Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Bridge Over the Abyss ❯ A celestial call for help ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. The character of Doctor Who is the property of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The briefly mentioned character of Bernice (Benny) Summerfield is the property of Paul Cornell, novelist. I do not own them and do not make any profit from this fiction except for my own enjoyment in spending time with them.

However, the original plotline and all original characters in this story DO belong to me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.

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Chapter 2. A Celestial Call for Help

The magazines and newspapers in the kiosks adjacent to the library steps fluttered in the sudden wind. The third and fourth dimensions swirled and vibrated briefly as they stretched to accommodate the intruder forcing its way into their midst. A strange wheezing, groaning noise competed with the sounds of the traffic that flowed past the National Library in Tokyo, and a flashing blue light began to make its appearance approximately nine feet above ground level. As dimensions curved once again and reality bent to one side, the outlines of a tall rectangular box began to take shape beneath the blue light. The outline quickly filled in, as the box materialized into solidity with a resounding clanking boom. Few people looked up to see this miracle occur, and those that did shrugged it away as a momentary hallucination, their rational minds refusing to accept the sudden appearance out of thin air of a solid object approximately eight feet tall and four feet wide on each side.

The strange foreign object held the appearance of a battered blue British police call box dating from the 1960's, a type of phone booth that was used by citizens to call the police directly if they witnessed a crime or by police officers to summon back-up. On the folding door was a peeling sign that still advised, "Call Here For Help." After a few moments, the door opened, and an incongruous figure emerged from the interior of the box.

He was obviously gaijin, a Westerner from all appearances, but that was not unusual in Tokyo in this last decade of the twentieth century. No, the first thing that caught the eye was not his pale skin and eyes--it was his unusual style of dress. He was dressed in clothes fashionable in the Edwardian era in England, his long velvet frock coat covering an intricate paisley waistcoat and pale grey linen pants. Beneath the waistcoat, he wore a white silk shirt with a high pointed wing collar, held in place by an elegant cravat sporting a diamond stickpin. The foreigner was of medium height and appeared to be a slender man in his prime, late thirties or early forties. He had strong elegant features and a forceful chin that may have seemed severe had his appearance not been softened by a full head of long wavy chestnut hair reaching past his collar in the Byronic style.

But his most noticeable features were his eyes: a vibrant sparkling blue that seemed to shade into green at odd times. Not only the color of his eyes, but their depth; if one looked carefully into his eyes when he was still and open, one might feel the passage of centuries and the weight of the knowledge of ages. However, most of the time he did not remain still and vulnerable to easy examination. Most of the time, he vibrated with suppressed excitement, seeming to burst with energy, so that one could barely get a clear fix on any of his attributes.

The foreigner took a small silver shield shaped object, its surface covered with raised geometric shapes, from his waistcoat watch pocket and inserted it into the keyhole on the door, turning it to lock the entrance into the box. As he stepped away from the police box, he patted its peeling blue paint affectionately and murmured, "I hope to be back soon, my dear. This shouldn't take very long, I expect." His voice was a clear yet velvety tenor, the clipped syllables characteristic of a citizen of the British Isles, softened with the musical lilt common to the denizens of the northern cities of that island country.

An elderly woman clutching a stack of books stopped to stare at the strange foreigner who was addressing a wooden box. He looked up, becoming aware of her critical regard, and suddenly flashed a beaming smile at her. The woman stepped back distrustfully, her pile of books shifting so that they began to slide and fall to the ground. The foreigner leaped to help her, scooping up her fallen books and tucking them under his arm as he prepared to escort her into the library. The woman eyed him suspiciously, hanging back from his proffered arm. He decided that she required an explanation for his peculiar actions.

"Gomen nasai," he apologized in flawless Japanese. "Please forgive my peculiar actions. You see, that box is not merely a box, but my vehicle for travelling in time and space. She is a TARDIS - in English, that stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. She worries if I'm gone too long, so I try to keep her informed of the expected length of time it will take me to complete my errands."

The woman stared at the lunatic in dismay. He seemed terribly young to be suffering from dementia, but the liberal use of recreational drugs had brought many a young person to a sad state, as she recalled from her favorite news program. She also recalled that these lunatics could become violent in the blink of an eye, so she decided to humor him until she reached the safety of the interior of the library.

"Tah-disu?" she asked politely.

