Part Eleven: Help from the Senshi of Death! The Globe of Stolen Time
"It didn't work, Lady Slipper."
The angry tones of the Negaverse admiral blared out over the empty grassland.
"Orion is still free."
"Well, of course
she's still free, my dear Lord. It's going to take a lot more power than
what you've got to bring Sailor Orion in." Lady Slipper's saccharine voice
was tinged with amusement.
"If you knew that,
then why did you let me go after her?" Narcissus demanded in fury.
Another tinkling
peal of laughter. "Because, Lord Narcissus, I wanted you to realize how much
you need my help."
Lord Narcissus growled.
"If I need help so much, then why did the Avatar put me in charge
of this mission, Lady Slipper? As I recall, he didn't ask you to do it."
Lady Slipper's sugary
voice turned venomous. "You really don't know anything, do you? Be careful,
Narcissus. I can be a great ally or a very dangerous enemy."
There was a snort
of derision. "I'm not afraid of you, Lady Slipper."
"Your funeral,"
came the pragmatic response, which Narcissus chose to ignore.
"Well, I don't need
your help, Lady Slipper, anymore. I'm going to get rid of that obnoxious
Sailor Orion once and for all I don't have to kill her, as long as
I get her out of the way." Narcissus chuckled to himself.
Lady Slipper's derisive
tones made the dried grass beneath the monument shiver. "It doesn't matter
what you try, Narcissus. I'm telling you, you can't defeat her."
"I don't have to
defeat her." There was a pause in the conversation as Lord Narcissus apparently
held something up for Lady Slipper to see.
"What on earth is
that?" she wanted to know.
Narcissus chuckled.
"This is a little present from my friend Sailor Libra."
"Sailor Libra has
no friends, Narcissus. You should know that."
"Oh, he has
friends when it suits his purpose. Libra hates those pesky Sailor brats
too. He gave me this little toy here. And with it, I can get Sailor Orion
out of my way for good, and maybe the others as well. With all of them trapped
in here, there won't be anyone to stop me from having my jaki drain
the entire city! We'll find the Silver Dagger in a matter of hours."
Lady Slipper began
to laugh again. "If you say so, Narcissus," she giggled, "but you're gravely
underestimating the Sailor Senshi. Even Sailor Libra's power cannot match
theirs. But by all means, try it. It shall be amusing to watch you fail."
Lord Narcissus growled
again. "You'll watch all right, Lady Slipper. And when I have the Silver
Dagger in my hands"
"I shall bow before
you and kiss your feet, my dear Admiral." The mocking tone was unmistakable.
"I shall beg your forgiveness for my weak faith in your superior
abilities."
This time Narcissus
ignored her. "Come out, my jaki!"
The greasy black
liquid oozing about the edges of the expanding hole in space began to gather
at his command. A dark drop formed, and fell from the hole's edge to strike
the cold ebony surface of the monument. The gel-like substance expanded,
swelling and bulging and growing taller, and slowly took on a shape. The
jaki that was formed had the same glistening black skin as its
predecessors, and possessed three braidlike extentions from its head. This
evil spirit turned to face the darkness beyond the hole from which he had
come.
"Jaki here,
Lord Narcissus."
"I want you to find
me the human known as Giseino Shinzui. Do not attack her; just locate her
for me. I will take care of the rest."
"Human juice?" the
creature inquired hungrily, licking its lips.
"Not hers. You can
take the blood from any other human you choose, but not hers. I want her
completely unharmed, you understand?"
The creature nodded
with a grin. "Jaki understand." It rolled off the monument, forming
its ball-like shape, and bounced three times in the grass before flying into
the sky, arching toward the Tokyo skyline.
Lord Narcissus chuckled
again. "Yes you just watch me, Lady Slipper. I'm going to get all those
annoying brats, and the Silver Dagger, despite what you think."
"If you say so."
Lady Slipper giggled once more.
Michiru looked at her friend
with a smile. "What is it, Haruka? You seem rather cheerful today."
Haruka blushed a
bit, keeping her eyes on the road as she drove. "It's kind of silly," she
admitted sheepishly.
"What's silly?"
Haruka gave that
familiar half-smile. "Well, I guess I'm just glad that Shinzui and Sailor
Orion are the same person."
"Why's that?" Michiru
wanted to know.
Haruka's eyes darkened,
just a little, as she considered this. "Well, it's sort of a relief, you
know?" she shook her head slightly. "I mean, for a while there I thought
I must be crazy, just hating people at random. It's kind of nice to know
that it's really only one person that I don't like." Haruka sighed. "Even
if I still have no idea why I feel this way."
The aqua-haired
girl gazed at her partner with affection. "I know you, Haruka. You've got
good instincts. I mean, we don't really know anything about Sailor Orion,
do we? For all we know she could be our enemy."
Haruka gave a quick
sideways glance over at her passenger, and smiled again. "That's nice of
you to say, Michiru, but I saw you leap to defend her from Narcissus yesterday.
I know you don't really think she's an enemy."
Michiru shook her
head slowly. "Well, no, I don't," she said softly. "But I've known you longer,
Haruka. And I have more faith in you than in her. So if you say there's something
wrong"
Haruka sighed. "But
that's just it. I'm not even sure that there IS anything wrong. It's just
that every time I see her I feel like hitting her. More than that. I feel
like I want to kill her." Her short sandy locks shook back and forth. "I
don't understand it, Michiru. And" She stopped.
