Episode Two

Blizzard

The unknown man was laid across the floor in the fire room. The Sailors transformed back into their civilian form and quickly went to work. Ami kneeled down at the young man's side and looked over his wound. In his right shoulder, the golden arrow of Sailor Mars pierced through his body and came out the other side. Deep red blood stained the black shirt he wore. Ami began to pull the man in an upright position. "We need to get the arrow out of him."

Raye kneeled down on the man's right side while nodding. Gently, she took a hold of the golden arrow then looked up. Serena, Mina, and Lita stood off to the side, watching. Serena nodded back. Raye closed her eyes and gripped the arrow tightly. She snapped it. After she was finished, she tossed the first half aside then looked towards the back. She grabbed the remaining part of the arrow with the point sticking out, and she pulled it out from his body. Blood oozed out of his shoulder. He was laid back down on the floor, and Ami immediately went to work. His shirt was torn off, and his wound was cleaned. Ami tossed the black shirt aside. Raye's eyes followed the shirt as it was tossed aside. Stitched in white across the back, the kanji for the word darkness was stained from the blood.

"Is he alright?" Serena asked.

Ami shook her head as she wiped up the blood. "I don't know."

Lita nodded. "We've done all we can do. "

"Maybe we should take him to the hospital?" Mina suggested.

"He isn't from this world. He has no identification. We can't take him there." Lita crossed her arms over her chest. "It's just as well. He's the enemy."

"Raye, may I use your phone? Darien's probably worried. I should call him."

Raye nodded and pointed towards the door. "Yeah, sure." Serena walked out of the fire room and headed into the house.

It took Ami awhile to clean the wound and dress it in bandages, but after she was finished, the women began to disband from the group. It was late into the night. With a yawn, Mina excused herself and Lita followed shortly behind. Ami stood up from the floor. "That's the best I can do for him right now."

"What should I do if it gets worse?" Raye asked.

Ami sighed. "Just try to clean the wound and change the wrappings frequently." She turned towards the door and walked over to her purse. "Give me a call if you have any questions."

"Everything finished?" Serena walked back into the room with a soda in her hand. She took a big drink and looked over the body. "He looks awful." She stared at him for a moment. "I wonder who he is, and most of all, I wonder who that lady was."

"Yes, it appears the Negaverse has returned," Ami said. "I thought we'd never have to face them again."

"We were wrong," Serena said. She looked to Raye, putting her hand on Raye's shoulder. "But someone has been prepared."

Raye looked down to her feet. "It never felt over."

Ami turned towards the door. "It's late. We should get going. Come on, Serena." The two friends left, and Raye was left alone with the mysterious stranger. She closed her eyes for moment, only hearing the rough breathing of the stranger. Turning towards him, she opened them and looked down at the enemy that lay upon the floor. She walked over, towering above him. For a moment she continued to stare. He was a strong and battle-hardened young man. He was strong and toned, and a scar tore across his left shoulder. Her eyes trailed up to his face. His hair was dark—as dark as hers. It was slightly shaggy with his bangs draped over his white bandana across his forehead. Her eyes continued upwards. Lying above his head were his two katanas. She walked over on her knees and reached out for one of the katanas. She unsheathed it. The silver blade was sharp and beautiful, and the handle was just as dark as everything else that the man wore. . After she was finished looking at the beautiful sword, she put it back down and looked at the man. His breathing was heavy and painful. Her eyes reverted back to the sword. Perhaps she should end this now. After all, he was the enemy. She reached her hand out towards the sword, but stopped herself, shaking her head. She couldn't bear to think of such a thing, let alone actually do such a thing. She stood up from the floor and walked out the fire room.

