A Note to the Readers: All contents in this story is under an artistic license. Fact and
fiction will be clomped together into one huge blob. In other words, don't bother me about
debating whether some conversations in this fanfic is truly based on fact... as Naoko
Takeuchi has done many times. Truth, after all, is an elusive thing! ^-~. Enjoy!
When All the Good Angels Sleep
******************************
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
"No te engano la primavera "Did spring never deceive you
con besos que no florecieron?" with kisses that didn't blossom?"
--Pablo Neruda
("The Book Of Questions")
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse:
and his name that sat on him was Death."
--Bible: New Testament
(Revelation 6:8)
The Seventh Sheep Named Destruction
-----------------------------------
Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice.
--William Shakespeare
("Othello")
"When the sun shall be darkened,
when the stars shall be thrown down,
when the mountains shall be set moving,
when the pregnant camels shall be neglected,
when the savage beasts shall be mustered,
when the seas shall be set boiling,
when the souls shall be coupled,
when the buried infant shall be asked for what sin
she was slain,
when the scrolls shall be unrolled,
when the heaven shall be stripped off,
when Hell shall be set blazing,
when Paradise shall be brought nigh,
then shall a soul know what it has produced."
--Qur'an
("The Darkening" 81:1-14)
"There are ten-thousand injustices in the world for
every deed done in justice. There are a million
more impulsive crimes done for every good deed.
You have the dream that one day, you might be
able to save a few in this world and hide them away
in that brilliant crystal world that you will come
to build and rule over. Perhaps even eternally.
Yet, I must remind you, of those ten thousand
injustices in the world for that one justice, of
those million wrongs to that one right, they all
balances a balance you have often been unwilling
to face. But remember, there is a price for
every paradise you build, and the higher the stakes
of the game, the greater the price. It is all a
test of will. How much do you want this Serenity?
How much do you believe? Is the future you
dream of truly reality, or just another fleeting
fantasy? Because to make it is more than just a
fight with cuts and bruises. How much are you
willing to sacrifices for that dream of perfect
Utopia, of peace and love and everlasting life?
Are you willing to surrender everything for that
dream, even sacrifice the things that can never be
replaced; for example, the lives of the ones you
love? Because after paying for it, would you ever
deem that the dream was not worth the price? If
so, then we might as well have already lost."
--Sailor Senshi Pluto
("Letters To The Queen")
'The threat is gone.'
She turned, unsure, as she looked to faces she thought she should recognize but did
not. They smiled and in their transparent depth of beauty, she wondered why those smiles
seem to bring so much sorrow in her heart. 'We believe in you, Sailor Moon.'
"Endymion!" She looked to the pale and beautiful face of the man below her feet.
His eyes stared back to her unseeing, unblinking, and glassy with a paling blue, as if his
life -- an ocean -- was swept away by one thundering storm. She then comprehended that the
steel, protruding from his chest did something to him that she could not read upon his
face... 'Keep your hopes alive Usako, and I'll be there with you every inch of the way.'
Her dark eyes misted into darkness as she turned from the light and looked down to
the ravaged city stretched before her, hanging beneath the broken body at her feet and knew
the end was here. Upon the distant ground, in the fragile form of a child just turning into
a woman, the power of stillness rested and in the dull gleam of the blade she could not look
away from. She knew the end, and lost all sight of the light that formed protectively
around her.
Thump.
Hope.
Thump, thump.
Hope is a lie.
* * *
His breath caught in his throat as he dodged into the shadows between the buildings.
Face pale with exertion, he stumbled on, hands clutching the tattered rags around his neck
to protect him from the chill of the night. The foggy air of his breaths, the darkness of
the sky, and the silent death plane before him should've made him mad by now. Now, the only
thing that kept him going was his stubborn determination to get the message to Core.
The explosion had half blinded him, and in the dark recesses of his mind he could
see those that he had worked with and trusted for decades be swallowed by the flames. He
remembered Sarah's arm flying past his face without the rest of her. He remembered the
blood that littered the floor and the blackness that climbed up the walls as the flames
licked and winked at him seductively, dangerously, and threateningly.
'You are alive because I let you live,' her voice echoed in his mind.
The shadows shifted before him, the moonlight dimmed and the streets trembled
beneath his feet and then was silenced by a force unseen. He could feel it, the tremble of
the Earth, dying beneath his feet, cowering in fear. He could feel it, his heartbeat
bumping weakly against his chest and the blood flowing with a lackadaisical wonder through
his veins, as if having forgotten the ways of life. And he knew that the end was near, but
he wasn't sure anymore if it was his end, the end of the Earth, or both.
'You are nothing.' The woman had told him. Those eyes of crimson, lazy and
cynical, bore into him like the flames had bored into the walls, scorching his skin. Those
eyes that were as red as the blood beneath his feet, as red as the flames hungrily eating
away everything he had known and loved, as red as the unforgiving sky above his head, or was
that all just in his own head?
"I am Hector Kalic," he muttered under his breath over and over again. Reminding
himself of who he was, of his duty, of his mission and his purpose to survive, to go on. To
escape those burning eyes and that sweet, deceiving smile. To escape the memories of the
world blown asunder as those around him died within that blinding, white explosion. That
woman who had come to him, reaching out to him, saving him and condemning him all at once.
'Scrambling to meet your little pet, Core, is it?'
He had been adamant then. His only colleague left, the only person he could trust.
Core's location, he would give to no one. In fact, not even he was sure exactly where Core
was, only that through the telephone that had been destroyed in the explosion, he could
reach Core, the voice of the net.
I must find Core and warn him.
I must save him from that woman, from that monster!
Kalic stumbled, his knees buckling as he staggered then fell onto the dirty ground
of ash and water. The ground littered with the pieces of the dead. His head drooped, for
he was so very tired... No! This cannot be my grave! I must find Core and warn him of
that woman. That woman with red flames in her eyes and hair of silky black. That dangerous
woman who can ruin everything!
'Your life and death means nothing to this world. Tell me, tell me where Core is!'
"No!" Kalic shook his head in the dark, "Never." But it was too late. She knew.
She had smiled at him and petted his head and called him a 'good boy'. As if he was nothing
but a dog that had obeyed her every whim.
The anger gave him a little strength and he pushed up from all fours and tried to
stand, using the wall as a support. He fought to stand, fought to rebel against the
dark-fires of her eyes that scorched his mind. 'You are alive because of me, because I
allowed you to live. If you tell me, I'll let you see the Utopia of my dreams.'
"Never!" Kalic spat. Never will I give in to that woman! But his muscles refused
his mind, could not take his anger and the hunger and the disease of his ravaged shell of a
body. There was no strength in him to go forth. No strength. Slumping against the grimy
wall, he did the only thing he could; he closed his eyes as the tears of helplessness
slipped past his lids. They soon stopped altogether for he had not even the strength to cry
and sleep came to him like a blanket of snow that would cover the ravaged Earth at the end
of a most terrible winter.
*I think that life is like a cup of coffee, it's bitter but it wakes you up. Sounds
silly, doesn't it?* he asked.
*Of much philosophical worth I'm sure,* Setsuna had smiled that time. She rarely
ever smiled and when she did, it was like night turning into day. *I need you to take care
of him,* those eyes of crimson looked into his. They were old eyes, though not lacking the
gentle understanding and mysterious sadness that Setsuna always carried around with her when
she visited.
*He's not human,* and Setsuna had nodded in confirmation. *But don't worry, I want
to get to know him. I want to prove to myself that those loony science-fiction authors
never knew what they were talking about when they said that machines had no feelings.*
*A taste of humanity?* She had asked with surprise but she was smiling again in
approval and it made him so happy.
*A taste of heaven,* he smiled. *After all, we can't spend our lives drinking
coffee now, can we? It's too bitter.* He made her laugh when he had wrinkled his nose
slightly at that last statement, and it was something he would never forget. *So what's his
name, assuming that he has one, that is?*
*Core,* Setsuna told him. *His name is Core.*
"Core," he whispered before the darkness swallowed him whole.
