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The fire consumed the building. Cries and shouts could be
heard inside and sirens were in the distance, getting louder with every
passing second.
Lita screamed from under the rubble as the flames licked her legs,
desperately searching for something to help continue its
blaze.
"Calm down," Sage commanded, sounding annoyed.
"My legs are gonna be on fire soon!"
Sage cursed which frightened her even more than the approaching
flames. Sage had the cleanest mouth out of everyone she knew.
"Okay," Sage took the lead, "It seems as though there's one huge piece on
top of us. Kale, I need your help. Together we should be able
to lift this up and get away." There was no response from the
Warlord. "Kale?"
"He's alive," came Ami's voice. "and conscious. There's
something pressing against his throat so he can't speak."
Oh, how I hate these near death situations, The Warlord
thought dryly. He was pinned thoroughly and couldn't
budge.
"I... I think Ami and I can help you lift this," came Lita's
strained voice. Silence. Her heart seemed to drop as the
silence grew longer. What happened to Sage? Suddenly, she
heard the Samurai coughing ferverently.
Together, the three of them pressed their hands against the flat
surface in front of them and began to push with all the strength they
could gather. The flames had finally settled upon Lita's legs and
began to destroy her layers of skin. The fire was right on top of
Ami's portion of rock and the heat was slowly burning her hands.
Sage, although he was nowhere near the blaze, was suffering from a severe
blow to the head. Blood poured from the cuts and stuck to his now
unperfect hair. Lasping into unconsciousness would be all to easy
for him, but somehow he managed to stay awake.
There appeared to be no end to their struggle and their pain, but
they made progress and continued to lift. Lita pulled her charred
legs closer to her body as soon as there was room, absently letting a
whimper out of her throat. The rock lifted enough for Kale to be
free and he helped to push.
When the piece was off, Sage took a deep breath. The heat
from the flames sent his mind swirling. He was dizzy yet calm and
peaceful. He tried to fight it, but he was too tired to fight it
this time... too tired...
Lita began walking again as soon as she was able which was the day
after the fire. She was visited frequently by her comrades excluding
Serena. Instead of telling her the news, Dais trapped her in an
illusion and Usagi would be unaware of the passage of a day or two.
Everyone except Sekhmet objected, but they were unable to break her out of
it. Kale and Ami were the only two who weren't confined to a bed for
any amount of time.
The brown-haired Senshi instantly searched for Sage. He
sounded so strong and confident when he took the lead, who would've
thought that he was the one with the worst condition? Fortunately,
he was out of danger and the doctors expected him to wake up some time
soon. Makoto smiled when she saw him. Seiji was still kawaii
and his hair was still beautiful albeit dirty and tossed awkwardly in
order for the bandages to cover his wounds effectively.
Serena grumbled awaking from her "nap" when everyone returned as
Dais got rid of his illusions.
"Thank God! I'm glad that was just a dream!" She
exclaimed. Raye asked her what she "dreamt" about. "It was
autumn and... There was all this food And candy!" Her
eyes clouded up, "But I couldn't eat any! Something was preventing
me from getting all that candy! F-finally, I got it and...
Wah!! It was a monster! Then, I saw Mamo-chan and he...
he..." Usagi burst into tears. He was a pint-sized geek
even dorkier than Melvin! Darien appeared in the room and she
grasped her true love in a big firm hug.
Raye, wondering what kind of illusions Dais made her see, glanced
inquisitively at Dais who merely smirked.
"You say the entire police station burnt down?" asked
Pikachu. They left Mamoru and Usagi alone while they discussed the
event. Sage was combing his wet hair, trying to get the hair on the
other side of his face to cover his swollen shampoo-filled eye. One
of the first things he did when he returned from the hospital was wash his
hair. Instead he got hair covering both eyes and was
desperately working on fixing the problem.
"Yes, but our cell was the only part of it that was bombed," Ami
explained.
"The cult is most likely responsible," Kale commented. Sage
shook his head vigorously and his hair returned to its normal style,
covering only one eye.
"I
don't think so," said Raye. "Our enemies usually send monsters after
us."
"They aren't normal villains," Ami informed. "The Magia might
be involved in this somehow."
"If the Magia's involved," Mina wondered, "we can just let her
defeat Dura."
"Magias have a tendency to let other people do the work for them
unless they deem it a situation of extreme importance," said Dais.
"I highly doubt she will help us in this matter."
Quatre Raberba Winner walked outside a few inches at a time.
