Author's Note: *laughs in that evil maniaclly defiant way of hers* HAHA! I FINALLY FINISHED SATURN!!! It took me forever and a day, but what can I say? I've been busy!!! Lotsa schoolwork... *sigh* Anyway... here's the next part of Sailor Senshi Next Generation! Do enjoy!!! And yeah, don't own Sailor Pluto (who yet again isn't in this part...) and yeah... ^.^
~Lordess
Saturn
The planet of death some call it... But it is better known as the planet of the ice desert... The entire surface of Saturn is an ice sculpture in the making, though none of it is ice, but of pure crystal... Mile after mile of this glass-like surface not found on any other planet of the milky way.
Saturn, though huge in size, is not very populated and life is rare. Half of the reason is the ice rings that orbit around it making access to the planet harder. The other half of the reason is based solely on myth and legends however...
They say that Sailor Saturn was the Senshi of Death, and therefore the planet Saturn was created from the same evil base and all those who travel there are cursed...
Though usually people don't believe it...
Me included...
Though I must say... I was kind of freaked out when I saw the palace...
Black metal that spiraled upwards towards the dark purple skies... Metal that seemed to cry and wrench in pain, though sparkled under the light of the shaded sun. It appeared to be some dark palace where demons lived and worked... Except for one attribute...
Well actually three... Three crystal pillars standing in the center of the palace, reaching up higher than the actual palace columns themselves. They were lined with gold and the center one seemed to hold a tiara with a deep violet, almost black, gem.
And I stared at those three pillars that stood in the center of the black palace as the trio trudged onwards over the smooth surface of ice desert...
We had passed the front gates about an hour ago and STILL were miles away from the castle. As I had found out (obviously Alita and Ookami just now finding out as well), those who could not contact the Palace members ahead of time could not park their damn spaceship (which was STILL mad at me) in the palace docking areas... This means I had to park outside the palace walls and had to clearance from the front gate, showing ID's and everything... And then came a VERY long walk...
All castles have courtyards, I'll agree with that... And I'll also agree with the fact that most of them are quite large and extravagant... But this.... This was ridiculous! There was nothing in the courtyard! Just black metal poles about five feet high with little gems on the top to keep you on the right path. And it wasn't just a tiny walk like this... this continued onwards for miles! I mean, I couldn't even define the base of the castle we were that far from it!
Thus there was a whole lot of complaining... Namely from the Princess Ookami.
"Damn Raina... Why couldn't you have just gotten a hold of the Captain on the Guards so we could have parked right next to the palace?!" the youngest senshi present muttered with a curse to go with it.
"I tried!" I snapped back.
"Oh really?" Ookami raised an eyebrow curiously, stopping her walking. "Then why is it that we are walking mile after mile in this ice desert?!"
Alita and I came to a halt. "Why?" I asked. Alita proceeded to calmly take a step back as I stormed up to the girl. I pointed directly upwards. "You see those?"
Ookami looked up to see the faint change of color that lined the sky. "It's the ice rings..." she replied and I nodded. "So? What do those have to do with it?"
"Simple..." Alita interfered. "Any place that the ice rings cross will be put into a dead zone... the meteors cause much interference, thus communication is impossible... It only however, lasts a few hours before the ice rings move over another part and the process begins over again..."
I crossed my arms angrily. "See? So you can stop blaming this all on me! The palace went into the dead zone minutes before we arrived..."
Ookami still wasn't impressed. "Why couldn't we have waited until the dead zone passed?"
"For two reasons..." I began. "It's too dangerous to be in orbit with the ice rings... and... Gennom..." My voice trailed off, not wanting to finish.
"Gennom... what?"
"...dumped half of the remaining fuel so we HAD to land..."
Silence.
Ookami started fuming in this silence, trying to stay calm. "And... WHY... did he dump... the fuel..."
"Well he claimed it was to make room for the tuna... but he did it just because he was mad at me..."
Ookami screamed a scream of pure rage and I was quite surprised the crystal beneath our feet didn't crack. The princess stopped her screaming, pulled her pigtails outwards only for a second, before turning back to me. "If one more disaster happens on this trip, I'm going to rip my hair off!"
"I'll make sure you keep to your word..." I muttered before beginning the walk again. "Now lets get going so we don't take all ni-IIIIIAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
What cut me off unexpectedly was the fact that the ground beneath my feet suddenly decided to disappear. And as I fell, bumping along some sort of tubing a small thought clicked through my mind... Kyle had warned me that the courtyard of Saturn had booby-traps...
...Looks like I had found one of them...
About half way down the long tunnel I finally stopped my screaming, now concentrating more on finding something to hold onto as my tilted decent continued. This tube however, was nothing but slim walls. My finger tips would occasionally hit the separation of slates, but they were melded together so well and my fall so fast, I was unable to grip them.
My decent did come to a stop though...
Namely around the time I ran out of tubing and fell to the harsh flat floor...
Landing at a tilt, I rolled several times before finally coming to a rest on my back, eyes closed at the pain that stung in my legs. I was out of breath from screaming and having the wind knocked out of me when the sudden stop hit.
As the pain dimmed and my breath returned to normal, I quickly sat upright. That was a mistake in itself for there was a sudden blood rush causing me to hold my head. How odd that I had landed on a tilt...
I opened my eyes to the dim lighting...
Behind me I could see a silver outline of the tube I had plummeted through. All that surrounded me was made of black crystal with the occasional lantern hanging from a side wall, the flames lit and dancing across the dark jewel walls. I was in a hallway of some sort, tilting at an upwards angle which explained the head rush.
