Chapter 7
Who Are You?
Zukamori sighed. she grumbled to herself. The
five women around her seemed to agree.
Having no memory of herself and finding that she couldn't speak,
Zukamori had gone to the Palace hoping to find some kind of answer to
her questions.
The Senshi had sensed her entering the Palace and gone to see who
it was. After a brief encounter with the mute girl, they moved to
another room, not wanting the Queen or King to know of Zukamori yet.
"They have enough problems to deal with now," Minako reasoned.
"Let's see what we can find out about her first, then we'll decide what
to do."
But now, another thought was running through Minako's head.
she thought. Unknown to the other Senshi, she
and Hotaru know a little more about Zukamori than they were letting on.
Rei ran a hand through her hair as she said, "We aren't getting
anywhere." She looked at the girl in the chair at the center of the
room. "You *sure* you can't remember anything?"
Zukamori shook her head.
"Do you have anything with you besides that knife?"
Zukamori thought about that. I never did check my pockets. If I
have any, that is. She shrugged as she stuck her hands into her
pockets. Her hand bumped against something. Quickly she pulled it out.
In her hand was a white crystal that was the size of her palm.
"A crystal?" Minako said as she stepped up closer. Zukamori looked
up at her and shrugged her shoulders again.
"This is great," Makoto grumbled. "Yet another mystery. Can
anything be more frustrating?!"
I agree, Zukamori thought. She sighed as she leaned
back in the chair. she mentally screamed in
frustration.
Rei's head jerked slightly. A pulse of energy hit her. It wasn't
strong enough to nock her down, but it wasn't weak enough not to notice
it. The others did the same thing.
"What was that?!" Ami gasped as another pulse came.
*CRASH*
A vase in the room shattered. The flowers blew also.
*CRASH*
Ami backed away from the mirror just as it blew.
"What going on?!" Hotaru shouted as another vase shattered.
"Let's get out of here! NOW!!" Minako ordered. No one argued as
the chandelier on the ceiling exploded, sending a deafening crash that
echoed through the halls.
As they entered the hall, the light fixtures above them blew one
by one as they passed under them.
Then, as soon as it started, the lights stopped blowing up. The
women came to a halt.
"What was that?!" Makoto gasped between breaths.
Zukamori shook her head roughly, trying to clear her thoughts.
Images flashed in her mind.
*FLASH*
Zukamori found herself standing in some time of wasteland. The ground
was covered with bluish-white sand. Huge columns of white marble
scattered the area, the tops and bottoms looked as though they had been
ripped apart. A woman with long hair stood beside her. She, herself, was
younger. About five or six years old, her mind told her. The woman
spoke, but Zukamori didn't hear any words. The woman motioned to
something in from of them. On one of the columns of marble, another
woman lay. She had silver hair that was styled in 'odango'. Her blue
eyes were glazed over. Dead. A name came to mind. 'Queen Serenity'.
Zukamori looked above her. In the black sky, there was a blue globe.
Several pink balls entered the globe's atmosphere.
*FLASH*
"....kamori! Zukamori!"
Zukamori shook her self out of the trance.
"You okay?" Minako asked. "You kinda spaced out there."
Zukamori weakly nodded, not knowing is she really was okay.
Suddenly, her eyes couldn't focus. Her legs wobbled slightly as she
pressed a hand to her forehead. She collapsed to the ground.
----------
"So the captive got away," the one-eyed boy said to himself.
a voice in his head said.
"But what about the--"
"Two months? That long?"
----------
The young queen jerked. "Who's there?" she said.
"What?!"
Serenity looked around the balcony she was on to see who had
'spoken'. No one was there besides her. She shuddered. That voice. She
had heard it before. Somewhere. She looked around once more before
quickly heading inside.
----------
The dungeon was dark except for the scattered torches the were evenly
spaced out on the wall. All of the cells were empty.
All but the one closest to the main door.
In that cell, a young woman was chained erect. The only thing
between herself and the stone wall was her long white hair that fell
down to her knees. Her wrists and ankles were bloody where the shackles
held her, showing signs of struggle. A white mist suddenly filled her
cell. The mist disappeared into her body. Her head snapped up as she
took in a deep breath.
