Concerning Angels
Chapter two :::::
She turned over in bed and watched him sleep through half-closed eyes. She was dimly aware of sunlight shining through the half-open blinds in thin stripes, but she was still half-asleep, so nothing really penetrated her mind right then. Smiling softly, she propped her head up on her arms. Gods, she was so lucky to have a man like him. It was really a shame that she didn't love him. Contrary to popular belief, she had been aware of this fact for quite some time. She had stayed with him simply because, well, he was the prince of earth, and she was the protector of earth. It was also painfully obvious that he was the only man for her in this place, this time, this life. Gods, she was a lucky woman. She reached out to touch his cheek, and then stopped herself right in time. The happy, sleepy smile slid from her face, and was replaced by a sad, haunted one.
She had almost forgotten why she had woken up earlier than the man she slept beside. The blue orbs dimmed, and then closed. She let out a shallow breath and slowly swung her legs off the bed. Taking care make no noise, she padded softly over to the dresser, where she began pulling out clothing and shoving it haphazardly into her subspace pocket. There was no telling when he might wake up. She would organize and fold things when she was well on her way.
"What are you doing, Usako?"
She froze, and then turned around, giving him a large smile. It was the least he deserved. "Ohayo, Mamo-chan! I'm just getting ready to go over to Minako-chan's. We're going shopping today. Did you have a nice sleep?"
He smiled at her; that wide, charming smile that could get any girl he wanted into bed with him. "Of course I did. How could I not? I'm married to the most wonderful girl in the world."
Oh, it was going to hurt to leave him. It wasn't going to hurt because she loved him, of course. It was only going to hurt because she knew damn well that her unexplained departure was going to wound him deeply. He might even hate her. Which, actually, might be for the better. Masking her innermost thoughts, she smiled again, and added a sufficient amount of love to her eyes. Once again, it was the least he deserved. "Oh," she replied playfully, "I'm sure I'm not half as wonderful as you are, love. Oh, I'm going to be late!"
She hurriedly pulled on a black turtleneck, black leather pants, her favorite black boots, and her absolute most favorite beige coat. Flashing a smile at the laughing Mamoru, she fled out the door. She ran until she was out the door, and then she kept running simply because she thought that maybe if she ran fast enough, she could leave her tears behind. Usagi finally had to stop, and, miraculously, she found herself in the place she had been told to find. Ah, how fate lead her always. She sometimes thought of herself as an unwilling partner in a waltz that never ended. She danced with Fate, and Destiny was the conductor.
Gasping for breath, she fell back against a tree. Then the tears that she had tried to leave behind caught up with her, and spilled down her cheeks. God, she had so many emotional ties. What were they going to do when they found her body in the wreck? She couldn't believe that she had done it. But hadn't she promised the Senshi that she would do whatever it took to protect Earth? And getting killed in an accident and becoming a seraph were parts of that promise. After all, it certainly was a common known fact that Earth had been without a seraph for.ages. Oh, they had said that it would hurt.. And they had been right. But they had also promised that emotions would be left behind. She would transcend them. She would be emotionless, and therefore more capable of dealing judgment. It would be hard, but she would do it. She would do it to protect Earth.
"My, you are a determined little princess, aren't you?"
Usagi didn't even turn around. She knew it was Beryl. How could she not know? A killer and the killed always had a certain bond. And since they had both been on both the receiving end and the dealing end, the bond was unfortunately strengthened. She was acutely aware of every movement the woman made. This was an advantage, but it made her uncomfortable.
"Leave me be, Beryl. My mind's been made up."
"So you'll give up the very thing you always wished for, just to fulfill a promise?"
Usagi turned to her. "And just what is it that I have always wished for, Beryl?"
The redheaded woman smiled. It wasn't a particularly nice looking smile. "Humanity. Even on the Moon, all you ever wished for was humanity. Even when you were human, you knew you weren't like everyone else. It's just a promise. Run away, Serenity. Run away and realize your own dreams for once."
Usagi shook her head slowly. "I couldn't. It's better this way. If I stayed, I'd have Chibiusa, create Crystal Tokyo, and die an old, wonderful death, knowing that I had done everything. Then my kingdom would fall, and the earth would dissolve into Chaos. I wouldn't be around to stop it. If I ran, I'd never be able to forgive myself. It's simply that. So, the only alternative I can see is this."
As she spoke, a bright light filled the clearing. Usagi shielded her eyes, and then lowered them when the light dimmed. A rich chuckle reverberated through the woods.
"You hide your face from the Light?"
"Well, it was bright. I would have been blinded," Usagi said reasonably.
