AN: Sailor Moon still does not belong to me.
Road to the Ultimate
Chapter 2: Battin's Plan...Fails
~*Is it really that difficult,* thought Cora,
*It sounded simple to me.* Before her stood Battin, chanting in a
long forgotten language. As he chanted, eight blobs emerged from
the marble floor, each a different color.
"Mata le chab de le evalta olants. Copach
tey abitas. Bekombo tey qulats. Yek shta testra le evalta olants.*"
The dark room suddenly filled with light, the blobs stretching and crying
as if in pain. Cora covered her eyes, sickened. She hated when
her master preformed his Black Arts. Nothing he did was natural.
And this was as far from it as he could get.
~The morning was cool with a foggy mist.
From her seat in the park, Angel watched the brilliant sun crest over the
trees, turning the black sky into a mixture of pinks, purples, blues, and
oranges. A small smile crept over her face only to fade when the
golden rose appeared in the edge of her vision. Ever since she moved
here, she had felt so confused. Cloudy memories would haunt her night
after night. Memories that teetered on the edge of her mind.
Visions of her in a palace, playing with a boy she could only guess was
her brother. Watching who she knew deep inside was her mother, die
slowly of unknown causes. And seeing that boy, grown up, laying dead
on the stairs of yet another strange structure, her own blood staining
her white gloves. What did it all mean? Was she going nuts?
Frustrated and tired of trying to figure it
all out, Angel laid down upon the wooden bench, breathing in the scent
of flowers nearby. A soothing calm rushed over her as slowly, she
fell asleep.
~Darien breathed in deep, stretching for his
early morning jog. It had been days since his nightmare, and already
he was beginning to forget what it was about. *No point in worrying
over it,* he thought, taking off towards the park, *Let time do what it
will.*
~Battin looked the clones over with a careful
eye. They were perfect in every detail. The Scouts would have
so much troubled trying to figure out who was who that they would end up
killing each other.
He laughed, pointing to Clone Venus.
"You," he growled, half laughing.
"Yes, my Master," the clone bowed.
"You shall find the one called Mina, your
double. I want you to destroy her and anyone who stops you."
The clone scout bowed again, snickering.
"It shall be done, my master."
~In her hands she held a crystal, no bigger
than the cup of her palm. It glimmered in blue and green, light dancing
off every facet. She grinned, holding the gem to her cheek.
*So warm,* she thought, *Like Momma.*
The gem flared brightly, startling her.
"What's going on," she called, preying for an answer. The crystal
flashed like a strobe, blinding her.
"The Gem belongs in more...capable...hands,
Princess. Surely you must understand," laughed a hideously familiar
voice, "You are under-qualified to posses such a weapon. I shall
take it with me for...safe...keeping."
Like a projection, the gem flickered out of
existence, leaving her alone in the dark. Now she was gasping for
breath, her heart racing uncontrollably.
"No! My body,"she whispered, her dark
hair falling into her face, "The Gem is part of me. I am part of
it. I'm...so weak...so ill. Without the Gem...I cannot survive!"
Angel twitched violently, nearly throwing
herself off the bench. Tears of pain streamed down her flushed cheeks,
her lip bleeding where she bit it. Her head smacked against the wood
back, not even waking her, only rousing an ear-piercing scream from her.
The scream echoed through-out the park, eventually
reaching Darien's ears. He stopped dead in his tracks, hand resting
on the bark of a large oak. For a brief moment, he could almost hear
someone crying, but nothing could register before his hand began to burn.
His eyes, closed from listening, shot open to see that the tree shown gold
where he touched it. Frightened, he lifted his hand away, only to
be startled once more. An image of a rose, completely gold, bloomed
where his hand had been. He stepped away, glancing at every tree
in his view. All of them were branded with the strange rose.
The grass, rocks, and flowers also beared the same symbol.
"What the hell is going on," he asked out
loud.
The scream came again. Instinctively,
Darien took off in a dead run.
~Clone Venus hovered outside Ami's window,
blank blue eyes watching the slumbering woman. *Draw them out into
the open,* she reminded herself, *Make it totally confusing.* She
snickered wickedly.
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The window
shattered, waking Ami with a terrible start. With the lightning fast
speed of Sailor V, Clone Venus took off down the road.
~Serena stood in Darien's apartment, clinging
to her pale pink bathrobe. The cordless phone was wedged between
her shoulder and ear as she made breakfast.
"What do you mean Venus attacked you in your
home," she asked her friend on the other line.
Lita, hysterical, sighed. "She did.
And Ami just called saying the same thing happened. I think the poor
girl has gone nuts. We gotta confront her."
