Unmei (Destiny) - Chapter Six
by Angel Eternal
email: angel_eternal_01@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/angel_eternal_01/index.html
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha
TOEI Animation 1992. English Language Adaptation to DiC
Entertainment 1995
Dragon Ball Z is copyrighted to Akira Toriyama
None of these characters belong to me.
*in the SM dimension*
An icy wind rushed past her neck, sending shivers down her spine.
Ami gestures to Minako to close the window. Minako gladly obliges.
Minako goes to the bedside; she looks down at Rei.
Never had Rei looked so fragile, so lifeless.
A shudder racked Minako's thin body; she forced a sob back. She
cannot submit to tears, without Usagi, she was the leader of the Senshi.
How heavy the mantle of responsibility was, yet she savoured it.
Minako took Rei's hand, willing her own life force to pulse in Rei's veins.
Makoto pushes back the thin curtain, and gazes up at the darkening
sky.
"Something is happening, I can feel it - like ice in my veins. Why hasn't
Setsuna come back?" Makoto growled, feeling helpless.
Ami sighed, "She will come back when she can."
Artemis who was curled at Rei's feet, stretched and opened his eyes.
"Has anyone checked on Luna lately?"
Minako nodded, "Michiru found her yesterday - she's with them now."
Satisfied, Artemis drifted back to sleep.
Ami gazed at him, envying his ability to sleep - something she hadn't
done properly for a while.
Rei stirred, the others rushed to her side. They watched intensely, as
her eyelids fluttered open. She stared up at them, her violet eyes wide
and uncomprehending.
"Rei?" Ami ventured tentatively.
Rei blinked, and her eyes focused. "Ami?"
They all let out sighs of relief,;Makoto went to fetch a doctor.
Minako sat next to Artemis, waking him gently.
Rei blinked, and her eyes focused on the window. "Kage..."
The whispered word filled the entire room, chilling them all.
Minako took Rei's hand, "Rei-chan? It's Minako..."
Rei grasped her hand tightly, "Where is she?"
Minako frowned, "Who Rei-chan?"
"Usagi? Where is she?" Rei was becoming frantic.
Ami shook her head sadly, "Rei-chan, she hasn't come back."
"Iie!" the word erupted in an anguished howl. "She has to be here!
We are doomed!"
Makoto returned with the doctor, who seeing Rei in her frenzied
state quickly sedated her.
Rei fell back against the pillows, falling once more into sleep.
Ami and Minako exchanged glances, now worried about more then
their friend's health.
A day later, the doctors said it was okay to take Rei home, and they
did so speedily, not wanting to leave her there for longer then necessary.
Rei stared into the flames, she turned to Minako who had walked in
with Luna.
"Minako? I need to tell you..."
Minako sat next to Rei, attempting to comfort her, "Shush Rei-chan,
you need to rest."
Impatient, Rei shoved away her hand. "Iie Minako! This is important -
my vision - it was horrible!"
Luna jumped up on the bed. "Slowly Rei, slowly."
Taking the cat's advice, Rei took a deep breath. "Hai - I saw...a man.
He had this aura of evil around him."
Minako was startled, this was what Hotaru had claimed she saw in
her dream, "Go on."
"He is coming. He knows that our protector and our light is not here.
Minako we have to get Usagi back!"
"She is absolutely correct."
They turned, and saw Pluto at the threshold.
The others filed in after her, Michiru went straight to Rei, as did Hotaru.
Haruka stood by the door, "Are you going to tell us what is going on
now?"
Pluto nodded, and motioned for everyone to sit.
Once they had done so, Pluto took a deep breath. "He's coming."
Haruka detested these half-answers. "Who is?"
But it was Rei who answered her. "Kage - the god of darkness and
destruction."
Pluto nodded gravely. "I feared this would happen now that Usagi is
gone - but I did not expect him to come so soon."
However, before anyone could process this, all was plunged into
darkness.
"You are all mine..."
*in the DBZ dimension*
Usagi was smashed into the unforgiving ground; she let out a litany of
curses, struggling to catch her breath, she pushed her hair out her eyes,
and glared up at Vegeta, who hovered above her. He had already
crossed his arms, in what Usagi now saw as his only pose.