The voice laughed again, and Usagi finally saw that it was an angel. He had wonderfully curly brown hair, and deep green eyes. He had a wide smile, and, well, big teeth, too. But you could tell that his spirit was so good and pure that he shone from no light cast on him. He created his own light, certainly.
"Tsukino Usagi, your plea has been accepted. But first, you must answer a question. Who are you?"
She blinked. "Tsukino Usagi, of course."
"Exactly. Not Princess Serenity, not Sailor Moon. Just Usagi. After that, no one. Do you understand?"
Usagi nodded slightly. "Hai. Gabriel explained everything very thoroughly. I still wish to continue."
The man smiled, and bowed. "Then come to the Light, angel."
Beryl watched silently as Usagi---her own sister---walked away with the angel. She had been meaning to tell Usagi the truth about their hidden sisterhood, but Usagi had left rather abruptly. Still, it was rather sad that Usagi had left with several wrong ideas. One of which being that you could only take paths that are open to you.
"If there is no path that you wish to take, Princess, you need to make one."
* ~ * ~ *
That had all been so long ago, Usagi thought, sighing to herself. Beryl had never known it, but seraphs saw all. And of course, sisterhood was simply a bond that could not be cast away simply by attaining a god-like state of being. Seraphs actually were second only to God and Satan. She had never met either of them. For all their power, the seraphim were guarded jealously by the angels. If a seraph was in control over a planet, every thought, every fiber of being must be concentrated on it, because if it was distracted for a moment, no one knew what horrible thing would occur.
Usagi herself (Gaea) had collected quite a number of angels, because it had been unanimously decided that she was the best seraph. Nothing happened in the centuries that she had ruled. Not an earthquake, not a volcano, no tornadoes, no hurricanes; nothing. And because she had been pondering the idea of going to Earth for quite a while, she had slowly integrated natural disasters into life's program. She couldn't very well prevent those things from Earth.
Earth. She smiled at the unbelievable beauty of it all, and sighed. It was so *good* to be back! Gods, she had been missing so much! Like this Relena girl.obviously a nice girl.but what a twit! If anyone thought that you could gain peace just by talking about it, they were insane. It simply couldn't be done. Her mother had tired it in the Silver Millennium. It obviously hadn't worked. Usagi hadn't even thought about trying it. It was all really very simple.
She wanted peace. Monsters didn't. Monsters begin to kill. She goes up and asks it politely to stop, and then begins preaching pacifism at it. Monster eats her.
Obviously not an option.
Girl wants peace. Monster wants war. Monster begins to kill. Girl walks up and kills it. No more monster killing people. Peace.
Yes, there we go.
Still laughing to herself about her first mental image, she rolled up her newspaper and began to meander along. Where to go? Well, she supposed the first thing to do would be to track down the evil that she felt. Which would be where? She extended her Sight of Earth and felt about for it. Where the hell was it? Oh, there it was. Weaving in, out, and around people (literally), she followed the feeling around the city until she felt cold iron against her face. Hissing softly, she jumped back and stared at where she had ended up.
Before her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Not the gate, of course. But what the gate was holding. There was a mansion---quite pretty, actually, but she was staring at the garden. Oh, the garden. It looked like her own garden, far away in her forest. All sorts of flowers bloomed all over, and gorgeous green things crept about, crying out to Earth. She smiled, and wanted to sing her response, when she felt iron pressed to her temple. She screamed, slammed her fist into the metal thing, and threw herself as far away as she could.
Oh, that had hurt. What kind of person in their right mind would press iron to a person? Insanity! Oh, yes, she recalled belatedly. This place had just ended a war, which meant that people would be carrying guns. She would obviously have to be more careful. Suddenly she felt hands touching her face, and a voice talking at her.
"Usagi! Are you alright?"
She opened her eyes and found concerned violet orbs staring at her. Actually looked familiar.oh. His name was Duo. She had gone on a date with him. Then something had happened.what on Earth? She couldn't remember! She shook this disturbing thought away and turned her head to stare at the gun still held in the man's hand.
"I would very much appreciate it if you would put the iron---gun away, sir," she said shakily. Barbarian!
He glared at her. "Hn."
Unthinkingly, she took her hand from her temple to haul herself to her feet. Oooh, she was going to show him! "Now look here, you---"
"God, what happened Usa?"
Duo was staring at her temple, where an angry red welt had formed where the man had pressed his gun to her head. Her hand flew to her head. A little too late, she scolded herself. What had she been thinking? Oh, this whole "human" deal was so tiring! What to say? Well, maybe she was allergic to iron.
"I'm allergic to iron," she said after a while.
