"Setsuna, Salior Pluto, Guardian of Time, There is a reason We have not told you this until now. We had to make sure you were trustworthy, you were raised by "him" after all. Time and time again you have proven faithful to us, so now we trust you with the secret extent of our power…"
"So this is why they've been so reluctant to tell about this." Setsuna thought to herself. She couldn't help but be touched about how much they trusted her. So much that they would even reveal Fate's weakness… it's only flaw in it's power… "Council… thank you for this honor…"
"We could not keep this secret ours forever Guardian. It is time you know. We cannot make fate over those whose worlds we have yet to visit. And always we must be in the world in order to make the cycles or make changes to the cycles of fates that we create. Dimmer is from a world we have not visited and therefore is outside the realm of our power. But even worse, is that person's ability to distort our cycles. You have seen the cycles broken once before already by our young Valor, certainly, though you wonder why Fate allowed such a thing to occur? Do you remember of what we speak?"
"Yes, Council. I believe it was my doing. I had no time to raise Night's Valor, as a normal parent, to gain the amount of experience you requested him to have. He had to grow up many times over to learn all he needed to know. Using the cave you first arrived from, I sent Valor into the other dimensions, so he could learn all he needed to learn.... It was the only time I've ever used the cave… I had him adopted by a family in one of the dimensions you've already controlled. That way I knew he was safe. Each time he'd come back, I'd send him away to a different family. What took a little more than two years in our time, took age upon age to him. It allowed him to grow up and learn how to control his powers as well as he has, even if it is not to the true extent of what his power could be. Than the 'event' you speak of occurred…"
Setsuna looked up, staring past the ceiling of the large room she dwelled in, into a time long past to most but not so long to the ageless ones like her Fate and Valor... She thought back not needing the power of time she had learned to see with, she didn't need it to remember this, the memory came to her all too clearly…
Sometimes she only wished she could forget…
"Hey guys! I think he's coming around!" Lita shouted as she watched Darien blink, and slowly raise his head. He didn't have time even to look around until he was jumped by a blonde blur that he was positive wasn't in the room a moment ago.
"Darien! Darien, are you okay? You were cut and bruised almost everywhere. Where have you been? Oh Darien, please say you're alright…"
"N...n.. no …time." He managed to mutter around the blonde's bear hug.
"Serena, you have to let go of him. Let him tell us what he needs to tell us than you can hug him all you want after okay?" Mina smiled as she leaned down to talk to her overly emotional friend.
"Yeah Meatball head! Give him room to breathe, he just woke up!"
Serena stuck her tongue out at Rei, but she did slowly let go. He 'was' just recovering after all.
"No time for this." Darien managed to grunt out, before trying to prop himself up against the wall. Serena helped him up worriedly.
"Don't push yourself okay?"
He smiled a little at her. She had no idea of what news he had yet to bring to them. He knew he would be up and fighting once more after this night fell. The wolf would sleep this day… wait the window… was that the sun setting or rising?
"How long? How long have I been out?"
"We found you exhausted outside the window last night." Amy tried to inform him helpfully, "You've been asleep from exhaustion almost all day. It's going to be evening soon."
"Evening? The next day?" that left little time to prepare! The wolf was more than likely no more than an hour away and would be getting up soon… He checked his physical condition, as he had gotten in the habit of doing the while alone in the woods not too far away from that creature. He always needed to know with a certainty how far he could take himself that day. Tonight he'd have to go all out. He found himself to be shirtless and his chest, and arms were wrapped in bandages. He imagined under the blanket his legs were in the same condition. His wounds were clean and the several layers of dirt and mud that had covered his body had been washed away. Everything seemed quite professionally done. He looked up at them questioningly. Even more than that, most of his major injuries no longer hurt.
Rei seemed to catch on quicker than the others. "Talenite healed you as well as he could. He's asleep in the other room recuperating from it. We got grandfather to clean you up and him and Serena helped dress the rest of your wounds."
He looked at Serena, and she looked away a little embarrassed.
"Thank you. But I can't rest yet. I came back for your help, and we don't have much time left."
"Came back from where? What do you need our help with? There hasn't been another Negaverse attack since the last one…" Luna slipped around Amy's legs so Darien could actually see who was talking.
"Not the Negaverse. The werewolf, I've been luring him away from going back to the city for the past two weeks. But yesterday, he ignored everything I did, and made his way back. He'll be getting up in about an hour. He's hungry, he'll feed on the first thing he can. More likely than not, it'll be human. Let's just hope it isn't too late and he doesn't know what a car is yet. There will be bound to be hundreds still on the highways…"
"The werewolf? Dimmer? You've been keeping him busy?" Amy looked at him wide eyed, "but how?"
"No time to explain. We have to go, and we have to go now!"
"Correct." Talenite, chose that time to walk into the room. "He will be starving now, his energy reserves will be weak, you must strike now if you wish to save him, he must not be allowed to feed. All of Darien's efforts to stall him out in the woods will be in vain. We must go, and we must go now, and we must hope that we can survive."
"We, Talenite? Does this mean you're coming too?"
"This time, yes. Without Dimmer all hopes to my people are gone."
Amy looked at him questioningly. "Wait a minute…what.. your people?" she thought to herself. "Talenite, just why 'are' you helping us anyway?"
None of the others seemed to notice his words, and badgered Darien with questions of how he survived, and where they could find Dimmer. She decided to let it go for now. She would file it away for later though.
"He'll be coming in to town through the most direct path possible." Darien answered with a good degree of certainty.
"Than I can track him with his power level. There's nothing that even comes close to matching his around here."
"Great idea Amy. You girls go check it out. I'll get on the phone with Greg, and tell the police the situation." Luna ran out of the room.
"I'm going too." Darien stood up, shrugging off the blanket.
"But Darien, you're hurt, it's too dangerous." Serena waved her arms frantically.
"She's right." Rei stated, "You've kept him busy for us, and stalled him all his time, that's more than any of us could have done, and after seeing Dimmer's speed when he's like that… I don't even know how you survived this long."
"She's right Darien, you've done enough. Let us take care of this." Amy smiled at him.