"Given up chibi onna?"
Usagi growled, and pushed herself off the ground. She launched herself
at him, but he was too quick for her, he appeared behind her, and
viciously kicked her in the back. Usagi hissed, her scream of pain,
clenched between her teeth. She would not allow him the satisfaction of
hearing that.
Vegeta smirked, "Weak - that's what you are - my son has taught you
nothing."
Usagi glared at him, but refused to answer his taunts. She jumped to
her feet, and moving her arms in a complicated pattern, she thrust her
hands out, firing Trunks' Burning attack.
Vegeta easily matched that with a ki blast. Frustrated, Usagi unleashed
a powerful Kamehameha wave, which Vegeta matched with his
Gallic-Ho.
Then Vegeta did something, that neither Trunks or Gohan ever did
while training her - he powered up to Super Saiyajin level.
Surprised, Usagi was knocked back into a mountain.
Vegeta halted his assault, and hovered over her, his eyes a glassy green,
as his golden aura flared around him.
"Had enough chibi onna?"
Usagi looked up, surprising Vegeta with the fury that he saw in her
cerulean eyes. "Iie."
She thrust her hand out, calling on the power of the moon, "Crisis
- Make-up!"
Vegeta looked away as the light that blasted from Usagi blinded him,
when he looked again, Sailor Moon stood before him.
Vegeta studied her in this new form, "Well this I haven't seen before -
tell me chibi onna - how did you fight in that short fuku?"
Moon smirked, "Like this."
She grabbed her tiara, charging it with her ki she threw at Vegeta.
Vegeta, unprepared for this sort of attack was disorientated when it
hit him on the temple. Acting swiftly, Moon kicked him in the gut,
then thrust her hands out. "Rainbow moon heart ache!"
The power spun from her hands and hit Vegeta.
Vegeta was thrown into the mountain. He did not expect her power
to rise to this level so quickly, with no apparent effort. Not only was
she stronger, she was also much faster - in short she now matched
Vegeta in his Super Saiyajin form, and that irked him to no end.
While he was still embedded in the rock, Moon placed her hands before
her forehead, gathering her ki there.
Vegeta emerged from the rubble, but Moon was ready, "Masenko..
HA!" the powerful ki blast
Vegeta was knocked back into the rubble, when he emerged, Moon
was fully prepared to continue her attack, but he held up his hand in
protest. "Matte! When did Kakkorot's brat teach you that?"
It took a second to register that he meant Gohan, Usagi shrugged,
"He didn't teach it to me."
Vegeta stared at her incredulous. "Impossible! Chibi onna, are you
trying to tell me that you learnt it by observation?"
Usagi shrugged, "He was being a baka, so I just studied him."
Vegeta snorted, "I don't believe you!"
Usagi landed softly in front of him, "Who taught me your
Kakusanyudokodan?"
Vegeta crossed his arms, and glared at her, "What's your point?"
Usagi copied him, arms crossed, ferocious glare. "I learnt it by
watching you spar with Goku!"
Vegeta glared at her, then huffed away.
Usagi smiled, smugly.
*in the SM dimension*
Instinctively, Minako transformed into Sailor Venus - her hand already
poised to unleash her Chain.
The figure stepped from the darkness, the Senshi could see that it was a
man, he kept out of direct sunlight. Venus shuddered when she felt his
aura of evil which was wrapped around him like a heavy mantle.
"So hasty - I want this moment to last..." Venus saw the flash of a smile.
"Don't bother attacking me, it will be a waste of your energy and my
time. Let us handle this civilly." His voice was silky smooth, the tone
deep and reassuring, but nothing about him reassured Venus, every
muscle in her body was coiled and ready to strike, but she felt a hand
on her elbow. She looked up and saw Ami behind her.
Ami was staring ahead, her face carefully devoid of any emotion. She
stared at him, her eyes trying in vain to pierce the darkness that surrounded
him. "What do you want?"
He smiled at her, "The princess of Mercury I assume? You are as lovely
as I remember - and as calm and collected."
