Beautiful Dreamer>Part 2

Boys:
Hey, what are you doing?!
What's going on, Onsen?!
Come on, Onsen!
Open the gate!
Come on, What's going on?

Onsen:
Come on!
I said go home, so go home!
I don't care who says otherwise; I'm not letting anyone stay here tonight!

Ataru:
What? The School Festival's big theme is management by the students themselves!
You think you can trample on that and get away with it?

Megane:
Hey, Onsen! You're gonna regret this!
At daybreak, we'll file a complaint with the Festival Committee and see that you get flamed for this!

Boys:
Right on!

Onsen:
Okay, fine, fine. Go right ahead.
That is, if you still remember this tomorrow.

Ataru:
You saying we'll forget?

Megane:
How can I go home looking like this?

Perm:
You just wait! You're gonna get yours!

Mendou:
Miss Lum, Miss Shinobu, let me take you home in my car.

Lum:
I'm going home with Darling.
So long! Bye bye!

Ataru:
Lum! Put me down!

Boys:
Bye bye!

Perm:
It'll be a long time 'til tomorrow morning.

Kakugari:
It feels even lonelier 'cause we've all been together these past few days, oh...

Onsen:
I made all the other teachers leave too.
Aside from the Fujinamis in the school store, we're the only ones here.

Sakura:
Right. I'll go find my uncle.
Don't look so disgusted.
He can be a useful monk at times like this.

Onsen:
Miss Sakura? I've got a really bad feeling.
Be careful.

Sakura:
You too. I'll call you later.

Announce:
Shimotomobiki. Shimotomobiki.

Perm:
Wow, I'm beat!
Still, it's been a long time since I last rode a train.

Megane:
Uh, let's see what's going on in the world...

Perm:
Hm? "The Screaming Beast, Ivan the Terrible Demands Revenge Match Against Tummy the Torturer!"
Now that's hot!


Mendou:
I don't know how long it's been since we've had such peace and quiet, Miss Shinobu.
What the...? What happened?
Huh?

Shinobu:
It can't be...
There should be an overpass here...

Mendou:
It's quite dark out.
We must have gone the wrong direction.
Turn around!

Sakura:
Uncle, it's me, Sakura.
Uncle!
Huh?
That demented monk.
He pops up indiscriminately when you don't need him, but when you do...
Huh?


Megane:
Look at the curve of those hips!
Those lips! And those... those...

Megane, Perm:
Whoa! Whoa!

Megane:
Man! What lousy driving!

Perm:
It was a circle line?


Mendou:
What is going on?
This is the fifth time we've gone through here!

Shinobu:
Things sure are strange tonight.

Mendou:
Left...! The Gyromap is useless in areas like this...

Shinobu:
Wait, I bet it's this left, here!

Mendou:
It's a dead end! Turn back!

Don't worry. We'll see you home safely.
It's not a labyrinth after all...


Sakura:
Driver, I thought that I told you to hurry.
Aren't we there yet?

Driver:
I hear you, ma'am. Almost there.

Sakura:
From Main Street to Tomobiki high school shouldn't take more than two-three minutes by car.
What's taking you so long?

Driver:
Everybody says that, ma'am.
Maybe time slows down when you're in a taxi.
You know the story about being taken to the Dragon Palace by a turtle?

Sakura:
That's how I'm feeling right now.

Driver:
How do you suppose it would be if, instead of just Taro, everyone in the village had ridden on the turtle's back?
If they all went to the Dragon Palace, and all came back to the village together, would centuries still have passed?
Even if none of the villagers noticed?

Sakura:
What are you talking about?

Driver:
Things are a mess for you 'cause you think time and space are objective things.
You know how time seems to slow down when you're waiting?
Fact is, time is simply a creation of your human consciousness.
Now, what if there ain't no human beings anywhere in the world?
Wouldn't clocks and calendars be a waste?
Maybe there ain't no such thing as time that flows in one direction from the past to the future.
And never was, don't you think, ma'am?
[is there,] uh, ma'am?

