Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko and various
other entities. Plot and original characters of Kalkia and Rose are
the property of The Rose Society and Kayla Chavi. Quote taken from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is property of Whedon, etc.
Alpha's Omega
Chapter Ten - DRAFT
By: Kayla Chavi and The Rose Society
Rating: R
"So," Kalkia swiveled her chair around when Endymion and Rose
entered her lab. "Was it good?"
Endymion turned a bright red which just made the doctor burst
into laughter. She was laughing so hard that she nearly fell out of
the chair. Rose tried to be annoyed with her friend but the laughter
was infectious. Once Kalkia could breathe, she tried to get a serious
expression back on her face.
"I'll take that as a yes." The auburn-haired woman broke into
laughter again when his blush deepened.
"Take it easy on him, Kal," Rose said as she sat on the couch.
Patting the seat next to her, she motioned for Endymion to sit down.
When he did, she said, "After all, it's not an insignificant event to
lose your virginity." As soon as the last word left her mouth, his
face reblossomed to its tomato color, much to the two ladies' delight.
Grinning, Kalkia grabbed a medical scanner. "Well teasing aside,
I do have to run some tests on you." Opening the device, she began to
make sure that Endymion was physically well.
Rose frowned. "Kal, can you do me a favor?" The other doctor
looked up in surprise. "Run a diagnostic on his power level. I want to
confirm a suspicion of mine."
Kalkia raised an eyebrow but nodded. The scan took a few minutes
to complete so the doctor continued to tease her creation. "Did I make
you right?" she finally asked, "Was it perfect? Explosions of power
don't count."
"Kalkia," Endymion muttered and looked down at his hands. "I'm
not asking you for intimate details of your first time."
"In the arboretum with Sephiroth when I was fifteen," she said
simply. "Everyone knew because we caused a three second power outage.
Nephlite teased me about it for weeks." She looked at him expectantly.
He sighed heavily, "Fine, in a cave with Serenity when I was six
months old," he stuck his tongue out at her childishly, "We made the
cave collapse. If you tease me about it for weeks I'll find something
drastic and do it."
Kalkia chuckled and shook her head. "Here are the results," she
tossed the scanner to Rose after frowning faintly at the pad.
Regarding the results, Rose nodded, slowly. "I was right then."
"About what?" Kalkia frowned. "His power readings are odd, but
I can't figure out why."
"Endy and...Serenity's," she shot a look to Endymion to make
sure she got the name right and continued at his nod, "err.
interaction caused a melding of souls, as all soulmates do when they,
um, yeah." She frowned behind her blush, trying to sort the new
knowledge out. "With their power levels, a bond was created that
caused them to share the artifacts that both sides acquired. If I'm
not mistaken, then that power release was a sideeffect of the power of
the bond between you two and the huge power transfer that occurred."
Kalkia frowned, catching on to Rose's thoughts. "Then that means
that basically, both Endymion and Serenity have been boosted the same
amount." Rose nodded. "Damn it, the Illusive Sunset was one of the
more powerful artifacts. I had hoped that Endy would have the
advantage next time."
Biting her lip, Rose looked at Endymion. "Unfortunately no.
Every time they join, there will be the same effect. They'll share the
artifacts that they each absorbed."
"So basically, no more sex for you, Endy," Kalkia frowned and it
almost seemed that she was slightly dissapointed, "You bad boy, you."
Endymion rolled his eyes and then sighed. For a moment he too
looked dissapointed. Rose raised an eyebrow and looked between the two
of them, surpressing a laugh. "You two look like someone spoiled your
milk."
Kalkia blinked, "Oh. I thought I had made him perfectly. I
really didn't think about this being a possible side effect. I also
think that the no sex idea sucks."
"But it's only sex with Serenity," Rose commented. "Any other
sex should be fine." Did those words really just come out of her
mouth? She was spending too much time with Kalkia.
"Do you seriously think that he's going to want any other woman
besides Ome--Serenity." Kalkia corrected herself when she saw that
Endymion was going to point that out to her. "I would be upset too if
I was told that sex was now a major no no."
"I really don't think that it's going to be an issue ever
again," Endymion mumbled.
"Why not? She feels the pull just as strongly as you do," Rose
replied.
"She is colder than I am, emotionally. Her focus is on the
mission, almost to the level of complete blindness to other things"
Endymion shook his head. "She'll avoid me from now on."
"Hmph. I'd like to see her try to resist your charms," Kalkia
replied, a bit disgruntled at the idea that a man she designed to be
the desire of women everywhere could be resisted.
"But it is a good thing if she does, Kalkia, so we can avoid
having those two blow up themselves, if not the world." Rose looked at
Endymion, then Kalkia. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation
about the sex life of a person I helped create and whom I consider one
of my closest friends." She held her head. "I think I have a
headache."
"You always say that when we talk about sex," Kalkia pointed out
and sighed dismally. "I still need to know details," she finally said
to Endymion, "That way we can make sure that you can avoid destroying
the world."
Endymion began to feel his face heat up once more. "Like it
normally does," he protested, "You're the expert on this kind of
thing. Use your imagination!"
Kalkia just gave him a firm look and he groaned. He gave Rose a
pathetic pleading look but the doctor shook her head. "Kalkia demanded e
very single detail about my first time," she said simply. "I'm going
to let you share the humiliation."
"It wasn't that bad and you wanted to tell me," Kalkia
protested. "I told you about mine, it's only fair!"
"Kalkia, the entire school knew about yours. And I didn't want
to tell you! You cornered me and practically pried it out of me!"
"Rose, I'm going to start pouting," Kalkia threatened. Endymion
tried to sneak out the door but was caught by his ear and forced to
sit down. "Now," she said as she sat down in the opposite chair.
"You're going to tell me everything and we're going to figure out
where I went wrong."
Endymion gave one last pleading look to Rose. The raven-haired
doctor shook her head. "You're on your own, Endy. I'm going to keep
out of this one. My love life doesn't merit examination." She waved
Endymion towards Kalkia, ignoring his pleas. She hated to be reminded
of her few precious memories of Kenshin. And what physical experiences
she had after her soulmate were not what she would call pleasant
enough to share. Shaking her head, she laid down on the couch, the
familiar ache strumming in her heart. Best not to think of it right
now.
