By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Prologue, three years ago...
Walking amongst the misshapen denizens of the cloud city Thunderport
III, a relatively well formed humanoid being went about its way,
minding his own business and keeping his eyes on the filth ridden
walkway of the main merchant hall. He paid little attention to the
careless masses of travelers, hustlers, contraband dealers and gun
runners because he had no business with any of those shady
characters in any way.
What he needed was an assassin.
He entered the "Halflife" bar, the smoke filled dark atmosphere
assaulting all his senses at once. Cigarette fumes, cheap alcohol
vapors, sweat and low quality food smells would have made any lesser
man throw up in an instant, but the black clad man did not feel any
discomfort, nor did he feel any revulsion from the many blood stains
on the floor and walls which nobody cared enough about to actually
take the time to clean them off.
Pulling down slightly the black shroud over his face so that his
black eyes and pale skin showed through a little, he squinted and
scanned the room in a few quick glances. He found the man he was
looking for, a huge manbeast whose jet black fur and glowing red
eyes scared everybody around him as much as his long claws and
sharp fangs. His leather clothes matched his fur color and told
many stories of his past battles from the tears that had been
awkwardly sewn up.
Slamming glass after glass of the strongest liquor he could find,
the manbeast had at all times a ten feet radius cleared around him,
the many tough patrons of the bar not daring to approach such a well
known psychopathic killer.
"More drinks!" he screamed, pounding his empty glass on the bar. The
bartender hesitantly got closer and offered a new bottle, one that
didn`t quite seem to meet the lupine creature`s approval.
"I`m sorry, sir, it`s the most powerful thing I can get my hands
on! It`s illegal on forty two planets, I have to get it through
contraband!!!" pleaded the bartender who still feared the manbeast
even though had known him for several years now.
"I like you, Big Bob, that`s why I won`t kill you for offering we
that watered down hogwash... that and because I`m thirsty as hell.
Give it to me." growled the beast to the smaller man`s obvious
relief. The man in black smiled under his shroud, he had found his
man for the job.
"Fenris Wolfang?" he asked. A ghastly silent fell over the entire
bar as the patrons realized that SOMEONE had been either courageous
or stupid enough to adress the manbeast by his name.
"You see another manbeast around, shorty?" replied the beast, eyeing
this stranger who would die soon if he didn`t have a damn good reason
to interrupt his drinking binge.
"I need an assassin... the best one money can buy."
"You found your man... if the price is right." said Fenris, his
murderous glare fading down to a contemptuous glance.
"Ten millions, cash, half in advance." replied the cloaked man.
Fenris smiled. "Who could possibly be THAT important... and difficult
to kill?"
"Her name is written on the back of the picture. I`ll give you
instructions to her location when you meet me to cash in your fee
before you leave for the job. See you at airlock three in four
hours." said the man, taking a small photograph from a hidden pocket
and flipping it over onto the bar surface in front of the manwolf
who picked it up and looked at it. The victim in question was a
young teenage girl with long flowing red hair and eyes shining with
a cunning wit. On the back was simply written "Princess Crystallite,
daughter of Queen Beryl".
When Fenris looked back up from the photograph, the man dressed in
black desert nomad clothes had vanished without a trace or a sound.
"Ten millions... I`d have done it for three!" smirked the manbeast,
placing the picture in his jacket pocket and breaking the seal off
the liquor bottle to quench his thirst.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 40
LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER
He had been in bed barely two hours, but he was already far gone,
tossing and turning to the rythm of his wild dreams. He mumbled
along to the words he said inside his sleeping world, occasionaly
pronouncing one very clearly.
"Hmmm... Kakyuu..." uttered Seiya.
Standing in the doorway of his brother`s room, Yaten looked at him
and sighed. "Even in your sleep you can`t get her off your mind, can
you?"
"Mmm... come to me... Usako..."
Yaten couldn`t believe what he had just heard. Walking to his
brother, he pulled him out of bed with very little finesse. Waking
up brutally, Seiya was very ticked off.
"What`d you do THAT for?!? And did you see what time it is? We
barely got home!" protested Seiya who rubbed his tired eyes.
"You were calling out for her in your sleep."
"So what if I do? I heard you moaning Kakyuu`s name in your sleep
too once or twice."
"Not just the princess..." replied Yaten. "You were calling out to
USAKO!"
"Well... if she`s the same person, it`s all the same, isn`t it?"
snapped Seiya, defending himself.
"You don`t seem to be getting the situation, here, you know. I think
you`ve been getting a little TOO comfortable with your body, Seiya!
You`re forgetting who you are! YOU`RE FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER!!!"
yelled Yaten, throwing over Seiya`s head his bedsheet which he had
tugged on vigorously to pull his sleepy brother out of bed. "What
are you trying to do, give our people another reason to think we`re
freaks?!?"
"So what if I am?!?" replied Seiya, using his voice like a weapon
against the accusation.
"Because if she`s not her... you`ll get hurt when we leave." said
Yaten, his voice softening up as he turned away. "Get dressed. I
think that the conclusion to the battle we just went through was
just a setup to leave the senshi weak for another strike."
Seiya sat on the floor next to his bed, watching his brother leave
the room. He silently remained there for a few moments, pondering
on his words. Deep down inside, Yaten cared for him, he knew that
well, but what if he DID want to risk his heart on love? What if
this Usako WAS his princess, then wouldn`t that mean she`d return
with them and Yaten would be wrong?
This was getting so complicated... why did this darkness have to
strike earth anyway, forcing things the way they turned out?
"HAUL YOUR ASS INTO GEAR!!!" yelled Yaten from his room.
"KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON!!!" he snapped back. Somehow, it always made him
feel better to argue with Yaten this way.
* * *
It had taken over nine hours of non-stop work to complete, but
neither of the two young computer whizzes minded the effort required
of their daunting task. They were tired, but ever so happy of the
final results.
"Well, Umino, here goes nothing." said Ami, connecting the last wire
inside her friend`s personal laptop computer which she had just
upgraded beyond the normal operating levels of any commercially
available, bringing it not quite up to Ami`s own laptop but to an
undisputed second place.
"I`m still not sure how this works..." said Umino as Ami plugged a
null modem link between the two computers for a software upload.
