Yellow Roses, part 24: The Beast that Shouted Love at the Chamber that Unmakes the World
Author: Cassima (black_cassima@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: If I owned X-Files, BtVS, or Sailor Moon, I wouldn't be writing this piddly fanfic, I'd be writing their stories. That's 'cause I'm not Takeuchi Naoko, Joss Whendon, or Chris Carter. Surprised?
Summary: Yaten picks a fight; our heroes move in to stop the enemy.
Series note: In a battle against one of the Big Bads, Haruka and Ami (Uranus and Mercury) were split off and had to fight in an illusion world together. Haruka learned during this quick excursion that Ami's brains are nice and handy to have around.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone with a sharp stick who insists on poking me; between not recieving UPN and missing out on new Buffy, the XF being now off the air, and being utterly without Sailor Moon at school, it's sometimes hard to keep moving. I promise you, though, this *will* get finished. However long it takes.
*****
"Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but nooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... and what the hell is that smell?! I could've been at a barbecue! But I ain't mad."
--Steve Hiller, _Independance Day_
*****
"You're sure this is it?"
Scully nodded, eyes fastened to the drawing in the book. "The Chamber that Unmakes the World," she whispered.
"Um... yes." Giles pulled the book back, looking at it. "Actually, it is."
"Well, good. Now that we have all our names straight, let's go kill the bad and save the day." Buffy put her hands on her hips. "What are we waiting for?"
"Um... Sailor Moon?" Rei said with a smirk.
"Nightfall?" Angel said.
"Dinner?" Makoto said. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes."
"The magical elements to be set up," Taiki said from her spot on the floor. She, Ami, and Willow were painting an intricate, geometrically-correct diagram on the floor while Oz and Setsuna mixed the various paint colors, communicating through Setsuna's less-than-perfect English. They seemed to be in their element. Xander had hidden "math dweebs" in a cough a few times before Haruka had glared at him, effectively shutting him up for the time being.
"Hell to freeze over," a cold voice informed Taiki. "You're not going."
Buffy leaned back against the pole, just watching as most of the group worked on carefully ignoring the ensuing confrontation.
Ms. Calendar unfolded the blueprints to the Chamber and laid them out on the table in front of a few of the senshi. "These are the magical focus points," she pointed out to Rei and Minako, the latter of which was only half paying attention.
"Xander, can you explain these to me?" Minako asked the suddenly wary boy, smiling flirtatiously.
Taiki turned back to her sisters, still in their male forms. "You can't stop me."
"Xander, rub my shoulders," Cordelia said, with a pointed look of superiority in Minako's direction.
"Um, Xander's going to go over here now," the dark-haired boy said. Each heard it in her own respective language.
"You're so cute!" Minako cooed, grabbing his arm before he could make his great escape. She petted it possessively.
"Get your grubby bleach blonde paws off of my boyfriend!" Cordelia snapped, snatching his other arm and yanking on it.
"Okay, Xander needs help," the boy said, eyes flitting around and finally resting on Makoto. "For the love of God, help me."
"He looks like my old boyfriend," Makoto mused dreamily.
"You're still injured!" Seiya said, and Yaten ruthlessly grabbed Taiki's side.
Taiki turned a sickly shade of grey, and Ami looked up from her compass and ruler, an unsure look on her face.
"Teenage hormones," Ms. Calendar grumbled, throwing up her hands and crossing to Giles and Scully, who were still hovering over the book, deciphering the sketches.
"Hey, I was paying attention," Rei said, and began to try to figure out the blueprints on her own.
"I don't care," Taiki said, slapping Yaten's hand away and shifting into a more protected sitting position. "I can still fight. You need me! I need to go!"
"You're not going!" Seiya shouted, towering over her sister, and all other conversation ceased. "I'm the leader, and what I say goes!"
Taiki turned white, and Buffy could see Ami's breath catch in her throat.
"You may be the leader of the Sailor Starlights," Taiki whispered breathily, "but have you forgotten? I'm no longer allowed to serve Princess Kakyruu. So, I no longer have to take orders from you." There was a battle of wills as Taiki held her brothers' gazes for a long moment.
"We will always be a team," Seiya finally said in the silence. "I don't care what the Council says! We are the Sailor Starlights, sisters in all but blood, ever since Princess Kakyuu brought us together, to be trained together. To grow up together."
"Who cares what the Council says?" Yaten said. "Screw them. Princess Kakyuu loves you; she doesn't care about--that." He waved a hand. "Tell the Council it's a lie. Tell them it was just a joke."
"It's not a lie, Yaten," Taiki replied heatedly, standing. "It's who I am. I can't change what I am, and it's not something I'm joking about, either!"
"Why not?! Try! Just because you haven't met the right man doesn't mean you have to fuck women!"
Taiki froze, struggling with something in herself. Finally, she burst into motion, pulling back and slamming her fist into the muscles of Yaten's stomach in a mean punch. Taiki aimed again, but her fist was caught in a strong hand.
"That's enough," Buffy said firmly, releasing her hand after a moment. *You can't take me.*
Breathing heavily, Taiki stared at Buffy for a moment, then Yaten, before turning and pushing past everyone else, heading for the edge of the temple property.
Seiya helped his brother up, not sure what to say to the crowd of shocked onlookers.
Yaten had no problems finding words. He looked straight at Ami, still cradling his stomach with one arm while glaring as coldly as he could. "This is all your fault."
