Moonlight Horizon Chapter 10: Heavenly Confrontations, a sailor moon fanfic

Moonlight Horizon

A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios

Aka Lady M. Harris

Author's Notes: Here it is, another belated and long overdue chapter. I know it's taking me forever to write this, yeah, real long. A lot of new characters introduced in this chapter, but they are only making brief appearances. Sorry for the confusion it may cause you, especially between Paradise Elios and Earth's Elios. I know his name is supposed to be Helios, but I learned Elios first, and Elios it will stay for now. Anyways, you may be wondering about the references between the Almighty and the Angels of Heaven. It's only a story, and I'm not making any claims to any kind of religion. Please be kind and just sit back and enjoy the ride. If this is not your cup of tea, please hit the back button. Forewarned – self edited. Read on if you dare!

Lady M. Harris

Part 10

The shuttle ship touched down on Cerus' barren, dry land. Another smaller shuttle ship already sat, banked near a large, series of red boulders before them. Behind the small ship, in the distance, arising from what seemed like steaming heat, were numerous, large sleek skyscrapers. The cities on Cerus never seem to sleep at night and in the harsh day light; it gleamed meticulously like those in Earth's large metropolitan cities.

Super Sailor Moon, Princess Rini stood silently next to Sailor Cosmos, Neo-Queen Serenity and Paradise's Archangel Elios near the shuttle's docking bay. Behind Rini stood Captain Tyron Maxwell and Colonel Jane Jackson, both from the Junketeer Command Ship. They were ordered by Commander Alexandria to accompany Rini, Serenity and Elios during negotiations with Cerus' leader, Aaron.

Rini had been pleasantly surprised to see her colleague Tyron join the excursion and that he had been promoted, and quite frankly, rather quickly to the ranks of captain. The last time she had seen him and Jason had been when they were first assigned to the Junketeer. She learned briefly that Tyron had actually been an integral, leading team member investigating the sabotage of her transporter ship crashing on Hades. The investigation had lead to a series of arrests to three airmen, quickly identified as spies from Cerus' national armies of cyborgs. Both Captain Tyron and Colonel Jane had been patiently waiting in Elysium for her and Elios' return.

Tyrone returned her curious gaze with a telltale wink and a flash of white teeth against a very tanned and handsome face, avidly aware of the archangel's glittering gaze drilling holes into his uniformed back. If it weren't for Narcissi catching his roving eyes back at the archangel's holdings, he would have seriously considered contending for Princess Rini's hand. As it was, it seemed that the archangel had already laid claim to the beauty. Course, there was not a word said officially, but then there was heavy talk already that Princess Rini had openly and lavishly proclaimed her intentions as an Angelica to the austere archangel. Such headline news traveled fast even for a small populated planet, however this was supposedly purely speculation from his standpoint or what was whispered among the several holdings.

Still, had he been in the position to petition for the princess' hand, how could he even have thought that he could compare to the powerful figure standing with such blatant ease beside him, he chafed, wincing at his pride and inwardly chuckling at himself. It was no wonder that Narcissi had thought herself in love with the archangel for years on end. And still, even to this day, considers herself beholden to Elios, never mind that that she had explained to him, and quite patiently – let's not forget the sarcastic tone she used either, he might add, that she had been borne and trained as a prized candidate to marry the Archangel. Just about every single and available woman in the archangel's holding was in love with the man. What it must be like to be in the shoes of this archangel with every conceivable beauty at your beck and call, he thought ironically.

He sighed and nearly laughed at his internal thoughts. His mirth died the moment his gaze collided with the archangel's agitated scowl. He suddenly realized how inappropriate his thoughts were, when it seemed as if they teetered on the edge of an all out war. It figures that he would find their situation amusing, how very like him, given their positions. His face grew stern again and he erased all thoughts of Narcissi and the Princess Rini from his mind and focused on the situation on hand.

