Dimensional Warfare : Good-Bye Jennifer Darkfall
by: Trio and Elf
rated: PG
finished: 2001
Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. We are only using the characters to devise out own special tale of lore. So don't sue us, we're both poor.
C and C: To send the authors comments you can e-mail us at LetheNanashi@cs.com and Slaybrat@aye.net Trio's email is the first, Elf's is the second.
Author Site: Trio's Anime World
www.expage.com/triomain
Chapter Fourteen
She looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her long, silky blond hair and turned. The body was short, compact, well built, and curved in and out in all the right places. The face wasn't hers though. She placed her hand on the shimmering glass. This girl had been healthy, full of life and energy, and now she had her body.
Hotaru Tomoe looked down at the body that was Jennifer Darkfall's. She could remember certain things from the other girl's life, things that she refused to let go. Like a young man with long, chestnut brown hair and huge violet blue eyes. His touch, the way he felt. She sighed and backed away from the mirror, not standing to look at herself anymore.
"Jen?" the male voice was hesitant. Hotaru turned around to see that same elfin young man, his violet eyes wide with concern for her. Not for her, but the person that was meant to live in this body. Not her.
"Duo," Jennifer cried out, taking over the body again. She rushed at him, wrapping her arms around him. Everything was too horrible. She could feel the other person inside of her, threatening to take over, unwillingly though. He held her carefully, as if she would break.
"Hey," he whispered quietly, stroking her hair.
She shivered in his arms, still feeling the girl inside of her. She whispered, "I'm not alone."
"I'm here," he reassured her.
She shook her head and slid away from his warm embrace. She pointed to herself and said, "No, there's someone else inside of me. I can feel her. She doesn't want to be here either." She shivered and stepped back into the warm circle of his strong arms.
"Yes, she's right about that," a deep, female voice said. Jennifer looked toward the door to see a tall, slender, athletic young woman with close cropped ash blond hair and keen blue eyes. She radiated physical energy and prowess.
Her name's Amara. She's a very kind woman, the girl inside of her, Hotaru, instructed.
"Who the fuck are you?" Duo sneered, pushing Jennifer behind him.
Jennifer asked, "Amara?"
"Hotaru?" the blonde woman asked, looking her over.
"Could someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on," Duo demanded, his violet blue eyes
darkening, becoming more inhuman.
God of Death, Shinigami, Hotaru thought as she was suddenly in control again. She answered,"I'm here. I don't want to be here, Amara. This isn't my body. Isn't my mind. I keep seeing Jennifer Darkfall's thoughts and memories and its frightening. What happened?"
"Saturn was called," Amara replied, looking at her adoptive daughter.
Hotaru rubbed the other girl's arms. She ran her fingers through her long, beautiful blond hair. She looked at herself in the mirror once again. I'm beautiful. I can't believe it, I'm beautiful, Hotaru thought as she reached out and touched the elfin blonde image reflected at her. She looked at Amara and asked, "Why?"
"Destiny Goddesses. They took Athene and called you here," Amara answered.
Duo Maxwell, the God of Death, sneered, "Why the fuck did they have to use Jennifer!?"
"Who is this?" Amara said with an amused grin, looking Duo over.
"I'm the fucking Shinigami, that's who I am," Duo snapped, walking closer.
Amara asked, "God of Death, I doubt that."
"He is," Hotaru answered, seeing images of battles in her mind, hopeless odds, and everyone dying around him. He attracted death around him. It enfolded him like a cloak. And he wore it proudly. "Call him Duo though," she added, looking at him and blushing. He was quite handsome, unreal even.
"Now, why the hell did they have to use Jennifer?" Duo asked in a calmer, yet more menacing voice.
Amara looked her over and said, "You look nothing like Hotaru. Can I talk to this Jennifer, Hotaru?"
"Please," Hotaru whispered as she went back into the prison that was the other girl's mind.
Jennifer emerged and reached out and slapped the other woman. She was angry and this Amara seemed like a good target to lash out on. She asked, "What the hell do you want to know?"
"Your personality is nothing like Hotaru's," Amara observed as she looked her over.
Duo sighed, "Well, I'm confused." He sounded tired. Jennifer couldn't blame him. She was exhausted too. She reached out and squeezed his hand.
"You lovers?" Amara asked, looking them over.
Jennifer blushed at that and looked at Duo. He smirked and said, "Its sorta obvious. Now, lets see if we can get some answers. Are you a Scout too?" Duo asked, looking her over.
"Yes, Sailor Uranus," she answered, nodding.
