SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm H4-L0 – Melodia System – Chorus – Federal Army of Chorus base
Just as the cold merc known as 'Locus' fired his sniper rifle, Felix appeared from nowhere, Hardlight Shield raised to block the shot, saving Wash.
"Tucker, grenade!" he shouted, holding a hand back.
Tucker did so, tossing the frag grenade he'd been holding behind his back to their 'partner'.
"Ahh~…" Felix sighed. "That… was… close! Nice throw, Tucker…"
And then, the black-&-orange mercenary began to laugh, lowering his shield.
"…Felix?" Tucker asked.
"How many times have I jumped in front of a bullet for you, Wash? Three? Those are some pretty great reflexes, huh? Most people would have to… plan that sort of thing."
"What are you doing?" Wash asked, suspicion flooding his tone.
Behind his helmet, Felix smirked. "Oh, just helping out an old acquaintance."
He then threw the un-primed grenade up to Locus, who caught it and handed it off to a neighboring trooper, and then turned to look up at the other soldier.
"You missed a spot" he said coldly.
"Are you done?" Locus asked.
"Not even close."
"Dude, what the hell?-!" Grif exclaimed.
"This doesn't make sense!" Tucker said, shocked. "Locus is your enemy!"
Felix chuckled, and then spoke mockingly. "Right~, and I'm the charismatic mercenary with a gruff exterior, but a heart of gold. …A little too romantic, don't you think?"
"But the guy fucking shot you!"
"Yeah, funny how an act of 'sacrifice' like that buys you so much trust… and so much information."
"Weren't you with another agent, and an A.I.?" "I need a detailed list of the supplies you've got on hand." "You wouldn't happen to have any high-tech armor on board that wreck, would you?"
"But you're supposed to hate each other!" Simmons said.
"Oh, we do. After all, you should never mix friends with business."
"Wrap it up" Locus grumbled, impatient.
"But we just work so well together…"
"You filthy liar!" Sarge shouted.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, I never actually lied to you idiots, okay? Well, except for once. 'You're some of the galaxy's greatest soldiers!'" He scoffed. "Now, that couldn't be farther from the truth. But, y'know, it did make you the perfect candidates to 'lead' the people of Chorus."
"Stop boasting and let me kill them" Locus spoke up. "We have a job to do."
"Ooh, that's right, he doesn't like you guys. He actually thinks there might be a few fighters among you. Ha! Told you he's crazy."
"Technically Wash is a Spartan-IV…" Donut spoke up.
"And how do you think Locus and I have kept up with you guys for so long? We have… friends in high places, high enough to ensure that a couple copies of the augmentation tech miiight have 'fallen between the cracks'."
"But why?" Wash shouted, now furious. "Why the capture, why make us part of the war?"
"Well, y'see-"
"Felix!" Locus snapped.
"No!" Felix rounded on him. "I have had to put up with these morons every day, so you let me have this." He turned back to Wash. "You see, someone, somewhere, out in our galaxy, has their eyes set on this planet. It's got a fuckton of Forerunner relics on it, after all, and that's big money. The only problem… is the inhabitants. Now, if it were up to me, I'd just carpet-nuke this dirtball from orbit, but our employer has other ideas. We have to play this thing carefully, you understand? If an entire planet dies overnight, well, people ask questions. But, if you stumble across this rock and find that the settles killed each other… Well, that's just an awful tragedy…"
"…It was you" Tucker said with horror. "You started this war!"
Felix laughed. "Wrong! These people hated each other way before our little operation showed up! Our interference only moved the war up by a couple of days! We just had to keep that hate-train a-goin'. And lemme tell you, you guys have helped so much… Does it hurt? Knowing you've caused so much death?"
"Enough!" Locus shouted. How many times must I tell you? If you're going to make them suffer, do it quickly and efficiently." He turned to the Blood-Gulch team. "There will be no rescue for you. You will die here today, along with the rest. No one will find your bodies. No one will know and truth. And no one is going to stop us from completing our mission and earning our paychecks by killing every last person on this planet!"