Grumbling, I stood to my feet, having to use both the floor, the wall, and my own knee to help. 'That's three out of three planets I've had problems on...' my mind thought in a griping tone. And it was around then that I saw her...
My body froze...
"My GOD this isn't good! What the hell are we supposed to do now?!" Ookami had taken this opportunity to increase her grumbles to hysterical screams. Alita had decided, for the moment, to ignore them, kneeling on the glass like surface, fingers tracing the outline of the sliding piece of crystal that Raina had so conveniently stepped on.
"How interesting..."
The blue haired girl could have killed the other with mere looks alone as she turned back to the Neptune Princess. "Interesting..." she repeated, tension clear in her voice. "Interesting... Our 'almighty' leader has disappeared and you find it interesting! Someone hand me a knife!"
Alita did not look up at the girl, only continued studying the tracings of the square. "It seems Raina found a part of one of Saturn's highly acclaimed security systems..." The red head gave a pleasant smile. "How comical!"
"Comical...?" Ookami couldn't believe this princess... "We're stuck alone in the middle of nowhere... and you find it comical!" The Princess of Uranus had the urge to do exactly what Raina did once she discovered who Ookami was... Namely find a wall and start banging her head against it... Or maybe start banging Alita's head against it...
Now the red haired princess turned up to face her younger 'teammate'. "Yes! Quite comical indeed!" she replied, jovially. "Don't worry! She'll be fine!"
"And how do you figure this?!"
"Because from what I heard, these traps eventually lead you to the dungeon...."
Silence...
Ookami finally threw her hands up in the air, her eyes following in suit. "And she finds this a good thing..."
She just stood there, half covered in darkness, not moving, not giving the faintest indication that she was even living. Her skin was pale, nearly sheet white as if it had not seen the sun in days. Her tresses were blonde, and exceedingly long, stretching all the way to her knees as she stood erect. The thin locks curled ever so slightly at the ends. And her eyes... I had never seen such eyes... They were cold, almost as icy as the crystal mountains on the surface, but at the same time as blue as the skies of Uranus.
I just stared at her emotionless face, to shocked and afraid to do much else. I watched her as if I were watching a silently ticking bomb that was about to go off.
This girl was intimidating...
I was glad when she gave a swift turn away from me and ran back into the darkness. I closed my eyes for what seemed like the first time in a few minutes, exhaling the breath I had been holding. With the blue eyed one gone, I was brought back to the current problem at hand...
...Oh damn...
She went down the only exit...
That means I had to follow her...
"...crap..."
"You know," started Alita as she heaved herself into an upright position. "We could take this as a good thing..." Ookami had calmed down only a little, though as she spoke her voice came out strained and going slightly higher than her normal tone.
"Alita!" This almost came out as a whine. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere! How can we take this as a good thing?!"
The elder crossed her arms and smiled in a prideful sort of way. "Well knowing Raina she'll be quite freaked out and want to skip this planet till later, more than likely she'll want to leave this planet as soon as possible..."
Ookami was officially lost by now...
"I haven't been looking forward to meeting the eldest Princess of Saturn... And that's not because she's the senshi of death either..." Alita gave a look of thoughtfulness, raising a finger up to her mouth as if lapsing into light concentration.
"Why not?" the younger inquired.
Alita's gaze turned back down to the other princess. "You mean you haven't heard about her...?" Now Ookami was even more lost... "You know... her little... problem...."
Now Ookami got it...
"You mean that little rumor that said that the Princess of Saturn spent time in a mental hospital...?" she asked.
Alita nodded.
"And that they didn't help her at all?" Ookami continued.
Another nod.
"And that went on to say that she's still a raving lunatic and goes through sever mood swings?"
A third nod.
Ookami groaned. "I don't want to be here anymore..."
My entire body was stiff. It seemed every little noise made me jump... And every noise I heard was made by myself too... The blonde haired girl had definitely freaked me out... And that wasn't the worst part...
The worst part was I was lost...
I had entered an area where there was no lighting at all, so I had taken on of the torches from the wall to successfully continue through the area. The crystalline walls reflected the firelight and it seemed to make me even more edgy, my mind thinking they saw things that weren't there.
I gave a long sigh after a rather frightful scare of my own reflection and entered a large, circular room that led to many hallways. I frowned, contemplating which of the identical pathways to choose. My eyes, however, fixed upon something other than the halls...
In the center of this circle room was a pillar of crystal. It's sides were smooth, unlike the jagged walls of the hallways and perfectly cylinder. But it was what was inside that sparked my interest...
I held up the torch to get a better look.
My eyes slowly widened.
"The Silence Glave...." I whispered.
There was a step taken behind me and I swung around to greet whoever it was. My eyes stayed determined only for a moment before widening again as I was confronted with the blonde haired girl with icy blue eyes. Though she stood about five feet away, I could feel a presence around her, and while looking into her eyes that feeling only intensified.
This girl felt of death...
I dropped the torch and the fire went out.
The darkness, however, was short lived as five new torches flared to life around me, being held by five men in dark armor. I blinked, eyes searching for the girl with the presence of death and was half relieved to find that she had disappeared.
"Something the matter, gentlemen?" I asked, feeling my confidence regain itself, letting a small smile creep onto my face.
"You are trespassing on Royal Ground!" the one in front of me said with a harsh tone. I was about to reply when he cut me off. "With the authority of position of Chief of Guard, I hereby place you under arrest!"
My smile quickly dissipated after my confidence ran away...
Ookami groaned again. "Quick! Let's get back to the ship and wait for Raina there! I'm sure she can work everything out on her own!" she said, her voice going into high pitches again. Alita gave a long sigh.
