This takes place in the two weeks period between the last chapter (Chapter 16) and the next (Chapter 17)
Interlude II-d
She remembered when this place was supposed to be their new hope. It was not far behind in relation to the current night and day cycle, but it felt so long ago.
They were riding in the high of the greatest period in the history of their race. A dozen systems and a hundred worlds had been harvested, their ark ship grew to the size of a small moon and sprouted many other sampling carriers to accompany it in its voyage, the armies they could deploy counted in the millions, and their strength could match anything this universe could throw at them, entire planets were laid to waste by their passage, civilizations bowed and submitted, enemies were cornered and destroyed; a soaring height none of their ancestors could even dream of achieving.
Then, all of the sudden, it all came crashing down and they were left buckling under the weight of their most catastrophic defeat; everything they'd accumulated during their conquering path erased by the hands of a single, impossibly powerful man.
Their armies wiped, their fleets destroyed, their slave races liberated and rebelling, and the very reason for their existence - the last child of the beloved Mother Tree that once laid its deep roots on their long-lost Homeworld - wounded and bleeding vital energy at a horribly fast pace. They had no choice but to flee.
Delving into an Anomaly Zone was an enormous gamble, but it was the only option left to throw him off their trail. They were prepared to face imprisoned Horror-Terrors, Reality-Tearing Null-events, Incomprehensible Beings from higher dimensions, Ever Hungry Star-Gods from myths and legends, or whatever else was the reason that caused the greatest and most powerful Forcers in the galaxy to avoid the place like their continuing existence depended on it.
What they found was hope.
A little blue planet somehow existing in a section of space that could only be described as thoroughly dead, with a crude, underdeveloped race of people still tittering around a pre-space-faring age and completely blind to the more arcane aspects of reality.
It was… perfect, almost tailor-made for them to lay down their roots and start working on rebuilding what they lost, beginning, of course, with gathering enough energy to heal the festering wound left in their reason for being, then the quick overthrowing of government and the quick subjugation and slavering of the native race, nothing they hadn't done so many times before.
Really, landing in a planet brimming with life energy, with a race that couldn't fight them, that had no means of calling for help, and no one close enough to hear it even if they did?
It was like fate itself was mandating the return to their apex.
It was almost too good to be true.
And now, as she stood there right now, hunted and cornered by a mysterious enemy that always seem to find them no matter how much they moved, her brother, lover, and other half of her soul captured and probably suffering torture untold, watching everything she worked so hard for falling apart around her; she could honestly say it was.
The sound of the blows echoed across the large warehouse, bouncing across the walls and ceiling, trailing through the air sounding louder than it actually was. They came in a slow, patient pace, a sonorous rhythm that could probably have been used as meditative aid if it wasn't for the other noises that usually accompanied them.
The cracking of bone, the tearing of fresh, the bruising of meat, the gasps, the screams, the whines of pain growing more despairing and animalistic as each blow landed.
An stood frozen in place, her insides twisting, hands trembling, swallowing the bile rising that had suddenly risen to her throat as she watched her last guardian being methodically taken apart.
"V-Vam… Vam… Pir…!"
The Cardian whined hoarsely between her screams. She wasn't really doing anything with any purpose at this point. She just… wobbling around over shattered limbs, just reacting to the horrors she was being subjected to, like a broken engine chugging alone on a lone track, shedding parts of itself the further it went.
The proximity to the Makai Tree – An's most precious treasure, the direct sampling of her people's primordial giver of her life, her last connection with her lost homeworld – and the constant dripping of vital energy it provided was the only thing keeping Cardian going. That and the anatomical interest of her opponent, he seems to be profoundly interested to see how she worked; how she reacted to pain, how much she could endure, which part of her body and more vulnerable and produced more of it, how many of herself she could function without. Soon, one of those will run out and…
An closed her eyes as the final blow came, it was almost anti-climactic; a hand piercing a bleeding, flower-like torso with such concentrated strength that the impact barely spread over the rest of the body, the muffle crushing of the equivalent of a heart bringing forth a gurgling scream of "CLEANSING!", and then an unseen wave as all that energy An had worked so hard to collect dissipated uselessly into the air. An opened her eyes to see the man – the newest of the endless supply of enemies this blasted planet seems to be able to throw at her – standing amidst the slowly fading Makai particles, a cleansed Cardian card in hand.