I'm sorry.
* * *
"Let's do it min'na!" Super Sailor Moon shouted.
Venus smiled before a frown came upon her face. "Where's Mars?" She asked. The
faces of the others clouded over at the question, but there was no time for answers as the
youma unleashed their first offensive attack onto the new comers.
The dark energy exploded near them, but all of them had jumped clear. When the
smoke cleared Venus could clearly see that this was true and other than a few minor
scratches here and there, everyone was safe, everyone was fine. And Fuma was in the middle
of it all.
Jupiter had landed near her, while Mercury and Super Sailor Moon had been a ways
down the other way. "So are you going to tell me what the deal with Mars is?" Venus asked
as she let out a stream of energy after Jupiter had unleashed her own lightening.
The brunette looked grimly out at the field before her, but Venus was unsure if it
was the situation itself that made the other seemed so gloomy. "It's Kagemi-san," Jupiter
uttered more bitterly than Venus ever heard her. "He got in the way again." Gloved hands
rose and before she could answer or ask any more questions, lightening blinded her vision.
"Jupiter Oak EVOLUTION!"
Venus took a step back at the out burst of energy from her friend and fellow senshi,
brows frowning in distaste. If Jupiter kept using up her energy like that she wouldn't last
long into the battle, Venus reflected with worry. What's gotten into her? Ever since that
attack in school, Jupiter's control over her powers, as well as herself, had been
fluctuating dangerously. She's not thinking, she's letting her feelings control her and run
away with her!
Venus suddenly realized that she had done the exact same thing at her parent's
house. She remembered how much more pensive Usagi was, how her princess broke down more and
more under a pressure she could not see or hear or smell. She remembered Ami's somber
speech, the blue-haired girl's sharp retorts. And most of all she remembered the burning
glare within the eyes of a possessed Rei, turning to her with that dark smile and a promise
of an even darker future. All of these points to these dark happenings in the last few
months, she was sure of it. All of these tied in with their new enemies somehow. All those
years ago, when she had been alone, with only Artemis as her lone partner in crime, and the
others--
No, that was the past. This time she won't screw up. But this time she had to rely
on herself as much as the others. She had not realized how long she had depended on Usagi
to make all the decisions as Sailor Moon, she had not realized how long she had let herself
float from the responsibilities she should not have shied away from. Too long she had
allowed herself to slack on her own duties, to let her friends get hurt, to let them become
so disorganized and broken. She should've been watching her Princess more closely, she
should've trusted Ami's judgement and immediately put to action the ideas the blue-haired
girl had offered. She should've been more attentive to Makoto's growing distance and
emotional out-bursts that were absurdly unusual. She should've taken the hint from the
haunted look in Rei's eyes and that day at the temple when Kagemi Hiketsu, that cool and
distant friend of Rei's, had practically threw them out with that wild panic and worry in
his eyes. She should've known!
Her body reacted, fought and lashed out at the darkness before her as she finally
saw what she should've seen years ago when she first taken her mantle as a Sailor Senshi, as
a Leader to a team. And she was ashamed of her actions to her parents, to her friends, and
to Fuma who should not be here fighting beside her. To everyone who's lives she had put to
risk, who's emotions she had blindly hurt in her ignorance.
Not this time! Minako promised herself as she gathered her powers from within,
"Venus, Love and Beauty SHOCK!" Unleashing her powers upon her enemies.
Blue eyes turned to Mercury who was furiously typing away, "Mercury, we can't hold
them back like this. What is it we must do?" Venus asked.
Mercury looked startled at the purpose in those usually cheerful eyes, surprised at
the steel in her voice and the command in her tone. However, the blue-haired senshi quickly
slipped back into professionalism, blue eyes looking to her screen as she thought. "We need
a powerful attack to beat them back and then beat them down." Mercury analyzed. "They are
not hard to kill, it is all about the ratio between us and them. We have more powers but
they have more fighters, weak fighters but they still can fight. Plus, their claws are
poisonous, so close combat is out of the question, which leave us with only magical attacks,
but that can be draining on us."
Venus nodded as her beam swept across the field, her eyes snapping between her
targets and watching Jupiter's back. "Do you think a Planet Attack can do the trick?"
Venus asked.
Mercury swept up her arms and lashed out with an Aqua Rhapsody before answering,
only slightly out of breath. "It will have to be more powerful than our usual Planet
attack, but it could do the trick. However, an attack that big and considering how long it
has been since our last actual battle with anything on this scale, it'll be more draining
than before."
"So we're a little out of shape," Jupiter said, having been listening to the whole
conversation. The other shrugged off Mercury's warning with a smirk, "We can do it!"
"It'll leave us vulnerable if they attack us again," Mercury continued to caution.
"There are no other choices," Super Sailor Moon said as she twirled her tiara -- one
of her weakest attacks -- out into the youma army.
"There probably are other choices," Mercury sighed, "we just don't have time to
think them up."
"Do you think we can do it without Mars?" Venus asked.
At this Mercury's face become a frown, "I don't know. It'll be dangerous."
"Have we any other ideas anytime soon?" Jupiter demanded.
Super Sailor Moon paused at this, "Maybe she'll show up." Their odango leader
proposed hopefully.
"Maybe," Venus muttered, "but we can't hold them off much longer without a better
plan!"
And the truth of her words brought fear.
* * *
Her communicator lay scattered on the ground as she rose defiantly against him. His
height allowed him to loom over her, but she did not fear him one bit. Her burning eyes
looked up to him, her hair stuck to her from her own perspiration and the room smelled of
fire.
Fire against fire.
Will against will.
Her gaze burned itself into his own stubborn stare. "You cannot hold me here!" She
shouted at him, "I have to go to them! They need me!"
"You're sick! You haven't finished recovering, and you know that if you go without
the cleansing what exactly might happen to you and those around you! Everyone will be in
danger, especially yourself!" He retorted stubbornly.
"But the cleansing takes weeks!" She threw up her hands in disgust and she stormed
away from him, "I haven't weeks to spare!"
"You're putting your own life on the line." He replied, and his tone softened with
worry.
She was too angry to hear this as she swivelled back and headed straight for him.
He soon found himself looking down at the top of her head as she poked her index finger at
his chest, her voice clear and filled with ire. "Give it back! It's mine, damn it! My
life, my henshin, and my decision to face whatever may come my way! Give it back!"
He couldn't help himself from convulsively holding her shoulders and shaking her as
if he could shake her out of her anger, perhaps it might even put some sense back into her
mind! "Listen to me, Rei-chan." His blue gaze meeting head on to her blazing glare, "If
you go to them like this that thing could get out, it could possess you completely. You
have not recovered, we don't know if the spirit is still within you, and I will not allow
you to commit spiritual suicide."
"They will die without me." She told him, purple eyes unwavering.
He sighed, resting his forehead on hers and startling her enough to still her
completely. "Rei-chan, I cannot let you go out there knowing you will get hurt."
"I am a Sailor Senshi, it is my job to protect people from that darker force. I am
a miko, it is my duty to shield people from the darkness and evil that's festering in Japan
and the rest of the dying world. I am what and who I am, my purpose and destiny is to give
my life for others!" For the first time she smiled at him sadly, "Let me go, Hiketsu-kun,
let me go."
He blinked at her, never had she ever uttered his name with endearment, not since
youth when she had casually done so just to tease him. "Rei... chan?"
"You are right, I cannot go like this." Rei continued to speak and he was relieved
that she was finally giving in. The determination returned into her eyes that brightened at
an idea, "We must perform the--"
His eyes snapped knowing where she was going with that, "No." He told her darkly.
"It can be done!" She insisted and was angry again at him for refusing her of
everything! "Especially with you, Hiketsu! You have the skill and the ability, and I have
the will for it!"
"It's too dangerous--"
She blew at her bangs with exasperation, eyes rolling in annoyance. "The world is
in danger, being a Senshi is dangerous, life is dangerous! Of for the sake of Kami-sama you
know it's true, Hiketsu." She finally said after trying very hard to calm herself a bit,
"Even you cannot protect me from that!"
