By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Prologue...
Breathing slowly and regularly, the once mighty Technuma Saturn slept
in a state of coma from which he would never wake up. In the falling
darkness of a new night, the evening shift nurse turned off the
lights in his room.
A few minutes after she left, a strange shadow emerged out of the
pure darkness and its tall, bulky silhouette towered over the
soulless body of Technuma. Moving slowly towards him, it mumbled
to itself.
"So long I have waited lurking in shadows... and now the tool of
my resurrection is mine to take! Your demise will not be in vain,
powerful one..."
Steps could be heard from the corridor, and the moving shadow
stopped; as Robin Redwing entered the room and turned on the bright
fluorescent lights, it disappeared with the shredded veil of pitch
blackness.
"Hiya, dad..." said Robin. "It`s tough living my life knowing you`re
here like this, but Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna are helping a lot..."
While Robin went on to tell her comatose father of the motorcycle
races she had been to with her friends, the now shapeless
non-corporeal entity floated about patiently. No matter if the girl
had delayed his dark rebirth, his new body would not be going
anywhere, and he had all the time in the world... he could wait.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 25
KNOCK ON WOOD
"That recovery is quite amazing, miss Aino." said the doctor as he
checked Minako`s pupils for reactions to his small flashlight. He
found her eyes to be reacting normally. "I don`t foresee any
troubles. We would have seen it by now."
"Oh, Minako, I was so afraid you`d never come back to us!" said her
mother as she hugged her daughter who was beginning to be quite
tired of having to stay in a hospital bed... doctor`s orders her mom
had reminded her.
"I wouldn`t leave so soon, mom. I have too much to live for." she
answered, looking over her mother`s shoulder directly into Ami`s eyes
where she saw all the love the smart girl had for her.
"I have so much to tell you, all the things that happened since you
were wounded in that gas leak explosion..." said Ami.
Unable (or unwilling) to explain the battle against Gallagher at
the art museum, the police had finally blamed the destruction on a
spark meeting natural gas from a leaky pipe. All over the internet,
however, conspiracy theorists were having a field day trying to
explain yet another sailor related event.
"So I guess that all of us girls will be finally out of this place!"
said Minako, who now had fully recovered her trademark chirpy
optimism.
"Not quite, I`m afraid..." said Ami, lowering her eyes, not knowing
how to break the bad news to her girlfriend. "Makoto had... an
accident."
* * *
Staring mindlessly at the chattering television provided with her
hospital bed, Makoto looked as no more than a shadow of her former
self. Her face was virtually unrecognizable, her eyes swollen from
crying so much. Her hair was totally messed up, and she didn`t care
either way.
She turned her head and stared at her meal platter. Filled with
tasteless, disgusting food, it only reminded her of the life she`d
always dreamed of, as a world class gourmet chef, working for the
greatest restaurant of Japan.
Her dream was crushed now, and as far as she was concerned, her
life was over.
Laurella wrapped on the open door to announce her presence. She
looked at her dear friend and felt her pain immediately.
"Hi, Makoto. I came as soon as I heard... how are you holding up?"
she asked with her great compassion.
"How do you think I feel? I have no feeling under my waist, that`s
what." snapped Makoto without an ounce of kindness. Laurella felt
the virulent comment sting like a snakebite, but she pretended she
didn`t hear it.
"I realize how difficult this must be for you, trust me, I`ve been
through a lot myself. But you can`t make it through alone, you must
open yourself up, reach out for your friends... we care for you."
said Laurella.
"Do you? Well I don`t. All my dreams ended last night with a bullet
down my spine! If you want to do me a favor, you`ll turn back and
never return. Don`t bother wondering how I`ll be spending the rest
of my days, because it probably won`t be long anyway." replied
Makoto, sending more waves of indifference towards Laurella.
The child of Jupiter was hoping that she`d go away and leave her
alone to wallow in her own misery. That wasn`t even close to the
reaction she got. Laurella`s mood suddenly shifted from gentle
kindness to vicious anger, the usually calm girl giving Makoto a
slap that shocked her as much from the stinging pain as from the
unexpected nature of the act.
"What did you do THAT for?!?" asked Makoto, touching her reddened
cheek.
"HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING???" screamed Laurella, showing her
horribly scarred wrists to her friend. "Your life is the most
precious gift your parents have ever given you, you owe it to them
to live every day to the fullest! It doesn`t matter what life throws
your way, you just have to find new ways to deal with the obstacles
you meet." she said, furiously venting her anger and slowly calming
down.
An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them for a few
minutes while Makoto pondered both her friend`s words and the dull
throbbing pain in her face.
"What now?" asked the much less gloomy Makoto. "I`ll never walk
again... even when my spine heals, my whole life needs a total
overhaul!"
"Yeah, like your powers, for starters. What effect would have your
transformation in your condition?" wondered Laurella. "Have you even
considered changing again into Sailor Jupiter?"
"No such luck, I`m afraid. I checked my purse this morning, it was
emptied by that bastard who shot me. My money, my credit cards,
everything valuable was gone... including my transformation pen.
It`s gone for good." answered Makoto.
"Maybe MY new powers can be of help, in that case!" said a voice
Makoto hadn`t heard in weeks.
"MINAKO! You`re awake!" she said, tears of joy streamng down her
face. The blonde girl sat on her friend`s bed and hugged her
carefully not to hurt her braced lower back.
"It`s been a while, Makoto. I`m itching for some action, I`ll find
your pen if it`s the last thing I do!" said Minako. "This soul power
is SUCH A RUSH! I`ll track down your pen and the guy who shot you
as well... I`ll serve you his head on a silver plate!"
"No need to do that, girl... his head on a spear will do just fine!"
said Makoto with a wicked grin and a wink.
* * *
In all his years of handling hot merchandise, the owner of the most
questionably "honest" pawn shop of the Shinjuku district had seen
quite a bit of jewelry, some of it unusual. THIS, however, was
downright weird: a small golden pen-shaped object with a star on
top, as well as a symbol that vaguely ressembled the number four.
"Where d`ya get it?" asked the slightly overweight man whose
receeding hairline had obviously
seen better days.
"Since when do you ask questions, baldy?" said the prospective seller,
a dubious looking twenty something bum.
"I don`t like that thing, it gives me the creeps."
"Don`t try to weasel me out of what it`s really worth, I want
twenty thousand yens, no less!"
"Take ten thousand or leave."
"Okay, but you`re screwing me again." finally agreed the young man
dressed in worn out denim clothes.
Alone in his crappy store filled with old guitars, half working VCRs
and jewelry of debatable value, the fat man observed the small
artifact in the light of the flickering light bulb he still hadn`t
gotten around to change yet.
