A Second Chance
By Ryu Niiyama
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: I still haven't hit the lottery yet so as of now Naoko Takeuchi and her partners are still the owners of the Sailor Moon franchise and I'm just a loyal… if not slightly obsessive fan. Any original characters mentioned are property of me, Ryu Niiyama and may only be used with my permission. And Pluto is a planet damnit!
AN: Words in '''…''' format means that the language spoken is not in Japanese.
On with the madness!
Usagi stumbled forward slowly, pulling away from Luna, yet aware of the feline's concerned gaze upon her back. The blonde scrubbed at her face with her hands as if trying to cleanse her mind of the disturbing and confusing images that had haunted her. Usagi had always been most sensitive within the realm of Morpheus, her dreams sometimes precognitive but always lacking in control. Unfortunately for Usagi, her dreams tended to be such a cacophony of images that the event in question could not be recognized until after it had happened. She had no more answers for Luna than she did for herself, but the blonde did find many questions remaining in the aftermath.
She felt as if she were within a trance somehow… almost as if the power of Serenity had taken over when she stepped into the dreamscape that had trapped Seiya. Yet even if her powers were the source of this unusual vision what did it mean? She knew that her relationship with Mamoru had been strained; if she were honest with herself she knew that she should have expected it long ago. After the euphoria of defeating Galaxia and Mamoru's return from the dead had faded, Usagi found herself with many questions. Most of which could only be answered by a beautiful raven haired shooting star that had annoyingly yet somewhat charmingly insisted on calling her Odango. Yet Usagi knew that Seiya Kou was not the culprit, merely the catalyst; Seiya's insistence on getting to know Usagi and his quiet understanding of her burden made her question the power or the rightness of destiny. Yet to do so would be treason… against her fate and the people that she would come to govern.
Usagi groaned and walked to the glass door separating her apartment from her balcony. The blonde numbly pressed her forehead against the cool glass and for a brief instance a vision of Neo-Queen Serenity, trapped in her crystal coffin, flashed before Usagi's mind. The blonde shuddered visibly and squeezed her expressive blue eyes closed, plump tears rolling down her face. She could not escape her destiny, without damning all those she held dear… and perhaps she shouldn't desire to. Perhaps the life of one woman was truly worth sacrificing so that the rest of the world may have its utopia.
And as Usagi slowly sunk to the floor, biting her lip to hold back the sobs that racked her trembling form, she tried desperately to believe that.
Luna turned away as she saw her charge lower herself to the floor like a wounded animal. This had happened more times than she cared to admit, beginning not to long after Usagi discovered she was Princess Serenity reborn. In the beginning Luna had scoffed at the blonde girl's weakness, thinking her childish for reacting to her duty in such a fashion. And yet after years of watching Usagi rise to the challenges placed against her and then quietly enduring her pain, Luna had begun to wonder at the cruelty of her charge's destiny. It was a lapse in duty that Luna tried not to indulge often, knowing it could entice her to attempt to ease Usagi's pain. The black Mau flinched as she heard a broken sob limp from Usagi's crumpled form and the cat backed away to the door in response. It was moments like these that while destiny felt right, it didn't feel particularly fair.
Especially for this woman-child that had given everything for the sake of destiny… for the sake of others.
Slowly, Luna turned and headed out the door, in an attempt to allow Usagi some privacy as well as ease her sense of guilt. Watching Usagi vent her pain tended to pique a tiny voice in her mind that wondered should she have awoken the gentle warrior that lay slumbering within a clumsy fourteen year old child. Luna forced herself to ignore that little voice, no matter how it resonated with her soul. The dark Mau padded over to the console which held her computer and communications uplink with Central. After finding out that Artemis was in fact Central and yelling at him for a good hour, Luna forced him to provide her with a personal communications unit so she would no longer have to travel to Crown to access one of the dummy Sailor V arcade machines. Luna flexed her small paws so that her claws would extend and began typing her command codes.
After waiting a few moments for the verification process to clear Artemis' face appeared on the small monitor. His normally jovial features were troubled and he seemed slightly perturbed that Luna had summoned him. "Luna." The white Mau intoned, acknowledging the call. Luna resisted the urge to arch a feline eyebrow at his curt tone. While the two of them had endured a certain amount of awkwardness and strain to their relationship after meeting their future daughter Diana, and then Luna's subsequent crushes on both Kakeru and Yaten, Artemis had been ever the professional. However he made no attempt to talk to Luna outside of matters concerning the senshi, preferring to keep a professional distance.
"Artemis…is something wrong?" The white Mau flinched at Luna's gentle question and he sighed softly nodding his snowy hued head. "Minako's been gone for some time now. At first I thought she was just on a date with Kunzite but… I scanned for her communicator and found it here." Luna heard him begin to type something and a small map appeared in the corner of her screen. Luna frowned as she realized the location. "Tokyo general…" Two more blips appeared on the screen along with Minako each baring the signals of Uranus and Neptune respectively. There was the sound of Artemis typing again in the background and a dull blip appeared, representing an inactive communicator.
It belonged to Sailor Mars.
The black Mau gasped and pulled up a detailed blueprint of the Hospital and was not surprised to find that Rei was within a patient facility while Minako and Haruka were together. Michiru was also in a patient facility, but her communicator reported her bio-signs to be fine, which hinted that she was visiting someone, yet that patient wasn't Rei. "Luna…I think it's safe to say we should call a senshi meeting as soon as possible, and we can address whatever reason you called me then." Artemis cut the transmission without waiting for a response but Luna was too preoccupied to notice. She had a dark feeling that the time of peace they had enjoyed was over.
Taiki ran as fast as she could through the streets of Tokyo, the power of StarMaker lending itself to her mortal body, stemming the pain of her wounds and quickening her pace. In her panic she'd forgotten to switch back to her male form, yet in hindsight she would be grateful for the lapse as the guise of anonymity aided her pursuit. She pushed through the throng of pedestrians and skidded to a stop at the nearest intersection as the pedestrian light blinked red. Taiki looked towards the incoming traffic, noting that it was rather light for Tokyo, even non rush hour traffic. Yet it still wasn't light enough for her to attempt to dash across the intersection. 'Unless…' Blowing a lock of hair from her face, Taiki grit her teeth and sprinted into the intersection, ignoring the yells of alarmed pedestrians and a few horns from annoyed motorists. Jumping onto the roof of a car that was passing in front of her she hopped two more cars, ignoring the protesting drivers before somersaulting off of the final car onto the other side of the street.
The idol singer's body protested the acrobatic abuse, but Taiki pushed forward ignoring the amused applause of onlookers and the screaming aches of her muscles. Her siblings needed her, and she would be there for them even if she fell apart first. After a hard sprint, the tallest of the starlights burst through the automated doorway, her body shifting from female to male mid-stride. The brunette was unconcerned about his identity, knowing that a mortal eye would be unable to discern the transformation. Just as one would have to catch the beginning of a senshi transformation in order for their vision to match the temporal phase variance and allow them to view it in normal time. Breathlessly, he half ran, half staggered to the reception desk, his frantic demeanor drawing the bored nurse's attention.
"My name… is… Taiki… Kou… what room is my brother in?"
"How could this happen…how could we let this happen?" Jadeite groaned and put his head in his hands worried both for the woman he loved and his closest friend outside of the shitenno. His pain overwhelming him as Kunzite related what drew him to Tokyo General this night. Kunzite frowned softly inwardly cursing himself. 'I should have insisted upon going with them… I could have protected them… instead I stayed behind for…' Kunzite paused and glanced over at Minako who sat beside him, her hand resting upon Jadeite's knee as she tried to reassure the youngest shitenno. Instantly the pale haired man felt guilty over the direction his thoughts had begun to take. Realizing that he could not have known that something would have happened to Yuuchirou and Mamoru he forced himself to discontinue this depressing line of thought.