The doors of the shuttle swooshed opened quietly and the harsh light of the glaring, afternoon sun, the grinding heat and dust particles of dirt kicked up by the doors opening silently greeted Rini. A strangled cry erupted from her mother, startling everyone in the process by the abrupt sound. Rini turned in the direction of her mother, watching with apprehension as her mother struggled forward past her and the guards. Across the ways, Rini immediately understood the sound of distress from her mother as she stared at the shock of inky black hair and the familiar face that she knew and loved.

"Daddy!" She strained forward, mimicking her mother. The reaction violent to the site of her father with his hands bonded before him like some refugee or prisoner.

"Stay back, Rini!" Elios grabbed her arm, restraining her from her goal.

"But my father!" Rini gasped out, still struggling forward. Her eyes grew wide in disbelief as they settled on the angel standing close to her father. "That man! He looks like you!" She stated with shock, her gaze swinging back to Elios.
Queen Serenity stopped sobbing to stare back at the man holding her husband in custody. "Explain this!" She commanded, her face teary, her lips trembling. Rini's arms went about her mother's shoulders to offer comfort.

"Looks are deceiving!" Elios growled his gaze hot and flinty, daring them to say anything more. "We are nothing alike. I am flesh and blood; he is made of machine. Do not ever forget that." He turned away from them both, and that was all he was going to explain for now.

Elios' lips thinned, a visible tick emerged on his cheek as he stared at the progression ahead of them.

His scowl deepened, his gaze growing hard with each passing second. He did not recognize any of the men or the woman standing next to Aaron.

But he knew Aaron very well. Watching Aaron was like looking through a distorted glass mirror. The fact that Aaron carried the same identical features as him irritated him, although they shared the same identical looks; nether resembled each other's thoughts or actions. It was a stated fact that when Aaron was created, he was fashioned in Elios' image the same way Earth's deemed Almighty had supposedly fashioned man in the image of God. However, the human who had created Aaron didn't want the latter to be confused with the first. One was created as the sole protector of the planet Paradise and its inhabitants while the other was created as the protector of the cyborgs. By any means possible, it seems for the cyborg protector.

Aaron and his posse of vagabonds had captured Elios himself once. At the time, Aaron was the leading cyborg warrior in the early days of setting himself up as sole ruler of Cerus. The shock of staring up into his own face quickly eroded into deep rage as he realized Aaron's intent at the time of capture. Early experimentations were being conducted on captured angels in hopes of securing a prosperous future for the fledging cyborgs on Cerus. For a while, extracting DNA from the angels seem to work and apparently didn't pose no threat until the angels started become ill, then die inexplicitly a few days later after becoming ill. The doctors on Paradise traced the problems to the captured angels that were returned back to Paradise after spending a horrid amount of unknown days on Cerus. Even Elios had been uncertain how much time he had spent on Cerus, having been smuggled and drugged during nearly all of his capture.

At the time of his capture he had been in the process of gathering petitions from the outlaying towns and cities to put an end to the angel captures. Because towns are small and scattered, word spread slowly and it wasn't until their own Archangel had been captured did the people of Paradise then know the seriousness of a threat to their world with their guardian unavailable to protect them from harm. When their own representative could not elude the ever sly Cyborgs they knew then something had to be done.

An all-out decry and protest was staged at the capital on Cerus, delegates from Paradise and the surrounding planets were in attendance, including the ever-increasingly powerful planet, Earth. Powerful assemblies gathered in strong force to protest and attest to the cruelty inflected on the angels and, of course, Cerus pleaded innocent to the accusations. Forced to bow down to the more affluent planets, Cerus pledged to stop all angel captures. Although Elios was quite skeptical of Cerus' pledge and seriousness, he could not ignore the fact he and Paradise were publicly given power to punish Cerus in the event that their treaty and contract were proved to be null and voided should Cerus go back on their word.

Although both planets had signed the contract, Cerus instead, went underground to obtain angel DNA. Fortunes traded hands as cyborg mercenaries came to Paradise undetected by the newest and most sophisticated technology that made them virtually impossible to be found by Paradise's systems. Although the captures had temporarily slowed down, thereby decreasing the disappearing population of angels; they had never really stopped.

