AUTHORS NOTES
DISCLAIMERS: Rights to Sailor Moon are owned by Naoko Taceuchi, Kondansha Publishing, Toei, DiC, Optimum Productions, Cloverway...am I forgetting anything?
This story is supposed to provide an alternate story line to the Sailor Moon series. It starts after the Sailor Moon R series ends (the Death Phantom is destroyed and Rini goes home to Crystal Tokyo). The next events are of my own creation and do not relate to the Sailor Moon S series (at least not intentionally).
I finished this fanfic over a year ago, before the S and SuperS seasons were dubbed in America. Please excuse any attack names that are DiC-ish, because that is what I had to work with at the time. ;) This story, after looking back, seems a cross between Japanese and American references. So, please excuse the term "Negaverse" as opposed to "Dark Kingdom", because the story focuses on Jedite.
Anyway, please enjoy the story!
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CHAPTER 15
When Raye's dizziness passed, she tried to get her bearings. She seemed to be outside, with familiar scenery around her. She recognized the Shinto Temple before her as her own. The surrounding bushes, trees, and flowers were in their proper places as well. She concluded that she was in front of where she lived.
Raye was confused. "This is strange," she thought to herself. "Why am I in front of my house? Did something go wrong with that doorway I went through?"
"Raye!" shouted a familiar voice.
She woke up from her thoughts, startled from the voice. She looked behind her. "Grandpa!" she said with a start.
Her grandfather just stared at her, somewhat angry. "It's about time you got back!" he said. "I was just about to report you missing! Did you bring your watch?"
Nodding, Raye checked her watch. "Eight o'clock?" she said, surprised. "Woah, I guess I lost track of time."
Grandpa smiled. "Well, as long as you don't make a habit of it," he said, his own way of forgiving her. "I reserved the main room for you, if you want to do another fire reading."
Raye thought about Grandpa's offer, thinking about all the other events that happened during the day. "You didn't have to do that," she said, thanking him. "Why did you reserve it?"
"Oh, just that when you came out of the room the first time, you looked pretty shaken up. I thought another reading would clear you mind."
"Thanks," she said. "Maybe another reading will figure out why I've been brought here," she thought to herself.
"Uh, excuse me, Sensei," came a voice from afar. "When do we start my training again?" It was Chad. He was up on a tree branch with a blanket around his torso, a rope clutched in his hand.
"I'll be up in a minute!" Grandpa called back, picking up his blanket that he had dropped upon the ground. "Go have your reading," said Grandpa to Raye before turning toward the tree that Chad was on.
Raye complied, snickering as she made her way into the temple.
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The flame rose halfway to the ceiling. Raye threw some dust upon the fire to raise it higher. She knelt before the flame in a praying fashion. "Fire Spirits," she said in her mind, "I need your help more than ever. I've walked through a doorway to a test I'm supposed to take. But I've came back to the place that I have started. Is this part of the test? If so, what do I have to do? I need your guidance. Please."
She was repeating this message for a few minutes, and she was getting no response from the flames. She tried concentrating harder. When she did, the flames raised higher to the ceiling. A vision was outlined in the fire. It appeared to be an object of some sort. It was shaped like a circle, and had the characteristics of the planet Mars. However, the planet seemed to be incased in a red outer shell. Raye wondered what the object was.
As the object appeared in the fire, a voice seemed to be reaching out to her as well. "OBTAIN THE MARS PLANET CRYSTAL," spoke a feminine voice. "TRUST IN YOUR POWERS. THE FIRE SPIRITS SHALL GUIDE YOU."
As Raye heard these words, she thought she understood. "Okay," she thought. "So I have to retrieve a crystal that looks like that. But where do I look first?"
Soon after she asked herself that question, the vision disappeared. About a minute after it did, a face appeared within the fire. However, it wasn't a vision. "Surprise!" the face yelled.
Raye literally jumped back ten feet, surprised by the intrusion. "Who are you!?!" she yelled with a start.
The person the face belonged to passed through the fire and landed on his feet. He was an odd looking person. He was wrapped within a yellow trench coat with a fireman's hat upon his head. A high pitched laugh passed his lips. "Most people call me 'The Fire Marshal!'" he boomed. "But you can call me 'FM'!"
"I can think of a few names to call you," Raye muttered under her breath.
"I heard that!" FM shouted. "You have no respect for authority, do you?"
Raye stood up, spellbound by this guy's words. "I just came to tell you that this room is a huge violation of the Fire Marshal Code! You can't have a fire burning in the middle of the room!"
Raye was shocked. "We're in a sacred temple!" shouted Raye at the top of her lungs. "The flame is sacred to us!"
"So this is a sacred fire, now?" said FM. "All fires look the same to me. And this one definitely has to go!" With a wave of his hand, the sacred flame lowered until it was extinguished.
Raye was enraged once he put the fame out. "You monster!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "You have violated this sacred temple! I order you to leave now, or face the consequences!"
FM looked around. "Oh, I put a sacred fire out!" he said, putting on a mask of embarrassment. "Don't worry, little girl. You can have all the fire you want!"
FM raised his hand once again. This time, he set one of the temple walls on fire. Raye had to move out of the way to avoid his attacks. FM began to laugh again. "That's right!" he cried like a madman. "Have all the fire you need!"
With that said, FM set two more of the walls on fire. Smoke began to fill he room. Raye had to duck low and place her face under the comfort of her temple robes to breathe. "This guy is insane!" she thought to herself.
FM smiled as he threw flame upon the last wall of the room. "That's the big finish, darlin'!" he boomed. "Your trapped!"
As Raye struggled to breathe with the smoke in her way, the words from her vision came to her mind. "TRUST IN YOU POWERS. THE FIRE SPIRITS WILL GUIDE YOU."