~Angel suddenly opened her eyes, ending the
nightmare. Slowly she stood, staggering on numb legs. *That
was so...so horrible,* she thought. Her body ached everywhere possible,
making walking all the more difficult. *If I can just get home...then maybe-*
"Angel?! Hey, Angel," a voice called
from down the path. She looked up, her vision blurring in and out
of focus. In her dream, she had become so weak after that... crystal
disap-peared. Was it really happening?
Her legs buckled, sending her crashing to
the cold concrete. She sighed, feeling the blood trickle down her
forehead. The last time she had passed out like this had been almost
ten years ago. Then, it had only been a little fainting spell.
Doctors said she was just worn out. But the numbness she felt now
throughout her body told her otherwise. *That crystal,* she thought,
vision blackening, *I need to find it...quick.*
Darien rushed to her side, ordering her to
stay awake. "You gotta stay awake, Angel. If you don't I swear..."
The girl shifted in his grip as he picked her up.
"It's...ok, Darien," she whispered, "I just...need
to..sl..." Her eyes slowly closed, her breathing lessening with each
second.
"Damn it, Angel," he yelled, taking off towards
the hospital.
~"What do you mean? I just woke up!"
The girls were all gathered in Mina's apartment.
"But Mina," spoke Serena, "Both Lita and Ami said they were attacked by
Sailor Venus. Now, there is only one Sailor Venus that we know of
and that is you." Mina looked stunned. Why would she attack
them, her friends?
"Look out guys!"
Everyone spun around to find the source of
the familiar voice. In the doorway stood, of all things, Sailor Venus.
Ami gasped, gawking at the Scout. "But..wha...how
can...who are," she stumbled.
"That 'Mina' is an imposter. I've been
following her all morning!"
The gang looked at each other, confused, then
looked to Mina. "This is nuts," yelled Serena. "Two V-Babes?!"
~The doctor studied Angel for a moment, a
frown the only expression on his face. "You say you saw her walking
for a bit then she collapsed," he questioned Darien.
"Yes."
The doctor pursed his lips, deep in thought.
"Well, that's impossible, sir," he said solemnly.
Darien eyed the doctor. What did he
mean, impossible? "Why, Doctor?"
"This girl is paralyzed from the waist down."
~Cora watched the Gem, seated upon a marble
pedestal. It's glow was unusually dim, something Battin had not noticed
that morning. Another thing she had taken note of was that the Clones
weren't entirely stable. Already, two of them had turned into little
piles of goo, the others well on their way. She knew the damned Gem
would have an effect on the master's clones. With good and evil so
close together, anything was bound to happen.
"MY CLONES," bellowed Battin as he entered
the room. "Cora! What did you do?" He rushed at
her, his cassock whipping at his ankles.
"Sir, I d-"
The man slapped her, sending her straight
to the floor. "You ruined my beautiful creations, didn't you.
You thought that you would be able to do a better job than some blobs of
Black Art! Just like your siblings, didn't you? Didn't you!?!"
Cora coward on the cold ground, fearing what
her master would do next.
"Very well than," sighed the irate man.
"I order you, Cora of the Water, to destroy the Sailor Scouts and bring
me the Silver Imperium Crystal and the Golden Crystal."
~When Angel awoke, she knew exactly where
she was. The smell of antiseptic cleaners and sterilized plastic
was all too familiar. She let out a small sigh, pulling herself into
a sitting position. A dull warmth had befallen in her body at some
point while she was out. The Gem was working again, trying to rid
her body-*What am I thinking? What Gem?*
"Angelin...don't fight," somebody whispered
close by. "...you fight...get hurt." Angel gasped. She
remembered such words...so long ago...
š"I forbid you to fight with
them!"
She crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Since when," she growled, "Have you been able to forbid me of doing anything!"
Her brother, the Prince, scoffed at her. "Ever since
mother died, and father has become too senile to care about the well being
of the heirs! Angelin," he voice softened as he placed a hand on
her shoulder, "Please, don't fight. If you fight, you'll get hurt.
And I'll never forgive myself for letting you do it."›
Angel shook from the memory. She had
gone against her brother's wishes and fought the Negaverse, following it
to the Moon Kingdom. No one had seen her fight; she was an ace at
hiding. But she got herself killed, and as she died, she watched
her brother, the one person left in the Universe that she loved, fall protecting
his love.
She gasped. What where these memories?
What was the Negaverse and the Moon Kingdom? *I have no brother,*
she thought, perplexed, *I was an only child. Always have been haven't
I?* Finally, as if giving up, she broke down into tears.
*What's wrong with me? All these memories...what do they mean!!*
"Angel," asked Darien, groggy from sleep,
"Angel what's wrong?"
