DON'T (Part 10) by Sievert Dinar
Alternate Universe Fic
Rated R for Graphic Violence, Language and sexually suggestive
situations.
Disclaimer - Sailormoon. Not mine. Duh.
Into the darkness we dance...
The young Usagi stared at the mutilated body of the man.
Seconds earlier, he had been begging gor his life, tied to the
chair in the middle of the room by Aidan.
Now the man who had taught her everything she knew about the
art of killing patted her on the shoulder. "You can calm down,
now. He's quite dead." He smiled, brushing a lock of his blond
hair from his eyes.
Usagi was panting heavily, almost unable to hold the weight
of the .357 with her two small hands. Yet somehow she had managed
to fire several shots into the man's body. The effect was like
nothing Usagi had ever felt before. She watched the man die
quickly and violently, and it was all because of her, because of
what she had done to him.
Her hands quivered and she almost dropped the gun. Seffert
lowered himself to her level and placed his arms around her. "I
do so like it when I get a girl to pop her cherry. So to speak."
"I killed him." Was all Usagi could bring herself to say.
"Yes, you did. Not like the usual target practice, is it?"
Seffert chuckled, nuzzling against the side of Usagi's neck.
"Does this mean I can kill more people?" Usagi was trying to
ignore his overbearing affection. She had become immune to it...
Numb. No point worrying about Aidan Seffert. Let him have his
fun, while he still could. One day... One day, she'd deal with
him, permanently.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Seffert cooed. "What have you
got to do in your life that requires lots of people to die, hmmm?"
"Does this mean I can kill more people?" Usagi repeated, now
through clenched teeth. Seffert placed a hand atop the .357.
"Does it feel like you can, hmmm? Do you feel as if you can
still hold this weapon? Pull the trigger? Counterbalance the
recoil?"
"I want to." Usagi pulled herself from his embrace and
turned to face him. He was surprised at the expression she had. A
barely contained rage. A rage purer than he thought possible.
Even more possible than his own mistress.
And he began to wonder if her idea of sewing the seeds of
such hatred within Usagi had been all that clever.
The Sentinel watched as Usagi stepped through the impossibly
big/small gap between the pump room and the three mobsters skulking
within the confines of the darkened tunnel. They had been
partially deafened by the echoing blast of the grenade they had
used in the attempt on Usagi's life, but it wouldn't have mattered
if they COULD hear her. She wasn't approaching them from angles
they knew they had.
"Poor dear doesn't know what is going to hit her." The
Sentinel heard the voice of the Survivalist in her mind. "When
the elixir wears off, she's really gonna be in for it."
"Shh..." Came Ami's reply. "There is just the distinct
possibility that she might be picking up what we are telling each
other."
"I still don't like this." Rei chipped in. The Sentinel put
a hand to her head and sighed.
"Since when did my brain become a party chat line?" She sent
them some nasty images of what they might look like after she had
finished with them if they didn't shut their thoughts down.
"Was that really necessary?" Rei sounded pained. "I don't
like violence, and I'm against this... whatever it is we're making
her do. Aren't we supposed to be HELPING her from this lifestyle
and attitude?"
"These people are dangerous to both the Messiah and
ourselves." The Sentinel levelled waves of authority over Rei's
mind in the hope the girl would back down. Unfortunately, Rei
wasn't that easy to impress upon: being the Priestess of the
Children of Serenity, her psychic skills had been honed long before
her magical powers had even been triggered, and all the Sentinel
got for her trouble was a headache.
"More death is to occur." The Oracle's voice interjected.
"This is a pain upon us all, for we know what it means to take
life. We are, the all of us, killers." The sobering reminder
created a wave of introspection that the Oracle was able to use to
her advantage. "Sentinel, I am concerned that your feelings, in
dealing with the Messiah, are unduly negative."
"Negative?" The Sentinel mentally frowned. "I do not
understand..."
"On a number of occasions, you have practically invited the
Messiah to kill you. I am becoming concerned that you are seeing
redemption for your past in death."
"That is not... I mean..." The Sentinel felt confused, then
ashamed. "It is true that I am the only one she can kill, but I'm
not..."
"I'm sorry. I cannot have you committing suicide by proxy."
