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 9
by: Johnny Ng
Trent was tossing and turning in his empty bed. He had been having
the same dream over and over for the past week now; he was standing over Mina
with his hand raised...but he couldn't strike her. It was the eyes, so full
of fear, but yet still held...love?
He growled and threw off his sheets. *Why won't she get out of my
head!* Trent got up and headed to the bathroom. He turned on the tap and
splashed some cold water on his face. Looking into the mirror, he saw a more
than slightly haggard looking person looking back at him. As he looked, the
reflection began to blur. The mage blinked and saw not his own face, but the
face of Mina staring at him with those expressive eyes.
"Aaahhhh! Why won't you leave me alone!!" Trent screamed. He banged
his fists against the glass, shattering it. He was sweating profusely now,
and his blond hair hung in front of his face in unruly bangs. The mage
stared down at the sink and saw that the water was stained red--red with his
blood. He didn't want to but he looked up. The mirror now sported a
spiderweb of cracks, but Mina's face was no longer there.
He sighed and walked out of the bathroom. Finding some bandages, he
wrapped them around the cut he received on his left hand. *One advantage of
having a wife who's a doctor.* He looked around the empty room. *Just wish
she was around more.*
Trent walked to the window and looked out. The Earth was just
peeking over the rim of the Moon, and somewhere on that planet was a girl who
possibly knew something about him than he didn't. "I think it's about time I
did something about that."
Mina was walking dejectedly to the Hikawa shrine. *I sure hope the
others can do it. I wish I could have went with them.* She kicked at a
pebble. *I hope Trent's, ok.* She found another pebble and kicked that too.
"You'll wear out your shoes like that."
Mina froze. *That voice...* She turned around. "Trent," she
whispered.
The mage walked forward and frowned. The girl in front of him looked
like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "I have not come for a
fight...Mina, isn't it?"
She nodded. It was taking all her willpower not to run to him and
embrace him. Mina swallowed. "Wh-what do you want?"
Trent stopped short. What did he want? "I just want to...talk." He
saw a park up ahead. "Maybe we should go someplace more private."
Every one of Mina's survival instincts were screaming at her not to
trust Trent, that he was the enemy now; but her heart could not accept that.
When she saw the park, her knees started to wobble. It was the same park
that they went to on their first date.
Everything was spinning around in his head. Trent didn't know what
he was doing. He looked over at the girl walking next to him. Her golden
hair sparkled in the sunlight, but he saw that a couple strands were out of
place. He resisted the urge to brush them back. *Why is she having this
effect on me? I am a married man. I don't even know this girl...do I?*
Mina saw that Trent was looking at her. She started sweating. *Oh
no, what should I do?* Then she giggled nervously.
The mage was startled. "What is it?"
The blond drew back slightly. "Oh, it was...nothing. I-I was just
thinking that we're so nervous that it feels like we're on a date...or
something." Mina laughed nervously. *I know you're in there somewhere,
Trent. Remember!*
Trent smiled faintly, then sighed. "I can't remember going on any
dates. In fact, I don't remember much about my past life." He suddenly
stood up and cried out in frustration. "I don't know why I'm even doing
this! You're my enemy."
Mina reached out and grabbed Trent's arm. "Please, let me help."
A shock went through the mage's body when Mina touched him. It was
as if a window was opening in his mind. He snatched his arm back. "D-don't
touch me!" Trent backed away. "Just leave me alone!" He signaled to the
_Wrath_ and teleported away, more confused than ever.
Mina watched him go with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Trent...," she
sobbed.
Dr. Kavor was in her office when Trent barged into the Medical Bay.
"Jana!" the mage cried, "I need your help. There's something wrong.
I'm remembering things, feeling things, that are...wrong." *But are they?*
The doctor looked thoughtful. "Come with me. I'll see what I can
do." She took Trent to the med lab and told him to lie down on the bio
table. "I'm going to examine your neural pathways. They might be showing
signs of degradation. That might be causing you to have false memories."
Trent nodded and Jana pressed a button on the bed. A panel in the
ceiling opened up and a machine lowered until it was right over the mage's
head. The doctor reached up and tapped the machine's controls. "Just lie
there and close your eyes. This scan will only take a moment."
The machine hummed and a light shone on Trent's face. The screen on
the bio table's side displayed the results.
Jana frowned and adjusted the controls on the machine and the light
turned red. The screen displayed a different set of results and the doctor
nodded. She turned off the machine and it retracted back into the ceiling.
