"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"
Chapter Ten
By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk
'Someone is touching me.' It was Angel's first conscious thought, and though the person's touch was gentle and chaste, she kept her eyes closed. She would keep the element of surprise.
Searching within herself, she evaluated her power stores. 'Too low to place an attack of any effectiveness,' she decided, though her body would regenerate, given enough time.
The ache of pain from her left wing told her it was broken, or at least sprained. She wasn't surprised, given that the attack she sustained had sent her sliding across the street on her back, but that meant it would be longer before she was completely restored. She also noted that she was restrained. Manacles, she guessed, were shackled around her wrists and ankles. There would be no immediate escaping.
Given that an attack and escape were pretty much impossible at the moment, she opened her eyes to see who it was that had their hands on her arm, at the moment.
She found herself staring into icy blue, yet strangely warm, and very human eyes.
"Ah, you're awake," said the young man. She took in his dark blue hair, his posture, his lithe body beneath his white tunic-like shirt and loose blue pants, and guessed him to be only a little older than she. Well, than she appeared to be.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking around at the cold square cell they were in.
"My name is Yuki, and we're in the dungeon."
She tested the manacles and they crackled with the same dark purple energy that Catastrophe had thrown at her before. Apparently, they were designed to hold someone in place, even at their full power.
"I'm Angel. Why aren't you shackled down?"
He looked mildly angry for a moment, but not with her. "He does, on occasion, chain me down; when he wants to... play." He shuddered slightly and one of his fists clenched. "But for the most part, he keeps me weak enough to control with his mind. It's not a pleasant experience."
"How did you come to be here?"
He sighed. "I was part of an army that fought Catastrophe as he passed through my planet, as the Healer of the army. He thought it would be amusing, as he put it, to have the Healer working against his own friends, and that's the only reason he hasn't killed me yet. Trust me, if I could have fought the methods he used to control me, I would have."
"I believe you." She looked at the shackles and around the cell again, trying to sense a weakness, but found none. She couldn't do anything at her current strength. "Were you tending to my injuries, then, while I was asleep?"
"I did take the liberty, yes, although I don't have my full abilities; that's why it's taking so long." His gaze turned sympathetic for a moment. "You were in pretty bad shape when they brought you in."
"They?"
"His minions. The place is crawling with them."
"Wonderful. Our chances of escape just went from slim to none." She hung her head. "What I'm most confused about is the fact that he didn't kill me when he had the chance. Instead, he's holding me here."
"Judging by your attire, I'm guessing you're a sailor senshi, so he might be planning on using you as leverage when/if other senshi come to your aid."
Angel blinked. "You know about the senshi?"
He smiled, and for a moment, the cell faded under its light. "I should. My sister is a senshi. Sailor Mercury."
At this revelation, Angel then could see the family resemblance. "She never mentioned a brother... but then, it's not as if we've had any real time to talk..."
He gave a slight shrug. "From the reports we get from Luna and Artemis, she may not remember that part of her life, yet. I'm not concerned, but I'd rather not burden her with a sudden sibling before she remembers."
"That's very unselfish of you."
That cold, icy velvet voice once again broke through the conversation. "Yes, yes. Nobility and all those other useless emotions that tend to get in one's way. I should thank the stars I don't have them." Catastrophe stepped out of the shadows and the cell door swung open by itself to allow him entrance. His smile was completely humorless. "I suppose I should actually thank you my dear."
She scowled at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I know. But I intend to fix that."
Yuki took a step toward the two of them, but one look from Catastrophe's gray eyes sent him walking jerkily backward. Angel could tell that he wasn't moving on his own accord. Once Yuki had sat down rather roughly in a corner, the demon's gaze slid back to Angel.
He leaned very close to her until she could feel his breath on her cheek. Even that was cold. His eyes stared into hers, daring her to look away. One of his hands came up to her throat and she resisted the urge to flinch, remembering the power that could come from those hands. But all his did was rest his hand there, not squeezing, although he could have easily choked the life from her; his hand nearly spanned her entire neck. She couldn't help a shiver as he ran a gentle thumb across her accelerating pulse.
His smile broadened slightly, revealing small teeth of pearly white, flanked by two sharp canines, like a beast. "You haven't changed."
She showed no emotion on her face, but inside her mind was beginning to quake. How had he known her neck was sensitive? Had she really known him sometime in the past? Wouldn't she remember? Unlike the other senshi, she'd never lost her memory, at least, she'd never doubted that until now.
He had leaned even closer and she could feel his lips moving against the skin of her neck as he talked. "I'll make you remember me, my dear."
"Get away from me," she said in a low voice, through clenched teeth.
"I don't think so," he said. He waved one lightly clawed hand in the air and a goblet appeared at his fingertips.
She watched him warily as he drank deeply of the cup, but before she could even utter a squeak of protest, he descended upon her, his lips scorching hers. When she opened her mouth to bite him, the liquid burned a bright path down her throat. She tried not to ingest it, but he stroked her throat until she swallowed convulsively. Then the pain started.
The burning sensation started low, then built in intensity as it traveled through her veins to every inch of her body. Catastrophe drunk in her screams as his mouth plundered hers, seeming to take pleasure in the convulsions that wracked her body though the shackles kept her in place.
When the convulsions had slowed to mere tremors, he lifted his head. He trailed his clawed fingertips down her cheek. "Was it good for you?"
Angel's shoulders were beginning to shake, shudders that had nothing to do with the lingering pain in her body. He took her chin in a firm grip and lifted her head to see the tears that were beginning to fall from her eyes. Leaning in again, he licked one salty droplet from her face and smiled.
"So beautiful."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Why? Because of you, I have the entire galaxy in my grasp."
"This isn't you."
"This is the new me. And you hold the credit."
She couldn't respond. He smiled again and finally stepped away from her. The door opened for him once again and he snapped his fingers as he left. The shackles holding Angel and Yuki were lifted then, and they both slumped to the floor.
"I'll be back soon, my dear." The words were so ominous, they sounded almost like a threat. With that, he disappeared into the shadows.
It was a few minutes before either prisoner could say anything. Finally, Yuki was the one to break the silence.
"You knew him?"
"Yes." The words were barely audible. "A long time ago. That potion he forced on me made me remember."
"Who was he?"
"The man I loved."
To be continued...
