Dimensional Warfare : Vanishing Wisdom
by: Trio
rated: PG-13
finished: 2002
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I am only using the characters to devise my own special tale of lore. So don't sue me I'm poor.
C and C: To send me comments you can e-mail me at itsumokodoku@cs.com or kuraiko@hotmail.com
Author Site: Stupidity: Should Be Painful
http://www.stupidity.dot.nu
Author Notes: Well Chapter 18 was the last chapter to be written by Elf. As of sometime last year I took over all writing obligations. Elf you were a wonderful partner, I'm sorry you couldn't stick around for the ending of my fic. Chapter 19 was in August 2001, so it's been eight/nine months. I guess I should do a recap:
Last Time: Chapter 19 - Wake Up Zelda: The Zelda group is awake, Jennifer is dead and was reintroduced as LetheUmbra, Athene is in the hands of Nara and Lilith, two destiny goddesses, Hotaru and Duo are a couple, the Keeper of the Chamber Of Slumber is in this dimension. Lilith has called the death of Athene forth, and that is where I left off last time...
Author Notes 2: This chapter contains the following: graphic torture, there isn't any swearing (surprise, surprise ^_^''') and since I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer, this chapter is short of short. Gomen, but it's for your own good. And mine too. Now I can try and plot out the end of this series. Yes, the end is near. Just a few more chapters and it's over. So stay with me a little longer, guys.
Chapter Twenty
"We have to kill her now." Nara and Lilith walked hand-in-hand to Destiny's Fate, the room in which Lady Athene had been held for nearly five days. Although the number of days seemed small, the pain gained from that time was great. The girls' eyes flashed red and emitted an invisible force that opened the doors to the room holding the near-dead prisoner. Athene was covered in her own blood and natural wastes. The girls smiled at this cruel sight. They loved their work, but sadly they had to end this game... and start another.
"Lady Athene..." Nara coaxed. Athene's eyes slowly opened. "Guess what, you get to be released now." Athene's brow furrowed, she gulped hard on her dry throat. Lilith stepped up holding a long devilish blade, it's steal already stained red from previous tortures. Lilith grinned and plunged the blade into her captive. Athene's screams filled the void.
*****
Rei woke with a start, breathing hard and sweat rolling down her forehead. The Scouts had decided to all sleep in one room for protection. Rei surveyed the room; Serena and Darien slept together on the couch, Hotaru, Amara and Michelle had the only bed in the room, while the other Scouts were randomly sleeping around the room. But one girl wasn't asleep, she was awake and peering out into the vastness of the night. Rei got up and walked over to the window to see who it was. The hair was long, and from the moonlight looked blondish. "Min.." the name of her friend caught in her throat when she realized that it wasn't Mina. It was Athene. Rei's sound had caused the girl to turn her head and Rei could see her face clearly... Athene Tomodachi. Athene's eyes were sad and dull. Her hair was in a ponytail and looked so unlike the Athene Rei knew. Athene's hair always looked beautiful and full of life, but not now... not this time.
The eyes of this Athene bore holes into Rei's leaving the Princess of Mars speechless. "Mars, tell the others good bye for me, will you?"
"What do you mean?" Rei was curious. Was this really Athene or a vision. Or some trick.
"I didn't make it Rei," Athene stood and Rei gasped. She could see straight through her! Athene was a ghost! Athene hugged Rei and kissed her on the forehead, "Good bye, Rei."
Rei blinked, "She's gone..."
"Who is?" a small voice asked behind her.
Rei turned and saw Serena standing there. "Athene. Athene is gone."
*****
By dawn all of the Scouts were awake and ready to teleport to the destiny goddesses' lair. They had all been breifed about the supposed visit from Athene, it had been voted that it was a trick. A game in order to keep them from going to there friend. The Keeper stood in front of the Scouts, the Gundam Pilots and people from Hyrule too had gathered. This was the beginning of the fight. The fight that would hopefully end their suffering and take them all home. "My friends, this will not be easy. Once the fighting starts it will not end until the enemy is defeated..." the Keeper was cut short by the sound of sirens.
The pilots ran off toward the hangers to get their gundams and fight off the oncoming threat. "Serena, " Quatre's small voice asked before he joined his friends.
"Yes, Quatre."
He dropped his gaze, "Please, do your best to bring her back. Once you do, I'm sure you will be able to go home. I know that..."
"Quatre, don't worry. She's all right." Serena smiled reassuring the boy. Quatre smiled weakly and ran off to aide his friends in combat. "All right, lets do it guys!"
One-by-one the girls screamed out to their planets, the Keeper used his power to insure that their powers didn't fade. He was their focus, their security. Once all were in the sailor form, they called out together, "Sailor Teleport!"
Sailor Moon added, "Take us to Sailor Wisdom! In the name of the Moon!" They all disappeared, leaving Link and his friends alone with the rising sun.
"Good luck, my friends," Link breathed.
"Do you think they will be all right?" Malon asked as she entwined her arm with her love's. Link didn't answer, he kissed Malon on her forehead, causing Zelda to twist with jealousy from her position behind them. Zelda felt like screaming at Malon or Link at this point, but Impa, her childhood guardian put a hand on her should and shook her head not to. Zelda sighed heavily and complied.
"May the Sages be with them," Link gave his blessing to his comrades about to go into battle for a lost friend.
*****
Destiny's Fate
A dark blackness stretched out in front of them. They had used their powers to bring themselves to this place, but where were they? They stood in a huddled group, afraid that if they scattered they'd be lost in this darkness. They couldn't see past their noses, let alone where they had come. "Guys, sound off," Sailor Moon commanded.
