Chapter Six
"A Time of Change"
Location: Formerly Kaido/ A few miles from Obihiro
A blood red sun slowly emerged from over the horizon. It was a symbol of anger, hate and fear that came with the dawning of the new day. The world seemed to calm as light spilled over the land, chasing the shadows into hiding. Yet even though daylight graced its surfaces, evil was ever nipping at its heels.
Deep lavender eyes stared out blankly at the wild plains that stretched for miles and beyond. They watched unblinking, unwavering as though they were seeing something of utter importance and value. They were soulful eyes filled with a sense of knowledge and power that did no justice to the few years they had looked upon the Earth.
A gentle breeze swayed throughout the long, brittle grass that covered most of the ground. It filtered through Hotaru's dark, shoulder length hair flowing it across her innocent face. Her straight locks danced about the winds that journeyed passed before settling down once more. Yet her steady gaze never faltered, ever continuing to watch the unseen.
As the field took on its rigid, unmoving form once more the inner fires of Hotaru's eyes flashed briefly before finally moving. She blinked once very slowly, adjusting to the oncoming light of day. The sun's brightness blinded all that dared to face it, even more so now than the long years of old that had passed. It came and dried up the land, parched what little gardens the world still had, and drank the waters dry.
The night that just passed was finally over, the horrors that had come out to play diminishing with it. Hotaru let out a long, laborious breath and gently shook her head. She had been in a daze for hours just watching...listening...waiting. Yet with the coming of day she was left once more with no answers to the riddles that whispered in the air.
Something was amiss, she could feel it. The world was changing; twisting and bending its existence, a movement not seen now for many years. Hotaru had first begun to sense the changes about a week ago. The air had started to carry with it words of the Old World, of how things used to be before that one fateful day so long ago at Ground Zero.
Hotaru frowned slightly, reviewing everything she considered being an asset to what was happening. She had not graced the world with her presence for a long time, and sometimes she wondered if her young age only instigated the revelations and theories that her brain constructed. Even still, something was transpiring and its impact rippled through the very planet itself.
With gentle ease and grace Hotaru lowered herself to the ground. She wore a long, suede cloak the color of deepest brown that allowed her to blend in perfectly with her surroundings. It billowed around her as she settled closer to the floor of the field. After a moment she placed a small slender hand upon the earth.
Hotaru could feel the Earth's pain, the echo of screams from many years of torment and damage to its soul. Casting her eyes skyward, looking opposite of the rising sun, Hotaru's gaze came to rest upon the iridescent glow of the moon. It was still just as high in the sky as ever, always casting its warm hopeful light upon the Earth below.
A sharp shiver traveled down Hotaru's spine as she reluctantly remembered how the light of the moon had briefly gone out during the night. It was if the moon had melted away, taking to hiding from something it gravely feared. In that small moment hope had dwindled by a thread. Never before had the radiance of the moon gone out, for its place has evermore been permanently suspended within the sky...
..."Darkness and shadow shall not avail
Though hearts of men have proven frail.
Through mist and cloud and storm beyond
The power of light will asunder the bond.
For when doubt and strife shall not abate
The crystal blade will determine our fate.
Though nothing ever sustains the same
The core of all evil, the bearer will tame.
Evermore when defeat is at hand
She will walk again, the silver sand.
Her gift imparted will never fade
The light of the moon is forever our aid."
Hotaru lithely rose from her crouched position just as she finished whispering the Crystal Ballad. It had been a long time since she last spoke it aloud. She now used it as a shield against the fear and horror embedded from the moon's brief disappearing act. Even as she ended speaking it, the ballad continuously ran through her weary mind.
It was strange how even after all these years she would remember how the ballad went. The only time her youthful ears had ever been graced with its delightful rhyme was back when her mother was still alive. Hotaru could still remember how her mother's face would light up every night at bedtime. It seemed to be her favorite task when reciting the ballad to her only daughter.
Now so many years later Hotaru's memory still held the words. Her mother used to say that it was from the time of the Old World, and that people used it when all hope was lost. The mere speaking or thinking of it seemed to calm one's soul although she could never understand why. Hotaru hung on to the ballad as a keepsake treasure from her mom, the only thing she still had that was a part of her.
Hotaru's slender form froze once more; her eyes fixed on the large field before her. She slowly reached back and pulled the thick hood of the cloak she wore over her head. After a moment's hesitation Hotaru sharply turned to her right, and beheld the glory and magnificence of the mountains that loomed there. The wind gently washed over the field once more as Hotaru briskly made her way to the safety that the mountainside provided.
