BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
~MIRAI~
PART XVI: MAGIC DUEL
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
http://komillia.tripod.com/mirai/index.html
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha, etcera.
Chie, Hikaru, Yasha and the other original characters that belong to
me.
Note: I listened to more Kiroro songs while writing this part. I'm
beginning to associate all the Kiroro songs I've heard with Jun and
Amelia. ^_^ And about being in Senshi form and not in Senshi form...
I read a fanfic once (Don't remember it's name, sorry!) where
Sailormoon manages to takes off her Sailor fuku without
de-transforming. So, when the Shin Senshi transform without using
their henshin sticks or all those "make up" phrases, it's simply
because they have changed out of their Sailor fuku but still are in
their Senshi form. It's just something that I've made up because I got
so sick of all those henshin phrases. ^_^' Well, enough babbling.
Some Japanese words I use:
Hai = yes
Masaka = no way, I don't believe this
Fuku = uniform
Kaa-san = mother
Minna-san = everyone
* * * *
"Let's go inside," Jun suggested. "Someone might hear us
talking out here."
Amelia looked at him puzzled. Then she remembered everything that
Diana had said about the people of Earth. She nodded and then followed
Jun as he walked back into the apartment. He closed the balcony door
while she sat down on the couch.
"I know what you're thinking," Amelia said, looking down at
her hands. Jun seated down next to her. "How can I be from the Moon
Kingdom? Transporters are no longer allowed. I can't really explain
how I got here without showing you."
Amelia looked forwards. She focused her gaze on a book that laid on
the coffee table and for a few seconds she did nothing but stare. Then
she swiftly raised her right hand a little and the book was engulfed
in flames. The book burned for a few seconds before Amelia snapped her
fingers. The fire disappeared and the book looked just like it had
before. Jun frowned, he had never seen such power before.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said slowly. "Are
you still in your Senshi form?"
Amelia shook her head. "No, but I can use magic even if I'm not
transformed. Being transformed just strengthens me and gives me more
energy."
Jun looked confused. "You can use magic without being in your Senshi
form?" he asked. Amelia nodded.
"Yeah... I became when I was six. Both my parents are Senshi
so the fact that I showed signs of Senshi power wasn't that strange.
But something happened when I was little and I stopped using them.
Then one day, two years ago I discovered that my powers had grown. I
hadn't transformed in over ten years, yet I could encase any object I
wanted in ice. I slowly began to experiment with these powers, by
saying simple words like... levitate and suddenly I had the ability to
fly, even if just for a short while."
"Amazing..." Jun whispered in awe. "I've never heard of
anything like this before."
Amelia looked at Jun and smiled. "I can heal too... like you," she
told. "But not as good though. I owe you my life. If you hadn't healed
me then I wouldn't be here right now."
Jun blushed and as the humble person he was, he murmured something
about doing what anyone else would have done. Amelia returned to
telling her story.
"Anyway... After a year or so I was getting pretty good at
using my magic. So I took the next step. I live with my father and my
sisters on the Moon Kingdom. My mother was supposed to live with us
but she was stranded here two years ago when all ties between the
Earth and the Moon Kingdom were broken. We haven't heard from her
since then. So I decided to use my magic for something good."
"You decided to come to Earth and look for her?"
"I practiced my teleport magic for over a year and kept
improving it. Then, two days ago I finally did. To give myself some
more power I transformed into my Senshi form and then teleported to
Earth. And now... I'm here."
Amelia stood up and slowly began to walk around the window. "I
violated quite a few laws when I went through with the teleport,
didn't I?"
"It's understandable," Jun replied and stood up. "Many people
would have done what you did if only they had the power."
"Really?" Amelia said, smiling. She glanced at Jun, then she
looked at a bookshelf she walked by. "Would you have?"
"Ah...." Jun began nervously. He didn't know how to answer
that question. "I... ah..."
Amelia giggled. She walked by the piano and stopped there. After
quickly playing a simple tune, she turned to Jun again and waited for
his answer. When he still didn't answer and Amelia said:
"You see, my mother and I have always been close. These two
years without her have been difficult. But now that I'm here, I don't
really know what to do."
She turned her eyes to the window for a short moment. The lights from
buildings and lamps were reflected by the crystal of the city. She
could only think when she saw this magnificent city. Beautiful.
"The moment I came here I knew I came to Crystal Tokyo. I
mean, how many other cities are made of crystal? But still... my
mother could be anywhere. We used to live in Los Angeles but she could
have moved now. And from what I've heard from Diana..." Amelia looked
at Jun over her shoulder. "The Earth... despite it's beauty isn't
exactly the best place for a Senshi to live."
Jun opened his mouth to say something, but before he did the sound of
something beeping echoed through the living room. At first Amelia
thought that it was just an alarm clock but when she saw the serious
look on Jun's face she realized that it was something else. Jun made
it across the living room and to his bedroom in three long steps.
Amelia followed.
She saw Jun pick up something that looked like a watch but
judging from the beeping she had just heard she assumed that it was
a communicator. Her assumption turned to be correct when she heard Jun
speaking. But not to her.
"Chie-san, what's going on?" Jun asked. Amelia heard a female
voice but she couldn't hear what she was saying as there were a lot
of disturbances. Jun, however, seemed to be understanding everything
that was said. "I'm on my way."
With that he turned off the communicator and turned to Amelia. Even
she understood that something bad had happened.
"I must go," Jun said and walked past her. Without thinking,
Amelia grabbed Jun's arm in order to stop him.
"Wait, I'll go with you."
Jun stopped and looked at her, puzzled. Amelia herself didn't know
what she was thinking. She had no idea what had happened and yet she
volunteered to go with him. All she knew was that she wanted to follow
him.
"Demons have attacked my comrades," Jun told seriously. "They
need my help."
"Then I can help," Amelia offered. She came to conclusion that
she really didn't want to be left alone in the apartment which was why
she desperately wanted to go with Jun.
Jun was silent. He didn't want her to come with him since he
feared for her safety. Demon attacks rarely occured on the Moon
Kingdom and this was Crystal Tokyo, demons' favorite place to hang out
and destroy things. But the look in her eyes made him reluctant to
tell her to stay. And the demons wouldn't be waiting for him to come.
If he didn't leave now, he might not arrive in time to help the
others.
Finally, Jun nodded. Amelia smiled faintly, relieved. They
both left the apartment in silence and it wasn't until they were on
their way to Sakura Chie's house that Jun began to tell her about his
comrades.
* * * *
"The princess?!" Amelia exclaimed, nearly jumping out of the
car seat. Jun nodded.
"Hai, she's been with a group called the Shin Senshi ever
since king Endymion died," Jun told. "Somehow she survived the crash
and she was found by the Shin Senshi."
He turned left and then started to drive faster. The road they were
taking was rarely used and Jun wanted to get to the others as fast as
possible.
"The whole Moon Kingdom has been in chaos ever since king
Endymion died and everyone thought that the princess died with him,"
Amelia said. "My father works at the palace and it's rumored that the
queen has been feeling very weak lately. So everyone is freting over
what's going to happen if the queen dies and there is no successor."
"We have been thinking of ways to get to the Moon Kingdom. So
far our only option is the Sailor Teleport but we haven't tried it out
yet and we don't know if we have enough power. Sachiko-san says
that.."
"Sachiko?!" Amelia repeated, cutting him off. Jun glanced at
her briefly before turning his gaze back to the road.