"Ahem." said a soft feminine voice behind him, at the counter.
"We don`t get that many ladies in here..." said the shop owner,
smiling until he fully turned around and noticed the double-bladed
topaze broadsword aimed at his throat. It was held by the soul
powered Sailor Venus in all the splendor of her honey, gold and
black senshi fuku. The flickering lights reflected menacingly on her
golden metal guards and yellow visor.
"My sacred weapon, DreadBane, does very well of cutting and slicing
through fat... care for a hands on demonstration?" she said.
The old man had seen his share of robberies and muggings, and this
weird girl didn`t fit the profile. She wasn`t nervous, or on
withdrawal from crack... and who robs a store with a solid gemstone
sword?!?
"Wadda ya want?"
"That little trinket you hold in your sweaty hand, it belongs to a
good friend of mine... a VERY good friend."
"So, you` that way, huh?" said the balding man.
Venus pushed the sword closer, until it actually touched his flabby
skin. He felt the cold sharp pink gemstone touch him, and he got
REALLY scared.
"One more crack about my sexual orientation and I`ll be slicing me
some pork chops!" she said.
"Take it easy, I couldn`t know!!!" he pleaded.
"Give me the bauble, and start talking." she ordered. He did.
"Lil`Jimmy brought this, said his friend found it in a dumpster,
gave him ten thousand for it... he hangs around the nine ball pool
hall... that`s all I know, I swear!!!" he said, tossing the jupiter
wand to the senshi who caught it deftly in her left hand.
"Thank you." she said, leaving the dirty store.
The fat man counted his blessings, happy to be rid of this wacko
girl and of that accursed trinket she wanted so much. It was trouble
from the start, he knew it. Good riddance.
* * *
"I can`t believe I`ve never been here before." said Robin as she
saw the fog shrouded mountain plateau where Haruka and Michiru`s
favorite hot springs were located. "So these springs are ALWAYS
hot?"
"Always, because they`re heated by underground volcanic activity!"
said Michiru. "Plus the sulfurous water is just heavenly for your
pores."
"And don`t forget to mention the view! When the wind clears up a
bit of fog, you can see all around, all the way to Tokyo sometimes."
added Haruka as she parked the car and picked up her carry-all from
the trunk of her bright red sportscar.
"Sounds delicious!" commented Robin.
For a second there, Michiru thought she saw a man enter the resort...
a man with glithering silver hair. Odd looking, she thought, but
cute nonetheless in a graceful way.
* * *
"Eight ball to the side pocket!" said little Jimmy as he lined up
for the shot; surely enough he got it right on target. After
spending years hanging around pool halls, he was nearly unbeatable
at the game.
"Damn, that`s almost a hundred thousand yens I owe you, little
weasel!" said his frustrated opponent.
"Hey, I didn`t twist your arm to make the bet!" replied the young
hoodlum. "I gotta go to the bathroom, be back in five."
"Take your time, I`m in no hurry to lose again."
Jimmy entered the smelly men`s room and took a look around, trying
to figure would be the least disgusting to use. He wondered why he
always had so much beer in here, especially with those disgustng
bathroom stalls... but what he saw there made the whole place look
somewhat different this time.
"Are you little Jimmy?" asked the most beautiful girl he`d ever seen,
with flowing blonde hair and a delicate face. Her voice was very
sweet too. She wore a really weird looking suit, but that made no
difference to him, he wanted her.
"I`m far from being little, I assure you girl!" he answered, a wide
grin on his face.
The seductive senshi of love alluringly walked towards him, swaying
her hips and caressing her body. Jimmy was turned on like he`d never
been before... which is precisely why he never saw coming the solid
punch to his jaw that knocked him down on the water covered floor.
Venus picked him up by the collar and shoved the jupiter pen in his
face.
"Where did you this?" she asked with no kindness in her voice.
"I found it in the trash..." he blurted out.
"Wrong answer." replied the irrate senshi. She dragged him into a
toilet stall and forcibly stuck his head in the dirty water, holding
him until he couldn`t hold his breath anymore.
"Well, ready to change your story?" she asked again, as Jimmy gasped
for air, his hair drenched in disgusting toilet water.
"I did, I really..."
He didn`t have time to finish his answer, his head sinking down the
water again under the strong grasp of sailor Venus. He started to
run out of air, but this time she held him a bit longer until he
gasped, swallowing a little water. Then she pulled him out.
"WHERE???" she screamed.
"From the Panthers, down at the docks, they randomly attack those
they find... (cough)...they rob them and sometimes kill them... he
got that thing from a tall girl that fought back better than the
others... that`s all I know, please stop hurting me!!!" he begged,
crying pathetically.
"You sicken me, you slimy maggot!" said Venus without unclenching
her teeth. She violently slammed his head back down, breaking his
nose on the dirty enamel of the toilet.
Little Jimmy screamed in pain as blood spurted from his crushed nose;
the berserk Sailor Venus threw him all the way across the bathroom
out the springing door and he landed brutally on the pool hall floor
in view of all, sobbing and bleeding.
This next piece of the Makoto shooting in place, Venus made a quick
exit throught the men`s room window, jumping high and bouncing fron
wall to wall with ninja-like dexterity in direction of the place
where she knew she`d find her friend`s trigger-happy mugger. Blood
pumped hard in her veins like it hadn`t in years. She was brutal in
her effienciency, lethal in her movements, deadly in her intent.
Minako understood what her dream meeting with her old Sailor V self
meant, as she experienced once again the rush of fighting the common
thugs of the underworld of the city.
Once again she had become Sailor V, the inescapable sword of justice,
the murderous cypher of vengence. She loved every second of it.
* * *
Holding on to her all too small towel, the only thing between her
naked body and the cold winter air, Robin dipped her toes in the hot
water laced with the rotten egg smell of sulfur. It was wonderful to
feel this warmth in contrast to the biting cold air around her.
"Come on in, it`s very soothing!" urged Michiru who was already in
up to her shoulders, her hair tied up in a bun to keep it from
dipping in the hot spring.
Haruka was in the warm smelly water as well, although she felt
somewhat uncomfortable. Just sitting in a pool of water doing
nothing got on her nerves. Her face was already beginning to
show signs of frustration, although she did her best to hide it;
Haruka knew how much Michiru loved this place and wanted her to
enjoy it to the fullest.
Robin slipped off her towel and flung it over the side of the
spring as she immersed herself completely, letting out a loud moan.
"This is sooooo good!" she whispered.
"I know. We come here as often as we can." said Michiru, moving
closer to Haruka and leaning her head on her lover`s shoulder.