She immediately headed back to bed. Tired, she sprawled out on the bed, but during the night, she tossed and turned restlessly. Finally, a few hours later, she got up out of bed and roamed the dark hallways of the house. First, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. She stood in the dark kitchen for a while until she finished her water then she moved on. She roamed through all the rooms, searching for something, but she didn't know what. Moving on, she headed down the hallway that led from the house towards the temple. Normally during sleepless nights, she would head to the fire room to mediate, but it was occupied. She stopped in front of the thin paper door and pondered for a moment. The soft candlelight danced across the paper door as she stood there silently. She breathed deeply, opening the door. Beads of sweat rolled down the young man's face. His breath was quick and shallow as he lay upon the floor. The candles circled around him revealed his wound in their dim light. Through his bandages, blood seeped through, staining the white bandages. Quickly, she reached out towards the young man and tore off his bandages. She cringed at the sight of the bleeding wound, but she grabbed a towel and held it over the wound tightly. It seemed like she was there forever, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. Faithfully, she kept a tight hold on the towel and tried her best to stop the bleeding.

As she kneeled there, the young man began to stir into consciousness. Faintly, his eyes opened.
Raye wanted to jump in surprise, but she didn't. Frightened, her heart pounded in her chest as she saw the man's eyes open. They were a beautiful blue, just like sapphires, but they were filled with hatred for the woman who tended to him. He stared into her violet eyes for a moment then with the little strength he had, he began to raise his head. He could barely raise it an inch off the ground. He continued to stare her down.

Frightened, Raye felt her body quivering, but she continued to apply pressure to the wound, and she continued to look the mysterious man in the eye. The hatred he stared her down with frightened her greatly, but she fought with everything in her to stay strong and brave on the outside.

His mouth opened. He fought through his pain to utter something. He continued to stare in the eye. "I'm going to kill you," He breathed quietly. After he finished his last word, his eyes closed and his head fell back to the floor. He was unconscious again.

His voice sent a fearful tingle up and down her spine. Despite her fear, she continued to tend to the young man. Soon, she lifted the towel up off his shoulder, and the blood had stopped flowing. She tried to stand up, but she almost fell over. Shivers ran through her body and her heart continued to pound within her chest. She walked out of the fire room to get some warm water. Soon, she came back with the water and clean towels. She took a deep breath, trying to shake her feelings, before she kneeled back down. Gently, she dipped the clean towel in the warm water, and she began to clean the wound. After she was finished, she wrapped fresh bandages around his shoulder. When she was done with that, she gathered her things and quietly walked out of the room. She gently closed the door behind her. She stood there for a moment, feeling her body tremble with fear, yet at the same time, it oddly felt like excitement.

The wind howled through the empty house that day. The snow, thick and heavy, swirled around outside like a raging tempest. It was snowing so heavily that the previously scheduled meeting between the Sailor Scouts was cancelled. However, all of them called Raye over the telephone to make sure she was alright because of the fact she was playing hostess to the enemy. After she finished speaking to Serena over the telephone, she walked into the living room. She curled up into the chair, the same chair her grandfather used to sit it, and she grabbed the remote control for the television. Watching television was about the only thing she could do during a blizzard. She turned on the news. Lying across the arm of the chair was a black shirt. It was the shirt of the mysterious man. After Raye had washed and dried the shirt, she laid it on the chair in the living room for her afternoon project. Patiently, she sewed a black patch over the arrow hole where her golden arrow had pierced him. The events of that played in her mind over and over again. He was stronger than she was, even with all of her training over the years. She only hit him with her arrow because he was trying to save his master. The face of the mysterious woman haunted Raye's thoughts. The woman's aura and presence was dark and sinister—chilling to the very core of the soul. She was merciless and cruel—even destroying her own officers and abandoning the one who was wounded to protect her. "Ouch!" She cried out after poking herself with the needle. She sighed, dismissing her thoughts. She turned her attention back to the television.

It didn't take her very long to finish the sewing the patch, but after she had set it aside, she grew restless and bored with the television. She hated television. She wondered why she was even watching it as she reached for the remote to turn it off. Her thoughts returned to the fire room. Perhaps she could mediate within the room while the mysterious stranger was still there. She got up, taking the newly fixed black shirt with her, and headed to the fire room. As she walked through the cold house, she heard the wind howl through the cracks. She approached the fire room and cautiously opened the door.