Jadeite looked up as he realized that Kunzite had not spoken of Mamoru, wondering if his master had befallen the same fate… or worse. "Kun. The Master, was he brought in with Yuuchirou? Is he alright… why didn't he summon us?" Kunzite held up his hand and shook his head, his shoulder-length locks brushing against his face with the movement. "Jade…I…I don't know. Yuuchirou-san left me a very frightened and fragmented message on my machine, and he was the only patient that was brought in. I was hoping to ask Yuuchirou-san directly about it but given what Mizuno-sensei said about his wounds… he's lucky to be alive. As for the Master we will have to search for him ourselves I think." Jadeite nodded and looked towards the double doors forlornly, as if he were trying to will his friend and his beloved to walk through them. Kunzite sighed and looked at his feet, as his lover looked over the both of them her eyes concerned yet assessing.
Minako got up slowly and headed to the window where Haruka was seated, still nursing her wounded wrist… and her pride. "Haruka-san. Mind if I speak with you for a moment?" The blonde's voice was stern and brooked no room for argument. Gone were the fears and worries of Minako Aino, as Sailor Venus did not have time to indulge them. Though the inners and outers were separated into different teams with different missions, it was Venus' job to unite them in times of need. Haruka saw her leader behind shimmering azure eyes and knew that whatever brought the starlights back to earth was now spiraling out of control. 'Great. Another mess of theirs that we have to clean up. And that Seiya… what the hell was she… it doing with him?' The sandy haired blonde kept these thoughts to herself as she straightened up and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could even begin to answer Minako the sounds of hurried footsteps pounded towards the entrance of the receptionist area. "What the hell is it now?" The racer grumbled as she stood and Minako turned to see who would enter the room. Both senshi found themselves gasping in shock as Taiki Kou ran through the entrance, his amethyst eyes frantic. Taiki paused for a moment as he noticed the senshi occupants of the room, he gave them the briefest nod of acknowledgement before he moved swiftly to the entrance of the ICU ward.
Both Minako and Haruka watched in silence as the idol singer left the waiting area and the two silently turned to face each other again. Minako tilted her head to the side glancing at over at Haruka. "Haruka-san, I think you'd better fill me in…"
Taiki knocked briefly before speaking softly in the language of Kinmoku. '''It's me Yaten… I'm coming in…''' The tallest starlight gently opened the door to find Yaten standing beside Seiya's bed, the silver haired man facing the door. Yaten's eyes widened as he took in Taiki's battered form even as the taller man moved past him to look at Seiya. Taiki bit his lip slightly as he assessed his leader's injuries. Seiya's injured form appeared small and weak, the sterile hospital bed engulfing her. Taiki turned and looked at Yaten who shook his head and sighed. '''I don't know. Apparently Keioh-san and Miss-I'm-so-butch found him. Supposedly they found him as a woman and he changed back mid-way here even though he's been out like a light. I coaxed her back... since it will help with the healing.''' Taiki found himself smiling briefly at the syntax stumbles Earth had forced upon them. Kinmoku and her fellow planets had evolved without a male gender in all known species, so when referring to the male gender Yaten had switched back to Japanese momentarily. Yaten paused and scrubbed at his eyes, the verdant orbs appearing bloodshot and weary. '''But I don't wanna know what the hell could mangle her like this. Seiya's a brick wall… ''' Taiki nodded in agreement as he carefully smoothed a lock of hair from the sleeping starlight's eyes. Painfully, the taller man moved away from the bed and half slumped, half fell into a nearby chair. Yaten moved over to Taiki's side to help him, taking note of the thin sheen of sweat that broke out upon his brow.
'''You ok? You look about as bad as Seiya… we went looking for you earlier… what happened?''' Taiki panted softly, the extent of his body's abuse finally making itself known. Taiki smirked and glanced over at his shorter sibling. '''Apparently Ami had a boyfriend… he doesn't like me much…''' Yaten's eyes widened and he staggered backwards, nearly bumping into Seiya's bed before he caught himself. '''Then… you… she… I mean what I sensed earlier, it seemed like it was headed in that direction but…''' Yaten paused for a moment willing his conflicting thoughts to stop careening wildly out of control. Finally he opened his mouth to speak again, hating to have to ask but knowing someone had to and Seiya wasn't available at the moment. '''Taiki, you know I'm happy for you if you're happy but are you certain? Aren't you going a little too fast? Especially if she has a boyfriend… I mean…'''
Taiki's eyes snapped up, meeting Yaten's, the taller man's intensity causing Yaten to trail off. '''Had a boyfriend. Look, Yaten I understand your concern… and I can assure you that the part of me that is entirely objective shares it… I didn't mean for it to happen like that… to go so far, so fast… but…''' Taiki sighed softly and ran his fingers through his wind tangled hair, and action Yaten knew was a nervous habit, though one the brunette rarely indulged. Taiki met Yaten's eyes again and instead of the warning that burned within them earlier, Taiki's eyes were open and vulnerable, his heart laid bare. '''I love her Yaten. You know that…you knew it before we left the first time. I've tried… so very hard to get her out of my mind… out of my heart, but I can't. I need her, and after what we've shared I believe that she shares my feelings.''' Taiki sighed and fidgeted in his chair, his exhaustion weighing heavily upon him and yet he felt he had to get this out, perhaps if he finally said it out loud it wouldn't terrify him so.
'''I don't want to push her into anything. I want to take things slow…to learn everything about her. I want to date her, to offer her a sense of normalcy… but I'm not even sure if I can. Stars above, we don't even know how long we'll be here do we? And it's not like I could stay… Damn, Yaten have I messed this up?''' Taiki asked in a small voice, looking lost and confused as he stared into Yaten's eyes. The tallest starlight bit down on his fist and averted his eyes as his earlier confidence began to quickly unravel. Yaten's eyebrows twitched slightly and he found himself reminded of a young girl, far too bright and too tall for her age, her silken hair braided and combed with thick bangs to hide her forehead. He remembered how alienated that girl felt all her life, how in some ways she had come to hate herself, how she'd come to believe the hurtful things said about her. She had so very little self worth then, Seiya and Yaten had worked so hard to defend her then; Yaten's acerbic tongue and Seiya's quick fists reducing many a girl to tears. That girl had changed and grown, self doubt was masked by arrogance, a clumsy lanky body refined into the statuesque, powerful form of a warrior. Yet within her something had been buried, almost destroyed within that girl as she matured. Her faith in love diminished until it was but a broken echo, her ability to need… to care for someone that was not her siblings or her princess shattered, almost completely beyond repair. And yet the barest sliver of that girl's longing and hopeful heart remained, uncovered by the most unlikely of sources, grew and was nurtured by the barest glimpse, the barest possibility that she too may love and be loved in return.
As much as Yaten wanted to reassure that girl trapped within Taiki's impenetrable walls, something felt wrong and it set his senses on edge. The silver haired man sighed softly and reached his mind out empathically to find the object of Taiki's affection. His teeth ground together in pain as emotion, dark and chaotic hammered at him from the avatar of Mercury. He could not hope to identify the emotions that battered and hammered at his defenses, threatening to consume him utterly, yet they left him wary and uncertain of Taiki's choice in beloved. He broke off the connection even as dark tendrils of vicious, dark human emotion clawed at him, attempting to pull him into endless despair.