The cause and effect result was essentially in relation to Aaron, the ruler of Cerus and his indisposed neglect to stop the hunting feed. The one same man/cyborg who now stood directly in Elios' path.

"That's far enough!" One of Aaron's gunmen shouted to Elios' party.

"We meet again," Elios began, his voice ringing deeply, the violence in him held in check for the moment. "I can't say that it's a pleasure, Aaron."

"Unfortunately for you and yours," Aaron barked of sardonic laughter as his gaze alighted on Rini for a fraction, "the pleasure's all mine," he paused, then added, "again."

The effect of his words showed nothing on Elios's face except for the visible tick on Elios' cheek.

Rini could not keep the gasp of anger from escaping from her.

"For the Lavender King, you will take me as an exchange?" Elios' words were a statement as opposed to a question.

"Yes, you see, had I known that all this time you harbored the Golden Scroll—all of this," and to prove his point, he spread about his elegant arms in sweeping sprawl from his body, "all of these needless angel captures would have never happened."

"Now I know you go off the deep end," Elios scoffed, surprised by the turn of conversion. "The Golden Scroll is nothing more than a mythical legend handed down from generation to generation and brought to Paradise and Cerus from Earth to impress little minds."

Something familiar about the Golden Scroll struck Rini and she turned toward her mother slightly, questioningly, but at the same time, trying not to attract unnecessary attention. Queen Serenity could only wonder at Rini's puzzled expression.

"That is where you are wrong, O Archangel of Paradise," Aaron mocked. He grabbed Darien by the sleeve and brought him forward, bound and all.

Queen Serenity almost cried out again, her heart in eyes for her king. Rini's gaze grew fierce and frantic at the treatment of her father from this so-called angel.

"Ah, isn't that sweet?" Aaron's hearty laughter rang out, "A family reunion!" He tried vainly to ignore Mandelhi's pulsating anger at him. Her delicate elfin face was infused with red color, her pretty eyes blazing with heat.

"If you are not going to listen to me and insist on going through with this—stop playing with these people's hearts and get the scroll," she whispered furiously under her breath.

Aaron ignored her, his ears turning red in the process for he knew that the Lavender King had heard their whispering. However, nothing on his stony face indicated otherwise.

"Fine, whatever you want!" Elios agreed against Rini's sudden protesting outcry.

"No! There must be some other way. I won't have it, Elios!" She grabbed at his arm.

"I won't risk your father—I'll be alright," he stated, suddenly gently, his gaze grew soft at the site of her distress. "I've been in worst situations than this."

"If you take him, then you must take me!" It sounded ridiculous even to her ears, but Rini shook her head in denial anyways. She struggled in vain against the sudden tears that threatened to erupt from her eyes.

"This does not concern you, Princess Rini," Aaron answered with a slight drawl of boredom. "As I stated before, your father will go free if Elios agrees to come with us," he smiled chillingly.

"You can't have Elios and you will release my father, by order of the Moon Kingdom and those that represent Earth!" Rini declared majestically, her voice ringing true and clear as she stood her ground next to Elios.

Her answer to her proclamation was jeering laughter. Rini's lips thinned at the grating sound, her heart swelling with escalating fear.

"I'll tell you what, Princess," Aaron mused, his gaze glittering as he slowly pulled from his waist a long and wicked blade. The blade gleamed brightly under the harsh of sun to those who watched Aaron's sudden change of tactics with wariness. "Why don't you show your pretty princess the other side of you, Elios?"

Rini glanced up questionably into Elios' hard face.

"Gladly," Elios agreed without the slightest hesitation at this new challenge. A small, cynical smile lit across Elios' lips for a moment, before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "As you know," Elios began as he raised his opposing hand, palm up and raised his other above the turned up hand. A warm glow began to emit from the raised palm. "Super Sailor Moon, Princess Rini is a soldier in her own right. As is the others who help preserve what is called the Earth and Moon Kingdom. That is why they call her and her kind the 'Pretty Sailor Soldiers'. She would not object to the other side of me, Aaron."