"It`s quite simple, really... computers have always worked using a
binary system, by breaking down everything it processes into ones
and zeroes, a 'yes or no' system. By upgrading your computer to a
TERNARY system, which can answer by yes, no and MAYBE." she
explained while the information transferred at a rate greater than
a hundred megabytes per minute.
"Good thing you increased the capacity of my hard drive too, I`ll
need every terabyte you added in there!"
(Author`s note: 1 terabyte equals 1000 gigabytes)
"All done." said Ami, unhooking the link and restarting her laptop
to resume normal operations. "You can start it up now, but it`ll
take a few minutes for all the plugins attached to your desktop
program to be organized the first time." she explained, looking at
her screen while the machine rebooted and relinked itself to the
senshi communication frequencies, allowing her friends` messages to
come in through for the first time in many hours.
The communication program instantly activated itself, Rei`s voice
blaring through the small amplificators.
"...RE ARE YOU??? ANSWER ME!!!" yelled her voice.
"Okay, okay, I`m here, no need to scream!" replied Ami.
"Where were you?" asked Rei.
"Upgrading Umino`s laptop so we could be in constant contact and
increase our information sharing capacity, why?"
"Because Black Baron struck at us again! He got Minako a few hours
ago!" she explained.
"That`s terrible... we need to find a way to counter his powers
against us, and fast." replied Ami, concerned.
"I`m afraid we don`t have this much time... I just made a fire
reading and I think he`s going to strike again... right now!" said
Rei.
"ALREADY?!?" blurted out Umino, horrified.
"Of course... attack us again while we`re both weak and off guard...
he`s a cunning one." said Ami, thinking out loud. "Where?"
"The service station four streets north of your place where Laurella
usually gets fills up her bike. I have a bad feeling about this
place; it`s not the location where the darkness is strongest, but
it`s only one the fire would show me." explained Rei.
"I`ll be there. I haven`t fought the first battle tonight, You`ll
need fresh reinforcements." said Ami, signing off.
"So that`s three of you already... what could this monster possibly
want with these, what did Naru call them?" asked Umino.
"Dark splinters." replied Ami.
"Right. What could he be doing with them?"
"I really don`t know. The metaphysical is a bit out of my domain,
we`d need somebody with dark magic lore to help us out in this case.
Maybe mom knows something."
Umino`s face dropped when Ami mentionned her mother knowing
something of the black arts.
"It`s a long story, Umino, one that I`ll tell you when we have time
just like I told the other senshi... suffice it to say that she is
much older than she looks, and her past is a lot darker than anyone
of us ever imagined. She could know something." said Ami, closing
her laptop and standing up from her kitchen table. She picked up as
much of the tools, spare microchips, wires and discarded computer
parts as her arms would allow.
The appartment door rattled as a key unlocked the deadbolt locking
it shut, doctor Mizuno Akane arriving home. "Hello sweetie, nice to
see your friend Umino is here." she said.
"We were boosting his laptop`s operating capacity. Say mom, this
Black Baron I told you about is on the move again, is there anything
you know from your past about fiends of darkness?" she asked her
mother directly.
"It`s been too long since I`ve been among these crowds, but... my
new boyfriend can help you, Ami. I wanted you to meet him, so now`s
as good a time as any, seeing how he insisted to talk to you about
Black Baron himself. Ami, this is Mitchell Dreadborne." she said,
presenting to her daughter the dread knight as he walked in her
appartment.
Ami froze in place when she recognized the face of the man she once
had known as the guardian Technuma Saturn, whose body had been taken
over by the dread lord of darkness Ronmar a few months before. Her
lips began to tremble as the realization sank in that the creature
that had once allied itself with Psyche, the man who had mind-raped
her, was now romantically involved with her own mother. Losing
control over her actions, her hands let go of every item she
carried while her throat released the strongest scream she could
manage.
* * *
Pulling his car in front of his place, Taiki picked up his brothers
who were ready, more or less, to face yet another battle against
Black Baron and his blighted ones. They hopped in and a second
later they were on their way.
"Okay Yaten, you`re more sensitive than any of us- show us the
way!" said Taiki.
"Go north, I have a feeling it`s there." replied the silver maned
idol singer.
"Do you guys realize that if that monster wins another battle, the
tide will be turning in his favor?!?" commented Seiya, yawning his
jaw off.
"Don`t remind us..." snapped Yaten.
* * *
Still quivering like a leaf in a hurricane, Ami was slowly starting
to recover from the shock of finding out WHO her mother had fallen
for, the dread knight Ronmar of all people, who was now living in
Tokyo under the assumed name Mitchell Dreadborne. Her mother was
holding for her the hot cup of tea she`d prepared, Ami`s hands still
too shaky to hold it herself.
"How could you, mom? Don`t you know what he`s done to me? To all of
us?" she said.
"I don`t have any accountability to you or anyone else regarding my
love life, Ami, and his new body has changed him." argued Akane.
"It`s true, Ami. Just ask Usako, or even Rei. They`ll vouch for me."
added Mitchell.
"You bet I`ll ask them..." thought Ami.
"You`re in even deeper trouble than you could possibly imagine, Ami.
You`ve been facing Black Baron... he`s a fiend of night unlike any
you have ever encountered." said Mitchell, concern showing on his
face. Ami was surprised to find that it actually looked genuine.
"What do you know about him?" she asked.
With Umino taking the chance to use his brand new ternary computer
by writing down everything the dread knight said, Ronmar went on to
relate his experience with the shadowy being.
"As a dread knight, I was taught the arts of darkness. How to use
the substance of night as a shield, a weapon, to blend with it and
become the night. This is where my powers came from." he said.
"But we`ve faced a lot of knightmares, and none of them had a tenth
of your strenght!" argued Ami.
"Those were lesser knightmares. The greater ones have all received a
special training... from the grandmaster in the arts of darkness
himself..." said Ronmar.
"BLACK BARON!!!" completed Akane.
"Correct. He is much more than one with the night, he IS the night.
Pure darkness, raw evil, a force of black power unmatched in this
universe save by a few forces that go beyond human comprehension."
he completed.
"So what are the blighted ones?" asked Umino.
"Lesser knightmares who fail the training. Their souls are torn
apart by the process and reassembled to become servile minions of
Black Baron. Their bodies become twisted as well, to reflect their
permanently warped souls. If a soul it still is..." replied the
dread knight.
Shivers went through the spines of his audience, their spirits
horrified by the fall into darkness suffered by the blighted ones.