"I wish I could keep you safe for just a little longer," Hiketsu finally said. Rei
looked to him startled at this earnest admission as his blue eyes stared back at her
steadily, gauging her reaction. "Are you surprised at this Rei-chan?"
"Hiketsu," she blinked before tentatively bring up one hand to touch his cheek. A
sad smile spread across her lips but the strength of her conviction remained within those
onyx eyes, "please do this for me." Her arms wrapped around his waist as she pressed her
ear to his heart. She hardly asked for anything in her life, making do with what she had.
But tonight she was desperate, the lives of her friends depended on her and she felt it in
her heart that they needed her now more than ever before, especially since the Outers were
now gone; they needed to be a team. That's why it aches within her with her arms around
him, she was sure. That's why she felt a little flustered and nervous in his presence. She
closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart next to her ear, grateful that
he cared. "Please, Hiketsu-kun."
At this Hiketsu was silent, his breath in his throat.
* * *
February 8, 1996
I should've seen this coming, I should've known. All the clues, all the little
tidbits of information spilt and sent out like scraps of food to a hungry dog. She was
playing me, distracting me with her little aces up her sleeve to have me occupied. That
Alyssa, I should've known that she would know. What is she up to? Who is she, anyway? The
world is dying, and she's not in Japan -- the only living and breathing country left! In
fact, I can't seem to locate her anywhere! There's something terribly wrong, and I don't
know what it is that she does not wish for me to discover.
The most disturbing thing is that she feels familiar. It's as if, apart of me knows
her, because somehow I know she doesn't want me to know the truth. She never did. Why am I
saying this? What's going on? There's something in my head and I can't get passed it!
She's up to something, good or bad, I don't like it. I should know her, I know I should
know her! No one that powerful could have hidden from my sight for this long without a
slip, no one. But then, she knew about Ami, about the Sailor Senshi...
How did she know this? Gather this information? Why do I dread the answer so?
Kalic is late in his calls, I didn't realize it until I was forced to snap out of
the trance state once Ami was free to research the works on whatever links we had left in
this burning hell that once was Earth. The net is dwindling, information lost forever in
the blink of an eye, and I can do nothing! Nothing.
Never have i felt so powerless against this. I feel as if I should know more, that
I could do more! But what? I keep running into walls inside myself that I never realized
was there. And now? Now I'm not sure who I'm fighting anymore. That woman, Alyssa? Ami?
The world? That lunatic politician, Fujimia Doko? CHAOS? Or is it myself that I can't
even seem to face. I never realized until now that I have no mirrors. Hell, I don't even
know what I look like. I never realized that I never thought about how young I am, or maybe
how old.
My existence is a mystery to me.
But Alyssa knows.
I know, somehow, she knows. She knows me, and I should know her. Why? Why this
ache? This anxious, fearful feeling in my chest as if everything I've been fighting for had
been no more than a side show to distract my attention? Why now? Why CHAOS?
Am I even... human?
Did they make me? Who is my creator?
This is a waste of time. I should be searching for answers and alternatives to
solve the riddle of CHAOS. I should find out why this Fujimia Doko has suddenly became so
popular in that deteriorating country. I should find out why Japan isn't dying as fast or
isn't dead at all yet, not yet. Why? So many whys!
I'm alone now.
I don't feel scared of that, and I wonder why. That wonderment, scares me. Silent
as the Outside, that infinite blackness of space past the atmospheres, that's the world I
live in now. As silent as a plane of death where not even the wind dares to stir or reach
out to. That is my home. An empty shell of a world that once did not burn, that was not
killed by disease, ravaged by darkness and power. And above all of this, one thing leaves
me shivering with an unknown fear of something greater coming, a darker storm that is but
rising in the horizon. All of this I know because a stillness had fallen over Earth.
A calm before the storm. And the silence that has fallen over the world is like
none that I have ever seen or heard before. I fear the very words that come to me like an
unchanging wave, impossible to ignore. But the truth is this, and this only: The Earth is
dying, and the web is silent.
-- Core
("Recorded Last Entry on the Web")
* * *
Alyssa stroked his cheek, pensively staring down at his still form. He was the one.
The seed of her womb, scattered over the winds of time. And here he had settled to perfect
the dreams of long ago.
She smiled at having seen that finally those days of darkness and struggles were
coming to an end. Longed for it. Longed to see the re-creation of what was once lost to
her because fate had deemed it so, or what the humans called fate. They cannot control what
happens in their lives, and they gave their helplessness a name. She, on the other hand,
had been preparing for this day of contentions since first she found this rural, back-water
planet, nestled on the edge of the universe. She had been an exile then, but now, now, she
looked forward to finally calling this place home.
That big bang to start the evolution that her own planet had long since experienced.
Her breath touched his forehead as she closed her eyes.
Today's the day.
* * *
Destruction.
It savoured the taste and the feel of that need. Compulsive and overpowering. Some
may enjoy it because they fed off the pain, the fear, and the helpless anguish of those that
lived, but those could never truly savour the dark taste of pure destruction! It did not
enjoy destruction for the end results. No, never for that! Instead, it savoured the action
of it. The pureness of that power that ate everything away, that contained nothing, lost
nothing, and gained nothing. On that plane between sharp pain and undeniable pleasure, it
fed upon Death like a ravenous beast. It fed and hungered for the end of all things, light,
darkness, good, and evil. All of those distinctions that human kind has placed upon
everything and anything did not matter to it.
It had seen many of those strive to become this pureness, branching and feeding and
searching for its powers as they came and went. Justifying their need to destroy, their
visions of destruction as peace, as an end to pain. They who sought for power for itself,
who tried to gain or lose something or other.
Pathetic!
It had no need for glory, or greatness, or even a justification for its own actions
other than the essence of its existence flowed with carnage. It was the ultimate power of
the universe, where even science failed to understand and bowed to its great strength.
Those before had wanted to build, yes, to take away what they thought to be ugly and
rebuild. But that was not what it had wanted! No, not at all.
It wanted to destroy.
Obliterate.
Create black nothingness.
And those that fought against and with it both resisted its needs. Both thinking it
could defeat it, control it, and, to a certain degree, understand it. But how could they
understand that which was beyond reach and comprehension? Something so alien that no living
being will ever be able to deem it natural for living things cannot understand death, cannot
understand destruction, and can never understand Chaos. They cannot feel that pulsating
fire of power, of anarchy and disorder pounding through the very rivers of the universe.
Even if it did, it got confused, rejected the illogicality of logic itself, and pushed away
the true, pure purpose and reason of it all -- if one could call it reason.
Order is there to be destroyed.
It beat against its constraints, savouring the burning outside, the ugliness of
human nature that made these beings need to conquer over all things around it. On the
outside it longed for the life that seemed to call to it, calling to be taken and it
withered within the constraints as it felt the need to reach out from its dark cage and
grasp its desires.
Good and evil did not matter to it at all, which side followed its lead and which
side resisted, did not matter. What is there that matters except that throbbing power?
What is greater than when nothing and everything became one and the same? What is more
beautiful than chaos and havoc? Can there be anything more beautiful than itself?
Nothing.
Silence.
It collected the anger, the hatred, the fear, the uncontrollable and the controlled.
It collected the powers thrown and savoured the unexpected. And it waited, somewhat
impatiently, for the day it will be unleashed onto the world outside.
Someone was searching for it.
Someone.
It rattled the cages that surrounded its body while its powers and its desires
seeped upwards, into the universe.
It demanded release and knew the time would soon come to be.
* * *
It came so fast, she hardly had time to react. Their enemies were getting smarter
by the second, changing tactics, and even though killing them was easy, she felt there was
more to her enemies than met the eye. They were a swarming, ugly breed; with blackened
skin, wrinkled and charred, and hollow eyes of bottomless pits, walking like Death on the
surface of the Earth. The way they moved reminded her of... no. Not humans. These
monsters were never like humans!