Frowning, Yaten turned to Taiki, reaching out his smaller hand to cover the larger one of his sibling. I don't know Taiki. All of this is spiraling out of our control. '''I'm beginning to wonder just why did Seiya insist that we return to this Heaven forsaken dust speck. But whatever attacked her I suspect was originally their problem… and now it's ours. Perhaps you should back off… until we figure out where to go from here.''' Taiki's jaw clenched as if he were going to say something, but abruptly he deflated glancing over at Seiya. '''You're right. Whatever danger threatens this planet threatens its protectors and now by proxy, us. We have to deal with that first…if only so that I may protect her…''' Yaten arched an eyebrow, certain that Taiki had not meant the last of his statement to escape his lips, yet the silver haired light did not begrudge his sibling for his concern. Whatever the disturbance with Ami Mizuno or the lack of restraint both she and Taiki showed, one thing was for certain: Taiki loved Ami Mizuno with a passion that almost bordered on obsessive. The outcome of their relationship and the upcoming battle had the potential to destroy the brunette utterly.
Yaten only hoped that Taiki was prepared, for either outcome.
Yaten squeezed Taiki's hand briefly, his eyes casually flickering over his sibling's tired form. Blood dripped from the hand not caught in Yaten's gentle grip as Yaten realized that Taiki had most likely opened a wound. The brunette's amethyst eyes were lidded and dull, fever clouding their piercing depths. Worried Yaten moved to his sibling's side and removed Taiki's jacket and untucked and lifted the now ruined silk shirt from the taller man's wounded flesh. His ribs were wrapped tightly and expertly, yet Yaten could see a sag in the material which denoted a decrease in intense swelling.
Most likely Taiki had a gash on his side that had been swollen shut as well as treated by Ami or whoever had tended his wounds. As his enhanced healing factor kicked in, it alleviated the swelling at the cost of opening his wound. Taiki had most likely been bleeding openly for sometime now, the extent of the damage concealed by his clothes. '''Yat…en?''' Taiki whispered brokenly before passing out in the chair, his body slumping forward, almost driving Yaten to the floor. Unfortunately there was little the silver haired man could do for his brother at the moment without risking the exposure of their alien physiology. Sighing softly Yaten pushed Taiki gently back into the chair attempting to make him more comfortable when a feeling of unmistakable alarm coursed through his system choking him. Startled, the silver haired light turned toward his raven haired sibling, to find a sapphire star pulsing violently upon her brow. Yaten moved to help his sister, but not before he let out an acerbic curse.
'''Stars damn me to the Void. I just knew it was a bad idea to come back to this dust bowl.'''
"Let go…"
"For her sake let go…"
Seiya squinted in the darkness that seemed to pull at her from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The voice that seemed to echo from the depths of the darkness lashed at her body like whips driving her to her knees.
"Let go."
"You have no place here, no right."
"Let go."
Seiya gripped her head and grit her teeth trying desperately to block out the voice… the terrible voice that had begun to echo and swell and screech within her mind her very starseed screaming in response. "Stars above, not again... Get out! Get out of my head!!" Her pleas only seemed to entice the darkness to engulf her further. The earlier echoes of the voice coalesced into a point source behind her as it taunted the distraught senshi.
"You would be willing to damn her to death for your selfish desires?"
Shut up!
Seiya whirled around cocked her fist ready to strike, only to pull up short as she came face to face with her attacker. "YOU! Why are you here! What do you want from me demon!" Red eyes twinkled in mirth, as Sailor Galaxia strode forward, an unholy smirk tugging at her full lips.
"To give you the truth. You are weak and unworthy, did you really think you have what it takes to defeat-"
The galaxy senshi did not have the time to finish her tirade as Seiya delivered a powerful right hook to the fallen senshi's jaw, staggering her. Seiya's brow furrowed as Galaxia stood stock still, her bruised face still turned away from the blow. Suddenly a sound like that of cracking glass could be heard, and Seiya gasped as the bruise on Galaxia's face began to crack and splinter, Galaxia's flesh peeling and falling away like old plaster.
"…me."
Galaxia's eyes bled away to blue and Seiya found herself staring into the sneering countenance of Endyminion, the galaxy senshi's golden armor now the dark royal garb of Earth. The senshi of starfighter staggered backwards clutching her head as bitter tears began to prick her midnight blue eyes. "You…you called me here you bastard…why? What hell do you want from me? What else can you possibly take away from me?" Mamoru/Endyminion crossed his arms and gazed at Seiya as if she were a bug he had not entirely stomped with the first bootfall. "You speak as if she were ever yours to lose. Your absence has distorted your perception of reality." Seiya refused to back down, her hands clenching into fists as she rose and looked into the eyes of her tormenter. "I am still her friend, and her sword should she need me, Endyminion. And I told you before…it's her choice."
Seiya moved forward fast as lightening her fist rocketing towards Endyminion's face and she struck him soundly in the jaw his face turning from the force of the blow. Seiya's face contorted in confusion as Endyminion's hair began to slowly lengthen, shrouding his face. The Lord of Earth's dark armor began to change, forming robes of onyx accented with silver and indigo. "You simple minded fool, who are you to change that which must be? Her choice? Her choice has never been you." Seiya let out a growl and swung again only to have her fist caught easily in a powerful grip.
"And it never will be."
Endyminion turned back to Seiya and his hair fluttered over his face like liquid silk, finally revealing his obscured features. Endyminion's blue eyes had become richer in hue and his chiseled features had softened to a no less familiar face. The face that now stared back at her was none other than her own. Seiya jerked her hand free of her doppelganger, terror and confusion warring for control of her mind. Seiya screamed as her hand was abruptly crushed within the grip of her counterpart, her eyes glazing with pain as she witness the deranged smirk that lit up her twin's face.
"..De..demon…Endyminion…"
Seiya's dark doppelganger had the grace to look insulted at the allusion to her identity. "The sniveling Earth prince? Hardly. No, while I will admit that he awoken me, he has neither the power nor the knowledge to control me. No, Seiya last of the Fautari line, the well from which I spring is you. We are one and the same." Seiya jerked backwards as if she had been struck and her twin let her go, forcing her to sprawl backwards on the ground. Glittering, hard sapphire eyes looked over Fighter with contempt, as she swept her hand out in a grand gesture, her movements regal yet precise.
"I come to show you the truth, to free you from your delusions. She will never, can never love you Seiya, her destiny lies with Endyminion."
Nursing her wounded hand, Seiya rolled her eyes, hoping her attempt at exasperation would mask her fear. "Oh great, so you are willing to damn her with destiny too?" The starlight's twin grit her teeth in outrage and surged forward clutching Seiya by the neck and lifting her from the ground.
"And you are so arrogant as to think that you have the right to circumvent it?" Seiya leaned backwards as best she could as her mirror image roared at her in contempt. Rallying her strength, Seiya pounded her fists across her twin's forearms like a hammer, forcing the doppelganger to release her. Coughing and clutching her throat, the final heir of Fighter turned blazing sapphire upon her twin.
"Stars above! This isn't about me! My being in love with her or not, I don't give a damn who she chooses so long as she does so of her own free will! Don't you see? She's just like Kakyuu! She's given her life, her very soul even, to her world, to her senshi, to her destiny…but what about her? What about the fact that at the end of the day it's not Sailor moon that she has to live with! It's not Serenity or the light of hope that she has to live with! It's Usagi! Just Usagi Tsukino, a woman that I don't think I've ever seen smile for her own sake! She's dying damn you! Bit by bit her destiny is eating her alive!" Seiya's twin staggered back as if she had been struck, the truth of Seiya's emotions hammering at her, weakening her hold over the dreamscape.
