Coils of the Serpent
Prologue
Madame Meow
Rated:PG-13 (some swear words)
Hey, it's me, Madame Meow, and I'm posting the
prologue of a story I started a while ago. Enough response
and I might finish it. Who knows, I might finish it even
if I get no response. ^_^
Okay, as to this story, it's another series, and I'm
going to do the Japanese names, if I can get them right.
All main guys are currently 18, first year University
students, and the main girls are ageless. I hope this will
make sense to you as the story progresses. Also, a lot of
people who write stories incorporating Jadeite, Zoicite,
Nephrite, and Kunzite, often portray their 'elements' as
the same as their supposed lovers. I'm not going to mess
with the typical pairings (gee, that doesn't give a lot of
the story away, nooo. *hypnotizes you into forgetting you
ever read that* You will not remember, you will not
remember...), but I don't agree that their power should be
the same for each pair. Example: Jadeite has fire power
like Rei. I think that would be dangerous and unbalanced.
I'll get more into their particular powers later, but I'm
just explaining this now, so I don't get a whole lot of
flames later, telling me that I got the men all wrong. I
didn't, I'm just changing it. Okie? This is an Alternate
reality, by the way.
Umm does that take care of everything? I think so.
I'll add anything I forgot later on, kay? And, as always,
write when you're done reading. It's greatly appreciated,
and really, it doesn't take more than ten seconds to write
a line or two. Is that too much to ask, considering how
much work authors but into these stories? I don't think
so. But on to the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beryl laughed gleefully as she thrust her foot-long
black nails through Princess Serenity's delicate chest.
After one agonized scream, Serenity fell limp, desperately
trying to draw breath into punctured lungs. Beryl's
slitted golden eyes stared insolently at the horrified
Prince Endymion. "If I can't have you Prince, then no one
can."
Endymion couldn't tear his eyes away from his dying
love. Around her wound, blood frothed up in crimson
bubbles, before seeping across her frilly white ball gown,
and her frail hands, clutched around Beryl's in a futile
attempt to remove the intruding claws, spasmed hopelessly.
Her lips, once so rosy and pink, were now pale and
trembling. Silent tears flowed from her silver eyes, eyes
that were locked on his, eyes that both begged him for
release and warned him back. Tears streamed from his own
ocean blue eyes, as he struggled to remove the marble
pillar that had crushed his hips, rendering him helpless,
pinned to the floor. Choking on his sobs, he croaked
"Serenity..." His fist clenching on the floor, he attempted
to probe the pillar with his Earth sense, but the Lunarian
marble didn't respond to his touch. Cursing fate, the
marble and the witch before him, he glared hatefully at
Queen Beryl.
Beryl pursed her lips playfully, her nails still
imbedded within the drying Princess. "My handsome Prince,
you still have a chance. Repent, and become my lover, and
I will heal your wounds. I might even let her live..."
Endymion gasped with revulsion mixed with painful
hope. To spend eternity with this hag...but still, if she
would spare Serenity...an agitated movement from the corner
of his eye made him glance in Serenity's direction. She
was shaking her head desperately, causing her torso to move
and her blood, which had been oozing sluggishly to flow
with renewed vigor. Seeing she had caught his attention
she mouthed, "She lies. I am already dead..." Shutting his
eyes tightly, he forced himself to see the truth of her
words. There was no hope for Serenity, and by extension,
for himself. There was no life for him without her. The
most he could do was die with her. Opening his eyes with
harsh determination, he looked straight at Beryl, and spat
in her face. "Join with a snake such as you? Don't make
me laugh."
Hissing, Beryl's face twisted into a snarl. With a
jerky movement, she roughly ripped her nails from
Serenity's chest. Ignoring Endymion and Serenity's
identical tortured cries, she gathered black energy in the
palm of her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the ball of
energy split into five, one encasing Serenity and hardening
into a large multi-faceted dark crystal, and the other four
zooming off into the palace, destination unknown. She
turned back to the downed Prince. "So be it, Endymion.
