By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Before I start... I feel I must make a point here. You probably
wonder why I wrote the attacks of the starlights the way I did
last episode.
The reason why I wrote "Star Gentle Yutrace" instead of "Star
Gentle Uterus" and "Star Sirius Laser" instead of "Star Serious
Laser" is simply because they both sound IDENTICAL in japanese,
due to the lack of separate sounds for the letters "R" and "L".
I felt that "Yutrace" sounded much more credible than "Uterus" in
Maker`s case, while in Fighter`s case I also saw the spelling
"Sirius Raiser", another phonetic possibility. I chose "Sirius"
over "Serious", but kept the "Laser" as it did sound like a cool
power attack word to use.
As for Healer, "Sensitive Inferno" offers no possible
misinterpretation, nor does it sound wimpy in any way.
Those are my choices, not just random changes or errors on my part.
Now on with the show.
* * *
Prologue...
Unable to sleep as she often was, a young girl silently slipped out
of her room and walked along the psychiatric hospital corridors she
had come to know, although she had no real idea where she really
was. Her unstable mind having snapped after she witnessed the death
of her brother two years before, Yohko became completely convinced
that she was Alice in Lewis Caroll`s famous novel "Alice in
Wonderland".
Being a harmless, innocent and friendly girl, her room was never
locked overnight. Her treating doctor was aware of her frequent
insomnia and felt that allowing her to take a walk in the outside
garden would be good for her. The hospital personel always kept
the garden fence`s doors locked for safety reasons, so she couldn`t
leave the premises anyway.
This is how "Alice" had come about to put on her warm clothes, boots
and coat to enjoy the starry sky of this mild winter night. Weather
had been harsh for several months during which time she could hardly
set foot outside for fear of frostbite, but things had smoothed over
since then.
Hugging in her arms a big plush bunny, she looked at the stars
wondering if any of her friends would come out that night. The mad
hatter hadn`t shown up for the daily unbirthday parties in days
now and Tweedle Dee was confined to his room for pushing Humpty
Dumpty off his wall... or at least this is how she interpreted
Psyche`s escape and a psychotic patient throwing a television set
off its stand.
"Hello, Alice." whispered a little voice near her, hidden in a
tree.
"Who`s there? Where are you?" she asked, looking around and seeing
no one.
"Up here. On the branch."
Alice looked up and saw in the moonlight the silhouette of a cat
lying down on the branch, his tail swinging left and right like a
pendulum. In the moon`s pale glow, she could make out his wide smile
and the glimmering symbol on his forehead, a golden crescent moon.
"Chesterfield! You came!!!" said Alice, overjoyed. She ran to the
tree, her long black hair flowing in the gentle breeze.
"I even brought you a gift, honey." said the cat.
"Really? Can I see?" asked Alice, excited like a little girl on
christmas morning.
"Of course... here it is!" said the cat, his white fur shining in
the moonlight as he hopped in the hair, twirling in a quick
sommersault that seemed to pull a small object out of thin air
which Alice caught in her open hand.
"What is it?" she asked, looking at the well carved red gem in her
hand.
"A way for you to get back home, honey, to get the strength you
need to find the door again and go back up the rabbit`s hole."
said the cat.
"It`s pretty... how does it work?" she replied, hugging tightly
her plush rabbit with one arm while she looked at the red gem
reflect light off its many facets.
"Just place it in your palm, and think about the power you wish to
gain." he told her.
She did just that, concentrating on the gem from which a warm glow
began to pour. "It`s tickling my skin." she said.
"Don`t worry, sweetheart, you won`t feel the tingling at all in a
few seconds... when the searing pain kicks in." said the cat.
At that very moment, the gem`s glow increased tenfold, chewing its
way through her skin and burning the cartilage and bone in order
to imbed itself in her palm. The pain was so sudden, so shocking,
that it took Alice at least a minute to be able to regain her
ability to scream, and scream she did, as loud as she could.
When the hospital personel arrived, alerted by the horible cries
of their young patient, it was too late; both Alice and the talking
cat were gone.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 42
THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM
Sailor Mars' nearly unbreakable force of will had fought the battle
of a lifetime, going one on one against that of the grandmaster in
the arts of darkness, the evil Black Baron. This was one fight she
couldn`t win, and lose she did. The Mars Flame Sniper she just
unleashed aimed right at the Emerald Knight`s heart.
"WATCH OUT!!!" screamed Umino when he realized that Mars was taking
aim at her ally against her will. Seeing he was the only one able
to do anything in this dire situation, he acted on gut instinct;
he picked up a small aluminum asthray on the cafeteria table right
next to his laptop and threw it like a shuriken in the direction of
the flaming projectile just as her caster let it loose upon her
target.
The spinning lightweight disc made contact in midair, melting
instantly on contact- but this unforseen obstacle deviated the
flame arrow just enough so that its aim was thrown out of whack.
Not quite enough to avoid the young warrior`s body, however. It
ripped through the arm`s green colored plating like cissors through
paper, burning him severely on his left forearm as he used his
own body to shield the unconscious Laurella.
While Sailor Mars collapsed unconscious, Black Baron extended his
hand towards the fallen warrior of fire whose soul tore apart at
the seams, her dark splinter materializing in the air above her
head and flying to the shadow being who grabbed it greedily. With
a laugh that chilled the hearts of those still conscious, he
vanished into the night.
"You`re hurt!" said Umino to Shingo, still in shock about this
entire situation.
"I know..." replied the Emerald Knight, wincing as his arm hurt
beyond belief. "Help me get Mars and Jendra to the messiah and
Sailor Moon, they need healing more than I do."
Unknown to any of them, the entire scene had a single outside
witness. Standing on the outside of the mall and peering through
the second story window, the catwoman youma called Cathra had seen
everything from the moment Black Baron had appeared to Umino and
Laurella. She was still staring at the young fighters scrambling
to get their allies to safety and treatment, shocked at what she
just saw.