"As much as I'd like to agree with you, we can't..." the red haired princess concluded.
"And just why not?!"
"Because it would be abandoning our positions as Sailor Senshi..." Alita explained, turning to face the younger princess. "It would be disgraceful to leave our esteemed leader behind... Besides... She'll have a fit about it later..."
Ookami paused. "So what do you plan to do?!"
"We must go to the castle..."
Another groan escaped the blue haired princess' lips.
"This is HIGHLY intolerable! How COULD you do such a thing?! I'm RAINA SAVERSE INVAN! THE SENSHI OF EARTH!!! How DARE you lock me up in a commoner's cell like a common criminal!? I'm here to collect the senshi of the next generation to save Earth! HONESTLY! WHY WON'T YOU PEOPLE BELIEVE ME!?"
I breathed heavily after my third set of yells and screams from behind the row of steal bars. My hands gripped two of them so tightly my knuckles had started turning from their normal pale color to a pure white. The two guards assigned to watch my cell just watched me from their seats with clueless curiosity.
They had taken away my sword... AND my locket... and even my leather jacket to search for hidden weapons! It wasn't MY fault I had accidentally fallen into one of the traps in the courtyard and found the holding place of the Silence Glave! It wasn't like I was going to steal it or anything!
I grumbled a long line of curses. "If the Lady Pluto finds out that I've been imprisoned, she's going to have a CONNIPTION!"
Dumb guard number one nudged dumb guard number two in the side. "Aye, mate?" he asked with a deep Australian accent. The second guard, much skinnier than the first, looked up.
"Yessum?"
"Hate ta bug ya but... What's a 'conniption'...?"
I slammed my head against the bars. 'Isn't this great...' my mind thought, curtly. 'You're stuck with the Australian version of Dumb and Dumber...' I lifted my head a few inches away and hit it against the metal a few more times before groaning and moving slowly back to the far wall, slumping down into a sitting position on the floor. "Where are Alita and Ookami when you need them...?!" I asked, barely above a whisper.
The entrance to the dungeon swung open with a harsh slam and the man whom I recognized as the Chief of Guard came walking down, holding my belongings in one hand. At first he didn't look at me and turned to Dumb and Dumber who had straightened up into a standing position as soon as he had entered.
"Sir!" the two guards said in unison as they saluted their commander.
"Unlock the cell," the chief said gruffly and the two scrambled, nearly knocking each other over, to grab the keys and unlock the iron gate that held me prisoner.
I blinked curiously as the two successfully (clumsily, but successfully) unlocked the gate and swung it open. I rose almost stiffly to my feet, a frown set upon my features. The Chief of Guard walked calmly in and gently handed my belongings to me. Upon my taking them, he fell slowly into a bow on one knee.
"Forgive me Senshi of Earth... Troubled times are upon us and we are in great danger when the Dead Zone passes over us and must be extra cautious..."
I gave an aggravated sigh and went through the process of attaching my sword to my belt, swinging my jacket with the cut shoulders on, and shoving the golden locket into my pocket. "I understand..." I replied. "We are all uneasy with the problems at hand..."
The Chief stood up once more. "The King wishes to meet with you and give you his sincerest apologies personally..." he explained, beginning out of the prison. "Please, follow me..." I nodded and did as he asked, following him up the spiral stairway and through a darkly painted wooden door.
Upon walking into the main hallway, I felt a sudden gloom fall upon me. The entire hallway was black as pitch with purple tapestries and a long purple rug in the center of the ebony marble floor. The dungeon was more cheerful than the palace was... Wasn't that odd...?
The Chief spoke not a word as he started down the main hallway. I followed, quiet as well, too annoyed to do much talking at the moment. My eyes scanned the walls, seeing paintings of the Senshi of Saturn. Though these paintings were well done and were an astonishing resemblance to the Sailor Saturn I met, they were dark, dismal, and frightening too...
Too engrossed in the dreary (yet oddly siren) decorations of the palace walls, I forgot to acknowledge the fact that the Chief of Guard was walking directly in front of me. Thus, when he stopped, I ran into him. Course, being the broad man he was, it was I who felt the sharp pain on the entire front side of my body as I bounced back. He gave a small, cold glare over his shoulder to me.
"Sorry..." I muttered. I rubbed my shoulder harshly for it had been slammed into one of his armor plates. I followed the Chief's almost vindictive gaze with a small hope that something cheerful would grant me the pleasure of happiness. No such luck however, as my eyes fell upon the King of Saturn. The man, though young, had a certain old age about him as he sat upon the black marble throne. He was quite thin and his eyes, the same cold blue eyes of the girl I'd met before, seemed almost a mere slit. His lips were curved in an almost devious smirk as shoulder length purple hair tickled his chin.
Something bothered me about him...
Disregarding my first impression, I straightened my posture and walked proudly up the purple carpet, stopping at a good distance and giving a deep bow. "Your majesty," I started. "I am Raina Saverse Invan, commander of the Earth's Wings."
"So I have heard," the King said in a voice that defied the frailness of his body (except for the almost sassy tone he held in it). "I apologize for the mistake in your identity. I am King Xel Metallus Creed. I humbly welcome you to my castle."
"Your welcome is much appreciated," I replied. "I have come to discuss the collection of the Senshi with you."
"I have heard that as well..." The smirk grew in the slightest. "The Lady Setsuna asked me to allow my daughter to be trained as one of the Sailor Senshi..."
"Have you made your decision...?"
"I consent..."
A small smile graced my features. "Glad to hear it King Xel." I gave another bow to show my respect. The King seemed delighted by it and his smirk grew even more. He rose from his throne and motioned towards a side hallway, lit only by a single candle.