The collection around Elios gasped in awe as he began to slowly pull a sword from the outstretched palm.

"Nay," Elios paused, his gaze glittering with satisfaction, "she would but, embrace me as one of her own. I am, after all, a guardian as well as a warrior for the planet Paradise. But you know all this, my brother. "

"My God," Darien breathed, speechless. "I thought the Sword of the Almighty was just a myth," he said to no one in particular. "It is thought to be part of the mystery that surrounds the Archangel Angians of Paradise. Particularly the mystery of how they attained such a sword."

"It is no myth, your majesty," Mandelhi added, her voice intense, "however, no one has ever had the privilege of seeing it used. Until now," her voice trailed away in break-taking awe at the site before her. The others standing beside her, gaped as well.

The sword was of rare size and of oddly compelling beauty. A golden aura seemed to be radiating from the fearsome blade. The large blade was five feet in length; the gilded hilt etched pearly white with intricate, ancient design adding almost another foot. Only the most powerful of warriors could have wielded such a weapon. Elios held it, nary an effort on his part, even as his muscles rippled with affect, gripping it from its current perch.

"From the ancient oracles of writings from Earth, even before our time, the Sword of the Almighty existed," Mandelhi began again, never taking her eyes off the gleaming blade. "But the how the archangel attained it had nothing do with scientist team who engineered them."

"It is nothing more than a hand-me-down!" Aaron snapped, growling. His eyes narrowed with blazing anger, the dark pupils dangerously flashing in their direction for silence. Both the priestess and the king turned away from the burning rage.

"Whatever you say," Elios paused, his stance rigid and now positioned before Aaron.

Before Rini had a chance to protest, Elios and Aaron moved forward, flowing like the wind itself. Swords clashed, ringing loudly in heady sun, the onlookers feeling useless in the background but to watch the two, magnificent soldiers of equal size and power.

Aaron seemed to fight with the strength of ten angels, his logic misguided, thoughts filled like a madman's, but in the back of his mind, somewhere, he knew that he was doing was wrong but somehow felt helpless but to fight on, if not for the nation of the cyborgs that had entrusted him to protect them by any means possible, but for the child that grew steadily within Mandelhi's womb.

They surged forward, parried, flew back, their wings beating rapidly and grunting sounds emitting from their throats as they surged forward once again in a lethal battle of strength and mind.

However, Elios was by far more skillful and stronger than the other, and it seemed that their battle was turning in his favor when Aaron—always clever, and always the survivor, reached beneath his garb and drew from it, a small, but lethal dagger. Rini saw the dagger before Elios did.

The dagger surged downward and would have struck directly at Elios' heart had not Rini leaped forward at the last minute in a startled scream of denial. Swords struck their targets, as did the dagger. The dagger slid harmlessly off of Elios' arm as he shrugged it away from his body, leaving only a small, dark line of blood in its wake. As the swords bared their weights forward, an undetermined amount of staggering power erupted from Super Sailor Moon, Rini.

A huge ray of flowing, pink power radiated from her being, from her silent scream and her startled eyes poured a white, powerful beam of blazing light. The glowing beams of power eclipsed those around them, blinding everyone in the process. At the same time, an apparition, Elios of Elysium flew out from the chest of the archangel, the Golden Scroll and its contents of life, suddenly opening for the first time in eons, feeding its own swirling, glittering bright gold beams of light into the light that poured from the sailor soldier.

The crushing sword from Aaron pierced into the papyrus paper, its sharp end seeming to sink into the scroll, but never being seen. However, the archangel collapsed against the unbearable, burning pain slicing through his body despite Elios of Elysium and Rini's best efforts to stop the blade from penetrating his body.

The sword of the archangel's glanced deeply into Aaron's shoulder, but it skipped his heart in the process.