"And this Hotaru is Sailor . . . Saturn, right?" Duo asked, sitting down on a chair in the room.
Amara nodded and answered, "Yes, she is."
"Saturn is the planet of Death," Duo said absently.
Jennifer looked at herself in the mirror again, at the dark violet eyes that were not her own. She whispered, "I'm a med student though. I want to help people." She had a better talent for life than for death. There was a time though she had been thoroughly psychotic and killing was a release.
"Hotaru has the power to heal," Amara amended, looking her over. Jennifer tilted her head proudly as she gazed at the other woman. She knew she looked defiant. She was the master of her own destiny, but this was ridiculous.
"Death and rebirth, that's pretty damned apt," Duo darkly quipped. Both women looked at him. He crossed his arms and said, "Fix her. Now. I know you can do it."
"Not yet, I need some more answers first," Amara amended as she looked down at Jennifer. With that, she left their room. Jennifer took a deep breath and sat down. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed.
Duo wrapped his arms around her. He soothed, "Its gonna is okay. Trust me."
"I'm so tired," she whispered as she leaned against his body. "I can't take this," she murmured as his lips lightly touched her forehead. She didn't know when, but she must have fallen asleep.
******
"The girl was a med student, that's why she was chosen." Michelle spun around to see her lover standing there. Amara had a grim look on her handsome, angular features as she walked toward her. She ran a hand through her tousled, cropped hair and sighed. "And she has a lover," Amara added.
Michelle smiled and said, "And he wants her back, doesn't he?"
"He's ready to go find Nara and Lilith himself and kill them," Amara replied with a wiry grin. She added, "And I think he'd find away to do it. He knows what we are and he stood his ground."
"How is Hotaru?" Michelle asked. She was always worried about Hotaru. If the girl was lonely, upset, hungry. She loved the little girl like she was her own daughter.
Amara sighed and answered, "Not good. Both her and the other girl are about to go insane."
"We need to find the others and regroup," Michelle told her.
Amara nodded and replied, "Right. Let me get the bundle though." The bundle was wrapped in black velvet, protecting the item within. Slender curves poked through the fabric, signaling that the body was a teenage girl. She lifted it up and shouldered it. She grunted, "Thank goodness that Hotaru weighs nothing."
"Let's go," Michelle told her.
"Right."
******
Rei sat there, her legs curled under her body. She listened to the metallic hum of the medical machines around her. She knew what was hurting the Hyrulians. It was those damn Destiny Goddesses. Oh, I'd love to get my hands on them, she thought darkly as she looked at the Princess Zelda.
She stood up and began to pace around the room. There had been no change in them. She could leave and she wanted to. She wanted to do something other than sit there and wait.
The door opened and Rei spun around to see Ami standing there. She smiled softly and walked over to her. She asked, "Any change?"
"None, they're the same. I bet it's those Destiny Goddesses that are doing this," she huffed.
Ami replied, "We don't know that, Rei."
"They took Athene, nearly killed Jennifer, so why shouldn't we believe?" Rei pointed out.
Ami sighed and said, "You have a point, Rei. We're all meeting. Amara and Michelle are here too. With Hotaru."
"Really?" Rei asked, turning to face her again. She figured that she would do the ritual. She had the most experience for this sort of thing and could handle the power.
Ami nodded and said, "Yes, they're meeting now. All of them."
"Lets go!" Rei chirped as she ran out of the room.
******
He couldn't sleep. He couldn't curl around that warm, feminine form and fall into a blissful sleep. Nothing was a comfort for him now, except for the smashing pressure on his fists as he hit the blue nylon bag. Duo glared at the bag as he kept punching it.
Sweat was pouring down his back and forehead, plastering his hair to his eyes. He kept punching it, harder and harder. He felt a cracking on his knuckles and a warm, wet trickle fall down them. He ignored that and kept hitting it, harder and harder. Pain was the only escape.
"Duo," the familiar monotone said behind him.
Duo snarled, "Go away." He continued to punch the bag. It swung to hit him and he dodged it, ducking away and punching it again. He punched harder and faster.
"Duo," Heero said again.
Duo sneered, "Go to hell, Heero. I don't want to hear it right now." He punched harder again. His knuckles were throbbing and he didn't care. He just kept punching and punching, feeling the pressure against his hands, soothing almost in its pain. If he didn't think, kept his body working, then he wouldn't hurt, wouldn't grieve.
"She's not dead, Duo," Heero told him, closer.