He had turned the coffee machine on, but what really prevented him from
falling asleep at the table was a deep breath of clean air. He was
okay with getting out of bed at 5, 6, or 7 in the morning and sleeping at
the table for an hour (by that time the scolding coffee would be safe to
drink), but then Duo started coming over with his newly recuited lackey,
Trowa. He did not want to be conked out when they barged into his
house.
Quatre stretched, walked back into his house and poured himself a
cup of hot coffee. He also got himself a bowl of cereal and wondered
how many bites will pass until they showed up. Six very slow bites
of breakfast went by when they appeared. Duo came in after getting
yesterday's mail out of Quatre's mailbox. Trowa promptly sat on the
couch and began reading Quatre's yesterday's newspaper that he picked off
the unused driveway. This happened every day for about a month now
ever since Hiro started sleeping late.
"You seem to be famous lately," Duo chirped, reading a
letter.
Quatre made a short grunt of interest, his mouth full, and tried to
read the letter from where he sat.
"You've gotten what, one of these every day?"
Quatre swallowed. "What is it?"
"Another invitation to a Cult convention." Duo tossed the letter on
the table.
"Oh." He picked it up, wondering who was going to give the
sermon.
"You're not gonna go, are you?" Duo questioned.
"It depends on who's going to preach. I have attended a
couple of those before, you know."
Trowa heard many different things about the cults, but not enough
to obtain a clear opinion about them. "Is that a religious
group?"
"Sort of, but not really. They preach about pacifism and this
one peaceful Creator. The ideals of obtaining peace among the
priests and priestess are different though and some are more religious
than others. I might attend this one." Priestess Mishalli
would be in charge of the sermon.
Duo spoke up. "They call this Creator 'The Messiah.'
Eh, I'm against the naming of the Creators. I'm all for pacifism,
but I don't like it when they give the Creators a name." Quatre was
about to object, but Duo stopped him. "I know, I know. It's a
title and not a name, but I still don't like it."
"Just think of this Messiah as a figurehead," said Trowa.
"Something that doesn't exist, but is symbolic."
He
heard enough to feel comfortable making a statement like
that.
"Now, Quatre, yesterday, I found this lovely little woman and she's
real nice and all, but she's just not my type. I already have a
girlfriend," Duo smirked at that last comment. "Anyway, this girl I
found, she's really cute and so kawaii. I mean, you-"
"Duo," Trowa interrupted, "Let Quatre stay single for awhile.
That line of discussion is getting very old."
"Come on, Trowa. Even you have to admit that what Quatre
really needs is a woman. She loves the violin and those classical
bands."
"Actually, I would enjoy staying single for a few more years," the
gentle pilot spoke. What I really need is to finish eating,
he thought, noticing the last few bites were a bit soggy from the
milk.
"A
few more years!" Duo shrieked. "You'll be an old man!"
"What's wrong with that?" Quatre was genuinely puzzled. Trowa
flipped the newspaper page as Duo remained silent, stunned by that
comment.
After their meal, Wildfire and Strata went to wipe out the soldiers
that escaped from the portal while Torrent and Hardrock flipped TV
channels lazily. Mia was on the phone with one of her
friends.
"Taking care of tin cans is such a chore, isn't it?" Sai called out
when they returned. Kento began flipping channels again as a
commerial came.
"We never encountered natural portals like that before our Anime
was dubbed," Rowen said accusingly, taking off his armor and sitting near
the TV with a book. Messiah-worshippers are always so
anti-dubbing. They tend to blame it for about half of the problems
in the Realm, but everyone had to agree with Rowen on that comment.
Those portals only started appearing after the Samurai Trooper Anime was
dubbed into Ronin Warriors.
Kento yawned and felt like tossing the remote to Sai or Ryo, but
didn't know if he would go to sleep directly afterwards. Well, at
least he finally has a religion, Hardrock thought, even more tempted
to toss the remote. Thinkers usually need proof in order to believe
anything. They have no faith. Kento didn't agree with Rowen's
choice of religion, but at least he has a firm beleif in
something.
Ryo leaned back on the couch, too restless to go to sleep although
he was tired. Boredom mixed with restlessness is not a very good
combination of emotions and often makes a person feel like doing something
not mature. Rowen was busy digging his eyes into a book. Ryo
glanced at the cover and peered inside over Rowen's shoulder.
Just what I thought. Too advanced for me... Bed crossed
his mind, but he would merely toss and turn. I'm so
bored...