Sakura:
Hmm, that's interesting.
Maybe I really AM riding a turtle.

Driver:
Wanna go straight to Dragon Palace?
So, I'll give you a discount fare.

Sakura:
You're not an ordinary turtle...
Show your true self!

Driver:
Crazy driver!
I'm sorry about that.
A-Are you alright, ma'am?

Sakura:
I lost him...


Perm:
What is this?
We're back at school!

Megane:
I can't help it, man!
You know anywhere else we can go? Huh?

Chibi:
Uh, if it ain't the school entrance, we're back where we started!

Kakugari:
Hey, are you two, uh, by any chance...?

Perm:
"Upon breaking through the darkness, and getting off the train, we were at the schoolhouse... we were just xxx!"

Megane:
Cool poem!

Everyone:
Ha ha ha.

Megane:
Morons! This is nothing to laugh about!
Hm?

Sakura:
Who's there?

Mendou:
What is going on?
We're back at school!

Shinobu:
Hey, what are you all doing here?

Perm:
If, uh, we can't get out of town, and we can't get into school, then, uh...

Megane:
There's only one place we can go.

We'd like you to...

Megane, Perm, Chibi, Kakugari:
...put us up for the night!

Ataru:
Why you...!

Sakura:
Nothing. No answer at my place either.

Shinobu:
What could be happening?
Never mind your house or mine but there are 200 phones at Mendou's house, and not a single answer!
It's almost as if we're the only people left in the world.

Sakura:
It's me! Can I come in?

Looks like you're the only one with whom I can talk serious business.

You see...

Mendou:
Onsen-Mark?

Shinobu:
Oh?

Ten:
Come on, fly, fly. Hey, piglet, fly!

Shinobu:
Oh, how cute!
Where'd you find this piglet?

Lum:
It's Ten's pet!

Shinobu:
Bet you're happy, huh, Ten?
Where'd you buy him?

Ten:
I didn't.
This strange guy gave him to me the other day.

Lum:
Ten! Is that true?
How many times have I told you not to accept anything from strangers?
But it's cute, so I guess it's alright.

Ten:
Oh! Does that mean I can keep him?

Shinobu:
Still, this piglet looks a bit strange for some reason...
Huh?
What's this?


Chibi:
Hey, pass the soy sauce...

Kakugari:
Stay put!

Ataru:
Hey, give me some soup!

Megane:
Miso soup, pickles, and fermented beans... this is pretty miserable.

Ataru:
Don't be so picky!

Perm:
You know I really wish that we had some beer!

Megane:
Mrs. Moroboshi, are the seconds ready yet?!

Kakugari:
More noodle...

Ataru:
I told you, only two pickle slices per person!
It's even been counted!

Mendou:
Don't put your chopsticks in my miso soup, you pig!

Shinobu:
I can't stand it!

Megane:
Hey, we can't be eating all day.
We gotta go to school and get to work or we won't be ready in time for the School Festival's opening day.

Chibi:
Yeah, today's the last day.

Kakugari:
Well, what do you know, it's noon already! Noon!

Perm:
Hey, I wonder if our classroom is still in one piece!

Chibi:
I bet the tank fell through the floor.

Perm:
Yeah, that tank is a problem.
Even if we managed to open our shop, the floor would give way if even four or five people came in.

Lum:
And Darling will hide in it right away, so let's move it somewhere else!

Ataru:
Oh, yeah?
Move it, if you can!

Perm:
Well, we gotta do something.

Mendou:
What do you mean, "do something?"
Do you know what I went through to get it in there?

Perm:
You did it because you wanted to!

Ten:
You don't eat anything, do you?


Lum:
Hi!
Darling? Darling?

Mendou:
What's the matter?

Lum:
Darling's disappeared.

Shinobu:
What, again?

