BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
~MIRAI~
PART XXII: SHANTI
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
http://www.geocities.com/komillia/index.html
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha,
etcetera. Chie, Hikaru, Yasha and the other original characters belong
to me.
Note: The dream that is mentioned here is the dream that Usagi had in
the beginning of part 10.
* * * *
"Hajime Sakurai...?"
Callisto heard someone whisper her civilian name but paid little
attention to it. She had to focus on Hel, or else she could end up
like her comrades or the group of Senshi that were lying injured on
the floor.
Hel studied Callisto for a while, searching her mind for a
memory of this Senshi. When she finally found it, a cruel smile
appeared on her face.
"I recognize you," she said. "You were that little child who
belonged to that group the queen had sent to kill me... What was your
name again? Oh yes, I remember... Callisto."
"I swore that I would kill you," Callisto said hatefully and
walked further in the throne hall. "I intend to keep that oath."
The moment after she finished her sentence a blast came from Hel's
fingertips. Jumping aside would have taken too much time and Callisto
could still have gotten hit if she had jumped aside. She held up her
right arm, similar to the way Hel or Lilith did when would use their
powers to move something.
The blast was deflected just before it reached Callisto and
went straight back to Hel. Hel was still standing with her arm reached
out and the blast was deflected again. This time it hit the wall,
causing wood splinters to fly across the throne hall. Callisto and Hel
stared at each other coldly.
"She's a telekinetic... just like Lilith," Lucius noted. He
was the only one of the Shin Senshi who wasn't hurt or exhausted. But
his offensive powers were weak, even Archangel before her power up had
had stronger offensive power. To attack would be suicide, not to
mention that if he got hurt then he wouldn't be able to heal the
others. Still, it pained him to see others fight while he couldn't.
"Impressive," Hel commented on Callisto's power. "Last time
you were here you could hardly deflect a beam... much less deflect it
and aim it for me."
Instead of answering Hel, Callisto traced a circle in the air with
her both hands. Her hands left a ring of grey energy which she grabbed
with her ring hand. The green jewel in her tiara shone brightly.
"Slicing Buster!" Callisto called, throwing the ring towards
Hel. What happened next was a battle between who had the strongest
telekinetic power.
Hel used hers to deflect the ring and it went back to where it
had come from. Callisto did the same, increasing the ring's speed with
her thought as she re-directed it to Hel. Frowning, Hel stopped the
ring with her mind and threw it back to Callisto. Tired of the game,
Hel glanced at the curtains that had fallen to the floor. She moved
both her arms and the curtains flew towards Callisto.
Callisto stopped the ring from hitting her but the next
second her entire body was covered by the heavy dark curtains. She
struggled to get up, but the fact that the curtains were big didn't
help. Hel moved her fingers and the ring exploded, causing the black
curtains to catch fire.
"Foolish child," Hel murmured to herself. She turned her gaze
back to Sailormoon, who had still hadn't recovered from her loss of
energy.
Sailormoon stared at Hel. She saw the fire burning in the
corner of her eyes and knew that she would be next. Hel stepped forth
and moved her feet for the first time. With the long dress she wore
it looked like she was just moving forth and not walking. She walked
past the burning curtains without even looking at them.
Sailormoon gripped the White Crescent Staff as tight as she
could. If she couldn't use her magical attacks to defend herself, then
she just had to do her best to use the staff to fight even though she
hadn't had any training in fighting with a staff. Or perhaps she
could somehow blow Hel up? But she doubted that it would work. Either
Hel would kill her before she had the chance or she would find a way
to counter it.
Desperately, Sailormoon tried to get up. But she only fell
down again, not finding enough strength to be able to stand up. She
found herself becoming so angry that she want to throw her staff down
on the floor and just bang her head to the wall. She had come to help
her friends and now when she had only used her attack once, she was
helpless. There was nothing that she could do.
As Hel came closer and closer, Sailormoon counted the last
few seconds of her life. She closed her eyes. Images of her father,
her mother, the original Senshi, the Shin Senshi... she saw them all.
[Forgive me...] she thought. [I'm not as strong as I wished
that I was.]
Suddenly, both Lucius and Circe ran over to Sailormoon's side.
Lucius knelt down to the floor, touched it with his both hands a force
field appeared around him, Circe and Sailormoon. Sailormoon opened her
eyes and they widened when she saw them standing there.
"Lucius... Circe..."
"This force field won't hold long, but please do whatever you
can to stay alive," Lucius said. "You can't afford to die, none of us
can."
Hel frowned, she reached out her hand to touch the force field. Her
long, painted nails dug into the wall and Lucius winced. Circe glanced
at Lucius, then knelt down next to him and start to murmur something.
[Probably a spell,] Sailormoon realized. As Circe repeated
the spell over and over again, the force field grew thicker and
eventually Hel pulled her hand out. She let out something that
resembled a scream and Sailormoon could see that her hand had gotten
burnt.
[She got burnt...] Sailormoon thought, she was smiling on the
inside. [She can get hurt... which means that she can't be
undefeatable!]
"You have courage..." Hel began. "But courage isn't..."
Her voice drifted off and a shocked expression was laid over her face.
Hel's face paled, that was if she could get paler than she already
was. Sailormoon, Lucius and Circe looked curiously at her, wondering
what her caused her to look so shocked.
"She's here..." Hel murmured to herself. Slowly, she turned
away from the three Senshi and the force field. Moving like a ghost,
she began to make her way towards the doors. With jaws dropped, the
Senshi watched her leaving just like that. It wasn't until about a
minute later that Lucius got up and the force field disappeared. But
his eyes were still staring at the door. He couldn't believe it. Hel
had left... for what reason?
Circe seemed to be the only one who noticed that the black
curtains were still burning. She held out her palm and blew into it.
The air she blew out turned into a large blue cloud that laid itself
on the top of the flames, putting them out. Lucius' and Sailormoon's
attention turned to Callisto and they both quickly lifted the curtains
from her.
Callisto was lying on the floor, coughing constantly. Except
for the coughing she appeared to not be damaged, despite being caught
under the fire. For a moment Sailormoon wondered why, but then smacked
herself on her forehead when she realized that Callisto must have used
her powers to keep the burning parts of the curtain away from her.
Lucius helped Callisto sitting up. As he did, he transferred some of
his energy to her. Callisto's coughing quickly decreased.
"...Thank you," she murmured between the coughs.
"You're welcome," Lucius replied. He then left Callisto for
Sailormoon. "You must be tired too, princess."
Before Sailormoon could answer him, Lucius had put his hand on her
forehead and already begun to transfer energy. As Sailormoon felt
strength and energy returning to her, Lucius' vision started to blur.
Only a few seconds later his knees failed to carry him and Sailormoon
reacted fast enough to catch him before he fell.
Circe immediately rushed over to Lucius and took him into her
arms. She settled him down on the floor gently, placing his head on
her lap.
"You gave too much energy..." Circe said. "Now you're all
weak."
Despite feeling dizzy and weak, Lucius managed to twist his lips into
a smile when he looked into Circe's face.
"I'll be alright if I rest for a while," he answered. "Go
with Callisto and Sailormoon and find Hel."
Circe shook her head firmly. "There's no way I'm leaving you here like
this. Who knows what would happen if she would come back and we
wouldn't be here?"
"Don't worry."
Circe, Sailormoon and Callisto looked to a corner of the throne hall.
Lilith was lying there and had received little attention since Lucius
had left her to help Circe from being strangled by Hel. Using all the
strength in her muscles, Lilith managed to sit up. She forced herself
to smirk towards the others and to look somewhat stronger than she
really was. The truth was that she was very much in pain and that most
of all she wished that she could have a good scream.