"And it scares you,"
Michiru finished for her, knowing that her friend would never admit it on
her own. Haruka didn't even look at her, or acknowledge the statement, but
she didn't deny it either. Michiru smiled gently. "I know you're worried,
Haruka. But like you said, it really is only one person who makes you feel
this way so there has to be some reason for it, even if we don't know
what it is. Try not to think about it so much, all right?"
Haruka smiled at
her again, one of her rare genuine smiles, that was free of sarcasm, and
she nodded. They rode in silence for a while along the sea-cliffs with no
particular destination, the tires of the little yellow convertible flying
over the pavement and the sound of the waves and the wind seeming to unite
the souls of the two girls without a word.
Usagi looked up at Mamoru,
from the couch in his little apartment, and she smiled at him sweetly. "So,
Mamo-chan, what are we going to do this afternoon?" Her voice was even higher
and more childlike than usual, because being with Mamoru always made her
feel super kawaii. She opened her blue eyes as wide as she could and
batted them at him.
Mamoru grinned at
her. "Well, I thought we might go to the new history museum that just opened
a couple blocks from here. It's full of artifacts from different periods
of history all around the world." At Usagi's frown, Mamoru chuckled. "It
will be fun, Usako. I promise not to give you a test afterwards."
Usagi looked up
into those perfect, crystalline eyes framed with soft dark hair, and she
forgot about protesting. Her heart skipped a beat, and she sighed happily,
hugging her tall boyfriend with enthusiasm. "Okay, Mamo-chan. I guess I don't
care where we go, as long as I get to be with you." She pulled back to look
into those incredible eyes again. They were so close Usagi closed her
eyes as Mamoru leaned down to kiss her.
The phone rang.
Mamoru straightened abruptly, almost embarrassedly, and with an apologetic
glance towards Usagi, went to answer the phone. Usagi opened her eyes, and
glared at the offending telephone for ruining her kiss.
"Hello? Oh,
Shinzui-san!"
Usagi's eyes widened
at the mention of Shinzui's name, as she couldn't help a flashback of the
blind girl, flashing a golden bracelet, opening her silvery eyes She
walked over to Mamoru to listen.
"Uh yes, she
is here, Shinzui-san. Sure." Mamoru handed the reciever to Usagi. "She wants
to speak to you."
Usagi took the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Princess
Serenity." There was a brief pause. "Did I interrupt something?"
Usagi's eyes widened.
"How did you-I mean, no. No, of course not."
Shinzui's tinkling
laughter came over the line. "Oh, it's all right, Princess. I would never
tell." Usagi could almost see the blind girl winking at her, and she blushed.
Shinzui's giggles subsided. "Listen, I'm calling because I think that you
and I and Prince Endymion should have a talk together. Is there someplace
we could meet?"
Usagi frowned. "Well,
Mamo-chan and I are having a date today," she said a bit petulantly.
"Oh, Princess, I'm
sorry. I hate to interrupt you, but this really is terribly important. We
need to talk." Shinzui's tones were soft, and Usagi could almost feel the
genuine regret in them. Usagi felt nearly hypnotized by the sincerity in
the older girl's voice.
Before she knew what
she was saying, she responded, "Well, Mamo-chan and I were going to the new
history museum this afternoon. Why don't you come see us there?"
Mamoru's eyes nearly
bulged out of his head, and his jaw dropped. Usagi was inviting someone else
on their date? That never happened!! She was the one who always became terribly
upset if anyone was intruding upon their time together. He could hardly believe
what he had just heard.
"Are you sure it's
all right with the prince?" Shinzui wanted to know.
Usagi looked up at
Mamoru. "It's okay with you, right?" she asked, and Mamoru nodded numbly,
still surprised. But he didn't mind seeing the blind girl today. He liked
Shinzui, and he too knew that it was important for them to talk. Usagi spoke
into the phone again. "He says it's all right." Then she frowned with a new
question. "Shinzui-san, why is it that you're always calling me 'princess'?
I wish you'd just call me Usagi like everyone else."
Shinzui's voice was
gentle, but her intent was undeterminable as she answered. "That is something
that would take far too long for me to fully explain. I'll just say that
you will always be Princess Serenity to me. I will forever think of you that
way."
Usagi was still confused,
but Mamoru gently took the phone from her hand. "All right, Shinzui-san.
We'll meet you at the museum in a half hour. Okay. See you then. Bye." Mamoru
hung up the phone, and turned to Usagi with a twinkle in his eye. "Before
we leave, we might as well finish what we started." And he took her in his
arms.
Usagi gazed at the statue
with a sense of awe. "Wow, Mamo-chan. It's so pretty."
"It is," Mamoru agreed
as he too observed the ancient marble, carved in the shape of a young woman
carrying a water jug on her head. "Can you believe this statue is over three
thousand years old?"
"I remember watching
Pytharian carve that statue." The musical voice caused the young man and
his girlfriend to turn around. Shinzui was running her fingers over the Braille
section of the plaque that was posted on the wall near the statue. She smiled
as her fingertips read the information there: Woman with a Jug, sculpture
in marble. From Greece, approximately 1000 B.C. Artist unknown. "More
like 986 B.C.," she commented with a giggle. "And poor Pytharian would be
devastatated if he knew that they've forgotten his name He was always
so proud of his work."