They almost felt pity for them, but remembered what these corrupted
beings had done to Michiru, Haruka and Minako. They had to be
destroyed, all of them.
"This is the most dangerous enemy you have ever faced... and since
he is collecting items of a dark nature, you can believe that he has
a plan on how to use them. Be afraid, my friends, be VERY AFRAID."
concluded Ronmar.
* * *
Shingo pulled over the motorcycle at the same gas station Laurella
always went, stepping down to fill up the powerful bike with the
highest quality gasoline his girlfriend insisted on her little baby
guzzling up.
"It`s a high performance machine, you know..." she said.
"...and you always put the best into your machine!" completed Shingo
before she could finish her phrase, annoying her as he knew it would.
"That`s it, make fun of me!" she replied with a big pout.
"I only make fun of those I love, you know." said Shingo, smiling to
the seductive brunette.
"Yeah, I know. You`re adorable when you`re annoying, I might add."
said Laurella, returning the charming smile.
"Thanks for letting me drive your bike, you`re so protective of it
in other circumstances."
"I needed my full concentration for this... and there`s nobody else
I`d trust with my bike. You`re the only man for me, Shingo, I`d die
for you... again."
"And I`d lay down my life if it could save yours." replied the
athletic young man, embracing his girlfriend and kissing her softly.
"I have to get a renewal of my prescription." whispered Laurella in
his ear after she broke the sweet tasting kiss. Shingo`s eyes grew
wider, understanding well what sort of pills she`d be getting and
what she did with them. "I`ll go to the mall nearby, the drugstore
is open round the clock."
Laurella handed over to Shingo her gas station credit card along
with a quick peck on the cheek, asking him to remember to ask for
the bonus points for the fillup. She then ran across the street to
the closed mall where only the drugstore windows were still lit up.
Unknown to either of them, a strange being clad in flowing black
clothes was following the young lady, slithering his way across the
concrete lanes in an unnatural fashion. The blighted one held his
deadly blade ready underneath his cloak, the handle itching between
his scaly fingers.
* * *
Rei climbed the stairs leading to Ami`s place, knowing exactly how
many steps there was from the many times she`d been to her friend`s
place to for those extra long study sessions the brainy girl liked
so much. Reaching the luxirious appartment`s door, she rang the bell
and was surprised to see who answered the door, though she wasn`t
shocked the way Ami had been.
"Oh... hello Mitchell!" she said, even smiling to the dread knight.
She seemed pleased to see him there.
"Hello, Rei. I`ve been told about your encouter with Black Baron...
I gave Ami some important information that I hope will help you
fight him. If you`ll excuse me, I must leave you to the battle
ahead of you." he replied, moving past her and leaving.
"Hey, where are you going? Aren`t you going to help us?" she asked.
"He can`t help us, Rei. And neither can mom." said Ami, joining Rei
with her laptop under her arm. "The dark origin of their powers
would render them defenseless against our newest enemy."
"Too bad... we could have used his strength." sighed Rei.
"Hey, you still have me!!!" protested Umino, his newly upgraded
laptop in hand.
Ami and Rei looked at each other... right now Umino was the only
edge they had against Black Baron. The idea sent a chill down their
spines.
* * *
The snakelike blighted one coiled itself in a dark corner of the
mall which was closed for the night, except for the all-night
drugstore where his victim was picking up her monthly reserve of
contraceptives. The beast bidded his time, planning to use darkness
and surprise to its advantage for a quick, efficient kill. It
climbed on the wall and made it`s way to the upper balcony to get
the drop on her when she`d exit the well lit store.
He looked inside from his vantage point as the young woman waited
for her prescription to be filled by the pharmacist, eyeing the
different lubricants alongside the condom packages display.
"That`s it, little girl, let your lusty thoughts distract you from
the hunter... the hunter shall rip your heart from your chest before
you even get a chance to realize what happens!" he thought.
He pulled the knife from his cloak, marveling at the sinuous designs
on the well crafted blade. Soon he would cover it with a young girl`s
blood, and lick it right off.
* * *
The three lights`s sleek sportscar slowly halted in a low circulation
backstreet, its owners getting ready for the rough fight ahead.
"It`s going to happen in that mall we just went by." said Yaten, his
senses rattled by the feeling of evil he picked up there.
"Good. Let`s transform and do this." said Seiya, opening the
passenger door and stepping out as he pulled a small star shaped
medallion from his jacket pocket. Taiki and Yaten left the car as
well, producing similar medallions from their pockets.
They rose these medallions in the air without hesitation, all three
reciting the power-up phrase that would radically change their
appearance.
"FIGHTER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Seiya.
"MAKER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Taiki.
"HEALER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Yaten.
In a flash of stars and light, the clothes of the three young men
vanished as their bodies began to shift form. They shrank by a few
inches in height, their frame softening at the shoulders and
widening at the hips. Their muscle mass became more compact, giving
an overall sleeker, gentler look. Their facial features then turned
softer as well while their breasts increased in size, their bodies
taking on the full features of three young women, their true form
which was efficiently disguised by their fake male form.
Once they were completely female, skimpy black leather outfits
decorated with a star shaped jewel holding their top in place put
the final touch to the incredible transformation which lasted less
than a second.
"I`m beginning to feel weird in this form. I can`t wait until we can
dump the male form for good!" grumbled Star Fighter.
"It works well for now. Live with it, you seem good at that!" snapped
Star Healer.
"Shut up!" replied Fighter.
In quick bounces, the three women warriors were gone.
* * *
Laurella walked out of the drugstore, her attention focused on the
contents of the small paperbag bearing the store name. She peeked
through making sure she had every item she intended to buy, smiling
that she didn`t forget anything... yet something bothered her. It
wasn`t from her errands. It wasn`t because of her motorbike either...
what was it?
Then it struck her. Well, it didn`t strike her a much as it missed
her throat by an inch, her intuition kicking in to make her roll
away from the blighted one`s blade swipe. Ducking and turning
around, she quickly snapped into action. Laurella sent a swift kick
to his stomach, buying herself the time to transform.
"JENDRA SOUL POWER TRANSFORM!!!"
Her clothes vanished for her white and silver fuku. With five
metallic flashes, her protective gear appeared in place to complete
the change.
"Let`s fight you and me!!!" said Laurella, her hand shining as
Bladewind formed between her fingers.