"Who are you to de-" The robe clad Fighter began, only to have Seiya ride over her.
"No! This isn't my decision or my desire, it's about her…more than I want her, more than I want to be the one she chooses, I want her to live! I want to see more than a wealth of burdens in her eyes, no matter how much she is willing to bear it… I came here to protect her… not to make her choose…I don't have that right nor do I have the lack of heart…"
The doppelganger dropped to her knees clutching her head, reaching out to the determined heir of fighter with a trembling hand.
"Then you will lose everything…"
Seiya shook her head, a bittersweet smile tugging at the lips even as glittering tears spilled from her brilliant eyes in a torrent. "If loneliness is to be my fate, at least it is one I have chosen willingly… and for that reason…" Seiya's trademark smirk tugged at her lips as she found her answer lifting a weight from her shoulders. "…I can live with that"
Fighter's reflection threw back her head and howled in rage and pain as her form began to splinter and crack the pieces holding together for a moment before shattering in a burst of light.
"Yes…I can live with that…" Seiya whispered, as she looked up towards the sky, watching the sun rising to dispel the darkness.
Yaten grasped Seiya's hand, her mind being battered by the injured woman's terror and panic. Carefully he coaxed his sister's emotions to a more tranquil standstill, feeding her both his own emotions and that of Taiki's who slumped passed out in a nearby chair. Once Seiya calmed and she settled into a deeper sleep, Yaten cut the link between the three siblings and leaned back in his chair sighing softly. No sooner had he finished did a soft knock echo from the door. Guessing it might be a nurse, Yaten passed a hand over Seiya's forehead, their sigils flaring briefly and changing her back into a male, before the silver haired Light moved to open the door. He gasped softly at who greeted him in return.
"How did you- aww hell come here!"
Most would have been shocked to see Yaten Kou emphatically embrace someone, with happy tears leaking from his big green eyes. Yet the welcomed guest maneuvered into his outstretched arms gleefully while adjusting the bouquet of flowers so that they would not be crushed by the petite idol singer. Yaten pulled back and held the newcomer at arms length, his expression grateful but pained. "It's good to see you Day." Silver-blue eyes twinkled in response to the familiar nickname until they alighted upon the figure sprawled out in a nearby chair.
With a gasp Day moved over to Taiki's side, her brilliant eyes worried and pained. Trembling, honey hued hands moved to brush an errant lock of hair from Taiki's proud forehead and trail down his face softly. Yaten sighed softly and moved over to the distressed woman. "He's alright Day. Got into a small fight." Day looked up at Yaten from where she kneeled upon the floor, her eyes alarmed and somewhat angry. "A fight? With whom?…Taiki… Taiki-san isn't one to normally get himself into fights."
Yaten swallowed slowly, wilting slightly under Day's intent gaze, her beauty overwhelming him for a moment. Day was about two inches shorter than Taiki, her skin a light golden brown with waist length silky blue-black hair that fell in tousled ringlets down her back. Her body was athletic and strong, the product of years of diligent aikido and judo training, as well as archery and swimming. Her strength was tempered by full curves that enhanced rather than distracted from the beauty of a kind and gentle spirit. The offspring of a Greek/African American mother and a Japanese father, Day's features were exotic and alluring, bringing out the best of both sides of her heritage.
"True. Perhaps you should speak to him about it when he wakes up…I only know the bare minimum about what happened." Day's bright eyes held Yaten's for a few heartbeats before the tall woman looked away, nodding carefully. Painfully, she moved away from Taiki's slumped over form and glided to Seiya's bedside. Yaten could see the worry and the questions Day refused to ask burning behind her intent gaze and he found himself unable to blame her confusion. Both Seiya and Taiki looked as if they been to hell and back, and violence something that didn't match up with what Day knew about the Kou trio.
The Three Lights manager had introduced them to Day after a concert, in the hopes that they would take her under their wings to help her find her way in the idol world. Day had an incredible singing voice, and her mastery of classical guitar was second to none yet music was not where her heart was. She had dreamed once of being a theoretical physicist, yet family tragedy had left her pursuing a musical career as a tribute. It was her affinity to the sciences and her passionate voice that led to a bonding of sorts between she and Taiki. Taiki made a neutral, yet comforting sounding board to the young woman's frustrations and fears, and in Day, Taiki had someone he could talk to on an intellectual par; someone that wouldn't result in him being teased mercilessly by his brothers. She was one of the few humans Yaten had been sorry to leave behind, and he was glad to see her doing well after all this time. The shortest Light sighed softly, bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
"So what brings you to Tokyo General, Day?"
Day turned away from Seiya's comatose form to address her silver haired friend. "You guys, obviously." The dark haired woman intoned dryly, holding up the partially forgotten bouquet of flowers. Yaten blushed slightly and moved to take the flowers from the amber hued woman's outstretched hand. He located a vase and was busily arranging them before he froze in shock, his brain stumbling over what Day's statement implied. "Wait…how did you know we were here?" Yaten turned towards Day, frowning as she arched an eyebrow and then shrugged, spreading her hands. "Did you really think the mass media would let the 'Triumphant return of Three Lights' slip by them? Granted, I knew Seiya-san was here…I had no idea about Taiki-san." Yaten ground his teeth at the thought, most likely one of the nurses tipped off the papers. "Shit. Sugao is going to have kittens…whatever." Yaten tried to keep his remark light but internally he was furious at the invasion of his family's privacy. 'I swear I'm going to buy this hospital and fire every nurse on staff!' The shortest starlight fumed softly until Day's quiet chuckle drifted to his ears. Eyebrow ticking, he crossed his arms and glared at the tall woman. "What?"
Day's eyes fluttered closed and she shook her head, even as a smile tugged at her full lips. "Nothing Fuji, nothing except you look like you're about to have an aneurism." Day made the motion of a volcano erupting and Yaten found himself smirking at the reference. He'd always liked that nickname as for once it did not allude to his short stature, unlike Seiya's favorites. Yaten had questioned the dusky skinned woman about it once and Day had shrugged, merely replying: "Well you're snow-topped with a beast of a dormant temper, just like Fuji-san…and such fearsome power demands respect." Day sighed softly, once again breaking Yaten's train of thought and the dark haired woman moved towards Yaten, putting a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "I know you must be hurting Yaten-san, so I'm going to go… but please, call me if you need anything. I'll stop by tomorrow." Day pulled out a card and pressed it into Yaten's hand, brushing her lips across his cheek as she moved past him. Yaten didn't have to be an empath to know that she was about to cry but he forced himself not to stop her. Tucking the card into his pocket, Yaten snagged a chair and turned it backwards before he settled onto it, resting his arms on the back of the plastic furniture. Carefully he glanced at his brothers, before finally settling his gaze on Taiki.
"Starsdamnit, Taiki. Did you have to make her cry?"
Setsuna arched an eyebrow at the cowering princess, careful to keep her emotions from her face. Sighing softly the guardian of time began to pick up the packages that now littered the ground, her actions spurring the other three women into action as they hurried to help. "Come, we can sort this all out at home." Setsuna intoned gravely before striding off in the direction of the parking lot.