But mere death is far too good for this slut, and her
entourage. Know that you have made her death ten million
times harsher." With a wave of her hand, the crystal,
along with Serenity and Endymion's heart, disappeared.
With a scream that scraped the sides of his throat
raw, Endymion lunged up against the marble, propping his
body up with his arms. But without the force of his legs
behind the thrust, the pillar didn't even shift. Laughing,
Beryl sauntered across the remains of the porch, daintily
lifting the hem of her dress away from large pieces of
debris. Kneeling over him, she drew the tip of one blood
stained nail along his jaw. "Tut tut Endymion, it's too
late now. No matter how you plead, her fate is sealed.
And even you," She traced the nail down his neck and across
his black chest plate, leaving a delicate line of red,
"attractive though you are, no longer have any choices left
to you. I'll still have you, of course, but minus a few
annoyances. Like your mind."
Endymion was barely listening, his mind playing back
her previous words. *Know that you have made her death ten
million times harsher...ten million times harsher...harsher*
Serenity, who cried when she cut her finger on a sheet of
manuscript, would endure the tortures of the damned...because
of him. His soul, already in tatters because of the recent
events, threatened to tear apart completely at this. How
could he, who loved her more than anyone, anything, have
done this to her? He was her protector, her champion, and
yet had sentenced her to a protracted and painful death by
selfishly not sacrificing himself. And now, it was even
too late to change the hag's mind. But...Queen Beryl
couldn't torture her if Queen Beryl didn't go back to
wherever she came from...His over-burdened mind grasped at
that slender hope, and ran with it. Keeping his gaze fixed
resolutely beyond Beryl's face, praying that she would not
read his intentions in his eyes, he extended his Earth
sense around him, carefully searching for something,
anything that would come to his call. Avoiding all traces
of dark energy, still listening to Beryl ramble in the
background, Endymion was nearly at the end of his strength
when his searching 'eye' encountered a sharp, twitted shaft
that appeared as a shining gold to his Earth sense. *Of
course, the gold fixtures from our trunks!* Calling the
piece of bent Earth metal from his destroyed baggage
trunks, *Now how did that happen...?* he wondered, to his
hand, he waited until the he felt the smooth texture of the
soon-to-be-stake in his right hand, then turned his face to
Beryl. Interrupting her in mid-gloat, he whispered, "You
will pay for the pain you have caused, Beryl. In HELL!"
With the last word, he rammed the piece of gold trimming
through her chest with all the force his upper body could
provide. Exhausted and spent, he fell into
unconsciousness, hoping never to awaken.
Beryl gasped in shock as she felt a pain drive into
her chest. Staring in outraged horror at the shaft of gold
that dared violate her perfect body, she fell back from the
prince. Clawing wildly at the twisted metal, she succeeded
in slashing off the extruding pieces, but the twists in the
gold had created weak spots that caused a large piece to
break off and remain within her chest, saturated with her
life's blood, which was pumping out of her body at an
alarming rate. Having done nothing but make her wound
worse, she called out desperately to the only being left
that could save her. "Mistress, Queen Metallia, HELP ME!"
Endymion jerked awake in surprise when a deep, hissing
voice, like that of a basilisk*, spoke, coming from
nowhere, and everywhere, resonating with every shadow, and
tainting every patch of sunlight. "Beryl, your period of
usefulnesssss hasss come to an end. Your obssssession with
a mortal, and an enemy mortal at that, has been a
hindrancssse every sssstep of the way. That you let your
guard down enough to let ssssaid mortal fatally wound you
only provessss it. You get nothing but which you
desssserve. I don't need you now. You even provided me
with a replacsssement. Farewell, Beryl, and good
riddancssse." As the last of the words faded, nearby
shadows quivered, then seeped down to the ground from
wherever they had resided. Slithering from their posts,
they pooled into a massive clot beneath Beryl, the
shimmering, twisting puddle of darkness enough to make even
Beryl queasy. She whimpered. "Please..." At the sound of
her plea, the shadows twined together, and rearing up like
a cobra, pounced. The resulting explosion thrust away
everything within 20 meters. Endymion went flying, slammed
into one of the few remaining upright pillars. His neck
jerked back violently, and with a discernible 'crack' his
body fell limp to the floor. Of Beryl, nothing was left
but a fine, crimson mist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Queen Serenity stared down at the corpse of her
daughter's beloved, leaning heavily on the arm of her
advisor, and best friend, Luna. The remains of all her
dreams, all her achievements, lay scattered about his body.