Her golden eyes looked around the cell. She shook her head. she thought.
----------
A large tombstone was surrounded by people dressed in black. Almost all
of them were crying. Especially one particular woman with silver hair
and blue eyes.
Beside her there stood a small girl with blonde hair and curious
hazel eyes. Slowly the people parted reluctantly until the woman and
child where left. The woman took a shaky breath as she stooped down so
she could look at the girl in her eyes.
"I know this is hard for you to understand now," the woman said
gently to the girl, "but time has run out." The woman reached into her
black cloak and pulled out a white crystal. "This is ours, by
birthright. I should have given it to you sooner, and I didn't. I'm
sorry. Please keep it with you."
The girl cautiously took the box and looked it over.
The woman hugged the girl tightly as she said, tears welling up in
her eyes again. "Use it to protect Serenity. She will be your Queen
soon, and you will serve her instead of me. Please."
----------
"Hey! Wake up!"
Zukamori slowly opened her eyes. She sprang up.
"I guess she's okay," Rei said.
"It would appear so," Ami muttered as she pressed a few keys to
her mini-computer. "But according to this, her energy level is almost
zero." She looked over the top of the computer. "For this to be true,
though, she would have had to expel a great amount of her original
energy. That part I believe, but the question is--" she snapped her
computer shut and looked down at Zukamori as she shakily stood, "--how
did she expel it?"
They all looked at her strangely.
Zukamori started to think. Then it dawned on
her.
Ami saw the light in her eyes and said, "Do you know how?"
Zukamori shrugged and shook her head, meaning, "Not sure."
"Well, just try."
Zukamori turned and pointed to the light fixtures that had blown.
Then she pointed down the hall to the room they had been in. She turned
back. she thought. Zukamori pointed to
herself, then made a exploding motion with her hands, then pointed back
the lights.
"You made the lights blow?" Hotaru asked.
Zukamori clapped her hands once and nodded. She pointed back to
the room.
"And the vases and the mirror?" Hotaru said.
She nodded again.
Ami thought about that. "It's possible. Her energy might have been
that pulse we all felt and it might have caused everything to shatter."
Zukamori said as she reached into
her pocket. Her hand felt the edges of the crystal.
----------
Adonis walked around the place, trying to find something to do. he thought. He turned a corner and came across a pair of
large double doors that reached up to the ceiling. Each door had designs
finely chiseled into it. Adonis stepped up to the door on the left. It
was made of white stone. Its design consisted of almost life-sized
angels with large wings perched on their back. Each angel in itself was
unique with it's own face and wing pattern. Near the top of the door
there was an angel that was larger than the others were. That particular
angel had it's arms raised and their head turned upwards.
One of the other angels caught his attention. It was about eye
level with him. Adonis traced the outline of its elegantly shaped face.
The angel had short hair that stopped just after its shoulders. Its eyes
looked back at him intently. It's face seemed familiar somehow.
"Snap out of it, Adonis," he told himself. "It's just a door."
He turned and looked at the other one. The one on the right was
black. It had images of people with wings as large as the angels did,
but they were like bat wings. Their faces each held an evil smirk. At
the top of that door, like the other one, there was a bigger one of
those creatures, poised like the angel opposite to it.
At the very top of the doors, there were words. Adonis read them
outloud.
"'In one, there is always two.'"
Suddenly the ground under him began to shake.
Pang of slight pain ran through Adonis. He pressed his hand
against the side of his head. He had felt it before when...
"No!" he gasped when he realized what was happening. He ran back
the way he came, pausing at the corner. He turned back to the doors. The
angel he had noticed before seemed to draw his attention even more. He
shook his head before running to warn the others.
----------
NEXT: Everyone finds themselves unable to leave the Palace. Meanwhile
the mysterious woman, who warned Serenity about Nemesis' attack, makes
another appearance. Who is she? Is she friend or foe? What did Zukamori
see? Did she live during the Silver Millenium? What is behind the
strange doors Adonis found?