Usagi stared at the
blind girl. "You knew the guy who made this?"
Shinzui nodded, and
her expression seemed far away. "Pytharian was a dear friend of mine. But
it was lifetimes ago" Then she seemed to return to the present. "Actually,
Princess, this was something I wanted to speak with you and the prince
about."
Mamoru nodded. "Why
don't we go sit over there?" he suggested, pointing at a red velvet upholstered
bench set up against the wall. The three of them took seats, and Shinzui
sighed.
"Centauri and I have
been awake all night, trying to decide how much we should tell you. You see,
the more I say, the more danger I place you in. But you have the right to
know at least something of what you're up against here." Shinzui paused,
and ruffled the silky fur on Centauri's head. For the first time, the dog
cleared his throat and spoke aloud to the others.
"Shinzui is, as you
have seen, a Sailor Scout. But she has a special mission, a special purpose,
and because of this, she has many responsibilities and abilities that the
other Senshi do not have."
Usagi stared at Centauri.
"And you can talk. Like Luna."
Centauri nodded.
"Yes. I am Sailor Orion's guardian, as Luna is yours."
Shinzui smiled fondly
down at the golden retriever. "And he is also one of my dearest friends."
Then she straightened, and her soft, blank eyes were gentle. "I cannot tell
you the details of my mission yet. It is still not absolutely necessary for
you to know, and I want to keep you as safe as possible for as long as possible.
But what I can tell you is this." She sighed. "I have been watching over
you, Princess, for exactly one thousand, four hundred and fifty-seven lifetimes--
each lifetime being one thousand years long."
Mamoru stared at
her. "You're saying that Sailor Moon is over a million years old?!!" he wondered
incredulously, doing the math in his head.
Shinzui nodded. "So
are you. So are all of the other Sailor Senshi." Mamoru shook his head, trying
to comprehend this. The tall blind girl smiled at him. "After each thousand-year
lifespan, you each, with the exception of Sailor Pluto, die and are reborn.
And with each rebirth, your memories are wiped clean. But in my case
I do not live for a thousand years. Usually my lifespan is only about twenty
years or so. Sometimes less. And when I am reborn, I retain all memories
of all my previous lifetimes."
Usagi frowned at her. "How
come you don't live as long as we do?" she demanded.
Mamoru was thoughtful.
"The first day we met you, Sailor Saturn came to us. She said that you were
the sacrificial soldier. Is that what you're talking about?"
Shinzui inclined
her head. "Yes. The reason I do not live very long is because the time for
the sacrifice has always come almost immediately after my awakening as Sailor
Orion," she said. "There is a reason for this, but I cannot go into it now.
At any rate my mission here among you is to protect you from the greatest
eternal danger that the Earth has ever faced. During many of your lifetimes,
it has not even been necessary for you to be aware of my presence. And there
have been other lives in which I have had to tell you the complete story"
Suddenly Shinzui froze, and her eyes clouded.
"What is it,
Shinzui-san?" Mamoru asked with concern.
"Jaki." Shinzui
rose to her feet, and Usagi joined her. "No, Princess. You should let me
do this alone. I'm starting to get a little irritated with Lord Narcissus."
"No way," Usagi responded
determinedly. "I'm not gonna let you"
"Too late." Shinzui
looked towards the arched museum entrance as the evil spirit lumbered into
their presence. It was carrying the lifeless body of one of the museum tour
guides, whom it had just drained. The jaki grinned when it caught
sight of Shinzui.
"Found her!" it hissed
happily, and took a step forward.
"Cosmic Moon Power,
Makeup!"
"No, Princess, don't!"
Shinzui exclaimed, but it was too late. Usagi was already turning around,
her form shimmering in color as her sailor fuku appeared around her
slight form. Shinzui shook her head as Mamoru, unwilling to allow his beloved
to fight alone, also produced his rose from a coat pocket and transfomed
as well.
The blind girl sighed
and turned to Centauri. "Come on, then," she said with resignation. "I might
as well join them." She bared her bracelet.
Centauri nodded at
his mistress and shouted, "Orion Constellation Power, Makeup!" The beams
of light penetrated the bracelet and spread over her body. Shinzui closed
her eyes as she was lifted off the floor by the transformation power. When
she opened them again, she could see, not just sense, the jaki. Sailor
Orion smiled at it, her white teeth gleaming nearly as bright as the
creature's.
"Well, I wonder what
Narcissus is plotting now," she declared loudly, seemingly to no one in
particular. She stepped forward to place herself in front of Sailor Moon
and Tuxedo Kamen, so that the jaki would have to attack her first.
But the jaki did not attack. Instead, its form began to shift and
change color, as Lord Narcissus took over the monster's body.
Sailor Orion observed
Narcissus' appearance with a cocked eyebrow. When he was fully formed, she
grinned at him. "Back for more so soon, dear Narcissus? My, my. Aren't we
a glutton for punishment?" Her silver eyes mocked him.
"Shut up, Sailor
brat," Narcissus responded harshly. He opened his hand, and Orion caught
a glimpse of the dark, blood red bubble that was beginning to swell there.
"Prince Endymion?"
she said quietly. "Get the Princess away from here, now."