"So, what's the prognosis, doc?" Trent asked.
"I'll have to perform a few more tests, dear. I'm going to sedate
you now." She pressed a button and the table's headrest glowed briefly and
the mage instantly went under. Dr. Kavor then pressed another button and
sent a message to Master Bane.
A moment later, the lab doors opened.
"What is it, doctor?" Bane asked.
"It's about Trent, Master. I just performed a neural scan. The
brainwashing effects are wearing off. His mind is too strong for the
reconditioning to take hold. Further brainwashing attempts would only prove
futile."
The sorcerer thought for a moment. "Then turn him into a drone."
Dr. Kavor's eyebrows raised in surprise. "A drone, Master? Would it
be wise to make a drone with power like Trent's?"
"I will take full responsibility for him. Better to have the mage's
power at my disposal in a drone than not to have it at all. In fact, I think
I have a task for him already. Perform the procedure." Bane walked to the
lab doors. "I regret that you will have to lose your 'husband'."
Jana shrugged. "It wasn't like he was my real husband. I'll get to
it right away. What do you want me to do with his essence when I'm done."
"Place it in a stasis cube and give it to me. I believe he will be
an excellent source of conversation."
Raye was meditating in front of the Great Fire. It had been nearly
three hours since Serena had called her on the communicator, and she was
starting to get worried.
"Raye," Grandpa called out, "Your friend Mina's here."
"Okay, I'm in the Great Fire room." The priestess got up and dusted
off her robes. Mina walked in a little while later.
"Make yourself comfortable, Mina. The others should be here soon; at
least they'd better. I hate missing out on a fight." When Mina remained
silent, Raye turned to her...and immediately saw that there was something
wrong.
"What happened, Mina?"
The blond sighed. "I saw Trent."
That made Raye pause. "You saw Trent?! How--what happened?"
Mina described her encounter with Trent. "He had lost his memory,"
she said at the end. "That's why he doesn't know us...or me."
Raye shook her head. "He still came to talk to you. That shows that
he at least knew you."
"I suppose, but..." Mina started to cry. "What he said...to leave
him alone..."
The priestess put her arm comfortingly around the blond. "He didn't
mean it. He was confused." *But if you met up with Trent, then who's Serena
fighting with?*
"Yo, Raye! Some more of your friends just showed up!" Chad yelled.
"Just tell them to come to the Great Fire room." She turned to Mina.
"Serena and the others are coming. They'll should be able to tell us
something."
Serena, Amy, Lita, and Rhea all walked into the room and Raye gave
them annoyed look. "What took you guys so long?"
"We had a run-in with someone at the church, but it wasn't Trent,"
Serena said. "Whoever it was, though, she gave us a good beating. If it
wasn't for Rhea we'd all have been captured and on Bane's ship by now, and
speaking of her..." The blond gestured and the girl stepped forward.
"...may I present to you Rhea Shidou, newly promoted mage!"
Rhea stood there looking embarrassed while Serena, Raye, and Lita
cheered loudly; Amy merely clapped politely.
Mina went up to the mage and hugged her fiercely. "Trent would have
been so proud of you," she said emotionally.
"How did this happen?" Raye asked. "What happened at the church
anyway?"
The three Scouts who were there related the events of the fight, and
Rhea took up the recounting at the end.
"So," Raye said finally, her voice sounding defeated, "all three mana
wells are open. That's it then, Bane can now start draining the Earth's
magic."
Mina's eyes flashed. "No! I will not give up! On the Earth or on
Trent. There must be something we can do!"
"The only way I can think of to stop Bane is to get aboard his ship,"
Amy said. "But we don't know where it is."
Rhea's eyes suddenly widened. "The scoutship!"
"The what?" Lita asked.
"The scoutship," Rhea repeated. "It's still there! It wasn't
destroyed."
"Are you sure?" Serena asked. "I don't think I saw it."
Raye snorted. "According to you, you were unconscious for most of
the fight."
Amy managed to head off the possible argument. "If the ship is still
there then that might be what we need to get to the ship."
Mina was already on her feet. "Well then, what are we waiting for,
let's go!"
"Alright, shut it off," Dr. Kavor told her assistant. She walked to
the side of the bio table and examined the display. *Good. It worked.*
"Take this drone to General Riven. He'll know what to do with him."
The assistant unhooked the neural interface. "Come with me," he told
the drone.
