Hikari-No's Promise
Chapter Five
"For as long as there has been life in our galaxy, there have been the Sailor Senshi watching over it. For every species and planet, there has been a protector, the female warrior who ruled over and was loved by her people.
"The original Sailor Senshi were chosen by the spirits of the planets to be their avatars, and in return for the honour and power bestowed on them, they took the planet's name as their own. From mother to daughter, the duty of protecting life in the galaxy was passed down across the generations, and all known life was at peace.
"Watching over the Senshi was the Queen of the Sapphire Millennium. Beautiful and wise, her planet of Coruscant was the center of learning and power throughout the galaxy, even as it is today. The Queen was the overguardian of the Senshi, yet they served her, using their powers to protect her even as they shielded the people of the galaxy from the evils that have always threatened life.
"Coruscant was the only planet without a Senshi, though it hosted the training academy where each of the soldiers was required to study. It had been said by some that the planet could not choose an avatar for it's powers, whilst others believed that she existed in secrecy, the true Queen of the night. Despite this, the planet of Coruscant was well looked after by the other Sailor Senshi, and many believed that there would one day be a Sailor Coruscant.
"It was a time of peace and serenity, until the end of the First Age, and the
dawning of the Second, which became known as the Age of Chaos even as the First
Age had been the Age of Calm."
- From Book One of the Song of Ages, Mau.
"Wow, he's really cute", *Star Fallus whispered to Hikari-No whilst Master Haruna's back was turned. And she was probably correct. The new student was rather nice to look at, with short blond hair, and green eyes that shone slightly. He was dressed just like every other student in the class, but Hikari-No knew that there was something different about him.
Master Haruna finished writing a few notes in her book, before turning to the expectant class. "This is Ura-Giri Koibito. He was being trained by Master Kuso on Ishta Three until his Master died in that terrible accident, and so Ura-Giri is now here to finish his tuition." She nodded her head sadly, and *Star silently whispered to Hikari-No that Master Haruna had probably had a crush on Master Kuso. Master Haruna tossed her head, her red hair making a swishing sound over her robe before continuing. "Because there is no Master available to take him as a Padawan, I would appreciate it if one of you would agree to tutor Ura-Giri until he is up to the same standard as the rest of this class. And since you are all good students, wiling to help out anyone in need, I will let him choose his tutor."
Ura-Giri's striking green eyes passed over the class, and Hikari-No heard *Star's whispered thoughts asking the Force to allow him to pick her. *Star was a good girl, and she was Hikari-No's closest friend in the Temple. Unfortunately, she was also rather obsessed with finding the perfect boyfriend. Her first response to any guy would be that he was "incredibly cute", and she would then gush over him for a week.
Hikari-No sighed, wondering why she wanted Ura-Giri to pick her. After all, he never would. She was the youngest girl in the group, at fourteen she was a year younger than anyone else in the class, but she still was able to achieve perfect scores in most of her work. *Star was fifteen, but unlike some of the others, she was content to never mention such things to Hikari-No. Not only that, but compared to the other students she was amazingly plain, nothing about her brown hair and blue eyes was distinguishing, especially when compared with the looks of Yu-Rei or Nichibotsu.
Actually, the only real feature that marked her from the others would be her braid, which had more links than any human her age had ever achieved. Not that the Masters had told Hikari-No. She had found out on her own, but that was what happened when a person had to study alone. Because *Star would never study unless it was necessary, preferring instead to practice fighting, or to play those holocron games that were so popular.
But for all her faults *Star was a good person, and a loyal friend. She had expressive eyes that Hikari-No could read from experience, which changed from a soft grey when she was content to a shadowed purple colour when she became upset. If one believed the stories that she told, *Star Fallus was a member of the ruling family of Durillion, which was a prosperous planet relatively close to Coruscant. To be sure, *Star did exchange messages frequently with a number of people there, but somehow Hikari-No found it hard to believe that her uncoordinated friend could be royalty. Though she had little personal experience, Hikari-No knew for a fact that all royalty should be graceful and smart, hardworking, with their responsibilities always in perspective. Perhaps that was why *Star had been sent to become a Jedi, because although she was powerful with the Force, she still lacked the discipline that Hikari- No possessed, and she was more clumsy, being prone to trip over nothing at all.
