"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"

Chapter Twenty-Three

By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk

The temple was still standing when Seiya and Zara reached it, but the bright flashes of purple, blue, and silver light that were intermittently bursting out of it were an ominous sign.

As they grew closer, what had been incoherent shrieks were more discernable as words and phrases, mostly consisting of variations on "Let me out, you senshi slime!" and "You'll be sorry!"

Minako was waiting at the door of the temple. "So, Zara, did you--"

"Nothing happened, V."

She pouted, then turned her smile on Seiya. "Seiya, was it--"

"Shut UP, V!"

Seiya gave her a smile and a shrug. "Sorry, Minako-san. It'd be my head on a platter if I say anything."

"Well, a senshi can imagine, anyway!" said Minako. "And that's almost as good."

Almost everyone was standing outside of the room Dark Angel had been in the night before. Rei cast Zara a worried look.

"She's been screaming ever since she woke up this morning and trying to get out of the dome." She indicated that Zara should look into the room. Ice and Omega had their staffs crossed and their eyes shut in concentration as they stood at the foot of Angel's bed. Angel was hurling bolts of energy at her prison, but so far the combined efforts of both Warriors were keeping her at bay. "We don't know how much longer they can keep this up."

Yuki was sitting in the room by the door, his face ashen.

"What should I do?" Zara asked him.

"Talk to her," he said. "Try to break through."

Zara took a deep breath and approached the caged Angel.

"Celeste," she began, but was cut off as Angel shot a burst of energy straight at her. The dome stopped it, but it was still frightening to be that close to the dark power, and not transformed. "Celeste, listen to me," she tried again.

"That's not my name, so quit calling me that!" she yelled, accompanied by another power bolt.

"It is your name, it always has been. And you're my friend. Remember?"

"Ha!" Another bolt. "As if I'd be friends with senshi trash!"

"You not only are my friend, but you're a senshi yourself! Catastrophe changed you and took away your memories."

"That's the worst lie I've ever heard!"

"Yeah? How far back can you remember?"

"I..." Angel actually stopped. Her attacks paused as a confused expression flitted across her face. Then her eyes narrowed. "This is a trick. You erased my memories!"

"No, we didn't, I promise," said Zara. "Did you ever think about the past before we brought you here?"

"Well, I..." She paused again. "That's not the point!"

"Yes, it is! What if you're wrong, and it really was Catastrophe who changed your memories? What if we're really your friends and you're trying to hurt the wrong people? I've got hundreds of memories of the two of us together; laughing, fighting, crying; and I know you've got the same ones buried in your head somewhere."

"Prove it."

It was Zara's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

"I said, prove it." Angel crossed her arms over her chest. "Show me these memories, then maybe I'll believe you."

"I can't--"

"So, you are lying!"

"No! That's not what I meant." Zara sighed. "I don't have the power to do that." She began to explain for everyone's benefit as well as Angel's. "Being the princess of Veida, I've been trained in many levels of power. Invading someone's mind is a high level power, because it's a sever breach of privacy when and if you use it. You can only gain it after many decades of study and with lots of discipline. They figure if you can work that long to gain one power, then you have the discernment not to use it on people that you shouldn't."

Yuki cleared his throat softly and everyone looked at him. "I can do it."

"But your highness," said Ice, who insisted on referring to Yuki by his title. "It's extremely dangerous. She could damage your mind permanently, if she has the expertise and the will."

"I know," said Yuki. "But if it's a possibility that this could turn her back..."

"That's right," said Angel with a smug smile. "Trust me and I'll trust you."

Everyone exchanged glances. It was a huge risk. Ami entered the room from the hallway and knelt next to Yuki's chair.

"Only do this if you're certain," she said and gave him a hesitant smile. "I don't want to find my brother only to lose him."

He returned her smile and gently touched the side of her face. "I'm sure."

Zara went to Yuki. "How will it work?"

"You'll join hands with me and I'll scan your body chemistry. Once I've aligned myself to it, I can take the thoughts you're projecting and send them to Angel. You're going to have to concentrate really hard, because if you try to send me too much at once, you could send me into overload. It will be strange at first. No one likes an invasion into their mind. But if you keep your mind open to me, things should go well." He glanced at Angel. "That goes for you, too."

"Oh, I'm willing, puppy," she said with a wink at him.

"Puppy?" asked Zara with a questioning look at Yuki.

He shook his head, not meeting her eyes. "Don't ask."

"Are you certain you're well enough for this, your highness?" asked Ice. "You've been up since dawn, trying to get through to her."