"I may be a little... hurt right now but I can protect myself
and Lucius if I want to," Lilith told bravely. Ishtar didn't use her
arms to crawl back up on her knees. Her left shoulder had taken a lot
of damage when she had crashed into the wall.
"I'm still here too..." Ishtar said. She looked at those who
were in a fighting condition, those were Circe, Callisto and
Sailormoon. The rest seemed to be out in one way or another, but as
Lilith had said... they could still protect themselves and each other.
Except for Hermes. He hadn't awaken yet.
"I didn't spend years training with Diana just so that I could
get beaten this easily," Ishtar went on, trying to sound somewhat
cheerful. Most of all she just wanted to go to sleep, to forget about
the pain in her left shoulder and forget about what had happened to
Nature, Archangel and Odin. "Do me a favor and give Hel a good kick
from me."
Seeing that there was it was the best thing to do, Circe put down
Lucius on the floor and got up. Sailormoon hesitated, but as Circe and
Callisto began to leave she went after them. The three Senshi ran out
and entered the hallway, only to stop running immediately. There were
four different ways, on to the left, to the right, one straight
forwards and one down the stairs.
"Which way did she go?" Sailormoon wondered, looking from one
way to another. Without hesitating, Callisto pointed at the stairs.
Circe raised her brow.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"Because I can hear footsteps," Callisto stated simply and
started to make her way towards the stairs. Circe and Sailormoon just
exchanged a look, then followed Callisto. They walked down as quietly
as they could, but halfway down Sailormoon noticed a woman standing
at the end of the corridor that they had arrived at.
First she thought that it was Hel, but then saw that the color
of the woman's hair was brighter and it wasn't in a bun. Seeing the
woman made Sailormoon remember why Hel had looked so familiar to her.
Both Circe and Callisto were about to execute an attack of some sort
but Sailormoon held up her hand, signalling that they shouldn't
attack.
"She's not Hel..." Sailormoon told. Her eyes connected with
the woman's sad eyes. "Her name is Shanti."
* * * *
Sailorneptune shook her head when she looked at the demons on the
other side of the street. The demons were busy destroying another
street that normally would be filled with people. The sound of glass
or wood being shattered never ceased to end.
"This... is as bad as it can get," Sailorvenus commented. That
was exactly was everyone else was thinking. Most of them nodded to
show their agreement.
"I wonder how Callisto and the others are doing..."
Sailormercury said and glanced at her small computer. It showed a map
of the Crystal Palace with several red, blinking dots. "They're all
in there, but I wish that I could find out more than just their
positions."
"We don't have time," Sailormars said harshly. However, the
others understood what she meant. The computer in Sailormercury's
hands quickly disappeared. Instead the goggles appeared over the upper
half of her face.
"We could split up and take different sections of the city,"
she suggested. "However, going to those different sections could take
a certain amount of time. But time is something we shouldn't waste."
"So..." Sailorjupiter began. "We should just attack whatever
demon that's in sight?"
Sailormercury nodded and the googles disappeared from her face.
"Exactly. By not splitting up we have a better chance of
combining our powers and by doing that we use less energy and time
than we normally would have to."
"Well then..." Sailoruranus stepped forth, cracking her
knuckles. She hadn't been fighting for a long time. "Let's go."
* * * *
"Who is she?" Circe asked.
"Shanti," Sailormoon replied. "She is the one who helped me
transform into Sailormoon a few months ago."
Shanti nodded slowly and took a few steps closer to the Senshi. She
looked exactly like the last time Sailormoon had seen her. Nothing had
changed, her eyes were still filled with the same sadness. Sailormoon
felt stupid for not remembering why she had found Hel familiar. The
only difference between Hel and Shanti were the emotions, the hair and
the way they dressed.
"I am glad that you remember me," Shanti spoke. "We don't have
much time, we must..."
"Who are you?" Callisto cut off by asking that question.
Although Circe would have liked to hear the end of what Shanti wanted
to say, she also wanted to hear the question Callisto had asked.
Sailormoon gave Callisto a puzzled look and then turned back to
Shanti. Who was Shanti... really?
"The princess said that you have helped her," Callisto went
on. "But you also happen to look exactly like the woman who has
released a plague on Earth."
Shanti was silent for a few moments, looking extremely
uncomfortable as the three Senshi looked at her with watchful eyes.
When she finally answered, the only one she could bear herself to look
at was Sailormoon.
"I have many names... Shanti... Hel... But one name that no
one knows of was the first name I was given... Tomoe Shinobu."
Sailormoon's eyes widened in shock. Even Circe and Callisto were
shocked. Tomoe Shinobu? The daughter of Tomoe Hotaru, Sailorsaturn?
Now that Sailormoon looked at her, she noticed that Shanti had the
same eyes and the delicate lips as Hotaru had had. But once Callisto
had recovered from her shock, she shook her head firmly.
"You can not be," she stated. "The line of Saturn has ended.
Tomoe Hotaru died fifty years ago and Tomoe Shinobu drowned the same
year. You can not be her."
"You can choose if you believe me or not," Shanti replied
coldly. "But the fact Hel, Shinobu and I are the same person can't be
changed."
Sailormoon sat down on one of the steps and looked at Shanti. She did
look like Hotaru, but how could this be? How could Hel and Shanti be
Hotaru's daughter? It didn't make sense.
"Fifty years ago, when Tomoe Hotaru died, Shinobu was only
five years old," Shanti told. "In her sadness, she thought that if she
died too then she would be with her mother. One night she jumped in a
lake. She couldn't swim. But as she was losing her last breath she
panicked and didn't want to die. In her panicked state she didn't
nothing the dark presence around her, asking her if she was willing to
give him anything if he saved her. All Shinobu wanted was to live and
she agreed. That moment Tomoe Shinobu died but Hel was born."
Shanti paused for a moment, but Callisto impatiently asked her to go
on with the story. When Callisto looked at Shanti she just saw Hel and
it took all the self control she had to resist using a Slicing Buster
attack.
"She was trapped inside Hel for years, I don't know for how
long," Shanti when on. "When Shinobu finally managed to seperate from
Hel, she became Shanti... me. I saw what she had done to Earth and I
knew that I had to stop her. That's when I found out about the Shin
Senshi. Hel has been interested in them for quite a while, long before
you arrived on Earth." Shanti was referring to Sailormoon. "I don't
know why. But then when you came to Earth and were found by the Shin
Senshi, I knew that there had to be something special about you...
Sailormoon, did you receive a new power not too long ago?"
Sailormoon nodded, a bit surprised that Shanti suddenly asked her that
question.
"One day I just had the ability to blow things up," Sailormoon
told. "I don't why."
"You must have seen that Hel has that power too," Shanti said
and Sailormoon nodded silently again. "It was my... Shinobu's power
from the beginning. When Shinobu became Hel, Hel received all
Shinobu's powers. To stop Hel, I tried to transfer her powers to you.
It didn't work, the power was only duplicated... somehow."
Callisto shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in
frustration. Sailormoon, Shanti and Circe looked at her.
"So..." Callisto began. "You're telling up that all the
suffering in the world... all the people that have died... it was all
caused by a five year old who missed her mother?!"
"That is the unfortunate truth," Shanti replied. But it didn't
calm Callisto down.
"What are we supposed to do now?!" she lashed out. "What can
we do now?!"
This couldn't possibly be true. The enemy of Earth... and the Moon
Kingdom was the daughter of Sailorsaturn. Callisto suddenly felt sick
as she thought about her dead comrades. Miyako, Karin and Fumiyo...
they had been killed by someone they used to play with when they were
children. Without even knowing it.
