THE SECOND STRING
Chapter 11: "The Depths"
A neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Hotaru waited at the entrance to the lab for her father. Though Prof. Tomoe had agreed to accompany her home, he was as usual dawdling over new last minute things he was suddenly remembering needed to be done. Hotaru knew the behavior. Her father didn't want to leave his work and would work straight through if allowed, ignoring food, sleep and socialization. It was one of the pet peeves her mother had.
When she was alive.
"Prof. Tomoe, it will keep until tomorrow," Badiane said and herded the man toward the door.
"Yes, yes, I guess you're right," Tomoe sighed, running his hand through his thick black hair and adjusting his round glasses on his face. "I'm certain you're ready to send me back and try to get a new father, eh Hotaru-Chan?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Hotaru said, pain from an unsuspected source creeping into her inflection. He came up and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Well Badiane is right. This will keep until tomorrow," Tomoe announced. "Come on, Hotaru-Chan. Let's go home."
The three headed out of the lab and past the gate, where the guard nodded to them. At the sidewalk, Tomoe and Hotaru turned left. Badiane turned with them, which attracted Hotaru's notice.
"I hope you don't mind, Hotaru-Chan," Tomoe began awkwardly, tiptoeing through a mine field, "but I invited Badiane to stay with us. Just until she can find a place of her own. She's new in town and I didn't think she could afford a hotel on what we're paying her. I promise I won't talk shop at home with her."
Hotaru looked up at him. She didn't say anything, but she had reservations.
"I hope you don't mind, Hotaru-Chan," Badiane added. "I promise I won't take up much room and I'll respect your family's boundaries and rules." She offered a hopeful smile. "I hope we can become very good friends in the time I'm there."
There was that word again. This strange woman seemed eager to bond with her; almost desperate. Was that what she was sensing? Was Badiane what was wrong with this whole scenario?
"I hope you'll be comfortable living with us," Hotaru offered diplomatically.
No, it was more. Badiane was part of it, but there was more wrong here than just her. If only she could think of it.
"Don't listen," Hotaru heard a high-pitched voice say. She turned suddenly to see who said it, but no one was there.
"Hotaru-Chan? What is it?" Prof. Tomoe asked.
"Didn't you hear it?" Hotaru asked, searching the street for someone who wasn't there. "There was a girl's voice."
"I didn't hear anything," Tomoe replied. He glanced at their companion. "Badiane?"
"I'm sorry," Badiane answered. "Are you sure you heard someone?"
"No," Hotaru said sadly. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything right now."
Prof. Tomoe took her hand and the three people continued walking down the street. As they walked, Hotaru couldn't escape the feeling that she was walking to her doom.
Ves entered the shack she and her fellow runaways had built in a clearing near the Amazon River.
Well, Ves and Jun had built it. Palla-Palla had no concept of carpentry aside from the fact that she liked to pound posts into the ground with a rock. She wasn't very good at it, but it gave her something to do. And Cere was beyond useless. All she contributed to the project was gluing the sheet metal to the frame, using a homemade adhesive Jun had made.
As she peered in, Ves dismissed the memory from her mind. Funny what one thought of at the oddest of times. Palla-Palla was still cowering on the far bunk. She was scared and for the life of her Ves couldn't grasp why she was scared. She came over and sat down on the edge of the bunk.
"What is it, Stupid?" Ves asked as gently as she could manage. Gentleness had never been a skill she'd developed, because where she was from, gentleness got you exploited.
"It's wrong," whimpered Palla-Palla.
"What's wrong?" prodded Ves.
"Everything," Palla-Palla replied. "We're all not supposed to be here."
"Look, I told you we can't go back to the orphanage," Ves sighed.
"No!" Palla-Palla said sharply. "We're supposed to be somewhere else! This is where we used to be! But we're supposed to be somewhere else now!"
"Yeah? Where?"
"Palla-Palla doesn't know," she whimpered. Tears were welling in the girl's eyes. "She can't remember, Ves-Ves. She thinks the bad hole made her forget."
"Bad hole?"
"The bad hole that looks like Miss Badiane-Ma'am," Palla-Palla struggled to articulate. "Palla-Palla doesn't remember why, but she knows Miss Badiane-Ma'am is fibbing to everyone."
"Yeah?" Ves asked, her eyes narrowing. "Is this something you heard maybe?"
"Palla-Palla thinks so," she squeaked.
"Like maybe from Badiane when she didn't know you were listening?" Ves asked. Her fellow orphan nodded. "How about I check it out? Meanwhile, how about you try to get some sleep. You look like you need it."
"Palla-Palla is afraid," she shook her head. "Palla-Palla is afraid that if she goes beddy-bye, she won't wake up!"
Ves patted her on the shoulder, then got up and went outside. She surveyed the clearing. Cere was washing some clothes with water that Badiane had brought back from the river. Jun was cooking the fish that Ves had caught and cleaned. It was a familiar scene, one Ves recalled seeing dozens of times during their stay here. She thought back to her memory of when they constructed the shack. Why hadn't she recalled Badiane's contribution to it? Why couldn't she recall it now?