The man with the gun's eyes sharpened, and he stared at her even harder. He had caught the hesitation. Damn. She really wasn't very good at being human. She never had been. Hoping to dig herself out of this hole, she smiled sweetly.
"Konichiwa, Duo-chan! Do you live here? I was walking around, and I saw this beautiful garden! It's absolutely gorgeous!"
Duo laughed, and turned her so that she was facing yet another boy. He was kawaii, with blue-green eyes and platinum blonde hair. He blushed, and bowed slightly.
"Ohayo. Watashi wa Quatre Rabera Winner."
She gave a tiny nod of her head, as if she were royalty. She felt Trigger Happy's eyes on her back, and she knew that she had slipped up again. Damn all of her seraphic etiquette! She slapped a smile on, and hoped no one else noticed.
"I'm Tsukino Usagi! Very pleased to meet you, Winner-san. Are you the owner of this lovely garden?"
Quatre smiled. "Yes. My family has owned this house forever."
"But the garden! How long have you had the garden?"
Quatre shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I rarely go out there. I'm usually occupied."
Usagi was disappointed. And here she thought she had found a fellow flower- lover. Hiding her feelings, she smiled again. "I have a garden, back home. I think this is the most beautiful thing I've seen since I left my garden!"
Quatre blushed, even though he knew that she was not complimenting him. "I will give your praise to the gardener, Miss Usagi."
She smiled her thanks, and was about to announce that she was late for an appointment, when the trigger happy guy broke into her pre-speech.
"Where are you from?"
That stopped her with her mouth open. Where the hell was she from? Originally? The Moon. Born somewhere in the forest in a cabin, moved to Tokyo. Recently? Her garden. Um.might as well say Tokyo. Oh, damn. She had paused too long.
"Tokyo," she said finally. "Juuban district. Oh, look at that. Forgive me, I'm late for an appointment."
"Where do you need to go?" Duo called after her. "I'll give you a ride."
Usagi turned and smiled at him. "I'm going to buy myself someplace to live. And I can walk, it's no big deal."
"Miss Usagi, we have several empty rooms. Would you care to live here?" Quatre asked, oblivious to the glare he was receiving from the gun department.
She blinked, and then smiled. This was awesome! Number one, she could track the evil that she had felt. Number two, she'd have access to that amazing garden! She bowed, more deeply this time. "Hai, Winner-san. I would like that very much. I promise that I'll find a job soon and pay you for letting me stay."
The blonde pilot raised his hands. "Oh, no! Don't even worry about it! You may stay completely free of charge!"
Somehow he knew by the stubborn look that crossed the girl's face, that she was not going to take that as an answer.
Quatre watched her the whole time Duo talked to her about how much fun this was going to be. The girl. Tsukino Usagi. If the way she introduced herself (last name first) hadn't been weird enough, the fact that she went on about the garden added to the growing mystery. She seemed jumpy, and out of place. She looked like she had dressed on a last minute notice, and had run over here. Her eyes also darted around, as if she was looking for something. Then her eyes would snap the other way, and follow every shadow that moved. It was like.it was like she didn't feel at home in her own body and that she felt someone or something was looking for her. Or she was looking for something. It was rather disconcerting.
Also, even though he was sure no one else had noticed, her pupils were not black. Her eyes were completely normal, except for the fact that the blue irises would flash silver, and her pupils were dark blue. The only way you'd be able to tell would be when and if the light shone on her eyes. Then the blue and black eyes would whirl to silver and blue, and then back again. Her skin was completely white, as if she had never seen sun in her life. It almost seemed to glitter in the light. There was simply something.wrong about her. Something entirely inhuman.
*
*
Minako stared intently at Ami's face. Then her blue eyes switched to Rei, and then to Makoto. Then, reluctantly, her eyes slid quickly past Mamoru, Haurka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru.
"I don't understand." Setsuna declared.
Minako stared intently at her. Rei suddenly slammed her fist down on the table, making everyone jump.
"Goddamn it Minako! What the Hell are you doing?"
The blonde looked offended. "I'm just practicing staring intently at people I don't know without laughing or smiling for the movie I'm in."
Makoto sighed. "That would work really well except for the fact that you know all of us."
Minako spun on her. "Excuse me? We haven't really even talked for a few centuries, and you're telling me that we *know* each other? Yes, we know of each other! Yes, we once knew each other! But we are complete and total strangers! Strangers, do you hear me? Strangers!"
Makoto waved her hands a bit. "Okay, okay Minako. Calm down. We're all upset over the fact that Usagi. well. apparently didn't die in the accident."
Minako sniffed disdainfully. "You're all so thick," she said airily.
Ami glanced at her. "How so?"