At this point, Cathra faced a very interesting option... she had
some information that was vital to Fneris, but it was Crystallite
who had the magical powers to verify the veracity of her witness
account, and the manwolf had been adamant on keeping his mistress
out of this particular assignment. She was in a position of
control... of power... this was going to be good!
"Finally I can get back at that self-righteous wolf and grab some
power to myself in the process... not too shabby!" she thought.
She left the vicinity with her information, going over it to see
what she would tell Fenris and what she would keep to herself.
* * *
The blighted one felt that his dark master had succeeded in his
objective, and that as such his vile existence`s goal had been
fulfilled. Only one thing remained for him to do: kill as much of
his master`s enemies as he possibly could before escaping.
The dancing shadows that formed a thick wall around Sailor Mercury
agitated themselves further, each one of the evil animated images
slashing furiously to try and stab the senshi of ice as well as
those three strange warriors who had just joined her after tearing
through the ranks of leaping shadows with their special attacks.
Dressed in skimpy black leather, they all wore a symbol of a winged
star on their top, representing them well.
With four warriors unleashing blast after blast among the ranks of
darkness, the two sides were now of almost identical strength,
although the blighted one seemed to have a nearly unlimited
regenerative capacity. For every dark image they took down, two
new ones sprung up almost immediately.
"Is there anything we can do to stop that thing?!?" asked Star
Fighter.
"Or at least slow it down!!!" added Star Healer.
Sailor Mercury heard the comments of her unexpected allies and tried
to identify any detail about this fiendish opponent that could give
them any possible advantage, small as it may be. She then
remembered something she heard the blighted one say in the first
part of their battle before he began this sinister dance of shadows.
"Cover me, I think I know how we can beat this thing!" urged
Mercury, pointing to a nearby photoshop front display. "I`ll need
all the firepower you can give me to make it through their ranks!"
The three Starlights were intrigued about her plan, so they went
along with it.
"STAR SIRIUS LASER!"
"STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!"
"STAR GENTLE YUTRACE!"
The three blasts impacted in a single focal point, blasting a clear
opening through the thick wall of knife-wielding monstrosities
which Mercury ran through. The force of the blast also shattered
the glass of the photoshop display, activating the alarm system at
the same time as it allowed Mercury to pick up a polaroid camera on
display for the walking-by customers to see. Turning around in a
determined movement, she began taking pictures of her many
opponents.
The brutal bursts of light from the flash carved through the
dozens of blighted one black images with disconcerting facility.
The only one left, the real one, curled himself in his long ample
clothes to hide his reptilian features from the camera lens.
"DON`T LOOK AT ME! I FORBID YOU!!!" he screamed with an inhuman
voice.
Trying to run away aimlessly, he quickly found himself in front of
the charming warrior Sailor Star Healer holding a second polaroid
who was snapping several photos of his hideous face, each one
announced gloriously by an eye tearing flash of blinding white light.
"You look fabulous in this light, blighty baby!!!" mocked Healer,
waving in his face the many photos she took of him, every single
one slowly revealing his warped features.
"GIVE THOSE TO ME!!!" he screamed, slashing his knives quickly at
Healer and slicing up nothing more than a couple of pictures she
was holding.
"Over here, fiend!" yelled Star Maker, taking still more instant
pictures of the twisted creature that was the blighted one. Seeing
the picture trio move in, he tried to flee, but found himself
surrounded by his enemies as Star Fighter closed the perimeter
with a fourth camera, a high performance professional model which
took several pictures every second with the help of a powerful
electric handheld flash that blazed light like a machine gun.
"Oh yeah, give me some skin, darling, work with me!" taunted Seiya
to the blighted one who was now petrified by his deadly phobia of
being seen by others. "Make love to the camera!!!"
Screaming, the foul beast fell down in a defensive position trying
desperately to hide his face. With the three Starlights still
taking dozens of pictures of him, Mercury relented in her
photographic barrage to deliver the final blow. She hated this
vile monster, and knew he could endure almost anything and rise
from it again, so she felt she needed something... special.
Summoning all her inner strength, she resurrected the ancestral
memory of planet Mercury in an arcane technique not seen in this
world since times immemorial. Water and ice danced around her
hands as she used her energies to create a small harp in her hands
from which hypnotizing music arose, weaving the elemental forces
of the young senshi in a blast unmatched in power save for the
unequalled might of her ultimate attack. Without doubt, regret
or mercy, she released it on the cowering monster.
"MERCURY... AQUA... RHAPSODY!!!"
The blazing attack struck the body of the blighted one, crushing it
instantly in its unforgiving fist of cold death and squeezing it
empty of its dark spark of life. The now useless corpse
disintegrated in seconds to leave but a little dust behind.
"That takes care of that..." commented Maker.
"Hey, we even have all these cool pictures of... YEOOOOW!!!" said
Fighter, picking up a few of the polaroid photos that laid on the
ground but releasing them immediately as they combusted into flame
without warning and shared the blighted one`s final fate.
"So much for that..." concluded Healer. In a flash, the three
mysterious senshi leaped back unto the balcony they had jumped
down from and made their way out through an open ceiling window.
"HEY! WAIT UP!" yelled Sailor Mercury. She had questions, and she
wanted them answered!
Gathering all her remaining strength, Mercury leaped her way out the
same way the Starlights had and followed them outside, trying not
to lose them. Hopping over rooftops and across the spaces separating
buildings like in the anime tapes her friend Usagi loved so much,
she was really starting to ger short-winded. "This is so tiring...
how do the others do it so easily? I must start going to the gym
more often!" she thought.
