By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 39
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Laying flat on her stomach against the cold rails of a busy subway
line, Sailor Saturn`s last hopes of survival had been smashed along
with her leg, broken in two places when she fell down onto the track.
She had barely avoided touching the electrified third rail, but the
subway train barreling down in her direction would kill her for sure.
She stiffened her every muscle, bracing for the killing blow that
would reunite her with her dead father.
She just hoped it wouldn`t hurt for too long before all became
dark...
But the pain never came. Instead, she felt light as a feather,
soaring through the air. Opening her eyes again, Robin saw the
subway train rolling into the station at full speed... but she
wasn`t lying in front of it anymore. Rather, she was in the arms
of someone standing on the boarding area safely behind the orange
dotted line.
Looking at her savior, she found herself totally entranced by the
most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen in her life. The leather
clad woman also had superbly chiseled features and a magnificient
mane of long silver hair.
"Who... who are you?" she asked.
"Call me Sailor Star Healer." she replied, putting Saturn down on a
bench along the wall. Her leg still hurt terribly, but Healer`s touch
was so soft that she did not cause any more pain to the young senshi
than what could normally be expected from a freshly broken limb.
"He`s done his dirty work all right." commented Sailor Star Maker,
gently passing his fingers through the hair of the distraught Minako
who sobbed painfully from the forceful extraction of her dark
splinter by Black Baron.
"I guess we`re too late again." conceded Sailor Star Fighter,
sighing loudly.
"I wouldn`t say that..." replied Healer, smiling sweetly to Sailor
Saturn who blushed ever so slightly.
Another detonation rocked the first level of the subway station,
indicating that the action wasn`t quite over yet.
"Shall we go and assist them?" wondered Maker.
"They can finish this off on their on. Without the beasts or Black
Baron, the blighted ones are no threat." said Fighter. In a few
quick bounds, the three leather clad Sailor Starlights leaped up to
the second level and exited through the subway tunnel from which they
had arrived.
"WAAAAAIT!" yelled Saturn, cursing her wounded leg that wouldn`t let
her follow them.
Two levels higher, the blighted one was rapidly running out of juice,
his dark energy almost entirely depleted. Feeling the battle was
over, he made a quick move with the very last of his strength to
cover his own escape: instead of using wide unfocused blasts, he
concentrated it all into a single beam. Although he knew his powers
would not be strong enough in this form to cause any amount of real
bodily harm, he was nonetheless capable of propelling Sailor Jupiter
back several feet over the safety railing to a thirty feet fall.
"GYAAAA!" yelled Jupiter, grabbing onto the rail with her hand,
dropping down Mjolnir which clanked loudly on impact. "HEEEEELP!"
"Hold on, I`m coming!" said Mars, running to bring assistance to her
friend. The evil creature took the opportunity to run up the stairs
and make his escape. He ran as fast as he could, his weakened body
dragging like a sickling turtle.
Having received Mars` help to get back over the safety railing,
Jupiter urged her friend to stop the vile being. "Don`t let him
escape, I`ll be fine!" she said, massaging her chest where the dark
beam had struck her.
Sailor Mars ran and reached the bottom of the very long flight of
stairs where she saw the blighted one running to the surface. She
needed to kill him quick, but this would require a high precision
attack, one that could pinpoint the weakest part of her enemy`s body
fifty feet away.
Remembering a lost memory of the moon kingdom like a dream
resurfacing long after it has been forgotten, she rose her hands in
the air, in the position of an archer ready to shoot. A long bow of
fire formed in her hands, a flaming arrow taking shape. She aimed
carefully, then let go of the fiery thread pulled back to its
breaking point...
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!!"
In a blast of intense heat, the flame arrow soared in a straight
line.
Hearing the senshi of mars calling out her attack, the blighted one
stopped his run and turned around to see what was going to happen-
only to receive the projectile of doom directly in his throat,
piercing it side to side and dissipating after exiting through the
back of his neck. He gurgled inhumanly, holding his ripped throat
with both hands, vomitous yellow liquid oozing out of his mortal
wound.
He fell over forward, tumbling down the stairs, his body decomposing
at an accelerated rate. By the time he landed at Mars` feet down the
stairs, he was nothing more than a putrid puddle of yellowish acid
bathing his corroded black clothes.
Placing her finger to her lips, the triumphant Sailor Mars blew off
the little cloud of smoke hovering around it like the sherif always
does in a cheesy comboy movie.
"Nobody hurts my friends." she said with anger flaring in her eyes.
* * *
The beast had run into the tunnel when it saw that these tall
warriors were shooting fire and lightning. It was scared like hell,
and when it heard its brothers screaming far away behind him it knew
it`d been right to flee. Making its way through the long tunnel, it
exited to the surface by an open escape hatch for maintenance
workers.
It looked around the deserted streets- no one in sight. The
hellhound was still hungry, and roamed around to find its next meal.
In one alley, it got excited as it saw a lonely man who was carrying
around a black cat on his shoulder. Good. The big guy with the long
black hair for the main course and kitty for dessert. That long black
overcoat shouldn`t be too hard to chew through... and seeing how he
turned his back to the beast, it would be even easier to kill them
both.
Running with great speed, the beast was hoping to catch the serene
looking man off guard by digging its claws and fangs in his back...
but as it jumped, the man reacted like lightning, extending his leg
backwards like a tense coil released suddenly; his foot hit the
hellhound squarely in the chest, sending it flying into a nearby
wall. Before it could get back up, the man had moved like lightning
again, grabbing it by the hind leg and swinging it into the wall
where its head exploded into bloody mush. The whole battle took less
than three seconds and the powerful blows had been delivered
smoothly, seemingly without any effort.
The cat on his shoulder moved a little, taking a better position as
the sudden moves of the deadly fighter disturbed him.
"Didn`t bother you too much there, did I, Osiris?" he asked.