"What's wrong, Sailor
Orion?" Sailor Moon wanted to know.
Orion shook her head.
"No time. Get out of here, now."
"They aren't going
anywhere, Miss Orion," Lord Narcissus gloated, and with his free hand he
sent a stream of negative energy towards the entrance, sealing it off. There
was no escape. Narcissus chuckled at her. "Well, Orion, it appears I've got
your attention at last."
"It's me you want,
Narcissus. Not them. Let them go, and you can do whatever you want with me.
I promise I won't even fight you. But let them go." Orion stared at the Negaverse
admiral defiantly.
"Not a chance." Narcissus
raised his hand as the blood-colored bubble continued to grow. It was now
almost as tall as Sailor Orion herself. "I'm going to get all three of you
at once and then I'm going to get the others. Every last one of you
worthless little Sailor scum are going to be in here, in Libra's Darkness
and Time Globe."
Orion's eyes narrowed.
"When I get out of there, Narcissus"
"What makes you think
any of you will ever get out of it? Libra's powers can hold even you
indefinitely, Orion, and you know it. So face it the Negaverse is going
to win this time."
The Sacrificial Soldier
shook her head condescendingly. "You underestimate the Sailor Senshi, Lord
Narcissus."
"I don't think so.
Now are you going to walk in yourself or am I going to have to throw you
in?" The lavender caped Lord cast a meaningful glance at Sailor Moon and
Tuxedo Kamen. "For the safety of your friends, I suggest you choose the less
violent method."
Sailor Orion turned
slightly towards her friends. "It will be all right," she said quietly. "Just
do what he tells you for now." Then she began to walk towards the ominous
red bubble, with Centauri following faithfully behind. He was not about to
allow Orion to go alone.
"Shinzui-san!" Sailor
Moon exclaimed. Sailor Orion smiled at her, gently, but she did not respond,
just turned back and stepped into the bubble. The redness seemed to swallow
her up, and she disappeared.
Narcissus chuckled
cruelly. "Now your turn, Miss Moon. In you go."
Sailor Moon looked
up at Tuxedo Kamen, whose face was grave. He nodded at her, and the two of
them stepped through the red skin of the bubble, not knowing what they were
to face on the other side.
"Where are we?" Sailor Moon
wondered as she stared about. The ground beneath them was hard packed dirt,
and they seemed to be standing on a street in the middle of an ancient stone
city, with Greek columns and Roman aqueducts. Except that somehow, the city
did not seem so ancient
"We are in Libra's
Globe of darkness and stolen time," Sailor Orion responded from behind them,
and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask turned to face her. She was sitting above
them on an outcropping of rocks, and her silver-gray eyes were grave as she
surveyed the city. "Sailor Libra has powers over the Realm of Death
and he often steals from the Gate of Time when Sailor Pluto cannot prevent
him."
"Sailor Libra? Who's
that?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
Orion sighed. "One
of the Sailor Constellations. Like me. But he works for the other side."
"You mean, the
Negaverse?"
Sailor Orion nodded,
and then slid off the rocks and dropped ten feet to the ground, so she could
stand with them. She landed lightly, rising to her feet quickly, and Centauri
trotted around from the side to join them. Orion looked down at her canine
companion with a weary smile as he shook his head.
"I've searched
everywhere, Sailor Orion. But there is no way out."
Orion nodded. "I
know. We can't get out of the Globe on our own. But Narcissus forgot something,
when he sealed us in here. He forgot about Sailor Pluto."
Sailor Moon frowned. "What's
she got to do with any of this?"
Sailor Orion sighed.
"This globe was created because Sailor Libra illicitly stole some of her
influence over time. She can get us out of here. Sailor Pluto has the power
to destroy the globe. But she won't be able to do that unless we are somehow
able to contact her and let her know we need her help."
Tuxedo Kamen's expression
was serious. "There may be a bigger problem," he said to Orion. "During our
most recent battle against Pharoah 90 and the Death Busters, Sailor Pluto
used a taboo power to save the lives of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.
I'm not sure exactly what happened to her after that, but she hasn't come
back since. Uranus told me that Pluto had said something about the true
Messiah"
Sailor Orion's dove
gray eyes widened. "So the Silence did come, after all," she breathed, almost
to herself. The Guardians had said it would I wish I could have
been there to help. She met Tuxedo Kamen's eyes. "It's all right, Tuxedo
Kamen-sama. It is true that Sailor Pluto would be banished back to the Time
Gate for all of eternity for her breaking of the taboo unless the Messiah
requires her help again, in which case her talisman will give her the power
she needs to return to this world. And since the Princess is the Messiah--
" Sailor Moon's eyes got bigger at this, "and since she is most definitely
in need of Pluto's help, I am certain that she will be able to return to
free us." Orion took a deep breath and looked around here. "I must warn you.
Libra's stolen time is not chronological, and will often shift, and blend.
Both of you must remain close to me, for if we are separated into different
time intervals we may never find each other again." Sailor Orion looked around
her for a minute as if searching for something, then untied the long peach
ribbons at the back of her fuku.
"What are you doing
that for?" Sailor Moon cried in surprise as Orion ripped the ribbons off
her Senshi uniform. The tall Soldier took one end of one of the ribbons and
tied it around Sailor Moon's wrist, and then tied the other end to her own.
