"How come Mask never appeared this time? I mean, it's like he's always following the dragons..." Minako asked.
"And what did you feel about this one, Raye?" Mamoru asked her.
"This one's VERY different from Jade... I could feel anger in him, but nothing really evil." She answered. "I don't know if that's better or worse."
"There's also the way he told Mamo-chan why his attack hadn't made any effect!" Usagi commented as she held Mamoru's arm.
"In a way I feel he's even more dangerous because of that." Ami stated seriously "After all, if he could tell us how to correct our mistakes that means he's learnt a lot about us already, just from watching."
"I agree," Mamoru stood as he talked. "When Jade's elementals attacked us they did so in a way that suggested that Jade had underestimated us. Gold's elementals... were different."
Ami signaled them to stop. "Here come Makoto and Nathan..."
Masks and Dragons
Chapter 5
Sapphire's story.
By Wanderer D
"Those humans are passable brawlers. It's obvious that Jade underestimated them... but he should have been able to defeat them even then." Gold said, a little confused.
"Don't tell me you wished he had survived." The other dragon asked.
"I never said that, Sapphire." Gold held up the statue. "I wonder why Black wants this thing. Granted, it's probably ancient and unique, but..."
"And I wonder what you're thinking, making things easier for that murderer!" she spat, her eyes blazing. "Whatever he wants it for is not for the benefit of dragon-kind, you can be sure about that!"
Gold shrugged and stepped into Black's throne room. Sapphire glared at him from the shadows as he gave the statue to Black. 'That idiot is going to cause the death of all of us!' she whispered.
---
Mamoru and Usagi arrived at Mamoru's apartment. With an audible gasp, they dropped the bags.
"Wow, what a weekend!" Mamoru said, dropping on the sofa. "Could you tell me why is it that we're always where the problems are?"
"If someone is responsible for that, I'd like to meet him or her and share a portion of my mind!" Usagi groaned, thinking of someone in particular.
Someplace, somewhere, Setsuna sneezed.
"Well, Mamo-chan I think I'll take a bath..." Usagi said, a hint of mischief in her voice.
Luna sweat-dropped.
"Umm? Oh, sure, just, don't take too long. Remember we had to meet at the Shrine later."
Usagi, fuming, went into the bathroom and slammed the door. Mamoru looked at Luna, who was trying not to break out laughing.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked the cat.
---
"Well Makoto? Where were you all that time?" Asked Raye, her usual temper flaring.
"With Nathan. Gold captured us and threw us into the sea." Makoto answered, not really caring if Raye shouted or muttered.
Ami's head snapped up. "Does he know you're Sailor Jupiter?"
"No." Makoto's answer was short and fast. Mamoru and Raye looked sharply at her. "If the two of you were together, how did he miss that?"
Makoto blushed. "Well, I..."
The others were paying attention. Makoto developed a sweat drop. "I... hithimonthehead! Okay!? I left him unconscious!"
Everyone fell back, huge sweat drops appearing on their brows. "Well... that's... okay... I guess. So he doesn't know who we are?" Raye pressed.
Another small sweat drop appeared on the back of Makoto's head. 'I can't believe they bought that...' she thought. "Uh, no, he didn't know. That's why I turned back into Makoto before going to him." She said.
She then proceeded to recount much of what happened down there.
---
Nathan sneezed. "Ouch!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Still hurts!"
He sighed. He knew why Makoto did it, but... when she said it had to look realistic he hadn't thought it would mean a two day headache.
---
"Wow, so what happened to the shark?" Minako asked.
"Ah…" Makoto didn't have an answer for that.
"It probably got scared. Sharks are very sensitive to electromagnetism." Ami said.. "In any case, while we were fighting Gold, Mask never appeared," Ami thought aloud.
"Could it be that..." Mamoru said aloud, stealing a glance at Makoto.
"No way!" Usagi exclaimed. "You think Nathan could be Mask?!"
Everyone stared at her.
"How did…" Minako started to ask.
