Epoch Augmented
Volume I - StigmatizedPrologue: Envy
By: Juki
Gossamer petals lifted from their earthy hands and scattered amongst the joyous sounds of festivities beneath human delights. A celebration of hope and harvest, of the golden years that were left behind and the future yet to come. The steady beat of the distant resounding of drums accompanied by the rhythmic movements of the dancer, indeed made the Autumn Festival a specimen never one should be absent of. No tainted florescent lights but only the swaying paper lanterns hanging on a wire that strewn across the reserved opening just outside the city of Minato-Ku. Warm washes of colours blended with the mellow lights along with the divine compliments of the kimonos docking the streets with laughter, abandoning all duties and worries behind. Sweet aromas of home styled cooking, ancient methods, renewed and modified as ashen smoke rushed through the chimney of the smoking house, the scent of misu in the other, dancing and entwining like lovers in midst of passion.
Rectangular shops opened to the public with the gentle riveting of the banner above that started and ended the festival on a long dirt road at the border of the city park. Within the glorious merriment stood a particular childishly decorated store with a green and red top folding and a large wooden crate insulated with plastic to keep in the water along with vibrant goldfishes painting the clearest of all water with Midas and silver. Enchantment on sight as a young woman knelt by the children and shared their innocent songs while with her pure and untainted hands, prodded for the dancing treasures of the shallow oceans. The sky ornate of thousand stars ever so bright like diamonds in the sky, not a single cloud in the evening heavens that brought equal if not more beauty than that of the day. The serenity of the beholder almost overwhelming and inspiring as far off among the crowd stood a man, gazing longingly at this fantasy shop and within a wind's whisper…vanished as if he were never there. If one would have seen the five, would testify that the galaxy indeed have missed those brilliant five stars made mortal with flesh the scent of roses and beauty.
That fantasy shop of wonderment and dreams only shared among those who are fortunate, to those who seek them and to those who are pure at heart and purer in souls. Almost unreachable, this moment, the only parting between reality and metaphysical time, soon ended as an unsolicited darkness dawned upon them all with the acute picking up of the eastern shore wind. One of the five with a bucket of water, added to the giant pond of wood while a few others aided the children in their escapade of prodding for fish looked on without a care. The other stopped in her movement, this saintly revelation seeker, gifted, stopped at her movement with the contaminated wind that no one else seemed to have noticed. "Rei,…Rei…" A distant voice drowned out by the whirring of the angry message spoken through the winds, she stood up and gazed out into the night and saw nothing that would alarm her but could not ignore her instinct.
"Rei…" Came that far off echo once more that finally drew her back to reality to a young woman with the warmest of all smiles adorning an indigo kimono with threads of gold sewn in vivacious strands of vines. She had been the one pouring the new goldfishes into the miniature pond to allow the children more choices as she looked to the mystical one that had paused and seemed as if she had been deprived of merriment. "Are you alright?" She asked while standing off on one side stilling the wooden bucket in her hand with a few silver fishes glistening beneath its drawing waters.
"Y-yes…everything's fine." Rei replied softly while drawing her gaze from the sky to something more beautiful, the love of one of her dearest friends. How could she ever describe? This premonition of something unsettling, she could not possibly burden them with such uncanny believes and soon drew back to her task at sweeping the stand. The moment of surreal emotions passed as her heart relieved again, 'Maybe it was just a false alarm…' She thought to herself while turning around to sweep the russet leaves shrouding the ground to the side and paused again when distinctly she heard the raucous cry of ravens. The world around her became dark as she stared narrowly forward to find herself within the future, one…with the future. A silhouette among the whiteness around her…the contrast, dramatic. Unable to identify anything except for the silence that screamed in her ear in the form of a high-pitched sound, deafening in its irony that silence could be so loud. Her eyes locked with the silhouette, though can not see its eyes, knew that there is a connection as both of them spun around facing each other with the realm slowly fading into nothing. The feeling she received a combination of oppression and maliciousness to the extent it frightened her to the most for she knew those who are oppressed, through it, develops enmity. "Who are you?" Her voice bounced around the invisible walls while the silhouette stirred and extended its hand towards her. Puzzled and indecisive she asked herself, 'Should I take it?', and with the fear of never returning she denied the hand and only waited for the answer to her question. "A forgotten past." The silhouette replied, the sound of a woman she interpreted. "The past?" Rei asked in doubt and cocked her head slightly to the side, contemplating. "Your oppression is beyond that I have ever seen."
"History always repeats itself." The silhouette identified as a woman stated, "History will repeat itself."
"Rei?" A hand on her shoulder with a soft nudge, immediately brought her back to this world as she gasped and looked up. Had she been staring for long? How long? Unable to know the time she looked to the owner of the hand and saw a tall woman with the flames of a warrior in her eyes, "Do you need to rest?" The woman asked her. Rei shook her head, "No, I-I'm just a little bored, that's all." She lied.
"What's that?" A child pulled on her red kimono and pointed to the far off distant, veiling behind the tall dank trees as something wavered behind it, something subtle but present. Rei stepped in front of the child protectively as her ears plugged up from something sudden, a gust. Many are still oblivious to this melancholy presence until an explosion of light broke through the crowd and cleared a path. A figure emerged from the circular vortex, the tear in the realm, gloved hands snagging tightly onto the reality, a leg, the other, and emerged a familiar looking woman…battered. As she is propelled out of this mysterious tunnel of darkness it closed behind her as she looked around her and then to the woman aligned in her path. Her eyes scanned over the woman still oblivious to this, pouring water in a pool, her back turned. "Y-you…" She cried out in rage while she staggered forward, "You're the cause of this!"
