We're in the 20s dear readers, woohoo! Thank you once again for all of your support, comments, and messages, it's so appreciated.
I do have something super special to share with everyone—the incredibly talented Cielovainilla has done some INCREDIBLE fan art for Cosmic Affinity! Please have a look at her amazing work, found over on her Deviant Art page—her user name is millyone. There are three drawings thus far...be sure to check them out!
As always, make sure to check out the important notes from the Prologue if you haven't already. Enjoy!
Music rec – YouTube mash-up—look up 'Alan Walker & Sia - Faded/Cheap Thrills/Alive/Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams, B.o.B, Sean Paul)'
Chapter Twenty
She remembered the very first time she had transformed into a boy like it was yesterday.
It hadn't been in the same way her cousins had experienced it—she hadn't woken one morning changed, or willed her body to morph in the privacy of her own space. Certainly not. She hadn't closed her eyes and allowed the transformation to take gentle hold. Of course not. When it came to her, these things were never that simple.
It had shattered through her under great duress, brought on by her own rebellious, risk seeking ways.
She was young—old enough to notice the power that lay dormant in her bones and the appeal of pretty women that caught her eye, but young enough to not yet understand fear. She sought out danger and yearned for the feeling of adrenaline firing in her gut. She wanted to ignite; to fly away to her sun and see if she would burn.
She had fought with her mother over the silliest of things, and when the lights went down late in the night, she climbed out her window and ran for the turbulent ocean. Her bare feet thumped the hot rock, a warm gush of air swarming all around her, and as she ran—faster than the storm that approached—she laughed into the night. She sprinted for the cliff that overlooked their endless rosy sea, orange with her sun's dimmed flames, and decided she would jump, just to see if she would live.
Of course I will.
She leapt from the edge, falling for what seemed like an eternity, until she hit the water's surface with a crack.
Perhaps she had misjudged nature in all its rugged, violent beauty.
Pain wracked her adolescent body like she had been fractured, the hot water rolling her down deeper and keeping her from the air above. She felt like her lungs would burst, like her limbs could no longer struggle against the deluge, and for a split second, she felt true fear.
But then everything changed.
Blue light splintered out from her chest, beaming into the red sea, and she felt her body begin to break beautifully from the inside out. Muscles tore open and expanded under her skin; bones lengthened; and she fought with an extra edge of strength that she'd never known.
When he broke the surface, he drank in the air greedily, like it were his last breath, even though it was his first.
"Come and play, Guardian."
The crackle of the bonfire and the chatter of people echoed in her ears, but Usagi trained her eye only on the tree line ahead of her as she crossed the grassy grounds. The previously warm night air took on a chill, the roar of the fire doing little more than light the dim schoolyard in an orange glow. The wind picked up her long hair as she moved seamlessly through the crowd, not taking the time to wonder about the curious eyes that seemed to settle on her as she went by. She felt strange, somehow—the smoke in the air smelled stronger than usual; the laugher of children louder; the breeze on her skin sharper. Once again, her senses heightened in ways that bordered on insufferable.
Concentrate—find Chaos.
She shook her head in frustration as she approached, having lost sight of him from the moment she had exited the building. She knew she had seen him, lingering in the shadows, smiling at her. Waiting for her to come, alone.
"Usa?"
She gasped as a hand brushed her elbow, and when she spun around, Rafu held his hands up in defence. "Hey—just me," he said with a grin. He looked at her closely, eye flicking over her rapidly. "I hardly even recognised you…you look…" She met his eye and noticed him look down at his feet before he gave her a smile. "You look amazing."
Under regular circumstances, his oddly bashful behaviour may have caught her off guard, but her mind was elsewhere as she checked over her shoulder. "Thanks, Raf," she said absently.
The hand that had brushed her elbow skimmed up her arm and she shivered. "You okay?" He asked carefully. "Are you looking for someone, or…?"
"What?" She replied, looking back at him when she still couldn't spot that face in the trees. She laughed lightly. "No—I'm fine, it's nothing…"
A smile returned to his concerned features and he nodded, hand slipping down from her arm to tinker with her fingertips. "Even though I'm supposed to be supervising the hunt, I think I can give a pretty girl a few clues," he said. He tugged on her hand and inclined his head toward the treed area behind the football field. "They've hidden a medallion somewhere back there—we can get a head start?"
If that was where the scavenger hunt would begin—in that very same space she knew Chaos was hiding—she couldn't let innocent people head straight for him, but on the other hand, she couldn't let Rafu be put in danger, either.
You can protect him, something told her. You can do this.
The heat of Rafu's hand prickled in her own, and she gave him her prettiest smile. "Alright," she said, and she let him lead her away.
"You're certain that's what you saw?" Haruka pressed as they stormed down the hallway toward the exit.
"Yes, I'm sure," Seiya hissed in response. He looked out the window—that chilling face had disappeared, but he was certain he still lingered in the shadows, waiting for Usagi. "We have to get to her, now—"
"He has calculated this move well," Taiki said. "There are hundreds of people here—he could harm each and every person, if he wanted to."
"We won't let that happen," Makoto said fiercely.
