THE NIGHTMARE REALM,
CHAPTER 9: "Cruel To Be Kind"
By Bill K.
"I'm so weak!"
Fisheye and Sailor Pallas turned their heads to the sound. Candide, the Queen Mother, stood up from her sickbed. Her arms extended out, as if searching for something. The expression on her face was anguished. Fisheye started for her, concerned.
"She's just sleeping," Pallas said weakly. "And she's listening to the voices in her sleep."
When Fisheye reached her, he saw it. Candide's eyes were opened, but she didn't seem to see. He grabbed her around the shoulders as she lurched forward, lunging for something only she saw. She fought against Fisheye's restraining grip impotently.
"I must get to him!" she pleaded. Candide threw herself forward, trying to break Fisheye's hold on her. "He needs me! They all need me! They all cry out to me!"
"Queen Mother!" Fisheye gasped. "Wake up, please!"
Candide strained once more against Fisheye's hold, then went limp. Unable to support her, Fisheye guided her down to the bed. He could see her sobbing, though there were no visible tears.
"Too weak," Candide whispered pitifully. "They needed me and-and again I was too weak. Forgive me."
Unable to help anymore, Fisheye returned to Sailor Pallas.
"Are we all going to end up like this?" Fisheye asked. He glanced at Ravonna as he nervously fiddled with his dress. She was still as death, as she had been for nearly three days now.
"You have to have faith in the King and the Princess," Pallas said. Her eyes drooped disturbingly. "The King is very strong and the Princess is with her wonderful horsie and he's ever so smart. They'll stop the bad voices."
When no response came from Fisheye, Pallas looked over to him. His head was drooping and his eyes were nearly closed.
"Miss Fisheye Sir?" Pallas said.
His eyes closed. Within seconds, though, Fisheye began convulsing in the chair. His gyrations threw him off balance and he tumbled to the floor at the foot of Pallas' bed. With Herculean effort, Pallas peered over the side.
"Water," Fisheye gasped hoarsely. "C-Can't breathe!"
"Oh, dear," Pallas frowned. Through great discomfort, Pallas pointed her finger at a carafe of water on a far table. "Beautiful Incantation."
The carafe rose from the table and floated over to them, shaking the entire trip. When it was directly over Fisheye, Pallas gestured. The carafe turned over, spilling water over Fisheye's head. Immediately his troubled sleep quieted.
"Poor Miss Fisheye Sir," lamented Pallas. "He believed the voices when they told him he was a fish again." Pallas let her head and torso sink back onto the bed. "Pallas won't listen to the bad voices. They won't get her. Pallas promised Vesta she wouldn't let them and she won't."
And the forlorn little senshi lay silent, the only entity in the room who was still awake.
* * * *
Trudging along the terrain, Sailor Vesta urged herself on. She remained in her human form. She didn't have the energy to transform into a huge dinosaur that could cover more ground, nor into a normal sized animal that could speed along the distance. All she had left in her right now was the ability to change into an insect or rodent and she could cover more ground as a human.
As she walked, she couldn't escape the nagging guilt that she was somehow to blame for this. If she'd fought smarter, she could have beaten her foe and then somehow helped Helios. If she'd attacked Echidna more quickly in the temple instead of letting Helios and Sailor Moon take the lead, perhaps the threat would be over. If she hadn't lost her cool and let her violent street side take over at the temple in Elysian, perhaps Echidna wouldn't have the foothold she had.
"You're not going to end up like him," Vesta told herself. Her maroon boots plodded along the soft, shadowy terrain. "You've still got a chance to make good. You just have to be smart about it. Stop thinking with your fists. That's what he did."
Occasionally she would look over her shoulder for some sign of Goth. Echidna's aspect had nearly done her in once and she didn't want him sneaking up on her. Too many people were depending on them to stop Echidna and if the decisive blow came down to Vesta, she wanted to be there and be ready to deliver it.
Ascending a rise in the terrain, Vesta made the top and let out a winded sigh. She looked down the rise and found reason to hope. The temple of Echidna was below her and Helios was nearly there. There was no sign of either of Echidna's aspects. The pink glow coming from inside the temple was encouraging, too. That could only mean Sailor Moon was already locked in battle with someone, Echidna she hoped. Vesta allowed herself to smile.
"Save some for me, Princess," she chuckled and started down the rise. However, two steps down, she stopped. "Wait a minute, dummy! It's down hill. You don't have to waste energy walking!"