"Well, it obviously goes like this: Usagi comes over to my house (where I am preparing to shop with Makoto), gets in that damn car, kills herself, goes over to the woods, and becomes the female figure we lovingly call Mother Earth. Or Gaea, which I think is much prettier."
Haruka stood up, very, very slowly. "And how, exactly, do you know this, psychic girl?"
Minako laughed sheepishly. "Actually, Usagi's sister told me."
"Minako," Rei said quietly, "Usagi didn't have a sister. She only had a brother, and he died a long time ago."
The blonde blinked. "Oh. Well, she said she was Usagi's sister. Then she showed me the moon mark. OH!" she cried, snapping. "I know who she looked like now! She looked just like that Queen Beryl chick! Wow, come to think about it---"
"ANIO MINAKO YOU BAKA!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! I'm just telling you what the chick said! Don't kill me!"
"Stop," Setsuna commanded. "I feel Usagi. Except.she feels different. Cold."
Hotaru closed her eyes, and extended her senses. Her mind ran over several warm bodies, and then slammed into a cold one. A cold body that was moving, smiling, and currently looking in a mirror. White skin. Cold to the touch. Silver irises. Blue pupils. Long silvery-blonde hair in two heart-shaped meatballs, with pigtails running down her back. Completely normal in every way, except for one. The being that was calling itself Usagi had no pulse.
Hotaru's eyes snapped open. "She's dead," she announced softly. "But she's up and moving. It is Usagi, but it is not Usagi. I can't explain it."
"Oh God," Ami gasped.
Everyone spun, and there was Usagi, standing half-hidden by the shadows, smiling sadly at them. Light flashed across her face, turning her irises silver, and her pupils blue. Her lips curved into a slightly wider smile. They moved, and she spoke in a voice that came from centuries away.
"Get ready."
A window blew open, and wind screamed through the room. The occupants of the room had to shield their eyes from the dust carried on the wind. It stopped as suddenly as it began, and they looked over at Usagi. Gone.
A totally different voice sounded like the call of horns. "They're coming, children of the gods! They're coming!"
Minako spun around, looking for the voice, and then Makoto made a small noise. Minako turned, and stared at Usagi. No one was reflected in the mirror. Usagi was in there alone, staring at them so intently it was as if she had ripped their skin off, peeled the layers away from their hearts and laid them bare for all to see. The lights flickered, the wind began to scream again, and Ami screamed and ducked when a black object came hurtling at her head.
Rei stared up at it, trying to understand what it could mean. The raven lighted on a rafter and affixed them with a shining red eye. It screamed, and Ami shuddered. Minako promptly burst into tears, while the others looked on helplessly.
Nothing made any sense. Not anymore. Not ever again.
My Favorite Stories of the Next Three Seconds ( I love everything):
Okay, I'm so seriously sorry for not updating sooner, but.I've been busy taking over the world. Anyways. I've decided that I can't decide which ones I like best, so I'm going to name a few:
Tenshi's Lost Voice: WAI!!!! I LOVE IT! It's so cool. It's about the Inners attacking Usagi (OH MY GOD) and her going mute. IT'S SO COOL!
Straight Flush: OH MY GOD! I love this story. Minako makes a dumb bet including the unwilling Makoto and Usagi. Well, to make a long story short, they lose, landing themselves at Quatre's mansion for a week in skimpy maid costumes..
Kamereon (I think that's how u spell it): another cool one. Usagi goes total bishie and cuts off her hair (and puts on guy clothes) for one last fling before she goes Queen-ish. She accidentally winds up in the Weiss (I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO SPELL THIS NAME! U know what I'm talking about, though) world, and there's a certain telepath that knows her secret. And he's more than willing to blackmail our Usa into all sorts of, um, things in order to keep the fact that she's a girl secret.
Anime High: Ohmigod, pure insanity. It's so great! Multi-crossover, EVERYONE IS TOGETHER AT HIGH SCHOOL! And when I say everyone.DAMN. I mean EVERYONE! Ranma, Hiiro, Usagi, Squall (diff school), Gene Starwind, Van, ohmigod. Everyone. It's incredibly funny.
Quote of the Week:
"If you asked me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you I came to live out LOUD!"
-emile zola
Joke of the Week:
A priest was dying. I know, it's so very sad. Makes you wanna cry, huh? I'm sure his congregation was crying. Anyways. The priest was dying, and so he called in his lawyer and his IRS agent. Well, they came in, and he just took their hands and laid there.
The IRS agent finally asked, "Was there a reason you wanted us, Father?"
The priest smiled at them. "They said Jesus died between two thieves. I wanted to go the same way."
BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for reading the psychotic ramblings of my mind, I hope you enjoyed!