Rini was incoherent, as she came to. She heard sobbing, and it sounded like a male's voice but she couldn't identify to whom it belonged to. Where she stood, seemed hollow and strangely quiet as if death and something else waited abounded in the shadows of where she stood. Then she saw the fallen figure before her and she cried out in stunned disbelief, running to Elios.

"Elioooos! Noooo!" She screamed.

Beside her stood Aaron, holding his shoulder in obvious pain as blood began flowing freely down his arm, sobbing and chanting his fallen brother's name. The apparition, Elios of Elysium was floating in the wings, silently watching, judging, and still holding the entrusted Golden Scroll within his arms, Aaron's sword still impaled within its petal folds.

"What have you done?" Rini screeched as tears flowed freely down her face. She lifted the archangel's head into her lap, blinded by the tears; she could barely see his face. But his eyes seemed to flutter awake. He was growing weaker by the moment, a tenuous grip on his soul only held in check by the impaled sword in the Golden Scroll.

"It was never meant to come to this!" Aaron answered her, looking from her to Elios of Elysium.

"What did you expect?" Elios of Elysium answered him. "But you know how you can right this, don't you?" He asked the angel of night.

"I do," Aaron nodded, the knowledge flooding him, suddenly filling his being with an unnatural calmness.

"What do you mean, Elios of Elysium?" Rini asked, suddenly alarmed by the change in Aaron's face, it seemed to suddenly grow determined.

Aaron ignored Rini's question, but Elios of Elysium answered her instead.

"You have guarded the Archangel of Paradise well, as could be expected from someone who had no idea as what guarding the Golden Scroll meant, Super Sailor Moon, Rini. But your duty has ended," Elios of Elysium paused and with it, Rini felt a sense of hope and dread at the same time with his words. "The Golden Scroll is the Scroll of Life, and in these folds of delicate paper, bargains have been struck with the Almighty and Lucifer. It is only one of the many things that the scroll is capable of, my dear."

Rini stared at Elios and Aaron in shock, hearing this, the enormity of this knowledge that only those part of the church have been preaching since the man placed his first step on Earth and many other planets weighted down on Rini's sense of surprise. Certainly this did not seem real.

"It is time to release the scroll and return it to its rightful masters where humankind will not try again to pursue its all encompassing power."

"I am in agreement to the Golden Scroll's binding Seal of Life," Aaron added mysteriously, his face softening at the thoughts of Mandelhi and their unborn child surfacing in his mind.

"What ever are you planning, Aaron? Whatever it is, it can be worked out! I don't like the sound of where this conversation is going!" Pulling the archangel's face gently close to her bosom, Rini's alarm increased tenfold as the Golden Scroll within Elios of Elysium arms began to glow more brightly than before. A soft breeze caressed her cheeks, slowly drying the tears that had streaked her face earlier.

"No," Elios of Elysium answered her. The gentle breeze picked up in speed turning the soft fluttering into sudden gales of forceful winds. "For the bargain has been struck and the Golden Scroll of Life has accepted the terms presented," he nodded towards the angel with neither disapproval nor approval showing on his solemn face, above the chasm of the wind. It was just, just that.

Ancient voices, both at once loud and quiet, from the past, present to the future arose from the Golden Scroll as a sheet was torn magically from one of its turning pages. The page floated above the glowing scroll and with it came a golden feather and golden ink well. The feather came to float before Aaron, leaving a glittering trail of gold dust as it moved. The ends trembled delicately as it waited for a final response.

"No, please, Aaron!" Rini yelled.

"It has to be this way, the only way," Aaron stated softly, kindly as he began to write his full name on the binding paper. His hands were surprisingly steady.

"What did you bargain?" Rini whispered, but already knew the dreaded answer. And her heart filled with sudden, deep sadness as her mind crept towards the young priestess left behind in the wake of the battle. She knew with a woman's instinctive ness that the priestess had been in love with Aaron.

"He has exchanged his star seed for the archangel's!" Elios of Elysium answered again for the angel. His voice rose, now the Golden Scroll glowed once again brightly, swirling, as Aaron's figure suddenly grew shadowy. His star seed began to emerge from the cavity of his chest, its beams of light even brighter that the scrolls. His body collapsed in a fallen heap before the floating, Golden Scroll.