And where was Badiane? Ves heard someone coming up behind her and, instinctively, turned to her with her knees bent and her hands balled into fists.
"Easy," Badiane smiled. "It's just me. I promise I'm not out to get you."
"Yeah. Old habits," grunted Ves.
"How's Palla-Palla?"
"Scared out of her mind," Ves replied stonily.
"Of what? Did a jaguar frighten her or something?"
"Like she said before. She says we don't belong here," Ves said bluntly. "She says we're supposed to be somewhere else. She said a bad hole made her forget where." Ves stepped closer, invading Badiane's space. "And she said you've been lying to us."
"Dinner's ready," Jun called out. She moved over toward Ves and Badiane. "What's got your back up now, Vanessa?"
"Palla-Palla says Badiane's been lying to us," Ves said, glaring at Badiane the entire time. By now Cere was approaching.
"About what?" gasped Badiane.
"You tell me," Ves continued to glare.
"She has to be mistaken," Badiane said. "We've known each other for years. I remember when each one of you came to Quatro Pi."
"Palla-Palla said she heard it," Ves replied. "Palla-Palla don't lie. And she's got a pretty good track record when it comes to hearing things. I don't know how she does it, but if she hears it, make book on it." Ves crowded Badiane some more. "Now what do you suppose she's talking about?'
"I don't know!" Badiane snapped. "And I don't like the way you're talking to me! I'm your friend, Vanessa! I'm not one of Marcelino's goons!"
Cere and Jun felt it, the sudden spike in tension that ran through Ves's body. Badiane felt it, too, when Ves's fist lashed out and caught her right in the mouth. Badiane dropped to the ground in a heap.
"Who the f*** are you?" roared Ves, standing over the fallen teen. Jun grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away while Cere stared in shock.
"Vanessa! What are you doing?" gasped Jun.
"I never told nobody about Marcelino!" Ves hissed. "Not any of you, not Father Melendez, not the Juvenile Board, nobody! I never told nobody about Marcelino except Sancha!" She turned back to the still prone Badiane. "So how do you know?"
"I," Badiane began, staring up at eyes that told her their owner was capable of killing. "Palla-Palla told me."
"HOW DID SHE KNOW?" bellowed Ves.
"She said she heard it," Badiane answered. Ves responded with her foot to the side of Badiane's head.
"YOU'RE LYING!" Ves shouted. "Don't hand me any of that! I been able to smell a liar since I was eight! Now what are you?"
"I'm your friend," Badiane replied. Tears were forming around her eyes.
Ves responded by sitting on her. Her hands locked around Badiane's throat and began choking the teen. It took both Jun and Cere to pull her off.
"LEMME GO!" roared Ves. "I'll choke the truth out of her!"
"Vanessa, stop it!" Cere spat. "Even if she has been duping us, killing her isn't the answer!"
"I'll make her wish she was dead if she don't talk!" snarled Ves.
"You hear that?" Jun said to Badiane. "You'd better start telling the truth or I'll let her have you."
"Jun!" Cere hissed.
"Mi Padre always said you don't let vipers roam free in your camp," Jun replied.
"I'm your friend," Badiane only shook her head and repeated. "I'm your friend."
"Let's get Palla-Palla out here," Cere told the others. "Maybe she can help clear this up." Cere peeked into the shack. She was out again a few moments later - - alone.
"Palla-Palla's unconscious!" Cere told the others. "And I can't wake her up!"
It was a typical night in the Tomoe household. Hotaru cooked dinner because she knew if her father did it, it was just as liable to explode as be edible. She didn't mind. It actually brought her closer to her father. He was so brilliant, but so erratic that caring for him was her way of making sure he would be there for her when she inevitably got sick. They were more than father and daughter: they were partners against life.
Badiane asked if she could help. Hotaru possessively refused, so the woman settled for setting the table. She realized that she had hurt Badiane's feelings and that disturbed her. The woman seemed to truly want to be her friend as she had already become a friend of her father's. But some inner sense told her not to trust this new person.
"Am I just being jealous?" Hotaru wondered.
Hot water spat from the pot as she stirred it and landed on her left wrist. Hotaru flinched, but didn't cry out.
"Did it burn you?" gasped Badiane, suddenly hovering.
"I'm all right," Hotaru replied sheepishly. "I hardly feel pain anymore."
"You're sure you don't want me to help?"
"I'm almost done," Hotaru assured her.
"It smells good, Hotaru-Chan," Tomoe said, pouring liquid refreshments into glasses for the meal. "You're going to make some man a wonderful wife some day."
"Thank you, Papa," Hotaru said meekly. She silently wondered if any man would ever be interested in her. If her frail looks or poor health didn't scare him away, she was sure her odd abilities would.