Raye finally understood what it meant. "So this guy thinks he can use my own element against me, huh?" she thought to herself. "He's gonna get a taste of his own medicine!"
Even with the smoke invading the room, she managed to stand. Once again, she held her hands together as she began to pray aloud. "Great and wise Fire Spirits," she began, "please give me the power to defeat this being who has invaded this temple. The evil must be destroyed!"
She pulled a fire scroll from the inside of her robes. With her mind, she blessed it with another prayer. Once she was done, she placed it in a certain spot in the air. Once she let go, the scroll floated in place.
The fire around the room then began to lessen. The scroll began to collect the surrounding flame and create a fireball around itself. FM was amazed at this spectacle. "What are you doing!" he shouted. "What is happening?"
"The Fire Spirits are here to protect me," she muttered. "You cannot use fire to destroy me. Your end is near!"
The fire around the scroll began to increase as the fire burning the walls decreased. Her constant concentration was necessary for her to keep the fireball together and not disperse around the room once again. FM was shocked. "This is impossible!" he screamed. "You can't do that!"
Raye didn't say anything. The fire around the scroll kept growing and growing until it was as big as Raye's entire body, maybe even more so. The flame burning the walls was now extinguished.
As soon as the fireball was complete, a new command began to form in her mind. With all her concentration keeping the flame in place, she uttered two simple words: "Nova Strike!"
The huge ball of flame began to streak across the room, heading directly for FM. There was no way for him to dodge it. When the two collided, FM let loose a huge scream of pain as he burned and writhed with in the fire. As he was, the rest of Raye's surroundings began to burn away as well…
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…until there was nothing left. The only thing that remained was a huge void that surrounded Raye. The void kept pulsing shades of red all around her. "Where am I?" she asked herself.
Suddenly, a red object appeared before her. It was the Mars Planet Crystal. Raye gasped. "That's the crystal from my vision!" she shouted.
"Yes, Raye," spoke a familiar voice.
Raye was startled. "That's the voice from my vision!" she cried. "What's going on here?"
A lone figure appeared a few feet away from Raye. A female, she wore Shinto robes just like Raye's, except they were all red. Her black hair was tied back in a bun. She took a few steps toward Raye. "Congratulations, my daughter."
Raye didn't know what to think. "Daughter?" she asked. "I can't be you daughter!" Her head lowered. "My mother died…a long time ago."
"But you were my daughter during the Silver Millenium," the figure said.
Raye looked up, shocked. "Does…does this mean that you're…"
"Yes, Raye," she said. "I am the Guardian of Mars. My real name is Selene."
Raye didn't know what to say. Ever since her mother died when she was four, she never had a mother figure to look upon. Somehow, seeing her mother from long ago seemed a relief for her. "I…uh…I am really…uh,…pleased to…meet you," she stuttered nervously.
"I can understand your nervousness, child," Selene said. "Sometimes there are no need for words in these types of situations. However, please take the crystal."
Raye, noticing that she forgot the crystal suspended in the air, grasped it. She felt a warm feeling pass through her soul. "Did I…pass the test?"
"Yes, my dear," Selene answered. "You have proved to us all that you have extraordinary spirit. You've also proven to us that when you trust yourself, you can achieve anything."
Raye was happy, yet still an unknown feeling was inside her. "What's next?" she asked.
"There is one more step," Selene responded. "Come with me."
Raye walked over to where Selene was standing. When she reached her, Raye couldn't help it. She thrust her arms out and gave Selene a loving embrace. "Thank you…Mom!" she said, tears streaming down her face.
Selene returned the hug that Raye had given her. "You are always so strong, my dear," she said. "It's all right to be weak for just one moment." Tears of joy began to appear on Selene's face as well. "It's good to see you again, Daughter!"
Both mother and daughter wept tears of joy. As they did, they faded into the mist, approaching the last step.
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CHAPTER 16
Lita's dizziness wave passed quickly. However, her sight had been blurred considerably. She tried to focus, but to no avail. However, something appeared before her eyes that seemed clear. A green circle appeared, with what looked like the planet Jupiter trapped inside. A masculine voice soon started to speak. "OBTAIN THE JUPITER PLANET CRYSTAL!" the voice said. "ALL IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS! SAFETY IS THE KEY TO VICTORY!" Once the voice stopped talking, the crystal disappeared, and Lita's vision cleared up.
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Lita inspected her new surroundings. She appeared to be in the middle of an unfamiliar cityscape. She also appeared to be the only person in it. There were no cars zooming down the street. There were no people walking down the sidewalk. The whole city was silent.
Lita looked up at the sky, or what she could see of it. The entire sky was obstructed by dark clouds. Random flashes of lightning also struck the sky, however, with no thunder to support it. All these factors mixed in gave the town an eerie feeling to Lita. "This is so strange," she thought to herself. "I feel like any second now a ghost is gonna appear!"
Within a moment, Lita could hear a crying sound come from behind her. She turned to face a darkened alley. She saw a lone figure running out of the alley. Lita deduced it was a small girl, not more than five years old. She wore a green coat and hat, definitely dressed for winter weather. Lita had noticed the drop in temperature from before she entered the portal.
The girl was running blind, tears streaming down her face. She was heading straight for Lita. "Help!" she cried to no one in particular. "Help! She's after me!"
The girl, with her eyes closed, ran right into Lita's leg. The slight collision left the girl upon her bottom, still sobbing. Lita rushed to her aid. "Woah," she said once the girl stopped running, "what's wrong, little girl?"
The girl tried to get the words out from underneath her tears. "I'm…sob…not supposed'ta…sob… talk ta…sob…stranga's."
"Strangers, huh?" said Lita, trying a new approach. "Well, my name is Lita. What's your name?"