Many years had gone by since the passing of her mother, and Hotaru could still remember the day that she stumbled across the splendor of what was now her home. The town she had once lived in held no comfort after her mother was taken, and in her despair Hotaru had fled to the mountains. It was there that she discovered she could survive on her own.
This was her only sanctuary in a world gone so completely wrong...
A chamber made of earth and stone lay in complete silence. The ceiling of the structure loomed high overhead towering up beyond sight. A single candle rested upon an altar that resided in the middle of the circular room. Its flame burned brightly, casting an unholy glow upon the walls and floor. Shadows lingered around every corner, devilishly dancing with the darkness.
From opposite sides of the chamber two figures suddenly emerged from their once hidden places amongst the shadows. Their steady footsteps broke the once quiet and solitary atmosphere as they both made their way to the altar.
"My Lord." The man on the right addressed the moment he came to stand before the altar and the other figure. In the dim light cast by the candle his piercing blue eyes appeared to glow as they looked determinedly at his master. It had been a long while since he last had to speak with him, yet the turning of time and change was now nipping at his heels.
"My son?" The other figure spoke in return, his voice so deep and guttural that the words spoken were barely comprehendible. It seemed that his response held almost a mocking undertone and that did not seem to sit well with the other man. The figure moved slightly, his long black cloak shuffling about the floor. His hood was drawn up covering any trace of facial or bodily features. In the end he was just a voice. A voice that could bring anyone to their knees in submission.
The blue eyed man took a sharp intake of breath, his gaze narrowing slightly. Long ebony colored hair spilled gracefully down his back, so dark that it blended in with the darkness around him. His skin was so pale and thin, the only wear and tear of living as long as he had thus far. Although death and decay clung to his very presence the man still had an unwavering beauty and grace to him.
"The warrior of the flame walks the earth once more." His voice was steady, yet etched with fear at the reaction his discovery might cause. He looked down towards the candle that sit atop the altar and absentmindedly reached out to play with its flame.
"You are sure..." His Lord stated, neither questioning nor confirming. His voice now seemed to take on a much darker tone in response to what was brought to his attention. From beneath his hooded cloak he watched the younger man before him very carefully.
"I saw her with my own eyes, my Lord." His blue eyes flared defiantly as they looked back up from the altar. He did not like these meetings with his master; they did not always go the way he planned.
"So it has begun." The deep guttural voice hissed loudly, echoing throughout the chamber walls. He seemed almost eager for what he was sure to come. His old bones begged for action, to finish what was supposed to have ended so very long ago.
"Perhaps. However, I can assure of this. She does not know yet of her entire identity, nor does she remember much of the past and what was." The blue eyed man stated, grimacing at his master's assumption of what was happening. So much time had passed. How could they even be sure that now was the time that the remaining Sailor Senshi had found a way home? There were so few that had slipped through their grasp that fateful day so long ago. Could it actually be now, after so many years, that they had been reincarnated?
"You question when the answer has already been lain before you." The Lord replied. Although the blue eyed man could not see, it seemed as though his master smiled with his words. It unnerved him deeply when his mind was read without consent. He knew better, and that a mental block should have been put up the moment he set foot in the sacred chamber.
"My apologies master." The younger man bowed his head slightly in submission. He could sense the pleasure his Lord took in toying with him, yet paid no mind. Now was no time to question the one who commanded the very planet itself. He quickly straightened his posture once more, turning their meeting back to what was most important. "What would you have me now do?" He asked dryly.
Without warning the hooded figure before him erupted in laughter. The harsh pitches of his amusement bounced off the walls and floor alike. To him this was all a mere game.
"Do?" The guttural voice questioned, his laughing abating as he spoke. "You doing something with this matter?" His voice growled, the tone was lined with anger. The Lord took a small step backwards. "I fear that you have gravely misinterpreted my intentions...my son."
The younger man frowned slightly, truly not understanding what was going on. He watched as his master raised a single arm, completely covered in his black cloak.
"You have failed me once already. Do not assume that I would entrust you with such again." His voice continued to growl, growing angrier with each word spoken. The younger of the two lowered his head in submission once more, acknowledging the failures that lay within his past. He could do nothing nor say anything that would make up for that fateful day within his master's eyes.
"I understand." He replied hesitantly, his blue eyes growing dull and unfocused. When he lifted his head to meet his master's gaze he realized that he was alone. His eyes scanned the chamber briefly, making sure that his Lord had definitely departed from his presence. It appeared that he had said all that was needed. His blue eyes grew dark, his own anger swirling within their depths.
Without further hesitation the younger man quickly exited the chamber as well, his deep crimson cloak billowing out behind him...