"I can and will fight. You don't understand…" His voice grew cold and serious, there was something in his eyes that wasn't there a second ago "I know this creature, I've looked into its eyes, and seen its hunger." He shuddered at the memories before continuing, "I've studied everything about it for the last two weeks. I watched it, fought with it. I know how it thinks, and how it reacts to things. I know all of its strengths and what pathetically few weaknesses it has compared to them."
He walked quickly up to Mina, "At first, it was curious, it, even then, was frightening to us all. But now it knows only it's hunger, and it would tear out your throat without thought, without mercy. You can't make a mistake, if you BLINK at the wrong time, you've killed yourself and us all soon after."
He was inches away from her before he tore his sharp, piercing gaze away from hers, and brought it towards Lita, who still looked unperturbed. Unlike the others she had trained non-stop for the last two weeks using Dimmer's ideas, and training patterns. She knew where she stood compared Serena and Rei during their training matches, and now, she surpassed them both.
Darien continued, "And even if your form is perfect, and you do everything right, and even manage to tag the creature with a couple blows…" Darien continued in the same voice, and it was starting to put an atmosphere of fear into the room, he wasn't speaking to give advice, or let them know what they were going up against. He was speaking from the memories of his last two hellish weeks of dealing with this creature of legends. His eyes were icy, and held the look of the hunted, as he turned face to face with Amy.
"You will still be overwhelmed, its power can shrug off your strikes as if you were doing nothing more than throwing pebbles at it. But it won't, just to make sure that it survives, it's instinct will kick in, it's speed as most of you have seen, is god-like. It will stop your strikes and start striking with more power. It will be intimidated by the numbers and fight even harder than it fought with me. Like a rabid wolf backed up into a corner, it won't think, it will just act! So even you, Rei and Amy, will be at risk."
"NO!" Amy slapped him hard, closing her eyes trying to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes. "DIMMER WOULDN'T!" Despite the strength behind the slap Darien's face didn't budge an inch, she wondered if she just hit stone…
"Are you so sure? You don't know this creature like I do." Darien looked down, he hadn't even felt the slap, but his voice had gone back to its own tone after it impacted. He shouldn't have let himself get so worked up, this wouldn't help, it would only make them fear it more…
"Stop it! Stop it now!" Amy opened her eyes letting the tears stream down openly, "Stop calling my Dimmer a creature! He wouldn't do those awful things!… I know he wouldn't, I just know it."
There was an eerie silence in the room before Serena broke it.
"Amy's right. It's just like before, when Chad found out about his past. He could never do such an awful thing, we just got to have faith in him." It seemed set in stone the way she said it.
"All the same, it wouldn't be intelligent not have every advantage we can use. I've healed Darien well enough to fight, and as Tuxedo Mask, he'll feel much stronger. He knows the way he thinks. Whether friend or foe, such an advantage cannot be overlooked. I doubt he will remain behind even if you tell him no anyway. He is Dimmer's student after all." Talenite reminded them with a smile.
An almost indiscernible nod from Darien showed his thanks. There was no way he'd be left behind.
Serena was trying to comfort Amy while Rei thought about this, her gaze set upon the unsettled Darien. He'd been through a lot in the last couple of weeks, it's only natural he wouldn't be able to see Dimmer any more. His knowledge would be useful, and he would follow them, there was no way Tuxedo Mask was going to let Sailor Moon go to a fight without helping. Rei smiled, he really was Dimmer's student.
"Talenite is right. Darien, you can come if you like. Tell us what we're going to need to know."
Darien and the rest all looked towards Rei, then they all looked to Darien who simply nodded. "On the way. We don't have much time. Go out and transform I'll transform here."
"Right!" They all responded at once before taking off outside.
Luna heard it all from the hall way from where she had just gotten off the phone with Greg. She watched the girls run by and the light show that came from the doorway of the room Darien was in while being taken care of. She stopped him as he went to rush out to join the girls. "Tuxedo Mask?"
He stopped to look down at her.
"Was Artemis with you? Have you seen him since that night?"
"No, I didn't realize he was missing. He was in one of the compartments of Chad's bike, he's been going in that since you two had that fight of yours." He knelt down. "Don't underestimate him Luna. He's alive if that's what you're worried about. You can be sure of that."
"He was in the bike… that's so like him." Luna sighed.
"He's okay Luna. Just remember that. Will you need a lift?"
"No Darien, I'll remain here. I would be a quick snack to Dimmer right now. I'll be on the radio with Greg to keep track of all of you."
Tuxedo Mask nodded. There was more risk of her dying than helping against the crea… no Di… no, they were wrong. He was certain of that, not until after tonight. Right now Dimmer was still that creature. He had to protect them, had to protect her… he ran out to meet the Sailor Scouts all standing around. Their air was tense. Many of their friends were taken from them that night a couple of weeks ago, tonight, they would see to getting back one of them. Tuxedo Mask gauged himself. He was still tired, his wounds were all still tense, and it hurt to put too much strain on him. It was nothing. He'd dealt with much worse, but he had a feeling he might be in much worse shape by the end of the night…
"Weak…" he thought as he once again made a stumbled landing from the large leap he'd made. Too many times, the prey had been in his grasp too many times, and he didn't realize what it was doing, and now he had used too much energy. He howled in pain, as he felt himself crumble to the ground, the large hunger pains ran their way through his stomach. He might change back soon at this rate. He slowly got back to his feet. It had been only two weeks and already his other form was coming back.
He growled in frustration. The blinking lights of the human's homes stood not more than a mile away. It wouldn't be long after that. He would feed on the first one of them he saw, than find the site where he had buried his demon meal from before. He couldn't let his time here end so quick… there was still so much to do… so much to protect… he would not disappoint his mate, he would keep his promise.
Setsuna continued to recount what she knew of the 'second' time the cycle of fate was broken in this world.
"Night's Valor learned to soar with his wings and started to explore the different dimensions on his own, no longer in need of the cave. Then he came to the past of this world. There he met "her". "
"Rei Hino." She sighed the name, and wondered if anybody had ever caused so much trouble to the timelines as this one. She was responsible for Dimmer, for it every time the cycle was broken…
"Many of the adventures they had together were simply him making jokes at what they did, never helping other than when he knew it wouldn't interfere with their destiny. Silly things, like back floating by on thin air and making a few jibes at them, turn invisible and frustrating them so much they'd yell at him and embarrass themselves, pulling pranks as he had always done, and generally making life as fun as he could. Always he obeyed the one rule we put to him."