"You`re looking at me." whispered the blighted one, keeping its eyes
on the floor, afraid that Sailor Jendra might see them.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!" screamed the monster, jumping on her
suddenly in a leaping motion that reminded her of a snake going in
for the kill. Out of reflex, she slashed with her sacred weapon at
the leaping creature, ripping off the dark shroud on its face.
Sailor Jendra was horrified to see the reptilian face staring at
her... she screamed out loud like when she used to watch horror
movie by herself in the dark, or when she woke up from the dreadful
nightmares that plagued her life for so many years.
"I FORBID YOU TO LOOK AT ME!!!" yelled the blighted one, spitting a
thick foul liquid in her face, dripping along her neck and seeping
into her eyes under her visor. Her skin tingled as the venom entered
through her pores, numbing all sensation. She quickly found herself
blinded and paralyzed, her hands stopping to respond as she tried to
remove the liquid from her face and smearing her hands in the
process. Not even the leather of her gloves seemed like any
protection from the vile substance. Her rapidly numbing fingers
soon let go of her diamond chakram which went down in a loud
clanging sound.
Her heart hammered in her chest, fear gripping the young senshi as
she fell down helplessly. At the blighted one`s mercy, she was
experiencing terror like she never felt before. She`d gone through
so much in her life, all this pain and suffering, all these
tragedies after which even death was refused to her. It had been
little more than half a year since she had met her old friends from
her last life, her old lover whom she was fated to meet again, it
wasn`t enough time for her, she wanted more. So much more.
"Die, girl!" hissed the blighted one, raising his knife in the air
for the final blow.
Laurella wanted to scream out for her knight in shining green armor
to come, but her numb lips were muted by the acrid venom spitten in
her face. She could feel the desperate anguish of her enemy, the
gnawing evil eating away at his long destroyed soul, slowly mauling
whatever was left of what used to be a strong spirit broken by the
darkness of Black Baron.
She also felt something else, another presence rapidly approaching
them. It was filled with a burning rage fueled by undying love.
"Kit..." she barely managed to mumble, managing a faint smile.
Hearing the running steps coming towards him, the blighted one
turned around to see the young Tsukino Shingo charging him at full
speed, leaping forward to travel in mid-air the last six feet
separating the two warriors, his emerald green armor forming itself
in a sudden flash of Technum energy over his muscled body. Hitting
the vile fiend head-on, the added mass of his battle armor allowed
him to overtake the blighted one and crush him under his weight
against the hard concrete floor, a hideous bone crunching sound
raising from the snakelike being.
Getting back to his feet, Emerald Knight was satisfied that the
blighted one wasn`t moving. He had a quick grin, feeling avenged for
the horrible act that the monster had almost commited.
"Are you alright, darling?" he asked, removing his helmet and
kneeling next to his girlfriend who was still sprawled on the floor,
slowly recovering from the incapacitating venom.
"Y... yeah... will... be... soon..." she stuttered, smiling as she
started to regain her sight and saw the concerned face of the man
of her dreams. "Th... thanks..."
"Don`t move too fast, you`re still weak." he replied, picking her
in his arms. "Oops, I forgot to take your chakram!" he remembered
as he walked her out of the mall.
"No... problem..." she whispered. "R... re... return."
The diamond weapon responded immediately to the verbal command of
its owner, lifting from the ground and soaring through the air
straight into Sailor Jendra`s hand.
"That never ceases to amaze me." commented the knight. Jendra
giggled. She felt safe in his arms.
* * *
The blighted one laid broken on the floor, distastefully soiling the
front entrance of a hip clothing store where Robin had taken to go
shopping on a weekly basis. Several of its bones had been brutally
crushed by the vengeful Emerald Knight just as he was going to
succeed in the mission given to him by his master.
A weak gurgling sound rose from his lips, a smidgen of life still
flowing through his miserable excuse of a body, not quite dead yet
but looking so to anyone not trained in high arts of medecine and
life.
A dark shifting form came out of nowhere, towering above the nearly
dead monster. It silently stood there, looking down onto the fallen
warrior with utter contempt.
"I... failed... you... great... master..." he somehow managed to
say.
"You`re not dead yet. You may yet live to succeed, my minion."
replied an ominous voice not quite centered in the dark form of
Black Baron.
Black energy flowed unevenly from the hands of Black Baron,
regenerating the body of his blighted one to ready him for another
battle still.
"Thank you, great master, the hunter shall not fail again." said
the corrupt warrior, bowing to his master and turning around to
chase his victim again.
"You better not." whispered Black Baron, vanishing as the words
echoed into the night.
* * *
Two senshi and their nerdy friend entered the closed shopping mall,
following the homing signal in Laurella`s communicator. Sailor Mars
could feel the evil emanating from the place, while Mercury`s
computer detected a strange form of energy inside. Umino was only
too glad to be along for the ride.
"There they are!" said Mars when she saw Emerald Knight carrying
Sailor Jendra in their direction.
"Emerald Knight, Jendra... what happened?" asked Mercury.
"Another blighted one attacked Jendra. I destroyed him before he
could hurt my precious angel." said Shingo, his eyes glowing with
love as he mentionned her.
"It`s not over, I`m afraid. He`s still in here." said Mercury,
pointing to her readings.
"Then let`s finish the job. I hate leaving loose threads hanging
around." said Shingo, putting Jendra down at a cafeteria table and
materializing a green halberd in his hand.
"I`ll stay behind with her, don`t worry. We`ll be fine." offered
Umino.
"I know where we left the body. He can`t be far from there..."
replied the knight, putting his helmet back on. "This will only
take a minute, sweetie."
"He doesn`t stand a chance... I hope I can get better in time to
help you destroy him!" said Jendra, smiling. She could see much
better now, and feeling was returning to her face and hands.
"Just stay here and relax, you`ve been through enough for one
night." said Mercury.
"Let us have some fun too!" quickly added Mars. Jendra couldn`t
disagree with the determination of all three of her friends at once.
She sadly looked at them walk into combat once again.
"Hey, at least you still have ME!!!" said Umino cheerfully as he
sat besides her and opened up his newly enhanced laptop to show her
some cool pictures of the senshi in action he got from the internet.
"Oh, great..." sighed Jendra, slamming her head down hard on the
table.
To be continued...
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Prologue, three years ago...