Someone once jokingly commented that *Star could handle anything but her own two feet, and *Star herself always said that if the Force wanted her to be able to walk properly, it wouldn't keep getting in her way. *Star's Master Kum-Kwat would often sigh over his Padawan's legendary clumsiness, but despite their frequent bickering, Hikari-No could see the respect and love that existed between teacher and student. He would go to any extreme for her, and Hikari-No wondered if *Star knew exactly what her Master would do for his Padawan. Master Kum-Kwat was highly respected by the other Jedi Masters, and he never seemed to mind that Hikari-No spent so much time with *Star, helping her with her studies and training together, but more commonly, wasting time playing games.
Hikari-No glanced over at *Star, and for a moment her vision was overlaid with another image. Even as she looked at her normal form, Hikari-No could see an older *Star, with longer hair that was more red than normal and no Padawan braid, and instead of being bent over a book, *Star was weeping. Her hands were clenched tightly and she was shaking, and Hikari-No could sense the emotion she was radiating, even though it was only a vision. She wondered if it was a true vision or just a possibility for the future. Such glimpses of the Force usually came for a purpose, and Hikari-No sighed, trying to find the message of her vision.
It was Master Haruna's voice that startled her out of her trance. With a gasp, Hikari-No looked up, wondering what had happened. The new student, Ura-Giri was looking at her and smiling, and Master Haruna was standing with her hands on her hips, shaking her head in disappointment.
'What did I miss?' she quickly thought at *Star, her eyes never leaving Master Haruna's face. The soft giggle from the seat next to her nearly gave away their whispering, and Hikari-No had to resist an urge to turn and frown at her friend.
'He just picked you, of all people, and Master H just asked if you are willing to tutor him.' Ura-Giri had picked Hikari-No Miko to be his tutor? It seemed too wonderful to be true. But there was probably a negative side to this arrangement. He was probably an idiot, with little experience in using the Force. But still, he was nice looking, and there was something addictive about watching that smile of his.
"Of course I am", Hikari-No snapped aloud before realising what she had done and blushing deeply, glancing back down at her book and hoping that Master Haruna would be forgiving of her rudeness. Fortunately, the Jedi Master appeared to be in a good mood, and so decided to overlook Hikari-No's rare slip.
"Well then, that's settled. After class, you will take Ura-Giri and show him around the Temple, making sure he gets the grand tour and answering his questions. And from tomorrow, you will tutor him until he catches up with the rest of this class." Master Haruna made a small dismissive gesture to Ura-Giri, who took an empty seat at the front of the classroom. "And now, it is time we got to work. *Star, why don't you read out the opening paragraph from the essay you had to write for me last night?"
*Star looked around worriedly, before stammering, "Essay?"
Hikari-No smiled slightly. It seemed that not even the arrival of a new student could disrupt the normal flow of study in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
Later, when the class was dismissed, Ura-Giri walked over to where Hikari-No and *Star were gathering their things and preparing to leave. Almost all of the other Padawans had left, and the two girls were deep in conversation. *Star tripped over as she tried to replace her chair under her desk, and it was Ura-Giri who steadied her, causing a blush to instantly appear on *Star's pale cheeks.
"Thank you", she murmured, embarrassed.
Ura-Giri smiled at both girls, before turning to Hikari-No. "I do not believe Master Haruna told me your name. Would you please do me the honour?"
Hikari-No was not used to such respect from any of the other Padawans, and so she looked down at her feet. "I am Hikari-No Miko", she said respectfully, "and this is my friend, *Star Fallus", she added hastily after a quick mental prod.
"Well then, Little Miko, I suggest it would be best if we did as Master Haruna said and you show me all the places in this Temple where I will be required to spend my time. Your friend *Star can join us if she wishes." He gave her a quick nod, and *Star blushed, raising a hand to behind her head and giggling slightly.
"I have to get back to Master Kum-Kwat. He's decided that I need to work on my cooking skills, and the last time that happened we had to evacuate the Temple until the fire-control droids got to work." Realising what she had just said, *Star blushed deeply, but Ura-Giri only laughed softly. *Star picked up the last of her books and rushed from the room with a wave.
"Do not forget to write that essay for Master Haruna", Hikari-No called after her friend's retreating form.
In reply, *Star sent back one thought, not yelling aloud because that was against the rules. 'You are so lucky', she told Hikari-No, who only smiled in response.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence after *Star left, in which Hikari-No did not dare to meet Ura-Giri's stare. Finally, it was he who spoke.
"Shall we leave then?"