After a few minutes, Robin began to feel a little restless from
sitting down in silence. Seeing how her two friends were murmuring
softly to each other and not paying any attention to her, she
discreetly slipped to the other side of the water pool. She heard
some noise and was wondering if there were other people at the
neighbouring pool.
Robin peeked through the hedge separating the two springs, knowing
well that the one on the other side was for men only... she giggled
as she heard some male voices approaching through the fog. She
opened her eyes wide, hoping she could get a good peek... after all,
for all she knew of the male anatomy, she`d never actually SEEN a
naked man before.
To her great disappointment, the four men who were coming weren`t
wrapped in towels as she`d expected... they actually wore full suits,
the first man, silver-haired, was dressed in a charcoal grey three-
piece suit with a matching winter coat. The other three, who looked
like they were triplets, wore similar suits although theirs were
respectively ice blue, fire red and dark black.
"This place seems to be closest to the heat point we found." said
the man in blue.
"It will be best to set up the crystal here." added the man in red.
"We`ll get the most energy this way." completed the man in black.
"It`s agreed, then. We proceed." said the man in charcoal grey.
Robin watched in fascination as the silver haired man, apparently
their leader, took out a small, shiny crystal from his coat pocket.
The fog shroud seemed to curl and twist around it, waves of cold
surging forth from within the gemstone.
"Look at it, boys, this is the greatest marvel that we have ever
forged, the most fabulous mineral in existence... pure aebonite!"
he said, his acolytes enthralled by the energy displacement
provoked around the aebonite crystal.
At this point, Robin understood there was trouble brewing.
Gingitsune threw the frost crystal into the warm spring, which
began to slowly cool down, a thin layer of ice forming on the
surface. Through the freezing waters, they could see the crystal
digging its way down to the very source of the volcanic heat within.
Goosebumps ran down all over the young girl`s skin as the water she
waded in froze over as well. Jumping out in the even colder air,
there was only one thing she thought of: warm clothes. And she knew
exactly how to get that.
"SATURN SOUL POWER TRANSFORM!!!"
A beaming golden light radiated from her whole body, coating her
naked skin with the fuku of the senshi of the skyes, the mighty
Sailor Saturn. This display of raw power caught the attention of
the quatuor. The sacred weapon of Saturn, the ruby glaive Soulstar,
materialized in her hands as she addressed them boldly.
"How dare you ruin my hot bath? Furthermore, who do you think you
are to destroy this most restful of places?!?"
Gingitsune was a bit surprised to see her, but only because he had
expected one of the inner senshi instead of Sailor Saturn. He was
far from impressed, though.
"Destroy her." he whispered to his acolytes.
From the hands of the strange men with identical faces surged
energies that turned into three blasts of power, ice, fire and black
lightning. In one swift leap, Saturn gracefully avoided the explosion
of the three blasts impacting on the focal point that was the spot
where she stood just a second ago.
Landing with the agility of a cat, she was ready for this. A wicked
grin flashed on her lips as she raised Soulstar up high and called
forth the ancient angelic batallions of paradise.
"SERAPHIM WINGS OR WRATH!!!"
The four men froze in fearful expectation, waiting for some horrific
doom to fall down from the heavens. Nothing happened. The three
acolytes attacked simultaneously.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!" they screamed in unison as their power blasts
merged into a raging bolt of doom.
The attack connected with Saturn, exploding violently and sending
her flying back into the cooling women`s spring where Haruka and
Michiru saw her splashing entrance.
"Get her out of there, I`ll handle this!" said Sailor Uranus to
Neptune after she finished her radiant transformation. Uranus ran to
meet the four villains head on while her fiancee fished the
unconscious Saturn seconds before the water froze solid.
"WORLD SHAKING..." started Uranus, but a screeching kinetic bolt hit
her right arm as she was charging energy to unleash her attack.
Gingitsune`s uncanny ability to find weak spots had once again
served him well, aiming his blast to perfection without fail.
"Damn, that hurt..." thought Uranus who felt something crack when
she was hit.
"My turn now!" said Neptune who joined in the fight. "DEEP WATER
TSUNAMI CRUSHER!!!"
Once again, nothing. Twice in a row, the ultimate senshi attacks
had utterly failed to work.
The acolytes had no such trouble, however.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!" they all yelled, another blazing towards the
heroes. It detonated at Neptune`s feet, sending her reeling over the
railing that had been put in place to prevent anyone from falling
down the mountainside. she barely hung on to the rail, but it
snapped at one end and threatened to plunge her over a hundred feet
down on a sheer bedrock landing place.
Sailor Uranus, her heart skipping a beat as she saw her lover in
mortal danger, ran to her and grabbed her using her intact left arm.
"I`ll save you!" she said.
"I know." said Neptune, looking up into Uranus`s eyes.
Gingitsune shot another bolt, this one detonating right under the
blonde tomboy who was sent hurtling over the edge, although she
managed to hold on to BOTH Neptune and the broken metal railing...
but how long could she hold on? Unknown to the heroic fighter, her
right forearm had a hairline fracture to the radius. The pain going
through her arm as she held on the weight of herself and Michiru was
excrutiating, and the senshi of the sea could easily read it off her
face.
"You can`t hold on to both of us and climb back up with that wounded
arm, you`ll have to let me go if you want to survive!" said Neptune.
"Like hell I am! Either we both live or we both die!!!" replied
Uranus, tears of pain flowing down her face.
"If you love me... you`ll let go!" begged Neptune.
"No way! I`ll hold on to you even if..."
Uranus didn`t finish her thought before it actually happened: the
hairline fracture snapped, breaking her radius apart. Still she held
on to the railing and the love of her life, though this was the most
horrible pain she`d ever experienced, and never again would
experience. Her love for Michiru was truly stronger than this pain,
and her emotions flared upwards from her soul in a moment of pure
clarity.
Gingitsune was approaching to finish them off when he heard the
blood-curdling scream of Uranus and saw of flash of golden light
from under the ledge; before he could look over to see what was
happening, he was bowled over by a surging ball of soaring gold
light the size of a small car.
Looking at the streak of light, Gingitsune saw it fade down to
reveal the newest senshi to have found her soul power, Sailor Uranus.
Wearing the senshi fuku in shades of bright blue and green shades,
she held in her right hand the glithering Heaven`s Wrath, a katana
crafted from a single piece of shining black onyx. On her right
thigh were the characters for TEN NO SENSHI, warrior of heavens,
and her right arm was completely healed. Neptune was standing right
behind her, holding her waist tightly.
Unmoved by this display, the three goons of Gingitsune struck
again.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!"