* * *
In the darkness of her bedroom, Crystallite woke up from a bad
dream she couldn`t remember with a splitting headache. She should
have been used to that by now, she had those only too often just
as her mother Beryl did. She felt the massive shape of her devoted
bodyguard and lover Fenris stir beside her, the dark black shape
of the hulking manwolf shaking the bed as he woke up at the same
time.
"What`s going on, mistress?" growled the low voice of Fenris.
"He`s almost here again." said Crystallite, holding her head in
her hands.
"How do you know?"
"I can feel him approaching. His presence has been getting more and
more tangible to me since I started collecting the dark splinters
and assembling them."
"And do they have anything to do with THAT?" asked Fenris, pointing
outside to the hovering cover of black storm clouds that had
increased in numbers and thickness over the past few days,
darkening as Crystallite`s quest went ahead with success.
"Yes. Get dressed, he`ll be here in just a few..."
Before the red-haired girl could complete her sentence, the ominous
shape of Black Baron forming directly in front of their bed with no
regards to their privacy. Crystallite hurriedly pulled the sheets
to cover herself, but wether she was dressed or not mattered little
to the shadowy being.
"Have you no sense of respect at all?" she snapped at him, but got
no response. "You got some more already, I take it."
As a reply, he raised his hand and produced two jagged pieces of
sharp black crystal, the dark splinters of Sailor Mars and Jendra.
The pieces flew to Crystallite`s hand who caught them easily.
"I suppose you`ll want to see the cards again, to choose another
target." she said.
"No." echoed the unfocused voice of Black Baron.
"What? Aren`t you going to get the other ones?" replied the young
girl.
"Not yet." replied Black Baron.
"Why?"
"I have my reasons." concluded the shadow, disappearing before
Crystallite could order him to explain himself.
"COME BACK HERE, WE`RE NOT DONE YET!!!" she screamed into the empty
space where he stood just seconds earlier. In her burning fit of
anger, she failed to notice her clutched fist crushing the two
pieces of crystal in her hand, driving the sharp edges deep into
her soft flesh. Red drops of blood began to drip from her wounds,
staining the bedsheets.
"You`re hurt." calmly observed Fenris.
"I can`t stand his smug attitude... his arrogance!" fumed
Crystallite.
"Let me help you take care of that..." whispered the manwolf,
carefully opening her closed fist and delicately pulling the shards
out of her hand. As he wrapped an improvised bandage over her palm
with a piece of fabric he ripped out of the shirt he left lying on
the floor next to the bed, Crystallite started to cry.
"What is the matter, my darling?" he asked her.
"Sometimes I feel like I`m losing control, like I`m the one who`s
being played like a puppet... without you, I don`t think I could
keep going... I would just give up." she told him, resting her head
on his shoulder.
"That`s why I`m here, mistress. Whatever you need me to be, I will
become."
"I know, that`s why I love you so much." said Crystallite while
Fenris licked a small trickle of blood that ran down her forearm.
* * *
"Is she still following us?" wondered Star Fighter as she landed on
the rooftop where both her allies had preceeded her. "She`s a lot
tougher than we gave her credit for."
"Yes, that she certainly is..." half-mindedly agreed Star Maker,
staring at the rapidly approaching Sailor Mercury.
"We`ll never be able to get the car back if she keeps following us
like that." observed Star Healer.
"Just leave it to me. Go get the car, I`ll hold her back for a few
minutes. I`ll meet you back at our place." suggested Maker without
taking her eyes from Mercury.
The other two nodded and left in a flash, Star Maker remaining
there to meet with the senshi of ice as she finally caught up with
her. Landing as gracefully as she could despite her more than
obvious exhaustion, Sailor Mercury stood up straight to look as
imposing as her small frame and build would allow her to.
"You fight well." observed Maker while the other senshi was
catching her breath.
"Thank you... so do you and your friends." replied Mercury.
"You probably wonder who we are and why we`re here." said Maker.
Mercury nodded.
"It was the logical thing to assume. We have been rather obscure
in our mode of operation, motivations and ultimate goals." added
the leather-clad senshi.
"Precisely. We know nothing of you or you of us, yet you keep
showing up in our battles to assist us in defeating our opponents.
The only proof we have of your good intentions is your saving
Sailor Saturn from getting crushed under a subway car." said
Mercury. "I`d like to thank you for rescuing my friend... it means
a lot to us all." she told her with a smile.
"I gracefully accept your thanks on behalf of myself and my sisters
Star Healer and Star Fighter, they will be happy to know we have
earned your gratitude."
"Saturn has mentionned her savior Star Healer already, and you say
your other sister is Star Fighter... but you forgot to mention me
your own name." observed Mercury.
"That`s true... I am Sailor Star Maker." she said, bowing politely,
Mercury returning the bow right back.
"May I ask why you`re here?"
"We seek to quelch the darkness which our princess has foreseen
in a vision, a terror the likes of which would surely destroy our
planet as well as yours if left unchecked. She preceeded us to
this planet by a few months, disguising her appearance to blend
in your society and find out more about this threat. We followed
her, assuming disguises as well to conceal our true identity
from the monster Black Baron whom we know is here, working for
the great darkness to come." she explained.
"But what about the senshi of this system? Can`t we defeat this evil
by ourselves, like we always have? We`ve faced more evil fiends than
I care to remember, and you never came to help us before!" argued
Mercury.
"True... but our princess never had visions of every single one of
you being defeated before." replied Maker, looking down almost
ashamed of revealing this information to the horrified Sailor
Mercury.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"The best we can, that`s all there is I`m afraid."
"How can we contact you if we need you again?" wondered Mercury.
"Don`t worry- if you need us, we`ll be there." concluded Maker,
taking a long deep look into the eyes of the determined senshi. She
saw there a glint of intelligence she rarely ever saw in anyone
save her own reflection in a mirror. Maker liked what she saw. "We
would never let anything happen to any of you, you have my word on
this." she said before leaving the rooftop in a single superhuman
leap that left the now lonely Ami to wonder how anyone can manage
to jump so high with no apparent effort.
