Once Upon a Dream

Part Seventeen

There were a dozen things one could say in such a situation, depending on the person of course. A more serious person may have just accepted it, but Kat was far from being one. By nature she was playful and curious so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"You've got to be kidding!" Bursting into hysterical laughter, she wiped away the tears that slid down her cheeks. Then she noticed that her parents were *not* laughing at all. Sobering she said, "You're not kidding."

"Sorry honey," her mother said gently, "We're not."

Raising her eyes and looking at herself in the mirror, she did notice that she looked a little different. Actually, 'a little' was an understatement

Instead of the bright red hair that she wore to the middle of her back and her ocean blue eyes, her hair was a deep black and her eyes a brilliant, emerald green. Her hands touched her neck tentatively where a silver pendant lay. Of course, all of this was only in the mirror.

"We call this the Mirror of True Seeing," Katherine said. "It shows people their true forms, depending on who, and what, you are of course."

"I'm the Creator," Kat whispered to her reflection. "This is unbelievable."

"It seems that way at first," Appuru spoke, "but after a while it will get better."

"I can't wait for a while!" She looked around frantically for a way out of the void. "I have to get back and kill Astor once and for all!"

"Calm down Katrinka," her mother soothed, "you don't even know how to kill him. Not right now anyway."

"What's the big deal? I'm good and he's evil! It should be as simple as that!"

Appuru turned to his lover. "Was the Creator ever this insane?"

She shook her head. "This is all Katrinka's nature."

Kat frowned. "I am going to just fight him, that's all. If it works it works. If it doesn't.... well lets hope that it does."

"The Soul Blade does not kill him," Kathy said softly. "What does?"

"I have an idea!" Appuru grinned. "How about you take a little bit of energy from everyone in the universe and fuse it into the Blade. If you somehow convey how much you need it, their hopes should be enough positive energy to take him down once and for all!"

Kat thought it over. "That *is* a good idea. This is turning out to be something out of a bad fantasy novel."

"That idea won't work!" Kathy exclaimed. "You are the Creator, remember? Everyone comes from you! This battle is yours alone."

"What she's trying to say is this: Believe in yourself only. I know that sounds like the most cliché thing to say in the world but it's true."

"Gee thanks," Kat said sarcastically. "You two are a *big* help!"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Well you *are* the Creator after all! Your power should completely and utterly annihilate that evil demon. Now that you know about it, anyway."

"I need more training." Kat sighed. "Can you two teach me?"

Kathy agreed. "You do need more and we'll be happy to do it. As a matter of fact, you start now!" Kathy blurred out of sight and hit her daughter with an attack she had never seen before. It was more of a wave than a beam and it completely knocked her from her feet.

"Wh-what was that?" Kat asked, shocked. Her mother reappeared.

"The first move is called Invisibility. The second is called the Shadow Wave. You need those two and a lot more to be up to Astor's par."

"You couldn't overpower him, could you?" Appuru asked. "That wasn't even his true power. It is much greater."

"I will now teach you something that only a few select people know. It's so effective that it's almost outlawed!"

Kat's eyes grew large. "Really? It's that bad?"

Her mother nodded. "Yep. It's that bad. It's called the Mahi Kousen."

She raised an eyebrow. "Paralysis Beam?"

"Sure! It's obvious by its name what it does. It stuns your opponent long enough for you to kill him."

"But Kaasan, what if it doesn't work?"

"Then," Kathy said completely deadpan. "we pray for our souls."

Her daughter frowned. "That's not at all funny."

Appuru coughed. "What your mother means is that if it fails, you will have to tap into your Creatorial powers. Hmm, Creatorial? Is that even a word?"

"Why don't you get a dictionary and look it up?" Kat said sourly. This whole battle was getting to her.

"Since you seem to be incredibly irritable, you can just go and find Astor right now." Kathy opened a doorway in the shadows. "That's the way out."

"If you think you're ready of course."

Kat snorted. "I'm ready! Of course I'm ready!" Then she thought about the power that she felt and sat down hard on the misty ground. Sighing she said, "What's the next lesson?"

All in all it took hours upon hours of preparation, practice, and bruises. Eventually Katrinka learned every single move her parents did and she was even better at it.

"Astor won't stand a chance now! You're going to kick his ass!" Kathy grinned as she hugged her. "When you're done, bring all of your friends to see me. I'll be where Enma-sama is because they can't come here."

"Domo arigatou Kaasan and Tousan! I love you both!" She hugged her father as well.

Now it was time to face her ultimate enemy.

***

"Is she going do something?" Trunks asked anyone who was within hearing range, but the answer was still the same. No one had any idea.

