The Lost Princess

Part Twenty: Shadows of the Past

Serena: What are you planning…?

Starlily11: I take the fifth.

Serena: You're driving me crazy…

Serena did not head straight home after the meeting was over. She needed to think. She'd seen forgiveness in Seiya's eyes, and it had taken all of her self-control not to break down and say that she'd find a way. The point was that being around her was bad for Seiya. Every time they thought they were safe, something would always happen and cause trouble, endangering him. If that wasn't a sign that they weren't supposed to be together, she didn't know what was. Fate did not really care if they suffered; that it would break their hearts. The blonde sighed softly, wishing there were a way to simply cast aside her angelic status and become human. But no…in her world, there were no easy solutions. Either way, no matter what she did, she would still eventually lose him.

"Lord Creator, You gave all mankind free will, and so it was for all of Your creations; including angels. Is there a way I could be with the one I love without displeasing You? Pray, give me a sign that I might know if there is hope," the blonde murmured softly. Perhaps the Creator would see what lay in her heart and understand.

There was silence, but no answer came to her. Serena kept walking, feeling hopeless. It appeared that nothing could help her. The air around her seemed to turn thick, and grew cooler. A sense of foreboding entered her, and she paused. A shadowy figure that did not look entirely human lurked in the mist that had suddenly spread around her. This scene felt disturbingly familiar, and her silver Khopesh sword appeared in her hand, flaring up with white flame. Memories danced elusively in the outskirts of her memory, but could not be recalled. Even so, it felt eerily familiar.

Michael's voice spoke in her mind then. Gabriel, prepare yourself. A reaper is about to strike. He's already killed you once; be on your guard.

'Reapers…' she thought. 'I remember…they're horrible monsters that hunt people in the night and claim their souls after the kill, dragging them to Hell. I'd forgotten. They lurk in a dimension that coexists with that of the humans, called the Darker Reaches. I have to enter that to fight them.'

Serena gripped her sword, took a deep breath, and sidestepped, entering the Darker Reaches. The creature's shape became much clearer, and she was able to block its attack once it lunged. Immediately, a name came to her. Sammael…she remembered him. He'd killed her once long ago, sometime in the 1500s. Well, he would not have her this time! She raised her sword and met his eyes. "Sammael. It's been a while," she stated coolly.

"Not long enough, Preliator," Sammael snarled. An unsightly scar had twisted one half of his already hideous face into the stuff of nightmares. Vaguely, Serena could recall inflicting that injury, and felt a certain satisfaction at the thought. The reaper's skin was a livid red, and his eyes were a disturbing, phosphorescent shade of yellow. His ears were pointed, and sharp horns sprouted from his head, claws replacing fingernails. Sharp teeth flashed, and Serena blocked another attack with her sword, dodged a swipe of the claws, and managed to nick her attacker's skin.

"I'll kill you, Preliator, like I did last time!"

"Not if I kill you first." The blonde narrowly dodged a nasty collision with a tree, and then ducked as Sammael took another swipe at her with his claws. Not quite fast enough, though, as they grazed her forehead. The blonde mentally winced and made a neat cut into his side. Sammael roared in pain, and managed to inflict several deep cuts on her shoulder. Blood spilled from them, and she felt a slight trickle of the same substance leaving the wound on her forehead. Serena knew she was in trouble then. She had to get out of here, but she couldn't just let Sammael keep killing innocents and trapping them in Hell…she barely managed to stop another attack, and Sammael, sensing her distraction, began to press his advantage.

This time, Serena could barely keep from getting hit. Her memories of the past were still cloudy, and she knew she had to remember if she was to survive… The blonde blocked another blow, and another. How long could she keep it up? She could feel her wounds starting to close, but not quickly enough. If Sammael managed to tear open a wound and make it worse…she was not likely to survive this. She made one desperate stroke, and it hit home. The angelic fire seared into Sammael's flesh, and made a crippling wound. She struck again, and the reaper was through, burning to ashes. His flesh was scorched away, revealing white bone and remnants of muscle tissue. She could see the flames licking at him, and felt bile rise in her throat. He was done for, so she exited the Darker Reaches, and promptly lost the contents of her stomach quietly behind a bush.

The blonde pulled out her compact to inspect the damage, and saw that even though her wounds were pretty much healed, without even a trace left, the blood still remained. If she wanted to be able to go on about her business, she would have to get it off of her. She raised a hand and rubbed the blood off of her forehead, and had just started on her shoulder when she heard someone scream. It sounded all too familiar; that kind of scream meant that somebody was having their Star Seed taken. Serena powered up, prayed that no more reapers would show up, and got there just in time. The poor victim's Star Seed faded out, and a Phage quickly appeared. The perpetrator disappeared.

Sailor Moon sighed; she just could not catch a break tonight. She jumped out of the way of an attack, preparing to start healing the Phage. Unfortunately, the attacks never gave her enough time to really concentrate. It got even worse when she saw another reaper approaching in the Darker Reaches. "This is so not my day!" she muttered. How could she fight two things at once? It appeared that some multi-tasking was in order, as well as major improvisation. The reaper lunged, and she kicked it hard in the face.

