Karl Marx once called religion the "poor man's opium." For the cynics of the world, religion and mythology are fairy tales meant to calm children at bedtime and explain the unknown to the frightened masses. The creation of the sun, the stars in the heavens, and the rising of the land from the sea have been attributed to angry gods and goddesses, warring spirits, and benevolent heroes. Perhaps the cynics were correct. Perhaps Marx was right. Perhaps wizards and sorcerers never existed, and perhaps greedy vengeful gods never populated the heavens.
Perhaps they were wrong.
Consider that every major civilization has had a belief system, complete with deities and spirits who ruled over major and minor aspects of life, from the vast expanse of the ocean to the smallest grain of sand. What if these gods did exist? What if their rule was not myth and legend? Then, most legends would be true, even a legend of a kingdom on the moon with mighty warriors who protected it. Surely, they would have had their own gods and goddesses, ones that predate all knowledge of the religions of the earth. And, what if they were still to exist today? What if they are lying in wait, ready to rise and rule again?
Who would stop them? Who could stop them?
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Prologue
32nd century – New Crystal Tokyo Palace
"Eos?"
"Yes, Rini?"
"Tell me a story, won't you?" Eight years old and tucked in to her bed, Rini wasn't about to fall asleep any time soon. Her parents were away on "official business" as they liked to tell her, so her Guardian, baby-sitter, and surrogate big sister Eos was with her that evening. "Pleeeeease?"
Eos knew better than to refuse. It was late, and no one needed to be awakened by the cries of a whiny child. The kid had a good pair of lungs, and she never hesitated to use them. "All right. What should it be about tonight?"
"The old kingdom," she said, sitting up. "One of the old stories, about how it got there. Make it a little scary, too."
"You sure you can handle a scary one?"
"Yes," Rini answered. "I'm a big girl."
"Okay, okay. Just one, though, and then you have to go to sleep." And so do I. It was hard work looking after an energetic little girl, especially one who would eventually inherit the throne of the Moon Kingdom .
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Eos took a deep breath and began. "Long ago, before the moon hung in the sky, the earth was home to a great and ancient civilization. The people had many gods who helped them and protected them, but none were as powerful as Addae, the god of the Sun, Odanodan, the god of the Earth, and Semira, the goddess of the Sky. The people worshipped these three, giving them dominion over all the other gods and goddesses. Between the three, they ruled harmoniously and peace prevailed for many centuries."
"What does harminerously mean?"
"Harmoniously," Eos laughed. "It means they all got along nicely."
"Oh, okay." She snuggled into her pillows. "What next?"
"Not all of the gods and goddesses liked the way that Addae, Odanodan, and Semira worked together. The goddess of Water, Miakoda, envied their power and made a plan to gain control of the earth. She made a pact with Ciarazel, the goddess of Death, and between them they conspired to attack the beautiful island of Atlantis, where the largest temple to Addae stood. Miakoda summoned a mighty tsunami, destroying the temple and drowning thousands of people. Seeing his people and temple under attack, Addae managed to save the temple's chief priestess but no one else."
"The rest of them died?"
Eos nodded somberly. "And when the temple was destroyed, the powers of the god of the Sun grew weak. Without the protection of Addae, the people lived in fear of Miakoda and began to flock to her temples, begging for mercy. The worship of the people only made the Water goddess grow stronger, and she and her allies prepared to attack the mighty city of Babylon , where the twin temples to Odanodan and Semira stood. In defense, the people of Babylon went out to destroy the remaining shrines to Miakoda, hoping to lessen her powers."
"Did it work?" Rini's voice grew quiet.
"Yup, it did," Eos answered with a tiny smile. "Miakoda hadn't thought that the people would turn against her. As her temples and shrines were destroyed, her powers grew weak and she couldn't attack Babylon . Before she could hide and regain her strength, Addae, Odanodan, and Semira captured her. Being a Goddess, she couldn't be killed; however, they could remove her powers and force her to live as a mortal. So, Miakoda's powers were taken and divided, hidden into a crystal and an amulet. Still, they needed someone to control the tides; without Miakoda, the oceans would rise and cover the land. So, Semira cleared a place in her Sky, and Odanodan brought the piece of Earth known as Atlantis from the waters. Addae hung it in the Sky near the Earth, and set it so that it could guard the tides of the oceans. They named it Selene, or Moon, and sent most of the remaining priests and priestesses of Atlantis there, along with a few of the soldiers of Babylon to protect them. The three Gods entrusted them with the Silver Crystal and told them to watch over the Kingdoms on Earth, and that's how the Moon Kingdom was born. The priestesses of Atlantis who remained on Earth became keepers of the Moon, standing watch in case the Moon was ever threatened by Miakoda or her followers."
"What happened to Miakoda?" Rini asked. "Did she die?"
"She lived to be a very old woman, but before she died, she called on Ciarazel to save her from her fate. Afraid of the three powerful deities, Ciarazel gathered the few remaining temple guardians of Miakoda's fallen cult and cast a terrible spell. When Miakoda finally died, her spirit and those of her temple guardians was sealed into a book and held by a series of incantations. The only way Miakoda could ever be released would be through the words on her book and the presence of the amulet or the crystal."
"Did that ever happen? Did they ever bring that bad woman back?" Rini's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"No," she laughed. "They reunited the book and the amulet after the fall of the Earth Kingdom. No one could ever work the spell correctly." Eos got up and kissed Rini's forehead. "It's just a story, honey?"
"Okay." Rini didn't sound as if she believed Eos.
"Trust me. Besides, I'll always be here to protect you." She smoothed Rini's hair and smiled. "Good night, honey."
"'Night."
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The Present – University of Tokyo, Main Campus
"Mina? Mina! Ohmigosh, MINA!"
There were few people who would have yelled her name across the plaza at the University of Tokyo, and both Serena and Lita stood next to Mina outside the Fine Arts college on the first day of classes. Unsure of what psycho was stalking her, Mina turned around to see the familiar auburn hair and wide grin she remembered from Juuban High's swim team. The young woman was dodging students and professors as she streaked across campus, skidding to a stop inches from the three girls.
"Mina? C'mon, you remember me, don't you? 400 freestyle relay, district championship?"
"Of course I do!" Mina squealed. "Dawn, what are you doing here? I thought you moved back to the States when your dad transferred! Did they move back?"
"Oh, hell no," Dawn laughed, catching her breath. "I got a two year scholarship through Toyota to come here and study mechanical engineering. After it's over, then they'll hire me to work part time here while I finish school."
"You mean…"
"I'm back!" Dawn giggled. "For good this time, I hope." Moving back to her mom's hometown of Lexington , Kentucky had been less than stellar, in Dawn's opinion. She had enjoyed living in Tokyo for four years, getting to know girls like Mina and her friends and making a small name for herself as one of the top swimmers on the high school swim team. Since she'd been in Lexington, she'd made it her priority to get back to the place she considered home. Funny, considering how out of place she looked on campus. Five foot seven, with a freckled tan and long dark auburn hair, she stood a few inches taller than Serena and Mina, but stood shoulder to shoulder with Lita. She smiled at the two other girls. "Um, Serena and Lita, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Serena answered cautiously. "Dawn Connolly, right?"
"Of course that's Dawn," Lita interrupted. "You remember, she used to eat lunch with us. She used to bring those awesome brownies with her, the ones that had the chocolate chips inside and the fudge icing!"
"Oh yeah! Now I remember!". Leave it to Serena to identify someone by a dessert. "Well, nice to see you again," she said, warming up. "You said you're doing engineering?"
"Yup," Dawn replied. "What are you guys studying?"
"Culinary arts," Lita answered. "Mina's doing theatre and set design, and Serena's doing, um…" She looked at the blonde, who had insisted on wearing her hair in the telltale odangos on the first day of classes. "Exactly what are you studying, Serena?"
"Early childhood education," she answered proudly. "I'm gonna be a teacher."
"Right," Lita muttered. "Like you'll survive dealing with little kids for more than five minutes. You couldn't deal with Rini for thirty seconds," she reminded her.
"That's completely different," Serena said. "I'm not related to any of these kids."
"Whatever."
"I'd like to see you try and do better."
"I could."
"Um," Dawn interrupted hesitantly. "What about those two other girls I met? The one with the blue hair, and the one at the shrine, I mean."
"Oh, Amy and Raye," Mina answered gratefully. She didn't want to have to listen to Lita and Serena start arguing either. "Amy's in the accelerated pre-med program. She started a couple of months early, to get a head start on classes."
"Early?" squeaked Dawn. "Was she behind or something?"
"Three semesters ahead," replied Lita. "She wants to get out in four years, though. I told her she's gonna burn out if she's not careful."
"No kidding," agreed Dawn. "So, what's Raye studying?"
"Nothing." Serena shifted her book bag to her other shoulder. "She's still working at the temple. She wanted to go to school, but well…" She gave an embarrassed grin. "She's still working on that, too. You don't make much money as a priestess."
"Oh." Dawn didn't know how to respond to that. She looked down at her watch. "I gotta get to class soon. Do you guys know where the engineering complex is?" All three of the girls shook their heads from side to side. "Guess I'll find it on my own, then."
"You wanna meet up later? For coffee or something?" Mina pulled out her class schedule. "I don't have any classes after three this afternoon. Whatcha say?"
Dawn consulted her planner. "I can do that," she replied after a while. "Meet you back here, then?"
"'Kay. See ya later!"
"Yup, later!" Dawn watched the three girls head inside the building and then dug around in her backpack for her map. She detested being lost, and while her Japanese was still tops, she worried about asking someone for directions. Sitting on a concrete bench, she squinted at the pages, trying to reorient herself.
Ian stood in the Plaza, taking in the sights and fighting a blinding headache. He'd arrived just two days before from England , and jet lag was still a major problem. Still, the wide open space was everything he needed, and the glass futuristic surrounding helped him to lessen any remaining anxiety. He was leaning against the stairs of a nearby building, the cool steel against his neck a welcome relief. HE had to be the only idiot wearing a thick leather jacket in the 100 + degree weather. The air conditioning in there sucked. There was little difference between the inside and outside temperatures and he could feel a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He ran his hand over it and into his hair… his hair, the one reminder of home he'd brought with him. Nearly seven inches long and center parted, the left parting was dyed a bright blue while the right a deep claret, the colours of the Football team he'd supported practically since birth, his father had seen to that. He smiled briefly at the thought as his eyes wandered among the crowd.
For a few minutes now he'd been examining a group of girls as they walked along the Plaza, a tall brunette and two shorter blondes. Each of them wore figure hugging pants he would've loved to open; then again, the first day in a new country with only a rudimentary understanding of the language was probably not the best time to get shot down. The other young woman running towards them shouting something was quite obviously a Yank. Her freckled skin was certainly not symptomatic of being Japanese. Besides, no self-respecting European would've been that brazen in a public place. She was a little shorter than him perhaps, but he could deal with that. Besides, she'd been kind enough to wear a low cut tank top, and for that he was a bit thankful. Her dark auburn hair chased her along as she ran erratically around and nearly through the other students.
Students… yes, must remain focused. A physics lecture would be starting soon and if he missed the first, he'd no doubt have a problem for the rest of the year. Ian returned his attention to the four girls as the three he'd first watched headed inside a nearby building, leaving the Yankee chick to find her own way. As she took her leave of the group and sat down at a bench, she appeared lost with her map in her hands. Ian chuckled to himself as he considered the chance for some fun, but she was still smiling, and that seemed out of place. How could someone be smiling when lost in a foreign country?
"Don't tell me you're that bloody perky all the time."
Dawn's head snapped up. She hadn't heard anyone speak English to her for a week now, not counting the phone calls home or her treasured collection of Kevin Smith films she had at her apartment. She shielded her eyes as she caught sight of a rather tall and somewhat intimidating young man her own age leaning against the stairs of a nearby building. Bright red hair hung to his chin on the left, while blue complimented the right. He walked towards her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black stonewashed jeans. A black leather jacket covered a plain white t-shirt, and his sneakers had obviously seen better days.
"What, don't you speak English?" he said, a little more slowly. "You look like a Yank."
"'Cause I am," she answered, a bit defensive. "You're obviously not."
He snickered and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn straight. I'd probably shoot myself if I was." He nodded at the map. "You lookin' for the Engineering complex?"
"Yeah." She wasn't sure what to make of the guy. He reminded her of almost every single dissatisfied angst-ridden male she'd met in high school. Still, the accent was kinda cute. "I got classes there in fifteen minutes. You know where it is?"
"Maybe."
"Could you tell me?" While she was patient to a fault, Dawn's good humor was wearing thin. She didn't appreciate having to play games with some jerk just to get where she was going.
"I gotta go there, too," he shrugged. "You can follow me, if you like." He pulled a hand out of his pocket and extended it towards her. "Name's Ian."
"Dawn. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand and stood up, stuffing the papers and planner into her book bag. "You studying engineering too?"
"Nah, I just got a class there," he answered. "Physics lecture."
"Funny, that's what I've got." She gave a wry grin. "What a coincidence."
"Hmph." He ran a hand through his hair and tossed his head. "You always this happy?"
"Not when I have to deal with arrogant jackasses," she shot back, her patience completely disappearing in a matter of seconds. "Are you always this obnoxious?"
"Eh, if I feel like it."
"Guess you feel like it now, huh?"
"Perhaps." He looked down at her, an amused grin threatening to break across his face. "Perhaps not. Haven't made up me mind yet."
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The dress was too long. Maybe the perfect length for some prissy ball, but in Rini's opinion it was a waste of ugly pink material. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection before turning away from the mirror and sitting on her bed. It had been two weeks since her parents had left on business, and no one had stayed around to keep her company. Eos had a nasty case of the flu, confining her to quarters and leaving Rini quite alone for several days. Serenity and Endymion would be home that evening just in time for some silly Imperial ball, meaning that she'd have to wear the ugly dress to appease them and fake a smile for the rest of the diplomats and dignitaries. She grimaced as she undressed and hung the dress on a hanger, then slipped on a more comfortable pair of shorts and a well-worn sweatshirt that was still three sizes too big. Rini flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind.
"Rini? Are you there?" The vidscreen blinked on and the image of a fairly sick Eos came into focus.
"Yeah, still here. How're you feeling?" She didn't bother to get up from her bed.
"Not good," Eos coughed. "Are you sure you didn't catch this?"
"I'm healthy. Bored out of my mind, and healthy."
"Why don't you head down to the gardens? Take a walk or something."
"And have four guards following me wherever I go? I'll pass, thank you." Rini pushed herself up to a sitting position and shoved the sleeves of her shirt to her elbows. "You're lucky you don't have to go to this stupid ball tonight."
"You're lucky you're not sick." Eos blew her nose and coughed again. "I'd rather sit through dinner than go through another box of tissue."