"Never to interfere."
"Yet something about her drew him near, and the same went for her. And when he found out she was meant to die…"
*Flashback*
"No." The tall man in dark blue and black armor stood facing against her. They stared long and hard before she decided to answer.
"Valor, it is not our decision." She knew what was coming, she had seen it, and she was warned of it. She had some hope though that it wasn't true, that Fate would steer him away from it. She didn't know then that Fate held no power over this man, he was from a different world… he was capable of undoing everything Fate had worked for. If only she had of known, she would never have let this happen…
"I don't care. I won't let you harm her." The stone cold voice didn't fit the face she was used to seeing in him. His usual playful smile replaced by this glare. She realized now why enemies from so many dimensions had feared him. His every gesture spoke of unbelievable power. Some of it the powers that only "he" himself could use or had even any knowledge of.
"You don't realize what will happen do you?! If Fate's cycles are broken everything will lead to disaster."
"So you must do this? This will be your only response? To follow the council blindly? You are the closest thing I have to a family in this world, and the only one I could ever talk to about power and understand. Still you will not help me, still you do not see…"
"Not me. She is fated to die by one of the doom and gloom girls. If she doesn't…"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!! WHAT DID YOU THINK?! I'D STAND BACK AND WATCH?! I LOVE HER SETSY!" He stood there seething, he was like a child that didn't get what he wanted with too much power at his disposal.
"Valor… no… I warned you about getting involved…" He had said it. He finally admitted to loving her, and she knew it would scar him for life. But in some ways no matter how many times he grew up, and how many lifetimes he lived he was still very spoiled. With his amount of power he always ended up getting what he wanted...It had to be done, he had to be shown the consequences of his actions.
"There's nothing you can do. I've made my choice step out of the way. I don't want to hurt you…"
"…"
A threat?! He would dare threaten her?! Her eyes never wavered from his, her stare suddenly becoming very icy. She was not the usual foe he duked it out with in some backwater dimension Fate had yet to visit. She had let him get away with calling her Setsuna while in her Sailor fuku out of respect and love. He still did not know of his true origins, he had no idea he was her adopted brother. It was time to remind him who she was, and who she was taught by!
She saw a strange look cross over his features as she felt her self grow with cold, calm fury.
"Arkand Mizumo! Night's Valor! My "name" is Setsuna! And in the name of time! I am Sailor Pluto! Guardian of time! You dare to risk my universe for nothing more than your selfish desire? I will not help you. It's time you learned just exactly who I am!"
He took a step back and shook his head, she knew he was expecting her to give in, that she'd realize how much he wanted this, but no matter who he was, she couldn't allow him to put the future of her universe into danger.
"Setsy…" He spoke in a small sad voice. His eyes narrowed. "No… I think I see now, always, your duty is first… Sailor Pluto then… I'm sorry it had to come to this. I cannot sit and watch as Rei and the rest of my friends' die. I had hoped that there was a way you could talk the Council out of this, but there is not a peaceful solution. I'm sorry…"
He held his hand out, "Artemis, lend me your power!!" A large sword struck down to his hand in the shape of a bolt of lightning, it's pure white energy pouring all around him, before finally forming it to the will of his mind. The sword of Valor, Artemis, had been summoned.
"I am the blood you taste as you draw your last breath.
I am the face you see as you gaze upon death!
In the name of space, I am its power!
I am The Night's Valor!"
"Than let us begin…" Setsuna narrowed her own eyes in return.
"Dead Scream!" Her attack flew through wreaking havoc in the small space between them.
"Super Nova!" And his collided with hers covering the surrounding area with a massive, blinding light.
*End Flashback*
"The battle was enough to rock the heavens, he wasn't as strong then as he has become now. Even so, it was too close, in the end, I had won, but the battle ended up serving no purpose. He managed to use his wings to return back to the scouts world. There they had healed him, and he had told them their fates. The scouts didn't die, Serena never learned to control the scepter right. Valor hoped he was powerful enough to balance out the loss of its power. He joined their fight against Beryl, yet he couldn't protect them, he couldn't protect her. He defeated Beryl in a surge of power never seen before since the legends of the Father Time himself. You felt pity on him, didn't you Council?"
"Yes Setsuna, no one should ever have to lose all they hold dear. This is my purpose, and the reason I exist, so that no one will ever have to experience that again. To see him like that… It is my purpose to see that good things happen to those who are good, and other than that situation, Valor has always been loyal to me. So then I had come to you to ask a favor."
"Yes, My Fate. You asked me to forgive him, and teach him the ways of time. You told me that you could repair what he had done, reset the cycle, allow the girls to live, but to do so, you needed the power of space to help stop this kind of thing from happening in other dimensions. His fight with Beryl taught him much about his unknown power, though not near as much as there is to be known. Still, even then he had become the best source of knowledge on the subject, and he still is though he doesn't practice too much other than what you have him do."
"Yes but he learns much from the tasks I give him, more than you realize I'm certain. You taught him a small technique of reading one's time line, and he combined it with his own powers to be able to erase their memories. He agreed to do so."
"He did, almost immediately, he didn't care if he couldn't have Rei back as long as she lived. He said good bye to them all, and never seen them again. He knows everything Dimmer was to Rei before he got his memory back, because all of the same events happened to him… All the jokes, funny stunts, the love… the promises… he seems to have forgotten most of it over the long years he's continued to live but what does all this have to do with this trigger you've used in Dimmer?"
"Yes My Queen I spotted the pest, and followed him there. Luckily I caught him before he did any permanent harm." Zoicite was bowed low before Queen Beryl, who was molding an energy ball in her hands with a bored look.
"You mean before you 'saw' him. You have yet to 'catch' him." The voice came from behind Zoicite, A dark figure in a trenchcoat.
Zoicite turned around to stare at the figure in stunned silence. The brown haired young man had his hair wrapped up into a clean ponytail, a pair of black sunglasses hung at the tip of his nose as his eyes stared laughingly at her over them. Beryl smiled and stood up to greet him. "Zoicite, Malachite? I believe you have met master Yuuichiro?
Malachite, who stood at a different entrance to the room, watched the newcomer closely in silence, until Beryl mentioned his name. "Yuuichiro? I would never have guessed."
