THE SECOND STRING
Chapter 7: "Sleep The Sleep Of The Dead"
A neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
"OK, you've got to the count of one to free Queen Serenity and the elders from your spell," Ceres dictated. "THEN we can begin negotiating a peaceful end to this confrontation."
Pupuran glared hatefully up at Ceres. He was pinned spread-eagle to the aeropad atop the Crystal Palace. Ceres, along with Sailor Juno and Sailor Saturn, stood over him. Near by, Sailor Pallas was helping Sailor Vesta to her feet. At various points on the pad lay Queen Serenity, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino and Makoto Kino. All were in deep comas.
"One," Ceres said, playing her bluff. She had no intention of harming the prisoner and preferred negotiation to violence. If he called her bluff, she was stuck. Or she would have to hold back Vesta or Saturn.
Pupuran smiled maliciously. "I will need my pipe to free them," he said.
"Like we'd give it to you," Juno snapped. Then she saw the vines around his right arm, the arm that held his curlicue pipe loosen and fall away. "Ceres!" Juno gasped.
"Unless you negotiate from a platform of trust, you have no chance for a settlement," Ceres replied. "My dad taught me that."
The flute came to Pupuran's lips and he played a short tune. Then he faded from the grip of the vines. The Senshi started to lunge at him, but it was too late. Immediately Pupuran materialized twenty feet above them, resting once more on swirling leaves.
"There will be no negotiation," Pupuran announced. "Your vaunted Sailor Moon, your despised Tuxedo Mask and all of Sailor Moon's Senshi will sleep until the jezebel Chibi-Usa is brought to me for judgement! And they will sleep for all eternity if they must!"
"What do you want with Usa?" Saturn cried angrily. "Judge her for what?"
"She was betrothed to Perle!" Pupuran raged. "She was bound to him! Connected by the second red string!" Pupuran's face twisted in anger. "But she threw him over, betrayed him for the Prince of Dreams! She rejected Perle and broke his heart! No one may do that to my brother!"
"Who is Perle?" Juno asked Ceres and got a shrug in return.
"She never made a promise to your brother!" Saturn yelled back. "It never happened! It wasn't her! You're mistaken! He's mistaken!"
"There is no mistake!" Pupuran roared from above. "Perle betrayed his Queen and his brothers for her! And she cast him aside!"
"You're wrong! She would never do that!"
Whipping his pipe to his mouth, Pupuran began playing an angry tune. Saturn, Juno and Ceres recoiled as the sound waves battered them. They lashed at the three Senshi like whitecaps from an angry surf.
"Vesta?" Pallas asked, feeling the residual force from the attack.
"I can't, Pallas," grimaced Vesta. "I'm done!" She grabbed Pallas's skirt. "I know you're going after him! Be careful!"
"Pallas promises," Pallas nodded. She turned to Pupuran. "Beautiful Incantation!"
At once Pupuran was battered by invisible projectiles. His tune ceased and the three Senshi under attack gained a respite. Juno took advantage.
"Aqua Initiation, Poor Down Rain!" Juno called to the heavens.
Instantly the skies darkened until it was almost night. The dark clouds, pregnant with moisture, opened up and deluged the aeropad with sheets of water. Ceres put her hand above her eyes to try to see. The rain buffeted Pupuran in the air, pelting him with the force of the falling drops. Pupuran struggled to stay aloft and finally had to land on the pad, eighteen feet away from the Senshi. As the rain subsided, Ceres attempted to snare him with more vines, but he swatted them away with his pipe.
The pipe came to his mouth again. Another sound wave slammed into the three Senshi, but Saturn threw up Silence Wall and deflected it.
"This doesn't have to end in tragedy!" Ceres shouted. "We can still come . . ."
"No more talk!" Pupuran raged. "Bring me the harlot! If you defend her, you will die!"
"No!" Saturn shouted. She stepped forward, her glaive up and ready to use. From the side, Pallas's eyes grew wide with astonishment and just a little fear.