"That just proves you're sick." The Imperial Princess wrinkled her nose as she looked over at the dress, which seemed to grow uglier by the minute. "I'll trade you."
"You don't want this," she replied. "Look, I'll talk to you later on. My stomach doesn't feel so hot."
"Yeah, okay." The screen blinked out and Rini let out an irritated sigh. It wasn't fair to have to do all of this stupid diplomatic bullshit day in and day out. No one else had to deal with two parents who never bothered to come home for more than two days at a time, or simpering suitors who saw her as another piece of territory to conquer. Ever since she'd turned sixteen, it'd been a steady stream of tutors, etiquette lessons, and state dinners. Over two years of this junk, and she was tired of it. Angry, Rini kicked the side of her dresser with a socked foot and heard a number of trinkets clatter to the floor. It was childish, but it made her feel a little bit better. She knocked it a few more times for good measure before bending down to pick up the larger things that had fallen. Picture frames, a hairbrush… she'd broken her rabbit figurine again. Damn. Rini scooped up the pieces and put them in a pile. Eos would help her fix it when she felt better. She knelt down and checked under the dresser for any other pieces, stretching her hand back in the space between the floor and bottom drawer. Her fingers closed upon something smooth and metallic, and she pulled her arm back to see what she'd found. The Crystal Key lay in her hand, the slender gold chain trailing to the floor. Rini sat down on the carpet and fixed the chain around her neck, then held the Key up to examine it.
Life hadn't been so boring when she'd been younger. Threats to the Moon Kingdom had caused Serenity and Endymion to send her back to the late twentieth century, where she'd met up with the Sailor Scouts and received a bit of training. Pluto had accompanied her a few times, but they'd returned from the last trip more than five years ago. They hadn't needed to go back since then, and Pluto had kept the Key with her until Rini's eighteenth birthday. She'd presented it to Rini after the celebration, telling her that it was her responsibility to guard it now. For Rini, guarding meant tucking it away in a box and forgetting about it. She idly traced the outline of the Key with her finger, a half-smile on her face. She had a few hours to kill, didn't she? Besides, it wasn't as if anyone would miss her until then. She could hold her own in Old Tokyo for half a day, then come home in time for dinner. Rini stood up and crossed to the center of the room, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The pigtails were still there, in all their rabbit-eared glory. That would have to change before going out to play. In a matter of minutes, Rini had shaken out her rabbit ears and braided her pink hair into a single tail running over her shoulder. Much better. She pulled the necklace off and held the Key above her head. Anything was better than hanging around the palace all afternoon.
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In the sweltering midday heat, black is probably not the best colour to be wearing. Then again, when black is your personal flag to define your public identity, you wear it anyways and find shade or preferably air conditioning. Aaron, Valerie, Ryan, and Sarah always preferred the latter. Amidst the neo-yuppies of modern day Tokyo they were fairly easy to recognize. Black coats, black trousers, and the spiked dog collars made them stick out like sore thumbs, especially in this heat. The four had taken respite in a local used bookstore, and naturally headed for the occult section. Given it was a small bookstore in Tokyo , the owner informed them that there was no such section.
"What do you mean 'we have no occult section'?" Aaron sneered, his favourite hobby and pastime currently stifled. The music was practically unavailable and books were like gold dust.
"Calm down Aaron. Shouting at him won't make the books appear, ya know." Sarah, Aaron's little sister by only ten months had a far meeker nature. She appreciated his interests in the darker side of the supernatural, but didn't see the need to be so threatening.
"Yeah, but they've got to have something, surely." Valerie's voice had a menacing edge to it as she gave the owner a once over.
"Okay, okay. I might have something you'd like. Try the far side of the fairy tales section; I know there're a couple of mythology books there. Maybe you can find something of interest." The shop owner stepped back nervously, obviously just trying to avoid a confrontation.
A sly grin spread across Ryan's face. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" He turned and walked the length of the store toward the shelves the owner had mentioned. The section was right by the door… perfect. Together, they examined the various titles but found nothing interesting. There were a few about friendly giants and knights who slew dragons, but none of what Aaron referred to as "the good stuff". Finally, he reached a few about mythology. Greek, Roman, Egyptian… and something different. Dusty and a bit moldy around the edges, it looked quite old. It was held together with a leather sheath and metal braces. The book was massive, like a tome. Aaron struggled to force it from the shelf and it took all his strength to even hold it up.
"Hey, look at this," he called out, using Ryan to hold the book. Valerie put down the book on Roman mythology and walked over.
"Nice, what does it say?" She ran her hand over the strange markings on the front, dusting it off. "Unabara no megami, goddess of the sea." Aaron and Ryan both looked at her in amazement.
"How did you know that?" asked Ryan. He had never seen anything like that book before, and he was sure he'd read all the books Val had.
"A good guess, I dunno. Anyways, I think we should…" She put a hand over her mouth and coughed lightly. "Acquire this book." Aaron raised an eyebrow in reply as Sarah opened her mouth to protest.
"No you guys, not again. If we get caught again we're gonna be charged." Leave it to Sarah to be rational and spoil the fun.
"We aren't going to get caught, and keep your voice down." Aaron and Ryan were already sizing up the place; it was second nature the minute they walked in. No security cameras, no mirrors, and they were right next to the door. The only problem was the shop owner, who looked to be in pretty good shape. If they simply ran for it, he might be able to catch them. There were no other customers in the shop and it wasn't as if they could just hide something that big and heavy in one of their bags.
"Come on, you know you've got a physics lecture starting in 5 minutes!" Sarah hissed, the group's timekeeper in addition to being their often-whining voice of reason. Still, she was right; they were at least ten minutes from campus already. Ryan was still holding the massive tome. They needed that book, and a distraction was the only way to get it and get out safely. Aaron looked at the price tag just to check the damage. 13,000 yen. Shit. Granted, it was old, but that was a lot to pay for something no one else seemed to want.
"Val, distract him. We'll smuggle this out."
Grinning, Valerie took off her cape and flung it over her arm. She knew the drill by now. That was the great thing about wearing tight leather dresses; it was so easy to cause a distraction. She sauntered up to the desk, making damn sure to swing her hips as she walked. The storeowner, who wasn't more than thirty, was captivated. "Excuse me mister," she said, wetting her lips with her tongue. "You're such a big strong man, and, well, I can't quite reach the book I want. Could you be a doll and help a poor girl out?"
"Sure miss, just tell me where it is." Stammering, he followed Valerie to the opposite corner of the store where she pointed to the top row. As he turned to get the book down, Aaron opened the shop door and Ryan placed the tome outside against the wall. They waited until the owner had gotten the book down and handed it to her, a puppy-dog grin on his face. She thumbed through it, then tossed it onto a stack
"Nah," she said, losing all the seductive sweetness she had previously employed. "Got this one already, but thanks anyway." She giggled and walked out with the others, Aaron collecting their prize on the way through. Sarah argued as they crammed it into her nearly empty knapsack, complaining enough to force Aaron to carry it back to campus. He didn't care too much, though. New toys always put him in a good mood.
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The lecture hall was only half full when Dawn and Ian arrived. She insisted on sitting in the first or second row; given his nature, he wanted to lurk at the back. At some point in the decision they both expected that they would sit together. So, they took the obvious compromise and found seats in the middle of the room.
"So what else ya taking then?" Dawn asked, trying to start some kind of conversation. She hadn't actually spoken with him apart from the seating thing and it was beginning to bug her, walking along with a stone giant and not saying a word. She wasn't the kind of person who had to keep a constant dialogue going, but the silence was creeping her out.
"Little of this," he remarked, entirely disinterested. "Little of that."
She looked at him with disdain. He was doing it purely to piss her off and she knew it. From the glint in his eye, she also knew he was loving every minute of it. With a sigh she decided to try again.
"Okay then. Whatcha doin' after this lecture?" That'll get his attention.
"Day's over, then. Home, sleep." He turned and flashed a sick smile, the kind a serial killer would wear just before he slashed someone's throat. "Why, you got a better offer?" Ian licked his top lip quickly with a long wet tongue that nearly touched his nose, then blew her a sarcastic kiss. He polished it all off with a cheeky wink. Just as sudden as the farcical animation had begun, his face sagged back into its cold dead indifferent pose. Dawn contemplated slapping it clean off his face but decided restraint was in order… for the moment.
"Well, I was gonna go out for a coffee with some old friends and I was just wondering what you were doing. If you're not doing anything, you can come along." Her voice was strained and she asked herself why the hell she bothered extending the offer. He had been nothing but an arrogant pig since she'd met him, but there was something about him that made her think the attitude was a cover for something else. He was outwardly very calm and cagey, but there remained a hint of a sort of kindness. While the brief bits of humor there were warped at times, they were there and spontaneous, which she did enjoy. Ian could make for an interesting companion that afternoon with the other girls. Besides, Mina always did love the strong silent type, and he seemed to fit the bill. Then again, playing matchmaker for those two might not be such a good idea. Dawn could imagine Mina having to call the police after the psycho Brit started following her everywhere she went. She checked her watch and opened her notebook, tapping the edge of her pen against the desk as she waited for class to start.
Ian had been making his own observations about his recent companion. Dawn seemed no different to every other perky little Yank he had despised on principal. Still, there were a few things that made her stand out. First, she didn't have a manicure. While a small detail, it showed more about her than listening to her talk. Though her nails were polished and even, there were chips and a few rough edges. He saw it as a good sign – a lack of conceit. There were a number of other quirks he had picked out that endeared her to him, but her eyes stood out the most. Believed by many to be the windows to the soul, eyes told Ian more about a person than any other feature. Framed by thick dark lashes, they were basic run of the mill brown, but they caught and reflected light from every angle. They'd changed color based upon her disposition, he'd realized after a few minutes of talking to her. Upset and annoyed, her eyes went to a muddied hazel, but remained a deep chocolate when she smiled. Ian loved eyes; he gauged new people by the way their eyes looked, moved, and, most of all, reacted to the unexpected. From his studies of people and eyes he was left to conclude that she was a very open person, quite lively and very genuine. Still, his paranoia about people remained; no one was that open and no one was that kind. She glanced back at him and he feigned disinterest, careful not to let her see what he was really doing.
"Okay," he replied simply and without any real enthusiasm
"You will?" Her voice shook and jumped a few octaves. "Sorry," she coughed, her fair skin flushing a bit. "You will?" she asked with more composure and a smile. He simply nodded and stared forward. "Okay then, we'll figure out where to meet after the lecture." He nodded again and folded his arms across his chest, and she returned to her pen tapping. At least it's a start.
"Come on, for fuck's sake it isn't that heavy. Just take it." Aaron didn't like the idea of taking a black bag edged in lace into his first lecture. As it stood, he was now 10 minutes late and counting.
"Well, then throw it away. I told you I wasn't gonna carry your shit for you. I didn't even want the thing." Sarah looked down at her boots and kicked at the ground. "Fucking thing gives me the creeps," she muttered. She had touched it briefly while Aaron and Ryan had been looking it over, and it made her flesh crawl. She had seen many books and tried a number of rituals and "spells" before with Aaron and his friends. Nothing had seemed really evil. That book, only bad things could come of it. In truth they had only been able to get less than a half dozen spells to work properly, the most impressive being lighting a candle. Even that hadn't been perfect; as soon as they'd stopped chanting it had gone out, and it had only been a spark if she was honest with herself.
"It's a book, you stupid bitch. I can't take this in there with me. Look at it for chrissakes." He shook it in front of her to prove his point. She giggled nervously and just as suddenly, Aaron slapped her across the mouth. It was little more than a tap but the shock alone made Sarah stumble. She looked up at him, red cheeked and with a tear growing in her left eye.
"Fuck you," she screamed savagely and stormed off down the corridor.
"Come on, I barely touched you." A genuine note of apology and concern was audible, but she was gone. "Fuck," he muttered through gritted teeth as he slammed his fist into a locker creating a small dent. Now he had her to deal with later and the grammar school bag to carry. He took a breath and opened the door to the physics lecture.
The door to the lecture hall creaked open, and Aaron could hear the professor already going through the upcoming syllabus. He took a tentative step inside, and noticed a spare seat half way up and a few seats in. At this point, Aaron became painfully aware that the professor had stopped and he, as well as every other person in the room, was looking directly at him. He shrugged and half jogged up the stairs to the seat he found. Just his luck, a pair of pasty-faced foreigners sat in his way. He stepped past the young woman, who smiled up at him as she moved her legs to let him pass. The man, however – the only person not looking at him – slouched forward, virtually pinning his knees to the seat in front of him. After the past events of this morning, he wasn't in any mood to deal with this.
"Excuse me," he offered weakly.
Ian's head rose up emotionless. "You're excused," came the reply. He returned to his original position, not moving otherwise.
Aaron's upper lip contorted into a bit of a sneer. He had an impulse to stab the living wall in front of him, considering he always carried a small knife. It wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds to give him a close-up view of his spleen. Unfortunately, a lecture hall full of witnesses was not a good thing. He sighed audibly and set his jaw. "May I pass?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Ian sat up in one fluid motion, without the help of his arms or legs. The other guy nodded and moved through to the empty seat. "Nice bag," Ian remarked casually, keeping his eyes focused ahead.
"Fuck off. It's my sister's, you punk."
"Says the man in black with the chains and the lacy black bag," he replied in the tone of a radio sports commentator. Ian's language skills weren't great, but he knew enough to get his point across.
"You wanna start something here you piece of shit?" Aaron was becoming increasingly irritated and he didn't hide it well, but he kept his voice down. Up front, the professor had restarted the lesson and Ian had begun taking notes again. "I asked you a question, boy," he whispered. Ian offered no reaction, so Aaron reached over swiftly and stole his pen. Ian simply reached into his top pocket and produced another, which Aaron also took. Ian looked over, his face still devoid of any recognizable emotion.
"Don't start anything you can't finish." With that, he reached out grabbed Aaron's hand with the pens in it and twisted it 180 degrees. In the process, Aaron's whole body was jerked towards Ian, who placed his elbow to his throat. "Boy." He retracted the arm and retrieved his pens, smirking. Just as suddenly, he returned to his note taking and Aaron was dumbstruck.
"Was that really necessary?" Dawn hissed, wholly embarrassed at the scene that had just taken place next to her. "I'd have lent you a pen."