"Yes." Ami interrupted, trying to avoid conflict. "It would seem sensible. First, both Nathan and Mask appeared the same day. Then, they both know about dragons. Mask knows about dragon magic and it's very probable that Nathan knows about it too, judging by the resources he has." She pulled out the book to emphasize the point. "And remember he had a boxful of these.
"So what if he is Mask?! That guy has helped us a lot since he appeared." Makoto argued.
"And I didn't feel the anger that I feel in Mask with Nathan..." Raye added.
"Anyway, we should be careful, both for his and our protection. You know how dangerous things can be Makoto." Said Mamoru, patting her shoulder.
"Have you found anything else on the dragon statues, Ami?" Raye asked, trying to break the tension by changing the focus of the discussion.
"No..." Ami started to answer.
"And you won't." Said a new voice. They all looked around, searching for the origin of the voice.
Raye gasped as reality ripped apart just in front of the sacred fire, creating a hole that allowed them all to see stars and distant novas and constellations. The scenery was obscured as a figure made its way through it and stepped into the Shrine.
It was another dragon in humanoid form, a female with shiny deep blue scales that covered all of her body except for the front, which was protected by a line of lighter colored scales that started from the base of her jaw and went down her body and on the underside of her tail.
Since they hadn't seen a dragon this close without being in combat, they all noticed for the first time that despite the fierce looks, sharp talons and white fangs this dragon female was an exotic beauty despite how dangerous she could be.
Raye and the others prepared for a fight, although they didn't think they would have enough time to transform if the dragon decided to kill them all.
Makoto was the first to speak. "What are you doing here, dragon? And who are you?"
For an answer, Sapphire turned to look at Mamoru. "Don't you remember my voice?" she asked.
He stared as his memory kicked in. "You're the one that opened Jade's spell for us!" he exclaimed, remembering the fight outside Usagi's house.
Sapphire nodded. "And I have brought you this..." A small black dragon statue materialized in her hand. She placed it on the wooden floor before turning around and walking towards the portal.
"I have placed a false statue where this one was. No one will notice it... for now. Hide and guard that statue with your life. It might be the last chance we all have." The dragon said over her shoulder, without missing a beat.
"Wait!" Makoto called as the dragon was about to step through the portal. "You didn't tell us your name!"
The dragon stopped at the edge of the portal and looked at her. "The name's Sapphire. We'll meet again..." she said with a slight nod and walked through the portal. As it closed behind her they heard her voice again. "By the way, Winter's been following you for a while. I managed to lead him away for our meeting, so don't mention the statue after I'm gone! You've got about five minutes."
The Senshi stared at the Black Dragon statue, and wondered; was this a trap? Or did a new ally appear?
Finally Usagi had to ask. "Girls? Who's Winter?"
---
That same night Ami was seated on her desk. The onyx dragon statue stood over a math book as she ran a scan on it with the Mercury Computer.
"Made out of onyx, no real residues of energy..., perfect to every detail, no marks of any kind other than normal according to dragon anatomy mentioned in Nathan's book." She said aloud as she ticked each entry on the notebook that rested on her knee. She yawned. "I'd better get some sleep... tomorrow's school day." She muttered.
"Going to sleep already? I thought you needed information." Ami heard someone say from behind her. She quickly turned around.
There, leaning against the wall was Sapphire.
Suddenly Ami remembered what had happened to Usagi's family. This dragon was supposed to be on their side, but what if it was an enemy?
"You look pale..." Sapphire said as she approached Ami.
"Ami?" Her mother's voice came from downstairs as she closed the door.
Ami then heard her mother's footsteps as she walked up the stairs to her room. "Is everything all right dear?" her mother asked again.
Ami looked from her door to Sapphire who watched her. "We have to hide..." She began to say just as the door to her room opened.
"Ami?" her mother asked as she walked into the room. Mrs. Mizuno then noticed that there was another person besides her daughter. "Oh.."
---
"Raye." A voice called from one of the halls.
Raye looked up from the kitchen as she prepared dinner. "Yes, grandfather?"