Unflinching in her defiant stand, Uranus deflected the bolt upwards
with Heaven`s Wrath. It exploded harmlessly high in the air.
"Wanna see a magic trick?" asked the senshi of Uranus. "I`ll make
you all... disappear!"
She swung Heaven`s Wrath in large circles above her head, building
up power and intensity in the blade. She made the circles smaller
and smaller, until she concentrated all that power into a single
spot.
"HEAVEN`S BLADE ERRADICATOR!!!" she screamed, propelling the sphere
of blazing white power forward. It grew in size rapidly as it
progressed, reaching six feet of diameter after only two seconds
of forward movement. It kept on increasing in size, swallowing all
in its path and mercilessly carving a path of oblivion for itself
and leaving a dreadful wake of destruction behind.
The three acolytes were struck full on by the sphere and got
erradicated instantly. Gingitsune dodged just barely and teleported
himself away in the nick of time. By the time the sphere grew to its
limit in size and reached the end of its course of death, it was
carving deep enough in the rock to hit the crystal of aebonite and
obliterate it as well. The water returned to its former liquid state,
boiling again and reforming the fog. The trio of senshi took this
opportunity to sneak away from the scene of the fight.
* * *
Looking at the TV news, Makoto saw a report about an old warehouse
burning down in the docks.
"Insurance fraud, that`s for sure." she thought immediately.
Then she heard there was a victim found in the blaze, and the police
thought there had been foul play involved. An autopsy would be later
performed. Makoto couldn`t believe it: the picture of the victim...
it was the same guy who shot her!
"Oh no, Minako, you didn`t..." thought Makoto, feeling horrible that
she could have pushed her dear friend to cold blooded murder... "I
can`t believe it... I won`t believe it!"
* * *
Reforming himself in the hideout of his leader, Gingitsune realized
that he had just been inflicted his first defeat.
"What happened?" asked a soft masculine voice behind him. Gingitsune
turned around and looked at the immense statue of Metallia looming
over him, at the lower end of which was carved a throne that had
been Beryl`s seat of power so many years before. It was bathed in
deep shadows, but the evil eyes glowing through could not be mistaken
for any other.
"I have... met them, Lord. They are much stronger than we thought,
only one of the three I fought wore the stupid sailor suit I
remembered from the moon battle... and later, even she changed into
the warrior outfit the other two were wearing! They are powerful
indeed, milord." said Gingitsune.
"Do not worry, you`ll face them again before all this is over." said
the soft whispering voice.
"I`ll kill them next time, I vow it!"
"Yes, you will... or you will die yourself."
Although the silver fox`s lord didn`t mention explicitly wether that
would be by his enemies` hands or by his own master`s, there was no
doubt in Gingitsune`s mind that his lord would not hesitate a second
to have him executed. Repressing a shudder, he bowed and exited the
throne room.
* * *
Going to see her good friend Makoto, whom she was told had much
better morale now, Usagi and Chibi-Usa walked through the very
familiar hospital corridors they had been seeing way too much of
these past few weeks.
"You know, I was wondering about something..." said Chibi-Usa to
Usagi, holding her hand while they went through the darkening
corridors of the advancing evening.
"What is it?" asked Usagi who was pretending that she wasn`t lost
in the maze of corridors and rooms, because she actually was.
"Can the actions someone take really change your destiny for the
better? Can they turn you around and bring you salvation?" asked
the pink haired girl.
"That`s pretty deep... well, yes, I do." answered Usagi. "The dark
moon sisters did change their ways, and now they live happy lives
among us. Many other of our former enemies saw the light as well...
why the question?"
"I was simply curious if a tainted soul really could heal over time...
besides, I heard you tell Mamoru this morning that if he was a good
boy, he`d get lucky tonight." said Chibi-Usa who obviously didn`t
understand what that meant. Usagi almost choked.
Before she could react and try to squirm herself into an improvised
explanation, Usagi saw down the corridor something that gave her a
chill- a huge shadowy silhouette walking into a dark room. This
shadow had a familiar feel to it, one she feared to recognize.
"Stay here, Chibi-Usa, I`ll go check it out!" she said.
"But..."
"No 'but' small lady, you stay right here!" she ordered, running to
the room. As she blasted in the room where only a faint glimmer of
moonlight was seen, she recognized the comatose body of Technuma
Saturn... with a hulking shadow menacingly looming overhead.
She jumped forward and tried to stop the silhouette from reaching
her friend`s father, to no avail. It had no physical form to damage,
so it was able to enter his body and take it over without Usagi being
able to do a thing about it. After weeks of total immobility,
Technuma Saturn suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Usagi, a
wicked red glow surging in his gaze.
He stood up and laughed in a sinister fashion.
"I know Technuma, and he`s not evil looking like you! Who are you???"
asked Usagi, afraid that she might already know the answer to that...
"You don`t recognize me, young Sailor Moon? After all, I only killed
your best friend after kidnapping you to drain your power..." taunted
the resurrected monster from Usagi`s past.
"Ronmar..." she blurted, struck by terror.
"So you DO remember me!"
"But... how???"
"Greater knightmares such as myself never die... we just move on,
taking over bodies without souls. They are quite hard to find, and
THIS ONE is the find of the millenium, that`s for sure!" mocked the
dread knight reborn.
"You... MONSTER!" screamed Usagi. She instantly transformed into
Sailor Moon, ready to do battle.
"I`m not fighting today, I have bigger fish to fry." said Ronmar
as he materialized over his body some opaque, black clothes that
didn`t reflect a single speck of light.
"Fight me, you bastard! I order you to attack me so I can kill
you!!!" said Sailor Moon.
"No. I have no more quarrels with you." he said, materializing some
dark shades for further dramatic effect. As he turned around, he
noticed a pink-haired seven years old girl staring at him. He froze
and lowered his shades, staring straight into her firey red eyes.
"Who are you, cutie?" asked Ronmar.
Before Chibi-Usa could answer, Sailor Moon ran to her and picked her
up, hugging her tight in a protective fashion.
"I WON`T LET YOU HURT A HAIR ON HER HEAD, YOU MONSTER, SO STAY AWAY
FROM HER!!!" yelled the senshi of the moon.
"You can`t keep me away, not even with the help of your sailor
friends... but I agree, nothing will happen to this little lady.
NOTHING. I promise you that."
With that, Ronmar turned around and vanished in a cloud of acrid
smoke.
Sailor Moon let out a sigh of desperation.
"So..." she said to the small lady, "...not by a longshot, huh?"
Chibi-Usa shook her head to say no.
"Well, knock on wood!" said Usagi in resignation.
To be continued...
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Prologue...