"No, don`t worry. I`m used to being hauled around like excess
baggage." gruffly replied the old cat. A ray of light reflected upon
him as he moved, revealing his whitening black coat and the shining
silver ankh on his forehead.
"As entertaining as this little demonkin was to kill, we have to go.
We have a lot of work to do and very little time to do it." said the
man, passing his hair through his long black mane.
He left with the cat on his shoulder as always, absent-mindedly
biting on his tongue.
* * *
Makoto carefully placed Robin down on the couch at Usagi`s place,
making sure she didn`t hurt her fractured leg in the process.
"Shouldn`t we go to a hospital?" wondered Robin, moving around
uncomfortably to find a position that would lessen the pain she felt.
"This will only take a minute, Robin, once Naru is done helping Usagi
heal Minako`s soul bleeding she`ll be right over to take care of
your leg." replied Makoto.
"She can mend broken bones?"
"Apparently."
"Cool!" said Robin, her smile returning.
"There`s something I wanted to ask you." said Makoto.
"Ask away."
"You told me you broke your leg falling on the subway track, but
failed to mention HOW you got out of there before getting crushed to
a bloody pulp." asked Makoto.
"That was the weirdest thing... three senshi we`ve never seen before
arrived and pulled me off the tracks about half a second before I
was hit. They were wearing suits that look like those you can buy
in leather fetish stores." explained Robin, remembering the
Starlights.
"How would you know WHAT they sell in those places?" inquired Makoto,
but Robin quickly changed subject.
"Anyway, they said their names were Star Fighter, Star Maker and
Star Healer. Healer`s the one I owe my life to." said Robin,
blushing as she remembered those strong, deep green eyes. Why was
she feeling all warm inside like that all of a sudden?
"Maybe they can be our allies after all..." thought out loud Makoto.
"Yeah... that would be wonderful." said Robin with a large grin that
Makoto didn`t fail to notice.
Upstairs in Usagi`s room, the traumatized Minako who still had large
bloodstains on her skin and hair was trembling from the unimaginable
anguish her soul wound was causing her. Around her, the concerned
Usagi and Naru were preparing to heal her up under the watchful eyes
of Mamoru, Rei, Usako, Ikuko and the cute little Chibi Chibi who felt
so bad for her wounded friend.
"Minako hurt..." she said, let out a soft sob.
"Usagi and Naru will make it all better, honey." said Rei, crounching
down to the little girl`s level and hugging warmly. Chibi Chibi
smiled again. She could feel all this love coming from Rei, and it
comforted her beyond words to describe. In the same way, the pure
unrestrained love of the pink haired three year old was healing a
wound inside of Rei`s heart that she had tried so hard to forget,
but simply couldn`t.
"Let`s get ready." said Usagi, taking her moon crescent wand from
her purse and transforming into Soul Power Sailor Moon. Naru
transformed as well, taking on her long white dress, arm length
gloves and matching breast plate. Both of them radiated a golden
aura, Naru`s holy messianic glow greatly outshining Sailor Moon`s.
Without hesitation, the messiah placed her hands on Usagi`s
shoulders, lending her the power she needed to mend the wound
inflicted to Minako by the evil Black Baron. The swirling golden
aura around Naru flowed into Sailor Moon`s arms and concentrated
into her wand, buidling up to shower the trembling Minako with warm,
soothing energy.
"MOON PRINCESS SOUL HEALING!!!" said Sailor Moon as the soul bleeding
of Minako stopped and the blonde girl recovered from her ordeal.
"Thanks, I needed that..." said Minako, shedding a few more silent
tears.
"Minako better!!!" said Chibi Chibi in her chirpy voice.
Rei smiled and whispered to the little girl that there were some
cookies downstairs.
"Yeah! Hungry!" replied the little girl, getting excited.
Naru followed them down, getting ready to heal Robin as Rei and Chibi
Chibi went to the kitchen for the promised cookies, leaving Minako to
be comforted by her friends and giving her a chance to wash herself
up.
"So how`s my patient doing?" asked Naru, picking up the hemline of
her long dress so she could sit down comfortably on the edge of the
sofa where Robin was lying down.
"I`ve been better." she said.
"Let me help you." said Naru, placing her hands on Robin`s fracture
and sending warm golden energy in her fractured limb. Robin grimaced
as the bones felt like they suddenly had a mind of their own, though
the pain didn`t last too long. Within a minute, her leg was totally
mended as surely as if it had spent three months in a cast.
"Wow, you`re amazing! How`d you do that?" she asked.
"I only stimulated the lifeforce flow in your body, accelerating it
and your natural healing process sped up as a result. Your leg is
good as new... unfortunately, I can`t help you with your other
problem."
"Excuse me?"
"When I sized up yur condition by analyzing your aura, I noticed that
your heart is... confused, seeking a direction it can`t decide itself
on, and it`s tearing you apart inside." explained Naru.
Robin lowered her head. "You`re right you know... I feel so confused
right now. There is so many wonderful people I feel attracted to, but
I don`t know who to choose, and I don`t want to hurt anyone either."
she whispered.
Makoto placed her hand on Robin`s shoulder to show her that she`d
always support her. "Life is tough sometimes... you`ll figure it out
somehow."
Thinking over about the sweet Minako, the charming Yaten and the
strong Star Healer, Robin was sincerely hoping that Makoto was right
about that...
* * *
Minako stepped out of the bath and carefully dried herself with the
large towels provided to her by Ikuko. She slipped on one of Usagi`s
bathrobes and sat in front of the bathroom mirror, just staring at
how her wet honey blonde hair fell on her face and shoulders.
"Aino Minako..." she whispered, looking into the eyes of her
reflection. "That`s all I am, now, nothing more." she added.
Her sark splinter removed, Minako had indeed proven Naru`s point that
she couldn`t transform anymore, having tried already before and after
her bath. She was just another regular woman now, no more powers, no
more fighting villains, nothing.
Just her plain old self.
A knock came at the door, followed by the sweet voice of Michiru.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Yes, I`m dressed..." replied Minako. Not that I would mind, she
refrained herself from saying.
