Chapter 6
"How is she?"
Sailor Mercury looked up at the tired and concerned face of her friend Sailor Mars. She had just finished wrapping a bandage around Sailor Jupiter's leg wound and was now in the process of cleaning up the leftover waste materials and soiled rags. Sailor Jupiter was sitting on the stairs that led up to the first platform in the Crystal Palace's throne room. The grand hall was dead silent as no one was talking or for that matter knew what to say if they even felt compelled to.
The journey back to the palace had taken longer than it normally should have for them. The transportation of the injured Sailor Jupiter and Neptune plus their captured prisoner had slowed them down considerably. It had taken them nearly three hours to get back to the Crystal Palace and another hour to treat, clean and dress the various injuries they had all suffered from the brief encounter with Carnage. Sailor Mercury had opted to not call her standby medical team as she felt that none of them were ready to deal with the extra people and the inevitable questions they would ask as to what happened.
Close to the wall of the western side of room, their prisoner lay on the cold stone ground. His wrists were chained to a pair of shackles that were securely bolted to the white tiled floor. He had still not regained consciousness since Sailor Venus' apprehension of him back in the grassy field. When she had knocked him out, the thick black clouds that he had created in the sky had quickly disappeared as if they were mentally linked to him. On either side of him stood a royal guard whose sole duties were to ensure that no one got too close to him and to prevent any attempt he might make to escape when he eventually woke up.
"She'll be fine. The wound in her leg wasn't as deep as I first thought. It will leave a visible scar but it shouldn't have any permanent damage to the muscles."
"That is a small blessing to be thankful for with all things considered. What about Neptune?"
"She was extremely lucky! An inch or two deeper and she would have had a lacerated lung which would have been much more serious. She will need to refrain from moving and rest for a while until her strength returns and the wound begins to heal."
Both of them looked over to the far side of the landing platform where Sailor Neptune was lying on her back with several strands of white medical wrap encircling her upper torso. Sailor Uranus was kneeling beside her with a look of intense concern on her face as she stroked her lover's aqua marine hair. She had a bandage around her left arm and a square patch over the front of her right shoulder. The wound to her shoulder was not as serious as Sailor Jupiter's which another small silver lining to their overall situation. Sailor Neptune was currently fast asleep as Sailor Mercury had given her a mild pain-killer to help her relax due to the intense pain she was experiencing every time she took a breath.
Sailor Mercury turned back to look at Sailor Mars. Her blue eyes were moist as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to appear from them. She had to remain strong for the sake of her friends. She could sense that everyone was just barely holding it together after everything that had happened so far. She looked over at Sailor Venus who was standing by their captured prisoner and waiting for him to regain consciousness so she could begin the interrogation of him. Behind her and Jupiter Sailor Saturn was sitting with Sailor Uranus and Neptune but kept a small space between her and them. It was her way of showing respect to the deep romantic relationship between the two.
Sailor Mercury turned her head to look back at Jupiter again who was rubbing her injured shoulder as it hung in the sling she had placed the affected arm in. The damage inflicted to the shoulder by Carnage's dart attack had been deeper than she had first assumed. The force of its forward momentum had almost carried it completely through Jupiter's body when it struck her. The organic bolt had dried up and crumpled into a fine red dust about two minutes after the attack which had left a medium sized hole in the front of her friend's shoulder. Luckily the dart had missed the brachial artery or else Sailor Jupiter might have bled out in a matter of minutes.
Sailor Mercury had come to the conclusion that any piece of Carnage's symbiote that was used in a projectile attack must quickly lose its molecular stability after being separated from the main body. That would explain the darts crumbling into dust shortly after becoming embedded in Sailor Jupiter's body. However that information was of little comfort when she remembered how the various wounds inflicted by his living costume's weapons had looked upon closer inspection and the intense agony those injuries were causing her friends who had been on the receiving end of them.
She took some solace in the fact that their accelerated healing abilities as Sailor warriors would mean that Jupiter would be able to use her arm again by more than likely this time tomorrow and Neptune would recover as well. However she had no idea if there would be any lasting nerve damage that could or would not be corrected by her recuperation ability in either of their cases.
