Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Shadows Sovereign
DISCLAIMERS:
All canon characters are (C) 1992 - whatever year it is Naoko Takeuchi and all other related parties. The Shadow senshi are (C) Wild Nature 2006 - 2007. This is a fanfic based upon the anime version and all written work that this consists of is (C) 2006 - 2007 Wild Nature.
Chapter Eleven: Reflections and Revealing A Future
"We.. need.. you.. to come. If you don't, our plan will fail.." Arvak had told Shadow Moon unexpectedly. "We never wanted this.."
'She was so sad,' Eizou thought, staring into the pond's water. She touched it, watching it ripple. 'I don't understand what they want. If I go with them, won't I get hurt or worse? Or do they want me to do something?'
She sighed tiredly.
"Still thinking?" Apple settled next to her, stretching his back out as he yawned.
"If I didn't know you, I'd be scared to death about those teeth," Eizou told him pointedly.
Apple smirked, which was a strange enough look on a dog, let alone a big one. "Let's not worry about those strange girls. We need to discuss Void and the new holder."
"Jaro's asked to take the trials. He's told me. But.." She hesitated. "Isn't Void to be childless? Why is that?"
"Void is a powerful being and to have children will only create more Void. If two exists, it would kill Earth and all living things," Apple said carefully.
"But then.. they would never be able to have children?"
"They could adopt, I suppose but biologically, it would only bring disaster."
"We can't ask someone to be Void then."
"Eizou, we -need- Void. It is a delicate balance. If there is Void and no other elements, everything turns to darkness. If there is elements but no Void, everything would be consumed. We must find the host of Void."
"How?"
"I don't know," Apple looked depressed. "But the air.. haven 't you noticed? Things are beginning to feel stale. People are becoming more ill and violent."
"How do you know?"
"Do you ever watch the news?" Apple snapped. "There has been a slowly increasing amount of disasters, piling one by one into each other. If Void is not found soon, we really won't have to worry about this damn rogue!"
"But how do we do it then?" Eizou asked through gritted teeth.
"I suppose.. suppose we just find someone willing to do so."
"Sure, let's just air ourselves on television and beg."
"You're not helping!"
"Neither are you!"
The two glared at each other. "Why are you so damn clueless and know these things?!"
"They're called memories. Might want to use those brain cells for change," Apple said snippedly..
She growled at him.
"My, my, a lover's quarrel," Toki winked. "I'll keep it under wraps."
"Where'd you come from?" Eizou asked, confused.
"Home," Toki answered cheerfully. "I was just taking a walk to clear my head."
The three settled on a bench. "So if you and Apple aren't together, are you and Jaro together?" Toki smiled gently. "He's a good man. A bit old in my opinion but he's nice."
"He's not old," Eizou muttered darkly.
"Trust me, he's old," Apple answered.
"I wasn't talking to you."
"I wasn't talking to you," He mimed in a waspish tone. He settled down, laying his chin on his folded forelegs.
"Eizou, he's right," Toki said quietly to her.
"About what? Jaro's age?"
"No, about finding Void. I... I don't like what I've been seeing."
"Seeing? I thought your visions are just random and a few moments ahead or something.."
"I...I've been getting stronger. And that worries me, a lot," she added. "We're gathering too much energy because we're losing what balance we had. It may seem to be tipping in our favor but it won't last long."
"This world is a holy land because so many people of power exist to protect it. We may be insignificant to the Sol senshi but we play our meager parts and we must do our duties, regardless of any other obligations."
"So how do we go about finding Void?"
"Void is close to us, soon to be revealed," Toki's eyes clouded over. "Fear and pain fills it and a deep loneliness. It doesn't want to rise only to be left in the darkness. It wants to be assured that we will stand by it."
"Well, how do we do that?"
"By opening our hearts to it."
Eizou waited for more. "That's it?"