This one, for example, was a strong one. Stronger than the others, and so, it came
after her. Venus was shouting something from the other side of the battlefield, waving her
arms frantically in her direction. Mercury was having difficulties keeping her ground much
less look over. Jupiter was slamming her way towards her, but it was too quick. Soon, she
knew, the claws would dig into her flesh, snapping bones and tear through tissues and
organs, killing her with the poison and the pain. She raised her arms defensively.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought she heard Tuxedo Kamen and Fuma screaming her
name...
"Faia SOUL!"
The ball of fire slammed into the beast, and she felt her body sway slightly at the
power of the blow. The heat of the attack rushed at her, singeing her hair and the exposed
flesh of her thighs. She blinked, lowering her arms as she looked at the pile of ash before
her, shocked, before she turned joyously at the realization of who had unleashed such an
attack.
"Sailor Mars!"
Sailor Mars winked at Sailor Moon, "Is there any other, odango?"
She grinned, "Thanks," and nodded at the other.
Venus was the first to recover from her shock and having fended off enough of the
demons trying to kill her, she leapt towards Mercury and destroyed those that got too close
to both of them. "Can we do it now, Mercury?" She asked.
"Yes," the blue-haired senshi sighed in relief with her back against the blonde's.
"But we need time to power up."
A wire pierced through a dozen youma soldiers in a row, having the effect of the
love-chain that Venus wielded. "Me and Kamen-boy here will keep them at bay," Fuma assured
them with a mischievous wink.
Mercury looked doubtful and Tuxedo Kamen frowned at the nickname Fuma gave him.
"It's Tuxedo Kamen, Kuragari-san."
Fuma smiled wickedly at the other, "Hai, Kamen-boy! Let's get this show on the
road!" Ignoring the dark-haired man's obvious annoyance with him, Fuma closed his
grey-violet eyes as his hands formed a triangle. All around them, the wires joined,
blockading them from the youma that slashed at their obstacles.
"This is what you call protection?" Tuxedo Kamen demanded incredulously.
Fuma shrugged with a good-natured grin on his face, "Prepare yourself," the blond
man told his companion.
Tuxedo Kamen frowned but said no more, crouching in a battle stance yet unsure why
he must do so.
"Are you ready for this, Sailor Mars?" Sailor Venus asked her friend with a frown
on her face.
"Yes," the dark-haired senshi nodded.
"Are you sure, Mars?" Sailor Moon demanded, "I don't want you hurt."
"I take no more risks for this than any of you." Sailor Mars added quietly.
"You are unstable Mars," Mercury commented as she closed her computer and faced the
dark-haired woman. "Your energy level is lower than usual."
Jupiter ran a hand through her hair nervously, "Don't risk it, Mars." The brunette
advised, "We can do it without you."
"Let her be."
All eyes turned to the tall blond that none of them had seen come into their circle
of protection. "Who the hell are you?" Fuma growled, his usual cheer disappeared as his
hands fisted. No one has ever broken into his barrier before, especially without him
noticing it.
The other glanced to him before turning back to the Senshi. "She has been
cleansed," the blond continued. Ignoring Fuma's question, "she is weakened but she can do
it."
"Had to hit him a few times to convince him but I'm here," Mars commented with
good-natured arrogance.
"Hiketsu-san," Sailor Moon breathed startled as she looked from him to Mars,
relieved and happy all at once. A grateful smile lit those unusually solemn blue eyes when
the news sunk in, "Arigatou."
Hiketsu shrugged, "Don't thank me. Rei-chan wouldn't be still until she was here."
"You're the one who got in her way," Jupiter grumbled. Hiketsu frowned slightly in
her direction, sensing something in the air that the others had missed. Yet he did not rise
to her provocation.
"We have no time to delay much longer then," Venus' voice suddenly cut in. "Let us
begin."
Outside the youma pounded and Fuma looked passed their black cage, "Hayaku," he
whispered. "I can't hold them off much longer."
* * *
Standing on top of the grand bridge between the Earth and the heavens, he admired
his own handy work. This was the perfect place to send out the message that he had wanted
the city to hear. A secret this place had kept in the shadows of the looming towers of
Tokyo. A secret that shall break his enemies and bring forth the chaos that he has been
seeking for since this had all began. And then the power will be his!
Below him he could see the security guards and secret agents making sure the place
was safe for the arrival of the Prime Minister who had reluctantly agreed to meet him on the
Tower. This symbol of honour and strength, this symbol of a time old and new. A bridge
between the body and the soul. Here was where he wanted it to begin, here was where he
wanted to end it all.
Fujimia Doko clutched his fist, pressing his palms against the cold steel, a cold
kiss that he could feel, through the gloves and the crystal armour spreading throughout his
body. He staggard slightly, feeling muscle and bones contract painfully as this human body
became more and more monstrous, more and more deformed, and more and more Youma. This is
what the humans would call a disease, but to him it was power, to him it was a blessing from
the Master and from his own darkness. A proof that the weak body he inherited was becoming
stronger day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute; to slowly reveal his true form, his
true intentions, and his true purposes to this staggering, dying world. The Tower rocked as
a distant power, brightly shining like a beacon in the distance, exploded far below him.
There a white light expanded and unfurled like a the pale petals of a flower, laying death
and destruction in its wake. He watched with heavy-lidded eyes, half-bored and half
intrigued, feeling the annihilation of the demons he had sent out to distract the Senshi.
His plan was in motion.
A cold smile spread across his lips as he watched the black car of the Prime
Minister coming closer and closer. Soon, his mission would be complete! Beneath him he
could feel the darkness throbbing like a heartbeat, screaming to be freed. Beneath this
very ground, between Man and his soul, the symbol of human integrity and strength...
All of it he will destroy.
How perfect the moment would be when everything is done! The inevitability of it
all tasted sweet upon his lips and melting on his tongue. He had finally discovered his
true intent and now all he had to do was wait and let it complete itself.
After all, he had finally found his Master.
* * *
Somewhere, down in the city, a nobody broke a store's window and the fire of hatred
and fear swept into the streets as civilized people snapped and a mob was created amongst
the sudden explosion of violence. Hospitals were overwhelmed by patients, many who were now
in comas and all signs points to a death like sleep. Somewhere, a nobody took out a gun and
shot his neighbour. Somewhere a despairing woman hung herself when the business she had
been working for, for the last twenty years of her life went out of business because her
boss was in the hospital. Somewhere, or was it nowhere at all, the heart of the Earth was
dying and her people were all going mad.
Chiba Mamoru closed his eyes in the midst of a great battle, his heart aching with a
pain he had never experienced before in his life. Tuxedo Kamen shed his mask then, and
armour came forth with a magic as ancient as the Earth herself, adorning his figure.
Somewhere, beneath a tower, something was awakening.
Its shadow extended itself, seeping through the seal that caged it in. Its dark
hands grasped out at the diseased Earth. Grasping for something, or was it nothing at all?
Its purpose was Destruction.
And its name was Death Phantom.
"Mister Prime Minister," Fujimia Doko smiled. "I'm so glad you could make it."
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
* Arigatou - Thank you
* Faia -- Japanese for fire - probably has a LOT of English
influences for this new word which might be a slang. I believe,
being that if you listen carefully to the anime, this is what Mars
was probably saying when she called upon her powers, NOT 'Fire'.
* Doko's reference about the Tokyo Tower being the bridge between
Earth and the heavens, comes from the Cowboy Beebop the Movie.
* Hayaku - Hurry
* Odango - dumpling; in the case of Usagi/Sailor Moon, Rei is just
teasing her and calling her "dumpling head" (odango atama)
*** No more re-editted versions of old chapters! Welcome to the beginning of the end! ***
A tribute to...
A. L. a Campo (my editor)
His Lordship Chaos,
Ken Wolfe, &
Angus MacSpon.
For Don, who was one of the first to
believe in me and this project that
took a life of its own.
And everyone who had helped & encouraged
me during my trials and my errors ^-^;;
Thank you for every dream and every
inspiration...
