Orion Saga
Part 1
Quest for the Orbs
Chapter 20: Tiger Protector
Zentora is standing in her room placing the orbs in their new hiding spot. When the other scouts returned, they said that she had been unconscious but Nyumi was alright. That was all that mattered. She had succeeded. She woke up in Usagi's living room with the others standing in the next room. She heard them talking. It seemed as though they truly didn't know what to make of her. On one hand she was kind and gentle, but as she could understand, they were all shaken up by what they had seen on the star. Then to find her holding her sister. What kind of Sailor Soldier was she?
"Zentora? Are you alright?"
She turns around to look at Pup. "Yeah. I'm okay."
"We're really proud of you, Zentora."
She looks at Sirius and nods. When she got home, she had changed into a long sleeved shirt in spite of the weather so that her family wouldn't notice the bruises on her arms. Her nose just needed a little cleaning and the cut above her eye is small enough to not be noticeable if she cleaned the blood from it. Besides. They would heal Quickly. It's mid-afternoon and she is going to go to the park to be alone for a little while. She wants to think about a few things.
Zentora is sitting alone under her favorite tree with her eyes closed. The day is warm and her sleeves are rolled up a little.
"Hey, there."
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard about what happened."
"News travels fast. It's only been two days."
Samaru nods to himself. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I got Nyumi back and the orbs are safe. I didn't get hurt too badly."
"That's not what I meant." He lowers himself and sits next to her.
She sighs keeping her eyes closed. "You aren't going to start up with that Star Princess stuff again are you?"
"No. I just wanted to see if you were alright." He looks at her more closely. "Are you?"
"Yeah."
"You don't sound so sure."
Zentora leans back a little farther and looks up into the boughs of the tree. "Maybe I'm not. Not really."
"What's wrong then?"
"My family. It shouldn't have been able to happen. They shouldn't have gotten to my family. No matter how much…"
Samaru looks at her unsure of just what to say.
"I'm supposed to have a life outside of this. I mean, I wish I could protect everyone."
"But you can't."
"I know. I just wish I could. And then to say that I have to steal the dreams of these people in order to protect them. To save them."
"Don't think of it that way."
"How else am I to think of it?"
"What one thought lies behind everyone's dream?"
Zentora turns to him in silence.
"The thought that the person can make a difference. That they can leave their mark on the world. Don't you see? These people will. They get to do that and so much more."
"But they don't know it. All they know is that for whatever reason, they're left with this emptiness. They're like…drones. And I can't stand it. I saw one of them and it was a few weeks later. The person's eyes…I could see it in their eyes."
Samaru places a hand on her shoulder. His deep voice is soft. "Don't worry. It'll all work out."
"Queen Andromeda, you summoned me?"
"Yes." Andromeda had witnessed Thorn's demise from the safety of the interior walls of her castle. "Since Thorn failed, I'll need you to search for the orbs."
"Yes, Queen Andromeda."
"Thorn underestimated Orion. It wasn't until a few moments before his death that he realized what she was actually capable of. She's not quite like the other Sailor Scouts. She will kill if she finds it necessary. But those orbs are important. Without them, I'll never be able to rule the Star Kingdom. We've only got two more orbs to go after, Chimera."
The woman looks up at her queen as she bows. "Yes, Queen Andromeda. I will not make the same mistake that Thorn did. I've already got an idea of my next target."
"Good. Then you should get started."
"Hello?"
"Zentora?"
"Speaking."
"Hi. It's me, Haruka."
Zentora nods with the phone in her hand. She is a little surprised to hear from her after what had happened at Andromeda's castle. "Hi."
"You sound surprised to hear from me."
"I wasn't really sure if any of you would still want to hang out with me after-"
Haruka is silent on the other end for a few minutes. "Zentora. That doesn't matter to me. I know you as a person. Senshi business is senshi business. Sometimes there are no alternatives. I understand what you had to do."
"Thanks."
"No problem. I've been through it myself a few times. Sometimes you just have to make tough decisions. It's nobody's fault."
Zentora is silent.
Anyway, I called to invite you to a race this afternoon. I'll be driving."
"I'll be there."
