Rated PG-13
Disclaimers: Sailor Moon and everything affiliated with her are the property
of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansha, and DiC. They are not mine, I
am only borrowing them for a little while. Any other characters are mine.
If anyone wishes to use them, please notify me first.
Just a bit of clarification:
the * * signify a person's thoughts
the ***** before a section signify either a memory or a shift into
the mindscape or dreamscape (don't worry, this will make sense eventually, I
hope).
Please email me with your questions, comments, and/or criticisms at
jnkryo@yahoo.com. Heck, flame me if you want to. I'd like any
feedback I can get. Enjoy the story!
Daughters of Destiny
Part 2
by: Johnny Ng
"Don't worry, ma'am," the police officer said to Ikuko, "We'll do our
best to find Rhea."
Though she couldn't stop worrying, Ikuko nodded. "Thank you." She
had called the police as soon as she checked Rhea's room and found it empty.
Serena had called her friends and went out looking for Rhea, as had Kenji and
Sammy. Ikuko had stayed home in the event that Rhea decided to return.
She walked to the window and watched the police car drive up the
street. *Please be safe, Rhea.*
When Serena left her house, she contacted the Scouts, Darien, and
Trent. Each had chosen a direction to search and went for it.
The wind was whipping Sailor Venus's hair behind her in a long blond
cascade. She was hitching a ride on the roof of a semi heading up the
coastline on a cliff road. *This might be a long shot, but the others have
the city pretty much covered.*
The truck was about to turn and Venus summoned her love-chain and
snagged an overhanging limb of a tree. Hauling herself up, she scanned the
area around her. Seeing nothing at first, the blond Scout was about to head
further north when the sound of a car stopping caught her attention. She
turned back and saw a taxi stopped a few miles or so behind her. A person
got out. A person she recognized.
"Rhea!"
Rhea made her way to the road's edge and stared out at the wide
expanse of ocean in front of her. The moonlight glistened on the waters,
turning them a molten silver. She placed her hands on the metal guardrails
and vaulted over them. Her feet were now inches from the cliff edge. She
looked down and saw the surf pounding away at the sheer rock face below her.
She closed her eyes.
*I'll be joining you soon, mother.*
Sailor Venus ran as fast as she could, but she knew she couldn't
reach Rhea. In desperation, she clasped the sapphire pendant hanging around
her neck. Trent had enchanted it to act as a telepathic communicator with
him, and she used it now. *Trent! I need your help!*
Back in Tokyo, Trent was searching the warehouse district when he
heard Mina's telepathic cry through the pendant. *What is it, Mina?*
*I've found Rhea! But she's going to jump!*
Trent took a moment and was able to draw a mental picture with the
aid of the pendant. He gasped. *I'll be right there!* He stood and
vanished, teleporting to where he last saw Rhea.
She was so close now. The tangy sea breeze teased her ebony hair and
filled her nostrils. Rhea took a deep breath and lifted her foot...
"Please, don't do this."
Startled, Rhea stumbled back from the precipice. "Wh-who said that?"
In front of her the air rippled and the ghostly form of Daniel
Takazawa appeared. "Hello, Rhea"
Rhea's eyes widened, but she refrained from screaming. "Wha...who
are you?"
Daniel's face grew sad. "I...am your father."
"My...father...?"
Suddenly Trent appeared on the road behind her. "Rhea! Don't--
Daniel?!"
"Hello, brother."
Trent was speechless. "How...but...you're dead."
Daniel smiled. "I still am."
"My...father..?" Rhea repeated.
Rhea's voice brought Trent back to his senses. "Rhea," he said
edging closer to the girl, "Take my hand."
She wasn't listening. Instead, she got up and walked closer to
Daniel.
The apparition was ready for anything - shouting, yelling, angry
accusations - but he was not ready for the tears he saw in his daughter's
eyes and her one whispered question.
"Why did you leave?"
Trent had had enough. He turned to his brother. "What's going on?
What do you want with Rhea?"
Daniel smiled sadly. "She is my daughter."
Trent blinked. Words formed in his mind, but his mouth wasn't
working.
Seeing that his brother needed some time to digest this information,
Daniel turned back to Rhea and sighed. "You have a right to ask that
question, daughter."
The magus took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. Before he
could answer, however, a second figure materialized next to him...a figure
Rhea immediately recognized.
"Mother!"
Aeko smiled. "Yes, Rhea." There were tears in her eyes. "It's
good to see you again."
Rhea ran and tried to wrap her arms around her mother, but they just
passed through her. The girl drew back, a sad look on her face. "Mom, are
you a...a...?"
