"And now..." said Rachel with her back towards her friends holding one of the little sparks, "because of what I have done, I am forever doomed to live the rest of my life with this awful memory. I'm forbidden to talk about what happened. I'm forbidden to stand my ground against anything. I'm forbidden to dream. Up until now, I've tried to keep it that way so I wouldn't get into anymore trouble despite how horrible it has made me feel every single day of my life. But in all of my efforts, the memory of all these events, they always keep coming back to haunt me until the end of my days. I had hoped that...if you two hadn't come up and convinced to come along with you, I would have ended my misery a lot sooner...one way or another."

          The Dreamfinder and Figment, bewildered by the words Rachel had spoken and unable to neatly contain the idea in their minds to their full extent, they stand where they are stiff in numbness, staring at the back of their most unfortunate friend. They watch each of the little sparks float closer to their "Mama" whimpering. An animated eyebrow wrinkles upon Dreamfinder's forehead. He can see the girl's arms and hands trembling in fear. Though his realization of what Rachel has really gone through throughout the course of her life has overcome his expression. As for Figment, his eyes turn red with frustration as they grow big and wide and full of tears, listening to Rachel's story. He takes a handkerchief from behind his back, as if he made it appear completely out of thin air (or better yet, imagination), and blows his snout consistently like the sound of a horn.

"That's why you were afraid to come up to the center stage at the expo!" Dreamfinder realized. "Because you were afraid that if you thought of something imaginative and made it happen, Nebulus would have come back to take you next."

"Waaaaa-ha-ha-haaaaa! Oh Rachel!" Figment cries. "That's so sad!"

"That's awful, Rachel! I knew all the time there was something wrong, but this...this is too much."

"Do you believe me then?" asked Rachel.

          At that moment, Dreamfinder's head hangs slightly downward with his eyes lightly closed. His thoughts are coming to order. He had been wrong about Dr. Channing this whole time. The truth about Rachel that has finally been unraveled, which had occupied both him and Figment for almost an hour, has made his whole body, along with the rest of his nervous system, quite unsettling. In the past, he thought however, there have been times where if he and Figment have ever gotten into a situation just as bad, there's always a way to solve it. They are not usually like Rachel's, but that still leaves no exception. There is no doubt that this sort of predicament can be helped as far as he is concerned.

"...Yes." said Dreamfinder in a sedately grim tone. "What can we do?"

"Nothing." Rachel says, plainly.

"What? What do you mean nothing? There has to be a way to save him!"

"I tried to find Uncle Eli for ages. There is no clue I could find in knowing his whereabouts. Only Dr. Channing and Nebulus knows where he is. And if Channing wouldn't tell me where Uncle Eli is, then it's obvious that Nebulus won't tell me either...wherever he is. There is no hope. No path. No way out."

"So Dr. Channing really was as you said the whole time." said Dreamfinder in his disbelief. "A power-hungry snake seeking a source to keep himself at the top."

"And a minion of Nebulus to top it off." Rachel adds. ""Plus, he always reminded me of Sir Robin from Monty Python and the Holy Grail for some reason; a bit of a sissy in his own way. Even though I was the one who opened the door that released him, it's obvious that he was the one who convinced Nebulus to take Uncle Eli out for him as a way of revenge to canceling his project. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone getting in his way. Including the Dreamfinder!"

"Until we showed up! When we entered the Academy Scientifica-Lucidus this time, we've opened another chance to get into Dr. Channing's way and stopping his experiments, which we just...did...yesterday. He got fired for keeping that little spark hostage and hurting Fye."

"Uh-oh." said Figment as he trembles.

"This isn't good." said Rachel in a grave tone. "If Channing is fired from his job now like he was fifteen years ago, there is no telling on what he'll plan to do next. If anything, he could recreate the same phenomenon that happened right here in this very spot with all of in it, or worse! No one was following you when you came in, right?"

"Nope, we didn't see anyone at all."

"We made sure no one saw us come into the building." assured Dreamfinder. "If someone was following us, we would have noticed it. We even checked around the area for any suspicious people before we came in."

"Well so far nothing bad has happened, thank goodness." said Rachel. "It was nobody but me, Yuna, and the sparks in here before you two came in."

"Mama! Mama!" The little sparks chirped as they happily swarm around Rachel, making her giggle. "Mama! Mama! Mama!"

"Yes, little ones, I was talking about you." said Rachel with an assuring smile as she cradles a few of them in her arms. "Mama's here.

          Dreamfinder then notices a small glimmer twinkles in Rachel's eyes as watches her little sparks cooing softly, making themselves comfortable in her arms. A new ray of warmth enters his heart once again, seeing a warmer side come out of her. However, he could not show it physically in accordance to what had just recently happened back at the academy. He wanted to savor this moment. It's the first time he has seen Rachel smile for a long while and it seems that these sparks are the cure.

          Quite interestingly, it has opened a new possibility in knowing what other mannerisms thee sparks must have before they are made corporeal. They, both Dreamfinder and Figment, notice a slight change of pigment in their auras as they assemble together with content around Rachel. They seem to have changed in a lighter pink hue.