He nodded. "Yes, yes." He rose from the chair with a sigh and gestured to everyone in the hallway that they should leave. "The fewer distractions, the better. Zara, Ice, and Omega can stay."

Angel pouted at the two senshi who were keeping her contained. "You don't trust me? And after all we've been through."

"For good reason, Angel," said Yuki. "We're showing you a good deal of trust right now." Yuki placed Zara at the foot of Angel's bed and stood behind her, taking her hands in his. "Keep your eyes closed, it will help with your focus. Try to pick out the memories that are the most clear. And remember, keep your mind open."

"Right." She closed her eyes and waited.

Yuki's first touches into her mind were light, like the touch of a feather, but she was away of the intrusion. She forced herself to be accepting of them and after a moment, Yuki was completely aligned with her.

"Alright," he said, and somehow she knew that he was thinking these words directly into her mind. "Go ahead."

Carefully and deliberately, Zara concentrated on a memory of herself and Celeste when they were young, singing and dancing for Zara's parents. There was a heaviness on the receiving end, and Zara could feel it, even though it was filtered through Yuki. Apparently, it was difficult to align to a thought pattern so clouded with dark energy.

Hoping this wasn't causing Yuki too much pain, she tried another memory; they were slightly older this time and Celeste was telling Zara and Minako that it was a bad idea to smuggle Princess Serenity to Earth and that Minako wouldn't fool anyone with her Moon Princess disguise. There was a slight prickle this time, as if the dark energy was rebelling against the memory. Yuki's hands tightened on her own, but he whispered into her mind, "Keep going... She's loosening a little..."

Thinking this was the memory Angel couldn't run away from, Zara thought hard on the battle with Galaxia against Catastrophe the first time. In her mind's eye, she focused directly on the man she had barely known, Taka, as he told the other senshi his plan to take on Catastrophe. On Angel's end, there was a rush of lightness that broke through the heavy, prickly feeling. The dark energy fought back, but there was a flux now in the power.

In her mind, she concentrated on Angel's face as she threw her attack at Taka, now Catastrophe. She saw, for the first time since that battle, the look of pain on Angel's face, the tears she was concealing so carefully. And also for the first time, something broke through from Angel's side of the mind alignment in Celeste's voice...

"...My love..."

The dark energy rebelled fiercely then, and Zara was thrust violently out of Angel's mind. So violently, she fell to the floor, breaking her contact with Yuki.

She looked back at him, afraid. Yuki's eyes were squeezed shut and a painful groan wrested itself from him. With an effort, he thrust Angel out of his mind and she let loose a scream of frustration.

Yuki knelt on the floor next to Zara, breathing hard.

"What happened?" asked Zara.

"She almost had me," said Yuki. "If I was less skilled in mind melding, she might have taken over my mind. And then you all would have been in trouble. Luckily, I've been studying for a very long time and it'll take more than a little dark power to overthrow my mind." He smiled at her and helped her to her feet.

"What do we do now?" She looked at Angel who, since she couldn't get out of her prison, was currently glaring at them. "I don't think my memories worked."

"They almost did," said Yuki. "You heard what she said. She remembered what happened and who it was."

"Maybe," said Zara, doubtfully. "I thought it was Celeste's voice I heard, but... What if it was just Dark Angel referring to Catastrophe when she said it?"

"I can hear you, you know!" said Angel.

Yuki looked at Angel for a long time, then back at Zara. "I think... you all should leave."

"What?" The three girls protested. "Why?"

"There is one memory that I can try."

"You?"

He nodded, not looking at them. "But... I would prefer it if we were alone. Please... don't ask me to explain."

Zara glanced at the other girls. "Well... We'll be right outside the door. In case you need us."

He shook his head. "If this doesn't work, it would be too late. But thank you." As an afterthought, he removed his bracelet containing the Aqua Crystal and handed it to Warrior Ice. "Just in case of the worst... Give this to my sister."

She nodded, holding the precious heirloom to her chest.

Yuki ushered the senshi out of the room, giving Zara one last smile, meant to reassure before he closed the door behind them.

Ice sighed, looking at the Crystal in her hands. "Only the eldest heir may weald the Crystal... If he fails..."

"He won't," said Zara, fiercely. "He can't. We have to trust him. Though if I can't get all the way through to Celeste, I don't know what memory he could have that would spark her goodness..."

Omega's staff talisman flashed and the tiny girl gasped.

"What?"

Her large hazel eyes were alarmed. "He just entered the protection dome!"

To be continued...