Chapter 16 – RETURN TO THE SEA OF STARS (AKA NARROWLY GETTING OUTTA DODGE)

Miko collapsed, her shoulder pulverized in a bloody mess.

For a moment, the world was perfectly still.

The thunderous report of a large-caliber gunshot echoed belatedly, sound outstripped over a great distance. Anti-material rifle.

Reality set in.

"MIKO!" I screamed. Our hatchlings in my arms began to cry, frightened by my anguished roar.

Pandemonium broke out. Shooting began from several directions at once. The crowd panicked, people screaming and stampeding, knocking down and trampling one another. The UN bodyguards tried to secure the delegate members, but it was a hopeless effort. The Japanese police officers were of no help either, confused and alarmed like everybody else. The whole place was a mass of fleeing bodies and whistling death.

I registered this only distantly. My eyes were locked to Miko. I watched in horror my dream wife struggle for her life, fallen and bleeding. I just couldn't process the image. My mind had reached a halting state. I was dimly aware I was breaking down, wailing wordlessly.

My elder daughters immediately came to my side. One took the hatchlings from my numb arms. The others erected magical barriers to protect our family from the bullets. One lead piece slammed into the barrier; it would've stopped in my skull if it hadn't been intercepted. The attackers were visible now, at the edge of my vision: black-clad figures clustered around in the dark, covering behind the many parked vehicles around the area.

<Miko! MIKO! Talk to me! Please, my love, say something!> I mindcast again and again and again, sobbing hysterically. <Miko!>

<Drago...> came her mental whisper, fragile as never before. <Please... Take care of the children.>

Coldness.

Darkness.

A world without <any> of my loved ones.

Reality set in.

This time, I responded.

I snapped out of my maddened state. Hyperalert, adrenaline-flooded, I took in the situation: my elder daughters were straining to keep the protective barriers around us, one of them still bearing the terrified hatchlings in one arm, my younger daughters crying and huddled at their mother's side, the panicked crowd struggling to clear out, bullets flying, people screaming and falling down, trampled or shot.

And then there were the dozen unhatched eggs, still lying in the stage's pool, unattended and unprotected.

With several black-clad figures quickly advancing towards them.

I roared, and rushed to my future progeny. I stormed into the pool and threw my arms wide, casting a terrific wave of pure force. The spell lifted the attackers clear off the ground, scattering them like an explosion.

"YO, DRAGO!"

I whipped around and saw Jared standing on the front stage. He carried a pair of assault rifles.

"Catch!" my best friend yelled, and threw me a weapon.

I snatched the rifle mid-air with a telekinetic pull, not caring where or how Jared got it. I turned back, fangs bared, and rained fully automatic fire toward the attackers. The weapon swiftly clicked empty, and I discarded it, lightning crackling in my clenched fist. I roared, burning with wrath and rage, and hurled incandescent bolts of electricity. Jared, more cool-headed, fired in short, precise bursts.

"Ra, Ri, Ko, Kya! Take the eggs!" I called at my younger daughters. "Hurry!!" I bellowed while holding off the attackers.

Rara, Riri, Koko, and Kyakya sprang into action at the desperate authority in my voice. At the same time, Mrs. Kawano and Kauri came onto the stage. Mrs. Kawano went to aid my elder daughters to keep the magical barrier active, while Kauri assisted my younger ones in gathering the eggs. I cast several more lightning bolts in the dark, while Jared reloaded. We both saw the eggs were brought to safety, and retreated. We all clustered around Miko to keep the barriers as small as possible.

I checked Miko. She had stopped the bleeding with magic, but her eyes were closed and her breath was labored. She also didn't respond to my words, verbal or mental.

We were in serious danger, although not completely so. The unknown assailants seemed to be fighting one another as much as they did my family. Yet soon it became apparent that their target was indeed us, as more and more gunfire was gradually aimed in our direction. The police offered some resistance, having recovered from the initial shock, and the panicked crowd provided a macabre live barrier, making it impossible to have a clear line of fire. This was buying us some time, but it wouldn't last for long.