A pair of bright green eyes watches the humans as they enter the arena. Madame Chimera has been waiting for hours until the moment that her target shows.
Zentora and Michiru walk up onto the bleachers and sit down. "So how are you?"
"Okay. It's Nyumi that I was worried about though."
"Yes, I'm glad she's alright." Michiru looks at the placid girl. "You took quite a beating."
"I also gave one too." Her voice is low as she sees herself punching Thorn over and over again. She couldn't believe the anger behind it. She thought that she would have possibly beaten him to death. "Where's Haruka-san?"
"She's over there." Michiru gives a wave to Haruka standing on the track next o her car.
With a half smile, both girls watch as the tall racer waves back. Zentora waves in return. "So when does the race start?"
"In a few minutes. They like to go over the cars to make sure that nothing goes wrong with them."
Zentora nods.
A tall slender woman with flaming orange hair and bright green eyes stands near the entrance to the track. Her dark purple dress hides her well within the shadows of the hall. Her feet are covered with black boots that have green serpents running along side them. She yawns with boredom and covers her catlike nose. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. I can't bear to watch those things go round again. It's so dull. Pitiful earthlings.
She steps back and kisses her hand. Blowing the kiss, a flame suddenly appears. "Come forth my pet. I have a job for you."
Zentora is watching the race anxiously as her friend goes around the track fighting with another driver for first place. She stiffens suddenly drawing Michiru's attention. "What's wrong?"
"Something's nearby."
As she says this, the crowd gives way to shouts of fear and surprise when something suddenly jumps out onto the track. She sees the drivers swerving to avoid it. Glancing at Michiru, she runs off. The older girl follows.
Haruka's car skids to a stop at the sight of the strange creature. She knows that its presence can only mean one thing. Andromeda had sent someone else in Thorn's place. She manages to get out of the car a little dazed, but otherwise okay.
"Ugh!" She feels herself being knocked to the ground. The monster is now on top of her. Opening her eyes, she sees it staring at her. The monster has two heads, one the head of a lion, the other like that of a goat. And it's massive body is also like a lions, but it's tail is like a snake. "What is this thing?!"
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Haruka looks up at the sound of the woman's voice. Her dress is old fashioned like something out of the Middle Ages. "Who are you?"
"I, am Madame Chimera. This is one of my pets. Lovely little thing." She looks fondly at the monstrous creature hovering over the girl.
"What do you want with me?"
"Nothing much. Just your dream energy. Alright my pet, drain her."
Orion and Neptune arrive to hear the sound of Haruka yelling as her dream energy is being sucked away. "We've got to get her away from there." Orion looks at her friend. She wants to wait, but- "Sailor Orion?"
Nodding, she looks at the other soldier. "Okay. Let's do it."
"Neptune, Deep Submerge!"
"Hunter's Arrow!"
The two attacks barrel toward the creature knocking it off of its target and a few yards away. Taking this opportunity, Haruka jumps to her feet. "Uranus, Planet, Power!"
As the beast recovers from it's fall, both it and its master are surprised to learn that their first target is a senshi. "No matter. Get her anyway." Chimera looks at her 'pet' as it closes in on the sailor scout.
Looking at her sister soldier and her friend, she nods to them, signaling for a tripling of their attacks. "Uranus, World, Shaking!"
"Neptune, Deep Submerge!"
"Orion, Star-shock, Spark!"
The energies all fuse into one as they find their target. When the light dies down, the see nothing but smoke. "Well done. But I'll be back." They look at Madame Chimera who disappears in a wall of flames.
Sailor Uranus detransforms and goes to her friends. "What was that all about? Me a holder?"
Zentora looks at her friend. "Yeah…at least they think so."
Michiru looks at her. "You don't sound so sure."
Zentora stares at the ground. "I'm not. If it were Haruka-san, wouldn't I have known by now?"
"Do you want to check me?"
Zentora shakes her head. "I couldn't do that. I'd leave her with nothing or I'd lose one of the only friends I've got. Like when I almost lost Nyumi."