They broke out onto the grass and toward the bon fire, searching for Usagi among the laughing families and students, vendors and teachers. Seiya darted between guests, head craned above the crowd, searching for Usagi. Where are you, Odango…
"Anything?" He heard Rini yell as she rounded the blazing fire.
Seiya shook his head. He met Haruka's eye. "Across the pitch, in the trees!"
The group tore across the field, leaving the crowd behind, to an area where the school's grounds backed onto a small plantation area. The tree line had been eerily lit with lanterns and spooky signs, in preparation for the scavenger hunt, and while it was quiet then, the hunt would soon begin, and people would be drawn straight to their enemy.
There was no question in his mind that Chaos would use that as leverage, just as their enemies had done in the past.
"Ami, can you detect anything?" Minako asked urgently as they dashed amongst the trees.
Ami looked around through her visor, eyes narrow in frustration. "No—it's like there's a block on my readings…"
Seiya's heart began to pound, anger igniting in his veins. He wouldn't get away with this—he wouldn't let it happen.
If he hurts her…
There was a sudden roar from behind them and he looked back, shielding his eyes from the bon fire that had erupted high into the sky in scorching red. Through the trees, the grass caught alight and tendrils of fire lapped at their exit, and screams of terror began to echo from the school.
Minako looked wide-eyed between her teammates. "We have to help them!"
"We can't," Yaten said from alongside Seiya. She inclined her head to the flames that were growing nearer, crawling along the ground in their direction unnaturally. "This is what he wants!"
"Yuuichirou," Rei breathed. She squeezed her eyes closed, pain evident on her face, and then nodded resolutely. "Yaten's right."
The acrid smell of smoke began to surround them, pushing the warriors further into the trees and shrouding their way. Fire engulfed their surroundings and blackened everything it touched, leaving behind a thick wall of flame. They were barricaded—forced further into the forest that seemed to be unfolding before them.
"Is this real?" Rini tried, coughing heavily. She stopped for just a moment to look, tugging her hand away from Helios'. "None of this was ever here before—"
She cried out and was pulled to the ground, a rope of blackness sneaking out from the thick smoke to loop around her ankle. She tried to kick it away, scuffling on the dirt, but it was no use—the creature was too strong, piercing into her skin.
"Rini!" Seiya yelled, racing toward her, but Hotaru was closer by. Her scythe came crashing down on the monster's grip, and it screeched as the blade sliced through its hold.
Helios grabbed the girl and pulled her to her feet. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, and suddenly multiple demented figures began to emerge from the blackness. Seiya stood protectively in front of the Rini and Helios. "If they want Odango, they want her too—I'm sure of it," he said to the others, preparing his stance for battle.
Yaten shook her head, Star Yell in hand. "Not on my watch," she said. "Star, sensitive, inferno!"
The zap of her power took down one monster in green bolts but another only grew in its place, and it moved fast. It raced forward and lashed out one clawed hand, too quick for Yaten to dodge, tearing through the gloved arm she held up in defence.
"Healer!"
Minako caught her as she stumbled, blood glistening through her black gloves. "There's too many of them, we're outnumbered!"
"Aqua, rhapsody!"
Sailor Mercury's blast of icy water left the raging fire in smouldering blackness, but it didn't last. The vivid embers reignited, more intensely than before, and the creatures only multiplied. "No," Ami cried, tripping back as a black figure swung its jagged claws at her.
Taiki launched herself in front of her, firing her own attack at the monster. It shrieked and contorted its back in rage, a hole torn into its side.
Seiya ground his teeth, adrenaline pulsing in his veins and smoke singing his lungs. This was Chaos' plan—weaken them, separate them from Usagi so he could have her to himself. Fiery arrows, razor-sharp leaves, icy water, swords and scythes—none of it was any match for these creatures, unless they acted together—and if they acted together now, they risked the ability to combine their energy when it mattered most.
"Alright," Seiya growled, stepping forward and gathering his energy in the palms of his hands. He had done it before—with enough power, he could wipe them out, and hope to God he had enough left in him to fight Chaos.
"World, shaking!"
Haruka stole the opportunity before he could, shredding the terrain and destroying the figures closest to them.
She stopped me, Seiya realised, why?
"It's no use, Uranus—I can sense their energy, it is stronger than before!" Michiru told her.
Haruka looked to the other Sol senshi. "Then we combine our power—we have to get to Sailor Moon now!"
"If we do that, we may have nothing left to defeat Chaos!" Seiya held up his hands once more, ready, but as he did, a sharp clench in his chest caused him to gasp and his power to falter. Odango…
"Dead, scream."
Glaring purple light tore through their enemies, reducing them to black dust. Sailor Pluto's silhouette appeared before them, fractured sceptre held tight at her side. Seiya noticed the way she leant on it; the way she panted—the attack had weakened her. She looked to the Sol senshi and then nodded to Seiya. "Go, now!"
The tightness in his chest intensified but he broke into a run regardless, the others on his tail. The closer he got to her, the stronger it would become, he was sure of it. Darkness began to consume any slither of light that was left around them, and Chaos' minionscontinued to spawn, crawling raggedly from the shadows. The warriors shot them down, one by one, flashes of their power illuminating their surroundings in brilliant colour. The crushing pain took hold of Seiya's throat, and he stopped in his tracks, chest forward and heaving.