"We gotta skedaddle <pronto>!" Jared shouted, gripping tightly his assault rifle, eyes darting frantically around. "We can't stay here!"

"And go where? They'll chase after us!" I shouted back. We were sitting lizards on the brightly-lit stage but Miko, Roro, and Ruru were too big to try to sneak away in the general chaos, and Miko was still barely conscious from pain and shock.

"Kauri, go to the spa center!" Mrs. Kawano called. "Bring dragon's blood! You two," she indicated me and Jared, "go with her!"

"What for?" I called.

"Do not argue with me, Raveloff-san! Go!!"

Me, Jared, and Kauri dashed off the stage, heads low to avoid getting shot. We sprinted towards the spa center. Thankfully, there weren't many people in this direction to impede our progress. I wondered why Mrs. Kawano didn't go herself to retrieve the dragon's blood; I could keep the magical barrier at least as well as her. Then I realized that if the attackers wanted me and my family, having us split up would also cause the enemy forces to split in order to pursue.

<Well done, Kawano-san>, I thought, glad for her clear-headedness under pressure.

We reached the spa center's perimeter. There was no time to detour for the entrance. I rushed straight toward the wall and blew a hole in it with another powerful blast of magical force. A couple of black-clad assailants lay dead on the other side, with two more stunned from the explosion.

I lunged at the nearer opponent, my claws wickedly open. I hit him in the gut, pouring my rage into the blow, and disembowled him completely. Our eyes met by chance, and for one long moment I gazed at his widened eyes under the dark balaclava, filled with terror and terminality, and then he perished.

Jared, meanwhile, dispatched the other survivor with a judicious point-blank burst, his weapon clicking empty. He took a fresh rifle and spare ammo from the dead combatants.

I examined the attackers' firearms. Steyr AUGs, with reflex dot sights; the attackers weren't regular soldiers – perhaps elite mercenaries, or special forces. I grabbed the three remaining assault rifles, slinging two over my shoulder. Kauri stood to the side, looking pale and sick. I nudged her to move.

The three of us ran toward the Kawano residence full-tilt, the pandemonium at our backs – gunfire, screams, and crashing sounds – urging us to haste. We reached the old house and crowded on the front porch. Kauri took out her keys, but her trembling hands kept missing the lock.

"<Fuzakenna>," I snarled. "Stand back!" I made a sharp gesture and blew the door open. Kauri glanced at me, furtive. "Go, get the dragon's blood!" I snapped at her.

Kauri darted inside. Me and Jared remained alone on the front porch. Suddenly, I wobbled and put a claw to my head.

"Woah, you okay, dude?" Jared asked, reaching to steady me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I growled. This was the reason I took the guns – magic was all fine and dandy, but its 'ammo', so to speak, was one's actual stamina and vitality. This was why I couldn't afford to go around throwing spells left and right (as I've been doing so far) – it was a very hazardous way to fight for more than a minute or two, unless you had some other metaphysical energy source at hand. Or unless you were really efficient with your spellcasting. And I hadn't been focusing my magical energies at all.

Me and Jared took cover behind some heavy wooden planters in front of the house, to guard our position. I was sure we were followed. The seconds ticked away. Kauri kept dallying inside. I peered from behind the planter and spotted several assailants creeping towards us. I signaled Jared. We took pot shots at them to halt their advance.

In response, our position was strafed with heavy gunfire. The front of the house was also suppressed. The enemy were staggering their bursts so they could reload in groups, making it next to impossible to return fire. Kauri abruptly jumped out from an open window, diving next to me to take cover. She clutched a bunch of dark pearls made of resin.

"<Kuso>! We're pinned down!" Jared shouted, hunched low behind his cover.