"...a ghost? I'm afraid I am, honey."
Rhea hugged herself tightly and looked up at her mother. "I miss you
so much, mom."
"I miss you too, Rhea, but you have wonderful friends here to look
after you."
"What about you, mom?"
Aeko smiled. "I have your father with me." She gestured and
Daniel drifted next to her.
Rhea looked at Daniel. "Will take care of my mom?"
Daniel nodded. "I give you my word that I will always care for and
love your mother." His form began to waver, as did Aeko's. He turned to
his companion. "We don't have much time, dear."
Rhea bowed her head. "I understand. Will I ever see you again?"
Aeko shook her head. "I don't know, dear, but we'll try."
The two spirits began to drift away. This caused Trent to finally
regain his senses.
"Daniel!" he shouted, "If you're Rhea's father, that means..."
Daniel smiled and nodded. "Look after her, Trent. Teach her what
she has to know. I'm counting on you." A moment later, the couple was
gone.
There was the sound of running footsteps and Trent turned to see Mina
jogging up to join them.
Mina took a moment to catch her breath. She had detransformed about
a half-mile away and ran the rest of the way. "Wha...what happened?" She
had seen Trent and Rhea standing at the edge of the cliff apparently talking
to someone and she had thought she had glimpsed something hanging in the air.
Trent turned to his girlfriend, his face still showing his shock.
Rhea, though, was just confused. "What did he mean when he said for you to
look after me?" she asked.
Now Mina was confused. "Who said that? What's going on here?"
Trent replied in a dazed voice. "It was Daniel. He asked me to take
care of his daughter." Mina's eyes bulged. "His...daughter?" She turned to
Rhea. "But that would mean..."
Rhea had gone from confused to irritated. "What? What?!"
Trent lay his hand on Rhea's shoulder to try and calm her down.
"Daniel, your father, was my brother..."
Realization began to dawn on Rhea's face. "Your...brother? That
would make you my..."
"Yes, Rhea. Apparently, I'm your uncle."
This was apparently too much for Rhea. Her eyes rolled back and her
knees buckled, but Mina was there to catch her before she hit the ground.
Trent sympathized with Rhea. "I understand how she feels."
"Yeah, well, can we discuss this somewhere else?" Mina grunted under
Rhea's weight, "She's getting kinda heavy."
"How about Lita's place? She lives alone so we won't be disturbing
anyone."
Mina moved Rhea onto her shoulder and pulled out her communicator.
"All right, just let me call everyone."
A minute later, Mina put away her communicator. "Ok, they're all
headed to Lita's." She sifted Rhea again. "You could help you know!"
Trent smiled. "I need to have both hands free to teleport us to
Lita's."
"Oh...right."
Trent's grinned broadened and an instant later, they were gone, but
not before the air rang with Mina's indignant echo.
"You don't use your hands to teleport!"
Lita looked back at Rhea one more time before she closed the door.
When she had arrived home, and saw Trent holding the unconscious girl, she
immediately took charge and put Rhea in her room to rest. Lita walked back
to her living room, where a discussion about Rhea was in full swing.
"You're her what?!" Raye nearly shouted.
Trent just looked at the priestess and calmly said, "I'm her uncle."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Daniel told me he was her father."
Raye's eye boggled. "And you believed him?"
"He had no reason to lie."
Raye looked at Mina. "And what do you think?"
Mina frowned slightly. "I don't know what to think."
"Typical," the priestess said under her breath.
Serena interrupted, "Is there any way to find out if Rhea _is_
related to Trent?"
"I could perform a scan on both Trent and Rhea and compare the
results," Amy said.
Lita frowned. "I'm not sure if we should disturb Rhea now. She
still hasn't woken up yet."
"It's all right. She doesn't need to be awake for me to do the
scan."
*****
"...Rhea..."
*Who's there?*
"...Rhea..."
Rhea slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She saw that she was
floating, or at least it seemed like she was floating. A silver-gray mist
surrounded her. *Where...?*
"It's all right, Rhea. Don't be afraid." The mists parted,
revealing Daniel Takazawa.
Rhea gasped. "Oh...it's you..." She paused, unsure what to call
him.
Daniel sensed this and smiled. "My name is Daniel, but if you want
to, you can call me dad."
"If it's all the same, I'll call you Daniel for now."
The magus winced but nodded. "Fair enough."
The girl looked around at the nothingness around her. "Where am I?"