He beamed at her again as they climbed the steps to the library entrance. "Hai, TARDISU! Please forgive my poor manners. I am the Doctor, and this is my friend..." He looked around in momentary confusion, then clapped his free hand to his forehead. "I keep forgetting! My companions are on holiday for the time being. They claim that they need a holiday from me, although I can't imagine why. We always have the loveliest adventures together…although all the near-death experiences do tend to stress them out. I must keep in mind that the human psyche can be quite fragile at times..."

He opened the door to the cool interior of the large library and allowed her to precede him into the lobby. He deposited her books onto the circulation desk, then bowed politely to her. "Sayonara," he bid her farewell. "It has been my pleasure to speak with you."

She bowed politely back. "Arigato," she replied.

He smiled, then turned and headed deeper into the interior of the library. She immediately waved a guard over, trying to get him to apprehend the demented foreigner. But the guard merely shrugged and replied that he could hardly arrest a man for the crime of carrying her books as a courtesy to her.

As for the foreigner's peculiar behavior, the guard explained, "Gaijin have strange ways, obaa-san. I have seen many worse than him in my years here at the library. But to accommodate your wishes, I promise to keep an eye on him."

The woman frowned at the guard's dismissal of her concerns and decided to return home without picking up any new books. She preferred to be elsewhere when the foreign lunatic pulled out a gun and began shooting at innocent bystanders, as Westerners were in the habit of doing on a regular basis in Amerikagasshuukoku.

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The Doctor climbed the narrow back stairs to the third floor of the library. He reflected briefly on his encounter with the elderly woman outside the library, then grinned mischievously. It was always best to tell the truth about the TARDIS and himself to inquiring humans. Without fail, they skittered away in alarm and never pestered him with follow-up questions...unless he was unlucky enough to run into a Star Trek fanboy. Then it was one technical question after another until he was ready to scream! The Doctor shuddered at the memory, then glanced down the corridor lined with wooden doors, this section obviously decades older than the modern airy front sections of the National Library. "Still terribly new..." he murmured to himself, tracing a finger along the elaborate woodwork. He could feel the strong psychic signal that had drawn him here emanating from the last door at the end of the corridor.

"References and Important Literature," he read from the sign that hung above the door, then shook his head at the redundant phrasing. "I wonder where they keep the `Unimportant Literature,'" he remarked to himself sardonically. He reached out to turn the brass doorknob, only to find it locked. He reached into his pocket, but his attention was arrested by a crimson light shining from the keyhole. The lock gave an audible click, then the door swung open of its own accord. The Doctor removed his hand from his pocket. "No need for the sonic screwdriver," he observed, then raised his voice in greeting. "Thank you for opening the door; you're ever so kind..." he called into the depths of the stacks, trying to keep the mocking note in his voice at a minimum.

He was answered by a sudden sharp cry near ceiling level, as a brilliant red peacock-like bird flew over his head, scattering a few feathers in its wake. The Doctor inhaled the ozone-like scent of its energy signature as he stooped to pick up one of the fallen feathers.

"Ah," he mused, turning the crimson feather so that it glittered in the dim light. "A phoenix. An unusual sight in a public library--or anywhere else on this planet, for that matter." He called out once again as he moved deeper into the stacks. "Er, hello? Pardon me if I seem a bit forward, but would you mind stopping to chat for a bit? After all, I believe that it is you who has called me..."

A book suddenly fell from the shelf next to him, landing near his brown ankle boots. He stooped and lifted it, reading the characters inscribed on its back cover. "The Universe of the Four Gods," the Doctor intoned. "Hmmmm - a fairly small universe, if all it truly has are four gods."

The book suddenly fell open to the first page, upon which were inscribed only a few sentences. The Doctor read on in his velvety tenor. "This is the story of a mysterious traveler in time and space who helped other people's dreams come true, after he came to another world to assist the seven stars of Suzaku. The story itself is a spell, which begins and becomes real the moment the first page is turned..."

Suddenly, a bright crimson light shone out from the book, nearly blinding the Doctor. The room faded from view, and he found himself falling through a mystical landscape in which brilliant stars sparkled in a deep magenta sky. The phoenix from the library swooped ahead of his tumbling form, emitting a few sharp cries before vanishing from sight.

