Okay, this is my series, the Sailor Knights Errant. Here's the first entry. As you'd expect, I have no legal right to write this. It crosses over with my Ronin Warriors series later, so I'll put that up when it's closer. Please read & review, of course. Enjoy!--Mela
The genuine Sailor Knights; only one's full of death & typos. Accept NO imitations!!
Sailor Knights--Revival
Kendy Palley stared at the upstairs window of the vintage fifties track home and sighed; impatient anger had started to taint her deep sapphire gaze behind her bronze frames. Her fingers rapped anxiously on her arm, denting the loose green gingham fabric. The September breeze only stoked her fires as it tossed a few errant strands of her charcoal black hair into her downturned mouth. She angrily spat them free only to have more strands replace them. She sighed and reached forward to the driver's seat, slamming her palm down on the horn.
"C'mon, Lala, move it!!" Kendy shouted towards the house, her words underscored by the constant honking. "We'll be late again!!"
"Kendy, stop it!" Del Palley commanded from the driver's seat. He turned a surprised green gaze to his younger sister. "We're all gonna be late. Don't make such a big deal."
"But if I'm late again, I'll get kicked outta NHS!"
"Then walk tomorrow!"
"Gwaaaah!!" Kendy gagged, grimacing. Del sighed and scratched his honey brown hair before turning to the path of the house. Kendy joined his vigil, eyeing a nearing figure. "About time, Lala!"
A girl, easily Kendy's peer, stomped down the walk. Her cobalt gaze met Kendy's glare from within the frame of her copious teal braids, braids that wrapped twice around her forehead, pulled up into small loops, and dangled down into two ground-caressing pigtails. She hiked into the car, the lower cuffs of her overalls catching on the door as usual. She slid into the passenger seat and tossed her backpack behind her in Kendy's general direction. "Stop calling me Lala, Kendy!"
"Stop throwing your crap at me, Lala!" Kendy countered.
"Stop arguing, or I'll pitch ya both off a bridge!" Del shouted. The two girls stared in a moment of awkward silence. "And I'll pull Kendy out just to toss her back in again if she keeps it up!"
"Jawohl, mein bruder," Kendy snorted as she resigned herself to the long ride in the cramped back seat. "So, how's Amateur Hour going?"
"Don't call it that. It's 'As You Like It'," Fallan snipped. "Miss Ardith would kill you if she heard that."
"Well, she didn't. And even if she did, she'd probably swing to hit me, stagger over, and collapse in a drunken heap."
"She's not a drunk!" Fallan paused and groaned in brief thought. "Well, maybe a little. But you can't blame her."
"Yeah, I know. Stupid Matheson, I hate 'im." The sound of a Rolling Stones song droning on the radio ushered in an awkward silence. "You never answered me."
"What?"
"You never told me how the play's going."
"We need MEN. Bring us MEN."
"Doesn't Drama bring out the horny guys and all?"
"In most schools. Here, it's the refuge of the damned. Hell, Brewster's in it." Kendy shuddered at the thought of the worm-like, greasy, balding, apelike peer known as Brewster; it was bad enough having to share a gym class with him--imagining having to spend time with the little greaseball on a stage under hot lights was almost stomach turning. "So, you can see why Miss Ardith directs."
"Oh, yeah, of course. I'll see what I can do about the men. You know they just FLOCK to me," Kendy bitterly spat.
The car screeched to an abrupt halt, and Del glanced at both girls. "Get out."
"Sure thing, sweetie," Fallan said as she exited, snatching her backpack from the rear of the car. "I'll see ya later tonight."
"Of course," Del answered, blowing her a quick kiss.
"Oh, God....." Kendy sneered as she slid out onto the pavement. She could almost feel the bile push to the top of her throat. "See ya in gym, Lala," she called over her shoulder as she entered the school building.
Fallan sneered as she watched Kendy vanish into the dimly lit halls. "Don't call me LALA!!!"
Fallan dusted off her palms as she stood at the front center of the volleyball court. She smiled; she was totally in her element here. The panicked girl on the opposing team managed to serve the ball across, and she pelted it towards the front center of her opposition--Kendy. Kendy jumped up slightly, no doubt aided by her nearly six-foot height, and pushed the ball back over. The familiar slap of synthetic leather against palm skin was unheard, and a whistle peeled through the echo chamber of a gym an instant later.
"Palley!" the coach shouted. "CARRY!"