"All right," a female voice chimed in, "that's all I needed to hear."
And then, the mercenary standing closest to Locus, wearing a subtly different helmet from the others, primed the grenade and dropped it.
-BREAK-
Realm SN-03
Dark General Cobalt was not happy. His newest big attempt to get rid of the meddlesome Sailors who kept getting in the way of his queen-given mission, the monstrous and powerful 'Super Yamiko', had failed thanks to the newcomers; apparently the 'visitors' could convert their ki/chi/chakra into attacks as well as magic, and the Takamachi woman had deep-fried his monster with a huge fireball in that manner.
He would need something stronger. He needed to find someone so 'pure', who had repressed and refused so many dark emotions and thoughts and desires, that their resulting Yamiko would be unstoppable. He reached into his files (pointedly ignoring the picture of Argon's latest 'masterpiece' the other Dark General had slipped in there), and pulled out one at random. Looking it over, he smiled. Yes, this one would do nicely. He checked the information, on location and name.
'Shoutan, Himei'
-Break-
The recent viewing of the DDF's 'archive footage' by the local group had opened up new ideas, new lines of discussion. Aki had been awestruck seeing what some of the DDF's higher-end fighters could do. Shin and Kotashi were already wondering if the Yamiko were some new form of 'Unversed'. Himei was startled and left deep in thought by the significant parallels between her and Homura Akemi. Right now, though, they had school, so they needed to put those thoughts on hold for a little while.
As usual, Himei sat beneath the tree behind the school together with Aki as they ate lunch. The recent encounter with a 'Super-Yamiko' had her a little worried; apparently, Dark General Cobalt's mindset of forgoing 'playing' with people in favor of doing things no-nonsense had led him to design a new kind of monster designed to take out Sailors. If Nanoha-san and the Sol Guardians hadn't been there…
Of course, Himei also had another, more recent development that gave her something more 'normal' to worry about: just a few minutes ago, Seiki had asked her on what was, for all intents and purposes, a date. Even now she was still in shock, a flush to her cheeks… which was not helped by Aki excitedly chattering about it, congratulating her, and whatnot.
"Himei-chan, relax! It'll be okay. I can coach you! You'll knock him off his feet. …Not literally."
"I can barely talk to him. …I can barely talk at all. I'm lucky I can talk this well with you! What do I do?-! I-I don't know if I'm ready for-"
"Hey~, girls!"
Startled by the interruption, Himei & Aki turned to see a trio of boys from the school track team, giving the girls some… worrying looks, the kind of wicked grins or smirks they'd come to expect from Yamiko even though the girls could 'sense' that they were full human.
"Um…" Aki said, suddenly worried. "What's goin-"
"Get 'em!" one of the boys shouted.
In a burst of motion, the three boys pounced on the seated girls, pinning them. They began to struggle, but the boys muscled them down, one of them creeping his hands down low.
"What the fuck are you doing?-!" Aki shrieked, trying to kick the boys away.
"Sorry, sweet-cheeks! Ami-sama's orders!"
At Aki's shout, several people came to see what was going on – among them Shin, intent on helping her friends; Ami (with her posse in tow), with a huge wicked grin on her face; Aki's mom & dad, come to the school for a parent-teacher meeting and now having heard their daughter's scream; and…
"Get away from them!-!"
Seiki came charging in as fast as he could, murder in his eyes at the sight of his 'teammates' trying to assault the girl he had feelings for and her closest friend. Himei headbutted the boy pinning her down in the face, but he shrugged off the hit and kept her pinned, while the others were starting to overpower Aki…
A single high-velocity 'bolt' of dark-purple energy impacted the ground near the ruckus, startling all five people involved and bringing things to a pause.
"Now that's just uncouth, boys…" a man's voice said from above.
As she looked up in the tree overhead, Himei went pale a little as she saw Dark General Cobalt looking down at the group. The civilians watched in curious shock as he stepped off of the branch and slowly floated down to ground level, hands in the pockets of his long black coat.