Breathing slowly and regularly, the once mighty Technuma Saturn slept
in a state of coma from which he would never wake up. In the falling
darkness of a new night, the evening shift nurse turned off the
lights in his room.
A few minutes after she left, a strange shadow emerged out of the
pure darkness and its tall, bulky silhouette towered over the
soulless body of Technuma. Moving slowly towards him, it mumbled
to itself.
"So long I have waited lurking in shadows... and now the tool of
my resurrection is mine to take! Your demise will not be in vain,
powerful one..."
Steps could be heard from the corridor, and the moving shadow
stopped; as Robin Redwing entered the room and turned on the bright
fluorescent lights, it disappeared with the shredded veil of pitch
blackness.
"Hiya, dad..." said Robin. "It`s tough living my life knowing you`re
here like this, but Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna are helping a lot..."
While Robin went on to tell her comatose father of the motorcycle
races she had been to with her friends, the now shapeless
non-corporeal entity floated about patiently. No matter if the girl
had delayed his dark rebirth, his new body would not be going
anywhere, and he had all the time in the world... he could wait.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 25
KNOCK ON WOOD
"That recovery is quite amazing, miss Aino." said the doctor as he
checked Minako`s pupils for reactions to his small flashlight. He
found her eyes to be reacting normally. "I don`t foresee any
troubles. We would have seen it by now."
"Oh, Minako, I was so afraid you`d never come back to us!" said her
mother as she hugged her daughter who was beginning to be quite
tired of having to stay in a hospital bed... doctor`s orders her mom
had reminded her.
"I wouldn`t leave so soon, mom. I have too much to live for." she
answered, looking over her mother`s shoulder directly into Ami`s eyes
where she saw all the love the smart girl had for her.
"I have so much to tell you, all the things that happened since you
were wounded in that gas leak explosion..." said Ami.
Unable (or unwilling) to explain the battle against Gallagher at
the art museum, the police had finally blamed the destruction on a
spark meeting natural gas from a leaky pipe. All over the internet,
however, conspiracy theorists were having a field day trying to
explain yet another sailor related event.
"So I guess that all of us girls will be finally out of this place!"
said Minako, who now had fully recovered her trademark chirpy
optimism.
"Not quite, I`m afraid..." said Ami, lowering her eyes, not knowing
how to break the bad news to her girlfriend. "Makoto had... an
accident."
* * *
Staring mindlessly at the chattering television provided with her
hospital bed, Makoto looked as no more than a shadow of her former
self. Her face was virtually unrecognizable, her eyes swollen from
crying so much. Her hair was totally messed up, and she didn`t care
either way.
She turned her head and stared at her meal platter. Filled with
tasteless, disgusting food, it only reminded her of the life she`d
always dreamed of, as a world class gourmet chef, working for the
greatest restaurant of Japan.
Her dream was crushed now, and as far as she was concerned, her
life was over.
Laurella wrapped on the open door to announce her presence. She
looked at her dear friend and felt her pain immediately.
"Hi, Makoto. I came as soon as I heard... how are you holding up?"
she asked with her great compassion.
"How do you think I feel? I have no feeling under my waist, that`s
what." snapped Makoto without an ounce of kindness. Laurella felt
the virulent comment sting like a snakebite, but she pretended she
didn`t hear it.
"I realize how difficult this must be for you, trust me, I`ve been
through a lot myself. But you can`t make it through alone, you must
open yourself up, reach out for your friends... we care for you."
said Laurella.
"Do you? Well I don`t. All my dreams ended last night with a bullet
down my spine! If you want to do me a favor, you`ll turn back and
never return. Don`t bother wondering how I`ll be spending the rest
of my days, because it probably won`t be long anyway." replied
Makoto, sending more waves of indifference towards Laurella.
The child of Jupiter was hoping that she`d go away and leave her
alone to wallow in her own misery. That wasn`t even close to the
reaction she got. Laurella`s mood suddenly shifted from gentle
kindness to vicious anger, the usually calm girl giving Makoto a
slap that shocked her as much from the stinging pain as from the
unexpected nature of the act.
"What did you do THAT for?!?" asked Makoto, touching her reddened
cheek.
"HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING???" screamed Laurella, showing her
horribly scarred wrists to her friend. "Your life is the most
precious gift your parents have ever given you, you owe it to them
to live every day to the fullest! It doesn`t matter what life throws
your way, you just have to find new ways to deal with the obstacles
you meet." she said, furiously venting her anger and slowly calming
down.
An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them for a few
minutes while Makoto pondered both her friend`s words and the dull
throbbing pain in her face.
"What now?" asked the much less gloomy Makoto. "I`ll never walk
again... even when my spine heals, my whole life needs a total
overhaul!"
"Yeah, like your powers, for starters. What effect would have your
transformation in your condition?" wondered Laurella. "Have you even
considered changing again into Sailor Jupiter?"
"No such luck, I`m afraid. I checked my purse this morning, it was
emptied by that bastard who shot me. My money, my credit cards,
everything valuable was gone... including my transformation pen.
It`s gone for good." answered Makoto.
"Maybe MY new powers can be of help, in that case!" said a voice
Makoto hadn`t heard in weeks.
"MINAKO! You`re awake!" she said, tears of joy streamng down her
face. The blonde girl sat on her friend`s bed and hugged her
carefully not to hurt her braced lower back.
"It`s been a while, Makoto. I`m itching for some action, I`ll find
your pen if it`s the last thing I do!" said Minako. "This soul power
is SUCH A RUSH! I`ll track down your pen and the guy who shot you
as well... I`ll serve you his head on a silver plate!"
"No need to do that, girl... his head on a spear will do just fine!"
said Makoto with a wicked grin and a wink.
* * *
In all his years of handling hot merchandise, the owner of the most
questionably "honest" pawn shop of the Shinjuku district had seen
quite a bit of jewelry, some of it unusual. THIS, however, was
downright weird: a small golden pen-shaped object with a star on
top, as well as a symbol that vaguely ressembled the number four.
"Where d`ya get it?" asked the slightly overweight man whose
receeding hairline had obviously
seen better days.
"Since when do you ask questions, baldy?" said the prospective seller,
a dubious looking twenty something bum.
"I don`t like that thing, it gives me the creeps."
"Don`t try to weasel me out of what it`s really worth, I want
twenty thousand yens, no less!"
"Take ten thousand or leave."
"Okay, but you`re screwing me again." finally agreed the young man
dressed in worn out denim clothes.
Alone in his crappy store filled with old guitars, half working VCRs
and jewelry of debatable value, the fat man observed the small
artifact in the light of the flickering light bulb he still hadn`t
gotten around to change yet.
