Dreams: an Eureka Seven One-Shot

Author's Note: I thought it would be a nice idea to do a one-shot where Eureka had her first dream (or nightmare, rather), and woke up to exchange what she dreamt with Renton. I took the liberty of using elements from Pocketful of Rainbows (or Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers) and Eureka Seven: AO because why not? I wasn't a big fan of the movie, nor do I have any interest in watching AO, so why not incorporate them into something a bit light-hearted for a change. Plus, I think it's nice to see the characters have some self-depreciation considering how downhill it went for most fans after the original series. I also borrowed some names from AO because I'm shitty with coming up with names. Sorry.

Also, this is somewhat of a sequel to Moonlight, my first Eureka Seven one-shot (and lemon). See if you can spot a teeny reference from that story here.

Lastly, spoilers if you haven't watched Pocketful of Rainbows or AO. I'll admit that I've gotten some story tidbits from the wiki, so my sincerest apologies for any plot inconsistencies.

Enjoy, everyone.

Eureka watches Renton lies still in her hands, unconscious and bleeding from the wounds he received. She watches in shock as the boy who loved her and promised her a future where the two will be together is hanging on for dear life. Eureka realizes that such a future no longer waits for her, yet she still wants nothing more than for Renton to live. She knows that he has sacrificed so much for her, even going as far as rebelling against Gekkostate to save her. Yet there is no other way to save him without great sacrifice.

Eureka feels hesitant and scared, knowing that the memories she has with the boy she grew up with at Warsaw was the only thing that kept her going. She knows that sacrificing them for his life would mean that she would no longer be a part of him anymore, and that she will become a blank state to him when he wakes up. Yet there is no other way. He must live for her.

She slowly becomes content with the decision she has made. Eureka looks at Renton's still-living body with a smile, knowing that everything will be alright for him.

You know… there really was a place I wanted to go.

Do you know where that would be?

You know, I wanted to go back to Warsaw.

I know this world is filled with fear and hatred. I know that I'll have bad experiences in this world… but I thought that it would be okay.

Even if I was locked in that small hospital room, even if I could only go out at night, it would be okay. Heading towards the end of time just like that would be okay. Because I have you, Renton.

Because the town where I met, and grew up with you are a part of my memories.

My dear memories…

But even so, I don't care if I lose them anymore.

If my memories can affect the Image, and if with that, you can continue to live, then I don't care if I lose myself. As long as you live and continue to have dreams, I will continue to live in your dreams. That is my dream.

Farewell, Renton… I love you. Let us meet in your dreams once again.

She looks at Nirvash one last time, finally accepting of her fate. Accepting the fact that she will lose the precious memories of the boy she grew up with in Warsaw, even if it means saving his life and finally ridding herself of all the pain and suffering she experienced.

"Let's go, Nirvash."

Eureka watches Nirvash pierce through the command center so that the Hammer of God can activate. As it does so, it begins to emanate a bright kaleidoscopic light, completely blinding her. There was nothing to see. Nothing to feel anymore. Just a white light embracing the young girl and her lover.

Eureka immediately rose from her bed and gasped heavily. Her body was covered with a bit of sweat, and a small headache pulsed inside her head. As she raised her hand to massage her temples, she finds herself in a cozy yet familiar room illuminated by nothing more than the orange sunrise from the window to her right. She scans the room from her bed, noticing pictures at the drawer opposite of her. One of them was a colored picture of the family after the honeymoon with Axel by their side. Another was a picture of the children at the beach, their faces filled with youthful smiles and laughter; in it were Maurice, Maeter, Linck, a six-year old Amber (who shared her mother's cyan hair and face but her father's blue eyes), and a four-year old Ao (who shared his father's hair and facial structure, but his mother's purple eyes). She looks at the drawer next to her and looks at the time.