Hikari-No looked up. "Where exactly did you want to go? There is much to be seen in the Temple." Her hand reached up to her Padawan braid, and she fingered it thoughtfully, noticing Ura-Giri's own blond one hanging over his right shoulder.
"I do not know what to suggest. I have only been here a few days, and all I have really seen is my quarters and the Council Spire. It took me half an hour to find this room today, and so I would simply be grateful if you can show me any place here that is not so intimidating." Hikari-No realised that Ura-Giri had a great sense of humour, and so smiled up at the taller Padawan.
"Very well. I have some chores to do this afternoon, and if you do not mind having to follow me around?" She left the question up in the air, and he nodded at her. "Come along then."
The first place to which Hikari-No lead Ura-Giri was the communications center on one of the lower floors. There were other people using the sophisticated equipment to contact friends and family across the galaxy, speaking in low voices, but Hikari-No had come simply to send a message, a short note informing Catherine of what was taking place in her life. She did not speak to any of the other people there, instead walking straight up to an unused terminal and inserting a small device. Ura-Giri watched silently as Hikari-No input her security codes and transmitted the message to Domus Prime.
The screen she was facing flashed for a second and Hikari-No blinked her surprise. It seemed that Catherine had anticipated her actions once again. Keenly aware that Ura-Giri was observing her movements she quickly made a copy of the letter to view later, before pocketing her device and turning to take him away from the area.
"Who was that message from?" Ura-Giri asked politely, making a small gesture towards her bag.
Hikari-No answered him softly, "My best friend".
Ura-Giri paused a moment, wondering about *Star. "And she does not live on Coruscant then?"
"She lives on Domus Prime, a beautiful world that is far away from here, though not so far with a working hyperdrive", Hikari-No smiled briefly, before sighing, wishing for something that she could never have.
"Is she a Jedi Knight then?" Ura-Giri was genuinely interested, and Hikari-No felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the lonely Padawan without a Master.
"No, she is not a Jedi. Catherine is a princess, and she will one day be Queen of Domus Prime." After hearing it so many times, Hikari-No had come to believe in Catherine's dream. They still spoke occasionally, when circumstances allowed, and Hikari-No did her best to remember to send Catherine a message at least once a week, though Catherine was hardly as diligent in replying.
"Tell me about your Master", Hikari-No said softly, as they walked along one of the balconies that surrounded the Temple, looking out at the glittering city. High above most of the neighbouring buildings, they watched together as the sun slowly started to sink below the horizon, and the lines of speeders and other vehicles making their way home amongst the eternal city.
"Master Kuso was a good man", Ura-Giri answered after a long moment of silence, "and a great Jedi. He taught me much, and I miss him still."
Hikari-No realised then that he did not wish to speak about his Master, although she wondered that he called his Master by name, rather than a more affectionate term.
She pushed a stray line of hair back behind her ear before speaking again.
"Are you checked out for a speeder yet?" She blinked as below them a single vehicle left the main garage bearing the markings of a student driver. Ura-Giri smiled at her.
"No, they said I will be in about a week or so."
"Then it will be up to me to show you Coruscant before then." Hikari-No had passed her speeder qualifications two months ago, and, provided she kept her grades up, was able to have the use of a speeder during any time that was not taken by her studies. Which was precious little as it was.
"I'd like that", he smiled.
Hikari-No sighed again, before turning and starting back into the Temple. Ura- Giri wondered at her strange behaviour but said nothing, folding his arms inside his robe and following her.
"This is the main Padawan gymnasium", Hikari-No said. "It is where we do most of our training, especially for combat."
She made a wide gesture around the room, and Ura-Giri took note of the thick matting covering large sections of the floor, and mirrors on most of the walls. A number of people were fighting practice duels at the back of the gymnasium, using practice lightsabers rather than real ones. A girl of about eighteen caught Ura-Giri's eye as he watched her practice a complicated routine of movements that included high leaps and kicking motions.
While he was distracted, a Jedi in full robes came up to Hikari-No. She bowed to him, before righting herself and turning to her companion, who was still staring with a lopsided smile at the girl at the back of the room. Hikari-No used the Force to knock Ura-Giri off balance, demanding his attention.
"Ura-Giri, this is Jedi Heiwa, who is in charge of the gym here and is also our teacher in the ways of fighting. Jedi Heiwa, this is Ura-Giri Koibito, formerly the Padawan of Master Kuso."