Doves seem to appear in droves, flapping their graceful wings in flight as if coming to guard the angel of night. They surrounded Aaron until there seemed to nothing but the soft, twittering birds and their flapping wings. Then magically, the birds quieted and flew away, leaving nothing but feathers in their wake.

Rini gasped in stunned amazement as the apparition Elios began to solidify, but not quiet fully as she expected.

"The exchange has released me!" Elios of Elysium shouted with unrelenting joy as the darkened star seed of the Elios the Archangel exchanged places. This had been an unexpected turn of events.

Rini felt a sense of unreality, tears once again streaming down her face. She was filled with happiness and sadness all at once. She stared down into the once more healthy face of Elios. No longer was it ashen, the color was fast flooding into his high cheekbones. His breathing was now regular; the blood that had been flowing between her hands had stopped and was now drying, appearing nearly black against his vest.

Now a shifting opening appeared behind the glowing scroll. An immense, golden and pearly gate stood in the background of the opening. Its tall and intricately carved rails gleamed a luscious polish; it seemed encased in thousands of creamy pearls. A tall figure stepped gracefully through the opening.

The mysterious figure nodded at Elios of Elysium as if they knew each other. Elios of Elysium smiled brilliantly as if the whole world had gone topsy-turvy.

Rini tried not to gasp, for here was a man of stunning, raw male beauty, but in a sort of by-your-leave rugged way. Startling, Caribbean blue eyes gazed back at you with articulate intelligence over sharp, slanted blue-black eyebrows. His hair was a riot of matching, gleaming thick waves down and over his muscular, broad shoulders and almost to his trim waist. His sharp, classical nose accentuated his high cheekbones and his sensuous lips that were ironically twisted into a half smile of seemly careless indulgence. This rest of his supremely fit body was encased in black, lovingly worn leather clothing. Black horns like those of a ram, adorned his magnificent head.

Instantly, Rini thought of Elios and how often she had seen the same type of smile hover on his lips and her stomach did flips-flops that seemed to clench at the muscles as her gaze flew back into the face of the archangel. Tenderly, her fingers caressed his angular cheekbones with care.

The man came forward and lifted the archangel effortlessly out of Rini's trembling arms before she knew what was happening.

"Damned inconvenient, this is," he muttered to himself.

For a moment, Rini could only blink, not quite understanding the grumbling as she sat back on her rump.

"I-I know you!" Rini could only stutter out, stunned again by the knowledge suddenly flooding into her mind. It was as if a wealth of knowledge, like no other was flowing though her. It was as if she had passed into another dimension of life and death.

"We're too close to the Pearly Gates, that's why," the mysterious man answered as if reading her mind. And maybe he was. "We've got to get going, young man," he spoke to Elios of Elysium.

Rini was still staring at the man holding the archangel Elios as if his weight was nary but afterthought. "You're the Fallen Archangel Astrides of the 7th Heaven sector!" Rini could only mutter with a sort of dawning of knowledge. It was coming to her in droves, this new knowledge of unknown wisdom. Fallen Archangel-it explained the absence of the over abundant wings that normally applied to the heavenly archangels.

"Really," Astrides answered as if bored, amusement alighting his amazing eyes.

Elios of Elysium grinned.

"Yes," Rini began, following the now retreating back of the fallen archangel. She never took her eyes off Elios in Astrides' arms. They were walking away from the glowing scroll and the supposedly Pearly Gates. Another one! She thought with amazement again. Another archangel to contend with, she thought. Her gaze watched warily at how the fallen archangel handled Paradise's archangel with sturdy hands. "Yes," she began again, "you are in contract with Lucifer and the Almighty. They both own you at the moment. Like a sort of quiet struggle between Heaven and Hell."

Astrides grunted, not bothering to answer her.

"First Lucifer owned you and now since you seemed to have repented – sort of," Rini tilted her head in confusion. "The Almighty has been given rights to you as well. You are on a mission," she stated, understanding the complicated situation-sort of.