Chapter two :::::
She turned over in bed and watched him sleep through half-closed eyes. She was dimly aware of sunlight shining through the half-open blinds in thin stripes, but she was still half-asleep, so nothing really penetrated her mind right then. Smiling softly, she propped her head up on her arms. Gods, she was so lucky to have a man like him. It was really a shame that she didn't love him. Contrary to popular belief, she had been aware of this fact for quite some time. She had stayed with him simply because, well, he was the prince of earth, and she was the protector of earth. It was also painfully obvious that he was the only man for her in this place, this time, this life. Gods, she was a lucky woman. She reached out to touch his cheek, and then stopped herself right in time. The happy, sleepy smile slid from her face, and was replaced by a sad, haunted one.
She had almost forgotten why she had woken up earlier than the man she slept beside. The blue orbs dimmed, and then closed. She let out a shallow breath and slowly swung her legs off the bed. Taking care make no noise, she padded softly over to the dresser, where she began pulling out clothing and shoving it haphazardly into her subspace pocket. There was no telling when he might wake up. She would organize and fold things when she was well on her way.
"What are you doing, Usako?"
She froze, and then turned around, giving him a large smile. It was the least he deserved. "Ohayo, Mamo-chan! I'm just getting ready to go over to Minako-chan's. We're going shopping today. Did you have a nice sleep?"
He smiled at her; that wide, charming smile that could get any girl he wanted into bed with him. "Of course I did. How could I not? I'm married to the most wonderful girl in the world."
Oh, it was going to hurt to leave him. It wasn't going to hurt because she loved him, of course. It was only going to hurt because she knew damn well that her unexplained departure was going to wound him deeply. He might even hate her. Which, actually, might be for the better. Masking her innermost thoughts, she smiled again, and added a sufficient amount of love to her eyes. Once again, it was the least he deserved. "Oh," she replied playfully, "I'm sure I'm not half as wonderful as you are, love. Oh, I'm going to be late!"
She hurriedly pulled on a black turtleneck, black leather pants, her favorite black boots, and her absolute most favorite beige coat. Flashing a smile at the laughing Mamoru, she fled out the door. She ran until she was out the door, and then she kept running simply because she thought that maybe if she ran fast enough, she could leave her tears behind. Usagi finally had to stop, and, miraculously, she found herself in the place she had been told to find. Ah, how fate lead her always. She sometimes thought of herself as an unwilling partner in a waltz that never ended. She danced with Fate, and Destiny was the conductor.
Gasping for breath, she fell back against a tree. Then the tears that she had tried to leave behind caught up with her, and spilled down her cheeks. God, she had so many emotional ties. What were they going to do when they found her body in the wreck? She couldn't believe that she had done it. But hadn't she promised the Senshi that she would do whatever it took to protect Earth? And getting killed in an accident and becoming a seraph were parts of that promise. After all, it certainly was a common known fact that Earth had been without a seraph for.ages. Oh, they had said that it would hurt.. And they had been right. But they had also promised that emotions would be left behind. She would transcend them. She would be emotionless, and therefore more capable of dealing judgment. It would be hard, but she would do it. She would do it to protect Earth.
"My, you are a determined little princess, aren't you?"
Usagi didn't even turn around. She knew it was Beryl. How could she not know? A killer and the killed always had a certain bond. And since they had both been on both the receiving end and the dealing end, the bond was unfortunately strengthened. She was acutely aware of every movement the woman made. This was an advantage, but it made her uncomfortable.
"Leave me be, Beryl. My mind's been made up."
"So you'll give up the very thing you always wished for, just to fulfill a promise?"
Usagi turned to her. "And just what is it that I have always wished for, Beryl?"
The redheaded woman smiled. It wasn't a particularly nice looking smile. "Humanity. Even on the Moon, all you ever wished for was humanity. Even when you were human, you knew you weren't like everyone else. It's just a promise. Run away, Serenity. Run away and realize your own dreams for once."
Usagi shook her head slowly. "I couldn't. It's better this way. If I stayed, I'd have Chibiusa, create Crystal Tokyo, and die an old, wonderful death, knowing that I had done everything. Then my kingdom would fall, and the earth would dissolve into Chaos. I wouldn't be around to stop it. If I ran, I'd never be able to forgive myself. It's simply that. So, the only alternative I can see is this."
As she spoke, a bright light filled the clearing. Usagi shielded her eyes, and then lowered them when the light dimmed. A rich chuckle reverberated through the woods.
"You hide your face from the Light?"
"Well, it was bright. I would have been blinded," Usagi said reasonably.
