” she murmured “Mummy's here, Sakura.”
    The boy diverted his attentions away from the butterfly he was chasing and walked over to where the woman knelt. He stood on tip-toes, and watched as Sakura was gently cradled. He reached over, and gently touched her cheek, then withdrew his hand. Turning, he called back to his mother sitting at the picnic table.
    “Mummy, her eyes are leaking!”
    Sakura sat on her mother's knee, gurgling happily as she munched on half a Moro bar. The boy sat opposite her, the other half of the Moro bar resting on the table in front of him. Trying to pick it up he fumbled, and it rolled onto the ground.
    “You lost another one, kid.” laughed his father Aiden, sweeping a strand of black hair back behind his ear.
    Akira lowered himself from the table, and walked to where his half of the Moro lay on the grass.
    “Where're you going, Akira?” asked his mother Leah
    Without a word, Akira passed where the Moro bar lay and walked towards a cluster of low-lying bushes. He peered through the foliage, and then leapt back suddenly.
    “Monsta!” he grinned, trying to push himself further into the undergrowth. His mother grabbed onto his feet, and firmly pulled him back from the bushes.
    “Monsta, monsta, monsta!” Akira muttered, grabbing blindly at the air. Sakura sat on the picnic basket, calmly watching the events unfold.
    “You've got your hands full with that boy, Aiden.” laughed Sakura's father.
    “Almost as bad as you were at uni!” came the reply.
    From where it had flown from the bushes, an unseen raven perched on a lamppost. Its unnatural blue eyes glinted as a small starling alighted beside it.
    “Did you see that?” the starling hissed
    “Couldn’t help but, Theta. The little creep almost had me, didn’t he? God thing he couldn't actually see me, though.”
    “Don't be too sure about that, Epsilon.” Theta murmured
    “You're not serious?”
    “I think the commander was right. This could be him.”

    Chapter 2
    2 years later
    Akira craned his head upwards as the towering gates creaked open. A petal floated in front of him, and he looked to the side as a sleek black raven and a small starling landed in a blossoming cherry tree. “What's this building we're standing outside, Theta?” questioned Epsilon.
    “We are currently at the location known as 'school'.”
    “School?”
    “Yes,” replied Theta. “School is an education facility that parental figures often send their children to for over ten years. Here they are forced to sit through hours of this with any number of other children, learning about the world around them.”
    Epsilon shivered. “It sounds horrible.”
    “Akira!” a voice called from beyond the gates. Sakura ran towards him, leaving her mother Lazuli walking calmly in her wake.
    “Bye mum!”
    “Have a good first day!”
    A grey-haired teacher ushered them across a pathway, towards a class full of children.
    Theta and Epsilon watched through the window as Akira and Sakura sat at a table together. A boy beside him whispered something to Akira, who began to laugh. He repeated it to Sakura, who began to giggle as well until they were swiftly silenced by an icy look from the teacher.
    Epsilon watched this unfold suspiciously.
    “He seems very happy for being at school.” he commented. Theta seemed amused by this statement.
    “Yes Epsilon. But it is not only what you spend your time doing, but rather who with.”

    The seven-year-old Akira sat into one of the beanbags that his teacher used for silent reading. It seemed to fold around him, as if it was slowly devouring him. He opened his book, then absently bean to drum his fingers on the carpet beside him, playing a tune only he knew. His friend Darren flopped down beside him, secretly reading a comic inside the book that the teacher had given them each a copy to read. He began reading, then became distracted by a faint drumming sound through the floor
    “Why do you always do that?” he queried.
    “Do what?” Akira asked puzzled. His fingers continued tapping. “That. When you tap your fingers on the floor.”
    “This? I’m playing a tune to the dust-fairies.” He explained. Darren looked at him sceptically for a moment, and then settled back into the beanbag. “You’re weird.”
    Akira gave his friend a long glance, as though he was thinking it equally weird how somebody was able to not see the strange creature that were all around them, one on which, the one Akira happened to be tapping his fingers to, sat on a cabinet beside them humming in time. Akira was about to voice his opinion when Sakura came and sat between them, grinning to each in turn.
    “Watcha doing?” she beamed, tugging the bean bag out from under Darren and using it as a pillow.
    “Getting comfortable,” grumbled Darren, claiming his beanbag back.
    “We were talking about the dust-fairies,” Akira said as way of explanation. Sakura herself was also unable to see the dust fairies, but had known Akira long enough to take his word to heart.
    “Are there any around us?” Sakura whispered, as though she was delving in on some deeply guarded secret, which, in a way, she was.
    “Yeah,” replied Akira. “There’s one on the board by Miss Patterson, one on the windowsill, one on Marcus’ desk, and one on top of the cabinet.”
    “Wow,” breathed Sakura, staring at the cabinet as though a hard enough stare would allow her to see the small creatures as well. Darren sat quietly through this exchange, and then slumped back into the beanbag.
    “You’re both weird.”
