Ok. I've had the next two chapters written the day I received my first five reviews. I was running on sheer happiness! You really like this! Happy!Happy!Happy! Then I went to post them and found 2 things. 1) I'd gotten two more reviews! HAPPY! HAPPY!HAPPY! 2) I couldn't upload! Noooooooooooooooooo!
After sending an E-mail off to support and begging in my stats screen, the bug was fixed today so you now have more chapters! I've also decided to let it grow a little longer. (It's still no epic.) Because I want to be able to keep posting regularly, and I wanted to keep my chapters manageable.
PLEASE REVIEW! Even if you have already! I want to know if something is too confusing or if you think something should be changed. I really want your opinion on this, please give it. (Also, the more reviews I get, the happier I am. The happier I am, the faster I type. *Hint. Hint.*
Oh yeah. I don't own.
Sue me for writing and receive the following:
The complete Vampire Princess Miyu TV collection,
20 odd anime cd's and
1 annoying little brother Mua-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!!!!!!!!!
Peace Love and Anarchy!
~The Elemental
BTW. Check out the Buffy musical. Even if you hate Buffy, It's worth it. Trust me.
Walk Through the Fire.
Chapter 2:
Death is Never an End
Sitting on a bench, Hotaru watched the children play in the small park in front of her. She yawned.
That walk tired me out more than I thought. Of course it's probably due in part to my entire lack of sleep…She quickly shoved the thought aside. Don't worry now, just relax. The children are playing, focus on that…
They tossed their ball back and forth, not noticing the smaller child staring at them from behind the slide. Hotaru noticed though. His eyes are so dark…I wonder what he's doing…?
The child crept up to the group, who continued their fun, oblivious.
Oblivious that is until the child stabbed another with the pencil he had kept hidden in his hands.
The boy stared in shock as blood seeped through his jacket from the pencil protruding through his arm. Horrified as his brown eyes met eyes not much younger than his own, but so much darker, and filled with hate.
"You'll never take my books again. This'll teach you." The words were so cruel. The small boy ran off, disappearing into the trees bordering the park.
The silence broken, it still took a few seconds for everyone to fully comprehend…and react.
Mass screaming ensued. (Come on, they're kids all of maybe seven? Eight? They've just seen a six year old stick a pencil through their friend's arm. I'd scream too.)
Hotaru immediately leapt into action.
Well, she stood and walked over to help. I've never been the leaping type anyway. A quick assessment of the wound told he all she needed to know.
If you had walked passed the park, not two minutes later, you wouldn't have believed anything had happened there. That is unless you stopped and listened to the children's whispers. Of the boy nobody liked stabbing Robin with a pencil. And of the strange pale girl, who made his wound heal with some strange purple light. And how the same pale girl closed her eyes and cried, then ran as fast as she could towards the Ahikiabarha district…
******
"We'll be there soon. Have you boy's got any questions?" Sally Po stood in the doorframe of their small shuttle in the green and tan Preventor uniform all of the former Gundam pilots were familiar with. You tended to be, if you wore it almost non-stop.
"Just one Sally. Has the faction made any new moves yet?"
"None Duo. I think they're ready, they're just waiting for something. God knows what. You boys clear on the mission?"
"Destroy the satellite whatever the cost. Get out alive. Minimize potential damage to the colonies. We've got it." Heero's monotone voice carried from his position in the cockpit.
"Good. I—
"There's an incoming broadcast covering all frequencies." Quatre's voice tightened. "It's originating from satellite." No one bothered to ask which one.
"Play it."
"Attention all inhabitants of the Earth and Colonies. We, the members of the TRUE New World Government declare ourselves the rightful rulers of the Earth and Colonies alike. We would like to inform you, our citizens, of the true threats to OUR peace. We have issued warrants for the following members who have been tried for treason and found guilty…"
Duo grimaced. And so it begins.
********
Hotaru ran all the way home, tears blinding her.
She'd only intended to look at his wound, take him to the hospital. Ami's mother worked at the hospital not far from the park. But the child's tears…What did they call him? Robin, that was it. He was so scared and confused, Hotaru couldn't help herself. She'd healed the wound.
She had figured out why the other boy had done what he did, from listening to the frightened whispers of the other children. Seemed like no one liked him. That this Robin had stolen the boy's books just yesterday. And had thrown them into a fountain. Everyone teased the boy for being different. I can relate to that…. Still…
No one deserved this.
She had healed the boy's wound, dried his tears…but then.
One small flashback. A small piece of her reoccurring nightmare. But it was enough. The dream hit her like a thousand-pound weight. Everything in it assaulted her mind. And everything it implied tore at her very heart.
She couldn't believe she had managed to run the entire way home without fainting, but she was running on adrenaline and sheer terror. It was enough to strengthen even her weak heart, for a while. Hotaru collapsed on her bed, panting from the exertion. The memory returned.