The Oracle shut herself off, her thoughts ceasing to exist to the
rest. The Sentinel swallowed, now worried about what her
compatriot was intending.
"If you want to die, then go ahead and die. Don't angst over
it. Just die, okay? I don't need these negative thoughts running
through my head." The Survivalist then closed herself down, but
left a small opening with which to view what the Sentinel would see
Usagi doing.
Practically done. Usagi had approached the first of the
three, the one who had used the grenade against her (and ended up
killing Centofanti). His name was Christos Xenites, a rather
large, bullish-looking Greek who had emigrated to the United States
with his parents when he was still a child. He then fell into the
wrong crowd and ended up killing his parents as an initiation rite.
Whether or not he regretted his action since didn't really
matter, since he had made it his business to destroy as many lives
as he could. At least, the lives of those too weak to fight back
against him. The only person who HAD been strong enough to make
his life a misery had been a young teenage girl with a propensity
for extreme violence.
Just as the dust and moisture from the blast had cleared,
Xenites stood up and gestured to his two partners that they should
move in and check to see how successful his attempt had been. At
this point, Usagi chose to slip into three-dimensional space.
The shock of her sudden appearance had been enough for her to
get in a shot before Xenites could move far from the line of fire.
Half the hand with which he had gestured to the other two to stand
exploded into a bloodied stump, and Xenites fell to the ground,
clutching it in agony as blood spurted across the floor.
Usagi cursed her casual arrogance and tried to step back out
of 3D, but the second of the mobsters, Erik Stanner, the operator
of several high-class brothels and a convicted murderer himself,
jumped and tackled her on the way. She fell underneath him as he
layed in a blow to her face.
That successfully made her angry.
The crystal .357 just happened to be pointed the right way
up, and both Xenites and the third mobster, Ahmed Al-Bhari, a
one-time second in command of an opium smuggling ring who had seen
his boss killed by Usagi, watched as Stanner's back erupted blood
and flesh, leaving several gaping holes. Then Usagi vanished,
allowing Stanner's still-twitching body to hit the floor.
Al-Bhari fired his revolver into Stanner, hoping that,
somehow, he'd get Usagi, within seconds of her disappearance. Then
he felt his shoulder blade burn as it was hit from behind. A
second shot struck him in the side of the neck just as he was
turning to face what he thought was a new assailant.
He froze when he saw Usagi there, holding the now-glowing
crystal .357 in line with his face. "Hey..." She giggled angrily.
"I guess this fucking thing doesn't run dry. What do you think,
fuckhead?"
There was an angry, frustrated growl, and Xenites stood and
charged Usagi. She turned the gun on him, the glow of the gun
increasing as she blew holes into his head. He had been nominally
decapitated by the time the rest of his body collapsed to the
floor.
Al-Bhari watched this, one hand held up to the wound in his
neck, the other holding his revolver. He looked down at the body
of Xenites, then up to Usagi, who was also staring at Xenites, her
eyes aflame with hate and the pure enjoyment of the emotion.
She turned to him and smiled. And at that point he realised
there wasn't anything he could do to stop her. He fell to his
knees and almost allowed himself to be dispatched.
Usagi's mind felt as if it were on fire. Her vision was
becoming blurred as a battle raged between will and the destiny
she had implanted within.
And more than that... She was starting to feel strangely
weak and fatigued, her arms quivering in her attempt to keep the
crystal .357 aloft. Even her legs were having trouble holding her
up. She lowered the .357 and placed a hand to her forehead,
screwing her eyes shut in an attempt to regain control of her
senses. "Fucking shit! This is not the time to lose it. Not the
time."
"What is wrong?" The Sentinel's voice cleared away some of
the burning light that was trying to take over her mind. "Are you
in pain?"
"It's that fucking thing you stuck in my head. It's trying
to STOP me from what I'm doing." Usagi growled, spittle flying
from her mouth as she stared around the tunnel, as if seeing it for
the first time. "Why put this in me, and then have me do this?
Why?" There was no response. "Fucking answer, you WHORE."
"You do throw about names for people, don't you?"
"Telling it like it is, bitch."
"Technically wrong on both counts, since I don't make money
by sleeping around nor am I a female canine, but you can continue
to think so if it makes you feel better."