Vesta spread out her arms.
"Fauna Assimilation - - flying squirrel!"
Vesta's body shrunk down to the small gliding rodent. She leaped up until she was airborne enough to hook onto a downward air current. With little weight and with instinct to guide her, Vesta surfed the wind currents. In no time, Vesta was speeding down the rise at thirty miles per hour. She saw Helios enter the temple.
"Right behind you, pony boy," the squirrel smirked.
Helios ventured into the temple warily. In his injured state, he didn't want to rush blindly in and meet up with either Goth or Tiberius. Though normally he had the power to resist Goth's touch of death, in his weakened state he could succumb. And another fight with Tiberius could be disaster. He wasn't sure he could do anything against the merged might of Echidna and the possessed Sailor Moon.
But he had to try. Billions depended upon him, not the least being the love of his life.
Moving cautiously, headed for the glow, Helios crept further into the temple. Where before he reached out mentally to Echidna, trying to convince her to stop her quest for domination of the dream-worlds, now he did his best to shield his presence from her. It wasn't difficult. He sensed Echidna was occupied, probably with suppressing Sailor Moon's consciousness.
"Hold out, Maiden," he prayed silently. "I come."
Turning a corner, Helios saw what was transpiring. It was worse than he hoped it would be. Sailor Moon, with Echidna in full control, was radiating pink energy laced with black from her Crescent Moon Wand. King Endymion struggled to keep the energy contained to the room with the Golden Crystal. However, he was overmatched and some of the foul energy leaked through.
Helios started for Endymion, then pulled back. Sharp pain from his broken ribs nearly doubled him over. Struggling with the pain and the debilitating effects it had, Helios forced himself upright. He stood there for several minutes, engaged in deep breathing as he fought to regain control of his body. Finally, the strain showing on his already pale face, Helios turned.
"Helios! Get back!" Endymion shouted. "I don't know how long I can hold it!"
"Then there is no reason," Helios said, wincing, "that you should hold it alone."
As he approached, the crystal horn on his forehead began to glow. Ignoring the fire in his side, Helios raised his arms and joined his energies to Endymion's. The barrier began to firm up.
As she neared the temple, Vesta could see a river had formed and was running across the path to the temple just twenty-five yards from the entrance. Drawing even closer, Vesta caught movement out of the corner of her left eye. For a moment she feared it was Goth and swerved to the right. Then she saw it was Juno, Ceres and Saturn riding in a crude canoe.
"Aqua Initiation!" Juno bellowed.
Suddenly a waterspout sprang up out of the river. It arched up into the air, then sped at Vesta. Unable to react in time, Vesta was slammed out of the air by the spout and knocked to the ground.
Back in her human form, Vesta sputtered and shook her head. Angrily she turned to the trio. The waterspout had sucked most of the water from the river, grounding the canoe. The three senshi piled out of the craft, headed toward her with alarm. Vesta wondered why until she saw they were looking above her. Readjusting, Vesta saw Goth swooping back to where she lay. He dove at her, hands outstretched, eagerly seeking her. Vesta turned to move, but she knew she would be too slow.
"Silence Wall!" Saturn called out.
An invisible barrier formed around Vesta just in time. Goth crashed into it and was rebuffed. Immediately the barrier fell, allowing Vesta to scramble to her feet. By the time she regained her feet, Saturn was with her. She turned to face Goth, her glaive extended menacingly.
"Go help Usa," Saturn told her. "I'll handle him."
"Be careful!" hissed Vesta. "He can kill you with his touch."
"Death doesn't frighten me," Saturn said solemnly. "Been there, done that."
Vesta looked at her to see if she was blustering. She wasn't and suddenly a whole new level of respect was born in the maroon senshi. Vesta nodded respectfully and was off.
"Are you so eager to die, little waif?" Goth smirked, wafting across Saturn's line of sight. He lingered at her left side, about eight feet from her.
"Are you?" Saturn asked.
With the speed of thought, Saturn pirouetted, spinning nearly one hundred eighty degrees. As she did so, her glaive came up and around, making her look like a ballerina of death. Goth sought to give ground, but the blade sliced across his middle, dissecting his sackcloth robe and the sickly skin beneath. By the time he recovered, Saturn was in a crouch, her glaive extended. The slightest move on his part would send the blade at him, possibly on a fatal course.
Was it possible for death to die?
