Orion Saga
Part 1
Quest for the Orbs
Chapter 17: A Star's Ransom
The senshi are gathered on the front steps of the temple. Summer vacation had barely started, but they had senshi business to attend to. They are all thinking about this newest development. None of them would have ever dreamed that Zentora would turn out to be Sailor Orion. But the quiet girl was. Did she know who they were? What was she after? Who was the man that revealed her identity to them? And why did he do it?
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Zentora is lost in her thoughts as she walks along by herself. Pup had wanted to come with her, but she made it clear to them that she needed to be alone. She hadn't told them about what happened, but she knows she will have to sooner or later. She walks past the temple and hears her name.
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Michiru watches as Haruka walks over to the girl. The two of them seem to talk for a while before Zentora walks off and Haruka returns to the group . Michiru looks at her friend. "What happened?"
Her only answer is a worried look from the tall racer.
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Zentora is sitting alone in the ice cream shoppe when she sees someone standing over her. "Is this seat taken?"
She recognizes the voice as Michiru's and shakes her head. "Go ahead if you want."
The graceful musician sits down across from her. Both of them are quiet for sometime. Michiru speaks first after carefully gathering her words. "So, how are you?"
Zentora nods.
"I mean, being a senshi. How are you with that?"
The quiet voice is a little agitated. "I'd rather not go into it. I do have a life outside of that."
Michiru nods and looks at her. "Haruka seemed so worried. The two of them are pretty close…"
Zentora looks at the tealhaired young woman for the first time since she had come in. "Don't worry about me."
Michiru looks at her, face flused. Could the girl read her thoughts? Maybe it was one of her senshi powers. If so, why hadn't she said anything before? She may have already known who they were. "Can you read…?"
Zentora shakes her head. "No…I can't. It was on your face. I'm sorry."
"That's alright." She gives the waitress her order when she comes by.
¨
Zentora is listening to Michiru go on about a concert when she stiffens a little. Noticing the look on her face, Mcichiru asks Zentora what's wrong. "A youma's nearby." The two of them find a place to transform and run outside.
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A small boy is being drained as the two of them walk out. Neptune is about to attack, when Orion stops her.
"But why, Orion?"
"I need to see if that biy has what I'm looking for. Just a little longer." When she sees the look on the other soldier's face she tries to ease the tension. "It's alright. It's part of why I'm here. I won't let him get hurt."
Relenting, Sailor Neptune stands by until she sees the blue sphere beginning to surface from the boy's limp form. It is at this time that Orion chooses to destroy the monster. Neptune rushes to catch the boy before he falls to the ground. Since his dream stone didn't surface fully, Sailor Orion has no need to use her Dream Energy Rebirth.
The soldier of water hands the child over to his frightened mother. He opens his eyes and smiles up at her. Then she leaves with her young son.
¨
Neptune turns to see Orion's back. "What was-"
She is interrupted by the sound of laughter. "That was very touching Orion. But don't forget. I hold the cards now. I know your little secret."
They both look up to see General Thorn laughing, but he disappears as suddenly as he had come.
Orion stares at the ground, her face emotionless. Neptune places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure that it'll be alright." She looks at the purple clad senshi expecting some kind of an answer, but is surprised when she runs off.
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General Thorn walks up to the doors trying to suppress his smile. He is eager to deliver the news.
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Andromeda's steely blue eyes gaze down at her general. He seems to be a little beside himself. But she is growing impatient. She wants the orbs. "Hello, Ceres. Any news?"
General Thorn raises himself from his knees and looks at his queen. "Yes, actually I do have news."
"Alright then. What is it?"
"I have found out who Orion is."
Queen Andromeda's voice is controlled, but the intrigue is there. "Really."
"Yes. I know her location as well." He even takes the opportunity to go into detail about her condition.
"Very good. It looks as though you've come through after all."
Thorn nods, pleased with himself. "All I have to do now is take the orbs."
Queen Andromeda's voice is full of warning. "Orion may be weak, but don't underestimate her."
Thorn looks at her. "I already have a plan majesty."
Andromeda is silent. "I want those orbs, Thorn. Don't fail me."
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Zentora is standing alone in the museum. After she ran from Neptune that was where she went. She is standing near one of her favorite paintings gazing at it intently. She had to find out what was going on. She knows that no good will come of this.
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On her way home, Zentora passes the park to see Chibi-Usa with Makoto. She stops for a moment forgetting about her troubles as she watches them. The pink haired girl reminded her so much of her own sister, Nyumi. She decides to stop and say hello.