    Epsilon watched through the window from the branch of the cherry tree. He turned to Theta and signalled Akira with his sleek black wing.
    “Come on, Theta. Dust-fairies? The kids a moron. The commander must have it wrong.”
    “He’s only seven, friend. He knows that he’s the only one that can see the Essences, and that worries him. All he has to go on is what he can figure from his own imagination,” Theta reasoned.

    Chapter 3
    It was at ten years old that at least part of the ‘dust-fairies’ existence became clear to Akira.
    The cool autumn air whipped freshly-fallen leaves into his face. He hummed softly, the small creatures beside him jogging along beside him. Each one seemed to have its own sort of ‘territory.
    One would walk with him for a while, joining in his humming. After a few strides it would then stop, another one taking its place. All at once, the wind abruptly died down, and a low rumbling began. Akira gave a shiver that had nothing to do with the coolness of the day. He noticed with a start that none of the small creatures were beside him anymore, nor where any in sight. The low rumbling grew in intensity, until the pavement underneath his feet vibrated through his sneakers. A thick mist swirled around him, until Akira found it a struggle to see anymore than a few metres ahead of him. Twin pin-points of red light appeared a pair of eyes that sparkled darkly through the gloom. Akira stood stock still, his eyes drawn by the gaze of whatever was standing in the gloom before him. The eyes burned with a stare ablaze with hate, and a burning desire to kill. Akira sub-consciously did what he always began to do when there was nothing else that could help. He began to hum, softly and gently.
    One-by-one, the small creatures returned. They nimbly crawled over fences, slid from pipes, and lowered themselves from the slots of letterboxes. Rather than sticking to their own few metres that they usually stayed in, the small creatures gathered together in a crowd at Akira’s feet, humming in time with him as they created a low barrier between Akira and whatever stood through the mist. Wether it was the return of the small creatures, the humming, or Akira’s stand, the red lights in the fog began to fade, drawing back to whichever world they came from.
    Akira stood in the middle of the footpath for a few minutes, breathing heavily. The small creatures stayed in front of him for a while, and then drew back to their respective places. They walked with Akira as he stumbled the last few blocks to home, and then slumped against the door. It opened inwards, and he only just managed to stop himself from falling into the hallway. As he slowly made his way up the stairs, his mother walked from the kitchen, just in time to see Akira disappear around the corner of the upstairs passage.
    “I’ll make dinner for six!” she called after him. Akira muttered something unintelligible in reply, and then flopped on his bed.

    Theta and Epsilon landed on their usual branch. Theta snuck in under the crack of the open window, then teased it with his beak to allow his larger companion into the room. Turning with concern towards Akira, Theta hopped onto his bedside table, and put his head on one side as he studied the sleeping figure.
    “It was not meant to be this early,” he mumbled, more to himself than to anybody else. He was distracted by a loud tapping sound, and looked across to see Epsilon pecking at his reflection in the mirror. The sleek raven looked up and noticed his companions frown, and silently flew to join Theta. Akira shifted in his sleep, his knuckles turning whit as they gripped the edge of the sheets.
    “He is troubled by what he has seen,” Theta murmured. “He has seen something he neither knows nor understands, and that has hit him hard.”
    “How did the Akui get through? That’s what I want to know,” Epsilon growled.
    “The demons known as The Wound or Akui have been gathering strength for many years. That we already know. What we do not understand is exactly why or how the Akui are beginning to cross over to Earth. That is why we are responsible for watching the children,”
    “It wasn’t meant to happen yet though, Theta was it? It was bound to happen sometime, but not for a few years,” Epsilon conceded.
    “Yes. That is why it must be done,” Theta replied. He closed his eyes and spoke silently; “We must make sure that he will not remember this day.”

    Chapter 4
    Akira woke early the next day, the sun not yet bright enough to colour his room. With a start, he realised that he could remember nothing of the day before, not why he had come home and gone straight to bed, lying fully-clothed on top of the duvet, nor why a bird seemed to have been perching on his bedside table. He made his way down the stairs, and slid his way into a chair at the kitchen table.
    On the floor beside him in a hutch sat Piggles, his five year old sister Lucy’s pet guinea pig. His mother walked into the room.
    “What was up yesterday? You went up to your room, and when I next came in about six you were dead to the world.”
    Akira opened his mouth to speak, then realised that he had no recollection of the previous afternoon.
    “Long day?” he suggested more a question than a reply.
    “Whatever,” shrugged Leah, dropping the subject. “You do remember what day it is, right?”
    “Yeah, Saturday. Why?” Akira queried. Leah gestured to the table, where a small white box sat. “Oh! That’s right! Can I go see her now?”
    “Akira, it’s half-past six on a Saturday. I only woke up because you were throwing your things around and coming down the stairs sounding like a small dinosaur. You can go over later.”
    Akira sat back down sheepishly, and sat waiting until he fell asleep, only to be woken again at eight ‘o’clock as his father Aiden, who was gently shaking his shoulder.