"Callisto, calm down!" Sailormoon ordered, standing up. "It
won't do us any good to be upset. We have to find a way to stop Hel...
there has to be a way."
"What does she want?" Circe asked Shanti. "Hel... why is she
here?"
"She wants the Child of Destiny," Shanti answered. "The Child
of Destiny is the most powerful of the four Protectors of the entire
universe. Once in a few thousand years, four Protectors are born. When
these four Protectors have gathered, the world will enter a new era,
an era where children of Chaos don't belong."
"And those four are...?" Sailormoon wondered. She blinked when
Shanti stared blankly at her.
"As the Senshi of the Moon, you are one of those Protectors,"
Shanti told. "The Saviour of the Galaxy? The one who will heal? I
thought I told you about that already."
Sailormoon looked totally confused first and then shook her head. She
didn't have a clue about what Shanti was talking about. For the first
time Shanti seemed to portray another emotion than sadness. She
sighed.
"Hallo? The dream? Remember it?"
Only after thinking for about a minute, Sailormoon nodded and
understood which dream Shanti had meant. She had been called the
Saviour of the Galaxy in that dream, but never paid much attention it.
"And who are the others?" Circe wondered.
"No one knows," Shanti replied. "Not even Hel or the
Archangels."
"The Archangels?" Callisto, Sailormoon and Circe repeated at
the same time. Sailormoon and Circe were thinking of Tomo, Callisto
was thinking about Natsu.
"The Archangels exist because they are the ones who can
recognize a Protector," Shanti explained. "Their mission is to find
the Protectors."
She was about to say something more. But she paused and turned around.
Sailormoon leaned her head a little to her left and saw that Shanti
was looking at a wooden door. She opened her mouth, only a split
second later the door exploded. Shanti turned away and covered herself
from the splinters.
"Hel..." Sailormoon whispered. Where the door had been before
stood Hel. She didn't pay any attention to the others and just looked
at Shanti.
"There you are," Hel said lightly. She stepped over the wood
splinters on the floor and towards Shanti. Circe jumped forth and blew
into her palm. A blue cloud floated quickly towards Hel, faster than
it usually did.
"Slicing Buster!" Callisto called, tracing a circle with her
hands. She threw the ring towards Hel, then looked around at her
surroundings. Unlike other corridors this was somewhat decorated with
paintings and vases. Callisto squinted her eyes a little and several
of the paintings left the wall and were thrown towards Hel.
Sailormoon raised her hand and the White Crescent Staff
appeared. The crescent on the end of the staff began to glow.
"Shining Moonlight!"
While Hel managed to redirect Circe's and Callisto's attacks, the
paintings and vases hit her with full force. As if it wasn't enough,
light filled the corridor and blinded her and everyone else. Circe
covered her eyes with her hands.
When the light had disappeared, neither Hel or Sailormoon
were standing. Sailormoon was lying on the stairs, panting. Hel was
lying on the floor and seemed unconscious. Callisto got up on her
feet, she had thrown herself to the floor to not be hit by her own
redirected attack.
Was this it? Had they succeeded? Callisto brushed her bangs
away from her eyes and looked at Hel. Was she dead or just
unconscious? Sailormoon's attack seemed to be the only thing that was
really effective against her. Hel had been weakened by it before...
perhaps this time... she was really defeated.
"Do you think... we did it?" Circe asked quietly. Shanti, who
had been silent and hadn't done anything since Hel had arrived, took
one step towards Hel. She knelt down and reached out her hand to check
Hel's pulse.
But the moment she touched Hel's throat, Hel opened her eyes
and brought up her hand to Shanti's chest. Shanti's eyes widened and
she screamed in pain as energy surged through her and a blast cut
through her body.
"...Shan..ti... no...!" Sailormoon whispered. She tried to get
up but was to drained. Circe rushed forth to tear Shanti away from
Hel. But once her hands touched Shanti she was thrown back. Circe flew
across the room and her back connected with the stairs. She let out a
scream and landed next to Sailormoon.
Callisto glanced at a vase made of glass that was standing in
the corner. It was about three feet tall and could do some damage.
With a single thought, Callisto threw the vase towards Hel, using her
powers. The vase bounced against Hel, causing her to loose her grasp
on Shanti. Shanti's eyes widened and she fell. Hel glared at Callisto
and with her own powers threw the vase back.
Expecting this, Callisto held out her hand and stopped the
vase in mid air when it was merely inches away from her fingers. What
she hadn't expected was that the vase would blow up right in front of
her.
"Callisto!" Circe called, rolling over to her side to see
what had happened to her. Callisto was lying on the floor, her skin
bruised and covered with blood. The shards of the vase were either
around her on the floor, or were still piercing her body. Despite all
this she appeared to be alive and breathing. The shards hadn't hit her
vital organs and had only caused minor bruises and cuts.
Hel got up and looked at the three Senshi, then at Shanti.
Shanti's body had ceased moving a long time ago and was quickly fading
a away.
"I am finally rid of this nuisance," Hel said as the last
trace of Shanti disappeared. "Despite all the time it took it was
pretty easy."
Circe shook her head and managed to sit up. Her back was hurting and
she had probably broken a few ribs.
"Nuisance...?" Circe repeated bitterly. "How can you kill...
someone... who is the same as you?"
"Silence!" Hel yelled and held out one of her arms towards
Circe. Circe was once again lifted into the air. By Hel's will, she
was slammed into the ceiling and then into the wall before falling to
the floor.
"Circe!" Sailormoon called and sat up. Callisto pulled a glass
shard out from her leg and then tried to stand up. She traced a circle
with her hand.
"Slicing Buster..." she whispered and threw the circle towards
Hel. Hel caught the circle with little effort. She didn't even bother
throwing it back and the circle disappeared from her hand.
"Haven't you learned that that doesn't work against me?" she
asked mockingly. "Foolish child."
Hel moved her hand. A door was pulled from it's position and hit
Callisto from behind. With Callisto covered by the door, there was no
way Sailormoon could tell if she was alive or not. Hel stepped closer
to Sailormoon.
"And then there's you," Hel went on. "The princess. You have
been a problem for me since the moment you were stranded on Earth."
"What... have I ever done to you?" Sailormoon asked angrily.
"Or anyone else in this room? Why do you keep killing and hurting
us?!"
Hel slapped her across her face and Sailormoon cursed herself for not
having enough strength to slap her back.
"Your existence..." Hel hissed. "You, the Saviour of the
Galaxy, exist to purify the world. Your purification means the end of
me and those who are like me. You do remember the war against the
Black Moon Family, don't you? Those who opposed were banished, there
was no place for them in the utopia your mother wanted to create. The
idea of this utopia sickens me. Once I have killed the Child of
Destiny I will shape the world into any form I want it to be!"
Hel then smiled sweetly towards Sailormoon.
"Did you enjoy it when Morpheus put you in the 'dream world'?"
she asked. "I certainly hope so, because that's where you'll be
spending eternity... surrounded by your fears and watching how the
world will look after I have shaped it."
"No..." Sailormoon whispered, trying to get away from Hel
although her mind told her that she couldn't escape. She shut her eyes
tightly just before the darkness surrounded her. But shutting her eyes
also meant that she didn't see the expression of horror on Hel's pale
face.
* * * *
"Sailormoon, open your eyes."
[I don't want to,] Sailormoon thought, refusing to open her
eyes. [I don't want to see Hel's world, I don't want to see it!]
"It's okay," Circe's voice assured. "There's nothing here to
be afraid of.]
[Circe?]
Wondering why she was hearing Circe's voice, Sailormoon opened her
eyes. She found herself floating, floating in light of different
colors. Her body felt light as a feather and the exhaustion from
before had disappeared.
"Where am I?" Sailormoon asked herself.