Rei stared at him, hatred growling in her stomach like a starved beast.
It clawed at her, demanding release.
Swiftly she transformed. Mar glared at the figure, venom dripping from
every syllable. "I'm giving you precisely five minutes to talk, before I
rip your stomach out."
The figure stepped out of the darkness, for the first time giving them an
opportunity to study him.
His hair was dark, and fell into pitch black eyes. His skin was white as
marble and looked as hard and cold as the stone. He was draped in
black velvet, he possessed the body of an athlete. He smiled at Mars.
His white hand, reaching out to touch her hair.
Mars was repulsed by the idea of such a creature touching her, she
made a move to push his hand away, but she felt energy binding her still.
All she could do was glare at him with every ounce of loathing she could
muster.
"Rei..." his voice rumbling over her name, "You are stunning - my fiery
goddess."
Haruka growled, she was on the verge of rushing to Mars' side, when
Michiru stopped her. Michiru's marine eyes never left the two - she
wanted to learn as much as possible about this threat.
Mars spat out one word. "Kage."
He smiled, "Ah - so you heard me whispering."
He turned his dark eyes on the rest of the Senshi. "It is futile to try and
stop me. You know you are nothing without her." the very last word
he spat out, as if he despised it.
Ami stepped closer. "What makes you think she won't come back?"
Kage smiled at her. "Beautiful water child - you know she won't."
His gaze settled on Hotaru. "My dark beauty."
Hotaru shrank from his gaze, and nothing could prevent Haruka from
leaping in front of her.
Kage merely smiled at them, and then bowed, "I am sure I would see more
of you - but for now - I have a world to attend to."
With swirl of dark fabric he was gone.
*in the DBZ dimension*
Vegeta stared at Usagi's serene expression. He knew Usagi's past -
though the young girl was sketchy on the details, but he could tell by her
eyes that she had seen too much.
It never ceased to amaze him, that this girl before him, a seemingly helpless
girl had lived two lifetimes, Vegeta could not possibly imagine
remembering another life so vividly. It would drive him insane.
"Tell me about it."
Usagi looked up startled. "Tell you about what?"
"That other world - that kingdom."
Then Usagi understood - Vegeta had lost his world, his people, who
else could understand but her?
"It was dazzling, nothing in this time or in this place could ever compare."
She stared into the fire. "I guess that's why it came as such a shock."
"What did?"
"That night, one night, one moment and it was all gone. I was powerless
to stop it, but I had one thing. In all the chaos, in all the destruction, I held
onto one thing." Usagi looked up, her heart was aching. "I held onto
him, and I believed he was all I would ever need."
Vegeta realised what the difference was between him and this fallen
princess. He had nothing. She had everything.
"That hasn't changed has it?"
Usagi shook her head, "There's doubt."
Vegeta stared into the flames. "Usagi, you've been given another chance.
Don't be sad." then he looked at her, and the final clue clicked into place.
He saw death in her eyes.
Usagi kept staring into the flames, and then suddenly she began to get dizzy,
she could not pull her eyes away from the flames, a whisper flitted
past one ear. Her head whipped to the side, trying to follow that voice -
a voice that was so familiar.
Vegeta noticed her looking around, her blue eyes wide. "Usa? What is
it?"
We need you...
Rei - in one blinding flash, Usagi was hurtled back into a world that she
had left behind. She saw destruction around her; Usagi began to weep
as she saw the past repeat itself.
The disorientation vanished and she found herself at the jinja - staring at
Rei.
Rei!
Rei smiled gently. We need you Usagi - come back...onegai
Usagi stared at her, and found that she could not move. Iie - she was not
back in her own dimension - Rei had reached between the fabrics and
found a rip.
Rei...
We need you
"Usagi!"
Usagi gasped and when she opened her eyes she found that she was in
Vegeta's arms. His expression worried. He shook her again. "Chibi
onna!"
Usagi sat up, blinking and dizzy, then she shook her head firmly.
"We need to go to Dende."
With that she took to the sky, leaving a befuddled Vegeta.