We couldn't return fire, let alone abandon our position. I snarled, powerless, worrying what might be happening with Miko and the children. If the enemy flanked us, that would be the end. Sacrifices had to be made.

"Go, take the dragon's blood to your mother!" I shouted to Kauri. "We'll cover you!"

"No, I'm not leaving without you, Dorago-sama!"

"Leave!" I roared. "Or we all die!"

"NO! I know what Mother intends to do!" Kauri shouted. "And I can cast that spell, too!" She began to chant loudly.

Me and Jared risked popping out of cover for a second to slow down the attackers. I emptied my rifle and readied another. Bullets whizzed milimeters away from my face, one scraping the scales on my snout in a flash of scorching sensation. Kauri continued to chant, reciting mystical phrases in quick, urgent manner. She then abruptly opened her mouth and swallowed one of the dragon's blood pearls.

She resumed her chanting, but her skin grew very hot, almost as if about to burst into flame. I turned to her, worried she had botched the spell. Suddenly, Kauri's eyes flared with unearthly light and she jolted rigid-straight, as tremendous amount of magical energy rushed out from her.

Instantly, all the hot springs in the spa center blasted into the sky as one, their waters turned into superheated steam. The attackers yelled in pain and confusion, caught at the epicenter of the spell. The towering vapor spires billowed out and became immense clouds of fog, which descended onto the entire neighborhood.

Kauri fainted. I caught her before she fell, and slung her over my shoulder. "Time to go," I told Jared, and we made our escape in the chaos caused by the steam fog.

The fog was almost supernaturally thick, plunging everything in vague greyish shadows and muffling any sound. Me and Jared climbed over the nearest wall, and then followed it to the main street. In the distance, the sounds of battle and panic continued as if from a much greater distance.

We reached the street, where we saw a group of giant silhouettes: my family. Miko was in the lead, followed by our younger daughters, plus Kiki and Keke, all carrying eggs and hatchlings, while Roro and Ruru were at the back.

"Miko! You're alive!" I blurted, putting down Kauri. I ran toward my wife and hugged her leg, sobbing with relief.

"Yes... my noble lizzy..." Miko spoke, her speech slurred horribly. She held her ruined shoulder with her good arm. "Must... hurry!..."

"Where is Mrs. Kawano?" Jared asked, peering in the fog.

"Covering us... We must go!" Miko said, breathing heavily.

I clenched my jaw. I hoped Mrs. Kawano would survive. But there was nothing do be done now.

"Everyone, follow me!" I called, picking up Kauri again; she was still unconscious. "This way!"

We moved southward, towards Nanchu Pond. My plan was to reach the pond, using it as an orientation marker, and then flee through the Taishaku Mountain Pass. Once beyond the mountain, we could find help in Kobe – police, JSDF, you name it; but first we had to make sure to be out of immediate danger.

Our group moved quickly, Miko compensating her slowed pace with her greater stride. The magical fog swirled around us, swallowing all sound and making it impossible to see more than a few steps ahead, like in the first Silent Hill game. We reached the pond, skirting its still waters, tense and alert. No one was around. Once past the lake, we made our way towards the mountain pass. There were still no sounds of pursuit.

We could make it.

The fog cleared when we reached Taishaku Road. But that was where our luck ended.

A half-dozen vans, headlights switched off, appeared in the distance up the road. The moment they noticed us, they started moving, heading straight for us.

Miko saw them and roared with fury. She flung her good arm in a sweeping gesture, her magical aura flaring intensely. The forest and the mountain slope on the side of the road were jarred by an unseen force. They collapsed in a rapid avalanche, burying the advancing vans under tons of debris or pushing them over the road's cliffside. Everything happened in seconds, the road gone under dark clouds of rising dust.

I watched in awe; with a single gesture, my wife had destroyed tons of scenery and killed dozens of people – just like that.