Grinning wryly, Hotaru squeezed Usagi's hand before shifting her parcels, and moving to follow her surrogate mother. Usagi's companion moved behind her and placed strong hands on the pink haired woman's now trembling shoulders. Purring softly the other woman nuzzled the back of Usagi's pink hair softly, offering a source of comfort for her charge. "It will be ok, my Lady…somehow…all of it." Usagi nodded haltingly and her companion gave her shoulders one last squeeze before moving after the other two senshi. Usagi sighed and looked up towards the sky, oblivious of the others around her blinking back tears before a forlorn sigh escaped her full lips. 'Please don't let me be too late, for my mother…or Hotaru-chan' Shaking her head she moved to follow the other three women.
Hotaru glanced into the rearview mirror for what seemed like the fiftieth time, checking up on their unexpected guests. Chibi-Usa leaned into her companion, their heads huddled together, the two of them speaking in hushed tones. Chibi-Usa was trembling slightly and her companion pulled her closer and grasped her hand lending her silent strength. Though Hotaru knew she should be elated at the reappearance of her best friend and at the very least mildly concerned about any possible threat that may have heralded the Lunar heir's return, she couldn't help but feel… disturbed by the obvious closeness of the two visitors from the future. Chibi-Usa had never mentioned knowing Hotaru in the future, so had this mysterious woman replaced Hotaru as her best friend? The violet haired woman frowned softly, no that couldn't be it… Chibi-Usa had been far too ecstatic to see her once Hotaru realized who she was. What could it be then? Hotaru's dark brows knitted in confusion as she looked the two time travelers over again, considering another possibility… had Chibi-Usa abandoned the Pegasus and chosen this woman instead?
Violet eyes examined the woman carefully taking note of her appearance. She looked to be about a year or two older than Hotaru herself, but seeing as Chibi-Usa now looked to be at least seventeen there was no true way to determine the other woman's age. She was quite striking her features proud and beautiful, though she seemed to carry herself as if she did not consider herself such or it matter little to her. Long wavy gunship gray hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail at the base of her neck and then sectioned of again at the small of her back, with the rest of the length fashioned into a braid that reached mid thigh. Intelligent, compassionate eyes in the hue of burnished amber watched over Chibi-Usa carefully, devotion and adoration clear in those unusual eyes. The woman was clad in a simple T-shirt and jeans combo which did little to hide a powerful, muscular form. The stranger's body reminded Hotaru of Makoto though the gray haired woman's body was more honed, like a person of military persuasion. She moved with a deadly, fluidic muscular grace, enhanced by her long limbs and accented by sweet feminine curves and full breasts that softened her otherwise intimidating appearance. Her form seemed to encompass Chibi-Usa, as if she were ready to defend the pink haired woman at a moment's notice even as she comforted the other woman. It could be very likely that the two of them were lovers, perhaps even betrothed.
For some reason the thought of the two of them together in that way made Hotaru feel… odd. She couldn't quite place the emotion but she did have the distinct feeling of wanting to throw up. She looked away wondering why that was. Hotaru had seen and experienced things that no mortal could ever hope to without going insane and she lived with three loving parents; two of which were married lesbians who even after all this time were completely and passionately in love with each other. Hotaru herself had not particularly noticed boys as her body finally began to stabilize and mature normally, yet she found herself noticing a few girls, though not enough to warrant acting on anything. So why would the idea of Chibi-Usa with another woman disturb her so? The violet haired woman sighed softly and turned towards the window her mind and heart in turmoil.
Hotaru had been so taken by her own confusion that she did not notice the keen amber eyes that watched her with an assessing gaze before returning to their vigil over the daughter of Serenity. The rest of the ride towards the outer's mansion was without incident, Setsuna unusually subdued, the two time travelers engaged in hushed conversation, and Hotaru too consumed by her own thoughts. When the sedan pulled up to the large mansion the occupants exited the car in silence, Hotaru and Setsuna moving to remove their purchases with Usagi and her companion trailing behind.
Luna padded softly to Usagi's door, grateful to hear her charge's sobs had subsided, before she carefully scratched at the door. "Usagi-chan? I'm coming in alright?" The small feline carefully pushed opened the door and padded over to her charge. Usagi stood near the balcony her eyes distant and dark. Luna sat down upon her haunches, not willing to break the silence just yet. She knew she'd been pushing Usagi hard lately, but she had to…the girl was the future ruler of the world. She had responsibilities to uphold and Luna had to be sure Usagi was prepared. And yet the more the Mau tried the more a light seemed to dim in the blonde woman's blue eyes.
"Usagi-chan. There's been an incident. Artemis has seen fit to call a meeting."
Usagi turned at Luna's soft voice, her eyes sharp and penetrating. Luna managed not to flinch at her charge's gaze, though she desperately wanted to. There was something in Usagi's eyes, something that had been surfacing since Usagi and Mamoru's relationship became strained, perhaps even before. Luna couldn't place what it was she saw in Usagi's blue eyes but she knew it disturbed her greatly.
"What happened Luna?"
Luna cleared her throat softly and attempted to stare down the blonde before her, it dismayed her that not even twelve months ago this look would have cowered Usagi instantly. "Perhaps you should wait until the meeting Usagi…
"Luna. What happened?"
The dark furred Mau sighed. "Artemis only had the barest details but… Rei-chan is in the hospital." Luna watched as Usagi said nothing, her face becoming impassive, and the Mau padded forward intent on saying something when Usagi stood abruptly and moved to get her coat. "W… wait, Usagi-chan!" Luna scrambled after her charge, wondering just when she had lost control of the situation. Usagi had slipped on her shoes when she finally turned to her guardian cat. "If you're coming let's go, if you want to talk me out of it, you can stay here." Luna blinked at the finality of the blonde woman's tone of voice.
"Could you at least grab a bag so that you can sneak me in?"
Artemis normally didn't call senshi meetings himself; he'd always left that to Luna because she'd been with the rest of the inners longer, but given the urgency of the situation and Luna's obvious preoccupation, Artemis sent out the all call himself. His computer screen split as each senshi dialed in, and the white furred Mau found himself choking back a gasp as he took in the faces of Ami, Makoto and Setsuna. He did admit that Haruka looked grouchier than usual but given her present location he chalked it up to nerves, but the others worried him greatly. After informing the senshi that the emergency meeting would take place at Minako's condo instead of the shrine the Mau did a scan for the gems of the Shitenno. While Endyminion used his powers to resonate with the gems of his guardians Artemis found that he could produce a similar frequency that would serve the same purpose. Even though it was a bit difficult to do with his feline features, the white Mau forced a frown as he gained contact with only three of the four lords.
"Where is Lord Zoisite?"
Kunzite and Jadeite gasped in shock as they realized that their brother was not answering the summons. The leader of the Shitenno furrowed his brow, his rough baritone confused. "I don't understand… we can still feel him. He…" Nephrite cut in on his leader's speculation, his face haggard. "I don't know why we can still sense him…because his star is silent." Artemis' eyebrows raised in appraisal as he noticed the abject horror that marred the features of the other two lords. Jadeite seemed to recover first, though his voice was choked and disbelieving. "But…but Nephrite…I thought that a star ceases to whisper when…"
"Yes, when its avatar dies."
Ami shut off her communicator and dropped it onto the coffee table next to the sofa she lay sprawled upon. Casting solemn blue eyes about the room, one of her eyebrows quirked when she noticed the note lying on the table as well. Even without her glasses Ami could easily detect her mother's precise clinical penmanship and the blue haired woman forced down her irritation at her mother's obvious abandonment. 'Her work is very important…' Ami immediately corrected herself, yet she could not muster up the energy to feel guilty for her first thought nor could she stop her next one. 'As usual her work is more important than her own daughter…' The blue haired woman scrubbed at her face agitatedly, pushing those thoughts aside, realizing she had much bigger problems. The senshi of water and wisdom grasped the letter and squinted in the darkness as she read it.