Ian didn't bother answering. He just took his notes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ian, Dawn, and Mina walked down the street across from campus together. To be more specific, Dawn and Mina were walking together; Ian was trailing behind them, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Both girls chattered at such a pace that Ian could barely catch the odd word, let alone keep up. Somewhat bored, he decided an experiment was in order. They walked past an alley and he cut down it, catching a word or two about pizza. He was right; neither Dawn nor Mina noticed he had left. He wondered whether to be happy or shocked; instead, he decided to stay true to his neutral nature and just ignore them. Ian walked down the shadowed alley, head down as he scanned the ground. He'd never feared the usual dark street or unknown turn, so it didn't make sense to start now. Ian lifted his head, looking out towards the rush of midday traffic. The alley ended up ahead, past an enormous metal dumpster. Ian looked back down at the ground and swore loudly. His sneakers hovered a good half meter from the ground, and something not unlike a migraine had started in the back of his head. Bloody hell. Like I didn't have enough trouble already. Some random alley in a foreign country didn't seem like the greatest place to deal with this… inconvenience, for lack of a better word. Ian gripped the side of the dumpster, more angry than nervous at this point. Growing more disoriented by the second, he had only one option left. It wasn't the best option, but it would solve most of his problems as long as no one else saw him. Ian checked around the alley, making sure that no one had seen an eighteen year old guy levitate and cling to a dumpster. Alone, Ian supposed that a quick stint in his demon form wouldn't hurt anyone, as long as he could keep himself under control.
She'd messed up somehow. In the few seconds between the palace and the past, Rini had caused the smallest of ripples in the time stream. She'd stumbled as she'd passed through the fabric of time, something she hadn't done in years. Pluto had always been there to steady her, to keep her from taking the wrong step like she'd done the first time and sending her plummeting to the grass below. Alone and still slightly clumsy, she gripped the Key tightly as the fabric of the early twenty-first century shimmered into existence around her. The scene held itself in place for a few seconds, then flew past as she tumbled towards the asphalt and the erratic scene of traffic in downtown Tokyo. Rini screamed as the ground grew closer, a fear of heights combining with the fear of impact. Her life flashed before her eyes like a cheap afternoon movie; her parents, her sixth birthday party, her first kiss, and Eos, of course, who had always been there for her. Unfortunately, Eos wasn't there now to catch her as traffic grew closer and closer. Rini screwed her eyes shut and held her breath, expecting the worst.
She didn't get what she'd expected. Instead of the thud against the blacktop or the crack of broken bones, Rini heard the grunt of something as a strong body gripped her across the chest and supported her under her legs. She opened her eyes, half-expecting to see her beloved Tuxedo Mask coming to her rescue. Instead of the familiar cape and top hat, Rini saw the face of a gray winged stranger who had come to her aid. He looked back at her, expressionless as she stared up in shock. She couldn't tell if it was something worth trusting or something worth running from. Unable to decide, Rini resorted to screaming… not a normal "Oh my god, I'm going to die" scream, not a "Put me down, you dark winged psycho" scream, and not even a "What the FUCK is THAT" scream, but the kind only she could pull off. Without warning, Rini tensed and let loose with a bloodcurdling shriek as the faint crescent of the moon shone on her forehead. The resulting energy blast threw her winged savior into a nearby wall with her still in his arms. Both of them tumbled into the dumpster below, landing in a pile of restaurant garbage. He groaned and put a hand to his head, blood trickling down his face. As he struggled to get up, Rini scrambled out of the dumpster and sprinted down the alley.
"HEY!" Something collided with Dawn that sent her sprawling to the pavement. "You know, a simple 'excuse me' would've done wonders," she replied sarcastically, wiping a glob of blood off her knee.
"Rini? Is that really you?" Mina helped Rini up, leaving Dawn to dab at the scrapes on her hands and knees. "Shit, I haven't seen you in years. I mean, more for you than me, if you know what I mean …" Mina suddenly realized that Dawn was not only present but was still sitting on the ground courtesy of Rini's collision. "Sorry Dawn," she offered weakly, pulling her to her feet. "This is Rini, an old, um, friend. She's Serena's, err, cousin."
Dawn rubbed a sore spot on her ass and scowled at the pink haired twit. She thought about snapping at her, but since Mina knew her she would try to be civil at least. Dawn offered her hand with a forced smile but the girl ignored it, simply staring at Dawn as if she'd seen a ghost. Mina grabbed Rini by the shoulders and turned her around to face her.
"M… M… M Mina, there's something down there and I don't know what it is…" Rini was shaking the whole time; something or someone had scared the shit out of her. Before Mina or Rini could protest, Dawn took off down the alley alone
"Dawn! DAWN!" Mina shouted, but it didn't do any good. Rini grabbed hold of her in a bear hug and started bawling into her shoulder, leaving Mina to do little more than pat her back and wait for her to calm down.
"That's the LAST time I help anyone." Ian was pretty pissed. He smelled like garbage and had a fresh gash on his forehead to contend with. The blood had congealed beneath his hair, hiding most of the evidence. Ian crawled out of the dumpster and put his jacket back on. His shirt hung off his back in shreds; understandable, considering that growing wings will do that to a standard shirt. As he wiped the corner of his mouth, he saw a frantic figure run towards him. It came closer, and Ian wondered whether to stay and fight or get the hell out. The figure slowed and he could make out a curvy figure and a mass of long hair. Ian dropped his guard and started walking nonchalantly towards the young woman, seeing the face of the Yank as she stopped next to the dumpster.
"Oh, so you know I'm missing then?" he remarked casually.
"Did you see anything strange down here?" she asked, ignoring his question
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Two could play this game. Ian put on a sarcastic female voice as he stepped closer. "Oh, that's good to hear. I couldn't live without you." Without missing a beat, he switched to a credible John Wayne. "Well, that's just fine little lady. Say, you wanna go for a little donkey ride?"
"Shut up, you ass. Just answer the question."
"No, nothing. Some dry lightning hit here I think, but nothing too special." Ian obviously couldn't tell her the truth; that a pink haired girl and a giant winged thing had flown into the dumpster, and where had it gone – oh wait, he had changed into it and back. Yeah, that'd fit nicely into a casual conversation.
"Hey, you okay?" Dawn's voice softened as she caught sight of a large cut on Ian's forehead. "That looks really painful."
"I'm fine." He started to walk past her, but she stopped in front of him. "Move." Dawn remained motionless in front of him, staring up into his face. "Move," he repeated, a little louder the second time.
"You should get that cleaned up," she said, unfazed. "It could get really nasty if you don't clean it."
Ian began to swear violently, most of the words lost in a throaty growl. He started to walk past her, but she sidestepped and blocked his path. "I'm not playing some fucking kid's game. Get out of the way."
"Back off," she hissed. "Look, I'm not about to tell anybody that you got jumped in an alley your first day running around the city. Besides, some sissy pink-haired girl ran out a minute ago, babbling something about Satan himself running through here. I'm assuming she saw you and him and flipped out. Gimme a little credit here."
Ian opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself before he could tell her that it would be a cold day in hell before he'd fare worst in an alley brawl. If that's what she thought had happened to him, it saved him an explanation. Besides, if Dawn wasn't going to say anything about it, what difference did it make? Like he gave a rat's ass about what some posh Yank thought about him. "Yeah, well… he looks worse," he mumbled.
Dawn grinned. "I wouldn't have thought otherwise," she answered. "I'd know better than to mess with you in a dark alley."
"Then what're you doing now?"
"Messing with you in a semi-lit alley. I never said I was bright."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"Shut your mouth and light the rest of the candles, Sarah." Val set the massive book on a red pillow and drew the heavy black curtains across the window. Several dozen candles flickered around the room, casting eerie shadows across Aaron's face as he polished the blade of one of Val's daggers. They hung on every wall of her apartment, a sort of shrine to her fascination with knives and short swords. Valerie slid her arms over Aaron's shoulders, nipping him on the neck. "You ready for a bit of fun?" she purred.
Aaron chuckled in reply, eyes still on the dagger. "You sure you read that book correctly?" he asked, holding the blade up for inspection. "Nothing happened the last time we tried something like this."
"That was months ago," she replied, taking the dagger from him and standing. "Besides, we've got that book, and it's got some very specific illustrations. We can't mess this up."
Sarah tossed the now-empty box of matches on the floor and padded over to the book. Writing ran along the outside edges of the pages, framing detailed sketches of what appeared to be a sacrifice of some kind. Two figures held down a third, while a fourth raised an amulet above its head. All four bore unique symbols on their skin, shown in detail in other drawings on the page. Each symbol was drawn in a grotesque rust on the aging parchment. Uneasy, Sarah looked to her own arms, freshly bandaged from her own morning ritual. Long sleeves hid the evidence from the rest of the world, but the other three knew about the scars. Sarah glanced at the book again, fairly certain of her role in the afternoon's experiment.
"Did you get the water?" Ryan pointed to the glass bowl on the floor in response to Valerie's question. "All right," she replied, motioning with the dagger. "Take your shirt off and stand over there. You too, Aaron" Valerie bent down and used the dagger to pry the amulet from the cover of the book. "Shit, it's stuck."
"Maybe you're not supposed to…"
"If I want your fuckin' opinion, I'll give it to you," Valerie snapped as Sarah retreated into the shadows. Holding the dagger with both hands, Val slowly eased the stone amulet out of tome's cover. Thrusting it at Sarah, she pulled the book closer and lay the dagger on the table. "While you're waiting, clear a spot on the floor and sit there." Unable to do little more than nod, Sarah did as she was told and sat quietly on the red carpet. Val held the dagger over the flame of a candle and studied the drawings. After a moment, she extended her arm in front of her and pressed the hot metal to her skin, copying the characters beneath one of the figures. Blood trickled down the inside of her elbow into the bowl of water Ryan had brought. Val gritted her teeth but didn't make a sound, the skin on her arm growing redder and redder. Finished, she dipped the dagger in the water and held it over the flame again. "You're next," she called to Aaron, standing up. She handed him the book to hold as she consulted the second figure and the characters. A palm against his shoulder, Val slowly traced the second set of characters into the skin on his chest. Aaron bit his lip to keep from yelling as the blade dug in, leaving a bloody trail. Val dipped the dagger in the water again and repeated the same process for Ryan, carving the symbols into the tender skin behind his ear. He winced but didn't make a sound as she finished her handiwork. Val rinsed the knife a third time, then turned to Sarah.
"Lie down, with that thing on your chest," she barked, the skin on her elbow burning. "Aaron, take those bandages off of her wrists."
"Aaron, c'mon, this isn't funny anymore," she whimpered.
He sneered as he reached for her arm. "I thought you liked playing with knives," he whispered. "You liked a bit of pain, remember?"
"That's, that's different…"
"A cut's a cut," Ryan replied nastily, seizing her other arm. "They all heal sooner or later." He yanked the bandages off of her wrist and forced Sarah's palm open towards Valerie. She pressed the blade into Sarah's palm, and the scream echoed through the apartment. Aaron held his sister down as Val finished the last insignia on Sarah's hand. Collecting the last bit of blood and rinsing off the dagger, Val placed the bowl of water above Sarah's head and took the amulet from her. "Hold the book so I can read it," she instructed Ryan. The amulet raised high in the air, Val began to chant the words beneath the image of the four figures in the book.
"Intrea ni Ciarazel quor daithi
Vet pavat zir mirali aurori
Mizel ni akun cyra quos garren
Atlanti ol Babyl sirat
Mal unbari vet migam Miakoda."
As she finished the chant, she thrust the amulet into the water. Sarah lay on the ground, whimpering softly as Val knelt over her, fingers closed over the stone. "Open your hand, Sarah," she ordered, pulling the amulet from the crimson-tinged water. "Let's see you summon the spirits." As Aaron forced her still-bleeding hand open, Sarah thrashed back and forth on the carpet.
"Don't do this, Aaron! I don't want this, I don't, I…" Valerie cut her off with a slap to the face before pressing the amulet to her palm. As the stone met the scar on her hand, blood poured from the wound and the amulet gave off an eerie scarlet glow. Aaron and Ryan stepped back as Sarah began to writhe on the floor, her eyes glassed over. Her lips moved, no sound escaping as she thrashed back and forth violently. Valerie knelt over her, the dagger still in her hand. Sarah suddenly stopped, bringing the amulet up to Valerie's face.
"Quos intrea aurori daithi Miakoda?" The voice from Sarah's lips was raspy as she stared at Val, who trembled slightly.
"Unabara no, no megami," Valerie stammered, tapping the book. Sarah's face stretched into a grotesque smile as Val spoke.
"Daithi," she repeated, gesturing to the amulet. It grew brighter as the three sets of characters began to pulse where Val had carved them. "Nirveli," she whispered, reaching for Val's arm. Sarah stood, the amulet clenched tightly in her fist as she crossed the room to Aaron and Ryan. Both of them shrank back against the wall as she got closer. "Ayhan, Rhyarith," she breathed, her hand passing over each carving.
"Holy shit," Val managed to say. "We brought back a spirit."
"Well, what do we do with it?" Ryan answered uneasily as Sarah stroked his face. "And what is she saying?"
Val consulted the book that had fallen to the floor. "I dunno, but 'Miakoda' is written underneath this one big picture of a woman walking on water. Maybe that's what it is."
At the sound of the name, Sarah turned back to Val and smiled again. Wordlessly, she took the amulet and dropped it into the water. As the stone met the surface, the candles grew brighter and the air seemed to ripple. In an instant, the room was plunged into darkness, leaving them at the mercy of the risen Miakoda.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Serena sat on the sofa in her apartment as Mina called the rest of the Sailors. Lita and Amy were both in class, while Raye was tied up at the temple. Only Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru were home. Rini sat at the kitchen table with a glass of water, staring down at the Key. Luna and Artemis were asleep under the table.
"No, she didn't say what it was exactly," Mina explained over the phone. "It didn't hurt her, but I don't think we can be too careful." She paused, twisting bits of her blonde hair between her fingers. "Okay, see you in a bit. Later."
"What's going on?" Serena asked as her roommate hung up the phone. "Who's coming over?
"Haruka and Michiru are bringing Hotaru with them. They might know what happened to Rini back in that alley." She ducked her head inside the kitchen to check on the pink haired one. "Feel any better?"
"A little," she admitted. A bruise had begun to show on her arm; other than that, she was just shaken up. "Serena, are you mad at me?"
"Mad?" Serena turned around as she spoke. "No, I'm not mad. I'm pissed off that you can't keep your hands to yourself and let the rest of us live halfway normal lives." Now that she and Rini were about the same age, she didn't see any reason to be polite anymore. "What possessed you to come back here anyways? Life too boring in your little fairy-tale castle?"
"Serena!" Luna exclaimed, sitting up. "That's not helping the situation."
"Oh, shove it," she grumbled. "Like you're thrilled to have to do this stupid Sailor 'let's save the planet from itself' gig again." Serena stretched out on the couch and shut her eyes. "Why don't you just head back home, Rini? If I'm this pissed off in the present, you'd better believe that I'll be just as annoyed in the future."
"You weren't at home," Rini snapped. "Mom and Dad were out on some day trip and we had to all go to some stupid dinner later tonight. I was just trying to kill a couple of hours."
"Oh, that was real bright," Serena answered, the sarcasm dripping from the words as she spoke. "Do you do this all the time?"