Pupuran launched another blast at her. It struck Saturn full, but only stopped her in her tracks. As she took the brunt of the blast, violet energy began to manifest from her head and shoulders. It coalesced around her, an aura of crackling violet. Another blast came from Pupuran and struck her dead on. The aura around her only grew bigger. Vesta and Pallas could see that Saturn's eyes had become totally violet. She took a step forward and then another.
Confused and a little afraid, Pupuran launched another blast at her. It didn't even throw Saturn off stride. She took another step and then leaped into the air. Pirouetting like a graceful ballerina in mid-air, her glaive fanned out from her side as she spun. Saturn landed inches from Pupuran. The glaive whipped around like an extension of her arm, pivoted in the blink of an eye and came to rest at Pupuran's throat, the edge barely touching skin.
It had all happened too quickly for Pupuran to comprehend. Startled by her sudden appearance, he stepped back from her. But his stride was too close to the edge of the pad and Pupuran toppled over through the missing section of fencing.
"Beautiful Incantation!" Pallas screamed, trying to catch the falling elf. But she missed. Pupuran plummeted twelve stories to the courtyard below.
A look of horror grew on Saturn's face. She stared down at the residual aura glowing faintly from her hands. Then she turned and ran, ran back to the elevator, transforming back to Hotaru Tomoe as she ran. The Asteroids stared after her in shock.
"What was that?" whispered Juno in awe.
"Saturn's always been second only to Sailor Moon in power," Ceres replied. "I think Pupuran got her steamed enough that she lost control." Juno looked at her. "You know Hotaru's always been frightened of her power more than anything. I think we know why now."
Glancing away, Ceres engaged her communicator and had Luna send medical teams for the comatose elders.
"Their vitals are all in safe areas," Dr. Ishizuki informed the visitors. "But they're all comatose and I don't see a reason why."
Cere, Palla-Palla, Jun, Ves and Hotaru all stood at the observation screen in the visitor's room of the palace infirmary. Streaming to the screen was surveillance pictures of the Intensive Care Ward of the infirmary. The picture was divided into eight smaller views, one for each patient: King Endymion, Queen Serenity, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, Minako Aino, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh. Superimposed on each picture were vital sign telemetry and EKG readings.
Cere stared at the monitor and felt like a colossal failure. The Royal Family and the Elders had been struck down with the team under her command. Pupuran had died under her command. Security had found the body of a dead bird laying next to the curlicue pipe. Pallas had confirmed it was him. The back of her mind wondered if this ended the assault on the palace and the threat against Usa. The front of her mind was more concerned with when or if the fallen elders would wake up. Had their one chance died with Pupuran?
She glanced over at the others and wondered if they were thinking the same thing, and if they thought of her as a failure, too. Palla-Palla turned to her as if she'd read the thought, which she probably had. Her hand reached over and clutched Cere's.
Then she glanced at Hotaru on the end. Hotaru looked like she was on the brink. It was understandable, as Haruka and Michiru were her adoptive parents. But it was more. Pupuran's death and her hand in it were weighing heavily on her. Cere wondered what she should do. The burden of leadership was like a gigantic boulder on her shoulders now.
What would Usa do?
"Hotaru," Cere began, coming over to her. The others watched.
"I lost control," Hotaru whispered as if she feared waking the devil. "It always happens. Whenever I lose control, people get hurt."
"Well, then don't lose control," Cere suggested.
"It's not that easy!" sobbed Hotaru. "It's like I'm wrestling with a gigantic dragon, and if I slip and lose control for a moment, it'll destroy everything! Do you know what that's like?"
"No," Cere said, her hand going onto Hotaru's shoulders. "But I know we need you, no matter how dangerous you think you are. Unless you know Perle or one of the others who worked for this Queen whoever she is aren't going to pick up Pupuran's mission." She gestured at Haruka and Michiru. "And they need you, too."
"I can't," Hotaru shook her head.
"Hotaru, with the elders out of it and Usa gone, we're it. And you're our biggest gun right now. Now the others and I will do our part, but we're a lot less likely to get run over with you fighting with us. And if they get past us, it might be Usa laying in there next."
Hotaru looked down.
"I hate to put you in this spot, but everybody needs you," Cere told her. "Personally I think you can control your power if you stop being afraid of it. Usa believes that. Otherwise she wouldn't have you on the team. And she needs you. And so do your parents. And so do we."