Jedi Heiwa nodded at Ura-Giri, pausing to look him over, noticing the lightsaber on his belt. "I would like to test your skill with that", he said, "but not today. Perhaps tomorrow." He turned his attention back to Hikari-No.
"But I have something for you, Hikari-No." Jedi Heiwa bade her follow him into his office and both students obeyed.
Amid the clutter of equipment and information, a desk was hidden in the darkness of Jedi Heiwa's office. Hikari-No knew from experience where it was, but Jedi Heiwa did not sit as she expected him to. Instead, he walked, or rather, climbed, over to the far side of the room where he opened a locked cupboard. From within its depths he withdrew a large stick, made of a clear plasglass substance, which was about a foot taller than Hikari-No. It was simple and unadorned by decoration, unlike many others that Hikari-No had seen previously. Jedi Heiwa passed the weapon over to the girl, who took it reverently, casting an eye over the fine work and gently fingering the smooth surface. She stepped back outside after looking to Jedi Heiwa for permission.
Hikari-No held the staff out in front of her, moving her hands apart until it was properly balanced. She started by spinning the weapon, to get a feel for its movements and weight, slowly at first but gradually increasing the speed until she decided to actually give the weapon a proper test. Hikari-No closed her eyes and began a simple routine that Jedi Heiwa had taught her, swinging the staff at invisible opponents, using both offensive and defensive techniques. She added complexity by including a number of flips and turns before finishing with the staff in one hand and her other using her lightsaber.
There was a moment of silence, before Hikari-No reopened her eyes to see Ura-Giri looking at her again, a new respect in his eyes. She replaced the lightsaber on her belt before turning back to Jedi Heiwa, passing over the staff.
"Of such fine material, with perfect balance and weight for a man his size, this wonderful staff was created by Master Senso on Ishta two thousand years ago, unless I miss my guess." She smiled shyly, and Jedi Heiwa nodded.
"You are never wrong, Hikari-No. But this is still not the one that you are looking for?"
Hikari-No shook her head, blushing. "I will know it when I see the right one, believe me."
Jedi Heiwa shrugged and went back into his office with little care for the staff, slamming the door behind him.
"Well", she sighed, "I think that was our audience for today." She noticed the question in Ura-Giri's eyes and rolled her own in response, speaking with the air of one who had told her story many times before. "About four years ago, I had a dream that I knew was significant. One of the most important features in it was a crystal staff wielded by a warrior. When I awoke, I knew I had to find the staff. At the first opportunity, I told Jedi Heiwa, who is as interested in archaic weapons as I am. He has tried to help me locate the weapon from my dream, but we have found no record of it ever existing." Hikari-No shrugged, then brightened. "It must be nearly time to eat something. Would you like to come and meet my Master?"
Ura-Giri thought about it for a moment. "Thank you, but I better not", he answered solemnly. "I have a lot of study to do tonight."
Rather subdued by his refusal of her offer, Hikari-No escorted Ura-Giri back to his rooms in silence, where they parted company with a promise to actually study together the next day.
That night, Hikari-No slept fitfully, her dreams plagued by screaming voices, but also silence, and a endless darkness that enclosed her. For a long time, Hikari-No felt that she could not use any of her senses, not even her Jedi ones, and terror overwhelmed the normally calm student.
When she awoke, she remembered nothing of her nightmare, only the fear she had experienced, and she felt lethargic and more exhausted than when she went to sleep.
The day passed uneventfully, and the most interesting thing that Hikari-No learned in class was that her nightmare seemed to have been widespread, causing most of the other students to be slower than normal, and Master Haruna to not even get upset when *Star announced that she had forgotten to complete the essay again.
After a session in the library with Ura-Giri that afternoon, helping him with mathematics and basic politics, Hikari-No returned to her rooms only to find her Master out assisting the Council in their meditations again. It seemed as if he spent more time with them than teaching her these days.
She ate alone and stayed awake late working on her studies, unconsciously trying to avoid sleeping and the possibility of dreaming the same nightmare as the previous night. Finally, tiredness overcame Hikari-No, and she fell asleep at the table where she was studying.
Once again Hikari-No dreamed of being trapped in darkness, but this time the dream was different. She could sense that there was someone else in the room with her, and that they were calling out her name. But every time she turned around, the person would disappear before she could see her, as if the darkness itself was fighting back against this intrusion. Finally, she sat down and tried to meditate, hoping that whoever was trying to contact her in her dreams would be able to find her there.