Kendy smiled guiltily and scanned the two courts in a half-assed attempt at bullshitting. "There's no one named Carrey here." Coach snorted and gestured to the outer rim of the courts. "Aw, c'mon, it wasn't that bad--and I'm not wearin' my glasses, either! I couldn't see!" He shook his head and gestured to the rim again. Kendy snarled slightly and headed towards the rims, not at all ready to run five laps. Fallan signaled her team to rotate, and she tossed the ball to the new server, a swaggering jock by the name of Eric Aneurin. It bounced off the exposed silver airduct, leaving a sizable dent, and careened out of bounds. Kendy ignored it, casting an angry glare at Coach as she started a pathetic jog. "Mother fucker," she muttered. The ball snuck up from behind and struck her in the back of the head with the force of a speeding Mack truck. She collapsed in a heap, out cold; somewhere in the back of her swimming mind, she was half glad her last words were profane.
The destruction was massive. An opaque black building towered amidst a sea of ruins, most of which appeared to be marble. Everything had gone gray as Kendy tried to assess her new surroundings, her head still pounding from the stray volleyball. She was the lone source of movement; not even a faint breeze disturbed the moribund scene. Bodies lay strewn along her path, all of them gray, featureless, and twisted from a final agonizing assault. She started to shake a little; this was the stuff of B-movies and nightmares, but something about it felt real...familiar.
As she continued walking, a skeletal hand seized her bare ankle, digging into the flesh enough to draw a thin stream of blood. Kendy shrieked a little as the dying, angry eyes of a cadaverous woman stared cruelly at her. "Eossss....," she hissed at Kendy, tightening her painful grip on the girl's ankle. "I will kill you.... Kill your world...." She laughed wickedly before dissolving into a spray of ash.
A glaring light snapped Kendy from the gray scene in a sudden jolt, leaving her blinking wearily at the humming neon lights in the nurse's office.
Walking. Kendy could hardly stand up straight, let alone walk. A sour expression tainted her already pained face; to anyone besides Fallan, she must have looked drunk or stoned or something not good. She plopped down on the nearest bench and cradled her head in her hands. Dammit, why couldn't the sidewalk hold still? Fallan sat down next to her, growing more concerned with every moment. She was never too close to her future sister-in-law, but seeing someone normally so hearty now so agonized was disconcerting. The nurse had done what he could to help her with the dizziness, but that was about as good as doing nothing at all. At least Fallan was willing to share her Aleve. Kendy winced slightly and pinched the bridge of her nose, staring into space.
"Kendy, you okay?" Fallan asked. "If you want, I'll call my aunt and get us a ride."
"Nah, it's okay," Kendy moaned with a slight slur; damn, those were strong painkillers. Her eyes squinted on a tall, dark, foreign object. "What the hell is that?"
Fallan scanned the object in question. It was a tall pillar of the darkest black, its surface glossy and unmarred by windows or balconies. Only one door was apparent on the ground level, and it seemed to be locked. The top was an ornate, spiky spectacle that caught the gleam of the afternoon sun and bounced prisms of brilliant color off of her eyes. "Dunno," Fallan offered, still staring at the tower. "It's probably a tourist trap for the warm season."
"But what the hell IS it? An observatory?" Kendy's mind strained. The dream.... No, that was just a concussion nightmare. She had them before, and this one was no different than the others.
"Maybe. It's so tall...."
"Oh, yeah, great." Kendy raised her voice to a shrill, falsely perky falsetto. "I can almost hear it now. 'Here's beautiful Crescent Hills. If you look to your left, there's the lake with the rusted Impala sticking out. To the right, just under the cloud of brimstone, is Crescent Hills High School. If we all listen, we can hear the screaming of the damned within.'" Fallan laughed; her laughter abruptly stopped once she noticed Kendy's face. The pain had twisted into a gleefully evil grin, and her eyes readily gave away the process of scheming. "Doesn't look open yet...."
"Kendy, NO," Fallan commanded. Kendy's grin only grew. "No Mission Impossibles, no!"
"You don't have to come along," Kendy playfully offered. "Just serve as alibi." Fallan went to open her mouth and yell, but Kendy quickly cut her off. "Lala, I'M GOIN' IN."
The figure touched the panel of slick black glass, and the room lit up, revealing her serpentine attire. Her smooth white hair flew over her jaundiced shoulders as she caught sight of the two gawkers at the bottom. Her talonesque silver fingernails scratched gently on the glass, and an angry glare entered her blood red eyes. She grinned slightly, a set of lengthy fangs showing under her lips as the grin mutated into a snarl. She spun away from the glass, the ripples of her undulating black gown swirling independently of her whisper-thin body's movements. A low, wicked giggle gurgled in her throat.
"This is perfect," she half-whispered to herself. She turned to a small audience of five uniformed figures and grinned even worse. "My garden, our time has come anew! This world may have been snatched from us once, but now there is no stopping us!" The five figures obediently applauded. "Our Umbran empire will return!....Uh, once we get rid of those two out there. Orchis!"