She blinked her large eyes in hurt and puzzlement before realization dawned. From her position on the floor, still kneeling in front of the diagram with her paintbrush clutched in her hand, Ami stared at everyone, and the group looked back at her in varying degrees of confusion and enlightenment. The paintbrush fell quietly from her hand, paint spattering off the end, slightly smudging part of the diagram, and she raised her hands to her blushing face, trembling. "I..." Finally, the silence became too much, and she fled, racing past the group and down the temple stairs, one hand pressed to her face in dismay.
Yaten huffed, entering one of the rooms of the temple and shutting the door behind him. Seiya coughed a few times and finally managed to steer to topic of conversation back to the impending battle.
Buffy exchanged a glance with Seiya, to make sure he wasn't going to try anything funky, and nodded when he sat down to help paint.
Makoto and Rei looked at each other uncomfortably, facing the direction Ami had run. "I should..."
"Don't worry," Haruka interrupted. "We'll take care of it." She strolled down the temple steps, nodding at Michiru as her girlfriend followed the path Taiki had taken.
Oz handed Willow a cup of funny-smelling purple paint to be used on the border of the diagram. "What was that all about?" he asked, stuck in English.
*****
Ami huddled on the bench, long skirt twined about her legs. She wrapped her arms around her torso, wishing she could curl into herself. She hadn't felt like this since... since she'd moved to Tokyo and started going to school with Usagi and the others. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to shrink into herself, to fold up and become invisible to the naked eye.
She hated love.
She'd never really been fond of emotions; she loved her parents, but in a sort of detached way. She loved her friends, but she felt their differences acutely; she could think of so many things, so quickly, with so little effort, in so many different ways, and they all held her in such high regard for it. She didn't feel worthy of their awe. She didn't *feel* smart. At times, Ami felt that the only reason they held her in such high regard was because she studied so much, and if they applied themselves a little more, they wouldn't need her so much. In other times, however, all she could feel was her genius, and the isolation that accompanied it. Being with Usagi and the others forced her to think on different levels than usual--and still, she felt obscure.
She'd always admired Taiki, and they had had a few moments of connection that shook Ami to the core. Even after she'd found out the Starlights' secret--their hidden femininity--she hadn't lost that deeper rush of contentment she'd held at the sight of him. Her. Whatever Taiki was, it didn't matter. The mind hidden by that tangle of magic and body, the person Taiki was...
And for this love, Taiki had been banished. They blamed her--they hated her. How did Taiki bear it, the loneliness that accompanied exile? And, why hadn't she been informed of it?
"You think too much," a deep voice said from behind her.
"It's a failing of mine I shall strive to correct," she replied after a pause.
"Love isn't meant to be sorted and categorized." Haruka comfortably settled herself on the bench next to her, staring out at the duck pond they were facing. "I can tell that's what you're doing, too. You can't think your way out of love."
"Love." Ami rolled the word around in her mind, dissecting it. "Is that what this is?" She watched a mother and child as they fed an especially greedy bunch of ducks from a bag of stale bread crusts. "Love has never felt like this before. I love my mother, and my father, and my friends--at least, I say I do. I believe I should be very upset if anything should happen to them. Maybe, what I feel with Taiki... maybe it's the same. How do I know what kind of love this is?"
There was a hint of a smile in Haruka's voice. "You know."
"I do." Ami sighed a bit. "I suppose I was hoping it wasn't so. That--I don't know, that I could spare her--him--her--I don't even know what gender Taiki prefers to be!"
"Does it really matter?" Haruka asked gently.
"It shouldn't," Ami answered. "But... I never thought I'd love anyone like this. And now, she's a woman. And--this love has cost her everything she almost died for."
"You're intending to simply disappear." Haruka chuckled. "When I first met Michiru, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought she was hot--but weird. And dangerous. I told her I never wanted to see her again." Haruka leaned her head back, staring at the trees above her. "I was young and stupid. I was alone. I *liked* being lonely. She messed with all of that, set me off balance. And then, I was attacked by a youma. She came to my rescue, transformed into Sailor Neptune--and I thought, 'I should get away from here. I should leave before this sucks me in.' Michiru almost died that day."
Ami was staring at her. "But..."
"She told me, as she was dying, not to become Sailor Uranus. That it would change my life--steal it, morph it, make it terrible. But as I saw this beautiful woman dying for me, all I knew was that I was made to be with her, to follow her." Haruka took a deep breath, looking back down at the ducks paddling around the duck pond. "I don't regret the danger. Not for a second. I may have sacrificed the path I was on, but she's sacrificed the same. And we've both gotten hurt... but I don't regret taking this chance."
Ami was silent for a few moments as she watched the ducks. "You're saying I shouldn't let her be alone. I shouldn't let either of us be alone. That we should go through the hard times together... that I shouldn't let her have better than this."
"When I first met you, Ami," Haruka said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I was not impressed. I thought you were the weak point, that you were trapped in your own world. I thought getting rid of you would make Sailor Moon a lot stronger. But now," she said, squeezing Ami's shoulder to lend strength, "I know that, by seeing you as a weakness, I was actually identifying the weakness within myself. I wasn't smart enough to see the point in your tactics and your strategies. I wasn't smart enough to see the balance and--I don't think many people manage to see how you really are. It even the other senshi, sometimes, forget... but ever since you and I were trapped by Nehelenia's illusion, I never forget. And I know that Taiki never forgets. You can see it in her eyes."
Ami remained silent, staring at the ducks. They squabbled amongst themselves, fighting to be closest to the people with the food, snapping and making loud noises.
