Karen made sure no one around and returned to her seat. She observed Amara and let out a depressed sigh. A long time had passed and the Wind Goddess hadn't made the slightest movement. Michelle had gone downstairs sometime ago, announcing that they'd be staying here until Amara got better. Trista was somewhere, which didn't bother Karen much since the Time Guardian was probably off doing something important. Karen just took the opportunity as a chance to talk to Amara one-on-one, even though her sister was off in her own dreamworld.
Karen exhaled quietly and started to talk to Amara. "I know you might not be able to hear this, but I've waited so long to tell you. So just hear me out. A while ago, I had a dream...."
-.-
..... I was in the middle of the field, there was nothing else around. I was all alone. In every direction... nothing, not even a barnyard or a stray cow. Anyway, I was getting kind of bored just standing around, so I started to walk. I figured it would be better to be going somewhere than just standing in the middle of nowhere. I was walking and after a while I was getting tired of it, so much for that good idea. Still the endless field remain in my view, which was beginning to bother me. Then, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, some kind of light...
I quickly turned around to come face to face with... Sammy. He has wearing a white cloak, his hair sticking out of the hood and his face barely visible. That's not all, there was someone with him, another boy. He was the same height as Sammy and he had snow white hair and turquoise eyes, I think. He wore all white and had what looked like a flute in his hands. I also thought I saw wings on his back for a split second. I guessed since he was with Shingo, I didn't have to feel threatened by him. That and he didn't look like the violent type... there was some kind of warm feeling about his appearance.
Finally getting down to the point, I spoke up. "Shingo?" Well, it wasn't so much down to a point, but I had to make sure it was really him.
"I've come to warn you..." That was all he said as he pulled his hood down.
"Warn me? About what?"
"Thanatos.."
"Come again..?" I never really understood that kid, but this wasn't usual Sammy talk.
"The brother of Sleep and the son of Night, his name means Death. From on high, Helios never casts his light on Death. Unlike his brother, Thanatos has a deep hatred of mortals and the world of light can cease to exist by a simple touch of his hand."
I could only stare, dumbfounded as the explanation just seemed like a foreign tongue to me. He couldn't have been serious, Thanatos sounded like something from mythology. Sammy was serious though, his expression was all I needed to see to understand that. Still, it made no sense why he was telling me this stuff. What was the chance of some god of Death coming after me?
"Why are you telling me this?" Sammy just stepped back and looked away. "I know you wouldn't come into my dreams unless you had a really good reason."
"You must be careful..." The other boy had answered. "Thanatos is coming..."
"Coming?" Somehow it didn't surprise me that much, I did jinx it. "Why is he coming?"
"Be careful..." Sammy then pulled his hood back on and disappeared. At the same time, it seemed to get a little darker.
So, he was gone and probably not coming back, leaving me with the other kid. I did wonder why he hadn't left with Shingo, but didn't really care. I just wanted to know more about this Death dude before he came up to me one day and tried to kill me or something. The boy had gotten closer, our distance only a few inches. Maybe he wanted to tell me something important without Sammy overhearing. I shook off the ridiculous idea and decided to question him.
"Could you tell me why this Thanatos guy is coming..?"
He just grasped my hands with his and looked me straight in the eye. "You must be cautious and prepared, or he'll find a way to sneak up on you."
"... Okay, I get the idea, I'm just having trouble understanding it all."
"It will all soon become clear." That was the last thing he said and he leaned forward, lay a soft kiss upon my cheek.
He began to walk away after that, leaving me shocked and still confused. If I wasn't blushing when he had grabbed my hands, I was at that point. My face felt as if it was on fire and my heart was violently beating. Seconds later, he went away too, this time.. darkness covered the area. The light had left with them and once again I was alone. Then I woke up....
-.-
Karen got up from her seat and headed onto the balcony. The sun was already setting in the distance and it was getting a little cold out. Karen moved closer to the railing, halting when she heard something crunch under her foot. She ducked down to examine the object, finding a little, cracked black star. She picked it up and hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Rebecca and Susan were in the living room when Karen came down. Karen went over to the coffee table and knocked off the random garbage left from the movie night.