"Eizou!" Toki sounded exesperated. "It's a powerful thing to let someone into our private hearts, to let the emotions and true self shine. But it is also our most difficult abilities. We must believe in ourselves before we believe in Void."
"So we're.. not strong enough," Eizou said quietly.
"We are! But we cannot grasp it quite yet."
"What about Sailor Sigel?"
"Her... I see little of her, she's in shadows and yet in intense fires. It reminds me of the Sun. But I feel a disconnection, as if she were bounded and not fully created.."
"Yea.. that made sense. How do we get rid of her?"
"We don't.." Toki stared blindly forward. "Fear, suffering, and guilt," her voice became a whisper. "Things that have been in done and yet, it created something else than planned. All was in good intention but it was too late. There is nothing but a hollow shell of a soul.."
Toki's eyes blinked and she was surprised that she was crying. "She will die but not by our hands. And it will be for her mercy."
Eizou stared at her. "And... that means.."
Toki rubbed her eyes. "Eizou, not every enemy is evil, just like not every person is evil. Everything retains both good and bad but it's events that change a person, warps them. If we had been hurt by others, would we not want to pay back our suffering? If we had been saved, we would want to pay back for gratitude. What is dealt out is returned."
"Apple, can't you stop her from talking in riddles?"
"She's not talking in riddles," Apple harrumphed.
"This doesn't solve anything!" Eizou shouted in frustration, standing up. "We have to wait for it all to fall into place? We can't just go..."
It clicked then. "They wanted me to come.. that was the message. They want us to help!"
"But it won't be easy or safe.." Toki spoke furiously, watching Eizou take off. "She didn't listen at all. We cannot do anything about either cases!"
"But you're the Shadows," Apple looked over his shoulder, his golden eyes glimmering. "If we can reach out to this lost soul, can't you stop Sailor Sigel's rage?"
"It will not be by our hands.." Toki sighed.
The wind blew gently in the late evening. Jaro studied the slowly shifting grass stems, mussling in the soft winds. He fingered his sleeves, lost deep in his thoughts.
'A future torn into two..' The winds carried a dark message, he realized. If Void was not found, there would be none, only Chaos. It was constantly pushed away at arm's length, barely controlled. And with the Shadows finally properly awakened, it was more venomous about claiming this world.
'Why? What is it about this world?' He thought of the Ginzuishou and Golden Crystal, the shimmering entwined powers creating a impossible duo. 'Were they supposed to be born, to be bounded? If they are strong enough for Chaos, why can't we rely on the Shadows?'
He sighed. 'They have gotten stronger but their purpose has yet to be set in stone. What fate was set for them when legendary Nehellenia used her own gift. Are they truly but shadows, to be consumed by their sources?'
He looked up at the distant moon, a now dead world. He remembered life there, a powerful Queen and another realm, hidden deep in the dark recesses. Were they meant to be locked? What was it about the darkness that was so evil? Not everything shadowed was tainted.
His confusion blossomed. 'We must find the Solar Cross. We must find Void. We must defeat Sailor Sigel. Are all these things tied together? How is it so?'
His mind drifted back to the conversation with Duchess Nerthus. "I don't know how to do the trials, Jaro. I'm not sure there is even one. If a Shadow dies, another is chosen immediately. It is almost always close to hand. It could very well be you but I pray it isn't.."
He stared at her. "I am more than capable.."
She raised a hand. "Jaro, your heart has been claimed. You don't have the power to be Void, only to be beside the one you love to protect. You cannot do both. How do you expect to live, creating heartbreak and a childless future?"
But it didn't explain his need, his certainty that he must be Void. Why else did he feel so strongly about it?
"Master.." Apple approached from behind. "May we talk?"
Jaro studied his familiar. "Apple, what's wrong? Your aura... is clouding."
"I know.. who Void is to be," Apple said carefully.
Jaro's chest constricted, his mind's eye seeing Eizou's smiling face. "Is it me?"
"Only a part of you," came the mysterious answer.