"Come on, let's go back," Haruka said, putting a hand on Ami's shoulder and standing. "It's almost time to open the portal."
"The portal!" Ami exclaimed, raising a hand to her mouth and jumping up. "I can't believe I left the others to do the work!"
"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Haruka said, smiling. "Just remember that we need you to come along."
"Right," Ami replied, giving the duck pond one last look. "Right. I'm coming."
*****
"I'm only going to say it once," Michiru said, looking at Taiki's back. The taller girl was sitting on ground, arms curled around herself in an effort to keep herself together, face carefully hidden. "You and Ami fit together, and you're upset because you can't pretend to be a man all the time."
Taiki didn't respond.
"I don't trust you and the other Starlights. Haruka and I never did. But Ami trusts you, and you should respect that trust."
"I can't turn them off," Taiki finally said into her arms. "They exiled me because I have all these forbidden feelings that I can't turn off."
Michiru sighed and looked at her watch. "Taiki, you can't change what you are. If you have feelings for other women, its because that was how you were meant to be. It's hardly your fault if they don't understand that." She laid a hand on the other's shoulder. "Seiya understands, and I think Yaten does, too. They just don't want to believe."
"I--"
"We don't have time to sort through your psychological issues right now," Michiru interrupted. "We're leaving shortly, and if you intend to come along, you need to get it together and face yourself."
Taiki sighed, pulling her head up. "You're right. Of course you're right. I'm fine."
Michiru grabbed her hands and pulled her into a standing position. "Oh, and you might want to let Ami know that you're not mad at her. Yaten tends to lash out when he's upset."
Taiki paled a little. "He didn't--?"
"It doesn't matter what he said," Michiru said, not unkindly. "But the feelings behind it need to be addressed. Later."
"Right," Taiki said. "Later.
*****
"...novium!" The portal flickered and finally surged into being as the intricate lines of the design began to glow. The glow traced the lines, following the curving, smooth ink and leaving behind a fiery green trail.
"Wicked," Sailor Venus whispered. "Can we learn to do this?"
"No," Jenny Calendar said, collapsing into her chair. Raising a hand, she wiped the sweat off her face; under her fingers, the skin of her forehead felt clammy and sticky. She closed her eyes briefly, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
Two cool, soft hands pressed a glass into hers, and with minimal prompting, she lifted it to her lips. Orange juice trickled through her lips; she thought she'd never tasted anything better.
"Drink lots of juice," Scully told her. "Sip, don't gulp. Your body needs to recover."
"The portal is only open for a few minutes," Jenny replied, exhausted. She opened her eyes slowly, allowing only slivers of light to penetrate to her drained brain.
The sailor senshi stood in a circle, their tagalongs in between the warriors. They all held hands. It made quite a sight, Jenny thought, especially with the power spiraling all around them. She'd never seen so much power, so concentrated; her coven would have killed to find half that much energy. And varied, too: the auras of the sailor senshi were so different in consistency and color. It was a soul-leech picnic just waiting to happen.
As the group disappeared in a flash of light and a snap of air, the word "teleport" rang in Jenny's ears.
"They're gone," Giles whispered.
"Yes," Jenny replied.
"I still can't believe we weren't allowed to go," Xander whined. "What's up with that?"
*****
The group landed with a similar flash and pop over a large flat stone, best described as a landing pad. The walls were dark, and the chamber they were in had a cavernous feel to it. The darkness was oppressive.
"Illume!" Saturn said after a moment, pulling a magic orb they'd enchanted back at the temple out of her subspace pocket and tossing it into the air. It flashed once and hovered above her head, pulsing strongly with soft orange light. The others quickly followed, and their landing area was soon lit adequately.
"Lovely place. I love the decor," Buffy said, looking around.
"It is rather homey, isn't it," Sade replied. She tugged nervously at her shortened braid with a frown. "Where to now?"
"Forward," Scully replied, stepping off the stone to walk down one of the paths. "The only way to go."
They walked in near silence. Eternal Sailor Moon made nervous small talk that only Tuxedo Kamen felt any particular pressure to respond to, and they continued, largely in silence.
"So," Sade finally said, looking over at Buffy. "Be careful." It sounded lame as soon as the words were out loud, and she winced a little.
"Always," Buffy swore, hand over her heart. She sounded so innocent Sade shot her a suspicious glance. "You too, okay?"
"I mean it," Sade said quietly. "Just because I'm suddenly becoming Memory Girl doesn't mean that I'm not your Guardian. My poor heart can only take so much, Buff. Please--"
"Sade." Buffy put an arm on her shoulder. "I'll be fine."
"Right, I know. I just... I worry sometimes. 'S all." She shifted nervously and fiddled with her braid again. It felt wrong, so short, and she wished she hadn't flipped out and cut her hair. "I... right."
She could feel Angel giving her a funny look, so she nodded again and crossed away a few paces, letting him fall in step with Buffy. Scully had been sending her odd looks ever since she got back from trying to summon Kalguna again. Sade had hoped he could assist her in discovering her senshi powers--well, okay, she wanted him to just cut all the mystical crap and just tell her already. Lun@ and Artemis had only shrugged when queried on the mysterious people, and all other research attempts had come up fruitless. Unfortunately, Kalguna had not answered her summons, and she was left only with the nervous, twitchy feeling everyone seemed to have.
Especially Ami and the Starlights. Sade wondered what had gone wrong while she was away; whatever it was, no one seemed in the least bit inclined to talk about it.