Miko kneeled down with a pained gasp. Roro and Ruru went to help her. I tried to stop and think for a moment how to proceed. But our respite was a brief one: already more vehicle engines could be heard approaching from Makinata behind us. If we stayed on the road, we would be exposed.

We fled in the only direction which remained, down the gorge between the mountain pass and the pathway leading to the shrine temple. We fled toward the shrine temple, the only known place nearby. We were like hunted beasts fleeing to our lair, an atavistic impulse of basic fight or flight instinct spurring us onward. But I had no better idea where to go. None of us had.

The moon was new, and the night should've been very dark. But the stars were unusually bright, even unaturally so; shafts of silvery light pierced the trees' crowns, making the forest appear like a vast illuminated atrium amid the wilderness. We ran without pause, sticks and leaves crunching loudly under out claws, fear gripping our saurian hearts. We reached the shrine temple, greeted by the familiar Buddhist-Shinto facade in the gloom.

We were all heaving, but Jared was completely out of breath. He flopped on the nearest rock outcropping, pallid and gasping.

"We– we– we– can't– remain– here," he said with a trembling voice. "If– If– If– the approaches– get– surrounded– it be– death trap."

"We can continue toward the summit and try crossing the mountain there," I said, catching my own breath. "Once we reach Kobe, we can seek help there." Jared had lost his cellphone in the tumult; me and my family were all naked and carried no communication devices.

"We should stay," Miko said unexpectedly. Her tone was final. "The portal is about to open up."

I whipped my head, facing her. "What!?" I yelled, awestruck. "You... you mean a portal to the Sea of Stars??"

"Yes," Miko confirmed, holding her shoulder again. Her expression was haggard. "But the correct conditions have to be set," she added with effort. "They must be the same as before, or we won't be able to enter."

I looked at the sky in dismay – it was a clear night with not a single cloud in sight. "Miko, why aren't you healing your wound?" I asked her, worried she was growing delirious.

"I'm gathering my strength to summon a storm," Miko panted. "I'll need my entire magical reserves, if I want to be sure... and to be quick."

"I will help you," I said at once.

"No! You cannot help me," Miko objected.

I stopped, suprised and hurt. "Why not!? Let me help you!"

"You cannot help me, Drago," Miko repeated without further explanation.

I was about to argue with her, when Kauri stirred awake.

"Perhaps I can help?" she asked, having overheard. I put her down from my shoulder, more roughly than she deserved.

"A big help right now would be if you have your cellphone," Jared chimed in, still panting. "I dunno about you kaijus, but if we can somehow call in the cavalry, that'd be fucking welcome."

Kauri had her cellphone with her, but there was no signal. I told her she could use the communications antenna I had built to call for help. Jared whooped weakly and exclaimed that we were saved. I wasn't so sanguine.

Suddenly, one of my younger daughters yelped in fright. We all startled, weapons and claws and magic ready for action. But it turned out Koko had found a corpse.

Me and Jared examined the body, and found several others, strewn around the shrine temple's grounds. Three Han Chinese, one Cossack-Siberian Russian, and two others, a big black guy and a redneck, probably Americans.

"What the fuck?" Jared muttered, straightening from the last corpse. "Who are these bastards?"

"Black operatives," I said, realization dawning on me. "They were sent to capture me and my family. Nakamura was right. <Kuso>!"

We both felt it at the same time. Mine and Jared's eyes met, and we turned around sharply, firing at the shrine temple's facade Pulp Fiction-style.

We emptied our magazines, and a deafening silence followed. The whole front of the building was riddled with bullets. One wing of the heavy entrance doors swung open, and a black ops soldier fell, dead, like in some western. Inside were another two bodies, killed by our strafing fire. We collected their weapons, Bren carbines with tactical scopes. I climbed quickly to the second floor to power up the uplink laptop.

"Now what?" Jared asked, once we were back outside.

"We take guard and keep anyone at bay who tries to attack us," I said. "Use this password to connect to the uplink," I told Kauri, reciting her the string of numbers. "Go with Miko and the children and call for help."