    “You’ve got half an hour before I have to go to work. If you want me to drop you off at the Anderson’s on the way, you’re going to have to be ready when I go.”
    Akira nodded sleepily, and then wandered upstairs, reappearing a few minutes later in fresh clothes. He sat before a plate of cereal, about to take his first mouthful when Lucy bounced into the room.
    She crouched beside Piggles’ cage, cooing through the wire.
    “Good morning, Piggles, how are you? Did you sleep alright? Are you feeling okay?” she sat waiting expectantly for an answer, then, when she realised that none was forthcoming, stood back up.
    “Hi, big bro.”
    “Hi, Tigger. How come the rodent gets a better greeting than me?” Akira pouted.
    “Order of importance,” Lucy replied. “When are you going to see your girlfriend?”
    “She is not my girlfriend!” Akira said indignantly. “Mum and Dad went to university with her parents, and we’ve been through school together. We’re just good friends.”
    “That is how it always starts,” murmured Aiden agreeably.
    “Da-ad!” objected Akira
    “Quarter of an hour.” Aiden commented matter-of-factly. Akira began shovelling his breakfast.

    “Now you’re sure you’ve got it?” asked Aiden for what seemed like the millionth time that morning.
    “Yes, Dad,” replied Akira, placing his hand over the box that sat in the base of his pocket. He fingered something around his neck, and pulled up his collar.”See ya!” he called as his father pulled away from the curb.
    He knocked thrice on the Anderson’s door, and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. The door was opened by Anthony, Sakura’s father.
    “Akira! It’s nice to see you. How are the olds doing?”
    “Good,” Akira replied. “Is Sakura in?”
    “Yeah. She’s in the kitchen attempting to burn the house down.” Anthony said as Lazuli Anderson walked into the hallway. Like her husband, she looked much the same as he had years ago; only she had let her hair grow out since then. It now reached down to the small of her back, where an apron was tied.
    “Akira! How are you? Don’t stand out in the cold, come in!” she motioned, closing the door behind him.
    Sakura wandered out from the kitchen, sweeping a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. Her bright green eyes sparkled as she held out an open bag.
    “Chocolate chip?” she grinned.
    “Oh, Sakura. They’re meant to be for the biscuits.” Lazuli said, trying not to laugh.
    “Do you remember what day it is?” Sakura hinted. Akira bought the box out from his pocket.
    “Happy Birthday!” he grinned, holding it out to her.
    “Thank you! Can I open it now, Mum?” she pleaded. Lazuli nodded.
    “Of course. I want to see what it is as much as you do, Sakura.”
    Sakura carefully unwrapped the box, careful not to rip any of the fragile wrapping paper. When she opened it, inside nestled a small silver charm in the shape of half a heart. Sakura gently lifted it out of the box and draped the necklace around her neck. She lifted it up, and turned it over in front of her.
    “It’s beautiful, Akira, but- it’s broken,” she said. Akira shook his head and drew out an identical necklace from under his shirt.
    “No it isn’t, see? I’ve got the same type. You sit them together like this,” he demonstrated. “and they fix together! That way we can both carry a piece of the other, in a way. Cool, huh!”
    Sakura nodded eagerly, and proudly sat her necklace over her shirt.”I love it!”
    Lazuli wandered over, and held the necklace up to the light.
    “It’s beautiful!” she breathed, turning it over in her hands. The light reflected off it, making silver sparks dance in her green eyes. “And to think that all your father gave me on our first date was a mood ring.”
    “Mu-um!” objected Sakura.
    “It’s only plated silver. Akira shifted uneasily. “I’ve been saving for ages.”
    “It’s still awesome, isn’t it mum!” Sakura beamed.
    “It sure is.” Lazuli agreed.

    Chapter 5
    Akira slapped the top of his alarm clock, pausing the insistent beeping. He settled back into bed again.
    “Try and grab a few minutes,” he thought to himself.
    “Time to get up, Akira! You’ve got ten minutes,” called Leah from the hallway.
    “There goes that theory,”Akira groaned, stumbling out of bed.
    He threw on his uniform and went down the stairs two at a time.
    “Mornin’,”he mumbled as he entered the kitchen. Lucy was already there, a bowl of cornflakes sitting in front of her. Aiden stood at the other end, hastily pulling on a jacket. Aiden and Anthony both worked as paramedics, and Akira sometimes heard his father open the back door quietly at nights when he was called out for an emergency.
    “Morning, Akira. Going to be a quiet day today,” he said to himself, watching the rain cascading past the window. “Nobody’s going to be out in this.”
    “Yet I have to go to school,” Akira grumbled, putting a slice of bread in the toaster. He leaned against the bench, watching the bread slowly brown.
    “A watched pot-“
    “I know dad,” Akira said, rolling his eyes. He watched as Piggles appeared from his hutch, snufflling around thebottom of the run. It found a piece of lettuce, and began thoughtfully chewing on it.