Saturday, 7 O'clock AM…

She notices a white sleeping gown adorned on her, clean and immaculate as the sheets she was covered on. Eureka looked at her arms, expecting Renton's dying body, and didn't find him there. Instead, Eureka heard a familiar voice groaning by her right. She slowly turns to her right to confirm her suspicions, and feels her heart instantly melt when she sets her eyes at a familiar face.

"Bad dream?" Renton groans as he pinches the bridge of his nose. He is sitting next to Eureka, lying on the pillows, appearing as if he is recovering from a long dream.

Eureka sat trembling for a moment, in shock at what she had witnessed in the last couple of minutes before she woke. The boy that laid still dying in her arms a while back was lying down next to her, alive and breathing. She embraced him in a heartbeat, overjoyed by Renton's presence. Renton was initially surprised by the sudden embrace, but he gently wrapped her arms around her. He feels her tears slowly crawl onto his chest, and hears her softly sobbing.

"Renton… I thought I lost you!"

"Don't worry, Eureka. I'm here." Renton tightened his embrace lightly, slowly stroking her cyan hair while taking in her scent. It reminds him of sunflowers and morning dew.

"Nightmare?" Renton feels Eureka nod her head in response while in his embrace. She may not have had nightmares before, but she knew what they were. His face slowly turns weary, fixating his gaze towards the orange glow of the window. "Me too."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story," Renton sighed, as he shifted his look towards the teary-eyed Coralian. "But it looks like you have one hell of a dream, so ladies first."

Eureka pulls away from Renton to wipe the tears off her face. "Well, I don't know where to start," she sniffles.

"It's okay," Renton said, sitting up just before Eureka lies down on her side, facing him. He noticed a worried look on Eureka's face as she repositions herself, slowly wrapping her hands under his arms and over his shoulder. "Just take your time. Start with the best part."

Eureka took heed of his advice, and a brief silence followed as she tries to recollect memories of her dream from the very beginning. Her slight frown hinted a small internal struggle for trying to piece together what happened. Yet Renton was kind and patient enough to let her finish gathering her thoughts; the morning is young, and he was gladly inquisitive on the nature of Eureka's first dream (or nightmare, rather).

"We were children in Warsaw, and Dominic was there with us." Eureka replied, feeling as if the memories start to come back like a light gradually illuminating from darkness. As she begins to pick up the pieces, she squints her eyes at the uncanniness of her recollections. "Nirvash was some… doll, or whatever, and you were the only one that understood him."

"Nirvash was a doll?" Renton asked, slightly raising his eyebrows, already attracted into the strangeness of her dream. Eureka nodded, her face unintentionally rubbing against his shoulder.

"All of a sudden, we were in a room and I saw a bright light shining on us. It felt like my skin was being burnt under the light, and I remember being taken away by some horrible people." She placed her hand on Renton's chest, to which he placed his hand on hers to help her remember more. "Next thing I know, time passed and I was in a room. You crashed into it, and the floor started to fall beneath us, but you caught me while we fell in the sky."

Renton began to briefly reminisce the time where he caught Eureka from the Nirvash while in midair, bringing him warm memories. "That sounds familiar," he replied, jokingly, hopeful that Eureka might get the reference.

"Yes, but my skin wasn't burning while you caught me in midair." Eureka responded, tightening her grip with her other arm on Renton's, slightly shook from the experience. "There were also these things called the Image, and I think you took out all of them. And once that was done, Holland was there too, but I wasn't part of the Gekko." Eureka closed her eyes to help her recollect. "I remember he told you that I was the military's 'top secret project' or something."

"Like… you being a Coralian?" Renton asked.

"I wasn't a Coralian." Eureka replied, which furthers Renton's curiosity. She paused, slightly hesitant to continue due to the obliqueness of her memories. She felt Renton's slight grip on her hand tighten, a small sign that told her Renton is still engaged regardless of the nature of her dreams. "Somewhere in the dream, I remember telling you I was a spy robot sent by the Image."

"Spy robot?" He raised his eyebrows further, even more intrigued by her dream's eccentricity.