Thank you for everything.
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
fiction will be clomped together into one huge blob. In other words, don't bother me about
debating whether some conversations in this fanfic is truly based on fact... as Naoko
Takeuchi has done many times. Truth, after all, is an elusive thing! ^-~. Enjoy!
When All the Good Angels Sleep
******************************
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
"No te engano la primavera "Did spring never deceive you
con besos que no florecieron?" with kisses that didn't blossom?"
--Pablo Neruda
("The Book Of Questions")
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse:
and his name that sat on him was Death."
--Bible: New Testament
(Revelation 6:8)
The Seventh Sheep Named Destruction
-----------------------------------
Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice.
--William Shakespeare
("Othello")
"When the sun shall be darkened,
when the stars shall be thrown down,
when the mountains shall be set moving,
when the pregnant camels shall be neglected,
when the savage beasts shall be mustered,
when the seas shall be set boiling,
when the souls shall be coupled,
when the buried infant shall be asked for what sin
she was slain,
when the scrolls shall be unrolled,
when the heaven shall be stripped off,
when Hell shall be set blazing,
when Paradise shall be brought nigh,
then shall a soul know what it has produced."
--Qur'an
("The Darkening" 81:1-14)
"There are ten-thousand injustices in the world for
every deed done in justice. There are a million
more impulsive crimes done for every good deed.
You have the dream that one day, you might be
able to save a few in this world and hide them away
in that brilliant crystal world that you will come
to build and rule over. Perhaps even eternally.
Yet, I must remind you, of those ten thousand
injustices in the world for that one justice, of
those million wrongs to that one right, they all
balances a balance you have often been unwilling
to face. But remember, there is a price for
every paradise you build, and the higher the stakes
of the game, the greater the price. It is all a
test of will. How much do you want this Serenity?
How much do you believe? Is the future you
dream of truly reality, or just another fleeting
fantasy? Because to make it is more than just a
fight with cuts and bruises. How much are you
willing to sacrifices for that dream of perfect
Utopia, of peace and love and everlasting life?
Are you willing to surrender everything for that
dream, even sacrifice the things that can never be
replaced; for example, the lives of the ones you
love? Because after paying for it, would you ever
deem that the dream was not worth the price? If
so, then we might as well have already lost."
--Sailor Senshi Pluto
("Letters To The Queen")
'The threat is gone.'
She turned, unsure, as she looked to faces she thought she should recognize but did
not. They smiled and in their transparent depth of beauty, she wondered why those smiles
seem to bring so much sorrow in her heart. 'We believe in you, Sailor Moon.'
"Endymion!" She looked to the pale and beautiful face of the man below her feet.
His eyes stared back to her unseeing, unblinking, and glassy with a paling blue, as if his
life -- an ocean -- was swept away by one thundering storm. She then comprehended that the
steel, protruding from his chest did something to him that she could not read upon his
face... 'Keep your hopes alive Usako, and I'll be there with you every inch of the way.'
Her dark eyes misted into darkness as she turned from the light and looked down to
the ravaged city stretched before her, hanging beneath the broken body at her feet and knew
the end was here. Upon the distant ground, in the fragile form of a child just turning into
a woman, the power of stillness rested and in the dull gleam of the blade she could not look
away from. She knew the end, and lost all sight of the light that formed protectively
around her.
Thump.
Hope.
Thump, thump.
Hope is a lie.
* * *
His breath caught in his throat as he dodged into the shadows between the buildings.
Face pale with exertion, he stumbled on, hands clutching the tattered rags around his neck
to protect him from the chill of the night. The foggy air of his breaths, the darkness of
the sky, and the silent death plane before him should've made him mad by now. Now, the only
thing that kept him going was his stubborn determination to get the message to Core.
The explosion had half blinded him, and in the dark recesses of his mind he could
see those that he had worked with and trusted for decades be swallowed by the flames. He
remembered Sarah's arm flying past his face without the rest of her. He remembered the
blood that littered the floor and the blackness that climbed up the walls as the flames
licked and winked at him seductively, dangerously, and threateningly.
'You are alive because I let you live,' her voice echoed in his mind.
The shadows shifted before him, the moonlight dimmed and the streets trembled
beneath his feet and then was silenced by a force unseen. He could feel it, the tremble of
the Earth, dying beneath his feet, cowering in fear. He could feel it, his heartbeat
bumping weakly against his chest and the blood flowing with a lackadaisical wonder through
his veins, as if having forgotten the ways of life. And he knew that the end was near, but
he wasn't sure anymore if it was his end, the end of the Earth, or both.
'You are nothing.' The woman had told him. Those eyes of crimson, lazy and
cynical, bore into him like the flames had bored into the walls, scorching his skin. Those
eyes that were as red as the blood beneath his feet, as red as the flames hungrily eating
away everything he had known and loved, as red as the unforgiving sky above his head, or was
that all just in his own head?
"I am Hector Kalic," he muttered under his breath over and over again. Reminding
himself of who he was, of his duty, of his mission and his purpose to survive, to go on. To
escape those burning eyes and that sweet, deceiving smile. To escape the memories of the
world blown asunder as those around him died within that blinding, white explosion. That
woman who had come to him, reaching out to him, saving him and condemning him all at once.
'Scrambling to meet your little pet, Core, is it?'
He had been adamant then. His only colleague left, the only person he could trust.
Core's location, he would give to no one. In fact, not even he was sure exactly where Core
was, only that through the telephone that had been destroyed in the explosion, he could
reach Core, the voice of the net.
I must find Core and warn him.
I must save him from that woman, from that monster!
Kalic stumbled, his knees buckling as he staggered then fell onto the dirty ground
of ash and water. The ground littered with the pieces of the dead. His head drooped, for
he was so very tired... No! This cannot be my grave! I must find Core and warn him of
that woman. That woman with red flames in her eyes and hair of silky black. That dangerous
woman who can ruin everything!
'Your life and death means nothing to this world. Tell me, tell me where Core is!'
"No!" Kalic shook his head in the dark, "Never." But it was too late. She knew.
She had smiled at him and petted his head and called him a 'good boy'. As if he was nothing
but a dog that had obeyed her every whim.
The anger gave him a little strength and he pushed up from all fours and tried to
stand, using the wall as a support. He fought to stand, fought to rebel against the
dark-fires of her eyes that scorched his mind. 'You are alive because of me, because I
allowed you to live. If you tell me, I'll let you see the Utopia of my dreams.'
"Never!" Kalic spat. Never will I give in to that woman! But his muscles refused
his mind, could not take his anger and the hunger and the disease of his ravaged shell of a
body. There was no strength in him to go forth. No strength. Slumping against the grimy
wall, he did the only thing he could; he closed his eyes as the tears of helplessness
slipped past his lids. They soon stopped altogether for he had not even the strength to cry
and sleep came to him like a blanket of snow that would cover the ravaged Earth at the end
of a most terrible winter.
*I think that life is like a cup of coffee, it's bitter but it wakes you up. Sounds
silly, doesn't it?* he asked.
*Of much philosophical worth I'm sure,* Setsuna had smiled that time. She rarely
ever smiled and when she did, it was like night turning into day. *I need you to take care
of him,* those eyes of crimson looked into his. They were old eyes, though not lacking the
gentle understanding and mysterious sadness that Setsuna always carried around with her when
she visited.
*He's not human,* and Setsuna had nodded in confirmation. *But don't worry, I want
to get to know him. I want to prove to myself that those loony science-fiction authors
never knew what they were talking about when they said that machines had no feelings.*
*A taste of humanity?* She had asked with surprise but she was smiling again in
approval and it made him so happy.
*A taste of heaven,* he smiled. *After all, we can't spend our lives drinking
coffee now, can we? It's too bitter.* He made her laugh when he had wrinkled his nose
slightly at that last statement, and it was something he would never forget. *So what's his
name, assuming that he has one, that is?*
*Core,* Setsuna told him. *His name is Core.*
"Core," he whispered before the darkness swallowed him whole.