The familiar smile of Michiru was entrancing as always, hinting a
great power within herself, a sense of intuition beyond her means to
understand. Minako always liked the aqua haired artist because there
was always another side to her personality to discover, something
more to be seen and learned.
But most of all, she was a true friend no matter what happened.
"What`s on your mind, Michiru?" asked Minako.
"That`s what I came here to ask YOU, actually." she replied, sitting
on the small bench in front of the softly lit mirror.
"I`m just wondering what I`m going to do now, being Sailor Venus is
all that I have going for me right now... my efforts to get a break
in showbiz are fizzling, I`m lonely and my studies are difficult.
I`m asking myself if I can really make it to the end!" explained
Minako.
Michiru sighed loudly. "The loss of your powers... it`s making
everything else look gloomy, isn`t it?"
Minako nodded in agreement. Michiru placed her arm around her
shoulder and reached for the hairbrush in front of her, handing it
to her friend. "There`s one thing I came to realize after I lost my
own Neptune powers... I thought it was the end of my hero days, but
as I laid in my sweet Haruka`s arms, holding Hotaru in mine, it
became clear to me. Being a hero isn`t about flashy powers, fancy
costumes or even fighting evil monsters. It`s about putting
everything on the line time and time again to protect those things
you believe in." she explained.
"That`s so... beautiful!" said Minako, taking the brush and starting
to comb her long flowing hair. Suddenly looking at herself for who
she was and not who she wasn`t anymore, the young woman was finally
able to see her inner beauty for what it truly was.
"Because it`s true. All truth is inherently beautiful, my friend."
said Michiru, smiling.
"Thanks... I needed to speak with someone in private like this."
"While we`re here, would you like me to braid your hair? A little
change can do a lot of good for your morale." offered Michiru.
Minako gladly accepted.
* * *
"You were really hard to find, you know that???" complained Laurella,
slapping Shingo behind his head before he could put on the helmet
she handed him.
"Sorry, the guys wanted to go shoot some pool in a place they know...
I just never went there before, so you couldn`t know where I was.
The guys in our team really need communicators, you know!!!" he
replied.
"Okay, sit in front, you`re driving tonight." said Laurella,
slipping down to the back of her motorcycle`s seat.
"You`re letting ME drive YOUR bike?" said Shingo in amazement.
"The battle is over now, but I`m trying to get a fix on this Black
Baron guy. My empathic skill gives me an edge over Ami`s laptop in
the mystical area, one that will complement Rei`s uncanny spirit
sense. I feel this weird despair hanging over the city, and Rei
can`t track it down in the way I can... so hop on and follow my
directions." said Laurella.
Shingo followed this friendly command, feeling honored of being
allowed to drive Laurella`s prized possession, the motorbike had
given her when she had finally gotten her life together again and
healed her gravely wounded mind. Speeding along the dirty slush
filled streets, Shingo wondered how long the cool, comfortable
weather would last. It was almost as if the harsh cold provoked by
Aebonite was being naturally counterbalanced by this unseasonable
warmth.
Holding on to her boyfriend by the waist and closing her eyes,
Laurella opened herself to the emotions floating in the air. Dread.
Despair. Hopelessness. It was stagnant, morbid, and getting stronger
with each senshi deprived of her dark splinter by Black Baron.
She gave Shingo directions to take, blindly following her empathic
sense to tell her where to go.
* * *
Mitchell Dreadborne arrived at his appartment late that night, tired
but overall satisfied of the conclusion to the challenging. Walking
up the stairs of his building, he just couldn`t wait to pour himself
a warm drink and take off those clothes which now seemed to weigh a
ton on his sore muscles.
Wearing battle armor was simply so exhausting nowadays. The former
first knight of the spheres was no more than a mere dread knight,
albeit one who still had considerable clout among his kin. His
retirement on earth would be everything he could have hoped for.
"Hello there, tall dark and gloomy." said a familiar voice. Mizuno
Akane stood in front of his condo`s front door, patiently waiting
for him. She looked very tired, but the smile on her face told him
she didn`t mind it at all.
"Greetings, dear Akane. It`s a real pleasure to see you as always...
can I offer you a nice cup of coffee? I was about to brew some."
offered Ronmar, happy to see the woman he had so much in common
with, both of them having known a very dark past.
"Please, I`d love that."
He unlocked the door and showed her inside his spartanly decorated
place, every piece of dark color furniture serving a well defined
function. Akane giggled, thinking that once her daughter got her
own appartment, she was likely to decorate it in the same utilitarian
fashion.
After a few minutes, the delicious smell of moka java filled the
kitchen, Akane accepting the cup given to her by the powerful man
who had become her new lover. "Thank you."
"So how have things been in my absence?" wondered Mitchell, taking
a long sip of the hot coffee he`d just poured himself, not putting
in either sugar or cream unlike Akane.
"Some new menace has surfaced. My Ami and her friends have been
fighting it... it`s minions at least, because their enemy only shows
up to maul the girls one by one. He cripples their souls somehow,
from what my daughter tells me."
"Sounds like an entity of darkness. Maybe I can help you fight it."
suggested Ronmar.
"I was hoping you could help them." said Akane, smiling to him.
"Apparently, this creature is called... Black Baron."
Upon the mention of the shifting being`s name, Ronmar`s heart skipped
a beat. He felt his arms and legs weaken under him, the hot cup of
coffee slipping through his fingers and smashing on the tiled floor.
"Did... did you say..."
"Black Baron, yes."
Fear was clawing at his stomach, grabbing hold onto him like a
darkbeast in a feeding fenzy. Ronmar had hoped never to even hear
the name again, but now he was HERE, in the world where he`d chosen
to spend the rest of his unnatural life.
"What is it, Mitchell? Did I say something wrong?"
"Akane... your daughter is in the gravest danger of her life, and so
are her friends!" said Ronmar, fear showing on his face for the first
time in centuries.