One of the five figures stepped forward, revealing a young woman dressed in the deepest of purples, a velvety body suit that hugged her like natural skin. Her eyes were a vacant pink, surrounded by the copious curling tendrils of rich violet cascading from the black metal clasp at the highest point of her head. She flashed an eager grin at the woman. "Yes, Regina Umbra?"
"Make sure those two don't get to these," Regina Umbra said, resting a hand on two round brass boxes. "Can you handle that?"
"Guarding two boxes, sure thing!" Orchis responded happily.
"No, KILL them. So long as they live, they can get to these."
"Oh. Okey-dokey. Almona?" A bizarre creature, a gray woman with a crop of bright green hair and nine arms, stepped from behind Orchis and bowed obediently. "She'll take care of them, Regina, don't worry."
Kendy slid through the air duct opening, making sure not to drop it with too much of a bang and give away her presence. She had been careful to tie her hair back and wear the tightest, darkest clothes she had, essential elements of a Mission Impossible. The last thing she wanted to do was give herself away. As she landed lightly on her feet, she got a good, long look at the interior and just....stared. What kind of tourist trap was this? The walls didn't seem to line up with the exterior, and everything was pitch black; she was surprised she could navigate it as well as she did. A small catch of objects was piled on a brass counter a few feet away--it must be a gift shop. Kendy smiled slightly as she eyed the strange, apparently useless objects; she had to take a souvenir or two, just for pride's sake. Two round boxes caught her fancy. One was stacked on top of the other, and each had a Latin word carved in the side in glistening gold. They were small enough for Kendy to grab in one hand as she started back into the air duct. As she yanked her feet in, the sound of footsteps made her pulse quicken.
"Hey!" a shrill female voice cried. "You're supposed to be outside!"
Kendy dropped out of sight, plummeting down the air duct with considerably less effort than climbing up had required. She writhed out of the main duct, sprinted out the door, and took off down the street. She smiled as she ran like hell; she'd gotten away with another one.
Fallan and Del sat on the sofa of the Palley family living room, their hands clasped together. The movie on the TV was blissfully dull, so they could concentrate their energies on each other. He caressed her cheek, eliciting a timid giggle; she quickly bounced forward and kissed him lightly on the nose. They stared into each other, enjoying the spark of energy that passed between them in silence. Unfortunately, their silence was broken by the hasty slam of the front door. Fallan and Del moaned and rolled their eyes in unison; she'd done it again.
"IdiditIdiditIdiditIdiditIdiditIdidit!!!!!!" Kendy cried in maniacal triumph as she walked through the hall and entered the living room. She cradled the two boxes against her chest as she plopped down into the recliner. "I DID IT!!" she shrieked in a self-satisfied finale. She tossed one of the boxes over to Fallan. "Here's a little something for my alibi."
"Kendy, why do you keep breaking into places?" Del sighed in bitter frustration.
" 'Cuz I can..." She opened the box. "Oooohhhh.....purple......" She smiled eagerly at Fallan. "Open yours."
Fallan sighed and opened the box. The contents were indeed enchanting: two silver armbands rimmed with gold, each having a slight v-like dip in their circular ship. "These are nice," she mused offhand. She glanced at the side of the box and saw the Latin word carved on the side. "Regia?"
"It's Latin," Kendy said as she pulled on her crystalline purple armbands, nearly identical to Fallan's. "Remember 'Aqua Regia' from Chem?" Fallan just scowled. " 'Royal Water'? It's 'royal' or 'royalty'." She checked the side of her box. "Ooh, neat. Litteratus--'scholar'."
"Scholar, you?!" Del laughed. "You're an irrational twit!"
"You know....I was going to give you a good part of Europe after I conquered the world, but now....no, YOU don't deserve it."
Almona drooped her head, her arms, and her odd smile. "Mistress Orchis, I'm hungry," she whined.
Orchis, just as lifeless, looked up with a weary expression and answered in a whine to equal. "You think I'M not hungry? There's no love energy in this dump! When's Regina gonna open?" Orchis sighed to herself; anymore, the slaves Regina had were lackluster at best, and this multi-armed migraine was no different.
"I could find some love energy for you," Almona offered eagerly. Orchis brightened; finally, a slave that knew enough to try and do its job. "There's a park. At night, it's full of it!"
Orchis' eyes became big and doe-like, flooded with grateful tears. "Oh, could you???? Maybe then we can find those two girls."
Del and Fallan strolled through the park. It was too crowded for their tastes, as was usual. There were people hiding in shady groves, people in the little rented duck boats, and people resting on the benches just as they were. The setting sun in the distance gave the evening a gentle lavender aura to go with its comfortably cool weather. He wrapped his arms gently around her, and she nuzzled against his chest; his heartbeat was relaxing, and the same warm, soothing spark ignited between the two. There was nothing that could destroy this moment--not Kendy, not rain, not some psycho sneaking behind them with a chainsaw--nothing at all.
