Q.N. Welcome to the third series. I just completely blew through writing this, because I was so excited. Have fun reading this!
Later!
M.P.
Thumbing
through the pages of my fantasies
I'm above you, smiling at you,
drown, drown, drown
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped
me
And I'll pull the trigger And you're down, down, down
'Thoughtless' by Korn
"Hope, what would you like for your birthday this year?" her father inquired. Her family, and the rest of Knothole, was still at the Moon Kingdom because of seeing demons in the abandoned village almost on a daily basis. Hope's family stayed at the palace while most of the other members of their village went out into the capital of the realm to try and live a somewhat normal life. They were used to being surrounded by what they thought were Overlanders, but got used to it after how accepted they were treated. She loved the food that was always there; it was so good. She was thankful that it was dinner time there now.
"I want Mom to come home," she replied, seeing the expressions of everyone else at the table change.
"I know, but she's not allowed to be here," Snively said, seeing the angered look in Sophia's eyes. "Finish up."
"Aside from that, what do you want for your birthday?" Sydney asked. Hope thought for a moment before replying.
"Can I have a masquerade ball?" The others looked at Sophia, and the former king and queen. While they preferred to be addressed by their first names, most still called the previous king and queen by their formal names.
"I don't see why not," Queen Serenity replied.
"Hopefully it shouldn't take long to plan the ball out and decorate the Grand Hall," Sophia said.
"Excuse me," Snively said abruptly, dismissing himself. He left the dining room and walked down several hallways before stopping at a door and going inside. Inside was almost like a tropical forest of sorts; beautiful flowers, tall, leafy trees and bushes, strong vines, and the after smell of when it had just rained. It had a towering waterfall, with plant life on it, and the water fell into a crystal clear loch. He went to the tall cascade and began climbing it. By the time he got to the top, a half an hour later, he laid on the top, under a tree, trying to calm his breathing. 'She better show,' he thought. He took his cell phone out and dialed a number.
"Hello?" a female voice queried.
"I'm here."
"Okay, I'll be there in a sec. Are you alright? Your breathing sounds labored."
"I'm fine; just get here."
"Hey, chill." He looked up, seeing Sam smiling down at him. He closed his phone and sat up, she sitting beside him.
"How're things here?"
"They're alright I suppose. You?"
"Dull beyond belief." They were silent for a moment before Snively sighed.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, kissing his temples.
"Hope asked for you again. We can't keep hiding this from her. Or anyone else for that matter."
"I know, but this is as far as we can go with our relationship. At least, for now," she said with her apologetic eyes looking into his concerned ones.
"What if we wanted to marry again? It's going to look suspicious if I'm gone for however many days or weeks because of our honeymoon."
"We could do it in secret."
"Elope? Sam, how would that work? We can't keep waiting on the right moment. No offense, but we're growing older by the second."
"I know. Believe me, I know."
"How? You've barely been alive for two weeks."
"Uh, you know when I came back? And when we were intimate that night?"
"Mmhmm?"
"U-uh, something happened."
"What's wrong?" Snively asked, immediately concerned. She wasn't looking at him in the eyes.
"I-I...I'm pregnant," Sam replied, turning away from him. He took her into his arms, letting her sob on his shoulder.
"Why is this such a wrong thing?"
"Xavier...he-he'll kill it. He'll kill my baby," she choked.
"No, he won't. I'll-I'll keep you safe. I won't let him hurt you, or our baby."
"Hey, Snively?! You here?" Sydney's voice shouted. They looked at each other, alarmed.
"Hide!" Snively squeaked. Sam dove into some bushes and had just settled in when Sydney had got to the top of the waterfall.
"What are you doing up here?"
"No reason."
"I thought I heard voices."
"Voices?" he reverberated. As he and Sydney continued their conversation, Sam struggled to keep quiet. She saw a large spider and tried not to scream when she first saw it. She played with it as soon as she had calmed down from the surprise it gave her. She stifled a sigh of relief when her friend turned to leave, ten minutes later, when a small disaster struck. Sam sneezed loudly, catching Sydney's attention.
"What was that?" the red head questioned.