Mendou:
I bet he's hiding somewhere, as he usually does.

Shinobu:
He probably went to school ahead of us.
You've got to let him loose once in a while.


Megane:
Excuse me, excuse me, let me through!

Mendou, Megane:
Argh!

Mendou:
My... my... my tank... little Leopard...

Megane:
Well, you can't blame it, in this heat.

Mendou:
Tanks don't go bathing, you idiot!

Perm:
Huh? What's with those bubbles?

Ataru:
Huh? Where am I?
Hey, Mendou!
What are you guys doing here?

Mendou:
I see... So that's how it is...
So that's how it's going to be!
You want to ridicule me, Shutaro Mendou, that badly, do you!?
This is the absolute last straw!

Ataru:
Hey, Mendou, what are you saying...
What's going on!

Mendou:
Come back here!

Ataru:
Help me!

Mendou:
I'll kill you!

Lum:
Oh, Darling!

Ataru:
You're wrong, I tell you!
It wasn't me!

Mendou:
How can I believe you! DIE!

Ataru:
Stop it! Stop it I say!
Cut it out!

Mendou:
You, you, you... You! You! DIE!

Ataru:
Knock if off!

Lum:
Darling! There you are!
Where have you been?

Ataru:
Oh no! Lum!

Mendou:
Come back here!

Lum:
Hold it! Darling, come out before I count to three!
One...!

Students:
Oh no! Run!

Lum:
Two...!
THREE!

Sakura:
Twice is tragedy, but thrice is comedy, as someone once said.
But I guess I can't leave them to repeat this for a lifetime.


Mendou:
And there you have it.
Actually, when Miss Sakura told me last night, I couldn't believe it, either.
But given the incident with my tank today, and what happened last night, too many strange things have been happening lately.
Meaning that there is now no doubt that something is happening.
So I propose that we form a Reality-Check Committee in order to find the facts through our own efforts...
Listen when somebody's talking to you!

Perm:
I am listening, but, well, how do I put this?
It just doesn't seem very important.

Mendou:
What you're trying to say is that space and time are all mixed up, right?
Okay. What say we agree on that?

Everybody:
Sure enough!

Megane:
But, if so, then what damage does that really cause us?
This is the question that I must ask!

Chibi:
Hail the President!

Megane:
Onsen-Mark disappeared? Hmm, Cherry's missing?
Hit it, boys!

Everybody:
HURRAH!

Megane:
See? I rest my case.
A creepy monk or a students' nemesis or two that won't get us off our butts!

Mendou:
This is going nowhere.
But now that I think about it, it was silly for me to even talk to you fools.
Miss Sakura...

Sakura:
Hold on.
The mixed fried noodles will be here soon.

Mendou:
Okay, then I'll just go on ahead.

Ataru:
Hey, Mendou... here you go.

Mendou:
What is this?

Ataru:
Why, it's just the bill.

Mendou:
I'll certainly pay for Miss Sakura, Miss Lum, and Miss Shinobu, but why should I have to pay for the rest of you, deadbeats?!


Mendou:
Everything that's happened so far originates from Tomobiki High.
Whether a supernatural phenomenon beyond human comprehension or a conspiracy of persons unknown...
Whatever, checking at this time of night, when no one's around should turn up something.
We're going in!
Just to be on the safe side, Miss Sakura and Miss Shinobu wait here.
The rest of you, follow me!

Everyone:
All right!

Perm:
Did you see his sword?
He broke it this afternoon, but now it's grown back!

Ataru:
Just like a lizard's tail.

Megane:
One can't see one's own back, so he wouldn't notice it!
Ironic, eh?

Mendou:
Kakugari and Chibi, search the first floor!

Kakugari, Chibi:
Aye aye, sir!

Mendou:
Megane and Perm, take the second floor!

Megane, Perm:
Yes sir!

Mendou:
Moroboshi, take the third floor!