Akane knew it would take something quite horrible to scare him. She
simply had no idea just how terrifying Black Baron could be.
* * *
Coming home after the battle in the subway, the Kou brothers returned
to their place, their male forms reassumed to disguise their true
selves, the Sailor Starlights. Taiki went straight to the stereo
system to put in a Mozart CD while Seiya collapsed face first into
the living room sofa.
"Yaten, check the answering machine!" said Seiya through the plush
cushions.
Of course, the red blinking light was there, so Yaten pushed the
button REWIND then PLAY. He listened to the string of messages, most
of them from their agent about upcoming live shows, appearances and
concerts. Yaten barely even heard those, thinking over the last
second rescue of Sailor Saturn he did that evening. He especially
remembered her eyes, shining emerald eyes like his own, so full of
life...
The last one, however, got his attention.
"Hello, Yaten, you don`t know me but you know my friend Robin... you
met her the other day and she`s burning to see you again! Check your
mailbox, I slipped in a picture of her, along with her phone
number..." said the mystery girl`s recording.
Curious, Yaten went to the front door and opened the mailbox where
he did find a large enveloppe containing... a picture of the girl he
was sure was his princess, Robin Redwing!!! Now he knew her name,
and he even had her phone number, written behind the glossy shot of
the stunning young girl next to her full name.
Things were definitely looking up now, he could find her and try and
communicate with her, reaching behind the facade and linking with
his princess.
Across the street, hidden in darkness, Minako`s dark double "V" was
looking at Yaten opening the enveloppe through binoculars. She saw
his bewildered expression and large smile; she knew that her plan
would succeed. By throwing Robin in Yaten`s arms, Minako would be
alone again, miserable with her pathetic lovelife.
V smiled. She would wreak havok in her template`s life in so many
ways, her own life would seem paradise compared to Minako`s.
* * *
"Here is the next one." said the distorted voice of Black Baron as
he handed over Sailor Venus` dark splinter to Crystallite. The small
jagged crystal floated to her greedy hand and she held it next to
the two fused shards of Neptune and Uranus. Using her power, she
added this newest piece to the other two, increasing the size of
the crystal just a little more.
"We`re getting a little closer to our goal, Fenris." said
Crystallite, her face lit with the excitement of anticipation.
"And what goal is that, I wonder..." thought Fenris who didn`t trust
Black Baron at all.
"I think we must further accelerate our work, but the increased
darkness hugging this city will make it that much easier." observed
Black Baron.
"So who will be next?"
The shimmering being of darkness did not hesitate a second, picking
two cards from Crystallite`s hand. Black Baron observed the two
senshi drawn on them, two more girls soon to be added to his score.
He then vanished without any further comment.
"He`s so powerful, why does he even bother to help us at all?" asked
Fenris, baring his fangs to the spot where the grandmaster of
darkness stood just seconds before.
"He has his own agenda, that`s for sure. I can`t guess his true
motivations right now, but as long as his goals match our own...
he`ll serve us well."
"Understood. If you believe this can help you, so be it. As much as
I loathe him, I trust you absolutely." said the manwolf, sitting next
to Crystallite and hugging her in his massive arms.
"You`ll see, Fenris, this will bring us everything we could possibly
want." said the weak young girl, staring at the black jagged crystal
in her hands from which a throb of pulsing energy could be felt,
increasing in power with each new piece obtained.
"I never asked for anything else than to hold you in my arms..."
whispered Fenris in her ear.
"You`ll see, my big furry wolf, I`ll conquer this entire universe
and put it at your feet!" she whispered back.
She cuddled to him... she always felt safe in his arms.
* * *
Shingo came to a slow halt as he received instructions from his
girlfriend to do so. He put on the brakes and the Velociraptor model
four stopped, Laurella pointing towards a large group of tall
buildings over the horizon.
"There... Black Baron was there not long ago, I`m sure of it!" said
Laurella.
"That`s the Poldzer Triangle... completed in the last couple of weeks.
some people say it`s cursed, because it was owned by professor Tomoe
and was never completed after he was... well, you know the rest of
the story better than I do." said Shingo. "That`s strange... it
doesn`t look like the sort of place a master of magic would hide in,
it`s so... technological."
"The darkness coming from this place is frightning, Kit... it sends
shivers down my spine!"
"You`re right, it is palpable over here. And I don`t even have your
empathy to feel it... it must be hell for you, Laurella." commented
Shingo.
"I can take it, I learned how to shield myself over time."
"I don`t care how resilient you are, I don`t want to expose you to
any more of this than you already have. We`re going back, sweetheart,
we need to discuss this with the others before we do anything about
this." said Shingo, tightly pulling his thick gloves back onto his
hands after the long ride loosened them a little. He then turned the
bike around and sped back to his home so they could meet with the
other senshi.
About ten minutes after the young couple was gone, the shadowy form
of Black Baron appeared at the same spot, the grandmaster in the arts
of darkness looking to the direction where Shingo and Laurella had
taken, not even turning around to greet the sinister creature walking
up to him. Still turning his back to the vile monster whose long black
clothes covered every inch of his body, he gave his orders to be
followed exactly.
"Find this girl. Break her soul, I care not how." said the menacing
voice of Black Baron as he handed over one of Gallagher`s cards to
the blighted one standing behind him without as much as talking a
peek at him. The foul monster extended his long wiery fingers and
took the card, studying its every detail to burn them in his mind.
"Yes, great master, it shall find the girl and break her... tear her
apart!!!" said the blighted one as he pulled a long knife from
underneath his ample clothes, his strange body motions closer to
slithering than actual walking. "IT SHALL KILL THE LITTLE GIRLS FOR
THE GLORY OF THE GREAT MASTER!!!" screamed the blighted one, his body
bending in unnatural places.
"Of course you will." said Black Baron who in the end never did care
whether his blighted one lived or died, as long as he could get what
he wanted from his victims.
To be continued...