"What was what?" Snively answered nervously, wringing his hands.
"Don't play dumb. I know you're hiding something," Sydney replied sharply, going to the bushes. 'Shit,' Sam thought flatly, mentally kicking herself tenfold. Sydney reached in the bushes and pulled Sam out from them. "Oh my g-"
"Yeah, we know," the brunette snapped.
"This should be interesting to hear," Sydney said, sitting down. The other two sighed and sat down beside her. "How long has this been going on?"
"Two weeks," Snively replied feebly.
"Two weeks?"
"Yeah," Sam answered.
"And you've managed to hide it all this time?"
"Yes," he said. His girlfriend noticed his discomfort and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You have to keep this quiet, Syd," Sam told her. "If Sophia finds out-"
"She won't, I promise. But, there has been rumors flying around about you guys."
"How? We haven't been seen together," Snively said.
"Not that! It's more like a prophecy."
"Another prophecy?" Sam queried, disgusted.
"Yeah. It was said that the Silver Crystal would be split into two equal pieces and half would go to the one who originally had possession of it, and the other half would go to her mate. And, they would rule the Moon Kingdom in peace and there wouldn't be war. They would be the first of many, many soul mates."
"'Soul mates?' Doesn't that seem a bit, oh, I don't know, odd?" Snively inquired. He'd heard many of the prophecies, but this one by far had to be the strangest one he'd ever heard.
"Maybe. Listen, I gotta go. What's going on for Hope's b-day?" Sam asked.
"She's having a masquerade ball...Sam, we could do it then!" Sydney raised a brow, curious to what he was talking about. The brunette shook her head.
"I can't go. I'm banned, remember?"
"You're here now. We could meet at the ball, go to a church, wed, and come back."
"'Wed?' You guys are eloping?"
"Wait, how are you going to get in?" Snively asked, ignoring Sydney's question.
"I'll pull something together," Sam said. Snively pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it. It showed Sam's diamond engagement ring, with additional diamonds on it. The silver band of the ring seemed to have been refurbished, making it shine brightly.
"I'm presuming you won't turn me down this time," Snively spoke, sliding the ring on her left ring finger.
"Oh, Snively," Sam breathed, letting him pull her into his arms, he kissing her cheek.
"Hey, congrats on the engagement," Sydney said.
"Thanks," they replied together.
"I hate to say it, but I really have to go," Sam said. She kissed her fiancé.
"Goodbye Sam," he said.
"'Bye Snively." She stood.
"I love you."
"I love you too, love." Sam orbed out, feeling uncontrollably happy. She couldn't wait until her wedding. She went to her bedroom (which she reluctantly shared with Xavier) and began planning for that day. 'I only have six days to be ready for this.'
- - - -
"Why are you so fidgety today?" Sophia asked, giving Snively a tray of cookies.
"Me? Fidgety?" he asked with a smile. 'I'm not as nervous as I should be,' he decided. His wedding was that night and he was having doubts. Sam hadn't called him yet to let him know she could get away from Ann and Xavier. 'A few more hours.'
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sophia inquired, mildly concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just stressed out," Snively answered.
"You need a girlfriend," she commented. 'If only you knew who I'm going to see tonight.'
- - - -
"Sam, where did you get this? It's excellent," Xavier said, slurring his words. She smiled; he was on his eighth drink and was intoxicated.
"Sam, fetch me something to relieve my headache." She frowned but went to the medicine cabinet and looked for the painkillers. Her eyes fell onto the bottle of her sleeping pills, the wheels in her brain turning. She pulled out two of the caplets out of the bottle and carried them over to Xavier, giving them to him. 'He's going to kill me when he finds out I tricked him.'
"How about you follow me so you can get some more?" Sam inquired, pulling him up from his recliner. She led him to a cell meant for herself and locked him in it. She shoved a pillow and a blanket into the cell, thankful the cell was power-proof. She packed a bag of her costume for her daughter's party and walked out of the apartment, grabbing Hope's birthday present on her way out. She saw one of the commanders and strode up to him.
"Where's Ann?" Sam queried sharply.