"I remember you now," Goth smiled. It wasn't the reaction Saturn expected and for a moment her confidence dipped. "The one who became two - - and then one - - and then, for a brief instance, became none."
Saturn's eyes narrowed.
"I remember that day," Goth continued. "I was there. You felt my cold caress that day. And then that silver light pulled you back. At the time you wondered why she bothered."
This shook Saturn. How did he know? He was describing something only she and Sailor Moon, now Queen Serenity, should know. What was this creature?
In that moment of indecision, Goth lunged. However, Saturn recovered quickly. With inhuman speed, she stepped back and set her glaive to weaving before her in every direction. Her hands were blurs. The staff moved so fast that it seemed like there were four of them. The blade was everywhere at once, darting and slashing like it had a mind of its own and was intoxicated by its newfound freedom and power. Goth watched, hypnotized, seeming to wait for the blade to strike him.
Then suddenly he lashed out with his hand. The glaive was ripped from Sailor Saturn and sent flying. It spun away and sank blade first into the ground. Saturn turned back to her opponent.
"Time is up, little firefly of death," Goth whispered solemnly.
Ceres and Juno waited at the temple door for Vesta to catch up.
"Come on, Vesta!" Ceres said urgently. "The Princess needs us!"
"She's losing?" Vesta asked.
"She's already lost! Where have you been?"
"I had a little trouble along the way," Vesta replied gruffly. "It didn't leave me time to do stuff like thread roses into my hair."
"Bottom line is we have to help the king any way we can," Juno interjected, trying to stave off the impending argument.
"But you're still done in from making that river!" Ceres said. "How much do you have left? And Vesta doesn't look much better!"
"I'll make more of an impact than those goofy flowers of yours," muttered Vesta. Ceres' eyes flared, but before she could reply, Vesta pushed past her. "Come on, we're wasting time."
Juno followed her in, forcing Ceres to do the same.
Inside, they found King Endymion and Helios containing Sailor Moon with some effort. Sailor Moon angrily lashed at their barrier, expending more and more pink and black energy without success. The strain was telling on their faces, particularly on the face of Helios. But the strain was equally evident on Sailor Moon's face and body. Her posture was stooped, her face was lined, and she barely stood upright. However, she continued to lash out at the glistening golden barrier.
"Maybe they don't need us," Ceres whispered.
"We better stick around, though, just in case," Juno cautioned.
Vesta glanced back toward the entrance, hoping she'd see Sailor Saturn.
* * * *
"Hotaru!" Usa shrieked.
She strained at the coils that held her, but they would not release. Her shoulder hurt from where the pool cue had struck, but she ignored the pain. Only one thing concerned her, for Hotaru lay motionless. The Amazoness Quartet smiled and laughed, amused by the tableau and proud of their hand in it. Unable to support herself any longer, Usa sank to her knees, the serpent still snug around her torso and legs, and looked for some sign of life in her friend.
"Hotaru?" Usa squeaked, emotion robbing her of her voice.
Her gaze drifted up to the four evil girls standing over her. Cere-Cere stroked her braided hair with supreme arrogance. Jun-Jun stared back gleefully, drinking in Usa's misery. Palla-Palla had that spoiled little girl's smirk, like she'd just gotten away with something and was so very pleased with the fact. And Ves-Ves grinned maliciously, for the pain of another was something to be celebrated because it meant someone else got to suffer for a change.
"Why?" Usa asked. "She was your friend."
"Friends are for suckers," sneered Ves-Ves.
"She never did anything to you! Ever!"
"She got in the way," Cere-Cere said, her smile predatory. "Insects that get in the way get stepped on."
"No, you're not like this!" raged Usa. "You were turning your lives around! You were making something of yourselves!"
"Oooh, naughty little Princess is making up stories!" squealed Palla-Palla in a juvenile rant. "Palla-Palla is going to have to punish her!" As she spoke she was tossing a blue ball up and down.
"Don't do this!" pleaded Usa. "Don't throw everything you've accomplished away! Please, you have to remember! You've proven you're all better than this! Please remember!"
Palla-Palla produced a pool cue from thin air.
"She's right," a voice said softly.
Everybody turned. The three remaining Amazons gaped at Jun-Jun. The girl stood among them, confused and shaken. Jun-Jun looked down at her hands, then to her clothes like she was seeing them for the first time.
"What are you talking about?" growled Ves-Ves.
