Well hiya! Sorry for the wait but you know how some of us writers get board or lazy or busy or frustrated with how it's turning out and I ladies and gents have experienced all four; once or twice all at the same time I might add. Neways I have to give a shout out to all my fans, or reviewers anyways, cuz you guys totally encouraged me to get this chapter finished. I also felt a little guilty but not enough apparently to type any faster. Oh well, whatcha goin' do? Now I would like to do those personal thank you's to each and every reviewer but I'm experiencing laziness right now so I won't. I'm just going to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who commented, you guys totally boosted my confidence. Also this chapter might confuse you just a bit more on the plot but that just means I'm doing my job. Ok, shutting up now, enjoy.
Chapter 4
She stood alone, stranded in the desert sands of purgatory, feeling lost and vulnerable. She appeared small and insignificant; the empty vastness of the silent wasteland overpowering her delicate frame. The surrounding horizon was endless and barren, stretching out into forever and illuminated by a dim, pulsating, artificial light. She could gain no sense of time here, what appeared to be dusk might as well have been dawn. She could tell nothing from this place except that it felt wrong, very wrong.
She was standing in the center of it all, wearing a simple silk dress, which flowed down her slim body into the rough sand behind her. The color was rich, ebony black, which contrasted greatly against her pale skin. Her golden tresses were a mass of curls atop her head, suspended in various clips. Her large lavender eyes were accented with black mascara and purple eye shadow. There was a sweep of blush to either side of her high cheekbones and her lips were coated with a deep satin red. She looked like an ethereal being, an untouchable goddess, but the fear in her eyes as she stared with uncertainty into the distance told of her vulnerability, of her humanity.
A sharp wind picked up suddenly, rushing past her in one cold, violent trust. It was a rasping, angry whisper of her name. 'SERENITY'. It seemed to draw her forward, intending to lead her to an unknown destination. Somewhere she was sure, she did not want to be. She stepped forward, her bare feet sinking into the grains of sand that she did not feel. Her strides were long, graceful, and she moved with a confidence she did not possess. Everything within her screamed to run the other way, run anywhere else, but something in her soul kept her from acting on her fear. She was desperate for answers, desperate to know something, anything, about what she did not understand. Besides, even if she chose to run, there was nowhere for her to go. She'd be lost forever, in her own private hell. Though, she realized quickly, she might not make it either way.
There were too many emotions fighting to take control inside her and too many thoughts ran rampant through her overloaded mind. Inside her, chaos had taken control and every careful step brought her that much closer to exhaustion. Her breathing had become abnormal and her eyes had become unfocused until she felt her head roll back and her wild eyes meet those of a rusty yellow-green.
For only a moment she made out the black shape of a large wolf. He sat silently, some fifteen yards away, with his snout partly open in what looked like a crooked half smile, as if he knew some intimate secret, and his sharp eyes gazed with deadly intent in her direction. Her lips parted in a small startled gasp before the creature seemed to shimmer out of existence.
Slightly confused and unsure how to deal with this new development, she turned her head back in the direction she was traveling, determined to ignore it. She hadn't gone but two steps further when her eyes picked up something to her left. The same black wolf was now ten yards away and trotting softly along side her. This time his eyes were directed at something up ahead. His mouth was open, his pink tongue to the side and she could make out sharp yellow fangs; fangs that could easily tear through flesh and bone if he chose to attack. But just as sudden as his appearance, he was gone. It was as if the winds had gently swallowed him up.
Once more she turned back toward the direction of her intended destination secure in the knowledge that this strange wolf-ghost was not an enemy. In all honesty, its presence was soothing and it was the only thing that made her feel remotely safe here. Though strange and unethical, she didn't think to second-guess the matter. Feeling safe was a rarity she ever allowed herself.
With some semblance of strength returning she could make out something wavering in the distance. She felt no relief at this, only a churning of dread and apprehension within her. As she came closer she could make out an altar made of red marble, and above it, etched across an arch, appeared a gold inscription of ancient text.
Large steps lead up to a sacrificial platform and at the base of these steps, crows were hobbling about, picking and scratching at invisible particles in the sand. Coming even closer still, her mystified eyes looked up to find a boy.
She took in the details of the boy and then took a step back in terrified amazement. She brought a trembling hand to her throat where her heart lay hammering away. She felt flushed, her porcelain skin turning a deathly pale. The temperature seemed to drop drastically and she brought her arms up to shield against the sudden chill.
It hurt to breathe. She couldn't seem to fill her lungs with enough air and she struggled with deep breaths. She tried to take everything in, tried to find some small detail that would tell her if it was truly him.