"What's wrong, Karen?" Susan exchanged a concern gaze with Rebecca and then brought her attention onto Karen.
"I found something.." Karen placed the star on the table. "I think it's some kind of tracking device."
Apollo trotted in from the kitchen and jumped on the table. "I think you're right. Where did you find this?"
"The balcony, maybe the person who attacked Amara dropped it." Karen searched the room. "Where's Hotaru?"
"Staying with Rini." Rebecca responded.
"That makes sense."
A beeping echoed in the area and Susan pulled her communicator watch out of her pocket. Karen and Rebecca just watched as she flipped it open. "Rini...? You found them..? Tokyo Tower? Alright, we'll be right there." She put her watch away and stood up. "The Witches are at the Tokyo Tower, the Inners are already there."
"Let's go then." Karen headed for the door, but was stopped by Rebecca.
"Wouldn't it be safer if you stayed here?"
"I just can't sit around knowing they're out there hurting innocent people..! They're the reason Amara's in a partial coma..!"
"Just promise to get out of there if it gets too dangerous."
Karen nodded and the three got their jackets and left the house.
-.-
"Well, Meatball Brain, it was a great idea to come check out this place. But how are you planning on getting inside?" Raye inquired as she inspected the home Professor Tomoe once lived.
"I hadn't thought about that..." Serena revealed, a little embarrassed.
"We could just go in through the front door." Amy suggested.
"Or we can sneak in unnoticed." Mina implied.
"There would be point to sneaking in if no one's there.."
"There's only one way to be sure." A voice was heard close by.
The five turned around to find Trista and Darien standing there.
"Darien, what are you doing here?" Serena ran over and hugged him.
"Rini thought it would be a good idea to search this place."
"That brat stole my idea!"
"Come on Serena, let's just go look at the place and get out of here." Lita spoke up.
Serena nodded and the seven sauntered over to the front door. Trista reached out to ring the door bell, but the door opened before she could complete her action. She backed away as a familiar face came out of the shadows.
"Amara, what are you doing here? You should be resting." Serena took a step forward, only to get shoved away by what seemed to be Amara.
"Hey." Darien grasped Amara's arm, the girl glaring back at him.
Amara quickly yanked her arm away and kicked Darien, sending him flying onto the concrete. Serena almost fainted at the sight and the others just stared shocked at the event. Amara just turned around and walked back inside, the door closing behind her.
-.-
Karen looked up at the Tokyo Tower, disappointed at the fact the Witches were somewhere on the top. Everyone else was transforming at the time, leaving her to just wait for them. Sailor Neptune joined her at last with Sailor Pluto and Saturn not too far behind. Karen saw that everyone was ready and they all ran into the Tower. Karen paused suddenly, a few of the others almost running into her.
"Shouldn't we split up or something?" She questioned.
"It would be a smart idea." Sailor Moon agreed.
"We'll take the stairs and you guys take the elevator." Karen ordered as she and the other Outers dashed away.
"Maybe we should have taken the stairs..." Sailor Mercury watched them disappear.
"Too late now." Sailor Mars stepped into the elevator and the others followed.
"So Sailor Moon, what's up with Kat?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Yeah, she hasn't transformed since the other day." Sailor Venus added.
"She gave me her wand so she can't transform and attack me again. She told me I can give it back to her whenever." Sailor Moon explained quietly.
"Wait.. are we talking about the same person? Kat would never do that.." Jupiter retorted in a shocked tone.
"I guess she was really sorry..."
Meanwhile, the Outers were climbing the stairs until Sailor Saturn had to rest. Karen leaned against a wall, drifting off into her own world. Neptune noticed, but said nothing to the troubled girl. She knew she was still upset about what happened to Amara. Saturn announced she was okay and they continued running to the top.
-.-
Serena burst into the house, stomping angrily up the staircase. Michelle came out of the room to see where all the noise was coming from, relieved when she saw it was only Serena. Raye and Lita had chased after her, holding her back before she reached Michelle.