She gulped.
"Fascinating." The man said, examining the card on his black-gloved fingers. Hawk-like, blue eyes pierced her, then slip beyond her to the jagged, arborescent form of the giant tree that took most of the room in the warehouse. "So this is the 'supernatural'. It's just like my master said."
A little shriek erupted from her throat as he started walking towards her.
"N-No, s-stay back, you, you filthy human!" An retreated with stumbling steps, "Kyah!" Nearly tripping over her heels, her hands shot up to find support on one of the Makai Tree's protruding roots.
The lethargically slow yet undoubtedly mighty flow of energy reacted to her touch. Suddenly another option was open to An's mind, perhaps her last option. If she took the energy from the Makai Tree to herself and manifested her War Form, something she hadn't done in way, way too long, she could easily flatten the enemy before her, nine hell! She could easily turn her fury towards this accursed city and completely wipe it could off the map for the sin it committed against her!… However, the amount required would be too much; the Makai Tree would die as result.
For her to have her last act of blazing defiance, she would have to kill her most precious thing in all the cosmos.
Primordial instincts warred inside her as she considered this option. In the end, she found that she couldn't, physically couldn't, take this course of action.
It all fell down to the crippling lack of energy; all her current woes stem from it.
"Blast it all!" An found herself shouting as the inevitability of her fate drew nearer. "Blast this pathetic planet for giving us false hope! Blast your primitive people for not bowing down like they were supposed to! Blast that vile Deviluke for wounding the Makai Tree!" She choked out a long whiny wail, cursing the lack of something to just throw at him. "If only I had more energy! Then you would see what a Cardian can really do! Then I couldn't be in this situation!"
The man stopped.
"Hoh…"
An trembled in place, fists locked tightly at her sides, her every breath hitching as she tried to not show her tears. What now!? She was barely holding on facing her coming end. What more could this possibly man want!? What would he do to her!?
"So, with 'more energy' you could make those creatures stronger?"
The intensity of the scrutinizing glare only worsened the depths of the pit that had formed in her stomach. But she tilted her head upwards and forced her lips to take on a superior if bitter smile. She had to act like someone from her station after all.
"Yes! Yes, you damn, lowly creature! Had I gathered enough energy, you wouldn't come even close to match my Cardians at all!" She could take pride in her defiance.
The man kept his unflinching gaze on her long enough to suck all the courage the declaration had brought her. She shrunk back over herself when he raised his hand, but no killing blow came, instead he just signaled.
His two subordinates, the ones who had by sheer chance found this place brought the man here, that until now stood stunned in the background while he did all the work, reacted to his gesture, and hurried over like the pathetic lapdogs they were.
"Y-Yes, boss?"
"Sir! what can we do for you!?"
An thought the man's right arm had disappeared for a second. Then a par of meaty thuds echoed, and two unconscious bodies were thrown at her feet.
"Here is your energy." The man said, flinging the Cardian Card he had just cleansed at her. "Show me how strong these 'Cardians' can be."
Is he…
Is he serious?
Just like that!? Did he just…
Sow the seeds of his own destruction!
A burst of crackling laughter exploded past her lips as her whole being whiplashed from one complex series of emotions to another, completely different one. The delicious irony of the situation filled her veins with molten magma. With renewed vigor, An send a wicked smile at the soon-to-be-dead man as she swiftly got down and slammed her two hands on the back of his subordinates' bodies.
"VERY WELL! If you insist!" An met the man's glare and her smile only grew as the pathetic humans she had on her hands began to convulse and moan in pain. "Prepare yourself to face the might of the Silvian race!"