She watched Saturn, fighting some unknown enemy with the other scouts. A huge Yoma that seemed to have been designed to destroy. Shaped like a bull with a human torso, it was easily ten times larger then the scouts, yet they fought it, holding their own.
They might have won, but they could not see the entire battle, unlike Hotaru, who seemed to be floating somewhere above it all. She could see everything.
She watched as a man clothed in some form of tunic and leggings approach the scouts from behind. Watched as he chanted some strange incantation, calling forth his attack.
Watched as the Senshi fell.
He laughed. They were pitiful, he said. They were going to be defeated by his construct. Laughed as they struggled to get up, to watch both enemies at the same time. The Inners combined their attacks as a last ditch effort to destroy the monster. Their attacks melded into one and hit the demon head on, obliterating it.
Still the man laughed. There were more where that had come from. It was only a construct. Still, he decided he would kill the famous Sailor Senshi himself. It would be fun.
Hotaru shivered. His voice was so cold….
The man shifted, and began to grow. Soon his shape was lost as he became a glowing black and red field of energy.
"I'll kill you all."
Hotaru gasped. She heard him speak. That only happened when…
"I've fallen asleep."
The battle raged on.
One by one, the Senshi fell. It was obvious that they could not defeat the Yoma, this monstrosity…
"Mercury! Venus! NOOO!" Sailor moon ran to the side of her fallen comrades, friends. Their crimson blood staining the sidewalk beneath them.
"You'll pay for hurting my friends." She summoned the Moon Tier
She began her attack. "Starlight…"
Can this work?
Jupiter fell, her thunderbolts reflected back at her at a thousand times the strength. Her eyes stayed open, unseeing.
Wincing, Sailor Moon continued. "Honeymoon…"
What does all this mean?
Mars, Neptune and Uranus collapsed, protecting their princess from a bolt of black energy that ripped through them as though they were paper dolls. Only Pluto, Saturn and Tuxedo Kamen remained to protect the princess.
Tears coursed down her cheeks, leaving distinct trails through the blood and dirt. "Therapy…"
They're all dying! I've got to help them. But—
A single blast took Tuxedo Kamen, Mamoru from their protective circle.
Eyes closed now. Hurt can come later. Grief comes later. "Kiss!"
It's only a dream!
The purest of lights struck the Yoma, blowing a hole straight through it. It collapsed.
Hotaru looked up, tear tracks still wet on her cheeks. The wonder in her voice was enough to tell her that she'd expected them all to die. "They did it."
The creature stirred, then reformed into its former self. Hotaru and the remaining scouts watched in horror as the hole in it's gut filled.
No.
It's just a dream. Just a dream…
The Yoma roared and smashed through Saturn's Silence Wall that surrounded the scouts.
Hotaru watched, horrified as the creature caught Pluto's Dead Scream and threw it back at her. Pluto's screams filled the air for a second of eternity, then the Senshi of Time, and Hotaru's closest thing to a mother, fell, emerald hair creating a halo of green around her head.
I want to wake up now. Please? Anyone?
The Yoma smashed Saturn, sending her crashing through a wall.
So this is what it feels like to watch yourself die. This is the first time I've witnessed my own death…I'd rather have not known….
Can I wake up now?
No one answered, not that she expected anyone to.
It picked up Sailor Moon, shaking her like a rag doll, sending surge after surge of electrical energy through her body.
"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer. The famous Sailor Moon, dead at the hands of me, Vjara!"
Hotaru shuddered violently. That voice was so cold!
Saturn crawled out of the wreckage and once again summoned her Silence Glaive.
"I won't allow you to harm the princess! Silence Glaive Surprise!"
The creature screamed in agony, and for one brief moment, a jewel appeared on its forehead, or whatever semblance of one the thing had.
Hotaru immediately knew somehow that that jewel was the source of the Yoma's power. Apparently, Saturn knew it too.
Leaping, Saturn brought her Glaive crashing down on the center of the beast, but a split second after the jewel had disappeared into its murky depths again.
Both watched in horror as the demon tore the Glaive from her grasp, and used it to impale Saturn straight through the stomach. She had enough time to realize what had happened only to find the Glaive ripped from her body and to her horror, used to impale the unconscious Sailor moon.
Saturn fell.
No!
"NO! NOOOOO!!! This isn't right! It's just a dream! But why does it hurt so much? Why is everyone I care about dying! Why—
Hotaru shot up, covered in sweat and shivering. Just a dream. Just a dream. Don't think about it. Don't focus on anything. It's cold in here. Build a fire. Focus of the fire, firefly.
A few minutes later a fire roared in her hearth. Why does it hurt so much? They're still here…Still alive…It was just a dream. But still…
Why me? Rei's the one with visions. Pluto knows the future…. Why am I having this nightmare? Is it a prophecy? A warning? Why do I have to see this?
Pieces of the dream flashed through her mind and danced in the fire.
Why do I feel so empty?