She handed the second ribbon to Tuxedo Kamen, who understood what she was
doing, and began to tie the ribbon to Sailor Moon's other wrist, placing
her between them. Orion used the third ribbon to connect herself and
Centauri.
Sailor Orion smiled
at Sailor Moon. "We're going to stick together," she explained as Tuxedo
Kamen tied the other end of his ribbon to his own wrist. "The ribbons will
make sure that we will not get separated as we move through the Globe."
Sailor Moon frowned,
because it felt funny, having one arm attached to each of her friends. "What
are we moving for? Where are we going to go? You said yourself we can't get
out of here on our own."
Orion began to walk
down the rough dirt road, being careful not to let her long legs outdistance
Sailor Moon's shorter ones. "It's difficult to explain," Sailor Orion began.
"But at the very center of the Globe, there ought to be-" She was interrupted
by Sailor Moon's gasp of amazement as Orion took another step and seemed
to disappear. The peach ribbon that connected them stretched out in front
of her, and then just vanished, into thin air.
"What happened?"
Sailor Moon cried in confusion. A moment later, Sailor Orion's disembodied
face came back into view, almost as if it were hovering in midair it
was a very odd sight indeed.
"It's one of the
time shifts I was telling you about," she explained gently. "It's all right.
Come on."
Hesitantly, Sailor
Moon took a step forward, and suddenly it was like stepping through a mirror.
The world she had been in was now gone, replaced by a new world that opened
up in front of her. Sailor Orion was already there, and in a moment, Tuxedo
Kamen joined them. "Oh," Sailor Moon exclaimed as she looked around her.
"It's like an old castle." And indeed it was, though not like any castle
she'd ever read about. The damp breeze and cool stone walls were to be expected,
but to her surprise, there were small electric floor lamps lining the hall
before them, not torches. And there were several photographs on the wall
all in color. One was a photo of a shiny red Ferrari that instantly made
Sailor Moon think of Haruka. And in another, there was a picture of a young
boy playing a video game. On the opposite wall, however, there were crude,
dark markings that seemed to be more symbols than pictures; and they reminded
Sailor Moon of the drawings done by cave men that she'd seen in one of Ami's
anthropology books. "This is weird," she said as she gazed around her. "It's
like time is all mixed up."
"It is," Orion agreed
as she began walking again. "Hey, look out!" She put her arm in front of
Sailor Moon protectively, and all three of them as well as the golden retriever
flattened against the stony walls as a big giraffe suddenly came charging
down the hall. It passed them, kicking up dust in its wake and making Sailor
Moon sneeze.
As Sailor Moon watched
the exotic creature disappear in the other direction, she shook her head
with amazement. "This is sooo weird," she repeated in amazement. "Sailor
Pluto would have a fit if she could see this!" She began to follow Orion
again as the tall Sailor continued her progress down the hallway. "So where
are we going again?" she asked.
"Well," Orion replied,
ducking underneath an archway that was obviously made for much shorter people,
"it's difficult to understand, but there ought to be a sort of threshold
at the center of the Globe, where-" and she disappeared again. This time
Sailor Moon knew what was happening, and with a minimal amount of hesitation,
she stepped forward into this second time shift.
The new world they
entered seemed to be a jungle, but it was a very strange sort of jungle.
It was hot and overgrown with thick foilage, but there were penguins sitting
in the trees above them. The ground beneath their feet was covered with snow,
which somehow managed to remain freezing cold even though the air was almost
suffocatingly hot. And Sailor Moon could have sworn she heard an elephant
trumpeting in the distance. Tuxedo Kamen used his cane to beat a path for
them through the dense tropical growth, and they continued moving forward,
although Sailor Moon nearly tripped over a small patch of cactus growing
in the snowdrifts. Sailor Orion caught her arm.
"Easy," she said
with a grin. "You've got to expect the unexpected around here."
"I'm beginning to
see that," Sailor Moon responded ruefully. Her eyes widened as she caught
a glimpse of something behind Sailor Orion. "Ummm Orion" Her
voice shook.
The colossal Senshi
turned and found herself nose to nose with an enormous walrus. Sailor Moon
trembled as the gargantuan creature surveyed them with his big black eyes.
But Orion only giggled. "It's all right, Princess. He's friendly." She reached
out a gloved hand and scratched the beast's chin gently. The walrus gave
a snort of pleasure and tilted its head to the side happily. Sailor Moon
had to giggle too, at that, and also reached out to touch the huge animal.
Even Tuxedo Kamen could not resist the opportunity to pet a walrus
after all, it wasn't every day that one could meet such a creature, up close
and personal. After a few moments, though, Orion turned back.
"Come on," she said
to her friends. "We've got to keep going. Who knows what trouble Narcissus
is causing out there, and without either of us to destroy the jaki,
the other Senshi may not be able to hold him off for long." Reluctantly Sailor
Moon allowed herself to be led away from the walrus.
Tuxedo Kamen continued
to beat at the thick vines with his cane as he asked, "So what's this threshold
you mentioned, Orion? Can we use it to contact Sailor Pluto?"
Sailor Orion nodded.
"Theoretically, yes. The threshold is the part of time and space that is
unmoveable and unchangeable, even for Sailor Libra. It is the place that
connects all other places, the time that connects all other times. At the
threshold, we should be able to send a message to Sailor Pluto that she can
hear, even through the distortion."