As she watched Sailor Jupiter try to maintain her tough composure she could see that inside, she was perhaps taking it the worst all of them. It was understandable given the circumstances. A new enemy had appeared and turned her husband into a homicidal maniac who had very nearly killed her and a couple of their best friends. She knew, though, that there was another layer to her friend's current level of despair. Her eyes moistened again as she thought about what she would do if she ever found herself in her friend's position.
Suddenly the large doors of the throne room burst open and immediately drew the attention of almost everyone in the room. A small group of uniformed soldiers emerged from the rapidly expanding wood panels and rushed towards the centre of the room. The royal guards that were usually assigned to guard the interior side of the entrance had been moved so that they could stand on either side of the prisoner. This had allowed the soldiers to enter the room almost unopposed as the pair of guards on the outside of the room had seen them enough times to know that they were not threats to the King and Queen. Everyone immediately recognized them as the platoon of men assigned to Carnage's unit. They all knew why they were here but none of them wanted to volunteer to be the one to ask their questions.
"Is it true? Did Carnage really snap and try to kill you all?"
Sailor Jupiter lowered her head in response as she was unable to look at the people that she considered her friends. She and Carnage had spent many evenings with them. They were usually celebrations of the team's latest victory in the promotion of peace across the world but they had been a few other occasions where they had all gotten together just for the heck of it. She considered them close friends and had many fond memories of them and the times they had shared together.
Sailors Venus and Mercury mirrored Jupiter's reaction. They both felt it was not their place to tell them either. Sailor Uranus and Saturn showed no indication that they were going to say anything either as they returned their attention back to tending to Sailor Neptune who remained asleep as the pain-killers that Sailor Mercury had given her earlier kept her softly sleeping. Sailor Mars steadied her shoulders as she prepared herself to take on the role of being the bearer of bad news since it looked like no one else was going to.
"He was caught in an attack that magically did something to him. We aren't completely sure he did those things by his own choice."
"You say he was attacked Sailor Mars? By whom?"
"That man over there."
Sailor Mars turned her head and body towards the chained man who was still lying unconscious on the ground. The soldiers turned to look down at the young man completely dressed in black clothing. Their facial expressions couldn't hide the surprise they all shared as they gazed upon the seemingly unmarketable average-looking person that appeared to be only a few years younger than themselves.
"He's the guy responsible for causing Commander Carnage to snap?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"But how? How did he do it?"
"We aren't sure. He clearly has some degree of magical ability but to what extent we don't know yet. We also don't know why he specifically attacked Carnage or for what overall purpose."
"How do you know Carnage was his target?"
"The man told Sailor Jupiter that he was paying Carnage back for the interference and grief he had caused him in the past."
Corporal Hicks broke his stare towards the captured mystic and turned his attention up towards the king and queen. They were sitting upon their thrones at the top of the second platform and were quietly watching the events occurring before them. He took several steps toward the royal couple to ensure that he had their full attention. They both had remained silent during the whole exchange thus far as they shared the same mentality that the Sailors had in not knowing what to say in their current situation. The grim expressions they both were wearing spoke volumes though as they were beyond troubled at the ramifications that could occur if Carnage was allowed to remain under the effects of their current prisoner's spell.
"Your majesties, we would like your permission to track down and bring Carnage in. We have worked with him for a long time and we are confident we can find and stop him before he hurts anyone else."
"No."
Everyone spun their heads around to look over at Sailor Venus. She was still looking down at the prisoner but she turned her head slightly so that she could peer over her shoulder at them when she felt everyone's eyes on her. She turned around on her heel and faced everyone. Her hands were firmly on her hips and an ultra-serious look was etched on her face. She stared directly at the soldiers to let them know that she was speaking solely to them.
"You wouldn't stand a chance against him. In his present state he would kill you without any second thought or hesitation!"
"We have been in intense combat before Sailor Venus. We have faced and defeated enemies that would easily fit the classic definitions of insane or evil. We are all confident in our abilities and that we can succeed in this mission."
"You're not listening Corporal! Look at what he did to his own wife!"