"W-Who the hell are you?" one of the sports boys said. "You think you can just step into our terri-"
"Shut it."
At Cobalt's simple statement and hand gesture, the entire sizable group of people in the surrounding area pretty much froze in place and went completely quiet, his 'presence' rooting them to the spot and silencing them all, as they felt in their hearts and bones that this man was not a normal human.
"Not used to having an audience," the man murmured, "especially one that isn't composed of raving, bloodthirsty morons… Well, you'll all be dead by the end of this, so no harm in letting you take some knowledge to the grave. Right, to keep it simple, I am one of the higher-ranking members of a special type of 'people'. A human's darkness – base desires, repressed negative emotions, dark thoughts that never see the light of day, fleeting ideas and thoughts that you would never, ever act on… given life and form and intelligence by dark power, beings of pure Darkness and Id – an 'other self', composed entirely of all that business that the 'original' would never act on…"
A handful of people, including Aki's parents, felt shock as, remembering the girl's apparent wild actions before, put two and two together.
"Most of us are… well, idiots – impulsive, reckless, bloodthirsty, the attention span of a gnat… As far as I am aware, only I and my assistant are different – gifted with self-control, an 'Ego' and 'Superego' to go with our 'Id', so to speak. As a result, while the other 'Dark Generals' are impatient sadists who like to draw things out, 'play' with their food, and be horribly obnoxious overall… I prefer to do things quickly, cleanly, and precisely; torture takes too much time and effort, a quick snap of the neck or stab through the heart or bone-piercing blade through the brainstem, and if it would be too much effort or trouble to kill someone in the first place, why bother?
"For the past five years, our little 'operation' has been plagued by a unique class of young female warriors called 'Sailor Soldiers'. The latest of them, the most recent 'Sailor Salvation' – though, she became 'Sailor Nothing' supposedly after the emotional strain of the war made her 'crack' – has been a particular thorn in our sides, especially now that she's got teammates. To deal with that, I went over my colleagues' heads and devised a new type of living weapon – a supercharged variant of a standard Yamiko, monstrous in form and great in power.
"The thing about the Yamiko is… their strength, and their depravity, are inversely proportionate to the original's; a generally rotten human being, one who gleefully embraces their worst impulses and natures, basically monsters and assholes, will spawn a relatively weak Yamiko." He looked at Ami. "Hmm, like that one – a real brutish, cruel, arrogant, selfish piece of work, she is. I wouldn't get much of a 'shadow' from her. …But, a person who is quote-unquote 'pure', who holds in all those dark thoughts, all that pain and anger, who represses and refuses to acknowledge their darker feelings and wishes… That type of person tends to spawn exceptionally powerful 'shadows'. And I've come to 'harvest' one such shadow from someone here – someone who has repressed and denied their negative thoughts and emotions so much, for so long, who is so selfless and self-sacrificing as to never consider their own wants…"
Himei managed to break free of the 'presence' hold, positioning herself defensively in front of Seiki, glaring at Cobalt. "Not on your life…" she snarled softly.
Cobalt allowed himself a small smirk. "And did I ever say I was going after him, Shōtan Himei?"
He flashed forward, now standing right in front of her, and thrusted his left palm forward. Himei gasped as she was caught in a constraint field, lifted a few inches off the ground. Now, her eyes went wide with horror as she realized that she was Cobalt's target.
'A… A Yamiko from… m-me…?'
With his other hand, Cobalt formed a sequence of five hand-seals, each one forming a 'flash' of dark light around his hand – the Super-Yamiko creation spell. Then, he thrusted that hand forward, pressing it to the center of her chest.
"Rise…" he commanded.
Himei's body twitched as she felt and heard her heart pound, and then she screamed as – to the shock and horror of everyone watching – a mass of jet-black 'shadow' began to surge out from her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, everywhere. It flowed upward, rapidly coalescing into a pitch-black orb floating a meter over her head… and it kept growing, and growing, and growing.