Look, there was Universal Unity lying cracked on the floor
over there, and, oh, Justice For All was looking a bit
tattered, sprawled across the stairway. Eternal Peace was
definitely broken, well nigh irreparable. And now this...if
he was dead, then...Queen Serenity clutched her friend's arm.
"She's gone, isn't she. Either dead, or captive. And
there's nothing we can do anymore. Our army defeated, down
to the last man. My power depleted to the point where I
almost had not enough strength to fake my death. Our
glorious civilization, wiped out in an evening. And now,
the light's brightest hope, extinguished by darkness. Oh
my daughter..." Queen Serenity trembled violently, using the
last of her will, the last of her sanity, to force herself
onward. "Luna, I need a favor of you."
Sensing the formality of the request, Luna let go of
her Queen's arm, and knelt before her. "Anything, my
liege."
Queen Serenity lay a trembling hand upon her friend's
forehead, a hand that looked old and frail, as if the
destruction of her world had sucked the life from her. "I
need you to wait. The Dark Forces have depleted themselves
to conquer us, but one day they will rise again, to
continue their path of destruction. They must not go
unopposed. I will send our warriors forth into time, to be
born again when the Dark threatens." Her right cheek
twitched with suppressed emotion. "Though my daughter and
court are missing, still yet the fight must go on. Will
you go forth, and be a guide for the next incarnation of
our warriors?"
Luna's heart ached with the thought of the lonely eons
to come. "Of course, my Queen. I will await the next
incarnation. But...who will you send? As you said, Majesty,
your daughter and court are gone."
Queen Serenity turned to look at the crumpled body of
Endymion, Prince of Earth. "We will work with what we
have."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Metallia, Mistress of the Negaverse, spread her
awareness throughout the chamber in which her brand new
captives slept, naked within their floating crystal
prisons, following the healing of their wounds. Formless
though she was, through tendrils of dark energy, still she
could see the shining web of spirit bonds between the five
girls. Linked together, forever and always, a seamless arc
of power, that was to surface examination, invulnerable.
And yet, for all structures, there need be an anchor, a
'key stone' upon which the stability of all the others
depends. Subvert the keystone, and the others will
crumble. It was just a matter of finding the keystone.
If Metallia had had lips with which to smirk, she
would have done so. Never had a keystone been so easy to
find. Though all the girls were webbed together, each linked
to the other, the bonds each held with the Moon Princess were
by far the strongest, and most powerful. Therefore, the
Moon Princess was the point at which she must start.
Flooding a summons through her limbs of dark energy
that flowed throughout her stronghold, she called the Shadows.
Staring at Serenity's bright soul, she considered then sent
out an additional summons for her latest 'pet'. Though it
had cost her much in terms of energy to create it, it
seemed she would soon have need of it.
Soon, the chamber flooded with restless shadows,
pools of darkness that seemed to suck the color out of
whatever they lay on, as they slithered and writhed towards
their ultimate master. Caressing them with her presence, she
impatiently awaited the arrival of her pet. Moments later,
through the roiling mass of gloom that grew ever thicker on
the floor, a ripple quivered then flowed apart, making way
for the creature that entered now. Long, narrow and
sinuous, colored in a nauseatingly hypnotic pattern of
putrid, deadish peach, and acidic green, a serpent flowed
across the remaining space between it and the crystals
lying on the floor. Attracted by the powerful white light
that emanated from the imprisoned Moon Princess, the snake-
like creature slithered around her crystal, circling her
like a hawk preparing to strike it's prey. Metallia felt
its impatience with satisfaction. Her voice, harsh and
sibilant at the same time, rolled through the room, turning
the shadows into a thrashing mass of excitement. The
serpent didn't even pause.