"Serena!" Mina yelled at the top of her voice, fed up with the current turn of events. "Will you grow up and quit being such a bitch? God, it's not like you never did stupid shit."
"I never took a relic and jumped back in time 'cause I was bored."
"Fine! I'll just go back then," Rini yelled, getting up from the table and nearly stepping on the cats. She grabbed her key and ran out to the balcony of the sixteenth floor apartment. "Crystal Key, take me home!"
Ian looked around Dawn's modest apartment on the seventeenth floor of the building that she, Mina, and Serena lived in. It was decidedly bare, with lots of open space and little furniture. A navy blue couch on the far wall of the living room was covered with a few pillows, and the light pine coffee table in front of it was covered with books and papers. The computer desk in the corner of the room had an impressive setup, and the bookshelf above it was filled with textbooks and reference manuals. The entertainment center wasn't too bad either, and Ian picked up the remote to check out the channels as Dawn tossed her book bag next to her desk.
"Gimme a sec to find the Band-Aids and peroxide, okay?" She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Ian on the couch. "Make yourself at home."
Ian snorted. While clean and sporting adequate entertainment, Dawn's flat was entirely too cheery for his liking. She had blue candles everywhere, making the main room smell not unlike the salty air of the ocean. He settled back against the pillows and began flipping through the channels, stopping on the first English language program he saw. Dawn must've had some serious satellite package by the vast selection of channels he could access. Thank God it included Sky Sports 1. The football match was half over, but it was better than nothing. "You got anything to drink?"
"I think so," she called back. "There's stuff in the fridge."
Ian got up and walked into the tiny kitchen. Like the rest of the apartment, it was in blue and white and disgustingly neat. He pulled the door open and peered inside. Typical girl food, and way too healthy… he was about to shut the door and give up when he saw a few bottles of Michelob tucked in the back. Surprised, he grabbed one and went back to the couch. Maybe this place wasn't so bad.
"You found my stash, huh?" She stepped out of the bathroom with a bottle of peroxide and a small plastic box. "Don't start telling people, all right?"
He held up the bottle. "How'd you get a hold of this? Legal age here is 20." He'd assumed she was around 18, unlike himself who had just passed his 20th year.
"Yeah, I know," she shrugged. "My dad and one of his business associates here helped me get the apartment set up two weeks ago. They'd bought some the last night they were here, and conveniently left a few behind in the fridge. Dad's been back in Kentucky for about a week now."
"Where?"
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Kentucky. It's where I'm from. Lexington, actually."
"You don't sound like it." From the amount of bad movies he'd wasted his time watching, he knew that Dawn's Yankee accent, while atrocious, didn't have the telltale twang. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be barefoot and missing teeth and married to your brother?" He took another drink and checked the match in front of him.
"Only if you plan to stay there. I obviously didn't." Dawn sat down next to him and uncapped the disinfectant. "This might sting," she cautioned. He didn't move as she dabbed at the cut on his head with the edge of a washcloth. She opened the box and pulled a tube of Neosporin and a tiny bandage.
"I don't need the bandage," he protested. "This'll do." He held still for a few seconds more before leaning back against the couch.
"All right, suit yourself." She got up and closed the lid of the first aid kit.
Ian watched her walk towards the hallway. "Hey," he called. "Why're you doing all of this? You barely know me."
She regarded him for a moment with a half-smile. "I dunno. It just felt like the right thing to do, I guess."
"You must be brave, stupid, or own a really big dog."
"A little of the first two, the third would be unfair to keep cooped up in such a small space, and there's no reason not to be nice… even if you did act like a jerk earlier," she added with a shrug. "You sure you don't want a Band-Aid?" she called over her shoulder as she went into the bathroom.
"Yeah, I…" The sound of glass shattering outside brought Ian to his feet. He heard a few shrieks from downstairs, one sounding vaguely familiar.
"What's going on?"
Ian looked out the window and saw the same guy who'd given him trouble during the lecture standing next to an overturned car. The younger girl next to him held up an amulet that glowed a brilliant red, and two other people in black garb stood off to the side. A pair of girls in modified school uniforms guarded a third from their assailants. Just as suddenly, the figure holding the amulet let out an ungodly shriek, thrusting the amulet at the three Sailors. Ian watched with fascination as the one with sea-green hair raised her arms to sky, seeming to summon the oceans from beneath the pavement. With a mighty roar, the water surged forward at their attackers. Before the wave reached the dark quartet, the amulet pulsed even brighter and a deep red aura engulfed its keeper. The wall of water stopped and doubled in size, reversing its course. The Sailors disappeared beneath the waves, three beams of light racing towards the amulet as the waters subsided.
"Ian?" Dawn stood in the hallway, a can of Diet Coke in her hand. "What the hell's going on?"
"Uh, guess I turned the program up too loud," he lied. The guy down on the pavement was asking for a fight, and Ian was feeling generous at the moment. The only problem was getting out without Dawn knowing what was going on. "Hey, maybe I could use that bandage," he answered, rubbing his head for effect. "One of the little ones."
Her face lit up. "Sure, lemme get the kit." As she went back to the bathroom, he grabbed one of the dining room chairs. He waited until she'd gone into the bathroom, then yanked the door shut and shoved the edge of the chair under the doorknob.
"HEY!" Dawn spun around as the door slammed shut behind her. "What the fuck are you doing?" She rattled the door, barely able to open it a few inches. "Ian, let me OUT!"
On the ground, Sailors Moon and Venus raced out of the front of the apartment building. Rini, untransformed and clutching her Key, followed the two out to the parking lot. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru lay near the gutter, unmoving. Rini raced towards them, tears in her eyes.
"They're unconscious," she cried out frantically to the other two. "They're soaking wet, too." Instantly, a rough hand yanked her to her feet and shoved her into the path of a young woman dressed in tight black leather holding a nasty curved dagger.
"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time," she growled, pointing the tip of the dagger at Rini's chest. "Such a shame, really." Before Val could play with her favorite toy, a string of red and yellw whizzed past her, bloodying her lower leg.
"Back off!" Venus stood on the other side of the parking lot, trying to draw the attention of the girl with the dagger. Instead, she'd attracted the two larger thugs who seemed to be there as enforcers. Unsure of what to do next, she took off around the corner and sent a few more random attacks their way as bait. Sure enough, they followed her, one grasping a large crowbar and the other dangling a chain of sizeable length from his massive hands. Venus gulped and took a few steps back, suddenly wondering if fighting two bigger-than-average guys with weapons by herself in a shadowed part of the street was the best thing she could have done. At this point, she didn't like her odds. The one with the crowbar swung at her, catching the edge of her skirt and sweeping her legs out from beneath her. Venus landed on the ground, embedding sand and gravel into her upper thighs. A chain slammed the pavement inches from her head, barely missing her as she rolled out of the way. She got to her knees, crouched and ready. As she geared up for another Love Me Chain attack, a crowbar swing came within inches of her head and she tumbled again to avoid it. A length of chain whipped in front of her face from behind and she was suddenly hauled upwards as the chain grew tighter around her neck. Stars swirled in front of her as she struggled, suddenly tumbling to the asphalt.
Venus looked up as a dark shadow passed overhead and came to rest behind the two thugs. Almost seven feet tall with blue-black skin and a monstrous wingspan, it grabbed Chain Boy and threw him against a dumpster. The other guy lunged forward and struck him across the back with the crowbar. The creature stumbled forward a few steps, then slowly turned and narrowed his eyes at the still-standing thug. Without warning, it roared, expanding his wings to their full length. She stared open-mouthed at the creature, slowly getting to her feet and trying to run; unfortunately, her legs wouldn't take the hint. The guy dropped his crowbar and backed up, his hands out in front to try and calm the thing down. Instead, it bared a set of menacing white teeth and raised both hands to the sky.
"LIGHTNING SHADOW!" The creature brought both hands down violently as a black light engulfed its massive wings. Just as suddenly, the darkness surged forward in jagged spikes, driving the helpless guy into the wall behind him. The attack didn't stop; the beam continued as the monster growled even louder. The wall buckled under the attack, sending her attacker flying in a hail of brick and steel. With an audible crunch, his battered body landed on its neck and lay still amidst the rubble. Venus stared in horror for a moment, then lifted her head to see the dark-winged creature still standing in the alley.
"Th-thanks," she stammered. "I think." It showed no emotion, but gravely nodded its head before taking off. Venus stared after it as it sprinted into the shadows of the building after the fleeing partner.
"Venus, what the hell are you doing?" Sailor Moon screamed from the other side of the parking lot where the girl with the amulet had backed her up against the building. "I could use a hand here!"
"Where is the other half of the spirit?" Sarah hissed in a voice that wasn't her own. "Priestess of Atlantis, do you guard the Crystal ?"
Sailor Moon's eyes bugged out and she floundered for a response. "Atlantis? What're you talking about? I'm not a priestess, either!"
"You guard the Crystal," Sarah replied in the same disembodied voice. "The risen Miakoda desires the Crystal, Priestess."
Of all of the titles she held or was going to acquire in the future, Serena was pretty sure that "priestess" wasn't one of them. "Look, I don't know who you think you are or what you're doing with that," she answered, gesturing to the amulet. "But I can tell you right now that it'll be a cold day in hell before I give you anything."
The girl holding the amulet leered at Sailor Moon, then pointed the amulet at Rini who hovered over the three fallen Sailors. "The spirit of the water goddess shall summon the Crystal ." Rini yelped as the Key was torn from her fingers and hovered above her head. It raced towards the amulet, its tiny crystal pulsing with a red aura. "For the risen Miakoda," Sarah chanted, closing her fingers around the relic in triumph. As she brought the Key to rest against the amulet, a strange red light spread from the two and struck both Val and the fleeing Aaron, who had rounded the corner out of the alley.
"What're you doing? Give that back!" Sailor Moon threw herself at the younger of the two girls, temporarily forgetting that the other had a well-sharpened dagger at her disposal. She knocked the girl to the ground, ripping the Key from her hand and throwing it across the parking lot.
"None shall defile the risen goddess of the seas," Val intoned in a hollow voice. "Those who do shall be offered up in sacrifice to the risen Mia-"
"Shut the fuck up and help me," Aaron hollered as he ran from the winged creature who had taken flight and was gaining quickly.
"Deep Submerge!" Val's lips formed the words that sent a mighty wave rushing towards the creature. It was engulfed by the wave as they thundered over the asphalt, but came flying through the onslaught like a bullet. A very wet, very pissed off bullet.
"World Shaking!" Aaron's voice echoed through the parking lot as a bright gold sphere raced ahead of him, sending rock upwards at the still-approaching winged beast.
The creature crossed his arms over his chest, his palms in front of his face. "Terra Assault!" He swung his arms towards the ground, two silver bolts erupting from his hands. They hit the earth with a loud crack as the ground ruptured on impact, two miniature earthquakes racing towards Aaron and Val with ever increasing speed. As the bolts neared them, the earth shook and exploded, showering them with rock and dirt.
Meanwhile, Sailor Moon was losing the wrestling match badly. She had been turned onto her back and was now forced to protect the locket held on her bow.
"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" From the far end of a parking lot, a bolt of electricity raced towards them and tore open the back of Sarah's shirt. Sailor Jupiter ran towards the pair and flipped the stunned young woman onto her back before pulling Sailor Moon to her feet.
"I thought you were in class," she panted. "I left you a message."
"It's kinda hard to miss a full out classic Sailor ass-kicking when you're on your way to the library," Jupiter answered. "What the hell is going on?"
"I'll tell you later," she called, running for the Key she'd liberated seconds ago. "Just get that crazy bitch with the amulet away from Rini."
"Rini?" Jupiter looked for an eight year old little girl in the vicinity, but instead saw a young woman her own age backed up against a car. "That's Rini?"
"Just do something, damn it!"
Doing something wasn't an option once Sarah came to her senses and launched herself at Jupiter, Val's dagger aimed at her neck. Knocked to the ground, Jupiter felt the edge of something cool and sharp begin to cut into her skin, and she let out a terrified scream. Just as suddenly as she'd been knocked down, she felt the weight lifted from her body and rolled over to see what had happened.
The creature now held Jupiter's attacker by the shoulder with one massive claw. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw her against a nearby car. The dagger clattered to the ground as the large winged being pulled Sailor Jupiter to her feet and set her on the sidewalk by Rini. Her red eyes wide as saucers, Rini pressed herself against the brick of the apartment building and prepared to let out yet another scream. Before she could open her mouth, the creature placed a finger to his lips and gave her a grave nod, then took off towards the sky.
The two who had attacked the creature had come to their senses and were carrying Sarah to a nearby car. The silver sedan sped off in a squeal of rubber, leaving the Sailors amidst the wreckage in front of the apartment complex.
"Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Serena shrieked, melting back into her own clothing as she handed the Key to Rini. "What the hell was that?"
"That is what caught me in the alley earlier," Rini babbled. "It just swooped in and kept me from landing in the middle of traffic."
"That? It just saved me, but…" Mina's lower lip quivered as a few tears ran down her bruised cheeks. "It killed one of those guys, he's under the building."
"But what is it? And is it on our side?" asked Serena.
"I don't know," Lita replied, looking at the figures of the outer Senshi on the ground and the nearby demolished building. "Let's get them upstairs first and call Amy and Raye. We don't wanna be around when the police get here."
Ian walked back into Dawn's flat, his shirt freshly ripped from his latest transformation. He was greeted with a surprisingly strong right hook that clipped his chin. Instinct took over at that point, and Dawn found herself slammed up against the wall with her wrists pinned above her, his face virtually pressed against hers. She could see he was sweating, but she couldn't work out how or why. At this point, she really didn't want to know. Terrified, she froze and stared up at Ian in shock.
"Maybe I shoulda tied you up in there, too," he added, no expression on his face. Without warning, Dawn reared back and nailed him in the shins. He winced a bit, then started laughing.
"What's so fuckin' funny?" she asked through clenched teeth. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was some kind of sick joke or if Ian had gone off the deep end. Considering the display during the physics lecture, she wasn't about to take any chances. "Didn't hurt?"
"You aimed a bit low, don't you think?" He relaxed his hold on her wrists slightly, and Dawn took the opportunity to bring her forehead down against the front of his nose. Instantly, blood poured from his nose and he brought both hands up to his face. Dawn scrambled for the kitchen, grabbing the largest knife she could find as she pulled open the door to the freezer.
"Don't you dare bleed on my rug," she called from the kitchen. She threw an ice pack at him, then walked towards him with the knife in front of her. "Take the ice, and get the fuck out of my apartment. Understand?"
Ian looked at the ice pack and a confused expression crossed his face. "You bloodied my nose and threatened me with kitchen utensils, and now you're giving me ice to keep the swelling down? What is WRONG with you?" Ian continued to laugh despite the stream of red running from his nose.