Through cloud and mist, beyond all the laws of physics and boundaries, he traveled. It was not hard to find his way through to his destination, only perilous due to the fact that there was no longer a guardian protecting the passageways. The road to the Gates of Time could be quite treacherous, even to those as powerful as himself.
The Dark Lord maneuvered with ease despite all the obstacles that tempted his foots to go astray. It had been long indeed since he last visited the Time Gate of this realm, yet he still remembered the path as though it was yesterday. It would not be too long now until he reached its giant doors.
"Just as I left you..." The Dark Lord hissed as he finally came to stand before the Time Gate. Its smooth doors towered above and beyond his height, a glory to behold. Yet despite its size there was not much left to leave one in awe.
The doors of the Time Gate were old, decaying despite their smoothness. Mold and weeds grew within cracks that ran from the floor to the very top of the Gate itself. The structure could barely stand, chunks of rock and wood lay scattered on the floor leaving gaping holes within it. It was obvious that no one had touched the Time Gate since that day.
The Dark Lord remembered how he had viciously attacked the Time Gate so many years ago, leaving it nothing more than a broken memorial. He had to be sure that his plan would follow through without any interruptions from the Gate...or the guardian itself.
As the Dark Lord advanced closer to the doors of Time, their once opaque appearance faded revealing doors of glass. Crystal in texture, and clear to see through, the glass only reflected from what lay beyond the other side of the Gate.
His black cloak shuffling behind him, the Dark Lord gradually came to stand within an arms reach of the entrance to the Time Gate. From beneath his hood, his eyes gazed deep into the crystal glass surface. As his search finally came to an end he lifted his arm and rested it upon the doors themselves.
From beyond the other side of the Time Gate a young woman stared back out in return. Her stature proud and defiant to say the least. Her long dark emerald hair flowed about her shoulders; the spirit within her eyes still shined brightly despite her current conditions.
Within the woman's hand she grasped a long, silver metal staff. Atop the staff the metal formed into two hearts one larger below the smaller. A garnet sphere resided within the larger of the two. The staff itself emanated a power so great and devastating that it seemed to glow and pulsate with the beating of its owner's heart.
"Just as I left you." He hissed again, smiling in triumph, as he continued to stare into the remains of what was once Earth's sacred Gates of Time...and its guardian.
* Coming Soon Chaper VII **
"A Time of Change"
Location: Formerly Kaido/ A few miles from Obihiro
A blood red sun slowly emerged from over the horizon. It was a symbol of anger, hate and fear that came with the dawning of the new day. The world seemed to calm as light spilled over the land, chasing the shadows into hiding. Yet even though daylight graced its surfaces, evil was ever nipping at its heels.
Deep lavender eyes stared out blankly at the wild plains that stretched for miles and beyond. They watched unblinking, unwavering as though they were seeing something of utter importance and value. They were soulful eyes filled with a sense of knowledge and power that did no justice to the few years they had looked upon the Earth.
A gentle breeze swayed throughout the long, brittle grass that covered most of the ground. It filtered through Hotaru's dark, shoulder length hair flowing it across her innocent face. Her straight locks danced about the winds that journeyed passed before settling down once more. Yet her steady gaze never faltered, ever continuing to watch the unseen.
As the field took on its rigid, unmoving form once more the inner fires of Hotaru's eyes flashed briefly before finally moving. She blinked once very slowly, adjusting to the oncoming light of day. The sun's brightness blinded all that dared to face it, even more so now than the long years of old that had passed. It came and dried up the land, parched what little gardens the world still had, and drank the waters dry.
The night that just passed was finally over, the horrors that had come out to play diminishing with it. Hotaru let out a long, laborious breath and gently shook her head. She had been in a daze for hours just watching...listening...waiting. Yet with the coming of day she was left once more with no answers to the riddles that whispered in the air.
Something was amiss, she could feel it. The world was changing; twisting and bending its existence, a movement not seen now for many years. Hotaru had first begun to sense the changes about a week ago. The air had started to carry with it words of the Old World, of how things used to be before that one fateful day so long ago at Ground Zero.
Hotaru frowned slightly, reviewing everything she considered being an asset to what was happening. She had not graced the world with her presence for a long time, and sometimes she wondered if her young age only instigated the revelations and theories that her brain constructed. Even still, something was transpiring and its impact rippled through the very planet itself.
With gentle ease and grace Hotaru lowered herself to the ground. She wore a long, suede cloak the color of deepest brown that allowed her to blend in perfectly with her surroundings. It billowed around her as she settled closer to the floor of the field. After a moment she placed a small slender hand upon the earth.