    Akira jumped as the toaster popped, sending the slice of toast up and over. He tried to grab it, but only succeeded in landing it on the table.
    “Good catch.” Lucy murmured sarcastically.
    Akira ignored her and picked up the toast.
    “See ya’,”he called.
    Sakura stood at the end of the street, tapping her foot with irritation. Akira began jogging, holding the piece of toast in his mouth while he pulled on his jacket.
    “Thought I was going to have to call out a search party for a moment there,” she grinned as he caught up to her.
    “We’ve got plenty of time.” Akira objected.
    He shrugged on his jacket, munching the toast as he walked alongside.
    Akira glanced across at Sakura’s sheet. Almost two questions ahead. He looked back at his own sheet, the questions blurring on thee page.
    “Half an hour to go,” his teacher drawled. Akira banged his head with the heel of his hand, desperately trying to remember what they had learnt in class the day before.
    “ Number 7 is (b),” Sakura whispered. Akira replied with a whispered thanks, and quickly scribbled down the answer. He glanced bakover at Sakura’s sheet, until she found an unfilled question.
    “Four is (a),” he supplied. Sakura grinned and added it onto her page. He looked up as the door swung open, and the headmistress walked in. She gazed around the classroom, until her eyes settled uneasily on Sakura.
    “Sakura Anderson? Could you come to the office, please?”
    Sakura glanced up on hearing her name, and awkwardly stood up. She caught Akira’s eye on the way out, who gave her a ‘What’s going on’ look. Sakura shrugged and smiled reassuredly.
    Akira watched the door for the rest of the period, until it gently opened. Akira almost sprained his neck as he looked up, to see the headmistress walking back in. She wandered down the eyes between the desks, until she halted at Sakura’s seat, picked up her bag, and turned to walk out.
    “What happened?” he whispered as she passed him. The teacher atthe front of the classroom gave him an icy stare, whereas the headmistress said gently; “You knew her well?”
    Akira nodded. The headmistress seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, then shook her head.
    “I’m afraid I cannot let on to some matters,” she replied gently.
    Akira watched as she left the room. He shifted in his chair to catch a glance of Sakura. He thought that he glimpsed a curl of her brown sure, but he couldn’t be sure before the door was closed. He was just about to settle back down to his sheet of paper, when he caught a glimpse of metal on the carpet. He slowly leaned down, and picked it up.
    “Can I be excused, sir?” he asked urgently.
    “When you’ve finished your quiz.” The teacher relied stonily.
    Akira thought back to their first class, when Sakura had taken off her necklace before PE, then attached it to her bag. Now it law in Akira’s hand, as it did for the rest of the period. He made a mental note to himslf that he could drop it round on the Saturday, when Sakura would be home. Wouldn’t she?

    Chapter 6
    The first thing that tipped Akira off that something was wrong was the moving van outside the Anderson’s house. Two men stood outside on the curb. One was busy loading a couch into the back of the moving van, the other was holding a clipboard. He ticked off a box as the couch was loaded in the van, not glancing up until Akira stood directly infront ofhim.
    “Sir?” Akira enquired. The man glanced at him over thick eyebrows, then urned back to the clipboard.
    “Excuse me?” he pressed. The man finally gave up and fixed Akira with a hard stare.
    “What do you want, kid?” he growled. Akira gestured towards the house.
    “What happened to the family who lived here?” he questioned.
    “Left,”the man replied, with no conviction. “Up and left yesterday. Went to Japan or somewhere like that. We’re just the onees who get stuck moving out everything that they left behind”
    Akira decided it was best to avoid mentioning that it is actually the mans job, and pulled Sakura’s necklaceout from his pocket
    “Do you think you can get this to them?”
    “What am I, a messenger?” the man frowned.
    “Please. It’s important.”
    The man glanced into the distance for a while, then turned back to Akira.
    “Did you know them well?”
    “Yeah. Why did they move?” Akira queried.
    “I can’t really tell you, sorry kid. It isn’t very often that we actually get told why we’re doing what we’re doing, what with the whole privacy thing. All I’ve really heard is that something happened that made them want to leave as soon as possible.” He seemed to be deep in thought, then took the necklace from Akira’s outstretched hand.
    “I can’t gaurantee anything, but I’ll do my best. Me and my family are moving to London in a few weeks. It’s a bit out of the way, but I’ll see what I can do. It shoud’nt be to hard to check the records and see where they’re residing now.” His collegue appeared from the house carrying Sakura’s bedside table.
    “Who’s the brat, Tane?” he laughed. The man whose name was Tane coughed in an irritated way, and slid the necklace into his back pocket.
    “Clear off, kid,” he muttered, as he picked his clipboard up off the back of the van.
    Akira gave him a last enquiring glance, to which Tane mouthed ‘promise.’
    Akira smiled his thanks, and rounded the end of the cresent where Sakura, Lazuli and Anthony had lived for as long as he could remember.

