Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi

Title: Wind Runner and the Dragon Senshi
Author: kazeko
Show: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Alternate Reality
Series: no, alternate reality
Multipart: yes
Rating: PG 13
Couples: Usagi/Mamoru, Haruka/Michiru, Makoto/Nephlyte, Ami/Zoicite, Rei/Jadeite, Minako/Kunzite, Setsuna/Ailan(I love this pair!)
Time: The time of horses, knights, kings, and palaces. Alternate reality, though, so it really doesn't matter. Haruka&Michiru are 25ish, Setsuna&Ailan are 40's, Hotaru is 7, Chibiusa is almost 3, Minako/Ami/Makoto are 21, Rei&Usagi are 20, Mamoru is 23, the generals are 25, Seiya/Taiki/Yaten are 23
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko, as does the senshi concept.
Disclaimer 2: As with so many of my other fics, I own the world and non-Takeuchi characters. Please ask before use.


Chapter 11: Dragon Scream

Haruka pulled away from Seiya, tears in her eyes at the memory. "It was so hard to move on, but Hotaru made the pain a little easier to bear."

"Haruka . . ." the black-haired woman breathed. "I had no idea. Who have you ever talked to about this?"

"No one. I never could before."

"Because you had Michiru-san to lean on." Haruka's head shot up, and her little sister nodded. "Your love for her let you bury your love for Arihlai, but recent events have made it much harder to ignore. All of a sudden, after eight powerless years, you have to confront the truth about your past and your loss and it's just too much."

"It's not just that, Seiya." Haruka glanced up as Taiki and Yaten joined them, knowing that the other two Kou triplets knew what their older sister had heard. Taiki sat on Haruka's other side, and Yaten joined Seiya as all waited for their sister to continue. She shook her head, brushing her hair out of her face. "Seiya, I never get sick and I certainly didn't while I was a senshi, but lately I've been so sick. I've been nauseous every day, I've had all of these weird cravings, and I felt kinda bloated for a while, but it seems to be fading."

"Poor thing. How long has this been going on?"

"Since the True Full Moon." The triplets paled, exchanging startled glances as their sister looked up. "What?"

"The most powerful night of the year? Were you with Michiru that night?"

"Yeah. That was one incredible experience. I never believed Sadaine when she told me that making love would be different under a True Full Moon, but she was right. She told me all of these stories and Dragon Legends, but I didn't take much stock in them."

"You should. Every one of those Dragon Myths is a true story, passed from mother to child over the centuries. And if, on that night, a Dragon Senshi is with his or her soul mate and true love, miraculous things can happen."

"Like what?"

The triplets exchanged a challenging glance, and Seiya sighed as she apparently lost whatever contest they were using. She reached over and took Haruka's hand, directing it to her flat belly. The blonde stared at her sister as if she were crazy, looking down at her stomach. "Listen, Haruka. We know that you have some power left and you have to use it to listen. What do you hear?"

"Seiya, this is stupid . . ."

"Haruka," Taiki sighed. "Please trust us. Clear your mind and search for that place inside you where Arihlai once resided. Search for her and tell us who you find."

Haruka shrugged and closed her eyes as Seiya pulled away, leaving Wind Runner alone. She felt the gentlest of breezes caress her skin and she leaned into it, smiling at the kind playfulness of the elements. She could hear someone very far away, calling her, and she reached for that voice, pausing at the closer murmur she hit first. Pulling back, she felt the other voice reach for her as she touched the closest whisper. Power. Life. Life? She reached out with whatever she had left and jerked as she realized what it was. Oh my . . . I had no idea.

"Haruka!!"

"Michiru?" Haruka opened her eyes, finding herself in Seiya's supporting arms, green eyes wide. "Michiru? God, what did I do? What did we do?"

"Haruka! Where are you, dammit?! I have to see you."

"I can't! Not now! Michiru, I had no idea! I wouldn't have left if I knew."

"Ruka, I don't care about any of that or assigning blame or anything like that. Please, my love, come back to me."

"I can't. I have people here to watch."

"Where are you? Maredan? Kamiret?"

"Kamiret. Aderaph Province."

"The Senshi and I will be there as soon as possible."

"Gods, Michi, what am I going to do?"

"When I get there, I'll help you. For now, let your sisters be there for you. They love you, too, okay?"

"Michiru's coming," Haruka whispered. "This isn't what I was trying to do. It should have been impossible without Arihlai. Sadaine's pretty powerful now, but not as strong as Adaqame and Mirrah. How did this happen?"