Zentora is asleep in her room when she begins to dream. She is standing inside of a castle with Neptune. She is wearing a regal gown along with her friend. The two of them look up to see Samaru and Uranus approaching. Samaru is dressed in a long sleeved white shirt and a vest adorned with stars. His pants are as dark as the night sky. Uranus on the other hand is wearing a ruffly shirt and jacket over a pair of trousers. The four of them are laughing together.
While they are talking, a woman approaches them and kisses Zentora on the cheek. Something about the woman is familiar to her, but she can't figure out what it is.
"Zentora, wake up."
Her eyes focus slowly on Pup. She stares at him for a few moments before realizing what she is looking at. "Oh. It's you."
"Are you alright? You were mumbling in your sleep again. Was it another bad dream?" Zentora has been dreaming a lot lately. Most of them strange dreams telling of the death and horror that would await if she didn't get the orbs. On the surface, each one seemed a little different, but there was always the same girl with the same empty opaque eyes. There is something strangely familiar about this girl. Something a little scary. She had only mentioned them on a few occasions to her guardians when they would wake her up because of her cries or when she woke up gasping in a cold sweat. Sirius would attribute the dreams to the stress of her mission and try to soothe her by placing her head on Zentora's and lulling the girl back to sleep with her purring.
"No, it wasn't a bad dream."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Zentora shakes her head. "I'm okay."
Pup and Samaru are walking with Zentora in the park. "I'm really staring to wonder about this." Zentora has already told her guardians about Haruka being the next possible orb holder.
"Maybe, but you can't ignore the possibility. It could be anyone."
Zentora looks at her guardian.
"He's right."
"It's not her."
"Did you even bother to make sure? I mean, you could just be ignoring her stone. I realize that you're still upset about Nyumi but-" Pup stops talking when Zentora walks off. He and Samaru watch her as she sits down on a nearby bench.
A few days after the first incident with Haruka, Zentora is taking a walk through the city. "She can't be the holder. I don't why, but I'm pretty sure of it. I didn't even feel this certain about my own family." She slows her pace when she recognizes where she is. Looking up, she sees that she is at the racetrack.
Haruka is walking to her car with the helmet in her hands. When she prepares to climb through the window she hears a low growl. Turning around, she sees another one of Madame Chimera's monsters. Her hand instinctively reaches for the henshin pen, but a well-aimed flame knocks it out of her hand. Rubbing the singed skin, she looks up at the woman as her pet attacks.
"Aaghh!"
Zentora looks around at the sound of the yell. She has a good idea of what's going on and places her hand at her throat waiting for the amulet to appear. "Orion Star Power!" Sailor Orion runs toward the youma and its target.
Haruka is struggling as the creature lifts her into the air with it's strong tail. Her dream energy is slowly being drained and there is nothing that she can do to stop it. Her pen lies in the grass, harmless on its own.
Upon her arrival, Orion sees her friend being dropped to the grass as Chimera holds the manifestation of her dream energy. "Please don't let it be an orb." She pulls back on the bow.
"Hunter's Arrow!"
The attack catches Madame Chimera off guard when it destroys the animal and she turns around to see the star scout. "You." Orion looks at her hands to see the blue sphere. She breathes an inward sigh of relief. Haruka wasn't the carrier. "Sorry to disappoint you Sailor Orion, but it looks like we're both out of luck. It's not an orb after all." She looks at Haruka and carelessly tosses the stone aside. Orion cringes as it sails through the air, but she makes the catch. Madame Chimera looks at her when she notices this. "Hmm. From what I heard, I wouldn't think that you would waste your time worrying about dream stones." She shrugs. "Ah well. Till we meet again." She disappears in a wall of fire.
Walking over to Haruka, Orion places the stone on her chest and covers it with her hand. The other hand goes on the young woman's forehead. "May the energy of your dream be reborn. Dream Energy Rebirth."
The blue light crackles around the purple ball of energy and Haruka can feel the energy being poured into her. When she opens her eyes, she sees Orion squatting next to her. She sits up slowly.
"Are you alright, Haruka-san?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Orion wraps her arms around her friend and closes her eyes. "I'm so glad. And I'm sorry."
Haruka looks at her for a moment in confusion, but she suddenly realizes the reason behind the girl's reaction. "It's alright, Zentora-chan."