It was Friday afternoon, and school had just let out. Raven Danellis
had made it through the first week of school.
She had distanced herself from Usagi, and her friends. They all gave
her odd looks from time to time, but the only one who spoke to her was
Usagi.
She walked down the street, towards her apartment when she heard
a small girl screaming in terror. She hesitated, and after a few moments,
she kept walking.
'The fighters of this planet will take care of it.' she thought
to herself.
She kept walking, and the child kept screaming. Raven closed her eyes.
"Damnit." She muttered.
For she couldn't walk away, and she knew it. She just couldn't leave that
girl in the clutches of whatever monster held her.
Raven stepped into an alley, and clutched at the small silver necklace
that she always wore.
"Cosmic Dust Makeup!" She exclaimed. In a flash of light and a
shower of stardust, she was changed from Raven Danellis, into the
CrimsonStar.
"I'm coming child." She spoke, and leapt to the rooftops.
She jumped from building to building, until she saw it. It was a dark
blue creature that looked like an overgrown dog. It had cornered a
small girl, who looked like she was about 7 or 8. the poor girl was
scared out of her mind.
"Stop!" CrimsonStar thundered.
The dog stopped advancing upon the child, and turned to look at the girl
upon the rooftops.
"Born from the tears of pain, and the dust of millions of stars,
I have risen from the ashes to start a new era. One filled with hope,
life and love. I am the CrimsonStar, and in the name of all that is good,
I shall defeat you." she announced. "Now leave that girl alone."
With that, she jumped down from the building, to the street below.
The dog growled, and lunged at her, its teeth gleaming in the sunlight,
and spittle flying in the wind. CrimsonStar stood her ground.
As the dog grew nearer, she brought her left hand up, with her palm facing
the creature.
"Star explosion!" She shouted, and from her palm, a beam of golden
energy burst forward.
It struck the animal, causing it to howl in pain. Soon, it was consumed by
a shining, golden light, and when it cleared, the creature was laying
in the middle of the road, not moving.
CrimsonStar stepped over the fallen creature, and approached the little
girl.
"Its ok." She told her. "The monster is gone, your safe now."
The girl's eyes wandered above CrimsonStar's head, and they grew wide.
Star glanced back, just in time to see the creature coming right at her.
"Uranus World Shaking!"
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
The attacks struck the dog in its side, and it turned to dust. The girl
looked at CrimsonStar, and ran off down the street.
Star stood up, and turned to regard the fighters.
"Who are you?" Their Leader demanded.
CrimsonStar smiled.
"I ask you the same question."
"We are the Sailor Senshi, defenders of justice."
"Well you're late."
"We saved you didn't we?"
Star laughed.
"If you want to think so. I could have handled it."
"Now we know for next time." The blond leader rolled her eyes.
"Next time, don't be late." Star smiled, and then she leapt to
the rooftops, and was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Inner Senshi were gathered at the temple. It was Saturday morning,
and they were talking about the strange girl they had seen the day before.
"Did you see her outfit?" Minako asked them. "She was definitely
a Sailor Scout."
"But it was different." Ami pointed out. "Not very much like
ours."
"Do you think she's an enemy?" Chibi-Usa voiced her concern
"No." Rei shook her head. "There wasn't anything evil about her.
Besides, she saved that little girl."
"Looks like we have another member scouts." Luna said.
"It didn't look like she was so keen on joining." Minako spoke.
"And what was with that comment about being late? We weren't late!"
Usagi fumed.
"Actually," Ami regarded Usagi "If she hadn't been there, that
little girl wouldn't have stood a chance. Who knows what we would have
arrived to."
"So what do we do now?" Makoto asked the two cats.
"We'll have to keep an eye out for her. Find out who she is, and
where she came from." Artamis replied.
"Who knows, maybe this one will be more interested in her duties
than how cute the enemy is." Luna rolled her eyes.
"Hey!" Usagi practically shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you have no sense of duty." Rei piped up.