Dr. Kavor waited until they had both left before she went to the
interface and removed a small glowing cube. "Hello, Trent."
The cube pulsed. *Wha-what happened? Who're you...?*
"Ah, you've finally broken free of the brainwashing."
*What are you...* Suddenly all the events since the time he had been
captured came rushing back to him. *Jana! What have you done to me?!*
"Oh, nothing much, husband," Jana said offhandedly. "I just
separated you from your body, that's all."
*Don't you dare call me that! You're not my wife!*
"Oooh, such fire. It almost makes me wish I did share my bed with
you."
Trent ignored the implications in that statement. *Put me back in my
body!*
"I'd rather not, Master Bane specifically requested that you become a
drone. Just don't think about it too much, dear. After all, you don't have
a brain anymore." Dr. Kavor laughed and put the cube in her pocket.
The grounds around the church were quiet again, that is until Rhea
and the others teleported there.
"There it is," the mage said pointing to the scoutship.
Serena nodded. "Ok. Amy what do you have to do?"
Amy took out her computer and walked to the ship. "I'm going to
access the ship's onboard computer and that should-"
Both Rhea and Raye sensed danger at that instant. They whirled
around and saw someone materialize a few yards away from them.
"We've got company," the priestess warned and transformed into Sailor
Mars. The rest of the Scouts also transformed.
The person in front of them was dressed in a type of dark armor and a
helmet covered his head and facial features. He advanced towards the ship
with his hand raised and glowing. When he got closer he discharged a plasma
bolt at the ship.
With cat-like reflexes, Rhea raised an energy barrier around the
ship. The bolt struck the wall and bounced off into the trees.
"What do you think you're doing? Who are you?!" Sailor Moon shouted.
"I must destroy the ship," the armored figure said in a monotone
voice. He started to raise his hand again.
"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"
A golden chain whipped out and wrapped itself around the dark mage.
"You're not going anywhere, buster!" Sailor Venus cried.
The mage looked down at the chain twined around his body and
shrugged. He flexed his arms and the chain snapped. His arm shot up and
another bolt lanced out at the ship and struck the shield.
Rhea grunted. Whoever this person was, he was powerful. "Be careful
Scouts, this guy is strong!"
Sailor Jupiter flung a lightning bolt at him, but it just bounced off
the armor. "Rhea's right. He's too strong. We have to find a weak point."
Mercury had her visor down and she was analyzing the dark mage's
armor. "His helmet! We have to knock it off. Then we'll have a clear shot
at his head."
Sailor Mars nodded and looked at Venus. "You ready?" The blond
Scout gave a thumbs up.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" The fire arrow crashed into the helmet and tore
it off. Not a second later, Venus called out her attack.
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
As the golden beam of energy streaked towards it target, Sailor Venus
caught a glimpse of the dark mage's face through the smoke of Mars's attack.
"Trent! No!"
Trent looked at the incoming laser attack indifferently. He
whispered a command and a shield appeared in front of his face and deflected
the beam.
Sailor Venus felt her legs grow weak with relief. "Sailor Moon, you
have got to heal him!"
"No problem," Scout leader said. The summoned the Silver Crystal and
held it in her hand. "Moon Crystal Healing!"
A blinding white light shone forth, but Trent neatly dodged it.
Sailor Moon tried again, but the mage sidestepped it again. "Uh, can you
guys hold him still for a second?"
Venus and Mercury nodded and double-teamed him with the former
lassoing him with her chain and the latter using her ice powers to freeze him
to the ground.
Sailor Moon smiled. "Good. Moon Crystal Healing!"
The light bathed over Trent, but it had no effect. He struggled
against his restraints and succeeded in breaking them.
"What happened?" Venus asked hysterically. "Why didn't it work?"
Rhea was still maintaining the shield around the ship but sent a
mental probe at Trent. *Ok, uncle, let's see if we can find out what's the
problem.* After a few minutes of searching, Rhea gasped. "Everyone, that's
not Trent!" At the Scouts' vacant looks, she explained, "Trent's mind isn't
in his body. He's under someone else's control."
"Are you sure?" Sailor Moon asked. "Then what should we do?"
"Keep him busy. "I'm going to try a spell that might allow me to
sever the controlling connection."
The Scouts immediately went into action. Every time Trent tried to
blast the scoutship, walls of ice and of fire appeared and blocked his path.