Raising her hands to the fire to warm them, she frowned when it seemed to make no difference. Moving her hands closer and closer to the flames, she suddenly pulled them back, giving up.
Why am I co cold?
She began to hum, then sing a strangely familiar song she simply couldn't place. Couldn't place until she realized it had been in her dream, hidden behind the screams and shouted attacks.
Unbelievably beautiful.
And strangely chilling.
I touch the fire and it freezes me
I look into it and it's black
Why can't I feel
My skin should crack and peel
I want the fire back
************
"They're using the Zero system! I don't think we can win this one!"
"You said it before Quatre, we're good at these loosing battles!"
"Lets do it!"
Everything's the same. The dolls, the satellite, us. Everything. It's too much. We won't be able to stop them, unless… Duo shot down two more Dolls that were headed to Wufei's Taurus. Not on my watch! I've got to stop the satellite now!
"Guy's we're doing this all wrong! They're dolls; we've got to destroy that satellite! Quatre, can you pick up anything on your scanners? Weak integrity, *crash* exposed fuel lines, anything?"
"I'll check Duo."
"Let's regroup. Wufei! Behind you!" Wufei shifted in time to see a Taurus sneaking up behind him. He turned to face the enemy when it exploded.
"DUO! I would have handled that!"
"You're welcome."
"Kisama!"
"I've got a lock on something! There's a fuel line that runs throughout the *crash* ship. It's only under a few feet of plating and no shielding here." The target appeared on the screen of the five Taurus'. "If we can rupture that line…"
"It'll explode! But can we get near it with all these *crash* Dolls after us?"
"Trowa and Wufei, you'll handle the dolls. Don't worry about destroying all of them, just keep them off our backs. Me, Heero and Duo will attack the satellite with all we've got. Let's go!"
"Roger that."
"Got it."
The suits blasted off to their positions and Duo waited, patiently. If the fuel line didn't rupture with the three of them firing…Happy thoughts. Don't worry about it unless the time comes. Happy thoughts. Keep firing.
A voice crackled over their coms. It was that damned woman! A voice like ice and a laugh that could make you shudder in horror. Duo grimaced. The voice was also completely insane.
"Attention Gundam pilots. We know it is the five Gundam pilots who are attacking us. You will be destroyed. Your only course of action is to surrender to Our mercy. If you continue to attack us, We will be forced to destroy a colony in retaliation. We will destroy you. Surrender."
"Well, THAT was cheerful."
"DUO!"
"We've got to stop the satellite. It's charging its main beam cannon."
"We've been shot at with worse."
"Its target is the L7 colony." Heero's voice was just as emotionless as always, but Duo thought he heard something…tighten? He let it slide.
"If they destroy the colony—
"They're not going to Trowa my man."
"Duo the plan's not working! Our ammo's almost out and we're nowhere closer to destroying the satellite! I don't—
Kicking on his thrusters, Duo began to weave through the dolls ahead of him, approaching the satellite at top speed.
"DUO! What the hell do you think you're doing! Get back here, you'll be killed!
"Sorry Heero. Bullets won't do it, but the explosion of an MS will work. Clear out you guys!"
"Duo!"
"Damnit Duo! Don't do this!"
"You have enough honor, don't destroy yourself for our sakes!"
"Me? Honor? Thanks Wufei…And I have to. It's our mission to save the colonies, remember? They'll destroy L7 if I don't. Trust me…. This is infinitely better than our other option….
"What other option! Duo answer me!"
"Duo don't do this. Please."
"Sorry Heero…I…I've got to…"
"DUO!!!!!"
They continued to yell. Duo ignored them, switching his Video link to audio only. He couldn't face the others. Please forgive me. I couldn't save you the first time. I promise to save you now. Even if it means my death. A fitting end to the Shinigami, death by death.
The woman once again began to speak over the coms as Duo dodged through the thousand or more Mobile Dolls that stood in his way.
"We will not be defeated. We have targeted the L7 and if you do not surrender in one minute, We will destroy the colony." She laughed, and Duo allowed himself to shudder; no one could see him now.
Thirty seconds and I'll be there. Twenty five…Keep dodging, you can't die yet...keep moving. The Dolls he destroyed left him within a constant circle of smoke, fire and debris. More of the haunting song seemed to float into his mind…somehow fitting the morbid deathwalk. A second verse, companion to the first in his dream.
Now through the smoke she calls to me
"You can't possibly win!"
To make my way across the flame
"Surrender!"
To save the day, I'll maybe melt away
"DUOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"
I guess it's all the same
It was their deaths or mine. I am the Shinigami, after all.
Please, all of you, forgive me…
Quatre…
Trowa…
Wufei…
Heero…
I'm sorry it had to end like this.
One final explosion tore through the night…
"DUOO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
********
Heh-hehehehehe! I'm bad, aren't I? But no worries, head on to the next chapter, It went up right after this one!
Please R&R!
I am the Breeze of Wisdom and the Wind of Insanity
~The Elemental.