Chapter Sixteen
Present
Gloria opened her eyes and was rewarded by blinding pain. She felt blood running down her bare body. After time, the friction and heat caused by the unrestricted forces of Venus had caused her clothes to catch on fire. Most had been ripped off her body but the few that remained swiftly burned away from the massive heat the power of Venus conducted. Her hair had singed at the roots and at the ends.
The girl had lost count of the days. Every hour was an eternity to her. The pain was forever present even after the actual transfer of power had ceased. It felt like every nerve in her body was aflame. She was shaking most of the time and her fever had risen several degrees. But that was all. The light and constant heat elevated her temperature but she wasn't sick.
She was grateful for this lapse in the torture. She had wet her pants a few times simply from the pain. She dreaded the next session. It had been terrible before but now she had no shielding on her whatsoever. Besides that, her body was failing. She didn't know how many more times she could handle this.
The girl stole a glance down at her body. It had since turned deep blood red from the burning that came whenever Hiroshima used her as a power magnet. She looked like a lobster with hair. Her orange hair had been lightened to a flesh color, very light orange, almost blond.
Her hands were bound behind her tightly, in cold iron clasps. Whenever she was used to summon the force of the planet of desire, the iron was heated and became scalding hot, burning scars into her wrists. It was like a branding iron. She had identical claps on her feet.
Whenever she was needed as a power magnet she was hoisted to her feet but for now she was sitting down, trying to keep the tears in. Gloria never dreamed her planet could cause such pain, such agony. When it was unrestrained, the only reason she believed that she had not died yet was because a Senshi could not be killed by their own planet.
The tears made streams down Gloria's cheeks but her skin was so hot that they evaporated almost instantaneously. Everything hurt, muscles Gloria wasn't aware she had ached. Her soul was scared. Her body was permanently scarred. If she ever escaped, Aunt Amy would have to remove portions of her skin.
Gloria looked upward. There was a skylight overhead and she could see that it was night. The Evening Star, Venus gleamed bright. Closing her eyes, the mark of Venus grew bright on Gloria's forehead.
"Onegai, Grandma…Queen Alina…please… help me….stop the power, weaken it…anything…onegai."
The door opened. Hiroshima walked in and Gloria shuddered,
"Not again…leave me alone."
"Not yet, little one." She snapped her fingers and Gloria was lifted to her feet. "You still are valuable until my helpers break into the others' wands."
Hiroshima closed her eyes and Gloria closed her own and waited fro the pain.
She didn't have to wait long.
A blazing golden light immediately engulfed her. Red hot pain cut through her mind as she felt heat and light as scalding as the core of the sun. Tears erupted from her eyes but evaporated with a loud hiss as they left her eyes. Blood broke from her welts and burns. She felt the cool blood bubble and boil as it left her body and then ran down her body in smoldering rivers. Gloria opened her mouth and let out a wild wail, a wail that sounded animal and as such was blood-curdling because it erupted from a human throat.
Hiroshima took all this in. As a being that was evil, Gloria's screams were music to her. So when they stopped, her attention was drawn, with a vengeance.
Gloria let out a sigh of relief. The pain stopped. She felt the power, instead of ceasing, they wrapped around her, like gentle arms. Her body still ached form the past tortures but there was no new agony. Rather, she heard that familiar and sugar sweet voice,
"I hear you, Granddaughter."
Hiroshima growled and stormed out, shouting, :I want those wands ready by sunrise!"
Gloria was left alone and fell to the ground. Using the little bit of strength she still had, she whispered,
"Arigato, Grandma, Ari…gat…o."
Then she collapsed into the first dreams of peace in a while.
Future
Cosmic Pluto took a breath,
"Open the Gates of Time!"
The door in front of her opened and she stepped through and then emerged into a different time.
"Mother!"
She smiled as Rose came running to her, fully transformed. The girl had grown up into quite an attractive young woman. Her forest green hair trailed down her back and her deep maroon eyes were alive with concern. Her black boots clicked against the floor. Maggie sighed,
"I came to get the Elysian Senshi. We need them."
Rose gasped but nodded, "Hai. I've felt the past was in awry. But Mom I've done some research. The Elysian Senshi…"
"Hai?"