"Kento, what's Kousei doing in the capital? I thought the
Majol tribe usually avoids the capital," Wildfire asked.
"She's studying Creochi energy. Yogenchi thinks it's
important or something."
"Oh." Creochi energy... The lifeblood of the
Realm... Does Kento know what he's gotten himself into?! A
Magia is the strongest living being in this Realm! "How's she
going to get here? Are we gonna pick her up or
something?"
Kento raised his hand in the air, "Hey, Sai! Catch!" he
tossed the remote. "She'll call the day before she gets here.
I'm thinking that Sai will drive me over there to pick her up." Only
two people in the group were of legal driving age. Sai and
Mia. Mia was naturally older and Sai was older than the rest by one
year.
"Pick her up where?" Torrent wondered.
"Depends on where she calls from."
The Trooper of Trust looked at the bookworm, "Hey, Rowen, perhaps
you could ask her some questions about the war. The Majol tribe is
supposed to have more accurate information about the Great War, especially
the Magia. Same goes for capital scientists too."
"Hm, I might," he said without moving his eyes away from the
book. Books and computers were the two things the Trooper of
Intellect revered most aside from his newfound religion which was slowly
taking up more of his time. No mercy would come to those who dared
burn a book or defenestrate a computer.
"Kale! Dais!" Ami shouted from upstairs. "What are you
doing with my bed?! Put it down now!"
"We're moving it," Kale explained. "What else does it look
like?"
Ami could not get onto him for that comment. Although it
seemed rude, she knew him well enough to know he meant it as a sincerity,
but she was still a little fumed. "Why?" she
questioned.
"Well, you've slept in your 'bed' once or twice since we've got
here. Most of the time you sleep in the same room as the
portal. That's why Dais and I are moving it to the portal's
room."
Yogenchi waited humbly in her wagon home, surrounded by other
wagons which were part of the nomadic life of the Majol tribe. The
cards had told her of an inevitability of extreme importance so she
postponed their arrival to a nearby town for tomorrow. From this
inevitability a life may be saved or lost.
She fixed herself a cup of tea, temporally dwelling on the
past. She remembered when she first came into this strange new world
as a sad, confused, and innocent child. I suppose I am still a
little confused. I have long since accepted the fact that no one can
understand everything.
There were many territories and characters she needed to visit and
lecture. The Realm seemed so much larger no, when in fact, it had
gotten smaller with the destruction of the southern hemisphere.
Yogenchi remembered before the Messiah was the Messiah - when he was a
lost child as well. I still pray to God, she told herself
silently, lighting the candles.
She was still in the process of lighting the scented candles when
the door opened and Dura stepped in. The Magia knew she had to be
delicate with her words since a life hanged in the balance of this
conversation. "Hello, Dura. It has been two weeks since you
left your army. I, however, was preoccupied with other
matters." It was no secret that the Magia spied on his priests and
priestesses. "I had spoken to Durog a few days ago. He's still
rather delusional."
"I
had training and sharpening my skills for a battle." She hoped that
the Messiah and the Magia were still neutral.
"Seiji and Makoto are not dangerous enemies to the Messiah,"
Yogenchi said simply. "I'm sure the Messiah has told you about the
woman who destroyed the southern vortex with her electricity and
thunderbolts?"
"Yes, I was wondering if you could an augury for me. Durog
told me that you predicted a Senshi would be the greatest danger to the
Messiah. I know very little about the Magias or the
Majols."
Yogenchi sighed mentally. She was not in a delicate mood and
was used to speaking bluntly. People came to her for help for
centuries and blunt was generally the best way to handle things.
"Auguries are not always the best thing. Some people foolishly wish
to believe that every single augury is an inevitability. That is
Durog's flaw. He reminds me of Kushrenada, except Treize actually
understood the concept of a fluid future and multiple paths.
Occassionally, I do everything in my power to make my auguries
false."
"Oh. Are you enemies with the Messiah now or are you still
neutral?"
Yogenchi smiled sadly. Dura was also a decently blunt
woman. "I hope to remain neutral though I do disagree greatly with
what he is trying to teach and accomplish. We were once very close
friends, but that was so long ago. It frightens me how far apart
we've gotten. The entire Realm is tensing up for yet another
momentous event. It is child's play to foretell an important event
in the near future if you know the proper signs to look for. I fear
that history will repeat itself despite my best efforts."
Pikachu arose from its pillow and gave a little pout. It had
tried to for hours, but a now a good nights sleep seemed impossible.