"I believe you..." whispered Ami into the wind, staring at the sky
to the last point where she saw Star Maker vanish into the night,
a smile forming on her lips.
* * *
Third time in one night she had healed a bleeding soul, in addition
to mending some bruises, cuts, and fixing Robin`s broken leg better
than new. Littke wonder the messiah was feeling tired after so much
use of her powers who were quite limited despite their great
possibilities.
"Forgive me if I can`t fix your arm, Shingo..." said Naru through
a foggy haze through which the whole world seemed to be in slow
motion. "I just can`t do anymore tonight."
"Think nothing more of it, Naru, Umino saved my life by deflecting
the shot." replied Shingo, looking at the heroic computer geek who
had done more courageous acts in one night than most of the guys
who mocked him ever would in their entire lifetime.
"Don`t even mention it. This is nothing compared to what you guys do
every day." said Umino, sitting next to Naru on the Tsukino`s living
room couch and hugging his girlfriend as she dozed off on his
shoulder.
"You`re a brave soul, Umino, don`t ever let anyone tell you
otherwise." replied the young knight.
"How`s your arm doing, sweetie?" asked Ikuko to her son, worried
sick about his health as the loving mother she was always did.
"It`s just a second degree burn, mom, my armor itself did the
damage when it melted. If Umino hadn`t thrown that aluminum
ashtray, Rei`s shot would have killed me for sure." said Shingo
who immediately wished he hadn`t mentionned the dying instantly
part... now Ikuko would go into overprotective mother hen mode
for at least a week.
"Oh my god!!! My little boy almost died! I can`t believe I nearly
lost you..." she said, tears forming into her eyes while she triple
checked the well made bandage around his burned arm.
"So how are Rei and Laurella doing?" inquired Shingo, trying to
change subjects. He got his answer from Usagi and Usako as they
came down the stairs.
"They`re both sleeping right now, but it`s just a reaction to the
healing process induced by Naru and me." replied Usagi who was just
as tired as the messiah herself. She barely had the strength to
hold her crescent moon wand in her fingers, Usako helping her walk
downstairs.
"I called their mothers already to arrange it so that they think
their daughters are having a sleepover here tonight. They can stay
here and rest." added Usako, to Ikuko`s immediate approval.
"I`m worried about their reactions when they wake up. Getting part
of your soul brutally removed like that is devastating, and this
trauma is compounded by the fact that they both felt the presence
of Black Baron through their unique senses, experiencing the full
magnitude of his vile being. I could feel it myself, and I`m not
even psychic or empathic!!!" explained Shingo, concerned about
Rei and Laurella.
At this moment, a loud shriek came from upstairs, scaring
everyone and waking up Naru instantly from her light sleep.
"REI!" said everyone in unison, rushing upstairs as the shinto
priestess screamed her head off to try and exorcise the pain in
her soul. When they arrived to Shingo`s room where she had been
resting just minutes before, she was throwing things around and
yelling for all her throat could manage.
"What right did that bastard had to do this to me? To make me do
this to you???" she asked to Shingo when she saw him in the doorway.
She had tears running down her face, anger twisting her beautiful
features into a mask of hatred.
"Calm down, Rei, it`s over now..." he said, trying to calm her down.
"DAMN RIGHT IT`S OVER! I`M THROUGH BEING SAILOR MARS NOW!!!" she
yelled, demolishing his bedroom in her furious assault.
"Stop please! I`m scared!!!" said a high pitched voice choked in
fear coming from behind Shingo and Ikuko in the corridor. Stopping
her raging fit of anger for a second, Rei saw the terrified face
of the crying Chibi Chibi. Dressed in the cutest little pink
pyjamas covered in white bunnies, she had obviously been awakened
by Rei`s vicious rampage.
"Oh... I`m sorry... darling, I didn`t mean..." told her Rei, trying
to appologize for her acts but failing to find the words. At a loss,
she just kneeled in front of the pink haired toddler and hugged her
warmly, crying her pain on her shoulder.
"Rei hurt..." whispered Chibi Chibi.
"Yes, dear... you see, I lost my own child getting my powers...
powers I was stolen by Black Baron tonight..." she explained.
To everyone else it became clear; by taking away the soul power
she had attained when she lost her unborn child, Black Baron had
done her the same harm as if he`d killed her child himself.
"Thank god Chibi Chibi is here..." whispered Usako. "I don`t think
anyone else could help Rei the way she is now..."
"What`s going on?" came the voice of Laurella from Usako`s room.
"Rei just woke up, she was very hurt inside. There was a lot of pain
she never expressed that was unleashed tonight, and my bedroom took
the brunt of the onslaught." explained Shingo as he approached his
waking girlfriend and sat next to her on Usako`s bed. "I imagine
her emotions must have woken you up when you felt them."
"No, actually I didn`t feel them." said Laurella.
"You didn`t?"
"I`m not feeling anything right now. All is silent around me."
said Laurella, her face strangely devoid of any emotions at all.
"But... what about Chibi Chibi`s love? Rei`s pain? Usagi`s concern?
My love for you, can`t you feel ANY of those?" asked Shingo,
feeling worried about this strange turn of events.
Laurella shook her head. She seemed totally detached regarding the
situation, showing none of her caring personality in a completely
uncharacteristic demeanor.
"Oh god, Laurella, what has that monster done to you???" said
Shingo, crying as he held his now emotionless girlfriend whom he
felt did not have the slightest reaction to the embrace he gave
her; Laurella`s passion was gone, so were her sadness, happiness,
her very hopes and dreams.
She was nothing more than a hollow shell, little more than what
she once was when she tried to escape her pain through alcohol and
drugs. Shingo cried for the both of them.
To be continued...