"Let me go...! I don't care if she injured or not, she had no right to do that to Darien!"
"Serena, what are you talking about?" Michelle tired to get the younger girl to quiet down.
"I'll tell you what! Amara came out of nowhere and beat up Darien for no reason!"
"But... Amara was here the whole time, I was watching her."
"What?" Serena managed to get out of the two's grips and peeked in the room. "Uh.. Michelle.. Where's Amara?"
"I told you, she's..." Michelle went back into the room. "Gone...?"
"I think I deserve an explanation!"
"She was there when I left the room a minute ago..."
"This doesn't make sense, even if we did run into the real Amara earlier, she couldn't have taken down Darien with one blow." Lita commented.
"Maybe that wasn't Amara we ran into at all..." Raye whispered.
"What do you mean that wasn't Amara? We all saw her..!"
"Serena, there is a possibility it wasn't her. Besides, I don't think Amara would do such a thing."
"So what do we do now Raye?"
"We look for her..." Michelle replied. "And hopefully the Amara we run into is the right one."
-.-
The Sailor Scouts met at the top of the tower, quickly spotting the Witches a distance away.
"Hurry up, before those pesky Scouts come!" Eudial yelled as two other Witches ran by.
"Who died and made you leader?" Mimet argued.
"If I remember correctly, I was always the leader."
"Sometimes I wonder how they manage to stay alive if they can't even stop fighting each other." Karen watched them, not sure if she should be smiling or feeling ashamed.
Eudial and Mimet ceased their argument and glared at the Scouts. "We knew you'd come!"
"Nice to know, so how do you plan on escaping this time?"
"We don't plan to retreat this time." Eudial started.
"This time we're prepared to take you down." And Mimet finished.
The two laughed as an enormous stomping sound was heard below. Sailor Moon ran to the edge, finding something rather large down there. "There's something down there...!"
"We have to stop it before it starts to destroy the city!" Mars stated.
"Don't worry, we can take care of the Witches." Pluto assured.
The Inners nodded and went back into the elevator. Eudial and Mimet pulled out their weapons and the other three Witches soon appeared, ready to fight. Pluto twirled her staff and got into a fighting position. Saturn and Neptune did the same as Karen stood in the back with her hands in her pockets. Kaorinite emerged from thin air and floated above the Witches.
"We don't have time for this." She held her hand out in front of her and an orb of energy shot out of her palm.
The blast hit Neptune, throwing her off the tower. Karen, obviously not thinking at the time, jumped after her. Pluto and Saturn hurried to the edge and then raced down the stairs. Karen managed to grab one of Rebecca's hands while they fell. She realized the mistake she had done and just closed her eyes, hoping for some kind of miracle. Karen felt arms grabbing her by the waist and they began to slowly move towards the ground. She opened her eyes and tried to get a good view of her rescuer. It was the boy from her dream and he had wings this time.
"Fairy boy..?!" He just smiled at her and they proceeded to float down.
When they were back on the ground, Karen just stared at the boy as Neptune glanced back and forth at the two. "Karen... do you know him?"
"Kinda..." Karen shook her head and turned to Neptune. "Are you alright?"
"Of course."
Karen's watch started to beep and she opened it, slightly glaring when she saw it was Michelle.
"Where are you?"
"I don't have time for this... Listen I just miraculously jumped off the Tokyo Tower and lived, so save me the lectures."
"You did what..?!"
"Nice to know you're happy that I'm safe. See ya!" Karen shut her watch and faced the boy, holding out her hand. "Thanks for the help, I'm Karen."
"My name's Peruru." He leaned over and kissed her hand.
Karen squeaked and pulled her hand away. "Not exactly what I was expecting..." She gazed at her feet so he wouldn't see her blushing.
The three felt a rumbling under their feet and they searched the area. Something ran their way and over them, the Inners chasing after it. Karen finally got a glimpse at the thing, letting out a gasp. "Is that... a giant bunny?"