Usagi was so livid and out of control, she had started to
drool. "Are you fucking well going to answer the fucking
question? Eh? Are you even fucking listening to a single fucking
thing I'm saying?"
"You're fighting against something you don't understand.
What if the crystal was trying to make you stronger? Make you
better at what you are good at?"
"...Told you... bad idea..." Usagi could hear the words
seeping into her mind. It was somebody else, communicating with
the Sentinel. Usagi recognised it immediately.
"Is that that fundy bitch who got me into this mess in the
first place?" She clutched at her head with her hand and shook it
violently, trying to shake the fire away. "Still trying to stop me
killing people. She's probably setting the fucking crystal off."
"There are nine more." The Sentinel's voice was like a long
sigh in her mind. Almost immediately, the fire dissipated and
Usagi fell to her knees.
"I'll fucking kill her. Slowly." Usagi sniffled, opening
her eyes before wiping the drool away from her mouth. "I don't
care what 'mommy' says, about her... About the lot of you. I'll
fucking kill you all."
"There are nine more." The Sentinel repeated. "They are
more important right now."
"What if I said I didn't want to kill them. What if I just
sat here and allowed them to kill me?" Usagi huffed bitterly and
sat down, cross-legged. "I'll decide what I want to do. I won't
be told. I won't be told."
"Agostino."
"Shutup."
"DeHaase."
"I told you to shut up."
"And Pallinas. Remember what these three men have done to
you in the past? Remember?" The Sentinel now sounded as if she
were standing right beside Usagi, whispering into her ear. For all
Usagi knew, she probably was. "Ignore us. We aren't your enemy."
"Everybody is my enemy. Everybody deserves to die."
"Whoo... 'Everybody deserves to die'." The Sentinel mocked
Usagi's tone. "You're a selfish one. What makes you think you
deserve to sit in judgement of others? Do infants deserve to die?
Have they done anything to deserve death?"
"They're human." Usagi was shivering. "Humanity is a pile
of shit. Every single one of them doesn't deserve the CHANCE to
fuck things up." She shook her head. "Stop it. Stop distracting
me. I'm not going to do what you tell me. If you want those nine
men dead, do it yourself."
"You seem to be doing a good job distracting youtself. You
keep changing your mind and your moods at every given opportunity.
I don't know what you think you stand for, anymore."
"I'm sure I don't care what you think."
"So where was all that bravado... about killing us once you'd
finished off these people. Or do we have to force you to do THAT
as well?"
Usagi started to laugh, then shook her head and stared at her
lap. "Oh, you'll try to force me. I know it, because you know
better than I do. Sooooo much better. Kill these men off, and
then what? Do you think it'll just stop there? Do you think there
aren't others who will fill their shoes?"
"You're almost manic-depressive. You're not in control of
yourself, so why shouldn't we take advantage of that, hmmm? You
are just shouting and railing against the world, without having any
real purpose in life. We'll give you a purpose."
Usagi shook her head. "I have a purpose."
"To do what?"
A smile came to Usagi's lips. "You know what I want to do."
There was a moment's silence, in which Usagi could hear
movement, further along the tunnel. She was about to turn and see
whether it was the remaining mobsters when the Sentinel appeared,
barely visible within the gloom in her dark attire. "Killing
people is not a purpose." She said, her expression unreadable.
"Not just that. Not just THAT." Usagi swayed her head from
side to side as she watched the Sentinel pace around her. "Ever
since that day... THAT day... Ever since then, I've only ever
wanted to do one thing."
"Torment and eradicate humanity, yes." The Sentinel reached
out a hand. "Yes, I suppose that is a kind of purpose. But let me
ask you... Is this an achievable purpose? Is this an ideal
purpose? Is this a purpose I... WE... should allow you to
fulfill?"
"Why not? I've told you what I think of humanity... I've
told you..." Usagi watched as a long polearm appeared within the
Sentinel's hand, on the business end of which was a double-blade
that mirrored the earpiece she wore. "Oooh, is that a threat?"
Usagi sneered.
"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone, ever
again." The Sentinel shivered. "In fact, I'd rather die than hurt
another human being. The way you are now, I don't suppose you
understand what it is like to hate yourself for having killed
someone."