"Mi…Mi…Missy," the girl nervously said.
"Well, Missy," Lita began again, "now that we know eachother's name, I guess we're not strangers anymore!"
Missy managed to smile. "Hi, Lida!" she said.
Lita smirked as well. "Anyway," she said, "What's wrong?"
Missy's smile disappeared as quickly as it came. "There's a mean lady after me!"
"Mean lady, huh?" asked Lita, concerned. "What does she looked like?"
"My mommy," Missy replied.
Lita was somewhat confused. "Your mommy's a mean lady?" she asked.
"No," Missy answered, as if Lita asked the stupidest question in the world. "Mommy's the nicest person ever!"
Lita once again tried a new approach. "I think you better tell me what happened."
Missy began to explain in her own way. "Mommy and me were gonna go ta the store, and buy some popsicles. Then the evil lady came and took Mommy away! She disappeared! Then the evil lady turned into just like my mommy, and then says she is my mommy." Tears started to form in Missy's eyes again. "I didn't…believe her…I don't know where…Mommy is!" Her tears started to stream down her face as she cried once more. "I'm so scared, Lida!"
Missy put her head upon Lita's shoulder. Lita put a hand on her back to try and console her. "There, there, Missy. Please don't cry. Shhhhh….I'll help find your real mommy if you want."
Missy looked up into Lita's eyes. "Re…really?"
"Yep!" said Lita triumphantly. "I'll do anything to help ya!"
Missy began to smile again. "Oh, thank you Lida!" she cried, hugging Lita's arm.
Soon, Lita began to sense a strange odor. It began to grow stronger with the passing moments. "Missy, do you smell something like…dead fish?"
"Fish??" Missy shouted? Fear began to well up within her stomach. "Oh no! The evil lady is coming! The evil lady is coming!"
"What?" said Lita, starting to get worried. "The evil lady?"
"She's following me!" shouted Missy at the top of her lungs. "Help me Lida, please!"
She began to clutch Lita's arm once again, this time for support.
"Don't worry," Lita whispered into her ear. "I'll help you the best I can."
"Missy!" shouted another voice from the alley. "Missy, sweetie!"
"She's here!" whispered Missy into Lita's ear. "I'm scared!"
Another figure stepped out of the shadows. She seemed to have a matching coat as Missy did, but she wore a rain hat instead of the pink one Missy wore. "Missy, my baby!" she shouted. "Oh, miss, I don't know how to thank you for finding my baby!" she said, referring to Lita.
"From what I've been hearing," said Lita, standing up, "you're not Missy's mom at all!"
The "mother" looked confused. "But I am her mother! You can't say that I'm not! Now let me have my daughter back now!"
"Oh, please Lida," cried Missy. "Don't let the mean lady take me!"
"I won't" said Lita, turning her gaze back toward the new figure. "Say, do you know how old your 'daughter' even is?"
The figure had a tough time trying to think of her age. "She's four, of course!" she confidently said.
"No I'm not!" shouted Missy. "I'm five! She's wrong, Lida! She's wrong!"
"Look's like the game's over, you imposter!" shouted Lita.
The "mother" began to grow angry. "You'll never escape your fates!" she suddenly exploded, reaching for a whip behind her back. When she brought it out, she cracked it once, sending a blue rug covering her body. The rug had a somewhat odd symbol on top of it. A few seconds later, it lifted, revealing a woman with light-blue hair and an odd blue dress. "I am Fisheye!" she triumphantly yelled. "Both of you will be destroyed!"
"Ugh!" said Lita, holding her nose. "When was the last time you bathed?"
Fisheye's face grew red. "That doesn't matter! I'm the greatest warrior in all the universe! And the master of disguise!"
Lita smirked. "Now look, 'Mister', that disguise was good, but do you have to dress in drag?"
Fisheye, his true gender revealed, became furious. "Okay! That's it! The girl is history!"
Lightning sprang from his fingertips, heading straight for Missy. Lita, acting quickly, grabbed Missy and rushed her away from the blast. The lightning struck the pavement, creating a small pothole.
Fisheye became angry. "You're going to pay for that!" Fisheye shouted. With that, he began to chase Lita and Missy, firing bolts of lightning as he went. Lita had Missy scooped up in her hands, running for her life. Missy was so terrified from the whole experience that she started to scream. This didn't help Lita much, but she could understand her feelings.
Both Lita and Missy ducked into an alleyway as Fisheye passed them. Lita had to stop and catch her breath. Missy had stopped her screaming, but still clung to Lita for dear life. "Are you all right, kiddo?" asked Lita between breaths.
Missy looked up. "I'm fine," she said weakly. "Is the evil lady gone?"
Lita fell to her knees, catching her breath. "For now…I hope," she remarked. "Although…I think…it was a man, Missy."
"A man?" asked Missy, confused. "Why did he have a dress on?"
"I'll explain when you're older, kiddo," Lita said with a smile.
Missy hung her head low. "Don't worry," said Lita, reassuringly. "I'm sure that the 'evil lady' doesn't even know we're here."
"Wanna bet?" cried a sarcastic voice.
It was Fisheye, already in the alleyway, cornering the two. "You said she was gone!" shouted Missy to Lita.
"Well, kiddo," Lita said, "everybody makes a mistake sometimes."
Fisheye just smirked. "You two are finished!" he shouted. And with a wave of his hand, all three of them disappeared.
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When Lita came to, she and Missy were on top of a skyscraper. Fisheye hovered over them. "I'd be careful where you'd step," he cackled. "It's a fifty-story drop!"
Lita scurried to her feet, Missy following close behind. Fisheye laughed as he once again launched bolts of lightning at the two.