Daniel gestured expansively. "This is the dreamscape. This is where
people go when they are asleep and where dreams are formed."
Rhea nodded and looked at her father. "So...I'm dreaming you?"
He laughed. "A good question, but no. I am here under my own
power."
"Just who are you?"
"You still don't trust me, but I will tell you this. Whether you
believe me or not, I do love your mother."
Daniel sighed and continued quietly. "It wasn't supposed to happen.
Not to me. I had no use for love, nor did love have any use for me. I had
thought I had banished that emotion long ago, but it seemed as though I was
wrong.
"Your mother was young and beautiful, but I have seen many beautiful
women in my thousand years of life." He heard his daughter gasp and smiled.
"Yes, Rhea. I have been alive for a thousand years, maybe longer."
"B-but how?"
Daniel spread his arms and caused a shower of colorful sparkles to
appear. "Magic, my dear. It was my birthright as well as my brother,
Trent's. It was also the reason why I left your mother." He turned and
clenched his fists. "The magic was strong in me. I felt its call..."
The magus looked thoughtful and murmured, "Could the Philosopher's
Stone have been influencing me even then?" He shook his head and dismissed
the thought. He continued, "I felt myself changing, growing morose and
resentful of everyone else. Everyone except your mother. Aeko kept me sane,
but I grew afraid. I was afraid of losing control of my powers and hurting
her.
"That's why I left," Daniel finished.
Unknown to him, Rhea had made her was next to him and when he
finished, she lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for telling
me, Dan...dad."
Daniel started at being called 'dad'. He was further startled when
his daughter put her arms around him and hugged him. He turned around and
awkwardly wrapped his arms around Rhea. "No, thank you, daughter, for
listening."
Their embrace lasted for a while longer, then Rhea recalled
something. "You spoke of your brother, Trent. Is he the same Trent I met
earlier?"
"In a sense, yes. He is the reincarnation of my brother's soul."
Daniel saw the uncomprehending look in Rhea's eyes and smiled. "Don't worry,
daughter. You will understand magic soon enough. I have entrusted your
tutelage to your uncle."
Rhea's eyes widened. "You mean I'm going to be able to do magic?"
"Yes, in time, with the right training." Suddenly, the mists around
them began to grow thicker and Daniel saw his form begin to fade. "It seems
you will be waking up soon."
"No," Rhea cried, "I have so much to say to you..."
Daniel was nearly gone now. "I'm sorry, my daughter, but I do not
know if I will speak with you again. Know that I love your mother, and I
love you as well..." And he faded away.
The mists began to swirl around Rhea and soon, she was gone as well.
*****
Amy set her minicomputer aside. "This might take a few minutes."
Everyone had gathered by Rhea's bedside and she had just completed her scan
of the girl. Now her computer was comparing it with the scan of Trent she
had done earlier.
Serena turned to Trent. "What'll you do if she is your niece?"
He shrugged. "I guess I'll do what my brother wants. Take care of
her."
A beeping noise interrupted the conversation and Amy went over to her
computer and looked at the results. Typing a few commands and looking at the
figures again, the girl-genius smile. "It's a match. Rhea is Daniel's
daughter, and your niece."
"I could have told you that," Rhea said opening her eyes. She looked
at Trent. "Hello, uncle."
Trent grimaced. "I'd rather you not call me that. It makes me feel
old."
Mina laughed and made her way over to the girl. "How do you feel?"
"I'm a little dizzy," Rhea said sitting up slowly, "but I'll be
okay." She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and faces around
her. "If you'll excuse me for asking, where am I? And who are all of you?"
Everyone smiled and made introductions. "And you're at my
apartment," Lita added.
"So, what happens now?" Serena asked.
"Well," Darien began and seeing Rhea yawn, "I think we should all go
home and get some rest." He looked at Serena. "And you should call your
parents and tell them that you found Rhea. They must be worried sick."
"Oh my God! I totally forgot," the blond shouted racing for the
phone.
"Um," Rhea said timidly, "before we go, can I speak with Trent
alone?"
Trent hesitated but nodded and everyone else filed out of the room.
When it was just the two of them, Rhea began. "When I was...
unconscious, I had this dream. I saw Daniel...my father...and he said some
things..."
Trent had a feeling about what his brother might have said, but he
didn't want to press. "It's all right, what did he say?" he prodded gently.
Rhea wrung her hands. "Well, he said that he was a thousand-year-old
sorcerer and that since I was his daughter, I could also do magic and that
you were to teach me," she said quickly.
There was silence for a moment then Trent answered, "He's right. He
is a thousand-years-old, more or less, and he was a powerful mage."