"May I introduce you to my daughter," he said with a prideful tone. "Akutenshi Shabrin Creed, eldest heir to the throne of Saturn..."
I held my breath for a moment as a figure stirred in the darkness and moved forward. The tall, skinny (yet sturdy looking) female took a few steps from the dark hall and met my gaze.
I almost dropped dead where I stood.
The eldest daughter of Saturn was the girl in the glass hallways...
Silence filled the room...
"RAINA!!!"
I was suddenly thankful Ookami had a large mouth. I turned around, looking into the dark hallway I had entered through to see the two other members of my crew, Alita and Ookami, jogging up to greet me. They stopped by my side, apparently out of breath.
"Raina! You idiot!" Ookami muttered under her breath, sending death glares at me. I sent one straight back. "How could you fall into a trap like that?"
"Oh hush..." I muttered under my breath.
"And who might these two delightful young ladies be?"
I jumped at the sudden voice right next to me. I blinked at the King who somehow had made his way to my side without my noticing. I watched him warily before replying. "It is my pleasure to introduce the two princesses I have met thus far..." I waved a hand at them respectively. "Princess Alita from Neptune and Princess Ookami from Uranus.
King Xel gave an awkward smile. "Ah! I haven't seen you both in a long time!" he said with an almost giddy tone. "I'm delighted to have the chance to see you once again!" The purple haired king dipped into a low bow. The two princesses followed in suite, giving their own curtseys.
"Your highness," I started, drawing the Kings attention to me. I gave a quick glance to the senshi of Saturn who stood motionless before continuing. "What of the Saturn Crystal? Do you know of it's whereabouts?"
The King raised a finger to his lip in thought. "Ah yes... the crystal... Akutenshi dear..." he said, tilting his head towards his daughter. She looked up without expression. "Do you know where I placed it?" The daughter did not reply and the King turned to me again. "I do believe I left it in one of the safes of the palace..."
I gave a smile and nodded. "It would be wise to retrieve it... Akutenshi will need it to allow her passage into her room on the Earth's Wings and to transform..."
"Oh... that is a problem..."
I tilted my head. "Why?"
"Because all the safes are in the chasm behind the castle..."
I felt like toppling over at that moment. "..."
"None of the servants are allowed down there..." The king continued. "I do believe it is necessary for you and your comrades to go get it yourselves..."
I groaned. It was planet Neptune all over again...! I gave a deep frown. "I went though this already trying to get Neptune's crystal and nearly got shot full of arrows..." I grumbled, then turned to Alita and Ookami. "Alright Senshi! You can go get it!"
Simultaneous groans from the two princesses. "Why us?"
"Think of it as training!"
Alita and Ookami groaned again.
The King gave a small titter.
Akutenshi remained emotionless.
Nearly an hour later, King Xel, Princess Akutenshi and I stood at the top of a huge ravine looking down into a seemingly bottomless cavern of pure crystal. Ookami and Alita were strapped to safety harnesses and were making a slow descent towards the safes that seemed half a mile away.
"I can't believe we're being forced into this!" Ookami muttered to herself, gripping the crystal walls so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Alita was much the same, shivering every now and then as a cold gust of wind swept past them.
"I agree... it's quite inhumane..." the Princess of Neptune mused as she took another step downwards. She paused momentarily to make sure the harness was on right before taking another step. "I fail to see how this is 'training'... What's the likelihood that we're going to have to do climb down chasms?"
I gave a smirk as I heard this conversation echo off the crystal walls and make it's way towards me. "Be prepared for anything!" I shouted in reply, answered by two familiar groans. The two exchanged some more idle talk as they descended. My gaze turned to the blonde haired Princess who had said not a word. Her gaze watched the two other princesses, her eyes seemingly refusing to blink.
She was freaky... And what bothered me the most was a marking on her left wrist... A scar...
I gave an unheard gulp and turned my gaze to the King, who was proudly smiling as he watched the two. "This is quite entertaining..." he mused aloud.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well if they're grumbling this much going down to the safes..." He pulled an item from his pocket and tossed it to himself once before handing it to me. "Then how are they going to react when they find out I had the crystal all along?"
My eyes grew quite wide as I looked down at the deep purple crystal in the shape of the symbol of Saturn. I turned back to the purple haired King. "...You're jesting... right...?"
He didn't reply, only continued to smile that mischevious smile of his.
"...This isn't the crystal... right? Alita and Ookami are going to go get the real one... right?"
That smile never left his face.
"...Oh God... They're going to kill me when they find out..."
"Aha!" Ookami's voice floated up. "Found the safes!"
"How odd that they would be built inside the crystal walls..." Alita mused and I could hear the clicks as she began unlocking the safe she had been told to open.
"Don't ponder how odd it is! Just get the crystal so we can go back up! I hate heights!"
"...Alright hold on..."
A few more clicks and the door to the safe was opened. It sounded like a door that would lead me to my death... The screams of danger flitered upwards and filled my head.
"WHAT THE-?! RAINA!!! THE SAFE IS EMPTY!!!"
And that was the start of grudge number three...
~Gennom's Computer Bank: Crew Members~
Name: Akutenshi Shabrin Creed
Age: 16
Senshi: Saturn
Appearance: 5'6"-long blonde hair-ice blue eyes
Other Distinguishing Features: crooked scar on left wrist
Background: Many rumors have been passed around about Akutenshi; being locked up in an asylum being one of them. She has one younger sister who is rarely to never seen but goes by the name of Cephedia. Not much else is known, but according to her father, King Xel Metallum Creed, she has a tendency to go through rapid mood swings.