"It was the night of the True Full Moon. Anything can happen then. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Yaten." She laid a hand on her flat belly and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts and powers wander. "Gods, I never thought . . . please help me. I'm so scared."

"I know," Seiya whispered. "Look, why don't you go lay down for a while? Michiru and the senshi should be here soon a-dragon-back, and then everything will be okay. Can you do that? Can you let us be strong for our favorite sister?"

"Yeah, I can." Seiya escorted Haruka to her room, the younger two triplets heading for the encampment. An instant later, a horrendous screech rent the air, sending the four fighters to their knees. "A wild Dragon," Haruka whispered, emerald eyes scanning the blue sky. "He's responding to a call . . . a human?" She paled, grabbing Seiya's arm and running for the camp as quickly as she could, leaving her sisters to catch up. "Break camp!" she cried as she dashed into the temporary settlement. "We have to go now!!" Men and women scattered to obey her orders as she pulled up short, pushing her sisters into the shade of an overhang, away from the bustle. "I have only heard that call once before, and it terrified Arihlai. That's the cry of a Dragon ensnared by magic by a woman using darkly distorted senshi-type powers, and there has only ever been one."

"Metallia," Seiya realized, her face turning white. "Does she know you're here?"

"Seiya, I was her main opponent for years as the leader of the Dragon Senshi. She has no idea that I survived the final battle, and I had no idea that she could recorporealize after so many years. She must have broken free during the True Full Moon, maybe when Michiru and I . . . anyway, it's not safe for any of us anymore. We could barely defeat her last time with Arihlai's sacrifice, and I will not force anyone else to live dragonless in order to kill her. I have to send a message to all senshi to stay away from Aderaph."

"How?"

"You three, stand in a circle around me and open yourselves to my power. I have to construct this message so that Metallia is too close to hear it but they will hear it in the capital city of Kamiret." The Kou sisters moved into position as Haruka closed her eyes, stretching muscles she hadn't exercised in eight years, releasing a short and very urgent message into the Power pulsing along the length of the planet, keeping it from returning and alerting Metallia. She swayed, exhausted, as she finished, and Taiki easily caught her as she completely fainted. She lifted her sister and smiled at Seiya and Yaten as Charikei, Haruka's third-in-command, dashed into the shade.

"We're ready to go," she reported, glancing at Haruka but knowing that she was to obey the Kou sisters if her blonde leader was indisposed.

"Where would you go next, far away from Aderaph?"

"The next hideout is in Ghriiten Province, northern Maredan. We have a few men camped there, waiting for our arrival. Is that where you would like to go?"

"Yes, that sounds fine."

"Fine. Your horses are waiting."

Less than ten minutes later, the rock face was empty again, a few wild Dragon calls whimpering from the higher peaks. A tall woman with black hair stared down to the plains, wondering what happened to the glimmer of power she had felt. "Where are you, Wind Runner?"


Michiru gasped, sapphire eyes wide, Sadaine screaming for a halt as she lit on the nearest mountain peak, babies gathered around her. A brief mental conversation between Michiru and an unknown senshi—Haruka, the senshi were sure—followed, and Sea Siren almost lost her seat in shock. Smiling, she arranged to meet her wayward lover as she turned back to the other Senshi, who had also stopped. The generals were sitting with their fiancées, as was the prince, while Hotaru was riding with Michiru since Mishka was a little too small to wear a harness.

"Haruka's in Aderaph, southern Kamiret. She wants to see us."

"That's wonderful," Ailan smiled. "I miss Wind Runner."

A screech suddenly shattered the silence as one of Sadaine's unnamed golden daughters clutched her head in pain. A mental cry filled the Power, and the Senshi started at the words. "Stay away from Aderaph at all costs! Metallia is HERE!!!"

Michiru cried her lover's name as she lost contact with Haruka. "Ruka! Answer me! Where are you? Haruka!!!" Unnoticed in the panic as the senshi gathered closer, Sadaine's tiny golden daughter vanished, using power she have knew she had to protect the woman who needed her so much. Michiru calmed a little as she received a report from Seiya. "Seiya-san says that Haruka fainted after doing the spell to warn us about Metallia. God, Ailan, we have to get there. We have to protect them. They've left Aderaph, but I know where they're heading."

"Why is it so important to protect her? Metallia hates us all."

"Not as much as she hates Haruka," Michiru whispered. "None of you killed that evil woman's Dragon, and now she has the chance to get revenge in the same way."

"What do you mean?"

"Haruka's pregnant."


TBC