"Of course you wouldn't have. His family was famous for spying and underworld techniques even during the golden era. It was they who were responsible for any type of organized crime, if you could tell who they were just by looking at them, they wouldn't be able to do their job so effectively. It was said that they were the ones who had snuck Prince Darien to the moon for his rendezvous with the princess during the times Earth was under suspect." Beryl laughed.
Malachite looked at the newcomer with a different view now. To get passed the moon's security was far from an easy task, for anyone. This one Beryl had picked up would suit their cause well, it's no doubt that the Yuuichiro family would be even more suited to a place like the earth the Negaverse had seen so far. They would excel on the people's ignorance and greed.
"A spy? But my Queen? We have hundreds of these, youmas that are only bred for just that! Why waste so much energy on him?"
As Zoicite spoke the man bent to kiss Beryl's extended hand, Beryl had taken an immediate liking to this one. His family's reputation was one that was well respected for their power in ages before since any could remember. They were hated but they were respected. It reminded her so much of herself, and Beryl did love anything that reminded her of herself. Further more he was quite charming, humorous, and had a rough physique and features, that were far from unpleasant to look at. But more than that, was the hint of power that spoke of something more, hidden under the surface.
Zoicite was about to say more before she was interrupted. It was just a quick movement the man had made, but the black, smoking, charred hole in the rock beside her head that smelt of dark energy, had her click her mouth shut.
"Whatsa matter Zoice? Cat got yer tongue?" He smiled and looked to her direction.
"Yes, Zoicite, maybe you should go route out that feline that you have seemed to let go. For all of our spies you've mentioned, they still managed to sneak one into our midst."
"Uh… oh uh, yes my Queen. Immediately."
Zoicite teleported away to her chambers.
"Malachite, I want you to take the young master Yuuichiro on his first mission. You will have no other troops, just introduce him to the scouts.
Zoicite slammed her fist into the wall.
"Dammit! Made mockery by nothing more than a pathetic human, and even worse nothing less than a cat!" She brought her hand up to her forehead. Now she would have to search out every nook and cranny of these caves for the same stupid cat while Malachite and that pathetic excuse for Negaverse fodder go out to control the troops against the scouts.
"And worse…" She remembered the smell of dark energy, it was just a trace, but there was something different from it and her own. "He might just show me up… This won't do. This won't do at all…"
Greg sat at the communications board in the police station, his arm had lost its cast a week ago, and because of the lull in attacks, he had started going back to school again. But still he spent most of his afternoon time here. He had gotten to know most of the police and he had earned many of their respect as he started to master the communications band. He was talking with a couple of the guys when his cell rang. A sense of urgency welled up within him. He knew that feeling all too well now, he'd been using it more and more lately, and had been getting better at predicting things. But now as he looked down at his phone he felt it. There was something that would happen tonight… a turning point, and soon choices were going to be given. But for now…
"Hi Luna," He talked into his phone. When he first picked up he had no idea who it would be, but now his power was often kicking in spontaneously.
"Greg, we have trouble. Dimmer is coming back to the city, tonight! We need to keep everyone out of the way of his nose. Try to see about evacuating the streets, and pinpointing the place he's coming in from, it will be from the direction of Mount Fuji."
"No problem, anything else?"
"Yes, I'd like to be kept posted."
"Alright Luna, I'm gonna start calling through the boards, I'll call again when everything is set up, we'll do our best to empty that part of the city's streets first than work to the others" he flipped his phone close, and spoke into one the radios.
"John? We need evacuation of the city streets five minutes ago. "Project light's out" is back into operation. We just need the streets emptied this time, I've got a bit of an idea to help the scouts out. But I'm gonna need access to the city's main computer systems. Tonight's the night. I have a feeling that they're going to get him back, and it'll take everything they have."
"Sure thing Telepath. I'll get my boys on to clear the streets and I'll see to those politicians about the city's systems. Personally."
"How's Pidge doing John?" Greg sighed. John hadn't taken another partner, and he's been irritable to everyone. He was full of vengeance on the bastards who shot his partner, and no one doubted that he'd be the same man he was until he seen the bitch get justice.
"He's pissed. Wouldn't you be if you just found out you'd be spending the rest of your life in a wheel chair? He's taking some physical therapy, but they don't expect it to work."
"Sorry, to hear it. Let's get this done. Maybe we can all sit afterward and have a coffee. Who knows, Dimmer might be in that empty seat next to us… just like before."
"Best few weeks of my life Telepath. I'll see you than."
They both hung up, and Greg started on getting his systems ready for what he was planning.
"Ken! Breaking story on the scouts! Out near the borders." The shout of Ken's boss came across the room. "We just got it called in over the police scanners."
"Yes sir! Consider me there." Ken picked up a half-eaten sandwich threw it in his mouth, grabbed his camera and took off into the streets. As soon as he stepped out the sandwich fell to the ground, as his jaw fell open at the site of squad cars lighting up the streets. There wasn't going to be a car that could get through. He smiled, he'd have no problem finding where the scouts were, the police cars would lead him straight to the danger area. Just where the best shots could be gotten. He hopped on his bicycle...
The scouts were lined up on top of one of the tallest buildings bordering the city of Tokyo. They looked out over the dark forest as the sun slowly set behind it. Their shadows had grown tremendously long, the moment seemed captured in time as the seven figures stood watching, waiting for an enemy, waiting for a fight for their lives, waiting for some sort of sign to attack, or a hint of the slaughter to come, waiting… for a friend.
Tuxedo Mask felt a chill go up his spine. It was a familiar one, one that shook through him every time he felt its presence, then a movement of shadow.
"Ready yourselves Scouts." Talenite's eyes flashed.
Suddenly a loud howl echoed throughout the forest, making a large numbers of birds take flight all over the place. The howl echoed through the recently emptied street sending shivers down the spine of a young photojournalist, who hid behind one of the cars taking a few silhouetted pictures of the scouts.
"There." Tuxedo Mask's eyes flashed underneath the white mask.
The scouts squinted trying to see what the other two had already noticed.
"There, to the left!" Sailor Jupiter shouted.
Sure enough, there sat the wolf, it's white fur contrasting with the shadowy trees, giving it away. It stared up at them, before it looked away and bounded away into the city.