Usagi sighed and lifted herself to her feet, looking tired
and resigned. "So you've killed someone. Wah you."
"I want to help change you, Tsukino Usagi, from what you are
now into something better, something greater. If you really
believe in what you've said, about humanity and its continued
existence, then fight me. Fight me and show me that you are
capable of standing up for what you believe in. Otherwise, just
stand back and allow me to rip you open."
The Sentinel twirled the polearm around, then brought the
blade up just short of Usagi's throat. Usagi stared at the blade
and shook her head. "I don't believe in your faith, your ideals,
whatever they truly are." Her voice was stern and, for the first
time since the Sentinel had met her, authoritive. "I don't
believe. But I've seen for myself what you are capable of giving
to me. If you want me to stand up for what I believe in, then I
will." She lifted the crystal .357. "I'll fight you. I'll fight
you for the power to eradicate humanity."
Within the Oracle's 'shrine' room, Rei opened her eyes and
stood from the circle which she shared with Ami and the Oracle.
"What the hell is she doing?" She was close to pulling out her
hair.
"What the hell were you doing?" Ami looked up at her
solmenly. "Why were you inflaming the crystal so?"
"I wasn't. I was just..."
"The light is growing brighter. The light of the Princess."
The Oracle interjected softly. "But it is a black, black light
that shines upon us all. Soon, our true selves will be illuminated
in the glow of destiny, and so shall our enemies."
Ami and Rei stared at her, but she said no more, her eyes
remaining closed and her expression unchanged.
Elsewhere in the city, a smile crept onto the edges of a
woman's mouth. It appeared as if her enemies were at odds with
each other, and were likely to take each other out.
Those kind of things made Beryl VERY happy.
To be continued. Or "bugger, is that all?" =^.^=
This chapter was hell to write for me. Writers block can strike at
the worst of times, and this chapter went through several complete
rewrites before this version. Whole passages of text have been
turfed simply to make things work. I really wanted to move on from
Usagi's massacre of the mobsters much faster, and onto the section
that will follow, but hey... Eventually, I'll get there.
SD
sievertd@hotmail.com - still
Alternate Universe Fic
Rated R for Graphic Violence, Language and sexually suggestive
situations.
Disclaimer - Sailormoon. Not mine. Duh.
Into the darkness we dance...
The young Usagi stared at the mutilated body of the man.
Seconds earlier, he had been begging gor his life, tied to the
chair in the middle of the room by Aidan.
Now the man who had taught her everything she knew about the
art of killing patted her on the shoulder. "You can calm down,
now. He's quite dead." He smiled, brushing a lock of his blond
hair from his eyes.
Usagi was panting heavily, almost unable to hold the weight
of the .357 with her two small hands. Yet somehow she had managed
to fire several shots into the man's body. The effect was like
nothing Usagi had ever felt before. She watched the man die
quickly and violently, and it was all because of her, because of
what she had done to him.
Her hands quivered and she almost dropped the gun. Seffert
lowered himself to her level and placed his arms around her. "I
do so like it when I get a girl to pop her cherry. So to speak."
"I killed him." Was all Usagi could bring herself to say.
"Yes, you did. Not like the usual target practice, is it?"
Seffert chuckled, nuzzling against the side of Usagi's neck.
"Does this mean I can kill more people?" Usagi was trying to
ignore his overbearing affection. She had become immune to it...
Numb. No point worrying about Aidan Seffert. Let him have his
fun, while he still could. One day... One day, she'd deal with
him, permanently.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Seffert cooed. "What have you
got to do in your life that requires lots of people to die, hmmm?"
"Does this mean I can kill more people?" Usagi repeated, now
through clenched teeth. Seffert placed a hand atop the .357.
"Does it feel like you can, hmmm? Do you feel as if you can
still hold this weapon? Pull the trigger? Counterbalance the
recoil?"
"I want to." Usagi pulled herself from his embrace and
turned to face him. He was surprised at the expression she had. A
barely contained rage. A rage purer than he thought possible.
Even more possible than his own mistress.
And he began to wonder if her idea of sewing the seeds of
such hatred within Usagi had been all that clever.