Rhea looked up. "What about me? Can I do magic?"
"Yes, I suspect you can." Trent sat down on the bed next to his
niece. "Now just relax. I'm going to perform a test to see what your latent
magic power is." He placed his hands on Rhea's forehead and closed his eyes.
He began mumbling archaic phrases and his hands glowed. The light
intensified and Rhea closed her eyes. Soon, though, Trent stopped chanting
and the light faded as he removed his hands.
"Well?" Rhea asked.
Trent took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly. *Whoa* "You
are my niece all right. You certainly have my brother's power."
"So you'll teach me?"
Trent pretended to think about this then smiled. "Of course I will."
Rhea cheered and hugged him. He hugged her back, but his smile turned grim.
*In fact, I'll have to teach you. If I don't, your power may grow
uncontrollable.*
Rhea released her hug. "So what are we going to do first?"
"Maybe we should start tomorrow. It is getting late."
"Oh, please, just a little lesson?" she said looking at her uncle
with sad eyes.
Trent relented. "Oh, ok. Just listen and try to do what I do."
Rhea nodded enthusiastically and proved to be an attentive pupil and
soon grasped several basic fundamentals of spellcasting.
"Good, Rhea," Trent said, "Now try those cantrips I showed you."
She nodded and concentrated. She did the necessary gestures...but
nothing happened. "What went wrong?"
"You were trying too hard," the mage commented. "Magic is not
something you can force. You must let it flow through you. Try again, but
this time don't think so much about how it happens, just think about it
happening."
"Okay." Once again Rhea closed her eyes moved her hands, but this
time her gestures seemed to be more fluid and controlled. When she finished,
she felt a sudden rush of power and opened her eyes. There, hanging in the
air, were three shimmering balls of energy.
"I did it," the girl said softly. "I did it!"
Trent smiled. "Yes, you did."
There was a knock on the door and it opened revealing Mina. "What's
all the commotion here?"
Rhea gasped and tried to dispel her cantrip. *Oh no! Now Mina knows
about me...* She heard her uncle laughing. "What's so funny, Mina now knows
that I can do magic!" she hissed.
Trent stifled his laughter. "I'm sorry, Rhea. I'll handle this."
He turned to his girlfriend and winked. "Mina, what did you see?"
The corner of Mina's lips curled up, but she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh, I didn't see much, just some lights floating in the air. I've seen
better magic at a talent show."
Rhea sighed mentally, but Mina's words depressed her.
Trent, though, was livid. "Talent show, huh? I'll show you a talent
show!" He rose up and flung out his arms. Thunder rumbled and winds howled.
At his command, illusory knights appeared and did battle with phantom
dragons. Jagged bolts of lightning leapt from one hand while streamers of
fire poured out of the other. And with a clap of his hands, Trent dismissed
them all.
He looked around and saw Rhea still sitting on the bed, her mouth
hanging open and her eyes as big as footballs. She gulped and asked. "Will
I be able to do that?"
Trent smiled. "With practice, you can do anything." He turned to
Mina who was leaning against the doorframe and asked smugly, "What do you
think about that?"
Mina snorted. "Show off." She turned to Rhea. "So, before, that
was you right?"
Rhea saw that there was no use denying it. "Yeah, it was my first
spell. It wasn't much."
The blond beamed. "Are you kidding? It was fantastic! Pretty soon,
you'll be able to do what your Uncle Trent can do."
"So you know that Trent can do magic?"
"Of course I...," a sudden realization struck Mina, "Trent hasn't
told you about me and my friends yet, has he?" Rhea shook her head and Mina
smiled. "Well, have we got something to show you."
Darien stuck his head through the door. "Perhaps some other time,
Mina. It's getting late and if your parents are anything like Serena's,
they're probably waiting up for you."
"Trust me, they are," Trent interjected, "but don't worry. I'll
teleport you all home."
"Well, that's a relief." Darien chuckled. "I was afraid that I was
going to have to take all the girls home in my car."
Serena, Rhea, and Trent all materialized next a clump of trees near
the Tsukino house.
Rhea stumbled for an instant, unused to teleporting. "Wow, that'll
take some getting used to."
"You should go now," Trent told them, "it's getting late."
"C'mon, Rhea," Serena said tugging on the girl's arm, "my parents'
are probably going to kill me."
Rhea hesitated and turned to her uncle. Trent smiled. "Go on, I'll
see you tomorrow. We'll continue your training then."
She nodded and followed Serena home.
End Part 2