"Yeah, I know." Eureka shakes her head and squints her eyes again from the incredulity of such a thing. "I was a robot, but I can cry, go to the bathroom, do other things I can do now. I also remember saying I had crystals inside me that help me get information about humanity's weakness for them. It's ridiculous."

"Sounds like one of those weird sci-fi movies you see on television." Renton playfully replied, as he made eye contact with her with a warm smile on his face.

"Don't tease me!" Eureka smacked his chest as he looked at him with a slight frown on her face, still a bit rattled from her dream.

Renton softly chuckled, with that small smile still fixated on his face. "Sorry… continue."

Eureka began to calm down as Renton rubbed his thumb on her fingers, still clutching onto her hand. "Anyways, I remember telling you some of the bad things the military did to me, and that no matter what I did I was going to die if something were to happen to my eyes."

"I hate to see those eyes go away." Renton quipped. Eureka's hand slinked from his grip and slapped him on the cheek, and gave him a cold, frowning glare.

"Okay, okay." Renton turns towards her, chuckling as he does so, and placed his hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing her delicate skin, reassuring her that he's still attentive. His smile, laugh, and his touch instantly melted Eureka's frown like warm coffee soothing cold hands on a winter morning. "Keep going."

After Eureka calmed down, Renton's hand starts to back away from her face to let her concentrate. "Holland, Talho, and everyone from the Gekko were there. But everyone isn't what they seem. They were teenagers experimented by the military, and they wanted us to go to this place called 'Neverland,' where they can be young forever. They thought we were the chosen ones, since I had crystals inside me that allowed passage to Neverland."

Renton was prepared to deliver another small joke, but held back to avoid a harsher slap. Despite the absurdity of the dream and his quips towards them, he didn't break eye contact with Eureka and hung onto every detail of her memories.

"Anyways, it turns out that you and I shared the same dreams since we were the so-called 'chosen ones.'" Eureka continued, her eyes narrowing to help her recollect more. "We were resting in the Gekko, and then I remember all the LFOs going out of control. I was blacked out for a bit, but I heard you coming to get me. Next thing I know… I…"

"What is it?"

She paused for a moment, her face transitioning into a subdued traumatized look, and her voice quietly trembling. "I heard gunfire. And you got shot."

Eureka began to shed tears and quietly wept, prompting Renton to pull her closer towards him. His right arm overarched her green luminescent wings, wrapping Eureka in a warm embrace. He begins to gently stroke the back of her head and kissed her forehead, just above her gemstone. For Eureka, there was always something soothing about Renton's embrace; to her, it felt like finding a campfire in the darkness, with a friendly stranger reassuring her that she was never alone and that everything was alright. He whispered to her like a calming lake breeze from a distant memory. "Don't worry. I'm still here."

It took Eureka a while to find her bearings, but it didn't matter for Renton. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't shake the image of him getting shot or dying in her arms; he knew all she needed was him by her side. He grabbed the box of tissues on his right and offered some to Eureka, to which she grabbed some to wipe the tears off her face.

"Eureka, you don't have to finish." Renton said, his soft tone indicating an ambient concern.

Eureka shook her head, her voice still slightly cracking after wiping off her tears. "It's okay, Renton. I can still do this." She laid her hand next to him, to which he placed and clutched his grip tightly on her as if it was already an instinct. Just by feeling the warmth of his palm and looking at the genuine worry in his eyes made her feel better. She emanated a faint smile, reassuring Renton that she feels much better and can still move on with her story.

She deeply exhaled and lied down on her pillows as she faced Renton. "After that happened, you needed medical attention. So we went to the Vodarac Shrine to meet Anemone because she can help us get to Neverland."

"Let me guess." Renton inquired. "Spy robot too?"

"Mmhmm," Eureka replied, still clutching onto Renton's hand. "But she couldn't let us in because Holland and the others were being jerks. No one was doing anything, and you were dying, so I had to take matters into my own hands."

"Whoa, you started killing people?" Renton slightly raised his eyebrows at Eureka, as it wasn't in her nature anymore to take lives.