"I think we are in the 'dream world'," Callisto answered,
startling Sailormoon. She was floating a few feet away from her,
which was why Sailormoon hadn't discovered her. Circe was floating
next to Callisto. The bruises and cuts on Callisto's body had
disappeared and Circe also seemed to be fine. Circe swiftly made her
way over to Sailormoon's side.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Sailormoon nodded.
"What happened?" she questioned. "Shouldn't we be seeing our
worst fears or something? Individually? All that's here is..."
"Nothingness," Callisto finished. She looked up, but found
that nothing seemed different no matter which way she looked. "I heard
Hel talking to you as I was lying there. The moment before she was
going to send you to this dream world, I mind linked all of us."
Circe stared blankly at Callisto.
"You what?"
"I mind linked all of us," Callisto repeated. "It was the only
way. As you have noticed we can hear each other's thoughts. The reason
why Circe and I are here too is because you are linked to us. In the
process, I linked Hel too."
"What?!" both Circe and Sailormoon yelled.
"She should be somewhere around here as well," Callisto went
on before Sailormoon or Circe could question her. "More vulnerable and
somewhat easier to defeat. I suspect that if we just stay calm then we
will know what is real and what is not. I doubt Hel was prepared for
this, she is most likely to panic and once she meets her fears she'll
be..."
Callisto's voice was silenced abruptly. She had caught sight on
something. Sailormoon turned around, moving her body easily. Callisto
was looking at a small, red bow that was floating. Sailormoon reached
out and the bow magically came to her. She looked the bow. It was
small and worn, but to the owner it was probably a object of that past
that he or she was proud of.
Sailormoon didn't noticed that anything had changed until her
boots made contact with the ground. She took her eyes of the bow and
saw that she was standing in the middle of a park. The park was empty
on people but it looked somewhat familiar to her.
She caught sight on a sign and read the words to herself.
"The Lunarian Park..."
Callisto and Circe were still by her side. They also looked at the
sign when Sailormoon had read the words. Callisto took one look at the
park benches and the playground.
"This must have been before the park was renovated," she
stated. "It looks nothing like the way it did when I was little."
Circe was the first one who spotted the girl. The girl was sitting on
a swing, crying as if there was no tomorrow. She was small and
couldn't be older than five or six. The sound of the girl crying
eventually reached Sailormoon. Only a moment after hearing the cries,
she raced towards the girl.
"Wait!" Callisto called but Sailormoon ignored her. As she
came closer to the girl, she realized that this was little Shinobu.
The large violet eyes, the purple hair... there was no mistake. Circe
and Callisto caught up with her. All three stared at Shinobu, not
knowing what to do. Finally, Sailormoon knelt down and held out the
bow to Shinobu, offering her it.
"Is this yours?" she asked kindly. "Did you lose it?"
Shinobu stopped crying and looked at the bow in Sailormoon's hand for
a while. Then she nodded shyly. Sailormoon smiled towards the little
girl and tied to bow back into her hair.
"There you go," she said. "Make sure that you won't drop it
this time."
Shinobu nodded again and smiled vaguely at Sailormoon.
"Are you here to save me?" she asked. She spoke with a child's
voice but the meaning in the words seemed far too mature for a five
year old. "I've been playing here for so long, then I don't know the
way back home. She doesn't let me go home."
"Who?" Sailormoon wondered.
"The old lady," Shinobu answered. "She tells me that if I
don't stay here and play then I'll be punished."
Shinobu jumped off the swing and threw her short arms around
Sailormoon's neck. She started to cry again.
"I don't want to play anymore!" she sobbed. "I want to go
home... to mommy, Miya, Kari and Fumi!"
With a worried frown Sailormoon hugged Shinobu back. She had to
questions that she desperately wanted answers for. One, what was she
supposed to do? Two, where was Hel?
The latter question was answered when Circe and Callisto threw
themselves away from each other. A blast struck where they had been
standing and set some of the grass on fire. Sensing that something
was coming, Sailormoon held Shinobu tightly in her arms and quickly
threw herself away from where she had been standing.
Once she got up on her feet she saw Hel standing on the other
side of the swings. Hel was different from the way she had looked
before. She was no longer standing firmly and tall. Instead, she
looked like she was shaking and as if she would faint any moment.
[It's over, Hel...] Sailormoon thought, knowing that Hel could
hear her.
"Never!" Hel yelled in return. She looked at Shinobu, who
buried her face into Sailormoon's shoulder in fear. "So killing Shanti
wasn't enough... I will kill you once and for all!"
"No more killing..." Sailormoon whispered. She shifted Shinobu
over to her right arm and held out her left one. The White Crescent
Staff materialized in her hand. "It's over. Shinobu-chan is going
home."
Hel screamed insanely and began to shoot blasts everywhere. Callisto
raised her hand, deflecting the blasts as good as she could. Circe
began to chant a spell that would raise shields over everyone.
Sailormoon leaped high when a blast came for her. She remained
floating high in the air but gave it little thought.
"Shinobu-chan?"
Shinobu dared to open her eyes and to look at Sailormoon. Sailormoon
smiled and the Ginzuishou appeared on the top of the crescent on her
staff.
"Let's go."
Nodding, Shinobu agreed. Both Sailormoon and Shinobu turned their eyes
to Hel as the Ginzuishou began to emit a white light.
"Shining Moonlight!"
* * * *
The playground was almost empty. Circe and Callisto had disappeared a
long time ago. Sailormoon and Shinobu were no where to be seen. The
only one who remained was Hel. She was lying on the ground, exhausted
and drained. She didn't even have the energy to keep her eyes open.
No more.
She was oblivious to how much time passed before the silence
was broken. Footsteps were heard. Hel struggled to open her eyes and
the first one she saw was the little girl, Shinobu, leaning over her.
Standing next to Shinobu was Sailormoon, who seemed incredibly tall
next to the girl.
"How ironic..." Sailormoon said, looking down at Hel with pity
in her eyes. "... that you chose to possess the powers and the body of
a Protector in order to search for and kill another Protector...
without even knowing it."
Shinobu held her hands over Hel's eyes and in her hand a violet,
star shaped transformation brooch was formed. Hel felt more of her
energy leave and she closed her eyes.
"You are a part of me now," Shinobu said. "You will always
be."
With that, Hel's body faded into nothing. Shinobu watched it happen,
staying unnaturally calm for being a child. When Hel was gone, Shinobu
held up the transformation brooch in the air.
"Star Celestial Power! Make up!"
The clothes Shinobu wore faded away and she was surrounded by tiny
stars in different color. In a flash of light her body had grown to
size of an adult and the stars had melted into a Sailor fuku that she
wore. The fuku reminded Sailormoon a lot about Sailorsaturn's first
fuku, with fringed sleeves and the laced boots. The colors were nearly
identical as well, the difference was what the white on the fuku was
replaced by black.
With the body of a twenty year old and a scythe that was
being materialized in her hand, Shinobu had gained another name...
Sailorstar.
"I will atone for what I have done," Sailorstar said
seriously. "But first I will find the Child of Destiny and the other
Protector. Only when I have found them, I will be able to make up for
what I have done."
Sailormoon nodded. "Sailorstar... Sailormoon," she whispered. "We are
two of the Protectors of this world. There will be others who will
try to hunt down the Child of Destiny... this isn't over yet."
"No, it's not," Sailorstar agreed. "When they come... we will
fight them."
The two Protectors exchanged a smile, then disappeared from the dream
world. The red bow that Shinobu had worn was lying on the grass where
Hel had been lying. It had been left behind, but not forgotten,
symbolizing the past.
Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/komillia/index.html
21 April, 2002
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part XXIII: Those that remain
The aftermath.