Walking amongst the misshapen denizens of the cloud city Thunderport
III, a relatively well formed humanoid being went about its way,
minding his own business and keeping his eyes on the filth ridden
walkway of the main merchant hall. He paid little attention to the
careless masses of travelers, hustlers, contraband dealers and gun
runners because he had no business with any of those shady
characters in any way.
What he needed was an assassin.
He entered the "Halflife" bar, the smoke filled dark atmosphere
assaulting all his senses at once. Cigarette fumes, cheap alcohol
vapors, sweat and low quality food smells would have made any lesser
man throw up in an instant, but the black clad man did not feel any
discomfort, nor did he feel any revulsion from the many blood stains
on the floor and walls which nobody cared enough about to actually
take the time to clean them off.
Pulling down slightly the black shroud over his face so that his
black eyes and pale skin showed through a little, he squinted and
scanned the room in a few quick glances. He found the man he was
looking for, a huge manbeast whose jet black fur and glowing red
eyes scared everybody around him as much as his long claws and
sharp fangs. His leather clothes matched his fur color and told
many stories of his past battles from the tears that had been
awkwardly sewn up.
Slamming glass after glass of the strongest liquor he could find,
the manbeast had at all times a ten feet radius cleared around him,
the many tough patrons of the bar not daring to approach such a well
known psychopathic killer.
"More drinks!" he screamed, pounding his empty glass on the bar. The
bartender hesitantly got closer and offered a new bottle, one that
didn`t quite seem to meet the lupine creature`s approval.
"I`m sorry, sir, it`s the most powerful thing I can get my hands
on! It`s illegal on forty two planets, I have to get it through
contraband!!!" pleaded the bartender who still feared the manbeast
even though had known him for several years now.
"I like you, Big Bob, that`s why I won`t kill you for offering we
that watered down hogwash... that and because I`m thirsty as hell.
Give it to me." growled the beast to the smaller man`s obvious
relief. The man in black smiled under his shroud, he had found his
man for the job.
"Fenris Wolfang?" he asked. A ghastly silent fell over the entire
bar as the patrons realized that SOMEONE had been either courageous
or stupid enough to adress the manbeast by his name.
"You see another manbeast around, shorty?" replied the beast, eyeing
this stranger who would die soon if he didn`t have a damn good reason
to interrupt his drinking binge.
"I need an assassin... the best one money can buy."
"You found your man... if the price is right." said Fenris, his
murderous glare fading down to a contemptuous glance.
"Ten millions, cash, half in advance." replied the cloaked man.
Fenris smiled. "Who could possibly be THAT important... and difficult
to kill?"
"Her name is written on the back of the picture. I`ll give you
instructions to her location when you meet me to cash in your fee
before you leave for the job. See you at airlock three in four
hours." said the man, taking a small photograph from a hidden pocket
and flipping it over onto the bar surface in front of the manwolf
who picked it up and looked at it. The victim in question was a
young teenage girl with long flowing red hair and eyes shining with
a cunning wit. On the back was simply written "Princess Crystallite,
daughter of Queen Beryl".
When Fenris looked back up from the photograph, the man dressed in
black desert nomad clothes had vanished without a trace or a sound.
"Ten millions... I`d have done it for three!" smirked the manbeast,
placing the picture in his jacket pocket and breaking the seal off
the liquor bottle to quench his thirst.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 40
LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER
He had been in bed barely two hours, but he was already far gone,
tossing and turning to the rythm of his wild dreams. He mumbled
along to the words he said inside his sleeping world, occasionaly
pronouncing one very clearly.
"Hmmm... Kakyuu..." uttered Seiya.
Standing in the doorway of his brother`s room, Yaten looked at him
and sighed. "Even in your sleep you can`t get her off your mind, can
you?"
"Mmm... come to me... Usako..."
Yaten couldn`t believe what he had just heard. Walking to his
brother, he pulled him out of bed with very little finesse. Waking
up brutally, Seiya was very ticked off.
"What`d you do THAT for?!? And did you see what time it is? We
barely got home!" protested Seiya who rubbed his tired eyes.
"You were calling out for her in your sleep."
"So what if I do? I heard you moaning Kakyuu`s name in your sleep
too once or twice."
"Not just the princess..." replied Yaten. "You were calling out to
USAKO!"
"Well... if she`s the same person, it`s all the same, isn`t it?"
snapped Seiya, defending himself.
"You don`t seem to be getting the situation, here, you know. I think
you`ve been getting a little TOO comfortable with your body, Seiya!
You`re forgetting who you are! YOU`RE FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER!!!"
yelled Yaten, throwing over Seiya`s head his bedsheet which he had
tugged on vigorously to pull his sleepy brother out of bed. "What
are you trying to do, give our people another reason to think we`re
freaks?!?"
"So what if I am?!?" replied Seiya, using his voice like a weapon
against the accusation.
"Because if she`s not her... you`ll get hurt when we leave." said
Yaten, his voice softening up as he turned away. "Get dressed. I
think that the conclusion to the battle we just went through was
just a setup to leave the senshi weak for another strike."
Seiya sat on the floor next to his bed, watching his brother leave
the room. He silently remained there for a few moments, pondering
on his words. Deep down inside, Yaten cared for him, he knew that
well, but what if he DID want to risk his heart on love? What if
this Usako WAS his princess, then wouldn`t that mean she`d return
with them and Yaten would be wrong?
This was getting so complicated... why did this darkness have to
strike earth anyway, forcing things the way they turned out?
"HAUL YOUR ASS INTO GEAR!!!" yelled Yaten from his room.
"KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON!!!" he snapped back. Somehow, it always made him
feel better to argue with Yaten this way.
* * *
It had taken over nine hours of non-stop work to complete, but
neither of the two young computer whizzes minded the effort required
of their daunting task. They were tired, but ever so happy of the
final results.
"Well, Umino, here goes nothing." said Ami, connecting the last wire
inside her friend`s personal laptop computer which she had just
upgraded beyond the normal operating levels of any commercially
available, bringing it not quite up to Ami`s own laptop but to an
undisputed second place.
"I`m still not sure how this works..." said Umino as Ami plugged a
null modem link between the two computers for a software upload.
