The Memory Keeper

Chapter Thirteen: Return to Me

Kari saw Star in her dreams when she had finally fallen into a fitful sleep. Yet it was not the Star she had known; no more would she and her sister walk among their dreams together. She could tell it wasn't Star and, reaching out a hand, she watched as she went right through the image. She swallowed back her emotions, hollow grief in her eyes as she pulled away from the holographic image of her now dead sister, wrapping her arms tightly around herself in a vain attempt to keep all the pieces together. She couldn't afford to fall apart.

"Why did you have to die, Star?" Kari whispered. "Why?" So cold, she thought as she stared up at the false sun in the fields, so cold and so alone. She used to welcome her solitude, taking to the darkness of space around her, never wanting to leave the cocoon of the empty dark. Yet she had always had Star to call her back home, to bring her back into the warmth of her embrace. There was nothing left now as she stood in the dream field filled with wildflowers and a memory of warmth lingering in the air around her. Was it worth fighting for anymore?

Her mind drifted to Kou, a ghost of a smile flickering across her features. He was so warm, so filled with light and hope and healing. With him, there was a distant flicker of warmth in her heart, a soft, airy feeling of flight within her. With him she was not so alone. Without him was the cold reminder that she was all there was left, the last of Empress Opale's Senshi. Yet she knew things had changed so much since her time aboard The Palace. She rested her palm against her heart, feeling the gentle beating of it beneath her fingertips and, for the first time, she felt the warmth still glowing within her.

Perhaps, she thought, there was still hope that something could be done. Or maybe that was the hope that glowed still from the Silver Crystal, stuck in her chest, giving her something to hold onto when nothing seemed tangible.

The field began to shrink, slowly, as she turned, catching sight of the sightless, black abyss. It ate up the grass before and behind her. The flowers wilted, dying before crumbling and turning to black ash. There she stood, upon the edge. She could see her sister standing behind her as she glanced over her shoulder, the darkness before her stretching on and on for all of eternity. She had dreamt of this image before, of falling down into the darkness without fear or hesitation. Yet Kari hesitated as she gazed down into the nothingness, uncertain that she wanted to dare make that jump.

"Kari, please, don't go!" Her sister's voice was in the distance and Kari closed her eyes against it. Her sister wasn't there to warn her against the darkness anymore. But he was. His hand closed in around hers, grasping it tightly, comfortingly, whispering into her ear, "Kari, please…"

Kari could burn him if she wanted. She could burn as bright and as darkly as she wanted to. She could have killed him with a single touch as her emotions warred against one another within her heart. The flames from her fingertips snaked up his arm and she could see he was starting to fade. Her fingers released his hand and, taking a step back, she fell into the darkness.

I've been waiting for you, Princess!



It was cold, chilled when she woke from her dreams. The sun had barely begun to rise, the sky a light pink in the east. She sat up, staring out at it for a long while in silence. Kou was still sleeping, curled onto his side. He looked peaceful in sleep, not so worried about the world around him. Her fingertips reached out, to brush a strand of hair off his face yet the images from her dreams made her hesitate and finally, after a moment, she dropped her hand back to the ground instead. He had burned in her dreams, she remembered. Was that what would come if she stayed for much longer?

Her heart gave a hard slam against her chest, the space missing so clear in the morning light. She pulled her legs close to her, resting her chin on top of her knees as she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to stop. It didn't, though there came a moment when she felt the pain ebb and ease only slightly; Kari breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes opened again and her brain began to work properly. There had to be a reason for all of this. She could feel something pulling out at her, reaching for her to go somewhere. But where? Where was she supposed to go?

Back. Go back to the beginning.

"I have to go," Kari stated quietly when Kou finally woke nearly an hour later. Kari was standing then, dressed in Sailor fuku, her eyes averted from his.

"I'll come with you," He replied as he stood, arms crossing over his chest. "Where're we going?"

Her head snapped and suddenly her eyes took on a harsh quality. "No," She replied in a steely tone. "You're going back to your High Priest. You're going back to where you belong. I can't have you coming with me. You'll slow me down and I can't have someone with less experience coming along with me." The words were harsh and Kari could see the visible wince that Kou showed as she spoke them. She swallowed hard, trying to stop herself from being sick as she continued on, "I hardly think it's your destiny to come along with me anyways."

It was easier to simply break the fragile bond between them, to rid herself of the emotional attachment when she knew full well that he could and may die if he did come with her. It was easier to find reasons to hate and loathe him, making it easier for her to leave him behind. She was good at playing the bad guy, good at knowing where the weaknesses lay in people and even better at keeping her own heart safe from being broken. She was doing them both a favor in this act, she thought as she stared back at him, waiting to see if he'd fight back. It was better for both their sakes.

"I belong on this path!" Kou snapped back finally after an attempt to hold all his feelings back. "You wouldn't have gotten very far without me to begin with! Remember that it was me who saved you from dying!"

"And I thank you for that," Kari retorted, "but now you'll do as you're told and go home! You have no real power anyways."

"And what makes you think that?"

"I just know!" Kari clenched her fists together at her sides as she remained rooted to the spot. Why didn't he just give up already and leave? Why couldn't he just leave her be to go on her own? "If you think you've got power, then do something for me."



"What?"