Golden chains kept wrapping themselves around his legs and tripping him up,
and white-hot lightning strikes blinded his eyes. Nevertheless, he kept on
moving to the ship.
"Hurry, Rhea," Mars said. "We can't keep this up forever." Trent
was now a few feet away from the ship.
The younger girl's forehead furrowed in concentration as she finished
the last phrase of her spell and pointed at her uncle.
For a long moment nothing happened. Trent had his hand raised and
was about to smash it against the ship's side when suddenly his eyes rolled
back into his head and he collapsed.
Rhea gasped and fell to her knees, but she waved the other girls off.
"H-how's Trent?"
Mercury took out her computer and did a quick scan. "He's alive, but
that's about all I can say. He's registering no mental activity. For all
intents and purposes, Trent's in a coma." She looked at Rhea. "You said
that Trent's mind wasn't in his body?" At the girl's nod, the blue scout
continued, "Well, then that's it. If we want to wake Trent, then we're going
to have to get his consciousness back."
Sailor Moon asked, "But where is it?"
"Bane," Sailor Venus growled out. "He has it. I know he does. He
turned Trent into this...this..." Her lips began to tremble and she turned
away quickly.
Rhea cleared her throat. "Mercury, why don't you go get what you
needed from the ship's computer." She saw the Scout nod before she went over
to Venus. Before she reached her, though, the blond Scout raised her hand.
"I know what you are going to say, Rhea. 'Don't worry Mina, we'll
get him back.' 'He'll be alright, just you wait.' Well, I'm tired of
hearing it!" She detransformed and tore the pendant from her neck. "Do you
hear me? I tired of it!"
She let the pendant fall from her hands. "I-I don't want to go
through with it anymore. I've lost him so many times...I just can't...Just
leave me alone."
Mina turned and was about to walk away when she felt a hand grab her
shoulder and spin her around. Before she could utter a word of protest, she
heard a loud smack and felt her head snap to the right. Lifting her hand
slowly, Mina felt the left side of her face where there was a large red
palmprint. Tears started to roll down her cheeks.
Rhea lowered her hand and stared at the blond, her eyes ablaze with
fury. "I can't believe how selfish you are! Trent means a lot to me, too!
To all of us. Just answer me this, do you love him?"
Mina murmured an answer.
"What?"
"Yes..."
"How much do you love him?"
"He...he means more to me than my own life..."
The younger girl seemed satisfied with that answer. "Do you know how
much he loves you?" she asked softly.
The blond shook her head.
The young mage took out her palmtop and access a page. "Here, read
this. Trent often used his spellbook to write his thoughts in.
Mina took the computer with trembling hands and started reading the
page:
Loving You
A caring touch,
A soft caress,
These are the things
That say it best.
Of saying,
I love you.
A whispered word,
A playful glance,
This is the meaning,
Of true romance.
Of saying,
I love you.
A heartfelt smile,
A warm embrace,
The look of happiness
Upon your face.
Your gentle call,
Says it all.
Of saying,
I love you.
I dedicate this poem to my one and only, Mina Aino. I will love you
always...and if you are reading this, I guess my secret's out. I admit it,
I'm a hopeless poet.
Mina shut the computer slowly. The tears streaming down her face
were tears of love. "Oh, Trent...I'm sorry."
Rhea hugged her gently. "Now you know, Mina." She held the pendant
in her hands. "I think you dropped this."
Mina slowly took the pendant and held it close to her chest before
fastening it back around her neck. "Thank you, you've helped me more than
you'll ever know."
There were sounds of panic coming from the ship. Rhea turned and saw
Mercury jumping out of the cockpit. "Take cover!" she yelled.
Everybody ran to the trees and dove to the ground as, seconds later,
the scoutship exploded.
Sailor Moon spat some dirt out of her mouth. "Is everyone ok?"
Jupiter and Mars groaned. The two of them had picked up Trent's body
and were the last to make it to the trees, and so fared the worst. Mercury
went over to them and examined them.
The Scout leader made her way to Rhea and Mina. "Is everything ok
now?" She saw them both nod and smiled. A minute later, the other three
Scouts made their way over, Jupiter had Trent slung over her shoulder.
"They're all fine," Mercury said, "Just a few cuts and scrapes."
Jupiter grunted. "Hey, Mina. Tell your boyfriend to lose some
weight. He weighs a ton."
"Maybe I should cook for him," the blond pondered.
The tall scout grinned and put the mage down. "I want him to lose
some weight, not his appetite."