"We're not like this," Jun-Jun replied. She turned to Ves-Ves and was startled by the vitriol in her sister amazon's eyes. "Ves-Ves, this is the lie! We're not like this! We did try to change!"
"Yes, you did! You succeeded!" Usa prodded.
"Yes, we did," Cere-Cere nodded, the fog lifting from her brain. "Queen Serenity brought us back - - back from the orphanage."
"You going soft too, flower girl?" snapped Ves-Ves.
"Ves-Ves, it's true! Queen Serenity showed us the way! She helped us! Remember?"
"And the four original senshi mentored you, just like they mentored me!" Usa continued. "Don't fall back onto the path of evil! You've got a life now! Don't throw it away!"
Everyone turned when they heard Palla-Palla gasp in horror and suck in air. The girl had her hands to her mouth and was staring at the ball hovering before her.
"PALLA-PALLA WAS GOING TO DO BAD AGAIN!" she shrieked. Tears pouring from her eyes, the girl sank to her knees by Usa. "Princess! Palla-Palla is so sorry!"
"GET UP, STUPID!" roared Ves-Ves, smacking Palla-Palla across the back of the head. "Get off your knees! Stop that crying or I'll rap you again!"
She drew back her hand to strike Palla-Palla again, but a stronger hand caught her wrist. Whirling on her unseen attacker, Ves-Ves came face to face with Helios. She froze in her tracks.
"Such violence will not eradicate what you do not wish to hear or acknowledge," Helios said. He released her hand and Ves-Ves defensively shrunk into herself. "It will only hasten your doom. The truth may at times be painful, but it is a pain that can strengthen. Lies will only rot one away from inside."
"You're right," Ves-Ves said in a small voice. She held her wrist as if it was burned and stared at nothing residing next to her toes. "Don't know how many times I have to learn that before it'll sink in." She felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched, but it was only Jun-Jun.
"Don't worry," Jun-Jun smiled. "We'll keep drumming it into your thick head." Ves-Ves cautiously smiled in return.
"Helios!" Usa said frantically. "Please! Hotaru is hurt! Please help her!"
Helios turned to her and he was the Helios of old: kind, strong and wise, and with that gentle love for all things living. She saw once more the smoldering passion, passion she knew was only for her, and Usa allowed herself to think that the worst had passed.
Then suddenly everything changed. His passion for her grew cold. Helios reached out, swiftly drew Ves-Ves to his lean frame and buried his mouth to hers.
* * * *
A grunt of pain echoed in the halls of the temple. Helios, gripping his injured side, sank to his knees and doubled over with agony. Instantly cracks began to form in the barrier. Unable to help Helios lest the possessed Sailor Moon break free, Endymion could only struggle to maintain the barrier.
"I guess there's a new power in the dream lands," Sailor Moon leered, her one visible eye dancing madly. "I love you, Daddy."
With that, Sailor Moon lashed out and the barrier crumbled. Pink energy laced with black fanned out in every direction. Helios and Endymion were protected from the energy by their own power, while Juno and Ceres had Endymion's roses to ward off the effects.
Vesta found herself back on the streets of Sao Paolo. It was "District Diablo", the worst part of a city that, like many cities even in the thirtieth century, didn't have the benefits those who lived in Crystal Tokyo had. In a mere second all the sights and sounds and smells and tastes Vesta thought she'd left behind came flooding back, tightening around her like a noose. She reached out to the wall to steady herself and felt the grime of years of neglect.
"PUT THE WEAPON DOWN!" bellowed a male voice. Uncomprehending, Vesta turned to the voice. It was a Brasilia security officer in full battle armor and helmet. He had a government-issue laser pistol leveled at her, gripped with both hands as taught by the academy.
"What weapon?" Vesta protested. Her hands were empty. Couldn't he see that?
"PUT THE WEAPON DOWN!" he ordered again. "PUT IT DOWN NOW!"
"I don't have any . . ." she began, taking a step forward. In that second, Vesta saw the officer tense, ready to fire and she froze.
It was then that she noticed the rivulet of blood oozing down the dirty alley between them. Unable to keep from looking away from the laser pistol, Vesta glanced over to her left. Her mother lay in the alley, cold and lifeless, staring up at her. A sickening hole was in her chest where the blast from the energy pistol made it explode.
"PUT IT DOWN NOW!" roared the officer. A sixth sense, born of the street, told Vesta that he was less than a second away from firing.
And from somewhere a thought entered her mind, telling her that she deserved it.