Focus—focus on her.
This was a maze—this space was only small, but they were being drawn in circles; like an illusion of a never-ending forest. He squeezed his eyes closed and sucked in a breath—ignoring the burn in his throat, the cries of fear, the inferno that surrounded them.
Odango, he thought, throwing his mind out for her to hear, amongst the vast expanse of space that had allowed him to share a window with her once before. Odango, show me where you are!
"Seiya!" He could hear Rini's voice, like a distant echo, and feel her rattling him in panic. "Seiya, what's wrong?"
Odango, please.
The ache beneath his breastbone grew dull, and then mild, until only a warm heartbeat was left behind, thumping in the spaces between his own. When he opened his eyes, he could see her light, radiant and beautiful. He knew where to go. "She's there, come on!"
"Raf, didn't you hide this medallion—isn't it kind of cheating if you just showme where it is?" Usagi asked Rafu lightly, following along behind as he led her further from the heat of the bon fire and the noise of the crowd.
"Nah," he said easily. "I made Riku do it instead—I wanted a chance to find it myself." He shot her a grin. "That way I can impress the ladies with my hunting skills, see?"
She snorted a laugh. "Right," she said. The surroundings became darker, and Usagi grew uneasy. "I don't remember this area being so treed in…"
Rafu slowed, his hand still tight with her own. He frowned. "Me neither." He shrugged. "Guess we're not often here at night, though, are we? The darkness can be deceiving…"
"I guess…" She cast her eye around apprehensively, lanterns strung between branches to guide their way. She peered into the shadows as they moved, heart thudding as she waited for Chaos' face to reappear.
"So, Usa, who are you trying to impress?" Rafu asked cheekily.
"No one," she replied. There was a rustle in the bushes and she stopped. "Just…trying something different…"
He let go of her hand and stood in front of her, blocking her view with his height and breadth. "Liar," he tutted, folding his arms over his chest. "Ithink you're just nervous to say it's me you're trying to impress…"
"As if," she replied, rolling her eyes and stretching to look around him.
"Whatever you say," he said. "But I've gotta admit—as much as I like the sexy black dress, I am partial to the pigtails." He smirked. "There's something about the whole innocent thing, you know…"
Usagi snapped her gaze to him, mouth agape. "Raf!" She huffed. "Come on, let's find this damn medallion…"
He chuckled and she walked off, focused on the depth of the strange forest that seemed to be unfolding before them. She gazed up toward the city lights and frowned—there was nothing but jagged branches and cloudy sky. No skyscrapers, no bright lights, not even a glimmering star. "Strange…"
Rafu jogged up alongside her, his neck tipped back as hers was, and then he looked around, expression serious. "What the hell…?"
Without warning, there was a loud blast from the school grounds and Usagi looked on in horror as fire burst skyward, flickering hotly. Through the trees she could see the flames curve toward the ground and zoom across the field, lighting up the grass and coursing toward the trees. People began to scream and cry, figures dashing away. "No," she breathed. This is Chaos' doing…
Raf looked at her urgently. "We've gotta go, Usagi—"
Suddenly a surge of power thumped all around them, vibrating the ground and shaking her to the core. She inhaled sharply and fell forward, hands gripping her head as the tremor disoriented her. Everything spun and darkened, and she hacked as time seemed to skip and stutter, smoke consuming her and flames closing in by her sides. She heard Rafu grunt and tried to look around desperately for him.
"Odango, show me where you are!"
She could hear Seiya's voice calling out to her, but the sound grew dull, and as her senses realigned, she braced herself on the dirt. The heat of the fire felt like it burned her skin as it blazed in the leaves and tore across the ground. She rose to unsteady feet, the movement of figures catching her eye through the haze. "Raf, where are you?" She called, squinting to regain her focus as she staggered forward.
"Here, Usagi, I'm here," he called weakly.
She could see him then—he was on his hands and knees in the clearing where the fire surrounded them, head forward and panting as he rested on his palms. She rushed to him, falling to her knees in front of him. "Raf?"
"Go," he said, voice strangled. "Just go, Usagi…"
She shook her head urgently. "Raf, what did you see—did you see a man? Where was he?"
His head tipped further forward and hissed as though he were in great pain. "Not a man," he said, and then tilted his head up to look at her. His earthy hazel eyes had grown dark, black seeping into the whites and staining his skin. His smile was twisted. "Me."
No.
She fell back, watching in horror as her friend's tanned skin became webbed with angry scars; his dusty hair grow long and black; his forehead slice open in an eight-pointed star. He rose up before her, framed by roaring flames. "Raf…!"
He launched for her and she scampered away, but it was futile—he trapped her to the dirt as he had in her dream, and once again she was suffocated by him.
No, not him. Please not him.
"Raf—please, listen to me," she begged as he pinned her to the gravel, "don't let him control you—"
"It's too late for that," Chaos told her as she struggled. "It's time to watch you break."
His cold grip encircled her neck and she couldn't breathe—she could only stare back into his empty eyes and search for the boy she knew was beneath the monster. "I…won't…"
"Get away from her!"