Duo spun around and threw a punch. It connected with Heero's jaw and snapped the Wing pilot's head back. He shouted, "You have no fucking idea how I feel! It's not Jennifer looking back at me! Its someone else! Someone possessed the woman I love. There is no way in hell that you know how I feel!"
Heero was making him think, making him remember. He balled up his fist again and started to swing. Heero reacted with his enhanced strength and reflexes. He held Duo harmlessly as the other boy struggled. His dark blue eyes were unreadable as he held him there, away from harming himself or others. "You're acting insane, calm down," Heero told him before he reached out and slapped him.
The blow hit his cheek with a stinging impact. It threw Duo's head back and caused him to loose his footing. He fell to the ground on his knees. Sitting there on the padded floor of the gym, he threw up his arms and screamed. He just screamed. A piteous, heartfelt wail.
Heero simply looked down at him. Duo finally stopped screaming when his throat became raw. He sat there, breathing hard. His knuckles hurt. He looked down at them and noticed them coated in crimson blood. He sighed as he looked down at the floor. Then back up at Heero.
******
Jennifer woke up to find Duo not there. She sighed and looked outside. The Scouts where there, talking, along with Amara and a woman with aqua hair. She ran her fingers through her bangs and felt that she needed to be outside.
******
"What am I going to do?" Duo asked as he looked up at his friend.
Heero leaned down and held out his hand. Duo took it and sighed. He answered, "Live like you always have. There's nothing else you can do."
"I wish I could help her," he sighed, "I feel so damn helpless."
Heero stated, "I feel helpless some times too, don't think about it."
"I could have saved her," he breathed out.
Heero answered, "I think that the others are."
"What do you mean?" Duo asked as Heero pulled him up.
Heero answered, "I saw the Scouts talking, along with two other women that I've never seen before."
"A tall chick with blond hair?" Duo asked as he ran his fingers through his sweaty bangs.
Heero nodded and answered, "Hai."
"Great, did you see where they were at?" Duo asked.
Heero nodded and answered, "I was going to take you there."
"Then do it, now!" Duo exclaimed. Heero nodded and he followed his friend out of the room. Duo sighed. Maybe, someway . . .
******
Hotaru looked down at her body and lightly smoothed the dark hair out of her sleeping face. She looked up at Rei and asked, "Am I alive?"
"Yeah, don't worry, Hotaru, we'll have you back in your body in a few minutes and Jennifer will be back in the driver's seat," Rei said with a smile.
She sighed and looked down. Michelle placed a slender hand on her shoulder and rubbed it. She said, "It'll be all right, Hotaru. We're here."
"I can't believe that they did this to her and me," Hotaru said as she looked down at the body she was in.
"They'll pay," was what Amara said with a clenched fist. Lita nodded in agreement with her. Hotaru looked over at Serena and Darien standing hand in hand. She could see Jennifer Darkfall's memories of her and Duo together, and she was jealous of both Serena and Darien.
Ami said, "Everything's right for the ritual, Rei."
Rei nodded and sank to the ground. She bent her head and placed her hands together. Serena whispered, "I wonder if this is going to work."
"Don't scare her, Meatball head," Amara hissed at the blond girl. Serena swallowed and Darien wrapped his arms around her.
Mina said, "Lay down beside yourself, Hotaru." Then she giggled at that joke. Hotaru gave her a weak smile as she sank down into the cool grass. She closed her eyes and gripped the grass.
She heard Rei start to chant, but didn't make any sense of the words. She felt distant, hollow, away from everything. Then she felt something tugging after her.
"They're after us," Jennifer said, standing in front of her. Her long blond hair was braided back from her face and she was dressed in a black jump suit. Her green eyes were narrowed and serious as she looked at Hotaru.
Hotaru looked at the storm around her and knew what was after them. She said, "What can we do?"
"I'll give you guidance, trust me," Jennifer said with a quick smile.
Hotaru opened her eyes to feel the grass sinking around her. "Hotaru!" Amara shouted as she reached out for her. Hotaru screamed as she felt hands grabbing at her body.
Fight it, twist your body.
Hotaru did and was surprised at her sudden burst of strength.
"Jennifer!" a familiar voice shouted. Hotaru saw two boys running at them, one with an obscenely long braid trailing behind them.
Duo, Heero. Oh, no.
Let go.
Hotaru screamed as she let go to her hold on the body. She felt weightless, without substance. Then she heard the voice one more time.
Promise to protect and comfort Duo for me.
