Haru:

Sixth Moon

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hi again, everybody, for another dose of Bey Blade - Sakura Taisen style! ^^;; Now that I've introduced the main guy characters, it's time to introduce the female ones. Yup, the debut of ...TEAM AXIS~~~!!! ^o^ ^o^ ^o^ Now, why Axis?! I'll tell you later. From this point on things would get pretty interesting. To all my readers, a hontou DOMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASHITA for all your unwavering support! Without you guys, I would amount to absolutely nothing. **^~^** SANNNNN-KYUUUUUUU~~~~!!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bey Blade and all its characters; same goes with Sakura Taisen, as they're owned by their respective authors. The OC's and some of the terminologies mentioned here are absolutely mine, though; I would really appreciate if you ask me permission FIRST before attempting to put it on your fics or something. Hey, at LEAST give the author some credit (same thing goes to things you see in and around the internet, and other fanfics in general; I try my best to give them credit in one way or the other); he or she was the one who sweated and cried blood and tears just to be able to come up with those stuff! I tell you, I got plagiarized once by means of a school paper, I DON'T want it to happen again. The feeling is mutual for the other authors out there; and if you happen to have a fanfic that was PLAGIARIZED, you'll understand what I mean. It's not really nice. All this are yours for the taking, I just want you to give me some credit (as with the other authors, as well). It's not that hard, right? Anyway, on with the show!

The sound of the ancient organ playing in the background sent a flurry of doves a-flutter, and the tolls of the bells were heard all throughout the ancient Middle Age walled city somewhere in Germany, calling the faithful to flock into the walls of the old stone cathedral for the blessing of the priest and for the hearing of the Good News for their weary souls to feed upon. As the mass started and the entire cathedral was filled with the cherubic singing of the choir, a man wearing flowing black robes and carrying a black parasol was seen strolling through the old cemetery grounds behind the cathedral, walking with an impatience of a man who was on a very important errand that he simply could not leave lying around for a few minutes more before deciding to do it. The rain was pouring down on him relentlessly, flooding the cobble stoned pathway with little pools here and there, and there were small splashes as his feet trod upon the pools and sent the lower hem of his robes dripping with water. He did not mind it, though; he went on until he reached the old marble mausoleum located at the end of the pathway, and fumbled with the rusty old padlock before going in. The faded marble harp-playing cherubs were the only ones witness to his intrusion of this peaceful little cemetery, and there was nobody else around to spy on him; already, the clouds hovering above the walled city were a deep black, the color of night, and to any given casual stroller walking around in the rain outside would interpret it to a night of howling winds and increasingly bad weather that would certainly last until tomorrow.

The rusted old padlock whined sharply as its hasp slowly became loose; and the man looked around the cemetery quickly, scanning for anything that was quite suspicious, as the padlock gave off a dead give-away that could send those imperialist dogs running for a 500 meter radius around the vicinity. Then, seeing there was none, the man pulled the gate open and walked into the pathway leading to the interior of the mausoleum, closing the gate again with a careful swing, replacing the padlock as it was, dangling loosely from its hasp, then he continued into the mausoleum itself.

The interior was cold, and a stale smell of dried up flowers greeted his nose as he opened the beautiful stained glass doors that led within. The man then shook out excess water from his folded-up parasol, and his robes as well; then stepped onto the marble flooring. The stained glass depiction of the crucifixion was upon the entire floor of the mausoleum, scattering its muted colors by means of muted light from somewhere upon the ceiling; and the man gazed upon it for a few seconds more before heading straight to the ornately carved marble tomb in the middle, lying right under the ornate black metal candle-strewn "chandelier", its candles snuffed out by the passing of ages, as nobody bothered to light them anymore.

The muted colors of the crucifixion scene lighted up the man's face dimly. He was quite young, although there were some silver strands that were beginning to encroach upon his neat dark blue coiffure; and his eyes were cold as that of a hawk's, golden and reproachful underneath the dim lights lighting up the mausoleum's interior. A beautiful crucifix made of glass and thinnest silver was hung about his neck, glinting like a small beacon, and small glasses were upon his powerful hooked nose, with nary a frame; it was just upon his nose and did not fall off, stuck as it was on the bridge of his nose.