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 39
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Laying flat on her stomach against the cold rails of a busy subway
line, Sailor Saturn`s last hopes of survival had been smashed along
with her leg, broken in two places when she fell down onto the track.
She had barely avoided touching the electrified third rail, but the
subway train barreling down in her direction would kill her for sure.
She stiffened her every muscle, bracing for the killing blow that
would reunite her with her dead father.
She just hoped it wouldn`t hurt for too long before all became
dark...
But the pain never came. Instead, she felt light as a feather,
soaring through the air. Opening her eyes again, Robin saw the
subway train rolling into the station at full speed... but she
wasn`t lying in front of it anymore. Rather, she was in the arms
of someone standing on the boarding area safely behind the orange
dotted line.
Looking at her savior, she found herself totally entranced by the
most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen in her life. The leather
clad woman also had superbly chiseled features and a magnificient
mane of long silver hair.
"Who... who are you?" she asked.
"Call me Sailor Star Healer." she replied, putting Saturn down on a
bench along the wall. Her leg still hurt terribly, but Healer`s touch
was so soft that she did not cause any more pain to the young senshi
than what could normally be expected from a freshly broken limb.
"He`s done his dirty work all right." commented Sailor Star Maker,
gently passing his fingers through the hair of the distraught Minako
who sobbed painfully from the forceful extraction of her dark
splinter by Black Baron.
"I guess we`re too late again." conceded Sailor Star Fighter,
sighing loudly.
"I wouldn`t say that..." replied Healer, smiling sweetly to Sailor
Saturn who blushed ever so slightly.
Another detonation rocked the first level of the subway station,
indicating that the action wasn`t quite over yet.
"Shall we go and assist them?" wondered Maker.
"They can finish this off on their on. Without the beasts or Black
Baron, the blighted ones are no threat." said Fighter. In a few
quick bounds, the three leather clad Sailor Starlights leaped up to
the second level and exited through the subway tunnel from which they
had arrived.
"WAAAAAIT!" yelled Saturn, cursing her wounded leg that wouldn`t let
her follow them.
Two levels higher, the blighted one was rapidly running out of juice,
his dark energy almost entirely depleted. Feeling the battle was
over, he made a quick move with the very last of his strength to
cover his own escape: instead of using wide unfocused blasts, he
concentrated it all into a single beam. Although he knew his powers
would not be strong enough in this form to cause any amount of real
bodily harm, he was nonetheless capable of propelling Sailor Jupiter
back several feet over the safety railing to a thirty feet fall.
"GYAAAA!" yelled Jupiter, grabbing onto the rail with her hand,
dropping down Mjolnir which clanked loudly on impact. "HEEEEELP!"
"Hold on, I`m coming!" said Mars, running to bring assistance to her
friend. The evil creature took the opportunity to run up the stairs
and make his escape. He ran as fast as he could, his weakened body
dragging like a sickling turtle.
Having received Mars` help to get back over the safety railing,
Jupiter urged her friend to stop the vile being. "Don`t let him
escape, I`ll be fine!" she said, massaging her chest where the dark
beam had struck her.
Sailor Mars ran and reached the bottom of the very long flight of
stairs where she saw the blighted one running to the surface. She
needed to kill him quick, but this would require a high precision
attack, one that could pinpoint the weakest part of her enemy`s body
fifty feet away.
Remembering a lost memory of the moon kingdom like a dream
resurfacing long after it has been forgotten, she rose her hands in
the air, in the position of an archer ready to shoot. A long bow of
fire formed in her hands, a flaming arrow taking shape. She aimed
carefully, then let go of the fiery thread pulled back to its
breaking point...
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!!"
In a blast of intense heat, the flame arrow soared in a straight
line.
Hearing the senshi of mars calling out her attack, the blighted one
stopped his run and turned around to see what was going to happen-
only to receive the projectile of doom directly in his throat,
piercing it side to side and dissipating after exiting through the
back of his neck. He gurgled inhumanly, holding his ripped throat
with both hands, vomitous yellow liquid oozing out of his mortal
wound.
He fell over forward, tumbling down the stairs, his body decomposing
at an accelerated rate. By the time he landed at Mars` feet down the
stairs, he was nothing more than a putrid puddle of yellowish acid
bathing his corroded black clothes.
Placing her finger to her lips, the triumphant Sailor Mars blew off
the little cloud of smoke hovering around it like the sherif always
does in a cheesy comboy movie.
"Nobody hurts my friends." she said with anger flaring in her eyes.
* * *
The beast had run into the tunnel when it saw that these tall
warriors were shooting fire and lightning. It was scared like hell,
and when it heard its brothers screaming far away behind him it knew
it`d been right to flee. Making its way through the long tunnel, it
exited to the surface by an open escape hatch for maintenance
workers.
It looked around the deserted streets- no one in sight. The
hellhound was still hungry, and roamed around to find its next meal.
In one alley, it got excited as it saw a lonely man who was carrying
around a black cat on his shoulder. Good. The big guy with the long
black hair for the main course and kitty for dessert. That long black
overcoat shouldn`t be too hard to chew through... and seeing how he
turned his back to the beast, it would be even easier to kill them
both.
Running with great speed, the beast was hoping to catch the serene
looking man off guard by digging its claws and fangs in his back...
but as it jumped, the man reacted like lightning, extending his leg
backwards like a tense coil released suddenly; his foot hit the
hellhound squarely in the chest, sending it flying into a nearby
wall. Before it could get back up, the man had moved like lightning
again, grabbing it by the hind leg and swinging it into the wall
where its head exploded into bloody mush. The whole battle took less
than three seconds and the powerful blows had been delivered
smoothly, seemingly without any effort.
The cat on his shoulder moved a little, taking a better position as
the sudden moves of the deadly fighter disturbed him.
"Didn`t bother you too much there, did I, Osiris?" he asked.