Through her semi-consciousness, Seiya's voice sounded otherworldly—amplified with the tones of his male and female counterparts. His flicker of blue began to brighten their surroundings rapidly and she panicked. "No, Seiya—it's Raf, please don't—"
Chaos looked up at the warriors and smiled. "You are better than I anticipated," he said, and with a flick of his wrist, she heard the pained gasps and cries of her friends all around her.
A pulse of power fired in her chest like a spike of rage.
She kicked him, hard, and rolled away, coughing and spluttering. She crawled away and saw her senshi brought to their knees, grimacing in pain and gasping for breath through the smoke—a force had immobilised them and held them tightly to the ground. They were barricaded by wildfire, all of them—even if they could move, there was nowhere to go.
She locked eyes with Seiya as he tried to fight it and get to his feet, body taut and eyes brilliant blue. The barrier pulled him down and he growled in pain. Usagi shook her head as she panted for breath. "It's okay," she breathed.
"I can assure you it is not," Chaos rumbled from behind her.
"Usagi!"
Rini's voice cried out to her but it was no use—her body was still trying urgently to recover from the lack of oxygen and she couldn't avoid his touch quickly enough. His cold hand pressed down on the bare skin of her back and she screamed, feeling her skin singe and melt and her ribs crack. "Lovely scars," Chaos hummed, and then her let go.
Her vision blurred as her body spasmed and jerked in shock. A deep, horrible writhing moved beneath her flesh—like something preparing to break out of her. She drove herself to her feet and turned to face him, anger nearly blinding her. She heard Seiya snarl at whatever it was that Chaos had done to her—she could feel him pulling at the force field—but she looked only to the evil that stood before her.
"You see my scars, Guardian?" He asked her, and Rafu's white shirt burned away to nothing, revealing extensively scarred muscle beneath, in patterns and symbols she didn't recognise; lashings that looked horrific. He raised a hand to his forehead, pointing to his star-shaped cuts. "You see this—this same scar that plagues you, dear one?"
She fought for breath—it was as though she were on the brink of fury; on the very edge of control.
"You are not the only one who wishes to escape."
She ignored the pain—ignored it all. "Let, him, go."
He laughed, tipping his head back to the sky and closing his eyes. When he reopened them, he looked back with Rafu's hazel gaze. "I just think we'd be good together, you and I."
She shook. "You've had him this whole time."
"You never know what can happen, when there's so much chaos out there," he continued, parroting words Rafu had spoken to her. His eyes bled back to black. "How did you miss it, Guardian?"
She wouldn't listen. "I told you to let him go."
He smirked, moving toward her. He rolled his fingers into a fist and the sounds of pain from her friends increased. "I made my offer," he said.
"Release him, now—"
"The truth is," he murmured, circling her closely, inviting the heat of the fire to them, "he doesn't want to go—he likes it. And so do you."
"Odango…" She heard Seiya try, his voice pained.
"I can see what you really want," Chaos continued. "You just want to feel complete—you don't want this, not anymore." He continued to stalk her and she turned with him, unable to look away. "You're willing to sacrifice all those lives for your own desires—"
"You're wrong—"
"—what's one more life—"
"Stop it—"
"—destroy me and you may have yourself a deal—you can have whatever you want—"
"I won't—"
"—but first you must kill—"
"No—"
"—kill him—"
"No!"
And with her cry, her forehead burned, and suddenly all she could see was white.
Everything around them went ice cold.
The solid earth beneath her feet fractured in crystal and a white-hot light burst forth from her forehead, consuming her aura and levitating her tiny form from the ground. Through the fire, through smoke and scorching heat and the magnetic force that held them down, she was like the core of a storm—still and dangerous and frighteningly beautiful.
She opened her eyes—dark and angry—and looked through them as though she were no longer there. She breathed in shaken pants. Spoke in a voiced that commanded they listen.
Chaos' laugh thundered. "And here she begins—Cosmos, in the flesh!"
No.
"She obeys no one."
She could see—feel—herself happy, in a world just like theirs was then.
"She lives for no one."
She could see—the pinkish halo around her baby as she pulled her from her womb, alone.
"She walks with fatherless children that are hers alone."
She could see—the pearly light and the inky dark that completed her.
"She commands her future."
She could see—everything she'd ever wanted, too fast to process; too quick to fully understand.
"She needs no one."
"Odango!"
Seiya dragged himself forward, his every nerve on fire. He pushed into the thick wall of nothingness, feeling like his muscles were being torn from the bone as he fought the powerful pull that dragged him to the ground. He growled against it, the pain excruciating, forcing himself from his knees to his feet and then toward her. She shone, an eerie, floating stillness in the chaos that tried to obliterate him, her blonde locks bleeding to white gold and her crescent moon flickering to a pointed star shape upon her forehead. That star…
He would break her free—he had to.
The closer he got to her, with every word she spoke in that ethereal voice and as Chaos' laughter rumbled all around them, the harder it became, but he had to. He could see himself glowing all over; he could feel the blue fire racing under his skin, behind his eyes. He was ready.
"She needs no one."
"Seiya!" Rini's voice screamed from behind him. "Let go!"
He did.
Rini watched from under Helios' arm, her sobs of panic barely audible amongst the turmoil. She heard every word Usagi spoke, watching her in terror as she changed, right before her eyes.