Hotaru pressed her lips together. She sniffed loudly.
"You don't understand," she whimpered. There was an awkward pause. "All right. But I warned you. In case it happens again, I warned you."
"I know," Cere said, patting her on the shoulder.
"So what do we do?" Ves asked. "I know what I'd do: take the fight to them."
"If I have to," Cere replied. "I'd like to know more about this Perle first. Does he really resent Usa for breaking off the relationship that only he seemed to be aware of? Or was Pupuran acting as a free agent? The wrong move could start a war that wouldn't have happened otherwise." Her face twisted into a scowl. "Oh, if only there was some way to contact him!"
"Palla-Palla can listen for him," her sister Amazon offered. "Maybe she'll hear him. Or maybe he'll hear her."
"That's good, Palla-Palla," Cere nodded. "Only don't overexert yourself trying to sense something that isn't there."
"We could call the Princess," Juno suggested.
"I don't want to do that unless I have to," Cere said.
"It ain't going to make you look weak," Ves told her. Cere turned and glared at her. "That's what you're thinking. You're afraid you're in over your head, that the gang is going to crumble now that you're in charge."
"What do you know?" huffed Cere. "Everyone stand down, but be ready if we're called." She walked off.
"You have such a way with people," Jun sighed, glancing sideways at Ves.
"I can't help it. She was born a priss," grumbled Ves. "Kino-Sensei would tell her the same thing. It's too bad she can't."
"Can't say I blame her," Jun shrugged. "We're the second string and so far we're down two-nil. We better step up our game." She put her hand on Palla-Palla's shoulder. "Come on, We're not doing anybody any good here. Maybe somebody in this palace knows something."
Jun and Palla-Palla walked off. Ves followed shortly. Hotaru just stood at the monitor and continued to stare.
Palla-Palla sat in her doll circle and reached out with her mind. She was listening for some thought that was alien, like Pupuran's had been alien. She hoped it would be Perle. But Palla-Palla had never been able to contact and read another person's thoughts if she didn't know them and they weren't in her field of vision. Thoughts could come to her at random, but she couldn't intentionally pluck them out of the air.
She glanced up at Jun. Jun was on the vid-com, talking the situation over with a local priest, hoping against hope that the priest knew something that might help them. Jun had already called the chief archivist for Crystal Tokyo, a leading neurosurgeon, an inter-dimensional physicist and one of the teachers at a school for psychic training. She could sense Jun's mounting frustration.
"It can't be that this is a problem without an answer," Jun sighed. "I just don't know where else to look for the answer." She glanced at Palla-Palla, who still sat with her eyes closed, rocking back and forth. "Sometimes I think we should have stayed in the Amazon."
"Palla-Palla doesn't like the Amazon," mumbled Palla-Palla, still rocking back and forth. "There's no vid-streams in the Amazon. How would Palla-Palla watch Yumi-Chan's Toy Shop?"
"You'd think you'd have them memorized by now," Jun shook her head.
The door to their quarters slid open. Jun was expecting Cere or Ves. Cere entered, but Jun was surprised when Hotaru accompanied her. Palla-Palla opened her eyes.
"Where's Ves?" Cere asked anxiously.
"Patrolling the perimeter of the castle," Jun replied. "Keeps her busy."
"Just as well," Cere sighed. "Palla-Palla . . ."
"Is Miss Hotaru-Ma'am sure she wants to do that?" Palla-Palla asked. "Palla-Palla doesn't think she should do it if she's a scaredy chicken about it."
"Oh, I hate it when you do that!" Cere growled.
"What?" Jun asked in confusion.
"Hotaru has some ESP abilities, too," Cere explained. "They're not up to Palla-Palla's levels, but Palla-Palla doesn't have the reserve power that Hotaru has. I thought she could give Palla-Palla a psychic boost and maybe find this Perle so we can talk this out."
"Hotaru?" Jun asked. Hotaru was clearly not thrilled with the prospect. "Are you sure about this? We don't want to make you do something you don't want to do."
"No, I don't want to do it," Hotaru whispered. She looked at the floor and her posture was very defensive. "But if these people are going to try to hurt Usa, I don't have a choice."