"No, thankfully." Eureka responded as she inched closer to Renton, tightening her grip on Renton's hand and placing her other hand on them to cover the embrace. "But I did hold Anemone at gunpoint. I was furious. Nobody would help us."

Her face emanated a platonic concern, to which Renton immediately understood and sympathized. It isn't like her to make such impulsive actions, but he contemplated on whether he would do the same if he were in Eureka's shoes. Eureka continued further into her story. "So Anemone told me that the Image fused themselves with the Earth, and if it dies, Anemone and I die as well."

"Sounds like the Image is the Scub Coral if they were jerks." Renton said, smiling despite his bad humor.

"Let's not forget our Scub Coral was kind of a jerk too." Eureka chuckled quietly, smiling back and playfully tagging along with his attempt at a joke. Eventually, the smile faded away as she starts to recall the last bits of her dream.

"After Anemone told us everything, Nirvash evolved and destroyed the Image. We both left for our own good, but you were dying on my arms and there was no other choice to save you other than sacrificing my memories." Eureka leaned herself into him. "The very last thing I saw was a light. It was so bright that I couldn't see anything, but it felt like I was being ripped apart from my body. And then I woke up."

Renton noticed a placid weariness on Eureka's face, as if she finally released some heavy baggage. "Wow… that's a lot to take in. I'm surprised you remembered so much of it." He replied, feeling Eureka's hands gently rubbing against his sides.

"I couldn't dream before until now. I guess your first is always the one you remember the most." Eureka shook her head and frowned, with mixed feelings of disbelief and frustration welled up inside her. "I'm still flustered my first one had to be a nightmare."

"Not for us humans." Renton offered. "I can't recall my first ever dream. But I do remember this…" Renton guides a free hand towards Eureka's chin and quickly plants a kiss on her lips. It was soothing enough to cast whatever memories of her dream out of her mind, and wasn't overtly suggestive to warrant immodest thoughts.

"That, I'll never forget." Eureka smiled, as she stroked his cheek to feel the ruggedness of his five o'clock stubbles. "I'm just happy it was all a dream."

"But seriously, sacrificing your memories to save me?" Renton replied. "That sounds just as painful as losing you."

"I know." Eureka hung her head down, feeling regret for what she did even if it was a dream. "I'm sorry, Renton."

"It's okay, Eureka. I'm here." Renton moved in closer to embrace her, to which she reciprocated back with a tight enough squeeze. While she always welcomed the gentleness of his physical affections, she reveled more at the fact that Renton isn't dying in her arms like in her dreams; he's here by her side just as he promised, and he's not letting go. As the two pulled back, Eureka smiled as she looked at Renton, trying her best not to well up any tears in her eyes. Suddenly, Renton remembered something that happened before they slept. "Hey, did you remember what you drank last night?"

Eureka looks down and tries to recall what beverage she consumed. All she can recollect prior to her dreams were Anemone and Dominic coming over with alcoholic beverages on a late Friday night. She recalls Renton, Dominic, Anemone, and herself starting off with only a bottle of light beer, while sating their appetites with some hors d'oeuvres that she prepared earlier. Suddenly, she remembers the one of the drinks Dominic and Anemone brought over. "I think it was called a 'Green Fairy.' Anemone suggested it to me."

"Oh, no." Renton shook his head by the revelation and raised a brow. "You do realize that drink causes hallucinations, right?"

"No wonder she wanted me to 'let loose and have a good time.'" Eureka replied, scowling over Anemone's beverage choice. "Stupid."

"Could have been worse." Renton shrugged, content with the fact that at least Eureka didn't suffer alcoholic poisoning, or worse. "But at least you're alright."

Eureka smiled as she laid her head on Renton's chest. It was comforting to know that what she saw and felt weren't real, and that everything was just fine. To her, everything seemed to slow at a complete stop until she noticed a hint of concern in Renton's eyes.

"What about you?" Eureka inquired.

"Hmm?" Renton looked at Eureka while finely caressing her hair.