The voice laughed again, and Usagi finally saw that it was an angel. He had wonderfully curly brown hair, and deep green eyes. He had a wide smile, and, well, big teeth, too. But you could tell that his spirit was so good and pure that he shone from no light cast on him. He created his own light, certainly.
"Tsukino Usagi, your plea has been accepted. But first, you must answer a question. Who are you?"
She blinked. "Tsukino Usagi, of course."
"Exactly. Not Princess Serenity, not Sailor Moon. Just Usagi. After that, no one. Do you understand?"
Usagi nodded slightly. "Hai. Gabriel explained everything very thoroughly. I still wish to continue."
The man smiled, and bowed. "Then come to the Light, angel."
Beryl watched silently as Usagi---her own sister---walked away with the angel. She had been meaning to tell Usagi the truth about their hidden sisterhood, but Usagi had left rather abruptly. Still, it was rather sad that Usagi had left with several wrong ideas. One of which being that you could only take paths that are open to you.
"If there is no path that you wish to take, Princess, you need to make one."
* ~ * ~ *
That had all been so long ago, Usagi thought, sighing to herself. Beryl had never known it, but seraphs saw all. And of course, sisterhood was simply a bond that could not be cast away simply by attaining a god-like state of being. Seraphs actually were second only to God and Satan. She had never met either of them. For all their power, the seraphim were guarded jealously by the angels. If a seraph was in control over a planet, every thought, every fiber of being must be concentrated on it, because if it was distracted for a moment, no one knew what horrible thing would occur.
Usagi herself (Gaea) had collected quite a number of angels, because it had been unanimously decided that she was the best seraph. Nothing happened in the centuries that she had ruled. Not an earthquake, not a volcano, no tornadoes, no hurricanes; nothing. And because she had been pondering the idea of going to Earth for quite a while, she had slowly integrated natural disasters into life's program. She couldn't very well prevent those things from Earth.
Earth. She smiled at the unbelievable beauty of it all, and sighed. It was so *good* to be back! Gods, she had been missing so much! Like this Relena girl.obviously a nice girl.but what a twit! If anyone thought that you could gain peace just by talking about it, they were insane. It simply couldn't be done. Her mother had tired it in the Silver Millennium. It obviously hadn't worked. Usagi hadn't even thought about trying it. It was all really very simple.
She wanted peace. Monsters didn't. Monsters begin to kill. She goes up and asks it politely to stop, and then begins preaching pacifism at it. Monster eats her.
Obviously not an option.
Girl wants peace. Monster wants war. Monster begins to kill. Girl walks up and kills it. No more monster killing people. Peace.
Yes, there we go.
Still laughing to herself about her first mental image, she rolled up her newspaper and began to meander along. Where to go? Well, she supposed the first thing to do would be to track down the evil that she felt. Which would be where? She extended her Sight of Earth and felt about for it. Where the hell was it? Oh, there it was. Weaving in, out, and around people (literally), she followed the feeling around the city until she felt cold iron against her face. Hissing softly, she jumped back and stared at where she had ended up.
Before her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Not the gate, of course. But what the gate was holding. There was a mansion---quite pretty, actually, but she was staring at the garden. Oh, the garden. It looked like her own garden, far away in her forest. All sorts of flowers bloomed all over, and gorgeous green things crept about, crying out to Earth. She smiled, and wanted to sing her response, when she felt iron pressed to her temple. She screamed, slammed her fist into the metal thing, and threw herself as far away as she could.
Oh, that had hurt. What kind of person in their right mind would press iron to a person? Insanity! Oh, yes, she recalled belatedly. This place had just ended a war, which meant that people would be carrying guns. She would obviously have to be more careful. Suddenly she felt hands touching her face, and a voice talking at her.
"Usagi! Are you alright?"
She opened her eyes and found concerned violet orbs staring at her. Actually looked familiar.oh. His name was Duo. She had gone on a date with him. Then something had happened.what on Earth? She couldn't remember! She shook this disturbing thought away and turned her head to stare at the gun still held in the man's hand.
"I would very much appreciate it if you would put the iron---gun away, sir," she said shakily. Barbarian!
He glared at her. "Hn."
Unthinkingly, she took her hand from her temple to haul herself to her feet. Oooh, she was going to show him! "Now look here, you---"
"God, what happened Usa?"
Duo was staring at her temple, where an angry red welt had formed where the man had pressed his gun to her head. Her hand flew to her head. A little too late, she scolded herself. What had she been thinking? Oh, this whole "human" deal was so tiring! What to say? Well, maybe she was allergic to iron.
"I'm allergic to iron," she said after a while.