Author's note: not as good as I wanted it to be... but hey... nothing I do ever is... Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! BTW... thanks to all of those who have reviewed!! ^.^ It makes me feel so loved!
~Lordess
Saturn
The planet of death some call it... But it is better known as the planet of the ice desert... The entire surface of Saturn is an ice sculpture in the making, though none of it is ice, but of pure crystal... Mile after mile of this glass-like surface not found on any other planet of the milky way.
Saturn, though huge in size, is not very populated and life is rare. Half of the reason is the ice rings that orbit around it making access to the planet harder. The other half of the reason is based solely on myth and legends however...
They say that Sailor Saturn was the Senshi of Death, and therefore the planet Saturn was created from the same evil base and all those who travel there are cursed...
Though usually people don't believe it...
Me included...
Though I must say... I was kind of freaked out when I saw the palace...
Black metal that spiraled upwards towards the dark purple skies... Metal that seemed to cry and wrench in pain, though sparkled under the light of the shaded sun. It appeared to be some dark palace where demons lived and worked... Except for one attribute...
Well actually three... Three crystal pillars standing in the center of the palace, reaching up higher than the actual palace columns themselves. They were lined with gold and the center one seemed to hold a tiara with a deep violet, almost black, gem.
And I stared at those three pillars that stood in the center of the black palace as the trio trudged onwards over the smooth surface of ice desert...
We had passed the front gates about an hour ago and STILL were miles away from the castle. As I had found out (obviously Alita and Ookami just now finding out as well), those who could not contact the Palace members ahead of time could not park their damn spaceship (which was STILL mad at me) in the palace docking areas... This means I had to park outside the palace walls and had to clearance from the front gate, showing ID's and everything... And then came a VERY long walk...
All castles have courtyards, I'll agree with that... And I'll also agree with the fact that most of them are quite large and extravagant... But this.... This was ridiculous! There was nothing in the courtyard! Just black metal poles about five feet high with little gems on the top to keep you on the right path. And it wasn't just a tiny walk like this... this continued onwards for miles! I mean, I couldn't even define the base of the castle we were that far from it!
Thus there was a whole lot of complaining... Namely from the Princess Ookami.
"Damn Raina... Why couldn't you have just gotten a hold of the Captain on the Guards so we could have parked right next to the palace?!" the youngest senshi present muttered with a curse to go with it.
"I tried!" I snapped back.
"Oh really?" Ookami raised an eyebrow curiously, stopping her walking. "Then why is it that we are walking mile after mile in this ice desert?!"
Alita and I came to a halt. "Why?" I asked. Alita proceeded to calmly take a step back as I stormed up to the girl. I pointed directly upwards. "You see those?"
Ookami looked up to see the faint change of color that lined the sky. "It's the ice rings..." she replied and I nodded. "So? What do those have to do with it?"
"Simple..." Alita interfered. "Any place that the ice rings cross will be put into a dead zone... the meteors cause much interference, thus communication is impossible... It only however, lasts a few hours before the ice rings move over another part and the process begins over again..."
I crossed my arms angrily. "See? So you can stop blaming this all on me! The palace went into the dead zone minutes before we arrived..."
Ookami still wasn't impressed. "Why couldn't we have waited until the dead zone passed?"
"For two reasons..." I began. "It's too dangerous to be in orbit with the ice rings... and... Gennom..." My voice trailed off, not wanting to finish.
"Gennom... what?"
"...dumped half of the remaining fuel so we HAD to land..."
Silence.
Ookami started fuming in this silence, trying to stay calm. "And... WHY... did he dump... the fuel..."
"Well he claimed it was to make room for the tuna... but he did it just because he was mad at me..."
Ookami screamed a scream of pure rage and I was quite surprised the crystal beneath our feet didn't crack. The princess stopped her screaming, pulled her pigtails outwards only for a second, before turning back to me. "If one more disaster happens on this trip, I'm going to rip my hair off!"
"I'll make sure you keep to your word..." I muttered before beginning the walk again. "Now lets get going so we don't take all ni-IIIIIAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
What cut me off unexpectedly was the fact that the ground beneath my feet suddenly decided to disappear. And as I fell, bumping along some sort of tubing a small thought clicked through my mind... Kyle had warned me that the courtyard of Saturn had booby-traps...
...Looks like I had found one of them...
About half way down the long tunnel I finally stopped my screaming, now concentrating more on finding something to hold onto as my tilted decent continued. This tube however, was nothing but slim walls. My finger tips would occasionally hit the separation of slates, but they were melded together so well and my fall so fast, I was unable to grip them.
My decent did come to a stop though...
Namely around the time I ran out of tubing and fell to the harsh flat floor...
Landing at a tilt, I rolled several times before finally coming to a rest on my back, eyes closed at the pain that stung in my legs. I was out of breath from screaming and having the wind knocked out of me when the sudden stop hit.
As the pain dimmed and my breath returned to normal, I quickly sat upright. That was a mistake in itself for there was a sudden blood rush causing me to hold my head. How odd that I had landed on a tilt...
I opened my eyes to the dim lighting...
Behind me I could see a silver outline of the tube I had plummeted through. All that surrounded me was made of black crystal with the occasional lantern hanging from a side wall, the flames lit and dancing across the dark jewel walls. I was in a hallway of some sort, tilting at an upwards angle which explained the head rush.
Grumbling, I stood to my feet, having to use both the floor, the wall, and my own knee to help. 'That's three out of three planets I've had problems on...' my mind thought in a griping tone. And it was around then that I saw her...
My body froze...