"I promise," Hotaru said as she sat up. She heard her own voice and looked down. She was in her own body. She turned around to see Jennifer Darkfall's body sink into the grass. "NO!" she shouted as she reached down to it. She grabbed her hand, but Jennifer threw her back and she stumbled on the ground.
I'll tell those Destiny Goddesses to go to hell. I will.
Then, she was gone.
Hotaru sat in the wet grass and began to cry. Amara and Michelle were instantly beside her, stroking her hair and comforting her. She said, "She gave herself up for me. Why?"
"No!" Duo's voice shrieked into the night. She looked over to see Duo clawing at the grass. Lita and Mina were instantly at his side, jerking him away. Or trying too anyway. They ended up sitting on the grass. Hotaru looked up to see a serious boy with a mop of dark brown hair and dark blue eyes looking down at them.
"What the fuck happened?" Duo cried out.
Rei answered, "They took her."
"Then they better fucking take me too!" he shouted as he continued to claw out of the grass.
Amara let go of Hotaru and stood up. She walked over to Duo and yanked him up. She pushed him aside and shouted, "You are being a fool! There is nothing that you can do. There is no way you can take on a Destiny Goddess and hope to win!"
"Like hell!" he shouted before he walked over to the spot in the grass again.
Hotaru stood up and rushed over to him. She tackled him and surprisingly, both of them rolled to the ground. Somehow, he rolled on top of her though. She looked up at him and felt his weight pressed on her body. It was a strange sensation, one that she enjoyed though as she looked up in his angry, violet eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" he spat down at her.
She flinched and looked away. He had her pinned there. He moved her face effortlessly to make contact with her again. She gasped as she looked at his angry, gamin face. She licked her lips and said, "She saved me." Then she blinked back tears that threatened to fall.
"What?" he asked in a hoarse voice as he looked down at her.
She swallowed and answered, "She saved me. I'm Hotaru Tomoe. Sailor Saturn."
Duo stood up and moved off of her like she was a plague. She was. She sat up and curled her feet to herself. She hugged herself as she looked up at him. He moved back down and looked back at her. He reached out and stroked strands of her hair out of her face.
"Those eyes," he murmured as he looked at her.
She swallowed and said, "I'm sorry."
"God, what are you?" he whispered as he looked at her.
She answered, "Sailor Saturn, the Princess of Saturn."
"The planet of Death," he murmured as he looked at her. She met his eyes and found a strange kinship with him. And a strange attraction. He was truly beautiful and she found that she could look into those confused indigo eyes forever.
She whispered, "Shinigami." Then she reached out to touch him, to make sure that he was real. He jerked back from her and stood up. "Duo?" she called out, uncertain. She only remembered bits of pieces of what he was like. She stood up as well. No one spoke.
Suddenly, Duo ran off. Hotaru ran to catch up with him, but he was far faster than she was. She heard her friends call for her, but she ignored them as she tried to run. Her lungs were starting to burn, and she tripped.
She cried out as her ankle moved from beneath her and sent her crashing to the ground. Duo spun around and ran to her, catching her before she fell totally to the ground. He crouched, holding her as they met each other's eyes. She took a deep breath to try to calm her pounding heart, but she could not.
"What . . . did . . . you . . . do . . . to . . . me?" he managed as he looked at her.
She shook her head and blinked back tears. She simply tightened her grip around him. She was afraid that she would fall or loose him again. "Don't go," she told him.
"I don't want to," he told her, "God, what's wrong with me?" Then he shook his head and looked down at her again. Then suddenly, his lips were on hers.
******
He licked her lips, demanding entrance to her soft mouth. She gasped in shock and that gave him the excuse he needed. Soon he had taken control of her, kissing the little dragonfly into submission. He pulled back and looked at her.
Dark violet eyes stared at him. Not green.
He cursed and stood up. He left her lying on the ground with her black hair falling all around her face. Her slanted, huge dark violet eyes were too dark for her pale face. She was delicate and slender and had the voice of an angel.
"What the hell did you do to me?" he managed to croak out, but she simply shook her head and looked down at her hands. He turned around from her, wanting to get away from the Princess of Saturn and whatever the hell was acting like this around her. Part of him wanted to take her right here and now, possess her and claim her as his for all the world to see.
That part made him want to vomit.
Instead, he spun away from her. He had to get away. He began to run, listening to Hotaru cry after him.
******
Quatre looked into Athene's room, but she wasn't there. He heard voices in the courtyard and looked out Athene's window to see the scouts and Heero gathered together, minus Athene. Maybe they knew something.
He was soon outside to look out the bewildered Scouts. He smiled and asked, "Did you see Athene?"