"What…?" Cobalt stepped back, an expression of deep shock on his face as he sensed just how much energy and darkness was coming out. "No… What is this? A newborn Yamiko can't be this powerful! No-one can have that much…!"
The orb, now as big across as a person, 'pulsed'… and then expanded outward with incredible speed, taking only four or five seconds to engulf the entire school and everyone within. Mere seconds after it halted its expansion, Nanoha and the Sailor Guardians arrived on scene, but were too late.
"What is this?" Sailor Mars asked, trembling. "The power… the terrible darkness I'm sensing from it… Is… Is this a Yamiko?-!"
"How could anyone have this much darkness inside?" Chibi-Moon murmured.
"It's not just that; it feels similar to that monstrous one from not too long ago – another boosted one. But even still… its power level is unreal…"
"…No" Dusty murmured, horror-stricken, as he extended his magical senses to 'inspect' the huge black dome that now engulfed nearly all of the school. "This darkness… This Yamiko… It's Himei's…"
-Break-
"…Where… Where am I?" Aki's voice cut through the silent black void. "Himei…?"
The responding silence was deafening; the void seemed to swallow all light, all sound… Aki started running, looking everywhere.
"Himei! Where are you? Where are we? …It's so cold… Himei, answer me! Please, say something!"
"She can't hear you."
Startled, Aki turned around, finding Cobalt kneeling down beside Himei, who appeared to be asleep.
"This is her Super-Yamiko" he said. "Apparently, it's not the standard 'claws and tentacles' type. I can't open a portal out of this… void. We're trapped."
"Himei!" Aki knelt down by her friend. "Wake up!"
"I don't know who you are, but would you mind terribly if I let it eat you while I try to figure a way out?"
"Shut up for a minute, Cobalt!"
"…How do you know my name?"
Suddenly, a ghostly figure flicked in & out of visibility in front of them, then beside them, then behind them. The specter looked like Himei, but with all her color washed out. Her eyes were as black as the surrounding void.
"H… Himei?" Aki squeaked out.
The figure shook its head. "No…" it spoke with a soft voice completely void of emotion. "I am Sailor Nothing. Soldier in a meaningless war, slayer of Yamiko, the one who feels no pain and no emotion, moving from battle to battle… until the day I finally die."
It was at this point that Cobalt finally figured it out, realized exactly who he had 'harvested' from. The darkness borne of five years of violent, traumatizing battles and stress and loneliness and fear, plus the might and abilities of a veteran Sailor, plus the 'boosting' process of the Super-Yamiko creation spell…
"Oh, I've fucked us all…" he murmured, eyes wide with fearful realization.
"No, you're not" Aki snapped back at the dark being. "Himei is Sailor Nothing! You're just her 'shadow' – a Yamiko!"
"I know. Just like Magnificent Kamen. That's okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore, Aki-chan. I'm going to give you peace. I'll give everyone the peace they deserve, especially my original self; she's suffered for too long, and has earned a nice, long eternal rest. I'll go on fighting in her place – in your place…"
Aki and Cobalt then both winced as the dark void pressed down on them, sapping their warmth and strength.
"S-So… cold…" Aki gasped out.
"This can't be happening…" Cobalt murmured.
"Don't fight it. Just let go. It's not a bad way to die. You won't feel anything, soon. I care for you too much to see you suffer, Aki. As for you, Cobalt… You and your kind deserve death. Your existence is a wretched and pitiful one. Death will bring you peace as well."
"I can't… die yet… I haven't finished… the mission given to me…"
"Why are you doing this?-!" Aki shouted. "I thought you were my friend!"
"You are cursed, just as Himei and Shin are – cursed to a life of pain and sorrow and endless fighting that will only end in death. It's better this way."
"…You're not my friend. You're not Himei. I'll fight you. Even if I die, I will protect her!"
With a whirling flash of rainbow light, Aki transformed into Sailor Beauty, and with a wave of her hand she launched an Amazing Grace attack at the Himei-form Yamiko… only for the humanoid monster to shrug it off with very little effect.