"Ahem." said a soft feminine voice behind him, at the counter.
"We don`t get that many ladies in here..." said the shop owner,
smiling until he fully turned around and noticed the double-bladed
topaze broadsword aimed at his throat. It was held by the soul
powered Sailor Venus in all the splendor of her honey, gold and
black senshi fuku. The flickering lights reflected menacingly on her
golden metal guards and yellow visor.
"My sacred weapon, DreadBane, does very well of cutting and slicing
through fat... care for a hands on demonstration?" she said.
The old man had seen his share of robberies and muggings, and this
weird girl didn`t fit the profile. She wasn`t nervous, or on
withdrawal from crack... and who robs a store with a solid gemstone
sword?!?
"Wadda ya want?"
"That little trinket you hold in your sweaty hand, it belongs to a
good friend of mine... a VERY good friend."
"So, you` that way, huh?" said the balding man.
Venus pushed the sword closer, until it actually touched his flabby
skin. He felt the cold sharp pink gemstone touch him, and he got
REALLY scared.
"One more crack about my sexual orientation and I`ll be slicing me
some pork chops!" she said.
"Take it easy, I couldn`t know!!!" he pleaded.
"Give me the bauble, and start talking." she ordered. He did.
"Lil`Jimmy brought this, said his friend found it in a dumpster,
gave him ten thousand for it... he hangs around the nine ball pool
hall... that`s all I know, I swear!!!" he said, tossing the jupiter
wand to the senshi who caught it deftly in her left hand.
"Thank you." she said, leaving the dirty store.
The fat man counted his blessings, happy to be rid of this wacko
girl and of that accursed trinket she wanted so much. It was trouble
from the start, he knew it. Good riddance.
* * *
"I can`t believe I`ve never been here before." said Robin as she
saw the fog shrouded mountain plateau where Haruka and Michiru`s
favorite hot springs were located. "So these springs are ALWAYS
hot?"
"Always, because they`re heated by underground volcanic activity!"
said Michiru. "Plus the sulfurous water is just heavenly for your
pores."
"And don`t forget to mention the view! When the wind clears up a
bit of fog, you can see all around, all the way to Tokyo sometimes."
added Haruka as she parked the car and picked up her carry-all from
the trunk of her bright red sportscar.
"Sounds delicious!" commented Robin.
For a second there, Michiru thought she saw a man enter the resort...
a man with glithering silver hair. Odd looking, she thought, but
cute nonetheless in a graceful way.
* * *
"Eight ball to the side pocket!" said little Jimmy as he lined up
for the shot; surely enough he got it right on target. After
spending years hanging around pool halls, he was nearly unbeatable
at the game.
"Damn, that`s almost a hundred thousand yens I owe you, little
weasel!" said his frustrated opponent.
"Hey, I didn`t twist your arm to make the bet!" replied the young
hoodlum. "I gotta go to the bathroom, be back in five."
"Take your time, I`m in no hurry to lose again."
Jimmy entered the smelly men`s room and took a look around, trying
to figure would be the least disgusting to use. He wondered why he
always had so much beer in here, especially with those disgustng
bathroom stalls... but what he saw there made the whole place look
somewhat different this time.
"Are you little Jimmy?" asked the most beautiful girl he`d ever seen,
with flowing blonde hair and a delicate face. Her voice was very
sweet too. She wore a really weird looking suit, but that made no
difference to him, he wanted her.
"I`m far from being little, I assure you girl!" he answered, a wide
grin on his face.
The seductive senshi of love alluringly walked towards him, swaying
her hips and caressing her body. Jimmy was turned on like he`d never
been before... which is precisely why he never saw coming the solid
punch to his jaw that knocked him down on the water covered floor.
Venus picked him up by the collar and shoved the jupiter pen in his
face.
"Where did you this?" she asked with no kindness in her voice.
"I found it in the trash..." he blurted out.
"Wrong answer." replied the irrate senshi. She dragged him into a
toilet stall and forcibly stuck his head in the dirty water, holding
him until he couldn`t hold his breath anymore.
"Well, ready to change your story?" she asked again, as Jimmy gasped
for air, his hair drenched in disgusting toilet water.
"I did, I really..."
He didn`t have time to finish his answer, his head sinking down the
water again under the strong grasp of sailor Venus. He started to
run out of air, but this time she held him a bit longer until he
gasped, swallowing a little water. Then she pulled him out.
"WHERE???" she screamed.
"From the Panthers, down at the docks, they randomly attack those
they find... (cough)...they rob them and sometimes kill them... he
got that thing from a tall girl that fought back better than the
others... that`s all I know, please stop hurting me!!!" he begged,
crying pathetically.
"You sicken me, you slimy maggot!" said Venus without unclenching
her teeth. She violently slammed his head back down, breaking his
nose on the dirty enamel of the toilet.
Little Jimmy screamed in pain as blood spurted from his crushed nose;
the berserk Sailor Venus threw him all the way across the bathroom
out the springing door and he landed brutally on the pool hall floor
in view of all, sobbing and bleeding.
This next piece of the Makoto shooting in place, Venus made a quick
exit throught the men`s room window, jumping high and bouncing fron
wall to wall with ninja-like dexterity in direction of the place
where she knew she`d find her friend`s trigger-happy mugger. Blood
pumped hard in her veins like it hadn`t in years. She was brutal in
her effienciency, lethal in her movements, deadly in her intent.
Minako understood what her dream meeting with her old Sailor V self
meant, as she experienced once again the rush of fighting the common
thugs of the underworld of the city.
Once again she had become Sailor V, the inescapable sword of justice,
the murderous cypher of vengence. She loved every second of it.
* * *
Holding on to her all too small towel, the only thing between her
naked body and the cold winter air, Robin dipped her toes in the hot
water laced with the rotten egg smell of sulfur. It was wonderful to
feel this warmth in contrast to the biting cold air around her.
"Come on in, it`s very soothing!" urged Michiru who was already in
up to her shoulders, her hair tied up in a bun to keep it from
dipping in the hot spring.
Haruka was in the warm smelly water as well, although she felt
somewhat uncomfortable. Just sitting in a pool of water doing
nothing got on her nerves. Her face was already beginning to
show signs of frustration, although she did her best to hide it;
Haruka knew how much Michiru loved this place and wanted her to
enjoy it to the fullest.
Robin slipped off her towel and flung it over the side of the
spring as she immersed herself completely, letting out a loud moan.
"This is sooooo good!" she whispered.
"I know. We come here as often as we can." said Michiru, moving
closer to Haruka and leaning her head on her lover`s shoulder.