"Are you hungry, Miassssma? Does the Princesssss'ssss
ssssoul look appetizsssing? A nicssse, shining heart sssspirit
for you to conssssume. But you musssst be patient, Miassssma,
for that ssssame heart sssspirit defendssss her well.
Shadowssss, do assss you were ssssummoned for."
As her last words resonated through the air, the
teeming mass of shadows swarmed towards the snake-like
Miasma, flowing over it, and attached themselves, layer
upon layer, to his skin. When the last of the summoned
shadows fell shuddering into place, Metallia melted away
the crystal surrounding the unconscious Princess, and the
serpent flowed forward. As the soul-sucker neared, the
light softly shining from Serenity brightened, until the
glow in the room was that of mid-day.
Ignoring the mildly painful touch of the accursed
light, Metallia watched avidly as the first outer layers of
shadows dissolved in the light of the Princess's soul. Layer
after layer was shed as the serpent moved forward, parallel to
the Princess's body and towards her head.
Though the shadows absorbed the light emitted from the
girl, protecting the creature of darkness beneath them, they
were dispersing faster than Metallia had anticipated. Cursing
the need, Metallia wrapped her own dark flows protectively
around the serpent, allowing it to continue forward as the last
of the cloaking shadows fell away. As Miasma reared above the
girl's head, Metallia tied off a last few dark flows around
the creature, then relaxed away from it, to 'watch' the
show.
Miasma, hissing, dove into the girl's mouth. Metallia,
looking at energy flows, watched as the dark soul sucker,
burning away the last of its protections, started to swallow
the girls shining soul. Twining throughout her body, the
snake-creature consumed the light wherever it found it. When
the last remnant of her pure soul was gone, Miasma pushed its
narrow head through the small hole in her naval**. The serpent
twined itself sinuously around the Princess's body, it's body
trailing around her hips, then her stomach, around her back, up
between her breasts, across her right shoulder, behind her neck,
until the creature's head curved over her left shoulder and
rested upon her collarbone, and still the serpent's tail had
not yet emerged from the girl's body. Her bright soul shone
faintly through the dark flesh of the soul sucker, but grew
dormant as the dark energies holding it sent it into a
restless sleep. With a dark flash, the satiated serpent
sank into the girl's flesh, until all that remained was a
sinuous outline stamped tattoo-like upon her previously
flawless skin. Her soul was now entrapped within the snake
for as long as it existed.
Metallia cackled wildly, then proceeded to flood the
girl's now soulless body with dark energy. The other four girls
moaned simultaneously as dark energy rushed into their minds and
hearts through the spirit bonds each bore. Soon, the dark
energy had created a current that constantly circulated among
the girls, renewing eternally the hold it had upon them. The
planetary symbols that had previously shone brilliantly,
faded, flickered, and eventually went out all together.
Metallia relaxed at this sign of her success.
Exhaustion roared through her mass, and she reached out to
the shadows to replenish herself, before remembering that
she had used up those too. She hissed slightly in
frustration before shaking it off. It would take time,
ages in fact, to renew the shadows of her stronghold, and
her own energy was reduced significantly. To gain more,
she would need to raise a new army to replace the one the
Moon kingdom had almost destroyed, and her new Generals
needed time for their bodies to adjust to the dark energy
flowing through them.
But one day, far in the future, the Negaverse would
surge to the surface once more. And they would conquer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* There are a few different definitions of a basilisk, but
in most cases, they are lizard-like creatures that stand
on their hind feet, their stare has a petrifying effect, and
they eat rocks.
** You're belly button for the uninformed.
Well, that's it. Man, it took a lot of effort to write
that prologue. But did you like it? Cause it will all be
worth it if you do. Send me a message to tell me what you
think. You can reach me at Madame_Meow@hotmail.com. I'll
be waiting!