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Chibi-Usa smiles when she sees the girl walking towards them. Makoto looks at the young princess and then at her distraction.
"Zentora-chan! Hello!"
Zentora smiles at the child running towards her. She pats the girl's head as she wraps her small arms around Zentora's legs. "Hey. What's up?"
"Hello."
Zentora turns her eyes over to Makoto. "Hi."
Chibi-Usa looks at the two of them wondering what's going on. She had been told that Orion was Zentora, but she thought it was a good thing. That meant that they had a new friend and she really liked the older girl.
"Chibi-Usa. Why don't you go and play on the swings or something?"
"Okay, Mako-chan." She walks away from the two girls.
Zentora sits on the park bench and Makoto sits next to her wearing a karate uniform. For a few minutes, the two are silent. "I can't believe you're Sailor Orion."
Zentora glances at her. "Is that so hard?"
"No…it's just that. Well, you seem so different. You're both quiet, but as Orion you're so…powerful."
Zentora is silent.
"Not to say that you aren't. You just don't seem like the fighting type."
"I see what you're saying. It's okay. I just like to keep the two separate."
Zentora looks at her watch. "I should probably go." Zentora walks off.
As she is leaving, she turns around at the sound of Chibi-Usa's voice. "Can you come back tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'll bring Nyumi with me if you want."
Chibi-Usa's smile grows larger at the mention of the other girl's name. "Okay."
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"Thanks, for letting me come today, Zentora."
"No problem." She snaps the leash onto Pup as she looks at her sister. "I thought you might want to see Chibi-Usa again."
"She'll be there?" Nyumi's eyes light up.
"Yeah." Zentora and her sister are walking out of the door with Pup.
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"Master. She is gone."
Thorn nods at the voice of his chief youma. "Good. You have your instructions. Keep her busy."
"Yes, master."
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On the way to the park, Zentora holds a mental conversation with Pup. "So that's what happened."
"This is very serious, Zentora. If they're after the orbs and they know that you're Orion…"
She nods to herself. This is all she needs. It's hard enough trying to locate the orb holders. "I guess these are the people who could activate the orb besides me."
"Possibly. Just be careful. Otherwise, that vision you had could come to pass. Sirius and I didn't tell you because we didn't want you to worry, but if anyone other than you were to get those orbs, then the universe would be lost. And I think I may have an idea of the enemy who is trying to get them before you."
"Would you mind telling me who it is?"
Nyumi's excited squealing interrupts their thoughts. "We're here!" Zentora watches her sister run into the park. Chibi-Usa is also seen running toward the young girl.
"They seem to be pretty excited to see each other."
Zentora looks at Pup. "Yeah. They do. I think it's nice. I mean, she's got a lot of friends here, but Chibi-Usa might be the only one she sees outside of school."
Pup nods and watches the girls playing. "So have you told the others about your mission?"
"No. I didn't plan on it either. I don't know if they'd be so supportive. Usagi worries me."
"How do you mean?"
Zentora shakes her head. From the way that they had all acted when she tried to get Nuriko's orb, she didn't feel as though they would understand. It seems that they would much rather let them all perish than to allow her to remove the orbs that were needed so badly. On the other hand, she is a little scared of finding the next holder. She doesn't know if she can carry out her promise.
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"Hey, Zentora-chan."
"Haruka-san, Michiru-san. I didn't know you would be here." The two of them are approaching from the area that Chibi-Usa had just come from.
"We're here with Chibi-Usa today."
"Oh."
"Well, let's go. We can sit near your sister and Chibi-Usa."
Zentora nods.
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The two young girls are playing a few feet away from the others. "Nyumi. Stay where I can see you."
"Okay, Zentora."
"I'll go stay with them."
Zentora looks at Pup. "Thanks." She unclasps the leash and watches him bound off.
Haruka watches him. "Where's he going?"
"He's keeping an eye on them." She notices them looking at her strangely. "He's one of my guardians."
Michiru nods her understanding. "One of them?"
"Yes. The other is Sirius. My cat."
Haruka nods. She remembers the cat that she had seen when she went with Zentora to take Pup home. "So can he talk?"
"Not really." Zentora leaves it at that.
Michiru is silent for a few moments. "Zentora-chan. I know you probably would rather not talk about it, but…
Michiru is interrupted by the sound of screaming. The three of them stand quickly. Zentora looks up, but her sister is nowhere and sight and neither are Pup and Chibi-Usa. She holds her hand and her neck as the amulet makes itself visible and transforms. Amazed at how quickly she is off and running, Michiru and Haruka prepare to do the same. They hold their henshin pens in the air and say their transformations.