Kalkia smiled and rubbed her hands together in glee as she
made Endymion give her a detailed report. Every so often, when she was
getting a little too probing in her questioning, Rose interrupted,
saying that it was unnecessary. Kalkia would pout, frown a bit at her
friend, then continue, a little more reservedly. The cycle continued
until Kalkia at last was satisfied with Endymion's report.
"Well, I've figured it out. It's not a side-effect at all.
Well, I suppose for those caught in the blast, it's not exactly a
benefit in their point of view, but it's not going to hurt us, at
least. All soulmates do this, to an extent. But because these two
are so powerful, they have a little more...punch to these occurrences.
My first time was a power outage, Rose--" Rose cleared her throat,
loudly, "oh fine, spoil my fun. As I was saying, mine was an outage
and well, these two caused the cave to collapse. It's a question of
intensity, not a question if I did something wrong or not."
"You sound rather pleased," Endymion muttered. His flush was
slow to go away and he didn't particularily want to talk about this
anyway.
"Of course I'm pleased," Kalkia grinned and went to a computer
consol. "I hate screwing up," she paused as if considering whether to
say her next words. She said them anyway. "Unless its Jon of course."
"Kal, you're horrible," Rose commented from her place on the couch.
The doctor winked at her friend, "But you love me anyway."
"I don't," Endymion muttered rebelliously causing Kalkia to
chuckle. "What about your first time with Jonathon?" he asked, hoping
to make her blush for once. He was surprised when she actually did.
Rose suddenly grinned and sat up. "I remember this one," she
said and Kalkia waved her hand, shooing away both of them.
"Let's not talk about that," she said quickly. "It's nothing
important anyway." Her cheeks were still faintly pink and Endymion
knew he had hit a nerve. He looked over at Rose who had an
uncharacteristic look of sardonic glee on her face.
"I can tell you all about it," she taunted, winking at
Endymion. "It was the first day they met, you know."
"Shut up, Rose," Kalkia said calmly.
"She was pissed at him for thinking he was all that when it
came to physical events," Rose continued calmly.
"Rose," Kalkia warned.
"They got into a physical match in the practice room. Then in
front of everyone, he kissed her." Rose stopped and Endymion looked
between the two of them, hoping that Rose would continue. "The power
went out for a minute. When it came back on, they weren't there
anymore. It went off again about fifteen minutes later."
Kalkia clenched her jaw, "That wasn't us," she insisted. "That
was Kunzite and Minako. I told you, nothing happened. Jon and I don't
cause power outages." She was blushing faintly still.
Shrugging, Rose gave Endymion another wink. "Fine, whatever
you say, Kal. But I'm telling you, when I went to her room later on,
there wasn't a piece of furniture that hadn't been overturned," she
finished with a flourish.
Kalkia moaned and hid her flaming cheeks behind her hands.
"Now, now, doctor, embarassed? You know everything about my
first time with my soulmate, aren't I entitled to know everything
about yours?" Endymion's eyes twinkled with amusement.
"That's not all, I can tell you so many amusing stories about
Kal and Jonathon. That is, of course," Rose paused, "if you're
interested."
"No, Rose, you wouldn't dare!" Kalkia was horrified and
embarassed, not at all a comfortable state to be in.
With a positively evil grin, Rose taunted, "Try me..." And so
began the most excruciating examination of Kalkia's sexual history in
her entire life.
Omega Headquarters, Alpha One Enclave
"I don't understand this at all." Ami re-examined the results
of the tests and frowned some more. "It just doesn't make sense."
"I agree," said Demando, a furrow between his brows. "Serenity
didn't absorb the second artifact, yet there is a clear increase in
her power level from the scan we did immediately after the first
mission."
Rei exchange a look with a nervous Serenity. They hadn't
exactly told their comrades what had happened to her. The young woman
looked down at her hands intently. It was Demando, not Ami, who
noticed the faint blush on her face.
"Serenity?" he set the data pad down and went over to her.
"Are you feeling all right? You look a little warm."
The blonde nodded, "I'm fine," she insisted and cleared her
throat. "Is it possible that if I ran into End--Alpha and we touched,
that power could be transfered?"
"It would have to be a rather intimate touch," Ami said
thoughtfully, "Only soulmates are able to transfer power like that"
She blinked as she realized what she just said. "Demando, you don't
think that Kalkia and Rose were able to actually create a soulmate?"
Demando regarded the question thoughtfully for a few moments.
"I don't know. I really hadn't thought about it." He went back in his
memories of the two women, wondering what were they actually possible
of. "I suppose it could be done, considering their mental capabilities
and--"
"Oh, it's more than possible, it's a fact," said a new voice.
All the occupants of the room turned around quickly, surprised
at the almost silent entrance of the newcomer.
"Setsuna! We weren't expecting you so soon!" Demando quickly
walked over to the quiet woman and led her towards Serenity. "Come,
come, you really should get a look at Serenity, otherwise known as
Project Omega!" He beemed like a proud father, eager to hear the
opinion of a fellow scientist, someone who would be able to fully
appreciate the amazing nature of his labors.
Rei interrupted the conversation, "What did you mean back
there, Setsuna? And why aren't you at Alpha's Laboratory? You weren't
scheduled for a information drop, as far as I know." She regarded the
taller woman with suspicion.
"Rose let me off the project." Setsuna sat down, not meeting
anyone's gaze. "She knows everything, has known it from the start."
Alarmed, Haruka looked around, as if suspecting the walls to
come down and Alpha soldiers to come running in at that very moment.
"You told her? You led them to us?" She looked ready to destroy
something, maybe even Setsuna herself.
Raising a hand, Setsuna restrained the bristling blonde and
tried to calm everyone in the room. "No, no, you don't understand.
Alpha doesn't know about us. Relax, we aren't about to be attacked"
When all her tense comrades returned to their previous positions, she
sighed and tried to explain as best as she could.
"They are hiding more than it seems. Rose has known about all
of our activities, can read anyone's mind. But she hasn't said a word
to anyone. I don't know if Kalkia knows as well, but Rose has been
helping us since the beginning." Setsuna looked around, making eye
contact with everyone, to make sure they understood that what she was
about to say was very important. "They're dying, both of them. It's
been going downhill since Alpha was finished. Both of them are waiting
to kill themselves."
"Good," spoke up Michiru. All heads turned to her. "If both of
them destroy themselves, Project Alpha will lose two of its most
important people. That would give us an edge, since Alpha's
development won't be able to continue, and Serenity's will."
