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two and it was a moment before she could trust herself to speak.
    "What do you mean, 'no'?! You know the answer, don't you?"
    "Of course I do, but you don't, and I'm sad to say, that's very important right now. If I told you how to defeat him, then you won't be able to do so."
    "This doesn't make any sense! What if I just walk away? Did you even consider that?"
    The image of Guan Yin shrugged her golden shoulders. In the distance Jin heard a stalactite fall. "You did walk away, Jin. For twenty years. You were Jin Lee Hannigan and that's all for those twenty years, but now you hear the voices, see the visions, and Shiro knows who you are. Try dealing with all that on your own or running away from it and I promise you either path will tear you apart."
    Jin sat down on the dais and put her head in her hands. "You're as bad as Teacher."
    "I don't suppose he gave you the 'Mercy isn't the same as Kindness' speech?"
    Jin sighed. "As a matter of fact -- he did."
    "He wasn't wrong. He seldom is. Though when it does happen, it's a beaut."
    A shimmer passed through the cavern. Jin thought it was a flash of light for a moment, but then realized that the entire structure of the cavern had wavered for a moment, becoming less substantial. The image of Guan Yin sighed.
    "You're almost out of time, Jin. If you've got any questions that I can answer, you'd better ask them now. Breaking the veil between Guan Yin as you were and will be and Guan Yin as you are now is tricky and dangerous, and I don't plan to do it very often."
    "Why do you sound like me? I don't mean the voice, I mean the mannerism and slang. Seems out of place for a goddess."
    "I'm speaking in my normal voice, Jin. I have no idea how you're hearing it, though I'd guess in a form and manner that you understand. Ask me something that matters."
    "This is the Gateway to all the Hells, yes?"
    "Yes."
    "Then why does one of them lead directly to Medias?"
    "Unless you're dumber than I think you are, you already know the answer."
    "I was born...I live..." Jin couldn't quite finish.
    "Scary, huh? It should be, but don't feel alone. On this side of Enlightenment, everyone lives in one Hell or another. There are places you'd consider Heaven, compared to Medias, that are no less a Hell than the deepest pit of all, and the people who dwell there are born and die and are reborn there just as the people in any of the other hells. Rewards can trap as surely as punishments. The trick is to learn the lesson you need to learn and move on."
    "That's where I come in?"
    "That's where you come in."
    "But I don't know what to do! Dammit, I need help!"
    The image reached out her golden hands and patted the heads of her two attendants, the young girl and the youth. "I thought of that. Do you know who these are?"
    "Ummm, Guan Yin's attendants. Dragon Maiden and... Virtuous Youth? Yeah, that was it. I read about them."
    "They followed you into this world. Now that you're awakening, they'll find you."
    "How will I know them?"
    "They'll know you. That's the important thing."
    There was another shiver in the dream. The two guardian statues looked worried. "It's time to go," they said together, and Jin heard the image of Guan Yin sigh again.
    "I wish we had more time."
    "You and me both. One last question: if everything is illusory, where do dreams fit in?"
    "Some illusions are more real than others. Later, luv."
    Jin woke up. First she was standing in the cavern at the Gateway to All the Hells, then she was sitting up in bed, trying to focus as the clock radio buzzed in her ears. It was a moment before she could shut the thing off. She yawned hugely, and checked the time. It was 7 AM, right on schedule.
    If I'd known I'd be taking a dream trip I'd have shut the silly thing off .
    There wasn't anything she could do about that now, and a new day was starting with or without her. Little by little the waking day claimed Jin until she was showered, dressed, and nibbling toast at her kitchen table, in a small space