“Not again. Not now!”

“We got to get her out of this thing!”

“Yeah, but…” We all backed away and looked at the mirror. “How?”

“It’s a *Nightmare Mirror. I’ve seen this before.” Miichan spoke up. “We can’t break it with Miki trapped inside, or else she’ll disappear.”

“So how do we get her out?”

“One of us has to go in there.”

I stepped up first. “I’ll go.”

“You sure, Mako-chan?”

“Once you’re in that mirror, all your worst fears come to life.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m gonna go in there and save Miki.”

“Okay.” Miichan took my hand and casted a little spell on it. “This should keep you from getting trapped in there, that way, both you and Miki can get out safely.”

“Thanks, Miichan.”

I turned back to face the mirror and took a deep breath before jumping in. I fell a few feet into a deep, dark abyss. I thought I’d keep falling forever, then I landed in the back of a roller coaster.

When I looked, I saw we were going up a large hill on the track. Miki was in the very front, locked in her seat and panicking to get out, screaming endlessly.

Remaining calm, I took a deep breath and raised my hand to my lips.

“Transform, Tentomu chu.” I said before kissing my ring.

But, nothing happened.

What?

“Transform, Tentomu chu!”

I kissed it. Again and again. But, it’s not working. I can’t transform! Does that mean the dark energy in this thing is so powerful, it’s making me unable to transform?

“Mako-chan!!! Help me!!!”

“I’m coming, Miki-chan!” I climbed up the carts and made it to the front, where Miki was still struggling to release the seatbelts binding her.

“What the heck is going here?!”

“Miki, calm down. This is a trap. Don’t be scared.”

Suddenly, the roller coaster stopped and we were right at the top of the hill, a deep darkness under us. Miki was already crying a lot.

“How can I NOT be scared?!”

“Listen, this place is fueled by your fears. Whatever you do, do not think of anything that scares you.”

I suddenly felt the seatbelts wrap around me and pull myself into the seat. They locked onto me tight and the safety bar lowering in front of us.

“Oh no…”

Then, came the drop…

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

…..

“Dang, it must be intense in there,” Nagisa said with her ear pressed against the glass. “They’re screaming pretty loud.”

“What do you think’s going on in there?”

“Who knows…”

Miichan knocked on the side of the mirror. “This thing was immediately triggered when Miki stepped in. It’s directly linked to both of their hearts.”

“Their hearts?”

“This is a Nightmare Mirror, a dark energized version of a *Dream Mirror.”

“What are those?”

“Dream Mirrors are items that are created and fueled by people’s dreams. They allow people to look inside a person’s heart. Their hopes, wishes, desires, anything the mind can think up, it can be shown in there. Almost like an alternate world.”

“And Nightmare Mirrors are made of people’s nightmares?”

“Yes. When a Dream Mirror becomes overloaded with negative emotions and dark energy, it turns into a Nightmare Mirror. They’re fueled by fear and despair, all things that fill people’s hearts with darkness.”

Another loud scream echoed in the mirror.

“Miki must have some really intense fears…”

“That, or she really knows how to use her screentime.”

The girls all looked at Miichan simultaneously. “Screentime?”

“Un. Her reactions are good. She really knows how to work with them.”

“Wait, do you mean..?”

Another scream.

“She’s doing THAT on purpose?!”

“I wanna be like you, Miichan!”

“Most likely.”

“But why?”

Miichan leaned against the mirror. “Lemme tell you a story. A long time ago, when I was just starting out as an idol here, I loved the spotlight. I used to revel in it. I always made sure I was standing out, reacting, even over-reacting. Just for the attention.”

“That’s true. You did always do some hilarious reactions in the past.”

“Like when you ate that Super Spicy Chicken and had a major freakout!”

“Haha! I remember that!”

“Yes… But then, a scandal rose up about me.” Then, the girls went silent. Miichan was getting serious now. “After that, I realized what I wanted wasn’t all the attention. I wanted to be loved for who I was, not what I was pretending to be. So, I changed my image.”

“Souka… so that’s why you cut your hair.”

“Hehe, I guess so, yea.”

Another loud scream came, breaking the serious atmosphere.

“Really, though? Could Miki be faking all of her reactions?”

“If she isn’t, then whatever’s in there is pretty bad.”

…..

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!”

“Miki, please calm down, it’ll be okay.”

“YADAAAA!!! It’s too scary~~~” She hugged me tight as we twisted and turned, monsters popping out in front of us. “KYAAAA!!! Mou, I can’t take it anymore!!!!”

I looked forward and saw the track was headed from a deep abyss.

“Oh no…”

“Mou~~~ Why can’t this roller coaster cart just spout wings and fly?!”

Just as we made it to the edge of the cliff, the roller coaster cart flew off the track. Then, giant wings grew at the sides and carried of safely to the other side of the abyss.

“Woah…”

“How did that happen? I just said I wanted the cart to grow wings and fly, and it happened.”

“Does that mean… you can control what happens here?”

“Let’s see, uh… I want a giant pillow to appear below us so we can safely land on the ground!”