The man continued to breathe shallowly. Raye walked over to his side and gently knelt down. His wound was bleeding again, and his bandages were stained. She carefully set the black shirt aside and leaned over the man. She slowly began to unravel the dirty bandages. Even though the wound was bleeding again, it wasn't as bad as the last time. Seeing this gave her a small comfort, but she paused for a moment, not knowing why. Shaking out of her thoughts, she continued. She pulled the bandages away and reached for the water. Gently, she wiped the moist cloth across his skin and tried to clean up the blood.

His eyes fluttered open again. Raye stopped for a moment, noticing he had aroused. He could barely open his eyes, but he looked straight at Raye. Her heart pounded within her chest as she stared back at him. His eyes were watery and glazed over, expressing pain and anguish. He did or said nothing for those few moments. Slowly moving her hands forward, Raye decided to continue. As she did, he appeared to relax, closing his eyes. He fell out of consciousness again. Raye continued. She finished cleaning the wound and set to work on wrapping fresh bandages. When she was finished, she decided it would not be a good idea to try and mediate in the room. She got up and walked out of the room.

Raye's night consisted of making dinner, trying to read a book, and washing the dishes. Restless, she went into her bedroom and tried to mediate; it wasn't the same as the fire room. The fire was her source of strength and vision, but she had none that night. Alone, she lay across her bed and stared up at her ceiling. After her grandfather died, she moved into the master bedroom of the house. It was a formal and beautiful room with bamboo furniture and green paint—not that one could really look at the items and colors of the room within the darkness. The gentle breeze form the ceiling fan tickled her soft skin, and Raye lay there quietly, listening to the gentle hum of the fan. She stretched out her arms across the bed. Her left arm sprawled out over the empty space on the bed. The other half of the bed was empty. She rolled over onto her hip and stared off into the empty space, letting out a sigh.

Pain began to flood her heart and mind. She was alone—always alone. She always felt cold and empty inside. She tried so hard to cling to something, but everything slipped through her hands. All that was left was her duty. All she had in this world was Sailor Mars, but that too felt empty and pointless at this moment. All she had in that moment was the darkness.

While lying there, she fell asleep. It was still early in the night, but being so tired, she fell asleep. She slept hard throughout the night and awoke very early the next morning just before the sun rose. With a massive headache, Raye sat up in bed and looked around. She sighed, realizing that she fell asleep in her clothes. She slowly crawled out of bed and looked around. She headed to the window and pulled up the shades. The storm had subsided. It was dawn and the sun was beginning to peek out from the horizon.

Raye headed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of orange juice. She stood and drank it for a moment, but she put it down and headed towards the fire room. She had fallen asleep for so long that she realized she hadn't checked on the man in hours. As she approached she felt a cold breeze of air—colder than the rest of the house that was already cold. She quickly opened the sliding door and walked in. The door to the outside was open, letting in the cold wind. She frantically looked around. He was gone! All of his items were gone—both of his swords and the black shirt worked on. She looked around. Blood drops were splattered across the floor. She followed the trail of blood towards the outside door. Outside, more blood drops stained the pure white snow among the footprints. She followed the blood and footprints but part of the way into the snowy courtyard, the blood and footprints disappeared into thin air. He was gone. Raye stood out in the cold snow and pondered silently.

Blood dripped onto the cold stone floor as he slowly walked along. He held his shoulder, blinded with pain, as he headed towards the throne room. Draped across his shoulders, the black shirt covered his wrappings. He looked down for a moment, noticing the patch sewn into the shirt. He stared at it for a moment then looked ahead as he continued to stumble forward. His vision was blurry and doubled at times, but he approached the voices he heard in the distance.

"My Lady, I would be honored if you would allow me to lead the attack against the Earth forces," A voiced called out.

"The time is not right now. We must lie dormant for a season and wait."