A panicked shriek broke the air and deteriorated into pained gurgling. Fallan and Del's heads snapped up towards the lake. A grotesque figure that was mostly arms had the remnants of a boater dripping from its grip as a young man sat cowering in the Plexiglas duck. The figure shook off the goo and dove at the man, yanking him off his feet and sending a surge through his body; he shrieked in agony before he, too, dissolved into a pinkish puddle. Fallan and Del just stared in shock, too sickened and baffled to move. Then the figure turned its face towards them.
"Fallan, RUN!!!" Del commanded, taking a defensive stance.
Fallan stood up but refused to run. "I'm not lea--"
"Just go!! I won't let it hurt you!" The creature swooped down towards him, just missing his head. Fallan took cover behind a grove of trees. The creature circled back and seized Del by the throat, each limp, and the face. The same painful surge of energy that had torn apart the boaters ripped into Del now. A few tears rolled down his face as he mustered one last breath. "Fallan..." he gasped.
Fallan wept. What the hell was that thing, and why was it after them? A bizarre instinct warmed her entire being, and she raised her hands to the two silver armbands under her short sleeves. Numbly, she spoke, her words growing in volume, "Royalty....Make-Up!!!!"
Fallan tossed her hands away from her armbands, paths of silvery light following her fingers. The light cascaded around her suddenly bare form, forming a silvery gray body suit with a huge teal bow under a brooch and teal trim on the sailor's collar; more light flowed loosely around her waist, forming a rippling silver skirt and wrapping along her legs to form silver tall boots to match the suit. The residue of the light on her fingers ran up to the armbands and tightened into long gloves of the now familiar gray. She stood still and studied her new attire. Where the hell did this come from? No matter. Another instinctive urge forced more words from her lips. She wove her fingers together and turned them, palms out, towards the creature attacking Del. A warm, tingling sensation engulfed her hands. She stared daggers at the creature and spoke in a loud, intense shout, "ROYAL BURNING WEAVE!!" An intricate network of brilliant silver light lept from her hands in a weave similar to that of her fingers, netting the creature and letting Del fall to the ground unharmed. The creature shrieked as the weave grew tighter and more brilliant; it finally gave a death cry, dissolving into a pile of ashes. The weave dissolved as well, and Fallan dropped her hands at her sides. Had she just done that? Then a more important matter caught her attention.
"Del..." she whispered. Then she sprinted over to where he lay on the ground, coughing. "Del!" She fell to her knees and embraced him; his shaky arms wrapped around her and leaned against her chest, winded and weary. "Del, are you okay?"
"Thank you, Sailor Moon," Del whimpered.
"I'm not Sailor Moon," Fallan corrected him with a laugh.
"Yuh-huh, you got a Sailor outfit on. You hafta be Sailor Moon."
"No, it's Fallan, it's me!" Fallan looked down and studied her new attire. It was indeed the outfit of a Sailor Soldier, and her hairstyle was dismayingly similar to that of Sailor Moon. She laughed anxiously. "Uh...uhm....heh.....oh, dear......ahh...." She smiled at Del, trying to hide her unease. "You know what? Let's get you home and in bed." She kissed his forehead and draped him over her as best she could, finding him lighter than usual. Hopefully, no one would really notice a Sailor Soldier dragging some poor injured guy through Crescent Hills.
Kendy surveyed the scene as Fallan, still in her silvery Sailor uniform, tucked Del into his bed. She couldn't help but smile. Her brother was unscathed, and her future sister-in-law was wearing a ludicrously short skirt, knee-high boots with a pump heel, a gigantic bow, and was mistaken for some strange girl running around in similar slut gear in Tokyo. She struggled in vain to stifle her laughter, but every attempt failed; she erupted into a fit of mocking laughter. Fallan glared at the commotion from the doorway.
"Pretty soldier in a sailor suit--I fight for tardiness and free make-up!" Kendy quoted, breaking into laughter as she tried to mimic Sailor Moon's little hand gestures.
"Shut up!" Fallan snapped as she left the room. "If I could change it back, I would." She paused in the hall. "Royalty Make-Up!" The Sailor uniform melted away into her T-shirt, jeans, and old tennis shoes. "There, no more Sailor Fallan."
"You mean Sailor Royalty, Lala. That's what you said." Kendy smiled and peered down at her exposed purple armbands. "Guess there's a reason I grabbed these suckers. Well, you go fight youmas or whatever. I'm gonna watch MST." She bounced downstairs, leaving Fallan to just stare in bewilderment. Strange, strange girl.
"What?!" Regina Umbra shouted as Orchis cowered. "You let them get the bands AND live?!"
"Pleasedon'thit!!!" Orchis responded, cringing. "It was only the one who revived, I can still get the other one. In fact, I can get both of 'em, I know it."