There were few places to hide upon the building's top, so Lita and Missy had a tough time avoiding all the lightning. "Missy is slowing me up big time!" Lita thought. "Not that I don't like the little gal, but I need to put her in a safe place. Then I can tear Fisheye a new one!"
Thinking quickly, Lita saw a door that led to the inside of the building. She grabbed Missy's hand and started to run toward it. Once Lita opened the door, she motioned Missy to go inside.
"You'll be safe in here, Missy," said Lita. "I'll take care of that evil lady!"
"Okay," said Missy, unsure of herself.
"Missy?" a voice echoed in the shadows. "Missy? Is that you, honey?"
Missy turned around, noticing the voice was familiar. "Mommy?" she asked in disbelief. "Is that you?"
A new figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a familiar looking woman in green coat and rain hat. "Oh Missy, your here!"
Missy ran toward the woman. "Mommy!" she happily shouted. Missy and her mother hugged when they met. "Mommy, your okay! Hey, Lida," she said, looking toward Lita, "I found my mommy!"
Lita was a bit skeptical. "Are you sure your the mother?" Lita asked her.
"Yes," Missy's mother responded. "This monster came out of nowhere and put me here, away from my daughter. But now, she's here. And that's all that matters!" She hugged Missy again, seemingly bonding Missy to her body. "Did you take care of her?" she asked Lita.
"Yeah, she was great," Lita responded. "I'm glad I could help. But for now, I'm gonna take on that monster myself!"
The mother seemed shocked. "Are you sure?"
Lita just smiled. "Hey, leave it to me! I can take her on with one arm tied around my back!"
"Be careful!" Missy shouted as Lita once again stepped outside.
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Fisheye spotted her almost immediately. "Are you ready for another round, stupid brat?" he yelled.
Lita raised her fist in the air. "I'm ready for anything, Fish-face!"
Fisheye sent another barrage of lightning bolts Lita's way. However, Lita's quick agility avoided all of the bolts. Fisheye became furious. He hurled a huge bolt of lightning at Lita, intending to hit her target.
Lita ducked, letting the bolt strike a nearby lightning rod. Lita noticed that the rod had started to glow. Thinking quickly, she removed the rod from it's base, and started to walk toward Fisheye.
Fisheye began to panic. He threw nearly everything she had at the girl. However, Lita seemed to keep absorbing Fisheye's attacks with the lightning rod. It also seemed to glow brighter each time lightning struck it. Lita eventually backed Fisheye up to a corner of the roof. With nowhere to run, Fisheye was trapped.
Lita then pulled back the rod, and swung it towards Fisheye. The ball of the rod struck Fisheye in the face, electrocuting him severely. He tumbled off the building, screaming obscenities on the way down. When he hit bottom, it was Lita's turn to smile. "I'd be careful where you'd step," Lita mocked. "It's a fifty-story drop!"
"Wow!" came a voice from behind her.
Lita turned around to find both Missy and her mother standing behind her. Both had smiles upon their faces. "Those were some great skills you had there," Missy's mother remarked.
"Yeah," Missy added. "You were great!"
Lita put the lightning rod down on the ground as Missy ran toward her. Once again, Missy hugged Lita, this time as tight as she could. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered in Lita's ear.
"No problem, kiddo," Lita whispered back. The hug lasted for a long time, until the world around Lita faded away, and all that she was embracing was the air.
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When Lita realized it, she saw that the scenery around her had changed. Both Missy, her mother, and the cityscape were gone. The only thing that was surrounding her was a void, pulsing shades of green.
Lita was confused, and somewhat angered. "What happened?" she asked herself. "What happened to everyone? Where's Missy?" As she walked around, her foot hit a stray object. It was the lightning rod. "Perfect," she thought, picking the rod up. "This doesn't make any sense."
Suddenly, the ball of the lightning rod started to change. It changed to a small, green object as the stick melted away from Lita's hands. It took a moment for it to register in her mind, but she realized it was the object she was looking for. "It's the Jupiter Planet Crystal!" she shouted aloud. She grasped it tight, feeling a warm feeling pass through her. "All right! I got it!"
"That's my girl," said a mysterious, yet familiar voice.
Lita looked ahead, noticing someone else come toward her. He was a muscle-bound man, wearing no shirt to show off his pectorals. He wore a pair of green trousers with a gold belt, seeming to blend into the scenery as he moved. "Yep, I knew you could do it! No sweat!"
Lita rubbed her eyes, thinking it was a mirage. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"Hey, you know me…oh, yeah, that's right," he said catching himself. "That whole Imperium Crystal rebirth thing that Queen Serenity pulled. Anywho, let me introduce myself. I'm Richter, Guardian of Jupiter, and boxer-slash-wrestler extrordinare!"
Lita seemed to be catching on. "Say, if your the Guardian of Jupiter, are we related?"
"Yep," said Richter. "We were father and daughter during the Silver Millenium, you and I. Well, not in that order, but you get the idea."
Lita giggled a bit. "I guess I know where I get my fighting instincts from!"
"Oh yeah," Richter reassured. "You and I would train everyday! I'd hold the punchin' bag, and you'd rip it to shreds, We'd have a great time!" Richter than put a serious tone upon himself. "But now, you passed that test. I mean, not only have you done some good moves, but you've achieved a good balance. The safety of others come first. I'm real proud of you, kid."
Lita smiled again. "Thanks," she said, somewhat lost for words.
"Actually," Richter started again, "we gotta be somewhere now. I'll race you there!" Richter took off in the opposite direction that he was standing. Lita, accepting the challenge, took off after him, running into the mist.
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NEXT TIME...
Back at the Tsukino house, Serena's family is up very late, worrying about their little girl. While this is going on, it's Darien's turn to face his Guardian Trial!...or is it?