Neptune just lifted her hands to release an attack. "Neptune Deep Submerge!" It had knocked the bunny onto its side and it tried desperately to get back up. "Sailor Moon, your turn!"
Sailor Moon caught up and nodded. "Rainbow Moon Heartache!"
The bunny never saw it coming.
Karen exhaled quietly and started to talk to Amara. "I know you might not be able to hear this, but I've waited so long to tell you. So just hear me out. A while ago, I had a dream...."
-.-
..... I was in the middle of the field, there was nothing else around. I was all alone. In every direction... nothing, not even a barnyard or a stray cow. Anyway, I was getting kind of bored just standing around, so I started to walk. I figured it would be better to be going somewhere than just standing in the middle of nowhere. I was walking and after a while I was getting tired of it, so much for that good idea. Still the endless field remain in my view, which was beginning to bother me. Then, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, some kind of light...
I quickly turned around to come face to face with... Sammy. He has wearing a white cloak, his hair sticking out of the hood and his face barely visible. That's not all, there was someone with him, another boy. He was the same height as Sammy and he had snow white hair and turquoise eyes, I think. He wore all white and had what looked like a flute in his hands. I also thought I saw wings on his back for a split second. I guessed since he was with Shingo, I didn't have to feel threatened by him. That and he didn't look like the violent type... there was some kind of warm feeling about his appearance.
Finally getting down to the point, I spoke up. "Shingo?" Well, it wasn't so much down to a point, but I had to make sure it was really him.
"I've come to warn you..." That was all he said as he pulled his hood down.
"Warn me? About what?"
"Thanatos.."
"Come again..?" I never really understood that kid, but this wasn't usual Sammy talk.
"The brother of Sleep and the son of Night, his name means Death. From on high, Helios never casts his light on Death. Unlike his brother, Thanatos has a deep hatred of mortals and the world of light can cease to exist by a simple touch of his hand."
I could only stare, dumbfounded as the explanation just seemed like a foreign tongue to me. He couldn't have been serious, Thanatos sounded like something from mythology. Sammy was serious though, his expression was all I needed to see to understand that. Still, it made no sense why he was telling me this stuff. What was the chance of some god of Death coming after me?
"Why are you telling me this?" Sammy just stepped back and looked away. "I know you wouldn't come into my dreams unless you had a really good reason."
"You must be careful..." The other boy had answered. "Thanatos is coming..."
"Coming?" Somehow it didn't surprise me that much, I did jinx it. "Why is he coming?"
"Be careful..." Sammy then pulled his hood back on and disappeared. At the same time, it seemed to get a little darker.
So, he was gone and probably not coming back, leaving me with the other kid. I did wonder why he hadn't left with Shingo, but didn't really care. I just wanted to know more about this Death dude before he came up to me one day and tried to kill me or something. The boy had gotten closer, our distance only a few inches. Maybe he wanted to tell me something important without Sammy overhearing. I shook off the ridiculous idea and decided to question him.
"Could you tell me why this Thanatos guy is coming..?"
He just grasped my hands with his and looked me straight in the eye. "You must be cautious and prepared, or he'll find a way to sneak up on you."
"... Okay, I get the idea, I'm just having trouble understanding it all."
"It will all soon become clear." That was the last thing he said and he leaned forward, lay a soft kiss upon my cheek.
He began to walk away after that, leaving me shocked and still confused. If I wasn't blushing when he had grabbed my hands, I was at that point. My face felt as if it was on fire and my heart was violently beating. Seconds later, he went away too, this time.. darkness covered the area. The light had left with them and once again I was alone. Then I woke up....
-.-
Karen got up from her seat and headed onto the balcony. The sun was already setting in the distance and it was getting a little cold out. Karen moved closer to the railing, halting when she heard something crunch under her foot. She ducked down to examine the object, finding a little, cracked black star. She picked it up and hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Rebecca and Susan were in the living room when Karen came down. Karen went over to the coffee table and knocked off the random garbage left from the movie night.
"What's wrong, Karen?" Susan exchanged a concern gaze with Rebecca and then brought her attention onto Karen.