He stared intently at the tomb before him.

"Rose and cross are thee,

Bearing upon thee the wings of salvation;

As the thornly crown weighs upon He the entire burden of the world,

The glass will lead us to blackness," he whispered softly.

At first there was absolute silence, then the unmistakable sound of an ancient contraption working, as the tomb before him opened, and its halves parted cleanly in the middle to show a dusty flight of marble stairs that descended somewhere into the blackness. The man got his folded-up parasol, looked behind him one last to check for any stragglers, then went down the stairs, his footsteps echoing starkly in the stillness of the chambers.

The man got himself a torch and some flint before the gateway above him closed slowly. He struck the flint with 2 swipes to the ragged stone wall beside him before it sparked, then he lit the oil-soaked torch with it before replacing the flint onto the hidden recess just beyond where the steps ended and joined with a narrow pathway.

The flames sprang up, and the man's eyes adjusted in the gloom that pervaded somewhere beyond the vicinity of his torch's bright, glowing area of visibility. The air down here was much colder, and the man drew his robes about him more closely, then proceeded down the narrow pathway of gloom, his parasol held tightly to one side, as if expecting an incoming attack from around him any second now.

The pathway was uneven, the walls on its sides hewn out of solid rock, and there were times that the man stumbled upon small rocks and an occasional crunch with his foot. He didn't need to illuminate what was that he stepped on; a few stray rats and occasional cats go in here and never got out, and it was their skeletons that he had so stepped upon with a very crunchy noise.

The path seemed to go on for ages until he saw the faint glimmer of light ahead. The man, seeing that he had come to the end of his dark ordeal at last, proceeded to walk more quickly. The scent of candles told him that he was getting nearer, and the scent of incense told him that he was just a few steps away. The man then went through the very narrow opening at the end of the pathway by moving along on his back, then emerged, and was very glad to breathe in clean fresh air again.

"You're late."

The man dipped the torch he was holding onto the small marble basin of water beside the opening and didn't look up until the flames had completely extinguished. "The imperialists had been so relentless today. I had to skulk around like a rat for the last 3 hours getting here straight from the monastery and I had near brush-ins with their stinking operatives. It's not safe to walk around in the daylight anymore."

"I keep forgetting you're scared of the dark." There was a hiss as a cigarette was extinguished by means of another marble basin at the other side, followed quickly by light laughter. "You had always been hopeless."

"I will ignore that remark, or else the Knighthood would have one less stupid Acolyte." The man gazed at him with his cold, reproachful golden eyes. "Have they arrived?"

"A few minutes before you. I have never seen the Kaiser act so unusually agitated today."

"Must be, because he sees you're in with us, now." The man nodded. "I'll head on in."

The man entered through the magnificent-looking rock cave before them, alight with all the candles that were blazing brightly from within. The room beyond it was very incredible: lighted by candles from the natural niches that were found on the rocks that hung above them, it looked more like nature's reproduction of the grand cathedral that stood above them than anything else. The floors were of a highly polished white marble wherein a stylized depiction of a rose, cross, and thorn crown were ingeniously worked into by the tiniest gradations of the different colored marble itself. It drops off abruptly at the center, where an ornate bridge spanned the rest of the way leading to the ornate wrought-silver and stained glass gates at the other side. The bridge traveled over dark, calm waters, but every now and then, one could hear the distinct sound of bells ringing underneath it, as if there was another cathedral itself beneath the cold, unforgiving waters. Standing just before the bridge was a solitary figure dressed in heavy scarlet robes who turned around just as the man went in.

"Ah, Geissler. You have arrived." An elderly man wearing ornate scarlet robes wherein a crest of a rose, a cross, and a thorn crown intertwined and embroidered together looked up at him, very much relieved. "We were beginning to worry, the Kyrieans Barrier was acting up again..."

"Were the Mahannon Crystals strapped on as I told you to?"

"Yes...yes, they were." The elderly man looked extremely agitated. "But there were times when she blacked out...we thought she wouldn't be able to make it..."

"Nonsense. She is not an ordinary girl, and you know it. The Knighthood had searched for her for centuries on end, and it will not end just like that."

"Ah, of course...I know...I know..."