DISCLAIMERS: Rights to Sailor Moon are owned by Naoko Taceuchi, Kondansha Publishing, Toei, DiC, Optimum Productions, Cloverway...am I forgetting anything?
This story is supposed to provide an alternate story line to the Sailor Moon series. It starts after the Sailor Moon R series ends (the Death Phantom is destroyed and Rini goes home to Crystal Tokyo). The next events are of my own creation and do not relate to the Sailor Moon S series (at least not intentionally).
I finished this fanfic over a year ago, before the S and SuperS seasons were dubbed in America. Please excuse any attack names that are DiC-ish, because that is what I had to work with at the time. ;) This story, after looking back, seems a cross between Japanese and American references. So, please excuse the term "Negaverse" as opposed to "Dark Kingdom", because the story focuses on Jedite.
Anyway, please enjoy the story!
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CHAPTER 15
When Raye's dizziness passed, she tried to get her bearings. She seemed to be outside, with familiar scenery around her. She recognized the Shinto Temple before her as her own. The surrounding bushes, trees, and flowers were in their proper places as well. She concluded that she was in front of where she lived.
Raye was confused. "This is strange," she thought to herself. "Why am I in front of my house? Did something go wrong with that doorway I went through?"
"Raye!" shouted a familiar voice.
She woke up from her thoughts, startled from the voice. She looked behind her. "Grandpa!" she said with a start.
Her grandfather just stared at her, somewhat angry. "It's about time you got back!" he said. "I was just about to report you missing! Did you bring your watch?"
Nodding, Raye checked her watch. "Eight o'clock?" she said, surprised. "Woah, I guess I lost track of time."
Grandpa smiled. "Well, as long as you don't make a habit of it," he said, his own way of forgiving her. "I reserved the main room for you, if you want to do another fire reading."
Raye thought about Grandpa's offer, thinking about all the other events that happened during the day. "You didn't have to do that," she said, thanking him. "Why did you reserve it?"
"Oh, just that when you came out of the room the first time, you looked pretty shaken up. I thought another reading would clear you mind."
"Thanks," she said. "Maybe another reading will figure out why I've been brought here," she thought to herself.
"Uh, excuse me, Sensei," came a voice from afar. "When do we start my training again?" It was Chad. He was up on a tree branch with a blanket around his torso, a rope clutched in his hand.
"I'll be up in a minute!" Grandpa called back, picking up his blanket that he had dropped upon the ground. "Go have your reading," said Grandpa to Raye before turning toward the tree that Chad was on.
Raye complied, snickering as she made her way into the temple.
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The flame rose halfway to the ceiling. Raye threw some dust upon the fire to raise it higher. She knelt before the flame in a praying fashion. "Fire Spirits," she said in her mind, "I need your help more than ever. I've walked through a doorway to a test I'm supposed to take. But I've came back to the place that I have started. Is this part of the test? If so, what do I have to do? I need your guidance. Please."
She was repeating this message for a few minutes, and she was getting no response from the flames. She tried concentrating harder. When she did, the flames raised higher to the ceiling. A vision was outlined in the fire. It appeared to be an object of some sort. It was shaped like a circle, and had the characteristics of the planet Mars. However, the planet seemed to be incased in a red outer shell. Raye wondered what the object was.
As the object appeared in the fire, a voice seemed to be reaching out to her as well. "OBTAIN THE MARS PLANET CRYSTAL," spoke a feminine voice. "TRUST IN YOUR POWERS. THE FIRE SPIRITS SHALL GUIDE YOU."
As Raye heard these words, she thought she understood. "Okay," she thought. "So I have to retrieve a crystal that looks like that. But where do I look first?"
Soon after she asked herself that question, the vision disappeared. About a minute after it did, a face appeared within the fire. However, it wasn't a vision. "Surprise!" the face yelled.
Raye literally jumped back ten feet, surprised by the intrusion. "Who are you!?!" she yelled with a start.
The person the face belonged to passed through the fire and landed on his feet. He was an odd looking person. He was wrapped within a yellow trench coat with a fireman's hat upon his head. A high pitched laugh passed his lips. "Most people call me 'The Fire Marshal!'" he boomed. "But you can call me 'FM'!"
"I can think of a few names to call you," Raye muttered under her breath.
"I heard that!" FM shouted. "You have no respect for authority, do you?"
Raye stood up, spellbound by this guy's words. "I just came to tell you that this room is a huge violation of the Fire Marshal Code! You can't have a fire burning in the middle of the room!"
Raye was shocked. "We're in a sacred temple!" shouted Raye at the top of her lungs. "The flame is sacred to us!"
"So this is a sacred fire, now?" said FM. "All fires look the same to me. And this one definitely has to go!" With a wave of his hand, the sacred flame lowered until it was extinguished.
Raye was enraged once he put the fame out. "You monster!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "You have violated this sacred temple! I order you to leave now, or face the consequences!"
FM looked around. "Oh, I put a sacred fire out!" he said, putting on a mask of embarrassment. "Don't worry, little girl. You can have all the fire you want!"
FM raised his hand once again. This time, he set one of the temple walls on fire. Raye had to move out of the way to avoid his attacks. FM began to laugh again. "That's right!" he cried like a madman. "Have all the fire you need!"
With that said, FM set two more of the walls on fire. Smoke began to fill he room. Raye had to duck low and place her face under the comfort of her temple robes to breathe. "This guy is insane!" she thought to herself.
FM smiled as he threw flame upon the last wall of the room. "That's the big finish, darlin'!" he boomed. "Your trapped!"
As Raye struggled to breathe with the smoke in her way, the words from her vision came to her mind. "TRUST IN YOU POWERS. THE FIRE SPIRITS WILL GUIDE YOU."