Raising an eyebrow, Setsuna looked at the aqua-haired woman.
"They have been helping us for some time now, Michiru. They aren't a
part of Alpha, not willingly. We should help them, not let them die."
Michiru let out a derisive laugh. "Setsuna, we are the
underground resistance workers here, not Good Samaritans. We can't
risk ourselves for two Alpha doctors. Besides, their loss would only
help us, not hinder us. I think, strategically, letting them kill
themselves gives us a better outcome."
Setsuna sighed softly. "We are becoming closer to them, day by
day," she murmured. Haruka shot her an angry look.
"How can you compare us to them?" she demanded. "We are
nothing like Alpha. We're trying to save the world from injustice"
"Yes, we are," Ami whispered softly. "I think what Setsuna is saying, is
that we are close to losing our humanity. We fight for the
right cause, yet we are willing to lower ourselves to their tatics.
What good will it do, to destroy a government only to put an equally
corrupt one in its place?"
"Kalkia won't kill herself," Haruka grumbled. She felt too
uncomfortable to reflect on Ami's statement so she decided to focus
on something else, anything else. "Unfortuantely she is too big a
coward to do that. She likes her own pleasure too much." Michiru took
her lover's hand and squeezed it. She felt the same way, but did not
verbalize it.
"Shut up, Haruka. You know nothing of her situation," Minako
snapped.
"You seem to think I care," Haruka responded angrily.
"Please!" Serenity exclaimed and got betwen the two women
before they could go to blows. "Please, we shouldn't be fighting over
this!"
"'When you and your enemy are both willing to stop at no
lengths to win, that is when all is lost,'" quoted a soft voice.
"Death!" Minako greeted the young girl with short, chin-length
black hair and expressive purple eyes, a shade bluer than Rei's own.
Tomoe Hotaru, the youngest member of Omega cell at fifteen
years old, sat in a chair and gave those in the room a nod of
greeting.
"Why the hell the cryptic greeting," Haruka asked, still
irritated.
Solemn, Hotaru gazed at both Michiru and Haruka with her
piercing eyes. "It was something Rose once said during one of the
Project Alpha experiments. I was working on some calibrations when she
said that. It was right after the Alpha Thirteen massacre, where the
Resistance members were sacrificed when they were found out."
"So? Big deal, so the doctor likes to spout poetry. I don't
see the point." Crossing her arms, she frowned, frustrated that they
were even discussing saving Alpha pigs.
In her same soft voice, Hotaru looked straight at Michiru.
"What makes us the good guys is what makes us different from Alpha. We
should be the ones with compassion, even at the expense of the
ultimate goal of freedom. Never lose your humanity for the mission,
Michiru. Our mission IS our humanity, never forget that."
Michiru looked away, but Haruka gave the younger girl an
intense look. "Sometimes I wonder what goes through your head," she
finally muttered and sat down. Serenity looked relieved that they were
no longer fighting.
"Will Rose commit suicide?" Rei finally asked. It sounded like
she might care, but it was lost.
Both Setsuna and Hotaru shook their head. "Rose isn't a
coward. She doesn't fear death, but she doesn't welcome it either"
Hotaru said. "Before Omega occurs it will be their legacy that guides
Alpha. If it were any other doctor, then it would be possible that we
could lose completely. Rose is a good woman and she is teaching that
to Alpha."
"While Kalkia teaches Alpha about sex, no doubt," Haruka said idly.
Setsuna shot Haruka a look. "Both doctors and all four
generals were left to the tender mercies of the Enforcer after the
Crimson Flame was lost to us. It took both of them, I heard, to save
the generals."
That fact startled the group, all except Rei. Her violet eyes
seemed haunted when she spoke up. "It was both of them, and it almost
didn't work."
"Kalkia was the one who saved Minako, instead of killing her.
Rose was the one who got us out, instead of letting General Nephlite
find us," added Luna. "Why can't you guys get this? They aren't evil.
Can you really just stand by, and not feel a thing?" Her eyes pleaded,
hoping that all was not lost with some of her long-time friends.
Scowling, Haruka looked away while Michiru looked at Luna
blankly. Honestly, Michiru would feel no regrets. But Haruka was a bit
different from her partner. There was something, a tiny part of her,
that asked if this was right.
Minako cleared her throat. "We'll see what happens. Since both
Hotaru and Setsuna know the doctors more than we do and they both
think that the chance that the doctors will kill themselves is minimal,
then they'll both be safe while they still serve a purpose on Project
Alpha to Metallia. If and when the time comes that they'll really be
in danger, we'll discuss possible solutions then. Dismissed."
When all the others left, only Hotaru, Setsuna and Minako
remained. Sighing, Minako walked over to the window that allowed those
in the meeting room to look over the rest of the cell. Hands behind
her back, she watched as most of her friends departed in groups. Ami,
Demando, Taiki and Ryo all headed back to the lab, talking quietly.
Rei, Makoto and Serenity all headed towards the private quarters area,
probably going to grab a meal together before retiring to their
separate rooms. What was unusual was that Michiru seemed to head
toward the quarters she shared with Haruka before she realized that
Haruka wasn't heading the same way. Michiru must have asked Haruka
where she was headed and Minako could see that Haruka replied, not
even glancing at Michiru. Shrugging, Michiru went off and Minako
watched as Haruka walked slowly, head bent, as if she was in thought,
headed towards the recreation room.
"I worry about those two," Setsuna interjected. "Their focus
on the mission, regardless of the consequences, is frightening."
"So do I," said Minako softly as she continued to look out
the window.
Minako's Quarters, later that night
"Have you talked about it yet?"
"About what?"
"What happened between you and Kalkia."
Minako just shrugged, briefly looking at the blue-haired woman
beside her. "It's over and done with. I don't need a shrink. It's
better this way."
"Better for who?" Ami sounded rather skeptical.
Making a noise of disgust, Minako glared at her long-time
friend. "Don't try all that psychobabble on me, Ami. I said I'm fine."
Minako's anger gave Ami pause. "I don't know, Minako. I've
known you for a long time. If it were me, seeing my soulmate after
such a long time after parting on less than pleasant terms, almost
being killed by a girl that was once our schoolmate, and then dealing
with all these revelations..."
With a cynical smile, Minako went back to looking over the
data pads. "That's quite a list of events there, Ami. Don't you think
that you're overdoing it a bit?"