"..." The man known as Geissler looked at him again. "Where are the others?"

"They are waiting for you at the Oblivion. Lilith is with them."

"Good, good." Geissler nodded, then went off towards the silver gates at the end of the narrow bridge that spanned over the calm waters below. "I will see to 'Sophia' first."

"As you wish. I will speak to Lilith." With that, the old man went away, and Geissler pushed the doors open lightly as if they were not worth a hundred pounds each in weight.

The doors closed behind him, and Geissler looked up. There, like a very magnificent free- hanging oversized lantern of some kind, was an ornate stained glass representation of the crest the old man wore on his robes, lighted by means of different tall candles located in ingenious tiers hidden all around the place. The chamber in turn led off to 5 different chambers that lay in a star pattern all around the "crest lantern", the doors all closed tight, several Latin inscriptions written in Gothic lettering from the middle point up to each of the respective door that lay at the edge of the chamber.

He went towards the middle door, then waited. He could feel the Barrier's presence, as searingly as that of a burning brand upon his flesh. He reached out and pushed it open, and a bright white light bathed him as he stood before it, suffusing him with a different kind of warmth he had never experienced before.

Geissler then went in without another word.

"Gather round the Knights of the maudlin Table," a young woman said venomously as she stood in the ornate waiting room filled with many furniture that were both classy and harkened the richness of a bygone era. She flipped her dark silver hair over her shoulder. "What is taking him so long?"

"He is paying respects to 'Sophia', as his usual way," the old man said in a soothing voice. The young woman glared at him, then sniffed and looked away. The old man sighed. Geissler should hurry; he had no intentions of a 21 year-old woman ripping the Visitor's Lounge Room apart by means of her Morgana. Besides, the other Knights would be coming very soon; and they, like that woman he was with now, were not really known to be very patient people.

The young girls were still in that other room, and they must be really nervous about the whole deal. Hanging around with a psychotic woman for 16 years have definitely made them really anxious and pressure driven as to make their jobs perfect without any hitch; talents that were highly prized by Axis itself.

Just as he was beginning to relax, the double doors to the Lounge Room swung open, and the Knights all came in, dressed in their respective colors and similar uniforms: robes with the crest emblazoned down the middle of their backs, and upon their left breasts. They wore German Imperial Guard uniforms beneath the robes, and their respective swords were strapped by means of ornate silver-buckled belts and scabbards about their waists. The old man gulped. Having Geissler alone in a room with him was intimidating enough; the Knights who came into the Lounge Room just now was enough to give him a monstrous heart attack.

"Where is Geissler?" one of the more imposing robed men asked the old man, his voice very low and thick with that unmistakable Sicilian accent. "I told him before, as I've told him many times, that his illusions are hurting the Knighthood MORE than it could help it, Wilhelm Bauer."

"He is coming along," the old man who was known as Wilhelm Bauer replied, his breath coming out in a wheeze.

"He will not stop until his precious 'Sophia' would be gained back at all costs," still another muttered.

"Foolhardy, but I must admit, he is very crucial to realize Axis' goals, as he is the Kaiser's grandson," another said in a soft, pleasant voice. "Could we blame him?"

"He believes that he is in love with a ghost," the woman with Bauer replied, her voice becoming even more venomous. "If he doesn't stop pretending, Axis would fall down around our ears. And we still haven't even exacted revenge on those...monsters..."

"I believe I am hearing the rant of an enraged, jealous woman," the same pleasant voice said with a light laugh.

There was an unmistakable sound of a sword coming loose from its scabbard, and the next thing Bauer knew, the woman was holding her saber at the side of her taunting "adversary's" neck. "One more WORD we'll all be hearing your death rattles..." she said spitefully.

There was laughter, and the man, who had long wavy light blond hair and sky blue eyes, lightly but firmly pushes the woman's saber blade out of the way and smiled at her angelically. "If that were the case, Lilith, it would be impossible. How could I hear my own death rattles when I'm already dead?"

More laughter. Bauer shook his head. "Honestly, Herrault, you should know BETTER not to get her totally riled like so. You do know you're risking decapitation every time you tease her."