"Who asked you?" Usagi fumed.
"I think you did, Odango Atama."
"Shut-up you pyro."
"EXCUSE ME?!?!"
"Here we go again." Ami sighed.
The two cats hung their heads while Minako and Makoto laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven added the finishing touches to her painting, and wiped paint off of
her nose with the back of her hand, smearing it even worse.
"It looks great." Avalon complimented her.
Raven smiled. "Thanks."
"So, Raven, is there anything you want to talk about?" Avalon
asked her charge.
"Like what?" Raven asked innocently
"Like the fact that you changed again."
"How did you know about that?"
Avalon laughed.
"I could feel it, you know that. I just wanted to know why you
didn't tell us."
"Its not important." Raven replied, sounding annoyed.
"Yes it is!" Avalon exclaimed. "Your becoming the CrimsonStar
again, its a big deal."
"No, I'm not. If those fighters had been on time, It wouldn't
have been necessary."
"Raven..." Avalon began.
"No. Stop it. I'm not becoming the 'CrimsonStar' ok? Not now, and
not ever again."
Raven slammed her pallet down upon the table, and stormed out of the room.
Avalon sighed.
"If you just left her alone, she'd come around." Atlantis spoke
from his perch by the window.
"She needs to realize just how important this is." Avalon said
"She knows. Just leave her to her own devices Avalon. She can't
help but become CrimsonStar again, Its her destiny. But without Light,
Cat, and the others.. its just painful for her."
Avalon sighed again.
"I suppose your right."
Atlantis walked around, and regarded the picture.
"How ironic." he whispered, as he admired the painting.
It was a painting of the CrimsonStar standing upon a hill on a strange
planet. Her eyes were filled with pain, and in her hand, she held a small,
blue rose.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven breathed in the fresh air as she stepped outside her apartment
building.
In her hand, she carried her journal. She never went anywhere without it.
"Hello there." Someone said behind her.
She whirled around, and came face to face with Hakura.
"Hi." She replied.
"You ok?" Hakura asked her. "You look like you've been crying."
"No, I'm all right." Raven smiled.
Hakura looked up at the building.
"Do you live here?"
Raven looked up at the building too.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Do you want to come to the arcade with me? I'm meeting the
others, And Usagi would freak if I didn't ask you."
"No, that's ok. I have something I need to do."
Raven wondered if she was asking her only because Usagi wanted her to, or
if there was another reason.
"All right. See you later then." Hakura said with a wave.
"Bye." Raven replied, and walked in the opposite direction.
Raven walked down the street towards the park. She turned the corner, and
ran right into somebody.
"Yikes!" Usagi exclaimed, Helping Raven up. "Sorry, I didn't see
you."
"That makes two of us." Raven laughed. "So where are you off to
in such a hurry?"
"I'm supposed to meet the others at the arcade and I'm going to be
late."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry to much about it. I just saw Hakura, and she
wasn't going too fast."
"Great" Usagi smiled. "So what are you doing today?"
"Nothing really. Just going to the park to relax."
"Why don't you come with me?" Usagi suggested.
"No, its ok." Raven replied.
"I insist. The park will still be there tomorrow."
"No, really. I have some things I have to think about."
"Oh, well if your sure." Usagi sounded slightly disappointed.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You had better hurry though, or you will be
late." Raven offered.
"Your right." Usagi exclaimed. "Well I guess I'll see you later
then." And with that, She took off down the street.
Raven shook her head.
'What are the chances. two within the space of a minute.' she
laughed lightly.
As she entered the park, Raven spotted a shadowy figure not 10 feet away.
She turned pale, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Mikka?" She whispered quietly, then repeated it louder. "Mikka!"
The figure turned slightly, and the sunlight streamed across her dark
brown hair. A lock of silver streamed from her temple, and it shined in
the early morning light.
Raven gasped. It was her, Mikka..The CrimsonCat.
But before she could do anything, Mikka turned and fled.
