Shadows on the Wall
Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: If I owned the Sailor Scouts or the Ronin Warriors, I wouldn't worry about disclaimers, would I? I don't think so…
The tension in the still night air, even though it was just a dream, was all too real to Mina as she stumbled through her dream world. It was dark, and there was not a sound to be heard, a situation that Mina did not like, not one bit. Coming to a stop and taking a deep breath, the Sailor Scout whirled around, spotting a single light off in the distance.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Not to trusting of what she would find there, Mina ventured forward, her blue eyes riveted on the light that she could see. Moments later, a soft-spoken voice spoke in her head.
"Welcome, Minako. I'm glad you have come."
Mina whirled in fright, looking very much like a deer caught in a headlight. "Mother? Mother, is that you?" She hadn't run very far towards the sound of her mother's voice when she stopped , catching glimpse of the green-armored warrior that stood beside her mother, looking just about as confused as she herself felt. She strode forward a bit more cautiously, glancing first at her mother, then at the warrior she knew as Sage, then back at her mother. "Just what is going on here?" she demanded, her hands on her hips. She wasn't surprised in the least to be reprimanded by her mother.
"Now Minako, that was not very lady-like," the older woman chided, gesturing to Sage, who remained standing where he was. "Do you not remember this young man?"
Mina stared at the warrior for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't, and what does Sage have to do with anything?" She just wanted to get to the bottom of this situation, and know just what it was that caused her mother's spirit to bring her and Sage to this dream world. The least she could have done was make it just a bit more hospitable for Mina.
"That shall be answered in time," a new voice piped. Mina whirled to see Trista standing there, her usual staff in hand. Moving with the grace of a princess, which Mina couldn't help but admire, Trista stopped in between Mina and Sage, her dark eyes looking between the two. "Your past is a tragic one, but a story that must be told to prevent it from happening in the future. I cannot say much else, but this I can- if you do not remember about your past together, darkness will consume the Earth, and we will rest in eternal darkness."
Mina scoffed. That line sounded awfully familiar. "How many of these 'cover the earth in darkness and rule the people like zombies' plots will we have to foil anyways, Trista?" Unwittingly, she made herself sound like the blonde she really wasn't. She just didn't want anyone to know how smart she really could be.
Trista glanced over at the younger Scout, amusement playing on her features. "More than you could ever count," she replied truthfully, and Mina didn't doubt it for a second. She knew better than to go against anything that Trista said; after all, she was the guardian of Time.
Still, Sage said nothing, merely standing there with a confused expression on his face as the spirit of Mina's former mother stood there, trying her best to get him to talk, but it was of no use. His icy violet eyes were riveted on the stunning blonde that stood watching the newcomer, obviously at ease with the two people that had stolen him from his dreams and brought him to this dream world. Moving quickly, he strode over to his best friend's cousin's side, pinching her for good measure. When she yelped, glaring at him as she backed away, rubbing the sore spot on her arm, Sage knew for sure that they were not in a dream. They were in a physical realm where they could still be injured.
Finally, the blond-haired warrior spoke. "And what is the importance of our past?" he inquired quietly, glancing from the blond-haired woman beside him to the woman with the staff. "Why is it so important that we remember?" As if his question triggered a reaction, a wind kicked up as the two woman gathered in the midst of it, both of them glancing at Mina, who was quite startled.
"That, my friend, is for you two to find out, but you have to work together," the blond-haired Queen remarked as the dream world seemed to collapse onto itself. Mina began screaming shortly before everything went black…
Mina woke with a gasp, clutching at the green orb that dangled around her neck as she bolted up, her blue eyes startled and frightened. Looking down at her arm, she knew that she hadn't dreamed that; a small bruise was starting to form on her right arm, the arm that Sage had pinched. Would this nightmare never end? Getting up from her bed, she pulled up a chair beside the window and opened the curtains, the warm light of the moon filtering in and soothing her frightened and confused nerves.
Mina had only been there for a few moments when she made up her mind about Sage; first thing in the morning, she fully intended on dragging Rowen up out of bed and over to his house, and that's where she intended on confronting him. She wasn't entirely sure, but she suspected that there was more to him than meets the eye and she wanted to get to know him a little better as well as try to remember their past. There, in the soothing light of the moon, Mina drifted back off to sleep, looking more peaceful than she had for many nights…