I'm sorry.
* * *
"Let's do it min'na!" Super Sailor Moon shouted.
Venus smiled before a frown came upon her face. "Where's Mars?" She asked. The
faces of the others clouded over at the question, but there was no time for answers as the
youma unleashed their first offensive attack onto the new comers.
The dark energy exploded near them, but all of them had jumped clear. When the
smoke cleared Venus could clearly see that this was true and other than a few minor
scratches here and there, everyone was safe, everyone was fine. And Fuma was in the middle
of it all.
Jupiter had landed near her, while Mercury and Super Sailor Moon had been a ways
down the other way. "So are you going to tell me what the deal with Mars is?" Venus asked
as she let out a stream of energy after Jupiter had unleashed her own lightening.
The brunette looked grimly out at the field before her, but Venus was unsure if it
was the situation itself that made the other seemed so gloomy. "It's Kagemi-san," Jupiter
uttered more bitterly than Venus ever heard her. "He got in the way again." Gloved hands
rose and before she could answer or ask any more questions, lightening blinded her vision.
"Jupiter Oak EVOLUTION!"
Venus took a step back at the out burst of energy from her friend and fellow senshi,
brows frowning in distaste. If Jupiter kept using up her energy like that she wouldn't last
long into the battle, Venus reflected with worry. What's gotten into her? Ever since that
attack in school, Jupiter's control over her powers, as well as herself, had been
fluctuating dangerously. She's not thinking, she's letting her feelings control her and run
away with her!
Venus suddenly realized that she had done the exact same thing at her parent's
house. She remembered how much more pensive Usagi was, how her princess broke down more and
more under a pressure she could not see or hear or smell. She remembered Ami's somber
speech, the blue-haired girl's sharp retorts. And most of all she remembered the burning
glare within the eyes of a possessed Rei, turning to her with that dark smile and a promise
of an even darker future. All of these points to these dark happenings in the last few
months, she was sure of it. All of these tied in with their new enemies somehow. All those
years ago, when she had been alone, with only Artemis as her lone partner in crime, and the
others--
No, that was the past. This time she won't screw up. But this time she had to rely
on herself as much as the others. She had not realized how long she had depended on Usagi
to make all the decisions as Sailor Moon, she had not realized how long she had let herself
float from the responsibilities she should not have shied away from. Too long she had
allowed herself to slack on her own duties, to let her friends get hurt, to let them become
so disorganized and broken. She should've been watching her Princess more closely, she
should've trusted Ami's judgement and immediately put to action the ideas the blue-haired
girl had offered. She should've been more attentive to Makoto's growing distance and
emotional out-bursts that were absurdly unusual. She should've taken the hint from the
haunted look in Rei's eyes and that day at the temple when Kagemi Hiketsu, that cool and
distant friend of Rei's, had practically threw them out with that wild panic and worry in
his eyes. She should've known!
Her body reacted, fought and lashed out at the darkness before her as she finally
saw what she should've seen years ago when she first taken her mantle as a Sailor Senshi, as
a Leader to a team. And she was ashamed of her actions to her parents, to her friends, and
to Fuma who should not be here fighting beside her. To everyone who's lives she had put to
risk, who's emotions she had blindly hurt in her ignorance.
Not this time! Minako promised herself as she gathered her powers from within,
"Venus, Love and Beauty SHOCK!" Unleashing her powers upon her enemies.
Blue eyes turned to Mercury who was furiously typing away, "Mercury, we can't hold
them back like this. What is it we must do?" Venus asked.
Mercury looked startled at the purpose in those usually cheerful eyes, surprised at
the steel in her voice and the command in her tone. However, the blue-haired senshi quickly
slipped back into professionalism, blue eyes looking to her screen as she thought. "We need
a powerful attack to beat them back and then beat them down." Mercury analyzed. "They are
not hard to kill, it is all about the ratio between us and them. We have more powers but
they have more fighters, weak fighters but they still can fight. Plus, their claws are
poisonous, so close combat is out of the question, which leave us with only magical attacks,
but that can be draining on us."
Venus nodded as her beam swept across the field, her eyes snapping between her
targets and watching Jupiter's back. "Do you think a Planet Attack can do the trick?"
Venus asked.
Mercury swept up her arms and lashed out with an Aqua Rhapsody before answering,
only slightly out of breath. "It will have to be more powerful than our usual Planet
attack, but it could do the trick. However, an attack that big and considering how long it
has been since our last actual battle with anything on this scale, it'll be more draining
than before."
"So we're a little out of shape," Jupiter said, having been listening to the whole
conversation. The other shrugged off Mercury's warning with a smirk, "We can do it!"
"It'll leave us vulnerable if they attack us again," Mercury continued to caution.
"There are no other choices," Super Sailor Moon said as she twirled her tiara -- one
of her weakest attacks -- out into the youma army.
"There probably are other choices," Mercury sighed, "we just don't have time to
think them up."
"Do you think we can do it without Mars?" Venus asked.
At this Mercury's face become a frown, "I don't know. It'll be dangerous."
"Have we any other ideas anytime soon?" Jupiter demanded.
Super Sailor Moon paused at this, "Maybe she'll show up." Their odango leader
proposed hopefully.
"Maybe," Venus muttered, "but we can't hold them off much longer without a better
plan!"
And the truth of her words brought fear.
* * *
Her communicator lay scattered on the ground as she rose defiantly against him. His
height allowed him to loom over her, but she did not fear him one bit. Her burning eyes
looked up to him, her hair stuck to her from her own perspiration and the room smelled of
fire.
Fire against fire.
Will against will.
Her gaze burned itself into his own stubborn stare. "You cannot hold me here!" She
shouted at him, "I have to go to them! They need me!"
"You're sick! You haven't finished recovering, and you know that if you go without
the cleansing what exactly might happen to you and those around you! Everyone will be in
danger, especially yourself!" He retorted stubbornly.
"But the cleansing takes weeks!" She threw up her hands in disgust and she stormed
away from him, "I haven't weeks to spare!"
"You're putting your own life on the line." He replied, and his tone softened with
worry.
She was too angry to hear this as she swivelled back and headed straight for him.
He soon found himself looking down at the top of her head as she poked her index finger at
his chest, her voice clear and filled with ire. "Give it back! It's mine, damn it! My
life, my henshin, and my decision to face whatever may come my way! Give it back!"
He couldn't help himself from convulsively holding her shoulders and shaking her as
if he could shake her out of her anger, perhaps it might even put some sense back into her
mind! "Listen to me, Rei-chan." His blue gaze meeting head on to her blazing glare, "If
you go to them like this that thing could get out, it could possess you completely. You
have not recovered, we don't know if the spirit is still within you, and I will not allow
you to commit spiritual suicide."
"They will die without me." She told him, purple eyes unwavering.
He sighed, resting his forehead on hers and startling her enough to still her
completely. "Rei-chan, I cannot let you go out there knowing you will get hurt."
"I am a Sailor Senshi, it is my job to protect people from that darker force. I am
a miko, it is my duty to shield people from the darkness and evil that's festering in Japan
and the rest of the dying world. I am what and who I am, my purpose and destiny is to give
my life for others!" For the first time she smiled at him sadly, "Let me go, Hiketsu-kun,
let me go."
He blinked at her, never had she ever uttered his name with endearment, not since
youth when she had casually done so just to tease him. "Rei... chan?"
"You are right, I cannot go like this." Rei continued to speak and he was relieved
that she was finally giving in. The determination returned into her eyes that brightened at
an idea, "We must perform the--"
His eyes snapped knowing where she was going with that, "No." He told her darkly.
"It can be done!" She insisted and was angry again at him for refusing her of
everything! "Especially with you, Hiketsu! You have the skill and the ability, and I have
the will for it!"
"It's too dangerous--"
She blew at her bangs with exasperation, eyes rolling in annoyance. "The world is
in danger, being a Senshi is dangerous, life is dangerous! Of for the sake of Kami-sama you
know it's true, Hiketsu." She finally said after trying very hard to calm herself a bit,
"Even you cannot protect me from that!"