The girl turned to him, face red. "I...I
don't know." The look on the man's face told her instantly that he
would understand. "I keep having these visions...nothing is making
sense anymore!"
~Cora stood hiding in a dark alley, watching
the people hurrying to work. At one time, she had been just like
them. Running everywhere, never paying attention to what surrounded
her. She had lain dormant for so long inside her human shell, she
had forgotten who she really was. Battin was so kind. He had
found the Five Elements and awoken them. But her siblings, Fire,
Earth, Air, and Life thought they were better than Master Battin.
They had been so terribly wrong. No one was better than Master Battin.
Checking her hair once more, she stepped out
on to the sidewalk. With ease she cut through the crowd, racing to
the park's lake. From there, she could conduct a more thorough search
for the Scouts.
~It took almost too long to contact Susan,
Michelle, Helen, and Ammara on the communicators, yet, somehow, Lita did
it.
"What's going on," asked Helen, combing her
short hair.
"We have a serious problem. Transform
and meet us at the park. ASAP!"
~The park was mostly empty, save a few joggers.
It was perfect for their needs. The only hard part was...how in the
world were they going to figure out which Venus was which?
"This is quite perplexing," groaned Pluto,
"I feel nothing wrong with either of them." The Scout of Time took
one more look at the blondes before turning to the others. "Mars,"
she asked, "Can't you use one of your charms?"
The Scout shrugged her shoulders. "I
could. But the real Mina would be knocked out for a good long time.
And there is a chance that something could go wrong when we need her...but
if I must."
Pluto sighed, "I think its the only way.
Unless Mercury's found something?"
Everyone turned eagerly to the blue haired
woman, preying there was a simpler way. "Sorry. I can't find
anything."
There was a large grumble from the group as they faced the Venuses
again. "Well, I guess it's up to me," sighed Mars.
"MARS FIREB-"
One of the Venuses screamed and ran for the
forest of trees behind them.
"There," squealed Saturn. "The damned im-"
"Saturn," snarled Pluto, cuffing the girl on the
arm.
"Can it Pluto!" The teen's eyes became deathly
cold, frightening everyone. "I am not your child. Don't treat
me like I am. Now, lets get the damn imposter!"
~Darien watched as Angel, still crying, stood.
*Wait,* he thought, *Didn't the doctor say she was... then how can she-*
"Angel! Explain to me why the doctor
said you were paralyzed from the waist down." The girl sniffed,
running shaky hands through her hair. Could she even explain it?
"It doesn't make sense to me, Angel. Was the doctor wrong?"
"No," she expressed remorsefully, "he wasn't
wrong. But there is no real clear explination for it. You see,
I was practically dead when I was born. The doctors said I wouldn't
make it through the night, but an alien force pulled me through.
Then they found out I was paralyzed, almost completely." She paused
to slip on her jeans. "I was in and out of the hospital, most of
the time just teetering on the edge of life and death. And as before,
something unknown saved me.
"But the weirdest experience was when I was
nine. I passed out; not quite as severe as today. Yet, when
I awoke, I was able to move the upper half of my body. Whatever it
was that was saving me had actually begun to heal my paralysis."
Angel ducked behind a curtain as she slipped on her tank top, leaving her
bloodied flannel shirt in its bag. Darien took this opportunity to
ask a question.
"If you're still paralyzed below the waist...how
can you walk?"
The woman peeked around the pale green curtain.
"I learned how to control the strange force. Now I use it to heal
my condition. Also to allow me temporary healing. And if I
am correct, I may be able to use my legs without the use of the strange
force."
Darien rubbed the back of his neck in thought.
This 'strange force' sounded very similar to Serena and his crystals.
They always seemed to heal them or even bring them back from death.
~"This is insane," screamed Jupiter, "The
blasted thing ain't here." The group stopped, disappointed.
For almost two hours they had been tracking the imposter only to find that
it was gone. Mercury, as always, had her little computer out, hoping
that maybe she could find some trace of it.
"Give it up," groaned Moon, "What ever it
was, it's bound to come back."
~Battin swore, kicking the puddles of goo
that had once been his clones. It was obvious now his powers were
weakening. Devouring four of the Five Elements had subdued the effects
of aging, however, it didn't stop it completely. *I should devour
Cora,* he thought maliciously. *But someone has to watch the Gem when I
am gone from this cursed planet for good.*
The blobs churned in on each other forming
one huge mass. Slowly, a pair of arms rose from the inky substance.
Next, a female's head emerged, followed by the rest of her slender body.
She smiled and winked at the aged man who had somehow freed her.
"Hello, Master," she spoke regally, "I am
Sailor Death."