~MIRAI~
PART XXII: SHANTI
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
http://www.geocities.com/komillia/index.html
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha,
etcetera. Chie, Hikaru, Yasha and the other original characters belong
to me.
Note: The dream that is mentioned here is the dream that Usagi had in
the beginning of part 10.
* * * *
"Hajime Sakurai...?"
Callisto heard someone whisper her civilian name but paid little
attention to it. She had to focus on Hel, or else she could end up
like her comrades or the group of Senshi that were lying injured on
the floor.
Hel studied Callisto for a while, searching her mind for a
memory of this Senshi. When she finally found it, a cruel smile
appeared on her face.
"I recognize you," she said. "You were that little child who
belonged to that group the queen had sent to kill me... What was your
name again? Oh yes, I remember... Callisto."
"I swore that I would kill you," Callisto said hatefully and
walked further in the throne hall. "I intend to keep that oath."
The moment after she finished her sentence a blast came from Hel's
fingertips. Jumping aside would have taken too much time and Callisto
could still have gotten hit if she had jumped aside. She held up her
right arm, similar to the way Hel or Lilith did when would use their
powers to move something.
The blast was deflected just before it reached Callisto and
went straight back to Hel. Hel was still standing with her arm reached
out and the blast was deflected again. This time it hit the wall,
causing wood splinters to fly across the throne hall. Callisto and Hel
stared at each other coldly.
"She's a telekinetic... just like Lilith," Lucius noted. He
was the only one of the Shin Senshi who wasn't hurt or exhausted. But
his offensive powers were weak, even Archangel before her power up had
had stronger offensive power. To attack would be suicide, not to
mention that if he got hurt then he wouldn't be able to heal the
others. Still, it pained him to see others fight while he couldn't.
"Impressive," Hel commented on Callisto's power. "Last time
you were here you could hardly deflect a beam... much less deflect it
and aim it for me."
Instead of answering Hel, Callisto traced a circle in the air with
her both hands. Her hands left a ring of grey energy which she grabbed
with her ring hand. The green jewel in her tiara shone brightly.
"Slicing Buster!" Callisto called, throwing the ring towards
Hel. What happened next was a battle between who had the strongest
telekinetic power.
Hel used hers to deflect the ring and it went back to where it
had come from. Callisto did the same, increasing the ring's speed with
her thought as she re-directed it to Hel. Frowning, Hel stopped the
ring with her mind and threw it back to Callisto. Tired of the game,
Hel glanced at the curtains that had fallen to the floor. She moved
both her arms and the curtains flew towards Callisto.
Callisto stopped the ring from hitting her but the next
second her entire body was covered by the heavy dark curtains. She
struggled to get up, but the fact that the curtains were big didn't
help. Hel moved her fingers and the ring exploded, causing the black
curtains to catch fire.
"Foolish child," Hel murmured to herself. She turned her gaze
back to Sailormoon, who had still hadn't recovered from her loss of
energy.
Sailormoon stared at Hel. She saw the fire burning in the
corner of her eyes and knew that she would be next. Hel stepped forth
and moved her feet for the first time. With the long dress she wore
it looked like she was just moving forth and not walking. She walked
past the burning curtains without even looking at them.
Sailormoon gripped the White Crescent Staff as tight as she
could. If she couldn't use her magical attacks to defend herself, then
she just had to do her best to use the staff to fight even though she
hadn't had any training in fighting with a staff. Or perhaps she
could somehow blow Hel up? But she doubted that it would work. Either
Hel would kill her before she had the chance or she would find a way
to counter it.
Desperately, Sailormoon tried to get up. But she only fell
down again, not finding enough strength to be able to stand up. She
found herself becoming so angry that she want to throw her staff down
on the floor and just bang her head to the wall. She had come to help
her friends and now when she had only used her attack once, she was
helpless. There was nothing that she could do.
As Hel came closer and closer, Sailormoon counted the last
few seconds of her life. She closed her eyes. Images of her father,
her mother, the original Senshi, the Shin Senshi... she saw them all.
[Forgive me...] she thought. [I'm not as strong as I wished
that I was.]
Suddenly, both Lucius and Circe ran over to Sailormoon's side.
Lucius knelt down to the floor, touched it with his both hands a force
field appeared around him, Circe and Sailormoon. Sailormoon opened her
eyes and they widened when she saw them standing there.
"Lucius... Circe..."
"This force field won't hold long, but please do whatever you
can to stay alive," Lucius said. "You can't afford to die, none of us
can."
Hel frowned, she reached out her hand to touch the force field. Her
long, painted nails dug into the wall and Lucius winced. Circe glanced
at Lucius, then knelt down next to him and start to murmur something.
[Probably a spell,] Sailormoon realized. As Circe repeated
the spell over and over again, the force field grew thicker and
eventually Hel pulled her hand out. She let out something that
resembled a scream and Sailormoon could see that her hand had gotten
burnt.
[She got burnt...] Sailormoon thought, she was smiling on the
inside. [She can get hurt... which means that she can't be
undefeatable!]
"You have courage..." Hel began. "But courage isn't..."
Her voice drifted off and a shocked expression was laid over her face.
Hel's face paled, that was if she could get paler than she already
was. Sailormoon, Lucius and Circe looked curiously at her, wondering
what her caused her to look so shocked.
"She's here..." Hel murmured to herself. Slowly, she turned
away from the three Senshi and the force field. Moving like a ghost,
she began to make her way towards the doors. With jaws dropped, the
Senshi watched her leaving just like that. It wasn't until about a
minute later that Lucius got up and the force field disappeared. But
his eyes were still staring at the door. He couldn't believe it. Hel
had left... for what reason?
Circe seemed to be the only one who noticed that the black
curtains were still burning. She held out her palm and blew into it.
The air she blew out turned into a large blue cloud that laid itself
on the top of the flames, putting them out. Lucius' and Sailormoon's
attention turned to Callisto and they both quickly lifted the curtains
from her.
Callisto was lying on the floor, coughing constantly. Except
for the coughing she appeared to not be damaged, despite being caught
under the fire. For a moment Sailormoon wondered why, but then smacked
herself on her forehead when she realized that Callisto must have used
her powers to keep the burning parts of the curtain away from her.
Lucius helped Callisto sitting up. As he did, he transferred some of
his energy to her. Callisto's coughing quickly decreased.
"...Thank you," she murmured between the coughs.
"You're welcome," Lucius replied. He then left Callisto for
Sailormoon. "You must be tired too, princess."
Before Sailormoon could answer him, Lucius had put his hand on her
forehead and already begun to transfer energy. As Sailormoon felt
strength and energy returning to her, Lucius' vision started to blur.
Only a few seconds later his knees failed to carry him and Sailormoon
reacted fast enough to catch him before he fell.
Circe immediately rushed over to Lucius and took him into her
arms. She settled him down on the floor gently, placing his head on
her lap.
"You gave too much energy..." Circe said. "Now you're all
weak."
Despite feeling dizzy and weak, Lucius managed to twist his lips into
a smile when he looked into Circe's face.
"I'll be alright if I rest for a while," he answered. "Go
with Callisto and Sailormoon and find Hel."
Circe shook her head firmly. "There's no way I'm leaving you here like
this. Who knows what would happen if she would come back and we
wouldn't be here?"
"Don't worry."
Circe, Sailormoon and Callisto looked to a corner of the throne hall.
Lilith was lying there and had received little attention since Lucius
had left her to help Circe from being strangled by Hel. Using all the
strength in her muscles, Lilith managed to sit up. She forced herself
to smirk towards the others and to look somewhat stronger than she
really was. The truth was that she was very much in pain and that most
of all she wished that she could have a good scream.