Tuxedo Kamen vanished
in front of her, and Sailor Moon didn't even hesitate this time. She just
kept right on walking forward, and a second later Sailor Orion and Centauri
materialized at her side as the four entered a third time shift. "Oh, boy,"
Sailor Moon groaned as she looked around. "Isn't there another way to get
to this threshold, Sailor Orion? Please say there's another way."
"I'm afraid not,
Sailor Moon," Centauri responded as he too took in their surroundings with
a bit of trepidation. They were standing at the edge of a chasm, the bottom
of which they could not even see. It just seemed to fall and fall and fall
into nothingness, and Sailor Moon shivered a bit as she looked at it.
"I'm not sure I can
do this," she cried, her voice beginning to sound like a whine. "I don't
like heights!" Sailor Orion took her hand gently, and Sailor Moon looked
up at her with frightened eyes.
"It's all right,
Princess," Orion said, her musical tones very sweet. "We'll all be with you."
Tuxedo Kamen took Sailor Moon's other hand, and Sailor Orion reached down
and gripped Centauri's collar firmly. "Everyone ready?" she asked. "One
two three JUMP!!!" All four of them leapt from the cliff edge,
and fell down, down into the black void below. Sailor Moon screamed.
"What do you mean, she's
missing?" Haruka demanded impatiently.
Ami's face was serious.
"Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san went to the new museum opening," she said quietly.
"And we just got news that there was a jaki attack there. I've tried
to contact her many times, but there's no response, and my computer can't
locate them anywhere in Tokyo."
Minako's expression
was filled with worry, though she tried to stay optimistic. "Well, the
jaki sort of disappeared too," she pointed out. "So I'll bet Sailor
Moon just destroyed it and then went somewhere to be alone with
Mamoru-san."
"I'm sure that's
it," Michiru agreed gently, laying a hand on Rei's shoulder. The temple priestess
shook her head.
"No. Something happened.
I can feel it. Something's wrong here." Rei rose to her feet. "We should
have been watching her more closely. Sailor Orion said she was in danger.
We shouldn't have left her alone."
Makoto pounded the
wall with her fist. "Well, that does it, then," she declared. "I'm going
over to that museum right now to find out what's going on." Chibiusa, who
was sitting on the temple steps, bounced to her feet with a nod, eager to
follow.
"We'll all go," Haruka
said firmly. "If something did happen to her, I want to be there." The Scouts
looked at one another with a nod, and all of them pulled out their henshin
pens simultaneously.
"Ow!!" Sailor Moon complained,
rubbing her rear end as she looked around. "Where are we?"
Sailor Orion rose
to her feet carefully, and winced as pain shot through her ankle. She knew
it had been twisted in the fall and as she tested it, she was certain
that it had been sprained. They still had a ways to go, however, and there
was no way she would let this slow them down. They had to reach the threshold
as soon as possible; the longer it took them, the more danger the other Scouts
were in. Besides, she'd endured much worse pain than this before. Deliberately
closing her mind to the pain, she instead took another look around them.
"We're almost there," she told Sailor Moon encouragingly. This new place
to which they had fallen was a desert-like place, but it was hard to tell
if it was a desert or a beach. The sand spread out before them and behind
them for as far as they could see, but it was littered with seashells, starfish,
and dried green stringy stuff that she could only assume was seaweed. There
was no cactus, like one would expect in a desert. And the strangest thing
of all was seeing little fish leaping from the sand, and then diving back
under again, as if the sand were really sea.
Tuxedo Kamen scratched his head
in puzzlement as one of these little fish, emerging from the sand, accidently
flopped onto the toe of his boot before tumbling back into the dry golden
ocean. "This is a very interesting place," he commented bemusedly as he rose
to his feet, helping Sailor Moon to stand up as well.
Sailor Orion nodded. "Yes
and it will only get more interesting as we get closer to the threshold."
She turned to make sure that Sailor Moon was all right, and then straightened.
"Let's go."
"You!" Sailor Jupiter's
eyes narrowed considerably as she glared at Lord Narcissus. The Negaverse
Admiral was leaning casually against the marble statue, and the woman with
the water jug appeared to be frowning down at him. Narcissus grinned at
her.
"Why hello. It took you long enough
to get here. I was beginning to get bored."
"Where's Sailor Moon?" Sailor Mars
demanded.
"And where's Tuxedo Kamen-sama?"
ChibiMoon added angrily.
The lavender caped villian only
smiled at them. "Don't worry, my dears. You'll be joining them soon. And
that little Orion brat won't be coming to help you; I've got her too."
"What did you do with them?" Sailor
Mercury wanted to know. Narcissus did not reply, but he opened his hand and
exposed the small, blood-red bubble there. The bubble began to swell. Sailor
Mercury pressed her earring and her VR visor slid into place. She began to
scan the Libra Globe, and she frowned. "Well, I've found them," she said.
"They seem to be trapped in that thing whatever that thing is. I am
reading a whole lot of negative energy concentrated in there."
"Well, that's easily fixed," Sailor
Jupiter responded, her green eyes glittering with anticipation. "Supreme
Thunder Crash!!" The crackling energy enveloped the steadily growing red
sphere, but nothing happened. The power struck, the Globe rocked a bit, and
that was it.
