A/N: Two chapters in one night...Oh my...
Hanako Nanami Selena Pallas Sparklystar paused in her walk, a hideously beautiful aura of general Sue-ishness swirling around her slender form like an invisible cloud of pure evil. The forest around here was silent; insects and other small living creatures sensed Hanako's nature and were avoiding her like she carried the plague. Hanako, of course, didn't realize this. She believed that they were in silent awe of her beauty.
She was a tall and slender ottermaid, with fur as black as midnight, though it shone with highlights as blue as a lake when light touched it. Scattered throughout her already-lovely pelt were hairs tipped in bright silver, so that she looked like a sliver of the night sky had come to earth and taken on otter form.
Now alone in the forest, she blinked her bright turquoise eyes and looked about, almost sure that her delicate ears had caught an odd sound.
A tiny whispering rose from the bushes before her, as of something long and thick moving over leaves. Uncertain, Hanako stepped back, her shimmering silver tunic flowing about her form with the movement. One slender paw gripped the hilt of her great sword, Starstreamer, while the other reached up and touched the large central sapphire of her river-tears necklace. The feel of it reminded her of her parents and siblings, who had all been killed by vermin years ago, and she choked back sobs.
"Ahhhhh, how sssssweet…the little maid isssss crying."
A large snake slithered out of the brush and rose up before Hanako. Far from being afraid, however, she brushed away the single tear that had escaped and drew Starstreamer, holding the seven-foot-long silver blade erect in a guard position. The sun streaming through overhead branches and caught on the gold and sapphire star-and-stream pattern that flowed down the sword's length, twining around runic letters of a strange language cut into the blade.
"And now the little maid issss going to cut me with her ssssshiny ssssword!" The snake hissed in mock terror. "Oh, what am I ever to do? Ssssstrike her down, perhapsssss…it hassss been ssssso long ssssince I tasssted otter…"
You should fear me, snake!" Hanako exclaimed in her beautiful silver voice. Her black eyes glittered dangerously into the snake's red ones. "I am Hanako Nanami Selena Pallas Sparklystar, the Warrior Maid of the blade Starstreamer, which once belonged to my many-times-great-grandmother, Theia Hero Cho Natsuko Watermist, the greatest Warrior Maid these woods have seen before myself!"
The snake seemed impressed…or perhaps just shocked. One can't really blame him—that was a fairly long run-on sentence Hanako just managed.
She continued.
"I am the last of the Silver-water Clan, the sole survivor of an attack by verminous rats and weasels, though I was but a cub at the time. Since then, armies have fallen at my blade! Corsairs have begged for their lives, appealing desperately to my kind nature! I have discovered the great destiny that awaits me—I have learned to read the markings on this blade, and they name me the rightful ruler of all Mossflower in a prophecy as ancient as the stars themselves!"
By now the snake was positively cross-eyed and wriggling as though in extreme discomfort. Hanako never noticed, however, being so self-absorbed at this point that everything about her faded into near-oblivion.
She went on and on for a long while, praising her own beauty, wit, beauty, kindness, beauty, intelligence, beauty, sense of dress, beauty, weapons, beauty, skill in battle, beauty, lithe speed, beauty, swimming prowess, beauty, tragic past, and did she forget to mention her stunning beauty?
By the time Hanako ran out of things to say, the sun (which had been high in the sky when she began) was sinking beyond the horizon in a dazzling blue-purple-red fire (the general Sue-ishness of beasts like Hanako throughout Mossflower had long since polluted the sky, giving odd colors and textures to everything there) and the snake lay panting, in pain, and nearly dead on the path before her. She felt a sudden surge of pity for the poor creature—surely all he needed was a little loving care, and he would be a goodbeast like herself!
Sheathing her giant sword and kneeling, Hanako laid a gentle hand on the snake's cold, scaly head and closed her eyes. There was a flash of silver light just as the sun vanished, leaving multi-colored stars in a purplish-blue-turquoise-black streaked sky, which was a wonder to behold (if you were a Sue…other animals actually found the swirling colors rather sickening).
The light cleared, blowing away like faint mist, and the snake revived, rearing up. His eyes, no longer red but as green as new summer grass, shone up at Hanako with undisguised adoration. The previously dusty-brown, scaly body moved in complicated patterns of absolute beauty, leaving behind a faint purple shimmer as they moved, their smooth iridescence catching starlight and reflecting it in a multitude of colors and shades, so that the entire clearing was lit with dazzling lights.
Hanako dropped into the formal language she had once used as a Princess of her Clan. "What is thy name, goodbeast snake?"