Raye finally understood what it meant. "So this guy thinks he can use my own element against me, huh?" she thought to herself. "He's gonna get a taste of his own medicine!"
Even with the smoke invading the room, she managed to stand. Once again, she held her hands together as she began to pray aloud. "Great and wise Fire Spirits," she began, "please give me the power to defeat this being who has invaded this temple. The evil must be destroyed!"
She pulled a fire scroll from the inside of her robes. With her mind, she blessed it with another prayer. Once she was done, she placed it in a certain spot in the air. Once she let go, the scroll floated in place.
The fire around the room then began to lessen. The scroll began to collect the surrounding flame and create a fireball around itself. FM was amazed at this spectacle. "What are you doing!" he shouted. "What is happening?"
"The Fire Spirits are here to protect me," she muttered. "You cannot use fire to destroy me. Your end is near!"
The fire around the scroll began to increase as the fire burning the walls decreased. Her constant concentration was necessary for her to keep the fireball together and not disperse around the room once again. FM was shocked. "This is impossible!" he screamed. "You can't do that!"
Raye didn't say anything. The fire around the scroll kept growing and growing until it was as big as Raye's entire body, maybe even more so. The flame burning the walls was now extinguished.
As soon as the fireball was complete, a new command began to form in her mind. With all her concentration keeping the flame in place, she uttered two simple words: "Nova Strike!"
The huge ball of flame began to streak across the room, heading directly for FM. There was no way for him to dodge it. When the two collided, FM let loose a huge scream of pain as he burned and writhed with in the fire. As he was, the rest of Raye's surroundings began to burn away as well…
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…until there was nothing left. The only thing that remained was a huge void that surrounded Raye. The void kept pulsing shades of red all around her. "Where am I?" she asked herself.
Suddenly, a red object appeared before her. It was the Mars Planet Crystal. Raye gasped. "That's the crystal from my vision!" she shouted.
"Yes, Raye," spoke a familiar voice.
Raye was startled. "That's the voice from my vision!" she cried. "What's going on here?"
A lone figure appeared a few feet away from Raye. A female, she wore Shinto robes just like Raye's, except they were all red. Her black hair was tied back in a bun. She took a few steps toward Raye. "Congratulations, my daughter."
Raye didn't know what to think. "Daughter?" she asked. "I can't be you daughter!" Her head lowered. "My mother died…a long time ago."
"But you were my daughter during the Silver Millenium," the figure said.
Raye looked up, shocked. "Does…does this mean that you're…"
"Yes, Raye," she said. "I am the Guardian of Mars. My real name is Selene."
Raye didn't know what to say. Ever since her mother died when she was four, she never had a mother figure to look upon. Somehow, seeing her mother from long ago seemed a relief for her. "I…uh…I am really…uh,…pleased to…meet you," she stuttered nervously.
"I can understand your nervousness, child," Selene said. "Sometimes there are no need for words in these types of situations. However, please take the crystal."
Raye, noticing that she forgot the crystal suspended in the air, grasped it. She felt a warm feeling pass through her soul. "Did I…pass the test?"
"Yes, my dear," Selene answered. "You have proved to us all that you have extraordinary spirit. You've also proven to us that when you trust yourself, you can achieve anything."
Raye was happy, yet still an unknown feeling was inside her. "What's next?" she asked.
"There is one more step," Selene responded. "Come with me."
Raye walked over to where Selene was standing. When she reached her, Raye couldn't help it. She thrust her arms out and gave Selene a loving embrace. "Thank you…Mom!" she said, tears streaming down her face.
Selene returned the hug that Raye had given her. "You are always so strong, my dear," she said. "It's all right to be weak for just one moment." Tears of joy began to appear on Selene's face as well. "It's good to see you again, Daughter!"
Both mother and daughter wept tears of joy. As they did, they faded into the mist, approaching the last step.
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CHAPTER 16
Lita's dizziness wave passed quickly. However, her sight had been blurred considerably. She tried to focus, but to no avail. However, something appeared before her eyes that seemed clear. A green circle appeared, with what looked like the planet Jupiter trapped inside. A masculine voice soon started to speak. "OBTAIN THE JUPITER PLANET CRYSTAL!" the voice said. "ALL IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS! SAFETY IS THE KEY TO VICTORY!" Once the voice stopped talking, the crystal disappeared, and Lita's vision cleared up.
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Lita inspected her new surroundings. She appeared to be in the middle of an unfamiliar cityscape. She also appeared to be the only person in it. There were no cars zooming down the street. There were no people walking down the sidewalk. The whole city was silent.
Lita looked up at the sky, or what she could see of it. The entire sky was obstructed by dark clouds. Random flashes of lightning also struck the sky, however, with no thunder to support it. All these factors mixed in gave the town an eerie feeling to Lita. "This is so strange," she thought to herself. "I feel like any second now a ghost is gonna appear!"
Within a moment, Lita could hear a crying sound come from behind her. She turned to face a darkened alley. She saw a lone figure running out of the alley. Lita deduced it was a small girl, not more than five years old. She wore a green coat and hat, definitely dressed for winter weather. Lita had noticed the drop in temperature from before she entered the portal.
The girl was running blind, tears streaming down her face. She was heading straight for Lita. "Help!" she cried to no one in particular. "Help! She's after me!"
The girl, with her eyes closed, ran right into Lita's leg. The slight collision left the girl upon her bottom, still sobbing. Lita rushed to her aid. "Woah," she said once the girl stopped running, "what's wrong, little girl?"
The girl tried to get the words out from underneath her tears. "I'm…sob…not supposed'ta…sob… talk ta…sob…stranga's."
"Strangers, huh?" said Lita, trying a new approach. "Well, my name is Lita. What's your name?"