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Sailor Orion arrives to the spot where she had heard the screaming to see Pup and Chibi-Usa lying on the ground unconscious. Looking around frantically, she can't find any sign of her little sister.
"Uggh…"
"Pup. Are you alright?"
The guardian dog looks up at her as his eyes slowly focus. The last thing he remembers is the youma throwing him into the dirt. "Nyumi! Chibi-Usa!"
Orion lowers her hand to his head and rubs it gently. "It's okay. Chibi-Usa's beside you. What happened? Where's Nyumi?" She tries her best to hide the worry and fear that is surfacing in her voice.
"A youma. It came out of nowhere. Chibi-Usa transformed to fight it, but it didn't help. She didn't have enough time. I tried to hold it off…but…" He looks at the purple clad senshi, obviously angry at himself.
"It's okay. You did what you could."
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Neptune and Uranus arrive to see the star senshi standing over her guardian and their young princess. They can hear her gently urging Chibi-Usa to wake up. The russet eyes open slowly and look at the purple haired soldier standing above her. "Sailor Orion."
"Yeah, that's right. Are you okay?"
"I think so." She sits up slowly. "Where's Nyumi?"
"You didn't see what happened t her?"
The pink head turns from side to side. "I saw the youma take her but I don't know where it went."
"Looking for me?" The five of them look up at the sound of rustling leaves. They see it standing on the branches of a large tree. Nyumi is lying limp in its arms.
"Give her back." Everyone looks at Sailor Orion. Even Pup is surprised by the deadly tone in her voice. She stares at the youma with darkness in her eyes.
"I don't think so. If you want her, you'll have to come and get her. My master has plans for her."
"I don't know who you and your master think you are, but if you have any sense then you'll put her down and get away from here."
Sailor Uranus looks at the girl that she had called friend. She hadn't been this serious when she was challenging the other senshi. She knows that this is no idle threat. But the youma ignores her. It smiles and runs off.
Sailor Orion takes off after it running as fast as she can. She hears the two outer soldiers calling to her. "Orion, wait!"
"Take those two to my house. I'll meet you there later!"
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Zentora walks into the apartment seething with anger. She scoured the entire city, but had seen no sign of Nyumi or her captor. She couldn't even sense the youma's whereabouts and that only made her more upset.
She sees Haruka and Michiru waiting for her with Pup when she gets inside. They managed to tell her mother that Zentora was still out with Nyumi and the two of them would be back later. Jalise and Martin were on their way to a movie and allowed their daughter's new friends to wait for them.
"Did you have any luck?"
"No. I looked everywhere."
Michiru looks at her partner as Zentora walks past her and into her room. They follow to see her sitting on the bed.
Sirius walks in with Pup. "Zentora, Pup told me what happened. Are you alright?"
The girl looks at the floor quietly for a few minutes. Without answering, she stands up and goes over to her dresser. Slowly, she opens the drawer. "They aren't here."
Sirius and Pup look at her in disbelief. "That's not possible. They have to be there."
Zentora looks at the cat. "They aren't." She pulls a note out of the drawer.
Haruka and Michiru look at her. "What is it?"
The cat turns to look at them as Zentora reads what she has found. "As Sailor Orion, Zentora's mission is to retrieve the Orbs of Nova. They are located inside of four humans which is why we were sent to this planet."
Michiru looks at Zentora. "That's what you were taking from those people."
The girl nods. "That's why I had to wait. I had to make sure that it wasn't an orb. But most people I've run into have only had dreamstones. I've only found two of the four orbs and now those two are gone."
"What happens to the people when the stones are taken?"
"I think you already know."
"What do you mean?" The musician looks at her younger friend.
"They're alright." She closes her eyes as she remembers the man at the zoo. "For the most part."
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The two young women are still sitting on the bed when Zentora rakes a hand through the thick locks. Haruka looks at the girl's guardians and then at her. "So what does it say?"
"It's from someone named General Thorn. He says he's taken the orbs."
"Why would he take Nyumi?"
Zentora shakes her head. "I don't know."
"Maybe she has an orb."
Zentora shakes her head at Michiru. "She doesn't have one."
"If she did would you take it?"
Looking at Haruka, she answers honestly. "Yes. I would have to. That's why I'm here. But she doesn't have one."
"How do you know?"
Zentora closes her eyes. "I checked. I checked the entire family one night when they were all asleep."
Nodding, Haruka looks at the girl. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to get the orbs and Nyumi."