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Before I start... I feel I must make a point here. You probably
wonder why I wrote the attacks of the starlights the way I did
last episode.
The reason why I wrote "Star Gentle Yutrace" instead of "Star
Gentle Uterus" and "Star Sirius Laser" instead of "Star Serious
Laser" is simply because they both sound IDENTICAL in japanese,
due to the lack of separate sounds for the letters "R" and "L".
I felt that "Yutrace" sounded much more credible than "Uterus" in
Maker`s case, while in Fighter`s case I also saw the spelling
"Sirius Raiser", another phonetic possibility. I chose "Sirius"
over "Serious", but kept the "Laser" as it did sound like a cool
power attack word to use.
As for Healer, "Sensitive Inferno" offers no possible
misinterpretation, nor does it sound wimpy in any way.
Those are my choices, not just random changes or errors on my part.
Now on with the show.
* * *
Prologue...
Unable to sleep as she often was, a young girl silently slipped out
of her room and walked along the psychiatric hospital corridors she
had come to know, although she had no real idea where she really
was. Her unstable mind having snapped after she witnessed the death
of her brother two years before, Yohko became completely convinced
that she was Alice in Lewis Caroll`s famous novel "Alice in
Wonderland".
Being a harmless, innocent and friendly girl, her room was never
locked overnight. Her treating doctor was aware of her frequent
insomnia and felt that allowing her to take a walk in the outside
garden would be good for her. The hospital personel always kept
the garden fence`s doors locked for safety reasons, so she couldn`t
leave the premises anyway.
This is how "Alice" had come about to put on her warm clothes, boots
and coat to enjoy the starry sky of this mild winter night. Weather
had been harsh for several months during which time she could hardly
set foot outside for fear of frostbite, but things had smoothed over
since then.
Hugging in her arms a big plush bunny, she looked at the stars
wondering if any of her friends would come out that night. The mad
hatter hadn`t shown up for the daily unbirthday parties in days
now and Tweedle Dee was confined to his room for pushing Humpty
Dumpty off his wall... or at least this is how she interpreted
Psyche`s escape and a psychotic patient throwing a television set
off its stand.
"Hello, Alice." whispered a little voice near her, hidden in a
tree.
"Who`s there? Where are you?" she asked, looking around and seeing
no one.
"Up here. On the branch."
Alice looked up and saw in the moonlight the silhouette of a cat
lying down on the branch, his tail swinging left and right like a
pendulum. In the moon`s pale glow, she could make out his wide smile
and the glimmering symbol on his forehead, a golden crescent moon.
"Chesterfield! You came!!!" said Alice, overjoyed. She ran to the
tree, her long black hair flowing in the gentle breeze.
"I even brought you a gift, honey." said the cat.
"Really? Can I see?" asked Alice, excited like a little girl on
christmas morning.
"Of course... here it is!" said the cat, his white fur shining in
the moonlight as he hopped in the hair, twirling in a quick
sommersault that seemed to pull a small object out of thin air
which Alice caught in her open hand.
"What is it?" she asked, looking at the well carved red gem in her
hand.
"A way for you to get back home, honey, to get the strength you
need to find the door again and go back up the rabbit`s hole."
said the cat.
"It`s pretty... how does it work?" she replied, hugging tightly
her plush rabbit with one arm while she looked at the red gem
reflect light off its many facets.
"Just place it in your palm, and think about the power you wish to
gain." he told her.
She did just that, concentrating on the gem from which a warm glow
began to pour. "It`s tickling my skin." she said.
"Don`t worry, sweetheart, you won`t feel the tingling at all in a
few seconds... when the searing pain kicks in." said the cat.
At that very moment, the gem`s glow increased tenfold, chewing its
way through her skin and burning the cartilage and bone in order
to imbed itself in her palm. The pain was so sudden, so shocking,
that it took Alice at least a minute to be able to regain her
ability to scream, and scream she did, as loud as she could.
When the hospital personel arrived, alerted by the horible cries
of their young patient, it was too late; both Alice and the talking
cat were gone.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 42
THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM
Sailor Mars' nearly unbreakable force of will had fought the battle
of a lifetime, going one on one against that of the grandmaster in
the arts of darkness, the evil Black Baron. This was one fight she
couldn`t win, and lose she did. The Mars Flame Sniper she just
unleashed aimed right at the Emerald Knight`s heart.
"WATCH OUT!!!" screamed Umino when he realized that Mars was taking
aim at her ally against her will. Seeing he was the only one able
to do anything in this dire situation, he acted on gut instinct;
he picked up a small aluminum asthray on the cafeteria table right
next to his laptop and threw it like a shuriken in the direction of
the flaming projectile just as her caster let it loose upon her
target.
The spinning lightweight disc made contact in midair, melting
instantly on contact- but this unforseen obstacle deviated the
flame arrow just enough so that its aim was thrown out of whack.
Not quite enough to avoid the young warrior`s body, however. It
ripped through the arm`s green colored plating like cissors through
paper, burning him severely on his left forearm as he used his
own body to shield the unconscious Laurella.
While Sailor Mars collapsed unconscious, Black Baron extended his
hand towards the fallen warrior of fire whose soul tore apart at
the seams, her dark splinter materializing in the air above her
head and flying to the shadow being who grabbed it greedily. With
a laugh that chilled the hearts of those still conscious, he
vanished into the night.
"You`re hurt!" said Umino to Shingo, still in shock about this
entire situation.
"I know..." replied the Emerald Knight, wincing as his arm hurt
beyond belief. "Help me get Mars and Jendra to the messiah and
Sailor Moon, they need healing more than I do."
Unknown to any of them, the entire scene had a single outside
witness. Standing on the outside of the mall and peering through
the second story window, the catwoman youma called Cathra had seen
everything from the moment Black Baron had appeared to Umino and
Laurella. She was still staring at the young fighters scrambling
to get their allies to safety and treatment, shocked at what she
just saw.