"No, don`t worry. I`m used to being hauled around like excess
baggage." gruffly replied the old cat. A ray of light reflected upon
him as he moved, revealing his whitening black coat and the shining
silver ankh on his forehead.
"As entertaining as this little demonkin was to kill, we have to go.
We have a lot of work to do and very little time to do it." said the
man, passing his hair through his long black mane.
He left with the cat on his shoulder as always, absent-mindedly
biting on his tongue.
* * *
Makoto carefully placed Robin down on the couch at Usagi`s place,
making sure she didn`t hurt her fractured leg in the process.
"Shouldn`t we go to a hospital?" wondered Robin, moving around
uncomfortably to find a position that would lessen the pain she felt.
"This will only take a minute, Robin, once Naru is done helping Usagi
heal Minako`s soul bleeding she`ll be right over to take care of
your leg." replied Makoto.
"She can mend broken bones?"
"Apparently."
"Cool!" said Robin, her smile returning.
"There`s something I wanted to ask you." said Makoto.
"Ask away."
"You told me you broke your leg falling on the subway track, but
failed to mention HOW you got out of there before getting crushed to
a bloody pulp." asked Makoto.
"That was the weirdest thing... three senshi we`ve never seen before
arrived and pulled me off the tracks about half a second before I
was hit. They were wearing suits that look like those you can buy
in leather fetish stores." explained Robin, remembering the
Starlights.
"How would you know WHAT they sell in those places?" inquired Makoto,
but Robin quickly changed subject.
"Anyway, they said their names were Star Fighter, Star Maker and
Star Healer. Healer`s the one I owe my life to." said Robin,
blushing as she remembered those strong, deep green eyes. Why was
she feeling all warm inside like that all of a sudden?
"Maybe they can be our allies after all..." thought out loud Makoto.
"Yeah... that would be wonderful." said Robin with a large grin that
Makoto didn`t fail to notice.
Upstairs in Usagi`s room, the traumatized Minako who still had large
bloodstains on her skin and hair was trembling from the unimaginable
anguish her soul wound was causing her. Around her, the concerned
Usagi and Naru were preparing to heal her up under the watchful eyes
of Mamoru, Rei, Usako, Ikuko and the cute little Chibi Chibi who felt
so bad for her wounded friend.
"Minako hurt..." she said, let out a soft sob.
"Usagi and Naru will make it all better, honey." said Rei, crounching
down to the little girl`s level and hugging warmly. Chibi Chibi
smiled again. She could feel all this love coming from Rei, and it
comforted her beyond words to describe. In the same way, the pure
unrestrained love of the pink haired three year old was healing a
wound inside of Rei`s heart that she had tried so hard to forget,
but simply couldn`t.
"Let`s get ready." said Usagi, taking her moon crescent wand from
her purse and transforming into Soul Power Sailor Moon. Naru
transformed as well, taking on her long white dress, arm length
gloves and matching breast plate. Both of them radiated a golden
aura, Naru`s holy messianic glow greatly outshining Sailor Moon`s.
Without hesitation, the messiah placed her hands on Usagi`s
shoulders, lending her the power she needed to mend the wound
inflicted to Minako by the evil Black Baron. The swirling golden
aura around Naru flowed into Sailor Moon`s arms and concentrated
into her wand, buidling up to shower the trembling Minako with warm,
soothing energy.
"MOON PRINCESS SOUL HEALING!!!" said Sailor Moon as the soul bleeding
of Minako stopped and the blonde girl recovered from her ordeal.
"Thanks, I needed that..." said Minako, shedding a few more silent
tears.
"Minako better!!!" said Chibi Chibi in her chirpy voice.
Rei smiled and whispered to the little girl that there were some
cookies downstairs.
"Yeah! Hungry!" replied the little girl, getting excited.
Naru followed them down, getting ready to heal Robin as Rei and Chibi
Chibi went to the kitchen for the promised cookies, leaving Minako to
be comforted by her friends and giving her a chance to wash herself
up.
"So how`s my patient doing?" asked Naru, picking up the hemline of
her long dress so she could sit down comfortably on the edge of the
sofa where Robin was lying down.
"I`ve been better." she said.
"Let me help you." said Naru, placing her hands on Robin`s fracture
and sending warm golden energy in her fractured limb. Robin grimaced
as the bones felt like they suddenly had a mind of their own, though
the pain didn`t last too long. Within a minute, her leg was totally
mended as surely as if it had spent three months in a cast.
"Wow, you`re amazing! How`d you do that?" she asked.
"I only stimulated the lifeforce flow in your body, accelerating it
and your natural healing process sped up as a result. Your leg is
good as new... unfortunately, I can`t help you with your other
problem."
"Excuse me?"
"When I sized up yur condition by analyzing your aura, I noticed that
your heart is... confused, seeking a direction it can`t decide itself
on, and it`s tearing you apart inside." explained Naru.
Robin lowered her head. "You`re right you know... I feel so confused
right now. There is so many wonderful people I feel attracted to, but
I don`t know who to choose, and I don`t want to hurt anyone either."
she whispered.
Makoto placed her hand on Robin`s shoulder to show her that she`d
always support her. "Life is tough sometimes... you`ll figure it out
somehow."
Thinking over about the sweet Minako, the charming Yaten and the
strong Star Healer, Robin was sincerely hoping that Makoto was right
about that...
* * *
Minako stepped out of the bath and carefully dried herself with the
large towels provided to her by Ikuko. She slipped on one of Usagi`s
bathrobes and sat in front of the bathroom mirror, just staring at
how her wet honey blonde hair fell on her face and shoulders.
"Aino Minako..." she whispered, looking into the eyes of her
reflection. "That`s all I am, now, nothing more." she added.
Her sark splinter removed, Minako had indeed proven Naru`s point that
she couldn`t transform anymore, having tried already before and after
her bath. She was just another regular woman now, no more powers, no
more fighting villains, nothing.
Just her plain old self.
A knock came at the door, followed by the sweet voice of Michiru.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Yes, I`m dressed..." replied Minako. Not that I would mind, she
refrained herself from saying.
