Part IV
The city maintained its usual life as the people of it had no idea what was to come. Fighter looked out of the palace window at the people below. The Princess had decided that they shouldn't tell the population of the city for fear that it would create a mass panic and chaos would soon spread ramped.
They were just leaving them out there, unsuspecting with their doom stalking them. They had no idea what lay under their feet as they walked through the city streets. The past couple of days had been quite and there were no signs of escaping souls. 'I can't just wait here until they decide to attack.' Fighter thought to herself as she turned from the window and walked across the room.
She had to save these people, it was her duty and life to do so. A doubt hit her that she couldn't do it alone but she quickly pushed it away as she heightened her pace through the massive palace. "Where are you going now?" Maker asked.
Fighter stopped in her tracks and turned to face her ally. The look on Fighter's face was explanation enough for Maker as she knew she was headed down to the Catacombs below. "Are you coming?" Fighter asked.
Maker nodded. She knew she couldn't let Fighter go at it alone and wished there was another way. She too felt the helplessness of waiting, like sitting ducks. Maybe if they began the battle before the dark forces regained all of their powers they could cut it off and defeat them. "Should we tell Healer?"
Fighter remembered her outburst from a few days ago. Healer and her hadn't spoken since and perhaps it was for the better. She knew Healer understood now and the tears she shed that night were proof enough of her remorse. It was time to end this. "I'll get her." Fighter turned to Healer's quarters. "Find us jackets so that people don't get alarmed."
Maker nodded and knew what Fighter was referring to. If the royal senshi guards were seen walking around the city of Cata in the middle of the day people would become suspicious and believe that there was something wrong. So to hinder any thoughts that might be stirred up they would disguise themselves.
He was gone. Usagi sat alone in her room with her thoughts. School had seemed to be extra long today, although she couldn't remember anything about it. Usagi had been off in her own world lately. She would occasionally let bits and pieces of the real world in but it was never enough to bring her back.
How did she get through this last time when he was gone? Yes, that's right she had Seiya here with her. In many ways she considered him her best friend though they had only known each other for a short time. Her thoughts began to drift again. She remembered the times she shared with the Lights when they were here.
'I wonder how they are doing?' She laid herself out in a comfortable position on her bed. She missed the Lights as anyone would miss a friend that moved away. One thought would lead her to another as she soon found herself thinking of her friends, Rei, Ami, Makoto and Minako.
Why weren't they enough now? Why was it that now that Mamoru was gone that her friends couldn't fill the void that he left? Was there something more to Seiya than she had originally let on?
'I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been with Mamoru when I met Seiya?' Usagi found herself thinking of a life with Seiya. She quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. 'Why am I thinking of him in that kind of way? It could never have been and it could still never be. Could I have had feelings for him?. Why did I immediately think of him and not the other two Lights?'
The phone rang and cut off Usagi's thoughts.
"Healer?" Fighter asked as she pushed open the heavy door. The room was dark and only the faint light from a split in the curtains could be seen. "This is a little decorating no-no in your book isn't it?" She tried to joke with her to break the tension of the situation she had now put the two of them in.
Healer seemed to appear from the shadows. She pushed open the curtains to let the daylight in. "I was thinking." She smiled at Fighter, something she hadn't expected.
"You can't think with the lights on? Well, now that explains a lot of your dumb ideas." Fighter laughed at herself as she saw Healer's expression twist into a pissy face. That was the Healer she knew.
"What did you want anyway?" She crossed her arms on her chest as she waited for her answer.
Fighter's expression turned serious as she again began to speak. "Maker and I can't just sit around here, we're going out. Are you with us?"
Healer said nothing and just nodded as Maker entered the room with three trench coats draped over her arm. "Let's go."
"Hello?"
"Usagi? Is that you? You don't sound like yourself." Rei's voice rang over the phone.
"Hello Rei. Yeah, it's me. What's up?" Usagi's mood quickly shifted as she talked with Rei. She was back to her chipper self and tried to show no emotions about the fact that Mamoru was gone.
"I was wondering what you were doing this afternoon?" It seemed like everyday conversation that Rei and Usagi would normally have but she knew that Rei had an alterier motive. Taking Usagi's mind off of Mamoru.
"You don't have to do this. But if you want, you can come over here later."
Rei felt a little uncomfortable that Usagi thought that she was just calling her to take her mind off of Mamoru when that wasn't true at all. "Alright, I'll come over. I'll be there around five, ok?"
