Chapter 16

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Ultra Symphony</B></FONT>    </div> <bR> <div> Chapter 16: A dream..</div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <div> "We repeat, a severely injured and very disoriented young woman was found outside the Monster Eradication Unit on Tokyo Bay, just after Ultra Theresa and Ultraman Zoffy were sighted in downtown Tokyo in battle with some sort of bat creature. Details are sketchy, but the general consensus is that the young woman in question is none other than Hayagane Mikono, who was reported dead yesterday night after her concert was disrupted by terrorist fire. We'll have more on this breaking story in a moment, but right now we're going to take you to Horitaka Nuriko-san downtown, where the Nakashari Bank was destroyed, killing 12, including 2 paramedics and one patient who happened to be passing by.. Horitaka-san, I have to wonder, will this chaos never cease?....."</div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <bR> <div> Mikono slowly opened her eyes, quietly groaning at the pounding in her head. Her eyes were responding sluggishly to what she was seeing, so for awhile all that registered was a dim bluish white and the sound of quiet beeping.</div> <bR> <div> After a few moments, shapes began to take their place; a window, a shelf nearly buckling under the weight of several vases of flowers, and seemingly hundreds of other bouquets, balloons, plushies and cards in the corner by the window. </div> <div> , </div> <div> She felt a soft hand touching hers, and she slowly turned her head, wincing at the stiffness and pain in her neck. </div> <bR> <div> "Miko-chan... shh.. don't talk." A soothing, musical female voice whispered. Mikono looked at the woman and her eyes widened slightly. The woman was short, somewhat plump, with soft, wavy black hair and tired eyes. She looked as though she'd been crying.</div> <bR> <div> "Mama.." Mikono croaked, wincing at how her voice cracked.</div> <bR> <div> "That's right, honey... how do you feel?" her mother asked.</div> <bR> <div> Mikono licked her lips and didn't answer. She was in the hospital, it seemed, which made her rather confused. How did she wind up there? The last thing she remembered was leaving MEU.. </div> <bR> <div> MEU..? She found herself suddenly wondering.. Was all of that real? Or was it simply a dream induced by major sedatives? None of it actually seemed real in this light. Ikeda-san, Moroboshi, Kakei... </div> <bR> <div> Her mother smiled gently. "They gave you a lot of sedatives, if you want to, you can just sleep some more."</div> <bR> <div> Mikono shifted. "Was it a dream?", she asked with sleepy confusion. </div> <bR> <div> "Shh.. go back to sleep." Her mother said with gentle dismissiveness. </div> <bR> <div> Mikono tried to protest, but she felt the waves of sleep rushing over her again and closed her eyes. </div> <bR> <div> In her half-asleep stupor, she heard Kakei's voice echoing in her head, and she frowned. He had seemed too real.. it all had.. </div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 17"><U>Chapter 17</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ultra Symphony"><U>Back</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>