Ataru:
Okay!

Mendou:
Miss Lum, to the clock tower with me!

Ataru:
I'm no little kid, and I'm not playing Explorer.
I'm going to the school store and have a little fun with Ryuu...
Whoa!

Mendou:
I'm scared! I'm scared of the dark!
I'm scared of the dark!

Ataru:
Huh?
How did Mendou get here...?
Whoa!


Perm:
That Mendou really played a dirty trick on us.
He took us out, knowing full well we couldn't afford it.
Then he used his offer to pay to make this deal with us.
We have no idea what we're looking for, or how to find it!
He's totally clueless! Just winging it!
Hey, Megane! You listening?

Megane:
Yes, I am!
Ha ha.

Perm:
Ahh!

Lum:
Shutaro! Shutaro! Where could he have gone?
Shutaro! Shutaro! Darling! Darling!


Chibi:
Ka... Kakugari, let's turn on the hall lights...

Kakugari:
I would, but in this darkness...
Hm?

Chibi:
We... we found 'em!

Kakugari:
Now, which one is it...?

Chibi:
Who cares! Turn them all on!

Ataru:
Huh?
I... I'm... I'm all over the place!
Ahh!

Lum:
Darling!

Mendou:
I'm scared of the dark!
I'm scared of the dark!

Lum:
Darling!

Mendou:
Miss Lum!

Chibi:
What's taking so long?

Kakugari:
Don't rush me!
Whoa!

Lum
Darling! Darling!

Ataru:
Wa wa!

Mendou:
Miss Lum!
Whoa!

Sakura:
Well, looks like it's begun.

Shinobu:
I wonder if Mendou and the others are okay.

Sakura:
It's not life-threatening, but they'll likely come out running like scared rabbits.
Look closely at the school building!

Shinobu:
Eh? Oh!

Sakura:
Sixty years ago, the school was built of wood and mortar construction.
Three stories and a clock tower.
Since when have there been four stories?
I can just imagine what that crew might be going through in there!

Shinobu:
You mean you've known all along?

Sakura:
The recent string of events are indeed connected to Tomobiki High.
But we won't likely find out anything by searching the building.
What we need to do is make something happen, like last night.
There will be a reaction of some kind.
And the only way to find the solution is to observe that reaction!
Come on, it's your turn now!

Ataru:
Whoa!

Lum:
Darling, where are you?

Darling?
Darling!

Chibi:
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
We're bugging out!

Ryuunosuke:
Huh? Hey, what's going on?
What are they doing here this late at night?

Still, I don't see how you can watch what looks like the same show every night without getting bored.

TV:
Oh, I love you...

No, Junji, we mustn't...

Chibi:
All right!

Kakugari:
Good riddance to this place!

Chibi:
Huh?

Lum:
Oh, what are you doing?

Mendou:
Hey you guys!
What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?

Everyone:
Ahhh...

Shinobu:
Gotcha!

Sakura:
So what do we do now?
I bet wherever we go, we'll end up same as last night.

Mendou:
Mach Speed Noodles, on Tomobiki Street!

Sakura:
What, are you hungry?

Mendou:
Mach Speed Noodle Stand is really the Mendou Family Tomobiki Panic Center.
There's a Harrier Jet there for emergency escapes.

Sakura:
I get it. We can use a plane.
All right!

Megane:
Uh? What?

Perm:
What a mess!

Megane:
I guess this means a bite to eat is out of the question.

Perm:
Mmhmm.

Ataru:
Huh?

Mendou:
Mendou Estate, Mendou Estate, this is Shutaro Mendou.
Do you read me? Over.

Man:
Yes, this is Shanghai Chinese. Thank you.
We just sent three pork noodles to you.

Mendou:
Nobody ordered any!
Miss Sakura, climb aboard.
I'll send a chopper as soon as I get home, so the rest of you, wait here.
Whoa!

Ataru:
We've come too far to be left behind!