"The Hall is coming up," Scully said from the front. Mulder tightened his hand on her elbow; it seemed to Sade that Scully looked painfully pasty and worn. The color was draining out of her, and even her hair seemed less red than it should be. Her voice, however, was calm and even. Sade felt a chill creep along her shoulders. "It will be guarded. Be prepared for battle."
They turned the corner, and by the light of Pluto's staff and the glowing spheres, an arch was visible before them. So, fortunately, were the vampires waiting to attack.
The vampires were no match for a full team of Sailor Senshi and the Vampire Slayer. An early water attack from Neptune dissolved the clones, and the remaining vampires were easily slain.
Too easily. Vampires, evil and generally brainless as they were, did not lack basic "fight or flight" instinct. It was as if something had been keeping them in one small area, trapped.
When the vampires were all gone, Scully walked down the tunnel, Mulder at her side, only to stop about five meters back farther than the vampires had been. "The barrier starts here," she said. "This is the barrier no magic can cross. The final stretch of the tunnel, up until the Great Chamber, is void of magic."
"That's why the vampires were waiting here," Buffy said with a nod. "Makes sense."
"A place void of magic destroys creatures kept alive by magic," Mars explained when Eternal Sailor Moon sent her a confused look. "The undead, in this case."
"Magic and spells don't stand up in a magic void," Mercury added, focused on her computer. "If my calculations are correct, we shouldn't be harmful to the rest of us, though. Since our uniforms are created by magic, we'll have power down before we cross the barrier."
"Well, that means I'm going to be waiting here," Angel replied with a frown. "I guess I'll just be guarding your backs." His next words were for Buffy alone. "Be careful."
The senshi de-transformed and crossed the barrier; Mulder, Scully, and Buffy simply walked across. Sade stood at the edge of the opaque "wall", eyeing it with an inscrutable look on her face.
"This," she said finally, when everyone except for Angel was across, "is where I take my leave of you as well."
"Sade--" Buffy began, crossing back over the barrier.
"I'm not going," Sade replied tersely. "I can't go into a magic-free zone."
"You're alive now," Buffy said with a frown. "You're not going to pop out of existence." She grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward. "Come on, don't be a 'fraidy cat."
Sade twisted out of her grip, stepping back. "I'm not going."
There was a tense moment; a few of the senshi traded glances.
"We have a job to do," Haruka finally said. "Just leave her." She turned and started down the hall. Michiru followed, pausing only long enough to send Sade a cool glance.
The others followed, albeit some more willingly than others. Scully stood behind, staring at Sade.
"How do you feel?" Sade asked after a moment. "You don't look good."
"Better," Scully returned, somewhat surprised. "My head is more clear."
"Really?" Mulder asked.
"It's the anti-magic aura," Scully said. "It won't last long." Her gaze fell back on Sade, and the girl felt suddenly cold.
"I'm sorry," Sade said, knowing something horrible was about to happen.
"I prefer it this way." Looking suddenly awkward, Scully nodded and turned away.
Angel watched Sade as she placed a hand over her suddenly queasy stomach. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Sade replied, swallowing against the bile in her throat. "Nothing good."
*****
They emerged from the anit-magic field directly outside a large set of double doors at least three times as tall as any of them there. As the senshi powered up again, Buffy re-checked her weaponry and readied her axe. The silence was unnerving; she wished for Xander's inane chattering. Finally, though, everyone looked at each other. Sailor Moon nodded, and Mulder and Scully pulled the doors open.
The Chamber itself was large open. There was no sand on the ground here; the floor was an elaborate granite tiling, which met the equally granite walls with an odd feeling of finality. It was a stark and barren room, with only the large, elevated altar against the far wall serving as decoration.
The altar itself was the most elaborate thing in the Chamber, and Buffy could tell from the far side that the two items on it, a large book and a globe, were the special items they had come to protect. A man stood before the altar; he was wearing an elegant purple dress with flowing sleeves and calmly smoking a cigarette.
Everyone gaped at him.
"So, I see you've finally arrived," he said mildly, taking one last pull off the cigarette before he let it fall to the ground. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Is this some sort of a joke?" Mulder demanded, stepping forward. "What's the game?"
"Now, now, no games anymore, Fox," the man said, rubbing out the embers and carelessly kicking the remains of the cigarette off the stair with one stylish pump. "It's time for me to take what I've been preparing for." He pulled a package of cigarrettes from the bodice of his dress and tapped another out of the box.
"What's that?" Mars asked when he paused to light it.
"Ultimate power," he replied. "Revenge against Eternal Sailor Moon. The destruction of the Vampire Slayer Buffy Summers." He inhaled deeply. "Kind of foolish to destroy the Slayer, I know, but I suppose the hope is that the next one will be more easily contained."
"EARTH SHAKING!" Uranus yelled, hurling a swirling ball of yellow energy at the cigarette smoking man. It hurdled towards him, only to hit an invisible shield and dissipate.
"Quite hopeless, I'm afraid," the man said mildly. Buffy supposed if she had a shield like that, she could afford to be calm, too. "No power you have is strong enough to break the barrier the Ancients put up for me.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Buffy said, raising a crossbow and sending a bolt flying for his torso. It, too, bounced harmlessly off the shield.
"Your deaths will not be in vain." He puffed meditatively on his cigarette. "Your death energy will be powerful enough to rip a new space pocket for the Ancients to live--a larger one, more suitable than the tiny hole they've been sealed away into. Your deaths are only partially about pleasure." He motioned with the hand not holding the cigarette, and a large team of snarling, dark-eyed monsters appeared.