    Akira arrived home that afternoon to find his father already home from work, sitting at the kitchen table lazily sirring his tea. Leah appeared from the lounge when Akira opened the door, and sat at the table, folowed by Lucy. Akira watched their looks of anxiety turn to sympathy as he walked under the arch that led from the passageway into the kitchen.
    “What’s wrong?” he said nervously, sensing the unease that lay over the room like a thick blanket.
    “I heard something at work tody,” started Aiden. “It’s about the Andersons.” He paused for a few seconds, either watching Akira’s expression or unwilling to say anymore. “Jeremy from the hospitol- you know Jeremy? Tall bloke, ginger? Yeah. He was called out to a car accident on Teusday, drunk driver apparently. Head-on up by Bass Street, by the shopping centre?” he paused as Leah gave him a half-heartedly ‘get on with it’ nudge. “Yes, well the point is, Akira, Lazuli was in it. Jeremy said it was instant. She was cremated on Thursday, then yesterday Anthony moved to Japan with Sakura.”
    Akira sat at the table for a minute, mouth agape.
    “Why didn’t Sakura say anything?” he frowned.
    “Apparently after Anthony found out, the first thing he did was organise a flight to Japan. It was where he and Lazuli had held their wedding, and I think that he felt that it would seem as though she was still there.”
    Akira nodded, trying to get his head around this.
    “Do you think I’ll be able to get in touch with her again?”
    Anthony and Leah looked at each other uneasily.
    “That might well be impossible, Akira. We’ll have no wayof knowing where they’ve gone to. They could be any where in Japan from Cape Sata to Cape Soya,” Leah reasoned.
    “Yeah,” agreed Akira. “Maybe she’ll get in touch with us instead?” his face brightening slightly.
    “It’s possible,” nodded Leah.

    Chapter 7
    Present Day
    All at once, the wind abruptly died down, and a low rumbling began. Akira gave a shiver that had nothing to do with the coolness of the day. He noticed with a start that none of the small creatures were beside him anymore, nor where any in sight. The low rumbling grew in intensity, until the pavement underneath his feet vibrated through his sneakers. A thick mist swirled around him, until Akira found it a struggle to see anymore than a few metres ahead of him. Twin pin-points of red light appeared a pair of eyes that sparkled darkly through the gloom. Akira stood stock still, his eyes drawn by the gaze of whatever was standing in the gloom before him. The eyes burned with a stare ablaze with hate, and a burning desire to kill.
    Akira woke with a start, breathing heavily. This dream had hounded him for weeks, since last month when he had turned fourteen. He lay in bed for a minute, until his composure slowly turned to normal. He reached over and fumbled for his lamp, instead knocking his radio onto the floor. Now he had an inconvenient excuse to get out of bed. When he was calm, he slid out of bed, got dressed then wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. His parents wouldn’t be awake for over an hour, being this early on a Saturday morning.
    He started to pull open the fidge, then noticed one of the empty cupoards under the sink creak open, and he crouched down to close it. Twin pinpoints of red light appeared at the back, eyes that sparkled darkly in the gloom. Akira let out an involuntary gasp, falling backwards as he stumbled into the table, knocking a glass onto the floor. The sharp crash of the glass breaking shocked him out of his terror, and he instinctivly kicked the cupboard door closed with the heel of his foot. Leah stumbled down the staris, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked, seeeing the terrified look on Aira’s face. Akira, speechless with shock, pointed at the cupboard as Lucy bounded down the taris.
    “Something’s in there. I saw red eyes—“ he faltered. “Watch out!” he gasped as Lucy tore open the cupboard.
    “Piggles!”
    “Piggles?” echoed Akira. Lucy stuck her head in the cupboard, and appeared with the small black guinea pig. Its red eyes reflected the light, causing them to glow red. Anthony wandered into the kitchen.
    “What’s all the noise about?” he muttered sleepily.
    “Akira found a monster,” grinned Leah. She jumped as the latch on the front door banged against it’s stopper, and the door was swung open, a shadow of rage, fear and confusion trailing after him.

    “And then you left the house and came over here?” finished Darren.
    “Yeah, that’s about it. It seems stupid now, doesn’t it?” Akira muttered.
    “Pretty much, yeah. But I suppose it was just an after-effect of the dream or something.”
    “I guess so. It sounds better than just saying I’m a nut,” he tapped his fingers subconsciously, then stopped when he noticed Darren watching him.
    “You don’t think it has something to do with those things, do you?” his friend reasoned.
    “What things?”
    “You know. The creatures, dust-fairies, Blues, Irritating-Little-Whatsits-That-Only-You-Can-See-Which-Officially-Makes-You-A-Basket-Case. Them.”
    “Thanks,” muttered Akira. “I don’t think that they’re directly involved. I can’t imagine them doing something to hurt people.”
    “But they may be indirectly involved, right? I mean, surely it isn’t it a coincidence that there’s supposed a throng of creatures sharing the world with us that only one person can see, and that one person has just started having dreams of some creature resembling a guinea pig who’s trying to hunt you down in your dreams. Doesn’t rate you very highly on the scale of not being a complete whack-job, right?”