"Mi…Mi…Missy," the girl nervously said.
"Well, Missy," Lita began again, "now that we know eachother's name, I guess we're not strangers anymore!"
Missy managed to smile. "Hi, Lida!" she said.
Lita smirked as well. "Anyway," she said, "What's wrong?"
Missy's smile disappeared as quickly as it came. "There's a mean lady after me!"
"Mean lady, huh?" asked Lita, concerned. "What does she looked like?"
"My mommy," Missy replied.
Lita was somewhat confused. "Your mommy's a mean lady?" she asked.
"No," Missy answered, as if Lita asked the stupidest question in the world. "Mommy's the nicest person ever!"
Lita once again tried a new approach. "I think you better tell me what happened."
Missy began to explain in her own way. "Mommy and me were gonna go ta the store, and buy some popsicles. Then the evil lady came and took Mommy away! She disappeared! Then the evil lady turned into just like my mommy, and then says she is my mommy." Tears started to form in Missy's eyes again. "I didn't…believe her…I don't know where…Mommy is!" Her tears started to stream down her face as she cried once more. "I'm so scared, Lida!"
Missy put her head upon Lita's shoulder. Lita put a hand on her back to try and console her. "There, there, Missy. Please don't cry. Shhhhh….I'll help find your real mommy if you want."
Missy looked up into Lita's eyes. "Re…really?"
"Yep!" said Lita triumphantly. "I'll do anything to help ya!"
Missy began to smile again. "Oh, thank you Lida!" she cried, hugging Lita's arm.
Soon, Lita began to sense a strange odor. It began to grow stronger with the passing moments. "Missy, do you smell something like…dead fish?"
"Fish??" Missy shouted? Fear began to well up within her stomach. "Oh no! The evil lady is coming! The evil lady is coming!"
"What?" said Lita, starting to get worried. "The evil lady?"
"She's following me!" shouted Missy at the top of her lungs. "Help me Lida, please!"
She began to clutch Lita's arm once again, this time for support.
"Don't worry," Lita whispered into her ear. "I'll help you the best I can."
"Missy!" shouted another voice from the alley. "Missy, sweetie!"
"She's here!" whispered Missy into Lita's ear. "I'm scared!"
Another figure stepped out of the shadows. She seemed to have a matching coat as Missy did, but she wore a rain hat instead of the pink one Missy wore. "Missy, my baby!" she shouted. "Oh, miss, I don't know how to thank you for finding my baby!" she said, referring to Lita.
"From what I've been hearing," said Lita, standing up, "you're not Missy's mom at all!"
The "mother" looked confused. "But I am her mother! You can't say that I'm not! Now let me have my daughter back now!"
"Oh, please Lida," cried Missy. "Don't let the mean lady take me!"
"I won't" said Lita, turning her gaze back toward the new figure. "Say, do you know how old your 'daughter' even is?"
The figure had a tough time trying to think of her age. "She's four, of course!" she confidently said.
"No I'm not!" shouted Missy. "I'm five! She's wrong, Lida! She's wrong!"
"Look's like the game's over, you imposter!" shouted Lita.
The "mother" began to grow angry. "You'll never escape your fates!" she suddenly exploded, reaching for a whip behind her back. When she brought it out, she cracked it once, sending a blue rug covering her body. The rug had a somewhat odd symbol on top of it. A few seconds later, it lifted, revealing a woman with light-blue hair and an odd blue dress. "I am Fisheye!" she triumphantly yelled. "Both of you will be destroyed!"
"Ugh!" said Lita, holding her nose. "When was the last time you bathed?"
Fisheye's face grew red. "That doesn't matter! I'm the greatest warrior in all the universe! And the master of disguise!"
Lita smirked. "Now look, 'Mister', that disguise was good, but do you have to dress in drag?"
Fisheye, his true gender revealed, became furious. "Okay! That's it! The girl is history!"
Lightning sprang from his fingertips, heading straight for Missy. Lita, acting quickly, grabbed Missy and rushed her away from the blast. The lightning struck the pavement, creating a small pothole.
Fisheye became angry. "You're going to pay for that!" Fisheye shouted. With that, he began to chase Lita and Missy, firing bolts of lightning as he went. Lita had Missy scooped up in her hands, running for her life. Missy was so terrified from the whole experience that she started to scream. This didn't help Lita much, but she could understand her feelings.
Both Lita and Missy ducked into an alleyway as Fisheye passed them. Lita had to stop and catch her breath. Missy had stopped her screaming, but still clung to Lita for dear life. "Are you all right, kiddo?" asked Lita between breaths.
Missy looked up. "I'm fine," she said weakly. "Is the evil lady gone?"
Lita fell to her knees, catching her breath. "For now…I hope," she remarked. "Although…I think…it was a man, Missy."
"A man?" asked Missy, confused. "Why did he have a dress on?"
"I'll explain when you're older, kiddo," Lita said with a smile.
Missy hung her head low. "Don't worry," said Lita, reassuringly. "I'm sure that the 'evil lady' doesn't even know we're here."
"Wanna bet?" cried a sarcastic voice.
It was Fisheye, already in the alleyway, cornering the two. "You said she was gone!" shouted Missy to Lita.
"Well, kiddo," Lita said, "everybody makes a mistake sometimes."
Fisheye just smirked. "You two are finished!" he shouted. And with a wave of his hand, all three of them disappeared.
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When Lita came to, she and Missy were on top of a skyscraper. Fisheye hovered over them. "I'd be careful where you'd step," he cackled. "It's a fifty-story drop!"
Lita scurried to her feet, Missy following close behind. Fisheye laughed as he once again launched bolts of lightning at the two.