The Sentinel watched as Usagi stepped through the impossibly
big/small gap between the pump room and the three mobsters skulking
within the confines of the darkened tunnel. They had been
partially deafened by the echoing blast of the grenade they had
used in the attempt on Usagi's life, but it wouldn't have mattered
if they COULD hear her. She wasn't approaching them from angles
they knew they had.
"Poor dear doesn't know what is going to hit her." The
Sentinel heard the voice of the Survivalist in her mind. "When
the elixir wears off, she's really gonna be in for it."
"Shh..." Came Ami's reply. "There is just the distinct
possibility that she might be picking up what we are telling each
other."
"I still don't like this." Rei chipped in. The Sentinel put
a hand to her head and sighed.
"Since when did my brain become a party chat line?" She sent
them some nasty images of what they might look like after she had
finished with them if they didn't shut their thoughts down.
"Was that really necessary?" Rei sounded pained. "I don't
like violence, and I'm against this... whatever it is we're making
her do. Aren't we supposed to be HELPING her from this lifestyle
and attitude?"
"These people are dangerous to both the Messiah and
ourselves." The Sentinel levelled waves of authority over Rei's
mind in the hope the girl would back down. Unfortunately, Rei
wasn't that easy to impress upon: being the Priestess of the
Children of Serenity, her psychic skills had been honed long before
her magical powers had even been triggered, and all the Sentinel
got for her trouble was a headache.
"More death is to occur." The Oracle's voice interjected.
"This is a pain upon us all, for we know what it means to take
life. We are, the all of us, killers." The sobering reminder
created a wave of introspection that the Oracle was able to use to
her advantage. "Sentinel, I am concerned that your feelings, in
dealing with the Messiah, are unduly negative."
"Negative?" The Sentinel mentally frowned. "I do not
understand..."
"On a number of occasions, you have practically invited the
Messiah to kill you. I am becoming concerned that you are seeing
redemption for your past in death."
"That is not... I mean..." The Sentinel felt confused, then
ashamed. "It is true that I am the only one she can kill, but I'm
not..."
"I'm sorry. I cannot have you committing suicide by proxy."
The Oracle shut herself off, her thoughts ceasing to exist to the
rest. The Sentinel swallowed, now worried about what her
compatriot was intending.
"If you want to die, then go ahead and die. Don't angst over
it. Just die, okay? I don't need these negative thoughts running
through my head." The Survivalist then closed herself down, but
left a small opening with which to view what the Sentinel would see
Usagi doing.
Practically done. Usagi had approached the first of the
three, the one who had used the grenade against her (and ended up
killing Centofanti). His name was Christos Xenites, a rather
large, bullish-looking Greek who had emigrated to the United States
with his parents when he was still a child. He then fell into the
wrong crowd and ended up killing his parents as an initiation rite.
Whether or not he regretted his action since didn't really
matter, since he had made it his business to destroy as many lives
as he could. At least, the lives of those too weak to fight back
against him. The only person who HAD been strong enough to make
his life a misery had been a young teenage girl with a propensity
for extreme violence.
Just as the dust and moisture from the blast had cleared,
Xenites stood up and gestured to his two partners that they should
move in and check to see how successful his attempt had been. At
this point, Usagi chose to slip into three-dimensional space.
The shock of her sudden appearance had been enough for her to
get in a shot before Xenites could move far from the line of fire.
Half the hand with which he had gestured to the other two to stand
exploded into a bloodied stump, and Xenites fell to the ground,
clutching it in agony as blood spurted across the floor.
Usagi cursed her casual arrogance and tried to step back out
of 3D, but the second of the mobsters, Erik Stanner, the operator
of several high-class brothels and a convicted murderer himself,
jumped and tackled her on the way. She fell underneath him as he
layed in a blow to her face.
That successfully made her angry.
The crystal .357 just happened to be pointed the right way
up, and both Xenites and the third mobster, Ahmed Al-Bhari, a
one-time second in command of an opium smuggling ring who had seen
his boss killed by Usagi, watched as Stanner's back erupted blood
and flesh, leaving several gaping holes. Then Usagi vanished,
allowing Stanner's still-twitching body to hit the floor.