Again she heard the voice calling her, but this time she noticed that there was a strange echo to the voice, almost as if there were many people summoning her. Rather than feeling terror at such a strange circumstance, Hikari-No opened her eyes cautiously to see a glowing figure standing before her.
The woman was taller than her, and her features continuously shifted as if she could not decide how she wanted to look. Her dress was long and plain, falling to the ground without any ornamentation save for a large bow at the back. The dress itself kept changing colours in a almost hypnotic pattern that Hikari-No could not predict. Keenly aware that she was staring, she looked away again, but not before noticing the one stable feature on the woman's face, a glowing crescent shape on her forehead.
For a brief moment, Hikari-No was afraid, and reached for her lightsaber to find that it was not there. The woman bowed to her, then spoke, the echoing sound of her voice confusing the girl.
"I have been searching for you for a long time, Hikari-No."
Hikari-No blinked in surprise, both at the woman's use of her name and at her announcement that she had been looking for her. She tried to form the words to ask why this strange woman would have wanted to search for her, but no sound came.
"A terrible evil has started attacking your world, Hikari-No, and you are the only one who can save it." The woman's voice was distant.
"Me? What could I do? I am just a Jedi Padawan, and one of the Masters would better suit your purposes. Perhaps you have made a mistake." Hikari-No turned away, beginning to wonder if she would prefer her nightmare.
"The guardians of Mau do not make mistakes." She bowed to Hikari-No, "You may call me Palomene. And you are the one we have been searching for. You are the only one who can save your friends."
Hikari-No shook her head. "My friends?"
"They are in grave danger, as is everyone who is asleep in the Temple right now. For now we are protecting you, but that cannot last. You must fight the Dark Kingdom, or they will win again."
Hikari-No found so many questions crowding into her brain that she could not decide which to ask. Finally, she chose one purely because it seemed more obvious than the others. "How do you expect me to fight something that the Jedi Masters cannot?"
Instead of speaking, the woman placed something in Hikari-No's hand. It was a locket, about the size of the palm of Hikari-No's hand, on a silver chain. The locket itself was made from a material of deepest blue, and had a strange symbol carved onto it: a black circle over a white heart. At the center, five gemstones were embedded into the ebony as if the five points of a star.
"What is this?" she asked, gently fingering the piece of jewellery.
"It is your birthright. This locket once belonged to your mother, and her mother before her." Hikari-No looked up, shocked.
"How could you know my mother?" Hikari-No herself could not remember her mother, having spent her entire life at the Jedi Temple. No one at the Temple knew anything about her family either, because Hikari-No had simply been left as a baby, without any information about her family or even her real name. The Council had been the ones to name her, and although she was happy as a Jedi Padawan, sometimes Hikari-No wished that she had a real family, like some of the other students.
"I have known your family for a long time. Place the locket around your neck, Hikari-No, it will help you." As Hikari-No did so, Palomene's image wavered for a moment, and she looked away in fright, the emotion changing the shape of her face.
"They grow stronger", she murmured.
Hikari-No felt a shift in the Force around her, and suddenly she could hear *Star calling out for help. "What is happening?" she asked of Palomene.
"The Dark Kingdom is draining the energy of everyone in the Temple. Soon, many will not be able to go on fighting, and they will die."
"Then we have to stop them." Hikari-No nodded fiercely, not knowing why she suddenly felt so unafraid. Despite herself, she still believed that this was all a dream. "Who are the Dark Kingdom?"
"There is no time for answers now. You must go, or it will be too late."
Palomene disappeared suddenly, and Hikari-No looked around her, disconcerted for a moment, before a bright light surrounded her and she was jerked to consciousness.
When she opened her eyes and looked at the timepiece, Hikari-No realised that it was still late. Her Master was still not back from wherever the Council had sent him. Dimly, she wondered if she would be able to go back to sleep before morning. It was then that she reached a hand up to her neck, and felt the chain that now encircled it.
"That's impossible", she whispered, trying to calm herself. But the chain was there, as was the locket, and Hikari-No suddenly wondered if she was going insane. But if the locket was real, then perhaps the rest of her dream was true too. She sent out a searching thought, and was not very surprised when she sensed a malevolent form penetrating the Temple. Sudden fear pierced her heart.
'Now what?' she thought, more to herself than anything else. She tried to remember the rest of what Palomene had told her, but could not find anything of importance.