"Alright. Ja ne!" Usagi hung up the phone and fell back on her bed in her previous position.
I was nice to know that Rei was concerned for her and appreciated her thoughtfulness. With thoughts of Seiya still in the back of her mind Usagi began to think of all the times that Rei told her she wouldn't let her have a date with Seiya. 'Did she really think I was trying to get him alone?'
"What's wrong Usagi?" Luna jumped up on the bed beside Usagi who appeared to be deep in thought. "You look like you have more on your mind than usual."
Usagi turned her head to look at Luna. "You know me too well, I swear." Usagi sighed and knew that Luna would understand anything that she had on her mind but for some reason hesitated in telling her that she had been thinking of Seiya.
"Yes, I do."
The streets were crowded, just as they were any other day. It was amazing that the people were so consumed with their everyday life that no one noticed the powers growing and surging beneath them. The three Starlights said nothing to one another as they made their way through the city.
The streets were crowded and forced the three to walk in a single file line. Fighter paid close attention to the passerbyer's faces as the mingled in with one another. She would try to imagine what was on their minds as they passed. It helped to take her mind off of the true problem at hand. Why was she always looking for a distraction? She was strong enough to think things through, why did she always stop and try to avoid them?
Maker brought up the rear looking somewhat like Dick Tracy. Healer was in the middle, she still seemed to be consumed by her thoughts from earlier. One man in general caught Fighter's eye. She had spotted him at a distance and followed him with her eyes through the crowd. He seemed to be making his way towards her also. Before she knew it he was right in front of her. The man grabbed Fighter by the shoulders, he moved very quickly, and brought his face close to her ear and breathed in a whisper. "We're heeerreeee!" It was a faint hiss but Fighter made it out.
Before she knew what was happening the man had disappeared back into the crowd from which he had emerged. Fighter turned back around to see if Healer or Maker had seen the unusual occurrence that had just taken place. They didn't appear to have and so Fighter turned her attention back to the path ahead of her.
While on their way through the city Fighter began to notice men, women and children smiling knowing smiles at her. They appeared to be almost evil. They had singled Fighter out and chose her to give this sadistic smile to. Fighter had no idea what was going on and knew that she shouldn't converse with the people of the city.
They soon made it to the edge of the city, to the limits. Fighter knew that neither of her companions saw or heard any of the sights that she had witnessed and didn't bother to ask them. They slid down the steep embankment and down to the lower level of ground, to the openings of the catacombs.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Fighter asked as she realized that she was not being followed into the darkness.
There was a certain fear paralyzing Healer and Maker, a voice of reasoning of sorts telling them not to go into the cavern again. They knew that they couldn't listen to this voice however, they couldn't just turn around and run to the safety of the palace this time. They had to face it, them.
Their feet soon started moving on the ground and they had to forcefully drag themselves to Fighter's side at the opening. It was now or never.
Nothing seemed different from the last time they had come here. It was still dark as ever even though it was daylight outside. As they ventured in deeper though one difference made itself apparent. There was an indescribable stench emanating from deep within the labyrinth. The smell became more and more pungent as they ventured deeper. No one spoke for fear of startling or stirring something that they weren't ready to come in contact with.
They were soon in the area of the first set of rooms containing the bones. They looked in and noticed them to be the same as they had left them, and still pressed on. The hallway forked in to different halls. They decided that splitting up would not be a good idea and all ventured down the middle hall. This was the hall that the stench seemed to be coming from.
Their thinking was that if they follow the stench, they would find what they are looking for. Did they even know what they were looking for? No, and the Princess definitely would not have approved of this. Maker stopped in her tracks as an eerie feeling crept up on her. Healer and Fighter noticed her sudden stop and turned to see what was wrong with her. Maker shook her head, she really had no idea what had just come over her but the moment had passed.
They walked by more tomb rooms and noticed that the rooms were empty in this hall. That was strange. Every room up until these few had been piled high with the bones of past warriors. Why would these be empty? Their question was soon answered as Fighter found the origin of the smell.
Rotting and decaying flesh. There were rooms filled with bodies, it had been the smell of death. The bodies were carelessly piled on top of one another and looked as though they were diseased. Fighter held her nose as she looked more closely at the bodies. There were men, women and children. She gasped when her gaze fell upon one body in particular.
It was the body of a small girl that Fighter had seen planting flowers with her mother in the royal gardens just the day before. These bodies had just been placed here. They had just been killed.