"Just get out, Ian. I'd rather not call the cops if I don't have to." Her voice trembled slightly as she stood her ground, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle of the knife.
"You got a towel or something?"
"I'm not that nice. Get out."
Perhaps they were wrong.
Consider that every major civilization has had a belief system, complete with deities and spirits who ruled over major and minor aspects of life, from the vast expanse of the ocean to the smallest grain of sand. What if these gods did exist? What if their rule was not myth and legend? Then, most legends would be true, even a legend of a kingdom on the moon with mighty warriors who protected it. Surely, they would have had their own gods and goddesses, ones that predate all knowledge of the religions of the earth. And, what if they were still to exist today? What if they are lying in wait, ready to rise and rule again?
Who would stop them? Who could stop them?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Prologue
32nd century – New Crystal Tokyo Palace
"Eos?"
"Yes, Rini?"
"Tell me a story, won't you?" Eight years old and tucked in to her bed, Rini wasn't about to fall asleep any time soon. Her parents were away on "official business" as they liked to tell her, so her Guardian, baby-sitter, and surrogate big sister Eos was with her that evening. "Pleeeeease?"
Eos knew better than to refuse. It was late, and no one needed to be awakened by the cries of a whiny child. The kid had a good pair of lungs, and she never hesitated to use them. "All right. What should it be about tonight?"
"The old kingdom," she said, sitting up. "One of the old stories, about how it got there. Make it a little scary, too."
"You sure you can handle a scary one?"
"Yes," Rini answered. "I'm a big girl."
"Okay, okay. Just one, though, and then you have to go to sleep." And so do I. It was hard work looking after an energetic little girl, especially one who would eventually inherit the throne of the Moon Kingdom .
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Eos took a deep breath and began. "Long ago, before the moon hung in the sky, the earth was home to a great and ancient civilization. The people had many gods who helped them and protected them, but none were as powerful as Addae, the god of the Sun, Odanodan, the god of the Earth, and Semira, the goddess of the Sky. The people worshipped these three, giving them dominion over all the other gods and goddesses. Between the three, they ruled harmoniously and peace prevailed for many centuries."
"What does harminerously mean?"
"Harmoniously," Eos laughed. "It means they all got along nicely."
"Oh, okay." She snuggled into her pillows. "What next?"
"Not all of the gods and goddesses liked the way that Addae, Odanodan, and Semira worked together. The goddess of Water, Miakoda, envied their power and made a plan to gain control of the earth. She made a pact with Ciarazel, the goddess of Death, and between them they conspired to attack the beautiful island of Atlantis, where the largest temple to Addae stood. Miakoda summoned a mighty tsunami, destroying the temple and drowning thousands of people. Seeing his people and temple under attack, Addae managed to save the temple's chief priestess but no one else."
"The rest of them died?"
Eos nodded somberly. "And when the temple was destroyed, the powers of the god of the Sun grew weak. Without the protection of Addae, the people lived in fear of Miakoda and began to flock to her temples, begging for mercy. The worship of the people only made the Water goddess grow stronger, and she and her allies prepared to attack the mighty city of Babylon , where the twin temples to Odanodan and Semira stood. In defense, the people of Babylon went out to destroy the remaining shrines to Miakoda, hoping to lessen her powers."
"Did it work?" Rini's voice grew quiet.
"Yup, it did," Eos answered with a tiny smile. "Miakoda hadn't thought that the people would turn against her. As her temples and shrines were destroyed, her powers grew weak and she couldn't attack Babylon . Before she could hide and regain her strength, Addae, Odanodan, and Semira captured her. Being a Goddess, she couldn't be killed; however, they could remove her powers and force her to live as a mortal. So, Miakoda's powers were taken and divided, hidden into a crystal and an amulet. Still, they needed someone to control the tides; without Miakoda, the oceans would rise and cover the land. So, Semira cleared a place in her Sky, and Odanodan brought the piece of Earth known as Atlantis from the waters. Addae hung it in the Sky near the Earth, and set it so that it could guard the tides of the oceans. They named it Selene, or Moon, and sent most of the remaining priests and priestesses of Atlantis there, along with a few of the soldiers of Babylon to protect them. The three Gods entrusted them with the Silver Crystal and told them to watch over the Kingdoms on Earth, and that's how the Moon Kingdom was born. The priestesses of Atlantis who remained on Earth became keepers of the Moon, standing watch in case the Moon was ever threatened by Miakoda or her followers."
"What happened to Miakoda?" Rini asked. "Did she die?"
"She lived to be a very old woman, but before she died, she called on Ciarazel to save her from her fate. Afraid of the three powerful deities, Ciarazel gathered the few remaining temple guardians of Miakoda's fallen cult and cast a terrible spell. When Miakoda finally died, her spirit and those of her temple guardians was sealed into a book and held by a series of incantations. The only way Miakoda could ever be released would be through the words on her book and the presence of the amulet or the crystal."
"Did that ever happen? Did they ever bring that bad woman back?" Rini's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"No," she laughed. "They reunited the book and the amulet after the fall of the Earth Kingdom. No one could ever work the spell correctly." Eos got up and kissed Rini's forehead. "It's just a story, honey?"
"Okay." Rini didn't sound as if she believed Eos.
"Trust me. Besides, I'll always be here to protect you." She smoothed Rini's hair and smiled. "Good night, honey."
"'Night."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Present – University of Tokyo, Main Campus
"Mina? Mina! Ohmigosh, MINA!"
There were few people who would have yelled her name across the plaza at the University of Tokyo, and both Serena and Lita stood next to Mina outside the Fine Arts college on the first day of classes. Unsure of what psycho was stalking her, Mina turned around to see the familiar auburn hair and wide grin she remembered from Juuban High's swim team. The young woman was dodging students and professors as she streaked across campus, skidding to a stop inches from the three girls.
"Mina? C'mon, you remember me, don't you? 400 freestyle relay, district championship?"
"Of course I do!" Mina squealed. "Dawn, what are you doing here? I thought you moved back to the States when your dad transferred! Did they move back?"
"Oh, hell no," Dawn laughed, catching her breath. "I got a two year scholarship through Toyota to come here and study mechanical engineering. After it's over, then they'll hire me to work part time here while I finish school."
"You mean…"
"I'm back!" Dawn giggled. "For good this time, I hope." Moving back to her mom's hometown of Lexington , Kentucky had been less than stellar, in Dawn's opinion. She had enjoyed living in Tokyo for four years, getting to know girls like Mina and her friends and making a small name for herself as one of the top swimmers on the high school swim team. Since she'd been in Lexington, she'd made it her priority to get back to the place she considered home. Funny, considering how out of place she looked on campus. Five foot seven, with a freckled tan and long dark auburn hair, she stood a few inches taller than Serena and Mina, but stood shoulder to shoulder with Lita. She smiled at the two other girls. "Um, Serena and Lita, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Serena answered cautiously. "Dawn Connolly, right?"
"Of course that's Dawn," Lita interrupted. "You remember, she used to eat lunch with us. She used to bring those awesome brownies with her, the ones that had the chocolate chips inside and the fudge icing!"
"Oh yeah! Now I remember!". Leave it to Serena to identify someone by a dessert. "Well, nice to see you again," she said, warming up. "You said you're doing engineering?"
"Yup," Dawn replied. "What are you guys studying?"
"Culinary arts," Lita answered. "Mina's doing theatre and set design, and Serena's doing, um…" She looked at the blonde, who had insisted on wearing her hair in the telltale odangos on the first day of classes. "Exactly what are you studying, Serena?"
"Early childhood education," she answered proudly. "I'm gonna be a teacher."
"Right," Lita muttered. "Like you'll survive dealing with little kids for more than five minutes. You couldn't deal with Rini for thirty seconds," she reminded her.
"That's completely different," Serena said. "I'm not related to any of these kids."
"Whatever."
"I'd like to see you try and do better."
"I could."
"Um," Dawn interrupted hesitantly. "What about those two other girls I met? The one with the blue hair, and the one at the shrine, I mean."
"Oh, Amy and Raye," Mina answered gratefully. She didn't want to have to listen to Lita and Serena start arguing either. "Amy's in the accelerated pre-med program. She started a couple of months early, to get a head start on classes."
"Early?" squeaked Dawn. "Was she behind or something?"
"Three semesters ahead," replied Lita. "She wants to get out in four years, though. I told her she's gonna burn out if she's not careful."
"No kidding," agreed Dawn. "So, what's Raye studying?"
"Nothing." Serena shifted her book bag to her other shoulder. "She's still working at the temple. She wanted to go to school, but well…" She gave an embarrassed grin. "She's still working on that, too. You don't make much money as a priestess."
"Oh." Dawn didn't know how to respond to that. She looked down at her watch. "I gotta get to class soon. Do you guys know where the engineering complex is?" All three of the girls shook their heads from side to side. "Guess I'll find it on my own, then."
"You wanna meet up later? For coffee or something?" Mina pulled out her class schedule. "I don't have any classes after three this afternoon. Whatcha say?"
Dawn consulted her planner. "I can do that," she replied after a while. "Meet you back here, then?"
"'Kay. See ya later!"
"Yup, later!" Dawn watched the three girls head inside the building and then dug around in her backpack for her map. She detested being lost, and while her Japanese was still tops, she worried about asking someone for directions. Sitting on a concrete bench, she squinted at the pages, trying to reorient herself.
Ian stood in the Plaza, taking in the sights and fighting a blinding headache. He'd arrived just two days before from England , and jet lag was still a major problem. Still, the wide open space was everything he needed, and the glass futuristic surrounding helped him to lessen any remaining anxiety. He was leaning against the stairs of a nearby building, the cool steel against his neck a welcome relief. HE had to be the only idiot wearing a thick leather jacket in the 100 + degree weather. The air conditioning in there sucked. There was little difference between the inside and outside temperatures and he could feel a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He ran his hand over it and into his hair… his hair, the one reminder of home he'd brought with him. Nearly seven inches long and center parted, the left parting was dyed a bright blue while the right a deep claret, the colours of the Football team he'd supported practically since birth, his father had seen to that. He smiled briefly at the thought as his eyes wandered among the crowd.
For a few minutes now he'd been examining a group of girls as they walked along the Plaza, a tall brunette and two shorter blondes. Each of them wore figure hugging pants he would've loved to open; then again, the first day in a new country with only a rudimentary understanding of the language was probably not the best time to get shot down. The other young woman running towards them shouting something was quite obviously a Yank. Her freckled skin was certainly not symptomatic of being Japanese. Besides, no self-respecting European would've been that brazen in a public place. She was a little shorter than him perhaps, but he could deal with that. Besides, she'd been kind enough to wear a low cut tank top, and for that he was a bit thankful. Her dark auburn hair chased her along as she ran erratically around and nearly through the other students.
Students… yes, must remain focused. A physics lecture would be starting soon and if he missed the first, he'd no doubt have a problem for the rest of the year. Ian returned his attention to the four girls as the three he'd first watched headed inside a nearby building, leaving the Yankee chick to find her own way. As she took her leave of the group and sat down at a bench, she appeared lost with her map in her hands. Ian chuckled to himself as he considered the chance for some fun, but she was still smiling, and that seemed out of place. How could someone be smiling when lost in a foreign country?
"Don't tell me you're that bloody perky all the time."
Dawn's head snapped up. She hadn't heard anyone speak English to her for a week now, not counting the phone calls home or her treasured collection of Kevin Smith films she had at her apartment. She shielded her eyes as she caught sight of a rather tall and somewhat intimidating young man her own age leaning against the stairs of a nearby building. Bright red hair hung to his chin on the left, while blue complimented the right. He walked towards her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black stonewashed jeans. A black leather jacket covered a plain white t-shirt, and his sneakers had obviously seen better days.
"What, don't you speak English?" he said, a little more slowly. "You look like a Yank."
"'Cause I am," she answered, a bit defensive. "You're obviously not."
He snickered and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn straight. I'd probably shoot myself if I was." He nodded at the map. "You lookin' for the Engineering complex?"
"Yeah." She wasn't sure what to make of the guy. He reminded her of almost every single dissatisfied angst-ridden male she'd met in high school. Still, the accent was kinda cute. "I got classes there in fifteen minutes. You know where it is?"
"Maybe."
"Could you tell me?" While she was patient to a fault, Dawn's good humor was wearing thin. She didn't appreciate having to play games with some jerk just to get where she was going.
"I gotta go there, too," he shrugged. "You can follow me, if you like." He pulled a hand out of his pocket and extended it towards her. "Name's Ian."
"Dawn. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand and stood up, stuffing the papers and planner into her book bag. "You studying engineering too?"
"Nah, I just got a class there," he answered. "Physics lecture."
"Funny, that's what I've got." She gave a wry grin. "What a coincidence."
"Hmph." He ran a hand through his hair and tossed his head. "You always this happy?"
"Not when I have to deal with arrogant jackasses," she shot back, her patience completely disappearing in a matter of seconds. "Are you always this obnoxious?"
"Eh, if I feel like it."
"Guess you feel like it now, huh?"
"Perhaps." He looked down at her, an amused grin threatening to break across his face. "Perhaps not. Haven't made up me mind yet."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The dress was too long. Maybe the perfect length for some prissy ball, but in Rini's opinion it was a waste of ugly pink material. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection before turning away from the mirror and sitting on her bed. It had been two weeks since her parents had left on business, and no one had stayed around to keep her company. Eos had a nasty case of the flu, confining her to quarters and leaving Rini quite alone for several days. Serenity and Endymion would be home that evening just in time for some silly Imperial ball, meaning that she'd have to wear the ugly dress to appease them and fake a smile for the rest of the diplomats and dignitaries. She grimaced as she undressed and hung the dress on a hanger, then slipped on a more comfortable pair of shorts and a well-worn sweatshirt that was still three sizes too big. Rini flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind.
"Rini? Are you there?" The vidscreen blinked on and the image of a fairly sick Eos came into focus.
"Yeah, still here. How're you feeling?" She didn't bother to get up from her bed.
"Not good," Eos coughed. "Are you sure you didn't catch this?"
"I'm healthy. Bored out of my mind, and healthy."
"Why don't you head down to the gardens? Take a walk or something."
"And have four guards following me wherever I go? I'll pass, thank you." Rini pushed herself up to a sitting position and shoved the sleeves of her shirt to her elbows. "You're lucky you don't have to go to this stupid ball tonight."
"You're lucky you're not sick." Eos blew her nose and coughed again. "I'd rather sit through dinner than go through another box of tissue."
"That just proves you're sick." The Imperial Princess wrinkled her nose as she looked over at the dress, which seemed to grow uglier by the minute. "I'll trade you."
"You don't want this," she replied. "Look, I'll talk to you later on. My stomach doesn't feel so hot."