"I found something.." Karen placed the star on the table. "I think it's some kind of tracking device."
Apollo trotted in from the kitchen and jumped on the table. "I think you're right. Where did you find this?"
"The balcony, maybe the person who attacked Amara dropped it." Karen searched the room. "Where's Hotaru?"
"Staying with Rini." Rebecca responded.
"That makes sense."
A beeping echoed in the area and Susan pulled her communicator watch out of her pocket. Karen and Rebecca just watched as she flipped it open. "Rini...? You found them..? Tokyo Tower? Alright, we'll be right there." She put her watch away and stood up. "The Witches are at the Tokyo Tower, the Inners are already there."
"Let's go then." Karen headed for the door, but was stopped by Rebecca.
"Wouldn't it be safer if you stayed here?"
"I just can't sit around knowing they're out there hurting innocent people..! They're the reason Amara's in a partial coma..!"
"Just promise to get out of there if it gets too dangerous."
Karen nodded and the three got their jackets and left the house.
-.-
"Well, Meatball Brain, it was a great idea to come check out this place. But how are you planning on getting inside?" Raye inquired as she inspected the home Professor Tomoe once lived.
"I hadn't thought about that..." Serena revealed, a little embarrassed.
"We could just go in through the front door." Amy suggested.
"Or we can sneak in unnoticed." Mina implied.
"There would be point to sneaking in if no one's there.."
"There's only one way to be sure." A voice was heard close by.
The five turned around to find Trista and Darien standing there.
"Darien, what are you doing here?" Serena ran over and hugged him.
"Rini thought it would be a good idea to search this place."
"That brat stole my idea!"
"Come on Serena, let's just go look at the place and get out of here." Lita spoke up.
Serena nodded and the seven sauntered over to the front door. Trista reached out to ring the door bell, but the door opened before she could complete her action. She backed away as a familiar face came out of the shadows.
"Amara, what are you doing here? You should be resting." Serena took a step forward, only to get shoved away by what seemed to be Amara.
"Hey." Darien grasped Amara's arm, the girl glaring back at him.
Amara quickly yanked her arm away and kicked Darien, sending him flying onto the concrete. Serena almost fainted at the sight and the others just stared shocked at the event. Amara just turned around and walked back inside, the door closing behind her.
-.-
Karen looked up at the Tokyo Tower, disappointed at the fact the Witches were somewhere on the top. Everyone else was transforming at the time, leaving her to just wait for them. Sailor Neptune joined her at last with Sailor Pluto and Saturn not too far behind. Karen saw that everyone was ready and they all ran into the Tower. Karen paused suddenly, a few of the others almost running into her.
"Shouldn't we split up or something?" She questioned.
"It would be a smart idea." Sailor Moon agreed.
"We'll take the stairs and you guys take the elevator." Karen ordered as she and the other Outers dashed away.
"Maybe we should have taken the stairs..." Sailor Mercury watched them disappear.
"Too late now." Sailor Mars stepped into the elevator and the others followed.
"So Sailor Moon, what's up with Kat?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Yeah, she hasn't transformed since the other day." Sailor Venus added.
"She gave me her wand so she can't transform and attack me again. She told me I can give it back to her whenever." Sailor Moon explained quietly.
"Wait.. are we talking about the same person? Kat would never do that.." Jupiter retorted in a shocked tone.
"I guess she was really sorry..."
Meanwhile, the Outers were climbing the stairs until Sailor Saturn had to rest. Karen leaned against a wall, drifting off into her own world. Neptune noticed, but said nothing to the troubled girl. She knew she was still upset about what happened to Amara. Saturn announced she was okay and they continued running to the top.
-.-
Serena burst into the house, stomping angrily up the staircase. Michelle came out of the room to see where all the noise was coming from, relieved when she saw it was only Serena. Raye and Lita had chased after her, holding her back before she reached Michelle.
"Let me go...! I don't care if she injured or not, she had no right to do that to Darien!"
"Serena, what are you talking about?" Michelle tired to get the younger girl to quiet down.