"On a date," the commander replied.
"Whatever," the brunette answered. Once she was around the corner, she ducked into an extra room. She changed into her dark green evening gown, fixing her black wig and putting her lavender contacts in. she orbed out when she heard someone coming in the room.
- - - -
Snively was thankful Hope's masquerade ball was formal. That way he wouldn't have to change later on. His cell phone rang, to which he answered.
"Where are you?" he demanded softly.
"Look at the stairs; I'm in green." He did as told and saw a dark haired girl with a beautiful dark green evening gown walking down the stairs.
"Is that you?" he inquired.
"Yeah." He hung up, going directly to the woman and kissed her forehead.
"You look stunning, as usual," Snively said.
"What matters is that no one recognizes me," Sam replied, look around apprehensively. She placed a black mask over her eyes, making it even more difficult for others to tell who she was.
"Hey, Snively, who's your friend?" Rotor asked.
"Um, this is-"
"Sara O'Conner," Sam replied.
"That's cool. See you guys later," the walrus said, walking away.
"'Sara O'Conner?'" Snively queried, raising a brow.
"Sorry, it was the first thing I could think of." He took her to the middle of the dance floor. They danced through a couple of songs until she caught sight of her eldest daughter with a boy.
"Who's that boy Hope's with?" Sam murmured.
"Said his name was Elrick. He seems like a good kid to me," he replied.
"When are we going?" she inquired.
"Would you like to go now?" Snively inquired, kissing her cheek.
"Mmm...yeah. But, I want to give Hope her birthday present first," Sam answered, looking around for her daughter. Her fiancé nodded in agreement. They looked for the birthday girl, spotting her with Erika.
"Hope, this is Sara O'Conner. She is a friend of your mother's," Hope's father introduced.
"Uh, hi. Thanks for coming," Hope replied, feeling like she knew this woman.
"Your welcome...Your mom told me to give you this," 'Sara' said, giving Hope an envelope. The girl opened the envelope, opened the card, and saw cash, her eyes bugging out at the amount.
"250?!" Hope exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome," Sam laughed, wishing her daughter knew who she really was.
"Tell Mom I said thank you and that I'm sorry that I yelled at her," Hope said.
"I will." Snively guided Sam away and to a hall. He gave her an odd look.
"What?" she asked.
"You're not going to wear that, are you?" he asked.
"What do you want me to wear? This is the only thing I could find."
"Would you like your wedding gown?"
"You still have that?"
"Of course." She orbed the two of them to Knothole, into his hut. He turned on his bedroom light, going through his closet, she looking around the room. He couldn't remember where it was. When he thought it was gone, he saw it. He pulled the dress out, handing it to Sam. Snively noticed she had taken her wig off and her colored contacts out. She shook her hair, making it fall into its original position. He watched as she changed into her dress and helped her zip it up, giving her a hug from behind.
"You look absolutely beautiful," he complimented once she turned to face him. She smiled warmly at him.
"Thank you. Let's go," she said, orbing Snively and herself to the church they were to be married at...
- - - -
"Is it just me or is Snively acting really strange?" Arable inquired later on that evening. Sophia shrugged.
"He's probably just stressed right now. I told him to get a girlfriend," Sophia answered, acting as if it was not of great concern. She watched as her youngest niece followed the chefs, who were carrying the enormous birthday cake. 'She certainly has a sweet tooth,' she decided in amusement.
"Sophia, he'll go back to Sam, I swear to you that he'll go back to her."
"Arable, you worry much more than you should. Why is that?" After not getting an answer, she changed the turn of the conversation. "Speaking of Snively, where 'is' he?"
"I haven't seen him. Probably with that 'Sara O'Conner' or something."
"If you happen to see him, tell him I need to discuss something with him."
- - - -
"Sam, I can't do this. What if someone finds out?" Snively asked on their way to the altar.
"Relax, I told you no one would even notice we are gone," Sam replied. "But we may have to put our honeymoon off for awhile." He nodded at her joke and smiled, helping her up the steps to the altar, where a priest was waiting.
"We are gathered here to-"
"Um, it's only us here," the bride said. Snively squeezed his fiancée's hand, letting her know to be quiet.