The defenders fell into guard position, eyeing the new enemies. This... this could be bad.
Author: Cassima (black_cassima@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: If I owned X-Files, BtVS, or Sailor Moon, I wouldn't be writing this piddly fanfic, I'd be writing their stories. That's 'cause I'm not Takeuchi Naoko, Joss Whendon, or Chris Carter. Surprised?
Summary: Yaten picks a fight; our heroes move in to stop the enemy.
Series note: In a battle against one of the Big Bads, Haruka and Ami (Uranus and Mercury) were split off and had to fight in an illusion world together. Haruka learned during this quick excursion that Ami's brains are nice and handy to have around.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone with a sharp stick who insists on poking me; between not recieving UPN and missing out on new Buffy, the XF being now off the air, and being utterly without Sailor Moon at school, it's sometimes hard to keep moving. I promise you, though, this *will* get finished. However long it takes.
*****
"Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but nooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... and what the hell is that smell?! I could've been at a barbecue! But I ain't mad."
--Steve Hiller, _Independance Day_
*****
"You're sure this is it?"
Scully nodded, eyes fastened to the drawing in the book. "The Chamber that Unmakes the World," she whispered.
"Um... yes." Giles pulled the book back, looking at it. "Actually, it is."
"Well, good. Now that we have all our names straight, let's go kill the bad and save the day." Buffy put her hands on her hips. "What are we waiting for?"
"Um... Sailor Moon?" Rei said with a smirk.
"Nightfall?" Angel said.
"Dinner?" Makoto said. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes."
"The magical elements to be set up," Taiki said from her spot on the floor. She, Ami, and Willow were painting an intricate, geometrically-correct diagram on the floor while Oz and Setsuna mixed the various paint colors, communicating through Setsuna's less-than-perfect English. They seemed to be in their element. Xander had hidden "math dweebs" in a cough a few times before Haruka had glared at him, effectively shutting him up for the time being.
"Hell to freeze over," a cold voice informed Taiki. "You're not going."
Buffy leaned back against the pole, just watching as most of the group worked on carefully ignoring the ensuing confrontation.
Ms. Calendar unfolded the blueprints to the Chamber and laid them out on the table in front of a few of the senshi. "These are the magical focus points," she pointed out to Rei and Minako, the latter of which was only half paying attention.
"Xander, can you explain these to me?" Minako asked the suddenly wary boy, smiling flirtatiously.
Taiki turned back to her sisters, still in their male forms. "You can't stop me."
"Xander, rub my shoulders," Cordelia said, with a pointed look of superiority in Minako's direction.
"Um, Xander's going to go over here now," the dark-haired boy said. Each heard it in her own respective language.
"You're so cute!" Minako cooed, grabbing his arm before he could make his great escape. She petted it possessively.
"Get your grubby bleach blonde paws off of my boyfriend!" Cordelia snapped, snatching his other arm and yanking on it.
"Okay, Xander needs help," the boy said, eyes flitting around and finally resting on Makoto. "For the love of God, help me."
"He looks like my old boyfriend," Makoto mused dreamily.
"You're still injured!" Seiya said, and Yaten ruthlessly grabbed Taiki's side.
Taiki turned a sickly shade of grey, and Ami looked up from her compass and ruler, an unsure look on her face.
"Teenage hormones," Ms. Calendar grumbled, throwing up her hands and crossing to Giles and Scully, who were still hovering over the book, deciphering the sketches.
"Hey, I was paying attention," Rei said, and began to try to figure out the blueprints on her own.
"I don't care," Taiki said, slapping Yaten's hand away and shifting into a more protected sitting position. "I can still fight. You need me! I need to go!"
"You're not going!" Seiya shouted, towering over her sister, and all other conversation ceased. "I'm the leader, and what I say goes!"
Taiki turned white, and Buffy could see Ami's breath catch in her throat.
"You may be the leader of the Sailor Starlights," Taiki whispered breathily, "but have you forgotten? I'm no longer allowed to serve Princess Kakyruu. So, I no longer have to take orders from you." There was a battle of wills as Taiki held her brothers' gazes for a long moment.
"We will always be a team," Seiya finally said in the silence. "I don't care what the Council says! We are the Sailor Starlights, sisters in all but blood, ever since Princess Kakyuu brought us together, to be trained together. To grow up together."
"Who cares what the Council says?" Yaten said. "Screw them. Princess Kakyuu loves you; she doesn't care about--that." He waved a hand. "Tell the Council it's a lie. Tell them it was just a joke."
"It's not a lie, Yaten," Taiki replied heatedly, standing. "It's who I am. I can't change what I am, and it's not something I'm joking about, either!"
"Why not?! Try! Just because you haven't met the right man doesn't mean you have to fuck women!"
Taiki froze, struggling with something in herself. Finally, she burst into motion, pulling back and slamming her fist into the muscles of Yaten's stomach in a mean punch. Taiki aimed again, but her fist was caught in a strong hand.
"That's enough," Buffy said firmly, releasing her hand after a moment. *You can't take me.*
Breathing heavily, Taiki stared at Buffy for a moment, then Yaten, before turning and pushing past everyone else, heading for the edge of the temple property.
Seiya helped his brother up, not sure what to say to the crowd of shocked onlookers.
Yaten had no problems finding words. He looked straight at Ami, still cradling his stomach with one arm while glaring as coldly as he could. "This is all your fault."