The looks he received in turn frightened him.
by: Trio and Elf
rated: PG
finished: 2001
Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. We are only using the characters to devise out own special tale of lore. So don't sue us, we're both poor.
C and C: To send the authors comments you can e-mail us at LetheNanashi@cs.com and Slaybrat@aye.net Trio's email is the first, Elf's is the second.
Author Site: Trio's Anime World
www.expage.com/triomain
Chapter Fourteen
She looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her long, silky blond hair and turned. The body was short, compact, well built, and curved in and out in all the right places. The face wasn't hers though. She placed her hand on the shimmering glass. This girl had been healthy, full of life and energy, and now she had her body.
Hotaru Tomoe looked down at the body that was Jennifer Darkfall's. She could remember certain things from the other girl's life, things that she refused to let go. Like a young man with long, chestnut brown hair and huge violet blue eyes. His touch, the way he felt. She sighed and backed away from the mirror, not standing to look at herself anymore.
"Jen?" the male voice was hesitant. Hotaru turned around to see that same elfin young man, his violet eyes wide with concern for her. Not for her, but the person that was meant to live in this body. Not her.
"Duo," Jennifer cried out, taking over the body again. She rushed at him, wrapping her arms around him. Everything was too horrible. She could feel the other person inside of her, threatening to take over, unwillingly though. He held her carefully, as if she would break.
"Hey," he whispered quietly, stroking her hair.
She shivered in his arms, still feeling the girl inside of her. She whispered, "I'm not alone."
"I'm here," he reassured her.
She shook her head and slid away from his warm embrace. She pointed to herself and said, "No, there's someone else inside of me. I can feel her. She doesn't want to be here either." She shivered and stepped back into the warm circle of his strong arms.
"Yes, she's right about that," a deep, female voice said. Jennifer looked toward the door to see a tall, slender, athletic young woman with close cropped ash blond hair and keen blue eyes. She radiated physical energy and prowess.
Her name's Amara. She's a very kind woman, the girl inside of her, Hotaru, instructed.
"Who the fuck are you?" Duo sneered, pushing Jennifer behind him.
Jennifer asked, "Amara?"
"Hotaru?" the blonde woman asked, looking her over.
"Could someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on," Duo demanded, his violet blue eyes
darkening, becoming more inhuman.
God of Death, Shinigami, Hotaru thought as she was suddenly in control again. She answered,"I'm here. I don't want to be here, Amara. This isn't my body. Isn't my mind. I keep seeing Jennifer Darkfall's thoughts and memories and its frightening. What happened?"
"Saturn was called," Amara replied, looking at her adoptive daughter.
Hotaru rubbed the other girl's arms. She ran her fingers through her long, beautiful blond hair. She looked at herself in the mirror once again. I'm beautiful. I can't believe it, I'm beautiful, Hotaru thought as she reached out and touched the elfin blonde image reflected at her. She looked at Amara and asked, "Why?"
"Destiny Goddesses. They took Athene and called you here," Amara answered.
Duo Maxwell, the God of Death, sneered, "Why the fuck did they have to use Jennifer!?"
"Who is this?" Amara said with an amused grin, looking Duo over.
"I'm the fucking Shinigami, that's who I am," Duo snapped, walking closer.
Amara asked, "God of Death, I doubt that."
"He is," Hotaru answered, seeing images of battles in her mind, hopeless odds, and everyone dying around him. He attracted death around him. It enfolded him like a cloak. And he wore it proudly. "Call him Duo though," she added, looking at him and blushing. He was quite handsome, unreal even.
"Now, why the hell did they have to use Jennifer?" Duo asked in a calmer, yet more menacing voice.
Amara looked her over and said, "You look nothing like Hotaru. Can I talk to this Jennifer, Hotaru?"
"Please," Hotaru whispered as she went back into the prison that was the other girl's mind.
Jennifer emerged and reached out and slapped the other woman. She was angry and this Amara seemed like a good target to lash out on. She asked, "What the hell do you want to know?"
"Your personality is nothing like Hotaru's," Amara observed as she looked her over.
Duo sighed, "Well, I'm confused." He sounded tired. Jennifer couldn't blame him. She was exhausted too. She reached out and squeezed his hand.
"You lovers?" Amara asked, looking them over.
Jennifer blushed at that and looked at Duo. He smirked and said, "Its sorta obvious. Now, lets see if we can get some answers. Are you a Scout too?" Duo asked, looking her over.
"Yes, Sailor Uranus," she answered, nodding.