"Don't you think you're down playing it just a bit?" she
countered and easily removed the data pads from her hands. "Rei's
still in shock about what happened. She's not dealing with her guilt
very well. Mako refuses to talk to anyone and you..." she sighed
softly. "We need our leader on the sane side of crazy."
Minako raised an eyebrow. "And what about you?" she asked
sweetly but the edge was still there. "How are you doing with reliving
the most intimate memories between you and Zoicite?"
Wincing, Ami shot Minako a hurt look. "That was a cheap blow,
Minako. But if you want to know, I'm dealing with it as best as I can.
Day by day, I deal with it. But that's the difference between us. I'm
at least acknowledging that I have a problem. You aren't." Shaking
her head, Ami placed a hand on Minako's shoulder. "I know that you're
hurting, Minako. You've always been the strongest of all of us. That's
why you make a wonderful leader. But you can't keep your feelings
bottled up. Lying to yourself isn't going to help either. Unless you
confront your feelings, they're going to keep on eating at you until
you go insane. We're at a critical phase of the mission and we need
everyone we have to be at the top of their game. So get with it,
Minako, for your own sake and for the sake of the cause. Because, if
you don't, and you're still this unsettled by the time of the next
mission, I'll get the other doctors to back me up and relieve you of
command."
Minako narrowed her eyes. "I'm not incompetant, Ami." She
stood up and shrugged Ami's hand off of her shoulder. "And what
problems do I have, really? Kunzite thinks I'm dead so if he ever sees
me again, it's going to throw him off, not me."
"And if his reaction isn't what you expect?"
"I'm prepared for anything. I have to be. So get the idea of
relieving me out of your head. Now, I have to go work with Omega. She
still needs more training." Minako went to the door and paused.
"Kalkia kept me alive to hurt him. Kunzite still pisses her off. I'm
willing to go along with it for now."
"And what if she didn't? What if she really didn't want to
kill you out of some sense of loyalty? What if Kunzite doesn't care if
you're dead or not? Are you prepared for the consequences of those
revelations?"
Silence bridged the gulf between the two friends for a long
moment in time. "I'm not going to answer them because they simply
aren't true. At least, most of them. Kalkia wouldn't care if I died.
I know that she kept me alive to hurt Kunzite because she said so
herself. And Kunzite...I don't care if he cares about me or not. We're
over with, him and I. It's been dead since the day he pledge his
service to Alpha."
Ami leaned back against the wall and shook her head. "Lying to
yourself never helps the situation, Minako," she pointed out gently.
"Alpha had to spend a great deal of energy in order to make him
change. If what we found in those high clearance files for them is
true, Kunzite had to go complete mind modification in order to be
useful to Metallia. It's not over between you. It never will be." The
doctor's voice never rose above a sad, yet very clear whisper. Ami
paused, her mind searching for a quote she had heard long ago.
"'You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll
shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll
never be 'over'. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood...blood
screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at
least I'm man enough to admit it.'"
Minako raised an eyebrow and shot the blue-haired woman a
cool look. "I'm not love's bitch, Ami. I never have been. You may be
content with your life decided for you, but I never have been and I
never will me. I choose who to love, when to love, and how to love.
All I care about now is having an advantage against Alpha." She looked
back out the window, her face slowly closing off all of her feelings.
Ami opened her mouth to protest, but Minako raised her hand,
her gaze fixated on the scenery outside the window. "Don't say any
more, Ami, or else I won't be held responsible for anything I might
say." Stony-faced, Minako didn't even blink when Ami shot her a hurt
look, the doctor's expression clearly visible in the glass of the
window.
Shaking her head, Ami turned and silently left Minako's room.
The Omega Cell captain looked at her own reflection and gave
a little sigh. With trembling fingers she touched the glass before
slowly curling her hand into a fist. A moment later she shoved her
hand forcefully through the window, shattering it and taking a morbid
pleasure out of the wet sound of flesh and glass mingling.
Only when he was dead, would she ever be free.
Serenity's Quarters
Serenity lay on her sleeping pallet, her arms crossed over her
flat stomach, her fingers tented. She could sense the turmoil
surrounding her, throughout the building. There were unsettled
emotions swirling around, tearing through every psyche of most of the
enclave inhabitants. Usually, that wouldn't be unusual, a small amount
of tension. After all, life as an outlaw, rebels hunted by a very
powerful and dangerous group would instill a bit of fear and unease in
the rebels themselves. But the pain and anguish roaring throughout the
headquarters was at an all time high. The psychic noise was deafening
to Serenity and that was part of the cause of her conscious state.
But it was only a small part. A large part of her mind was
still trying to piece together what happened during the last mission.
That man, the one whose face haunted her every waking moment, he
would not leave her. The feelings he awakened in her, the warmth his
touch had shot throughout her body. She closed her eyes as she
willingly relived the memory in her mind. She couldn't forget every
single detail of their love making, nor did she really want to. She
remembered every touch of his hands, every kiss, and especially the
explosion that had occured afterwords. It surprised her to find that
she wanted him again.
With an annoyed snort, Serenity sat up and tried to shake the
memory from her mind. All it was, all it could be, was lust. She
didn't even know him well enough to like him.
"I hate him," she said aloud. The words were hallow and died
in the small confines of her room. "I hate Endymion," she tried again.
The result was the same. It just sounded--it felt wrong. With a groan,
she flopped back onto the bed in the most unlady-like way. "I really
do hate him," she muttered childishly.
Balling her fists, Serenity tried to keep her mind on the
main objective. Omega. It was her duty to bring about Omega and
destroy Alpha. Paltry emotions were secondary to the mission. The man
named Endymion was secondary to Omega. "He doesn't matter," she
whispered. The words could be said...it was too bad that they didn't
ring true. At least, not yet.
Another rush of angry energy ran through the air, smashing
into the receptors of Serenity's mind. With all the work that the
doctors had done, for all their brilliant capabilities, they hadn't
been quite able to teach Serenity about the full capabilities of her
mind. True, they taught her all they knew, but without someone fully
capable of knowing her limits, they couldn't know what they needed to
teach her. It was the same for her physical powers. Minako was strong,
true. But there were things that Serenity had the potential for, moves
that Minako had no way to teach Serenity because Minako was incapable
of them herself. Serenity knew that there were limits to the abilities
of those around her. They were at a distinct disadvantage. Serenity
was not at her best, so most likely, any attempt at Omega would fail,
even if they had all the artifacts.