"Yeah, okay." The screen blinked out and Rini let out an irritated sigh. It wasn't fair to have to do all of this stupid diplomatic bullshit day in and day out. No one else had to deal with two parents who never bothered to come home for more than two days at a time, or simpering suitors who saw her as another piece of territory to conquer. Ever since she'd turned sixteen, it'd been a steady stream of tutors, etiquette lessons, and state dinners. Over two years of this junk, and she was tired of it. Angry, Rini kicked the side of her dresser with a socked foot and heard a number of trinkets clatter to the floor. It was childish, but it made her feel a little bit better. She knocked it a few more times for good measure before bending down to pick up the larger things that had fallen. Picture frames, a hairbrush… she'd broken her rabbit figurine again. Damn. Rini scooped up the pieces and put them in a pile. Eos would help her fix it when she felt better. She knelt down and checked under the dresser for any other pieces, stretching her hand back in the space between the floor and bottom drawer. Her fingers closed upon something smooth and metallic, and she pulled her arm back to see what she'd found. The Crystal Key lay in her hand, the slender gold chain trailing to the floor. Rini sat down on the carpet and fixed the chain around her neck, then held the Key up to examine it.
Life hadn't been so boring when she'd been younger. Threats to the Moon Kingdom had caused Serenity and Endymion to send her back to the late twentieth century, where she'd met up with the Sailor Scouts and received a bit of training. Pluto had accompanied her a few times, but they'd returned from the last trip more than five years ago. They hadn't needed to go back since then, and Pluto had kept the Key with her until Rini's eighteenth birthday. She'd presented it to Rini after the celebration, telling her that it was her responsibility to guard it now. For Rini, guarding meant tucking it away in a box and forgetting about it. She idly traced the outline of the Key with her finger, a half-smile on her face. She had a few hours to kill, didn't she? Besides, it wasn't as if anyone would miss her until then. She could hold her own in Old Tokyo for half a day, then come home in time for dinner. Rini stood up and crossed to the center of the room, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The pigtails were still there, in all their rabbit-eared glory. That would have to change before going out to play. In a matter of minutes, Rini had shaken out her rabbit ears and braided her pink hair into a single tail running over her shoulder. Much better. She pulled the necklace off and held the Key above her head. Anything was better than hanging around the palace all afternoon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the sweltering midday heat, black is probably not the best colour to be wearing. Then again, when black is your personal flag to define your public identity, you wear it anyways and find shade or preferably air conditioning. Aaron, Valerie, Ryan, and Sarah always preferred the latter. Amidst the neo-yuppies of modern day Tokyo they were fairly easy to recognize. Black coats, black trousers, and the spiked dog collars made them stick out like sore thumbs, especially in this heat. The four had taken respite in a local used bookstore, and naturally headed for the occult section. Given it was a small bookstore in Tokyo , the owner informed them that there was no such section.
"What do you mean 'we have no occult section'?" Aaron sneered, his favourite hobby and pastime currently stifled. The music was practically unavailable and books were like gold dust.
"Calm down Aaron. Shouting at him won't make the books appear, ya know." Sarah, Aaron's little sister by only ten months had a far meeker nature. She appreciated his interests in the darker side of the supernatural, but didn't see the need to be so threatening.
"Yeah, but they've got to have something, surely." Valerie's voice had a menacing edge to it as she gave the owner a once over.
"Okay, okay. I might have something you'd like. Try the far side of the fairy tales section; I know there're a couple of mythology books there. Maybe you can find something of interest." The shop owner stepped back nervously, obviously just trying to avoid a confrontation.
A sly grin spread across Ryan's face. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" He turned and walked the length of the store toward the shelves the owner had mentioned. The section was right by the door… perfect. Together, they examined the various titles but found nothing interesting. There were a few about friendly giants and knights who slew dragons, but none of what Aaron referred to as "the good stuff". Finally, he reached a few about mythology. Greek, Roman, Egyptian… and something different. Dusty and a bit moldy around the edges, it looked quite old. It was held together with a leather sheath and metal braces. The book was massive, like a tome. Aaron struggled to force it from the shelf and it took all his strength to even hold it up.
"Hey, look at this," he called out, using Ryan to hold the book. Valerie put down the book on Roman mythology and walked over.
"Nice, what does it say?" She ran her hand over the strange markings on the front, dusting it off. "Unabara no megami, goddess of the sea." Aaron and Ryan both looked at her in amazement.
"How did you know that?" asked Ryan. He had never seen anything like that book before, and he was sure he'd read all the books Val had.
"A good guess, I dunno. Anyways, I think we should…" She put a hand over her mouth and coughed lightly. "Acquire this book." Aaron raised an eyebrow in reply as Sarah opened her mouth to protest.
"No you guys, not again. If we get caught again we're gonna be charged." Leave it to Sarah to be rational and spoil the fun.
"We aren't going to get caught, and keep your voice down." Aaron and Ryan were already sizing up the place; it was second nature the minute they walked in. No security cameras, no mirrors, and they were right next to the door. The only problem was the shop owner, who looked to be in pretty good shape. If they simply ran for it, he might be able to catch them. There were no other customers in the shop and it wasn't as if they could just hide something that big and heavy in one of their bags.
"Come on, you know you've got a physics lecture starting in 5 minutes!" Sarah hissed, the group's timekeeper in addition to being their often-whining voice of reason. Still, she was right; they were at least ten minutes from campus already. Ryan was still holding the massive tome. They needed that book, and a distraction was the only way to get it and get out safely. Aaron looked at the price tag just to check the damage. 13,000 yen. Shit. Granted, it was old, but that was a lot to pay for something no one else seemed to want.
"Val, distract him. We'll smuggle this out."
Grinning, Valerie took off her cape and flung it over her arm. She knew the drill by now. That was the great thing about wearing tight leather dresses; it was so easy to cause a distraction. She sauntered up to the desk, making damn sure to swing her hips as she walked. The storeowner, who wasn't more than thirty, was captivated. "Excuse me mister," she said, wetting her lips with her tongue. "You're such a big strong man, and, well, I can't quite reach the book I want. Could you be a doll and help a poor girl out?"
"Sure miss, just tell me where it is." Stammering, he followed Valerie to the opposite corner of the store where she pointed to the top row. As he turned to get the book down, Aaron opened the shop door and Ryan placed the tome outside against the wall. They waited until the owner had gotten the book down and handed it to her, a puppy-dog grin on his face. She thumbed through it, then tossed it onto a stack
"Nah," she said, losing all the seductive sweetness she had previously employed. "Got this one already, but thanks anyway." She giggled and walked out with the others, Aaron collecting their prize on the way through. Sarah argued as they crammed it into her nearly empty knapsack, complaining enough to force Aaron to carry it back to campus. He didn't care too much, though. New toys always put him in a good mood.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The lecture hall was only half full when Dawn and Ian arrived. She insisted on sitting in the first or second row; given his nature, he wanted to lurk at the back. At some point in the decision they both expected that they would sit together. So, they took the obvious compromise and found seats in the middle of the room.
"So what else ya taking then?" Dawn asked, trying to start some kind of conversation. She hadn't actually spoken with him apart from the seating thing and it was beginning to bug her, walking along with a stone giant and not saying a word. She wasn't the kind of person who had to keep a constant dialogue going, but the silence was creeping her out.
"Little of this," he remarked, entirely disinterested. "Little of that."
She looked at him with disdain. He was doing it purely to piss her off and she knew it. From the glint in his eye, she also knew he was loving every minute of it. With a sigh she decided to try again.
"Okay then. Whatcha doin' after this lecture?" That'll get his attention.
"Day's over, then. Home, sleep." He turned and flashed a sick smile, the kind a serial killer would wear just before he slashed someone's throat. "Why, you got a better offer?" Ian licked his top lip quickly with a long wet tongue that nearly touched his nose, then blew her a sarcastic kiss. He polished it all off with a cheeky wink. Just as sudden as the farcical animation had begun, his face sagged back into its cold dead indifferent pose. Dawn contemplated slapping it clean off his face but decided restraint was in order… for the moment.
"Well, I was gonna go out for a coffee with some old friends and I was just wondering what you were doing. If you're not doing anything, you can come along." Her voice was strained and she asked herself why the hell she bothered extending the offer. He had been nothing but an arrogant pig since she'd met him, but there was something about him that made her think the attitude was a cover for something else. He was outwardly very calm and cagey, but there remained a hint of a sort of kindness. While the brief bits of humor there were warped at times, they were there and spontaneous, which she did enjoy. Ian could make for an interesting companion that afternoon with the other girls. Besides, Mina always did love the strong silent type, and he seemed to fit the bill. Then again, playing matchmaker for those two might not be such a good idea. Dawn could imagine Mina having to call the police after the psycho Brit started following her everywhere she went. She checked her watch and opened her notebook, tapping the edge of her pen against the desk as she waited for class to start.
Ian had been making his own observations about his recent companion. Dawn seemed no different to every other perky little Yank he had despised on principal. Still, there were a few things that made her stand out. First, she didn't have a manicure. While a small detail, it showed more about her than listening to her talk. Though her nails were polished and even, there were chips and a few rough edges. He saw it as a good sign – a lack of conceit. There were a number of other quirks he had picked out that endeared her to him, but her eyes stood out the most. Believed by many to be the windows to the soul, eyes told Ian more about a person than any other feature. Framed by thick dark lashes, they were basic run of the mill brown, but they caught and reflected light from every angle. They'd changed color based upon her disposition, he'd realized after a few minutes of talking to her. Upset and annoyed, her eyes went to a muddied hazel, but remained a deep chocolate when she smiled. Ian loved eyes; he gauged new people by the way their eyes looked, moved, and, most of all, reacted to the unexpected. From his studies of people and eyes he was left to conclude that she was a very open person, quite lively and very genuine. Still, his paranoia about people remained; no one was that open and no one was that kind. She glanced back at him and he feigned disinterest, careful not to let her see what he was really doing.
"Okay," he replied simply and without any real enthusiasm
"You will?" Her voice shook and jumped a few octaves. "Sorry," she coughed, her fair skin flushing a bit. "You will?" she asked with more composure and a smile. He simply nodded and stared forward. "Okay then, we'll figure out where to meet after the lecture." He nodded again and folded his arms across his chest, and she returned to her pen tapping. At least it's a start.
"Come on, for fuck's sake it isn't that heavy. Just take it." Aaron didn't like the idea of taking a black bag edged in lace into his first lecture. As it stood, he was now 10 minutes late and counting.
"Well, then throw it away. I told you I wasn't gonna carry your shit for you. I didn't even want the thing." Sarah looked down at her boots and kicked at the ground. "Fucking thing gives me the creeps," she muttered. She had touched it briefly while Aaron and Ryan had been looking it over, and it made her flesh crawl. She had seen many books and tried a number of rituals and "spells" before with Aaron and his friends. Nothing had seemed really evil. That book, only bad things could come of it. In truth they had only been able to get less than a half dozen spells to work properly, the most impressive being lighting a candle. Even that hadn't been perfect; as soon as they'd stopped chanting it had gone out, and it had only been a spark if she was honest with herself.
"It's a book, you stupid bitch. I can't take this in there with me. Look at it for chrissakes." He shook it in front of her to prove his point. She giggled nervously and just as suddenly, Aaron slapped her across the mouth. It was little more than a tap but the shock alone made Sarah stumble. She looked up at him, red cheeked and with a tear growing in her left eye.
"Fuck you," she screamed savagely and stormed off down the corridor.
"Come on, I barely touched you." A genuine note of apology and concern was audible, but she was gone. "Fuck," he muttered through gritted teeth as he slammed his fist into a locker creating a small dent. Now he had her to deal with later and the grammar school bag to carry. He took a breath and opened the door to the physics lecture.
The door to the lecture hall creaked open, and Aaron could hear the professor already going through the upcoming syllabus. He took a tentative step inside, and noticed a spare seat half way up and a few seats in. At this point, Aaron became painfully aware that the professor had stopped and he, as well as every other person in the room, was looking directly at him. He shrugged and half jogged up the stairs to the seat he found. Just his luck, a pair of pasty-faced foreigners sat in his way. He stepped past the young woman, who smiled up at him as she moved her legs to let him pass. The man, however – the only person not looking at him – slouched forward, virtually pinning his knees to the seat in front of him. After the past events of this morning, he wasn't in any mood to deal with this.
"Excuse me," he offered weakly.
Ian's head rose up emotionless. "You're excused," came the reply. He returned to his original position, not moving otherwise.
Aaron's upper lip contorted into a bit of a sneer. He had an impulse to stab the living wall in front of him, considering he always carried a small knife. It wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds to give him a close-up view of his spleen. Unfortunately, a lecture hall full of witnesses was not a good thing. He sighed audibly and set his jaw. "May I pass?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Ian sat up in one fluid motion, without the help of his arms or legs. The other guy nodded and moved through to the empty seat. "Nice bag," Ian remarked casually, keeping his eyes focused ahead.
"Fuck off. It's my sister's, you punk."
"Says the man in black with the chains and the lacy black bag," he replied in the tone of a radio sports commentator. Ian's language skills weren't great, but he knew enough to get his point across.
"You wanna start something here you piece of shit?" Aaron was becoming increasingly irritated and he didn't hide it well, but he kept his voice down. Up front, the professor had restarted the lesson and Ian had begun taking notes again. "I asked you a question, boy," he whispered. Ian offered no reaction, so Aaron reached over swiftly and stole his pen. Ian simply reached into his top pocket and produced another, which Aaron also took. Ian looked over, his face still devoid of any recognizable emotion.
"Don't start anything you can't finish." With that, he reached out grabbed Aaron's hand with the pens in it and twisted it 180 degrees. In the process, Aaron's whole body was jerked towards Ian, who placed his elbow to his throat. "Boy." He retracted the arm and retrieved his pens, smirking. Just as suddenly, he returned to his note taking and Aaron was dumbstruck.
"Was that really necessary?" Dawn hissed, wholly embarrassed at the scene that had just taken place next to her. "I'd have lent you a pen."
Ian didn't bother answering. He just took his notes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ian, Dawn, and Mina walked down the street across from campus together. To be more specific, Dawn and Mina were walking together; Ian was trailing behind them, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Both girls chattered at such a pace that Ian could barely catch the odd word, let alone keep up. Somewhat bored, he decided an experiment was in order. They walked past an alley and he cut down it, catching a word or two about pizza. He was right; neither Dawn nor Mina noticed he had left. He wondered whether to be happy or shocked; instead, he decided to stay true to his neutral nature and just ignore them. Ian walked down the shadowed alley, head down as he scanned the ground. He'd never feared the usual dark street or unknown turn, so it didn't make sense to start now. Ian lifted his head, looking out towards the rush of midday traffic. The alley ended up ahead, past an enormous metal dumpster. Ian looked back down at the ground and swore loudly. His sneakers hovered a good half meter from the ground, and something not unlike a migraine had started in the back of his head. Bloody hell. Like I didn't have enough trouble already. Some random alley in a foreign country didn't seem like the greatest place to deal with this… inconvenience, for lack of a better word. Ian gripped the side of the dumpster, more angry than nervous at this point. Growing more disoriented by the second, he had only one option left. It wasn't the best option, but it would solve most of his problems as long as no one else saw him. Ian checked around the alley, making sure that no one had seen an eighteen year old guy levitate and cling to a dumpster. Alone, Ian supposed that a quick stint in his demon form wouldn't hurt anyone, as long as he could keep himself under control.