"That won't work" Cobalt spoke up, now lacking the mental energy to be surprised that Sailor Beauty was Aki. "Super-Yamiko are resistant to you girls' attacks."
"I am Nothing. You cannot destroy Nothing. I feel no pain. It will be over soon. Just lie down and give in, and it will be painless. Himei's doing that right now."
"Hi… Himei…! Please, wake up! You're the only one who can stop this thing! Please!"
"…But… she's right…" Himei's voice was weak and 'drained' and sorrowful. "I'm cursed. All I have in my future is war and pain. Every morning, I have to fight the urge to grab my dad's razor and end everything. …Why bother fighting it any longer? I'm tired… I'm so tired…"
"If we don't put this thing down…" Cobalt spoke up, getting Himei's attention. "We won't be the only ones to die. I can sense it. This thing won't stop until it's consumed every person on the entire planet. If not for yourself, then get up for the sake of your species. How could a 'Sailor Soldier' just lay down and die, especially with that much at stake?"
There were a few seconds of silence… and then Himei slowly got to her feet.
"Why do you resist?"
"My life… doesn't matter. But there are people who do matter… and I will protect them."
"…Foolish"
Himei's Yamiko held out its hand, firing a Nothingness shot…
"Rude Awakening!"
…only for the black orb to be blasted aside by a piercing beam of light. Sailor Truth leapt in, landing beside her teammates; she looked a little haggard, but the usual fire still burned in her eyes. Himei transformed as well, clad in the usual faded, worn and damaged-looking uniform of Sailor Nothing. Her Yamiko fired a piercing 'arrow' of dark magic, only for it to crash against a Dark Barrier, and the three Sailors were surprised to see Cobalt holding his hand out.
"This is partially my mistake…" he murmured. "Plus, no more people means no more Yamiko. So, although we have different reasons for opposing this monster, we do share her as an enemy. I will do what I can, what little that is."
The quartet scattered as Himei's Yamiko swept its hand out and released a 'thin' wave of Darkness bolts. Sailor Truth leapt forward, attacking with a heel drop that the Super-Yamiko blocked. She flowed into a barrage of strikes, actually landing a few blows, but didn't seem to be doing any damage. The darkling's response, however, did – a darkness-charged uppercut that knocked the wind out of Shin, leaving her doubled over, and then a kick to the head that sent her tumbling across the 'ground'.
Sailors Beauty and Nothing attacked from two different angles, Himei tossing out a quick Nothingness shot that was swatted aside by her Yamiko. The dark being then moved fast and precise to block and dodge the two Sailors' blows, keeping up with both attackers at once. Eventually, it knocked Himei back with a palm strike to the face, and then an elbow to the neck from Aki that fortunately didn't do any major throat damage. Then, the Yamiko ducked to avoid decapitation, dodging one of Cobalt's Round Shields that had been turned on edge and launched as a spinning, slicing projectile. She then returned fire with a powerful shockwave of dark energies that bowled Cobalt over before he could react, leaving him stunned.
The three Sailors surrounded Himei's Yamiko, preparing to blast her from all sides. In response, the dark being raised her hand upward, and the Void 'deepened' as a crushing, choking presence forced the girls to their knees. Furthermore, as it was originally Himei's darkness, it had an additional effect on her, eating away at what little hope and will she'd managed to muster for this 'fight', leaving her increasingly taken by fatalistic despair, the desire to give in and die…
"We… We can't do this…" she murmured. "We can't win… Why… are we even trying? I'm… so…"
"H… Himei!" Aki mustered all her strength to shout out. "If you die… you can't go on your date tomorrow! You… You said you had to fight to stay alive… because you wanted to live. You want happiness and friends and love, no matter how hard it is to fight for! Please, don't… give up! I care about you too much to let you give in like this! We've come too far; we only have a little more ways to go! We can end this war! But only if you don't give in! Please! Himei!-!"
"No" the Yamiko spoke. "You deserve peace, Himei. You've been hurt enough."
"Himei…" Shin grunted out through clenched teeth as she fought against the 'pressure'. "What… do you want…?"