"You'd better. That stupid girl has no clue what she is, and I want to make sure she's cold and stiff before she gets the chance."
The genuine Sailor Knights; only one's full of death & typos. Accept NO imitations!!
Sailor Knights--Revival
Kendy Palley stared at the upstairs window of the vintage fifties track home and sighed; impatient anger had started to taint her deep sapphire gaze behind her bronze frames. Her fingers rapped anxiously on her arm, denting the loose green gingham fabric. The September breeze only stoked her fires as it tossed a few errant strands of her charcoal black hair into her downturned mouth. She angrily spat them free only to have more strands replace them. She sighed and reached forward to the driver's seat, slamming her palm down on the horn.
"C'mon, Lala, move it!!" Kendy shouted towards the house, her words underscored by the constant honking. "We'll be late again!!"
"Kendy, stop it!" Del Palley commanded from the driver's seat. He turned a surprised green gaze to his younger sister. "We're all gonna be late. Don't make such a big deal."
"But if I'm late again, I'll get kicked outta NHS!"
"Then walk tomorrow!"
"Gwaaaah!!" Kendy gagged, grimacing. Del sighed and scratched his honey brown hair before turning to the path of the house. Kendy joined his vigil, eyeing a nearing figure. "About time, Lala!"
A girl, easily Kendy's peer, stomped down the walk. Her cobalt gaze met Kendy's glare from within the frame of her copious teal braids, braids that wrapped twice around her forehead, pulled up into small loops, and dangled down into two ground-caressing pigtails. She hiked into the car, the lower cuffs of her overalls catching on the door as usual. She slid into the passenger seat and tossed her backpack behind her in Kendy's general direction. "Stop calling me Lala, Kendy!"
"Stop throwing your crap at me, Lala!" Kendy countered.
"Stop arguing, or I'll pitch ya both off a bridge!" Del shouted. The two girls stared in a moment of awkward silence. "And I'll pull Kendy out just to toss her back in again if she keeps it up!"
"Jawohl, mein bruder," Kendy snorted as she resigned herself to the long ride in the cramped back seat. "So, how's Amateur Hour going?"
"Don't call it that. It's 'As You Like It'," Fallan snipped. "Miss Ardith would kill you if she heard that."
"Well, she didn't. And even if she did, she'd probably swing to hit me, stagger over, and collapse in a drunken heap."
"She's not a drunk!" Fallan paused and groaned in brief thought. "Well, maybe a little. But you can't blame her."
"Yeah, I know. Stupid Matheson, I hate 'im." The sound of a Rolling Stones song droning on the radio ushered in an awkward silence. "You never answered me."
"What?"
"You never told me how the play's going."
"We need MEN. Bring us MEN."
"Doesn't Drama bring out the horny guys and all?"
"In most schools. Here, it's the refuge of the damned. Hell, Brewster's in it." Kendy shuddered at the thought of the worm-like, greasy, balding, apelike peer known as Brewster; it was bad enough having to share a gym class with him--imagining having to spend time with the little greaseball on a stage under hot lights was almost stomach turning. "So, you can see why Miss Ardith directs."
"Oh, yeah, of course. I'll see what I can do about the men. You know they just FLOCK to me," Kendy bitterly spat.
The car screeched to an abrupt halt, and Del glanced at both girls. "Get out."
"Sure thing, sweetie," Fallan said as she exited, snatching her backpack from the rear of the car. "I'll see ya later tonight."
"Of course," Del answered, blowing her a quick kiss.
"Oh, God....." Kendy sneered as she slid out onto the pavement. She could almost feel the bile push to the top of her throat. "See ya in gym, Lala," she called over her shoulder as she entered the school building.
Fallan sneered as she watched Kendy vanish into the dimly lit halls. "Don't call me LALA!!!"
Fallan dusted off her palms as she stood at the front center of the volleyball court. She smiled; she was totally in her element here. The panicked girl on the opposing team managed to serve the ball across, and she pelted it towards the front center of her opposition--Kendy. Kendy jumped up slightly, no doubt aided by her nearly six-foot height, and pushed the ball back over. The familiar slap of synthetic leather against palm skin was unheard, and a whistle peeled through the echo chamber of a gym an instant later.
"Palley!" the coach shouted. "CARRY!"
Kendy smiled guiltily and scanned the two courts in a half-assed attempt at bullshitting. "There's no one named Carrey here." Coach snorted and gestured to the outer rim of the courts. "Aw, c'mon, it wasn't that bad--and I'm not wearin' my glasses, either! I couldn't see!" He shook his head and gestured to the rim again. Kendy snarled slightly and headed towards the rims, not at all ready to run five laps. Fallan signaled her team to rotate, and she tossed the ball to the new server, a swaggering jock by the name of Eric Aneurin. It bounced off the exposed silver airduct, leaving a sizable dent, and careened out of bounds. Kendy ignored it, casting an angry glare at Coach as she started a pathetic jog. "Mother fucker," she muttered. The ball snuck up from behind and struck her in the back of the head with the force of a speeding Mack truck. She collapsed in a heap, out cold; somewhere in the back of her swimming mind, she was half glad her last words were profane.