"My name is Sliteyes, milady, but I would be honored if you should grace me with a name of your own choosing, as this one is too vile for a goodlady like you to utter!"
"Very well, goodsnake, thy new name shall be Emeraldeye Shiningtail."
"Oh, it is a beautiful name! Too good for me, milady, I thank you for this great goodness and mercy you have bestowed upon me this night!"
"Thou art a courteous snake, Emeraldeye! Know this, that I would have you be a companion to me in my travels to Redwall, for thou art noble and brave, from what I have seen, and a loyal friend to me."
The scene froze then, and faded away, falling upwards as it went, or perhaps she was falling downwards? It was cold, and dark, and there was a terrific pressure around her as she fell, and a haunting sound of silver laughter…
Kimberly Greypaw woke with a start, cutting off a frantic shout as she did so. The young hare drew a paw across her eyes, rubbing sleep from them and trying not to think of the dream she'd just had…but she must think of it. She must remember it. That dream could only mean one thing.
There was a Sue nearby. A powerful Sue.
Shuddering, Kimber stood and strapped on her short sword. She'd been having dreams like this for as long as she could remember, but they always terrified her. She didn't know what would be worse—to have this ability to sense, and sometimes see, nearby Sues and their actions, or to be completely unaware and perhaps be turned by them.
In the end, she decided on 'unaware'.
Hefting her shield, Kimber forced herself to consider all possible actions. She could go and try to kill this Sue, relying on her Sue-sense to guide her in the right direction, or she could return to Salamandastron and report herself alive, unturned, and the number of Sues she had slain in the last month.
But then this Sue might get away and be in Redwall Abbey, beyond their reach, by the time a Slayer tried to get to her.
No. She had to take this chance right now, while she still had it…even if it meant facing down a Sue and an enchanted snake at the same time.
Alone. Unaided. A novice.
Kimber sighed. In truth, she had been extremely lucky to have killed two Sues this past month. Both were very minor, and she had successfully managed to stall both by asking them about their pasts, at which point they became so centered on relating their tales and crying that they never noticed being slain. If her Sue-sensor dream was anything to go by, however, this was a Death-Talker, which meant that getting the Sue to relate past experiences would only kill Kimber. Her mind had gone fuzzy even while protected by being in the dream world.
Kimber needed help, and fast. Hoping that What's-her-face-Sparklystar and her pet snake wouldn't be going very far, she bounded away through the morning mists, searching for a fellow Sue-slayer.
The shrew held her rapier aloft, eyes flickering back and forth as she shifted from paw to paw. The forest was far too quiet…there should've been far more noise, it was midday. Hearing leaves lightly scattering behind her, she dove into a bush and waited, breathing lightly, fur bristling, for the thing to come in sight.
Eunomia Freyja Fionnghuala Clytia Rosepetaleye lightly padded through the forest, a figure of complete grace and beauty. Her light red pelt rippled in the dappled sunlight created by the leaves above, and what little leaves there were on this bright summer day, enhanced even more so thoroughly by the many Sues rampaging all over Mossflower; they had conquered Redwall but a week ago. There was a rustling nearby, quick and furious, and she stopped, curious to what it was.
A mouse suddenly appeared before her, ragged and dirty, wild light in his eyes. "Begone, Sue! Begone from Mossflower!" He pointed his short sword at her, and a hint of a growl echoed in the back of his throat.
She reeled back dramatically as though she was hit. She meant it sincerely, but that made it look even more. "Why do you threaten me so? I am but a traveling maid in these parts!" The gigantic emerald earrings swung a little with the motion of her head, and the jewels on her belt flashed in the sun brighter than they usually did; even then, those covered in the shade kept up a steady glow.
The mouse hesitated, and then started to advance. "Leave now, Sue! Vermin!"
Her once-violet eyes now turned black and seemed to suck all color in, though a rim around the pupil seemed to reflect the light, which created a very odd effect.
"Vermin? Vermin?! Why should I be called that when I myself was tortured at the hands of my own kind?"
This mouse was smarter than the others, as he rudely interrupted her. "Now, Sue, don't go hypnotizing me with your 'horrid past' story! I'm not fool enough!"
"Silence!" Even then, her voice was beautifully terrible in the way it rung through the forest and quieted everything within a league in all directions. All Sues nearby stopped to listen to this maid tell her story; they wanted to see if theirs was worse than hers. "Do you not know that, when I was but a week into this world, my father became fearful that I would plot against him and try to steal the throne, he threw me into the slave's pit, where I toiled day and night under many blows to construct whatever came to his fancy at the time?"