Sailor Venus turned her head and drew their attention to where Sailor Jupiter was. She was still sitting on the edge of the 1st platform and her long legs were hanging over the edge with the heels of her white boots tapping lightly against the side of the platform. When Hicks and the others had first entered the throne room they had briefly noticed her as they took note of everyone presently in the room. However they had been too distracted by the shocking news of Carnage's disturbing behavioural change that they hadn't really seen everything in great detail. Now that Sailor Venus had drawn their attention to Sailor Jupiter they finally saw the full extent of her injuries for the first time. In some of the soldiers' faces the colour visibly drained away as the distressing sight registered internally with them. It was very difficult even for the most disciplined of the group of military men to maintain their stoic and rigid composure when they saw someone that they had shared many pleasant moments with in such a physical state.
"Do you think he would show any restraint against you?" Sailor Venus said as she finished her statement.
Neo-Queen Serenity felt the tension inside the room rapidly reaching its boiling point. It would only be a few more seconds before tempers would begin to flare or the collective despair felt by everyone would cause them to become distracted and cost them precious time. She needed to quickly get everyone back on track and refocused on what was important so they could end this crisis as soon as possible.
"Ok everyone, enough! We need to figure out a way to capture and hold Carnage long enough for the Silver Moon Crystal to break the spell and allow him to regain his gentle heart!"
"You fools! You know nothing,"
The weak but sinister sounding voice cut Neo-Queen Serenity's comment short and caught everyone completely by surprise. Everyone turned to look at the prisoner who was slowly lifting himself up to a kneeling position. His clean shaven head seemed to magnify the intense look that was radiating out from his dark brown eyes. The upside down crescent moon tattoo on his forehead sent a cold chill down each member of the Inner Sailors, Neo Queen Serenity and King Endyimon as it brought back the memories of their epic war against the Black Moon clan.
The Black Moon clan were a race of people from the 31st century that had travelled back in time to 21st century Tokyo with the goal of disrupting historical events. This would allow them to rule the planet Earth in the 31st century after they had failed to do so in their own time period. It was later discovered that they were actually descendants of humans that had left Earth when they had refused to be purified by Neo-Queen Serenity and the Silver Moon Crystal. Several members of the Black Moon clan had chased Chibiusa, the future daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endyimon, when she had travelled back to 21st century Tokyo with the queen's Silver Moon Crystal to enlist the help of Sailor Moon and the other soldiers to defeat the Black Moon clan.
The Black Moon's leader Prince Demande used the Black Crystal which was found on the tenth planet of the Solar System as his main power source to fuel his campaign against the original city of Tokyo in the past and Crystal Tokyo in the future. In the end the Inner Sailors were able to heal the Four Spectre Sisters and turn them back into normal human beings while Prince Demande, his brother Saphir his two lieutenants: Rubeus and Esmeraude and their chief advisor Wiseman were all killed in the various battles throughout the ensuing war. The sight of seeing that ominous symbol again worried the Sailors that this was the start of that future enemy's birth and what they could and should do to prevent the hardships that they knew would be coming if they allowed the Black Moon clan to form.
The young man sneered up at them with a clear notion of amusement. He was letting everyone know that he was enjoying their current predicament and his role in bringing it into existence. It was at that point that Sailor Venus and Mars both stormed toward him together with the intent of getting some answers from this poor excuse for a human being.
"Tell us who you are!"
"You may call me Aldrich Reid not that it will help you in the slightest!"
"Why have you come to Crystal Tokyo?"
"Why? You dare ask me why,"
He became visibly agitated by Sailor Venus' question as his face contorted into an ugly visage of malice and anger. He lunged forward at them like he was going to attack. The chains fastened to his wrists held firm and abruptly halted his movement with a loud metallic sound. Neither Sailor Venus nor Mars flinched or showed any sign that they were intimidated by his dramatic attempt to scare them. They both stood firm and locked their eyes with his to emphasize that very point. He tried to swing his right arm forward in a possible attempt to throw a punch or in a desperate effort to snap one of the chain links that held him but only succeeded in making another loud metallic noise. Sailor Venus' eyes caught something as she watched his moving arm just in case his desperate action proved successful. She reached out and grabbed his right wrist and pulled back the black jacket sleeve. On the inside part of his wrist was another tattoo a series of lines with a half circle that was partially coloured in.