Al-Bhari fired his revolver into Stanner, hoping that,
somehow, he'd get Usagi, within seconds of her disappearance. Then
he felt his shoulder blade burn as it was hit from behind. A
second shot struck him in the side of the neck just as he was
turning to face what he thought was a new assailant.
He froze when he saw Usagi there, holding the now-glowing
crystal .357 in line with his face. "Hey..." She giggled angrily.
"I guess this fucking thing doesn't run dry. What do you think,
fuckhead?"
There was an angry, frustrated growl, and Xenites stood and
charged Usagi. She turned the gun on him, the glow of the gun
increasing as she blew holes into his head. He had been nominally
decapitated by the time the rest of his body collapsed to the
floor.
Al-Bhari watched this, one hand held up to the wound in his
neck, the other holding his revolver. He looked down at the body
of Xenites, then up to Usagi, who was also staring at Xenites, her
eyes aflame with hate and the pure enjoyment of the emotion.
She turned to him and smiled. And at that point he realised
there wasn't anything he could do to stop her. He fell to his
knees and almost allowed himself to be dispatched.
Usagi's mind felt as if it were on fire. Her vision was
becoming blurred as a battle raged between will and the destiny
she had implanted within.
And more than that... She was starting to feel strangely
weak and fatigued, her arms quivering in her attempt to keep the
crystal .357 aloft. Even her legs were having trouble holding her
up. She lowered the .357 and placed a hand to her forehead,
screwing her eyes shut in an attempt to regain control of her
senses. "Fucking shit! This is not the time to lose it. Not the
time."
"What is wrong?" The Sentinel's voice cleared away some of
the burning light that was trying to take over her mind. "Are you
in pain?"
"It's that fucking thing you stuck in my head. It's trying
to STOP me from what I'm doing." Usagi growled, spittle flying
from her mouth as she stared around the tunnel, as if seeing it for
the first time. "Why put this in me, and then have me do this?
Why?" There was no response. "Fucking answer, you WHORE."
"You do throw about names for people, don't you?"
"Telling it like it is, bitch."
"Technically wrong on both counts, since I don't make money
by sleeping around nor am I a female canine, but you can continue
to think so if it makes you feel better."
Usagi was so livid and out of control, she had started to
drool. "Are you fucking well going to answer the fucking
question? Eh? Are you even fucking listening to a single fucking
thing I'm saying?"
"You're fighting against something you don't understand.
What if the crystal was trying to make you stronger? Make you
better at what you are good at?"
"...Told you... bad idea..." Usagi could hear the words
seeping into her mind. It was somebody else, communicating with
the Sentinel. Usagi recognised it immediately.
"Is that that fundy bitch who got me into this mess in the
first place?" She clutched at her head with her hand and shook it
violently, trying to shake the fire away. "Still trying to stop me
killing people. She's probably setting the fucking crystal off."
"There are nine more." The Sentinel's voice was like a long
sigh in her mind. Almost immediately, the fire dissipated and
Usagi fell to her knees.
"I'll fucking kill her. Slowly." Usagi sniffled, opening
her eyes before wiping the drool away from her mouth. "I don't
care what 'mommy' says, about her... About the lot of you. I'll
fucking kill you all."
"There are nine more." The Sentinel repeated. "They are
more important right now."
"What if I said I didn't want to kill them. What if I just
sat here and allowed them to kill me?" Usagi huffed bitterly and
sat down, cross-legged. "I'll decide what I want to do. I won't
be told. I won't be told."
"Agostino."
"Shutup."
"DeHaase."
"I told you to shut up."
"And Pallinas. Remember what these three men have done to
you in the past? Remember?" The Sentinel now sounded as if she
were standing right beside Usagi, whispering into her ear. For all
Usagi knew, she probably was. "Ignore us. We aren't your enemy."
"Everybody is my enemy. Everybody deserves to die."
"Whoo... 'Everybody deserves to die'." The Sentinel mocked
Usagi's tone. "You're a selfish one. What makes you think you
deserve to sit in judgement of others? Do infants deserve to die?
Have they done anything to deserve death?"
"They're human." Usagi was shivering. "Humanity is a pile
of shit. Every single one of them doesn't deserve the CHANCE to
fuck things up." She shook her head. "Stop it. Stop distracting
me. I'm not going to do what you tell me. If you want those nine
men dead, do it yourself."