Ami,
I wanted to wait until you woke up but I received an emergency page from the hospital. Apparently Seiya-san was in an accident. Your friend Murasaki Hikaru left earlier, though she asked me to relay the message that she would return. Ami, I realize that I've been a little out of touch with you these past few years but we need to talk. Something is going on with you and between your friend's injuries and your anxiety attack I'm quite worried. I'll call you as soon as I can.
Love,
Your mother
Ami rescanned the letter at first in confusion over Seiya's condition and Taiki's new alias only to find her eyes straying to the closing of the note. Her mother had never signed anything she left Ami with the word "love". Ever. Moreover she never actually closed out a note with a signature either. Alternately touched and concerned by the gesture the blue haired woman tucked the note into her pocket and stood gingerly. Though she'd only slept a few hours, the sedative in combination with the abnormally high metabolism gifted to her by her powers made her feel completely refreshed…though she remained troubled. Pocketing her communicator, Ami moved for the door even as she tied her hair off in a low ponytail before grabbing her keys and slipping on her shoes and jacket. Sighing softly the blue haired woman locked and exited her apartment.
Setsuna picked up the bottle of aspirin that sat beside her communicator, removing three of the tablets and chewing them dry mouthed. Used to the taste, the verdant haired woman stood fluidly and moved to a nearby window, looking out but not really seeing anything. She hadn't sensed anything. The starlights, this new enemy- if there was one, and of course Small Lady, one couldn't forget Small Lady. With a groan Setsuna pressed her forehead to the glass hoping its cool surface in conjunction with the pain killers would help her wade through her jumbled thoughts. She couldn't think of one logical reason as to why she didn't have some inkling as to what was going on. Her powers were functioning normally and she detected no significant fluctuations to the time stream. Moving away from the window and glancing towards the ceiling the senshi of time winced at the sound of running water; Small Lady was taking a shower while her companion had left to "check the perimeter". The senshi of time hadn't been able to place the young woman with Small Lady though in hindsight she realized it had been quite obvious. Using her powers to scan the young woman's starseed she realized that Small Lady's companion was actually Diana, daughter of Luna and Artemis, all grown up… though still in possession of her tail.
Something about Diana's starseed was off however, it resembled that of a senshi only without the planetary resonance. Setsuna suspected that the young Mau's role as guardian and advisor had been extended to bodyguard as well. Judging by her appearance, Diana was more than qualified for the added role. Yet knowing who their guests were did not explain why they were here… or how they got here for that matter. Setsuna should have felt the moment Small Lady used a Time Key to come to the present time period, as the keys were an extension of the Time Key Staff, which was itself an extension of her. Yet she felt nothing, and that disturbed her greatly.
Minako moved to the doors of the waiting area before Usagi had a chance to breeze through them. The senshi of Venus had always been able to sense Usagi's arrival and in the recent months found herself sensing much of the other blonde's emotions as well. Usagi did not look surprised to see Minako so abruptly though there was a muffled squeak that came from the bag she was carrying, indicating Luna shared none of her charge's aplomb. Usagi easily fell into step with Minako as the other blonde led them through the ICU doors. "How's Rei-chan?" Usagi questioned as Luna peeked her head from the bag, her ears twitching as she listened for approaching nurses. "They've stabilized her for now. When Jed-san brought her in she was bleeding from several wounds…no signs of trauma though. It's like her body just tried to gut itself."
"Possession?"
Minako's face scrunched in disbelief and she grasped Usagi's shoulder halting them both. "Possession? Come on Usa, that kind of stuff only happens in the movies…the really bad ones." Usagi squared her jaw, refusing to back down. "V-babe, I used to believe monsters and super powered maniacs hell bent on destroying the world were only in manga too. Rei-chan's powers are incredible…and she's been increasing her training. This…attack could be anything." Minako nodded absently at her sovereign as she considered the possibility. It was true Rei had significantly increased her training during the past year in part for preparation to assume the duties of a Guji, but Minako knew the miko was dealing with heartbreak. It had taken Minako some time to sift through Rei's guarded emotions, but it was pretty obvious, at least to her, that the senshi of Mars was in love with her princess. Minako knew that Rei would never say anything but it left her increasingly conflicted, so much so that her powers were beginning to spill over into her mortal form. Minako looked up, her grip on Usagi's shoulder increasing in strength. She knew what had to be done; she only prayed that Rei would forgive her.
"Come on! I have an idea!"
Minako paused at a door and gestured for Usagi to enter. The heir of the moon moved tentatively inside, as if the slightest noise would somehow awaken the slumbering miko within. "Rei-chan…" Usagi gasped softly upon seeing the miko's prone form. Luna hopped from the bag Usagi had been using to carry her in and leapt gracefully to the railing of Rei's hospital bed. "I'm going to find the others Usagi-chan. The two of you be careful." Luna waited until Usagi nodded absently before slipping out the door, the blonde preoccupied by Minako's whispers as she detailed her plan. Sighing softly the Mau darted down the hall quickly, knowing that her dark fur would make her stand out unnecessarily in the sterile white environment of the hospital.
"V-babe, I'm not even sure if I can do that…and Rei-chan…she'll never forgive us…" Minako smiled a wan smile as she watched Usagi take Rei's hand and stroke it softly. "We don't know what happened to her and there hasn't been anything pointing to our new enemy… Perhaps Rei-chan's memories can help us help her. It's either that or wait until something else happens." The leader of the senshi spoke softly to her princess. Usagi's eyes became shuttered for a moment and she squeezed Rei's hand softly before turning to face her lieutenant. "Alright, you know I trust your judgment V-babe. Give me a second." Minako nodded and stepped back as Usagi took a centering breath before calling forth the ginzishou. The sigil of the moon flared to life on Usagi's brow and she briefly tightened her grip on the miko's hand. With a gasp the bridge was forged and the hospital room faded away in a cacophony of colors and light.
"Rei-chan!"
Usagi attempted to move forward but she found herself grounded in place and it seemed the kneeling miko before her could not hear or see her. "I pray to the gods of my ancestors, to the weavers of fate and destiny, I ask for guidance, I ask for temperance…I…I…oh gods above, just…make it stop hurting… please…"
"Rei…" Usagi wished she could move forward and embrace the fire senshi, and ease her pain. Yet the blonde woman knew from personal experience that this type of soul deep pain was not easily soothed. Something tore at the miko, something with the power to make even the proud senshi of mars weep for release. Usagi felt like a voyeur as she was made privy to the miko's solitary pain. Yet she could not leave, not yet. She had to find how who or what had attacked the raven haired senshi in the hopes that they could formulate some defense.
Rei continued her prayer unaware of her visitor when chains of fire and steel burst from the walls and the floor binding and shackling the still kneeling miko. "Rei-chan!" Usagi knew it was futile yet she tried nevertheless to reach her friend, to offer her some type of aid. Usagi drew a breath to call out the oblivious miko once again yet her voice died in her throat as an interloper appeared beside the miko.