"Mama...we love our Mama." the sparks murmured.

"Aww...I love you guys, too." Rachel murmurs back. "...So much."

"How cute!" said Figment. "They're so small and teeny-tiny and precious!"

"So these little sparks really do believe you're its mother?" Dreamfinder asks.

"It appears that way, yes." said Rachel with a smile. "I don't know how, I don't know why, I don't know what they really see in me, but whatever it is it makes me feel very light on my feet. These guys, they're so soft and fuzzy and warm. Makes me think of considering having my own...well, chances are that'll never happen to me in this life. They've been a part of me ever since I first came here and met Uncle Eli. And their memory has haunted me throughout my life thinking that they've all been swallowed by Nebulus himself. To see them all here alive and well right now, I would never forgive myself to see them relive that same fate again. ...I love them."

"And you'd give anything to protect them, would you?" Figment asked, receiving a nod back from Rachel.

"Hmm...I think I know who these little sparks actually are!" Dreamfinder realizes in great excitement.

"Who?"

"Tell us, O' Wise One." Rachel sasses.

"I believe those sparks are fragments of YOUR imagination, Rachel!" Dreamfinder assesses.

"What?"

"It's only a theory, though I rather not say it until I'm completely sure. Is there a chance we can take another look around here and see what's been left behind."

"Are you serious?" Rachel reacts. "You want to dig around this entire place to find remnants of Uncle Eli's belongings before he vanished and some other material you two could use for the Dream Machine?"

"Yep!" said Figment happily.

"That's kind of the plan." Dreamfinder blushes.

"...Well, I guess I can show you around the place." Rachel sighs solemnly. "Give you a brief tour of what's left of my last remaining crumbled bit of childhood."

"Yippee!" Figment cheers.

"How did you guys find a way in here anyway? And where's Alex?"

"We used a machine Capri made that finds dream power on the loose and followed it here. Alex is back at their house and he's going to stay there until he graduates from the academy. He wanted us to thank you also for helping him get here."

"That's good. I'd imagine I've made quite a stir there when I...you know...yesterday."

"If it's any consolation," said Dreamfinder, "what you did actually saved the academy! The Chairman is actually forgiving you for taking the spark on account it could have given away the privacy of the academy to the public with no solid explanation."

"So...I'm in the good and clear from here then?" Rachel asks. "I get a free pass while Dr. Channing gets his butt kicked out of the school? That actually puts quite a bit of weight off my chest."

"Don't push your luck."

"Let's get started then. The very long depressing version of 'This is My Life.' "

"Lead on, Rach!" said Figment.

"We'll start with that room over...there." Rachel said. "The Science and Technology Room. That sounds like your field of work, being an inventor yourself."

          With Rachel and the sparks leading the way, the Dreamfinder and Figment follows them towards the designated room. The sparks dance around and behind Rachel in a happy flurry. They nudge themselves against her cheek and neck, tickling her to the giggles. It's surprised both the Dreamfinder and Figment; they've never seen Rachel react this way. She seems to have the attitude of a real loving mother. That flicker of warmth continues to rise inside of Dreamfinder all over again. It's almost enough to put a smile on his face. He doesn't even realize he was speed walking towards the girl. Even in his excitement, Figment manages to flap his small dragon wings faster to catch up to them.

          The Science and Technology Room is crawling with broken pipes and dented metal; all throughout the walls and the ceiling. Broken glasses from capsules, television screens and test tubes are shattered all over the floor. The switches and buttons on the walls and broken control panels have been melted and hardened. A crank that hangs on the ceiling is bent up and a giant blue glass globe of the Earth is cracked like an egg. It's not so empty in the Science Room. There are piles of machinery and tables covered in dusty white sheets bringing up much of Figment's curiosity.

"What's all this?" Dreamfinder asks.

"Oooh...Look at all these neat stuff!" said Figment with his eyes grown big in his excitement. "What are they?"

"Back in the day," Rachel started, "Uncle Eli and Dr. Channing used to build these machines that would help them further their research in knowing what imagine does, why, how, when, where it happens and what it's made of. I remember the tall stacks of books they had to pile up when I first came in."

"Look at all of these books!" said Figment in his excitement. "There must be a whole gazillion of them!"

"Goodness!" said Dreamfinder, as he picks up a book and flips through the pages. "By the looks of these machines and how many books there are, they sure have been busy. They must have found out a lot more about the effects of imagination than I have."

"Hey Rachel, what this thing?"

          The dragon pulls a sheet out from over one of the machines. A cloud of dust puffs up in the air, making the little sparks around him cough little coughs. The head of the mechanism revealed takes the form of an old-fashioned 1920s-30s movie camera. It's colored in blue in most places and some black on the top, has a small 10x12 inch screen, two levers and switches, a small dial of buttons and a 24-inch camera lenses. An adjustable helmet is connected to the machine with multiple tiny wires to the bottom of the screen. The front of the machine is supported by a tripod and solid block of a metal wall with wires and connections inside at the very back with the TV screen on top.