"Please excuse her; she seems to have forgotten her manners at home."
"Sorry, but you can't blame me for being eager."
"Could we please start?" the preacher asked, disrupting the playful argument. The groom nodded and the priest began the rest of his sermon...
- - - -
Sam and Snively arrived back at the masquerade ball an hour later, Sam back in her disguise. She still wanted to be in her wedding dress and wished they were really at their wedding reception, having the time of their lives. But, they weren't; they were at their daughter's fifteenth birthday, trying to make it as special to her as possible.
"Remember, you're Sara O'Conner," Snively said.
"Maybe we should take off our rings. That way, no one will know," Sam suggested, taking off both her engagement and wedding rings off. She wanted to wear her rings, to show them off proudly. She wanted to show everyone who was there how much her husband loved her, and how much she loved him. But, she couldn't. She had to be some other person to avoid being caught.
"Excellent idea," he replied, taking her rings, as well as his own ring, and put them in his pocket. He could see her eyeing the rings like she wanted them. He could almost tell what she wanted, because he wanted them just as bad, perhaps more even.
"Hey, Dad, where've you been?" Hope asked, walking up.
"Oh, uh, just-"
"He gave me a tour of the palace."
"I wish Mom could be here, but Sophia said she couldn't come because she was exiled," Hope said, sighing. She looked up at her father's friend and could almost swear she looked familiar. 'But where have I seen this girl before? I know I have somewhere,' she wondered.
"I bet she'll get to come home when the war ends," Snively replied.
"Did you already have cake," 'Sara' inquired, changing the subject. She didn't want to ruin her daughter's birthday. She wanted to make it as special as possible, even if it cost her her life.
"Yeah; I think there's some left," the teen replied. "Paco will show you."
"Hmm, cake with Paco. I gotta go," Sam said, going off towards the staircase.
"Perhaps I should follow her," Hope's father said, walking away to follow his wife. A swarm of purple auras showed up, creating chaos among the party.
"Someone lowered the barrier," Alicia said, transforming into Sailor Mars. Xavier appeared at the top of the stairs, cutting Sam and Snively off.
"I think I'll take back what's mine," Xavier said, grabbing Sam by the hair, pulling off her wig. Snively shoved Xavier and helped Sam run down the stairs, with Xavier chasing after. As soon as he was close enough, Xavier shoved Sam down the stairs as hard as he could, sending her tumbling down the flight of stairs.
"Sam!" Snively cried out, running faster down the stairs to help his wife. Ann pushed her ex into the side of the staircase so her co-leader could go through.
"You decided to give me sleeping pills so you could what? Have fun?" Xavier roared into Sam's face, tightening his grip on her neck, her hands on his. "Well, ARE YOU HAVING FUN!?"
"Sam," Snively said weakly. Ann had slammed his head into the marble staircase harder than he had assumed. He felt very tired, but almost knew that he had a concussion and that he had to stay awake until he had medical treatment. He glanced over to his wife and saw her struggling with Xavier.
"Let go," she said, feeling very lightheaded. She felt herself giving into unconsciousness and desperately tried to fight it. Suddenly, she felt a rush of air enter her lungs and felt her assaulter let go of her. Her back hurt from her fall but her head hurt worse. She felt the back of her head, feeling a sticky wetness. She drew her hand back, seeing blood.
"No," she moaned weakly. 'Why can't I move?' She saw Xavier coming back to her with his sword drawn. She braced herself for the blow. But it never came. She looked up to see Arable, now Sailor Uranus, standing over her, Space Sword drawn, protecting her.
"T-than-oh!" Sam screamed. She looked up at Arable with sorrowful eyes, seeing the blood on Sailor Uranus's blade. "Why?"
"You aren't supposed to be here," Sailor Uranus snorted, raising her sword again. Sydney saw the glare of the sword and tackled the Sailor Scout to the ground.
"Sam, get out of here," she said, waving her friend off.
"I can't."
"What do you mean 'you can't?'"
"I can't move." Xavier threw the Senshi to the side and picked Sam up, glaring at Snively.