Continued in Chapter 10
CHAPTER 9: "Cruel To Be Kind"
By Bill K.
"I'm so weak!"
Fisheye and Sailor Pallas turned their heads to the sound. Candide, the Queen Mother, stood up from her sickbed. Her arms extended out, as if searching for something. The expression on her face was anguished. Fisheye started for her, concerned.
"She's just sleeping," Pallas said weakly. "And she's listening to the voices in her sleep."
When Fisheye reached her, he saw it. Candide's eyes were opened, but she didn't seem to see. He grabbed her around the shoulders as she lurched forward, lunging for something only she saw. She fought against Fisheye's restraining grip impotently.
"I must get to him!" she pleaded. Candide threw herself forward, trying to break Fisheye's hold on her. "He needs me! They all need me! They all cry out to me!"
"Queen Mother!" Fisheye gasped. "Wake up, please!"
Candide strained once more against Fisheye's hold, then went limp. Unable to support her, Fisheye guided her down to the bed. He could see her sobbing, though there were no visible tears.
"Too weak," Candide whispered pitifully. "They needed me and-and again I was too weak. Forgive me."
Unable to help anymore, Fisheye returned to Sailor Pallas.
"Are we all going to end up like this?" Fisheye asked. He glanced at Ravonna as he nervously fiddled with his dress. She was still as death, as she had been for nearly three days now.
"You have to have faith in the King and the Princess," Pallas said. Her eyes drooped disturbingly. "The King is very strong and the Princess is with her wonderful horsie and he's ever so smart. They'll stop the bad voices."
When no response came from Fisheye, Pallas looked over to him. His head was drooping and his eyes were nearly closed.
"Miss Fisheye Sir?" Pallas said.
His eyes closed. Within seconds, though, Fisheye began convulsing in the chair. His gyrations threw him off balance and he tumbled to the floor at the foot of Pallas' bed. With Herculean effort, Pallas peered over the side.
"Water," Fisheye gasped hoarsely. "C-Can't breathe!"
"Oh, dear," Pallas frowned. Through great discomfort, Pallas pointed her finger at a carafe of water on a far table. "Beautiful Incantation."
The carafe rose from the table and floated over to them, shaking the entire trip. When it was directly over Fisheye, Pallas gestured. The carafe turned over, spilling water over Fisheye's head. Immediately his troubled sleep quieted.
"Poor Miss Fisheye Sir," lamented Pallas. "He believed the voices when they told him he was a fish again." Pallas let her head and torso sink back onto the bed. "Pallas won't listen to the bad voices. They won't get her. Pallas promised Vesta she wouldn't let them and she won't."
And the forlorn little senshi lay silent, the only entity in the room who was still awake.
* * * *
Trudging along the terrain, Sailor Vesta urged herself on. She remained in her human form. She didn't have the energy to transform into a huge dinosaur that could cover more ground, nor into a normal sized animal that could speed along the distance. All she had left in her right now was the ability to change into an insect or rodent and she could cover more ground as a human.
As she walked, she couldn't escape the nagging guilt that she was somehow to blame for this. If she'd fought smarter, she could have beaten her foe and then somehow helped Helios. If she'd attacked Echidna more quickly in the temple instead of letting Helios and Sailor Moon take the lead, perhaps the threat would be over. If she hadn't lost her cool and let her violent street side take over at the temple in Elysian, perhaps Echidna wouldn't have the foothold she had.
"You're not going to end up like him," Vesta told herself. Her maroon boots plodded along the soft, shadowy terrain. "You've still got a chance to make good. You just have to be smart about it. Stop thinking with your fists. That's what he did."
Occasionally she would look over her shoulder for some sign of Goth. Echidna's aspect had nearly done her in once and she didn't want him sneaking up on her. Too many people were depending on them to stop Echidna and if the decisive blow came down to Vesta, she wanted to be there and be ready to deliver it.
Ascending a rise in the terrain, Vesta made the top and let out a winded sigh. She looked down the rise and found reason to hope. The temple of Echidna was below her and Helios was nearly there. There was no sign of either of Echidna's aspects. The pink glow coming from inside the temple was encouraging, too. That could only mean Sailor Moon was already locked in battle with someone, Echidna she hoped. Vesta allowed herself to smile.
"Save some for me, Princess," she chuckled and started down the rise. However, two steps down, she stopped. "Wait a minute, dummy! It's down hill. You don't have to waste energy walking!"