I then turned to my wife. "How much time you'll need to summon a storm?"

"Minutes," Miko replied with strained voice. "Beyond that, I cannot be more precise. Nature follows its own way."

"Okay, take the children and go shelter in the dining pavilion. Once the storm is up, we'll join you," I said. I was so, so determined to see everyone live. "I love you, Miko."

"I love you, Drago."

"Children, come here," I said and went to hug each of my daughters. "Daddy loves you."

"We love you too, Papa," Kyakya piped.

"Please do not die, Dad," Roro rumbled.

"Keep your little sisters safe, my radiant starlets," I said, petting Nono, Nuno, Nana, and Nini. "Now go. Don't worry, I'm right behind you."

***

Miko, our children, and Kauri went into the dining pavilion. Me and Jared took positions in the forest at the outskirts of the temple grounds. Jared kept watch over the northern flank, while I guarded the pathway and the eastern slopes. Now we just had to survive long enough to escape through the portal to the Sea of Stars.

Those who were going to enter it, anyway. But at that point I thought this included everyone.

I crouched quietly, hidden in the shadow of a large tree. I examined the situation from a tactical perspective. My transformation had given me quite an effective night vision. Meanwhile, my black and red scales would be nearly invisible in the gloom, even with these absurdly bright stars. However, the opposition probably had NV equipment too, and maybe even thermal sensors. So no advantage there. The advantage of numbers, however, was clearly on their side, given the data so far. The only saving grace here was that the enemy wasn't fully cooperating; they served different sides, each wanting to get to us alone, and that helped us survive, otherwise they would've overwhelmed us by now. In terms of durability, I was sure I could take a direct hit or two without terminal injury. I even began to channel magical energy to further buff my already impressive dinosaurian physique.

Jared, unfortunately, had no such protection. He was resourceful and very brave, but he was a normal guy, and had no military training. (Neither did I, but that was besides the point.) I was afraid for him, but I couldn't do anything now. I could only hope Miko and Kauri would do their part before me and Jared were overrun; this would not be a protracted engagement in any way.

I prayed silently to the Great Cosmos to keep us alive. Then I focused on my breath, calming my mind, and waited.

Barely any time had passed, when the inevitable started. "Contact!" Jared shouted in the distance, and gunfire chattered from the north. At the same time, I spotted several figures sneaking past the trees. I took aim through the Bren's scope and fired, dropping one of them. I then took cover immediately to avoid their return fire.

Suddenly, shots came to my right; I dove to the ground and fired blindly until my rifle clicked empty. But the bullets weren't for me; the whistling sounds of their passage came wide astray. The first group of attackers redirected their targeting at once and I realized that competing black ops teams had again interfered with one another. I used this chance to retreat.

I drew back to the shrine temple's front courtyard, leap-frogging from cover to cover, and saw on the other side that Jared was doing the same. We both dove behind the half-crumbled cobblestone fence of the courtyard, catching our breath.

"<Kuso>! Why are these bastards shooting with lethal weapons!?" Jared wondered, reloading his rifle. "They want to capture your family alive, right?"

"Their main priority are the eggs, probably" I remarked grimly, bracing my rifle on the worn stones. The forest was full with the rattle of gunfire. "Easier to study them and indoctrinate them when they hatch."

"Fucking assholes," Jared cursed. He sneezed; he was wearing only a t-shirt and jeans in the late autumn night. "How much longer do we have to hold?"

I glanced up and saw it had grown very dark: thick, dense clouds covered the entire sky. Miko was monstrously powerful even when grievously injured. "Just a little while more," I told Jared.

"Great," he muttered, "because we may not have even that much. And I can't even fucking see anything anymore."

In that moment, our position was assaulted by fresh combatants. They were more numerous than before; I could see at least a score of silhouettes approaching among the trees. This confused me. Either one of the sides had summoned large reinforcements to re-engage, or...