She studied his eyes. Eyes, which held life and intelligence. Eyes that were once again comprehending and clear. They were so different from the ones she had looked into last, all those seven years ago. Those eyes had been unfocused and empty; dead.
She shuddered at the memory, willing it away. She studied the sturdy, twelve-year-old boy above her and while her mind tried to deny who it was, her heart wanted so much to believe. She wished to be able to sweep him up in the comfort of her arms and hear the steady beat of his heart. He looked so real, so healthy, and so alive.
She was brought to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the steps as she connected with some sort of invisible barrier. She tried pressing firmly with both hands against it but the smooth surface only rippled in response. Finding herself stuck and suddenly helpless at what to do, she brought unbelieving eyes to the very dark brown eyes of her dead brother. They swept over his appearance and she realized with a sort of fascinated horror that he wore the very outfit he was killed in. Black light up sneakers, scuffed and faded blue jeans, his old little league t-shirt, and an over-sized baseball cap.
Unbidden tears burned at her eyes, and a hollow ache began to fill her heart. Seven years of guilt squeezed at her soul as unwanted memories pushed there way to the surface of her mind, and with an anguished whisper, she breathed the one name she hadn't spoken of since his unexpected death.
Shingo…
"This barrier separates you from sacred ground, of which you are forbidden to tread as you are not a higher being."
"Higher… being?" she breathed in confusion. His words were so hard to comprehend, when just looking at him was too overwhelming. Shock was trying to take her over, a sort of paralyzing numbness, which left her a breath away from losing what little sanity she had left. Somehow it was that very thought which suddenly left her strikingly sober. For unexplainable reasons, her sanity was precious.
"Welcome to the kingdom of lost souls Serenity, resting place of the unwanted."
His voice however, was not the same high pitch squeal she remembered. It was low and solemn; older, and it made her nervous. There was, she noticed with immediate caution, something else in his voice; a sort of cold intelligence that wasn't apart of him. It made her wonder what lay beyond the exterior of her brother's corpse. If perhaps there was something else underneath his skin, hiding. She suppressed a shudder.
It was then that his words registered and she began to panic, afraid of what it meant. The words were hard getting out as she struggled to keep her composure. Rampant emotions would change nothing she rationalized.
"Shingo your not… you can't… your soul's not… … not… " she didn't trust herself to finish, fearing the answer. Shingo deserved better than this, so much better.
"It's complicated Serenity and to explain would reveal secrets before their time."
She didn't like his vague answer and her heart rate accelerated at what it might mean. Her instincts whispered that this little reunion would lead to something monumentally bad. But there were so many questions, so many things needed to be said. Words she hadn't been able to tell him before the tragedy and words that she wanted to take back. Everything was all just a jumbled buzz in her head and she was scared about where it would all lead. She had to say something, anything while he stood quiet and still above her.
"I'm…" she took a deep shuttering breath and tried again, "I'm not sure… where to start…there are words…" she trailed off in a small whisper, her body straining with the effort to keep from breaking down.
And suddenly she couldn't, she didn't want to keep everything inside anymore. So she sank into the sand, fast salty tears slipping down porcelain cheeks. Bowed over with her make up smearing and her arms wrapped around herself in a defenseless gesture her image of an invincible goddess had melted away. In its place stood nothing more than a defeated mortal who had grown up far faster than she was meant to. She fell against the cold barrier exhausted, while she cried out seven years of frustration and fear.
"I'm sorry" she spoke through her sobs, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
As she spoke past all the pain and anger and regret, a breeze began to flutter softly, rising up to encircle her and she felt herself lean into the warm comfort of it. She could here a calming melody within it, a sort of hushed lullaby, which soothed the quelling of her emotions. She breathed it in and it washed over emotional scars with gentle healing fingers.
"I died never blaming you for my death, and so you must never blame yourself. You must also never fear your emotions, or your memories, one day they may be all you have left. They may be the only thing to save you."
His voice was soft, and something lifted from her at his forgiving words. She breathed in and let go of her control. For a brief moment she felt light, almost non-existent, and she felt the true aspects of peace. She smiled.
'Remember this Serenity; remember that piece of mind will give you infinite power.'
Something seemed to shift in the atmosphere suddenly and Usagi became aware of her dreary surroundings once more. Her brief moment of peace was fading quickly as the crows around her began to squeal and whine. She looked to her brother with worried eyes and the fear she found in his eyes left her with a sudden sense of unexplainable urgency. It was when his presence began to flicker out that her urgency turned into panic.
"Shingo," she spoke his name with a desperate, startled cry, "Shingo your fading."
"I'm afraid there isn't much time, and I'm sorry for that. It was foolish of me to think that He wouldn't detect the movement." His words were calm but his eyes were nervous, and all she could do was stand there confused and desperate.