The mouse was losing his sanity, and had to struggle to keep it. "Now, Sue, I don't want to hear your-"
"I danced and sang to help the other slaves keep their joy and hope, believing I could at least fan those flames higher by my kindness, even though I had no hope or anything of the sort."
"No…Must…Shut…Voice…out…" The mouse could no longer clearly state words correctly; even then, some of the grime had fallen off, and his eyes were slightly clouded.
"My father became even further fearful and took me down to the dungeons where I would be heavily tortured everyday, chained to the wall, with naught but a crust of bread every two days and a cup of water every day to keep myself alive. For that is the only reason he would do so; he wished to see me scream and beg for mercy when he would give none; that is the only reason he kept me alive."
There was now only a faint moaning from the poor mouse, as he clawed at the ground to cover himself with dirt, but he was becoming more and more of a Sue by the minute.
"And then my best friend, Sylvia Mariana Allanistar, a mosuemaid of considerable courage and of a quiet, kind nature, attempted to rescue me from that pit of dark and dirt and cruelty and pain and death. But my father figured it out, and killed her when she attempted to."
There was only ragged breathing as the mouse started to change, his ragged clothes slowly but surely turning into those of a Sue. He struggled weakly against the nauseatingly sweet words of the Sue, which crashed over him and beat his personality out of him, replacing him with a Sue.
"I swore to take vengeance on him, and I escaped the moment I could. I went back one day, to destroy the father that was none, and stood over his unmoving corpse at last."
She then went on to explain about her beauty and voice (and how that had been seriously damaged, though it clearly did not sound of it at all) and kindness and generosity, all the while converting the poor, regular mouse into a Sue, and stopped when suddenly the sun was nearing the horizon, and the mouse was nearly converted into a Sue; but he was barely breathing and the expression on his face was one of agony. There was one last thing.
"Oh, you poor dear, let me sing to you so that your pain is soothed." She then, without warning and not noticing the last, clear look of alarm in the beast's eyes, launched into an impossibly high-noted, trilling song, which words could not be deciphered properly and, if they were deciphered, would make the decipherer choke and vomit.
The pain eased away, replaced with a look of calm peace. She stopped her singing, and helped him up, where the now golden-furred mouse stood before her, lean and muscular and tall with only a kilt on, made of a bright, bright red where emeralds were stitched in. His eyes were a strange mix of gold and green and red and orange, and were in the form of streaks against a background of gold. His eyes had become slightly larger, but not so large as Eunomia's. His fur was not plain gold; streaks of black were delicately placed, and there was a large, black spiral on his chest.
He kneeled to the Mary Sue. "My lady."
Her expression turned soft and kind, like it was some sort of mush that was so revolting that nobeast but a Sue would look at it as nice. "What be your name?"
He paused, and looked up from where his head was bowed. "My name, O Beauteousiful Stoat, is not good enough for thine kind and sensitive ears."
"That is alright. You may tell me so I can deem it good enough or far too bad for such a wonderful creature as you."
"My name is-was-Furrel. I have-had-no surname."
She frowned, and whisked a huge, long blade of twenty feet long and ten feet wide. She touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Then, hereby, you will no longer be known as such a revolting name. You shall now be called Waldek Elof Mieszko Jarosław Goldensunrisefur, and will go now on a quest to find what your weapon will be. I would like to be at Redwall soon."
"Yes, my Lady Eunomia Freyja Fionnghuala Clytia Rosepetaleye. I will do as you command."
He walked off into the unknown, emeralds not quite as glowing as Eunomia's were, but glowing all the same.
With a smile, she continued on her journey.
Karen woke with a shudder, even though it was near night. She had slept all day; her first day out of Salamandastron.
Darn it…she had grown stronger.
Karen had to get stronger…By my own practice, she added hurriedly to herself, not wanting the only thing stopping her from being vulnerable to becoming one of those horrors to deactivate. She couldn't let that monster continue growing stronger and creating more Sues…The Secret Sue-Slayer Society had enough on their paws; there were too many Sues.
"Dunes of Salamandastron, this is bad!" This monstrosity that had turned her own brother into a Sue had gotten the ability to be a Sue-Talker. About as bad as a Death-Talker, but worse.
Just her luck. She had been able to shake off most of her effects, but, even now, she spotted a small jewel in her tunic. Ripping it out forcefully, she flung it away.
She stamped her paws, and, convincing herself that no Sues would come and try to get her, she made a fire. She had a long night, and she scolded herself soundly. She'd have to find a partner in order to destroy that Sue.
The shrew settled down, and, with her not-very-long-worn-down-rapier, took sentinel for herself.
Tomorrow she would begin her career, not quite officially, though, as a Novice Sue-Slayer.