"It`s quite simple, really... computers have always worked using a
binary system, by breaking down everything it processes into ones
and zeroes, a 'yes or no' system. By upgrading your computer to a
TERNARY system, which can answer by yes, no and MAYBE." she
explained while the information transferred at a rate greater than
a hundred megabytes per minute.
"Good thing you increased the capacity of my hard drive too, I`ll
need every terabyte you added in there!"
(Author`s note: 1 terabyte equals 1000 gigabytes)
"All done." said Ami, unhooking the link and restarting her laptop
to resume normal operations. "You can start it up now, but it`ll
take a few minutes for all the plugins attached to your desktop
program to be organized the first time." she explained, looking at
her screen while the machine rebooted and relinked itself to the
senshi communication frequencies, allowing her friends` messages to
come in through for the first time in many hours.
The communication program instantly activated itself, Rei`s voice
blaring through the small amplificators.
"...RE ARE YOU??? ANSWER ME!!!" yelled her voice.
"Okay, okay, I`m here, no need to scream!" replied Ami.
"Where were you?" asked Rei.
"Upgrading Umino`s laptop so we could be in constant contact and
increase our information sharing capacity, why?"
"Because Black Baron struck at us again! He got Minako a few hours
ago!" she explained.
"That`s terrible... we need to find a way to counter his powers
against us, and fast." replied Ami, concerned.
"I`m afraid we don`t have this much time... I just made a fire
reading and I think he`s going to strike again... right now!" said
Rei.
"ALREADY?!?" blurted out Umino, horrified.
"Of course... attack us again while we`re both weak and off guard...
he`s a cunning one." said Ami, thinking out loud. "Where?"
"The service station four streets north of your place where Laurella
usually gets fills up her bike. I have a bad feeling about this
place; it`s not the location where the darkness is strongest, but
it`s only one the fire would show me." explained Rei.
"I`ll be there. I haven`t fought the first battle tonight, You`ll
need fresh reinforcements." said Ami, signing off.
"So that`s three of you already... what could this monster possibly
want with these, what did Naru call them?" asked Umino.
"Dark splinters." replied Ami.
"Right. What could he be doing with them?"
"I really don`t know. The metaphysical is a bit out of my domain,
we`d need somebody with dark magic lore to help us out in this case.
Maybe mom knows something."
Umino`s face dropped when Ami mentionned her mother knowing
something of the black arts.
"It`s a long story, Umino, one that I`ll tell you when we have time
just like I told the other senshi... suffice it to say that she is
much older than she looks, and her past is a lot darker than anyone
of us ever imagined. She could know something." said Ami, closing
her laptop and standing up from her kitchen table. She picked up as
much of the tools, spare microchips, wires and discarded computer
parts as her arms would allow.
The appartment door rattled as a key unlocked the deadbolt locking
it shut, doctor Mizuno Akane arriving home. "Hello sweetie, nice to
see your friend Umino is here." she said.
"We were boosting his laptop`s operating capacity. Say mom, this
Black Baron I told you about is on the move again, is there anything
you know from your past about fiends of darkness?" she asked her
mother directly.
"It`s been too long since I`ve been among these crowds, but... my
new boyfriend can help you, Ami. I wanted you to meet him, so now`s
as good a time as any, seeing how he insisted to talk to you about
Black Baron himself. Ami, this is Mitchell Dreadborne." she said,
presenting to her daughter the dread knight as he walked in her
appartment.
Ami froze in place when she recognized the face of the man she once
had known as the guardian Technuma Saturn, whose body had been taken
over by the dread lord of darkness Ronmar a few months before. Her
lips began to tremble as the realization sank in that the creature
that had once allied itself with Psyche, the man who had mind-raped
her, was now romantically involved with her own mother. Losing
control over her actions, her hands let go of every item she
carried while her throat released the strongest scream she could
manage.
* * *
Pulling his car in front of his place, Taiki picked up his brothers
who were ready, more or less, to face yet another battle against
Black Baron and his blighted ones. They hopped in and a second
later they were on their way.
"Okay Yaten, you`re more sensitive than any of us- show us the
way!" said Taiki.
"Go north, I have a feeling it`s there." replied the silver maned
idol singer.
"Do you guys realize that if that monster wins another battle, the
tide will be turning in his favor?!?" commented Seiya, yawning his
jaw off.
"Don`t remind us..." snapped Yaten.
* * *
Still quivering like a leaf in a hurricane, Ami was slowly starting
to recover from the shock of finding out WHO her mother had fallen
for, the dread knight Ronmar of all people, who was now living in
Tokyo under the assumed name Mitchell Dreadborne. Her mother was
holding for her the hot cup of tea she`d prepared, Ami`s hands still
too shaky to hold it herself.
"How could you, mom? Don`t you know what he`s done to me? To all of
us?" she said.
"I don`t have any accountability to you or anyone else regarding my
love life, Ami, and his new body has changed him." argued Akane.
"It`s true, Ami. Just ask Usako, or even Rei. They`ll vouch for me."
added Mitchell.
"You bet I`ll ask them..." thought Ami.
"You`re in even deeper trouble than you could possibly imagine, Ami.
You`ve been facing Black Baron... he`s a fiend of night unlike any
you have ever encountered." said Mitchell, concern showing on his
face. Ami was surprised to find that it actually looked genuine.
"What do you know about him?" she asked.
With Umino taking the chance to use his brand new ternary computer
by writing down everything the dread knight said, Ronmar went on to
relate his experience with the shadowy being.
"As a dread knight, I was taught the arts of darkness. How to use
the substance of night as a shield, a weapon, to blend with it and
become the night. This is where my powers came from." he said.
"But we`ve faced a lot of knightmares, and none of them had a tenth
of your strenght!" argued Ami.
"Those were lesser knightmares. The greater ones have all received a
special training... from the grandmaster in the arts of darkness
himself..." said Ronmar.
"BLACK BARON!!!" completed Akane.
"Correct. He is much more than one with the night, he IS the night.
Pure darkness, raw evil, a force of black power unmatched in this
universe save by a few forces that go beyond human comprehension."
he completed.
"So what are the blighted ones?" asked Umino.
"Lesser knightmares who fail the training. Their souls are torn
apart by the process and reassembled to become servile minions of
Black Baron. Their bodies become twisted as well, to reflect their
permanently warped souls. If a soul it still is..." replied the
dread knight.
Shivers went through the spines of his audience, their spirits
horrified by the fall into darkness suffered by the blighted ones.