"No. Wait." Raven exclaimed, taking after her.
She chased the figure through the park, just barely managing to keep her
in sight. And as she turned a corner, she lost her.
Raven glanced around wildly, looking for any sign of where she had gone.
Something on the ground caught her eye. It was necklace. A small silver
cat's head upon a silver chain.
Raven knelt down, and picked it up. The clasp at the back had broken.
'That must be why it fell off.' She thought to herself.
She cradled the necklace in her hand, watching the sunlight bounce off of
it. Memories flooded back to her, of a happier time...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mikka's laugh echoed off the walls, sounding like millions of silver
bells. Her pale blue eyes danced with joy.
Then they were all laughing, all ten of them. She was like that. When she
was happy, all those around her were smiling. And when she was sad, there
was no joy to be found. She was the kind of person that you couldn't help
but love.
Her soul mate, Nikkos reached into his pocket and pulled out a long blue
velvet box.
"I have something for you Cat." He said, his eyes turning a
mischievous dark purple.
They were the only ones who's eyes did that. Both Mikka and Nikkos' eyes
changed color depending upon their mood. The other thing that made
Mikka stand apart from the others, was a streak of silver in her dark
brown hair, that flowed from her temple. It was from a time when she was
young, and was attacked by a rouge dragon. Instead of burning her, its
flame created the silver streak in her hair.
The dragon had been chased off by the castle guards, but the silver mark
had remained forever after.
"For me?" Mikka's eyes glittered with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Curiosity killed the cat." Nikkos teased her.
"I'll kill you if you keep me in suspense any longer." Mikka
threatened him.
Laughing, Nikkos gave her the box. She had removed the ribbon gently, and
lifted the lid slowly while the others watched her in anticipation.
Her eyes turned a brighter shade of blue, showing her joy.
"Its beautiful." Mikka breathed.
"Do you like it?" He had questioned her.
She had smiled.
"I love it."
"I thought you might."
"What is it?" Willow asked eagerly.
Mikka removed the gift from its resting place, and held it up for the
others to see. It was a silver cat's head upon a silver-bluish chain.
For eyes, it had tiny sapphires.
Nikkos took it from her hands, and placed it around her neck.
"It looks good on you." He smiled.
Mikka leaned up and kissed him.
"Thank-you." She whispered.
He had only smiled, his blue eyes sparkling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven was snapped out of her dream, by rustling in the trees above her
head.
"I know your still there." Raven spoke aloud. "You wouldn't leave.
Not without this."
She dropped out of the trees, and landed before Raven. Her eyes a steel
grey.
"Give it back." She practically hissed.
Raven held the necklace out, and Mikka snatched it from her grasp.
"Mikka.. I've missed you." Raven said. "Where are the others?"
"They don't want to talk to you. And neither do I."
"How is Nikkos?" She whispered.
Mikka's eyes turned colder.
"He lives, no thanks to you."
"I never meant.." Raven began.
"Save it." Mikka cut her off. "How can you expect us to forgive
you for what you have done?"
"How can you not? Especially you Mikka, my sister."
Her eyes waved then, to a deep blue. Full of pain, and sorrow.
"I almost lost him." She whispered. "He lay there, not breathing. I
almost lost him." She looked at Raven. "After you left, we suffered. You
could have saved us you know. Could have saved us all."
Her eyes snapped back to the cold, unforgiving grey.
"Good-Bye Raven." she said coldly, and leapt into the trees.
"Mikka!" Raven called after her, but she was gone.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and blurred her vision.
She ran too. Away from the park, towards home. She ran, barely seeing
where she was going. Tears flew into the air around her, as her heart
pounded within her chest. Before she knew it, she was at her building.
She ran up the stairs, not waiting for the elevator, and burst
into the apartment.
She closed the down behind her, and collapsed upon the floor, in broken
sobs.
Everything she had run from, for so long, came crashing back upon her.
For a thousand years and more she had hidden from her past. But now, it
had caught up to her. And the pain was more than she could bear.
had made it through the first week of school.