The Doctor folded his arms as he fell and let out a deep sigh. "Shanghaied again," he muttered. "That's where this insatiable curiosity inevitably leads me. And no TARDIS, as well. At least I've remembered to keep a toothbrush and a fresh pair of knickers in my pocket." He patted his coat pocket to make sure that he hadn't forgotten these necessities, and was relieved to feel a few familiar lumps. His ever-present sense of curiosity soon overcame his momentary irritation at being kidnapped, and his eyes began to sparkle as he anticipated the adventure that awaited him. "Ah, well," he remarked cheerfully, "On to the Universe of the Four Gods, I presume..."

Meanwhile, back at the library…the figure of a young woman in her mid-twenties peeked around the bookshelves in the Reference room, where she had surreptitiously followed and observed the rather beautiful man who had been talking to himself a few moments ago. She had watched him disappear into the book, but, unlike the bystanders outside the library who ignored the materialization of the TARDIS, she was quite willing to believe the evidence of her eyes. "I was hoping he wasn't a nutcase!" she murmured gleefully to herself in an American accent as she picked the book up off the floor. She brushed her short, dark wavy hair out of the somewhat slanted eyes that proclaimed her part-Asian heritage, and wrinkled her snub nose with the aquiline bridge that bore testimony to her European heritage - a nose that, in her words, "is as much of a mutt as I am!" She frowned as she attempted to decipher the characters with her limited knowledge of kanji. To her considerable surprise, the characters resolved themselves into English sentences, and she began to read of the adventures of the Doctor…

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He landed gently on a green hillside that overlooked a small meandering river. He was pleased to note that the air was light and clean and refreshingly free of the smell of hydrocarbons that had permeated the atmosphere in Tokyo. He raised up a finger to test the light breeze, then touched it to his tongue. "Hmmm... either I've traveled back in time to pre-industrial Tokyo... or more likely, ended up in a different dimension altogether."

The Doctor rose to his feet and stretched with catlike grace, then wandered down to the bank of the gentle river. He touched his fingers to the sparkling surface and tasted the water. "Definitely dihydrogen oxide. And delightfully free of significant concentrations of coliform bacteria. The people of this world must have learned basic sanitation... that is, if there are people in this world."

He wandered back up the hill and surveyed the surrounding countryside. Green rolling hills met his gaze almost as far as he could see. Far off on the horizon, he could see misty violet mountain peaks rising over the gentle plain, their steep slopes darkened with the thick growth of forests. The forests continued downward, meeting the grassy hills some distance away, the air shimmering slightly at their juncture. The Doctor focused on the shimmer and frowned, rubbing one finger across his chin. "Odd," he mused. "A cloaking device...but hiding what? And from whom? Such advanced technology seems out of place in this pristine environment."

He began to walk in the direction of the mysterious shimmer to investigate it more thoroughly but was diverted by the sharp cry of the phoenix almost directly overhead. The smell of ozone filled the air once again, and the Doctor tilted his face upward towards the mystical bird.

"Excuse me," he called. "Far be it from me to stand upon ceremony, but I can't help feeling that the truly civilized thing to do is to introduce yourself and explain exactly what you want with me. Rassilon knows that I'm hardly a stickler for protocol, but in my society, what you've done to me is commonly known as kidnapping or coercion or several even less attractive phrases." The Doctor frowned as the phoenix continued to circle overhead. "Hasn't your mother ever taught you that the polite thing to do is to ask before taking?" he chided.

Suddenly, the bird whirled around and began to spiral downward towards the Doctor. As it descended, it began to change, its form lengthening and morphing until a tall humanoid touched down before the Doctor. He stood approximately seven feet tall, with huge crimson wings curving upward from his shoulder blades. His hair was scarlet and swept up as if windblown, except for two long strands that trailed in front of his garnet eyes. He wore elaborate scarlet armor trimmed in gold, covering a silken shirt with a sheer fluted collar, and white silken breeches above scarlet knee-high boots. His features were refined and beautiful, although troubled and darkened by some inner concern. The Doctor began to hear the smooth tones of a gentle voice reverberate in his mind, although the lips of the being never moved.

"Forgive me, Doctor, for my precipitate actions in bringing you here without your permission. I would not have imposed upon you but for the urgency of the situation developing in my world. I can only hope that you will listen to my plea, for many lives hang in the balance, those of my beloved chosen as well as all the people of my domain. I have called upon you as my last and best hope…

The face of the time traveler tilted up to the face of the beast-god in awe. "A seikun…" breathed the Doctor. "I haven't seen one of your kind in…" He stopped suddenly, realizing the faux-pas he was about to commit.