"You seem to be doing a good job distracting youtself. You
keep changing your mind and your moods at every given opportunity.
I don't know what you think you stand for, anymore."
"I'm sure I don't care what you think."
"So where was all that bravado... about killing us once you'd
finished off these people. Or do we have to force you to do THAT
as well?"
Usagi started to laugh, then shook her head and stared at her
lap. "Oh, you'll try to force me. I know it, because you know
better than I do. Sooooo much better. Kill these men off, and
then what? Do you think it'll just stop there? Do you think there
aren't others who will fill their shoes?"
"You're almost manic-depressive. You're not in control of
yourself, so why shouldn't we take advantage of that, hmmm? You
are just shouting and railing against the world, without having any
real purpose in life. We'll give you a purpose."
Usagi shook her head. "I have a purpose."
"To do what?"
A smile came to Usagi's lips. "You know what I want to do."
There was a moment's silence, in which Usagi could hear
movement, further along the tunnel. She was about to turn and see
whether it was the remaining mobsters when the Sentinel appeared,
barely visible within the gloom in her dark attire. "Killing
people is not a purpose." She said, her expression unreadable.
"Not just that. Not just THAT." Usagi swayed her head from
side to side as she watched the Sentinel pace around her. "Ever
since that day... THAT day... Ever since then, I've only ever
wanted to do one thing."
"Torment and eradicate humanity, yes." The Sentinel reached
out a hand. "Yes, I suppose that is a kind of purpose. But let me
ask you... Is this an achievable purpose? Is this an ideal
purpose? Is this a purpose I... WE... should allow you to
fulfill?"
"Why not? I've told you what I think of humanity... I've
told you..." Usagi watched as a long polearm appeared within the
Sentinel's hand, on the business end of which was a double-blade
that mirrored the earpiece she wore. "Oooh, is that a threat?"
Usagi sneered.
"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone, ever
again." The Sentinel shivered. "In fact, I'd rather die than hurt
another human being. The way you are now, I don't suppose you
understand what it is like to hate yourself for having killed
someone."
Usagi sighed and lifted herself to her feet, looking tired
and resigned. "So you've killed someone. Wah you."
"I want to help change you, Tsukino Usagi, from what you are
now into something better, something greater. If you really
believe in what you've said, about humanity and its continued
existence, then fight me. Fight me and show me that you are
capable of standing up for what you believe in. Otherwise, just
stand back and allow me to rip you open."
The Sentinel twirled the polearm around, then brought the
blade up just short of Usagi's throat. Usagi stared at the blade
and shook her head. "I don't believe in your faith, your ideals,
whatever they truly are." Her voice was stern and, for the first
time since the Sentinel had met her, authoritive. "I don't
believe. But I've seen for myself what you are capable of giving
to me. If you want me to stand up for what I believe in, then I
will." She lifted the crystal .357. "I'll fight you. I'll fight
you for the power to eradicate humanity."
Within the Oracle's 'shrine' room, Rei opened her eyes and
stood from the circle which she shared with Ami and the Oracle.
"What the hell is she doing?" She was close to pulling out her
hair.
"What the hell were you doing?" Ami looked up at her
solmenly. "Why were you inflaming the crystal so?"
"I wasn't. I was just..."
"The light is growing brighter. The light of the Princess."
The Oracle interjected softly. "But it is a black, black light
that shines upon us all. Soon, our true selves will be illuminated
in the glow of destiny, and so shall our enemies."
Ami and Rei stared at her, but she said no more, her eyes
remaining closed and her expression unchanged.
Elsewhere in the city, a smile crept onto the edges of a
woman's mouth. It appeared as if her enemies were at odds with
each other, and were likely to take each other out.
Those kind of things made Beryl VERY happy.
To be continued. Or "bugger, is that all?" =^.^=
This chapter was hell to write for me. Writers block can strike at
the worst of times, and this chapter went through several complete
rewrites before this version. Whole passages of text have been
turfed simply to make things work. I really wanted to move on from
Usagi's massacre of the mobsters much faster, and onto the section
that will follow, but hey... Eventually, I'll get there.
SD
sievertd@hotmail.com - still