Hotaru could feel the Earth's pain, the echo of screams from many years of torment and damage to its soul. Casting her eyes skyward, looking opposite of the rising sun, Hotaru's gaze came to rest upon the iridescent glow of the moon. It was still just as high in the sky as ever, always casting its warm hopeful light upon the Earth below.
A sharp shiver traveled down Hotaru's spine as she reluctantly remembered how the light of the moon had briefly gone out during the night. It was if the moon had melted away, taking to hiding from something it gravely feared. In that small moment hope had dwindled by a thread. Never before had the radiance of the moon gone out, for its place has evermore been permanently suspended within the sky...
..."Darkness and shadow shall not avail
Though hearts of men have proven frail.
Through mist and cloud and storm beyond
The power of light will asunder the bond.
For when doubt and strife shall not abate
The crystal blade will determine our fate.
Though nothing ever sustains the same
The core of all evil, the bearer will tame.
Evermore when defeat is at hand
She will walk again, the silver sand.
Her gift imparted will never fade
The light of the moon is forever our aid."
Hotaru lithely rose from her crouched position just as she finished whispering the Crystal Ballad. It had been a long time since she last spoke it aloud. She now used it as a shield against the fear and horror embedded from the moon's brief disappearing act. Even as she ended speaking it, the ballad continuously ran through her weary mind.
It was strange how even after all these years she would remember how the ballad went. The only time her youthful ears had ever been graced with its delightful rhyme was back when her mother was still alive. Hotaru could still remember how her mother's face would light up every night at bedtime. It seemed to be her favorite task when reciting the ballad to her only daughter.
Now so many years later Hotaru's memory still held the words. Her mother used to say that it was from the time of the Old World, and that people used it when all hope was lost. The mere speaking or thinking of it seemed to calm one's soul although she could never understand why. Hotaru hung on to the ballad as a keepsake treasure from her mom, the only thing she still had that was a part of her.
Hotaru's slender form froze once more; her eyes fixed on the large field before her. She slowly reached back and pulled the thick hood of the cloak she wore over her head. After a moment's hesitation Hotaru sharply turned to her right, and beheld the glory and magnificence of the mountains that loomed there. The wind gently washed over the field once more as Hotaru briskly made her way to the safety that the mountainside provided.
Many years had gone by since the passing of her mother, and Hotaru could still remember the day that she stumbled across the splendor of what was now her home. The town she had once lived in held no comfort after her mother was taken, and in her despair Hotaru had fled to the mountains. It was there that she discovered she could survive on her own.
This was her only sanctuary in a world gone so completely wrong...
A chamber made of earth and stone lay in complete silence. The ceiling of the structure loomed high overhead towering up beyond sight. A single candle rested upon an altar that resided in the middle of the circular room. Its flame burned brightly, casting an unholy glow upon the walls and floor. Shadows lingered around every corner, devilishly dancing with the darkness.
From opposite sides of the chamber two figures suddenly emerged from their once hidden places amongst the shadows. Their steady footsteps broke the once quiet and solitary atmosphere as they both made their way to the altar.
"My Lord." The man on the right addressed the moment he came to stand before the altar and the other figure. In the dim light cast by the candle his piercing blue eyes appeared to glow as they looked determinedly at his master. It had been a long while since he last had to speak with him, yet the turning of time and change was now nipping at his heels.
"My son?" The other figure spoke in return, his voice so deep and guttural that the words spoken were barely comprehendible. It seemed that his response held almost a mocking undertone and that did not seem to sit well with the other man. The figure moved slightly, his long black cloak shuffling about the floor. His hood was drawn up covering any trace of facial or bodily features. In the end he was just a voice. A voice that could bring anyone to their knees in submission.
The blue eyed man took a sharp intake of breath, his gaze narrowing slightly. Long ebony colored hair spilled gracefully down his back, so dark that it blended in with the darkness around him. His skin was so pale and thin, the only wear and tear of living as long as he had thus far. Although death and decay clung to his very presence the man still had an unwavering beauty and grace to him.
"The warrior of the flame walks the earth once more." His voice was steady, yet etched with fear at the reaction his discovery might cause. He looked down towards the candle that sit atop the altar and absentmindedly reached out to play with its flame.
"You are sure..." His Lord stated, neither questioning nor confirming. His voice now seemed to take on a much darker tone in response to what was brought to his attention. From beneath his hooded cloak he watched the younger man before him very carefully.
"I saw her with my own eyes, my Lord." His blue eyes flared defiantly as they looked back up from the altar. He did not like these meetings with his master; they did not always go the way he planned.