"What made the ship blow up?" Rhea asked.
Mercury answered. "Apparently it had an auto self-destruct. It was
activated when I started downloading from the main computer without the right
authorization, but I think I got what I needed." She took out her
minicomputer and analyzed the data. "It'll take me a day or so to decrypt
most of this, but I think I was able to download the coordinates of Bane's
ship."
Sailor Moon dusted herself off. "Well then, I guess we'll wait until
tomorrow."
"What are we going to do with Trent?" Rhea asked.
Jupiter spoke up. "I guess he could stay at my apartment for now."
She grinned at Mina. "I promise I won't do anything to him."
The _Wrath's_ science officer detected an explosion on the scanners.
"Captain, the _Epsilon 6_ has just been destroyed."
Raze nodded. *Well, I guess that solves that problem.* "What about
the drone we sent to do the job?"
"I'm not picking him up on the sensors, sir. He may have been killed
when the ship blew up. Drones aren't that smart, sir."
"Very well, I will inform Master Bane." The captain left the bridge
and headed to the sorcerer's quarters. Entering he walked to his master's
desk.
"I take it that Commander Rix's ship has been dealt with?" Bane asked
before Raze could speak.
"Yes, it has Master, but I'm afraid that Trent has been killed--"
"No, he hasn't Captain. I was controlling him myself. Someone down
there severed my link with him."
Raze was taken aback. Was his master admitting weakness? He
banished the thought instantly. "So what happened to our drone?"
"He has been retrieved by those Sailor Scouts."
"Will that be a problem?"
Bane's eye gleamed. "Not to worry, Captain. The drone is useless
without his mind...and his mind is in my possession." He held out his hand
and a glowing cube appeared.
Ever since Trent was placed inside the essence cube, he had been
trying to get accustomed to the different environment. Even though he had
lost his eyes, he was able to sense what was going on around him. Right now,
what he was sensing was his own anger directed at Bane. *Let me out, Bane!*
"We shall see, my servant."
"They will come for him, Master," Raze said.
"What do I care? The magical draining of this world has begun and
it cannot be stopped. Only Aiden could have stopped me and he and his family
are gone." *But if the prophecy is coming true...*
*What are you talking about?*
"Ah, you do not know, mage? No, of course not. Very well, I shall
tell you." The sorcerer leaned back and his voice assumed a wistful tone.
"In all my travels, I have only met one person who matched me in power,
Aiden.
"He was the champion of the planet Inverna, one of the first planets
I visited in my search for magic. It was a peaceful planet, full of life and
power. It was my desire for Aiden to be my servant, but he declined. I grew
angry and challenged him to a duel, but he refused, saying he had neither the
will nor the intention to fight me. My anger grew more. I declared that I
would destroy Inverna if he didn't fight me.
"Seeing that he had no choice, Aiden came. It was a long and bitter
battle, but in the end it was he who stood over me, clearly the victor."
Captain Raze blanched. His master...beaten? It wasn't possible.
Bane looked over at Raze. "Do not look so surprised, Captain. I was
young at the time, and inexperienced. I have lost my share of battles.
There are some things you can't learn from your history books."
Raze swallowed. "If you say you were beaten by Aiden, how did you
kill him?"
"I waited until he turned his back," the sorcerer said
matter-of-factly. "He could have killed me if he wanted, but chose to let me
live. I made a different decision with him. After killing him, I killed his
family, and then I destroyed his world.
Bane sighed. "It is not something I am proud of."
Trent was shocked. *You killed all of Aiden's people? But that's
genocide!*
"Yes, it was, and as I said I am not proud of it, but it had to be
done. You, my wayward servant, are all that is left of Aiden. Somehow, you
carry a part of his soul with you. You are of his family."
A though suddenly occurred to Trent. Bane didn't know about
Daniel...and that means he doesn't know about Rhea! He had to keep this
information secret from the sorcerer. *If I am the last, then why not
destroy me now?*
"I just may do that, but for now, I am content just keeping you
prisoner." *Besides, the prophecy states that the descendants of Aiden shall
resurrect him.*
Bane placed the cube on his desk. "We must speak again, Trent. This
conversation has been most...invigorating." He waved his hand and the cube
vanished. He turned to Raze. "Leave me, Captain. I wish to be alone."
After Raze left, Bane sat in his darkened quarters and brooded.
*Soon, Aiden. Soon.*
End Part 9