The Other Side of Paradise
Part 1
Author: Nyneve, Nyneve, Nyneve (Say it 3 times fast…if you can pronounce it)
Hello! I am here! With the long awaited sequel to "The Pulse"! Yes, I know it would be until spring, but lets face it. I want to write this story just as much as you want to read it (Come on, admit you're curious)! Anyways, because I am now working on this, "The Search for Usagi" is now being postponed. Once I have finished this story, I will resume work on it. Till then, you'll have to suffer. Keeping up with tradition, since I ended the last chapter of "The Pulse" with a song, I will begin "The Other Side of Paradise" (wow that's long. Better refer to it as OSP) with a song. In Italics will be the lyrics for (Shock! Shock!) "Paradise", by Vanessa Carlton. I found this a very fitting song for what our characters are going through. And without further adieu, OSP!
-Nyneve
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Once upon a year gone by
She saw herself give in
Every time she closed her eyes
She saw what could have been
Rini walked slowly down the hall, making sure to be very quiet. The Senshi occupied the rooms down this hallway, and well…she just didn't want to see them.
It wasn't that she was angry at them, or vice versa. It was that they had changed, some how. A year ago they had disappeared to resume a "pulse" that traveled through the universe. Several weeks later they returned, completely changed.
Only Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Pluto had gone. But something had happened when they were…wherever they had been. All of them seemed more antisocial and hardly ever smiled or spoke cheerfully.
As soon as they returned, Amy locked herself in her lab and refused to come out for days. She wouldn't eat, and everyone doubted that she slept. She just sat in there, with her computers and experiments for company, doing things no one could be sure of. When one of them would catch a rare glimpse of her, they would have trouble recognizing her. The already skinny girl grew even more emaciated and gaunt, and her eyes always looked as though she had been crying.
Mina, on the other hand, could be seen more often. However, she seemed to be lost in her own world. She talked to herself more than anyone else, and in order for someone to get her attention they would have to say her name several times. Her cool, confident manner had changed to a worried and uncertain one. And most of all, she seemed to be constantly mumbling something about "second chances".
Well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
When covers tucked in tight
Funny when the bottom drops out
She forgets to fight…to fight…
Though she too had become quiet, everyone could definitely tell the increase in hostility from Lita. Her angry grunts could be heard as she trained hard in the workout room she had "claimed". Actually, since she started her daily workouts there, everyone was afraid to use the room while she was in it. And since she spent most of the day there, no one ever went in there, preferring to use the room Mina used to use for practicing gymnastics. Even Neo-Queen Serenity left Lita alone now, fearing an angry snarl should she say the wrong thing. Or even worse, on of Lita's "fighting frenzies" as Haruka now called them.
Raye, a lot of people said, had changed for the better. Her fiery temper was all but gone. If she were offended, all the offender would get would be an annoyed glare. She started going for long walks throughout the city and palace grounds, sometimes humming to herself. However, no one was truly comfortable with this. It always seemed as though it were nothing more than an act to make them think she had changed in her core. But now, Raye was a blank wall. No one could see through her.
And it's one more day in paradise
One more day in paradise…
Making her way to the center of the palace, Rini pulled out her Time Key. It had been several months since she'd seen Pluto, so no one could really tell whether she changed or not. During the short, intermittent visits she made to the palace, she seemed to be the same, silent goddess she had always been. But Hotaru told Rini later that, if you looked closely, there was a strange sort of sadness in Trista's eyes. A sadness that hadn't been there before.
Suddenly, as her best friend's words echoed through her mind, Rini put the key back and decided not to visit Pluto. If her guardian had changed drastically, she didn't want to see it. She didn't want to see her become withdrawn, like Amy, or lost in her own world, like Mina. She didn't want to see her become angry like Lita, or passive like Raye.
Wouldn't anything stay the same anymore?
As darkness quickly steals the light
That shines within her eyes
She slowly swallows all her fear
And soothes her mind with lies
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Well all she wants and all she needs
Are reasons to survive
A day in which the sun will take
Her artificial light…her light
Just beyond the borders of Crystal Tokyo there stood a temple. In the temple were five stone sarcophaguses. On the sarcophaguses were five bodies (AN: This is the dog that ate the cat that ate the rat that ate the malt in the house that Jack built!). They were all male, of boys around 17. Each one of them was dead.
In the temple's shadows a monster came forth. It had multiple heads, each with serpents for hair. It's many eyes were an empty black, and blood dripped from it's face. Four pairs of claw-like hands extended from arms covered in dead skin, and it wore some sort of toga that covered its feet.
"So, these were the Thanatos Shard-bearers, eh Night? You couldn't handle them and their precious queens hm?" the creature said to itself. Despite it's horrifying appearance, it had the smooth, silky voice of a charismatic young woman, suggesting its gender. "Well then, let's see if I can use them for a better purpose."
At this, another monster stepped out of the shadows. It was less frightening, but still gruesome. It had the legs of a spider, and three heads all covered in matted gray hair. A pair of fangs could be seen through the thickets of its mane, as well as three pairs of eerie yellow eyes. It too wore a toga, though this one was shorter, and went to what could've been called the monster's waist. A single pair of sharp pincers extended in place of arms.
"What use could you possibly have for them Hecate? Without their crystal shards, they are physically powerless," it asked. Amazingly, the monster had the voice of a young boy. The female laughed and patted him fondly on the head.
"Janus, you never miss a thing, do you? You are correct. They lost their power before they could even unlock it. But no. I intend to use them for a different purpose. With their help, I shall end the dynasty of the Moon!" she laughed. Still smiling, she approached the five corpses.