"So it has begun." The deep guttural voice hissed loudly, echoing throughout the chamber walls. He seemed almost eager for what he was sure to come. His old bones begged for action, to finish what was supposed to have ended so very long ago.
"Perhaps. However, I can assure of this. She does not know yet of her entire identity, nor does she remember much of the past and what was." The blue eyed man stated, grimacing at his master's assumption of what was happening. So much time had passed. How could they even be sure that now was the time that the remaining Sailor Senshi had found a way home? There were so few that had slipped through their grasp that fateful day so long ago. Could it actually be now, after so many years, that they had been reincarnated?
"You question when the answer has already been lain before you." The Lord replied. Although the blue eyed man could not see, it seemed as though his master smiled with his words. It unnerved him deeply when his mind was read without consent. He knew better, and that a mental block should have been put up the moment he set foot in the sacred chamber.
"My apologies master." The younger man bowed his head slightly in submission. He could sense the pleasure his Lord took in toying with him, yet paid no mind. Now was no time to question the one who commanded the very planet itself. He quickly straightened his posture once more, turning their meeting back to what was most important. "What would you have me now do?" He asked dryly.
Without warning the hooded figure before him erupted in laughter. The harsh pitches of his amusement bounced off the walls and floor alike. To him this was all a mere game.
"Do?" The guttural voice questioned, his laughing abating as he spoke. "You doing something with this matter?" His voice growled, the tone was lined with anger. The Lord took a small step backwards. "I fear that you have gravely misinterpreted my intentions...my son."
The younger man frowned slightly, truly not understanding what was going on. He watched as his master raised a single arm, completely covered in his black cloak.
"You have failed me once already. Do not assume that I would entrust you with such again." His voice continued to growl, growing angrier with each word spoken. The younger of the two lowered his head in submission once more, acknowledging the failures that lay within his past. He could do nothing nor say anything that would make up for that fateful day within his master's eyes.
"I understand." He replied hesitantly, his blue eyes growing dull and unfocused. When he lifted his head to meet his master's gaze he realized that he was alone. His eyes scanned the chamber briefly, making sure that his Lord had definitely departed from his presence. It appeared that he had said all that was needed. His blue eyes grew dark, his own anger swirling within their depths.
Without further hesitation the younger man quickly exited the chamber as well, his deep crimson cloak billowing out behind him...
Through cloud and mist, beyond all the laws of physics and boundaries, he traveled. It was not hard to find his way through to his destination, only perilous due to the fact that there was no longer a guardian protecting the passageways. The road to the Gates of Time could be quite treacherous, even to those as powerful as himself.
The Dark Lord maneuvered with ease despite all the obstacles that tempted his foots to go astray. It had been long indeed since he last visited the Time Gate of this realm, yet he still remembered the path as though it was yesterday. It would not be too long now until he reached its giant doors.
"Just as I left you..." The Dark Lord hissed as he finally came to stand before the Time Gate. Its smooth doors towered above and beyond his height, a glory to behold. Yet despite its size there was not much left to leave one in awe.
The doors of the Time Gate were old, decaying despite their smoothness. Mold and weeds grew within cracks that ran from the floor to the very top of the Gate itself. The structure could barely stand, chunks of rock and wood lay scattered on the floor leaving gaping holes within it. It was obvious that no one had touched the Time Gate since that day.
The Dark Lord remembered how he had viciously attacked the Time Gate so many years ago, leaving it nothing more than a broken memorial. He had to be sure that his plan would follow through without any interruptions from the Gate...or the guardian itself.
As the Dark Lord advanced closer to the doors of Time, their once opaque appearance faded revealing doors of glass. Crystal in texture, and clear to see through, the glass only reflected from what lay beyond the other side of the Gate.
His black cloak shuffling behind him, the Dark Lord gradually came to stand within an arms reach of the entrance to the Time Gate. From beneath his hood, his eyes gazed deep into the crystal glass surface. As his search finally came to an end he lifted his arm and rested it upon the doors themselves.
From beyond the other side of the Time Gate a young woman stared back out in return. Her stature proud and defiant to say the least. Her long dark emerald hair flowed about her shoulders; the spirit within her eyes still shined brightly despite her current conditions.
Within the woman's hand she grasped a long, silver metal staff. Atop the staff the metal formed into two hearts one larger below the smaller. A garnet sphere resided within the larger of the two. The staff itself emanated a power so great and devastating that it seemed to glow and pulsate with the beating of its owner's heart.
"Just as I left you." He hissed again, smiling in triumph, as he continued to stare into the remains of what was once Earth's sacred Gates of Time...and its guardian.
* Coming Soon Chaper VII **