At this point, Cathra faced a very interesting option... she had
some information that was vital to Fneris, but it was Crystallite
who had the magical powers to verify the veracity of her witness
account, and the manwolf had been adamant on keeping his mistress
out of this particular assignment. She was in a position of
control... of power... this was going to be good!
"Finally I can get back at that self-righteous wolf and grab some
power to myself in the process... not too shabby!" she thought.
She left the vicinity with her information, going over it to see
what she would tell Fenris and what she would keep to herself.
* * *
The blighted one felt that his dark master had succeeded in his
objective, and that as such his vile existence`s goal had been
fulfilled. Only one thing remained for him to do: kill as much of
his master`s enemies as he possibly could before escaping.
The dancing shadows that formed a thick wall around Sailor Mercury
agitated themselves further, each one of the evil animated images
slashing furiously to try and stab the senshi of ice as well as
those three strange warriors who had just joined her after tearing
through the ranks of leaping shadows with their special attacks.
Dressed in skimpy black leather, they all wore a symbol of a winged
star on their top, representing them well.
With four warriors unleashing blast after blast among the ranks of
darkness, the two sides were now of almost identical strength,
although the blighted one seemed to have a nearly unlimited
regenerative capacity. For every dark image they took down, two
new ones sprung up almost immediately.
"Is there anything we can do to stop that thing?!?" asked Star
Fighter.
"Or at least slow it down!!!" added Star Healer.
Sailor Mercury heard the comments of her unexpected allies and tried
to identify any detail about this fiendish opponent that could give
them any possible advantage, small as it may be. She then
remembered something she heard the blighted one say in the first
part of their battle before he began this sinister dance of shadows.
"Cover me, I think I know how we can beat this thing!" urged
Mercury, pointing to a nearby photoshop front display. "I`ll need
all the firepower you can give me to make it through their ranks!"
The three Starlights were intrigued about her plan, so they went
along with it.
"STAR SIRIUS LASER!"
"STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!"
"STAR GENTLE YUTRACE!"
The three blasts impacted in a single focal point, blasting a clear
opening through the thick wall of knife-wielding monstrosities
which Mercury ran through. The force of the blast also shattered
the glass of the photoshop display, activating the alarm system at
the same time as it allowed Mercury to pick up a polaroid camera on
display for the walking-by customers to see. Turning around in a
determined movement, she began taking pictures of her many
opponents.
The brutal bursts of light from the flash carved through the
dozens of blighted one black images with disconcerting facility.
The only one left, the real one, curled himself in his long ample
clothes to hide his reptilian features from the camera lens.
"DON`T LOOK AT ME! I FORBID YOU!!!" he screamed with an inhuman
voice.
Trying to run away aimlessly, he quickly found himself in front of
the charming warrior Sailor Star Healer holding a second polaroid
who was snapping several photos of his hideous face, each one
announced gloriously by an eye tearing flash of blinding white light.
"You look fabulous in this light, blighty baby!!!" mocked Healer,
waving in his face the many photos she took of him, every single
one slowly revealing his warped features.
"GIVE THOSE TO ME!!!" he screamed, slashing his knives quickly at
Healer and slicing up nothing more than a couple of pictures she
was holding.
"Over here, fiend!" yelled Star Maker, taking still more instant
pictures of the twisted creature that was the blighted one. Seeing
the picture trio move in, he tried to flee, but found himself
surrounded by his enemies as Star Fighter closed the perimeter
with a fourth camera, a high performance professional model which
took several pictures every second with the help of a powerful
electric handheld flash that blazed light like a machine gun.
"Oh yeah, give me some skin, darling, work with me!" taunted Seiya
to the blighted one who was now petrified by his deadly phobia of
being seen by others. "Make love to the camera!!!"
Screaming, the foul beast fell down in a defensive position trying
desperately to hide his face. With the three Starlights still
taking dozens of pictures of him, Mercury relented in her
photographic barrage to deliver the final blow. She hated this
vile monster, and knew he could endure almost anything and rise
from it again, so she felt she needed something... special.
Summoning all her inner strength, she resurrected the ancestral
memory of planet Mercury in an arcane technique not seen in this
world since times immemorial. Water and ice danced around her
hands as she used her energies to create a small harp in her hands
from which hypnotizing music arose, weaving the elemental forces
of the young senshi in a blast unmatched in power save for the
unequalled might of her ultimate attack. Without doubt, regret
or mercy, she released it on the cowering monster.
"MERCURY... AQUA... RHAPSODY!!!"
The blazing attack struck the body of the blighted one, crushing it
instantly in its unforgiving fist of cold death and squeezing it
empty of its dark spark of life. The now useless corpse
disintegrated in seconds to leave but a little dust behind.
"That takes care of that..." commented Maker.
"Hey, we even have all these cool pictures of... YEOOOOW!!!" said
Fighter, picking up a few of the polaroid photos that laid on the
ground but releasing them immediately as they combusted into flame
without warning and shared the blighted one`s final fate.
"So much for that..." concluded Healer. In a flash, the three
mysterious senshi leaped back unto the balcony they had jumped
down from and made their way out through an open ceiling window.
"HEY! WAIT UP!" yelled Sailor Mercury. She had questions, and she
wanted them answered!
Gathering all her remaining strength, Mercury leaped her way out the
same way the Starlights had and followed them outside, trying not
to lose them. Hopping over rooftops and across the spaces separating
buildings like in the anime tapes her friend Usagi loved so much,
she was really starting to ger short-winded. "This is so tiring...
how do the others do it so easily? I must start going to the gym
more often!" she thought.