Prologue
Madame Meow
Rated:PG-13 (some swear words)
Hey, it's me, Madame Meow, and I'm posting the
prologue of a story I started a while ago. Enough response
and I might finish it. Who knows, I might finish it even
if I get no response. ^_^
Okay, as to this story, it's another series, and I'm
going to do the Japanese names, if I can get them right.
All main guys are currently 18, first year University
students, and the main girls are ageless. I hope this will
make sense to you as the story progresses. Also, a lot of
people who write stories incorporating Jadeite, Zoicite,
Nephrite, and Kunzite, often portray their 'elements' as
the same as their supposed lovers. I'm not going to mess
with the typical pairings (gee, that doesn't give a lot of
the story away, nooo. *hypnotizes you into forgetting you
ever read that* You will not remember, you will not
remember...), but I don't agree that their power should be
the same for each pair. Example: Jadeite has fire power
like Rei. I think that would be dangerous and unbalanced.
I'll get more into their particular powers later, but I'm
just explaining this now, so I don't get a whole lot of
flames later, telling me that I got the men all wrong. I
didn't, I'm just changing it. Okie? This is an Alternate
reality, by the way.
Umm does that take care of everything? I think so.
I'll add anything I forgot later on, kay? And, as always,
write when you're done reading. It's greatly appreciated,
and really, it doesn't take more than ten seconds to write
a line or two. Is that too much to ask, considering how
much work authors but into these stories? I don't think
so. But on to the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beryl laughed gleefully as she thrust her foot-long
black nails through Princess Serenity's delicate chest.
After one agonized scream, Serenity fell limp, desperately
trying to draw breath into punctured lungs. Beryl's
slitted golden eyes stared insolently at the horrified
Prince Endymion. "If I can't have you Prince, then no one
can."
Endymion couldn't tear his eyes away from his dying
love. Around her wound, blood frothed up in crimson
bubbles, before seeping across her frilly white ball gown,
and her frail hands, clutched around Beryl's in a futile
attempt to remove the intruding claws, spasmed hopelessly.
Her lips, once so rosy and pink, were now pale and
trembling. Silent tears flowed from her silver eyes, eyes
that were locked on his, eyes that both begged him for
release and warned him back. Tears streamed from his own
ocean blue eyes, as he struggled to remove the marble
pillar that had crushed his hips, rendering him helpless,
pinned to the floor. Choking on his sobs, he croaked
"Serenity..." His fist clenching on the floor, he attempted
to probe the pillar with his Earth sense, but the Lunarian
marble didn't respond to his touch. Cursing fate, the
marble and the witch before him, he glared hatefully at
Queen Beryl.
Beryl pursed her lips playfully, her nails still
imbedded within the drying Princess. "My handsome Prince,
you still have a chance. Repent, and become my lover, and
I will heal your wounds. I might even let her live..."
Endymion gasped with revulsion mixed with painful
hope. To spend eternity with this hag...but still, if she
would spare Serenity...an agitated movement from the corner
of his eye made him glance in Serenity's direction. She
was shaking her head desperately, causing her torso to move
and her blood, which had been oozing sluggishly to flow
with renewed vigor. Seeing she had caught his attention
she mouthed, "She lies. I am already dead..." Shutting his
eyes tightly, he forced himself to see the truth of her
words. There was no hope for Serenity, and by extension,
for himself. There was no life for him without her. The
most he could do was die with her. Opening his eyes with
harsh determination, he looked straight at Beryl, and spat
in her face. "Join with a snake such as you? Don't make
me laugh."
Hissing, Beryl's face twisted into a snarl. With a
jerky movement, she roughly ripped her nails from
Serenity's chest. Ignoring Endymion and Serenity's
identical tortured cries, she gathered black energy in the
palm of her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the ball of
energy split into five, one encasing Serenity and hardening
into a large multi-faceted dark crystal, and the other four
zooming off into the palace, destination unknown. She
turned back to the downed Prince. "So be it, Endymion.