The destruction was massive. An opaque black building towered amidst a sea of ruins, most of which appeared to be marble. Everything had gone gray as Kendy tried to assess her new surroundings, her head still pounding from the stray volleyball. She was the lone source of movement; not even a faint breeze disturbed the moribund scene. Bodies lay strewn along her path, all of them gray, featureless, and twisted from a final agonizing assault. She started to shake a little; this was the stuff of B-movies and nightmares, but something about it felt real...familiar.
As she continued walking, a skeletal hand seized her bare ankle, digging into the flesh enough to draw a thin stream of blood. Kendy shrieked a little as the dying, angry eyes of a cadaverous woman stared cruelly at her. "Eossss....," she hissed at Kendy, tightening her painful grip on the girl's ankle. "I will kill you.... Kill your world...." She laughed wickedly before dissolving into a spray of ash.
A glaring light snapped Kendy from the gray scene in a sudden jolt, leaving her blinking wearily at the humming neon lights in the nurse's office.
Walking. Kendy could hardly stand up straight, let alone walk. A sour expression tainted her already pained face; to anyone besides Fallan, she must have looked drunk or stoned or something not good. She plopped down on the nearest bench and cradled her head in her hands. Dammit, why couldn't the sidewalk hold still? Fallan sat down next to her, growing more concerned with every moment. She was never too close to her future sister-in-law, but seeing someone normally so hearty now so agonized was disconcerting. The nurse had done what he could to help her with the dizziness, but that was about as good as doing nothing at all. At least Fallan was willing to share her Aleve. Kendy winced slightly and pinched the bridge of her nose, staring into space.
"Kendy, you okay?" Fallan asked. "If you want, I'll call my aunt and get us a ride."
"Nah, it's okay," Kendy moaned with a slight slur; damn, those were strong painkillers. Her eyes squinted on a tall, dark, foreign object. "What the hell is that?"
Fallan scanned the object in question. It was a tall pillar of the darkest black, its surface glossy and unmarred by windows or balconies. Only one door was apparent on the ground level, and it seemed to be locked. The top was an ornate, spiky spectacle that caught the gleam of the afternoon sun and bounced prisms of brilliant color off of her eyes. "Dunno," Fallan offered, still staring at the tower. "It's probably a tourist trap for the warm season."
"But what the hell IS it? An observatory?" Kendy's mind strained. The dream.... No, that was just a concussion nightmare. She had them before, and this one was no different than the others.
"Maybe. It's so tall...."
"Oh, yeah, great." Kendy raised her voice to a shrill, falsely perky falsetto. "I can almost hear it now. 'Here's beautiful Crescent Hills. If you look to your left, there's the lake with the rusted Impala sticking out. To the right, just under the cloud of brimstone, is Crescent Hills High School. If we all listen, we can hear the screaming of the damned within.'" Fallan laughed; her laughter abruptly stopped once she noticed Kendy's face. The pain had twisted into a gleefully evil grin, and her eyes readily gave away the process of scheming. "Doesn't look open yet...."
"Kendy, NO," Fallan commanded. Kendy's grin only grew. "No Mission Impossibles, no!"
"You don't have to come along," Kendy playfully offered. "Just serve as alibi." Fallan went to open her mouth and yell, but Kendy quickly cut her off. "Lala, I'M GOIN' IN."
The figure touched the panel of slick black glass, and the room lit up, revealing her serpentine attire. Her smooth white hair flew over her jaundiced shoulders as she caught sight of the two gawkers at the bottom. Her talonesque silver fingernails scratched gently on the glass, and an angry glare entered her blood red eyes. She grinned slightly, a set of lengthy fangs showing under her lips as the grin mutated into a snarl. She spun away from the glass, the ripples of her undulating black gown swirling independently of her whisper-thin body's movements. A low, wicked giggle gurgled in her throat.
"This is perfect," she half-whispered to herself. She turned to a small audience of five uniformed figures and grinned even worse. "My garden, our time has come anew! This world may have been snatched from us once, but now there is no stopping us!" The five figures obediently applauded. "Our Umbran empire will return!....Uh, once we get rid of those two out there. Orchis!"
One of the five figures stepped forward, revealing a young woman dressed in the deepest of purples, a velvety body suit that hugged her like natural skin. Her eyes were a vacant pink, surrounded by the copious curling tendrils of rich violet cascading from the black metal clasp at the highest point of her head. She flashed an eager grin at the woman. "Yes, Regina Umbra?"