"My GOD this isn't good! What the hell are we supposed to do now?!" Ookami had taken this opportunity to increase her grumbles to hysterical screams. Alita had decided, for the moment, to ignore them, kneeling on the glass like surface, fingers tracing the outline of the sliding piece of crystal that Raina had so conveniently stepped on.
"How interesting..."
The blue haired girl could have killed the other with mere looks alone as she turned back to the Neptune Princess. "Interesting..." she repeated, tension clear in her voice. "Interesting... Our 'almighty' leader has disappeared and you find it interesting! Someone hand me a knife!"
Alita did not look up at the girl, only continued studying the tracings of the square. "It seems Raina found a part of one of Saturn's highly acclaimed security systems..." The red head gave a pleasant smile. "How comical!"
"Comical...?" Ookami couldn't believe this princess... "We're stuck alone in the middle of nowhere... and you find it comical!" The Princess of Uranus had the urge to do exactly what Raina did once she discovered who Ookami was... Namely find a wall and start banging her head against it... Or maybe start banging Alita's head against it...
Now the red haired princess turned up to face her younger 'teammate'. "Yes! Quite comical indeed!" she replied, jovially. "Don't worry! She'll be fine!"
"And how do you figure this?!"
"Because from what I heard, these traps eventually lead you to the dungeon...."
Silence...
Ookami finally threw her hands up in the air, her eyes following in suit. "And she finds this a good thing..."
She just stood there, half covered in darkness, not moving, not giving the faintest indication that she was even living. Her skin was pale, nearly sheet white as if it had not seen the sun in days. Her tresses were blonde, and exceedingly long, stretching all the way to her knees as she stood erect. The thin locks curled ever so slightly at the ends. And her eyes... I had never seen such eyes... They were cold, almost as icy as the crystal mountains on the surface, but at the same time as blue as the skies of Uranus.
I just stared at her emotionless face, to shocked and afraid to do much else. I watched her as if I were watching a silently ticking bomb that was about to go off.
This girl was intimidating...
I was glad when she gave a swift turn away from me and ran back into the darkness. I closed my eyes for what seemed like the first time in a few minutes, exhaling the breath I had been holding. With the blue eyed one gone, I was brought back to the current problem at hand...
...Oh damn...
She went down the only exit...
That means I had to follow her...
"...crap..."
"You know," started Alita as she heaved herself into an upright position. "We could take this as a good thing..." Ookami had calmed down only a little, though as she spoke her voice came out strained and going slightly higher than her normal tone.
"Alita!" This almost came out as a whine. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere! How can we take this as a good thing?!"
The elder crossed her arms and smiled in a prideful sort of way. "Well knowing Raina she'll be quite freaked out and want to skip this planet till later, more than likely she'll want to leave this planet as soon as possible..."
Ookami was officially lost by now...
"I haven't been looking forward to meeting the eldest Princess of Saturn... And that's not because she's the senshi of death either..." Alita gave a look of thoughtfulness, raising a finger up to her mouth as if lapsing into light concentration.
"Why not?" the younger inquired.
Alita's gaze turned back down to the other princess. "You mean you haven't heard about her...?" Now Ookami was even more lost... "You know... her little... problem...."
Now Ookami got it...
"You mean that little rumor that said that the Princess of Saturn spent time in a mental hospital...?" she asked.
Alita nodded.
"And that they didn't help her at all?" Ookami continued.
Another nod.
"And that went on to say that she's still a raving lunatic and goes through sever mood swings?"
A third nod.
Ookami groaned. "I don't want to be here anymore..."
My entire body was stiff. It seemed every little noise made me jump... And every noise I heard was made by myself too... The blonde haired girl had definitely freaked me out... And that wasn't the worst part...
The worst part was I was lost...
I had entered an area where there was no lighting at all, so I had taken on of the torches from the wall to successfully continue through the area. The crystalline walls reflected the firelight and it seemed to make me even more edgy, my mind thinking they saw things that weren't there.
I gave a long sigh after a rather frightful scare of my own reflection and entered a large, circular room that led to many hallways. I frowned, contemplating which of the identical pathways to choose. My eyes, however, fixed upon something other than the halls...
In the center of this circle room was a pillar of crystal. It's sides were smooth, unlike the jagged walls of the hallways and perfectly cylinder. But it was what was inside that sparked my interest...
I held up the torch to get a better look.
My eyes slowly widened.
"The Silence Glave...." I whispered.
There was a step taken behind me and I swung around to greet whoever it was. My eyes stayed determined only for a moment before widening again as I was confronted with the blonde haired girl with icy blue eyes. Though she stood about five feet away, I could feel a presence around her, and while looking into her eyes that feeling only intensified.
This girl felt of death...
I dropped the torch and the fire went out.
The darkness, however, was short lived as five new torches flared to life around me, being held by five men in dark armor. I blinked, eyes searching for the girl with the presence of death and was half relieved to find that she had disappeared.
"Something the matter, gentlemen?" I asked, feeling my confidence regain itself, letting a small smile creep onto my face.
"You are trespassing on Royal Ground!" the one in front of me said with a harsh tone. I was about to reply when he cut me off. "With the authority of position of Chief of Guard, I hereby place you under arrest!"
My smile quickly dissipated after my confidence ran away...
Ookami groaned again. "Quick! Let's get back to the ship and wait for Raina there! I'm sure she can work everything out on her own!" she said, her voice going into high pitches again. Alita gave a long sigh.
"As much as I'd like to agree with you, we can't..." the red haired princess concluded.
"And just why not?!"
"Because it would be abandoning our positions as Sailor Senshi..." Alita explained, turning to face the younger princess. "It would be disgraceful to leave our esteemed leader behind... Besides... She'll have a fit about it later..."