Seiya was the only one who had managed to get near her through Chaos' maddened energy. His skin was glimmering blue, he was alight through his entire being; magnetising in his transformation.
Transformation, Rini realised. That's what this is.
He was close, so close. As he struggled against the power that pushed him away, he grew brighter and stronger, the flickering blue rising from his skin like fire. This was his time.
"Seiya!" She cried out to him. "Let go!"
He'd been knocked down again to one knee, he couldn't get to his feet, so he drew his flaming fists across his body, curled in to himself, and ring upon ring of blue began to spin around him, faster and faster and faster until—
"Seiya!"
His power exploded.
The sound of Chaos' cackles was muffled as the boom of Seiya's energy tore down the barriers that had been created against them and hushed the raging fire. A sapphire sphere illuminated their surroundings blindingly, and molecules hung within it like sparkling shards of broken glass. Rini strained her burning eyes to see Seiya, and her breath was stolen as he rose to his feet.
Whoa.
His body was translucent—he was a glowing outline of sapphire. She could see the azure strings of every blood vessel and nerve, the circuitry of his life force, and at his very centre was a spiked cobalt crystal. As he stood tall, a set of web-like wings shot out from his back, high and wide and glistening just as he was. A set of devil's wings.
What are you?
He felt himself evolve with the eruption of power.
It was like a piercing snap; like a toppling of his DNA from deep within—like something he'd waited his whole life for, splintering his body in mere seconds.
She's different.
His mind raced on a high that was too fast to latch on to; emotions too intense to fully absorb. The blast broke through Usagi's spell, her glow vanishing and her cerulean eyes regaining their focus. She gazed back at him, breathless and wide-eyed.
"Seiya," she breathed, before collapsing forward into his arms.
His energy enveloped her at the touch, causing a web of sparkling blue to creep across her skin. He felt hot and angry and hateful as he stared Chaos down through the stillness.
Chaos stared back at him. "A new day, Aoi one."
His power throbbed from him as the terrain was torn up and floated among the flecks of matter within his vivid sphere, each speck encased in energy. He opened his palm to the sky, fingers stretched taut, and willed the energy into his outstretched hand, where it raced to collect there, spitting and wisping and ready. "I will kill you," he said, his dual voice haunting and as reckless as he felt.
Usagi reached out a shaking hand to grip his wrist. "Seiya, please don't…"
"You are a fool," Chaos laughed, unmoved by Seiya's threat. "You are all fools." He opened his arms. "Power invites power; chaos invites chaos," he told them. "Look what you have invited—you think this wasn't my plan all along?"
His plan all along?
"You cannot kill me," Chaos continued. "Contain me, perhaps, but I will not die."
Usagi glared at him weakly. "But Raf…"
"The boy serves a purpose—a vessel strong enough to host me, for a time." His black eyes locked on Seiya's. "But soon I will move on to greater things."
Contain me, perhaps, but I will not die.
Seiya felt the aching weight of his new wings—so foreign, and yet so perfect—flare as he did in his fury, and a realisation flooded his mind. Maybe I can—
"Far greater things," Chaos said with a twisted smile.
And in an instant, he was gone.
Seiya's bright sphere slowly flickered away, leaving silence in the wake of the flames that had extinguished as Chaos fled. There was a scuffle of feet behind them but Seiya didn't care, as his attention moved to the girl hanging limp in his arms. "Odango, just take it easy—I've got you…"
She looked up at him, eyes glazed and distant, and she reach up a hand to his jaw. "Seiya…"
He nodded, holding her tighter as he lowered them both to the ground carefully. He knew the blistered, torn mess that Chaos had inflicted on her back—he'd seen it; been helpful to stop it. "That's me," he managed. "Come on—stay with me—"
Rini fell to their side. "Is she alright—?"
"I'm okay," Usagi said quietly, and without warning, placed the flat of her palm to Seiya's chest, right above the space where his sharp crystal sparkled through his sternum. He sucked in a breath as the energy was pulled through his firing nerves and laced its way up Usagi's arm. Colour instantly returned to her cheeks and light back to her eyes. "See, I'm fine…"
Rini let out a breath of relief, and then looked at Seiya. "Seiya, you…"
He tore his eye from Usagi to look down at his arms, his torso—he was a web of blue; a lucent network of his energy that fired like an electric current through every pathway of his being.
Evolution.
He could feel each of the warriors' eyes on him in that moment, watching him guardedly. He felt the hot seep of his skin reclaiming its rightful place, morphing him back to his humanoid appearance once more, and the strange rescinding of his wings as their wove their way back into his flesh.
Odango sat upright in his arms, her cerulean gaze locked with his, looking at him in nothing short of pure wonder. "Aoi one."
"Here, Rini, drink up—you need your strength."
Rini took the steaming bowl of soup from Helios' hands and cradled it against her chest, shuddering in the cool night air. She was curled up in his robe on the steps of Hikawa Shrine, waiting to hear from Ami and Minako about Usagi's wellbeing. Some of the other scouts had stayed behind at the school, tending to the many wounded citizens who had been captured by Chaos' destruction. She shuddered at the memory—parents, friends, children, bloodied and battered, waiting on the grounds to be tended to by emergency services. The bonfire had grown out of control, they had said. They were wrong.