She blinked her large eyes in hurt and puzzlement before realization dawned. From her position on the floor, still kneeling in front of the diagram with her paintbrush clutched in her hand, Ami stared at everyone, and the group looked back at her in varying degrees of confusion and enlightenment. The paintbrush fell quietly from her hand, paint spattering off the end, slightly smudging part of the diagram, and she raised her hands to her blushing face, trembling. "I..." Finally, the silence became too much, and she fled, racing past the group and down the temple stairs, one hand pressed to her face in dismay.
Yaten huffed, entering one of the rooms of the temple and shutting the door behind him. Seiya coughed a few times and finally managed to steer to topic of conversation back to the impending battle.
Buffy exchanged a glance with Seiya, to make sure he wasn't going to try anything funky, and nodded when he sat down to help paint.
Makoto and Rei looked at each other uncomfortably, facing the direction Ami had run. "I should..."
"Don't worry," Haruka interrupted. "We'll take care of it." She strolled down the temple steps, nodding at Michiru as her girlfriend followed the path Taiki had taken.
Oz handed Willow a cup of funny-smelling purple paint to be used on the border of the diagram. "What was that all about?" he asked, stuck in English.
*****
Ami huddled on the bench, long skirt twined about her legs. She wrapped her arms around her torso, wishing she could curl into herself. She hadn't felt like this since... since she'd moved to Tokyo and started going to school with Usagi and the others. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to shrink into herself, to fold up and become invisible to the naked eye.
She hated love.
She'd never really been fond of emotions; she loved her parents, but in a sort of detached way. She loved her friends, but she felt their differences acutely; she could think of so many things, so quickly, with so little effort, in so many different ways, and they all held her in such high regard for it. She didn't feel worthy of their awe. She didn't *feel* smart. At times, Ami felt that the only reason they held her in such high regard was because she studied so much, and if they applied themselves a little more, they wouldn't need her so much. In other times, however, all she could feel was her genius, and the isolation that accompanied it. Being with Usagi and the others forced her to think on different levels than usual--and still, she felt obscure.
She'd always admired Taiki, and they had had a few moments of connection that shook Ami to the core. Even after she'd found out the Starlights' secret--their hidden femininity--she hadn't lost that deeper rush of contentment she'd held at the sight of him. Her. Whatever Taiki was, it didn't matter. The mind hidden by that tangle of magic and body, the person Taiki was...
And for this love, Taiki had been banished. They blamed her--they hated her. How did Taiki bear it, the loneliness that accompanied exile? And, why hadn't she been informed of it?
"You think too much," a deep voice said from behind her.
"It's a failing of mine I shall strive to correct," she replied after a pause.
"Love isn't meant to be sorted and categorized." Haruka comfortably settled herself on the bench next to her, staring out at the duck pond they were facing. "I can tell that's what you're doing, too. You can't think your way out of love."
"Love." Ami rolled the word around in her mind, dissecting it. "Is that what this is?" She watched a mother and child as they fed an especially greedy bunch of ducks from a bag of stale bread crusts. "Love has never felt like this before. I love my mother, and my father, and my friends--at least, I say I do. I believe I should be very upset if anything should happen to them. Maybe, what I feel with Taiki... maybe it's the same. How do I know what kind of love this is?"
There was a hint of a smile in Haruka's voice. "You know."
"I do." Ami sighed a bit. "I suppose I was hoping it wasn't so. That--I don't know, that I could spare her--him--her--I don't even know what gender Taiki prefers to be!"
"Does it really matter?" Haruka asked gently.
"It shouldn't," Ami answered. "But... I never thought I'd love anyone like this. And now, she's a woman. And--this love has cost her everything she almost died for."
"You're intending to simply disappear." Haruka chuckled. "When I first met Michiru, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought she was hot--but weird. And dangerous. I told her I never wanted to see her again." Haruka leaned her head back, staring at the trees above her. "I was young and stupid. I was alone. I *liked* being lonely. She messed with all of that, set me off balance. And then, I was attacked by a youma. She came to my rescue, transformed into Sailor Neptune--and I thought, 'I should get away from here. I should leave before this sucks me in.' Michiru almost died that day."
Ami was staring at her. "But..."
"She told me, as she was dying, not to become Sailor Uranus. That it would change my life--steal it, morph it, make it terrible. But as I saw this beautiful woman dying for me, all I knew was that I was made to be with her, to follow her." Haruka took a deep breath, looking back down at the ducks paddling around the duck pond. "I don't regret the danger. Not for a second. I may have sacrificed the path I was on, but she's sacrificed the same. And we've both gotten hurt... but I don't regret taking this chance."
Ami was silent for a few moments as she watched the ducks. "You're saying I shouldn't let her be alone. I shouldn't let either of us be alone. That we should go through the hard times together... that I shouldn't let her have better than this."
"When I first met you, Ami," Haruka said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I was not impressed. I thought you were the weak point, that you were trapped in your own world. I thought getting rid of you would make Sailor Moon a lot stronger. But now," she said, squeezing Ami's shoulder to lend strength, "I know that, by seeing you as a weakness, I was actually identifying the weakness within myself. I wasn't smart enough to see the point in your tactics and your strategies. I wasn't smart enough to see the balance and--I don't think many people manage to see how you really are. It even the other senshi, sometimes, forget... but ever since you and I were trapped by Nehelenia's illusion, I never forget. And I know that Taiki never forgets. You can see it in her eyes."
Ami remained silent, staring at the ducks. They squabbled amongst themselves, fighting to be closest to the people with the food, snapping and making loud noises.
"Come on, let's go back," Haruka said, putting a hand on Ami's shoulder and standing. "It's almost time to open the portal."