"I may be a little... hurt right now but I can protect myself
and Lucius if I want to," Lilith told bravely. Ishtar didn't use her
arms to crawl back up on her knees. Her left shoulder had taken a lot
of damage when she had crashed into the wall.
"I'm still here too..." Ishtar said. She looked at those who
were in a fighting condition, those were Circe, Callisto and
Sailormoon. The rest seemed to be out in one way or another, but as
Lilith had said... they could still protect themselves and each other.
Except for Hermes. He hadn't awaken yet.
"I didn't spend years training with Diana just so that I could
get beaten this easily," Ishtar went on, trying to sound somewhat
cheerful. Most of all she just wanted to go to sleep, to forget about
the pain in her left shoulder and forget about what had happened to
Nature, Archangel and Odin. "Do me a favor and give Hel a good kick
from me."
Seeing that there was it was the best thing to do, Circe put down
Lucius on the floor and got up. Sailormoon hesitated, but as Circe and
Callisto began to leave she went after them. The three Senshi ran out
and entered the hallway, only to stop running immediately. There were
four different ways, on to the left, to the right, one straight
forwards and one down the stairs.
"Which way did she go?" Sailormoon wondered, looking from one
way to another. Without hesitating, Callisto pointed at the stairs.
Circe raised her brow.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"Because I can hear footsteps," Callisto stated simply and
started to make her way towards the stairs. Circe and Sailormoon just
exchanged a look, then followed Callisto. They walked down as quietly
as they could, but halfway down Sailormoon noticed a woman standing
at the end of the corridor that they had arrived at.
First she thought that it was Hel, but then saw that the color
of the woman's hair was brighter and it wasn't in a bun. Seeing the
woman made Sailormoon remember why Hel had looked so familiar to her.
Both Circe and Callisto were about to execute an attack of some sort
but Sailormoon held up her hand, signalling that they shouldn't
attack.
"She's not Hel..." Sailormoon told. Her eyes connected with
the woman's sad eyes. "Her name is Shanti."
* * * *
Sailorneptune shook her head when she looked at the demons on the
other side of the street. The demons were busy destroying another
street that normally would be filled with people. The sound of glass
or wood being shattered never ceased to end.
"This... is as bad as it can get," Sailorvenus commented. That
was exactly was everyone else was thinking. Most of them nodded to
show their agreement.
"I wonder how Callisto and the others are doing..."
Sailormercury said and glanced at her small computer. It showed a map
of the Crystal Palace with several red, blinking dots. "They're all
in there, but I wish that I could find out more than just their
positions."
"We don't have time," Sailormars said harshly. However, the
others understood what she meant. The computer in Sailormercury's
hands quickly disappeared. Instead the goggles appeared over the upper
half of her face.
"We could split up and take different sections of the city,"
she suggested. "However, going to those different sections could take
a certain amount of time. But time is something we shouldn't waste."
"So..." Sailorjupiter began. "We should just attack whatever
demon that's in sight?"
Sailormercury nodded and the googles disappeared from her face.
"Exactly. By not splitting up we have a better chance of
combining our powers and by doing that we use less energy and time
than we normally would have to."
"Well then..." Sailoruranus stepped forth, cracking her
knuckles. She hadn't been fighting for a long time. "Let's go."
* * * *
"Who is she?" Circe asked.
"Shanti," Sailormoon replied. "She is the one who helped me
transform into Sailormoon a few months ago."
Shanti nodded slowly and took a few steps closer to the Senshi. She
looked exactly like the last time Sailormoon had seen her. Nothing had
changed, her eyes were still filled with the same sadness. Sailormoon
felt stupid for not remembering why she had found Hel familiar. The
only difference between Hel and Shanti were the emotions, the hair and
the way they dressed.
"I am glad that you remember me," Shanti spoke. "We don't have
much time, we must..."
"Who are you?" Callisto cut off by asking that question.
Although Circe would have liked to hear the end of what Shanti wanted
to say, she also wanted to hear the question Callisto had asked.
Sailormoon gave Callisto a puzzled look and then turned back to
Shanti. Who was Shanti... really?
"The princess said that you have helped her," Callisto went
on. "But you also happen to look exactly like the woman who has
released a plague on Earth."
Shanti was silent for a few moments, looking extremely
uncomfortable as the three Senshi looked at her with watchful eyes.
When she finally answered, the only one she could bear herself to look
at was Sailormoon.
"I have many names... Shanti... Hel... But one name that no
one knows of was the first name I was given... Tomoe Shinobu."
Sailormoon's eyes widened in shock. Even Circe and Callisto were
shocked. Tomoe Shinobu? The daughter of Tomoe Hotaru, Sailorsaturn?
Now that Sailormoon looked at her, she noticed that Shanti had the
same eyes and the delicate lips as Hotaru had had. But once Callisto
had recovered from her shock, she shook her head firmly.
"You can not be," she stated. "The line of Saturn has ended.
Tomoe Hotaru died fifty years ago and Tomoe Shinobu drowned the same
year. You can not be her."
"You can choose if you believe me or not," Shanti replied
coldly. "But the fact Hel, Shinobu and I are the same person can't be
changed."
Sailormoon sat down on one of the steps and looked at Shanti. She did
look like Hotaru, but how could this be? How could Hel and Shanti be
Hotaru's daughter? It didn't make sense.
"Fifty years ago, when Tomoe Hotaru died, Shinobu was only
five years old," Shanti told. "In her sadness, she thought that if she
died too then she would be with her mother. One night she jumped in a
lake. She couldn't swim. But as she was losing her last breath she
panicked and didn't want to die. In her panicked state she didn't
nothing the dark presence around her, asking her if she was willing to
give him anything if he saved her. All Shinobu wanted was to live and
she agreed. That moment Tomoe Shinobu died but Hel was born."
Shanti paused for a moment, but Callisto impatiently asked her to go
on with the story. When Callisto looked at Shanti she just saw Hel and
it took all the self control she had to resist using a Slicing Buster
attack.
"She was trapped inside Hel for years, I don't know for how
long," Shanti when on. "When Shinobu finally managed to seperate from
Hel, she became Shanti... me. I saw what she had done to Earth and I
knew that I had to stop her. That's when I found out about the Shin
Senshi. Hel has been interested in them for quite a while, long before
you arrived on Earth." Shanti was referring to Sailormoon. "I don't
know why. But then when you came to Earth and were found by the Shin
Senshi, I knew that there had to be something special about you...
Sailormoon, did you receive a new power not too long ago?"
Sailormoon nodded, a bit surprised that Shanti suddenly asked her that
question.
"One day I just had the ability to blow things up," Sailormoon
told. "I don't why."
"You must have seen that Hel has that power too," Shanti said
and Sailormoon nodded silently again. "It was my... Shinobu's power
from the beginning. When Shinobu became Hel, Hel received all
Shinobu's powers. To stop Hel, I tried to transfer her powers to you.
It didn't work, the power was only duplicated... somehow."
Callisto shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in
frustration. Sailormoon, Shanti and Circe looked at her.
"So..." Callisto began. "You're telling up that all the
suffering in the world... all the people that have died... it was all
caused by a five year old who missed her mother?!"
"That is the unfortunate truth," Shanti replied. But it didn't
calm Callisto down.
"What are we supposed to do now?!" she lashed out. "What can
we do now?!"
This couldn't possibly be true. The enemy of Earth... and the Moon
Kingdom was the daughter of Sailorsaturn. Callisto suddenly felt sick
as she thought about her dead comrades. Miyako, Karin and Fumiyo...
they had been killed by someone they used to play with when they were
children. Without even knowing it.