"Thank you," she said as Helios sat down beside her. She stared down into the shining liquid and her stomach turned—she wasn't hungry, not now.
"You can always talk to me, my maiden," Helios said quietly, watching her as she stared into the broth absently. "I understand that you may feel overwhelmed by what has happened tonight."
She bit her lower lip and placed the soup on the hardwood next to her. There wasso muchrunning through her mind, but one thing rang out over and over again, like a skipping record.
"'She walks with fatherless children that are hers alone'," she repeated aloud, and then turned to look at Helios. "What does that mean, Helios?" She felt anxiety crawl up her neck, now that the words had been spoken. "I told you I wasn't meant to be, I told you—"
"Rini," he said, his gentle voice calming her panic. "You are meant to be—perhaps more so now than ever before."
She breathed shakily and the words just kept echoing, over and over. "I don't understand…"
Helios' amber eyes met her own and he gave her a soft smile. "I think you do, princess."
Fatherless children that are hers, alone.
Seiya leant heavily against the slider at Hikawa Shrine, tense in the quiet that consumed the hallway. He tipped his head back to the ceiling and let out a frustrated sigh. Again she had been hurt—again he hadn't been enough.
"You've got to stop, Seiya," Yaten said as she and Taiki joined him tentatively in the dark hall. Yaten's arm was heavily bandaged from wrist to shoulder and she held it gingerly at her side. "Without your power she wouldn't even be alive."
He clenched his jaw. "I should've gotten to her sooner—I should've—"
"Are you kidding me?" Yaten cut in, shaking her head with a laugh. "You fucking evolved to save her life!"
Taiki's violet eyes were examining at Seiya closely. "Seiya," he said quietly, "don't you realise what this means?"
He could still feel the laser zooming through him like a current, looping and coiling in his system until it surged from within him. He could still feel the way it made him feel utterly complete.
And he kept hearing Kakyuu's sweet voice telling them that it didn't surprise her—to embrace it —when they told her of how his powers had grown, exploding from his body on the arid land of Kinmoku.
"What does it mean?"
Haruka's voice was low as she approached, and she met Seiya's eye without qualm.
Yaten's temper flared instantly. "It's none of your business, Tenou—"
"What concerns our princess is entirely my business," she snapped. She narrowed her eyes at Seiya, but there was something behind her wary exterior that he couldn't quite place. "We need to know."
A flash of that day in the dusk-lit woods by the outer scouts' home raced through his mind—the shake of the earth; the fear in their eyes. The way she had looked at him warily; curiously. "You already did," Seiya replied after a moment.
She didn't falter. "It was hardly a secret that your power was growing." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Whether or not you were a threat has been up for debate."
"You want to talk about threats?" Yaten challenged angrily. "How about your bullshit tactics—"
"Yaten," Taiki warned, and the petite senshi quietened with a grumble. "The three of us are products of an evolved species within our star system—more advanced than that of your own human kind." He looked at Haruka. "We were told that a day might come in which further mutation would occur, and with it, power unlike anything we currently possess."
Seiya cocked a brow at Haruka. "Looks like today was your lucky day, Tenou."
She inclined her head, looking him over cautiously. "Looks like it," she said.
The door nearest to them slid open, a slither of light illuminating the hallway as Ami and Minako emerged, looking weary. Seiya stood to attention. "How is she?"
"She's resting now," Ami said. "Once we calmed her down she accepted that it was best to get her strength back, before anything else."
Seiya ran a hand through his hair roughly. The young woman had been weak and distraught as they tore her away from the school, desperate to hunt Chaos down and free Rafu from his grasp. As they had crossed the scalded field, it grew evident that Chaos had extended his torture to the civilians gathered at the school—bodies had been sprawled across the grounds; some merely battered and bruised, others not so fortunate. The scene had only worsened Usagi's distress, and it had taken every bit of his strength to tell her it would be okay and move her away.
Haruka's gaze lingered on the doorway, her eyes distant and stormy. "Good," she said finally. "Come, we have to discuss what has happened."
They moved away but Seiya hesitated, desperate to just see her—just for a moment. Minako placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Seiya—she's alright," she said with a smile. "Thanks to you."
She lay in wait for it all to pass.
The spiked ceiling of crystal glinted above her, all-revealing in its transparent view of the world, but capturing her entirely in an icy prison. There was nothing left—only her worn body in tattered black, hard against the cold floor. The sky above her was red—the colour of blood; the colour of Rini's eyes. Each pane of crystal obscured the placed that loomed outside, reflecting only the forks of lightning and shadows of blackness that shot across the ruddy sky.
It was dark and quiet—just like the thing that stirred inside her.
She felt swelteringly hot, sweat pooling slick on her skin and a restlessness hijacking her limbs as she writhed, tied down by invisible binds that branded her. A carnal instinct speared her as she grunted and fought—no more. She would not be held back, not any more.
She lives for no one.
The scream came from her gut, ricocheting off the crystal and shattering it into a million razor-sharp pieces. Her cry continued, neck back to the surface that grew feathery soft beneath her, until it broke in her throat. She breathed, heavy and hard, fingers tight in the sheets now under her, in a dark room that smelled of sweet citrus.