"Peculiar sort of thing, if you ask me." said Dreamfinder.

"Wow! I remember this!" Rachel exclaims. "The Fancy Filmer Centennial!This machine can actually project, film and record your dreams while you're asleep! It even works on daydreams, too. You just simply insert this videotape, turn it on at the right coordinates, put on this helmet, and then start dreaming. Once you're done with your dreaming, the recording stops and you can play back the tape and watch your dreams again over and over and over again! You could dream yourself an entire textbook of any subject you want; technology, mathematics, anything!"

"That's incredible! I could review all the notes I'd come up with with this machine."

"I can imagine myself braving through treacherous perils and lead my imaginary people to victory!" Figment adds. "It'll be like opening a book and becoming the hero of the story!"

"This was my favorite of all the machines Uncle Eli had built," said Rachel, "and he allowed me to help him test it in case it either works well or if had any bugs. He always said that dreams work best on kids. We had just about completed it by the time Nebulus came in an attacked."

"Ouch!" Figment exclaims as he touches the machine and gets affected by an electric spark.

"The machine's probably a bit outdated by now, probably must have short circuited by that big gust of wind by Nebulus, but with a little more help in modernizing it this baby can do the job just fine."

"No...!" Dreamfinder gasps.

"Yeah, it can!" Rachel said. "Give it a dust and some paint—"

"Dreamfinder! Is that...?" Figment gasps as well.

"It is!" said Dreamfinder. "Look!"

          On a table farthest from them at the other side of the room is what looks like a football helmet sitting on top of it. It's the only piece of machinery that isn't covered by an old sheet. The goggle lenses are identical to Dreamfinder's and Rachel's goggles when riding the Dream Machine. The golden-bronze metal plating on the sides are in need of some buffing and waxing. The small black strip on the very top is a curly coil strand of tungsten filament; the kind of material that was once used for incandescent light bulbs. Two tiny pressure meters are screwed and bolted just over the left eye lenses. And lastly, a pair of accordion-like spark plugs used to connect with a cable of some kind, which is not present around here on the table.

          The shocked and surprised looks on Dreamfinder and Figment's faces grow bigger and bigger. It's almost as if that if the helmet had been disposed of in the past, it had just come back to haunt them. They could not believe it. They rush over to the table for a closer look. It couldn't possibly be for real...could it?

"The Mesmonic Converter!" Figment cries.

"That...that's impossible! I destroyed it last year at the academy myself!" shouted Dreamfinder. "How is it here?"

"What?" Rachel gasps to her surprise. "That's the Mesmonic Converter? The thing you've been telling me about all this time?"

"Up close and personal!" said Figment.

"I don't believe it!" Dreamfinder gasps in a wispy voice. "The Mesmonic Converter right in my own hands again. It looks as if I hadn't shattered it at all. Not even a crack or a dent!"

"That thing means a lot to you, does it?" Rachel asks.

"The first I've ever made at the Academy Scientifica-Lucidus. It's the first invention I've ever built in my entire life! I created Figment and the Dream Machine with this thing and used it to help save London. And then I had to destroy the helmet to unleash the power of imagination to help the academy last year. This thing should have been destroyed for good!"

"I'd call that a big fat 'yes.'"

"But if the helmet was destroyed, what's it doing here?" Figment wonders aloud.

"There must be something on this table that could explain it." said Dreamfinder, who just snapped out of his sudden shock.

          While Dreamfinder observes the helmet, the table becomes even more thrashed and messy as Rachel and Figment search through the scattered papers and piled up books. The papers on the table look like they have been yellowed, crinkly, ripped, and eaten by moths. As the papers go flying around, it rises up another large puff of dust making the two of them sneeze. Finally, Figment's hand bumps against a torn brown book that was sitting closest to the spot the helmet was at. It is about an inch and a half thick with some of the pages slightly popping out. Like everything else in the room, it looks like it hasn't been touched or moved for a very long time. Figment picks up the book and flips through the pages. His eyes grow bigger and wider as he skims over the paragraphs.

"Hey, you guys!" said Figment. "Check this out! I found it where the helmet was."

"Let me see that book." Dreamfinder ordered. "Hmm...it looks like a notebook of some kind. A journal about researching imagination!"

"My kind of book!" Figment says happily.

"It's Uncle Eli's journal!" Rachel exclaims. "I recognize his handwriting anywhere!"

"He must have been chronicling his research on the Mesmonic Converter and the effects it has before Nebulus took him." Dreamfinder guesses.

"What does it say? What does it say?" Figment asks eagerly. "Tell us what Uncle Eli said."

"Let's see...here's the first page. It says..."

********************************************************************************************************

September 11, 1983.

It's been six months already since I got hired by Disney to play as the meet-and-greet Dreamfinder at EPCOT. And quite conveniently, it's been six months since the Journey Into Imagination attraction has finally opened up to the public. It's such an honor to play as my granduncle the Dreamfinder in tribute to his memory—"

********************************************************************************************************

"WHAT?!" Figment and Rachel