But mere death is far too good for this slut, and her
entourage. Know that you have made her death ten million
times harsher." With a wave of her hand, the crystal,
along with Serenity and Endymion's heart, disappeared.
With a scream that scraped the sides of his throat
raw, Endymion lunged up against the marble, propping his
body up with his arms. But without the force of his legs
behind the thrust, the pillar didn't even shift. Laughing,
Beryl sauntered across the remains of the porch, daintily
lifting the hem of her dress away from large pieces of
debris. Kneeling over him, she drew the tip of one blood
stained nail along his jaw. "Tut tut Endymion, it's too
late now. No matter how you plead, her fate is sealed.
And even you," She traced the nail down his neck and across
his black chest plate, leaving a delicate line of red,
"attractive though you are, no longer have any choices left
to you. I'll still have you, of course, but minus a few
annoyances. Like your mind."
Endymion was barely listening, his mind playing back
her previous words. *Know that you have made her death ten
million times harsher...ten million times harsher...harsher*
Serenity, who cried when she cut her finger on a sheet of
manuscript, would endure the tortures of the damned...because
of him. His soul, already in tatters because of the recent
events, threatened to tear apart completely at this. How
could he, who loved her more than anyone, anything, have
done this to her? He was her protector, her champion, and
yet had sentenced her to a protracted and painful death by
selfishly not sacrificing himself. And now, it was even
too late to change the hag's mind. But...Queen Beryl
couldn't torture her if Queen Beryl didn't go back to
wherever she came from...His over-burdened mind grasped at
that slender hope, and ran with it. Keeping his gaze fixed
resolutely beyond Beryl's face, praying that she would not
read his intentions in his eyes, he extended his Earth
sense around him, carefully searching for something,
anything that would come to his call. Avoiding all traces
of dark energy, still listening to Beryl ramble in the
background, Endymion was nearly at the end of his strength
when his searching 'eye' encountered a sharp, twitted shaft
that appeared as a shining gold to his Earth sense. *Of
course, the gold fixtures from our trunks!* Calling the
piece of bent Earth metal from his destroyed baggage
trunks, *Now how did that happen...?* he wondered, to his
hand, he waited until the he felt the smooth texture of the
soon-to-be-stake in his right hand, then turned his face to
Beryl. Interrupting her in mid-gloat, he whispered, "You
will pay for the pain you have caused, Beryl. In HELL!"
With the last word, he rammed the piece of gold trimming
through her chest with all the force his upper body could
provide. Exhausted and spent, he fell into
unconsciousness, hoping never to awaken.
Beryl gasped in shock as she felt a pain drive into
her chest. Staring in outraged horror at the shaft of gold
that dared violate her perfect body, she fell back from the
prince. Clawing wildly at the twisted metal, she succeeded
in slashing off the extruding pieces, but the twists in the
gold had created weak spots that caused a large piece to
break off and remain within her chest, saturated with her
life's blood, which was pumping out of her body at an
alarming rate. Having done nothing but make her wound
worse, she called out desperately to the only being left
that could save her. "Mistress, Queen Metallia, HELP ME!"
Endymion jerked awake in surprise when a deep, hissing
voice, like that of a basilisk*, spoke, coming from
nowhere, and everywhere, resonating with every shadow, and
tainting every patch of sunlight. "Beryl, your period of
usefulnesssss hasss come to an end. Your obssssession with
a mortal, and an enemy mortal at that, has been a
hindrancssse every sssstep of the way. That you let your
guard down enough to let ssssaid mortal fatally wound you
only provessss it. You get nothing but which you
desssserve. I don't need you now. You even provided me
with a replacsssement. Farewell, Beryl, and good
riddancssse." As the last of the words faded, nearby
shadows quivered, then seeped down to the ground from
wherever they had resided. Slithering from their posts,
they pooled into a massive clot beneath Beryl, the
shimmering, twisting puddle of darkness enough to make even
Beryl queasy. She whimpered. "Please..." At the sound of
her plea, the shadows twined together, and rearing up like
a cobra, pounced. The resulting explosion thrust away
everything within 20 meters. Endymion went flying, slammed
into one of the few remaining upright pillars. His neck
jerked back violently, and with a discernible 'crack' his
body fell limp to the floor. Of Beryl, nothing was left
but a fine, crimson mist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Queen Serenity stared down at the corpse of her
daughter's beloved, leaning heavily on the arm of her
advisor, and best friend, Luna. The remains of all her
dreams, all her achievements, lay scattered about his body.