"That's the symbol I saw earlier! The one that was drawn on the side of the shopkeeper's building earlier today!"
"It is?"
"I am sure of it."
Sailor Venus looked back at the young man that was leering up at her as she tightly held onto his wrist. She locked her blue eyes with his dark brown ones and addressed him in a serious and authoritative tone.
"What does this symbol mean?"
"It's my personal symbol, my mark and my signature. It tells people that the area they are in belongs to me!"
Sailor Uranus got up from her position beside Neptune and quickly moved to stand beside Sailor Venus. She looked down at the tattoo on the man now known as Aldrich's wrist that was still firmly in Venus' grasp. Her eyes immediately widened as she recognized the symbol and a wave of memories flashed across the back of her eyes. She turned to look back at Sailor Saturn over her shoulder. Her young team mate met her gaze and they silently shared a quick conversation between them.
Sailors Uranus and Neptune had told her about their various global missions and what they had seen during their travels. Sailor Saturn had not gone with them on any of their operations as she had made a personal vow to stay with the King and Queen at all times and act as their personal bodyguard. She silently told her older partner that she agreed with her in that it was time to tell the others everything she knew as it pertained to the mysterious symbol.
"I have seen that image before several times in several of the weapons plants and on dozens of shipments that we destroyed or intercepted. Neptune and I thought at first that they were just a gang sign but then we started seeing them in other places across the world. We didn't think anything of it since we were still being successful in completing our missions. We did inquire about it once or twice but not one of the criminals we apprehended was willingly to tell us what the symbol meant."
"That is because they were afraid of me and did not want to feel my wrath if they unwisely chose to betray me."
Aldrich smiled malevolently as he let that statement hang in the air. He was enjoying the sight of Sailors as they pathetically tried to figure him out. It was simply delicious to see them blindly attempting to understand the full scope of what was really going on. He silently mulled over whether or not he should reveal just how far in the dark they really were as to what had been actually going on out in the world that they were pitifully trying to save. Ultimately he decided he just couldn't resist twisting the proverbial knife a few more times.
"My dear Sailors, you have been a thorn in my side for many years now. Ever since this world was awakened from its frozen sleep it has been my ultimate desire to become the most powerful man on the planet. To that end I began to recruit people with the skills and talents that would be beneficial to me in reaching that very goal. I began to build my power and influence by setting up various operations to increase and expand my resources and territory. I located several hidden caches of weapons that had survived the nine centuries of Earth's hibernation to use to enforce my authority.
Your small victories in weeding out the other criminals and other bad people that might one day pose a challenge to me have only made my goal all the more obtainable. The best thing of it all was none of you Sailors even knew that I existed or for that matter suspected that there was any connection to these seemingly different criminal operations and enterprises and probably never would have until it was too late again!"
Aldrich paused for a few seconds to let his last statement register with his capturers. He maintained his emotionless facial expression but inside he was relishing the anguish he could see in their eyes as they each relived the guilt they felt for failing to save the planet from the nuclear holocaust. When he felt their sorrow had reached its point he resumed speaking.
"However you and your bleeding heart rulers' repeated interferences have delayed my attempts to achieve what I so rightfully deserve for so long now that I was finally forced to take more direct action against all of you."
"So, you came to Crystal Tokyo to get rid of the only obstacles to your evil ambitions?"
"That is correct my blue haired trollop!"
He looked directly at Sailor Mercury as he verbally insulted her. She responded back by staring at him with a cold and intense look that was uncharacteristic of her and her usual sweet personality. She didn't like being angry and would almost always choose the path that avoided such tense situations or confrontations whenever she could but there were times where that choice was made for her and this appeared to be one those times. She straightened her back and tensed her spine into a stiff plank. She was attempting to mirror the appearance of her team mates Venus and Mars, to let him know that she wasn't letting him get under her skin. He cruelly smiled at her and his expression told everyone that he was amused at Sailor Mercury's efforts to act tough when it was clear that it was simply not in her nature. He finally broke his stare at her and panned his head around the small crowd of people in front of him. When he was done he continued.