Although it's natural instictive clock had a warped sense of time, it knew
the time was late enough for everyone else to be asleep. Slowly, it
walked over to the small groups, wondering if there were any conversations
it could participate in.
Sekhmet and Mina were having their own conversation.
Something about Pokemon. Sekhmet was speaking, "There are plenty of
people who feel the exact same way that we do. There is still an
island without a designated Anime. Pokemon is the problem and it is
better to relocate one Anime than the dozens that are affected by
it."
It
had heard similar speeches before. Pikachu stood up on its hind
legs, "You're not going against us, are you Mina? There's
nothing wrong with Pokemon." The furry animal was kicked out of that
conversation.
The electric mouse went upstairs and gently pushed open the door to
the fifth room. Sailor Mercury sat on her knees in front of the
portal, staring intently at her mini-computer with her visor over her
eyes. Kale in full armor was slouched in a corner, polishing his
sword. An open book laid by his side.
"How's the portal going?" Pikachu asked.
"Both Sailor power and Armor power should be able to open this when
I am finished," Mercury replied.
"She's almost finished," Kale commented.
"Okay. That's good," Pikachu didn't feel like talking and
went to explore more of the shack.
There was an extensive storage space, long since abandoned to
cobwebs and mold. Its nose hurt from the heavy amount of dust and
sneezed frequently when it first entered. The place was littered
with broken crates and other signs of obvious unuse. A faint light
could be seen farther down and sounds could be heard. Pikachu was
soon able to tell who it was. The local karate maniac was busy with
her work.
Lita stopped suddenly to sneeze.
"Very," the Senshi agreed. Then, she sat down on a stool she
cleaned off earlier. "You're not able to sleep,
either?"
"No. Ami's almost done with the portal."
"Yeah, I know. Sage is in his room, meditating. I can
never understand how a person can do that. I'd fall
asleep."
"He hasn't meditated for about a week now. Probably
understandable since Mina left him alone recently. What are you
going to do after this is over?"
Lita shrugged. "Normal stuff." I have to find out
how Dura took away my electric attacks...
Not finding any sliver of an idea, she asked, "Why are you and Sage going
to Irumsa anyway? I didn't think Pokemon had anything to do with the
Samurai Troopers."
"We, um, we lost something there on an eariler visit and we're
going to get it back."
"Oh. Why don't you take a plane? It's alot
quicker."
"We want to keep a low profile. Sage would be very
embarrassed if we were seen together. I can't believe this building
has a storage space this big."
"I
found it the other day. Ami thinks this building might be a relic
from the Great War."
Footsteps could be heard and they turned their heads to see Sage in
sub-armor. "It's finished" was all he said.
Yogenchi sighed. There were times when she absolutely
hated what she was doing, but she had given up too much to quit
now. Carefully, she began to shuffle her cards. Perhaps she
had done the wrong thing in telling Durog what her cards said that one
time.
When Durog heard that a Senshi might be the greatest threat to the
Messiah's rule, he adamantly told his "Creator" to destroy them. The
Messiah, pacifist, refused to cause harm to anyone. The notion of
doing something without the Messiah's permission never occured to
Durog. Eventually, the story got twisted and the "might" turned into
an "absolutely." Dura did not believe him until she learned that the
prediction came from the Magia. Even though you hate someone you can
still agree with their beliefs. Christans dislike other Christans
and Vegans dislike other Vegans. Dura convinced Durog to help her
raise an army which eventually led into this mess...
Cautiously, the Magia placed a few cards in front of her, reading
their predictions and realized she messed up and told the cards the wrong
thing. The prediction was too widespread and big events were always
happening in someone's life. Smiling cause it's been years since she
made a mistake, Yogenchi shuffled the cards again. This time she did
it correctly.
Things were going as expected. Recca was still an imbecilic
fool who was probably frothing at the mouth this very moment and needed to
get beaten unconscious by some common sense. The Gundam Pilots from
Wing were still charming although they and their territory are slowly
being engulfed by the Messiah and his cult. The same thing was
happening to the other territories. She had neglected the Samurai
Trooper's territory which was in dire need of a visit.
The scientists at the capital are still arrogant and ignorant to
the approaching danger despite her best efforts to educate them.
They had isolated themselves from the territories and put Osamu's hard
work to shame.
Yogenchi gathered her cards and put them back in her pouch.
Then, she blew out her candles and made her way towards her
bed. |