"And this Hotaru is Sailor . . . Saturn, right?" Duo asked, sitting down on a chair in the room.
Amara nodded and answered, "Yes, she is."
"Saturn is the planet of Death," Duo said absently.
Jennifer looked at herself in the mirror again, at the dark violet eyes that were not her own. She whispered, "I'm a med student though. I want to help people." She had a better talent for life than for death. There was a time though she had been thoroughly psychotic and killing was a release.
"Hotaru has the power to heal," Amara amended, looking her over. Jennifer tilted her head proudly as she gazed at the other woman. She knew she looked defiant. She was the master of her own destiny, but this was ridiculous.
"Death and rebirth, that's pretty damned apt," Duo darkly quipped. Both women looked at him. He crossed his arms and said, "Fix her. Now. I know you can do it."
"Not yet, I need some more answers first," Amara amended as she looked down at Jennifer. With that, she left their room. Jennifer took a deep breath and sat down. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed.
Duo wrapped his arms around her. He soothed, "Its gonna is okay. Trust me."
"I'm so tired," she whispered as she leaned against his body. "I can't take this," she murmured as his lips lightly touched her forehead. She didn't know when, but she must have fallen asleep.
******
"The girl was a med student, that's why she was chosen." Michelle spun around to see her lover standing there. Amara had a grim look on her handsome, angular features as she walked toward her. She ran a hand through her tousled, cropped hair and sighed. "And she has a lover," Amara added.
Michelle smiled and said, "And he wants her back, doesn't he?"
"He's ready to go find Nara and Lilith himself and kill them," Amara replied with a wiry grin. She added, "And I think he'd find away to do it. He knows what we are and he stood his ground."
"How is Hotaru?" Michelle asked. She was always worried about Hotaru. If the girl was lonely, upset, hungry. She loved the little girl like she was her own daughter.
Amara sighed and answered, "Not good. Both her and the other girl are about to go insane."
"We need to find the others and regroup," Michelle told her.
Amara nodded and replied, "Right. Let me get the bundle though." The bundle was wrapped in black velvet, protecting the item within. Slender curves poked through the fabric, signaling that the body was a teenage girl. She lifted it up and shouldered it. She grunted, "Thank goodness that Hotaru weighs nothing."
"Let's go," Michelle told her.
"Right."
******
Rei sat there, her legs curled under her body. She listened to the metallic hum of the medical machines around her. She knew what was hurting the Hyrulians. It was those damn Destiny Goddesses. Oh, I'd love to get my hands on them, she thought darkly as she looked at the Princess Zelda.
She stood up and began to pace around the room. There had been no change in them. She could leave and she wanted to. She wanted to do something other than sit there and wait.
The door opened and Rei spun around to see Ami standing there. She smiled softly and walked over to her. She asked, "Any change?"
"None, they're the same. I bet it's those Destiny Goddesses that are doing this," she huffed.
Ami replied, "We don't know that, Rei."
"They took Athene, nearly killed Jennifer, so why shouldn't we believe?" Rei pointed out.
Ami sighed and said, "You have a point, Rei. We're all meeting. Amara and Michelle are here too. With Hotaru."
"Really?" Rei asked, turning to face her again. She figured that she would do the ritual. She had the most experience for this sort of thing and could handle the power.
Ami nodded and said, "Yes, they're meeting now. All of them."
"Lets go!" Rei chirped as she ran out of the room.
******
He couldn't sleep. He couldn't curl around that warm, feminine form and fall into a blissful sleep. Nothing was a comfort for him now, except for the smashing pressure on his fists as he hit the blue nylon bag. Duo glared at the bag as he kept punching it.
Sweat was pouring down his back and forehead, plastering his hair to his eyes. He kept punching it, harder and harder. He felt a cracking on his knuckles and a warm, wet trickle fall down them. He ignored that and kept hitting it, harder and harder. Pain was the only escape.
"Duo," the familiar monotone said behind him.
Duo snarled, "Go away." He continued to punch the bag. It swung to hit him and he dodged it, ducking away and punching it again. He punched harder and faster.
"Duo," Heero said again.
Duo sneered, "Go to hell, Heero. I don't want to hear it right now." He punched harder again. His knuckles were throbbing and he didn't care. He just kept punching and punching, feeling the pressure against his hands, soothing almost in its pain. If he didn't think, kept his body working, then he wouldn't hurt, wouldn't grieve.
"She's not dead, Duo," Heero told him, closer.