'Hikari-No, you must fight', Palomene's voice came to her as if from a distance, without the clarity of earlier. Though she looked around her, it seemed as if Palomene would or could not project her image into her room.
'But I do not know how', Hikari-No's distress was consuming her.
'You are the one who has been chosen to be Sailor Coruscant, the sailor-suited warrior of love and justice. It is your destiny.'
'I am not a warrior, and why would you call me by such a strange name?'
'Because, you are the last hope these people have, and you are the only one who can be Sailor Coruscant.' There was a moment of silence. 'You still do not believe me, do you?'
'I am afraid that I do not', Hikari-No leaned back against the wall, trying to understand what was going on.
'Then place your hand on the locket, and say "Coruscant Power, Make-Up".'
Hikari-No shrugged. What difference would it make? This was probably just another strange dream. "Coruscant Power, Make-Up!" she called out, with more force than she intended.
Suddenly something strange seemed to happen to her. Though she was used to feeling the Force surrounding her body and flowing through her, all of a sudden she felt as if her entire body had no more substance than the void of space, as if she was made of light itself. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was taking place. Everything was changing, and when she opened her eyes a moment later, it was as if she was stronger, and more in tune with the Force than ever before. But it was not only her body that had changed.
She was now dressed in a white body suit, closely fitting and not her normal style. A short black skirt that revealed entirely too much of her legs drew her attention, then the collar of the same colour. At the bottom of her collar was a large bow of purple ribbon, and she knew without looking that another one was on her back. The gloves she now wore were white, with a blue cuff at the elbows, the same colour as the boots that stretched up to her knees. The boots had spiked heels, and Hikari-No took an experimental step to see if she could really walk in them. Her hair was unbound, and she pushed it back from her forehead where it was obstructing her vision. She felt something unfamiliar there, and tried to remember. The tiara would be made of silver, and Hikari-No suspected that the symbol etched onto it would be the same one as on her locket. Just like in her vision on Domus Prime.
'What has happened?' she asked frantically, looking herself over in shock and trying to understand.
'You are now the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Coruscant. Now, you have to go and defeat the creature that is attacking the Temple.'
Hikari-No reached for her lightsaber, only to realise that it she was no longer wearing it. For a moment, she thought that she would faint, then her common sense reasserted itself. 'How can I fight without my lightsaber?'
'When you need it, you will find a weapon with which to combat the Dark Kingdom. For now, we must go to the top of the gymnasium, it is there that the creature is exercising it's power over the dreams of the Jedi.' Palomene was not telling Hikari-No the full truth, of that she was certain, but she did not stop to ask, because again she heard *Star's cries of pain through the Force.
Without realising what she was doing, Sailor Coruscant was outside her rooms, and running through the seemingly deserted Temple.
At the top of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, twelve Jedi Masters sat in meditation. For two days they had neither moved nor shown any sign of consciousness. To any who would have looked, the old Masters were simply asleep, but their minds were closely monitoring what was taking place around them, aware of their own inability to act against the evil that was presenting itself.
As though on a prearranged signal, they all opened their eyes at once, glancing around the room and taking in anew their surroundings. For some, shock showed openly on their faces, whilst others were more used to hiding their emotions. After a long moment of silence, one looked up and spoke the words that all were thinking.
"It has begun."
Sailor Coruscant paused, realising for the first time that a number of students had been training in the gymnasium when the creature began its attack. She could sense their inert forms lying asleep on the floor in uncomfortable positions, their energy slowly leaving their bodies, and their minds filled with nightmares of terrifying imagery. *Star was among them. Sailor Coruscant sensed the creature before she first saw it, the waves of malevolence oozing from its being worrying her almost as much as its strange manipulation of the Dark Side of the Force.
When she looked from her concealed position, she saw that the minion of the Dark Kingdom was unlike any species she had ever known. It was clearly female, but with blue skin and feline eyes. The red antennae it possessed matched the highly revealing clothes she wore, and her fangs seemed to be dripping with saliva. When it stood up, Sailor Coruscant realised that it was close to twice her size.
"So much energy for our queen", she murmured gleefully. "She will be pleased."
Sailor Coruscant stored this information for later reference as she tried to come up with a plan that would allow her to defeat this monster. Perhaps if she distracted it, she would be able to get in close enough to cause some damage, though she held little hope of actually winning in this battle. At least not without her lightsaber. Palomene had been silent since she had left her rooms, and though she called out to her, there was no answer.