"We should get out of here." Maker commented. "I have something to discuss with you, I would appreciate it if it was not here that we did so." Maker had been examining the bodies and Fighter knew that she had figured out the cause of death. Fighter and Healer nodded and they made their way back out of the tunnels.
Usagi went to the door as the bell chimed for the second time. The rain had started up and she felt bad that she had left her visitor at the door so long. The door opened to display a dry Rei with a gray umbrella. "What took you so long Odango Atama?" She stormed past Usagi who seemed to be in shock. "What are you so amazed at? I told you I was coming by."
Rei's hand waved in front of Usagi's eyes as she came back to reality. What was it with today, she had tried all of this time to forget one person and every though she had today led her to his memory. "Nothing. Yeah you did. so what do you want to do?" She shut the door and turned to the living room.
Rei realized her mistake and immediately felt bad. She knew that Usagi had missed Seiya and the others after they left. They all did, but it wasn't like the way Usagi did. Rei had never let on that she knew anything about it. She figured that now that Mamoru was back Usagi would resume her old habits and become herself again. She had to admit, she did a great job of hiding it. "I was just thinking that we didn't hang out as much as we used to. I miss spending time with you, and I don't think that we need yomas attacking the planet to make an excuse to see each other."
When the three were out in the daylight once again they noticed just how dark it had been in there. The darkness had begun to over whelm them and every feeling of despair that they had ever felt could not have compared to it.
"The courpses in there were drained. Something or some one has sucked their souls away. From the looks of it they fed off of their souls until there was nothing left and then discarded the bodies here, where they once laid." Maker spoke as she walked back towards the palace.
"So you're saying that these things have infiltrated the city?" Healer was astonished and couldn't believe that this had been going on under their noses.
"It appears that way, and this isn't something that just started yesterday. They must have been doing this for a while before Fighter found the catacombs." Maker looked around at the faces of the people in the crowd as she walked past them.
"I saw it in them on our way out of the city." Fighter said as she looked straight ahead with a stone face. "One of them came up to me and said that they were here. Cocky little bastards." She scuffed as she remembered the incident.
Healer and Maker began to notice the same thing that Fighter had in the faces of the people around them. The dark forces must have been collecting the souls of the people in Cata to fuel their plans for domination. They had to get back to the palace quickly and warn the Princess before it was too late.
The city maintained its usual life as the people of it had no idea what was to come. Fighter looked out of the palace window at the people below. The Princess had decided that they shouldn't tell the population of the city for fear that it would create a mass panic and chaos would soon spread ramped.
They were just leaving them out there, unsuspecting with their doom stalking them. They had no idea what lay under their feet as they walked through the city streets. The past couple of days had been quite and there were no signs of escaping souls. 'I can't just wait here until they decide to attack.' Fighter thought to herself as she turned from the window and walked across the room.
She had to save these people, it was her duty and life to do so. A doubt hit her that she couldn't do it alone but she quickly pushed it away as she heightened her pace through the massive palace. "Where are you going now?" Maker asked.
Fighter stopped in her tracks and turned to face her ally. The look on Fighter's face was explanation enough for Maker as she knew she was headed down to the Catacombs below. "Are you coming?" Fighter asked.
Maker nodded. She knew she couldn't let Fighter go at it alone and wished there was another way. She too felt the helplessness of waiting, like sitting ducks. Maybe if they began the battle before the dark forces regained all of their powers they could cut it off and defeat them. "Should we tell Healer?"
Fighter remembered her outburst from a few days ago. Healer and her hadn't spoken since and perhaps it was for the better. She knew Healer understood now and the tears she shed that night were proof enough of her remorse. It was time to end this. "I'll get her." Fighter turned to Healer's quarters. "Find us jackets so that people don't get alarmed."
Maker nodded and knew what Fighter was referring to. If the royal senshi guards were seen walking around the city of Cata in the middle of the day people would become suspicious and believe that there was something wrong. So to hinder any thoughts that might be stirred up they would disguise themselves.
He was gone. Usagi sat alone in her room with her thoughts. School had seemed to be extra long today, although she couldn't remember anything about it. Usagi had been off in her own world lately. She would occasionally let bits and pieces of the real world in but it was never enough to bring her back.
How did she get through this last time when he was gone? Yes, that's right she had Seiya here with her. In many ways she considered him her best friend though they had only known each other for a short time. Her thoughts began to drift again. She remembered the times she shared with the Lights when they were here.