"What is it?" he asked. Amelia calmed down. There was more
than one Sachiko on Earth, she remembered. Certainly there could be
two Sachikos who were Sailor Senshi.
"It's nothing," she said. "It's just that Sachiko is the name
of..."
Her voice faded away once she caught sight on a large house behind all
the trees. From the look on Jun's face she knew that they had arrived.
What would happen once they faced the demons? Amelia was experienced
with her powers but not with fighting. She hadn't had any real
training except for the magic training she had done regulary ever
since she had rediscovered her magical abilities.
Jun quickly parked the car in the driveway. They both
unbuckled their seat belts and got out. Once they were standing on the
driveway, they were met by silence. It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Either they took care of the demons... or something has
happened," Jun murmured and Amelia cast a worried look on him. She
then looked forwards and noticed something.
"Look..." she said and pointed at the front door. Jun looked
and noticed that it was half open. He quickly ran towards the door and
went inside. Amelia soon followed but then saw that Jun hadn't run
that far into the house. He stood only a few steps from the front door
but it was enough.
The hallway was in shambles. Two chairs and table had been
smashed. A lamp laid on the ground, broken and beyond repair. On the
left wall was a big black spot, probably from one of Ares' attacks.
On the wall to the right was a big hole and Jun could see the living
room from the hole.
"Am I too late?" Jun whispered to himself but Amelia heard
him. She stood quietly behind him, not knowing what to say. Then
suddenly Jun heard something. He rushed into the living room and
Amelia came just moments after.
The living room didn't look any better than the hallway.
Plants had fallen on the floor, the couch was split in two parts and
bookshelves tipped over. The books laid spread out all of the floor,
some destroyed and some were still okay. The wallpaper had suffered
as well. Marks of claws had been left on them. Two windows had been
broken and glass shards laid near them. And in the middle of all this,
was Archangel.
She was partically covered by a bookshelf that had tipped over
and probably fallen on her. Her fuku was torn and she only had one
glove left. There were scratches and bruises all over her body and
blood came from a small wound on her forehead. Jun made his way to
her.
"Archangel..."
Archangel slowly opened her eyes. Her vision, at first blurry, cleared
up and she looked at Jun.
"Jun-san...?"
"Hold on, I'm going to try to lift this thing," he said calmly
and then looked at Amelia over his shoulder. "Amelia, please help me."
Amelia nodded and then bent down next to Jun. They both used all their
strength to lift the bookshelf. Once it was high enough, Jun pushed it
away. He then returned to Archangel. Her wound on her forehead didn't
turn out to be the only one. On her right leg were two blood filled
streaks. Surely, it was a demon's doing.
"Lie still," Jun ordered. "I'll transform and heal you."
"They took the others," Archangel told before Jun could
transform. He looked at her, shocked.
"What? How?"
"It was Hecate," Archangel answered. "I don't know what
happened but she just showed up with demons and suddenly we had been
stripped off our powers... and we couldn't fight back. I tried to fly
but I couldn't. None of us could fight back. Hecate had the demons
take everyone and then they just disappeared. They forgot about me
because I was under the bookshelf..."
"Your powers just vanished?" Jun asked. Archangel nodded and
worry grew inside Jun's heart. Hecate was powerful, but he hadn't
thought that she was that powerful. Why had everyone's powers just
disappeared like that? Amelia kneeled down next to Jun and he noticed
that she had transformed into her Senshi form, Circe.
"I'm going to try to heal you," she told Archangel. "Your leg
doesn't look good but that's what I'm going to fix."
Archangel nodded again. Jun quickly transformed into Lucius and joined
Circe as she began to heal Archangel. Archangel normally had the power
of healing and like her, Lucius simply needed to concentrate to heal.
Circe, however, started to whisper words to herself.
"Heal," she then said and put her fingers over Archangel's
wound. A white aura surrounded all three of them as Lucius and Circe
transferred their energy to Archangel.
* * * *
"Well done, Hecate."
Hecate bowed to Hel, smiling to herself. This time she had really
succeeded. The Shin Senshi were captured and powerless, thanks the
extra powers Hecate had received from Hel.
"It was only because of you that I managed to capture them,"
Hecate replied. "But with all due respect, why haven't you ordered me
to kill them yet."
Hel laughed softly. "The Shin Senshi have been in my way for a long
time," she suddenly said. "In the beginning they were unimportant,
just a group of Senshi who resisted me like many others do. But over
the time their powers grew and they gained more members. They found
the rabbit princess and then managed to kill Morpheus. And now they
have enlisted the help of a Senshi called Sailornature."
Hecate was silent. She remembered her first encounter with Nature when
she had retreated as soon as she had recognized Nature's true powers.
Back then Hecate had sworn to get rid of Nature and she intended to do
that in time.
"You know... Reed wasn't killed by Tiamat and Morpheus..."
Hecate's eyes widened.
"What?"
"They didn't kill him," Hel told. "Injure him, yes, but they
never managed to kill him. His powers saved him and brought him to
safety."
"Where is he now?" Hecate instantly asked. She had hoped ever
since that night when she had sensed the strange power that Reed was
alive. She hadn't found Reed that night, but a strange powerful
Senshi.
"He sought help from Neo-Queen Serenity and under her
protection he recovered from his wounds. Eventually he turned his back
on us and lived on the Moon Kingdom. He married a Senshi. Had
children. I believe that you have met his wife before."
A shadow grew inside Hecate's heart. She felt faint when she heard Hel
tell her about Reed. He had married? Had he forgotten about her? But
it was the last words that made the tears in Hecate's eyes form.
"Masaka... don't tell me it's her..."
"Yes..."
Hel's voice echoed through the great throne room. Hecate fell to her
knees. At first she was unable to believe what Hel had told her, then
denial turned to anger and sorrow.
"Yes... Reed Maxwell married Moriyama Sachiko...
Sailornature."
* * * *
Later, Kamiya Tomo laid asleep in her room. It looked like nothing
had happened. All her wounds had been healed but she was exhausted.
Jun had carried her to her bedroom and let her rest before returning
to Amelia downstairs.
"We were too late..." Jun whispered sadly as he and Amelia
stood in the hallway. He had looked around, trying to see if there was
anyone else who hadn't been taken away by Hecate. But Tomo was the
only one left behind.
"Not really," Amelia said suddenly. Jun turned to her. "I can
still feel the energy that has been left by this Hecate. I think that
I can use it to track her."
"You can?" Jun wondered hopefully. Amelia nodded.
"It's quite easy actually. I'll just teleport us to the place
where she is right now. However, it won't be precisely where she
is and..."
Amelia stopped when she noticed how the expression on Jun's face had
changed. How he looked and what he probably felt she couldn't guess,
she could only ask.
"What is it?"
"But that means that you'll have to come with me, Amelia," he
answered. "It will be very dangerous."
"I have my magic."
Jun shook his head. "No, I can't allow you to come with me. I haven't
been with the Shin Senshi for a long time but they have faced Hecate
several times without winning. And now, when she somehow has sealed
the others' powers I don't know for sure how much she can do. This
will be dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt."
Amelia shook her head and smiled. "Jun, without my magic you won't
even be able to get there. Face it, you don't have a choice."
Five minutes later, Jun, now transformed into Lucius, realized that
him protesting was a lost cause. He stood holding both Circe's hands
as she whispered some words over and over again. It was like when she
had healed Archangel, just with different words this time.
"Teleport," she whispered and they vanished from the house.