"Odango," her voice murmured, as the beautiful guardian dipped the mattress alongside her.
She was starved, but now she was free.
She pulled Seiya down to her, her glowing hands bracketing her as they collided, fast and rough and desperate. Fingers ripped at her torn dress, grasped at her skin; lips skimmed her pulse, kissed the swell of her breasts. Every move was charged and volatile, darker than anything her dreams had ever shown her before.
"Usagi," Seiya growled, like gravel and smoke.
She moved down her heaving body, her touch leaving blue fire in its wake that snaked beneath her skin in a beautiful web. As she looked back up at her, those devilish eyes sparked in every hue of blue, and when she touched her, she didn't hold back.
Free.
She tossed her head back in ecstasy, ice hot pleasure igniting every nerve, and the room glowed with the outline of the eight-pointed star that burst open on her forehead, piercing white light so brilliant that everything around them disappeared to sheer nothingness.
Her world shook and she was once again alone. The blinding light dulled, giving way to flaming trees, roaring winds and the rumble of Chaos' taunting laugh. She relived it, again, and this time, she would win.
Free.
"Kill him," his voice boomed, "kill him and you can have it all!"
Free.
Through her blurred, jerky vision, she could see him, hunched forward and laughing. His empty eyes looked at her, a mere bruise on a striking face. "Kill him, dear Cosmos."
She knelt behind him, rage consuming her, and fisted her hand in his hair, tugging his head back to look at her. He relented to her hold, smiling as a crystal blade formed in the palm of her outstretched hand, slicing into her as it would him.
Free.
As she pulled his neck back taut, jugular exposed and pulsing and scarred, his blackened eyes turned hazel, his face pained. He pled, he fought, but she didn't care—she drove the crystal dagger into neck without hesitation.
And felt nothing.
Sticky, black blood gushed from him and leached into her skin, staining her. His laughter continued and she let his body go with a thud, a cold calm washing over her.
Free.
Usagi woke with a strangled gasp, heart hammering and breath haggard as she lurched forward. She cradled her clammy head in her hands and let out a sob, images flashing through her mind at a sickening speed.
Arms suddenly enveloped her in a warm embrace, and she could smell her, feel her, all around her—just as she had in her dream. "It's alright, Odango," Seiya soothed. "It's alright."
She sobbed once more, burying her nose into the crook of Seiya's neck, her bare skin against her lips, leaning into her like a deadweight. She felt sick to her stomach—every lingering memory of her dream, her nightmare, toying with her mind. What was this—this grotesque tightrope she was walking between right and wrong? Who was she?
"What is wrong with me?" She whispered.
Seiya shook her head, the wisps of her hair tickling against her. "Nothing is wrong with you," she said quietly.
She pushed away from the senshi, putting deliberate distance between them. "You can't see what's going on in my head," she said shakily. "Seiya, I killed him—I killed Raf and I—I…" She squeezed her eyes closed, the feeling of hot blood on her hands still fresh. "I have to go—I have to save him—"
She moved to get out of bed but Seiya stopped her. "Odango, listen to me," she said. "As long as Chaos knows you will come looking for him, he will not kill Rafu." She grasped her hands, meeting her eye. "We will save him, but first we need a plan."
Usagi stared down at their hands, gripped against the sheets. She thought about her friend, a hostage to Chaos' twisted games, and shook her head. "I can't wait—I have to—"
"Stop," Seiya insisted gently. "Think about this—think about what happened tonight—he had you exactly where he wanted you—"
"It doesn't matter—"
"It does matter," she pressed, her expression fierce. "I know you're worried about him, I do, but we have to be smart about this to save his life. Please, just trust me on this."
She looked away, eyes filling with frustrated tears. Seiya was right—of course she was. She would never sacrifice her friend's life as Chaos wanted, so they had to find another way. "Okay," she whispered.
"I promise, we will save him," Seiya said, squeezing her hands in her own. "But what happened to you tonight—I can't…" She trailed off, jaw tight. "I just can't."
Usagi could feel the explosion that had erupted from her in her moment of fury; she could see the images that had flashed before her as she spoke—laughter and loneliness and abundance and madness, all at once. Images of a perfect world, of her beautiful friends, of Rini.
She walks with fatherless children that are hers alone.
Fatherless children.
Her head spun as the memories overwhelmed her. "I don't know what happened to me..."
Seiya was quiet a moment before she spoke again. "We think it was a prophecy—a message of some kind," she replied hesitantly. "What did you see?"
"It was…a jumble of images," she said. "But I remember what I said." She met her eye. "And it felt real."
It felt more than real—it felt true.
Seiya studied her closely. "I know," she said, as though she truly did. Worry tugged at her features. "Odango…Chaos called you something—he called you Cosmos, does that mean anything to you?"
Cosmos. Her spine crawled at the word, feeling a stir beneath her skin, but she shook her head all the same. "No," she said. "It doesn't."