After a few minutes, Robin began to feel a little restless from
sitting down in silence. Seeing how her two friends were murmuring
softly to each other and not paying any attention to her, she
discreetly slipped to the other side of the water pool. She heard
some noise and was wondering if there were other people at the
neighbouring pool.
Robin peeked through the hedge separating the two springs, knowing
well that the one on the other side was for men only... she giggled
as she heard some male voices approaching through the fog. She
opened her eyes wide, hoping she could get a good peek... after all,
for all she knew of the male anatomy, she`d never actually SEEN a
naked man before.
To her great disappointment, the four men who were coming weren`t
wrapped in towels as she`d expected... they actually wore full suits,
the first man, silver-haired, was dressed in a charcoal grey three-
piece suit with a matching winter coat. The other three, who looked
like they were triplets, wore similar suits although theirs were
respectively ice blue, fire red and dark black.
"This place seems to be closest to the heat point we found." said
the man in blue.
"It will be best to set up the crystal here." added the man in red.
"We`ll get the most energy this way." completed the man in black.
"It`s agreed, then. We proceed." said the man in charcoal grey.
Robin watched in fascination as the silver haired man, apparently
their leader, took out a small, shiny crystal from his coat pocket.
The fog shroud seemed to curl and twist around it, waves of cold
surging forth from within the gemstone.
"Look at it, boys, this is the greatest marvel that we have ever
forged, the most fabulous mineral in existence... pure aebonite!"
he said, his acolytes enthralled by the energy displacement
provoked around the aebonite crystal.
At this point, Robin understood there was trouble brewing.
Gingitsune threw the frost crystal into the warm spring, which
began to slowly cool down, a thin layer of ice forming on the
surface. Through the freezing waters, they could see the crystal
digging its way down to the very source of the volcanic heat within.
Goosebumps ran down all over the young girl`s skin as the water she
waded in froze over as well. Jumping out in the even colder air,
there was only one thing she thought of: warm clothes. And she knew
exactly how to get that.
"SATURN SOUL POWER TRANSFORM!!!"
A beaming golden light radiated from her whole body, coating her
naked skin with the fuku of the senshi of the skyes, the mighty
Sailor Saturn. This display of raw power caught the attention of
the quatuor. The sacred weapon of Saturn, the ruby glaive Soulstar,
materialized in her hands as she addressed them boldly.
"How dare you ruin my hot bath? Furthermore, who do you think you
are to destroy this most restful of places?!?"
Gingitsune was a bit surprised to see her, but only because he had
expected one of the inner senshi instead of Sailor Saturn. He was
far from impressed, though.
"Destroy her." he whispered to his acolytes.
From the hands of the strange men with identical faces surged
energies that turned into three blasts of power, ice, fire and black
lightning. In one swift leap, Saturn gracefully avoided the explosion
of the three blasts impacting on the focal point that was the spot
where she stood just a second ago.
Landing with the agility of a cat, she was ready for this. A wicked
grin flashed on her lips as she raised Soulstar up high and called
forth the ancient angelic batallions of paradise.
"SERAPHIM WINGS OR WRATH!!!"
The four men froze in fearful expectation, waiting for some horrific
doom to fall down from the heavens. Nothing happened. The three
acolytes attacked simultaneously.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!" they screamed in unison as their power blasts
merged into a raging bolt of doom.
The attack connected with Saturn, exploding violently and sending
her flying back into the cooling women`s spring where Haruka and
Michiru saw her splashing entrance.
"Get her out of there, I`ll handle this!" said Sailor Uranus to
Neptune after she finished her radiant transformation. Uranus ran to
meet the four villains head on while her fiancee fished the
unconscious Saturn seconds before the water froze solid.
"WORLD SHAKING..." started Uranus, but a screeching kinetic bolt hit
her right arm as she was charging energy to unleash her attack.
Gingitsune`s uncanny ability to find weak spots had once again
served him well, aiming his blast to perfection without fail.
"Damn, that hurt..." thought Uranus who felt something crack when
she was hit.
"My turn now!" said Neptune who joined in the fight. "DEEP WATER
TSUNAMI CRUSHER!!!"
Once again, nothing. Twice in a row, the ultimate senshi attacks
had utterly failed to work.
The acolytes had no such trouble, however.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!" they all yelled, another blazing towards the
heroes. It detonated at Neptune`s feet, sending her reeling over the
railing that had been put in place to prevent anyone from falling
down the mountainside. she barely hung on to the rail, but it
snapped at one end and threatened to plunge her over a hundred feet
down on a sheer bedrock landing place.
Sailor Uranus, her heart skipping a beat as she saw her lover in
mortal danger, ran to her and grabbed her using her intact left arm.
"I`ll save you!" she said.
"I know." said Neptune, looking up into Uranus`s eyes.
Gingitsune shot another bolt, this one detonating right under the
blonde tomboy who was sent hurtling over the edge, although she
managed to hold on to BOTH Neptune and the broken metal railing...
but how long could she hold on? Unknown to the heroic fighter, her
right forearm had a hairline fracture to the radius. The pain going
through her arm as she held on the weight of herself and Michiru was
excrutiating, and the senshi of the sea could easily read it off her
face.
"You can`t hold on to both of us and climb back up with that wounded
arm, you`ll have to let me go if you want to survive!" said Neptune.
"Like hell I am! Either we both live or we both die!!!" replied
Uranus, tears of pain flowing down her face.
"If you love me... you`ll let go!" begged Neptune.
"No way! I`ll hold on to you even if..."
Uranus didn`t finish her thought before it actually happened: the
hairline fracture snapped, breaking her radius apart. Still she held
on to the railing and the love of her life, though this was the most
horrible pain she`d ever experienced, and never again would
experience. Her love for Michiru was truly stronger than this pain,
and her emotions flared upwards from her soul in a moment of pure
clarity.
Gingitsune was approaching to finish them off when he heard the
blood-curdling scream of Uranus and saw of flash of golden light
from under the ledge; before he could look over to see what was
happening, he was bowled over by a surging ball of soaring gold
light the size of a small car.
Looking at the streak of light, Gingitsune saw it fade down to
reveal the newest senshi to have found her soul power, Sailor Uranus.
Wearing the senshi fuku in shades of bright blue and green shades,
she held in her right hand the glithering Heaven`s Wrath, a katana
crafted from a single piece of shining black onyx. On her right
thigh were the characters for TEN NO SENSHI, warrior of heavens,
and her right arm was completely healed. Neptune was standing right
behind her, holding her waist tightly.
Unmoved by this display, the three goons of Gingitsune struck
again.
"FIRE ALPHA!"
"ICE BETA!"
"THUNDER GAMMA!"
"DELTA STRIKE!!!"