"The portal!" Ami exclaimed, raising a hand to her mouth and jumping up. "I can't believe I left the others to do the work!"
"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Haruka said, smiling. "Just remember that we need you to come along."
"Right," Ami replied, giving the duck pond one last look. "Right. I'm coming."
*****
"I'm only going to say it once," Michiru said, looking at Taiki's back. The taller girl was sitting on ground, arms curled around herself in an effort to keep herself together, face carefully hidden. "You and Ami fit together, and you're upset because you can't pretend to be a man all the time."
Taiki didn't respond.
"I don't trust you and the other Starlights. Haruka and I never did. But Ami trusts you, and you should respect that trust."
"I can't turn them off," Taiki finally said into her arms. "They exiled me because I have all these forbidden feelings that I can't turn off."
Michiru sighed and looked at her watch. "Taiki, you can't change what you are. If you have feelings for other women, its because that was how you were meant to be. It's hardly your fault if they don't understand that." She laid a hand on the other's shoulder. "Seiya understands, and I think Yaten does, too. They just don't want to believe."
"I--"
"We don't have time to sort through your psychological issues right now," Michiru interrupted. "We're leaving shortly, and if you intend to come along, you need to get it together and face yourself."
Taiki sighed, pulling her head up. "You're right. Of course you're right. I'm fine."
Michiru grabbed her hands and pulled her into a standing position. "Oh, and you might want to let Ami know that you're not mad at her. Yaten tends to lash out when he's upset."
Taiki paled a little. "He didn't--?"
"It doesn't matter what he said," Michiru said, not unkindly. "But the feelings behind it need to be addressed. Later."
"Right," Taiki said. "Later.
*****
"...novium!" The portal flickered and finally surged into being as the intricate lines of the design began to glow. The glow traced the lines, following the curving, smooth ink and leaving behind a fiery green trail.
"Wicked," Sailor Venus whispered. "Can we learn to do this?"
"No," Jenny Calendar said, collapsing into her chair. Raising a hand, she wiped the sweat off her face; under her fingers, the skin of her forehead felt clammy and sticky. She closed her eyes briefly, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
Two cool, soft hands pressed a glass into hers, and with minimal prompting, she lifted it to her lips. Orange juice trickled through her lips; she thought she'd never tasted anything better.
"Drink lots of juice," Scully told her. "Sip, don't gulp. Your body needs to recover."
"The portal is only open for a few minutes," Jenny replied, exhausted. She opened her eyes slowly, allowing only slivers of light to penetrate to her drained brain.
The sailor senshi stood in a circle, their tagalongs in between the warriors. They all held hands. It made quite a sight, Jenny thought, especially with the power spiraling all around them. She'd never seen so much power, so concentrated; her coven would have killed to find half that much energy. And varied, too: the auras of the sailor senshi were so different in consistency and color. It was a soul-leech picnic just waiting to happen.
As the group disappeared in a flash of light and a snap of air, the word "teleport" rang in Jenny's ears.
"They're gone," Giles whispered.
"Yes," Jenny replied.
"I still can't believe we weren't allowed to go," Xander whined. "What's up with that?"
*****
The group landed with a similar flash and pop over a large flat stone, best described as a landing pad. The walls were dark, and the chamber they were in had a cavernous feel to it. The darkness was oppressive.
"Illume!" Saturn said after a moment, pulling a magic orb they'd enchanted back at the temple out of her subspace pocket and tossing it into the air. It flashed once and hovered above her head, pulsing strongly with soft orange light. The others quickly followed, and their landing area was soon lit adequately.
"Lovely place. I love the decor," Buffy said, looking around.
"It is rather homey, isn't it," Sade replied. She tugged nervously at her shortened braid with a frown. "Where to now?"
"Forward," Scully replied, stepping off the stone to walk down one of the paths. "The only way to go."
They walked in near silence. Eternal Sailor Moon made nervous small talk that only Tuxedo Kamen felt any particular pressure to respond to, and they continued, largely in silence.
"So," Sade finally said, looking over at Buffy. "Be careful." It sounded lame as soon as the words were out loud, and she winced a little.
"Always," Buffy swore, hand over her heart. She sounded so innocent Sade shot her a suspicious glance. "You too, okay?"
"I mean it," Sade said quietly. "Just because I'm suddenly becoming Memory Girl doesn't mean that I'm not your Guardian. My poor heart can only take so much, Buff. Please--"
"Sade." Buffy put an arm on her shoulder. "I'll be fine."
"Right, I know. I just... I worry sometimes. 'S all." She shifted nervously and fiddled with her braid again. It felt wrong, so short, and she wished she hadn't flipped out and cut her hair. "I... right."
She could feel Angel giving her a funny look, so she nodded again and crossed away a few paces, letting him fall in step with Buffy. Scully had been sending her odd looks ever since she got back from trying to summon Kalguna again. Sade had hoped he could assist her in discovering her senshi powers--well, okay, she wanted him to just cut all the mystical crap and just tell her already. Lun@ and Artemis had only shrugged when queried on the mysterious people, and all other research attempts had come up fruitless. Unfortunately, Kalguna had not answered her summons, and she was left only with the nervous, twitchy feeling everyone seemed to have.
Especially Ami and the Starlights. Sade wondered what had gone wrong while she was away; whatever it was, no one seemed in the least bit inclined to talk about it.