"My Lady, I can win if you give me the chance! I can destroy the Sailor Scouts! I am a thousand times stronger than…" He paused his speech for a moment at the sound of feet clicking against the marble floor. The entire courtroom gasped.

The young man stumbled from out of the shadows and into the light of the courtroom. It was a wide and expansive room filled with soldiers, warriors, and monsters from all over the Negaverse. The room was beautiful, decorated in the finest gems, gold trims, and dark emerald marble flooring. At the head of the room, emerald stairs led up to the throne the mysterious woman sat upon. As the young man slowly approached, he walked up to the base of the stairs, passing the other man.

The other man scowled at the sight of the wounded man. His hair was long, reaching down to the middle of his back, but it was fine kept and tied with a ponytail. His hair was purple. He stood tall and proper, and dressed like a noble warrior of the Negaverse. As a weapon, he carried a war fan in his hand at all times. He back up as the wounded man tried to kneel before the throne.

"And where were you?" The mysterious woman asked.

"My Lady, I was delayed with an injury." He fought to speak the words. "I was taken prisoner by the Sailor Scouts, but I managed to escape."

The woman appeared to be uninterested; she was looking somewhere else for a moment, but she eventually turned her face towards the wounded man. "Very well then. You may go."

The wounded man began to stand up, but surging with pain, his body crippled over, and he fell to the ground. Everything went black for him. The purple haired man looked down over the wounded man. His eye caught the bandages around the wounded man's shoulder. He grew suspicious.

The mysterious woman waved her hand. "Guards! Get him out of here!" Two guards ran forward and grabbed a hold of the wounded man.

"What do you want us to do with him, My Lady?" One of the guards asked.

"Bury him," She said.

"My Lady," The other guard said, hesitantly. "He's alive."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Fine! Take him to the healing pods then!" She waved her arm again. "Just get out of here!" The two guards nodded and dragged the body out of the room.

The purple man turned back towards the throne. "My Lady, as I was saying, I am capable of leading a successive strike against the Sailor Scouts. If you would give me the chance..."

"General Taro, there is something you're forgetting," The mysterious woman interrupted. "My powers are not at full strength yet. I left the Negaverse prematurely, and it could have been a dangerous thing. We must lie wait until the time is right. When the time is right, I will send a strike force to destroy the Sailors once and for all."

"Will you send me?"

The woman didn't answer.

"You'll send him!" General Taro spat.

The woman paused for a moment to think. "Darkness," She uttered with a small smile. "Darkness will reap havoc upon the Earth. Soon, the time will come, but until the Time of Darkness of Man is complete, we will not strike."

"And when will it be fulfilled?" Taro asked.

"My scholars say a few months." She turned her face towards the impatient General. "Only in a few months, the crystal will be completely filled. Then we will attack."

General Taro bowed. "Yes, my Lady."

Deep within the Negaverse, the wounded man was placed into an organic pod by the wizards and magicians of that evil place. Faster than any human machine upon the Earth, the pod healed the man's wound and restored him back to full health. He emerged from the pod completely healed and restored. He was released from the care of the magicians, and he headed straight towards the place he called his room.

It wasn't much of a room—only a bed, a drawer, and a stand for his two swords. When she entered his cold, empty room, he looked around at the place for a moment then headed over to the bed. He slowly pulled off the black shirt. Hold his hand over the right shoulder, he ran his fingers over the stitching of the patch for a few moments. Carefully, he laid the shirt down and crawled into bed. After the door was closed, it was completely dark in his room, but that's the way he liked it. Even though he was tired, it was difficult to find sleep. He lay on his back for what seemed like hours upon hours. Late into the night, within the darkness, he reached out towards the nightstand next to the bed. He felt the cloth of his black shirt, and he reached into the inside pocket. He felt the sharpness of the object and pulled it out of his pocket. He felt the shape of the object—it was the head of the golden arrow. He ran his fingers over it in the darkness.