"I'll tell you what! Amara came out of nowhere and beat up Darien for no reason!"
"But... Amara was here the whole time, I was watching her."
"What?" Serena managed to get out of the two's grips and peeked in the room. "Uh.. Michelle.. Where's Amara?"
"I told you, she's..." Michelle went back into the room. "Gone...?"
"I think I deserve an explanation!"
"She was there when I left the room a minute ago..."
"This doesn't make sense, even if we did run into the real Amara earlier, she couldn't have taken down Darien with one blow." Lita commented.
"Maybe that wasn't Amara we ran into at all..." Raye whispered.
"What do you mean that wasn't Amara? We all saw her..!"
"Serena, there is a possibility it wasn't her. Besides, I don't think Amara would do such a thing."
"So what do we do now Raye?"
"We look for her..." Michelle replied. "And hopefully the Amara we run into is the right one."
-.-
The Sailor Scouts met at the top of the tower, quickly spotting the Witches a distance away.
"Hurry up, before those pesky Scouts come!" Eudial yelled as two other Witches ran by.
"Who died and made you leader?" Mimet argued.
"If I remember correctly, I was always the leader."
"Sometimes I wonder how they manage to stay alive if they can't even stop fighting each other." Karen watched them, not sure if she should be smiling or feeling ashamed.
Eudial and Mimet ceased their argument and glared at the Scouts. "We knew you'd come!"
"Nice to know, so how do you plan on escaping this time?"
"We don't plan to retreat this time." Eudial started.
"This time we're prepared to take you down." And Mimet finished.
The two laughed as an enormous stomping sound was heard below. Sailor Moon ran to the edge, finding something rather large down there. "There's something down there...!"
"We have to stop it before it starts to destroy the city!" Mars stated.
"Don't worry, we can take care of the Witches." Pluto assured.
The Inners nodded and went back into the elevator. Eudial and Mimet pulled out their weapons and the other three Witches soon appeared, ready to fight. Pluto twirled her staff and got into a fighting position. Saturn and Neptune did the same as Karen stood in the back with her hands in her pockets. Kaorinite emerged from thin air and floated above the Witches.
"We don't have time for this." She held her hand out in front of her and an orb of energy shot out of her palm.
The blast hit Neptune, throwing her off the tower. Karen, obviously not thinking at the time, jumped after her. Pluto and Saturn hurried to the edge and then raced down the stairs. Karen managed to grab one of Rebecca's hands while they fell. She realized the mistake she had done and just closed her eyes, hoping for some kind of miracle. Karen felt arms grabbing her by the waist and they began to slowly move towards the ground. She opened her eyes and tried to get a good view of her rescuer. It was the boy from her dream and he had wings this time.
"Fairy boy..?!" He just smiled at her and they proceeded to float down.
When they were back on the ground, Karen just stared at the boy as Neptune glanced back and forth at the two. "Karen... do you know him?"
"Kinda..." Karen shook her head and turned to Neptune. "Are you alright?"
"Of course."
Karen's watch started to beep and she opened it, slightly glaring when she saw it was Michelle.
"Where are you?"
"I don't have time for this... Listen I just miraculously jumped off the Tokyo Tower and lived, so save me the lectures."
"You did what..?!"
"Nice to know you're happy that I'm safe. See ya!" Karen shut her watch and faced the boy, holding out her hand. "Thanks for the help, I'm Karen."
"My name's Peruru." He leaned over and kissed her hand.
Karen squeaked and pulled her hand away. "Not exactly what I was expecting..." She gazed at her feet so he wouldn't see her blushing.
The three felt a rumbling under their feet and they searched the area. Something ran their way and over them, the Inners chasing after it. Karen finally got a glimpse at the thing, letting out a gasp. "Is that... a giant bunny?"
Neptune just lifted her hands to release an attack. "Neptune Deep Submerge!" It had knocked the bunny onto its side and it tried desperately to get back up. "Sailor Moon, your turn!"
Sailor Moon caught up and nodded. "Rainbow Moon Heartache!"
The bunny never saw it coming.