Dionysus, Remy, and P-kun made their way back to the Mori. It was quite a long walk, and the only direction they had was from Dionysus, who seemed to know the way back to the bar by heart. He walked ahead of the Otaku and her Guardian, seemingly ignoring them, though he was polite and answered any questions they asked of him.

"So... Dionysus," Remy asked hesitantly. Though she trusted the silver-haired man, she was still unsure of the way she would be received by the fuku-clad girl. "What do you turn into?"

"Uh... nani?" the man asked. "What do you mean, what do I turn into?" This wasn't the question that he was expecting!

"I mean, P-kun here," she patted P-kun's head, "is a... well I'm not sure what he is, but he's not human."

"Hey! I resent that!" P-kun said petulantly. "I can be human if I want... but I don't feel like it. Guardians should stay in their original forms anyway."

"Yo, P-kun, don't bring that up. I like being human. You get all the perks." He turned to Remy. "But, to answer your question, my other form is a cat. It's sort of the norm."

"Oh." Remy's gazed turned to look at her surroundings. They were heading out of the wilderness and into the city. She could see the Imperial Palace that sat in the middle of Konan's capital. She was slightly afraid to ask the question in her mind. P-kun kept his mouth shut, though he could almost hear Remy's thoughts as well as he could here his own.

The silence lengthened.

"She won't do anything to you," Dionysus finally stated.

"How do you know?" Remy challenged. "I threw a garbage can lid at her!"

"You were only trying to protect yourself, Remy," P-kun said. "She knows that. The purpose of an Otaku is to fight."

"But I don't have any powers or anything! What I am I supposed to do? I don't want anyone to protect me."

"You just haven't found your powers yet. They'll come in time."

"So you're saying I'm a late bloomer, P-kun?!?"

"Ah... no! I didn't mean... I mean... uh..."

They all broke down laughing.

Dionysus wiped the tears from his eyes. "I wouldn't worry too much about finding your powers. If you push too much, they won't come. You just sort of have to go with the flow." He pondered for a moment. "In the meantime, you can ask Nyx for a gun."

"A GUN?!?" Otaku and Guardian yelped.

"Well, it's rather logical. Most Otakus are expecting bladed weapons or power blasts... guns are pretty much surprising to anybody. And you don't have to fight up close. You can pick off your enemies at a distance, and not have to worry about showing yourself... ah, but Ce-ko would yell at me for that. She insists on fighting her enemies face to face in honor. I'd rather get rid of them quickly and be done with it."

"How can you act that way?" P-kun asked in shock. "You're a Guardian! You're supposed to protect, not hunt down fights."

"P-kun, you don't know me that well. Why do you think the Guardian's Council was so quick to be rid of me? I look at things a different way. I'll protect Ce-ko in any way possible. If you don't fight, you'll be killed."

Remy just shook her head. All this fighting didn't sit well with her. Then something pushed itself to the front of her mind, something she had read in the Handbook. "Hey, I thought that Otakus couldn't die. How are we supposed to end the fighting if no one dies?"

The two men stuttered, grasping for words. Remy smiled. "I guess you don't know either. At least I'm not the only one who's clueless."

They were nearing the heart of the city where the Mori was located, when Dionysus suddenly crumpled, screaming in pain.

"Dionysus!" Remy and P-kun yelled at the same time.

Remy ran to him and tried to support him. "Dionysus? Daijobou? What's wrong?"

Dionysus clutched his head in agony. Visions swirled through his mind. He struggled to stay upright, and started running, leaving a confused Remy and P-kun behind.

"Dionysus! What's wrong!?!" Remy yelled, trying to keep up with him.

"Kami-sama... it's happening again!" he said mostly to himself, though Remy overheard.

"What? What's happening?" P-kun asked frantically. His mind seemed to have hit some overload as well.

"Itai!" Remy said suddenly. A sort of creepy feeling had come over her. She felt slightly nauseous and dizzy. She could feel that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

"Iie!" Dionysus yelled, running faster. "Iie! Ce-ko! I'm coming! Fight, Ce-ko! Fight! I'm coming!"

The Otaku no Mori loomed ahead.

TBC...