Megane:
We're all in this together, enemies in the same boat, to Purgatory if need be.

Mendou:
Do what you like!
Just don't blame me if you fall off!


Ataru:
We did it!

Megane:
Oh, yeah!
"Oh, wings, there be the lights of Tomobiki." Or something like that.

Ataru:
You poetic stud!

Perm:
"We're off to Outer Space. We're leaving Tomobiki..."

Ataru:
Can it!

Megane:
You really are tone deaf.

Mendou:
Quiet!

Ataru:
Ahh!

Mendou:
It can't be!
It's impossible!

Sakura:
Mendou! Circle around the city limits!
Unless I'm mistaken, that was...

Uncle Cherry!

Ataru:
Yuck!

Megane:
I was thinking I hadn't seen him lately, but to find him here!

Mendou:
Hey, look!

Onsen-Mark!

Out of gas? It can't be!
We've only been flying for a few minutes!

Ataru:
What?!

Mendou:
No choice, we're going back.

Megane:
Going back? To Tomobiki?

Mendou:
Where else, Megane?
What would we like to do?
Land on Cherry's head?

No good!
We won't even make it to Mach Speed Noodles!
I'm gonna make a forced landing close by.
Hang on tight!

Ataru's Mom:
It sure is noisy for so late at night.

Lum:
Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, we're home!

Everybody:
Good evening! Can we stay tonight too? Thanks!

Ataru's Dad:
Now just a minute!


Perm:
A can of ripe whole tomatoes, twelve packs ready-to-eat beef bowl, sixteen cup fried noodles--the ones with soup packets, three one-liter bottles cola, six bags frozen sweet corn, five cans barbecued sardines, and some canned tuna.
Hey, are you with me?

Chibi:
You're too fast for me!

Megane:
Perm! You think flakey tuna will be okay?

Perm:
I guess, but I don't know for sure.
Two bags light flour, twelve bags spaghetti, two cans safflower oil, three cases fish-flavor rice spice, five boxes cheese crackers, two bagel chips.

Chibi:
12, and 35, 61, 87 and a dollar 5.

Perm:
For a total of $115.67.

Okay, let's go.

Kakugari:
If we mess around, Ataru's mother's gonna let us have it.

Megane:
Chibi! What's that chocolate bar doing in your shirt?

Chibi:
Well, I've wanted to try one for a while now.
It's got peanut butter inside of it...

Megane:
Pht!
In matters of food procurement, we follow Ataru's mother's strict instructions even for a single piece of bubble-gum.
You haven't forgotten that great principle, have you, Chibi?
The food in this town, from a grain of rice to a single M&M is the community property of all!
Out of selfish desire, you laid hands on this!
The penalty for that act is DEATH!

Chibi:
I'll put it back...

Megane:
Take him away!
We'll convene a people's court when we get home and decide on punishment!

Chibi:
No! I don't wanna be flayed alive!

Perm:
How stupid...

Megane:
I.O.U. $115.67.

Let's go!