"I wish I could keep you safe for just a little longer," Hiketsu finally said. Rei
looked to him startled at this earnest admission as his blue eyes stared back at her
steadily, gauging her reaction. "Are you surprised at this Rei-chan?"
"Hiketsu," she blinked before tentatively bring up one hand to touch his cheek. A
sad smile spread across her lips but the strength of her conviction remained within those
onyx eyes, "please do this for me." Her arms wrapped around his waist as she pressed her
ear to his heart. She hardly asked for anything in her life, making do with what she had.
But tonight she was desperate, the lives of her friends depended on her and she felt it in
her heart that they needed her now more than ever before, especially since the Outers were
now gone; they needed to be a team. That's why it aches within her with her arms around
him, she was sure. That's why she felt a little flustered and nervous in his presence. She
closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart next to her ear, grateful that
he cared. "Please, Hiketsu-kun."
At this Hiketsu was silent, his breath in his throat.
* * *
February 8, 1996
I should've seen this coming, I should've known. All the clues, all the little
tidbits of information spilt and sent out like scraps of food to a hungry dog. She was
playing me, distracting me with her little aces up her sleeve to have me occupied. That
Alyssa, I should've known that she would know. What is she up to? Who is she, anyway? The
world is dying, and she's not in Japan -- the only living and breathing country left! In
fact, I can't seem to locate her anywhere! There's something terribly wrong, and I don't
know what it is that she does not wish for me to discover.
The most disturbing thing is that she feels familiar. It's as if, apart of me knows
her, because somehow I know she doesn't want me to know the truth. She never did. Why am I
saying this? What's going on? There's something in my head and I can't get passed it!
She's up to something, good or bad, I don't like it. I should know her, I know I should
know her! No one that powerful could have hidden from my sight for this long without a
slip, no one. But then, she knew about Ami, about the Sailor Senshi...
How did she know this? Gather this information? Why do I dread the answer so?
Kalic is late in his calls, I didn't realize it until I was forced to snap out of
the trance state once Ami was free to research the works on whatever links we had left in
this burning hell that once was Earth. The net is dwindling, information lost forever in
the blink of an eye, and I can do nothing! Nothing.
Never have i felt so powerless against this. I feel as if I should know more, that
I could do more! But what? I keep running into walls inside myself that I never realized
was there. And now? Now I'm not sure who I'm fighting anymore. That woman, Alyssa? Ami?
The world? That lunatic politician, Fujimia Doko? CHAOS? Or is it myself that I can't
even seem to face. I never realized until now that I have no mirrors. Hell, I don't even
know what I look like. I never realized that I never thought about how young I am, or maybe
how old.
My existence is a mystery to me.
But Alyssa knows.
I know, somehow, she knows. She knows me, and I should know her. Why? Why this
ache? This anxious, fearful feeling in my chest as if everything I've been fighting for had
been no more than a side show to distract my attention? Why now? Why CHAOS?
Am I even... human?
Did they make me? Who is my creator?
This is a waste of time. I should be searching for answers and alternatives to
solve the riddle of CHAOS. I should find out why this Fujimia Doko has suddenly became so
popular in that deteriorating country. I should find out why Japan isn't dying as fast or
isn't dead at all yet, not yet. Why? So many whys!
I'm alone now.
I don't feel scared of that, and I wonder why. That wonderment, scares me. Silent
as the Outside, that infinite blackness of space past the atmospheres, that's the world I
live in now. As silent as a plane of death where not even the wind dares to stir or reach
out to. That is my home. An empty shell of a world that once did not burn, that was not
killed by disease, ravaged by darkness and power. And above all of this, one thing leaves
me shivering with an unknown fear of something greater coming, a darker storm that is but
rising in the horizon. All of this I know because a stillness had fallen over Earth.
A calm before the storm. And the silence that has fallen over the world is like
none that I have ever seen or heard before. I fear the very words that come to me like an
unchanging wave, impossible to ignore. But the truth is this, and this only: The Earth is
dying, and the web is silent.
-- Core
("Recorded Last Entry on the Web")
* * *
Alyssa stroked his cheek, pensively staring down at his still form. He was the one.
The seed of her womb, scattered over the winds of time. And here he had settled to perfect
the dreams of long ago.
She smiled at having seen that finally those days of darkness and struggles were
coming to an end. Longed for it. Longed to see the re-creation of what was once lost to
her because fate had deemed it so, or what the humans called fate. They cannot control what
happens in their lives, and they gave their helplessness a name. She, on the other hand,
had been preparing for this day of contentions since first she found this rural, back-water
planet, nestled on the edge of the universe. She had been an exile then, but now, now, she
looked forward to finally calling this place home.
That big bang to start the evolution that her own planet had long since experienced.
Her breath touched his forehead as she closed her eyes.
Today's the day.
* * *
Destruction.
It savoured the taste and the feel of that need. Compulsive and overpowering. Some
may enjoy it because they fed off the pain, the fear, and the helpless anguish of those that
lived, but those could never truly savour the dark taste of pure destruction! It did not
enjoy destruction for the end results. No, never for that! Instead, it savoured the action
of it. The pureness of that power that ate everything away, that contained nothing, lost
nothing, and gained nothing. On that plane between sharp pain and undeniable pleasure, it
fed upon Death like a ravenous beast. It fed and hungered for the end of all things, light,
darkness, good, and evil. All of those distinctions that human kind has placed upon
everything and anything did not matter to it.
It had seen many of those strive to become this pureness, branching and feeding and
searching for its powers as they came and went. Justifying their need to destroy, their
visions of destruction as peace, as an end to pain. They who sought for power for itself,
who tried to gain or lose something or other.
Pathetic!
It had no need for glory, or greatness, or even a justification for its own actions
other than the essence of its existence flowed with carnage. It was the ultimate power of
the universe, where even science failed to understand and bowed to its great strength.
Those before had wanted to build, yes, to take away what they thought to be ugly and
rebuild. But that was not what it had wanted! No, not at all.
It wanted to destroy.
Obliterate.
Create black nothingness.
And those that fought against and with it both resisted its needs. Both thinking it
could defeat it, control it, and, to a certain degree, understand it. But how could they
understand that which was beyond reach and comprehension? Something so alien that no living
being will ever be able to deem it natural for living things cannot understand death, cannot
understand destruction, and can never understand Chaos. They cannot feel that pulsating
fire of power, of anarchy and disorder pounding through the very rivers of the universe.
Even if it did, it got confused, rejected the illogicality of logic itself, and pushed away
the true, pure purpose and reason of it all -- if one could call it reason.
Order is there to be destroyed.
It beat against its constraints, savouring the burning outside, the ugliness of
human nature that made these beings need to conquer over all things around it. On the
outside it longed for the life that seemed to call to it, calling to be taken and it
withered within the constraints as it felt the need to reach out from its dark cage and
grasp its desires.
Good and evil did not matter to it at all, which side followed its lead and which
side resisted, did not matter. What is there that matters except that throbbing power?
What is greater than when nothing and everything became one and the same? What is more
beautiful than chaos and havoc? Can there be anything more beautiful than itself?
Nothing.
Silence.
It collected the anger, the hatred, the fear, the uncontrollable and the controlled.
It collected the powers thrown and savoured the unexpected. And it waited, somewhat
impatiently, for the day it will be unleashed onto the world outside.
Someone was searching for it.
Someone.
It rattled the cages that surrounded its body while its powers and its desires
seeped upwards, into the universe.
It demanded release and knew the time would soon come to be.
* * *
It came so fast, she hardly had time to react. Their enemies were getting smarter
by the second, changing tactics, and even though killing them was easy, she felt there was
more to her enemies than met the eye. They were a swarming, ugly breed; with blackened
skin, wrinkled and charred, and hollow eyes of bottomless pits, walking like Death on the
surface of the Earth. The way they moved reminded her of... no. Not humans. These
monsters were never like humans!