The seikun smiled down at him. "Millennia is the word you were about to use, I believe. You needn't worry, Doctor - I am well aware of just how rare my kind are. Yes, I am one of the last remaining members of a dying race - but that is not what troubles me now. It is the fate of the humans who live in my care that occupies my thoughts. Certain events have transpired - events that were unforeseen and that we, in the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, are poorly equipped to deal with."

"If I may interrupt a moment," asked the Doctor, "may I inquire exactly how you came to choose me for this, er, exercise in problem solving? I cannot recall ever having met you before…or will we meet in my future?"

The seikun smiled again. "I am afraid that I have been very remiss in my manners. No, we have not met before, Doctor; I have merely heard rumors of you through the years and finally had my impressions of you confirmed after a fascinating encounter with a long-time friend of yours, a lady Bernice of the Fields of Summer."

"Benny! She certainly is getting around nowadays. I must catch up with her someday soon - if for nothing else, to entertain her with your description of her as a lady!"

The seikun's eyes lit up suddenly in amusement. "I would also like to introduce myself properly. Watashi wa Suzaku Seikun. If you wouldn't mind, perhaps we could mind-link so that I may inform you quickly and comprehensively of exactly why I am certain that you are the only one who can help us."

The Doctor nodded his consent and closed his eyes. He gasped at the first contact of the vast and ancient intellect with his own intricate mind but quickly adapted to the rapid flow of information between the two. In less than two minutes, the Doctor knew the history of the Universe of the Four Gods, the roles of the Priestesses and Shichiseishi, and the sudden new threat that had landed in their midst.

He sighed softly as Suzaku broke off contact with him, then shook his head briefly to clear it. "Yet another amateur muddying the waters," he grumbled in aggravation. "Yes, you were quite right to call me; his kind is what gives renegades a bad name." He gazed up into the now serene face of Suzaku and frowned. "This is quite a lovely little pocket universe you and your kind have developed; the perfect environment for the psychic symbiosis you require ever since your companion race was exterminated. Tell me, do you feel that it's fair to the humans that you have brought to populate your world to keep them at a fairly low level of technological progress, thus limiting their awareness of the essential role they play? I often have problems with races that set themselves up as Gods over less advanced races - they so seldom understand the concept of free will. And your habit of kidnapping a young Earth girl every few decades to serve as the catalyst for your symbiotic re-charge hardly seems to take free will into account at all…"

Suzaku's expression remained serene in the face of the Doctor's criticism. "I did not expect you of all people, Doctor, to find fault with the conscription of an occasional Earth girl to our mission. I, at least, return all my priestesses to their original homes, usually within days of their initial absence…"

The Doctor flushed at Suzaku's accurate and pointed reply. His own habit of picking up the occasional youthful Earth female as a temporary companion on his varied adventures had earned him criticism from many members of the High Council of Time Lords. And he very seldom returned them to their original point of origin, although that was usually by their own choice. Their personal growth during their sojourns with him generally gave them a distaste for their once ordinary lives, but this was not an easy point to prove to outside observers.

Suzaku continued in his defense. "I have also kept a close watch on the inhabitants of Earth in the last few centuries, as they advance rapidly in technological skills… and I have failed to detect that they have achieved greater happiness or satisfaction in their daily lives when compared to the descendants of the people who joined us a few millennia ago. As for being worshiped as Gods…" here Suzaku frowned, "it was initially the relationship that eased the minds of the first humans who settled here. But I may tell you, Doctor, that the responsibility of being looked upon as a God far outweighs the privileges of such a position, and we Seikun no more control all the aspects of our people's lives than any parent controls the lives of their adult children. Free will is certainly the prerogative of all our people as much here as it is on Earth."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and stared into the seikun's face. "Except when it runs up against your carefully planned strategies for the maintenance of the balance of power in this universe, isn't that so? Remind me sometime to explain to you about chaos theory and the ultimate futility of seeking to control the future, no matter how extensive one's prescient abilities."

Suzaku met his gaze steadily, refusing to drop his eyes.