There was only one solution: even out the playing field. Since
Alpha had all the advantages, it was time to take some of them away.
Serenity knew she could not include those around her. They were fully
dedicated, she knew, but they were weaker, slower, and liabilities in
case things became too dangerous. Of course, all of them were
expendable, in the long run. Demando, Minako, Rei...all of them were
helpful in the cause, but ultimately, Serenity was the one that had to
survive. And she was the only one who could risk any movement at the
moment without being caught. Ordinary soldiers were no match for her.
She had already evolved beyond their abilities to stop her. As long
as she struck where there was no chance that Endymion or members of
the Inner Circle could reach quickly, she could attack unopposed.
A smile of satisfaction graced Serenity's face. It was time to act.
Alpha Headquarters
"Fuck." Kalkia interrupted Kunzite's report during one of
their daily meetings. He glared at her and was about to snap at her
for her rudeness when she shoved her chair away from the table. "We
have a problem"
He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something
scathing when she shoved her chair back from the table. She ignored
him and turned to Endymion. "Go to the Alpha Six Enclave, Sector
Three now. Omega is there"
"What?" Nephlite looked at her as if she was crazy. "How do
you know that?"
"General Sephiroth was stationed there after the Crimson Flame
was lost in order to draw the Resistance attention," Kalkia irritably
explained. "All that's there is a school, but we thought it would make
them assume there might be an artifact there. He's either dead or
dying. Omega is there." She glanced over at Rose briefly, but her dark
green eyes betrayed nothing. "Endymion has to go now. None of us will
be able to get there in time. I'm sure that she's disabled the
teleportation site."
Nephlite and Jedeite both turned to their communications link
as Kalkia finished speaking, the high-pitched audible sound signalling
an all-out military emergency. Hitting a button, the conference room
was soon seeing the military call through the main holographic screen.
"Generals, please forgive the intrusion," an unknown soldier
said. Explosions could be heard in the distance and the projection
flickered for an instant.
Nephlite frowned. "Soldier, where is General Sephiroth? Why
isn't there an officer speaking on this --"
"I'm sorry, sir, but the General is dead, sir. All commanding
officers have left to lead the men." Somewhere behind the field of
the camera, men screamed as another explosion rocked the area. "They
asked me to relay the message, sir," shouted the frightened soldier.
"We're under attack from Ome-" With a wink, the hologram disappeared
and the computer announced that the sending signal was lost.
Quickly, Kunzite stood, glancing at the other three generals.
"Get all the available troops in that area mustered. I want them
moving, on the double." He shot a look at Endymion. "Go, with what
power you can muster, and get there fast. I want Omega destroyed"
With a push from Kalkia, who was looking a little wild-eyed, Endymion
left in a golden tide of power.
Kunzite turned and headed out the door. "We'll teleport to the
nearest site and use our power to get to the fighting. This might be
our chance." All four members of the Inner Circle disappeared out the
door.
"Come on, Kal, let's go to our rooms," said Rose in a quiet voice.
Kalkia looked at her friend and then shook her head. "Find Jon
and tell him I'm sick. He'll understand what that means. I just want
to be alone for a minute. You should link with Endymion. Just to make
sure he doesn't do anything stupid"
"Kal--"
"No. Please don't"
Alpha Six Enclave, Sector Three, once known as Old Antwerp, Belgium
The smell of blood and ash was heavy in the air. Smoke
billowed from multiple points from the old cathedral and surrounding
buildings. Hundreds of years ago, it had been renovated into a school
and expanded towards the sky like most of the buildings since Alpha
had been established. Near the top spire was Omega, surveying the
destruction below. From where he stood, Endymion could see the blood
on her hands and clothes, the sweat on her face, and the apathy in her
eyes.
It was an image of her that was at complete odds from his last
memory of her. If it hadn't been for Rose's training, he would have
been distracted by that memory. As it was, all the thought did was to
make him angry at what Omega had done.
On the ground at her feet were the bodies of children. Some
were as young as two years old, some as old as eleven, but they were
still just children. Boys and girls dressed in their night clothes,
clothes that were meant for shielding their bodies from the chill of
night. Small pants and shirts, with prints of varied hues and shapes
decorating them, meant to soothe young minds into pleasant slumber.
Their bodies were still amidst the chaos, just as if they were all
deeply asleep, if you didn't look closely. But Endymion did, and he
could see that some of their eyes were open, that look of fear and
terror still fresh in those still shining and teary eyes, frozen for
eternity with the coming of death. Their forms were like little dolls,
broken and twisted. Some of their necks were at wrong angles, while
others were missing limbs, limbs that were tossed in other corners of
the destroyed nursery.
In all that he had witnessed of Alpha so far, in all the hate
that Kalkia and Rose had carried with them and had echoed to him
through their connections, there were still some lines that the
doctors had never crossed in their worst imaginings of Alpha crimes,
some that even the generals of Alpha had never crossed in reality. The
mindless slaughter of children was one of them. Even Alpha had its
limits, but aparently Omega thought herself above such things.
She stood there, amongst the fiery wreckage, her white pants
and simple turtleneck splattered with crimson blood and darker stains
from heavier things. The knife she held in her right hand glistened
with bodily fluids; not a glimpse of the metal of the knife could be
seen. Her long golden locks were confined in a bun on her head, oddly
enough, untouched by the gore that covered her body. Her blue eyes
were looking without emotion at the whimpering and crying young boy
she held in her left hand. The boy choked and sputtered as Serenity
tightened her grip, her right hand moving down for the kill.
A sudden movement stilled her hand and Endymion could see her
gaze transferring to her left foot. A hand was clenched around her
ankle. One of the caretakers on guard at the nursery was trying to
stop her, using Serenity's leg to pull her broken body off the floor.
"Please," she rasped, her voice faint amongst the noise of the
destruction. From his distance, Endymion could barely hear it. "Leave
the children alone." She wrapped an arm around the boy, trying to
comfort him and pry him away from Serenity's grip.
With an annoyed look, Serenity put her knife back in its
sheath, which was tied to her belt. Hope sprang into the woman's eyes
and she opened her mouth to give thanks to her unknown attacker, when
Serenity violently ripped the woman's tongue out of her mouth.