She slipped her hands from Seiya's, tugging the blanket up around her and casting her gaze out the window. The sky was dark outside the shrine, with no moon to illuminate the nighttime, just clouded in stars. She looked back at Seiya, whose midnight blue eyes were rimmed with fatigue. "You shouldn't have stayed," she said. "You need to rest…"
Seiya raked her fingers through her mussed hair. "I couldn't go home—I had to know you were okay." A cocky smirk spread across her face playfully. "And besides, supersenshi like myself don't need rest…"
Usagi smiled and she eyed the Starlight, clad in a pair of boxer shorts and loose-fitting t-shirt, her ponytail skewed and odd socks on her feet. In spite of her state of alluring disarray, Usagi was unable to shake the beautiful image of her body lit up from the inside out; a highway of sapphire that electrified every inch of her. She could still see the sharp edges of her spiked crystal as it sat glinting over her heart; still feel how its energy shot through her like lightning.
"Is that right?" She mused. She chewed her lip and reached across the space between them to rest her fingertips against Seiya's sternum, right above her humming life force. "What are you, Seiya?"
Seiya visibly swallowed under her touch and her voice was husky as she replied. "I told you: a supersenshi…" Her heart thrummed under Usagi's fingers; she could feel it. "Usagi…"
"You're wrong," Usagi said as she tore her fingers away, from the one place they wanted to stay, more than anything. "You're so much more than that."
"Cosmos," she murmured into the night, staring out into the forest that shrouded their home, across a moonless sky. She tipped her head back against the headboard, forearms rested heavily on her splayed knees, linen wound at her feet. Sleep called to her but her mind refused to rest—instead, it played out images in her mind of their princess, in all her white gold, terrifying beauty, and Seiya, as his body exploded into a map of vivid blue—the only one strong enough to save Usagi.
Alongside her, her girlfriend stirred and looked up at her with tired eyes. "You should be resting, Ruka…"
"I can't, Michiru," she murmured. She let out a long breath. "What we saw tonight was not our princess—something is coming, I can feel it."
Michiru sat up, the sheet falling away from her as she reached out to brush the sandy strands of hair from Haruka's eyes. "I can, too," she told her, "but the seas are murky—I can't determine whether this wave is good, or evil." She trailed her fingertips down to her chin, turning her face toward her. "There are some things we cannot know—you know this."
"I do," Haruka replied. "And what I do know is that he had the power to break her free." She shook her head, beginning to piece together the puzzle that had been strewn about her mind since the Starlights had first arrived back on Earth. "But there's something more…"
A knowing smile passed over Michiru's pretty lips. "Are you jealous, Haruka?"
Haruka scowled at her—a struggle when the violinist's delicate touch was tracing the skin of her neck. "We have been over this," she said darkly. "And I have told you: we will use whatever means necessary to protect Usagi—no sacrifice is too great."
Michiru nodded slowly—she understood, she knew she did. Her lover's fingers moved to brush her thigh, skimming the hollow of her hipbone and over the soft flesh low on her belly. "Of course," she replied, "but for now, let me take your mind off this world—off our mission."
She was the only thing that could, so Haruka gave in to her—she always did.
Mamoru jogged across the grass as the early afternoon sun hit the grand marble-stone building, racing up the stairs and through its open doors. He darted amongst fellow students, ignoring their greetings as he rushed down the hallway to his supervisor's office. The door was closed and he knocked urgently, pushing it open when there was no instant reply.
Dr Gordon looked up from his desk, startled at the sudden intrusion. "Mr Chiba," he said, tugging off his reading glasses and letting them fall around his neck. "Is something the matter?"
Mamoru puffed and stood amongst the stuffy office, with its walls of books and paperwork strewn from end to end. "I have to return to Tokyo," he said quickly. "I don't have time to apply for a deferral—"
"Hold on—slow down," the older gentleman said. He stood and rounded his desk, propping himself on the edge. "Why don't you explain to me what's going on."
Mamoru paced the floor, unfamiliar with the unsettled feeling of panic. He didn't have time for explanations. "It's…complicated," he replied lamely. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have to go."
Dr Gordon nodded slowly, lips pursed. "That is quite a shame," he said. "Your research appears to be extremely promising, Mr Chiba." He let out a long breath. "But we have already made an exception for you once before—I don't know that we can do that again."
Mamoru nodded, pure disappointment laced with the anxiety that churned in his gut. "I understand." He gave the man a tight smile, turning to leave. "Thank you for your consideration, and I'm sorry to have wasted your time."
"Having said that," Dr Gordon continued, as though Mamoru had never spoken, "I can see a bright future ahead of you in this field—one that the medical community can't afford to lose."
He looked back at his mentor in surprise. "I don't know how long I will be gone—"
Dr Gordon sprung up from where he rested against his desk, nodding decisively. "You will remain in contact to give us an approximate timeframe, and in the mean time, we will look after your research."
"Thank you," Mamoru said, staggered by the offer, but uncertain of whether it would truly come to fruition, at this late stage in his destiny. "I am incredibly grateful."
The portly man gave him a smile and waved him on his way. "Go and take care of your family."
Mamoru had barely made it out onto the pavement of the quadrangle before his rarely used cell phone was at his ear. "Setsuna," he said, as her soft voice echoed down the line. "I need you to meet me at Haneda Airport." He crossed through the wrought iron gates, wondering if he would ever return. "I'm coming home."