She had distanced herself from Usagi, and her friends. They all gave
her odd looks from time to time, but the only one who spoke to her was
Usagi.
She walked down the street, towards her apartment when she heard
a small girl screaming in terror. She hesitated, and after a few moments,
she kept walking.
'The fighters of this planet will take care of it.' she thought
to herself.
She kept walking, and the child kept screaming. Raven closed her eyes.
"Damnit." She muttered.
For she couldn't walk away, and she knew it. She just couldn't leave that
girl in the clutches of whatever monster held her.
Raven stepped into an alley, and clutched at the small silver necklace
that she always wore.
"Cosmic Dust Makeup!" She exclaimed. In a flash of light and a
shower of stardust, she was changed from Raven Danellis, into the
CrimsonStar.
"I'm coming child." She spoke, and leapt to the rooftops.
She jumped from building to building, until she saw it. It was a dark
blue creature that looked like an overgrown dog. It had cornered a
small girl, who looked like she was about 7 or 8. the poor girl was
scared out of her mind.
"Stop!" CrimsonStar thundered.
The dog stopped advancing upon the child, and turned to look at the girl
upon the rooftops.
"Born from the tears of pain, and the dust of millions of stars,
I have risen from the ashes to start a new era. One filled with hope,
life and love. I am the CrimsonStar, and in the name of all that is good,
I shall defeat you." she announced. "Now leave that girl alone."
With that, she jumped down from the building, to the street below.
The dog growled, and lunged at her, its teeth gleaming in the sunlight,
and spittle flying in the wind. CrimsonStar stood her ground.
As the dog grew nearer, she brought her left hand up, with her palm facing
the creature.
"Star explosion!" She shouted, and from her palm, a beam of golden
energy burst forward.
It struck the animal, causing it to howl in pain. Soon, it was consumed by
a shining, golden light, and when it cleared, the creature was laying
in the middle of the road, not moving.
CrimsonStar stepped over the fallen creature, and approached the little
girl.
"Its ok." She told her. "The monster is gone, your safe now."
The girl's eyes wandered above CrimsonStar's head, and they grew wide.
Star glanced back, just in time to see the creature coming right at her.
"Uranus World Shaking!"
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
The attacks struck the dog in its side, and it turned to dust. The girl
looked at CrimsonStar, and ran off down the street.
Star stood up, and turned to regard the fighters.
"Who are you?" Their Leader demanded.
CrimsonStar smiled.
"I ask you the same question."
"We are the Sailor Senshi, defenders of justice."
"Well you're late."
"We saved you didn't we?"
Star laughed.
"If you want to think so. I could have handled it."
"Now we know for next time." The blond leader rolled her eyes.
"Next time, don't be late." Star smiled, and then she leapt to
the rooftops, and was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Inner Senshi were gathered at the temple. It was Saturday morning,
and they were talking about the strange girl they had seen the day before.
"Did you see her outfit?" Minako asked them. "She was definitely
a Sailor Scout."
"But it was different." Ami pointed out. "Not very much like
ours."
"Do you think she's an enemy?" Chibi-Usa voiced her concern
"No." Rei shook her head. "There wasn't anything evil about her.
Besides, she saved that little girl."
"Looks like we have another member scouts." Luna said.
"It didn't look like she was so keen on joining." Minako spoke.
"And what was with that comment about being late? We weren't late!"
Usagi fumed.
"Actually," Ami regarded Usagi "If she hadn't been there, that
little girl wouldn't have stood a chance. Who knows what we would have
arrived to."
"So what do we do now?" Makoto asked the two cats.
"We'll have to keep an eye out for her. Find out who she is, and
where she came from." Artamis replied.
"Who knows, maybe this one will be more interested in her duties
than how cute the enemy is." Luna rolled her eyes.
"Hey!" Usagi practically shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you have no sense of duty." Rei piped up.
"Who asked you?" Usagi fumed.