There was a long pause as Kari turned her head from him, gazing off towards the temple before she said, "You have to destroy the Silver Crystal." There was stunned silence from behind her as she continued on. "It's infected with the darkness—I don't know what it is, but it's not doing any of us any good. It certainly doesn't help me if that thing is feeding off the energy and power from that thing. If I'm to have a chance--"

"You don't think you have a chance?" Kou cut her off. He was getting close as he took a few steps forward. Kari compensated by taking a few steps away from him. He stopped, clenching his fists before he relaxed his hands, looking her directly into the eyes. "If that's what you want me to do…I'll see what I can do."

"Good." The silence that fell between them was thick as the sun continued to rise, spreading light across the ground. "I have to go." This would be the end of the line, Kari thought as she looked at his face one last time. There was no hope that she would see him ever again, or that there would have ever been a chance of something that had barely been given the chance to form. If she'd wanted to, she knew she could have reached out to touch him one last time, but her hands remained at her sides as she gave him a stiff nod of her head before she turned away. There would be no looking back from here.

"Kari!" He called out her name. She shouldn't have stopped, she needed to keep going but her feet halted as she turned. His body crushed against hers, lips meeting in a fierce, determined kiss that left her head spinning. "Find me, when this is over." He had such hope in his eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers for a mere moment before his hands released her arms, stepping back. Kari took a moment before she turned around again. She faded from Elysion, leaving Kou standing alone as he watched the spot where she'd stood moments ago, his fingers touching his lips before he too turned and made his way back to his home.

--

Kari wasn't sure what she was going to find as she sped through space. The darkness wasn't as warm and welcoming as it once had been; an unsettling thought to the Senshi who had never thought badly of the dark before in her life. Somehow she knew that there would be nothing left as she floated before the dust and rock that remained of her home planet. Dionysus must have fallen when she was in the past, for she would have surely known it was gone had she been in her own present time. There had been so many memories of this planet, both good and bad. Her fingertips burned with black fire as she turned away from the destruction, hurrying onwards through the stars and space. There was one last place to visit before she set forth to figure what the next step was. There was always a next step; sometimes it remained hidden until she needed it. Somehow Kari was going to figure this out as she followed the pull, back to the nameless star where she had been weeks ago.

The Palace was empty as she stepped along the onyx colored floors. It was too quiet; without the engines running, she could hear the silence pressing around her. It was unnerving as her footsteps echoed against the walls, her gloved hands running against the smooth, black metal of the ship. It was odd, how everything else had been destroyed yet this place remained here, untouched beyond the damages of neglect upon the machine. The Palace had always held superior cloaking devices, something Kari figured were in work even now while it floated on it's own.

"Clever Empress," Kari muttered as she pressed her hands against the doorway into the throne room. It didn't take much effort as she pushed it aside, the giant doors moving for her as she stepped into the empty space. Waves of memories flowed around her as she pressed her eyes closed, listening to the stories these walls had to tell, of all she had seen within this room. The tugging suddenly seemed to stop as Kari drew a sharp breath, her eyes snapping open. Why had it stopped? Was this the final destination that she'd been moving to the entire time?

It was then that her eyes fell to the floor. There was dust there, along with every other part she'd been too, but never in such large quantities. Kari squinted, moving closer, bending down as she took the glove off her right hand, touching the dust. It fell from her fingertips to the ground, so soft, glittering slightly. It wasn't dust, it couldn't be! She brushed her hand off as she stood again, slipping the black glove back onto her hand as she looked around the room. There were four places of dust that shouldn't have been there. Her stomach gave a strange lurch as she swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. This wasn't right.

She had taken one step back, just one, when the empty space inside reacted hard. She clutched her chest in pain as she doubled over. Through blurred vision, she saw her sister racing through the dark, hurrying towards a voice, throwing the doors open to the throne room, hoping to find the voice. Instead, she turned her head, a surprised expression lighting her features before she was blown to dust. One by one, she watched as Sirius, Orion, and Arcturus were blown to dust. The images faded swiftly and the pain stopped, leaving her breathless as she remained doubled over, hands on her knees as she attempted to stay upright. This was where Star had died. This is where her sister's ashes remained and this is where the creature could still be. Who else but a monster could destroy her sister, who had constantly been looking for another way out, who always wanted a better solution than fighting and who had been unarmed and unaware of an attack?

The ship was quiet and when she heard the doors creaking, Kari's body froze, tense and rigid as she stood straight. Footsteps against the onyx marble, closer and closer to Kari as she stood still, trying to breath evenly, unwilling to look yet. Yet she wanted to face this thing, to face what lay behind her. She readied herself, waiting until the steps got closer. Her fingertips began to glow discreetly as the power surged in her chest. She counted inside her head.

One.

The steps grew closer.

Two.

She could hear the breathing of the person behind her.

Three!

Kari turned, ready to fire and ready to attack and, raising her hand upwards to strike, she froze as her eyes fell upon the one before her. Everything fell apart then as her lips parted in surprise, her eyes growing wide as she sucked in a great lungful of air. The power surging through her was cut off unceremoniously, her hands ceasing to glow as they fell back down to her sides. Her knees bent as she fell to the ground, bowing her head. "Forgive me!" She gasped. "I did not see who it was!"



Looking down upon her, a strange smile playing about her lips, Empress Opale placed a hand upon Kari's head. "Oh I was hoping you wouldn't kill me, dear." There was a pause before she added, "Finally, you've returned to me. Finally, we can make our move."

Author's Note: We're getting to the wire now! I have about three to four chapters planned after this. But don't think that this is the end! Oh no! I have other plans hidden up my sleeve and I've already begun an outline for a different story connected to this. Anyways, please, drop a review, I do love to see them and I hope you lot stick around for the next bit!