"We appreciate it, Hotaru," Cere told her.
Gingerly Hotaru walked over to Palla-Palla's doll corner and knelt down in front of the teen. Her eyes slowly came up and she timidly looked at her fellow student and Senshi. She got a warm smile in return.
"Please don't be afraid, Miss Hotaru-Ma'am," Palla-Palla told her. "Palla-Palla isn't afraid of you. She knows you wouldn't hurt her on purpose." She offered Hotaru her hands. "Maybe she can even help you with mean old Mister Dragon."
Hotaru looked at her and for a moment it looked like she would burst out into tears. But her courage rallied. She gave Palla-Palla a timid grin and clasped hands with her. Immediately Palla-Palla's chin fell to her chest.
"How did you get her to do this?" Jun whispered to Cere. "The way Hotaru was up in the infirmary, I thought she might give up being Sailor Saturn."
"I pointed out all of the good she's done and all of the good she can do in the future," Cere explained. "I explained that power gets easier to use when you use it. I told her that mistakes happen, even with Senshi, and that she can't let it intimidate her. I tried to make her realize that she can't accomplish anything if she lets fear rule her life."
"A lot of that sounds like Father Melendez," Jun remarked. "I'm surprised you didn't guilt trip her with Usa's safety."
"Who says I didn't," Cere replied. "Sometimes the end justifies the means."
Over in the doll corner, Hotaru had taken on a violet aura. Palla-Palla, similarly, had a light blue one. Hotaru's eyes were closed now. Palla-Palla's remained closed. Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Her sisters continued to watch.
"Always gets me spooked when I see stuff like this," Jun murmured. "It's almost like God is entering their bodies."
"Interesting interpretation," Cere remarked.
"What do you think of when she does this?"
"That one day she might not come back," Cere confessed.
Hotaru bent forward. She seemed like she was in pain.
"Don't be scared, Miss Hotaru-Ma'am," Palla-Palla murmured, her face still enveloped in concentration. "Mr. Dragon won't hurt you. He wants to be free. He's just a little clumsy."
Hotaru's arms began shaking. Palla-Palla kept hold of the teen's hands. Then her head shot up, Palla-Palla looking to the ceiling. Her eyes were open, but she didn't seem to be seeing anything. Her mouth formed an "o". Hotaru's violet aura had grown to twice its size.
"Should we do something?" gasped Jun.
"You're asking me?" Cere replied anxiously.
Hotaru's aura had now tripled in size and was threatening to swallow Palla-Palla. Her black hair was levitating out from her head. Her breath seized up in her chest. Immediately Palla-Palla was flung away. She landed against a display case for her doll collection.
"Palla-Palla!" Jun exclaimed and raced to the teen's side.
With the connection severed, Hotaru's aura began to die away. When it was gone, Cere moved in and supported her as Hotaru slumped. Her eyes eased open. She saw Palla-Palla.
"Oh, no!" Hotaru wailed. "Palla-Palla, did I hurt you?" She buried her face in her hands. "I warned you! I warned you all!"
"Palla-Palla is a little shaken up," Palla-Palla offered, Jun supporting her as she rolled up onto her bottom. "She's got a boo-boo on her back, but she's all right. Thank you very much."
"But I could have hurt you!" Hotaru sobbed.
"That was Palla-Palla's fault," the teen told her. "She didn't know how strong Miss Hotaru-Ma'am really is. Please forgive Palla-Palla. She's stupid that way."
"Enough of that," Jun told her.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Cere asked. Palla-Palla nodded. "Then did it work? Were you able to contact Perle or someone connected with him?"
"Indeed she did," came a voice from the door. Jun hadn't sensed him and jumped into a defensive crouch.
He was barely four and a half feet tall, with thick snow white hair, pointed ears and a feminine face. His slim body was covered in a white tunic with a sheer outer tunic on top of it, the hem decorated with pearls. Loose white pants covered his lower half and he wore no shoes. In his right hand was a curlicue pipe, one just like Pupuran had wielded.
"Who are you?" challenged Jun.
"My name is Perle," he replied. "I come in response to yon maiden's summons."
Continued in Chapter 8