The Doctor sighed. "Well, I suppose that we can debate morality and free will until the skies fall… but in this case, the latter is very likely to happen if I don't intervene. And I have truly lost my taste for reordering societies; I'd rather leave that up to the inhabitants of the worlds to which, in the end, I am merely a visitor." He fixed his green-blue gaze on the seikun. "Let us discuss the problem at hand. I concur with you that the linchpin in this entire situation is your Shichiseishi Chichiri. If we can rescue him, the rest should be a matter of just cleaning up the details--a process that I have some little experience with. However, the saving of a psyche--or a soul, whichever term you prefer--is a delicate and difficult process…especially when the individual at risk has been as deeply wounded as your principal seishi. And if I understand you correctly, the rest of your shichiseishi are not in for an easy time as you foresee it, in spite of the fact that most of them are mere children."

The Doctor's gaze darkened as he gazed into the distance. "Children…" he repeated softly. "Must it always be the children who suffer?" He suddenly seemed to bear the weight and grief of ages in his saddened eyes.

With an effort, he pulled himself together under the compassionate gaze of the seikun. "Well!" the Doctor announced briskly, "the sooner we get started, the sooner we succeed! Gloom only begets gloom, and time waits for no man--nor time lord either, for that matter! I will tell you, however, that I foresee an unusually long stay here. In spite of the pleasure of traveling through your sophisticated transdimensional portal, I wish that you had given me the coordinates so that I could have brought the TARDIS with me. She not only holds all of my day-to-day needs but also acts as a universal translator for any language on any world I visit."

Suzaku smiled at the Doctor's sudden burst of energy. "I will provide for all of your personal needs, Doctor; you have only to ask. As for translating back and forth between the Earth language you are speaking now and the language spoken in the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, I will provide you with all capabilities in spoken and written communication without the least effort on your part. Furthermore, however this situation resolves, I promise to return you to the library within Earth days of your departure."

"Ah, yes," the Doctor replied with a slight sarcastic edge. "Within Earth days… how many months does that translate into in Seikun time?"

Suzaku merely smiled again in reply.

The Doctor sighed one last time. "This was supposed to be a holiday for me, you know. I was hoping for the chance to go fishing…"

With a wave of one elegant hand, Suzaku summoned up a simple fishing pole and tackle, with all the necessary accoutrements tucked into a simple bamboo basket, the wondrous gift settling gently at the Doctor's feet. He waved the same hand towards the river. "All the fish you could ever desire, Doctor… and no need to pursue our problem until the morrow."

The Doctor flashed a delighted and impudent grin at the beast-god. "Well, live in the moment, that's what I always say! Carpe diem! - especially if there's carp! By the way, you wouldn't happen to have any peppermint toothpaste on you, would you?"

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Glossary of terms

Gaijin (Japanese) - foreigner

Gomen nasai (Japanese) - I'm sorry (very polite form)

Obaa-san (Japanese) - Literally, "Grandmother" … a polite way of addressing an elderly woman

Amerikagasshuukoku (Japanese) - the United States

Carpe diem (Latin) - Seize the day!

Author's Note: (7-2-04) Ah, well… a rather scientific explanation of the Universe of the Four Gods and its resident Seikun and humans, ne? Probably a "bit-of-a-shock" for you straight fantasy fans - gomen ne, but I did warn you that I am very much a science fiction/fantasy fan.

And here he is - the Doctor! His eighth incarnation, for those of you familiar with his character. I'm not going to go into long explanations about the Doctor; I'll let you discover him alongside Chichiri - but I will give you this brief explanation, since I don't think that Chichiri will discover this particular fact about the time traveler.

The Doctor is a member of a race that has the ability to "regenerate" twelve times when aged or, as usually occurs in the Doctor's case, when mortally wounded. So the Doctor has basically "died" seven times already, each new incarnation having a different physical appearance and personality than the last. Picture it as if the Suzaku shichiseishi were just one person, and each one became reincarnated into one another. You would have Nuriko being reborn as Chiriko, who then would become Mitsukake, then Hotohori, and so on. A fascinating concept - many different personalities but always retaining the same goal and moral values.

And yes, we will see Chichiri again in the next chapter, so be happy, fans of blue-haired monks! Welllll, he's not a monk at this point in time…not yet. As for the mysterious reader in the library, you will get to know her better later in the story, too… and no, it's not me!

Finally, thanks to my reviewers, jyn&tonnix (love that handle!) and Hono, for their thoughtfulness and encouragement; hope that you keep enjoying Bridge, folks!

Now onto Chapter Three!

Ja ne!

Roku

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