"Wait, Jupiter," Mercury said,
continuing to scan the blood-colored orb. "We shouldn't attack it it
is simply gathering our energy and making itself stronger."
"I have a better idea," Sailor
Uranus announced. She raised her fist. "World Shaking!" And she sent her
golden planet-shaped power towards the eyepatched Negaverse Lord.
Narcissus sidestepped her attack
with a grin. "Oh, I like this," he crowed. "All right then, let's have a
little fun before I send all of you to join your friends." His fist began
to glow with pale violet evil.
"I'm so tired," Sailor Moon
groaned as they stepped into what must be the thirtieth world they had entered
since they'd been trapped in this bizzare place. They'd climbed mountains,
swam rivers, jumped into bottomless caverns, crawled through labyrinth
caves and she was beginning to feel a little less amused with the whole
thing. Her fuku was torn and dirty, and her face was all smudged with
dirt.
Orion turned back, carefully keeping
the pain from her voice as her ankle continued to throb stubbornly. She smiled
tenderly at the tiny Sailor Leader. "We're almost there," she responded kindly,
reaching out to take her hand and steady her. "It will be all right. Just
hang on to me."
Tuxedo Kamen eyed Sailor Orion
with concern. "Are you sure you're all right, Orion?" he inquired. "You look
really pale." Sailor Moon looked up at the colossal Senshi's face, and nodded
in agreement, her face suddenly also filled with worry.
"Yeah, Tuxedo Kamen-sama is right.
You're all white and everything. Are you okay?"
Orion nodded, willing the throbbing
from her ankle into the back of her mind, where she could close it off. She
smiled at them. "I'm just fine, guys." Centauri looked up at her suspiciously,
but didn't say anything. If Orion really wasn't all right, and she was putting
on an act to keep her friends' spirits up, he knew she would not appreciate
it if he spoke up. Sailor Orion brushed a strand of shimmering pale hair
out of her face. "Come on, now. We're almost there."
Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Orion helped
Sailor Moon climb the last few steps of the hi-rise apartment building that
they were apparently struggling through, and as they reached the top, stepped
through into yet another time shift. But this one was different than all
the others they'd been through there was no ground, no sky, no walls
nothing. It was a vast expanse of nothing, solid white, dimensionless, and
silent. Orion breathed a sigh bordering on relief.
"We've found it," she said, her
musical voice sounding oddly flat in this empty space. "This is the
threshhold."
Tuxedo Kamen gazed around them
at the nothing. "All right, what do we do now?" he asked.
Orion closed her eyes, summoning
her Orion Music Sphere. "Now, we let Sailor Pluto know we're in trouble,"
she responded. "Sailor Moon-raise your Moon Rod." Sailor Moon did as she
was told, raising the long red and gold scepter above her head. "Now, I'm
going to combine my power with yours, and Tuxedo Kamen she's going
to need you to help hold her up. This is going to be a lot of power for her
to have to handle all at once." Tuxedo Kamen nodded, and put his own arms
on top of Sailor Moon's, supporting the Spiral Heart Rod along with his beloved.
Orion nodded at Sailor Moon. "All right then." She raised her fist, closed
her eyes, and sang. "Heavenly Symphony!"
The melody of Orion surrounded
them, swirling and concentrating itself on the Spiral Heart Moon Rod. Sailor
Moon also closed her eyes. "Cosmic Moon Power!" she called, as loud as she
could. The Moon Rod began to vibrate, almost violently, as Sailor Orion continued
to pour her strength into it. Tuxedo Kamen kept a firm grip on Sailor Moon's
hands as she struggled to hang onto it. Centauri took a step back as the
tensions in the scepter built. The glow intensified until the Rod was white-hot
with the power, and then the energy burst free in a straight beam of light
that made the surrounding whiteness look gray in comparison. This beam streamed
straight up into the nothing, and lasted for almost ten seconds. When it
finally faded, Sailor Moon fell to her knees wearily, and Sailor Orion, though
she did not fall, looked dangerously close to passing out herself. Tuxedo
Kamen steadied both girls as he looked up into the pale nothingness above
them. "If she didn't hear that, she must be deaf," he declared decidedly,
and Sailor Orion smiled tiredly in agreement.
Far, far away, amidst the darkness
and the stars, a tall silhouette bearing a long staff suddenly turned in
alarm, as a bright beam of light came streaming through the great stone archway.
The figure's eyes widened, and in a smooth, timeless voice, responded. "I
hear you, Princess. I'm coming."
Lord Narcissus cackled gleefully
as another of his lavender power attacks smashed into Sailor Venus, sending
her smashing against the wall, into an ancient painting of a Biblical garden
scene. Her poor battered body joined those of Sailors Mars and Jupiter on
the floor. Sailor Mercury, who had only been struck in the shoulder, struggled
to her feet.
"Shine Aqua-" but she never finished,
because Lord Narcissus chose that opportunity to blast her as well.
"Hey, those are my friends!" Sailor
ChibiMoon protested indignantly. "Take this! Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" She
brandished her little Moon Stick, but nothing happened. Lord Narcissus cocked
an eyebrow at her, and prepared another dark energy bolt. But then, abruptly,
a stream of small pink hearts began to flow from the Moon Stick, bopping
Narcissus in the face. He was forced to duck, and as he did, the stream of
hearts discovered access to his backside, and began to spank him
enthusiastically. Sailor ChibiMoon giggled as the Negaverse admiral hopped
around the room for a moment, trying to escape the smarting little hearts.
