Taki smiled some."dont worry,nothing will happen to you phisicly....you must however tyry and remember your dreaming ..."

Xing nodded. "Right..." He said. "Shouldn't we do this in...I dunno, my bedroom?"

Taki nodded."probably be best",he said looking to Abby who was already making her way insode.

Xing nodded and headed inside, leading the way up to his bedroom. This feels awkward... He thought.

Taki went inside Xings room and looked around."nice",h said and looked to him."okay ,sit on your bed, that way when your hipnotized,youll fall bacwards onto somthing nice and soft"

Abby leaned in the door way stareing out the window.

"R-right..." Xing said, starting to get a little anxious. He told himself it was just nerves about being hypnotized.

Abby looked to Xing an smiled some walkeing in."Taki, ou get ready while i try to calmlhim down okay?",she said softly.Then looked to Xing and made him sit on the bed."you have to try and relax Xing or it work....nothing will happen to you I promise..."

Xing sat down, nodding nervously. "I'm just a little...nervous, is all." He said.

Abby smiled."understandable.but what are you nervous about"

"Just...it's the idea of being hypnotized that's freaking me out a bit." Xing replied.

Abby smiled some."but its not your normal hypnosois, its only going to make you fall asleep.....and i'll be here so if Taki desides to goof around....then i can harm him dearly...you'll be just fine,i give you my word"

Xing nodded. "Right." He turned to Taki. "Whatever you're going to do, do it."

Taki looked at him and nodded."vey well",he said pulling out a madalian."follow it with you eyes okay",he said as it began to swing back and forth in a calm motion.

Xing followed the medallion with his eyes. I feel stupid. He thought.

Taki watched him clsely the snapped his fingures the Madlian began to send out a hypnotic puls ,to make Xing fall asleep.

Xing fell back on the bed, snoring lightly. Bason hovered over the headstand, in spirit flame mode. "Are you sure this will work, Taki?" He asked.

---

When Xing opened his eyes next, he found himself in a dead-looking forest. There were trees all around, but they were burned black and leafless. The ground was white, covered in snow. The sky above was overcast, as if a storm was coming. "Hello?" He called.

Taki nodded."yeh...ive done it lots of times,99% of the time it worked...."

Abby looked to him."and that other 1%?",she asked.

Taki looked to her."they didnt sit still long enough and walked away beofre i even got started ...",he said looking to Xing."now all we have to do is wait ,nd keep an eye on his nighmare",he said calmly the looked t Abby who was looking out the window."hey,you okay?",he asked worried.

Abby blinked lookinng to him."yeah im fine...",she said calmly and looked to Xing closely."Bason .... do you think yo cankeep an eye on thinss?",she asked calmly going to the window.

"Yes, but why?" Bason asked.

---

No one answered. A cold wind blew by. Xing shivered, but it had nothing to do with the weather. Okay, what's going to happen this time? He thought. He whipped his head around as he heard footsteps behind him, but no one was there.

Taki looked to Abby."arnt you suposeto keep him safe?",he asked.

Abby looked to Bason then to Taki."thats what im doing .... ",she said hoping onto the tree."do your job Taki ... or you will not like me at all if you dont,dhe said ju,ping down to the ground and headed off.

Taki frowned.'whats up with her?"

"I wish I knew," Bason replied, watching Abby go.

Taki seemed worried but sighed ansd went back to watching over Xing.

This is freaky... Xing said. He looked up as he heard something caw. It was a crow. It took flight and started circling overhead. Okay..that's weird.

Then he heard something else taking flight. This time it was a dove, and it was flying towards him. As he watched, a sword came flying from somewhere in the trees and beheaded the dove, sending its body falling. Xing gulped.

He continued down the path through the dead forest, the crow following him. This is all too damned weird. He thought.

Taki watched over Xing closely."so far so good",he said calmly. "This should work ....and help him ",he added relaxing some. but part of his thoughts were on Abby,she was acting strange ... even for her.

Meanwhile, Elliot's and Shiki's orders had just come.

"At last!" She said as the waiter walked away. "Mmmm...this pizza smells goooood...."

---

Xing stopped, finding himself unable to move. He tried his hardest to get his legs moving again. Shit...damn, why can't I move?! he thought.

A chill ran down his spine as he felt a cold, rancid breath on the back of his neck. A sword came around in front of him, clear and sharp. "Tao Xing...you must serve your family, even if it means your death." The skeleton swordsman said.

The sword jerked back, severing his head from his neck, and he screamed.

Taki loked to Bason."your his spirit partner , feel free to tell me when to wake him...."
__________________________________________________ _______________________

Shiki grinned."yeah it des",he said takeing in a wiff of it."yun!"