The woman's bloody and wet screams echoed in the room, her
eyes wide and lined in blood. With another simple movement, Serenity
aimed a blow to the woman's head, smashing skin and bone, with enough
force to bring a fresh mist of gray matter onto her clothing. The boy
in Serenity's grasp stopped his struggles, shock stilling his mind,
his eyes locked upon the caretaker's body.
Finished with her distraction, Serenity returned her attention
to the task at hand. Slipping her knife from the sheath, she swiped
her arm in a horizontal manner. With a small cry, the boy coughed up
some blood, even as his intestines and other internal organs fell from
his small body. They landed with a heavy, liquid plop, onto the cold
tiled floor. Their warmth soon leeched into the tile, as the pile
began to be covered from the blood raining from above. Like an empty
husk, Serenity dropped the boy's body, his emptied flesh falling next
to the pile, like a sack next to its contents. The boy's eyes were
still glazed over with pain, something his brain registered before the
shock slowly set in. It seemed like an eternity to Endymion, even
though it took only a matter of seconds, but he could see the boy's
rapid, shallow breathing, as his body desperately tried to keep him
alive, even though most of the internal organs were missing. Blood
raced from the boy's body, making the boy dizzy, then sleepy,
Endymion knew, from the emotions and sensations he was getting from
the boy. Soon, the boy's brain stopped working, too little blood and
finally, blissfully quiet darkness stole upon the boy.
Endymion clenched his hand into a fist and with just a whisper
of a thought, flung wild and uncontrolled energy at Serenity. It
crashed into her shield and did nothing more than draw her attention
to him. He could see the moment that recognition entered her eyes and
he knew she was surprised to see him. He didn't wait for her to come
to him or even give her the chance to attack. He moved away from his
previous position and began to effortlessly scale the walls, giving
her a moving target.
"I thought you were one of the good guys." His anger at seeing
her like this, having heard her words when she had stopped Rei from
huring Rose the first time they had met, made him seeth.
"Endymion?" She was still a little off balance at his
entrance. Then she tossed that emotion aside and glared angrily at
him. "How did you get here so quickly?" she demanded. Her voice was
petulant and that in itself incensed him even more. He hurled another
burst of energy at her. He knew it would glance off her shields but it
was meant to keep her off balance until he got close enough to do some
real damage.
"They were children!" He snarled and then leapt from the
building he was climbing onto hers with little difficulty. Once the
cathedral had been the highest church in all of the old European
Union, now it was tiny compared to the modern buildings around it.
"They were Alpha," she replied coolly, curiously waiting for
him to join her. "Alpha is breeding them for cannon fodder anyway. It
makes no difference that it was now that they died rather than later.
They were here to die."
"They were here to live! They were living, breathing,
individuals, Omega!" He finally stood on the top of the pinnacle where
she was waiting only a few feet away from her. "You gained nothing
here."
Serenity's dark cerulean gaze took in the figure before her, a
perfect picture of an avenging angel of old. She shook her head, to
remove the mental image while also denying his previous comment. "As
children of Alpha, they would have been raised to do their assigned
genetic roles. They would have grown up and become citizens of this
corrupt and vile society. What I have done is remove people that would
have been assets to Alpha in the future. It matters not that what they
were intended for. Civilian, military, scientific, all in all, this
has helped to hurt Alpha and anything that hurts Alpha, will help
bring me closer to Omega."
Endymion swept his arms wide, motioning to the carnage around
him. "How can you say that? Even the worst of Alpha, in even the most
horrifying attacks, children were always left alive, if possible."
Sneering, Serenity raised a delicate eyebrow. "I find that
hard to believe. When proving a point, Alpha has no compunction in
killing an entire family. Attacks into rebel locations have always
had children included in the casualties."
"They've never done wholesale slaughter! THIS, this was
absolutely POINTLESS! Whatever small strategic gain you got here does
not even begin to balance the immorality and violence of the act!" He
could feel his anger beginning to cloud his mind, the red-tinged
fury starting to infect all higher functions. "Not even Metallia would
condone this, even though it was for fear of damaging public
sentiment." He seethed and began glowing with Power, his eyes seeing
nothing around him except the figure bathed in blood and other pieces
from the bodies around them. Hate. A feeling of pure, unadulterated
Hate began to fill his heart. Disgust, loathing, they were all there,
but Hate came first.
Suddenly, a cool wind seemed to blow through the area. It took
precious moments, longer than usual, but Endymion slowly realized it
was Rose connecting with his mind. He could feel her outrage and
horror at things around him, before she stored all those emotions.
'You need to remain calm, Endymion.'
'CALM??'
Love, understanding, reassurance, he could feel all of that
coming over the bond. 'Don't act in passion. She truly doesn't
understand morality. It doesn't excuse things, but it would help
you deal with this with some semblance of understanding. Passion will
only make things worse.'
There was no more to be said, because Serenity had gotten
tired of talking. She unleashed a wave of power, aimed directly at
Endymion.
Like his had before, it crashed against his shields and did no
damage except to rock the foundation of the cathedral they were
standing on. Endymion tried to do as Rose suggested but it was
becoming more and more difficult by the moment. 'I'm not Kalkia. I
can't kill the way she does.' Then he gave all his focus to attacking
Serenity. Her power may have crashed on his shield, but he focused his
enough to throw her back into the clock tower.
She didn't make a sound as her slight form crashed into the
face and glass. Keeping a good hold on her weapon and immediately
moved to attack. She didn't see any weapons on him, so she thought it
would be easy to defeat him, especially with the power boost she had
received from him during their intimate encounter. Endymion didn't
give up any ground to her, again forcing her back with just the will
of his mind. His telekineses wasn't as good as Kalkia's--yet--but it
was still better than Omega's. He didn't need a weapon.
Blind with anger he continued his onslaught of attacks on
Serenity. After he had made love to her, he had just assumed that
killing her would be too difficult. However, with the carnage around
him, it was almost too easy. There, in the deepest recesses of his
mind, was a dark desire. Almost like a living, breathing thing, it
slithered around, coaxing, seducing, enticing. It would be so easy,
just to annihilate the person in front of him, his soulmate. She was
evil in the worst way: she just didn't care. She had no understanding,
no comprehension, and, worst of all, no desire to change. He still
loved her; she was his soulmate. There was a physical beauty, yes,
but beyond that, there was a knowledge that she could be so much more,
she could be fully the woman he could love. But not now, not as she
was at the moment.