...or the different black ops soldiers had begun cooperating.

I shot back, trying to slow down the combined advance. The forest was silent for several terrible seconds. Then dozens of painfully bright blazes came from everywhere.

"TRACER ROUNDS! JARED, GET DOWN!" I roared, shoving my friend firmly behind the stone fence. Angry hornets of incandescent metal flew above in thick trails. The fusillade of tracers slammed into the shrine temple, tearing the facade like paper.

The wooden structure caught fire where the tracers hit. The flames spread with astonishing speed and within seconds the whole building flared up like a dry tinderbox. I turned at the sudden source of light and stared.

"<Bozhe moi>," I uttered numbly, seeing the blazing inferno. The entire shrine temple was on fire, and the library within it. Ancient scrolls, occult tomes, invaluable knowledge – all lost in a single instant due to the greed and evil desires of idiotic men. My fangs bared in rage. I wanted to kill them all.

I turned, and saw Jared looking at me with a hard, resolute expression.

"Bolivian army ending?" my best friend asked.

"Bolivian army ending," I nodded, gripping my weapons.

We leapt out of cover. "<SHINE>!" we screamed at the enemy, roaring our defiance.

We fired with assault rifles akimbo in each arm – my last two rifles and Jared's two in total – running around the burning shrine temple, trying to reach the backyard. We could see dark figures outlined by the blazing inferno, ghosts of modern warfare prowling among the trees, gleaming death-steel aimed with terminal precision. For a tiny, eternal moment, I saw the whole situation with crystal clarity. I knew I would die here. Me and Jared dashed valiantly, roaring and screaming, our guns spewing stars of whistling murder, but we'd never reach safety. The courtyard was too large, too open, and the fire gave the perfect background. Our opposition were professional sharpshooters, and already they had us in their sights. Me and Jared were already dead.

In that moment, thunder cracked the world.

A wall of sheer rain fell like a crashing sea wave to the ground. Gale winds howled in fury, flattening everything in their path. A second thunder hit the shrine temple dead center. The lightning bolt opened a great gaping hole, sending burning debris and embers everywhere.

The explosion threw me and Jared to the ground. The sudden weather change was so extreme that for several moments there existed nothing but the raging storm. Then I finally managed to brace myself enough to open my eyes–

–and I stared.

There, on the cliffs above the shrine temple, was a swirling vortex of brilliantly vivid colors.

It was the portal to the Sea of Stars.

Jared moaned loudly beside me. I helped him to stand up, and hurriedly dragged him behind the shrine temple. The building was a smoking ruin now, the fire almost extinguished by the pouring rain. I could barely see around in the darkness and deluge. Jared coughed and spit out water, and looked up at the cliff.

"Wow!" he said excitedly, watching the portal. "You did it, dino dude – you're going back there!"

I spotted Miko and my daughters leaving the dining pavilion, great shadows barely visible in the storm. The children dashed up the slope towards the portal, Miko lumbering behind to make sure none of them was left behind.

"Yeah," I replied distantly, the furious winds snatching my response. After all this time, I was going back to the Sea of Stars. I felt like I was dreaming. The storm thundered, punctuating the surreal sensation.

"I guess this is the moment where we part ways!" Jared said.

I looked at him, surprised. "You won't come? It's totally awesome out there!"

"Come?? Up there?? Nuts!" Jared laughed. "Sorry, but I prefer more charted waters!" he said and spit out the rain pouring down his face and mouth.

"Are you really sure you don't want to come, Jared? The Sea might grant you a wish or two."

"What, and make me land in hot trouble like you did? No, thanks! I'll find another way to achieve my dreams," Jared said loudly over the storm. "Maybe I'll even try working hard!"

"Yeah sure, maybe when the dinosaurs come back to Earth!" I said, and we both laughed.

But my best friend was set in his decision.