Bringing the pot over to the table, Hotaru was about to set it on a wooden block in the center. That was when a ghostly apparition suddenly appeared before her. It looked like a teen girl, short with a round face, round expressive eyes and blue hair pulled back into a bun at the top of her head. The eyes were red-rimmed and tear-stained, and they were wide with fright. In utter shock, Hotaru dropped the pot and dinner spilled all over the table.
"Hotaru-Chan!" gasped Badiane as she jumped to her feet.
"I knew that pot was too heavy for you!" Tomoe exclaimed as he lunged for his daughter. "Are you hurt? Did any of it spill on you?"
"Don't you see her!" cried Hotaru in shock, pointing to the apparition. The teen girl with the blue hair continued to stare at her.
"I don't see anything," Tomoe assured her. He had his hands on her, gently pulling her away from the table and the mess.
"She's right there!" shrieked Hotaru, pointing again at the ghostly figure in front of her.
"Hotaru-Chan, please calm down," Badiane pleaded, trying to steady her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't let the bad lady touch you!" exclaimed Palla-Palla, the apparition before Hotaru. "She's a fibber!"
Hotaru looked at Badiane and saw concern and confusion in the woman's face. Then she turned to her father.
"Did you hear that?" Hotaru demanded.
"Hotaru-Chan, there's nothing there," Tomoe assured her. "Please, sit down and try to collect yourself."
"I'll get you some juice," Badiane added and headed for the refrigerator.
"She looks familiar," Hotaru told her father. "I know her from somewhere." She turned to the apparition. "Who are you?"
"Palla-Palla is Palla-Palla!" she answered. "She knows you, too! You're not supposed to be there!"
"Here, Hotaru-Chan," Badiane said, offering a glass of juice. "Drink this."
"Palla-Palla?" Hotaru mumbled in shock. "I - - know that name."
"Don't look with your head!" Palla-Palla pleaded with her. "Look with your eyes!"
And with that, the kitchen of the Tomoe household was gone. Hotaru was looking up at a black sky with no stars. And she was looking through a clear surface. And she remembered that she had been standing on that clear surface, with four others. And the four others were her fellow Senshi: Sailor Ceres, Sailor Juno, Sailor Pallas and Sailor Vesta. They had come to this hole in space to confront a sentient energy source who was after their friend and Princess.
Hotaru realized she was Sailor Saturn. She glanced around, for she felt very confined. Something was under her and around her. It was more of the strange material that made up the surface above her.
She was in a box and the box eerily resembled a coffin. And a thousand memories of smothering, close-quarter confinement at the terrible hands of Mistress 9 came flooding back into the brain of Sailor Saturn.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked.
The coffin exploded outward, unable to contain the manifestation of purple-tinted energy. Sailor Saturn was hovering nine feet above the surface before she realized that she was no longer confined. Her tiny chest heaved with fear and adrenaline.
"Come back," said a woman. Saturn whirled on the sound and found Badiane, only she was wearing a flowing gown and a winged crown instead of a dress and lab coat. "I only want to be your friend."
Paranoia sent Sailor Saturn propelling toward Badiane like a fired missile. It was only when she was almost upon the woman that Saturn realized her glaive was in her right hand. She pulled it back and swung with all the energy she could muster, cleaving Badiane in half. The two halves then dissipated like smoke. Saturn landed on the surface, her head darting left and right fearing another attack.
"Calm down," Saturn told herself. "Get control. Remember what Sensei taught you; what Mizuno-Sensei taught you; what Lady Candide told you. Remember the Tai Chi lessons with Usa."
Her breathing began to calm, but her heart was still thudding in her chest. Saturn looked around. To her right, she saw the other four Senshi. Each one was unconscious in a coffin-like box under the surface, just as she had been. Violet boots cut the distance and Saturn stood over Pallas. She felt her power begin to surge and fight to escape and wreck havoc over everything in an orgy of destruction.
"Control," Saturn grimaced. After a struggle, her vast power came to heel. Looking down at Pallas, Saturn took a steadying breath. Then she raised her glaive.
"Don't," said another figure of Badiane, this one also in crown and robes. "I just want to be your friend."
The glaive came down and split the surface open above Pallas. Sailor Pallas opened her eyes.
"You don't keep friends in coffins," Saturn snarled at Badiane as Pallas climbed out.
Three swings later, the five Senshi were reunited. Vesta and Juno glared at Badiane, while Pallas cowered behind Ceres. Saturn held her glaive in both hands.
"Now what?" Badiane asked. There was no belligerence in her voice. Instead, there was a hint of anxiety.
"You four teleport out of here," Saturn told the others.
"What about you?" Ceres asked. Pallas gasped.
"I am the Senshi of Death and Destruction," Saturn replied, glaring at Badiane the entire time. "I am going to fulfill my mission as a Sailor Senshi - - and destroy this terrible place and all who reside in it!"
Concluded in Chapter 12