Duo spun around and threw a punch. It connected with Heero's jaw and snapped the Wing pilot's head back. He shouted, "You have no fucking idea how I feel! It's not Jennifer looking back at me! Its someone else! Someone possessed the woman I love. There is no way in hell that you know how I feel!"
Heero was making him think, making him remember. He balled up his fist again and started to swing. Heero reacted with his enhanced strength and reflexes. He held Duo harmlessly as the other boy struggled. His dark blue eyes were unreadable as he held him there, away from harming himself or others. "You're acting insane, calm down," Heero told him before he reached out and slapped him.
The blow hit his cheek with a stinging impact. It threw Duo's head back and caused him to loose his footing. He fell to the ground on his knees. Sitting there on the padded floor of the gym, he threw up his arms and screamed. He just screamed. A piteous, heartfelt wail.
Heero simply looked down at him. Duo finally stopped screaming when his throat became raw. He sat there, breathing hard. His knuckles hurt. He looked down at them and noticed them coated in crimson blood. He sighed as he looked down at the floor. Then back up at Heero.
******
Jennifer woke up to find Duo not there. She sighed and looked outside. The Scouts where there, talking, along with Amara and a woman with aqua hair. She ran her fingers through her bangs and felt that she needed to be outside.
******
"What am I going to do?" Duo asked as he looked up at his friend.
Heero leaned down and held out his hand. Duo took it and sighed. He answered, "Live like you always have. There's nothing else you can do."
"I wish I could help her," he sighed, "I feel so damn helpless."
Heero stated, "I feel helpless some times too, don't think about it."
"I could have saved her," he breathed out.
Heero answered, "I think that the others are."
"What do you mean?" Duo asked as Heero pulled him up.
Heero answered, "I saw the Scouts talking, along with two other women that I've never seen before."
"A tall chick with blond hair?" Duo asked as he ran his fingers through his sweaty bangs.
Heero nodded and answered, "Hai."
"Great, did you see where they were at?" Duo asked.
Heero nodded and answered, "I was going to take you there."
"Then do it, now!" Duo exclaimed. Heero nodded and he followed his friend out of the room. Duo sighed. Maybe, someway . . .
******
Hotaru looked down at her body and lightly smoothed the dark hair out of her sleeping face. She looked up at Rei and asked, "Am I alive?"
"Yeah, don't worry, Hotaru, we'll have you back in your body in a few minutes and Jennifer will be back in the driver's seat," Rei said with a smile.
She sighed and looked down. Michelle placed a slender hand on her shoulder and rubbed it. She said, "It'll be all right, Hotaru. We're here."
"I can't believe that they did this to her and me," Hotaru said as she looked down at the body she was in.
"They'll pay," was what Amara said with a clenched fist. Lita nodded in agreement with her. Hotaru looked over at Serena and Darien standing hand in hand. She could see Jennifer Darkfall's memories of her and Duo together, and she was jealous of both Serena and Darien.
Ami said, "Everything's right for the ritual, Rei."
Rei nodded and sank to the ground. She bent her head and placed her hands together. Serena whispered, "I wonder if this is going to work."
"Don't scare her, Meatball head," Amara hissed at the blond girl. Serena swallowed and Darien wrapped his arms around her.
Mina said, "Lay down beside yourself, Hotaru." Then she giggled at that joke. Hotaru gave her a weak smile as she sank down into the cool grass. She closed her eyes and gripped the grass.
She heard Rei start to chant, but didn't make any sense of the words. She felt distant, hollow, away from everything. Then she felt something tugging after her.
"They're after us," Jennifer said, standing in front of her. Her long blond hair was braided back from her face and she was dressed in a black jump suit. Her green eyes were narrowed and serious as she looked at Hotaru.
Hotaru looked at the storm around her and knew what was after them. She said, "What can we do?"
"I'll give you guidance, trust me," Jennifer said with a quick smile.
Hotaru opened her eyes to feel the grass sinking around her. "Hotaru!" Amara shouted as she reached out for her. Hotaru screamed as she felt hands grabbing at her body.
Fight it, twist your body.
Hotaru did and was surprised at her sudden burst of strength.
"Jennifer!" a familiar voice shouted. Hotaru saw two boys running at them, one with an obscenely long braid trailing behind them.
Duo, Heero. Oh, no.
Let go.
Hotaru screamed as she let go to her hold on the body. She felt weightless, without substance. Then she heard the voice one more time.
Promise to protect and comfort Duo for me.
"I promise," Hotaru said as she sat up. She heard her own voice and looked down. She was in her own body. She turned around to see Jennifer Darkfall's body sink into the grass. "NO!" she shouted as she reached down to it. She grabbed her hand, but Jennifer threw her back and she stumbled on the ground.