Ookami paused. "So what do you plan to do?!"
"We must go to the castle..."
Another groan escaped the blue haired princess' lips.
"This is HIGHLY intolerable! How COULD you do such a thing?! I'm RAINA SAVERSE INVAN! THE SENSHI OF EARTH!!! How DARE you lock me up in a commoner's cell like a common criminal!? I'm here to collect the senshi of the next generation to save Earth! HONESTLY! WHY WON'T YOU PEOPLE BELIEVE ME!?"
I breathed heavily after my third set of yells and screams from behind the row of steal bars. My hands gripped two of them so tightly my knuckles had started turning from their normal pale color to a pure white. The two guards assigned to watch my cell just watched me from their seats with clueless curiosity.
They had taken away my sword... AND my locket... and even my leather jacket to search for hidden weapons! It wasn't MY fault I had accidentally fallen into one of the traps in the courtyard and found the holding place of the Silence Glave! It wasn't like I was going to steal it or anything!
I grumbled a long line of curses. "If the Lady Pluto finds out that I've been imprisoned, she's going to have a CONNIPTION!"
Dumb guard number one nudged dumb guard number two in the side. "Aye, mate?" he asked with a deep Australian accent. The second guard, much skinnier than the first, looked up.
"Yessum?"
"Hate ta bug ya but... What's a 'conniption'...?"
I slammed my head against the bars. 'Isn't this great...' my mind thought, curtly. 'You're stuck with the Australian version of Dumb and Dumber...' I lifted my head a few inches away and hit it against the metal a few more times before groaning and moving slowly back to the far wall, slumping down into a sitting position on the floor. "Where are Alita and Ookami when you need them...?!" I asked, barely above a whisper.
The entrance to the dungeon swung open with a harsh slam and the man whom I recognized as the Chief of Guard came walking down, holding my belongings in one hand. At first he didn't look at me and turned to Dumb and Dumber who had straightened up into a standing position as soon as he had entered.
"Sir!" the two guards said in unison as they saluted their commander.
"Unlock the cell," the chief said gruffly and the two scrambled, nearly knocking each other over, to grab the keys and unlock the iron gate that held me prisoner.
I blinked curiously as the two successfully (clumsily, but successfully) unlocked the gate and swung it open. I rose almost stiffly to my feet, a frown set upon my features. The Chief of Guard walked calmly in and gently handed my belongings to me. Upon my taking them, he fell slowly into a bow on one knee.
"Forgive me Senshi of Earth... Troubled times are upon us and we are in great danger when the Dead Zone passes over us and must be extra cautious..."
I gave an aggravated sigh and went through the process of attaching my sword to my belt, swinging my jacket with the cut shoulders on, and shoving the golden locket into my pocket. "I understand..." I replied. "We are all uneasy with the problems at hand..."
The Chief stood up once more. "The King wishes to meet with you and give you his sincerest apologies personally..." he explained, beginning out of the prison. "Please, follow me..." I nodded and did as he asked, following him up the spiral stairway and through a darkly painted wooden door.
Upon walking into the main hallway, I felt a sudden gloom fall upon me. The entire hallway was black as pitch with purple tapestries and a long purple rug in the center of the ebony marble floor. The dungeon was more cheerful than the palace was... Wasn't that odd...?
The Chief spoke not a word as he started down the main hallway. I followed, quiet as well, too annoyed to do much talking at the moment. My eyes scanned the walls, seeing paintings of the Senshi of Saturn. Though these paintings were well done and were an astonishing resemblance to the Sailor Saturn I met, they were dark, dismal, and frightening too...
Too engrossed in the dreary (yet oddly siren) decorations of the palace walls, I forgot to acknowledge the fact that the Chief of Guard was walking directly in front of me. Thus, when he stopped, I ran into him. Course, being the broad man he was, it was I who felt the sharp pain on the entire front side of my body as I bounced back. He gave a small, cold glare over his shoulder to me.
"Sorry..." I muttered. I rubbed my shoulder harshly for it had been slammed into one of his armor plates. I followed the Chief's almost vindictive gaze with a small hope that something cheerful would grant me the pleasure of happiness. No such luck however, as my eyes fell upon the King of Saturn. The man, though young, had a certain old age about him as he sat upon the black marble throne. He was quite thin and his eyes, the same cold blue eyes of the girl I'd met before, seemed almost a mere slit. His lips were curved in an almost devious smirk as shoulder length purple hair tickled his chin.
Something bothered me about him...
Disregarding my first impression, I straightened my posture and walked proudly up the purple carpet, stopping at a good distance and giving a deep bow. "Your majesty," I started. "I am Raina Saverse Invan, commander of the Earth's Wings."
"So I have heard," the King said in a voice that defied the frailness of his body (except for the almost sassy tone he held in it). "I apologize for the mistake in your identity. I am King Xel Metallus Creed. I humbly welcome you to my castle."
"Your welcome is much appreciated," I replied. "I have come to discuss the collection of the Senshi with you."
"I have heard that as well..." The smirk grew in the slightest. "The Lady Setsuna asked me to allow my daughter to be trained as one of the Sailor Senshi..."
"Have you made your decision...?"
"I consent..."
A small smile graced my features. "Glad to hear it King Xel." I gave another bow to show my respect. The King seemed delighted by it and his smirk grew even more. He rose from his throne and motioned towards a side hallway, lit only by a single candle.
"May I introduce you to my daughter," he said with a prideful tone. "Akutenshi Shabrin Creed, eldest heir to the throne of Saturn..."