They almost felt pity for them, but remembered what these corrupted
beings had done to Michiru, Haruka and Minako. They had to be
destroyed, all of them.
"This is the most dangerous enemy you have ever faced... and since
he is collecting items of a dark nature, you can believe that he has
a plan on how to use them. Be afraid, my friends, be VERY AFRAID."
concluded Ronmar.
* * *
Shingo pulled over the motorcycle at the same gas station Laurella
always went, stepping down to fill up the powerful bike with the
highest quality gasoline his girlfriend insisted on her little baby
guzzling up.
"It`s a high performance machine, you know..." she said.
"...and you always put the best into your machine!" completed Shingo
before she could finish her phrase, annoying her as he knew it would.
"That`s it, make fun of me!" she replied with a big pout.
"I only make fun of those I love, you know." said Shingo, smiling to
the seductive brunette.
"Yeah, I know. You`re adorable when you`re annoying, I might add."
said Laurella, returning the charming smile.
"Thanks for letting me drive your bike, you`re so protective of it
in other circumstances."
"I needed my full concentration for this... and there`s nobody else
I`d trust with my bike. You`re the only man for me, Shingo, I`d die
for you... again."
"And I`d lay down my life if it could save yours." replied the
athletic young man, embracing his girlfriend and kissing her softly.
"I have to get a renewal of my prescription." whispered Laurella in
his ear after she broke the sweet tasting kiss. Shingo`s eyes grew
wider, understanding well what sort of pills she`d be getting and
what she did with them. "I`ll go to the mall nearby, the drugstore
is open round the clock."
Laurella handed over to Shingo her gas station credit card along
with a quick peck on the cheek, asking him to remember to ask for
the bonus points for the fillup. She then ran across the street to
the closed mall where only the drugstore windows were still lit up.
Unknown to either of them, a strange being clad in flowing black
clothes was following the young lady, slithering his way across the
concrete lanes in an unnatural fashion. The blighted one held his
deadly blade ready underneath his cloak, the handle itching between
his scaly fingers.
* * *
Rei climbed the stairs leading to Ami`s place, knowing exactly how
many steps there was from the many times she`d been to her friend`s
place to for those extra long study sessions the brainy girl liked
so much. Reaching the luxirious appartment`s door, she rang the bell
and was surprised to see who answered the door, though she wasn`t
shocked the way Ami had been.
"Oh... hello Mitchell!" she said, even smiling to the dread knight.
She seemed pleased to see him there.
"Hello, Rei. I`ve been told about your encouter with Black Baron...
I gave Ami some important information that I hope will help you
fight him. If you`ll excuse me, I must leave you to the battle
ahead of you." he replied, moving past her and leaving.
"Hey, where are you going? Aren`t you going to help us?" she asked.
"He can`t help us, Rei. And neither can mom." said Ami, joining Rei
with her laptop under her arm. "The dark origin of their powers
would render them defenseless against our newest enemy."
"Too bad... we could have used his strength." sighed Rei.
"Hey, you still have me!!!" protested Umino, his newly upgraded
laptop in hand.
Ami and Rei looked at each other... right now Umino was the only
edge they had against Black Baron. The idea sent a chill down their
spines.
* * *
The snakelike blighted one coiled itself in a dark corner of the
mall which was closed for the night, except for the all-night
drugstore where his victim was picking up her monthly reserve of
contraceptives. The beast bidded his time, planning to use darkness
and surprise to its advantage for a quick, efficient kill. It
climbed on the wall and made it`s way to the upper balcony to get
the drop on her when she`d exit the well lit store.
He looked inside from his vantage point as the young woman waited
for her prescription to be filled by the pharmacist, eyeing the
different lubricants alongside the condom packages display.
"That`s it, little girl, let your lusty thoughts distract you from
the hunter... the hunter shall rip your heart from your chest before
you even get a chance to realize what happens!" he thought.
He pulled the knife from his cloak, marveling at the sinuous designs
on the well crafted blade. Soon he would cover it with a young girl`s
blood, and lick it right off.
* * *
The three lights`s sleek sportscar slowly halted in a low circulation
backstreet, its owners getting ready for the rough fight ahead.
"It`s going to happen in that mall we just went by." said Yaten, his
senses rattled by the feeling of evil he picked up there.
"Good. Let`s transform and do this." said Seiya, opening the
passenger door and stepping out as he pulled a small star shaped
medallion from his jacket pocket. Taiki and Yaten left the car as
well, producing similar medallions from their pockets.
They rose these medallions in the air without hesitation, all three
reciting the power-up phrase that would radically change their
appearance.
"FIGHTER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Seiya.
"MAKER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Taiki.
"HEALER STAR POWER MAKEUP!!!" said Yaten.
In a flash of stars and light, the clothes of the three young men
vanished as their bodies began to shift form. They shrank by a few
inches in height, their frame softening at the shoulders and
widening at the hips. Their muscle mass became more compact, giving
an overall sleeker, gentler look. Their facial features then turned
softer as well while their breasts increased in size, their bodies
taking on the full features of three young women, their true form
which was efficiently disguised by their fake male form.
Once they were completely female, skimpy black leather outfits
decorated with a star shaped jewel holding their top in place put
the final touch to the incredible transformation which lasted less
than a second.
"I`m beginning to feel weird in this form. I can`t wait until we can
dump the male form for good!" grumbled Star Fighter.
"It works well for now. Live with it, you seem good at that!" snapped
Star Healer.
"Shut up!" replied Fighter.
In quick bounces, the three women warriors were gone.
* * *
Laurella walked out of the drugstore, her attention focused on the
contents of the small paperbag bearing the store name. She peeked
through making sure she had every item she intended to buy, smiling
that she didn`t forget anything... yet something bothered her. It
wasn`t from her errands. It wasn`t because of her motorbike either...
what was it?
Then it struck her. Well, it didn`t strike her a much as it missed
her throat by an inch, her intuition kicking in to make her roll
away from the blighted one`s blade swipe. Ducking and turning
around, she quickly snapped into action. Laurella sent a swift kick
to his stomach, buying herself the time to transform.
"JENDRA SOUL POWER TRANSFORM!!!"
Her clothes vanished for her white and silver fuku. With five
metallic flashes, her protective gear appeared in place to complete
the change.