Finally, she saw no reason to delay any further, so she stepped out from her hiding spot to demand the creature's attention.
"The dreams of these Jedi are precious gifts from the Force, but you have been tampering with them", Sailor Coruscant taunted, not knowing what she was doing, and asking the Force for guidance as she stumbled to silence, "For that, I will punish you."
"And who are you to be challenging the Dark Kingdom?" the creature demanded, rising to it's full height even as Sailor Coruscant moved from the shadows.
She thought about it for a moment, before mentally shrugging. "I am the Sailor Senshi of love and justice, Sailor Coruscant."
Before the monster had a chance to respond, Sailor Coruscant started running at her, leaping into the air and jumping over the bodies that marred her path. She was not using the Force to augment her leap, but she was still able to go much higher than normally. She shook her head, focussing only on the creature, at whom she launched a vicious attack sequence.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the creature had abilities that she could not have expected, for the creature was able to block every movement, and then attacked back, it's long arms and legs landing painfully against Sailor Coruscant, who fell to the ground. For a moment the creature seemed to gloat, before Sailor Coruscant sensed it starting to channel the Dark Side of the Force into it's hands and shooting bolts of fire at her.
Feeling battered, she was able to dodge the first three, before the fourth scratched her right arm, causing it to flare up in pain. She felt dizzy and completely disorientated, before seeing *Star's body on the ground nearby. The sight of her friend looking as if she was dead gave Sailor Coruscant the energy she needed to stand, and she pushed herself up even as the creature's back was turned. It seemed to have forgotten about her as quickly as it had attacked, perhaps believing that she was dead.
It was in that instant that Sailor Coruscant realised how she could fight back. The knowledge came from deep within her, perhaps from the Force, but then again, perhaps Palomene had been able to implant the information in her mind whilst they were still able to talk.
Sailor Coruscant brought her hands together before her chest, the movement instinctive and without conscious action. She closed her eyes, trying to find her focus. She felt it then, a tingling in the Force, concentrated between her hands. The tingling sensation grew, as she focussed her thoughts on the small collection of energy. She opened her eyes again, and they glistened with an eerie blue that seemed to echo with light that was beginning to shine from between her fingers. Slowly, she drew her hands apart, the faint glimmering of blue light forming a glowing ball of energy as she realised that she could feed her own energy into it.
Blue eyes looked up, and met those of the creature. A fierce determination swept over her, and for the first time the creature actually looked afraid. Sailor Coruscant blinked, once, before throwing her arms out and screaming the words that would give the attack more power.
"Force Blast." The ball of glowing energy shot from her hands, headed straight for the creature. It screamed then, but she did not move, watching as it was torn to pieces by the terrible power that she commanded. The room was filled with an awesome blue light that consumed everything, and when it faded and her eyesight returned to normal, there was nothing left of the terrible creature.
As it had died, most of the energy it had collected had been returned to the people on the floor, who were now beginning to wake up. She stood still, fascinated by the destruction she had wrought as she eradicated the creature that had attacked the people. She had destroyed the creature. She had removed it from the Force. She had broken every promise she had ever made to respect the life of every living being, sentient or no.
She turned away from the scene, feeling ill.
Behind her, *Star stood up unsteadily, and Sailor Coruscant rushed over to help her, feeling a little apprehensive. But it seemed that she did not recognise the Sailor Senshi as her friend Hikari-No, for *Star merely thanked her, her eyes showing admiration but nothing more.
When she was certain that *Star would be fine, she quickly left the scene without speaking to anyone, making her way back to her rooms. There was still no one in the corridors, and Sailor Coruscant was thankful of that. When the door closed behind her, she wondered if she would be able to change her clothes back to normal, and reached a hand up to her locket, fingering it gently.
There was a soft flash of light, and Hikari-No realised that she was herself once again, and very exhausted at that. She blinked her surprise, and tried to call out to Palomene.
'Now will you explain all this to me?' she asked of the Force, hoping that Palomene would hear her.
'There will be time enough for explanations tomorrow. For now, you need your rest.' Try as she did, Hikari-No could not trace Palomene's thought. 'Thank you for what you have done this night.' Then she was gone, and Hikari-No was alone once more.
She thought that she would never be able to sleep, not after what had taken place that night, but instead the moment she lay down a comforting darkness overtook her, and she slept until morning without dreams.