She'd messed up somehow. In the few seconds between the palace and the past, Rini had caused the smallest of ripples in the time stream. She'd stumbled as she'd passed through the fabric of time, something she hadn't done in years. Pluto had always been there to steady her, to keep her from taking the wrong step like she'd done the first time and sending her plummeting to the grass below. Alone and still slightly clumsy, she gripped the Key tightly as the fabric of the early twenty-first century shimmered into existence around her. The scene held itself in place for a few seconds, then flew past as she tumbled towards the asphalt and the erratic scene of traffic in downtown Tokyo. Rini screamed as the ground grew closer, a fear of heights combining with the fear of impact. Her life flashed before her eyes like a cheap afternoon movie; her parents, her sixth birthday party, her first kiss, and Eos, of course, who had always been there for her. Unfortunately, Eos wasn't there now to catch her as traffic grew closer and closer. Rini screwed her eyes shut and held her breath, expecting the worst.
She didn't get what she'd expected. Instead of the thud against the blacktop or the crack of broken bones, Rini heard the grunt of something as a strong body gripped her across the chest and supported her under her legs. She opened her eyes, half-expecting to see her beloved Tuxedo Mask coming to her rescue. Instead of the familiar cape and top hat, Rini saw the face of a gray winged stranger who had come to her aid. He looked back at her, expressionless as she stared up in shock. She couldn't tell if it was something worth trusting or something worth running from. Unable to decide, Rini resorted to screaming… not a normal "Oh my god, I'm going to die" scream, not a "Put me down, you dark winged psycho" scream, and not even a "What the FUCK is THAT" scream, but the kind only she could pull off. Without warning, Rini tensed and let loose with a bloodcurdling shriek as the faint crescent of the moon shone on her forehead. The resulting energy blast threw her winged savior into a nearby wall with her still in his arms. Both of them tumbled into the dumpster below, landing in a pile of restaurant garbage. He groaned and put a hand to his head, blood trickling down his face. As he struggled to get up, Rini scrambled out of the dumpster and sprinted down the alley.
"HEY!" Something collided with Dawn that sent her sprawling to the pavement. "You know, a simple 'excuse me' would've done wonders," she replied sarcastically, wiping a glob of blood off her knee.
"Rini? Is that really you?" Mina helped Rini up, leaving Dawn to dab at the scrapes on her hands and knees. "Shit, I haven't seen you in years. I mean, more for you than me, if you know what I mean …" Mina suddenly realized that Dawn was not only present but was still sitting on the ground courtesy of Rini's collision. "Sorry Dawn," she offered weakly, pulling her to her feet. "This is Rini, an old, um, friend. She's Serena's, err, cousin."
Dawn rubbed a sore spot on her ass and scowled at the pink haired twit. She thought about snapping at her, but since Mina knew her she would try to be civil at least. Dawn offered her hand with a forced smile but the girl ignored it, simply staring at Dawn as if she'd seen a ghost. Mina grabbed Rini by the shoulders and turned her around to face her.
"M… M… M Mina, there's something down there and I don't know what it is…" Rini was shaking the whole time; something or someone had scared the shit out of her. Before Mina or Rini could protest, Dawn took off down the alley alone
"Dawn! DAWN!" Mina shouted, but it didn't do any good. Rini grabbed hold of her in a bear hug and started bawling into her shoulder, leaving Mina to do little more than pat her back and wait for her to calm down.
"That's the LAST time I help anyone." Ian was pretty pissed. He smelled like garbage and had a fresh gash on his forehead to contend with. The blood had congealed beneath his hair, hiding most of the evidence. Ian crawled out of the dumpster and put his jacket back on. His shirt hung off his back in shreds; understandable, considering that growing wings will do that to a standard shirt. As he wiped the corner of his mouth, he saw a frantic figure run towards him. It came closer, and Ian wondered whether to stay and fight or get the hell out. The figure slowed and he could make out a curvy figure and a mass of long hair. Ian dropped his guard and started walking nonchalantly towards the young woman, seeing the face of the Yank as she stopped next to the dumpster.
"Oh, so you know I'm missing then?" he remarked casually.
"Did you see anything strange down here?" she asked, ignoring his question
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Two could play this game. Ian put on a sarcastic female voice as he stepped closer. "Oh, that's good to hear. I couldn't live without you." Without missing a beat, he switched to a credible John Wayne. "Well, that's just fine little lady. Say, you wanna go for a little donkey ride?"
"Shut up, you ass. Just answer the question."
"No, nothing. Some dry lightning hit here I think, but nothing too special." Ian obviously couldn't tell her the truth; that a pink haired girl and a giant winged thing had flown into the dumpster, and where had it gone – oh wait, he had changed into it and back. Yeah, that'd fit nicely into a casual conversation.
"Hey, you okay?" Dawn's voice softened as she caught sight of a large cut on Ian's forehead. "That looks really painful."
"I'm fine." He started to walk past her, but she stopped in front of him. "Move." Dawn remained motionless in front of him, staring up into his face. "Move," he repeated, a little louder the second time.
"You should get that cleaned up," she said, unfazed. "It could get really nasty if you don't clean it."
Ian began to swear violently, most of the words lost in a throaty growl. He started to walk past her, but she sidestepped and blocked his path. "I'm not playing some fucking kid's game. Get out of the way."
"Back off," she hissed. "Look, I'm not about to tell anybody that you got jumped in an alley your first day running around the city. Besides, some sissy pink-haired girl ran out a minute ago, babbling something about Satan himself running through here. I'm assuming she saw you and him and flipped out. Gimme a little credit here."
Ian opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself before he could tell her that it would be a cold day in hell before he'd fare worst in an alley brawl. If that's what she thought had happened to him, it saved him an explanation. Besides, if Dawn wasn't going to say anything about it, what difference did it make? Like he gave a rat's ass about what some posh Yank thought about him. "Yeah, well… he looks worse," he mumbled.
Dawn grinned. "I wouldn't have thought otherwise," she answered. "I'd know better than to mess with you in a dark alley."
"Then what're you doing now?"
"Messing with you in a semi-lit alley. I never said I was bright."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"Shut your mouth and light the rest of the candles, Sarah." Val set the massive book on a red pillow and drew the heavy black curtains across the window. Several dozen candles flickered around the room, casting eerie shadows across Aaron's face as he polished the blade of one of Val's daggers. They hung on every wall of her apartment, a sort of shrine to her fascination with knives and short swords. Valerie slid her arms over Aaron's shoulders, nipping him on the neck. "You ready for a bit of fun?" she purred.
Aaron chuckled in reply, eyes still on the dagger. "You sure you read that book correctly?" he asked, holding the blade up for inspection. "Nothing happened the last time we tried something like this."
"That was months ago," she replied, taking the dagger from him and standing. "Besides, we've got that book, and it's got some very specific illustrations. We can't mess this up."
Sarah tossed the now-empty box of matches on the floor and padded over to the book. Writing ran along the outside edges of the pages, framing detailed sketches of what appeared to be a sacrifice of some kind. Two figures held down a third, while a fourth raised an amulet above its head. All four bore unique symbols on their skin, shown in detail in other drawings on the page. Each symbol was drawn in a grotesque rust on the aging parchment. Uneasy, Sarah looked to her own arms, freshly bandaged from her own morning ritual. Long sleeves hid the evidence from the rest of the world, but the other three knew about the scars. Sarah glanced at the book again, fairly certain of her role in the afternoon's experiment.
"Did you get the water?" Ryan pointed to the glass bowl on the floor in response to Valerie's question. "All right," she replied, motioning with the dagger. "Take your shirt off and stand over there. You too, Aaron" Valerie bent down and used the dagger to pry the amulet from the cover of the book. "Shit, it's stuck."
"Maybe you're not supposed to…"
"If I want your fuckin' opinion, I'll give it to you," Valerie snapped as Sarah retreated into the shadows. Holding the dagger with both hands, Val slowly eased the stone amulet out of tome's cover. Thrusting it at Sarah, she pulled the book closer and lay the dagger on the table. "While you're waiting, clear a spot on the floor and sit there." Unable to do little more than nod, Sarah did as she was told and sat quietly on the red carpet. Val held the dagger over the flame of a candle and studied the drawings. After a moment, she extended her arm in front of her and pressed the hot metal to her skin, copying the characters beneath one of the figures. Blood trickled down the inside of her elbow into the bowl of water Ryan had brought. Val gritted her teeth but didn't make a sound, the skin on her arm growing redder and redder. Finished, she dipped the dagger in the water and held it over the flame again. "You're next," she called to Aaron, standing up. She handed him the book to hold as she consulted the second figure and the characters. A palm against his shoulder, Val slowly traced the second set of characters into the skin on his chest. Aaron bit his lip to keep from yelling as the blade dug in, leaving a bloody trail. Val dipped the dagger in the water again and repeated the same process for Ryan, carving the symbols into the tender skin behind his ear. He winced but didn't make a sound as she finished her handiwork. Val rinsed the knife a third time, then turned to Sarah.
"Lie down, with that thing on your chest," she barked, the skin on her elbow burning. "Aaron, take those bandages off of her wrists."
"Aaron, c'mon, this isn't funny anymore," she whimpered.
He sneered as he reached for her arm. "I thought you liked playing with knives," he whispered. "You liked a bit of pain, remember?"
"That's, that's different…"
"A cut's a cut," Ryan replied nastily, seizing her other arm. "They all heal sooner or later." He yanked the bandages off of her wrist and forced Sarah's palm open towards Valerie. She pressed the blade into Sarah's palm, and the scream echoed through the apartment. Aaron held his sister down as Val finished the last insignia on Sarah's hand. Collecting the last bit of blood and rinsing off the dagger, Val placed the bowl of water above Sarah's head and took the amulet from her. "Hold the book so I can read it," she instructed Ryan. The amulet raised high in the air, Val began to chant the words beneath the image of the four figures in the book.
"Intrea ni Ciarazel quor daithi
Vet pavat zir mirali aurori
Mizel ni akun cyra quos garren
Atlanti ol Babyl sirat
Mal unbari vet migam Miakoda."
As she finished the chant, she thrust the amulet into the water. Sarah lay on the ground, whimpering softly as Val knelt over her, fingers closed over the stone. "Open your hand, Sarah," she ordered, pulling the amulet from the crimson-tinged water. "Let's see you summon the spirits." As Aaron forced her still-bleeding hand open, Sarah thrashed back and forth on the carpet.
"Don't do this, Aaron! I don't want this, I don't, I…" Valerie cut her off with a slap to the face before pressing the amulet to her palm. As the stone met the scar on her hand, blood poured from the wound and the amulet gave off an eerie scarlet glow. Aaron and Ryan stepped back as Sarah began to writhe on the floor, her eyes glassed over. Her lips moved, no sound escaping as she thrashed back and forth violently. Valerie knelt over her, the dagger still in her hand. Sarah suddenly stopped, bringing the amulet up to Valerie's face.
"Quos intrea aurori daithi Miakoda?" The voice from Sarah's lips was raspy as she stared at Val, who trembled slightly.
"Unabara no, no megami," Valerie stammered, tapping the book. Sarah's face stretched into a grotesque smile as Val spoke.
"Daithi," she repeated, gesturing to the amulet. It grew brighter as the three sets of characters began to pulse where Val had carved them. "Nirveli," she whispered, reaching for Val's arm. Sarah stood, the amulet clenched tightly in her fist as she crossed the room to Aaron and Ryan. Both of them shrank back against the wall as she got closer. "Ayhan, Rhyarith," she breathed, her hand passing over each carving.
"Holy shit," Val managed to say. "We brought back a spirit."
"Well, what do we do with it?" Ryan answered uneasily as Sarah stroked his face. "And what is she saying?"
Val consulted the book that had fallen to the floor. "I dunno, but 'Miakoda' is written underneath this one big picture of a woman walking on water. Maybe that's what it is."
At the sound of the name, Sarah turned back to Val and smiled again. Wordlessly, she took the amulet and dropped it into the water. As the stone met the surface, the candles grew brighter and the air seemed to ripple. In an instant, the room was plunged into darkness, leaving them at the mercy of the risen Miakoda.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Serena sat on the sofa in her apartment as Mina called the rest of the Sailors. Lita and Amy were both in class, while Raye was tied up at the temple. Only Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru were home. Rini sat at the kitchen table with a glass of water, staring down at the Key. Luna and Artemis were asleep under the table.
"No, she didn't say what it was exactly," Mina explained over the phone. "It didn't hurt her, but I don't think we can be too careful." She paused, twisting bits of her blonde hair between her fingers. "Okay, see you in a bit. Later."
"What's going on?" Serena asked as her roommate hung up the phone. "Who's coming over?
"Haruka and Michiru are bringing Hotaru with them. They might know what happened to Rini back in that alley." She ducked her head inside the kitchen to check on the pink haired one. "Feel any better?"
"A little," she admitted. A bruise had begun to show on her arm; other than that, she was just shaken up. "Serena, are you mad at me?"
"Mad?" Serena turned around as she spoke. "No, I'm not mad. I'm pissed off that you can't keep your hands to yourself and let the rest of us live halfway normal lives." Now that she and Rini were about the same age, she didn't see any reason to be polite anymore. "What possessed you to come back here anyways? Life too boring in your little fairy-tale castle?"
"Serena!" Luna exclaimed, sitting up. "That's not helping the situation."
"Oh, shove it," she grumbled. "Like you're thrilled to have to do this stupid Sailor 'let's save the planet from itself' gig again." Serena stretched out on the couch and shut her eyes. "Why don't you just head back home, Rini? If I'm this pissed off in the present, you'd better believe that I'll be just as annoyed in the future."
"You weren't at home," Rini snapped. "Mom and Dad were out on some day trip and we had to all go to some stupid dinner later tonight. I was just trying to kill a couple of hours."
"Oh, that was real bright," Serena answered, the sarcasm dripping from the words as she spoke. "Do you do this all the time?"
"Serena!" Mina yelled at the top of her voice, fed up with the current turn of events. "Will you grow up and quit being such a bitch? God, it's not like you never did stupid shit."
"I never took a relic and jumped back in time 'cause I was bored."