Look, there was Universal Unity lying cracked on the floor
over there, and, oh, Justice For All was looking a bit
tattered, sprawled across the stairway. Eternal Peace was
definitely broken, well nigh irreparable. And now this...if
he was dead, then...Queen Serenity clutched her friend's arm.
"She's gone, isn't she. Either dead, or captive. And
there's nothing we can do anymore. Our army defeated, down
to the last man. My power depleted to the point where I
almost had not enough strength to fake my death. Our
glorious civilization, wiped out in an evening. And now,
the light's brightest hope, extinguished by darkness. Oh
my daughter..." Queen Serenity trembled violently, using the
last of her will, the last of her sanity, to force herself
onward. "Luna, I need a favor of you."
Sensing the formality of the request, Luna let go of
her Queen's arm, and knelt before her. "Anything, my
liege."
Queen Serenity lay a trembling hand upon her friend's
forehead, a hand that looked old and frail, as if the
destruction of her world had sucked the life from her. "I
need you to wait. The Dark Forces have depleted themselves
to conquer us, but one day they will rise again, to
continue their path of destruction. They must not go
unopposed. I will send our warriors forth into time, to be
born again when the Dark threatens." Her right cheek
twitched with suppressed emotion. "Though my daughter and
court are missing, still yet the fight must go on. Will
you go forth, and be a guide for the next incarnation of
our warriors?"
Luna's heart ached with the thought of the lonely eons
to come. "Of course, my Queen. I will await the next
incarnation. But...who will you send? As you said, Majesty,
your daughter and court are gone."
Queen Serenity turned to look at the crumpled body of
Endymion, Prince of Earth. "We will work with what we
have."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Metallia, Mistress of the Negaverse, spread her
awareness throughout the chamber in which her brand new
captives slept, naked within their floating crystal
prisons, following the healing of their wounds. Formless
though she was, through tendrils of dark energy, still she
could see the shining web of spirit bonds between the five
girls. Linked together, forever and always, a seamless arc
of power, that was to surface examination, invulnerable.
And yet, for all structures, there need be an anchor, a
'key stone' upon which the stability of all the others
depends. Subvert the keystone, and the others will
crumble. It was just a matter of finding the keystone.
If Metallia had had lips with which to smirk, she
would have done so. Never had a keystone been so easy to
find. Though all the girls were webbed together, each linked
to the other, the bonds each held with the Moon Princess were
by far the strongest, and most powerful. Therefore, the
Moon Princess was the point at which she must start.
Flooding a summons through her limbs of dark energy
that flowed throughout her stronghold, she called the Shadows.
Staring at Serenity's bright soul, she considered then sent
out an additional summons for her latest 'pet'. Though it
had cost her much in terms of energy to create it, it
seemed she would soon have need of it.
Soon, the chamber flooded with restless shadows,
pools of darkness that seemed to suck the color out of
whatever they lay on, as they slithered and writhed towards
their ultimate master. Caressing them with her presence, she
impatiently awaited the arrival of her pet. Moments later,
through the roiling mass of gloom that grew ever thicker on
the floor, a ripple quivered then flowed apart, making way
for the creature that entered now. Long, narrow and
sinuous, colored in a nauseatingly hypnotic pattern of
putrid, deadish peach, and acidic green, a serpent flowed
across the remaining space between it and the crystals
lying on the floor. Attracted by the powerful white light
that emanated from the imprisoned Moon Princess, the snake-
like creature slithered around her crystal, circling her
like a hawk preparing to strike it's prey. Metallia felt
its impatience with satisfaction. Her voice, harsh and
sibilant at the same time, rolled through the room, turning
the shadows into a thrashing mass of excitement. The
serpent didn't even pause.