    “I think you’re right.” Akira nodded.
    “What, about you being a whack-job? I was kidding about that.”
    “No, I mean I think you’re right that maybe these little blue creatures have something to do with why I’ve been having all these vivid dreams.”
    Darren sat back in his seat, pleased to have vented his intelligence onto somebody.
    “Are there any around us now?” he asked. Akira seemed to be looking around the room. He stood up and wandered over to the TV and picked up something from the top of it. He walked back to the table. Next he picked up the saltpot, and sat it next to whatever he had first put on the table. He moved his hand and waited a while, until with a sudden jerk, the saltpot fell over, rolling slowly until it came to a halt at the end of the table, where Darren picked it up, inspecting it’s surface. A blue resin clung to the side of it, then slowly dissipated, seeming to dissapear into thin air.
    “Where’s the Little Blue?”asked Darren, scanning the top of his table.
    Akira pointed at a spot on the table, and Darren moved his hand towards it.
    “Am I getting there?”
    “Your hand just passed straight through it.” Akira provided.
    “As per frigging usual.” Darren muttered, watching as the blue color on his hand faded. “You’ll keep me posted on anything new, won’t you?”
    “Yeah. Promise,” nodded Akira.


    Theta and Epsilon watched from a cherry tree branch as Akira started walking up the stairs to his room.
    “It is time.” Thata murmured. He hopped up a few branches until he was high enough to see Akira flop onto his bed, his breathing becoming even.
    In a small flash of blue light, a small man appeared at the base of the cherry tree. He was short and thin, standing only just over a metre and a half tall. He wore what seemed to be a kimono-styled blue and red suit, and had dark brown hair that seemed to be naturally highlighted blue. His eyes were a light puple, and even the pupil was coloured, a dark lilac.
    With unatural strength and agility that didn’t seem to match his slight frame, he bounded up the branches of the tree until he silently landed on the branch beside Theta. He closed his eyes, then seemed to mouth words in an unfamiliar language. A pale blue mist seemed to descend over the city. The birds were suspended in space, their wings frozen in a moment of time. A family sat gathered around a picnic table in the park, smiles unmoving on their faces as the moment was captured. The river that run through the middle of the town was frozen mid-flow, a stationary fish jumping out of the water as it shook water droplets from it’s back. Time had paused.
    “It is time,” repeated Theta.
    Chapter 8
    Akira awoke in a small room, no larger than the size of his bedroom at home. It was with this thought that he realised he wasn’t at home any more, or infact anywhere he recognised. He lay on a bed of warm sheets, that were made of an unfamiliar material that seemed to be a thicker version of silk. The room itself seemed ordinary enough, painted in a paper design. On closer inspection, Akira realised that the walls were paper, reminding him of pictures he had seen of Japanese houses, with the sliding paper walls that moved to open onto a stereotypical Japanese courtyard, with cherry blossoms showering the tiles with it’s petals. Akira remembered the Japanese name for cherry blossoms then, sakura, the namesake of his childhood friend. Out of curiousity, he slid back a panel of wall, and tentativly stuck his head through the gap. The corridor that it revealed was a vast contrast to the room that he had just left. The coridor reminded Akira of something from a science fiction film, all the walls a metallic white apart from the Japanese wall panels, which were dotted along the corridor at regular intervals. The hallway curved around around a corner in one direction, the other ended abruptly at a large oak door, that stood almost twice Akira’s height. He heard hushed voices in the distance behind the door, and slowly pushed it open. The creak that followed sounded like a gunshot in the harsh silence that followed. Akira immediately had the uneasy feeling that he had just walked in on something important, and that he was the topic of conversation.
    The room he stood in seemed the size of a rugby field, and reminded Akira of a parliamentary chamer like the ones he had seen of TV. The outer edge of the room was lined with seats, but only a few at the end were occupied. About half a dozen people sat in these chairs, while a seventh man stood behind a pedestal that made him much taller than the others. After a fair amount of shared glances and whispers, it was this man who addressed him.
    “You are Akira?” he directed.
    “Yeah,” murmured Akira, still studing the faces of the short figures who lined the seats around him.
    “Would you like to know why you’re here?” the man continued.
    “That would be helpful, but can we start with where I am first?”
    “Well yes, I suppose that would help. You are in Livelia.”
    “Still not helping."
    “You are aware what a different dimension is?”
    “Yeah, I think my parents live in one sometimes.”
    “We are not getting anywhere, Sayona,” spoke out one of the men from the seats, a thin, weasily man with greasy black hair and a red-eyed stare to compete with a guinea pig.
    “Wait, Kasir,” warned Sayona.