__________
Who Are You?
Zukamori sighed. she grumbled to herself. The
five women around her seemed to agree.
Having no memory of herself and finding that she couldn't speak,
Zukamori had gone to the Palace hoping to find some kind of answer to
her questions.
The Senshi had sensed her entering the Palace and gone to see who
it was. After a brief encounter with the mute girl, they moved to
another room, not wanting the Queen or King to know of Zukamori yet.
"They have enough problems to deal with now," Minako reasoned.
"Let's see what we can find out about her first, then we'll decide what
to do."
But now, another thought was running through Minako's head.
she thought. Unknown to the other Senshi, she
and Hotaru know a little more about Zukamori than they were letting on.
Rei ran a hand through her hair as she said, "We aren't getting
anywhere." She looked at the girl in the chair at the center of the
room. "You *sure* you can't remember anything?"
Zukamori shook her head.
"Do you have anything with you besides that knife?"
Zukamori thought about that. I never did check my pockets. If I
have any, that is. She shrugged as she stuck her hands into her
pockets. Her hand bumped against something. Quickly she pulled it out.
In her hand was a white crystal that was the size of her palm.
"A crystal?" Minako said as she stepped up closer. Zukamori looked
up at her and shrugged her shoulders again.
"This is great," Makoto grumbled. "Yet another mystery. Can
anything be more frustrating?!"
I agree, Zukamori thought. She sighed as she leaned
back in the chair. she mentally screamed in
frustration.
Rei's head jerked slightly. A pulse of energy hit her. It wasn't
strong enough to nock her down, but it wasn't weak enough not to notice
it. The others did the same thing.
"What was that?!" Ami gasped as another pulse came.
*CRASH*
A vase in the room shattered. The flowers blew also.
*CRASH*
Ami backed away from the mirror just as it blew.
"What going on?!" Hotaru shouted as another vase shattered.
"Let's get out of here! NOW!!" Minako ordered. No one argued as
the chandelier on the ceiling exploded, sending a deafening crash that
echoed through the halls.
As they entered the hall, the light fixtures above them blew one
by one as they passed under them.
Then, as soon as it started, the lights stopped blowing up. The
women came to a halt.
"What was that?!" Makoto gasped between breaths.
Zukamori shook her head roughly, trying to clear her thoughts.
Images flashed in her mind.
*FLASH*
Zukamori found herself standing in some time of wasteland. The ground
was covered with bluish-white sand. Huge columns of white marble
scattered the area, the tops and bottoms looked as though they had been
ripped apart. A woman with long hair stood beside her. She, herself, was
younger. About five or six years old, her mind told her. The woman
spoke, but Zukamori didn't hear any words. The woman motioned to
something in from of them. On one of the columns of marble, another
woman lay. She had silver hair that was styled in 'odango'. Her blue
eyes were glazed over. Dead. A name came to mind. 'Queen Serenity'.
Zukamori looked above her. In the black sky, there was a blue globe.
Several pink balls entered the globe's atmosphere.
*FLASH*
"....kamori! Zukamori!"
Zukamori shook her self out of the trance.
"You okay?" Minako asked. "You kinda spaced out there."
Zukamori weakly nodded, not knowing is she really was okay.
Suddenly, her eyes couldn't focus. Her legs wobbled slightly as she
pressed a hand to her forehead. She collapsed to the ground.
----------
"So the captive got away," the one-eyed boy said to himself.
a voice in his head said.
"But what about the--"
"Two months? That long?"
----------
The young queen jerked. "Who's there?" she said.
"What?!"
Serenity looked around the balcony she was on to see who had
'spoken'. No one was there besides her. She shuddered. That voice. She
had heard it before. Somewhere. She looked around once more before
quickly heading inside.
----------
The dungeon was dark except for the scattered torches the were evenly
spaced out on the wall. All of the cells were empty.
All but the one closest to the main door.
In that cell, a young woman was chained erect. The only thing
between herself and the stone wall was her long white hair that fell
down to her knees. Her wrists and ankles were bloody where the shackles
held her, showing signs of struggle. A white mist suddenly filled her
cell. The mist disappeared into her body. Her head snapped up as she
took in a deep breath.