The figure draped in a dark cloak reached out and caressed the miko's face in a parody of tenderness even as Rei continued her broken prayer, as oblivious to the newcomer as she was to Usagi. A voice laced with temptation and destruction echoed from the cloak in a dark murmur of amusement. "Oh what an unexpected boon you have granted me Rei Hino. You are weighted, torn already aren't you child. So what is it that haunts you? What is it that maims you even as you long for it…what do these shackles represent?" Usagi watched in macabre fascination as Rei turned towards the cloaked tempter yet her eyes remained unseeing. The darkly garbed figure moved behind Rei, and kneeled pulling her close, arms and hands holding the senshi in an embrace of darkness and pain. Rei whimpered softly and leaned back against her violator the darkness of his cloak engulfing Rei like an ominous void.
"Let…Let her go you bastard!" Usagi began to struggle now wishing for anything; to stop the visions, to free Rei from this vile puppeteer…anything but watching the miko endure this alone.
The dark one leaned forward, its shrouded face moving to nuzzle against Rei's face and neck. "Tell me, child what do you desire?" Rei reached a trembling hand outward, tears streaming down her face steadily. Her pained whisper was so soft and lamenting that heir of the moon almost didn't hear it. And moments later she would briefly wish she hadn't.
"…Usagi…"
At the miko's admission the entire room became ablaze and the hood of the cloaked one was blown back. Usagi's blue eyes widened as the face revealed was none other than her own. Rei lurched as if she had been struck and slumped boneless into the darkly garbed Usagi's waiting arms. "Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!" Usagi watched in horror as the waking vision that had hospitalized Rei played out within the flames of the burning room, as Rei's prone form still lay against Usagi's wicked doppelganger. The heir of the moon was shocked at the appearance of Endymininon and the judgment he cast upon the miko. As Rei was struck down in the dreamscape her chains began to snap and collapse at the feet of the miko still trapped in the cloaked Usagi's embrace. "You seek my acceptance, Rei Hino? You seek my love? Then prove your devotion…" As the final sinfully thick whispers of the dark Usagi faded, Rei's chains formed a blade.
"Oh kami-sami, Rei no! Don't listen! That's not me! I wouldn't ask this of you…That's not me!"
Usagi's pleas fell upon deaf ears and even as her mind registered that she could not change the past that she was now viewing, still she struggled to reach the miko. Unseeing violet eyes alighted upon the blade and Rei, moved forward, her movements disjointed and broken like a marionette that has had its strings cut. Usagi watched in horror as the miko hefted the ornate blade and pointed it towards her abdomen; her intended mark and echo of the same wound she had sustained in her dreamscape. "Yes, child. Give me everything, and I shall love you as no other …give yourself to me." The dark Usagi crooned in twisted pleasure even as the true heir of the moon's tear filled voice tried to break through the din. "Do you love me Rei?" The dark one whispered softly, sweetly.
"Yes."
And with that one word Rei plunged the blade into her abdomen and the wounds of her dreamscape echoed upon her body as she began to convulse and scream. "Rei!!" Usagi howled her pain as her friend began to collapse into shock, almost missing the moment the dark Usagi rose from the floor. "Hmm… that was…fun." The darkly garbed woman smirked wickedly as her features began to alter and her form began to change. Usagi's eyes narrowed as she watched Endyminion run his fingers through his short locks, his hands tipped with black talons. Yet there was something off, aside from his hands…something that was bothering Usagi, screaming at her that he was…wrong. Usagi felt her eyes drawn to the nearby Sacred Flame and she saw his visage reflected once again. "What on earth…?" His eyes, the hue was wrong…his eyes were silver-blue in the flame rather than their normal cobalt. The instant Usagi realized this she felt herself thrown backwards, the ginzuishou no longer able to keep her in the comatose miko's mind.
"Usagi-chan!"
Minako moved forward and caught her princess, Usagi panting heavily as she tried to gain control of her now unresponsive limbs. Minako maneuvered her into a nearby chair and kneeled in front of the distressed blonde, rubbing her hands soothingly across Usagi's knees. "What happened in there Usagi-chan? What did you see?" Usagi's crystalline eyes shuttered for a moment before she turned to look at the other blonde. "Why…Why didn't you tell me V-babe?"
Doctor Akane Mizuno entered the ICU wards in a dignified rush, her pristine white lab coat fluttering about her form softly. The doctor's calm sea green eyes assessed the figures occupying the moderately sized waiting area. Quickly dismissing guests that were not related to any of her cases, the matriarch of the Mizuno family took note of various members of her daughter's circle of friends. Jed and Kun were huddled together conversing deeply and intently, their closeted murmurs only broken occasionally by Jed's sniffling; Haruka leaned against a nearby window, somewhat angrily peering off into some unknown distance. Readjusting her clipboard, Dr. Mizuno quickly strode to Kun Saito, knowing that he was the last person that Yuuchiro had contacted. "Saito-san may I have a word with you?" The pale haired man looked up at the doctor, his face haggard and worn before he nodded his consent and slowly rose to follow Dr. Mizuno.
"Saito-san, we've been able to stabilize your friend's condition, and he will be entering reconstructive surgery in about two hours. Do you know what happened to him? Did he tell you anything at all?" Kunzite scrubbed at his face in weary frustration before shaking his head sadly. "No, I'm sorry Mizuno-sensei. I was not home when he called… the message he left for me was so disjointed and frightened… I…" Dr. Mizuno held up an elegant hand to halt the silver haired man's broken testimony. "It's alright Saito-san, the police are asking about him and I was hoping to have something concrete to tell them, but if I don't, I don't. They may contact you, but otherwise we shall be in touch about his condition. In all honesty there is nothing else you can do for him here at the moment. I suggest you and your friends all go home and get some rest." The middle aged woman turned to leave and Kunzite reached out to grasp her shoulder. "Wait Mizuno-sensei, Rei Hino…has her condition changed?" Akane Mizuno exhaled softly, brushing her fingers over her right eyebrow, a frustrated habit she'd bequeathed to her daughter, before shaking her head sadly. "No, her condition is unchanged. Rest assured I will get to the bottom of this." Kunzite smiled wanly, had it been any other doctor making the declaration, he would have been mildly put off, but knowing Dr. Akane Mizuno the reassurance gave him a little hope. "Thank you Mizuno-sensei." The good doctor nodded once in acknowledgment before returning to the patient facilities.
Kunzite turned back to his compatriots and cleared his throat. "Jadeite, Haruka-san… Artemis has seen fit to call a meeting; we should leave our friends in the capable hands of the doctors here and head out." Slowly the two blondes moved from their perches, Jadeite heading for the exit while Haruka moved to the doors leading into the patient facilities. "You two go on ahead, Michiru and I will be along shortly." Kunzite nodded to the wind rider and lead the youngest shitenno out the double doors. With a frustrated sigh, Haruka took a seat near the door and waited for her beloved to return to her side.
Michiru realized as she gazed upon the slumbering face of the young figure before her that no answers would be forthcoming she rose gingerly from the chair and headed towards the door. Sighing softly, uncharacteristically, the musician opened the door and strolled into the hall. Michiru gasped and with no little grace sidestepped the doctor she nearly walked into with her distracted exit. "Mizuno-sensei, good afternoon." Dr. Mizuno paused, eyes the color of sea foam meeting depthless aquamarine, recognizing Michiru Keioh both as an acquaintance of Ami's and from her personal CD collection, the doctor nodded in greeting. "Good afternoon Keioh-san." Dr. Mizuno briefly glanced behind Michiru to read the number of the room the musician had just exited, and she frowned softly recognizing the number from the medical charts in her hands. "Keioh-san, have you been able to determine the patient's name? We've gone through the proper channels but so far nothing has been reported matching his description." The musician's eyes grew distant for a moment and Dr. Mizuno was given the distinct impression that the musician knew something and was about to edit the truth for some reason.