"How's Usagi's family doing? I heard there was an attack there..." Grandfather Hino asked.
Raye looked at her grandfather carefully. "Yes. A monster attacked her house, but the Sailor Senshi stopped it."
Her grandfather nodded. "I passed there to check on them, since Usagi's a friend of ours. And I felt a strange energy there, definitely strange, I assumed that it was from the monster. However, this afternoon, after I got here, I felt a similar energy. You wouldn't know about that would you?"
"Of course not grandfather... well, Usagi was here today and she's been staying at her house for a few days after the attack. Maybe it was because of her."
Her grandfather didn't look very convinced, but shrugged and nodded. "Yes, maybe. Well, what's for diner?"
---
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that you'd brought a friend from school." Mrs. Mizuno said, smiling.
"Huh?!" Ami didn't understand for a moment. Was her mother crazy? She looked from her to Sapphire.
Where the female dragon had stood, there was now a girl. She was about Ami's age, with blue hair, very similar in hue to hers, and with deep-sea blue eyes.
"Who's your friend, Ami?" Her mother asked.
Sapphire bowed to Ami's mother. "My name is Sapphire, Mizuno-san."
Ami's mother bowed back. "I'm glad to meet you Sapphire-san. Will you join us for diner?"
Sapphire looked at Ami, smiling wickedly. "I'd be honored, Mizuno-san, but please, call me by my name; Sapphire."
"You may call me Dr. Mizuno, that's what Ami's friends call me." Ami's mother answered brightly. "I'll go prepare dinner, then."
After her mother had left Ami turned to look at the dragon-turned-human in wonder. "The book said that only the most powerful dragons were able to shift into a human!" she said excitedly.
"Well, I didn't 'shift'." Sapphire pointed out, not loosing her smile.
"What?! But, you look human!" Ami protested.
"Ever heard of illusions? If it will make you feel better..." Sapphire said slowly. Before she was able to say anything, Ami was suddenly looking at the chest of the female dragon.
She immediately looked to the dragons eyes, blushing and stammering. "Sorry, I..."
"Don't worry about it. I see you've been examining the statue." Sapphire said, changing the topic. She took it and looked at it intently. "Have you found anything about it?" she asked.
Ami sighed. She had hoped that Sapphire would know what the statues were for. "No, other than vestigial energy from thousands of years ago, I haven't found anything. Even the book didn't say anything about the statues."
"You've mentioned this book before, may I see it?" Sapphire asked.
Ami shrugged and offered the book to the dragon.
Upon touching it the dragon's eyes opened in surprise. "Dragon-scale..." she remarked. She opened it and scanned through the pages. "This is interesting, but they're only information and some legends..." she muttered.
"Tell me, Sapphire, what are we up against? Who's controlling the attacks?" Ami asked, feeling that at least the dragon was on her side.
Sapphire looked at the statue, then at her. "I... how can I explain? Let me tell you a story…" Sapphire took a deep breath and fished out memories she'd been trying to keep buried.
"Once, a long time ago, before humans evolved into what they are today, dragons already were 'civilized', much like you are today.
The dragons have been governed since that time by The Council of Scales. This council is formed by the elders of each of the dragon kinds, at that time there were seventeen kinds of dragons and seventeen elders in charge.
Years later after the formation of the very first Council of Scales, a black dragon named Ember took charge as elder of the black dragons. He was a dragon of immense power, and also very savage.
By this time the other intelligent races of the world had evolved to some extent. Elves and dwarves had built cities already and humans were advancing in giant steps.
Ember decided that these creatures were to be either eliminated or controlled and began organizing his armies.
The Council was not happy with this and ordered Ember to stop. He didn't. The Council then attacked Ember and his army of black dragons. It was a short but bloody battle. Ember's armies were outmatched by at least 4 to 1, but they fought fanatically. Ember himself killed a lot of dragons. I was born three thousand years after the battle and still heard the stories of how a single dragon had killed hundreds with his speed, magic and strength.
He became some sort of bogeyman to young dragons.