Her golden eyes looked around the cell. She shook her head. she thought.
----------
A large tombstone was surrounded by people dressed in black. Almost all
of them were crying. Especially one particular woman with silver hair
and blue eyes.
Beside her there stood a small girl with blonde hair and curious
hazel eyes. Slowly the people parted reluctantly until the woman and
child where left. The woman took a shaky breath as she stooped down so
she could look at the girl in her eyes.
"I know this is hard for you to understand now," the woman said
gently to the girl, "but time has run out." The woman reached into her
black cloak and pulled out a white crystal. "This is ours, by
birthright. I should have given it to you sooner, and I didn't. I'm
sorry. Please keep it with you."
The girl cautiously took the box and looked it over.
The woman hugged the girl tightly as she said, tears welling up in
her eyes again. "Use it to protect Serenity. She will be your Queen
soon, and you will serve her instead of me. Please."
----------
"Hey! Wake up!"
Zukamori slowly opened her eyes. She sprang up.
"I guess she's okay," Rei said.
"It would appear so," Ami muttered as she pressed a few keys to
her mini-computer. "But according to this, her energy level is almost
zero." She looked over the top of the computer. "For this to be true,
though, she would have had to expel a great amount of her original
energy. That part I believe, but the question is--" she snapped her
computer shut and looked down at Zukamori as she shakily stood, "--how
did she expel it?"
They all looked at her strangely.
Zukamori started to think. Then it dawned on
her.
Ami saw the light in her eyes and said, "Do you know how?"
Zukamori shrugged and shook her head, meaning, "Not sure."
"Well, just try."
Zukamori turned and pointed to the light fixtures that had blown.
Then she pointed down the hall to the room they had been in. She turned
back. she thought. Zukamori pointed to
herself, then made a exploding motion with her hands, then pointed back
the lights.
"You made the lights blow?" Hotaru asked.
Zukamori clapped her hands once and nodded. She pointed back to
the room.
"And the vases and the mirror?" Hotaru said.
She nodded again.
Ami thought about that. "It's possible. Her energy might have been
that pulse we all felt and it might have caused everything to shatter."
Zukamori said as she reached into
her pocket. Her hand felt the edges of the crystal.
----------
Adonis walked around the place, trying to find something to do. he thought. He turned a corner and came across a pair of
large double doors that reached up to the ceiling. Each door had designs
finely chiseled into it. Adonis stepped up to the door on the left. It
was made of white stone. Its design consisted of almost life-sized
angels with large wings perched on their back. Each angel in itself was
unique with it's own face and wing pattern. Near the top of the door
there was an angel that was larger than the others were. That particular
angel had it's arms raised and their head turned upwards.
One of the other angels caught his attention. It was about eye
level with him. Adonis traced the outline of its elegantly shaped face.
The angel had short hair that stopped just after its shoulders. Its eyes
looked back at him intently. It's face seemed familiar somehow.
"Snap out of it, Adonis," he told himself. "It's just a door."
He turned and looked at the other one. The one on the right was
black. It had images of people with wings as large as the angels did,
but they were like bat wings. Their faces each held an evil smirk. At
the top of that door, like the other one, there was a bigger one of
those creatures, poised like the angel opposite to it.
At the very top of the doors, there were words. Adonis read them
outloud.
"'In one, there is always two.'"
Suddenly the ground under him began to shake.
Pang of slight pain ran through Adonis. He pressed his hand
against the side of his head. He had felt it before when...
"No!" he gasped when he realized what was happening. He ran back
the way he came, pausing at the corner. He turned back to the doors. The
angel he had noticed before seemed to draw his attention even more. He
shook his head before running to warn the others.
----------
NEXT: Everyone finds themselves unable to leave the Palace. Meanwhile
the mysterious woman, who warned Serenity about Nemesis' attack, makes
another appearance. Who is she? Is she friend or foe? What did Zukamori
see? Did she live during the Silver Millenium? What is behind the
strange doors Adonis found?
__________