For Lucius, it only seemed like a moment passed before they arrived at
their destination. He immediately looked around and so did Circe once
she had opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her.
"I know that I'm from the Moon Kingdom and everything but..."
she whispered and looked at the great building that stood tall and
shining before her. "...isn't this the Crystal Palace?"
"Yes," Lucius answered, who also looking at the Crystal
Palace. "This is the place."
"Huh?" Circe sounded puzzled, which wasn't that strange. "Why
would the enemy be here?"
"There are no security guards here, look," Lucius pointed out.
Circe looked around at the different entrances and saw there wasn't a
single human being to be seen. Strange, she had thought that the
Crystal Palace would be just as well protected as the Moon Palace.
"What going on?" she asked, mostely to herself. Lucius began
to walk towards the entrance.
"That's what we're going to find out."
* * * *
Ares sat on the cold floor of the cell, holding the unconsious Medusa
in his arms. He had been holding her ever since they had been
teleported from the house. Even when the demons had thrown the Shin
Senshi into cells, he had refused to let go of her. Ares touched her
pale cheek, hoping that she would wake up soon. Medusa had been the
one who had been most injured. The demons had beaten her up so badly
that she had been knocked out and from Ares' guess she had several
broken bones.
He and Medusa weren't alone though. In the same cell was
Ishtar and Sailormoon. In the cell across the hallway was Hermes,
Odin and Lilith. The only thing good about being captured was
that they at least still could speak to each other. However Nature
had been taken away from the cell almost an hour ago for a reason that
they didn't know. How and where she was now they could only guess. At
the moment Ishtar and Sailormoon was looking at the others cell
through the bars. Lilith had still not accepted that her powers
weren't working. She waved her hand at the bars. Normally it would
have caused the bar to bend but now nothing happened.
"This is an outrage!" Lilith cried out angrily. "When I get
my hands on that Hecate, she's going to regret the fact that she was
born!"
"It's no use," Hermes said. "There's nothing that we can do,
at least at the time."
Sailormoon sighed and walked back towards the inner parts of the small
cell. She sat down on a hard mattress and Ishtar sat down next to her.
"If only I could have my powers back," she sighed and caught
sight on a bucket of water in the corner. "Then I could use it to get
us out of here. A few days ago I almost managed to blow up the couch
and now I can't even blow up that bucket."
She made a simple movement with her hand but that was all that it
took. The bucket suddenly exploded and water splashed all over Ishtar
and Sailormoon. Sailormoon let out a cry as the bucket exploded.
"Hey, keep it down!" their guard shouted. Ares looked a little
surprised. It was the first time he had actually heard a demon talk.
"Did you just blow that bucket up?" Ishtar asked with a
lowered voice. Sailormoon nodded slowly.
"I... I think so..." she whispered. "But how? Lilith just
tried to use her powers and it didn't work."
Hermes, Odin and Lilith had also noticed what had happened to the
bucket. The only one who didn't notice anything was the demon who
guarded them since he was standing too far away.
"Come to think of it," Odin said. "You weren't in your Senshi
form when you first got this power, were you?"
Sailormoon remember it first when Odin said it. She hadn't been in her
Senshi form that day since she always kept her transformation brooch
with her if case something happened. Then why... had she received that
power if she wasn't transformed?
"No..." Sailormoon murmured and the only ones who heard her
were Ishtar and Ares. "I wasn't. But then... why did I get this power
when I wasn't transformed?"
Ares was listening to Sailormoon when he felt something move against
his chest. He looked downwards and saw that it was Medusa had woken
up. She opened her eyes slowly and got used to the dim light of the
cell.
"Hikaru?" she said as she tried to sit up. She managed to but
Ares could see the pain in her eyes.
"Take it easy," he told her. "You're still in pretty bad
shape."
Medusa nodded quietly. She was still sitting up but now she was more
or less leaning against Ares. Ishtar pretended that she wasn't
surprised at Ares' and Medusa's sudden care for each other. She stood
up and walked over to the door. Through the bars she could see the
guard to her left. Two other demons suddenly came and joined their
friend in guarding the Shin Senshi.
[There's three of them,] Ishtar thought. [We should be able to
handle them, if Sailormoon's powers still work. As soon as Medusa
feels a little better, we'll get ourselves out of here and find
Nature.]
* * * *
"Bow to Hecate-sama...!" the demons whispered in Nature's ears
as they dragged her over to Hecate. Nature's eyes darkened.
"When hell freezes over," she hissed and violently pushed the
demon away. The demon was thrown against the wall but quickly
recovered and planned to make Nature pay for what she had done.
However Hecate held out her hand and shook her head. The demon backed
off, confused. Hecate turned her eyes to Nature who was angrily
glaring at her.
"You are the one..." Hecate said slowly. "The one who made
Reed forget about me."
Nature was silent, her expression didn't change. Hecate, however,
became more and more angry as each moment passed. Memories of Reed
and herself resurfaced in her mind. Every word that was said,
everytime they touched, every look, she remembered it all. Her
emotions were still so strong. How could Reed just forget about her?
"Did you know about his past, his shady past?" Hecate asked
Nature as she circled around her like a bird of prey. "That he isn't
from Earth or any other planet that is in good alliance with Neo-Queen
Serenity? That he used to enjoy the smell of fresh blood and the sound
of a thousand voices screaming in pain? That he spent years loving me
and only me?"
Nature raised her gaze to meet Hecate. She didn't glare or even look
angry or sad. Instead, her lips curved into a smile and she smiled a
mocking smile at Hecate.
"I have known ever since the first day I met him," she
answered. "I know every detail of his past. I know that I was able to
love him despite that. I know how he has spent the past sixty years
atoning for his past, regretting it." Nature's smile widened. "And I
know... no matter how much he loved someone in the past... he only
loves me now."
That was as much as Hecate could take. She was trembling inside from
hearing what Nature had said. She had hoped by revealing who Reed had
been in the past it would crush Nature. But instead, Hecate had been
the one who had been crushed. Instead of using magic to injure Nature,
she slapped her hard across her face.
Nature received the blow but she never lost the confidence she
had. Hecate was about to use her magic on her when she heard Hel's
voice whispering in her head.
[Hecate... someone's coming.]
[Who?] Hecate mentally asked.
[A Senshi with strange powers. A sorceress.]
* * * *
"Are you ready?" Ishtar whispered. Sailormoon nodded.
"I'm ready."
Ishtar exchanged a glance with Ares and Medusa, then quietly gave
Sailormoon permission. Sailormoon quietly made her way to the cell
door and looked at the others in the other cell. They sat quietly,
ready to fight any moment. Once Sailormoon saw that, she backed a
little. With an unsure look in her face, she held out both her hands
and hoped that her powers would work. They did.
The lock on the door exploded along with the handle. Ishtar
quickly rushed and pushed the door open before escaping. The demons
had noticed what was going on and was lunging at her. Ishtar dodged
their attacks as good as she could while Sailormoon made her way out
of the cell and over to the other side of the corridor. There she
blew up another lock and shortly after Hermes, Odin and Lilith
escaped. Though no one except for Sailormoon had powers, Hermes and
Odin still had weapons. The demons had been unable to injure Ishtar
due to her constant dodging and it didn't take long before the two
knights finished the demons off.
When their former guards had been turned into piles of dust,
the Shin Senshi gathered.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Ishtar asked, looking at everyone
and her gaze rested on Medusa. But Medusa nodded. After all, she was
being supported by Ares and with his help she would be able to walk.