But those giggles were cut short as Narcissus gave up on escape and came
straight for her instead, backhanding the littlest Sailor Soldier across
the face, and sending her flying across the room. Her little Moon Stick went
spinning from her hand, as her little form landed on the floor next to Sailor
Mercury.
"Oh, big man you are, to go hitting
a little kid like that," Sailor Uranus taunted, powering up her attack. She
and Sailor Neptune both attacked at once, combining their powers. They struck
the Negaverse admiral, even though he attempted to dodge, and he was knocked
down, but he got back up almost immediately, dripping wet and quite shaken
up, but not at all deterred. Lord Narcissus turned to look at the red Libra
Globe, which was now full sized and ready for more inhabitants, and he grinned.
"Well now," he smirked. "I think
it's time to put the trash in its place." And he lifted his arm.
"Dead Scream."
The two words were barely whispered,
but their effect was magical, as the swirling dark clouds of positive energy
pierced the Libra Globe. The blood-colored bubble shattered, as if it had
been made of glass. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stared in disbelief
at the newcomer. Sailor Pluto had appeared in their midst completely
unexpectedly, and Sailor Uranus' mouth hung open.
"Pluto? How can this be?" she
wondered.
Sailor Pluto nodded briefly at
them, and then turned to face Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Moon and Sailor Orion,
who had been released as the Globe exploded, and were standing, in rather
disheveled state, but nonetheless alive and well. Pluto smiled slightly.
"Someone needed my help." She inclined her head gracefully towards Sailor
Orion. "Orion. We meet again."
The pale-haired Senshi of music
returned the slight nod. "Sailor Pluto." She looked over at Lord Narcissus
pointedly, who suddenly became very uneasy as those silvery eyes locked on
him in fury.
"I'll be back," he shouted quickly,
and then released the jaki's body, escaping back to the Negaverse in his
customary cowardly fashion. The jaki stood there in the center of the room,
a bit dazed.
"Says that often, doesn't he?"
Tuxedo Kamen remarked with a wry grin as Narcissus departed.
Sailor Orion looked at the evil
spirit, then turned to observe the other Senshi, who were still lying, injured,
on the museum floor, and she raised her arm. "Might as well kill two birds
with one stone." The Orion Sphere began to glow as she sang out, "Heavenly
Symphony!" The melody filled the room, and Uranus could feel her strength
flowing back into her as the beautiful music embraced all of them. The black
creature, still confused, melted away into the floor with scarcely a hiss
of displeasure. After a few moments, the fallen Senshi began to revive
again.
Sailor Pluto observed all of this
quietly, her smile still in place. Then she took a step forward. "I thank
you for calling me, Sailor Moon," she said to the petite blonde girl, who
was also slowly regaining her energy from Orion's music. Sailor Moon smiled
back at her.
"You should thank Sailor Orion,"
she said modestly. "I didn't do anything. It was Orion who told us how to
let you know we were in trouble."
Sailor Pluto turned to Orion, looking
up into the taller girl's face. "Then I thank you, Sailor Orion," she said
quietly. "I am very glad that I do not have to miss this particular battle
with the Negaverse."
Orion nodded. "But I have not yet
told them everything," she said quietly to Pluto, and the forest-green hair
swished as Pluto nodded in agreement.
"No. It is too early, and the danger
is too great," she acknowledged. Her garnet eyes narrowed as she regarded
Orion with keen perception. "You are injured," she stated, looking down at
Sailor Orion's ankle. Orion shook her head, and tried to deny it, but it
was too late.
Sailor Moon's eyes widened, and
she looked up at Orion accusingly. "You said you were okay," she admonished,
bending down to look at the tall Senshi's ankle.
Sailor Orion flushed deeply and
stepped away, her sprained ankle wobbling a bit and screaming protestations
at her for moving so quickly. "No, Princess, it's all right. It's only a
sprain"
Pluto shook her head and chuckled.
"Still the same old Orion, aren't you?" she inquired in an amused tone. "Never
willing to admit her own pain." She smiled fondly at Sailor Orion, and then
put a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "It's all right, Sailor Moon. Let her
go. Orion heals very quickly." Sailor Orion cast the Senshi of Time a grateful
look, and then turned to make sure that all the other Senshi were all
right.
"Puu!!" Sailor ChibiMoon cried
with excitement as she realized that Sailor Pluto was present in the room.
There was suddenly a flurry of commotion as the newly revived Senshi rose
to their feet, welcoming Pluto and demanding to know what had happened. Sailor
Neptune turned back to look for Sailor Orion, and ask her what on earth that
bubble thing had been but Orion was gone. Neptune looked up to meet
her partner's glassy gray eyes, and Uranus shrugged. They were beginning
to expect those quick disappearances now.
But as Uranus turned back to the
group of Senshi, who were all chattering excitedly, she frowned to herself.
I don't know what Sailor Orion is up to, she mused. But I'm going
to find out, whether she wants me to or not. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I
can't shake the feeling that there's something not quite right about
her
Back
to Part
Ten
On
to Part Twelve
Back
to the Library
Back
to the Refuge