"Are you hungry, Miassssma? Does the Princesssss'ssss
ssssoul look appetizsssing? A nicssse, shining heart sssspirit
for you to conssssume. But you musssst be patient, Miassssma,
for that ssssame heart sssspirit defendssss her well.
Shadowssss, do assss you were ssssummoned for."
As her last words resonated through the air, the
teeming mass of shadows swarmed towards the snake-like
Miasma, flowing over it, and attached themselves, layer
upon layer, to his skin. When the last of the summoned
shadows fell shuddering into place, Metallia melted away
the crystal surrounding the unconscious Princess, and the
serpent flowed forward. As the soul-sucker neared, the
light softly shining from Serenity brightened, until the
glow in the room was that of mid-day.
Ignoring the mildly painful touch of the accursed
light, Metallia watched avidly as the first outer layers of
shadows dissolved in the light of the Princess's soul. Layer
after layer was shed as the serpent moved forward, parallel to
the Princess's body and towards her head.
Though the shadows absorbed the light emitted from the
girl, protecting the creature of darkness beneath them, they
were dispersing faster than Metallia had anticipated. Cursing
the need, Metallia wrapped her own dark flows protectively
around the serpent, allowing it to continue forward as the last
of the cloaking shadows fell away. As Miasma reared above the
girl's head, Metallia tied off a last few dark flows around
the creature, then relaxed away from it, to 'watch' the
show.
Miasma, hissing, dove into the girl's mouth. Metallia,
looking at energy flows, watched as the dark soul sucker,
burning away the last of its protections, started to swallow
the girls shining soul. Twining throughout her body, the
snake-creature consumed the light wherever it found it. When
the last remnant of her pure soul was gone, Miasma pushed its
narrow head through the small hole in her naval**. The serpent
twined itself sinuously around the Princess's body, it's body
trailing around her hips, then her stomach, around her back, up
between her breasts, across her right shoulder, behind her neck,
until the creature's head curved over her left shoulder and
rested upon her collarbone, and still the serpent's tail had
not yet emerged from the girl's body. Her bright soul shone
faintly through the dark flesh of the soul sucker, but grew
dormant as the dark energies holding it sent it into a
restless sleep. With a dark flash, the satiated serpent
sank into the girl's flesh, until all that remained was a
sinuous outline stamped tattoo-like upon her previously
flawless skin. Her soul was now entrapped within the snake
for as long as it existed.
Metallia cackled wildly, then proceeded to flood the
girl's now soulless body with dark energy. The other four girls
moaned simultaneously as dark energy rushed into their minds and
hearts through the spirit bonds each bore. Soon, the dark
energy had created a current that constantly circulated among
the girls, renewing eternally the hold it had upon them. The
planetary symbols that had previously shone brilliantly,
faded, flickered, and eventually went out all together.
Metallia relaxed at this sign of her success.
Exhaustion roared through her mass, and she reached out to
the shadows to replenish herself, before remembering that
she had used up those too. She hissed slightly in
frustration before shaking it off. It would take time,
ages in fact, to renew the shadows of her stronghold, and
her own energy was reduced significantly. To gain more,
she would need to raise a new army to replace the one the
Moon kingdom had almost destroyed, and her new Generals
needed time for their bodies to adjust to the dark energy
flowing through them.
But one day, far in the future, the Negaverse would
surge to the surface once more. And they would conquer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* There are a few different definitions of a basilisk, but
in most cases, they are lizard-like creatures that stand
on their hind feet, their stare has a petrifying effect, and
they eat rocks.
** You're belly button for the uninformed.
Well, that's it. Man, it took a lot of effort to write
that prologue. But did you like it? Cause it will all be
worth it if you do. Send me a message to tell me what you
think. You can reach me at Madame_Meow@hotmail.com. I'll
be waiting!