"Let's go then."
* * * *
"A sorceress?" Hecate responded loudly to what Hel had said.
Nature looked surprised at Hecate suddenly saying something but was
distracted by the sudden sounds of footsteps. Both Hecate and Nature
turned around to see two people running towards them. One was Lucius,
how he had gotten to the Crystal Palace Nature couldn't guess. The
other one was a female Senshi in a green and turqoise blue Sailor
fuku. As Lucius and the mysterious Senshi approached them, both Hecate
and Nature looked at them in shock. Hecate once again felt the strange
power that she had the night before and this was the power she had
mistaken for Reed's. Nature did also sense the power but it wasn't the
power that shocked her. It only took one good look at the female
Senshi's face for her to realize it.
"Amelia..." Nature whispered. She could hardly believe it.
Neither could Circe.
"Kaa-san!" she exclaimed, just as shocked as Lucius became
when he heard her saying that.
"Kaa-san?" he repeated in confusion. The two demons who were
with Hecate didn't really know what to do. Before they had a chance to
decide Circe held out her open palm before her face and blew. From her
mouth came a blue cloud that made it's way to the two demons, fast.
Before anyone could move, the demons had been encased in ice. Hecate,
stunned, couldn't bring herself to do anything but watch. While Circe
rushed to her mother's side, the ice-encased demons exploded. What
remained was dust mixed with small pieces of ice. Lucius, impressed
with Circe's powers again, glanced at the dust before turning his gaze
to Circe and Nature again.
"Amelia..." Nature whispered again. Her eyes were teary but
happy. She reached out her hand to touch her daughter's face and her
happiness increased as she realized that this wasn't an illusion.
Circe was equally happy as mother and daughter hugged each other for
the first time in two years.
"I never imagined that I would see you here..." Nature
murmured. The tears were seen in hers and Circe's eyes. Hecate stood
there watching them in silence but the voices in her head weren't
silent. She heard Reed's voice, she heard Tiamat's, Morpheus's and
even her own. But most of all she heard Hel's voice.
[This is her child... Reed's child... A symbol of the love
that they share... He no longer loves you... He has forgotten about
you!]
"No..." Hecate whispered, taking steps backwards. "No..."
Lucius, Circe and Nature turned their attention to her. Hecate was
pulling her own hair and her eyes were shut tightly as she tried not
to listen to the voices inside her head.
"No!" she yelled insanely. "It can't be!"
She suddenly opened her eyes and let out a cry. Spheres of fire
appeared in her right hand and she tossed it not just at Nature, but
also at Circe. Circe pushed Nature out of the way and was struck by
the fire sphere. It caused her to fly way back into the corridor and
then land against the hard and cold floor. Lucius was about to run and
help her but he stopped when he saw her getting up on her own, hardly
a scratch on her Sailor fuku. Circe's eyes narrowed as she looked at
Hecate. Then she started to say something but to Lucius it sounded in
a similiar to the way Circe had cast her spells.
"Ties that capture, ties that bind. Release the powers to
where evil cannot find!"
While nothing visible happened, Nature felt herself becoming stronger
and her Senshi powers returning to her. Her powers were weak because
she was far away from the trees and plants that made her strong but it
was there.
"My powers are back..." she whispered. She raised her gaze to
look at Hecate but couldn't see her anyway. Lucius and Circe also
looked around but Hecate was no where to be seen.
"I think she's gone," Lucius said. Circe returned to her
mother's side. They hugged each other briefly before Nature began to
question her.
"What are you doing here? And most of all, how did you get
here?"
"I came here to look for you," Circe answered, smiling. "I
used my powers to teleport to Earth. Lucius found me."
"How did you teleport to Earth?" Nature asked. But then she
shook her head and hugged Circe again. "Never mind... You can tell me
about it later."
They heard more footsteps. Nature released Circe from the hug and
they, along with Lucius, prepared to fight demons. But when someone
came from around the corner, Nature and Lucius relaxed when they saw
that it was just Ishtar. Circe, seeing that both her mother and Lucius
seemed to recognize this Senshi, dropped her guard as well.
"Hey, here you are!" Ishtar exclaimed, smiling. Following her
were the rest of the Shin Senshi. They all looked relieved, seeing
that Nature had been unharmed. Hermes was the only one who still kept
the same face expression as he had before. He looked at Lucius, his
face serious.
"So you were right, Lucius," Hermes said. "There is really
evil in the Crystal Palace."
"Shouldn't we just get out of here?" Lilith asked. "Medusa's
hurt and the Crystal Palace will still be here, won't it?"
Though Medusa protested, the Shin Senshi and Circe decided to leave
the Crystal Palace as quickly as possible. Once teleported back to
Chie's house, they all observed the mess that the demons had made.
Ishtar had been too busy to think of escaping the demons that she had
forgotten about the state of her house. Everyone looked at her,
expecting her to be just as upset as the time when her garden had been
destroyed. But instead Ishtar smiled faintly.
"I'm not going to cry about this," she told the others. "We'll
clean this mess up and then it will look even better than before. I'm
just happy that the rest of the house is okay."
She turned around as she heard someone coming down the stairs. At
first she wondered who it could be but then she remembered Tomo, who
the demons had forgotten about. Ishtar had completely forgotten about
Tomo herself.
"Minna-san, you're okay!" Tomo said happily and threw herself
into everyone's arms.
* * * *
"Why didn't you let me fight?!" Hecate demanded to know. Her
eyes were burning with anger, even more than when she had been about
to fight Circe. Hel sat hidden behind the curtains and her voice was
the same as always when she said:
"I didn't want you to fight her yet."
"Why?!"
There was silence. Hel didn't answer Hecate and it made her even
angrier. Hecate clenched her fist. All the anger she had felt at
Nature, Circe, Reed, Tiamat and Morpheus gathered inside her and
formed a glowing ball of energy in her hand. She threw the ball of
energy at the latest person who had angered her, Hel. The ball burned
through the curtain and headed towards Hel but stopped just right in
front of her head. Then it just vanished. Hecate's knees failed to
support her and she collapsed on the floor.
"Hel-sama... forgive me..." she pleaded.
"I understand your anger, Hecate," Hel replied. "But there is
something about this sorceress, Circe... Just as there is something
special about Sailormoon."
"She is the moon princess, of course she's special," Hecate
murmured to herself but Hel heard her.
"Yes... but what is so special about Circe then?" Hel
wondered. "She is a child of mixed blood but there are other Senshi
who are... so why is there something special about Circe?"
It was more like Hel was talking to herself than to Hecate. Hecate
raised her gaze and looked Hel through the curtains.
"Hel-sama?"
There was silence a short while before Hel answered.
"Don't worry about the sorceress," Hel said. "Just direct your
anger at the one person who has done most damage to you."
Hel said the name at the exact same time as Hecate whispered it to
herself.
"Nature."
So, now part 16 is finished. This is the longest fanfic that I have
ever written and the first multi-part fanfic that I've been so close
to finish. ^_^ Makes me happy! I hope that you have enjoyed reading so
far since there are more parts coming. Don't hesitate to write to me!
Komillia (komillia@hotmai.com)
http://komillia.tripod.com/mirai/index.html
5 March 2002
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part XVII: To the Moon Kingdom
Sachiko and Amelia are reunited and on a Senshi meeting the Shin
Senshi try to decide what to do next. With Amelia's powers, they can
finally use the Sailor Teleport to get to the Moon Kingdom.