'I wonder how they are doing?' She laid herself out in a comfortable position on her bed. She missed the Lights as anyone would miss a friend that moved away. One thought would lead her to another as she soon found herself thinking of her friends, Rei, Ami, Makoto and Minako.
Why weren't they enough now? Why was it that now that Mamoru was gone that her friends couldn't fill the void that he left? Was there something more to Seiya than she had originally let on?
'I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been with Mamoru when I met Seiya?' Usagi found herself thinking of a life with Seiya. She quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. 'Why am I thinking of him in that kind of way? It could never have been and it could still never be. Could I have had feelings for him?. Why did I immediately think of him and not the other two Lights?'
The phone rang and cut off Usagi's thoughts.
"Healer?" Fighter asked as she pushed open the heavy door. The room was dark and only the faint light from a split in the curtains could be seen. "This is a little decorating no-no in your book isn't it?" She tried to joke with her to break the tension of the situation she had now put the two of them in.
Healer seemed to appear from the shadows. She pushed open the curtains to let the daylight in. "I was thinking." She smiled at Fighter, something she hadn't expected.
"You can't think with the lights on? Well, now that explains a lot of your dumb ideas." Fighter laughed at herself as she saw Healer's expression twist into a pissy face. That was the Healer she knew.
"What did you want anyway?" She crossed her arms on her chest as she waited for her answer.
Fighter's expression turned serious as she again began to speak. "Maker and I can't just sit around here, we're going out. Are you with us?"
Healer said nothing and just nodded as Maker entered the room with three trench coats draped over her arm. "Let's go."
"Hello?"
"Usagi? Is that you? You don't sound like yourself." Rei's voice rang over the phone.
"Hello Rei. Yeah, it's me. What's up?" Usagi's mood quickly shifted as she talked with Rei. She was back to her chipper self and tried to show no emotions about the fact that Mamoru was gone.
"I was wondering what you were doing this afternoon?" It seemed like everyday conversation that Rei and Usagi would normally have but she knew that Rei had an alterier motive. Taking Usagi's mind off of Mamoru.
"You don't have to do this. But if you want, you can come over here later."
Rei felt a little uncomfortable that Usagi thought that she was just calling her to take her mind off of Mamoru when that wasn't true at all. "Alright, I'll come over. I'll be there around five, ok?"
"Alright. Ja ne!" Usagi hung up the phone and fell back on her bed in her previous position.
I was nice to know that Rei was concerned for her and appreciated her thoughtfulness. With thoughts of Seiya still in the back of her mind Usagi began to think of all the times that Rei told her she wouldn't let her have a date with Seiya. 'Did she really think I was trying to get him alone?'
"What's wrong Usagi?" Luna jumped up on the bed beside Usagi who appeared to be deep in thought. "You look like you have more on your mind than usual."
Usagi turned her head to look at Luna. "You know me too well, I swear." Usagi sighed and knew that Luna would understand anything that she had on her mind but for some reason hesitated in telling her that she had been thinking of Seiya.
"Yes, I do."
The streets were crowded, just as they were any other day. It was amazing that the people were so consumed with their everyday life that no one noticed the powers growing and surging beneath them. The three Starlights said nothing to one another as they made their way through the city.
The streets were crowded and forced the three to walk in a single file line. Fighter paid close attention to the passerbyer's faces as the mingled in with one another. She would try to imagine what was on their minds as they passed. It helped to take her mind off of the true problem at hand. Why was she always looking for a distraction? She was strong enough to think things through, why did she always stop and try to avoid them?
Maker brought up the rear looking somewhat like Dick Tracy. Healer was in the middle, she still seemed to be consumed by her thoughts from earlier. One man in general caught Fighter's eye. She had spotted him at a distance and followed him with her eyes through the crowd. He seemed to be making his way towards her also. Before she knew it he was right in front of her. The man grabbed Fighter by the shoulders, he moved very quickly, and brought his face close to her ear and breathed in a whisper. "We're heeerreeee!" It was a faint hiss but Fighter made it out.
Before she knew what was happening the man had disappeared back into the crowd from which he had emerged. Fighter turned back around to see if Healer or Maker had seen the unusual occurrence that had just taken place. They didn't appear to have and so Fighter turned her attention back to the path ahead of her.
While on their way through the city Fighter began to notice men, women and children smiling knowing smiles at her. They appeared to be almost evil. They had singled Fighter out and chose her to give this sadistic smile to. Fighter had no idea what was going on and knew that she shouldn't converse with the people of the city.