"What happened in your dream?" Eureka asked, feeling his cheek and rubbing her fingers against his stubbles.

"I don't remember much, but it did feel like forever." Renton sighed, fixating his gaze towards the opposite side of the room. "You were there, and so were Amber and Ao. For some reason, Maurice, Maeter, and Linck weren't there, but things were a lot different for us in my dream. And worse."

"How so?"

Renton placed his hand over Eureka's, which was lying on his chest. "For one, Ao was in another universe. And you were flip-flopping between universes, trying to get home. I was trying to do my best to protect you guys, but I made so many bad choices in doing so."

"Such as?" she asked. He paused for a moment, knowing that he was about to utter something ludicrous, particuarly for Eureka.

"For one, I think I tried to kill the Scub Coral." His eyes lowered in shame as he uttered those words. Eureka saw the ambient somberness in his gaze and ran a smooth, sympathetic hand along his cheek. She knew her kind did horrible things to humanity, and thus she never flinched or stared in shock. Yet she was curious to the nature of his actions in the dream, knowing the struggle for coexistence was a hard fought one.

"What made you do so?" Eureka inquired.

Renton paused for a moment as he concentrated on recollecting his dream. "In my dream, the Scub Coral killed off Amber. We both saw her turn into stone because of too much trapar exposure. Because of that, Ao couldn't live in our world and so I had to push you into another while you were pregnant with him. What's worse was that the union between the Coralians and the humans went kaput because the high density trapar wiped out almost everyone."

He sighed, looking down towards Eureka with a hint of disbelief, and ambient melancholy. "I know. It's ludicrous what I'm saying but that's what happened."

He was expecting a sort of small protest from Eureka, but it wasn't in her nature to judge. She understood everything what he said, and felt a hint of regret and pain in his words. Eureka gently guided his chin to direct his gaze towards her, expressing a sort of calm empathy as she does so. "You know what? I'd do the same."

"Funny." Renton smiled. "Somewhere in my dream, you also said that."

"I'm a mother." Eureka shrugged, sharing a sympathetic gaze. "I'd be in more grief than you if any of our children died. Plus, all those sacrifices we made to achieve coexistence would have been for nothing."

He was surprised to hear that Eureka would do such a thing, but a part of him felt reassured. Eureka was a far cry from the girl that crashed down into his garage many years ago; it took her a while, but she understood the pain of losing loved ones, and the sacrifices needed to be made to protect them. It's the price to pay as parents, but considering the myriad obstacles they overcame with their undying love for one another, it all seemed worth it.

"I think I remember getting into this stupid fight with Ao because… I don't even know." Renton quietly laughed, rubbing his hand against Eureka's. "All I remember was that we were both fighting in our own Nirvash."

"More than one Nirvash? What the hell did you drink?" Eureka asked, her playful yet inquisitive expression complimented with a raised eyebrow and a warm smile.

"Balkan Vodka. And I regret everything." Renton offered, his hand moving to pinch his bridge, still a bit hungover from last night and overwhelmed by the dream. "Still, there were a lot of things were going on that I couldn't remember. All of it just flew by in an instant by the time I woke up. It felt too long… too…"

"Real?" Eureka quickly jumped in to finish Renton's sentence, to which he nodded while sighing.

"I just wanna forget I ever had it. Or that damn drink Dominic brought over."

"You're not the only one." Eureka ascribed, her supple hands lightly rubbing on his chest. "Renton… these dreams… do they often feel this real?"

"Sometimes a little too real. What we had was a bit too much for us."

"The alcohol or the dreams?" Eureka quipped, complimented by her warm smile.

"At least I only recall drinking one shot." Renton argued. "Damn you, Dominic."

"Don't forget Anemone." Eureka chuckled. Her laugh was always something that made Renton warm all over. "You think perhaps we're in a dream?"