"Mars here."
"Mercury here."
"Jupiter here."
"Venus here."
"Uranus and Neptune here."
"Saturn here."
"I'm right here too, Serena."
"I'm here, Your Highness."
All of them were accounted for. No one was lost. Unless you counted them all lost, seeing as none of them knew where they were. None knew if their teleporting had brought them to their friend, or if they didn't make it. Maybe they were lost. Maybe they teleported themselves to the wrong destiny goddesses. But they should've come to the right place, Sailor Moon had said to take them to Sailor Wisdom. How many Sailor Wisdom's are there?
"I'm going to see if I can get some light in here," Mars concentrated on her fire and in a few moments a small flame ignited on her finger tips. She held on to the power and the flame grew slightly, giving light to this darkness. Her flame was doing battle with the night for the right to exist. For the right to give the power of sight to it's master and her friends.
"Make it bigger Rei," asked Mercury. "I think I see something up there," she pointed in front of them, "but I can't see it clearly. Expand your flame a bit."
Mars did as asked. The flame was now the size of her head. She couldn't control it with her finger tip anymore, she had to use her palm. And with her palm laid flat in front of her, the flame ate the air around it and grew bigger. "Can you see it now, Mercury?"
"Hai. It's a cross. A huge metal cross."
"A cross?" asked Neptune. "What in the hell is a cross doing in a dark place like this? What the hell is going on around here!?!?!?" Neptune was feeling the pressure they all were feeling. They had the pressure of a human life on their shoulders, but not just any human life, a friend's life. A dear friend's life. A comrade. A friend. A lover. A wife. A mother. All these things Athene is or will be. All these things must be saved from the evils of this room and the evils that created it. The destiny goddesses. The enemy.
A small giggle, bearly above the sound of a mouse, broke the silence after Neptune's words. "Would you like to see?"
The Scouts were instantly blinded as the room filled with light. The cross Mercury had seen was indeed metal. But in places it was dripping red... blood. There was a pool at the base of the cross, a pool of crimson blood. A body hung from this cross. A woman's body. Her head hung down so her chin was against her chest, her honey blonde hair was braided and hanging about her breasts. The Scouts couldn't see the woman's face from where they were, but that didn't matter. They didn't need to see it to know who it was. They already knew. They recognized the hair, the body's frame, and the clothes, or least what was left of the clothes now soaked with blood.
Her hands and feet had been nailed to the metal cross with metal pegs, like Jesus in the Bible. Athene had been there so long that the flesh around the pegs had begun to puss with bacteria and infection. The skin had turned a greenish color, blood no longer flowed from these wounds, only greenish puss oozed from between the torn flesh and the metal pegs.
Her torso was ragged. Slices and gaps littered her once beautiful body. I suppose that to some such a sight would be concerned beautiful, as it was by the two girl's who had done it. But to most such a sight would disgust them, turning their stomachs. Feeling the contents of their stomachs try to reverse the process and exit the way they entered. The many wounds of their friend still leaked blood. There was one wound that had blood flowing very radiply, it must've been recent. The others just oozed the red liquid slowly.
Athene's legs weren't just covered with blood, but also with urine and her own fessess(sp). The scent of all this soon reached the Scout's noses and they again felt their stomachs turn. A few of them emptied their stomachs. Serena was crying, her eyes and mouth wide, she looked as if she were screaming, but not a sound left her lips. She was stunned, paralyzed by the sight in front of her.
"Athene!" Saturn couldn't take it anymore. She had to know, was Athene alive? She called out to her friend. But no answer came. "Athene!" She called again, but again not a sound followed. In a whisper she said, "Athene? Please..."
A loud roar of a laugh got the attention of the Scouts, a young girl with black hair appeared sitting on the the cross above Athene's right arm. She swung her legs and laughed. She looked down at Athene with golden eyes, "Lady Wisdom, your friends have come. Isn't it a shame they are too late?" The girl laughed again. "Well, well, well... good morning, Scouts. Keeper, it is good to see you here. I am Lilith. Don't you absolutely love our work?" A sinister grin parted the young girl's lips as her eyes turned purple.
"Our?"
"Hai. Our." On the left side of the cross another girl with white hair appeared.
"I know you! You're the girl that has been running around as Athene! You're the one that killed Jennifer Darkfall!" Venus shouted.
Nara smiled, "Yes. And?" She laughed.
"You're going to pay for what you've done," Serena screamed, tears still falling.
Nara smiled, then grabbed at the hair at the base of Athene's neck. She slowly pulled Athene's head back so that her friends could see her face. "Look at her. She's dead. You've come here for no reason, but now that you are here you can play with us."
Athene's face had blood spatters across her soft delicate skin. Her eyes were wide open, and indeed looked to be dead. There was a trail of blood coming from the corner of Athene's mouth too. "Annie..." Serena begged. "Annie, please speak to us."
"Didn't you hear Nara! She's dead! We killed her not five minutes ago!" Lilly screamed in frustration.
"No! I don't believe that! Athene isn't a quiter! She doesn't know how to die!" Serena's lips trembled. "Remember Athene, you survived for the last three thousand years because you are a fighter. Your whole world died, but you kept living. You are the prime example of never giving up. Don't give up now Athene. Not now. Your Serene is so close now. You can go home now. You can go home and see Serene, see Rini. Don't you want that? Think of Rini! Athene!"
Nara and Lilith watched as Sailor Moon gave her speech, not to them, but to the woman who's life they were trying to steal. "I've had enough of you. Forget all these games, Nara let's play!"