"After him!" Jupiter called out before jumping away. The scouts and Tuxedo Mask jumped away not a second behind her.
"So it begins." Talenite watched them off for a few seconds before jumping after them.
The wolf looked up at the figures on the buildings. They hadn't noticed him yet. They were the ones he met the first time. He could recognize their scent from here. And its prey was amidst them. But there was no time to hunt for ones as powerful as him, he needed strength back, he had been in agony of hunger pains for the past half of a week, and he had put this off for far too long. He needed to feed…
They turned to look his way. He had been noticed. He would have to move quickly.
He turned along the human settlements, the scent of them were everywhere, he even heard a few, but there was none in sight. He felt his mouth start to water, he could almost taste them. He started following his nose, concentrating on the largest combined scent of them. He looked at the small brick building, he could hear his prey surprised yells. They must have knew he was coming, they had been organized and fled into their homes. It wouldn't save them. He scratched along the walls running his large claws along them, looking for some kind of weak spot in the stone. He felt his stomach eat in at itself, not long... he needed to feed or he wouldn't be able to keep up this for even a short while. Suddenly a wooden part to the building made itself known to his claws as they ripped into them. If he could grin he would have, he had found the entrance.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH"
He roared as the magic surged through him, not so much at the pain, but at the fact it had been caught unaware.
"MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
This time he simply dodged the attack with a heavy back flip. His feet landed and dug their claws straight into the pavement, he stared up at the green and red trimmed ones. They stood on the roof as if mocking him. He barked a couple times at her, trying to warn her away. He didn't sort out his feeling for those ones yet, and had much worse worries on his mind. He had a feeling his efforts would be futile so he dodged down an alley. If a fight occurred there was a chance of him losing, he was too weak.
"Arr…" He made a slight wimper as the hunger pains rang through him once more, bringing him to his knees this time.
The scouts jumped along the buildings keeping a close eye on him, they reacted when he found the entrance to that family's house, but there was no other reason yet to strike, his intentions had to be made certain.
"What's wrong with him Mercury? Why didn't he attack? He shrugged off Jupiter's lightning and was brought down to his knees while he tried to run away? It doesn't make any sense."
"It makes perfect sense Mars." Mercury spoke stoically, "He's starving, he must have a much faster metabolism than a human, what I don't understand is why he runs away, he shouldn't be scared of us."
"He isn't, it's the chance we might defeat him. He knows us, and has gauged our power. There is a chance he can lose at this point. He's looking for easy pickings, we're not on his menu today." Tuxedo Mask narrowed his eyes.
"Tuxedo Mask is correct I believe. We cannot waste anymore time. Who knows when he finds what he's looking for." Talenite never took his eyes off Dimmer as he spoke.
"Right. Let's do this tha… OH MY GOD! KEN!!" Jupiter was gone in a flash. The others had just noticed what she had seen. There was a young man hiding behind one of the abandoned cars taking pictures as the wolf started to close in on him.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!!" Once more the voice rang out.
Startled the wolf was caught unaware once again, but this time there was a meal in front of him, he ignored the oncoming blast and pounced at the boy hiding behind the car. The boy stood frozen in fear, as the large humanoid wolf landed on top of the vehicle with a large smash, shattering every window inside and crushing the roof in. Ken fell over from the impact. After being forced to move he snapped out of his frozen state and did his best to scramble away.
His best wasn't near enough, but Jupiter's certainly was. She came on like an eighteen wheeler at top speed going down hill. The firecracker of magic she shot off was just a warning shot of what she could do with her fists. She slammed into the mighty wolf's back with an uppercut straight out of superman's repertoire of moves that tore what was left of the car apart, not to mention a good chunk out of the street.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT HURTING HIM!!"
Her roundhouse was caught by his overly large claw and he was about twist her ankle to send her flying, but she only used the twist to put more inertia into her other foot which came up for a powerful spin kick straight to it's nose. He felt his head jerk to an odd angle, and whimpered. This one had strength. He slowly turned his head back toward her hearing a snap from the base of his neck, a wolfish grin still plastered on his face.
She suddenly realized just what she got herself into, she was sure the kick she had just delivered could derail a freight train, but all it did was slowly turn it's head back to face her, it gave its head that little shake as if something had just irritated it's nose that dogs do. And than she realized it still had a hold of her other ankle. It was a third of a second before Tuxedo Mask was there. The wolf dropped her ankle as it started to trade blows with its ultimate prey, the one it had been tracking for weeks.
The wolf perked its ears up in the middle of the melee, and both him and Tuxedo Mask jumped out of the way just as a barrage of bubbles, fire and light blew a new good sized hole in the streets behind him. In moments all the scouts were there except Jupiter, blocking the blows the wolf would go for and delivering tens of their own. They worked together, as only a well-trained team that had been working together for years could.
They fought as Dimmer and Chad once fought together, as a team rebounding off buildings, distracting it, while another came in for a heavy strike.
Lita didn't have much time, She hefted a surprised Ken into her arms and jumped on top of a low building. She continued to run as fast as she could, she had to get far enough away, so Dimmer wouldn't be able to track them and find Ken.
"Ken?! What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in a shelter! Hell! you're supposed to be in America!"
In response he simply looked up at her with a questioning look.
"How did you know my name?"
Jupiter stopped cold, a large sweatdrop appearing on her head. She had completely forgot about being Sailor Jupiter for the moment. She had only concentrated on running.
"Uuh… lucky guess?" She set him down.
"Mm hmm, and knowing about me in America was a lucky guess too?"
"Ummm it's part of our powers! Yeah that's it! We know all kinds of stuff about the people we rescue."
He stared at her, his gaze obviously far from the believing kind.
"It's true! Ask me anything." She was certain she knew everything there was to know about him, she had to convince him that she had that power! If not he'd know who she was!
He thought for a second, "Okay, why did I go to America?"
"Work experience as an apprentice to a famous journalist over there."
"My favorite number?"
"6"
"My middle name?"
"Ryoji"
This was going nowhere, she was obviously lying. After all if they knew so much about the people they rescued than why didn't she know why he was not in a shelter or America? This whole situation smelled more than a little fishy to him. Who was she and how did she know him? Fine there was one question he could ask that would force her to admit defeat.
"What's my favorite food?"