"Make sure those two don't get to these," Regina Umbra said, resting a hand on two round brass boxes. "Can you handle that?"
"Guarding two boxes, sure thing!" Orchis responded happily.
"No, KILL them. So long as they live, they can get to these."
"Oh. Okey-dokey. Almona?" A bizarre creature, a gray woman with a crop of bright green hair and nine arms, stepped from behind Orchis and bowed obediently. "She'll take care of them, Regina, don't worry."
Kendy slid through the air duct opening, making sure not to drop it with too much of a bang and give away her presence. She had been careful to tie her hair back and wear the tightest, darkest clothes she had, essential elements of a Mission Impossible. The last thing she wanted to do was give herself away. As she landed lightly on her feet, she got a good, long look at the interior and just....stared. What kind of tourist trap was this? The walls didn't seem to line up with the exterior, and everything was pitch black; she was surprised she could navigate it as well as she did. A small catch of objects was piled on a brass counter a few feet away--it must be a gift shop. Kendy smiled slightly as she eyed the strange, apparently useless objects; she had to take a souvenir or two, just for pride's sake. Two round boxes caught her fancy. One was stacked on top of the other, and each had a Latin word carved in the side in glistening gold. They were small enough for Kendy to grab in one hand as she started back into the air duct. As she yanked her feet in, the sound of footsteps made her pulse quicken.
"Hey!" a shrill female voice cried. "You're supposed to be outside!"
Kendy dropped out of sight, plummeting down the air duct with considerably less effort than climbing up had required. She writhed out of the main duct, sprinted out the door, and took off down the street. She smiled as she ran like hell; she'd gotten away with another one.
Fallan and Del sat on the sofa of the Palley family living room, their hands clasped together. The movie on the TV was blissfully dull, so they could concentrate their energies on each other. He caressed her cheek, eliciting a timid giggle; she quickly bounced forward and kissed him lightly on the nose. They stared into each other, enjoying the spark of energy that passed between them in silence. Unfortunately, their silence was broken by the hasty slam of the front door. Fallan and Del moaned and rolled their eyes in unison; she'd done it again.
"IdiditIdiditIdiditIdiditIdiditIdidit!!!!!!" Kendy cried in maniacal triumph as she walked through the hall and entered the living room. She cradled the two boxes against her chest as she plopped down into the recliner. "I DID IT!!" she shrieked in a self-satisfied finale. She tossed one of the boxes over to Fallan. "Here's a little something for my alibi."
"Kendy, why do you keep breaking into places?" Del sighed in bitter frustration.
" 'Cuz I can..." She opened the box. "Oooohhhh.....purple......" She smiled eagerly at Fallan. "Open yours."
Fallan sighed and opened the box. The contents were indeed enchanting: two silver armbands rimmed with gold, each having a slight v-like dip in their circular ship. "These are nice," she mused offhand. She glanced at the side of the box and saw the Latin word carved on the side. "Regia?"
"It's Latin," Kendy said as she pulled on her crystalline purple armbands, nearly identical to Fallan's. "Remember 'Aqua Regia' from Chem?" Fallan just scowled. " 'Royal Water'? It's 'royal' or 'royalty'." She checked the side of her box. "Ooh, neat. Litteratus--'scholar'."
"Scholar, you?!" Del laughed. "You're an irrational twit!"
"You know....I was going to give you a good part of Europe after I conquered the world, but now....no, YOU don't deserve it."
Almona drooped her head, her arms, and her odd smile. "Mistress Orchis, I'm hungry," she whined.
Orchis, just as lifeless, looked up with a weary expression and answered in a whine to equal. "You think I'M not hungry? There's no love energy in this dump! When's Regina gonna open?" Orchis sighed to herself; anymore, the slaves Regina had were lackluster at best, and this multi-armed migraine was no different.
"I could find some love energy for you," Almona offered eagerly. Orchis brightened; finally, a slave that knew enough to try and do its job. "There's a park. At night, it's full of it!"
Orchis' eyes became big and doe-like, flooded with grateful tears. "Oh, could you???? Maybe then we can find those two girls."
Del and Fallan strolled through the park. It was too crowded for their tastes, as was usual. There were people hiding in shady groves, people in the little rented duck boats, and people resting on the benches just as they were. The setting sun in the distance gave the evening a gentle lavender aura to go with its comfortably cool weather. He wrapped his arms gently around her, and she nuzzled against his chest; his heartbeat was relaxing, and the same warm, soothing spark ignited between the two. There was nothing that could destroy this moment--not Kendy, not rain, not some psycho sneaking behind them with a chainsaw--nothing at all.