Lucifer had assigned his second general-in-command, Fallen Archangel Astrides to return his pure, innocent daughter, the third and youngest dark princess of Hell. Princess Sade of the underworld must take her rightful place as one of his three Princesses of Darkness and Princess to the Witches. However, Sade was an innocent and pure at that, with no prior knowledge of her lineage or of her real father. All innocent souls belonged to the Almighty before they became tainted with the knowledge of life and the Almighty was holding a tentative claim to the Princess Sade, despite Lucifer's quiet rage of the claim. A struggle between the Heavens and Hell had begun a fortnight ago.

The contract between the Almighty and Astrides was to guard Princess Sade's virginity and innocence against her father's wishes of her returning to the Underworld and becoming the Bride of Satan, Lucifer's first command general, Fallen Archangel Satan.

"This is your second mission," Rini answered some of the questions that were on the tip of her tongue.

"Glad you came to that conclusion, my lovely," Astrides drawled.

Rini went red at the endearment, and promptly decided to ignore it.

"You interrupted my journey to Earth," Astrides continued. "We must return back to Cerus before the influence of the Pearly Gates takes a hold of your own star seed. You have a lavender pearl on the gate, your entry by the way, but it's not your time yet."

Somehow, incredibly she understood what he meant. That was why they were leaving. She glanced back behind her, Elios of Elysium walked beside them, silently, almost forgotten. The Pearly Gates and the floating Golden Scroll were slowly becoming smaller in her view.

She glanced into the hard face of the fallen archangel and incredibly there was something she knew that neither him, Lucifer or the Almighty knew—that Astrides would succeed on both of his missions, but not to what any parties ever dreamed! And when she glanced into Elios' seemingly, perfect sleeping face, she knew, knew without a moment's doubt that he was going to recover from his wounds! And then in her mind's sudden, dawning knowledge she saw---!

She gasped out in surprised bafflement; there was so much sudden joy in her vision that laughter nearly bubbled out from her.

"Seeing the future is usually one of the side affects to those who belong to the living," Astrides answered her, glancing side ways at her. "The effects will linger only slightly longer after you reach the living world, and then it will fade. Like the effects of a wonderful night of drinking," he laughed, sardonically.

"It's just so strange, to be able to see future," Now it was Rini's turn to glance sideways at Astrides. What she knew—it was strange that she seemed to know so much about what was about to take place and what already had taken place—was that the 3rd and youngest Princess of Darkness would be the greatest challenge for the ageless, fallen angel. He would unexpectedly and almost fatally fall in love with the dangerous and undeniably, beautiful Dark Princess. A turn in events that neither world understood was coming. Rini resisted the urge to chuckle. She understood that she would not remember this much when she returned to the real world, but never the less, it was very intriguing to say the least. It was pretty amazing that in such dire straits, here she was trying to resist chuckling when a moment ago, her heart felt like bursting in wretchedness and agony over the near loss of Elios.

Her thoughts sobered at the sudden remembrance of the dark angel, Aaron as they came upon the sight of those huddled around his fallen body. Sadness overwhelmed her as she stared at Mandelhi's weeping form, holding Aaron closely within her embrace. Her mother and father were frantically combing the area for her and Elios along with Captain Tyrone and Colonel Jane and the guards. Everyone at the scene seemed to be temporarily at loss for direction. Apparently, she and Elios had disappeared.

"Well, this is where our journey ends," Astrides stopped some distance away from the small crowd. "As you probably have guessed already, you and Elios have disappeared from your battle." He turned toward her and then back toward Elios of Elysium who had solidified in form while they walked away from the Pearly Gates.

Rini let out a gasp of bubbly laughter and ran towards the young man as he opened his arms. Behind him grew his own set of numerous white wings and small ram-like horns on his head. His small arms enclosed around Rini, his soft scent of cinnamon enveloping her.