"Brownies" Sailor Jupiter clenched her eyes shut. She made them for him a not long before he left, and he said they were the best thing he ever tasted. She hoped he wasn't lying about that. She opened one eye warily. He was standing there with his jaw hung open. "Guess I was right" she thought hopefully.
"Do you believe me yet? Have to get back there to help my friends!"
"Alright… I believe you." It was his only reply before she jumped away toward the place they had just fled.
"I believe you Lita…" He watched her go sullenly. There was only one person on this planet that knew the answer to his trick question, and she spit it out without realizing it. He wondered how she was doing since he came here, but he didn't have the time to check in on her. Partly because he was scared she had gotten into another relationship. He had played her best friend for years and wanted so much more than that, he was always there for her every time he could be. But she never had seen him as more than a great friend. It had hurt him so much to see her get herself hurt with all these obvious jerks, how she gave them all the chancs she would never give him. It hurt so much to watch that he had to leave. They had a picnic together before he left and they had a wonderful time. She had made him an American treat in honor of his trip to America. It wasn't the brownies he loved that picnic, it was her. Still even then she didn't see it. He just couldn't take being her best friend again when he came back, so he put off letting her know he was back as long as possible. Now seeing her again, he realized it hurt just as much to be away from her…
"Way to go Ken, you've managed to put yourself right back in the same position you were in before you left…"
He started to climb down the building, he still had a job to do, and he was going to cover this story. No matter what…
Fate answered slowly, cautiously as always.
"We've found this trigger, it is an old disease he cannot help but give into. We are not sure how he contracted this curse, but it gives us a way to etch into his mind what must be done. He is not of this world, and so We cannot control his fate, but We can somewhat control the fates of those around him, if he hasn't distorted their fates too much. We must make sure he sees reason, we must make sure he knows that he must be on our side. He had doubts because of the same reason Valor once fought against the guardian of time. His love for Rei, might doom him to the same fate as Valor, the loss of everything he knows… His advice on what Dimmer would do has been excellent. Dimmer lay in a world without magic, and so never knew, never even had the chance of knowing of this curse. It was an advantage we're forced to use. By doing so, we will send him a simple message that to stay with us means certain victory, but to go against could mean victory with a very heavy price."
"I'm not sure what you hope to achieve by doing this, certainly the scouts have enough troubles defeating the Negaverse without this?"
"It is true we take a chance with him, but not with the scouts. We have contacted you now, so you can help prevent any further damage done to them or the people around them."
"And how's that?"
"Send Valor. None will be harmed if he helps defeat the wolf, there is no doubting he is much stronger than it."
"Yes, I see. I will do as you ask."
Setsuna got up to leave. It was obvious the conversation was over. What they were doing left a sour taste in her mouth, but there was little choice, he DID have to be persuaded to give up Rei. She supposed this would do it if anything would….
She walked out to the back where Rini and Arkand were playing. She smiled quietly watching the two throw the Luna ball around. He had really taken a liking to that thing. She sighed before putting on her mask of duty.
"Arkand. Please come here. I need to speak with you."
*shot of Rini bouncing the Luna ball, a little lonely, as she watched the lights from inside the house*
The wolf howled, as it finally managed to grab onto one of the white blurs that kept trying to dodge around his vision. They had managed to get his food away from him and that surprising blow to the nose had done something to his sense of smell.
Venus looked up in surprise as her hair was yanked back and her head along with it. She never had a chance to avoid the impact. They hadn't trained in weeks and they were about to be hit hard for it. All the scouts stopped suddenly and the world seemed to slow for Mina. She saw the asphalt coming up to meet her as the wolf matched her speed, caught her by the hair, and swung her face first to meet the road. She hoped the others would be able to get by without her. She heard rather than felt the crunch of her impact.
The scouts stood sullen and still as they looked on at the scene. It had happened so fast, there was a crater in the spot where Venus face was now buried. You couldn't actually see her head, it was below ground, even the blood that traced around the crater her head was in wasn't how they could tell she was out of the battle. It was her still body just lying there, not even struggling against the creature, that still had her hair in it's clutches. It was clear to them all now Tuxedo Mask was right. This wasn't Dimmer, just a shadow of some part of him. This was a nightmare creature that had lurked inside of him that even he didn't know about. They looked on at Mina's form lying on the road, so silent, so still… It had happened so fast… She never even had time to scream…
Tuxedo Mask only paused for a second, than quickly jumped back into the attack. They couldn't waste anytime, if the wolf made a meal of her, it would be the end of not only her, but the rest of them as well. "Back to action girls, we can't let it recover!"
"Right!" They all ran back at the wolf, but it was no longer anywhere as easy as it was. Jupiter, their heavy hitter, still wasn't back, and with Venus down, their numbers were dwindling quickly.
The wolf continued to swing at the girls, and dodge any of their magic attacks that they would try to get off, Tuxedo Mask was trying to keep it pinned, but it's enormous amount of strength stopped any real hope of that tactic working.
"Dammit! One more time…" Tuxedo Mask jumped back into the fray. He poured on his speed. Than suddenly it stood stock still, than shrieked again with the pain from its hunger. He thanked his luck and brought an opened palm strike to its midsection, it doubled over from the force of the blow, but it seemed to make no notice of the pain. He put in three more punches before giving it a swift spin kick, out of no where Jupiter had rejoined the fight, and delivered a flying kick of her own, knocking it high in the air, Mercury brought a flying uppercut to the midst of it, and Sailor Moon came down hard with a drill kick right into a newly created crater in the street, before back flipping a safe distance away to stand with everyone else. The wolf hadn't come back out. Maybe that last hunger pain had done it in? They had to make sure.
So they were the human's guardians. He felt a kinship toward them, maybe it was respect for their duties. He was nature's guardian, her first one, and now, her last. He remembered her, a time long forgotten by all else, a time when he had a mate…
He lied there in the rubble of the road, his tongue half hanging out, once again blood was staining his white fur red. As he continued to lie there, he reminisced, remembered. He remembered the crystal blue waterfalls, the crisp green trees, the smell of sap, and the scent of an unstained world, a young world, just created.
There was a blurred time before that, a time where he was powerful, above all others save one. That one he was equal to in power, but while it wanted to rule the lives of men, he simply wanted to help them. He remembered the first time he came at ends with his rival. The day he met her, the day he lost to his rival, and the day he was banished away from the one he loved most.