A panicked shriek broke the air and deteriorated into pained gurgling. Fallan and Del's heads snapped up towards the lake. A grotesque figure that was mostly arms had the remnants of a boater dripping from its grip as a young man sat cowering in the Plexiglas duck. The figure shook off the goo and dove at the man, yanking him off his feet and sending a surge through his body; he shrieked in agony before he, too, dissolved into a pinkish puddle. Fallan and Del just stared in shock, too sickened and baffled to move. Then the figure turned its face towards them.
"Fallan, RUN!!!" Del commanded, taking a defensive stance.
Fallan stood up but refused to run. "I'm not lea--"
"Just go!! I won't let it hurt you!" The creature swooped down towards him, just missing his head. Fallan took cover behind a grove of trees. The creature circled back and seized Del by the throat, each limp, and the face. The same painful surge of energy that had torn apart the boaters ripped into Del now. A few tears rolled down his face as he mustered one last breath. "Fallan..." he gasped.
Fallan wept. What the hell was that thing, and why was it after them? A bizarre instinct warmed her entire being, and she raised her hands to the two silver armbands under her short sleeves. Numbly, she spoke, her words growing in volume, "Royalty....Make-Up!!!!"
Fallan tossed her hands away from her armbands, paths of silvery light following her fingers. The light cascaded around her suddenly bare form, forming a silvery gray body suit with a huge teal bow under a brooch and teal trim on the sailor's collar; more light flowed loosely around her waist, forming a rippling silver skirt and wrapping along her legs to form silver tall boots to match the suit. The residue of the light on her fingers ran up to the armbands and tightened into long gloves of the now familiar gray. She stood still and studied her new attire. Where the hell did this come from? No matter. Another instinctive urge forced more words from her lips. She wove her fingers together and turned them, palms out, towards the creature attacking Del. A warm, tingling sensation engulfed her hands. She stared daggers at the creature and spoke in a loud, intense shout, "ROYAL BURNING WEAVE!!" An intricate network of brilliant silver light lept from her hands in a weave similar to that of her fingers, netting the creature and letting Del fall to the ground unharmed. The creature shrieked as the weave grew tighter and more brilliant; it finally gave a death cry, dissolving into a pile of ashes. The weave dissolved as well, and Fallan dropped her hands at her sides. Had she just done that? Then a more important matter caught her attention.
"Del..." she whispered. Then she sprinted over to where he lay on the ground, coughing. "Del!" She fell to her knees and embraced him; his shaky arms wrapped around her and leaned against her chest, winded and weary. "Del, are you okay?"
"Thank you, Sailor Moon," Del whimpered.
"I'm not Sailor Moon," Fallan corrected him with a laugh.
"Yuh-huh, you got a Sailor outfit on. You hafta be Sailor Moon."
"No, it's Fallan, it's me!" Fallan looked down and studied her new attire. It was indeed the outfit of a Sailor Soldier, and her hairstyle was dismayingly similar to that of Sailor Moon. She laughed anxiously. "Uh...uhm....heh.....oh, dear......ahh...." She smiled at Del, trying to hide her unease. "You know what? Let's get you home and in bed." She kissed his forehead and draped him over her as best she could, finding him lighter than usual. Hopefully, no one would really notice a Sailor Soldier dragging some poor injured guy through Crescent Hills.
Kendy surveyed the scene as Fallan, still in her silvery Sailor uniform, tucked Del into his bed. She couldn't help but smile. Her brother was unscathed, and her future sister-in-law was wearing a ludicrously short skirt, knee-high boots with a pump heel, a gigantic bow, and was mistaken for some strange girl running around in similar slut gear in Tokyo. She struggled in vain to stifle her laughter, but every attempt failed; she erupted into a fit of mocking laughter. Fallan glared at the commotion from the doorway.
"Pretty soldier in a sailor suit--I fight for tardiness and free make-up!" Kendy quoted, breaking into laughter as she tried to mimic Sailor Moon's little hand gestures.
"Shut up!" Fallan snapped as she left the room. "If I could change it back, I would." She paused in the hall. "Royalty Make-Up!" The Sailor uniform melted away into her T-shirt, jeans, and old tennis shoes. "There, no more Sailor Fallan."
"You mean Sailor Royalty, Lala. That's what you said." Kendy smiled and peered down at her exposed purple armbands. "Guess there's a reason I grabbed these suckers. Well, you go fight youmas or whatever. I'm gonna watch MST." She bounced downstairs, leaving Fallan to just stare in bewilderment. Strange, strange girl.
"What?!" Regina Umbra shouted as Orchis cowered. "You let them get the bands AND live?!"
"Pleasedon'thit!!!" Orchis responded, cringing. "It was only the one who revived, I can still get the other one. In fact, I can get both of 'em, I know it."
"You'd better. That stupid girl has no clue what she is, and I want to make sure she's cold and stiff before she gets the chance."