"…I…" the petite girl's voice was trembling. "I… I w-want… to live… I don't want to become numb forever… I don't want to be alone… I want… to end this war, and move on with my life! I want happiness! …I want to LIVE!-!"
Outside the 'Void Dome', as the DDF people still tried to figure out a way to get inside, Sailor Moon gasped as, from the brooch on the center of her chest, the heart opened up, and the Millennium Silver Crystal manifested. The ancient relic of divine Light 'pulsed', and a brilliant white beam shot out and into the inky darkness. Piercing through the endless shadows, it curled beautifully through the air, and shot into the center of Himei's chest.
Aki, Shin, and Cobalt watched in astonishment as Sailor Nothing floated up off the ground a short distance, suffused in a sparkling light. The light flared, and washed over her Sailor Soldier uniform, transforming it. The smudged, faded white boots became a gleaming, pristine white, with tiny black hearts at the front ankles. Ragged gloves that had lost their fingers and were in a mismatching mixture of grey shades transformed into clear white, with grey fingers and black hearts on the backs of the hands. The torn, stained blouse became a beautiful white, with a large silver bow on the front chest area and a pure white heart in the center of that, with the cloth portion of the top, once a barely-recognizable shredded rag, was repaired and given similar splendor. The frayed, ripped dirty-gray skirt became a pristine black with no signs of damage, and on her lower back was another large silver ribbon-bow with two 'streamers' that hung down beside her thighs. Finally, on Himei's forehead, a gleaming golden tiara formed, with a beautiful silver gem in the center. And, her power level had now taken a noticeable jump, with her energies feeling 'purer' and 'deeper'.
Revitalized and empowered by the Silver Crystal's energies, recognized by it as a true Guardian Sailor Soldier, 'Super Sailor Nothing' had been born.
As she floated back down, Himei marveled at the power that now filled her. Magic supercharged her body and senses the same way it did for the Sol Guardians, and she could 'feel' the Light pushing back against the dark void she and her friends were in, while filling her with… Hope. Aki, Shin, and even Cobalt stared in awe at what they beheld, while Himei's Yamiko now bore an expression of concern and worry.
"Impossible…"
The human-form monster fired a Nothingness shot at the girl…
"Wall of Eternity"
A scintillating black & silver barrier of magic formed at Sailor Nothing's command, blocking the incoming attack with ease.
"Emptiness' Chains"
Black and white flowing 'tendrils' of energy shot out from the barrier, forcing the Super-Yamiko back. She tried to dodge or defend against them, but they grabbed hold, digging into her flesh and lifting her off the ground to slam around a couple of times, dealing further damage. The dark being's form was now 'wavering' slightly, as if struggling to stay coherent.
As she let her constructs drop, Himei then let her right arm hang down at her side, and then tightened the muscles of it, a fist forming and being wreathed in black energy.
"Fist of the Void…"
She then charged at her Yamiko, who panicked and fired two more energy blasts that were cleanly dodged. At the last moment, the entity formed an energy barrier… and Sailor Nothing's Void-charged fist tore straight through it, impacting her dark-side's chest with a bursting release of energy. There was an echoing cry as the dark being disintegrated out from the point of impact, vanishing from existence. From where it had been destroyed, a brilliant light shone forth, racing out to fill the black 'Void Dome', erasing it.
When the light faded, everyone was freed from the darkness, including all the other people present, stunned but still alive… and conscious… as they had been, watching and listening, for the whole debacle. Now, Sailor Nothing noticed people staring at her with wonder and awe, dead silent.
"S-So…" one person spoke up quietly. "She's been so 'weird' and quiet and mopey because she's traumatized and worn down by five years of hellish lone war against creatures of darkness created from the darkness of people's souls, leaving her with trauma and PTSD and that kinda stuff?"
"…Pretty much" Sailor Truth said.
"…Damn. Now I feel like a total heel."
Several other students also looked quite sheepish and guilty now, their gazes directed at Himei uncomfortable or apologetic or pitying, if they could even look her in the eye at all.