He wouldn't accept that his rival would not allow him that, and seen the oppressions of all those under him. He desired to free them. He struck accordance with them, and soon he fought against his only rival once more, but never directly, simply stopping his rival's plan was enough. He had found a way to do so, and even recruited many people that would help him to do so. So on they fought many glorious battles, much pride, and even more power. He grew in strength, but slowly the others among his assembled died. They died until there was only two left. She fought beside him at all times.
In some worlds he was a known as a god. The darkness, the vengeance, wrath, silence, sacred, or simply "the night" the name he used though, was Sundown...
While in the same worlds she had become a sign of peace, love, life, light, or simply "the day" The name she went by and remembered most fondly, was Artemis.
She was all he had left, the fighting had cost too much, everything he had ever had, everything he knew... They left the wars they had started against Fate to find peace, in the one place they could hide from his rival. A place all their own. A new universe for them to exist in. A new universe formed from their powers…
He created, the light, the planets the stars, and she the life, the plants, the animals, the spirits. For a while they both were happy, they lived amongst the animals as animals themselves. She had changed their forms to further hide themselves from his rival Then came the time of his own. The first time he had ever been a wolf. But, little by little, she had started to grow old, while he remained young. She was of an extremely long-lived race, but he was immortal. As she grew older they fell in love. His second love and they became life long mates. He could not forget his first love, and she forgave him that, but all things end and so did she.
He could still remember her fur, brownish gray, and the touch of it against his own. Her scent would still flood his nostrils even though she was now just a memory. A beautiful wolf, a grand spirit, and a great heart. Yet while she could create life, she could not extend her own. She lie dying by a bright beautiful waterfall, a natural garden blossoming around them, that last night they had together. She had lost a good amount of her power and they stood in their human forms. Her hair had grown long, and whitened as the years went by, but the beauty of her heart had never diminished. He held her in his arms. They both knew this would be the last hours of her life.
She spoke, He could swear the echoes of her words still rang though his skull. He would never be able to forget.
"I shall die here…"
"I know… I'm sorry…"
"No, never that. Never be sorry, never regret this."
"But my heart, even now, it half belongs to my past, to memories, to someone I can never have."
"No, it 'all' belongs to her, just as 'it all' belongs to me. Have you yet to learn of sharing these many years?" She smiled, "Do not regret what we have, and what we have made. This world, this universe, it's beautiful, and it is free. Just what you have always fought for. This is a place we made together, never regret this."
"But this place, it uses your power, I'd give it up in a moment, for more time with you. You could you know, take all your power back, live a little longer…"
She continued to smile up at him. "Yes, but this place owns my heart as much as you do. It is whom I share mine with, as you share yours with her. But I fear for you…"
"For me? But why? I will not die, nor will I fight. I have found peace and am content with it."
"Yes, but you will grow lonely, with none but the beasts to talk to. I think I will make more life for this place. One last creation that will be the greatest of them all, will you help me? I will need your power to help give them the freedom of choice …"
"No! I cannot! If you do such a thing, you'll leave me even sooner. Don't worry for my loneliness, I've been alone for ages, I will be alright."
"No, my love, you've now had the taste of companionship, I fear for your mind, and for your soul, please? This one last thing?"
"But what will you create?"
"I will create people. Here, on the moon, and all planets. But you must look after them, and this place when I'm gone."
"People? But they are most unpredictable. I share your heart with this place, but what if they should destroy it? I could not bring myself to destroy another person, how can I protect this place?"
"My love, your wrath has blinded your judgment, once you were cold, and killed many without thought, now you fear to kill one. Now you see what a life of light can be, but I love this place as you say, maybe even to a fault?"
"No," he smiled "you have none, you're perfect."
"Liar." She laughed. "To protect this place I ask you to kill those deserving, but what I ask will harm you, and your beliefs. Very well then there is naught else to do."
She bit him, hard on the arm until she drew blood, he flinched but did not back away, unsure of what she was doing, and even less sure of what strength she had left.
"There, I've given you a curse, a wrath, and hunger for the people's blood. With this you can protect them, and punish them if need be, and you can indiscreetly dispose of those unnatural to our worlds. It will be as simple as an instinct to you. I have cursed you my love, now three times. Once with this lycanthropy, twice with the charges of looking after the people we create, our children, and thrice, with the curse of your memory of me. And yet I ask another selfish favor of you…"
"What? What is it then? I'll make the children with you, I'll protect this place and all of our nature, I'll never forget you, I could never do such a thing. What else? Anything, just ask it…"
"I wish for you to find happiness once more. To find it again simply look to the faces of our children."
Than a large light pulsed through her, pushing the last of her powerful life force into the air, through the atmosphere, for all things in their universe to see. He felt the weight in his arms grow light and fade out all together. He wept, as he bestowed a large portion of his own power into hers, the darkness mingled with the light creating all the different spectrums of color. The lights exploded, and rained down on all the planets of space. Where each drop fell new life was born. It was a beautiful sight to behold, the sight of all creation, but he wept. He wept as she gave her life to so many, to their children. He looked down at himself finding himself to be old. He had put much power with hers to create people. He had given up his youth for them, but he could never die, so it did not bother him. What it meant to him was his heart had been shattered to millions of pieces and shared with their entire universe.
That curse was how he was made, and nature had been harmed by people, they were allowed to grow to out of control, and now they overpopulated this poor world beyond its limits. The instinct in him FLARED!
Tuxedo Mask hadn't laid off on the beast just because it had stopped fighting, if there was something wrong with it, that was its own problem, he knew that this was going to be a tough fight. He tried to do what Dimmer had done, and urge the girls on by example instead of flashy words for once. Only Jupiter had taken the hint and continued to help try to batter the wolf until it looked like it wouldn't move.
It wasn't enough.
The wolf suddenly opened its eyes and glared as it woke up from its reverie and caught his next punch in it's hand. It snarled and squeezed until a sickening amount of crunches were heard. Tuxedo Mask felt his hand go limp… for a split second he even had time to wonder if his hand would ever be able to move again. The pain was there, but he was taught by Dimmer. It would take more then that to perturb him, but the hand was now a disadvantage… he looked up into it's eyes and realized that his hand was about to be the least of his worries…
For whatever reason the wolf fell into it's trance, it was back. And the way it's nostrils flared, and the incredible calm way it had caught his punch, told them all it had found it's second wind…
Sailor Moon Says!