"Silver Moon-!" she began, and her Tier began to glow. The Phage tried to attack, and she dodged. The reaper came at her, and she held the Tier with one hand for a minute and punched the attacker in the stomach. "Crystal Power-!" The reaper and Phage both attacked at once. She made one leap in the air and avoided both attacks. "Kiss!" she finished, and the Tier radiated its healing light, healing the Phage. Serena quickly de-transformed and entered the Darker Reaches, sword at the ready. As she did so, she heard the sound of snapping fingers. The Starlights had arrived. 'Too bad they're late,' Serena thought. 'I could have used some help a few minutes ago.'

Meanwhile, in our dimension, the Starlights looked around in confusion as they realized that the Phage was already back to normal. The last of the Tier's light was starting to fade, and it was clear that Sailor Moon had been there a few seconds ago. "Damn, she moves a lot faster than I remember!" Healer commented. "We're actually late! But how did she manage to disappear so quickly? It's like she just vanished into thin air!"

Maker looked around. "It seems that quick and mysterious exits have become a habit of hers," the violet eyed woman observed. "Fighter, any ideas?"

"No…" Fighter replied distractedly. 'Is it possible that Odango is trying to avoid me? I'd better talk to her soon, or I could lose her forever. I didn't mean what I said…'

"Well, I guess we should get out of here. It's not like we have a Phage to blast," Healer said.

"Right," Fighter managed, and the three exited.

In the Darker Reaches, Serena was locked in combat, fending off her third attacker in a row. This reaper was not as powerful as Sammael, but due to her clouded memories, she was having trouble fighting up to her usual standard. 'Oh, well, at least I managed to disappear before Fighter saw me,' she thought, and continued to fight. The reaper's claws slashed her forehead again, and the scratches began to close, but not before the reaper could reopen them. Serena slammed the blade of her sword into its chest, and soon, it was burning as Sammael had. She reappeared in her own dimension, and wiped the blood from her forehead for the second time. Her weapon disappeared, and she leaned against a tree, taking a few deep breaths.

'I've had busy nights before, but this is ridiculous!' she thought. 'What next? Will Lucifer show up again? Wait, don't think that! He might actually show up! Or Chaos! Shut up, brain!' She looked around warily.

"Odango?" A voice sounded from behind her.

"Crap!" Serena muttered. Seiya was clearly still transformed; Fighter's voice was the one she heard. "Fighter…is something wrong?"

"No…I was just wondering if you were all right. Chaos is up to her old tricks."

"Oh…yeah. I saw the Phage. I decided I wanted to just get it over with, so I just cut to the chase."

"I saw. But where'd you go? I thought something had happened…you don't normally disappear on me like that."

"Sorry. I just wanted to get home." The cuts on her forehead were still bleeding, and Fighter's hand, enclosed in black leather, rested on her shoulder. The blonde kept a hand over the injuries. "Where are the others? Healer and Maker?"

"They're on their way back to our apartment. I felt your presence nearby, and I wanted to talk to you."

"What about? You made your feelings clear earlier today." Serena kept her tone distant. Not cold, but not open to conversation, either.

Fighter's hand tightened on her shoulder. "I was angry…I should never have said what I did. I'm sorry for hurting you. It just feels like the world is against us."

"It does, doesn't it?" The cuts had healed, but the blood remained. "But the facts still remain. It could never work. One of us would always be miserable, one or the other."

"Don't talk like that…please…" Fighter's voice was choked. "Aren't you the one who said that it's never hopeless?"

"What would you have me do? Endanger you? Let you get killed trying to keep me safe? I would lose you eventually."

"We don't have to be together like that…as long as you stay…"

"I wouldn't be able to control myself that long. Just having you this close to me is enough to drive me to distraction and almost convince me to throw all sense and reason out the window." Fighter's breath was soft on her cheek, and Serena felt her resolve weakening. Her hand dropped, revealing the blood.

Fighter gasped, and turned her around. Serena, to her regret, saw tears in the noir-haired woman's eyes, and her face held deep distress. Fighter lightly touched the place where the wounds had been. "What happened?" she asked. Her eyes moved down to the torn part of Serena's shirt, and saw remnants of blood there. "What happened?" The dark-haired woman's voice held a note of hysteria.

"Just a few scratches." Serena wiped the blood away, revealing completely unblemished skin. "Such is the risk of life. You get hurt."

Tears ran unchecked down Fighter's face. "Why are you shutting me out like this? Odango, please…don't do this."

"It's for your own good. It's better for both of us if we just do a clean break. Less painful."

"How can you say that?"

"I'm sorry, Fighter. But unless I find a way to change the current situation, this is how it's going to be…" Serena sidestepped into the Darker Reaches, leaving Fighter behind. 'Forgive me, love,' she thought as she reappeared a safe distance away. 'I wish it weren't like this.'

The blonde went to bed that night, and shadows of her long past haunted her. Reapers smirked down at her at every turn, and waves of excruciating pain assailed her. These dreams keep her in their grasp until sunrise.