"Funny," Elios grinned up at her from her bosom, blushing profusely, almost startled by his reaction to her closeness, "but the last time we hugged I was bigger than you."

Rini laughed as they pulled away from each other.

"Being an angel, doesn't make you immune to the charms of a beautiful mortal woman, my friend," Astrides chuckled. "In fact, it greatly intensifies the temptation."

"I will miss you, Elios of Elysium," Rini stated, ignoring Astrides' comment, still smiling. "I'm assuming that you have passed judgment now."

Elios of Elysium nodded his head, confirming, "I will be formally sworn in at the Pearly Gates. It seems like I will continue to be the guardian of the Golden Scroll, for it awaits my return at the gates. But remenisiants of my star seed are still within him," he jerked his head toward the sleeping Elios. "There will always be a part of me in him so long as he lives."

"Thank you," questions clouded her eyes, "but it still has not solved the problem on Cerus."

"Cerus never needed the scroll in the first place," Astrides answered her. "Aaron became fixated on its power and never took a closer look at what he had before him."

"But I don't understand—"Rini began.

"Once Mandelhi came with child, the Golden Scroll had already fulfilled its destiny," Astrides began, "It's like when life first came to Earth. All was one and then there were two sexes. Abnormality is good and is bad, but in life as scientists are always boasting of, it is alive and well everywhere in the universe – and life is about abnormality, differences in the patterns of every day normality. Mandelhi is not the only person on Cerus with child—with a cyborg child anyhow," he explained.

Eyes wide with disbelief now, Rini glanced from Astrides and Elios of Elysium, who nodded, confirming Rini's thoughts. "You mean this struggle could have been prevented?"

"Call it whatever you like, but I have a mission to attend to. Elios of Elysium has to be sworn in and you and he,"he nodded toward the archangel still limp in his arms, "have your own lives to continue. So I will hand this heavy burden back to you, but before I do that—"Astrides grabbed Rini's arm and pulled her toward him. "I will take my prize for saving your ass and his---"and fully kissed Rini's gaped mouth. A wad of desire seared through her stomach and Rini fought the moan that nearly escaped from her throat.

"If you were not already claimed by him," Astrides murmured into her startled eyes and blushing ears, sending delicious shivers down her spine, "I would possess you myself."

"No man, archangel, fallen or otherwise, owns me," Rini whispered as her senses came back, her gaze falling on Elios of Elysium's sardonic small smile before finally resting on the archangel Elios' sleeping face. "You better be glad that I didn't slap that silly grin off your face."

Laughing heartily, his face more handsome than humanly possible, Astrides placed the archangel Elios into her arms and then pushed her away from him abruptly. Saluting her, he said, "then I wish the best of luck to the both you! You're going to need it!" Stepping back, he grabbed Elios of Elysium, who waved frantically at her with a grin splitting on his handsome face.

"Wait!" Rini screamed out, her limbs collapsing beneath her as the weight of the archangel brought her down to her knees. "Is there anything else that I should know?" She yelled out at the sudden deafening sound of swirling winds around her. Suddenly she was back on Cerus' barren, camel-colored dirt.

"Yeah!" Astrides turning toward her once again, his clear blue eyes wickedly glittering back at her, "you won't remember any of this!"

"I know that already!" Rini yelled back at Astrides with frustration. Astrides and Elios of Elysium were beginning to fade from her sight and she was already having a difficult time remembering why. Sounds of her mother, her father and those who were left behind during the ordeal were beginning to filter back through her. And then Astrides and Elios of Elysium were gone, both in memory and in sight and she was kneeled before her family, her arms trembling with fatigue from holding up the archangel and her face pale from sudden exhaustion.

"My God!" Queen Serenity screamed out, instantly spotting her daughter suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "Rini!" And then the queen was running toward her daughter in a desperate plight born of the essential need to protect and cherish.

Rini heard her father Darien's frantic, hoarse shout and as his gaze swiveled in her direction, Rini wanted nothing more than to try to reassure her parents that she was okay, but instead, she could do no more than to faint and collapse on top of Elios.

To be continued.