    “Many have speculated the expanse of the universe. Most have agreed that the universe is ever-expanding, and reaches to infinity. Although it is true that the universe expands, reports of it’s size have been greatly stretched. If a satellite was to be sent to the fer reaches of the universe, it would be enveloped by space itself, ceasing to exist. Although the universe is not as great as one might think, it is not the only universe. There are up to a million seperate universes. Some stretch to almost infinity, while some, like Livelia, consist of only one base planet. Therefore, these single-rock universes are reffered to as dimensions. The planet of Livelia in made of two warring sides, the Livelians, and The Wound. The Wound is a race of demons residing on the opposite side of Livelia. You yourself have come face to face with one of these creatures.”
    Akira was about to object to this claim, when the time four years ago became blindingly clear.
    “How could I have forgotten that?” he breathed.
    “Our recon tem were with you that day when you met one of the Wound, or an Akui. We knew that it was far too early for you to learn about The Wound, and so we gave you a memory loss, a mental block which fills selected momories with more acceptable ones. We didn’t understand just how advanced your connection with the Essences were though. Even though we managed to extract the memories that took place on that day, your mind rejected the false cover-up memories. In the last few weeks, your sub-concious has been recalling the few moments of that day and turning them into dreams. Now that the truth has been revealed, the mental block will begin to crumble.”
    “You said about the Essences before. Are they the small blue creatures?” Akira questioned.
    “Yes,” confirmed Sayona. “The Essences that you see are unique to earth. Imagine the earths crust split into sections, each about five meters across. The Essences are the life force of the Earth, each charged with managing the natural aura of that section of Earth. It is not known their full purpose, and I imagine that we probably never will. We do know that they have a connection with Livelia, but that is it.”
    “And I’m here because I can see them?” Akira guessed.
    “You are not here because of that, but it is a reason,” Sayona explained. “ Almost three decades ago, we received word that The Wound were attempting to uncover a way to evade the barrier that separates them from the rest of Livelia. The relationship between our two nations had always been strained, at best, hellish at worst. Their plan succeeded a few years ago, when a pack of Akui broke off from their bosses and broke through the barrier. They were defeated by a number of our elite, but it was this move which enraged the Akui and led to them invading Livelia. The battle raged for two years, until it eventually ended in a deadlock. The Akui went back to their lair, lying low. For a while.”
    “What happened?” Akira ventured. “Did they invade again?”
    “No, For a while, they were happy to live in that godforsaken red wasteland they call home, up until fifteen years ago. At first, a few Akui would seep their way into Livelia, causing what destruction they could. It was not until the third or fourth time this happened that we learnt of their true goal. The Wound were planning to send scouts through to Earth, to test it for it’s capability to support a populated home for them. Our main problem was, we didn’t know how they were appearing on Earth, therefore we couldn’t get there first to stop them. The first scout sent by the Wound became scrambled in the transition, disallowing him to fully form on Earth. As I recall, you managed to stop him from forming. In the years since then, the Akui have ceased most activity, only send a scout every now and again to prospect. However, some months ago, an entire nomad family was wiped out when an Akui materialized in their camp. We are afraid that they may be attempting to populate Earth again, and are playing the cards we have held for over a dozen years.”
    “And I’m guessing that I’m one of those cards?.”
    “You catch on fast,” praised Sayona. “ There is a total of six people in the world who can see the Essences. Only these six can see the Akui as well, and therefore help defeat them. One from New York, one from Osaka, one from London, one in Cairo, and the last, Akira Kennedy of New Zealand. These are the only five people with the ability to see the Essences. We think that this may be a sign that these six teenagers are capable of harboring the power to destroy the Akui.”
    “So you want me and these other kids to fight your war for you?”
    “No. The Akui have learned how to travel directly to Earth, but, as yet we have not learned how to without sapping energy greatly. Somehow these creatures have fond away to materialize themselves without losing any of their vast strength reserves. By integrating the Livelian’s power, you should have many of the abilities that we have.”
    “Such as?”
    “The ability to pause time. Flight, agility. These skills can be used by you to defeat the Akui on Earth, which will in turn send them back to their side of Livelia. It is impossible for us to use any but the most basic of these skills on Earth. Our Tech Expert Chip, who went down to fetch you, used a time stop so that no time would pass between when you left and when you return. He has reported having a migraine, and we have no idea how long the time-stop will hold up for. It may last until you head back for Earth, or it we may have to head back early.”
    “So you need me and these four other people to send any Akui that happen to materialize back to Livelia.
    What if we don’t?”
    “The Akui will slowly populate Earth. Whoever is behind rallying them together will rule over both Livelia and Earth.” Sayona explained calmly.
    “No pressure,” muttered Akira. “So where are the other five?”
    “We have not made contact with them yet,” admitted Sayona. “We were hoping that after we had one of our heroes, they would be able to convince the others of the importance of their place. For maybe a few weeks, you can just go it alone, get a feel for your new abilities and responsibilities. After a couple of weeks, we will set you onto seeking out the others.”
    “I haven’t actually agreed to anything yet,” muttered Akira.
    “Yet you will still do it, won’t you?” Sayona grinned.