Vesta spread out her arms.
"Fauna Assimilation - - flying squirrel!"
Vesta's body shrunk down to the small gliding rodent. She leaped up until she was airborne enough to hook onto a downward air current. With little weight and with instinct to guide her, Vesta surfed the wind currents. In no time, Vesta was speeding down the rise at thirty miles per hour. She saw Helios enter the temple.
"Right behind you, pony boy," the squirrel smirked.
Helios ventured into the temple warily. In his injured state, he didn't want to rush blindly in and meet up with either Goth or Tiberius. Though normally he had the power to resist Goth's touch of death, in his weakened state he could succumb. And another fight with Tiberius could be disaster. He wasn't sure he could do anything against the merged might of Echidna and the possessed Sailor Moon.
But he had to try. Billions depended upon him, not the least being the love of his life.
Moving cautiously, headed for the glow, Helios crept further into the temple. Where before he reached out mentally to Echidna, trying to convince her to stop her quest for domination of the dream-worlds, now he did his best to shield his presence from her. It wasn't difficult. He sensed Echidna was occupied, probably with suppressing Sailor Moon's consciousness.
"Hold out, Maiden," he prayed silently. "I come."
Turning a corner, Helios saw what was transpiring. It was worse than he hoped it would be. Sailor Moon, with Echidna in full control, was radiating pink energy laced with black from her Crescent Moon Wand. King Endymion struggled to keep the energy contained to the room with the Golden Crystal. However, he was overmatched and some of the foul energy leaked through.
Helios started for Endymion, then pulled back. Sharp pain from his broken ribs nearly doubled him over. Struggling with the pain and the debilitating effects it had, Helios forced himself upright. He stood there for several minutes, engaged in deep breathing as he fought to regain control of his body. Finally, the strain showing on his already pale face, Helios turned.
"Helios! Get back!" Endymion shouted. "I don't know how long I can hold it!"
"Then there is no reason," Helios said, wincing, "that you should hold it alone."
As he approached, the crystal horn on his forehead began to glow. Ignoring the fire in his side, Helios raised his arms and joined his energies to Endymion's. The barrier began to firm up.
As she neared the temple, Vesta could see a river had formed and was running across the path to the temple just twenty-five yards from the entrance. Drawing even closer, Vesta caught movement out of the corner of her left eye. For a moment she feared it was Goth and swerved to the right. Then she saw it was Juno, Ceres and Saturn riding in a crude canoe.
"Aqua Initiation!" Juno bellowed.
Suddenly a waterspout sprang up out of the river. It arched up into the air, then sped at Vesta. Unable to react in time, Vesta was slammed out of the air by the spout and knocked to the ground.
Back in her human form, Vesta sputtered and shook her head. Angrily she turned to the trio. The waterspout had sucked most of the water from the river, grounding the canoe. The three senshi piled out of the craft, headed toward her with alarm. Vesta wondered why until she saw they were looking above her. Readjusting, Vesta saw Goth swooping back to where she lay. He dove at her, hands outstretched, eagerly seeking her. Vesta turned to move, but she knew she would be too slow.
"Silence Wall!" Saturn called out.
An invisible barrier formed around Vesta just in time. Goth crashed into it and was rebuffed. Immediately the barrier fell, allowing Vesta to scramble to her feet. By the time she regained her feet, Saturn was with her. She turned to face Goth, her glaive extended menacingly.
"Go help Usa," Saturn told her. "I'll handle him."
"Be careful!" hissed Vesta. "He can kill you with his touch."
"Death doesn't frighten me," Saturn said solemnly. "Been there, done that."
Vesta looked at her to see if she was blustering. She wasn't and suddenly a whole new level of respect was born in the maroon senshi. Vesta nodded respectfully and was off.
"Are you so eager to die, little waif?" Goth smirked, wafting across Saturn's line of sight. He lingered at her left side, about eight feet from her.
"Are you?" Saturn asked.
With the speed of thought, Saturn pirouetted, spinning nearly one hundred eighty degrees. As she did so, her glaive came up and around, making her look like a ballerina of death. Goth sought to give ground, but the blade sliced across his middle, dissecting his sackcloth robe and the sickly skin beneath. By the time he recovered, Saturn was in a crouch, her glaive extended. The slightest move on his part would send the blade at him, possibly on a fatal course.
Was it possible for death to die?