Megane:
My name is Megane.
Once I was an ordinary high school student, attending Tomobiki High enduring those boring days, with my head in the clouds.
But the traumatic sight I saw from the Harrier's cockpit that night changed my destiny forever!
Since the day after we made our forced landing at Ataru's in the Harrier, the world has changed its guise, as if turning its back on us.
The same town, the same corner stores, the same public parks...
But something is different.
The shadows of cars going to and fro disappeared from the roads...
The sound of pianos in townhouse gardens has also stopped.
And there is no one wolfing down a meal at the beef-bowl counter.
Everyone else in town, no, everyone else in the world suddenly vanished, leaving only us.
The time of desolation passed in a matter of days.
Who in the world would've imagined such a silent, simple end?
The civilization that mankind built up in the past, gradually, over millennia, has come to an end.
But for those of us who are left, the end is nothing but a new beginning.
The day that heralded the end of the world was the beginning of the days of our struggle for survival.
Strangely enough, the convenience store near Ataru's house has not given way to the encroaching ruin, and its gallant shelves provides us with an abundant stock of food, daily sundries, and the like.
Stranger still, Ataru's house still has electricity, gas and water and, most surprising of all, the newspaper is still delivered.
Naturally, in the just cause of mankind's continued existence, we have chosen Ataru's house as the base of our lives.
But for some reason, Miss Sakura soon opened Haratama--a beef-bowl shop declaring that she wanted to live on her own.
Soon after, Ryuunosuke and her father reopened the Hama Teashop near the ruins of the school.
And Mendou drives around in his tank all day long probably to deal with unfulfilled needs.
Every so often, he repeat-fires the cannon.
I don't know what's bugging him, but it isn't pretty to watch.
Who knows how much time has passed since that fateful night?
But in this world we're building, clocks and calendars are useless.
The necessities of life provided to us, we struggle to survive.
The everlasting dream of all mankind, Shangri-la is ours to make, with our own hands.
I feel both ecstasy and unease at being a chosen one.
When I realize that the future of mankind rests wholly on our shoulders.
I can't help but feel an emotion similar to vertigo...

Chibi:
Hey, what's the matter, Megane?

Perm:
Probably sunstroke.
I told him to wear a hat, but he wouldn't listen.

Megane:
Excerpted from "The Prehistory of Tomobiki," by Megane, Volume 1: "Beyond the End of the World," Prologue, Chapter 3.


Lum:
Here you go! Seconds!

Everyone:
Right on!

Lum:
Oh, Mrs. Moroboshi, it's not enough.
I need to take them more!

Ataru's Mom:
Okay, okay, okay. Really, Ataru alone is trouble enough.
Oh, Shinobu?
Use the spring onion all the way up to the green part, okay?

Shinobu:
Yes, all right, ma'am.

Ataru's Mom:
Oh, your helping out saves my life, Shinobu.
I wish you could be here all the time.

Shinobu:
Oh, my! Mrs. Moroboshi!


Lum:
Yahoo!
Come swimming with us, Shutaro.

Mendou:
Ah, Miss Lum, I'm a little busy right now...

Lum:
How come you're not playing with the rest of us?

Mendou:
I have a little checking up to do, Miss Lum. See you.

Lum:
Oh...

Ten:
Lum, we better hurry, or the chilled watermelon will get warm.
That's cold!

Mendou:
Miss Lum, what do you think of this world?

Lum:
It's lots of fun!
'Bye now!


Perm:
Mrs. Moroboshi, it's all gone!

Ataru's Mom:
Okay!
How's the salad?
Did you use the cabbage all the way up to the core?

Lum:
Yes, Mrs. Moroboshi.

Ataru's Mom:
Huh, oh, Lum! Where's Shinobu?

Lum:
Gee, I dunno.

Ataru's Mom:
That's strange.
Where could she be at a time like this?
Well, I expect she'll be back shortly.
After all, where else can she go?

Mendou:
But Miss Shinobu didn't come back, not even the next morning.
And the next day...

Fujinami:
Ryuunosuke!

Mendou:
Miss Ryuunosuke disappeared, leaving a pot of stew cooking just as if she had stepped out for a quick errand.
Despite our desperate searching, the two of them remained missing.


Mendou:
Whoa!
It's Miss Shinobu! She's here!

Sakura:
As I thought.

Mendou:
Miss Shinobu! Miss Shinobu!

Sakura:
Calm down, Mendou!
A similar figure, looking like Ryuunosuke, is probably nearby.
They are but shadows!

Mendou:
Shadows?

Sakura:
Thanks for your help. I'll pull you back up now.
Setting aside my uncle, there's Onsen-Mark, who discovered our predicament plus Shinobu and Ryuunosuke, at whom Ataru made passes...
Any way you look at it, I'm next.