There were few places to hide upon the building's top, so Lita and Missy had a tough time avoiding all the lightning. "Missy is slowing me up big time!" Lita thought. "Not that I don't like the little gal, but I need to put her in a safe place. Then I can tear Fisheye a new one!"
Thinking quickly, Lita saw a door that led to the inside of the building. She grabbed Missy's hand and started to run toward it. Once Lita opened the door, she motioned Missy to go inside.
"You'll be safe in here, Missy," said Lita. "I'll take care of that evil lady!"
"Okay," said Missy, unsure of herself.
"Missy?" a voice echoed in the shadows. "Missy? Is that you, honey?"
Missy turned around, noticing the voice was familiar. "Mommy?" she asked in disbelief. "Is that you?"
A new figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a familiar looking woman in green coat and rain hat. "Oh Missy, your here!"
Missy ran toward the woman. "Mommy!" she happily shouted. Missy and her mother hugged when they met. "Mommy, your okay! Hey, Lida," she said, looking toward Lita, "I found my mommy!"
Lita was a bit skeptical. "Are you sure your the mother?" Lita asked her.
"Yes," Missy's mother responded. "This monster came out of nowhere and put me here, away from my daughter. But now, she's here. And that's all that matters!" She hugged Missy again, seemingly bonding Missy to her body. "Did you take care of her?" she asked Lita.
"Yeah, she was great," Lita responded. "I'm glad I could help. But for now, I'm gonna take on that monster myself!"
The mother seemed shocked. "Are you sure?"
Lita just smiled. "Hey, leave it to me! I can take her on with one arm tied around my back!"
"Be careful!" Missy shouted as Lita once again stepped outside.
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Fisheye spotted her almost immediately. "Are you ready for another round, stupid brat?" he yelled.
Lita raised her fist in the air. "I'm ready for anything, Fish-face!"
Fisheye sent another barrage of lightning bolts Lita's way. However, Lita's quick agility avoided all of the bolts. Fisheye became furious. He hurled a huge bolt of lightning at Lita, intending to hit her target.
Lita ducked, letting the bolt strike a nearby lightning rod. Lita noticed that the rod had started to glow. Thinking quickly, she removed the rod from it's base, and started to walk toward Fisheye.
Fisheye began to panic. He threw nearly everything she had at the girl. However, Lita seemed to keep absorbing Fisheye's attacks with the lightning rod. It also seemed to glow brighter each time lightning struck it. Lita eventually backed Fisheye up to a corner of the roof. With nowhere to run, Fisheye was trapped.
Lita then pulled back the rod, and swung it towards Fisheye. The ball of the rod struck Fisheye in the face, electrocuting him severely. He tumbled off the building, screaming obscenities on the way down. When he hit bottom, it was Lita's turn to smile. "I'd be careful where you'd step," Lita mocked. "It's a fifty-story drop!"
"Wow!" came a voice from behind her.
Lita turned around to find both Missy and her mother standing behind her. Both had smiles upon their faces. "Those were some great skills you had there," Missy's mother remarked.
"Yeah," Missy added. "You were great!"
Lita put the lightning rod down on the ground as Missy ran toward her. Once again, Missy hugged Lita, this time as tight as she could. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered in Lita's ear.
"No problem, kiddo," Lita whispered back. The hug lasted for a long time, until the world around Lita faded away, and all that she was embracing was the air.
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When Lita realized it, she saw that the scenery around her had changed. Both Missy, her mother, and the cityscape were gone. The only thing that was surrounding her was a void, pulsing shades of green.
Lita was confused, and somewhat angered. "What happened?" she asked herself. "What happened to everyone? Where's Missy?" As she walked around, her foot hit a stray object. It was the lightning rod. "Perfect," she thought, picking the rod up. "This doesn't make any sense."
Suddenly, the ball of the lightning rod started to change. It changed to a small, green object as the stick melted away from Lita's hands. It took a moment for it to register in her mind, but she realized it was the object she was looking for. "It's the Jupiter Planet Crystal!" she shouted aloud. She grasped it tight, feeling a warm feeling pass through her. "All right! I got it!"
"That's my girl," said a mysterious, yet familiar voice.
Lita looked ahead, noticing someone else come toward her. He was a muscle-bound man, wearing no shirt to show off his pectorals. He wore a pair of green trousers with a gold belt, seeming to blend into the scenery as he moved. "Yep, I knew you could do it! No sweat!"
Lita rubbed her eyes, thinking it was a mirage. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"Hey, you know me…oh, yeah, that's right," he said catching himself. "That whole Imperium Crystal rebirth thing that Queen Serenity pulled. Anywho, let me introduce myself. I'm Richter, Guardian of Jupiter, and boxer-slash-wrestler extrordinare!"
Lita seemed to be catching on. "Say, if your the Guardian of Jupiter, are we related?"
"Yep," said Richter. "We were father and daughter during the Silver Millenium, you and I. Well, not in that order, but you get the idea."
Lita giggled a bit. "I guess I know where I get my fighting instincts from!"
"Oh yeah," Richter reassured. "You and I would train everyday! I'd hold the punchin' bag, and you'd rip it to shreds, We'd have a great time!" Richter than put a serious tone upon himself. "But now, you passed that test. I mean, not only have you done some good moves, but you've achieved a good balance. The safety of others come first. I'm real proud of you, kid."
Lita smiled again. "Thanks," she said, somewhat lost for words.
"Actually," Richter started again, "we gotta be somewhere now. I'll race you there!" Richter took off in the opposite direction that he was standing. Lita, accepting the challenge, took off after him, running into the mist.
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NEXT TIME...
Back at the Tsukino house, Serena's family is up very late, worrying about their little girl. While this is going on, it's Darien's turn to face his Guardian Trial!...or is it?