"I dunno. But if so, this is a dream I don't ever want to wake up from." He huddled closer to Eureka and turned towards her. He gave her a slight tickle on her sides, milking a laugh from her as he does and letting her lean in his arms. "Hey… we're still here. We're still together, the kids are okay, and I'm not planning on going anywhere."

"I'm just glad to hear that." She caresses his rugged face as she scoots her face closer to him to plant a smooth kiss on his lips, milking that warm smile that she wanted to see. "Well, now that's over with, I'm gonna punch Anemone and Dominic the next time I see them."

"You should let me join." Renton offered. "Hey, you hungry? We can make breakfast while the kids are asleep."

"You read my mind." Eureka replied, her hand slinking in between their embrace to poke Renton's nose. "Hey, let's make something big for them."

"For us, you mean? I'm still feeling a bit hungover, Eureka."

"Me too." Eureka acknowledged, still a bit dazed from a slight headache. "But it's also the start of summer vacation, so it's not just the kids that need to indulge on this occasion."

"Speaking of that, I hear the beach is real nice around this time. Up for it?" Renton offered in a playfully convincing tone.

"Maybe." Eureka replied, slightly hushing. "Provided the side effects of our drinks are gone, of course."

"Oh, I think there's time for that." He winked at Eureka, once again milking a smile from her. The two quickly rose to tidy up their bed, excited at the prospect of making a large breakfast and going out to celebrate summer vacation with the children. More so, they felt much better that the horrible things they saw and felt were only imaginary figments of their consciousness, Eureka especially.

As Renton looked at Eureka while helping her fix the bedsheets, he can see the sunlight emanating on her bright green wings, complimenting her white garments and her milky skin. She wasn't hopping around universes or some hologram; she was right in front of him, smiling, and he felt better for it. Eureka caught him looking at her and exchanged the smile in return, happier that he wasn't bleeding in her arms and passing out.

After the two finished, they quietly and swiftly went downstairs to avoid waking up the children. Finally founding closure with their dreams, Renton and Eureka are now ready to move on; ready to start the day anew, ready to spend some quality time cooking breakfast with each other, and ready to spend the day at the beach with her family at the start of summer. Whether if this is still a dream didn't matter anymore; what matters is that they're still together, safe and sound, if not a bit hungover.

"I wonder if we have enough eggs to make a big omelette?" Eureka inquired.

"You really want to go to the beach, huh?" Renton chuckled, picking up on Eureka's desire to get rid of her hangover swiftly as possible. "I suppose we have more than enough. Just don't forget to save some for the kids."

"Oh, we all indulge sometimes."

"A bit too much, apparently." Renton replied. "But I'll let this one slide."

Side-Note: One of the pictures in Renton and Eureka's room is supposed to be the original end card for Episode 50. I didn't want to be overtly descriptive about that particular picture, since for one less is more; two, I wanted a picture of the Thurstons before Amber and Ao, who were shown in the adjacent picture; three, I wanted to bring the show (and my Moonlight one-shot) closure by having Renton and Eureka returning to the children at Bellforest to fulfill their promise.

I also based Amber and Ao's appearance on the final Eureka Seven DVD cover. Sucks that Renton and Eureka didn't have a happy time with their family following the original series. I wished the writers and producers would've told us the tale of those children instead of what we got in AO.

Lastly, for those ignorant as I am about alcohol during my college days, the "Green Fairy" that Eureka drank refers to a French liquor called Absinthe. Notorious for its hallucinating effects, Absinthe typically has around 45-85% alcohol and ranks as one of the strongest accessible beverages in the market. Renton, on the other hand, had it worse; Balkan Vodka has around 88% alcoholic concentration, but thankfully he lived to see the day and all he had from his drinking experience was dreaming about AO. Drink responsibly, kids.

Apologies once again for any story inconsistencies from Pocketful of Rainbows and AO, as well as for any grammatical and spelling errors. Hopefully my second one-shot was an improvement over the first. Feel free to review, mark it as a favorite, rip it apart, print it on paper and rip it apart physically if you hate it that much (strongly against that advice, since that'd be a waste of paper), or whatever.