"I think you did, Odango Atama."
"Shut-up you pyro."
"EXCUSE ME?!?!"
"Here we go again." Ami sighed.
The two cats hung their heads while Minako and Makoto laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven added the finishing touches to her painting, and wiped paint off of
her nose with the back of her hand, smearing it even worse.
"It looks great." Avalon complimented her.
Raven smiled. "Thanks."
"So, Raven, is there anything you want to talk about?" Avalon
asked her charge.
"Like what?" Raven asked innocently
"Like the fact that you changed again."
"How did you know about that?"
Avalon laughed.
"I could feel it, you know that. I just wanted to know why you
didn't tell us."
"Its not important." Raven replied, sounding annoyed.
"Yes it is!" Avalon exclaimed. "Your becoming the CrimsonStar
again, its a big deal."
"No, I'm not. If those fighters had been on time, It wouldn't
have been necessary."
"Raven..." Avalon began.
"No. Stop it. I'm not becoming the 'CrimsonStar' ok? Not now, and
not ever again."
Raven slammed her pallet down upon the table, and stormed out of the room.
Avalon sighed.
"If you just left her alone, she'd come around." Atlantis spoke
from his perch by the window.
"She needs to realize just how important this is." Avalon said
"She knows. Just leave her to her own devices Avalon. She can't
help but become CrimsonStar again, Its her destiny. But without Light,
Cat, and the others.. its just painful for her."
Avalon sighed again.
"I suppose your right."
Atlantis walked around, and regarded the picture.
"How ironic." he whispered, as he admired the painting.
It was a painting of the CrimsonStar standing upon a hill on a strange
planet. Her eyes were filled with pain, and in her hand, she held a small,
blue rose.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven breathed in the fresh air as she stepped outside her apartment
building.
In her hand, she carried her journal. She never went anywhere without it.
"Hello there." Someone said behind her.
She whirled around, and came face to face with Hakura.
"Hi." She replied.
"You ok?" Hakura asked her. "You look like you've been crying."
"No, I'm all right." Raven smiled.
Hakura looked up at the building.
"Do you live here?"
Raven looked up at the building too.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Do you want to come to the arcade with me? I'm meeting the
others, And Usagi would freak if I didn't ask you."
"No, that's ok. I have something I need to do."
Raven wondered if she was asking her only because Usagi wanted her to, or
if there was another reason.
"All right. See you later then." Hakura said with a wave.
"Bye." Raven replied, and walked in the opposite direction.
Raven walked down the street towards the park. She turned the corner, and
ran right into somebody.
"Yikes!" Usagi exclaimed, Helping Raven up. "Sorry, I didn't see
you."
"That makes two of us." Raven laughed. "So where are you off to
in such a hurry?"
"I'm supposed to meet the others at the arcade and I'm going to be
late."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry to much about it. I just saw Hakura, and she
wasn't going too fast."
"Great" Usagi smiled. "So what are you doing today?"
"Nothing really. Just going to the park to relax."
"Why don't you come with me?" Usagi suggested.
"No, its ok." Raven replied.
"I insist. The park will still be there tomorrow."
"No, really. I have some things I have to think about."
"Oh, well if your sure." Usagi sounded slightly disappointed.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You had better hurry though, or you will be
late." Raven offered.
"Your right." Usagi exclaimed. "Well I guess I'll see you later
then." And with that, She took off down the street.
Raven shook her head.
'What are the chances. two within the space of a minute.' she
laughed lightly.
As she entered the park, Raven spotted a shadowy figure not 10 feet away.
She turned pale, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Mikka?" She whispered quietly, then repeated it louder. "Mikka!"
The figure turned slightly, and the sunlight streamed across her dark
brown hair. A lock of silver streamed from her temple, and it shined in
the early morning light.
Raven gasped. It was her, Mikka..The CrimsonCat.
But before she could do anything, Mikka turned and fled.
"No. Wait." Raven exclaimed, taking after her.