"Take care, dino dude!" Jared said, clapping my biceps (because he couldn't reach my shoulder easily). "Go up there and be happy with your family."

"You say it like I'm gonna be forever gone," I said. "How can you be sure the portal won't spit us right back out, like it did the first time with me?"

"Something tells me it'll be different," Jared said with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "This time, you aren't going there to have your dreams fulfilled. So I don't expect you coming back... soon, at least."

I opened my mouth to disagree, but the words stuck in my throat.

"Go now!" Jared said, reloading his remaining rifle. "I still have to escape this forest full of one-man-army spetsnaz, and do it during a magical storm. Say hi to the Universe for me. Goodbye, Drago."

"Goodbye, Jared," I said. "I hope we will meet again."

"Definitely!" Jared called through the storm's din, already running into the dark forest. His voice was barely audible. "You still owe me a new car!"

"Farewell, you ungrateful bastard," I murmured with a quiet smile.

I turned away, and climbed up the steep slopes with haste. The storm thundered around me, but I looked straight ahead, towards the swirling vortex. Finally, I was returning to the Sea of Stars. Returning to the place where everything started. Returning, still full with doubt and uncertainty, still looking for answers, as I did a year ago.

Yet this time, I wasn't alone.

Up on the summit, the storm was eerily muted, the wind nearly silent although the rain was no less fierce. Only Miko and Kauri were remaining on the cliff. My children had already gone to the other side. As I crested the summit, Kauri faced me, her youthful features resolute.

"I'm coming with your family, Dorago-sama," she declared.

I paused, looking at Kauri. She was still a teenager. She also didn't seem like someone who was desperate or overly ambitious. Meanwhile, the Sea of Stars was a wonderful place, but it hardly was a safe one. Especially to one's sanity.

"There is no guarantee that you will survive the experience, Kauri-chan," I told her gravelly. I thought of Jared, who was much more adventurous and risk-inclined, and his refusal to come. "I suggest you turn back. You aren't pursued. Stay here and live your life."

"There is no reason for me to stay!" Kauri said with heat. "I have no idea what happened to my mother – she might even be... dead, and that would make me an orphan." Kauri sobbed, and grit her teeth to control herself. "And– And I'm a mage, and this here," she gestured at the portal, "is a once in a lifetime opportunity! What kind of mystic I would be if I walked away from such a magical wonder, Dorago-sama?"

I shook my head. "I do not dispute your skill, your talent, or your bravery, Kauri-chan," I said. "I merely advise caution. When I went into the Sea for the first time, I was ready to take my own life. I had nothing to lose, so I didn't care about the risks."

"In the end, the choice is yours," I continued. "But I warn you, you may not like the consequences, Kauri-chan."

Kauri laughed at that. "Did you like your consequences, Dorago-sama?" she asked.

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and jumped into the portal.

There was a flash of light, and me and Miko remained alone.

I looked at my dream wife. Miko seemed deathly tired, still injured, but she was smiling, her wizard hat whipping in the furious gale.

"When did you retrieve your hat?" I asked, incredulous.

Her smile deepened. "I am a mage, my love. I can always retrieve my hat," Miko said.

"Bet you make Indiana Jones envious with that trick," I snorted.

"He's a fictional character. He can also retrieve his hat whenever he wishes," Miko said, deadpan. "Through the power of scriptwriting."

"Ha, good one," I said. Then, more seriously I asked, "Will you be okay?" I looked at her wounded shoulder.

"Everything will be fine once I'm on the other side," Miko said gently.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I said.

Miko grinned. "Are you that insistent on entering last? Kind of egocentric, my noble lizzy."

"I want to make sure everyone is safe before going myself."

"I want the same, too."

We stood so for a couple of seconds. We knew how we would go.

"I love you, Miko," I said.

"I love you, Drago," she said.

Then she grabbed me with her good arm and the two of us entered the portal together.

THE END

**Drago and his family will return in MWGHDM Volume 2!**