~MIRAI~
PART XVI: MAGIC DUEL
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
http://komillia.tripod.com/mirai/index.html
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha, etcera.
Chie, Hikaru, Yasha and the other original characters that belong to
me.
Note: I listened to more Kiroro songs while writing this part. I'm
beginning to associate all the Kiroro songs I've heard with Jun and
Amelia. ^_^ And about being in Senshi form and not in Senshi form...
I read a fanfic once (Don't remember it's name, sorry!) where
Sailormoon manages to takes off her Sailor fuku without
de-transforming. So, when the Shin Senshi transform without using
their henshin sticks or all those "make up" phrases, it's simply
because they have changed out of their Sailor fuku but still are in
their Senshi form. It's just something that I've made up because I got
so sick of all those henshin phrases. ^_^' Well, enough babbling.
Some Japanese words I use:
Hai = yes
Masaka = no way, I don't believe this
Fuku = uniform
Kaa-san = mother
Minna-san = everyone
* * * *
"Let's go inside," Jun suggested. "Someone might hear us
talking out here."
Amelia looked at him puzzled. Then she remembered everything that
Diana had said about the people of Earth. She nodded and then followed
Jun as he walked back into the apartment. He closed the balcony door
while she sat down on the couch.
"I know what you're thinking," Amelia said, looking down at
her hands. Jun seated down next to her. "How can I be from the Moon
Kingdom? Transporters are no longer allowed. I can't really explain
how I got here without showing you."
Amelia looked forwards. She focused her gaze on a book that laid on
the coffee table and for a few seconds she did nothing but stare. Then
she swiftly raised her right hand a little and the book was engulfed
in flames. The book burned for a few seconds before Amelia snapped her
fingers. The fire disappeared and the book looked just like it had
before. Jun frowned, he had never seen such power before.
"I've never seen anything like this," he said slowly. "Are
you still in your Senshi form?"
Amelia shook her head. "No, but I can use magic even if I'm not
transformed. Being transformed just strengthens me and gives me more
energy."
Jun looked confused. "You can use magic without being in your Senshi
form?" he asked. Amelia nodded.
"Yeah... I became when I was six. Both my parents are Senshi
so the fact that I showed signs of Senshi power wasn't that strange.
But something happened when I was little and I stopped using them.
Then one day, two years ago I discovered that my powers had grown. I
hadn't transformed in over ten years, yet I could encase any object I
wanted in ice. I slowly began to experiment with these powers, by
saying simple words like... levitate and suddenly I had the ability to
fly, even if just for a short while."
"Amazing..." Jun whispered in awe. "I've never heard of
anything like this before."
Amelia looked at Jun and smiled. "I can heal too... like you," she
told. "But not as good though. I owe you my life. If you hadn't healed
me then I wouldn't be here right now."
Jun blushed and as the humble person he was, he murmured something
about doing what anyone else would have done. Amelia returned to
telling her story.
"Anyway... After a year or so I was getting pretty good at
using my magic. So I took the next step. I live with my father and my
sisters on the Moon Kingdom. My mother was supposed to live with us
but she was stranded here two years ago when all ties between the
Earth and the Moon Kingdom were broken. We haven't heard from her
since then. So I decided to use my magic for something good."
"You decided to come to Earth and look for her?"
"I practiced my teleport magic for over a year and kept
improving it. Then, two days ago I finally did. To give myself some
more power I transformed into my Senshi form and then teleported to
Earth. And now... I'm here."
Amelia stood up and slowly began to walk around the window. "I
violated quite a few laws when I went through with the teleport,
didn't I?"
"It's understandable," Jun replied and stood up. "Many people
would have done what you did if only they had the power."
"Really?" Amelia said, smiling. She glanced at Jun, then she
looked at a bookshelf she walked by. "Would you have?"
"Ah...." Jun began nervously. He didn't know how to answer
that question. "I... ah..."
Amelia giggled. She walked by the piano and stopped there. After
quickly playing a simple tune, she turned to Jun again and waited for
his answer. When he still didn't answer and Amelia said:
"You see, my mother and I have always been close. These two
years without her have been difficult. But now that I'm here, I don't
really know what to do."
She turned her eyes to the window for a short moment. The lights from
buildings and lamps were reflected by the crystal of the city. She
could only think when she saw this magnificent city. Beautiful.
"The moment I came here I knew I came to Crystal Tokyo. I
mean, how many other cities are made of crystal? But still... my
mother could be anywhere. We used to live in Los Angeles but she could
have moved now. And from what I've heard from Diana..." Amelia looked
at Jun over her shoulder. "The Earth... despite it's beauty isn't
exactly the best place for a Senshi to live."
Jun opened his mouth to say something, but before he did the sound of
something beeping echoed through the living room. At first Amelia
thought that it was just an alarm clock but when she saw the serious
look on Jun's face she realized that it was something else. Jun made
it across the living room and to his bedroom in three long steps.
Amelia followed.
She saw Jun pick up something that looked like a watch but
judging from the beeping she had just heard she assumed that it was
a communicator. Her assumption turned to be correct when she heard Jun
speaking. But not to her.
"Chie-san, what's going on?" Jun asked. Amelia heard a female
voice but she couldn't hear what she was saying as there were a lot
of disturbances. Jun, however, seemed to be understanding everything
that was said. "I'm on my way."
With that he turned off the communicator and turned to Amelia. Even
she understood that something bad had happened.
"I must go," Jun said and walked past her. Without thinking,
Amelia grabbed Jun's arm in order to stop him.
"Wait, I'll go with you."
Jun stopped and looked at her, puzzled. Amelia herself didn't know
what she was thinking. She had no idea what had happened and yet she
volunteered to go with him. All she knew was that she wanted to follow
him.
"Demons have attacked my comrades," Jun told seriously. "They
need my help."
"Then I can help," Amelia offered. She came to conclusion that
she really didn't want to be left alone in the apartment which was why
she desperately wanted to go with Jun.
Jun was silent. He didn't want her to come with him since he
feared for her safety. Demon attacks rarely occured on the Moon
Kingdom and this was Crystal Tokyo, demons' favorite place to hang out
and destroy things. But the look in her eyes made him reluctant to
tell her to stay. And the demons wouldn't be waiting for him to come.
If he didn't leave now, he might not arrive in time to help the
others.
Finally, Jun nodded. Amelia smiled faintly, relieved. They
both left the apartment in silence and it wasn't until they were on
their way to Sakura Chie's house that Jun began to tell her about his
comrades.
* * * *
"The princess?!" Amelia exclaimed, nearly jumping out of the
car seat. Jun nodded.
"Hai, she's been with a group called the Shin Senshi ever
since king Endymion died," Jun told. "Somehow she survived the crash
and she was found by the Shin Senshi."
He turned left and then started to drive faster. The road they were
taking was rarely used and Jun wanted to get to the others as fast as
possible.
"The whole Moon Kingdom has been in chaos ever since king
Endymion died and everyone thought that the princess died with him,"
Amelia said. "My father works at the palace and it's rumored that the
queen has been feeling very weak lately. So everyone is freting over
what's going to happen if the queen dies and there is no successor."
"We have been thinking of ways to get to the Moon Kingdom. So
far our only option is the Sailor Teleport but we haven't tried it out
yet and we don't know if we have enough power. Sachiko-san says
that.."
"Sachiko?!" Amelia repeated, cutting him off. Jun glanced at
her briefly before turning his gaze back to the road.