Then he was answered unexpectedly when Katrinka sort of popped into existence near him.

After he got over being started, Trunks asked another question. "You have a plan?" Everyone strained to hear her response.

She shook her head. "I don't have a plan. I have a cure. You see, Astor is like a parasite. He sucks the very life from universes leaving them barren and desolate. I have to destroy his core." She quickly made her weapon materialize. "I don't have very much time."

Vegeta shook his head. "That weapon didn't work the last time you used it. Some god-blessed thing it's supposed to be."

"No wait!" She held up her hand. "The weapon is just a tool that you use to kill someone evil, but I relied too much on the weapon and not on myself. I used it in completely the wrong way.

"You see, I discovered something while in the afterlife visiting my parents. I didn't have to look far for the Creator because she's standing right here."

For a moment there was only stunned silence then a low buzzing of conversation broke out banishing the quiet.

"Wait!" She smiled and shook her head. "You don't understand. The past doesn't matter. It's only here and now. We can only live for the moment and not sit around long enough to worry about the past or the present. There is a little bit of the Creator in each and every one of us," she smiled again and attempted to lighten the mood. "Some just have more than others."

"When I fight Astor, I have to believe in my own abilities and not rely only on the Soul Blade. It's the only way to truly kill him. Then we will all be free."

***

She walked with confidence to her final battle with the demon. There was no fear within her, she had come to terms with the situation. To kill meant a lifetime of happiness, to fail meant death to everyone.

The latter was not an option.

The darkness was deep as if the shadows themselves had come to watch the show. She saw no light in this room, this place. Here physical bodies did not matter. Here was only the souls of the few who had dared trod there. Katrinka could not feel her fingers, but they were there. She could not feel her toes, but they were there. It would do no good to stop and think about it.

You merely existed and nothing more.

"So this is it?" Astor whispered darkly from the corners, from her mind. From everywhere.

"Yes. You cannot be allowed to torment us any longer. You cannot be allowed to destroy what I have created."

"You have discovered your destiny." A stray shadow flitted across her vision and with it came the demon himself.

"We all do, eventually." She held the blade out straight in front of her, aiming to where she knew his black heart would be. His dark, malicious heart. The core of his being.

Astor bowed low to the ground, the darkness that shaped his form swirling about him like a mist. "I cannot hope to stop the one who created me. Go ahead, end my existence."

It was only then that Kat hesitated, holding the katana mere inches from his chest. She bent down to his level and kissed him on his forehead.

"I am sorry."

Then, with one swift move, she plunged the sword deep into his heart.

His death was silent and swift, his body vanishing completely to only leave behind his heart which was still impaled on her blade, the black blood gleaming wetly.

Then the organ dissolved into dust and at last the terror was over.

The artifact that Michael had spoke of on the day so long ago was also destroyed. Astor's heart, the thing that had corrupted a civilization.

 

Epilogue:

Things calmed down considerably from the day Katrinka saved the universe. The woman herself had fallen into a coma from the moment she returned from Hell and stayed that way for two weeks. During that time her friends -- Vegeta included -- watched over her in hopes that there would be some sign of movement. Once she had awoken she would not speak of what happened there. It would be something that she took to her grave.

Vegeta was anxious to get back to his own time, fearful that the ancient saiyans' peaceful ways would eventually rub off on him rendering the strong prince weak. Almost as soon as he thought that, however, Michael approached them with the Decision.

"You have only two choices. You may merge this timeline with your own to forever change everything that has happened in your own reality or you may keep it separate and live with the choices that were already made in your past."

The decision was unanimous. "Keep it separate."

But when it came time to leave the next day, Kat had made another important decision.

"I'm going to stay here," she said softly. "I like my business, I like Gavin, and I like this civilization better that the other. It also helps that my Tousan was Kami."

"You're serious?" Bra asked, a stray tear sliding down her cheek.

She kneeled down and hugged the girl tightly. "Don't worry! I'm the Time Warrior and the Creator, remember? I can bend the rules and visit you anytime." She glanced at her guide. "Can't I?"

He chuckled. "Of course. You created me as well, who am I to stop you?"

A small smile appeared on the red-haired woman's face. "I can get to like this."

As they all laughed, Katrinka began to think about the future. What ever was to come, at least she got a chance to see it. All at evil Astor's expense.

God bless his soul.

 

Well, I'm finally finished with this fanfic. It took me long enough. Unfortunately, I thought the last three or four chapters could have been better. Now, you know what comes next. Another thing, is it just my files or does Fanfiction.net take out the <hr> tags? I keep having to put an extra space between sections now.