"I knew that a direct assault against you and the Crown would accomplish nothing as your combined strengths and powers would be too much for me. Luckily you provided me with an even greater option, the alien-human hero, Carnage!"
"How do you know about Carnage?"
"Ah, that is my greatest achievement and the one I am most proud of! I was in London, England in the final days before the Earth was frozen. Back before the 'Great Sleep' I was a below average and under-achieving petty criminal. I never amounted to very much in the world of crime but I had dreams and ambitions of one day running my own criminal empire. For many years I struggled to see that grand dream come to fruition as I worked for people that I considered to be my inferiors. However fate finally smiled down upon me one day when a building known for its expensive treasures and riches exploded a few blocks away from where I was currently living. I recognized the golden opportunity that this event presented and I slipped passed the police guards once night had fallen. I hoped to find something that I could fence for a large sum of money or trade for a better position in an existing criminal cartel. As I rummaged through the debris I came across a book bound in black leather. I almost tossed it away thinking it would be worth nothing,"
The Inner Sailors felt a cold shiver ripple down their spines as they listened to his brief description of the book that he had discovered. Each of them began to secretly pray and plea to whatever higher power they chose that it was a completely different book that Aldrich had just been referring too.
"But something inside me convinced me that this book was not what it appeared to be. Although I did not fully understand what I was feeling I had learned many years ago to trust my instincts. I held onto the book and continued my search. When I later returned back to my hideout the book seemed to continuously call out to me until I could not resist its thrall any longer. I opened it and began to read the pages that were written in English."
The cold shiver inside the Inner Sailors became almost total body numbness. Every fibre of their being began to scream out that what they feared was what had actually happened. The book that Aldrich had found was indeed the same one that James Saki had used to inadvertently bring the demon prince Gaap to Earth who then nearly succeeded in conquering and destroying the human race. After Gaap's defeat the book had been taken by the man they had only known as Alistair when he had come to collect Carnage for what was supposed to be and ultimately was his final mission for the Illuminati Council. The Inner Sailors were told that the book was going to be permanently placed in the Council's vault to keep it from ever being used again by unsuspecting individuals. Sailor Mars and the others had forgotten all about it since that day but had all shared the same hope that the book had been destroyed when they later learned that Apachite and the newly resurrected Dark Kingdom had blown up the Illuminati Council's building.
"As I read the words I felt a series of strange energy waves enter inside me. Before I knew it there were echoic voices inside my head and they were all talking to me at once. The collective of voices told me that I had just been blessed with the aspects of the greatest and most powerful demon lords in all of hell. The invisibility of Morail, the confidence of Sonneillon, the teleportation of Aglasis and the ability to see the past, present and future from an old friend of yours I believe the demon prince, Gaap."
The actual mention of their previous enemy was something that none of the Inner Sailors had been prepared for. Each of their individual minds raced at the possible ramifications that Aldrich possessing anything that had to do with Gaap could mean to them and Crystal Tokyo as a whole. After their battle with the demon prince Sailor Mercury had theorized that James must have read a passage that was solely devoted to Gaap and that it was what had led to his emergence into their world. As she listened to Aldrich's story she mentally hypothesized that if Aldrich had only read passages that incorporated multiple demons and as a result of that he had been given their various powers, there could still be a risk of one or more of the demons completely taking over his body and attempt to enter their world just as Gaap had. That terrifying possibility made this young man even more dangerous than they had first thought and perhaps an even greater threat than the one currently posed by Carnage.
"That still doesn't explain what you did to Carnage to turn him evil."
Aldrich began to laugh hysterically. His laughter was laced with disrespect and contempt as the tones of his voice echoed off the stone walls of the throne room. The Sailors all reacted differently to the unexpected reaction to Sailor Mars' question. Some of them rolled their shoulders as a way to ease the uncomfortable nervousness they were feeling while the others balled their hands into fists and struggled to resist the urge to punch this arrogant man in the mouth to shut him up. Thankfully and mercifully his bout of laughter did not last long and he eventually began to regain control of himself. When he ceased his maniacal howl he lowered his head to face them once again. His dark brown eyes flashed with the glee of a child who had just successfully proven to be better than his parents at something.
"You still don't get it, do you? I didn't make Carnage evil. I simply undid what was done to him."