I'll tell those Destiny Goddesses to go to hell. I will.
Then, she was gone.
Hotaru sat in the wet grass and began to cry. Amara and Michelle were instantly beside her, stroking her hair and comforting her. She said, "She gave herself up for me. Why?"
"No!" Duo's voice shrieked into the night. She looked over to see Duo clawing at the grass. Lita and Mina were instantly at his side, jerking him away. Or trying too anyway. They ended up sitting on the grass. Hotaru looked up to see a serious boy with a mop of dark brown hair and dark blue eyes looking down at them.
"What the fuck happened?" Duo cried out.
Rei answered, "They took her."
"Then they better fucking take me too!" he shouted as he continued to claw out of the grass.
Amara let go of Hotaru and stood up. She walked over to Duo and yanked him up. She pushed him aside and shouted, "You are being a fool! There is nothing that you can do. There is no way you can take on a Destiny Goddess and hope to win!"
"Like hell!" he shouted before he walked over to the spot in the grass again.
Hotaru stood up and rushed over to him. She tackled him and surprisingly, both of them rolled to the ground. Somehow, he rolled on top of her though. She looked up at him and felt his weight pressed on her body. It was a strange sensation, one that she enjoyed though as she looked up in his angry, violet eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" he spat down at her.
She flinched and looked away. He had her pinned there. He moved her face effortlessly to make contact with her again. She gasped as she looked at his angry, gamin face. She licked her lips and said, "She saved me." Then she blinked back tears that threatened to fall.
"What?" he asked in a hoarse voice as he looked down at her.
She swallowed and answered, "She saved me. I'm Hotaru Tomoe. Sailor Saturn."
Duo stood up and moved off of her like she was a plague. She was. She sat up and curled her feet to herself. She hugged herself as she looked up at him. He moved back down and looked back at her. He reached out and stroked strands of her hair out of her face.
"Those eyes," he murmured as he looked at her.
She swallowed and said, "I'm sorry."
"God, what are you?" he whispered as he looked at her.
She answered, "Sailor Saturn, the Princess of Saturn."
"The planet of Death," he murmured as he looked at her. She met his eyes and found a strange kinship with him. And a strange attraction. He was truly beautiful and she found that she could look into those confused indigo eyes forever.
She whispered, "Shinigami." Then she reached out to touch him, to make sure that he was real. He jerked back from her and stood up. "Duo?" she called out, uncertain. She only remembered bits of pieces of what he was like. She stood up as well. No one spoke.
Suddenly, Duo ran off. Hotaru ran to catch up with him, but he was far faster than she was. She heard her friends call for her, but she ignored them as she tried to run. Her lungs were starting to burn, and she tripped.
She cried out as her ankle moved from beneath her and sent her crashing to the ground. Duo spun around and ran to her, catching her before she fell totally to the ground. He crouched, holding her as they met each other's eyes. She took a deep breath to try to calm her pounding heart, but she could not.
"What . . . did . . . you . . . do . . . to . . . me?" he managed as he looked at her.
She shook her head and blinked back tears. She simply tightened her grip around him. She was afraid that she would fall or loose him again. "Don't go," she told him.
"I don't want to," he told her, "God, what's wrong with me?" Then he shook his head and looked down at her again. Then suddenly, his lips were on hers.
******
He licked her lips, demanding entrance to her soft mouth. She gasped in shock and that gave him the excuse he needed. Soon he had taken control of her, kissing the little dragonfly into submission. He pulled back and looked at her.
Dark violet eyes stared at him. Not green.
He cursed and stood up. He left her lying on the ground with her black hair falling all around her face. Her slanted, huge dark violet eyes were too dark for her pale face. She was delicate and slender and had the voice of an angel.
"What the hell did you do to me?" he managed to croak out, but she simply shook her head and looked down at her hands. He turned around from her, wanting to get away from the Princess of Saturn and whatever the hell was acting like this around her. Part of him wanted to take her right here and now, possess her and claim her as his for all the world to see.
That part made him want to vomit.
Instead, he spun away from her. He had to get away. He began to run, listening to Hotaru cry after him.
******
Quatre looked into Athene's room, but she wasn't there. He heard voices in the courtyard and looked out Athene's window to see the scouts and Heero gathered together, minus Athene. Maybe they knew something.
He was soon outside to look out the bewildered Scouts. He smiled and asked, "Did you see Athene?"
The looks he received in turn frightened him.