The familiar smile of Michiru was entrancing as always, hinting a
great power within herself, a sense of intuition beyond her means to
understand. Minako always liked the aqua haired artist because there
was always another side to her personality to discover, something
more to be seen and learned.
But most of all, she was a true friend no matter what happened.
"What`s on your mind, Michiru?" asked Minako.
"That`s what I came here to ask YOU, actually." she replied, sitting
on the small bench in front of the softly lit mirror.
"I`m just wondering what I`m going to do now, being Sailor Venus is
all that I have going for me right now... my efforts to get a break
in showbiz are fizzling, I`m lonely and my studies are difficult.
I`m asking myself if I can really make it to the end!" explained
Minako.
Michiru sighed loudly. "The loss of your powers... it`s making
everything else look gloomy, isn`t it?"
Minako nodded in agreement. Michiru placed her arm around her
shoulder and reached for the hairbrush in front of her, handing it
to her friend. "There`s one thing I came to realize after I lost my
own Neptune powers... I thought it was the end of my hero days, but
as I laid in my sweet Haruka`s arms, holding Hotaru in mine, it
became clear to me. Being a hero isn`t about flashy powers, fancy
costumes or even fighting evil monsters. It`s about putting
everything on the line time and time again to protect those things
you believe in." she explained.
"That`s so... beautiful!" said Minako, taking the brush and starting
to comb her long flowing hair. Suddenly looking at herself for who
she was and not who she wasn`t anymore, the young woman was finally
able to see her inner beauty for what it truly was.
"Because it`s true. All truth is inherently beautiful, my friend."
said Michiru, smiling.
"Thanks... I needed to speak with someone in private like this."
"While we`re here, would you like me to braid your hair? A little
change can do a lot of good for your morale." offered Michiru.
Minako gladly accepted.
* * *
"You were really hard to find, you know that???" complained Laurella,
slapping Shingo behind his head before he could put on the helmet
she handed him.
"Sorry, the guys wanted to go shoot some pool in a place they know...
I just never went there before, so you couldn`t know where I was.
The guys in our team really need communicators, you know!!!" he
replied.
"Okay, sit in front, you`re driving tonight." said Laurella,
slipping down to the back of her motorcycle`s seat.
"You`re letting ME drive YOUR bike?" said Shingo in amazement.
"The battle is over now, but I`m trying to get a fix on this Black
Baron guy. My empathic skill gives me an edge over Ami`s laptop in
the mystical area, one that will complement Rei`s uncanny spirit
sense. I feel this weird despair hanging over the city, and Rei
can`t track it down in the way I can... so hop on and follow my
directions." said Laurella.
Shingo followed this friendly command, feeling honored of being
allowed to drive Laurella`s prized possession, the motorbike had
given her when she had finally gotten her life together again and
healed her gravely wounded mind. Speeding along the dirty slush
filled streets, Shingo wondered how long the cool, comfortable
weather would last. It was almost as if the harsh cold provoked by
Aebonite was being naturally counterbalanced by this unseasonable
warmth.
Holding on to her boyfriend by the waist and closing her eyes,
Laurella opened herself to the emotions floating in the air. Dread.
Despair. Hopelessness. It was stagnant, morbid, and getting stronger
with each senshi deprived of her dark splinter by Black Baron.
She gave Shingo directions to take, blindly following her empathic
sense to tell her where to go.
* * *
Mitchell Dreadborne arrived at his appartment late that night, tired
but overall satisfied of the conclusion to the challenging. Walking
up the stairs of his building, he just couldn`t wait to pour himself
a warm drink and take off those clothes which now seemed to weigh a
ton on his sore muscles.
Wearing battle armor was simply so exhausting nowadays. The former
first knight of the spheres was no more than a mere dread knight,
albeit one who still had considerable clout among his kin. His
retirement on earth would be everything he could have hoped for.
"Hello there, tall dark and gloomy." said a familiar voice. Mizuno
Akane stood in front of his condo`s front door, patiently waiting
for him. She looked very tired, but the smile on her face told him
she didn`t mind it at all.
"Greetings, dear Akane. It`s a real pleasure to see you as always...
can I offer you a nice cup of coffee? I was about to brew some."
offered Ronmar, happy to see the woman he had so much in common
with, both of them having known a very dark past.
"Please, I`d love that."
He unlocked the door and showed her inside his spartanly decorated
place, every piece of dark color furniture serving a well defined
function. Akane giggled, thinking that once her daughter got her
own appartment, she was likely to decorate it in the same utilitarian
fashion.
After a few minutes, the delicious smell of moka java filled the
kitchen, Akane accepting the cup given to her by the powerful man
who had become her new lover. "Thank you."
"So how have things been in my absence?" wondered Mitchell, taking
a long sip of the hot coffee he`d just poured himself, not putting
in either sugar or cream unlike Akane.
"Some new menace has surfaced. My Ami and her friends have been
fighting it... it`s minions at least, because their enemy only shows
up to maul the girls one by one. He cripples their souls somehow,
from what my daughter tells me."
"Sounds like an entity of darkness. Maybe I can help you fight it."
suggested Ronmar.
"I was hoping you could help them." said Akane, smiling to him.
"Apparently, this creature is called... Black Baron."
Upon the mention of the shifting being`s name, Ronmar`s heart skipped
a beat. He felt his arms and legs weaken under him, the hot cup of
coffee slipping through his fingers and smashing on the tiled floor.
"Did... did you say..."
"Black Baron, yes."
Fear was clawing at his stomach, grabbing hold onto him like a
darkbeast in a feeding fenzy. Ronmar had hoped never to even hear
the name again, but now he was HERE, in the world where he`d chosen
to spend the rest of his unnatural life.
"What is it, Mitchell? Did I say something wrong?"
"Akane... your daughter is in the gravest danger of her life, and so
are her friends!" said Ronmar, fear showing on his face for the first
time in centuries.