* * *
In the darkness of her bedroom, Crystallite woke up from a bad
dream she couldn`t remember with a splitting headache. She should
have been used to that by now, she had those only too often just
as her mother Beryl did. She felt the massive shape of her devoted
bodyguard and lover Fenris stir beside her, the dark black shape
of the hulking manwolf shaking the bed as he woke up at the same
time.
"What`s going on, mistress?" growled the low voice of Fenris.
"He`s almost here again." said Crystallite, holding her head in
her hands.
"How do you know?"
"I can feel him approaching. His presence has been getting more and
more tangible to me since I started collecting the dark splinters
and assembling them."
"And do they have anything to do with THAT?" asked Fenris, pointing
outside to the hovering cover of black storm clouds that had
increased in numbers and thickness over the past few days,
darkening as Crystallite`s quest went ahead with success.
"Yes. Get dressed, he`ll be here in just a few..."
Before the red-haired girl could complete her sentence, the ominous
shape of Black Baron forming directly in front of their bed with no
regards to their privacy. Crystallite hurriedly pulled the sheets
to cover herself, but wether she was dressed or not mattered little
to the shadowy being.
"Have you no sense of respect at all?" she snapped at him, but got
no response. "You got some more already, I take it."
As a reply, he raised his hand and produced two jagged pieces of
sharp black crystal, the dark splinters of Sailor Mars and Jendra.
The pieces flew to Crystallite`s hand who caught them easily.
"I suppose you`ll want to see the cards again, to choose another
target." she said.
"No." echoed the unfocused voice of Black Baron.
"What? Aren`t you going to get the other ones?" replied the young
girl.
"Not yet." replied Black Baron.
"Why?"
"I have my reasons." concluded the shadow, disappearing before
Crystallite could order him to explain himself.
"COME BACK HERE, WE`RE NOT DONE YET!!!" she screamed into the empty
space where he stood just seconds earlier. In her burning fit of
anger, she failed to notice her clutched fist crushing the two
pieces of crystal in her hand, driving the sharp edges deep into
her soft flesh. Red drops of blood began to drip from her wounds,
staining the bedsheets.
"You`re hurt." calmly observed Fenris.
"I can`t stand his smug attitude... his arrogance!" fumed
Crystallite.
"Let me help you take care of that..." whispered the manwolf,
carefully opening her closed fist and delicately pulling the shards
out of her hand. As he wrapped an improvised bandage over her palm
with a piece of fabric he ripped out of the shirt he left lying on
the floor next to the bed, Crystallite started to cry.
"What is the matter, my darling?" he asked her.
"Sometimes I feel like I`m losing control, like I`m the one who`s
being played like a puppet... without you, I don`t think I could
keep going... I would just give up." she told him, resting her head
on his shoulder.
"That`s why I`m here, mistress. Whatever you need me to be, I will
become."
"I know, that`s why I love you so much." said Crystallite while
Fenris licked a small trickle of blood that ran down her forearm.
* * *
"Is she still following us?" wondered Star Fighter as she landed on
the rooftop where both her allies had preceeded her. "She`s a lot
tougher than we gave her credit for."
"Yes, that she certainly is..." half-mindedly agreed Star Maker,
staring at the rapidly approaching Sailor Mercury.
"We`ll never be able to get the car back if she keeps following us
like that." observed Star Healer.
"Just leave it to me. Go get the car, I`ll hold her back for a few
minutes. I`ll meet you back at our place." suggested Maker without
taking her eyes from Mercury.
The other two nodded and left in a flash, Star Maker remaining
there to meet with the senshi of ice as she finally caught up with
her. Landing as gracefully as she could despite her more than
obvious exhaustion, Sailor Mercury stood up straight to look as
imposing as her small frame and build would allow her to.
"You fight well." observed Maker while the other senshi was
catching her breath.
"Thank you... so do you and your friends." replied Mercury.
"You probably wonder who we are and why we`re here." said Maker.
Mercury nodded.
"It was the logical thing to assume. We have been rather obscure
in our mode of operation, motivations and ultimate goals." added
the leather-clad senshi.
"Precisely. We know nothing of you or you of us, yet you keep
showing up in our battles to assist us in defeating our opponents.
The only proof we have of your good intentions is your saving
Sailor Saturn from getting crushed under a subway car." said
Mercury. "I`d like to thank you for rescuing my friend... it means
a lot to us all." she told her with a smile.
"I gracefully accept your thanks on behalf of myself and my sisters
Star Healer and Star Fighter, they will be happy to know we have
earned your gratitude."
"Saturn has mentionned her savior Star Healer already, and you say
your other sister is Star Fighter... but you forgot to mention me
your own name." observed Mercury.
"That`s true... I am Sailor Star Maker." she said, bowing politely,
Mercury returning the bow right back.
"May I ask why you`re here?"
"We seek to quelch the darkness which our princess has foreseen
in a vision, a terror the likes of which would surely destroy our
planet as well as yours if left unchecked. She preceeded us to
this planet by a few months, disguising her appearance to blend
in your society and find out more about this threat. We followed
her, assuming disguises as well to conceal our true identity
from the monster Black Baron whom we know is here, working for
the great darkness to come." she explained.
"But what about the senshi of this system? Can`t we defeat this evil
by ourselves, like we always have? We`ve faced more evil fiends than
I care to remember, and you never came to help us before!" argued
Mercury.
"True... but our princess never had visions of every single one of
you being defeated before." replied Maker, looking down almost
ashamed of revealing this information to the horrified Sailor
Mercury.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"The best we can, that`s all there is I`m afraid."
"How can we contact you if we need you again?" wondered Mercury.
"Don`t worry- if you need us, we`ll be there." concluded Maker,
taking a long deep look into the eyes of the determined senshi. She
saw there a glint of intelligence she rarely ever saw in anyone
save her own reflection in a mirror. Maker liked what she saw. "We
would never let anything happen to any of you, you have my word on
this." she said before leaving the rooftop in a single superhuman
leap that left the now lonely Ami to wonder how anyone can manage
to jump so high with no apparent effort.