"Fine! I'll just go back then," Rini yelled, getting up from the table and nearly stepping on the cats. She grabbed her key and ran out to the balcony of the sixteenth floor apartment. "Crystal Key, take me home!"
Ian looked around Dawn's modest apartment on the seventeenth floor of the building that she, Mina, and Serena lived in. It was decidedly bare, with lots of open space and little furniture. A navy blue couch on the far wall of the living room was covered with a few pillows, and the light pine coffee table in front of it was covered with books and papers. The computer desk in the corner of the room had an impressive setup, and the bookshelf above it was filled with textbooks and reference manuals. The entertainment center wasn't too bad either, and Ian picked up the remote to check out the channels as Dawn tossed her book bag next to her desk.
"Gimme a sec to find the Band-Aids and peroxide, okay?" She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Ian on the couch. "Make yourself at home."
Ian snorted. While clean and sporting adequate entertainment, Dawn's flat was entirely too cheery for his liking. She had blue candles everywhere, making the main room smell not unlike the salty air of the ocean. He settled back against the pillows and began flipping through the channels, stopping on the first English language program he saw. Dawn must've had some serious satellite package by the vast selection of channels he could access. Thank God it included Sky Sports 1. The football match was half over, but it was better than nothing. "You got anything to drink?"
"I think so," she called back. "There's stuff in the fridge."
Ian got up and walked into the tiny kitchen. Like the rest of the apartment, it was in blue and white and disgustingly neat. He pulled the door open and peered inside. Typical girl food, and way too healthy… he was about to shut the door and give up when he saw a few bottles of Michelob tucked in the back. Surprised, he grabbed one and went back to the couch. Maybe this place wasn't so bad.
"You found my stash, huh?" She stepped out of the bathroom with a bottle of peroxide and a small plastic box. "Don't start telling people, all right?"
He held up the bottle. "How'd you get a hold of this? Legal age here is 20." He'd assumed she was around 18, unlike himself who had just passed his 20th year.
"Yeah, I know," she shrugged. "My dad and one of his business associates here helped me get the apartment set up two weeks ago. They'd bought some the last night they were here, and conveniently left a few behind in the fridge. Dad's been back in Kentucky for about a week now."
"Where?"
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Kentucky. It's where I'm from. Lexington, actually."
"You don't sound like it." From the amount of bad movies he'd wasted his time watching, he knew that Dawn's Yankee accent, while atrocious, didn't have the telltale twang. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be barefoot and missing teeth and married to your brother?" He took another drink and checked the match in front of him.
"Only if you plan to stay there. I obviously didn't." Dawn sat down next to him and uncapped the disinfectant. "This might sting," she cautioned. He didn't move as she dabbed at the cut on his head with the edge of a washcloth. She opened the box and pulled a tube of Neosporin and a tiny bandage.
"I don't need the bandage," he protested. "This'll do." He held still for a few seconds more before leaning back against the couch.
"All right, suit yourself." She got up and closed the lid of the first aid kit.
Ian watched her walk towards the hallway. "Hey," he called. "Why're you doing all of this? You barely know me."
She regarded him for a moment with a half-smile. "I dunno. It just felt like the right thing to do, I guess."
"You must be brave, stupid, or own a really big dog."
"A little of the first two, the third would be unfair to keep cooped up in such a small space, and there's no reason not to be nice… even if you did act like a jerk earlier," she added with a shrug. "You sure you don't want a Band-Aid?" she called over her shoulder as she went into the bathroom.
"Yeah, I…" The sound of glass shattering outside brought Ian to his feet. He heard a few shrieks from downstairs, one sounding vaguely familiar.
"What's going on?"
Ian looked out the window and saw the same guy who'd given him trouble during the lecture standing next to an overturned car. The younger girl next to him held up an amulet that glowed a brilliant red, and two other people in black garb stood off to the side. A pair of girls in modified school uniforms guarded a third from their assailants. Just as suddenly, the figure holding the amulet let out an ungodly shriek, thrusting the amulet at the three Sailors. Ian watched with fascination as the one with sea-green hair raised her arms to sky, seeming to summon the oceans from beneath the pavement. With a mighty roar, the water surged forward at their attackers. Before the wave reached the dark quartet, the amulet pulsed even brighter and a deep red aura engulfed its keeper. The wall of water stopped and doubled in size, reversing its course. The Sailors disappeared beneath the waves, three beams of light racing towards the amulet as the waters subsided.
"Ian?" Dawn stood in the hallway, a can of Diet Coke in her hand. "What the hell's going on?"
"Uh, guess I turned the program up too loud," he lied. The guy down on the pavement was asking for a fight, and Ian was feeling generous at the moment. The only problem was getting out without Dawn knowing what was going on. "Hey, maybe I could use that bandage," he answered, rubbing his head for effect. "One of the little ones."
Her face lit up. "Sure, lemme get the kit." As she went back to the bathroom, he grabbed one of the dining room chairs. He waited until she'd gone into the bathroom, then yanked the door shut and shoved the edge of the chair under the doorknob.
"HEY!" Dawn spun around as the door slammed shut behind her. "What the fuck are you doing?" She rattled the door, barely able to open it a few inches. "Ian, let me OUT!"
On the ground, Sailors Moon and Venus raced out of the front of the apartment building. Rini, untransformed and clutching her Key, followed the two out to the parking lot. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru lay near the gutter, unmoving. Rini raced towards them, tears in her eyes.
"They're unconscious," she cried out frantically to the other two. "They're soaking wet, too." Instantly, a rough hand yanked her to her feet and shoved her into the path of a young woman dressed in tight black leather holding a nasty curved dagger.
"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time," she growled, pointing the tip of the dagger at Rini's chest. "Such a shame, really." Before Val could play with her favorite toy, a string of red and yellw whizzed past her, bloodying her lower leg.
"Back off!" Venus stood on the other side of the parking lot, trying to draw the attention of the girl with the dagger. Instead, she'd attracted the two larger thugs who seemed to be there as enforcers. Unsure of what to do next, she took off around the corner and sent a few more random attacks their way as bait. Sure enough, they followed her, one grasping a large crowbar and the other dangling a chain of sizeable length from his massive hands. Venus gulped and took a few steps back, suddenly wondering if fighting two bigger-than-average guys with weapons by herself in a shadowed part of the street was the best thing she could have done. At this point, she didn't like her odds. The one with the crowbar swung at her, catching the edge of her skirt and sweeping her legs out from beneath her. Venus landed on the ground, embedding sand and gravel into her upper thighs. A chain slammed the pavement inches from her head, barely missing her as she rolled out of the way. She got to her knees, crouched and ready. As she geared up for another Love Me Chain attack, a crowbar swing came within inches of her head and she tumbled again to avoid it. A length of chain whipped in front of her face from behind and she was suddenly hauled upwards as the chain grew tighter around her neck. Stars swirled in front of her as she struggled, suddenly tumbling to the asphalt.
Venus looked up as a dark shadow passed overhead and came to rest behind the two thugs. Almost seven feet tall with blue-black skin and a monstrous wingspan, it grabbed Chain Boy and threw him against a dumpster. The other guy lunged forward and struck him across the back with the crowbar. The creature stumbled forward a few steps, then slowly turned and narrowed his eyes at the still-standing thug. Without warning, it roared, expanding his wings to their full length. She stared open-mouthed at the creature, slowly getting to her feet and trying to run; unfortunately, her legs wouldn't take the hint. The guy dropped his crowbar and backed up, his hands out in front to try and calm the thing down. Instead, it bared a set of menacing white teeth and raised both hands to the sky.
"LIGHTNING SHADOW!" The creature brought both hands down violently as a black light engulfed its massive wings. Just as suddenly, the darkness surged forward in jagged spikes, driving the helpless guy into the wall behind him. The attack didn't stop; the beam continued as the monster growled even louder. The wall buckled under the attack, sending her attacker flying in a hail of brick and steel. With an audible crunch, his battered body landed on its neck and lay still amidst the rubble. Venus stared in horror for a moment, then lifted her head to see the dark-winged creature still standing in the alley.
"Th-thanks," she stammered. "I think." It showed no emotion, but gravely nodded its head before taking off. Venus stared after it as it sprinted into the shadows of the building after the fleeing partner.
"Venus, what the hell are you doing?" Sailor Moon screamed from the other side of the parking lot where the girl with the amulet had backed her up against the building. "I could use a hand here!"
"Where is the other half of the spirit?" Sarah hissed in a voice that wasn't her own. "Priestess of Atlantis, do you guard the Crystal ?"
Sailor Moon's eyes bugged out and she floundered for a response. "Atlantis? What're you talking about? I'm not a priestess, either!"
"You guard the Crystal," Sarah replied in the same disembodied voice. "The risen Miakoda desires the Crystal, Priestess."
Of all of the titles she held or was going to acquire in the future, Serena was pretty sure that "priestess" wasn't one of them. "Look, I don't know who you think you are or what you're doing with that," she answered, gesturing to the amulet. "But I can tell you right now that it'll be a cold day in hell before I give you anything."
The girl holding the amulet leered at Sailor Moon, then pointed the amulet at Rini who hovered over the three fallen Sailors. "The spirit of the water goddess shall summon the Crystal ." Rini yelped as the Key was torn from her fingers and hovered above her head. It raced towards the amulet, its tiny crystal pulsing with a red aura. "For the risen Miakoda," Sarah chanted, closing her fingers around the relic in triumph. As she brought the Key to rest against the amulet, a strange red light spread from the two and struck both Val and the fleeing Aaron, who had rounded the corner out of the alley.
"What're you doing? Give that back!" Sailor Moon threw herself at the younger of the two girls, temporarily forgetting that the other had a well-sharpened dagger at her disposal. She knocked the girl to the ground, ripping the Key from her hand and throwing it across the parking lot.
"None shall defile the risen goddess of the seas," Val intoned in a hollow voice. "Those who do shall be offered up in sacrifice to the risen Mia-"
"Shut the fuck up and help me," Aaron hollered as he ran from the winged creature who had taken flight and was gaining quickly.
"Deep Submerge!" Val's lips formed the words that sent a mighty wave rushing towards the creature. It was engulfed by the wave as they thundered over the asphalt, but came flying through the onslaught like a bullet. A very wet, very pissed off bullet.
"World Shaking!" Aaron's voice echoed through the parking lot as a bright gold sphere raced ahead of him, sending rock upwards at the still-approaching winged beast.
The creature crossed his arms over his chest, his palms in front of his face. "Terra Assault!" He swung his arms towards the ground, two silver bolts erupting from his hands. They hit the earth with a loud crack as the ground ruptured on impact, two miniature earthquakes racing towards Aaron and Val with ever increasing speed. As the bolts neared them, the earth shook and exploded, showering them with rock and dirt.
Meanwhile, Sailor Moon was losing the wrestling match badly. She had been turned onto her back and was now forced to protect the locket held on her bow.
"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" From the far end of a parking lot, a bolt of electricity raced towards them and tore open the back of Sarah's shirt. Sailor Jupiter ran towards the pair and flipped the stunned young woman onto her back before pulling Sailor Moon to her feet.
"I thought you were in class," she panted. "I left you a message."
"It's kinda hard to miss a full out classic Sailor ass-kicking when you're on your way to the library," Jupiter answered. "What the hell is going on?"
"I'll tell you later," she called, running for the Key she'd liberated seconds ago. "Just get that crazy bitch with the amulet away from Rini."
"Rini?" Jupiter looked for an eight year old little girl in the vicinity, but instead saw a young woman her own age backed up against a car. "That's Rini?"
"Just do something, damn it!"
Doing something wasn't an option once Sarah came to her senses and launched herself at Jupiter, Val's dagger aimed at her neck. Knocked to the ground, Jupiter felt the edge of something cool and sharp begin to cut into her skin, and she let out a terrified scream. Just as suddenly as she'd been knocked down, she felt the weight lifted from her body and rolled over to see what had happened.
The creature now held Jupiter's attacker by the shoulder with one massive claw. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw her against a nearby car. The dagger clattered to the ground as the large winged being pulled Sailor Jupiter to her feet and set her on the sidewalk by Rini. Her red eyes wide as saucers, Rini pressed herself against the brick of the apartment building and prepared to let out yet another scream. Before she could open her mouth, the creature placed a finger to his lips and gave her a grave nod, then took off towards the sky.
The two who had attacked the creature had come to their senses and were carrying Sarah to a nearby car. The silver sedan sped off in a squeal of rubber, leaving the Sailors amidst the wreckage in front of the apartment complex.
"Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Serena shrieked, melting back into her own clothing as she handed the Key to Rini. "What the hell was that?"
"That is what caught me in the alley earlier," Rini babbled. "It just swooped in and kept me from landing in the middle of traffic."
"That? It just saved me, but…" Mina's lower lip quivered as a few tears ran down her bruised cheeks. "It killed one of those guys, he's under the building."
"But what is it? And is it on our side?" asked Serena.
"I don't know," Lita replied, looking at the figures of the outer Senshi on the ground and the nearby demolished building. "Let's get them upstairs first and call Amy and Raye. We don't wanna be around when the police get here."
Ian walked back into Dawn's flat, his shirt freshly ripped from his latest transformation. He was greeted with a surprisingly strong right hook that clipped his chin. Instinct took over at that point, and Dawn found herself slammed up against the wall with her wrists pinned above her, his face virtually pressed against hers. She could see he was sweating, but she couldn't work out how or why. At this point, she really didn't want to know. Terrified, she froze and stared up at Ian in shock.
"Maybe I shoulda tied you up in there, too," he added, no expression on his face. Without warning, Dawn reared back and nailed him in the shins. He winced a bit, then started laughing.
"What's so fuckin' funny?" she asked through clenched teeth. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was some kind of sick joke or if Ian had gone off the deep end. Considering the display during the physics lecture, she wasn't about to take any chances. "Didn't hurt?"
"You aimed a bit low, don't you think?" He relaxed his hold on her wrists slightly, and Dawn took the opportunity to bring her forehead down against the front of his nose. Instantly, blood poured from his nose and he brought both hands up to his face. Dawn scrambled for the kitchen, grabbing the largest knife she could find as she pulled open the door to the freezer.
"Don't you dare bleed on my rug," she called from the kitchen. She threw an ice pack at him, then walked towards him with the knife in front of her. "Take the ice, and get the fuck out of my apartment. Understand?"
Ian looked at the ice pack and a confused expression crossed his face. "You bloodied my nose and threatened me with kitchen utensils, and now you're giving me ice to keep the swelling down? What is WRONG with you?" Ian continued to laugh despite the stream of red running from his nose.
"Just get out, Ian. I'd rather not call the cops if I don't have to." Her voice trembled slightly as she stood her ground, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle of the knife.
"You got a towel or something?"
"I'm not that nice. Get out."