This one, for example, was a strong one. Stronger than the others, and so, it came
after her. Venus was shouting something from the other side of the battlefield, waving her
arms frantically in her direction. Mercury was having difficulties keeping her ground much
less look over. Jupiter was slamming her way towards her, but it was too quick. Soon, she
knew, the claws would dig into her flesh, snapping bones and tear through tissues and
organs, killing her with the poison and the pain. She raised her arms defensively.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought she heard Tuxedo Kamen and Fuma screaming her
name...
"Faia SOUL!"
The ball of fire slammed into the beast, and she felt her body sway slightly at the
power of the blow. The heat of the attack rushed at her, singeing her hair and the exposed
flesh of her thighs. She blinked, lowering her arms as she looked at the pile of ash before
her, shocked, before she turned joyously at the realization of who had unleashed such an
attack.
"Sailor Mars!"
Sailor Mars winked at Sailor Moon, "Is there any other, odango?"
She grinned, "Thanks," and nodded at the other.
Venus was the first to recover from her shock and having fended off enough of the
demons trying to kill her, she leapt towards Mercury and destroyed those that got too close
to both of them. "Can we do it now, Mercury?" She asked.
"Yes," the blue-haired senshi sighed in relief with her back against the blonde's.
"But we need time to power up."
A wire pierced through a dozen youma soldiers in a row, having the effect of the
love-chain that Venus wielded. "Me and Kamen-boy here will keep them at bay," Fuma assured
them with a mischievous wink.
Mercury looked doubtful and Tuxedo Kamen frowned at the nickname Fuma gave him.
"It's Tuxedo Kamen, Kuragari-san."
Fuma smiled wickedly at the other, "Hai, Kamen-boy! Let's get this show on the
road!" Ignoring the dark-haired man's obvious annoyance with him, Fuma closed his
grey-violet eyes as his hands formed a triangle. All around them, the wires joined,
blockading them from the youma that slashed at their obstacles.
"This is what you call protection?" Tuxedo Kamen demanded incredulously.
Fuma shrugged with a good-natured grin on his face, "Prepare yourself," the blond
man told his companion.
Tuxedo Kamen frowned but said no more, crouching in a battle stance yet unsure why
he must do so.
"Are you ready for this, Sailor Mars?" Sailor Venus asked her friend with a frown
on her face.
"Yes," the dark-haired senshi nodded.
"Are you sure, Mars?" Sailor Moon demanded, "I don't want you hurt."
"I take no more risks for this than any of you." Sailor Mars added quietly.
"You are unstable Mars," Mercury commented as she closed her computer and faced the
dark-haired woman. "Your energy level is lower than usual."
Jupiter ran a hand through her hair nervously, "Don't risk it, Mars." The brunette
advised, "We can do it without you."
"Let her be."
All eyes turned to the tall blond that none of them had seen come into their circle
of protection. "Who the hell are you?" Fuma growled, his usual cheer disappeared as his
hands fisted. No one has ever broken into his barrier before, especially without him
noticing it.
The other glanced to him before turning back to the Senshi. "She has been
cleansed," the blond continued. Ignoring Fuma's question, "she is weakened but she can do
it."
"Had to hit him a few times to convince him but I'm here," Mars commented with
good-natured arrogance.
"Hiketsu-san," Sailor Moon breathed startled as she looked from him to Mars,
relieved and happy all at once. A grateful smile lit those unusually solemn blue eyes when
the news sunk in, "Arigatou."
Hiketsu shrugged, "Don't thank me. Rei-chan wouldn't be still until she was here."
"You're the one who got in her way," Jupiter grumbled. Hiketsu frowned slightly in
her direction, sensing something in the air that the others had missed. Yet he did not rise
to her provocation.
"We have no time to delay much longer then," Venus' voice suddenly cut in. "Let us
begin."
Outside the youma pounded and Fuma looked passed their black cage, "Hayaku," he
whispered. "I can't hold them off much longer."
* * *
Standing on top of the grand bridge between the Earth and the heavens, he admired
his own handy work. This was the perfect place to send out the message that he had wanted
the city to hear. A secret this place had kept in the shadows of the looming towers of
Tokyo. A secret that shall break his enemies and bring forth the chaos that he has been
seeking for since this had all began. And then the power will be his!
Below him he could see the security guards and secret agents making sure the place
was safe for the arrival of the Prime Minister who had reluctantly agreed to meet him on the
Tower. This symbol of honour and strength, this symbol of a time old and new. A bridge
between the body and the soul. Here was where he wanted it to begin, here was where he
wanted to end it all.
Fujimia Doko clutched his fist, pressing his palms against the cold steel, a cold
kiss that he could feel, through the gloves and the crystal armour spreading throughout his
body. He staggard slightly, feeling muscle and bones contract painfully as this human body
became more and more monstrous, more and more deformed, and more and more Youma. This is
what the humans would call a disease, but to him it was power, to him it was a blessing from
the Master and from his own darkness. A proof that the weak body he inherited was becoming
stronger day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute; to slowly reveal his true form, his
true intentions, and his true purposes to this staggering, dying world. The Tower rocked as
a distant power, brightly shining like a beacon in the distance, exploded far below him.
There a white light expanded and unfurled like a the pale petals of a flower, laying death
and destruction in its wake. He watched with heavy-lidded eyes, half-bored and half
intrigued, feeling the annihilation of the demons he had sent out to distract the Senshi.
His plan was in motion.
A cold smile spread across his lips as he watched the black car of the Prime
Minister coming closer and closer. Soon, his mission would be complete! Beneath him he
could feel the darkness throbbing like a heartbeat, screaming to be freed. Beneath this
very ground, between Man and his soul, the symbol of human integrity and strength...
All of it he will destroy.
How perfect the moment would be when everything is done! The inevitability of it
all tasted sweet upon his lips and melting on his tongue. He had finally discovered his
true intent and now all he had to do was wait and let it complete itself.
After all, he had finally found his Master.
* * *
Somewhere, down in the city, a nobody broke a store's window and the fire of hatred
and fear swept into the streets as civilized people snapped and a mob was created amongst
the sudden explosion of violence. Hospitals were overwhelmed by patients, many who were now
in comas and all signs points to a death like sleep. Somewhere, a nobody took out a gun and
shot his neighbour. Somewhere a despairing woman hung herself when the business she had
been working for, for the last twenty years of her life went out of business because her
boss was in the hospital. Somewhere, or was it nowhere at all, the heart of the Earth was
dying and her people were all going mad.
Chiba Mamoru closed his eyes in the midst of a great battle, his heart aching with a
pain he had never experienced before in his life. Tuxedo Kamen shed his mask then, and
armour came forth with a magic as ancient as the Earth herself, adorning his figure.
Somewhere, beneath a tower, something was awakening.
Its shadow extended itself, seeping through the seal that caged it in. Its dark
hands grasped out at the diseased Earth. Grasping for something, or was it nothing at all?
Its purpose was Destruction.
And its name was Death Phantom.
"Mister Prime Minister," Fujimia Doko smiled. "I'm so glad you could make it."
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
* Arigatou - Thank you
* Faia -- Japanese for fire - probably has a LOT of English
influences for this new word which might be a slang. I believe,
being that if you listen carefully to the anime, this is what Mars
was probably saying when she called upon her powers, NOT 'Fire'.
* Doko's reference about the Tokyo Tower being the bridge between
Earth and the heavens, comes from the Cowboy Beebop the Movie.
* Hayaku - Hurry
* Odango - dumpling; in the case of Usagi/Sailor Moon, Rei is just
teasing her and calling her "dumpling head" (odango atama)
*** No more re-editted versions of old chapters! Welcome to the beginning of the end! ***
A tribute to...
A. L. a Campo (my editor)
His Lordship Chaos,
Ken Wolfe, &
Angus MacSpon.
For Don, who was one of the first to
believe in me and this project that
took a life of its own.
And everyone who had helped & encouraged
me during my trials and my errors ^-^;;
Thank you for every dream and every
inspiration...
Thank you for everything.
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com