I held my breath for a moment as a figure stirred in the darkness and moved forward. The tall, skinny (yet sturdy looking) female took a few steps from the dark hall and met my gaze.
I almost dropped dead where I stood.
The eldest daughter of Saturn was the girl in the glass hallways...
Silence filled the room...
"RAINA!!!"
I was suddenly thankful Ookami had a large mouth. I turned around, looking into the dark hallway I had entered through to see the two other members of my crew, Alita and Ookami, jogging up to greet me. They stopped by my side, apparently out of breath.
"Raina! You idiot!" Ookami muttered under her breath, sending death glares at me. I sent one straight back. "How could you fall into a trap like that?"
"Oh hush..." I muttered under my breath.
"And who might these two delightful young ladies be?"
I jumped at the sudden voice right next to me. I blinked at the King who somehow had made his way to my side without my noticing. I watched him warily before replying. "It is my pleasure to introduce the two princesses I have met thus far..." I waved a hand at them respectively. "Princess Alita from Neptune and Princess Ookami from Uranus.
King Xel gave an awkward smile. "Ah! I haven't seen you both in a long time!" he said with an almost giddy tone. "I'm delighted to have the chance to see you once again!" The purple haired king dipped into a low bow. The two princesses followed in suite, giving their own curtseys.
"Your highness," I started, drawing the Kings attention to me. I gave a quick glance to the senshi of Saturn who stood motionless before continuing. "What of the Saturn Crystal? Do you know of it's whereabouts?"
The King raised a finger to his lip in thought. "Ah yes... the crystal... Akutenshi dear..." he said, tilting his head towards his daughter. She looked up without expression. "Do you know where I placed it?" The daughter did not reply and the King turned to me again. "I do believe I left it in one of the safes of the palace..."
I gave a smile and nodded. "It would be wise to retrieve it... Akutenshi will need it to allow her passage into her room on the Earth's Wings and to transform..."
"Oh... that is a problem..."
I tilted my head. "Why?"
"Because all the safes are in the chasm behind the castle..."
I felt like toppling over at that moment. "..."
"None of the servants are allowed down there..." The king continued. "I do believe it is necessary for you and your comrades to go get it yourselves..."
I groaned. It was planet Neptune all over again...! I gave a deep frown. "I went though this already trying to get Neptune's crystal and nearly got shot full of arrows..." I grumbled, then turned to Alita and Ookami. "Alright Senshi! You can go get it!"
Simultaneous groans from the two princesses. "Why us?"
"Think of it as training!"
Alita and Ookami groaned again.
The King gave a small titter.
Akutenshi remained emotionless.
Nearly an hour later, King Xel, Princess Akutenshi and I stood at the top of a huge ravine looking down into a seemingly bottomless cavern of pure crystal. Ookami and Alita were strapped to safety harnesses and were making a slow descent towards the safes that seemed half a mile away.
"I can't believe we're being forced into this!" Ookami muttered to herself, gripping the crystal walls so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Alita was much the same, shivering every now and then as a cold gust of wind swept past them.
"I agree... it's quite inhumane..." the Princess of Neptune mused as she took another step downwards. She paused momentarily to make sure the harness was on right before taking another step. "I fail to see how this is 'training'... What's the likelihood that we're going to have to do climb down chasms?"
I gave a smirk as I heard this conversation echo off the crystal walls and make it's way towards me. "Be prepared for anything!" I shouted in reply, answered by two familiar groans. The two exchanged some more idle talk as they descended. My gaze turned to the blonde haired Princess who had said not a word. Her gaze watched the two other princesses, her eyes seemingly refusing to blink.
She was freaky... And what bothered me the most was a marking on her left wrist... A scar...
I gave an unheard gulp and turned my gaze to the King, who was proudly smiling as he watched the two. "This is quite entertaining..." he mused aloud.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well if they're grumbling this much going down to the safes..." He pulled an item from his pocket and tossed it to himself once before handing it to me. "Then how are they going to react when they find out I had the crystal all along?"
My eyes grew quite wide as I looked down at the deep purple crystal in the shape of the symbol of Saturn. I turned back to the purple haired King. "...You're jesting... right...?"
He didn't reply, only continued to smile that mischevious smile of his.
"...This isn't the crystal... right? Alita and Ookami are going to go get the real one... right?"
That smile never left his face.
"...Oh God... They're going to kill me when they find out..."
"Aha!" Ookami's voice floated up. "Found the safes!"
"How odd that they would be built inside the crystal walls..." Alita mused and I could hear the clicks as she began unlocking the safe she had been told to open.
"Don't ponder how odd it is! Just get the crystal so we can go back up! I hate heights!"
"...Alright hold on..."
A few more clicks and the door to the safe was opened. It sounded like a door that would lead me to my death... The screams of danger flitered upwards and filled my head.
"WHAT THE-?! RAINA!!! THE SAFE IS EMPTY!!!"
And that was the start of grudge number three...
~Gennom's Computer Bank: Crew Members~
Name: Akutenshi Shabrin Creed
Age: 16
Senshi: Saturn
Appearance: 5'6"-long blonde hair-ice blue eyes
Other Distinguishing Features: crooked scar on left wrist
Background: Many rumors have been passed around about Akutenshi; being locked up in an asylum being one of them. She has one younger sister who is rarely to never seen but goes by the name of Cephedia. Not much else is known, but according to her father, King Xel Metallum Creed, she has a tendency to go through rapid mood swings.
Author's note: not as good as I wanted it to be... but hey... nothing I do ever is... Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! BTW... thanks to all of those who have reviewed!! ^.^ It makes me feel so loved!