The Council decided that multiple intelligent species were not compatible with each other and to avoid a battle like that again they asked the gods to help them and cast a very powerful spell that torn the world asunder.
Elves, dwarves and a few of the humans were sent into another dimension with other species that you humans might now call mythical. Dragons were sent to another and the humans were left in this world, since they had been the most damaged of the groups.
It would be a long time before we dragons heard of elves, dwarves or humans again.
Two thousand years ago a descendant of Ember; a black dragon nicknamed 'Black' was named Council Member.
He was called Black mainly because his scales were black among black, but the members failed to see that black's soul was as dark as his scales, if not more. Using his new post and resources Black began secretly building his own army.
He personally selected his generals: A green dragon by the name of Jade, a white dragon with amazing stealth skills calling himself Winter, an elder Red dragon known by all dragon-kind as The Great Red who happens to be a very powerful mage, a gold dragon who called himself Gold out of being the only gold in the army, Coldfire, his personal assassin, the twin crystal dragons Glint and Glitter, another red dragon known as Redfang, a brass dragon called Shine, a blue dragon called Frey, his own daughter, Darkshine, and another female, a blue dragon called Sapphire. Me."
Sapphire looked amusedly at Ami. "Dragon names are long and complicated for humans to say, and quite frankly we dragons prefer our much simpler pet names." She explained.
"But… you're one of his generals! Why are you helping us?" Ami asked.
"In that time we all believed in the cause. That has changed." Sapphire said darkly. "The change started with a scouting mission where Darkshine met a shadow dragon. His name's not to be mentioned, Black would know of it just by that, so we'll call him Shadow. Not very creative and almost as bad as Gold, but it'll do.
They fought and Shadow won. Instead of killing her, he helped her notice her own mistakes during the fight. That appealed to the battle-inclined Darkshine and they became good friends and eventually lovers.
Black obviously learnt about this and offered a post to Shadow, who rapidly agreed, as the black dragon was held in very high regard by all dragon-kind.
Black recognized much potential in the young dragon and adopted him as his protégé. At this time the elder gold dragon that represented the golds had died of old age and Black manipulated his contacts so Gold was put as the second in command of the new elder in charge, This gave Gold a golden opportunity (pun intended) to promote in post and charge, so he followed Black's orders to the point where he achieved his new office.
Meanwhile Shadow learnt magic from The Great Red and fighting skills from the black dragon himself. Eventually he was almost as powerful as Black. Almost.
To make a long story short, Black ordered us to go the elf world. He put Shadow in charge of the mission. Darkshine, me, Glitter and Jade went with him. Shadow had later received orders to kill all living beings in sight and refused. He had gone to that world before and had made friends there. Friends he wouldn't betray.
As Shadow pondered how to handle the situation so all sides would win, or at least prevent the destruction of a whole elven city, Jade went back to inform Black of the developments.
Black was furious at being challenged and decided to take action, he somehow gathered all the shadow dragons and found a way to make them look like traitors. I never knew how he did it. The Council's policy had been to execute all traitors and they did. The only ones who knew the truth were either not interested in the fate of others or too afraid of Black to speak."
Sapphire clenched her fists. "The news reached Shadow and Darkshine while they were in the Elven world and they returned to Black's palace in search for vengeance.
Black ordered us to fight Shadow so he could deal with his daughter privately. Gold, finding evidence he needed, spoke out at the council about Black's treachery and all dragons gathered around his castle to fight him, us and his army.
While dragons of all types fought outside, Shadow's battle had taken him into the throne room, where Black was.
There, he found Black retrieving his claws from Darkshine's stomach. It was a horrible sight. A sight that made me hate Black ever since, even if just moments before I had tried to fight Shadow for the black dragon's sake.
Shadow had literally kicked everyone's tail to get to Black, only to find him killing his lover. Grief stricken, Shadow attacked Black. Fighting valiantly, but blindly, Shadow received a fatal blow.