Suddenly, the entire cart flipped over and we both were released from our restraints, falling from the sky until we eventually landed into a soft, giant pillow.

“Uwaa~ so fluffy~~~” Miki said, hugging the pillow.

“This place only responds to you, Miki. You can control what happens here.”

“Maji?!”

“Of course, though, you can’t transform,” a voice rose in the darkness.

“Momo.”

“Just try escaping, after you get through these puppies,” she said before a bunch of monsters appeared before us.

Miki was already shaking.

“Miki, this place makes whatever you want come true. If you wanna get out of here so badly, you need to fight.”

“But~…”

“Miki, what would Miichan do?”

That moment, I saw a spark in her. As if all her fear was gone. She smiled.

“Yosh! I can do this!” Miki screamed loud. “I am… Superhero Miki!”

Her outfit changed into one completely different from her regular superhero uniform. She looked like a real superhero, like someone from the *Megaman series.

“I can transform, too!” I said aloud. “I’ll fight with Miki!”

“Mako-chan, you are my Superhero sidekick!”

My outfit changed as well and a sword of light appeared in my hand.

“I can beat these guys. I can do this.” She kept telling herself that, covering her fists with digital light and creating large fists.

She ran towards the monsters and started punching them. I gripped my sword and started cutting them, one by one.

“We need to find a way out of here…”

“GPS, activate!” Miki typed in something in her glove built-in computer. A compass came out and pointed in the direction of the exit. “Up there.”

“That’s up really high.”

“Then I wanna fly!”

Robotic wings grew out from Miki’s back and she started flying up in the air.

“Mako-chan can fly, too! She’s got rocket boots!”

“Rocket what?!” I couldn’t say anything else as I felt myself being blasted up from the ground. “UWAAA!!!”

“Yahoo~ this is fun!”

“Not for long!”

More monsters appeared, flying towards us. I swung my sword again and sent a shock wave, cutting down some of them. Miki shot out bullets of light from a gun built-in her other glove.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here!”

Just as me and Miki were about to leave, when…

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled back and returned to my normal clothing. As Miki returned, she tried to pull me back, but it was too late. I ended up falling into a deep dark abyss and couldn’t stop screaming. But then, I felt someone grab my hand and saved me.

I looked up and saw a girl, a mask over her eyes, so I couldn’t see who she was. But, I saw her eyes were beautiful blue. Her outfit looks just like ours, but all white, and she had a long cape. I looked and saw a glowing blue crystal on her chest.

Who is she?

I grabbed her hand as she pulled me up and I fell through the mirror, back to my world. I saw Meru summon her hammer and smash the mirror, breaking it.

“Mako-chan! Are you okay?”

When I looked around, I didn’t see the girl who had saved me from falling. She completely disappeared, without a trace.

What..?

…..

“How is progress on your side, Minegishi?”

“We ran into some trouble.”

“Oh?”

“Mako was a bit out of it when she got out. I think she saw some of her—”

“It’s still too early. Don’t say anything.”

“Alright… is she ready yet?”

“I’m just about to wake her up. You can thank your precious girlfriend for retrieving her soul.”

“Mariko-sama? You mean… she..?”

“Don’t worry. She said this was what she needed to do to keep everyone safe.”

“Yuko will be so upset when she finds out…”

“Minegishi.”

“Yes.”

…..

“Hey, Miichan,” I called to her as I opened the door to the office. She suddenly turned to me and hung up her phone.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure.” She pulled up a chair and handed me a slice of cake to eat as we talked. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk about… when I was in the Nightmare Mirror.”

“Uh-huh…”

“I wasn’t alone. Someone else was in there. She saved me.”

She suddenly froze, remaining silent for a few seconds. “Who?”

“I don’t know. But, when I saw her eyes…”

“Hm… maybe it’s a premonition dream.”

“A what?”

“A dream that can tell the future.”

“Those things can happen?”

“Dreams are very mysterious. They’re more than just imaginary thoughts. They are created by strong human emotions.”

“So, does that mean that girl is… someone I know?”

“And if she’s not, you’ll meet her soon.”

Someone I will meet… but who?

…..

Kyoya stood in front of the sleeping princess, circling the altar as she laid there, deep in her own world of slumber. He smiled as his hand caressed her cheek.

“It’s time.”

He placed the crystal over the girl’s chest, causing it to glow brightly. He muttered a few spells, the hooded figure silently watching him.

The girl was feeling herself slowly wake up, her mind racing as memories of the past filled her head. Tears ran down from her closed eyes. With one last spell, Kyoya released a large burst of energy. The princess’s body pulsed with blue light for a short second before it slowly faded.

Her eyes opened to reveal deep blue orbs, looking up at the man before her. She slowly sat up, Kyoya taking her hand and kissing it.

“Welcome back, love.”

=============================

Footnotes

*1. Nightmare Mirror - The alternate, evil version of a Dream Mirror. When a Dream Mirror becomes corrupted with negative emotions and dark energy, it transforms into a Nightmare Mirror. They reflect a person’s fears.

*2. Dream Mirror - An item that is able to reflect a person’s heart, showing their deepest desires.