"The Hall is coming up," Scully said from the front. Mulder tightened his hand on her elbow; it seemed to Sade that Scully looked painfully pasty and worn. The color was draining out of her, and even her hair seemed less red than it should be. Her voice, however, was calm and even. Sade felt a chill creep along her shoulders. "It will be guarded. Be prepared for battle."
They turned the corner, and by the light of Pluto's staff and the glowing spheres, an arch was visible before them. So, fortunately, were the vampires waiting to attack.
The vampires were no match for a full team of Sailor Senshi and the Vampire Slayer. An early water attack from Neptune dissolved the clones, and the remaining vampires were easily slain.
Too easily. Vampires, evil and generally brainless as they were, did not lack basic "fight or flight" instinct. It was as if something had been keeping them in one small area, trapped.
When the vampires were all gone, Scully walked down the tunnel, Mulder at her side, only to stop about five meters back farther than the vampires had been. "The barrier starts here," she said. "This is the barrier no magic can cross. The final stretch of the tunnel, up until the Great Chamber, is void of magic."
"That's why the vampires were waiting here," Buffy said with a nod. "Makes sense."
"A place void of magic destroys creatures kept alive by magic," Mars explained when Eternal Sailor Moon sent her a confused look. "The undead, in this case."
"Magic and spells don't stand up in a magic void," Mercury added, focused on her computer. "If my calculations are correct, we shouldn't be harmful to the rest of us, though. Since our uniforms are created by magic, we'll have power down before we cross the barrier."
"Well, that means I'm going to be waiting here," Angel replied with a frown. "I guess I'll just be guarding your backs." His next words were for Buffy alone. "Be careful."
The senshi de-transformed and crossed the barrier; Mulder, Scully, and Buffy simply walked across. Sade stood at the edge of the opaque "wall", eyeing it with an inscrutable look on her face.
"This," she said finally, when everyone except for Angel was across, "is where I take my leave of you as well."
"Sade--" Buffy began, crossing back over the barrier.
"I'm not going," Sade replied tersely. "I can't go into a magic-free zone."
"You're alive now," Buffy said with a frown. "You're not going to pop out of existence." She grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward. "Come on, don't be a 'fraidy cat."
Sade twisted out of her grip, stepping back. "I'm not going."
There was a tense moment; a few of the senshi traded glances.
"We have a job to do," Haruka finally said. "Just leave her." She turned and started down the hall. Michiru followed, pausing only long enough to send Sade a cool glance.
The others followed, albeit some more willingly than others. Scully stood behind, staring at Sade.
"How do you feel?" Sade asked after a moment. "You don't look good."
"Better," Scully returned, somewhat surprised. "My head is more clear."
"Really?" Mulder asked.
"It's the anti-magic aura," Scully said. "It won't last long." Her gaze fell back on Sade, and the girl felt suddenly cold.
"I'm sorry," Sade said, knowing something horrible was about to happen.
"I prefer it this way." Looking suddenly awkward, Scully nodded and turned away.
Angel watched Sade as she placed a hand over her suddenly queasy stomach. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know," Sade replied, swallowing against the bile in her throat. "Nothing good."
*****
They emerged from the anit-magic field directly outside a large set of double doors at least three times as tall as any of them there. As the senshi powered up again, Buffy re-checked her weaponry and readied her axe. The silence was unnerving; she wished for Xander's inane chattering. Finally, though, everyone looked at each other. Sailor Moon nodded, and Mulder and Scully pulled the doors open.
The Chamber itself was large open. There was no sand on the ground here; the floor was an elaborate granite tiling, which met the equally granite walls with an odd feeling of finality. It was a stark and barren room, with only the large, elevated altar against the far wall serving as decoration.
The altar itself was the most elaborate thing in the Chamber, and Buffy could tell from the far side that the two items on it, a large book and a globe, were the special items they had come to protect. A man stood before the altar; he was wearing an elegant purple dress with flowing sleeves and calmly smoking a cigarette.
Everyone gaped at him.
"So, I see you've finally arrived," he said mildly, taking one last pull off the cigarette before he let it fall to the ground. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Is this some sort of a joke?" Mulder demanded, stepping forward. "What's the game?"
"Now, now, no games anymore, Fox," the man said, rubbing out the embers and carelessly kicking the remains of the cigarette off the stair with one stylish pump. "It's time for me to take what I've been preparing for." He pulled a package of cigarrettes from the bodice of his dress and tapped another out of the box.
"What's that?" Mars asked when he paused to light it.
"Ultimate power," he replied. "Revenge against Eternal Sailor Moon. The destruction of the Vampire Slayer Buffy Summers." He inhaled deeply. "Kind of foolish to destroy the Slayer, I know, but I suppose the hope is that the next one will be more easily contained."
"EARTH SHAKING!" Uranus yelled, hurling a swirling ball of yellow energy at the cigarette smoking man. It hurdled towards him, only to hit an invisible shield and dissipate.
"Quite hopeless, I'm afraid," the man said mildly. Buffy supposed if she had a shield like that, she could afford to be calm, too. "No power you have is strong enough to break the barrier the Ancients put up for me.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Buffy said, raising a crossbow and sending a bolt flying for his torso. It, too, bounced harmlessly off the shield.
"Your deaths will not be in vain." He puffed meditatively on his cigarette. "Your death energy will be powerful enough to rip a new space pocket for the Ancients to live--a larger one, more suitable than the tiny hole they've been sealed away into. Your deaths are only partially about pleasure." He motioned with the hand not holding the cigarette, and a large team of snarling, dark-eyed monsters appeared.
The defenders fell into guard position, eyeing the new enemies. This... this could be bad.