Akane knew it would take something quite horrible to scare him. She
simply had no idea just how terrifying Black Baron could be.
* * *
Coming home after the battle in the subway, the Kou brothers returned
to their place, their male forms reassumed to disguise their true
selves, the Sailor Starlights. Taiki went straight to the stereo
system to put in a Mozart CD while Seiya collapsed face first into
the living room sofa.
"Yaten, check the answering machine!" said Seiya through the plush
cushions.
Of course, the red blinking light was there, so Yaten pushed the
button REWIND then PLAY. He listened to the string of messages, most
of them from their agent about upcoming live shows, appearances and
concerts. Yaten barely even heard those, thinking over the last
second rescue of Sailor Saturn he did that evening. He especially
remembered her eyes, shining emerald eyes like his own, so full of
life...
The last one, however, got his attention.
"Hello, Yaten, you don`t know me but you know my friend Robin... you
met her the other day and she`s burning to see you again! Check your
mailbox, I slipped in a picture of her, along with her phone
number..." said the mystery girl`s recording.
Curious, Yaten went to the front door and opened the mailbox where
he did find a large enveloppe containing... a picture of the girl he
was sure was his princess, Robin Redwing!!! Now he knew her name,
and he even had her phone number, written behind the glossy shot of
the stunning young girl next to her full name.
Things were definitely looking up now, he could find her and try and
communicate with her, reaching behind the facade and linking with
his princess.
Across the street, hidden in darkness, Minako`s dark double "V" was
looking at Yaten opening the enveloppe through binoculars. She saw
his bewildered expression and large smile; she knew that her plan
would succeed. By throwing Robin in Yaten`s arms, Minako would be
alone again, miserable with her pathetic lovelife.
V smiled. She would wreak havok in her template`s life in so many
ways, her own life would seem paradise compared to Minako`s.
* * *
"Here is the next one." said the distorted voice of Black Baron as
he handed over Sailor Venus` dark splinter to Crystallite. The small
jagged crystal floated to her greedy hand and she held it next to
the two fused shards of Neptune and Uranus. Using her power, she
added this newest piece to the other two, increasing the size of
the crystal just a little more.
"We`re getting a little closer to our goal, Fenris." said
Crystallite, her face lit with the excitement of anticipation.
"And what goal is that, I wonder..." thought Fenris who didn`t trust
Black Baron at all.
"I think we must further accelerate our work, but the increased
darkness hugging this city will make it that much easier." observed
Black Baron.
"So who will be next?"
The shimmering being of darkness did not hesitate a second, picking
two cards from Crystallite`s hand. Black Baron observed the two
senshi drawn on them, two more girls soon to be added to his score.
He then vanished without any further comment.
"He`s so powerful, why does he even bother to help us at all?" asked
Fenris, baring his fangs to the spot where the grandmaster of
darkness stood just seconds before.
"He has his own agenda, that`s for sure. I can`t guess his true
motivations right now, but as long as his goals match our own...
he`ll serve us well."
"Understood. If you believe this can help you, so be it. As much as
I loathe him, I trust you absolutely." said the manwolf, sitting next
to Crystallite and hugging her in his massive arms.
"You`ll see, Fenris, this will bring us everything we could possibly
want." said the weak young girl, staring at the black jagged crystal
in her hands from which a throb of pulsing energy could be felt,
increasing in power with each new piece obtained.
"I never asked for anything else than to hold you in my arms..."
whispered Fenris in her ear.
"You`ll see, my big furry wolf, I`ll conquer this entire universe
and put it at your feet!" she whispered back.
She cuddled to him... she always felt safe in his arms.
* * *
Shingo came to a slow halt as he received instructions from his
girlfriend to do so. He put on the brakes and the Velociraptor model
four stopped, Laurella pointing towards a large group of tall
buildings over the horizon.
"There... Black Baron was there not long ago, I`m sure of it!" said
Laurella.
"That`s the Poldzer Triangle... completed in the last couple of weeks.
some people say it`s cursed, because it was owned by professor Tomoe
and was never completed after he was... well, you know the rest of
the story better than I do." said Shingo. "That`s strange... it
doesn`t look like the sort of place a master of magic would hide in,
it`s so... technological."
"The darkness coming from this place is frightning, Kit... it sends
shivers down my spine!"
"You`re right, it is palpable over here. And I don`t even have your
empathy to feel it... it must be hell for you, Laurella." commented
Shingo.
"I can take it, I learned how to shield myself over time."
"I don`t care how resilient you are, I don`t want to expose you to
any more of this than you already have. We`re going back, sweetheart,
we need to discuss this with the others before we do anything about
this." said Shingo, tightly pulling his thick gloves back onto his
hands after the long ride loosened them a little. He then turned the
bike around and sped back to his home so they could meet with the
other senshi.
About ten minutes after the young couple was gone, the shadowy form
of Black Baron appeared at the same spot, the grandmaster in the arts
of darkness looking to the direction where Shingo and Laurella had
taken, not even turning around to greet the sinister creature walking
up to him. Still turning his back to the vile monster whose long black
clothes covered every inch of his body, he gave his orders to be
followed exactly.
"Find this girl. Break her soul, I care not how." said the menacing
voice of Black Baron as he handed over one of Gallagher`s cards to
the blighted one standing behind him without as much as talking a
peek at him. The foul monster extended his long wiery fingers and
took the card, studying its every detail to burn them in his mind.
"Yes, great master, it shall find the girl and break her... tear her
apart!!!" said the blighted one as he pulled a long knife from
underneath his ample clothes, his strange body motions closer to
slithering than actual walking. "IT SHALL KILL THE LITTLE GIRLS FOR
THE GLORY OF THE GREAT MASTER!!!" screamed the blighted one, his body
bending in unnatural places.
"Of course you will." said Black Baron who in the end never did care
whether his blighted one lived or died, as long as he could get what
he wanted from his victims.
To be continued...