"What do you mean there's no time, who is HE, please I don't understand, Shingo your fading" Her tone was pleading and she didn't know why. She wanted the calm again, wanted to be swept up in the gentle winds and be lost forever to escape this never ending nightmare.
"Yes I'm afraid so. This place, it's common ground, reachable to both light and dark entities and He has more power over the uncared for, then we do."
Everything just left her more confused, they were just more words she didn't understand and probably never would.
"Who? Shingo your words have no weight, please…please Shingo, please…" Why couldn't he just make sense?
"Listen Serenity… you must listen to me."
"I am Shingo… I am, but…"
He was beginning to fade completely and her panic increased rapidly, she didn't want him to go, couldn't let him go.
"I'm sorry… times run out… but there are things you must know… and things you must let go…"
"Shingo!" He faded completely for longer than a few seconds and she pounded at the barrier in stricken terror. "SHINGO!" The crows took flight in haste, caught up in a sort of slow motion, flapping madly and crying shrilly into all directions, and then Shingo fazed in with startling clarity but his words left no room for comfort.
"There are five you must find, five you can trust, and five you must protect at all costs, fore if they fall to him, so does this world. The road you travel is not a clean one. It is filled with lies and deceit and you may find yourself alone in the very end. There will be times when you lose your way, or you feel like giving up, but to fight your destiny will only leave things worse. If you run, it will find you anyways, and it will be too late. You must beware the beast, powerful and selfish; he plays only for his own gain. Do not let the past control you, know everything before you draw conclusions. And lastly, when you see me again, you must not hesitate. Remember me now, remember me as I was, and remember that I love you."
He faded into dust particles before she could tell him the same and tears slipped down her cheeks in a silent, sorrowful goodbye. She leaned against the barrier still uncertain of so many things and unsure of where to start in this epic journey she'd been thrust upon.
"I don't know if I can do this" She whispered to an empty alter.
Something sparked and cracked and the next thing she knew she was staring into menacing red eyes, and a deformed smile.
"I'm counting on it" he rasped.
She rose up breathless, eyes wide and body trembling. She rocked slightly back and forth trying hard to forget, to remember, and to come back to herself. Something rang out softly past the door and she couldn't comprehend what it was. 'Phone' came a hazed voice from the depths of her foggy mind. 'Answer the phone!'
"The phone" she spoke allowed and things began to click, "Shit!" She sprung from the covers and smashed her shoulder on door frame in her haste to pick it up.
"Mmhhm… what?" she mumbled through the pain exploding throughout her arm.
"Usagi?"
"Yes, who is this, and what are you doing calling me at…" she looked for the time and found a clock on the far side of the wall, "at 4:30 in the goddamn morning."
"You know I don't like that language Usagi no matter how early it is."
"Mom?"
There was a pause on the other line and Usagi, realizing it to be her, remembered that she had sworn never to call her that after their last final argument.
"Ikuku, what is it?" Her voice was now a little clearer and somewhat detached, wishing now that she hadn't picked up the phone. She blamed her rashness on the dream, and suddenly she was swept up in the memory of it. She could still picture him in her mind, crystal clear.
"Usagi? Usagi…are you there?" Ikuku's rising voice pushed her back into reality. "Yes." There was a sigh and a pause and Usagi wouldn't break the silence, no matter how much her mother wanted her too.
"I… I need to talk to you, It's important."
"I'm listening" Her voice unnaturally hard and impatient. Ikuku cleared her throat and Usagi could sense her awkwardness; she smirked over the phone. "Well I was hoping we could talk in person, say seven tomorrow at the new café on sixth street?"
"I'm busy."
"Usagi please, it's important and I'd like to see you. I… I'm worried about you, really worried, please?"
She wouldn't admit it, but she missed her mother, Ikuku, and she wanted to see her, see how she looked, but the words they'd exchanged so long ago still stung. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this yet.
"Please?"
"Fine" she conceded, dreading the out come but knowing she had to do this.
"Thank you, I… I'll let you go, then"
"Bye" And she hung up before she could say anything else and thinking she'd already heard too much. She looked to the clock and 4:45 a.m. blared back at her. She sighed knowing she didn't want to go back to sleep but realizing she had a lot dead time till seven. Sighing again she put her hair up and headed for the bedroom closet with determination. Clothes and shoes and things not allowed in a closet had begun to build up in there and she was going to clean it; anything to keep her mind off the disturbing dream. Hopefully the stench itself would just knock her out for the next ten years and someone else would have to save the world and talk with her mother. 'Yeah right' she muttered scornfully before getting started.