The man with the gun's eyes sharpened, and he stared at her even harder. He had caught the hesitation. Damn. She really wasn't very good at being human. She never had been. Hoping to dig herself out of this hole, she smiled sweetly.
"Konichiwa, Duo-chan! Do you live here? I was walking around, and I saw this beautiful garden! It's absolutely gorgeous!"
Duo laughed, and turned her so that she was facing yet another boy. He was kawaii, with blue-green eyes and platinum blonde hair. He blushed, and bowed slightly.
"Ohayo. Watashi wa Quatre Rabera Winner."
She gave a tiny nod of her head, as if she were royalty. She felt Trigger Happy's eyes on her back, and she knew that she had slipped up again. Damn all of her seraphic etiquette! She slapped a smile on, and hoped no one else noticed.
"I'm Tsukino Usagi! Very pleased to meet you, Winner-san. Are you the owner of this lovely garden?"
Quatre smiled. "Yes. My family has owned this house forever."
"But the garden! How long have you had the garden?"
Quatre shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I rarely go out there. I'm usually occupied."
Usagi was disappointed. And here she thought she had found a fellow flower- lover. Hiding her feelings, she smiled again. "I have a garden, back home. I think this is the most beautiful thing I've seen since I left my garden!"
Quatre blushed, even though he knew that she was not complimenting him. "I will give your praise to the gardener, Miss Usagi."
She smiled her thanks, and was about to announce that she was late for an appointment, when the trigger happy guy broke into her pre-speech.
"Where are you from?"
That stopped her with her mouth open. Where the hell was she from? Originally? The Moon. Born somewhere in the forest in a cabin, moved to Tokyo. Recently? Her garden. Um.might as well say Tokyo. Oh, damn. She had paused too long.
"Tokyo," she said finally. "Juuban district. Oh, look at that. Forgive me, I'm late for an appointment."
"Where do you need to go?" Duo called after her. "I'll give you a ride."
Usagi turned and smiled at him. "I'm going to buy myself someplace to live. And I can walk, it's no big deal."
"Miss Usagi, we have several empty rooms. Would you care to live here?" Quatre asked, oblivious to the glare he was receiving from the gun department.
She blinked, and then smiled. This was awesome! Number one, she could track the evil that she had felt. Number two, she'd have access to that amazing garden! She bowed, more deeply this time. "Hai, Winner-san. I would like that very much. I promise that I'll find a job soon and pay you for letting me stay."
The blonde pilot raised his hands. "Oh, no! Don't even worry about it! You may stay completely free of charge!"
Somehow he knew by the stubborn look that crossed the girl's face, that she was not going to take that as an answer.
Quatre watched her the whole time Duo talked to her about how much fun this was going to be. The girl. Tsukino Usagi. If the way she introduced herself (last name first) hadn't been weird enough, the fact that she went on about the garden added to the growing mystery. She seemed jumpy, and out of place. She looked like she had dressed on a last minute notice, and had run over here. Her eyes also darted around, as if she was looking for something. Then her eyes would snap the other way, and follow every shadow that moved. It was like.it was like she didn't feel at home in her own body and that she felt someone or something was looking for her. Or she was looking for something. It was rather disconcerting.
Also, even though he was sure no one else had noticed, her pupils were not black. Her eyes were completely normal, except for the fact that the blue irises would flash silver, and her pupils were dark blue. The only way you'd be able to tell would be when and if the light shone on her eyes. Then the blue and black eyes would whirl to silver and blue, and then back again. Her skin was completely white, as if she had never seen sun in her life. It almost seemed to glitter in the light. There was simply something.wrong about her. Something entirely inhuman.
*
*
Minako stared intently at Ami's face. Then her blue eyes switched to Rei, and then to Makoto. Then, reluctantly, her eyes slid quickly past Mamoru, Haurka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru.
"I don't understand." Setsuna declared.
Minako stared intently at her. Rei suddenly slammed her fist down on the table, making everyone jump.
"Goddamn it Minako! What the Hell are you doing?"
The blonde looked offended. "I'm just practicing staring intently at people I don't know without laughing or smiling for the movie I'm in."
Makoto sighed. "That would work really well except for the fact that you know all of us."
Minako spun on her. "Excuse me? We haven't really even talked for a few centuries, and you're telling me that we *know* each other? Yes, we know of each other! Yes, we once knew each other! But we are complete and total strangers! Strangers, do you hear me? Strangers!"
Makoto waved her hands a bit. "Okay, okay Minako. Calm down. We're all upset over the fact that Usagi. well. apparently didn't die in the accident."
Minako sniffed disdainfully. "You're all so thick," she said airily.
Ami glanced at her. "How so?"