"I remember you now," Goth smiled. It wasn't the reaction Saturn expected and for a moment her confidence dipped. "The one who became two - - and then one - - and then, for a brief instance, became none."
Saturn's eyes narrowed.
"I remember that day," Goth continued. "I was there. You felt my cold caress that day. And then that silver light pulled you back. At the time you wondered why she bothered."
This shook Saturn. How did he know? He was describing something only she and Sailor Moon, now Queen Serenity, should know. What was this creature?
In that moment of indecision, Goth lunged. However, Saturn recovered quickly. With inhuman speed, she stepped back and set her glaive to weaving before her in every direction. Her hands were blurs. The staff moved so fast that it seemed like there were four of them. The blade was everywhere at once, darting and slashing like it had a mind of its own and was intoxicated by its newfound freedom and power. Goth watched, hypnotized, seeming to wait for the blade to strike him.
Then suddenly he lashed out with his hand. The glaive was ripped from Sailor Saturn and sent flying. It spun away and sank blade first into the ground. Saturn turned back to her opponent.
"Time is up, little firefly of death," Goth whispered solemnly.
Ceres and Juno waited at the temple door for Vesta to catch up.
"Come on, Vesta!" Ceres said urgently. "The Princess needs us!"
"She's losing?" Vesta asked.
"She's already lost! Where have you been?"
"I had a little trouble along the way," Vesta replied gruffly. "It didn't leave me time to do stuff like thread roses into my hair."
"Bottom line is we have to help the king any way we can," Juno interjected, trying to stave off the impending argument.
"But you're still done in from making that river!" Ceres said. "How much do you have left? And Vesta doesn't look much better!"
"I'll make more of an impact than those goofy flowers of yours," muttered Vesta. Ceres' eyes flared, but before she could reply, Vesta pushed past her. "Come on, we're wasting time."
Juno followed her in, forcing Ceres to do the same.
Inside, they found King Endymion and Helios containing Sailor Moon with some effort. Sailor Moon angrily lashed at their barrier, expending more and more pink and black energy without success. The strain was telling on their faces, particularly on the face of Helios. But the strain was equally evident on Sailor Moon's face and body. Her posture was stooped, her face was lined, and she barely stood upright. However, she continued to lash out at the glistening golden barrier.
"Maybe they don't need us," Ceres whispered.
"We better stick around, though, just in case," Juno cautioned.
Vesta glanced back toward the entrance, hoping she'd see Sailor Saturn.
* * * *
"Hotaru!" Usa shrieked.
She strained at the coils that held her, but they would not release. Her shoulder hurt from where the pool cue had struck, but she ignored the pain. Only one thing concerned her, for Hotaru lay motionless. The Amazoness Quartet smiled and laughed, amused by the tableau and proud of their hand in it. Unable to support herself any longer, Usa sank to her knees, the serpent still snug around her torso and legs, and looked for some sign of life in her friend.
"Hotaru?" Usa squeaked, emotion robbing her of her voice.
Her gaze drifted up to the four evil girls standing over her. Cere-Cere stroked her braided hair with supreme arrogance. Jun-Jun stared back gleefully, drinking in Usa's misery. Palla-Palla had that spoiled little girl's smirk, like she'd just gotten away with something and was so very pleased with the fact. And Ves-Ves grinned maliciously, for the pain of another was something to be celebrated because it meant someone else got to suffer for a change.
"Why?" Usa asked. "She was your friend."
"Friends are for suckers," sneered Ves-Ves.
"She never did anything to you! Ever!"
"She got in the way," Cere-Cere said, her smile predatory. "Insects that get in the way get stepped on."
"No, you're not like this!" raged Usa. "You were turning your lives around! You were making something of yourselves!"
"Oooh, naughty little Princess is making up stories!" squealed Palla-Palla in a juvenile rant. "Palla-Palla is going to have to punish her!" As she spoke she was tossing a blue ball up and down.
"Don't do this!" pleaded Usa. "Don't throw everything you've accomplished away! Please, you have to remember! You've proven you're all better than this! Please remember!"
Palla-Palla produced a pool cue from thin air.
"She's right," a voice said softly.
Everybody turned. The three remaining Amazons gaped at Jun-Jun. The girl stood among them, confused and shaken. Jun-Jun looked down at her hands, then to her clothes like she was seeing them for the first time.
"What are you talking about?" growled Ves-Ves.