"I believe you..." whispered Ami into the wind, staring at the sky
to the last point where she saw Star Maker vanish into the night,
a smile forming on her lips.
* * *
Third time in one night she had healed a bleeding soul, in addition
to mending some bruises, cuts, and fixing Robin`s broken leg better
than new. Littke wonder the messiah was feeling tired after so much
use of her powers who were quite limited despite their great
possibilities.
"Forgive me if I can`t fix your arm, Shingo..." said Naru through
a foggy haze through which the whole world seemed to be in slow
motion. "I just can`t do anymore tonight."
"Think nothing more of it, Naru, Umino saved my life by deflecting
the shot." replied Shingo, looking at the heroic computer geek who
had done more courageous acts in one night than most of the guys
who mocked him ever would in their entire lifetime.
"Don`t even mention it. This is nothing compared to what you guys do
every day." said Umino, sitting next to Naru on the Tsukino`s living
room couch and hugging his girlfriend as she dozed off on his
shoulder.
"You`re a brave soul, Umino, don`t ever let anyone tell you
otherwise." replied the young knight.
"How`s your arm doing, sweetie?" asked Ikuko to her son, worried
sick about his health as the loving mother she was always did.
"It`s just a second degree burn, mom, my armor itself did the
damage when it melted. If Umino hadn`t thrown that aluminum
ashtray, Rei`s shot would have killed me for sure." said Shingo
who immediately wished he hadn`t mentionned the dying instantly
part... now Ikuko would go into overprotective mother hen mode
for at least a week.
"Oh my god!!! My little boy almost died! I can`t believe I nearly
lost you..." she said, tears forming into her eyes while she triple
checked the well made bandage around his burned arm.
"So how are Rei and Laurella doing?" inquired Shingo, trying to
change subjects. He got his answer from Usagi and Usako as they
came down the stairs.
"They`re both sleeping right now, but it`s just a reaction to the
healing process induced by Naru and me." replied Usagi who was just
as tired as the messiah herself. She barely had the strength to
hold her crescent moon wand in her fingers, Usako helping her walk
downstairs.
"I called their mothers already to arrange it so that they think
their daughters are having a sleepover here tonight. They can stay
here and rest." added Usako, to Ikuko`s immediate approval.
"I`m worried about their reactions when they wake up. Getting part
of your soul brutally removed like that is devastating, and this
trauma is compounded by the fact that they both felt the presence
of Black Baron through their unique senses, experiencing the full
magnitude of his vile being. I could feel it myself, and I`m not
even psychic or empathic!!!" explained Shingo, concerned about
Rei and Laurella.
At this moment, a loud shriek came from upstairs, scaring
everyone and waking up Naru instantly from her light sleep.
"REI!" said everyone in unison, rushing upstairs as the shinto
priestess screamed her head off to try and exorcise the pain in
her soul. When they arrived to Shingo`s room where she had been
resting just minutes before, she was throwing things around and
yelling for all her throat could manage.
"What right did that bastard had to do this to me? To make me do
this to you???" she asked to Shingo when she saw him in the doorway.
She had tears running down her face, anger twisting her beautiful
features into a mask of hatred.
"Calm down, Rei, it`s over now..." he said, trying to calm her down.
"DAMN RIGHT IT`S OVER! I`M THROUGH BEING SAILOR MARS NOW!!!" she
yelled, demolishing his bedroom in her furious assault.
"Stop please! I`m scared!!!" said a high pitched voice choked in
fear coming from behind Shingo and Ikuko in the corridor. Stopping
her raging fit of anger for a second, Rei saw the terrified face
of the crying Chibi Chibi. Dressed in the cutest little pink
pyjamas covered in white bunnies, she had obviously been awakened
by Rei`s vicious rampage.
"Oh... I`m sorry... darling, I didn`t mean..." told her Rei, trying
to appologize for her acts but failing to find the words. At a loss,
she just kneeled in front of the pink haired toddler and hugged her
warmly, crying her pain on her shoulder.
"Rei hurt..." whispered Chibi Chibi.
"Yes, dear... you see, I lost my own child getting my powers...
powers I was stolen by Black Baron tonight..." she explained.
To everyone else it became clear; by taking away the soul power
she had attained when she lost her unborn child, Black Baron had
done her the same harm as if he`d killed her child himself.
"Thank god Chibi Chibi is here..." whispered Usako. "I don`t think
anyone else could help Rei the way she is now..."
"What`s going on?" came the voice of Laurella from Usako`s room.
"Rei just woke up, she was very hurt inside. There was a lot of pain
she never expressed that was unleashed tonight, and my bedroom took
the brunt of the onslaught." explained Shingo as he approached his
waking girlfriend and sat next to her on Usako`s bed. "I imagine
her emotions must have woken you up when you felt them."
"No, actually I didn`t feel them." said Laurella.
"You didn`t?"
"I`m not feeling anything right now. All is silent around me."
said Laurella, her face strangely devoid of any emotions at all.
"But... what about Chibi Chibi`s love? Rei`s pain? Usagi`s concern?
My love for you, can`t you feel ANY of those?" asked Shingo,
feeling worried about this strange turn of events.
Laurella shook her head. She seemed totally detached regarding the
situation, showing none of her caring personality in a completely
uncharacteristic demeanor.
"Oh god, Laurella, what has that monster done to you???" said
Shingo, crying as he held his now emotionless girlfriend whom he
felt did not have the slightest reaction to the embrace he gave
her; Laurella`s passion was gone, so were her sadness, happiness,
her very hopes and dreams.
She was nothing more than a hollow shell, little more than what
she once was when she tried to escape her pain through alcohol and
drugs. Shingo cried for the both of them.
To be continued...