Chap. 17 The Missing Link
Morning came and the girls were sent to school. Elaine, Carmen, Hakura, Ranet, Lynn, Nophlee, and the Ladies were supposed to stay home and keep a look out. Bonatha/Vivian went to school with the Sailor Knights to escort her. She didn't know that she was being stalked by five watchers. Janus, Hophter, Ugraten, Hakura, and a Shadow Mist.
The shadow mist had to take the form of a close friend of the victim's before it would get close. It was watching and biding its time till it found the perfect host, preferably a male. Then it would join itself with the host and capture the young energy and essence of her.
Hophter, in hopes of getting close to her, slid out of the tree he was climbing in and walked into her. While Vivian and Peter talked, Shadow got a good whiff of Hophter's energy. He now knew which host he wanted.
Hophter headed away and Ugraten stopped him. "You couldn't resist, could you? You had to be near her again, right? I know where your coming from, but you just put yourself in grave danger."
No sooner had he said that than the Shadow decided that it was time to overcome the host's will. "You have no idea," Shadow/Hophter hissed, "I am now ready to bring back the energy I have been seeking."
Ugraten ran for Janus. She's not going to like this, he thought. Hophter had tapped into his crest power and was now jumping from roof-top to roof-top, following the princess, waiting for her to be alone.
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Desert, seeing that Ebrude was doing just as she'd expected, told him all she knew.
"Galaxo is coming, and your poison act did NOTHING!," she giggled gleefully,"But I think I have the plan to get rid of your Princess Pest problem. He's got Shadow going after her, I do believe, so I'll intercept the baggage it carries before it reaches Galaxo. Ta Ta!"
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In school, Vivian was doing very well. She had World History, Biology, Art, and Home Ec that morning. She had learnt a lot about Earth's customs already. When she went to lunch, she sat with Annay and the girls. Peter showed up.
"Hello, Princess," he hissed, "you sure are hard to track down. Galaxo would like a word with you, if you have enough energy after what I've got in store, that is."
"Hophter?! What are you doing?" Bonatha screamed as he lifted her bodily and, putting his face close to her's, began draining her. Her crest reacted to the sudden loss of energy and put all of the people from school in a temporary coma.
The Sailor Knights transformed and were trying to come between the two. Shadow, trying to prohibit this, pulled her close and caught her eyes in Hophter's, not allowing her to remove her attention and help them.
Elaine and Carmen along with Hakura and the Ladies, came running. Carmen had sensed that something was wrong and was running like she had wings on her feet. She planted her Winding Twister in the center of his back through her blade. He stopped absorbing, but that was all that he did. He kept a tight hold of her, legs dangling in air and face so close she could taste his uneven breathing. Then, Hophter's eyes went blank and out of the slit in his back came the same horrible creature that she had seen in the field. Not worrying about it as much as Hophter, she ran to Hophter's side and pulled him to safety near the building.
Now that the Princess and Prince were free, the Knights all attacked it.
"Charge of the Red Bull!"
"Quake Energy Wave!"
"Whispers of the Wind!"
"Typhoon Storm!"
"Siren's Scream!"
"Sleet Storm!"
"Static Sting!"
Their attacks came to no good. The thing was still as much alive as before. Bonatha stood, tears in her eyes and looking straight at the Ladies began chanting:
Loyal Protectors of the Guild,
For all Royal blood that has been spilled
Their traits, now, I seek in you
Trust in your heart and friends,
Faith that will see you through the end,
Hope that is an beacon when none is in sight,
Sincerety that makes your heart bright with light!
Then Bonatha was holding a basket with strange colored beads woven into it. The insides of it were glowing radiently. She tipped it until it was facing the 4 Ladies. She then repeated the last four lines of the encantation and, on beams of colored light, the Ladies were all holding one of the four Loyal Protectors' mystical weapons. Trust Toss Stars were Hakura's, Faithful Ax and Chain was Ranet's, Sincerety Crossbow was Misty's, and Hope's Magic Staff was Lynn's.
They attacked the thing with all the weapons, and it gave a soul shaking screech before it evaporated, leaving the Princess and Hophter passed out on the ground.
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Bonatha and Hophter were standing side by side in a dark void. She was frightened. Hophter wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and on contact, a white figure appeared in the darkness. Bonatha's mother.
"My Bonnie! I have only a little while to talk to you. You must take the Moon Princess and her loyal Sailors and face Galaxo as soon as possible. You must now take your rightful place in the line of Wshyne Royalty. I will be there to help you, as long as you remember me.
Hophter, you must now keep your promise and stand by my beautiful Bonnie. You too have some new allies to help you with this.
You must hurry! Dawn will allow him to stay as King! The one to kill him will be the one you least expect, one who has often frightened you. She will keep a promise at the stake of her life. Good bye, and Good luck to you both, always."
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They woke up in the apartment sprawled on the floor, in the same pose as they were in the dream.
"We have to go back, Bonatha. We have to reclaim our and the Kingdom's rights."
"I know, but us against an army? The odds are outrageous! I'll do it anyway. It's better than letting him win. If we go down, we go fighting."
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Gallaxo had arrived at the palace in human form. He was calm at first, when he went into the thrown room and sat down. Then he called Ebrude to his side. Ebrude showed up and the guards shut the doors behind him.
"Ebude! My right hand! How have things been while I was away? Any problems?"
"N-no sire, I-I was cleaning and preparing for the big day. Why do you ask?"
"Preparing, Huh? Well, I plan to let you in on a little secret for your terrific service for the last few days. Something you could NEVER prepare for...heh heh heh!"
The last thing anyone heard of Ebrude was his terrified scream as Galaxo turned into his true form and devoured his essence, whole.