"She doesn't belong here; she belongs in the Underworld, with me," he said. He disappeared in a black flame when Snively got up to try to get his wife.
"No. No, she can't be gone," he moaned.
"We need to get you to the medics," Sailor Venus said, "because it looks like Ann roughed your head up." He nodded and got up shakily, feeling Sydney help him. As they were leaving, he heard Sophia saying something and stopped to listen.
"Clean up this splatter immediately," the queen said, dismissing herself. He looked to what she meant by 'splatter' and saw a small puddle of blood and several drops leading away from it.
'That's where Sam was,' he remembered. As he was going towards the medical wing of the palace, he thought about how Sophia had sounded when she had ordered Sam's blood to be cleaned up. 'That sounded similar to how Julian had used to order me,' he decided. 'Perhaps I should keep an eye on her. She seems power-hungry...like Robotnik.'
"You okay?" Sydney queried.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you," he replied. They continued down the hall in silence, thinking about the unexpected battle. Snively felt guilty because of the damage it had caused Hope's birthday. He knew she was upset over it; but he couldn't do anything to make her feel better at that exact moment. He was injured and had to be examined before he could do anything else.
- - - -
"How dare you do 'anything' with him," Xavier yelled, pointing at her already sanguinary stomach. 'He knows about my baby?' she wondered to herself, 'but how?'
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Sam screamed. She received a hard slap to the face followed by being thrown into the wall. "Stop!"
"You brought this on yourself, not me," he said. He continued to assault her, eventually letting her go to bed and rest, proud of his bloodied work. 'You just have to beat it into her head to make her understand the rules.'
"How did y-you find out," she asked breathlessly, her chest heaving for air. She had never received such a beating in her life. She was thinking her first set of foster parents were merciful compared to who she was dealing with now. As far as she could remember, they hadn't beaten her this hard or bad.
"Let's just say I have a reliable source that's in the Senshi," he replied, seeing her eyes widen. "It should be dead now, so it no longer matters if I know or not that you were pregnant. If you are to be pregnant, it will be through me."
"You monster."
"Thank you," Xavier said. He thought for a moment before going towards her, pulling her up, holding her in place by his arms. He gave her a rough kiss, throwing her back down into the mattress, hearing her groan something.
"In fact, I think it would be best if we started now."
"NO!" Sam struggled in his grip, trying hard to break free of his grip. He smothered her body with his, his lips on hers, tasting her salty tears.
"He's not going to save you," Xavier said coolly.
"You're wrong." But, as he continued, she realized he was right. Her husband was not going to save her. He had probably considered her dead already and moved on to someone prettier than her and more intelligent.
- - - -
Two and a half months later, Sam was in training, again. She was so unhappy and wanted to go back to her husband, even if she had to break a million rules to do so. She was almost sure that he probably never wanted to see her again; she was on several kinds of medications as it was. She could even be diagnosed insane. She knew it, and she wasn't going to deny it either. It would be pointless to.
"Sam, pay attention, damn it," Xavier ordered, swinging his rapier in her direction; she blocked it with one of her sais. He saw one of the less powerful demons come in with some papers. Xavier pulled Sam into him, feeling her struggle, and whispered something in her ear.
She orbed behind the other demon, wrapping one of her arms around its neck and lodged a sai into his chest. She pulled one of the papers from his hand, uncrumpling it, reading it in horror. 'I'm...pregnant?' She thought back to anything she had done since she had been reborn that might have caused her to be expectant. She knew it wasn't her husband because Xavier and Arable took care of that for her. 'It has to be because of what Xavier did to me a couple of months ago.'
"Sam, training is not over because you made a successful kill," her 'master', as she had humorously named him, told her. She sighed, but went on with the training, thinking of ways she could kill him herself. 'I have to get out of here, and quickly before it's too late. I could turn into him, and that's something I most definitely don't want to happen.'
The End...
Q.N.
Yeah, I know this was completely different from most of the other things I've written, but I wanted to focus on a darker aspect of Snively and Sam's life.
Thoughtless is by Korn
I have the concert version of this song by Evanescence as well.