"What are you talking about?"
"The symbiote organism that makes Carnage what he is was evil to begin with, you silly little girls! It belonged to an alien race that travelled from planet to planet like locusts and consumed and attached to every living thing until their hosts' energy was all used up and the planet they invaded was completely devoid of all organic life. Once that point was reached they would then leave and find another planet to infect. Eventually they found their way into the Silver Millennium's territory."
"Hold on, if these things did attack the Moon Kingdom or any of our past home planets how come we don't have memories of that or remember any sort of record of it in the Moon Kingdom's historical archives!"
"Because you pathetic love-starved Sailor Venus, the event I am referring to occurred several years before any of you was even born including Sailor Pluto who I have come to understand is currently guarding the Door of Time as per her sacred duty."
The Sailors were silent as they took in that bit of information and applied it to what was currently going on. This man Aldrich knew so much about them and they knew next to nothing about him. It unnerved them that they were in this position again with the enemy already so far into their plan and they now had to play catch-up in order to have any chance of stopping it. The last time this had happened Apachite had been able to bring out the near end of the world. They had been extremely lucky that he hadn't fully succeeded and that they had been able to save everyone. However they had each made a solemn promise to themselves that they would never let something like that ever happen again.
"Queen Serenity your ruler's biological mother managed to use the Silver Crystal to destroy all but one of the invading symbiotes. In that very moment she was faced with a choice to either destroy the last remaining symbiote and stop the plague of their existence from the entire universe or have a powerful being in her service to ensure the safety of her Kingdom from any future threats. She foolishly chose the second one and used the Silver Crystal to 'curse' the symbiote with the energy of pure love and justice. This gave the alien what we humans often refer to as a soul. However just like your original Kingdom, nothing is meant to last forever. The Queen was supposed to periodically re-strengthen the curse or risk the symbiote reverting back to its original malevolent nature. Luckily for me she never got the chance and after almost 11,000 years the curse was finally on the verge of breaking all on its own!"
The Sailors were now in a state of complete shock as they continued to listen intently to Aldrich's words. They couldn't believe that everything they have come to know about their former friend may have been nothing more than a forced illusion. High above them on her throne Neo-Queen Serenity was struggling to cope with the sudden mention and past memories of her real mother. She hadn't seen Queen Serenity since she had given her the Moon Scepter near the beginning of their struggle against the Doom Tree many years ago. She knew just as the rest of the Sailors did that Queen Serenity had been forced to face a similar dilemma almost two decades later when she sent them all to the future following the destruction of the Silver Millennium at the hands of the Dark Kingdom.
"That still doesn't explain why Carnage is acting insane. Why isn't he fighting against the symbiote's control? My husband would never act like such an immature child!"
Aldrich and the rest of the Sailors turned around and put their eyes on Sailor Jupiter. She was still sitting on the side of the platform but the raised level of the structure was allowing her to see over the small group of people standing in front of Aldrich. He looked up at her and smiled as he sensed that her anguish was the most intoxicating of them all.
"Isn't it obvious? The symbiote and your husband have been permanently bonded for almost two decades now. The alien has merged with every muscle fibre, drop of blood and skin cell in his body. The symbiote controls everything about it now. When I broke the curse and the symbiote took complete dominance over him the sudden loss of his own body caused your husband to suffer a psychotic break. It's a pity that the human mind is such a fragile thing!"
King Endyimon was sitting next to his wife and holding her hand in a tender embrace as he listened to everything that was going on. Underneath his white mask his eyes flicked back and forth as he thought about everything that had been said and what he had heard about the first encounter with both Aldrich and the newly 'un-cursed' Carnage. He lifted his head as he came to realize something that deeply troubled him. He focused his eyes directly down at Aldrich. From his elevated position on his throne he was able to see him over the crowd of young women with hardly any obstructions.
"If you are really in possession of demonic abilities and are thus more powerful than you originally were why did you allow us to capture you so easily?"
The Sailors' faces lit up as they all registered the meaning of King Endyimon's question. It had not yet occurred to them that it had been far too easy to capture Aldrich. Each of their minds began to race with possible reasons for why he had let them capture him. Was it part of his overall plan? Perhaps he wanted access to the interior of the Crystal Palace to launch some sort of secondary attack like the Trojan Horse story of Greek mythology.