"We're not like this," Jun-Jun replied. She turned to Ves-Ves and was startled by the vitriol in her sister amazon's eyes. "Ves-Ves, this is the lie! We're not like this! We did try to change!"
"Yes, you did! You succeeded!" Usa prodded.
"Yes, we did," Cere-Cere nodded, the fog lifting from her brain. "Queen Serenity brought us back - - back from the orphanage."
"You going soft too, flower girl?" snapped Ves-Ves.
"Ves-Ves, it's true! Queen Serenity showed us the way! She helped us! Remember?"
"And the four original senshi mentored you, just like they mentored me!" Usa continued. "Don't fall back onto the path of evil! You've got a life now! Don't throw it away!"
Everyone turned when they heard Palla-Palla gasp in horror and suck in air. The girl had her hands to her mouth and was staring at the ball hovering before her.
"PALLA-PALLA WAS GOING TO DO BAD AGAIN!" she shrieked. Tears pouring from her eyes, the girl sank to her knees by Usa. "Princess! Palla-Palla is so sorry!"
"GET UP, STUPID!" roared Ves-Ves, smacking Palla-Palla across the back of the head. "Get off your knees! Stop that crying or I'll rap you again!"
She drew back her hand to strike Palla-Palla again, but a stronger hand caught her wrist. Whirling on her unseen attacker, Ves-Ves came face to face with Helios. She froze in her tracks.
"Such violence will not eradicate what you do not wish to hear or acknowledge," Helios said. He released her hand and Ves-Ves defensively shrunk into herself. "It will only hasten your doom. The truth may at times be painful, but it is a pain that can strengthen. Lies will only rot one away from inside."
"You're right," Ves-Ves said in a small voice. She held her wrist as if it was burned and stared at nothing residing next to her toes. "Don't know how many times I have to learn that before it'll sink in." She felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched, but it was only Jun-Jun.
"Don't worry," Jun-Jun smiled. "We'll keep drumming it into your thick head." Ves-Ves cautiously smiled in return.
"Helios!" Usa said frantically. "Please! Hotaru is hurt! Please help her!"
Helios turned to her and he was the Helios of old: kind, strong and wise, and with that gentle love for all things living. She saw once more the smoldering passion, passion she knew was only for her, and Usa allowed herself to think that the worst had passed.
Then suddenly everything changed. His passion for her grew cold. Helios reached out, swiftly drew Ves-Ves to his lean frame and buried his mouth to hers.
* * * *
A grunt of pain echoed in the halls of the temple. Helios, gripping his injured side, sank to his knees and doubled over with agony. Instantly cracks began to form in the barrier. Unable to help Helios lest the possessed Sailor Moon break free, Endymion could only struggle to maintain the barrier.
"I guess there's a new power in the dream lands," Sailor Moon leered, her one visible eye dancing madly. "I love you, Daddy."
With that, Sailor Moon lashed out and the barrier crumbled. Pink energy laced with black fanned out in every direction. Helios and Endymion were protected from the energy by their own power, while Juno and Ceres had Endymion's roses to ward off the effects.
Vesta found herself back on the streets of Sao Paolo. It was "District Diablo", the worst part of a city that, like many cities even in the thirtieth century, didn't have the benefits those who lived in Crystal Tokyo had. In a mere second all the sights and sounds and smells and tastes Vesta thought she'd left behind came flooding back, tightening around her like a noose. She reached out to the wall to steady herself and felt the grime of years of neglect.
"PUT THE WEAPON DOWN!" bellowed a male voice. Uncomprehending, Vesta turned to the voice. It was a Brasilia security officer in full battle armor and helmet. He had a government-issue laser pistol leveled at her, gripped with both hands as taught by the academy.
"What weapon?" Vesta protested. Her hands were empty. Couldn't he see that?
"PUT THE WEAPON DOWN!" he ordered again. "PUT IT DOWN NOW!"
"I don't have any . . ." she began, taking a step forward. In that second, Vesta saw the officer tense, ready to fire and she froze.
It was then that she noticed the rivulet of blood oozing down the dirty alley between them. Unable to keep from looking away from the laser pistol, Vesta glanced over to her left. Her mother lay in the alley, cold and lifeless, staring up at her. A sickening hole was in her chest where the blast from the energy pistol made it explode.
"PUT IT DOWN NOW!" roared the officer. A sixth sense, born of the street, told Vesta that he was less than a second away from firing.
And from somewhere a thought entered her mind, telling her that she deserved it.
Continued in Chapter 10