"What is it?" he asked. Amelia calmed down. There was more
than one Sachiko on Earth, she remembered. Certainly there could be
two Sachikos who were Sailor Senshi.
"It's nothing," she said. "It's just that Sachiko is the name
of..."
Her voice faded away once she caught sight on a large house behind all
the trees. From the look on Jun's face she knew that they had arrived.
What would happen once they faced the demons? Amelia was experienced
with her powers but not with fighting. She hadn't had any real
training except for the magic training she had done regulary ever
since she had rediscovered her magical abilities.
Jun quickly parked the car in the driveway. They both
unbuckled their seat belts and got out. Once they were standing on the
driveway, they were met by silence. It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Either they took care of the demons... or something has
happened," Jun murmured and Amelia cast a worried look on him. She
then looked forwards and noticed something.
"Look..." she said and pointed at the front door. Jun looked
and noticed that it was half open. He quickly ran towards the door and
went inside. Amelia soon followed but then saw that Jun hadn't run
that far into the house. He stood only a few steps from the front door
but it was enough.
The hallway was in shambles. Two chairs and table had been
smashed. A lamp laid on the ground, broken and beyond repair. On the
left wall was a big black spot, probably from one of Ares' attacks.
On the wall to the right was a big hole and Jun could see the living
room from the hole.
"Am I too late?" Jun whispered to himself but Amelia heard
him. She stood quietly behind him, not knowing what to say. Then
suddenly Jun heard something. He rushed into the living room and
Amelia came just moments after.
The living room didn't look any better than the hallway.
Plants had fallen on the floor, the couch was split in two parts and
bookshelves tipped over. The books laid spread out all of the floor,
some destroyed and some were still okay. The wallpaper had suffered
as well. Marks of claws had been left on them. Two windows had been
broken and glass shards laid near them. And in the middle of all this,
was Archangel.
She was partically covered by a bookshelf that had tipped over
and probably fallen on her. Her fuku was torn and she only had one
glove left. There were scratches and bruises all over her body and
blood came from a small wound on her forehead. Jun made his way to
her.
"Archangel..."
Archangel slowly opened her eyes. Her vision, at first blurry, cleared
up and she looked at Jun.
"Jun-san...?"
"Hold on, I'm going to try to lift this thing," he said calmly
and then looked at Amelia over his shoulder. "Amelia, please help me."
Amelia nodded and then bent down next to Jun. They both used all their
strength to lift the bookshelf. Once it was high enough, Jun pushed it
away. He then returned to Archangel. Her wound on her forehead didn't
turn out to be the only one. On her right leg were two blood filled
streaks. Surely, it was a demon's doing.
"Lie still," Jun ordered. "I'll transform and heal you."
"They took the others," Archangel told before Jun could
transform. He looked at her, shocked.
"What? How?"
"It was Hecate," Archangel answered. "I don't know what
happened but she just showed up with demons and suddenly we had been
stripped off our powers... and we couldn't fight back. I tried to fly
but I couldn't. None of us could fight back. Hecate had the demons
take everyone and then they just disappeared. They forgot about me
because I was under the bookshelf..."
"Your powers just vanished?" Jun asked. Archangel nodded and
worry grew inside Jun's heart. Hecate was powerful, but he hadn't
thought that she was that powerful. Why had everyone's powers just
disappeared like that? Amelia kneeled down next to Jun and he noticed
that she had transformed into her Senshi form, Circe.
"I'm going to try to heal you," she told Archangel. "Your leg
doesn't look good but that's what I'm going to fix."
Archangel nodded again. Jun quickly transformed into Lucius and joined
Circe as she began to heal Archangel. Archangel normally had the power
of healing and like her, Lucius simply needed to concentrate to heal.
Circe, however, started to whisper words to herself.
"Heal," she then said and put her fingers over Archangel's
wound. A white aura surrounded all three of them as Lucius and Circe
transferred their energy to Archangel.
* * * *
"Well done, Hecate."
Hecate bowed to Hel, smiling to herself. This time she had really
succeeded. The Shin Senshi were captured and powerless, thanks the
extra powers Hecate had received from Hel.
"It was only because of you that I managed to capture them,"
Hecate replied. "But with all due respect, why haven't you ordered me
to kill them yet."
Hel laughed softly. "The Shin Senshi have been in my way for a long
time," she suddenly said. "In the beginning they were unimportant,
just a group of Senshi who resisted me like many others do. But over
the time their powers grew and they gained more members. They found
the rabbit princess and then managed to kill Morpheus. And now they
have enlisted the help of a Senshi called Sailornature."
Hecate was silent. She remembered her first encounter with Nature when
she had retreated as soon as she had recognized Nature's true powers.
Back then Hecate had sworn to get rid of Nature and she intended to do
that in time.
"You know... Reed wasn't killed by Tiamat and Morpheus..."
Hecate's eyes widened.
"What?"
"They didn't kill him," Hel told. "Injure him, yes, but they
never managed to kill him. His powers saved him and brought him to
safety."
"Where is he now?" Hecate instantly asked. She had hoped ever
since that night when she had sensed the strange power that Reed was
alive. She hadn't found Reed that night, but a strange powerful
Senshi.
"He sought help from Neo-Queen Serenity and under her
protection he recovered from his wounds. Eventually he turned his back
on us and lived on the Moon Kingdom. He married a Senshi. Had
children. I believe that you have met his wife before."
A shadow grew inside Hecate's heart. She felt faint when she heard Hel
tell her about Reed. He had married? Had he forgotten about her? But
it was the last words that made the tears in Hecate's eyes form.
"Masaka... don't tell me it's her..."
"Yes..."
Hel's voice echoed through the great throne room. Hecate fell to her
knees. At first she was unable to believe what Hel had told her, then
denial turned to anger and sorrow.
"Yes... Reed Maxwell married Moriyama Sachiko...
Sailornature."
* * * *
Later, Kamiya Tomo laid asleep in her room. It looked like nothing
had happened. All her wounds had been healed but she was exhausted.
Jun had carried her to her bedroom and let her rest before returning
to Amelia downstairs.
"We were too late..." Jun whispered sadly as he and Amelia
stood in the hallway. He had looked around, trying to see if there was
anyone else who hadn't been taken away by Hecate. But Tomo was the
only one left behind.
"Not really," Amelia said suddenly. Jun turned to her. "I can
still feel the energy that has been left by this Hecate. I think that
I can use it to track her."
"You can?" Jun wondered hopefully. Amelia nodded.
"It's quite easy actually. I'll just teleport us to the place
where she is right now. However, it won't be precisely where she
is and..."
Amelia stopped when she noticed how the expression on Jun's face had
changed. How he looked and what he probably felt she couldn't guess,
she could only ask.
"What is it?"
"But that means that you'll have to come with me, Amelia," he
answered. "It will be very dangerous."
"I have my magic."
Jun shook his head. "No, I can't allow you to come with me. I haven't
been with the Shin Senshi for a long time but they have faced Hecate
several times without winning. And now, when she somehow has sealed
the others' powers I don't know for sure how much she can do. This
will be dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt."
Amelia shook her head and smiled. "Jun, without my magic you won't
even be able to get there. Face it, you don't have a choice."
Five minutes later, Jun, now transformed into Lucius, realized that
him protesting was a lost cause. He stood holding both Circe's hands
as she whispered some words over and over again. It was like when she
had healed Archangel, just with different words this time.
"Teleport," she whispered and they vanished from the house.