The man's lapdogs weren't like their usual choice of target, their energy too bland, the amount available too little to make a difference— but they were warriors and had clearly tasted battle; their energy reflected that.
And with two of them…
An drained what she could and leaped back. She felt the Makai Tree detecting the new energy swirling within herself through their eternal bond. The Tree reached out, desperately seeking anything that would help fill up the gnawing hollowness within itself, anything that could help close the gaping hole that clung to it at a conceptual level, and for the first time since arriving on this planet, An denied it.
As much as it hurt her in the core, she needed every ounce of vital energy available, she had to secure their future and get vengeance on a lowly monkey after all.
So, she acted. Holding the cleansed card between her index and middle finger, she poured everything she had absorbed into it. The burning energy of two warrior souls filled the artifact and caused it to thrum with power, the energized Makai particles making the arcane image on its face manifest again. Then, she threw the card to the air and snatched Ail's flute from its sheath at her lower back.
Her brother, lover, and other half of her soul would have woven an elegant, graceful melody as if to announce the Cardian's arrival upon this lowly world, with the proper gravitas and nobility it deserved. An had no time for such niceties. Her song was turbulent and sharp-edged, announcing nothing to the world but power, viciousness, and the overwhelming desire for vengeance.
Her Cardian responded all the same.
"We, Vampir, have arrived!"
And she was magnificent.
A far cry from the ugly, unappealing shell she had been summoned in before when An was forced to cut many, many, many corners, she was now a creature of dancing curves and awe-inspiring beauty. Her lustrous cerulean hair fell down in a perfect curtain to her prominent rear, a long bang keeping half of the aristocratic features with melting green eyes and ruby red lips enticingly hid away from view. Her body curved and waved in a manifestation of femininity that brought jealously and desires for all who saw it, a flowery dress snuggly clung on to her voluptuous form, puffing elegantly where they should, and showing windows into the supple turquoise skin where they dared.
And yet, even as enchanting beauty could be found no matter what part of her you looked at, there was no denying the danger that lurked beneath it. From her perfectly manicured and painted nails stretching like small daggers, the hint of life-draining fangs poking against the plushness of her red lips, the predatory eyes that looked upon a prey and instantly raised some deadly considerations. A charming rose with long, poisonous thorns, she was.
"My lady." The Cardian Vampir bowed flowery at her feet, and An felt giggly at having such a perfect creature lowering herself to her. She had forgotten how majestic their Cardians could be when properly.
But she was still less than what she could be, An could sense it; the energy of those two warriors was only enough to bring Vampir to about half of her full capabilities. However! even half of a full-powered Cardian was much better than the pathetic percentage she was forced to work with before, and it was more than enough to deal with him.
"Vampir!" An's voice boomed, she could already taste her victory. "Kill him!" She pointed.
The Cardian instantly blurred forward and out of view in a burst of crimson petals, slamming into the man in a crash that shook the entire warehouse.
… The Silvian princess An went through a long and complex journey of emotions in these next minutes.
From twisting elation, victory, and vindication at the start, when a vicious exchange of blows threatened to take the whole warehouse apart. To growing apprehension as the surrounding destruction began to lessen, the attacks turning more focused, and a clear side began to take the advantage. To open shock as the deployment of more arcane methods prove to be just as ineffective as direct combat. To her gripping terror as everything once again slowed down to that terrible series of methodic, echoey blows.
This time it was much worse, much, much worse.
The broken bones, torn flesh, bruised skin, now had a more sophisticated mind behind them, knowing just exactly how much damage she was taking, just how broken she was getting. So, the stomach-turning sounds caused by the analytical blows were now accompanied by loud cursing, weak threats of violence, whiny, high-pitched begging, tearful pledging and choking, desperate cries for help… so many cries for help.