    “Yeah,” nodded Akira “I’ll do it.”
    “We thought you would. That’s why we chose you to be the first chosen.” Sayona smiled approvingly. “Let me introduce you to the members of the council. I am the commander of Livelia city, Sayona,” he gestured to himself. As he stepped down from the pedestal, Akira noticed that he stood only a few centimeters shorter than the Commander. Sayona gripped his hand in a friendly handshake, then turned to the other ‘members of the council’ as Sayona had called them.
    The first was the same man who had appeared at Akira’s house. He massaged his temples with the heel of his hand, and looked like he was ready to fall asleep at any moment.
    “This is Chip, our tech expert.” Sayona gestured. Chip gave a halfhearted mumble that could have been anything from a “welcome” to a ‘shove off’.
    “Sirka, our president.” Sirka was a thin, weasily man, with greasy hair, a sneering smile, and glittering grey eyes. A muttered “Charmed” came from his direction, his voice rasping like sandpaper on wood. The next man was introduced by Sayona to be Kasir, who would be in charge of training Akira and the other four children to fight the Akui. He seemed to be a spitting image of Sirka, only his sneering smile seemed a little more permanent, and his eyes sparkled with an electric blue. He gave a snide “Hello”, his voice sounding as if a gas leak had just erupted from a pipe. The third person that Akira was introduced to was a bulky man named Nealson, who was described as ‘a fighting expert.’ By Sayona. Akira wasn’t sure if this was true or not, but he wasn’t really willing to find out. He hoped that Nealson would be happy with a normal ‘how are you’, but, as luck would have it, he instead attempted to fragment Akira’s hand with a crushing handshake.
    “Nice to meetcha’” the large man said gruffly. Akira replied with something that was midway between a hello and a squeal. The next person who was introduced was a woman named Hart. Akira barely noticed, still trying to massage his wrist back out of numbness behind his back. The woman in front of him was slight and blond, seeming to be no older than eighty., She walked with a unique grace to where Akira stood and shook his hand. He felt a slight tingle, then noticed when Hart pulled away that his hand felt looser, no longer crushed by Nealson’s handshake. Hart smiled over her shoulder at him, her green eyes sparkling mischievously.
    “Hart is our chief medic, and one of the last healers known on Livelia.” Sayona smiled knowingly. Lastly he introduced Akira to Samire, an elderly woman who sat asleep in a wheelchair. She would have put her age in perhaps the early nineties, but was surprised to hear that she was in her hundredth year.
    “Samire is our prophesier, and meditates daily.” Sayona said quietly. Akira got the feeling that Samire had some bigger part than this, that she had helped bring Akira here.
    “Is she meditating now?” he whispered, watching the old woman’s chest rise and fall slowly.
    “Ah, no. She is sleeping.”
    “Oh. Right.”
    Chip stirred in his seat, shakily raising his hand to speak.
    “Sayona, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold this time-stop up. I might be able to hold up for a few minutes, but no longer.”
    “We won’t ask you to keep it going any longer. Akira, we will take you home, along with your Livelian souvenirs. Chip, once he has gone you can take the time-stop away. I’ll get Stella to fill in for you for the rest of the day.” Sayona offered.
    Chapter 9
    Akira awoke in his own room. At first he felt ready to pass of the events as a dream, but for a few things. When he looked outside, a bird was frozen in mid- wing beat, then suddenly took off again as if nothing had happened.. Somehow he had managed to pick up a strange blue watch that he had never seen before... and he was hovering a meter above the ground.
    “Got the hang of it already, haven’t you?” murmured a voice beside him. Epsilon and Theta sat on his cabinet, watching as Akira dived through the air and gently glided around his room.
    “You’re not going to find the other’s flying at that speed.” Theta continued. He gestured with his wing towards the open window. “Perhaps you would like to fly?”
    “Yeah,” Akira nodded vigorously. “But what if somebody sees me?”
    “Oh, I’m sure nobody will think anything of it,” Epsilon muttered sarcastically. Akira gave him an ‘are-you-serious’ look, and Theta was forced to explain.
    “You have the ability to stop time, like the Livelian's.”
    “Yeah right. Next you’ll be telling me that I can-“ Akira broke off then, looking down at the floor below him. He spun around and planted his feet on the ceiling, folding his arms.
    “How?”
    “Close your eyes and think-“
    “-happy thoughts?”
    “-of time stopping-“
    “-Obviously“
    “Imagine the birds stopping in mid-flight-
    “-Got it”
    “The drifting clouds halt-“
    “-Check.”
    “...We could get her a hell of a lot faster if you stopped interrupting, Akira.”
    “Sorry. Now what?”
    “Imagine a pale mist, swirling, the only thing moving in a world of stillness.”
    “Theta? Theta? We’re done.” Akira heard Epsilon murmur.
    Theta opened his eyes, and hopped over to the window sill.
    “You done it, kid,” approved Epsilon. Akira opened one eye, then the other at he realized what had happened. He had stopped time.