Rei looked between the two, her feet planted firmly on the ground, she could not move. "Behind you!"
The woman pouring water paused and stood up at the warning as she slowly turned around to come face to face with a pillar of obsidian prowess coiling from the offender's extended hand. Her fingers released the bucket of water as the energy veered open and engulfed her long before she could release a word. Her body ceased in the wicked tyrannous force, the last of all she could see is a man standing off in a distant holding an umbrella with a knowing look on his face before darkness became her vision. With the sound of the bucket piercing and shattering upon impact on the ground came her body limply scattered onto the pool of water, breaking the pond of wood, falling through the narrow breeches that held onto the stand and onto the ground drenched in water and blood. Her ending scream of anger swept across the silence as her shoulders trembled from her force. "Sailor Moon…" The woman spat out coldly, "Y-you caused me his love…" The woman's eyes welled up with old tears trailing down old paths as she heaved and staggered forward, relentless. "I am marred as a traitor because of you…" She breathed out exasperatedly and took another bold step. "Dimando is mine!" The woman almost fell forward but stifled herself and stood a metre from the fallen victim. "You…" She whispered before collapsing onto the ground, weakened and like the vortex…faded into nothing as the last scene of her is upon the ground, battered with her emerald tress sprawled messily around. This seemed to last forever, the silence and awkwardness, before the cry of a distant mother at her poor fallen child shattered it, "U-Usagi!"
Sirens and lights flashed across the abandoned dirt road where a white stretcher is carefully rolled into the back of an ambulance truck while a brightly coloured yellow banner circulated around the obliterated fantasy shop, dreams broken, hopes shattered…victimized. Weeping and sobbing were scarce for the stunned are still stunned, the matter unable to be registered, and the phenomenon. Their legs moved by themselves without the mind's consent as they are helped by two policemen that eased them into the separate police cars. Tears rolled down her face, had she only spoken sooner…about the vision, the premonition…the revelation. Looking over her shoulder through the large pane of lined glass…that old fantasy shop to find a silvery silhouette, a man…holding an umbrella…standing in front of the shop…gazing back at her. She blinked and when she looked back, could not find him anymore.
The on coming hours of waiting felt like torture…the strong scent of astringent and alcohol…the hard long benches, bland white walls…the bold red letters lit up, "Operating." The eight adorning kimonos, oddly in such a night, seemed festive. No one could have imagined, no one could've done a thing, no one was to be blamed…no one told this to Rei. She fidgeted and worked at the handkerchief in her hand, twisting the soft fabric until creases embedded onto the silky material. A young woman with knowledge of medical idealism, evident in her questions, asked the few nurses that had stepped out of the operation room who could only shake their head and answer like the others did, "It is not certain." The woman adorning the light blue kimono, the one who had asked, fell silently to the bench and kept to herself while another with long golden tress paced to and fro…as if pacing would solve the predicament. Another just punished herself by folding her hands, squeezing them harshly and staring at the vinyl tiled floor and asked herself why she had not jumped in front of the frontal blast.
"W-will Usagi be o-okay?" A young boy around the age of thirteen to fourteen asked his father, his sandy blond hair clustered from having his sweaty hands scrunching up in it. "Will she, Otousan?" The older man with dark rectangular framed glasses looked to the boy, knelt down in his russet kimono and stared him in the eye. As much as he would like to believe he knew, he could as much only say, "The doctors are professionals, they…they will make her better." He wanted to believe the childish lie that the doctors could do everything but in reality…doctors were only mere humans…who made mistakes who failed who…are imperfect. "I think I should go home and pack a few things." Ikuko stammered while she folded her arms awkwardly and then moved them down and started rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "I want to make sure she has everything she wants when she wakes up." Ikuko said as if to herself, her eyes never left the door. "And to…just…make her favourite food so when she comes out she can eat them…and then bring her a few magazines…her favourite teddy bear…she'd want that…and…"
"Ikuko…stop it…" Kenji shook her and then embraced her when he could sustain no longer and started to weep with silent tears. "Don't fuss…" He wanted to tell what was on his mind…that Usagi might not even make it out alive…whichever, he was kind enough to spare her of that thought. "We'll get her what she needs when she gets out."
A man, flustered and dishevelled, ran out of the elevator, his shirt buttoned wrongly, his eyes bewildered. "Where's Usagi?" He asked and was greeted by Minako who he nearly crashed into. Minako held back her tears strongly despite the hollowness she felt inside…that maybe they might never see her again. "S-she's in there…the doctors are operating." Mamoru turned towards the operating room to see the sign still on, "How long has she been in there?" Minako looked at her watch and stared at the numbers blankly, "I-I don't know…about…"
"How long!?" Mamoru asked again, his voice raising, anxious. "Two hours…or so…I don't know, don't ask me, don't ask me!" Minako shook him away and covered her ears, "I don't know…" She sank to the ground and buried her face in her hands while Makoto inhaled sharply. "She's going to make it, she's strong." Makoto breathed out, sounding too uncertain to be comforting. "She's…she's got to be alive…she's going to be our future Queen…she can't die like this…" She whispered that and did bring some temporary relief. "It's my fault…" Rei stated flatly while staring off, "I saw it coming…why didn't I say anything?" Mamoru joined the bench of sorrow and fault as he buried his head in his hands and sighed, waiting…that is the hardest part…truly, this devastation left them all stigmatized.