"Aki…?"
Sailor Beauty turned, and her eyes widened and body stiffened as she saw her parents looking right at her with awe and wonder. After a few seconds, she chuckled nervously.
"W-Well, I've only been… like this for a month or so, and she" she pointed at Sailor Truth "for about half that. Himei's the only one with five years under her belt; she was all alone until I came along. …The events of that day, what my other self did to me, were a blessing in disguise. It helped me realize what a shallow person I had been, how I wasn't truly thinking for myself. Now, I know what's really important in life, I'm doing something that matters, and I have true friends who like me for me, and whom I want to see happy."
"Girls!"
The Sailor Guardians came running into the scene, though Nanoha – who did not have identity obfuscation magic in her transformed state – stayed on the rooftop to watch from afar. The confusion of the onlookers only increased.
"Um…" Sailor Truth spoke up to the people. "Long story short, the Yamiko usually live in a neighboring 'realm', and that other dimension is close enough to these girls' Realm that they were able to faintly sense the fluctuations and corruption, and came to our Earth to investigate. They've been here for, like, a week or so."
"That's… a pretty decent way to describe it, actually" Sailor Mars said.
"Aliens…?" one of the students said incredulously.
"No; humans, from Earth, but from another Earth in another universe."
There was a muted sound, and the whole gang turned to see Cobalt limping toward a Dark Portal he'd just opened. A few of the Guardian Sailors stepped forward, about to incant attacks…
"Wait!" Sailor Beauty stopped them. "He… He helped us! For some reason, he's not like the other Yamiko; he has self-control!"
Sailor Moon tapped into the power of her crystal and her currently-dormant Keyblade, and gasped. "Well, I'll be…" she said. "All the other Yamiko we've met so far have been beings of pure darkness. But this guy… Somehow, there is Light in his Heart. He has Light and Darkness together in his soul – just like a normal human. He feels like a halfway point between Human and Yamiko… Let him go, girls. For now."
The others obeyed, and the surprised Cobalt took the chance given to him and made his exit. Then, another surprise took place – a whirl of black 'smoke' formed in a clear spot, and from it emerged a tall, dark, and frightening-looking figure; a few of the students and adults reacted with surprised fear.
"Relax, relax!" Sailor Pluto stopped the panic before it could start. "The Dark Templar may look fearsome, but they are our allies. They hunt and expose injustices, spread messages of peace and open-mindedness, fight for justice and truth, and do whatever they can to make the galaxy a better place to live in. What brings you here, Ulan-sama?"
"I sensed an awakening…" the old teacher replied. He walked up to Sailor Nothing. "Though my people bear its power as a rule, it is rare for a human to be able to wield the power of the Void. …If you like, I can teach you new ways to wield it – cloaking, short-range teleportation, twisting space itself to temporarily bind and 'freeze' targets in place…"
"U-Um… Sure, okay…" Himei replied, a bit nervous but also feeling a spark of excitement at expanding her repertoire.
"This is… all kinda cool, actually" Emi thought out loud.
In response, Ami (the local Ami, not Sailor Mercury) rounded on her. "What are you saying?-!" the 'Queen Bitch' of the school snapped at her lackey. "T-They're freaks! All of them! And you heard what the guy in the coat said – the other-selves are born from people's repressed thoughts and feelings, the things they were never brave enough to say out loud. That means deep down, Aki always thought that fashion and popularity and making sure everyone knew their place were meaningless and stupid! And Hen-mei is even more of a gloomy, depressing weirdo than we thought; she actually wanted to kill herself!"
"And even after witnessing everything," Ulan spoke up, "you still fail to understand why?"
The old Dark Templar strode toward Ami, who was frozen in place in shock and mild fear; to everyone, the 'vibe' the Protoss was overwhelmingly giving off was like a cross between a disappointed teacher and an angry father.