"Let`s fight you and me!!!" said Laurella, her hand shining as
Bladewind formed between her fingers.
"You`re looking at me." whispered the blighted one, keeping its eyes
on the floor, afraid that Sailor Jendra might see them.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!" screamed the monster, jumping on her
suddenly in a leaping motion that reminded her of a snake going in
for the kill. Out of reflex, she slashed with her sacred weapon at
the leaping creature, ripping off the dark shroud on its face.
Sailor Jendra was horrified to see the reptilian face staring at
her... she screamed out loud like when she used to watch horror
movie by herself in the dark, or when she woke up from the dreadful
nightmares that plagued her life for so many years.
"I FORBID YOU TO LOOK AT ME!!!" yelled the blighted one, spitting a
thick foul liquid in her face, dripping along her neck and seeping
into her eyes under her visor. Her skin tingled as the venom entered
through her pores, numbing all sensation. She quickly found herself
blinded and paralyzed, her hands stopping to respond as she tried to
remove the liquid from her face and smearing her hands in the
process. Not even the leather of her gloves seemed like any
protection from the vile substance. Her rapidly numbing fingers
soon let go of her diamond chakram which went down in a loud
clanging sound.
Her heart hammered in her chest, fear gripping the young senshi as
she fell down helplessly. At the blighted one`s mercy, she was
experiencing terror like she never felt before. She`d gone through
so much in her life, all this pain and suffering, all these
tragedies after which even death was refused to her. It had been
little more than half a year since she had met her old friends from
her last life, her old lover whom she was fated to meet again, it
wasn`t enough time for her, she wanted more. So much more.
"Die, girl!" hissed the blighted one, raising his knife in the air
for the final blow.
Laurella wanted to scream out for her knight in shining green armor
to come, but her numb lips were muted by the acrid venom spitten in
her face. She could feel the desperate anguish of her enemy, the
gnawing evil eating away at his long destroyed soul, slowly mauling
whatever was left of what used to be a strong spirit broken by the
darkness of Black Baron.
She also felt something else, another presence rapidly approaching
them. It was filled with a burning rage fueled by undying love.
"Kit..." she barely managed to mumble, managing a faint smile.
Hearing the running steps coming towards him, the blighted one
turned around to see the young Tsukino Shingo charging him at full
speed, leaping forward to travel in mid-air the last six feet
separating the two warriors, his emerald green armor forming itself
in a sudden flash of Technum energy over his muscled body. Hitting
the vile fiend head-on, the added mass of his battle armor allowed
him to overtake the blighted one and crush him under his weight
against the hard concrete floor, a hideous bone crunching sound
raising from the snakelike being.
Getting back to his feet, Emerald Knight was satisfied that the
blighted one wasn`t moving. He had a quick grin, feeling avenged for
the horrible act that the monster had almost commited.
"Are you alright, darling?" he asked, removing his helmet and
kneeling next to his girlfriend who was still sprawled on the floor,
slowly recovering from the incapacitating venom.
"Y... yeah... will... be... soon..." she stuttered, smiling as she
started to regain her sight and saw the concerned face of the man
of her dreams. "Th... thanks..."
"Don`t move too fast, you`re still weak." he replied, picking her
in his arms. "Oops, I forgot to take your chakram!" he remembered
as he walked her out of the mall.
"No... problem..." she whispered. "R... re... return."
The diamond weapon responded immediately to the verbal command of
its owner, lifting from the ground and soaring through the air
straight into Sailor Jendra`s hand.
"That never ceases to amaze me." commented the knight. Jendra
giggled. She felt safe in his arms.
* * *
The blighted one laid broken on the floor, distastefully soiling the
front entrance of a hip clothing store where Robin had taken to go
shopping on a weekly basis. Several of its bones had been brutally
crushed by the vengeful Emerald Knight just as he was going to
succeed in the mission given to him by his master.
A weak gurgling sound rose from his lips, a smidgen of life still
flowing through his miserable excuse of a body, not quite dead yet
but looking so to anyone not trained in high arts of medecine and
life.
A dark shifting form came out of nowhere, towering above the nearly
dead monster. It silently stood there, looking down onto the fallen
warrior with utter contempt.
"I... failed... you... great... master..." he somehow managed to
say.
"You`re not dead yet. You may yet live to succeed, my minion."
replied an ominous voice not quite centered in the dark form of
Black Baron.
Black energy flowed unevenly from the hands of Black Baron,
regenerating the body of his blighted one to ready him for another
battle still.
"Thank you, great master, the hunter shall not fail again." said
the corrupt warrior, bowing to his master and turning around to
chase his victim again.
"You better not." whispered Black Baron, vanishing as the words
echoed into the night.
* * *
Two senshi and their nerdy friend entered the closed shopping mall,
following the homing signal in Laurella`s communicator. Sailor Mars
could feel the evil emanating from the place, while Mercury`s
computer detected a strange form of energy inside. Umino was only
too glad to be along for the ride.
"There they are!" said Mars when she saw Emerald Knight carrying
Sailor Jendra in their direction.
"Emerald Knight, Jendra... what happened?" asked Mercury.
"Another blighted one attacked Jendra. I destroyed him before he
could hurt my precious angel." said Shingo, his eyes glowing with
love as he mentionned her.
"It`s not over, I`m afraid. He`s still in here." said Mercury,
pointing to her readings.
"Then let`s finish the job. I hate leaving loose threads hanging
around." said Shingo, putting Jendra down at a cafeteria table and
materializing a green halberd in his hand.
"I`ll stay behind with her, don`t worry. We`ll be fine." offered
Umino.
"I know where we left the body. He can`t be far from there..."
replied the knight, putting his helmet back on. "This will only
take a minute, sweetie."
"He doesn`t stand a chance... I hope I can get better in time to
help you destroy him!" said Jendra, smiling. She could see much
better now, and feeling was returning to her face and hands.
"Just stay here and relax, you`ve been through enough for one
night." said Mercury.
"Let us have some fun too!" quickly added Mars. Jendra couldn`t
disagree with the determination of all three of her friends at once.
She sadly looked at them walk into combat once again.
"Hey, at least you still have ME!!!" said Umino cheerfully as he
sat besides her and opened up his newly enhanced laptop to show her
some cool pictures of the senshi in action he got from the internet.
"Oh, great..." sighed Jendra, slamming her head down hard on the
table.
To be continued...