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Elsewhere outside of the city, near Shinto Woods, in a secluded mansion, Endymion was stalking dark corridors on the way to his study where he kept the good scotch. The door was noiseless as it opened and the room was illuminated with a single large candle. High bookshelves lined the walls and in the middle stood a long ornate desk. He became uneasy when he realized his crystal carafe (the thing that holds the liquor) was not sitting in the middle of it as it should be.
He reached out with his senses and was alerted to someone in the right corner, sitting in shadows. But rather than take the defensive, he smirked in amusement toward the intruder.
"You're up late"
"So are you" a voice countered.
"I was awakened from slumber, what's your excuse?"
"Just drowning my sorrows in your expensive liquor; you've got good taste." The last comment held double meaning but Endymion wouldn't rise to the baiting.
"She must be somewhere close if you're drinking, especially if you're drinking rich."
There was a pause, and then movement, and then a tall man with striking auburn hair stepped quietly out of the shadows. He was only slightly taller that Endymion and just a little bit under weighted. He wore blue jeans and a white dress shirt, his long hair running past his shoulders. He held a filled glass in one hand and the carafe in the other, one quarter of it gone, but his purple-green eyes were still clear and focused.
"She's here, in the city, staying at the Hilton on Celtic Street. I saw her exit the cab as I was on my way to visit a client." His voice was solemn, almost sad and Endymion didn't have the words to comfort. He could barely deal with his own feelings rather then someone else's, so he stayed silent.
"I was tempted to walk over, talk to her, hear her voice, but a man got out of the car with her. They were laughing over something and then I noticed the ring on her finger. I fought the anger, the need to kill him and take her away, but I took in her happiness and I left. We had a lot of history together but I had never been able to give her that."
Silence ensued, both caught up in there own thoughts until Endymion broke it with an unnaturally quiet tone.
"You're a better man than I am. I couldn't let her go, just about three hundred years of waiting and I still couldn't. I'll never let her go."
"I'm not sure I if I am." Nephrite admitted, "I still want her, still crave her and it take's everything I have not to go there and steal her away."
"I know Nephrite, I know." The words were somehow final and neither knew what else to say on the subject because both were unfamiliar with the dealings of the heart. So Nephrite cleared his throat and spoke of his own curiosity.
"How is it that I find you here?"
"Dreams," his voice had gone hard as he remembered his own reasons for coming here. He'd been there, followed her to the Alter of Sacrifice and had heard her brother's words. He had watched her break down and felt something tug at his chest. He'd also been given a glimpse of the true monster of which she would face and had felt the rage which consumed it. He doubted she was strong enough, doubted that she would ever be ready for this, but he wouldn't let her die. He would make sure of that.
His thoughts were interrupted by a touch on the shoulder and he looked up to find his friend concerned.
"It must not be the usual if you couldn't detect my movement's just now." Endymion looked to him with serious eyes and spoke in low, chilling tone.
"We're approaching the end of something bigger than us, all of us, and Serenity's the center of it all. Things are going to build up fast and Serenity won't be prepared. She's going to need help if she wants to find the five fallen warriors."
Nephrite's eyes widened in awe at what the last comment meant and he spoke with something akin to understanding.
"She's the chosen one isn't she, the one the prophecy described, and all those years ago was just the beginning. We awakened something that night, and it's had three hundred years to rest and gain strength."
"Yes."
"Then maybe she was meant to die, maybe there was nothing to be done about it and the bite was a…" he trailed off when he heard a low growl in Endymion's throat explaining that he was not to go there. Three hundred years and he still wouldn't talk about her death.
"I need you to do research on mythology, it could help us locate the warriors, and we'll have to find them before anyone else dose." It was a command to do it now and do it fast.
"Why do we need them?" Nephrite knew he was pushing it but curiosity had always gotten the best of him.
"Bargaining chips," he didn't explain further and Nephrite made his departure, not expecting anything more. He had disappeared out the door when Endymion smiled leisurely to himself.
"I think it's time Serenity and I met formally." And he picked up an empty glass, poured a healthy amount of scotch, and barred his teeth in a grin of the up coming fireworks that explode between them.
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Well there you go and I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry the dream was a little lengthy but it was all meaningful and important to the story. Everything in this chapter was significant to the story. But OMG you guys are going to love me, or those interested in my story will, because I finally know where I'm going with this story and I'll be able to update more frequently. Cool or what? Neways after this chapter there will be a lot of interaction between the two of our fav characters and the introduction to more characters we all love; promise. Also I am going to go into their past and Usagi's family history. Please, please let me know what you think about this chapter, even if it's constructive criticism; just as long as it's not too harsh. TTFN!