"Even after being met with such revelations," he continued, his glowing green eyes glaring down at her, "you refuse to feel empathy, you continue to reject and demean those whom you perceive to be 'different' from you, you refuse to truly understand the thoughts and feelings and pains of other people less fortunate then yourself… If you insist on remaining such a rotten person, then I will make you understand exactly what that poor, unfortunate soul has been through…"
His eyes flashed, and Ami's eyes went wide and unfocused, her whole body stiffening. Everyone somehow 'sensed' as, with her perception of time altered, she was psychically forced to experience, as if she were the one it was happening to, every single injury and pain, every moment of terror and despair and helplessness, every dark experience of Himei's entire five-year magical girl career… all at once.
Ami's breath caught in her throat, and then forced its way out as a long, terrible scream. She fell to her knees, hands tightly clutching her head, and then toppled over onto her side, lying on the ground. Her body trembled, shaken by sobs, her unfocused eyes wide as can be with tears streaming from them, an expression of horror, fear, and despair on her now-pale face. The people were shocked; everything Himei had been through… was really that bad, to leave the Queen Bitch of the School in this sort of state? Her lackeys tried to tend to her, but she was pretty 'gone' for the moment, trembling and crying as the memories of experiencing Himei's physical and emotional pains bounced around in her brain.
Meanwhile, the Guardian Sailors turned their attention to Himei, seeing the significant changes in her uniform and the 'feel' of her power. Even the locals were able to notice differences between Sailor Nothing and the other two.
"Why does she seem… different?" one girl asked.
"The Sailors of this world were originally created by a rogue Yamiko," Sailor Moon replied, "to destroy that group's leadership so that he could take over. Our power, meanwhile, comes from bearing the reincarnated power of magic-wielding princesses of advanced, planet-spanning kingdoms thousands of years ago, and from the life-giving pure Light energies of the Millennium Silver Crystal. …That Himei-chan is now like this means that… despite her coming from a whole other Realm, the Crystal now recognizes her as a 'true' Sailor Guardian."
At this point, Himei was feeling a little tired. So, she disengaged her transformation, returning to her civilian form… and, through the combination of losing her transformed state's 'holding off' of her accumulated tiredness, and the adrenaline from the battle finally wearing off, she pretty much collapsed right there on the spot. As she started to fall, Seiki caught her, and when she opened her eyes and realized he was holding her up, giving her his warm smile, her face flushed bright red even as she struggled to stay awake. As those two had their little moment, Sailor Venus turned to address the crowd.
"You all realize the importance of keeping everything that's happened here a secret, right?"
She added a brief flare of her 'presence' to punctuate her statement. As one, the students and adults nodded, getting the message (and understanding that spreading the word would probably cause mass confusion and panic and uproar).
-Break-
That Evening
Shōtan Residence
"…And, that's pretty much everything."
Himei sat, bowing slightly, in front of her mother and father, clad in her Sailor form that she'd transformed into during the lengthy explanation. Dusty sat by her side, having spoken his piece here & there. She was trembling slightly, scared of how her parents would take learning their daughter was a battle-scarred veteran magical girl…
She startled as her mother pulled her into a close hug, even rocking the petite teen back & forth a little; for the mother to learn that her baby girl had been through such hell, so much pain and fear and hopelessness, all by herself, for five years… Even as she was hugged tightly by her mom, Himei felt her father's hand atop her head as well.
"You never told us…" her mother murmured.
"He wouldn't let me" the girl replied.
At the mention of Magnificent Kamen, now knowing what he'd done and why, the father's expression twisted into one of cold anger; for what that monster had done to his daughter and put her through, he would pay…
"I think… we might actually be on the home stretch" Himei said. "At long last, I have allies. I have a brand-new, big upgrade to my powers. We have a whole other Sailor team from another universe helping us. I think we can do this – we can finally end this war…"
"We'll do whatever you can to help you through it" her father replied.
After cuddling the girl for a while longer, her mother spoke again. "So~…" she started. "Tell me about this 'Seiki'…"
Himei was glad her face was pressed against her mother's chest and shoulder, hiding her ensuing blush.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: Allies, Justice, Love, and Asskicking