For Lucius, it only seemed like a moment passed before they arrived at
their destination. He immediately looked around and so did Circe once
she had opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her.
"I know that I'm from the Moon Kingdom and everything but..."
she whispered and looked at the great building that stood tall and
shining before her. "...isn't this the Crystal Palace?"
"Yes," Lucius answered, who also looking at the Crystal
Palace. "This is the place."
"Huh?" Circe sounded puzzled, which wasn't that strange. "Why
would the enemy be here?"
"There are no security guards here, look," Lucius pointed out.
Circe looked around at the different entrances and saw there wasn't a
single human being to be seen. Strange, she had thought that the
Crystal Palace would be just as well protected as the Moon Palace.
"What going on?" she asked, mostely to herself. Lucius began
to walk towards the entrance.
"That's what we're going to find out."
* * * *
Ares sat on the cold floor of the cell, holding the unconsious Medusa
in his arms. He had been holding her ever since they had been
teleported from the house. Even when the demons had thrown the Shin
Senshi into cells, he had refused to let go of her. Ares touched her
pale cheek, hoping that she would wake up soon. Medusa had been the
one who had been most injured. The demons had beaten her up so badly
that she had been knocked out and from Ares' guess she had several
broken bones.
He and Medusa weren't alone though. In the same cell was
Ishtar and Sailormoon. In the cell across the hallway was Hermes,
Odin and Lilith. The only thing good about being captured was
that they at least still could speak to each other. However Nature
had been taken away from the cell almost an hour ago for a reason that
they didn't know. How and where she was now they could only guess. At
the moment Ishtar and Sailormoon was looking at the others cell
through the bars. Lilith had still not accepted that her powers
weren't working. She waved her hand at the bars. Normally it would
have caused the bar to bend but now nothing happened.
"This is an outrage!" Lilith cried out angrily. "When I get
my hands on that Hecate, she's going to regret the fact that she was
born!"
"It's no use," Hermes said. "There's nothing that we can do,
at least at the time."
Sailormoon sighed and walked back towards the inner parts of the small
cell. She sat down on a hard mattress and Ishtar sat down next to her.
"If only I could have my powers back," she sighed and caught
sight on a bucket of water in the corner. "Then I could use it to get
us out of here. A few days ago I almost managed to blow up the couch
and now I can't even blow up that bucket."
She made a simple movement with her hand but that was all that it
took. The bucket suddenly exploded and water splashed all over Ishtar
and Sailormoon. Sailormoon let out a cry as the bucket exploded.
"Hey, keep it down!" their guard shouted. Ares looked a little
surprised. It was the first time he had actually heard a demon talk.
"Did you just blow that bucket up?" Ishtar asked with a
lowered voice. Sailormoon nodded slowly.
"I... I think so..." she whispered. "But how? Lilith just
tried to use her powers and it didn't work."
Hermes, Odin and Lilith had also noticed what had happened to the
bucket. The only one who didn't notice anything was the demon who
guarded them since he was standing too far away.
"Come to think of it," Odin said. "You weren't in your Senshi
form when you first got this power, were you?"
Sailormoon remember it first when Odin said it. She hadn't been in her
Senshi form that day since she always kept her transformation brooch
with her if case something happened. Then why... had she received that
power if she wasn't transformed?
"No..." Sailormoon murmured and the only ones who heard her
were Ishtar and Ares. "I wasn't. But then... why did I get this power
when I wasn't transformed?"
Ares was listening to Sailormoon when he felt something move against
his chest. He looked downwards and saw that it was Medusa had woken
up. She opened her eyes slowly and got used to the dim light of the
cell.
"Hikaru?" she said as she tried to sit up. She managed to but
Ares could see the pain in her eyes.
"Take it easy," he told her. "You're still in pretty bad
shape."
Medusa nodded quietly. She was still sitting up but now she was more
or less leaning against Ares. Ishtar pretended that she wasn't
surprised at Ares' and Medusa's sudden care for each other. She stood
up and walked over to the door. Through the bars she could see the
guard to her left. Two other demons suddenly came and joined their
friend in guarding the Shin Senshi.
[There's three of them,] Ishtar thought. [We should be able to
handle them, if Sailormoon's powers still work. As soon as Medusa
feels a little better, we'll get ourselves out of here and find
Nature.]
* * * *
"Bow to Hecate-sama...!" the demons whispered in Nature's ears
as they dragged her over to Hecate. Nature's eyes darkened.
"When hell freezes over," she hissed and violently pushed the
demon away. The demon was thrown against the wall but quickly
recovered and planned to make Nature pay for what she had done.
However Hecate held out her hand and shook her head. The demon backed
off, confused. Hecate turned her eyes to Nature who was angrily
glaring at her.
"You are the one..." Hecate said slowly. "The one who made
Reed forget about me."
Nature was silent, her expression didn't change. Hecate, however,
became more and more angry as each moment passed. Memories of Reed
and herself resurfaced in her mind. Every word that was said,
everytime they touched, every look, she remembered it all. Her
emotions were still so strong. How could Reed just forget about her?
"Did you know about his past, his shady past?" Hecate asked
Nature as she circled around her like a bird of prey. "That he isn't
from Earth or any other planet that is in good alliance with Neo-Queen
Serenity? That he used to enjoy the smell of fresh blood and the sound
of a thousand voices screaming in pain? That he spent years loving me
and only me?"
Nature raised her gaze to meet Hecate. She didn't glare or even look
angry or sad. Instead, her lips curved into a smile and she smiled a
mocking smile at Hecate.
"I have known ever since the first day I met him," she
answered. "I know every detail of his past. I know that I was able to
love him despite that. I know how he has spent the past sixty years
atoning for his past, regretting it." Nature's smile widened. "And I
know... no matter how much he loved someone in the past... he only
loves me now."
That was as much as Hecate could take. She was trembling inside from
hearing what Nature had said. She had hoped by revealing who Reed had
been in the past it would crush Nature. But instead, Hecate had been
the one who had been crushed. Instead of using magic to injure Nature,
she slapped her hard across her face.
Nature received the blow but she never lost the confidence she
had. Hecate was about to use her magic on her when she heard Hel's
voice whispering in her head.
[Hecate... someone's coming.]
[Who?] Hecate mentally asked.
[A Senshi with strange powers. A sorceress.]
* * * *
"Are you ready?" Ishtar whispered. Sailormoon nodded.
"I'm ready."
Ishtar exchanged a glance with Ares and Medusa, then quietly gave
Sailormoon permission. Sailormoon quietly made her way to the cell
door and looked at the others in the other cell. They sat quietly,
ready to fight any moment. Once Sailormoon saw that, she backed a
little. With an unsure look in her face, she held out both her hands
and hoped that her powers would work. They did.
The lock on the door exploded along with the handle. Ishtar
quickly rushed and pushed the door open before escaping. The demons
had noticed what was going on and was lunging at her. Ishtar dodged
their attacks as good as she could while Sailormoon made her way out
of the cell and over to the other side of the corridor. There she
blew up another lock and shortly after Hermes, Odin and Lilith
escaped. Though no one except for Sailormoon had powers, Hermes and
Odin still had weapons. The demons had been unable to injure Ishtar
due to her constant dodging and it didn't take long before the two
knights finished the demons off.
When their former guards had been turned into piles of dust,
the Shin Senshi gathered.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Ishtar asked, looking at everyone
and her gaze rested on Medusa. But Medusa nodded. After all, she was
being supported by Ares and with his help she would be able to walk.