"Well, it obviously goes like this: Usagi comes over to my house (where I am preparing to shop with Makoto), gets in that damn car, kills herself, goes over to the woods, and becomes the female figure we lovingly call Mother Earth. Or Gaea, which I think is much prettier."
Haruka stood up, very, very slowly. "And how, exactly, do you know this, psychic girl?"
Minako laughed sheepishly. "Actually, Usagi's sister told me."
"Minako," Rei said quietly, "Usagi didn't have a sister. She only had a brother, and he died a long time ago."
The blonde blinked. "Oh. Well, she said she was Usagi's sister. Then she showed me the moon mark. OH!" she cried, snapping. "I know who she looked like now! She looked just like that Queen Beryl chick! Wow, come to think about it---"
"ANIO MINAKO YOU BAKA!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! I'm just telling you what the chick said! Don't kill me!"
"Stop," Setsuna commanded. "I feel Usagi. Except.she feels different. Cold."
Hotaru closed her eyes, and extended her senses. Her mind ran over several warm bodies, and then slammed into a cold one. A cold body that was moving, smiling, and currently looking in a mirror. White skin. Cold to the touch. Silver irises. Blue pupils. Long silvery-blonde hair in two heart-shaped meatballs, with pigtails running down her back. Completely normal in every way, except for one. The being that was calling itself Usagi had no pulse.
Hotaru's eyes snapped open. "She's dead," she announced softly. "But she's up and moving. It is Usagi, but it is not Usagi. I can't explain it."
"Oh God," Ami gasped.
Everyone spun, and there was Usagi, standing half-hidden by the shadows, smiling sadly at them. Light flashed across her face, turning her irises silver, and her pupils blue. Her lips curved into a slightly wider smile. They moved, and she spoke in a voice that came from centuries away.
"Get ready."
A window blew open, and wind screamed through the room. The occupants of the room had to shield their eyes from the dust carried on the wind. It stopped as suddenly as it began, and they looked over at Usagi. Gone.
A totally different voice sounded like the call of horns. "They're coming, children of the gods! They're coming!"
Minako spun around, looking for the voice, and then Makoto made a small noise. Minako turned, and stared at Usagi. No one was reflected in the mirror. Usagi was in there alone, staring at them so intently it was as if she had ripped their skin off, peeled the layers away from their hearts and laid them bare for all to see. The lights flickered, the wind began to scream again, and Ami screamed and ducked when a black object came hurtling at her head.
Rei stared up at it, trying to understand what it could mean. The raven lighted on a rafter and affixed them with a shining red eye. It screamed, and Ami shuddered. Minako promptly burst into tears, while the others looked on helplessly.
Nothing made any sense. Not anymore. Not ever again.
My Favorite Stories of the Next Three Seconds ( I love everything):
Okay, I'm so seriously sorry for not updating sooner, but.I've been busy taking over the world. Anyways. I've decided that I can't decide which ones I like best, so I'm going to name a few:
Tenshi's Lost Voice: WAI!!!! I LOVE IT! It's so cool. It's about the Inners attacking Usagi (OH MY GOD) and her going mute. IT'S SO COOL!
Straight Flush: OH MY GOD! I love this story. Minako makes a dumb bet including the unwilling Makoto and Usagi. Well, to make a long story short, they lose, landing themselves at Quatre's mansion for a week in skimpy maid costumes..
Kamereon (I think that's how u spell it): another cool one. Usagi goes total bishie and cuts off her hair (and puts on guy clothes) for one last fling before she goes Queen-ish. She accidentally winds up in the Weiss (I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO SPELL THIS NAME! U know what I'm talking about, though) world, and there's a certain telepath that knows her secret. And he's more than willing to blackmail our Usa into all sorts of, um, things in order to keep the fact that she's a girl secret.
Anime High: Ohmigod, pure insanity. It's so great! Multi-crossover, EVERYONE IS TOGETHER AT HIGH SCHOOL! And when I say everyone.DAMN. I mean EVERYONE! Ranma, Hiiro, Usagi, Squall (diff school), Gene Starwind, Van, ohmigod. Everyone. It's incredibly funny.
Quote of the Week:
"If you asked me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you I came to live out LOUD!"
-emile zola
Joke of the Week:
A priest was dying. I know, it's so very sad. Makes you wanna cry, huh? I'm sure his congregation was crying. Anyways. The priest was dying, and so he called in his lawyer and his IRS agent. Well, they came in, and he just took their hands and laid there.
The IRS agent finally asked, "Was there a reason you wanted us, Father?"
The priest smiled at them. "They said Jesus died between two thieves. I wanted to go the same way."
BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for reading the psychotic ramblings of my mind, I hope you enjoyed!