They soon made it to the edge of the city, to the limits. Fighter knew that neither of her companions saw or heard any of the sights that she had witnessed and didn't bother to ask them. They slid down the steep embankment and down to the lower level of ground, to the openings of the catacombs.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Fighter asked as she realized that she was not being followed into the darkness.
There was a certain fear paralyzing Healer and Maker, a voice of reasoning of sorts telling them not to go into the cavern again. They knew that they couldn't listen to this voice however, they couldn't just turn around and run to the safety of the palace this time. They had to face it, them.
Their feet soon started moving on the ground and they had to forcefully drag themselves to Fighter's side at the opening. It was now or never.
Nothing seemed different from the last time they had come here. It was still dark as ever even though it was daylight outside. As they ventured in deeper though one difference made itself apparent. There was an indescribable stench emanating from deep within the labyrinth. The smell became more and more pungent as they ventured deeper. No one spoke for fear of startling or stirring something that they weren't ready to come in contact with.
They were soon in the area of the first set of rooms containing the bones. They looked in and noticed them to be the same as they had left them, and still pressed on. The hallway forked in to different halls. They decided that splitting up would not be a good idea and all ventured down the middle hall. This was the hall that the stench seemed to be coming from.
Their thinking was that if they follow the stench, they would find what they are looking for. Did they even know what they were looking for? No, and the Princess definitely would not have approved of this. Maker stopped in her tracks as an eerie feeling crept up on her. Healer and Fighter noticed her sudden stop and turned to see what was wrong with her. Maker shook her head, she really had no idea what had just come over her but the moment had passed.
They walked by more tomb rooms and noticed that the rooms were empty in this hall. That was strange. Every room up until these few had been piled high with the bones of past warriors. Why would these be empty? Their question was soon answered as Fighter found the origin of the smell.
Rotting and decaying flesh. There were rooms filled with bodies, it had been the smell of death. The bodies were carelessly piled on top of one another and looked as though they were diseased. Fighter held her nose as she looked more closely at the bodies. There were men, women and children. She gasped when her gaze fell upon one body in particular.
It was the body of a small girl that Fighter had seen planting flowers with her mother in the royal gardens just the day before. These bodies had just been placed here. They had just been killed.
"We should get out of here." Maker commented. "I have something to discuss with you, I would appreciate it if it was not here that we did so." Maker had been examining the bodies and Fighter knew that she had figured out the cause of death. Fighter and Healer nodded and they made their way back out of the tunnels.
Usagi went to the door as the bell chimed for the second time. The rain had started up and she felt bad that she had left her visitor at the door so long. The door opened to display a dry Rei with a gray umbrella. "What took you so long Odango Atama?" She stormed past Usagi who seemed to be in shock. "What are you so amazed at? I told you I was coming by."
Rei's hand waved in front of Usagi's eyes as she came back to reality. What was it with today, she had tried all of this time to forget one person and every though she had today led her to his memory. "Nothing. Yeah you did. so what do you want to do?" She shut the door and turned to the living room.
Rei realized her mistake and immediately felt bad. She knew that Usagi had missed Seiya and the others after they left. They all did, but it wasn't like the way Usagi did. Rei had never let on that she knew anything about it. She figured that now that Mamoru was back Usagi would resume her old habits and become herself again. She had to admit, she did a great job of hiding it. "I was just thinking that we didn't hang out as much as we used to. I miss spending time with you, and I don't think that we need yomas attacking the planet to make an excuse to see each other."
When the three were out in the daylight once again they noticed just how dark it had been in there. The darkness had begun to over whelm them and every feeling of despair that they had ever felt could not have compared to it.
"The courpses in there were drained. Something or some one has sucked their souls away. From the looks of it they fed off of their souls until there was nothing left and then discarded the bodies here, where they once laid." Maker spoke as she walked back towards the palace.
"So you're saying that these things have infiltrated the city?" Healer was astonished and couldn't believe that this had been going on under their noses.
"It appears that way, and this isn't something that just started yesterday. They must have been doing this for a while before Fighter found the catacombs." Maker looked around at the faces of the people in the crowd as she walked past them.
"I saw it in them on our way out of the city." Fighter said as she looked straight ahead with a stone face. "One of them came up to me and said that they were here. Cocky little bastards." She scuffed as she remembered the incident.
Healer and Maker began to notice the same thing that Fighter had in the faces of the people around them. The dark forces must have been collecting the souls of the people in Cata to fuel their plans for domination. They had to get back to the palace quickly and warn the Princess before it was too late.