She chased the figure through the park, just barely managing to keep her
in sight. And as she turned a corner, she lost her.
Raven glanced around wildly, looking for any sign of where she had gone.
Something on the ground caught her eye. It was necklace. A small silver
cat's head upon a silver chain.
Raven knelt down, and picked it up. The clasp at the back had broken.
'That must be why it fell off.' She thought to herself.
She cradled the necklace in her hand, watching the sunlight bounce off of
it. Memories flooded back to her, of a happier time...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mikka's laugh echoed off the walls, sounding like millions of silver
bells. Her pale blue eyes danced with joy.
Then they were all laughing, all ten of them. She was like that. When she
was happy, all those around her were smiling. And when she was sad, there
was no joy to be found. She was the kind of person that you couldn't help
but love.
Her soul mate, Nikkos reached into his pocket and pulled out a long blue
velvet box.
"I have something for you Cat." He said, his eyes turning a
mischievous dark purple.
They were the only ones who's eyes did that. Both Mikka and Nikkos' eyes
changed color depending upon their mood. The other thing that made
Mikka stand apart from the others, was a streak of silver in her dark
brown hair, that flowed from her temple. It was from a time when she was
young, and was attacked by a rouge dragon. Instead of burning her, its
flame created the silver streak in her hair.
The dragon had been chased off by the castle guards, but the silver mark
had remained forever after.
"For me?" Mikka's eyes glittered with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Curiosity killed the cat." Nikkos teased her.
"I'll kill you if you keep me in suspense any longer." Mikka
threatened him.
Laughing, Nikkos gave her the box. She had removed the ribbon gently, and
lifted the lid slowly while the others watched her in anticipation.
Her eyes turned a brighter shade of blue, showing her joy.
"Its beautiful." Mikka breathed.
"Do you like it?" He had questioned her.
She had smiled.
"I love it."
"I thought you might."
"What is it?" Willow asked eagerly.
Mikka removed the gift from its resting place, and held it up for the
others to see. It was a silver cat's head upon a silver-bluish chain.
For eyes, it had tiny sapphires.
Nikkos took it from her hands, and placed it around her neck.
"It looks good on you." He smiled.
Mikka leaned up and kissed him.
"Thank-you." She whispered.
He had only smiled, his blue eyes sparkling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven was snapped out of her dream, by rustling in the trees above her
head.
"I know your still there." Raven spoke aloud. "You wouldn't leave.
Not without this."
She dropped out of the trees, and landed before Raven. Her eyes a steel
grey.
"Give it back." She practically hissed.
Raven held the necklace out, and Mikka snatched it from her grasp.
"Mikka.. I've missed you." Raven said. "Where are the others?"
"They don't want to talk to you. And neither do I."
"How is Nikkos?" She whispered.
Mikka's eyes turned colder.
"He lives, no thanks to you."
"I never meant.." Raven began.
"Save it." Mikka cut her off. "How can you expect us to forgive
you for what you have done?"
"How can you not? Especially you Mikka, my sister."
Her eyes waved then, to a deep blue. Full of pain, and sorrow.
"I almost lost him." She whispered. "He lay there, not breathing. I
almost lost him." She looked at Raven. "After you left, we suffered. You
could have saved us you know. Could have saved us all."
Her eyes snapped back to the cold, unforgiving grey.
"Good-Bye Raven." she said coldly, and leapt into the trees.
"Mikka!" Raven called after her, but she was gone.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and blurred her vision.
She ran too. Away from the park, towards home. She ran, barely seeing
where she was going. Tears flew into the air around her, as her heart
pounded within her chest. Before she knew it, she was at her building.
She ran up the stairs, not waiting for the elevator, and burst
into the apartment.
She closed the down behind her, and collapsed upon the floor, in broken
sobs.
Everything she had run from, for so long, came crashing back upon her.
For a thousand years and more she had hidden from her past. But now, it
had caught up to her. And the pain was more than she could bear.