"Let's go then."
* * * *
"A sorceress?" Hecate responded loudly to what Hel had said.
Nature looked surprised at Hecate suddenly saying something but was
distracted by the sudden sounds of footsteps. Both Hecate and Nature
turned around to see two people running towards them. One was Lucius,
how he had gotten to the Crystal Palace Nature couldn't guess. The
other one was a female Senshi in a green and turqoise blue Sailor
fuku. As Lucius and the mysterious Senshi approached them, both Hecate
and Nature looked at them in shock. Hecate once again felt the strange
power that she had the night before and this was the power she had
mistaken for Reed's. Nature did also sense the power but it wasn't the
power that shocked her. It only took one good look at the female
Senshi's face for her to realize it.
"Amelia..." Nature whispered. She could hardly believe it.
Neither could Circe.
"Kaa-san!" she exclaimed, just as shocked as Lucius became
when he heard her saying that.
"Kaa-san?" he repeated in confusion. The two demons who were
with Hecate didn't really know what to do. Before they had a chance to
decide Circe held out her open palm before her face and blew. From her
mouth came a blue cloud that made it's way to the two demons, fast.
Before anyone could move, the demons had been encased in ice. Hecate,
stunned, couldn't bring herself to do anything but watch. While Circe
rushed to her mother's side, the ice-encased demons exploded. What
remained was dust mixed with small pieces of ice. Lucius, impressed
with Circe's powers again, glanced at the dust before turning his gaze
to Circe and Nature again.
"Amelia..." Nature whispered again. Her eyes were teary but
happy. She reached out her hand to touch her daughter's face and her
happiness increased as she realized that this wasn't an illusion.
Circe was equally happy as mother and daughter hugged each other for
the first time in two years.
"I never imagined that I would see you here..." Nature
murmured. The tears were seen in hers and Circe's eyes. Hecate stood
there watching them in silence but the voices in her head weren't
silent. She heard Reed's voice, she heard Tiamat's, Morpheus's and
even her own. But most of all she heard Hel's voice.
[This is her child... Reed's child... A symbol of the love
that they share... He no longer loves you... He has forgotten about
you!]
"No..." Hecate whispered, taking steps backwards. "No..."
Lucius, Circe and Nature turned their attention to her. Hecate was
pulling her own hair and her eyes were shut tightly as she tried not
to listen to the voices inside her head.
"No!" she yelled insanely. "It can't be!"
She suddenly opened her eyes and let out a cry. Spheres of fire
appeared in her right hand and she tossed it not just at Nature, but
also at Circe. Circe pushed Nature out of the way and was struck by
the fire sphere. It caused her to fly way back into the corridor and
then land against the hard and cold floor. Lucius was about to run and
help her but he stopped when he saw her getting up on her own, hardly
a scratch on her Sailor fuku. Circe's eyes narrowed as she looked at
Hecate. Then she started to say something but to Lucius it sounded in
a similiar to the way Circe had cast her spells.
"Ties that capture, ties that bind. Release the powers to
where evil cannot find!"
While nothing visible happened, Nature felt herself becoming stronger
and her Senshi powers returning to her. Her powers were weak because
she was far away from the trees and plants that made her strong but it
was there.
"My powers are back..." she whispered. She raised her gaze to
look at Hecate but couldn't see her anyway. Lucius and Circe also
looked around but Hecate was no where to be seen.
"I think she's gone," Lucius said. Circe returned to her
mother's side. They hugged each other briefly before Nature began to
question her.
"What are you doing here? And most of all, how did you get
here?"
"I came here to look for you," Circe answered, smiling. "I
used my powers to teleport to Earth. Lucius found me."
"How did you teleport to Earth?" Nature asked. But then she
shook her head and hugged Circe again. "Never mind... You can tell me
about it later."
They heard more footsteps. Nature released Circe from the hug and
they, along with Lucius, prepared to fight demons. But when someone
came from around the corner, Nature and Lucius relaxed when they saw
that it was just Ishtar. Circe, seeing that both her mother and Lucius
seemed to recognize this Senshi, dropped her guard as well.
"Hey, here you are!" Ishtar exclaimed, smiling. Following her
were the rest of the Shin Senshi. They all looked relieved, seeing
that Nature had been unharmed. Hermes was the only one who still kept
the same face expression as he had before. He looked at Lucius, his
face serious.
"So you were right, Lucius," Hermes said. "There is really
evil in the Crystal Palace."
"Shouldn't we just get out of here?" Lilith asked. "Medusa's
hurt and the Crystal Palace will still be here, won't it?"
Though Medusa protested, the Shin Senshi and Circe decided to leave
the Crystal Palace as quickly as possible. Once teleported back to
Chie's house, they all observed the mess that the demons had made.
Ishtar had been too busy to think of escaping the demons that she had
forgotten about the state of her house. Everyone looked at her,
expecting her to be just as upset as the time when her garden had been
destroyed. But instead Ishtar smiled faintly.
"I'm not going to cry about this," she told the others. "We'll
clean this mess up and then it will look even better than before. I'm
just happy that the rest of the house is okay."
She turned around as she heard someone coming down the stairs. At
first she wondered who it could be but then she remembered Tomo, who
the demons had forgotten about. Ishtar had completely forgotten about
Tomo herself.
"Minna-san, you're okay!" Tomo said happily and threw herself
into everyone's arms.
* * * *
"Why didn't you let me fight?!" Hecate demanded to know. Her
eyes were burning with anger, even more than when she had been about
to fight Circe. Hel sat hidden behind the curtains and her voice was
the same as always when she said:
"I didn't want you to fight her yet."
"Why?!"
There was silence. Hel didn't answer Hecate and it made her even
angrier. Hecate clenched her fist. All the anger she had felt at
Nature, Circe, Reed, Tiamat and Morpheus gathered inside her and
formed a glowing ball of energy in her hand. She threw the ball of
energy at the latest person who had angered her, Hel. The ball burned
through the curtain and headed towards Hel but stopped just right in
front of her head. Then it just vanished. Hecate's knees failed to
support her and she collapsed on the floor.
"Hel-sama... forgive me..." she pleaded.
"I understand your anger, Hecate," Hel replied. "But there is
something about this sorceress, Circe... Just as there is something
special about Sailormoon."
"She is the moon princess, of course she's special," Hecate
murmured to herself but Hel heard her.
"Yes... but what is so special about Circe then?" Hel
wondered. "She is a child of mixed blood but there are other Senshi
who are... so why is there something special about Circe?"
It was more like Hel was talking to herself than to Hecate. Hecate
raised her gaze and looked Hel through the curtains.
"Hel-sama?"
There was silence a short while before Hel answered.
"Don't worry about the sorceress," Hel said. "Just direct your
anger at the one person who has done most damage to you."
Hel said the name at the exact same time as Hecate whispered it to
herself.
"Nature."
So, now part 16 is finished. This is the longest fanfic that I have
ever written and the first multi-part fanfic that I've been so close
to finish. ^_^ Makes me happy! I hope that you have enjoyed reading so
far since there are more parts coming. Don't hesitate to write to me!
Komillia (komillia@hotmai.com)
http://komillia.tripod.com/mirai/index.html
5 March 2002
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part XVII: To the Moon Kingdom
Sachiko and Amelia are reunited and on a Senshi meeting the Shin
Senshi try to decide what to do next. With Amelia's powers, they can
finally use the Sailor Teleport to get to the Moon Kingdom.