Unflinching in her defiant stand, Uranus deflected the bolt upwards
with Heaven`s Wrath. It exploded harmlessly high in the air.
"Wanna see a magic trick?" asked the senshi of Uranus. "I`ll make
you all... disappear!"
She swung Heaven`s Wrath in large circles above her head, building
up power and intensity in the blade. She made the circles smaller
and smaller, until she concentrated all that power into a single
spot.
"HEAVEN`S BLADE ERRADICATOR!!!" she screamed, propelling the sphere
of blazing white power forward. It grew in size rapidly as it
progressed, reaching six feet of diameter after only two seconds
of forward movement. It kept on increasing in size, swallowing all
in its path and mercilessly carving a path of oblivion for itself
and leaving a dreadful wake of destruction behind.
The three acolytes were struck full on by the sphere and got
erradicated instantly. Gingitsune dodged just barely and teleported
himself away in the nick of time. By the time the sphere grew to its
limit in size and reached the end of its course of death, it was
carving deep enough in the rock to hit the crystal of aebonite and
obliterate it as well. The water returned to its former liquid state,
boiling again and reforming the fog. The trio of senshi took this
opportunity to sneak away from the scene of the fight.
* * *
Looking at the TV news, Makoto saw a report about an old warehouse
burning down in the docks.
"Insurance fraud, that`s for sure." she thought immediately.
Then she heard there was a victim found in the blaze, and the police
thought there had been foul play involved. An autopsy would be later
performed. Makoto couldn`t believe it: the picture of the victim...
it was the same guy who shot her!
"Oh no, Minako, you didn`t..." thought Makoto, feeling horrible that
she could have pushed her dear friend to cold blooded murder... "I
can`t believe it... I won`t believe it!"
* * *
Reforming himself in the hideout of his leader, Gingitsune realized
that he had just been inflicted his first defeat.
"What happened?" asked a soft masculine voice behind him. Gingitsune
turned around and looked at the immense statue of Metallia looming
over him, at the lower end of which was carved a throne that had
been Beryl`s seat of power so many years before. It was bathed in
deep shadows, but the evil eyes glowing through could not be mistaken
for any other.
"I have... met them, Lord. They are much stronger than we thought,
only one of the three I fought wore the stupid sailor suit I
remembered from the moon battle... and later, even she changed into
the warrior outfit the other two were wearing! They are powerful
indeed, milord." said Gingitsune.
"Do not worry, you`ll face them again before all this is over." said
the soft whispering voice.
"I`ll kill them next time, I vow it!"
"Yes, you will... or you will die yourself."
Although the silver fox`s lord didn`t mention explicitly wether that
would be by his enemies` hands or by his own master`s, there was no
doubt in Gingitsune`s mind that his lord would not hesitate a second
to have him executed. Repressing a shudder, he bowed and exited the
throne room.
* * *
Going to see her good friend Makoto, whom she was told had much
better morale now, Usagi and Chibi-Usa walked through the very
familiar hospital corridors they had been seeing way too much of
these past few weeks.
"You know, I was wondering about something..." said Chibi-Usa to
Usagi, holding her hand while they went through the darkening
corridors of the advancing evening.
"What is it?" asked Usagi who was pretending that she wasn`t lost
in the maze of corridors and rooms, because she actually was.
"Can the actions someone take really change your destiny for the
better? Can they turn you around and bring you salvation?" asked
the pink haired girl.
"That`s pretty deep... well, yes, I do." answered Usagi. "The dark
moon sisters did change their ways, and now they live happy lives
among us. Many other of our former enemies saw the light as well...
why the question?"
"I was simply curious if a tainted soul really could heal over time...
besides, I heard you tell Mamoru this morning that if he was a good
boy, he`d get lucky tonight." said Chibi-Usa who obviously didn`t
understand what that meant. Usagi almost choked.
Before she could react and try to squirm herself into an improvised
explanation, Usagi saw down the corridor something that gave her a
chill- a huge shadowy silhouette walking into a dark room. This
shadow had a familiar feel to it, one she feared to recognize.
"Stay here, Chibi-Usa, I`ll go check it out!" she said.
"But..."
"No 'but' small lady, you stay right here!" she ordered, running to
the room. As she blasted in the room where only a faint glimmer of
moonlight was seen, she recognized the comatose body of Technuma
Saturn... with a hulking shadow menacingly looming overhead.
She jumped forward and tried to stop the silhouette from reaching
her friend`s father, to no avail. It had no physical form to damage,
so it was able to enter his body and take it over without Usagi being
able to do a thing about it. After weeks of total immobility,
Technuma Saturn suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Usagi, a
wicked red glow surging in his gaze.
He stood up and laughed in a sinister fashion.
"I know Technuma, and he`s not evil looking like you! Who are you???"
asked Usagi, afraid that she might already know the answer to that...
"You don`t recognize me, young Sailor Moon? After all, I only killed
your best friend after kidnapping you to drain your power..." taunted
the resurrected monster from Usagi`s past.
"Ronmar..." she blurted, struck by terror.
"So you DO remember me!"
"But... how???"
"Greater knightmares such as myself never die... we just move on,
taking over bodies without souls. They are quite hard to find, and
THIS ONE is the find of the millenium, that`s for sure!" mocked the
dread knight reborn.
"You... MONSTER!" screamed Usagi. She instantly transformed into
Sailor Moon, ready to do battle.
"I`m not fighting today, I have bigger fish to fry." said Ronmar
as he materialized over his body some opaque, black clothes that
didn`t reflect a single speck of light.
"Fight me, you bastard! I order you to attack me so I can kill
you!!!" said Sailor Moon.
"No. I have no more quarrels with you." he said, materializing some
dark shades for further dramatic effect. As he turned around, he
noticed a pink-haired seven years old girl staring at him. He froze
and lowered his shades, staring straight into her firey red eyes.
"Who are you, cutie?" asked Ronmar.
Before Chibi-Usa could answer, Sailor Moon ran to her and picked her
up, hugging her tight in a protective fashion.
"I WON`T LET YOU HURT A HAIR ON HER HEAD, YOU MONSTER, SO STAY AWAY
FROM HER!!!" yelled the senshi of the moon.
"You can`t keep me away, not even with the help of your sailor
friends... but I agree, nothing will happen to this little lady.
NOTHING. I promise you that."
With that, Ronmar turned around and vanished in a cloud of acrid
smoke.
Sailor Moon let out a sigh of desperation.
"So..." she said to the small lady, "...not by a longshot, huh?"
Chibi-Usa shook her head to say no.
"Well, knock on wood!" said Usagi in resignation.
To be continued...