Aldrich tilted his head up to look at the king as a look of distain appeared on his face. His reaction didn't have the same bravado he had been displaying to the group up until now. Sailor Saturn saw this and was the first to mentally put the puzzle pieces together. She broke the silence in the room to allow the others to follow her theory.
"You are still human and using those demonic powers take a lot out of you physically every time you use them."
Aldrich did not respond to her comment and chose instead to look away. He lowered his gaze to the white tiled floor underneath him. His reaction only served to confirm that Saturn was indeed correct in her statement. However the unexpected notion that their mysterious new enemy was not as powerful as they were first led to believe was of little confront to them when weighted against the bigger issue currently going on.
It was difficult for everyone to come to grips with what Aldrich had told them. However they knew in each of their hearts that what he had said was indeed true and that it fully explained Carnage's recent behavioural changes. His explanation explained the recent fits of uncharacteristic anger, the brutal killing of Apachite and the seemingly uncontrollable bloodlust that they had all witnessed at one time or another from him when they had been in battle against previous enemies. The monster that they had encountered hours earlier was in fact the real Carnage and not simply their friend under a magic spell or the result of intense brain-washing.
"He was the perfect weapon to send against you. A warrior that none of you can kill or fight because of your personal attachment to him. He will bath this kingdom in the blood of the innocent and allow me to pick up the pieces and finally claim my destiny as the rightful ruler of this new era of humanity!"
"We will never let that happen! We will find a way to turn him back to the way he was before you showed up and prevent you from further corrupting this world!"
"Then I am going to enjoy watching you all die one by one as you try!"
Aldrich malevolently smiled at them one last time before sitting down on the floor and assumed a cross-legged position. He brought his arms together as there was enough slack in the chains to allow him to do so and lowered his head. Upon first appearance he looked like he was praying or even meditating but the Sailors knew that he was doing neither of those things. They each took it as a sign that he was not going to reveal any more information to them and was effectively shutting himself down. Even still the information that he had provided was certainly more than they previously had a half hour ago. They now knew who this young sorcerer was and his reason for coming to the kingdom. They also were now aware that he had been at work for years and was the brains behind dozens of unlawful operations around the world with the sole purpose of creating chaos and disorder so he could rule the world like an iron-fisted dictator. However three things still worried the Sailors more than anything else.
The first was that Aldrich possessed an untold number of demonic powers which now made him the most dangerous human in the world. The second was the possibility that any one of those demonic influences could eventually try to use Aldrich to bring itself into their world which was another reason why they would have to eventually find a way to strip him of his powers to ensure the long term safety of Crystal Tokyo. However the third and most troubling of all was the revelation that the Carnage they had known for so many years was not the real one but merely an illusion created by Queen Serenity eons ago. If they did indeed find some way to 'curse' him again and turn him back onto the side of the angels would they be able to go back to the way things had been now that they knew what he really was?
"Hey, where did Hicks and the others go?"
The rest of the Sailors quickly spun around upon hearing Sailor Saturn's question and looked in all directions. Sure enough the group of military soldiers were indeed nowhere to be seen. The rush of concern overwhelmed each of them as they quickly came to realize where they had gone and what they were planning to do.
"Dammit Hicks! We told you not to go after him!"
"We have to bring them back before they find Carnage!"
"Let's get moving then!"
They all turned and began to rush out of the throne room when a pair of royal guards ran in. Their faces were stricken with panic as they nearly crashed into the stampede of exiting Sailor warriors. They managed to avoid a head-on collision which would have hurt the guards more than the Sailors. The arriving soldiers began to feverishly talk and ramble before any of the Sailors could react or inquiry about the reasons for their current state of alarm.
"My King and Queen, there are reports of some sort of monster attacking civilians in the northern Durham district. We have dispatched a squadron to the area but we need the Sailor guardians as well!"
The Sailors all exchanged looks among themselves. They all knew where they had to go now and what they had to do. As they rushed passed the guards they all shared a single collective thought that at least now they knew where Hicks and the soldiers would be going.
End of Chapter Six