And it's one more day in paradise
One more day in paradise
It's one more day in paradise
One last chance to feel all right…all right
"Awaken, children, from your eternal sleep. I, Hecate, Mistress of Tartarus, command you!" she called.
Suddenly, Duo moved.
"Ow…major brain freeze," he mumbled groggily, then sat up. "Hey where am I?"
"Have we died and gone to heaven?" Quatre asked uncertainly, looking around.
"Can't be. Maxwell's here," Wufei muttered. Quatre's face instantly paled.
Hecate laughed again, then with a flash of light, transformed herself and the being called Janus into human like forms. In place of the female monster was a beautiful woman with wavy red hair and a revealing navy dress. Next to her, the spider like creature became a young boy of around seven or eight, with curly blond hair and curious brown eyes.
"Welcome, welcome, gentlemen," she said.
Duo shot a cynical glance at her. Under normal circumstances, he would've immediately started flirting with her. But the memory of a certain blue-haired genius held him back.
"Who are you?" Quatre asked.
"I am Lady Hecate, who's temple you are in. This is my son, Janus," she introduced the boy next to her.
"What happened? One minute I remember Lita pulling me into the river, next…" Wufei trailed off. The rest was all black.
"Isn't it obvious? We've died. This must be the closest it gets to the afterlife," Heero said nonchalantly.
"No, my friends. This is no afterlife. This is real, true life. I have brought you back from your dark slumber," Hecate explained.
Duo looked at her suspiciously. "Why? If you're after those Thanatos Crystal Shards…"
"No, no," Hecate laughed. "I am quite aware of the situation as far as that is concerned. I have brought you here for another purpose. But first, we must attend to your wounds."
At that moment, their bodies seemed to truly wake up. Frostbite, various sorts of burns, and bleeding set in.
"Janus, bring them water. Be quick now!" Hecate's voice was momentarily sharp as the boy dashed off. Slowly, she approached them and touched Quatre's burned face. Her hands seemed cool at first, but then became icy. The blond shuddered nervously.
"Yes, yes you'll do fine for my first action. What is your name?" she asked silkily. The others could only watch helplessly. The pain grew worse with each passing second.
Don't pretend to hold it in just let it out
Don't pretend to hold it in just push it out
Don't you try to hold it in just let it out and
Don't you try to hold it in you hold it in
"Tell me, boy. I won't hurt you," Hecate said silkily. Quatre just shuddered again then closed his eyes, as if the woman in front of him could hypnotize him.
At this, she turned red with anger and slapped his cheek. "Foolish mortal! If you do not comply with my commands, I will torment you beyond your worst nightmares!" She looked at the others. "And that goes for the rest of you as well."
"Ha. Believe me lady. We've suffered more torment than you can deal out," Duo said.
Hecate opened her mouth to say something but then, a wicked gleam appeared in her eye and a cruel smile on her face.
"Is that a challenge, shard-bearer? Well then, I rise to it," she whispered dangerously.
Suddenly, a tortured scream pierced through Duo's mind. He covered his ears, but it continued.
"No! Please stop! I beg your mercy!" a painfully familiar voice cried.
"Amy?" Duo whispered, then glared angrily at Hecate. "Knock it off! You're just messing with my head!"
"Am I?" she countered. Then, like the scream heard only in his head he saw an apparition. It was a bruised and bleeding Amy, being stabbed over and over by an invisible hand holding a bloodstained knife.
"Stop it! It's just an illusion!" he yelled even louder, trying to block out the screams within his head.
"Even if it is, do you enjoy seeing your beloved Amy dying? Does the sight of her blood comfort a heartless killer such as yourself?" Hecate's words stabbed him like a knife.
"Please, just stop it," Duo begged (AN: Sad sight, seeing the God of Death begging for mercy…).
Instantly, the image and screaming disappeared.
"Now do you understand? I am your sole master now. My power is greater than you could ever imagine. If you do not follow my orders, the vision you just saw will appear before you. You cannot escape me. I have brought you to life, I now claim your life. Do you understand?" Hecate asked.
Duo nodded helplessly.
Meanwhile, a shorter and less dramatic version of Duo's vision flashed through the other boys' heads, except Amy was replaced by the other girls they had grown close with.
Janus returned with the water jug, and gave a meager sip to each of the pilots, on Hecate's orders.
"I leave you now to the night. If any of you leave this chamber, you know what will happen. I shall wake you in the morning. Farewell," she turned and left, her son in tow.
And it's one more day in paradise
One more day in paradise
It's one more day in paradise
One last chance to feel all right…all right
All was dark, except for a few dying torches on the wall. All of the pilots were silent for a while.
"What was dying like for you?" Trowa asked suddenly, preferring to ignore the current situation.
"I don't really remember. Raye put one of those scrolls on me, so I didn't feel anything. I'm sure it's good too. She burned me alive," Quatre commented.
"That onna Lita challenged me to a fight before I died. I suppose this means I lost," Wufei muttered, causing Duo to laugh out loud.
"Who'd have thought you would've gone down to a girl?" he laughed. "Course, I suppose I'm on that list too. Still though, I didn't think Ames would really go through with you, you know?"
"Mina almost didn't. I had to convince her it was her duty. But I could barely feel that beam going through me," Heero said.
"It didn't really feel like anything when Trista killed me. I saw the sphere coming at me, and then it was all black," Trowa said.
"Do you think we'll ever see them again? I mean, now that we're alive?" Quatre wondered
"I doubt it. This is definitely not our timeline, and the odds that we're in theirs are pretty small," Heero remarked.
Still though, they couldn't help missing the women that they had grown close to, in some way, shape or form.
Once upon a year gone by
She saw herself give in
Every time she closed her eyes
She saw herself give in
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Well, that's it for now! R+R everyone!