"Isn't it strange and cool how we can all view something in so many different ways? Variety is the spice of life right?"
"It certainly is Serena." Luna smiled, "We each see things from our own perspectives and that's what helps make us each unique as we use our own beliefs and experiences to make our choices in life. But it's also very important to try to see what's going on through someone else's eyes. When beliefs and experiences conflict with each other, it doesn't mean that you're in the right no matter what. You must see from their point of view too!"
"I'm not sure I got all that Luna" Serena sweat dropped.
"She's talking about being truly considerate Serena." Amy smiled.
"To remember that no matter what you do, it will effect others, and it might hurt their feelings."
"Oh, I think I get it! It can help solve fights, before they begin!"
"Exactly. There's hope for you yet Serena." Luna smiled playfully.
"Luna!" Serena squealed. "What was that all about not hurting others people's feelings?! Hmph!" Serena smiles, as she pretends to be a little hurt by Luna's jibe for little more then a second, before a thought comes to her mind… "but you know, being considerate does more then just stop fights, if you keep thinking of other people it can help grow new friendships and make old ones closer… so remember! Be considerate! A little kindness might just go a long way! Sailor Moon says!"
Next time on:
Sailor Moon
A Change in Fate: Dimmer Chronicles!
The Fight against the wolf continues!
An angel named Fate?
Talenite's true power!!
Return of Yuuichiro! Chad is back!!
All in the next exciting chapter: Clash of Titans! Part 2 of 3
See ya there!
Reality Check:
"Hey Katie!" he pushed back his bangs from his eyes and moved his bucket hat back a bit further so he could see a little better, "you seen right? You seen Mitchell!"
"Meow?" Came her usual response as she looked around. Katie turned around and smiled at Mike as she passed him in the hall. She hadn't even noticed him there, which was surprising, you'd figure someone who wore stuff like that would stick out, but not him… he always managed to blend in no matter where he went. "heeey, Mike. Didn't see ya there. Yeah I seen him, the last place I expected too huh?"
"Yeah, ya'd figure they'd wanna keep him offa TV after what he did to the news crews at your house…"
"Apparently not." She laughed. "A week… it's only been a week and they got thousands of hackers trying to prove their stuff enough to get in."
"Uh uh." Mike shook his head, "They already have most of them picked, they're already at work."
"What? But the contest is gonna be held tomorrow, the news said…"
"Contest is for show. They already have them picked."
"How do ya figure that?"
"Mitchell called me yesterday."
This took Katie back, they hadn't heard at all from them. He took the spotlight so they wouldn't have to, so he hadn't called so that the media wouldn't remember them. "wha… why?"
"Well… he said they already made tons of progress on it all. They've already sent stuff over, they get to see the new episodes before they air on TV. No one's sure why, but they said it was a success, I think they said they put a broom in where it wasn't supposed to be or something like that, and one of the characters interacted with it some way or another…"
"So they already sent things over?!"
"Yeah!"
It was the first time she seen him smile… really smile, since Dimmer got thrown into Sailor Moon. No wonder he was ecstatic, that was a big step taken very quickly… Soon enough they'd have their friend back… well after this whole werewolf thing… She looked at him again and wondered just how close Dimmer and Mike were. They had done everything together, they even looked alike except Mike was a few inches shorter in height and hair length. If it wasn't for the bucket hat most couldn't tell the two apart… mind ya Mike hardly ever parted with his hat, so the problem didn't strike them as hard, and their attitudes were also very different, Mike being the more soft spoken of the two, where he was also a lot more emotional and would hold his emotions back where Dimmer would prefer to steel himself and ignore his. But they liked most of the same things, had a lot of the same views, and understood each other better then they understood anything or one else.
Including their own self. She could quite easily say she missed Dimmer, he was a great friend as far as she was concerned, she didn't care what other people had to say. But those two… it just seemed like only half of Mike was here without Dimmer around. And unlike Dimmer, Mike didn't have youma, lycanthropy, magical transformations, or Sailor Scouts to take his mind off of his missing part of himself. Of course according to the show, Dimmer was missing quite a few different parts of himself, and he had given up hope on ever seeing this place again.
When he sang 'good bye to yesterday' he was singing his good bye to them. She recognized it immediately. He couldn't know what was happening here, or just how famous he was. He was certain he'd never see them again…
"It's great to hear Mike, he'll be back in no time, you'll see."
"Yeah…" Mike looked down at his feet. "Ummm Katie…did, umm.. can you get some time off classes? A week? Maybe more?"
"I should be able to manage, I'm only in the base courses they make us take this semester, and I did it all last year."
"Really? Why aren't you exempt."
"I didn't wanna go through the trouble of filling out the papers. I have a different teacher but the same material, so I just pass in my projects from last year. Why?"
"Well, when Mitchell called, he asked if I could come down. So I was wondering if you had the time to take off to Nasa with me. I don't wanna go alone, but I really wanna go…"
"Sure thing! I can't believe it, I didn't think they'd let us, top secret stuff and all!"
"I know, it'll be cool to see Mitchell and know what's going on."
"Yeah! Come on, I'll skip the afternoon, the airports only a few miles away from here, we can get our tickets now!"
"Sweeeeet…."
End notes:
Hart: Sorry Hart, the fight is just beginning here, hopefully it'll bring a few things to light for people though. ^-^ hope it was enough to wet yer appetites!
Author:
Here we are! One more chap up, and not too shabby even if I do say so myself, and the introduction of Artemis, a bit of Valor's past, some on Sundown, Mina's death, and the creation of a universe.
Not bad for one chapter eh?
Hehehe
See yas in a few weeks,
Read in and review? Please?
^-^
oh yeah, I got some pics done up on some of the original characters in this fic, so if yer having trouble picturing them, just throw me a line, give me a way to get a hold of ya and I'll send ya a jpeg.
I have waaaaaaaaaaay too many on Dimmer, some on Knight's Valor, Sundown, a real sweet one on Father Time, a real old one on Talenite, and even one on his werewolf form. The others are still on the drawing boards. ^-^
Be safe all!
^-^V