"Callisto, calm down!" Sailormoon ordered, standing up. "It
won't do us any good to be upset. We have to find a way to stop Hel...
there has to be a way."
"What does she want?" Circe asked Shanti. "Hel... why is she
here?"
"She wants the Child of Destiny," Shanti answered. "The Child
of Destiny is the most powerful of the four Protectors of the entire
universe. Once in a few thousand years, four Protectors are born. When
these four Protectors have gathered, the world will enter a new era,
an era where children of Chaos don't belong."
"And those four are...?" Sailormoon wondered. She blinked when
Shanti stared blankly at her.
"As the Senshi of the Moon, you are one of those Protectors,"
Shanti told. "The Saviour of the Galaxy? The one who will heal? I
thought I told you about that already."
Sailormoon looked totally confused first and then shook her head. She
didn't have a clue about what Shanti was talking about. For the first
time Shanti seemed to portray another emotion than sadness. She
sighed.
"Hallo? The dream? Remember it?"
Only after thinking for about a minute, Sailormoon nodded and
understood which dream Shanti had meant. She had been called the
Saviour of the Galaxy in that dream, but never paid much attention it.
"And who are the others?" Circe wondered.
"No one knows," Shanti replied. "Not even Hel or the
Archangels."
"The Archangels?" Callisto, Sailormoon and Circe repeated at
the same time. Sailormoon and Circe were thinking of Tomo, Callisto
was thinking about Natsu.
"The Archangels exist because they are the ones who can
recognize a Protector," Shanti explained. "Their mission is to find
the Protectors."
She was about to say something more. But she paused and turned around.
Sailormoon leaned her head a little to her left and saw that Shanti
was looking at a wooden door. She opened her mouth, only a split
second later the door exploded. Shanti turned away and covered herself
from the splinters.
"Hel..." Sailormoon whispered. Where the door had been before
stood Hel. She didn't pay any attention to the others and just looked
at Shanti.
"There you are," Hel said lightly. She stepped over the wood
splinters on the floor and towards Shanti. Circe jumped forth and blew
into her palm. A blue cloud floated quickly towards Hel, faster than
it usually did.
"Slicing Buster!" Callisto called, tracing a circle with her
hands. She threw the ring towards Hel, then looked around at her
surroundings. Unlike other corridors this was somewhat decorated with
paintings and vases. Callisto squinted her eyes a little and several
of the paintings left the wall and were thrown towards Hel.
Sailormoon raised her hand and the White Crescent Staff
appeared. The crescent on the end of the staff began to glow.
"Shining Moonlight!"
While Hel managed to redirect Circe's and Callisto's attacks, the
paintings and vases hit her with full force. As if it wasn't enough,
light filled the corridor and blinded her and everyone else. Circe
covered her eyes with her hands.
When the light had disappeared, neither Hel or Sailormoon
were standing. Sailormoon was lying on the stairs, panting. Hel was
lying on the floor and seemed unconscious. Callisto got up on her
feet, she had thrown herself to the floor to not be hit by her own
redirected attack.
Was this it? Had they succeeded? Callisto brushed her bangs
away from her eyes and looked at Hel. Was she dead or just
unconscious? Sailormoon's attack seemed to be the only thing that was
really effective against her. Hel had been weakened by it before...
perhaps this time... she was really defeated.
"Do you think... we did it?" Circe asked quietly. Shanti, who
had been silent and hadn't done anything since Hel had arrived, took
one step towards Hel. She knelt down and reached out her hand to check
Hel's pulse.
But the moment she touched Hel's throat, Hel opened her eyes
and brought up her hand to Shanti's chest. Shanti's eyes widened and
she screamed in pain as energy surged through her and a blast cut
through her body.
"...Shan..ti... no...!" Sailormoon whispered. She tried to get
up but was to drained. Circe rushed forth to tear Shanti away from
Hel. But once her hands touched Shanti she was thrown back. Circe flew
across the room and her back connected with the stairs. She let out a
scream and landed next to Sailormoon.
Callisto glanced at a vase made of glass that was standing in
the corner. It was about three feet tall and could do some damage.
With a single thought, Callisto threw the vase towards Hel, using her
powers. The vase bounced against Hel, causing her to loose her grasp
on Shanti. Shanti's eyes widened and she fell. Hel glared at Callisto
and with her own powers threw the vase back.
Expecting this, Callisto held out her hand and stopped the
vase in mid air when it was merely inches away from her fingers. What
she hadn't expected was that the vase would blow up right in front of
her.
"Callisto!" Circe called, rolling over to her side to see
what had happened to her. Callisto was lying on the floor, her skin
bruised and covered with blood. The shards of the vase were either
around her on the floor, or were still piercing her body. Despite all
this she appeared to be alive and breathing. The shards hadn't hit her
vital organs and had only caused minor bruises and cuts.
Hel got up and looked at the three Senshi, then at Shanti.
Shanti's body had ceased moving a long time ago and was quickly fading
a away.
"I am finally rid of this nuisance," Hel said as the last
trace of Shanti disappeared. "Despite all the time it took it was
pretty easy."
Circe shook her head and managed to sit up. Her back was hurting and
she had probably broken a few ribs.
"Nuisance...?" Circe repeated bitterly. "How can you kill...
someone... who is the same as you?"
"Silence!" Hel yelled and held out one of her arms towards
Circe. Circe was once again lifted into the air. By Hel's will, she
was slammed into the ceiling and then into the wall before falling to
the floor.
"Circe!" Sailormoon called and sat up. Callisto pulled a glass
shard out from her leg and then tried to stand up. She traced a circle
with her hand.
"Slicing Buster..." she whispered and threw the circle towards
Hel. Hel caught the circle with little effort. She didn't even bother
throwing it back and the circle disappeared from her hand.
"Haven't you learned that that doesn't work against me?" she
asked mockingly. "Foolish child."
Hel moved her hand. A door was pulled from it's position and hit
Callisto from behind. With Callisto covered by the door, there was no
way Sailormoon could tell if she was alive or not. Hel stepped closer
to Sailormoon.
"And then there's you," Hel went on. "The princess. You have
been a problem for me since the moment you were stranded on Earth."
"What... have I ever done to you?" Sailormoon asked angrily.
"Or anyone else in this room? Why do you keep killing and hurting
us?!"
Hel slapped her across her face and Sailormoon cursed herself for not
having enough strength to slap her back.
"Your existence..." Hel hissed. "You, the Saviour of the
Galaxy, exist to purify the world. Your purification means the end of
me and those who are like me. You do remember the war against the
Black Moon Family, don't you? Those who opposed were banished, there
was no place for them in the utopia your mother wanted to create. The
idea of this utopia sickens me. Once I have killed the Child of
Destiny I will shape the world into any form I want it to be!"
Hel then smiled sweetly towards Sailormoon.
"Did you enjoy it when Morpheus put you in the 'dream world'?"
she asked. "I certainly hope so, because that's where you'll be
spending eternity... surrounded by your fears and watching how the
world will look after I have shaped it."
"No..." Sailormoon whispered, trying to get away from Hel
although her mind told her that she couldn't escape. She shut her eyes
tightly just before the darkness surrounded her. But shutting her eyes
also meant that she didn't see the expression of horror on Hel's pale
face.
* * * *
"Sailormoon, open your eyes."
[I don't want to,] Sailormoon thought, refusing to open her
eyes. [I don't want to see Hel's world, I don't want to see it!]
"It's okay," Circe's voice assured. "There's nothing here to
be afraid of.]
[Circe?]
Wondering why she was hearing Circe's voice, Sailormoon opened her
eyes. She found herself floating, floating in light of different
colors. Her body felt light as a feather and the exhaustion from
before had disappeared.
"Where am I?" Sailormoon asked herself.