'Love doesn't care for logic, morality, and other such
niceties. It is a beast with no mind, just instincts. It will tear at
your heart, your gut, your mind, destroy everything in its path, in
order to achieve what it needs.' He could feel Rose turn her attention
in that metaphysical way. 'The generals approach. She'll sense them
soon. Make a decision.' Holding out a mental hand, she soothed
Endymion's mind as much as possible.
He let the calmness fill him, even as he registered that
Serenity was readying for another volley of attacks. She had been
withstanding much of his other attacks rather well, even though a lot
of his attacks were getting through her paltry shields. Physically,
she could withstand much more, but she knew that she would lose unless
she did something. So she struck, not at Endymion himself, because she
knew that somehow, her attacks were puny against his defenses. She
struck outward, blowing up more of the energy generators that were out
in the perimeter of the church, towards the residences that the
military personnel were desperately trying to protect.
It was a cascade reaction on such a large scale that Endymion
barely had time to fling out a warning to Rose and the Generals. Like
the radius of a simple bomb, the fires of her attack expanded in a
concentric cirlcle. It was so quick that the destruction began to gain
speed exponentially as the seconds passed. Sector three--Antwerp--was
burning.
In his minds eye he could see that this fire, this destruction
would not stop until it covered nearly half of Enclave Six. And at the
center of it, she stood watching the horror around her with a serenity
that he knew he would not have again.
"You are Omega," he said and she turned to look at him. Her
blue eyes were wide and overbright as she turned back to the death she
had caused.
"I am." Her voice was hoarse and he saw that her shoulders
were shaking. She turned to look past him and clenched one of her
hands into a fist. "I had hoped they were dead," she said finally.
Then without any other warning, she ran to the edge of the tower and
jumped off into the ruin.
He was torn. He could go after her and possibility face the
final decision to kill or be killed by his soulmate. Or, he could go
after the explosions and stem them off before they killed every
single person in Enclave Six. The four generals of the Inner Circle
were already issuing evacuation orders and mustering all available
units to damage control, but there was nothing they could really do to
stop what Omega had set into place. With a roar of frustration, he
watched as the woman he loved, still loved, disappeared into the smoke
and destruction. "Damn you." With that, he teleported as well,
reappearing near Kunzite's position. It would take much of his powers
at this point in order to stop what she had done; but it would save
more lives at the moment.
"This isn't over." He whispered into the fiery inferno.
Alpha Headquarters, Alpha One Enclave
Rose sat on her bed, knees drawn to her chest, as she
monitored all that went on around her. Endymion was still working with
military engineering corps, civilian damage control crews and the
generals. Much of Enclave Six's power grid was out and people were
flocking to emergency shelter units. Because of the lack of power, the
treatment units for the polluted air weren't working and there was no
heat being provided to most of Sector Three, Four and Six. She could
feel Endymion's hurt, confusion, and anger vibrating down the bond.
She could even read Kunzite and the other general's revulsion at the
carnage that Endymion had reported to them. Most of the people in
the sectors most affected were frightened and terrified. The local
rebel groups were ushering what aid they could to the underground
inhabitants as well as contacting the chain of command, wondering
what the hell just happened.
Somewhere, lost in the darkness, was Kalkia. Rose knew that s
he was hurting and mourning her latest loss but didn't want any
type of comfort. At least, not now. And in that same darkness came the
feeling of Jonathon's own hurt and anger.
Rose clenched her jaw. Just what the hell was Serenity up to?
With a redirection of power, Rose knew that Minako had no idea what
their project had been up to. Well, maybe it was time for them to find
out.
Omega Cell Headquarters
Minako looked at the news bulletin that was currently
speculating that the Resistance was responsible for the attack on
Enclave Six in anger. After a few moments she smacked the console off
and practically growled. "Bastards. We don't have anywhere near the
power to destroy an entire sector, not without detection," she hissed.
Ami gently put her hand on her friend's shoulder in an attempt
to calm her down. "They've done this before, Minako," she pointed out
gently. "And everytime its just added to our numbers. The people know
who's really responsible."
Just then, the door to the meeting room opened and Haruka and
Rei ran in, flustered. "Where is she," asked Rei, even as she scanned
the room's occupants.
"What do you mean, where is she?" Minako could feel her
anxiety level rising. With one glance, all the pertinent members of
Omega cell's leadership were mustered. Everyone was there who was
usually there, except...
"Omega, Serenity, where the hell is she?" Haruka looked at
Demando. "Was she with you in the lab?"
His brow furrowed as his red-violet eyes looked on in
confusion. "After the last meeting, the science team and I had a small
informational session. We didn't call Serenity in." He looked at Rei.
"I thought she was with you."
Rei shook her head vigorously, her black mane whirling about
her head. "No, Mako and I had dinner with her and then we all retired
for the night."
Mina blinked and was about to say something when Ami
interrupted her. "Computer," she said simply. "Locate Serenity Omega"
Omega is in her quarters.
Ami raised an eyebrow. "Did any of you think to check there?" she
asked dryly. "She's probably been asleep. Serenity has been
training hard these past few days."
Rei shook her head. "She wasn't there an hour ago and the
computer couldn't locate her. She has been missing, Ami." Her tone
implied that she resented the implication that she just hadn't thought
it through. "Computer, when did Omega return to the base?"
Oh-one-thirty-six.
"When did she leave?" Minako suddenly asked. A chill crept
along her spine. She hated it when her intuition started to act up. It
normally meant something bad had just happened or that things were
about to get a lot worse.
Twenty-three hundred hours.
"Shit," the captain hissed and shoved her chair back so
forcefully that it fell to the ground. "Ami, watch the news and see if
there is any new developments. Rei, come with me. Haruka, stay here
with the doctors. Wake Makoto up and have her start preparing for..."
her voice trailed off. "Goddamnit, Serenity," she muttered under her
breath as she stalked towards the door. She threw the last of her
orders over her shoulder as Rei rushed to keep up. "Tell Mako to make
sure that our location hasn't been compromised. Contact Seiya and
Yaten, and Death. I don't want any more surprises."
The door swooshed closed behind her and the two women ran down
the halls to Serenity's room. Minako didn't even pause to ask for
permission to enter. She stopped in the center of the living room area
and looked around for any sign of Omega. She could hear the shower
running and the soft sound of someone crying. Rei's expression
immediately softened and she moved to go to the bathroom. Minako
stopped her with a hand on her elbow.