"Ah, I wouldn't dream of having my head roll away from my neck; I like it just the way it is. I have enough grisly stories told by my grandmother by means of our noble decapitated ancestors to last me several hundred lifetimes."

"In any case, Geissler should be back here." The man with the Sicilian accent frowned. "What is taking him SO long?"

"Well then we can't WAIT for him any longer." The woman known as Lilith looked over at Bauer. "They are ready. Old man, you could call them on now, they're just in that other room."

Bauer blinked, then looked over at them

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Shouldn't we wait for..."

"Time is wasted, Bauer, Axis shouldn't be kept waiting," Lilith told him irritably.

"Well, in that case..." Bauer cleared his throat, then looked at the gathered Knights, then glanced to the closed double doors at the end of the room where he was standing next to. "Girls...if you please."

There was silence, then the double doors at the other end of the room slowly swung open.

4 girls wearing German Imperial Guard uniforms with short skirts, different colored tights and boots in their respective different colors according to their elemental alignments, went forward and stood in a perfect line in front of them.

"May I present...the -Elemental Knights-. Step forward and introduce yourselves, please."

There were footsteps.

"Isabella Marcioni, -Earth Relic- pilot, Astalle."

A tall girl with olive skin and dark brown eyes and curly black hair that reached to the middle of her back stepped forward and placed her closed right fist over her breast before retreating in line again.

"Alexandra Schlessinger, -Wind Relic- pilot, Weinstadt."

A girl as tall as the first girl was stepped forward, did the same thing as her predecessor did, and retreated back in line. She had flaxen hair and large gray eyes.

"Eva Miklos, -Water Relic- pilot, Tallas."

A girl with light blue hair and violet eyes stepped forward and retreated.

"Stephanie Randell, -Fire Relic- pilot, Soldiver."

A girl with orange hair and dark blue eyes stepped forward and retreated.

"Team Axis ready for deployment," Bauer said proudly.

"Seems one is missing," a man with short unnaturally straight deep green hair muttered.

Lilith had her arms crossed over her chest.

"She is here, but Geissler is 'paying' his respects to her in THAT chamber," she said crossly. "The -Light Relic- pilot, of Edelweiss. His 'Sophia'."

"'Sophia', indeed!" One of them snorted.

Bauer twiddled his fingers nervously.

"We really can't blame him; he had waited for her so long, it's natural that he would miss her." The man with a pleasant voice named Herrault smiled again angelically, his eyes closed happily. "It had been centuries..."

Geissler was leaning against the young girl encased in a series of purest white wings hanging by means of several silver chains from the ceiling. She was sleeping, her wonderful hair the color of faded autumn glistening as several loose locks of it fell in waves almost to the pool of water where she was hanging over and was imprisoned, for the last 9 years of her life.

The wings which held her were no ordinary wings; they were made of a curious shiny purest white metal, and it had several eyes on it, its many eyeballs looking in and around the room of its own free will, and the eyes moved freely independent of each other. The eyes were of a clear crystalline blue, and all of them were now looking at Geissler at the same time.

"'Sophia...'" Geissler whispered. He smiled wistfully. "Yes...it won't be long now. You will be back in my arms again..."

Several purest white feathers flew past in a flurry, encasing the both of them in a shimmering white cocoon.

Yes.

"Sophia" would be reborn, again.

And not a moment too soon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Axis refers to the Axis powers of World War II - this includes Japan, Italy and Germany. The Allied powers include Britain, France, and the United States. Team Axis refers to a "shadow government" pulling strings from the shadows to shape their own predestined future against the will of many - that is why the Kagekidan was created in order to stop them, and before them, the infamous Imperial Capital Defense Corps (BTW, I just made this up...I've been watching the X-Files one time too many....:P). The Imperial Capital Defense Corps are composed of the legendary Dr. Masao Kinogu, Dr. Judy Mizuhara, Fei Kon, Daichi Hiwatari, Gogoro Daitenji, and Asato Tsuzuki. Since the setting took place in post World War I Japan, it is quite understandable that there is ensuing confusion in matters of ideals, and communism was at its embryonic stages. As in any upright society, there are still quite a few radicals who believed in that still embryonic ideal, and these radicals (composed of extremely wealthy and influential men) form the backbone of Team Axis.