"I think we are in the 'dream world'," Callisto answered,
startling Sailormoon. She was floating a few feet away from her,
which was why Sailormoon hadn't discovered her. Circe was floating
next to Callisto. The bruises and cuts on Callisto's body had
disappeared and Circe also seemed to be fine. Circe swiftly made her
way over to Sailormoon's side.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Sailormoon nodded.
"What happened?" she questioned. "Shouldn't we be seeing our
worst fears or something? Individually? All that's here is..."
"Nothingness," Callisto finished. She looked up, but found
that nothing seemed different no matter which way she looked. "I heard
Hel talking to you as I was lying there. The moment before she was
going to send you to this dream world, I mind linked all of us."
Circe stared blankly at Callisto.
"You what?"
"I mind linked all of us," Callisto repeated. "It was the only
way. As you have noticed we can hear each other's thoughts. The reason
why Circe and I are here too is because you are linked to us. In the
process, I linked Hel too."
"What?!" both Circe and Sailormoon yelled.
"She should be somewhere around here as well," Callisto went
on before Sailormoon or Circe could question her. "More vulnerable and
somewhat easier to defeat. I suspect that if we just stay calm then we
will know what is real and what is not. I doubt Hel was prepared for
this, she is most likely to panic and once she meets her fears she'll
be..."
Callisto's voice was silenced abruptly. She had caught sight on
something. Sailormoon turned around, moving her body easily. Callisto
was looking at a small, red bow that was floating. Sailormoon reached
out and the bow magically came to her. She looked the bow. It was
small and worn, but to the owner it was probably a object of that past
that he or she was proud of.
Sailormoon didn't noticed that anything had changed until her
boots made contact with the ground. She took her eyes of the bow and
saw that she was standing in the middle of a park. The park was empty
on people but it looked somewhat familiar to her.
She caught sight on a sign and read the words to herself.
"The Lunarian Park..."
Callisto and Circe were still by her side. They also looked at the
sign when Sailormoon had read the words. Callisto took one look at the
park benches and the playground.
"This must have been before the park was renovated," she
stated. "It looks nothing like the way it did when I was little."
Circe was the first one who spotted the girl. The girl was sitting on
a swing, crying as if there was no tomorrow. She was small and
couldn't be older than five or six. The sound of the girl crying
eventually reached Sailormoon. Only a moment after hearing the cries,
she raced towards the girl.
"Wait!" Callisto called but Sailormoon ignored her. As she
came closer to the girl, she realized that this was little Shinobu.
The large violet eyes, the purple hair... there was no mistake. Circe
and Callisto caught up with her. All three stared at Shinobu, not
knowing what to do. Finally, Sailormoon knelt down and held out the
bow to Shinobu, offering her it.
"Is this yours?" she asked kindly. "Did you lose it?"
Shinobu stopped crying and looked at the bow in Sailormoon's hand for
a while. Then she nodded shyly. Sailormoon smiled towards the little
girl and tied to bow back into her hair.
"There you go," she said. "Make sure that you won't drop it
this time."
Shinobu nodded again and smiled vaguely at Sailormoon.
"Are you here to save me?" she asked. She spoke with a child's
voice but the meaning in the words seemed far too mature for a five
year old. "I've been playing here for so long, then I don't know the
way back home. She doesn't let me go home."
"Who?" Sailormoon wondered.
"The old lady," Shinobu answered. "She tells me that if I
don't stay here and play then I'll be punished."
Shinobu jumped off the swing and threw her short arms around
Sailormoon's neck. She started to cry again.
"I don't want to play anymore!" she sobbed. "I want to go
home... to mommy, Miya, Kari and Fumi!"
With a worried frown Sailormoon hugged Shinobu back. She had to
questions that she desperately wanted answers for. One, what was she
supposed to do? Two, where was Hel?
The latter question was answered when Circe and Callisto threw
themselves away from each other. A blast struck where they had been
standing and set some of the grass on fire. Sensing that something
was coming, Sailormoon held Shinobu tightly in her arms and quickly
threw herself away from where she had been standing.
Once she got up on her feet she saw Hel standing on the other
side of the swings. Hel was different from the way she had looked
before. She was no longer standing firmly and tall. Instead, she
looked like she was shaking and as if she would faint any moment.
[It's over, Hel...] Sailormoon thought, knowing that Hel could
hear her.
"Never!" Hel yelled in return. She looked at Shinobu, who
buried her face into Sailormoon's shoulder in fear. "So killing Shanti
wasn't enough... I will kill you once and for all!"
"No more killing..." Sailormoon whispered. She shifted Shinobu
over to her right arm and held out her left one. The White Crescent
Staff materialized in her hand. "It's over. Shinobu-chan is going
home."
Hel screamed insanely and began to shoot blasts everywhere. Callisto
raised her hand, deflecting the blasts as good as she could. Circe
began to chant a spell that would raise shields over everyone.
Sailormoon leaped high when a blast came for her. She remained
floating high in the air but gave it little thought.
"Shinobu-chan?"
Shinobu dared to open her eyes and to look at Sailormoon. Sailormoon
smiled and the Ginzuishou appeared on the top of the crescent on her
staff.
"Let's go."
Nodding, Shinobu agreed. Both Sailormoon and Shinobu turned their eyes
to Hel as the Ginzuishou began to emit a white light.
"Shining Moonlight!"
* * * *
The playground was almost empty. Circe and Callisto had disappeared a
long time ago. Sailormoon and Shinobu were no where to be seen. The
only one who remained was Hel. She was lying on the ground, exhausted
and drained. She didn't even have the energy to keep her eyes open.
No more.
She was oblivious to how much time passed before the silence
was broken. Footsteps were heard. Hel struggled to open her eyes and
the first one she saw was the little girl, Shinobu, leaning over her.
Standing next to Shinobu was Sailormoon, who seemed incredibly tall
next to the girl.
"How ironic..." Sailormoon said, looking down at Hel with pity
in her eyes. "... that you chose to possess the powers and the body of
a Protector in order to search for and kill another Protector...
without even knowing it."
Shinobu held her hands over Hel's eyes and in her hand a violet,
star shaped transformation brooch was formed. Hel felt more of her
energy leave and she closed her eyes.
"You are a part of me now," Shinobu said. "You will always
be."
With that, Hel's body faded into nothing. Shinobu watched it happen,
staying unnaturally calm for being a child. When Hel was gone, Shinobu
held up the transformation brooch in the air.
"Star Celestial Power! Make up!"
The clothes Shinobu wore faded away and she was surrounded by tiny
stars in different color. In a flash of light her body had grown to
size of an adult and the stars had melted into a Sailor fuku that she
wore. The fuku reminded Sailormoon a lot about Sailorsaturn's first
fuku, with fringed sleeves and the laced boots. The colors were nearly
identical as well, the difference was what the white on the fuku was
replaced by black.
With the body of a twenty year old and a scythe that was
being materialized in her hand, Shinobu had gained another name...
Sailorstar.
"I will atone for what I have done," Sailorstar said
seriously. "But first I will find the Child of Destiny and the other
Protector. Only when I have found them, I will be able to make up for
what I have done."
Sailormoon nodded. "Sailorstar... Sailormoon," she whispered. "We are
two of the Protectors of this world. There will be others who will
try to hunt down the Child of Destiny... this isn't over yet."
"No, it's not," Sailorstar agreed. "When they come... we will
fight them."
The two Protectors exchanged a smile, then disappeared from the dream
world. The red bow that Shinobu had worn was lying on the grass where
Hel had been lying. It had been left behind, but not forgotten,
symbolizing the past.
Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/komillia/index.html
21 April, 2002
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part XXIII: Those that remain
The aftermath.