"No…I'm sorry Mizuno-sensei, we've had just as much trouble as you have. However you will keep us informed of his condition correct?" Only years of experience kept a blue eyebrow from arching up Akane Mizuno's forehead at the musician's words; they were obviously not a request so much as a direct demand. Smiling in gracious bedside manner, Dr. Mizuno nodded briefly. "Of course Keioh-san. Well, if you'll excuse me I should go check the patient." Michiru nodded her agreement and glided down the hall towards the doors. Readjusting her clipboard with a dignified snort the doctor entered the room Michiru had just exited.
Glancing up from the medical chart, Dr. Mizuno looked at the patient for the first time. The blue haired woman gasped and her clipboard fell with a clatter to the floor from her slackened features as she realized that she's seen the patient before. "How in the…"
"Tell you… I-"
Blue eyes narrowed and Minako forced herself not to hiss in pain as her normally non confrontational sovereign griped her wrist painfully. "Goddamnit, Minako! Why didn't you tell me that she…that she's in love with me?" Usagi hissed in accusation. Minako moved to the far end of the room, effectively dragging Usagi who was still latched onto her wrist with her. "What good would it have done? And you know as well as I do that it wasn't my right or place to tell you. Rei…Rei-chan chose to bear this burden alone…you of all people can respect that…my princess." Usagi's eyes hardened in a way that Minako had never seen before and for once she'd feared she'd finally crossed the line with her princess. Usagi's eyes abruptly closed and she released her lieutenant from her grip. "I do V-babe, and that's why I should've known… I could've…" Minako glanced at her friend not unkindly and placed a hand on Usagi's minutely trembling shoulders. One thing Minako had quickly learned about her princess was the depth of her tears. Usagi did not wail when she was truly wounded emotionally by something; her tears were silent, only echoed by the trembling of her body and mild hiccups from holding by soul rending sobs. "Usagi-chan, you can't bear the weight of everyone's pain. Love…love is a bittersweet, exquisite pain. Rei-chan fights for you, she lives for you and she would die for you. It may be unrequited, but she has become a better person for it… and in time she will learn to let someone else in her heart. She may not be able to love them as she loves you… but she will give them all that she can." Minako moved to wipe the tears from her beloved sovereign's face.
Usagi nodded and hardened her jaw, her shoulders beginning to straighten. "I have some hunches but nothing definitive." Minako stepped back, quickly changing gears along with her princess. "For now we should go to the meeting Artemis has called. Perhaps we can figure out some sort of defense…" Usagi turned to leave the room but she pulled up short when the other blonde gripped her wrist. "Wait Usagi-chan there's someone I think you should visit first..."
"You know the princess is going to be pissed when she finds out about this brickhead. You know you're her favorite…"
Taiki snorted darkly as Yaten settled her into bed. The two remaining Lights left the hospital shortly after Seiya's nightmare had calmed; Yaten feeling that Taiki's injuries were too severe to leave him in the hospital where his unique physiology could be detected. So the shortest starlight had woken his sibling and they'd left as unobtrusively as possible. Yaten had been more than grateful that she'd suggested that they change their mode of transportation when they first returned to Earth. Even more so when they passed a small armada of camera crews heading towards the hospital on the way home. Luckily no crews had camped outside of the expansive condo complex, a small favor for which both Lights were exceedingly grateful.
"Hardly. Just because we share an interest in the some of the same disciplines of science doesn't make me her favorite." The tallest starlight paused for a beat, a small smirk tugging at her full lips. "It just makes you and Seiya idiots. And anyway it is not as if I've never shared scholarly conversation with other female friends before." Yaten rolled her eyes at this statement, biting her cheek to hold back her response. 'Yeah and the others were Mizuno and Day, both of which are either madly in love with you or nursing an intense crush. And if you'd paid attention you'd know that Kakyuu and Seiya are just best friends…Stars…maybe it's the obliviousness that they find attractive.'
"Sure Taiki, I forgot. Anyway, it looks like Mizuno did a good job on you, aside from redressing your bandages you're pretty well off. Whoa, sit down. Get some rest, you can call her later. Starsdamnit Taiki I mean it, I will lash you to this bed if I have to! Thank you." The silver haired woman leveled one last glare at her sibling before cutting off the light and exiting the room. Moving to the living room the shortest starlight booted up the Kinmokuian computer that sat upon a desk in the corner of the room. The holographic monitor and interface board flickered to life, and Yaten removed the bag she'd received from the nurse containing the raven haired light's personal items. Jacking the cell phone into the terminal she accessed its memory. The phone, like most of the items they possessed was modified kinmokuian technology in nature and acted as both their civilian communications devices as well as a field computer.
The starlight navigated the interface with an easy skill; she and her siblings had been raised to be the Royal guard since their adoption and each was proficient in special ops level skills. Only Seiya and Yaten didn't posses Taiki's natural interest in things such as encryption and hacking beyond their mission. Finding what she was looking for, the starlight pinpointed the location of Seiya's fall and hacked into the department store cameras in an attempt to find out what happened to her sibling. Replaying the grainy footage of the department store cameras turned up Seiya being attacked violently by… nothing. "What in the Void…?" Extracting the scans from the phone yielded an energy and heat signature and the shorter starlight gasped as the girth and height of the yellow and green energy signature. She attempted to tweak the images a little more to gain some semblance of and idea to what the creature was.
After a few minutes of image manipulation the silver haired woman leaned back in her chair, deciding that perhaps Taiki should take a look at this instead. Sighing softly the shortest starlight rubbed the bridge of her nose, thinking of the events that had marked their abrupt return to earth. Whatever it was that had attacked Seiya, that monstrosity or whoever created it was most likely what alerted their leader to Earth's plight. Each of the starlights possessed unique physiologies, and while not empathic Seiya had always been particularly sensitive in her dreams. Taiki had once proposed that something, perhaps a trauma of some sort kept the raven haired woman's powers from idling while in sleep; instead she tended to emit beta waves similar to those produced when she used her Laser. If Taiki's theory was true and Seiya's powers were always 'on' then they could all expect getting little sleep once their leader returned. Realizing that speculating on Seiya's condition would get them nowhere, Yaten turned her thoughts inward.
Years of attempting to put Minako Aino out of her mind had vanished like specters in the wind the moment she'd laid eyes on the golden haired goddess. Such feelings made her feel helpless and not in control; a fact that annoyed the silver haired woman to no end. 'Besides it's not like anything could happen…she obviously has a boyfriend…not to mention I couldn't wear that mask forever…not even for her.' Yaten gasped softly as she realized that she could taste a warm saltiness, and the starlight passed a hand over her face wiping at the tears that had begun to fall without her permission. Knowing that there would be no one to bear witness to her pain, the starlight buried her face in her hands and wept; for her sisters, for their fate, and for that which could never be.
Control…
He was absolute and complete control… he was perfection. The first pieces had been brought into play, he would use the wandering Lights as his blades; and they would unwittingly cut away destiny, leaving him free to remake it in his image. And as for the pawns of destiny; they would dash themselves upon the jagged rocks of his will and with their blood he would solidify his future. So long as he maintained the careful control he had over the strings of his oblivious puppets guiding them towards the paths he'd chosen he could not fail. He clenched his hands and for a moment his form shimmered, there was one small detail he had yet to address, the Vessel. Without the Vessel his plans would never come to full fruition…yet he could not grow impatient. He had desired for this for too long, he could afford to wait a little longer. He had to, for his future depended upon it.
The only possible future; the future his heart demanded.