"Never mind. Go get the Elysian Senshi. I need to do something."
Maggie looked at her future daughter with a suspicious glance but nodded and ran down the hall.
It didn't take Maggie long.
"Maggie?"
The girl smiled, "Hello Chelsea."
The pink haired princess nodded and said,
"What is it?"
"Get the Elysian Senshi gathered Chelsea."
Chelsea nodded and said, "Violet's chambers are closest."
Maggie nodded and followed Rini's daughter, thanking the spirits that she had performed her Time Protection Bubble so long ago. Chelsea was dressed in her casual clothes. It was late so she had on a long lavender nightgown with a white fluffy robe. She had probably heard the Door to the Time Gates, due to her Elysian hearing. Her pale pink pigtails were as long Rini's. Chelsea, as the other Elysian Senshi, had passed the twenty mark and now had gained their eternal youth.
Chelsea knocked and after a few minutes heard a yawning voice call, "I'm coming."
Maggie smiled at her best friend's daughter. Violet's brown hair was ruffled and her green eyes looked glazed, as if she'd been awakened. Which she probably had been. She had on a green nightshirt which had a picture of a tired looking old woman on it and the words, "Got Coffee?"
Chelsea wasted no time, "Emergency Senshi Meeting, just Elysian. Council room, ten minutes."
Violet nodded, "Right."
She was immediately awake and said, "I'll get transformed and be there ASAP."
Chelsea nodded and closed the door. The Neptune quarters were close. She regretted waking grace because Grace had just recently returned from a tour but it was needed.
"Grace?"
The door was opened by a medium height woman with long dark blue hair and deep ocean eyes. She had a blue robe on.
"Chelsea?"
"Hai, Grace. Sorry but Elysian Senshi Meeting in ten minutes."
"Hai, I'll be there. But first...let me help you wake my cousin." The woman snatched her wand,
"Neptune Elysian Power! Make-Up!"
In a crash of waves and foam, Sailor Elysian Neptune stood before them. She raced past them and barged into the quarters next door,
"Taylor! Up and at 'em!"
A low, growling voice replied,
"Unless you're giving me a free sports car, I'm gonna kill you."
Grace smiled as her cousin walked in, her short aqua blue hair in tangles and wearing only a t-shirt and blue boxers. She growled but then stopped when she saw Chelsea. Chelsea smiled,
"Sorry Taylor but Senshi Meeting."
The girl nodded and said with a yawn,
"Okay, coming. I'll transform and grab a cup of coffee then I'll be there."
Grace guided the two others out,
"Trust me, ya don't want Taylor there if she hasn't had coffee. She'll make an enemy look like the Messiah."
"I heard that."
A loud knock brought Hannah into the waking world. Her psychic sense told her what it would be concerning so she wasted no time, snatching her wand as she walked out of her bedroom, almost being careful due to her husband when she remembered that he was with the other Elysian Knights generating a barrier.
"Saturn Elysian Power! Make-Up!"
She opened the door and smiled,
"Hello Chelsea, Grace, Aunt Maggie."
"looks like you're a step ahead of us, Hannah."
Hannah smiled and pushed her red hair from her face, "I'll go fetch Marina."
The other three nodded. And walked off to the final quarters, the Mars quarters. The Venus quarters were empty. Maggie could not do anything about that. Gloria had been killed, the future generations ceased.
Luckily, they did not have any worries with the Mars. Brooke answered swiftly, dressed in her priestess robes. She'd obviously been meditating and when she saw the assembled Senshi she wasted no time in performing the henshin phrase,
"Mars Elysian Power! Make-Up!"
She joined the group as they headed towards the council chamber.
"Marina?"
Marina recognized her best friend immediately. Rising, she set down her book and opened the door. She had a slight case of insomnia and decided to read so she wasn't disturbed. Hannah was transformed and Marina figured out the rest. With a quick phrase, Sailor Elysian Mercury followed Elysian Saturn down the hallway.
Rose watched all this through the Time Gates before opening the gates and entering another place, another time.
A woman with braided green hair approached. Rose sighed,
"Get the Crystal Senshi Jasmine."