"Impressive." The man said, standing among the circling mist of slowly dissipating Makai particles with the cleansed Cardian Card back in hand. "So much stronger after only two grunts…"
No injury, barely any sign he had fought the most powerful Cardian she managed to unleash since arriving in this world. There was the barest hint of ruffle and tears on his white suit, but that was it. If anything, that somehow seems to make him even more terrifying.
She…
Brought low once again from the heights of her power, that seems to be the trend, isn't it? Going from basking on the glory of the greatest moment in their history to scurrying away in a single arc ship supported by a dying tree, from enjoying the steady supply of energy provided by those dumb, easily targetable humans to suddenly have their Cardian inexplicable challenged and pushed back at all sides, from finally settling in somewhere comfortable and gaining some semblance of stability to having to run with their tails between their legs as a team of terrifying human elites tore their fresh foundation from under them and relentlessly chased after them, and now, and now this.
An sagged to her knees. Everything was coming to a head, their triumphs, their failures, the Makai Tree's pitiful state, the continuing dwindling of their forces, the constantly blow to their pride, the fear, the love of her life and only other being like her in this cold cosmos shot and bound like a dog while screaming for her to keep going and protect the tree…
It was… too much.
Her rosette eyes had lowered to the now cracked, shattered floor while the aches inside her chest grew to a point that simply left her numb.
A pair of white shoes appeared in her vision, and she reflexively looked up.
A piece of the warehouse ceiling had fallen during the previous battle and the invading light seem to form up into a halo behind him. Like a Silvian demigod ready to deliver devastation upon a lowly world, the man now shone before her eyes; his white suit, his yellow cravat, the purple locks of his hair…
He was resplendent.
"Woman… Can you make more of those?"
An felt herself nodding, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the sight.
"Good. Then, you work for me now, I'll make sure you will never be lacking in 'energy'." A back-gloved hand raised upwards and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a sheet of light flashed over the circular lens and his cold azure eyes. "As long as you give me the army I need to fulfill my ambition."
… Realization clicked in An's mind, provoking another whiplash on her emotions and she barely managed to prevent the large, twisted smile from manifesting.
Instead, she sightly shifted her body; an arching of her back, and raise of her hips, and tilting of her head… changing her body language in subtle ways that emphasized the swell of her bosom and the roundness of her breedable rear.
No matter what species they are, or what world they came from, men will always be the same. And that provided her with another chance, a unique, delicious opportunity.
"It shall be done my lord, this little An will provide for you~" She mewled daintily, like a submissive little Charmian princess before a conquering Ctarl-Ctarl warlord. Then she delicately accepted the offered hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.
She will play her part well, she will give him his army, bide her time, make him more dependent on her, worm into his life, his thoughts, his everything, till all he wanted, all he needed, was her. Yes, she is going to enjoy making this one her toy; he's quite hunky now that she was seeing him up close. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, my lord?"
"You will call me Odin." An tried to not let her now conviction break under the intensity of his piercing gaze. "Welcome to Ragnarok."
A/n: Smaller than usual, but it does it's job.
If you don't know the POV from this chapter is An part of the villainous duo resposible for the Cardians on Sailor Moon R.
As you can see I took some liberties building some lore between her race and culture and sprinkled across this chapter, as we only get the very basics in the show.
Her race is now called Silvian, and the reason their Cardians looked like they did in the show and talked like pokemon is because they are running at minimal fuctions, their backstory and their reason for being here are all on me.
Also, just to clarify, if you've seen the show you'd know that the Makai Tree is actually a total bro tree who was getting pissed at watching the race it nurtured for so long turn into space locust, and actually want to be sustained by the love they have to one another rather than stolen energy. Here tho, because it was wounded by this universe's clostest equivalent to an Disgaea protagonist, it just wants to fucking live.
So it's demanding more energy, which caused the duo to be more reckless and maybe target some people they shouldn't, and the rest is history.
And if it wasn't clear, Ail, An's lover and brother (I'm making them siblings as a nod to the show and because fuck it) got captured by Shiori and the Temple's black ops. They really, really shouldn't have targeted Ena.
Hope you guys liked the fast updates this week.