Before his enemy had released his last breath, Black called his generals and took his castle out from the dragon dimension into a small pocket one, leaving his armies to fare for themselves. He has coordinated everything from there ever since.
He recently ordered us to gather the statues but only he knows what they're for. My only real hope is that you can find a way to use whatever it is that he seeks to do with them against him. That's why I risked contacting you." Sapphire said with a sad sigh.
---
"Wow, that Black guy's a real creep!" Minako exclaimed while Artemis nodded.
Raye muttered. "'Creep' is NOT the word I would use to describe a being like that."
"Then what word would you use to describe him?" Usagi asked blinking.
Raye took a deep breath... "I would call him a Censoredcensoredmoroniccensoredson of a censoredcensored!"
Everyone big-sweated.
"That's..." Mamoru began to say.
"Original..." Luna finished.
"Raye..." Makoto looked at her friend wide eyed.
"I wonder if it's appropriate to say things like that in a Shrine..." Artemis muttered under his breath and earning a glare from Raye.
Raye looked back at Ami. "Did she tell you anything else?" she asked.
Ami, who had been staring at her friend in surprise stammered. "W...well, yes,"
Everyone turned her attention to her.
"It was after dinner." Ami started to say.
"You had dinner with a dragon!?" Minako interrupted, practically screaming.
Without a word Raye stared Minako to a seat.
Coughing softly Ami continued. "We had dinner and she talked with my mother, when she was going out she warned me that Black could try doing the same thing he tried with
Usagi's family to any of us."
---
The previous night Ami and illusion-Sapphire had stood in front of the door talking silently as Dr. Mizuno cleaned the dishes.
"Listen Ami, I have to warn you; with White's help Black has learnt all your secret identities. If he becomes desperate enough, or more likely, pissed enough, he might try what he did with your friend Usagi again and go for your families." Sapphire had said before turning and walking away.
---
"Oh, this is just great Ami! How am I going to convince my Grandfather to leave the Shrine!?" Raye complained.
"And do you suppose I will find it easier to tell my mother to beat it?" Ami retorted finally being fed up with Raye's attitude. "Listen Raye, at this rate someone's bound to get killed. You've heard what Sapphire told me. Black will do anything to get what he wants and swearing won't get us anywhere."
"What are we going to do then?" Minako asked.
Ami stood up, looking resolutely at the others. "I don't know what you're planning to do." She said. "But I know what I'm going to do, and why I'm going to do it." With that she ran out of the Shrine.
Makoto stood up and ran after her. "Ami! Wait up! I'm going with you!" she shouted as she followed her friend.
Raye looked at the two as they ran away and sighed. "I understand Ami, I also know who I want to see alive..." she said in a whisper.
---
"Dr. Mizuno! Here's another one!" shouted one of the many people who had offered to help searching for survivors from the Tokyo Tower accident.
Ami and Makoto walked into the area they had avoided thinking about or returning to in the last days. There had been so far only two survivors and for the Senshi the Tower was a painful remainder of their failure.
Even when Nathan had heard the story and told her that they didn't have much of a choice, Makoto still felt very guilty about the deaths of so many. As she had told him, there was always the feeling that she could have done more.
Ami seemed to feel the same. She was pale as she walked, watching all the pieces of twisted metal, although it could also be that what she was about to do would be so hard.
They found Ami's mother examining the limp body of a little girl, then shake her head slightly. Ami stopped dead staring at the small body, then her eyes hardening, stepped up towards her mother.
Dr. Mizuno looked at her daughter as she and Makoto walked towards her and went to meet them.
"Ami? Makoto? What are you two doing here?" Dr. Mizuno asked, surprised.
For a moment Ami seemed to doubt her decision, but it quickly passed. "Mom, I need to talk to you." She said.
"Couldn't this wait until tonight? I'm very busy here, Ami." Her mother asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"It's very important mom." Ami answered levelly.
Ami's mother looked into her daughter's eyes and was surprised by the resolve she could see in them.
Leaving another doctor in charge, Dr. Mizuno followed her daughter and her friend to a more private area.
End Chapter 5