"Tell her to get out and dressed right now. I want to talk to her."
"You're not going in yourself?" Rei asked in confusion.
"I have to be her Captain, Rei. Not her friend."
Within minutes, a semi-wet Serenity appeared before Minako,
dressed in a simple exercise ensemble. Rei hadn't even give Serenity
the time needed to get completely dry under the machine. Serenity's
long silver locks were still damp and her face had been scrubbed
clean, giving her an innocent child-like appearance.
Minako knew something had happened and appearance were
definitely deceiving in this case. "What did you do, Serenity?"
Serenity lifted her blue eyes, her gaze cool and collected.
Evidently, she had recovered from her crying fit in the shower. "I
have done what needed to be done."
Slamming a fist into a nearby table, Minako didn't even feel
the pain it should have caused. "Don't fucking play games with me,
Serenity. What the hell did you do?"
Rei spoke up, eyeing Serenity's quiet form. "Don't yell at
her, Minako, she hasn't done anything wrong-"
"I did what needed to be done," said Serenity in a quiet
voice, taut with the beginnings of anger.
"You won't get what you want from her," came a new voice. All
three occupants of the room looked up and saw someone that shouldn't
even be there.
"Rose?" Rei was trying to process what her eyes were telling
her. There stood the young woman, hair bound in a simple braid, in a
pair of black pants and a shirt. In a moment, the setting shifted.
Suddenly, all members of the Omega cell were in what seemed to be an
auditorium of sorts, seated, with Serenity and the rest of the
leadership in the front rows.
Minako didn't even show how displaced and surprised she felt,
instead she looked at Rose calmly. "I don't need you running here to
give me the answers you want me to know, Rose. I am quite capable of
handling Omega."
"Like you handled Enclave Six?" Standing a little to the back
of Rose was Kalkia. She looked young and incredibly sad compared to
the last time Minako saw her. Hell, the last time the blonde had seen
Skye was during her fake execution, so any appearance was an
improvement.
Rei's jaw just dropped as she looked between Serenity and
Minako. Omega wasn't denying anything and it made Serenity's earlier
words ring through her ears. I did what had to be done. Rei shuddered
in horror. "The entire city, Serenity"
"It had to be done," she insisted even as tears came to her
eyes. Ami gave a soft gasp of horror and Demando looked away in shame.
Minako clenched her jaw. "You've done what you came to do,
Rose. We're aware and we're not stupid. I will handle this."
'HOLD' With a silent command from Rose's mind, all members of
the audience were quiet and still. 'You'd think that we were the
aggressors in this little tete a tete. I come here to show you the
truth of your actions.' Instantly, a screen appeared. Rose took
Kalkia's hand. "Go on back, Kal, I'll come as soon as I get the little
movie started. You don't need to see...what happened, again."
Kalkia nodded and didn't look back as she disappeared. Rose
glanced at the captive audience. "From her own memories, I show you
all what happened on this night." Then, Rose too, disappeared.
On the screen that wasn't there, came a movie that wasn't
quite a movie. Scenes of the destruction played, from Serenity's own
mind. It was easy for Rose to access the memories and there was no
denying what happened. Reflected in the eyes of the dying was Omega
herself, a bringer of death and destruction. All could see how she
fought and killed General Sephiroth, killed the children easily and
without pause, and how she willed the devastation of the city and
civilians in order to keep the military and others occupied so that
she might kill without interruption. When the memories were over, all
were released and were back where they all were previously.
Minako looked down at Serenity, now that they were back in the
privacy of her own quarters. Rei looked like she might physically be
sick from what she had seen, what she had felt. Serenity, however,
just met Minako's eyes and didn't flinch. "I would do it again"
"Our goal isn't blind destruction, Omega. It's the end of the
Alpha regime. All those people you killed were innocents"
"They were Alpha. I did what had to be done. I'd do it again."
Rei gave a quiet cry as she shuddered. "If you really think
that, then why were you crying before?"
Serenity blinked and it surprised Minako to see tears pool in
the wide, blue irises. She swallowed and shut her eyes tightly.
"Endymion was there. He..." She felt the bile rise in her throat
again. "He hates me."
Rei and Minako both stared at the figure in front of them,
trying to assimilate what they had just heard. Serenity sat there, in
front of them, completely miserable over the fact that some man hated
her; not a tiny part of that sadness over the fact that she just
killed hundreds of children.
What had they done? What kind of monster had they created?
Alpha Headquarters, Alpha One Enclave
General Kunzite was throughly exhausted when he finally
arrived at his quarters. Keying the password, he walked in and threw
his dirty uniform on his couch as he began to remove the rest of his
filthy clothes and demand the computer for lights. Everything seemed
to be part of the ordinary as he made his way back to the bathroom. He
was about to turn on the lights there when he glanced at his bed and
was shocked to find it occupied.
"Kalkia"
The figure moved back the blankets and he was met with the
tear-streaked face of his heart sister. Kunzite was so tired that he
was completely unaware that his eyes had changed from their frigid
green to the gentle blue of his youth. She stared at him for a moment
before hastily trying to get out of the bed.
"I'm sorry! I'll get out of here...the computer was supposed
to tell me when you'd return so you wouldn't find me here." Her babble
was cut short when she tripped on the sheet and fell to the floor.
Nostalgia filled him when he saw she was wearing one of his shirts.
Not really thinking past the moment, he crossed the room and picked
her up, placing her back in his bed. He couldn't remember how many
times he'd done this for her in the past. Mostly it was when some boy
had hurt her, or some girl had said something that made her unsure.
Always she would come here and sleep in his bed. Sometimes he would
sleep next to her, other times out on the couch. He remembered how
smug he felt when she would do this. For it was him, not Nephlite,
that she would turn to.
"Get some rest, Kia. We can talk after I shower"
She watched him with wide eyes as he went into the bathroom
and closed the door. She still trembled as she laid there, unsure what
to expect. She really hadn't meant to stay that long. He meant to be
quick so he could at least attempt to comfort her over Sephiroth's
death before the morning came. But when he came back and found her
gone, he knew he hadn't been fast enough. With a sigh, he went over to
where she had left his shirt and even made his bed. It was like she
hadn't even been there at all. Picking it up, he stared at it for
several minutes before hurling it across the room.
Once more his eyes were cold and pale.