...
Angel of Darkness
Angel of Darkness
The world is in your hands, but I will fight until the end.
Angel of Darkness
Angel of Darkness
Don't follow your command, but I will fight and I will stand.
.
When darkness falls,
Pain is all,
The Angel of Darkness will leave behind,
and I will... fight.
.
The love is lost,
beauty and light, have vanished from garden of delight.
The dreams are gone,
midnight has come,
The Darkness is our new kingdom.
Yeah-eah...
Hotaru lay on the bed unmoving, and her skin was completely white and stone cold. Her breathing was coming soft shallow movements and it felt like at any moment she might stop breathing for real. Haruka grasped onto her hand tightly as the girl lay on the guest bed once more and Michiru sat on the other side of the bed with her aqua eyes not leaving the girl's face as she willed her to improve. They had nowhere to take her, nowhere to turn for help, and even if they did take her somewhere they would not be able to do anything for her. The injury had not done her bodily harm, but had been deep within her soul. Something had attacked her consciousness and the amount of damage done had been enhanced by Hotaru pulling out of her insertion too quickly. Like a driver rising out of the depths of the ocean, she would have needed to move out of the insertion slowly in order to let her soul return to her body normally. With a medium like Michiru's Deep Aqua Mirror this process is almost simultaneous, but Hotaru had been acting with her soul entirely exposed, she had not had the chance to take the necessary precautions. Whatever had struck out against her in the vision had been too threatening to risk taking the time needed. This caused Michiru's heart to ache. What had been inside a simple chest that had made Hotaru think it better to risk her soul's death this way than to stay within the insertion longer?
Michiru grabbed hold of the girl's other hand and held on tightly. Haruka hadn't looked away from Hotaru since they had entered the house and Michiru found herself in the same situation. She could not pull herself away from her side.
Hotaru could very well die. If something didn't happen soon, she would fade away and the shallow breaths that came from her lungs would cease entirely. Michiru bent down closer to Hotaru.
"Someone save her!" She begged. She and Haruka was helpless. The two grand Solitary Senshi of The Outer Solar System were completely powerless against the battle that was tearing Hotaru's body apart. Haruka's right hand moved closer to Michiru and Michiru grasped onto it like a lifeline. The three were a complete triangle and both Haruka's and Michiru's hearts raced in unison inside their chests. "Hotaru-chan, please..." Michiru whispered and a tear fell from her eye though she tried to push it back. Haruka squeezed her hand momentarily but she didn't appear too assured either. Hotaru needed help and healing and neither of them could give it to her.
"Come on." Haruka whispered with an edge of anger in her voice. "Wake up..." Michiru wanted to look away. The girl was even paler now and she was slipping into death. "Wake up!" Haruka shouted and Michiru felt a surge of power as their hearts were beating as one. The power had not come from them though... Michiru was sure of it.
"Wake up." Michiru dared to hope her suspicions were true. "Come back to us." The girl's body began to glow again with the same aura they had seen during her nightmare and during her insertion. A soft violet glow encased her and Michiru's skin tingled as she continued to hold onto Hotaru's glowing hand. Michiru heard Haruka give out a slight gasp and Michiru could hardly believe what she was seeing as well. The glowing continued to envelope her and they could see her skin beginning to return to a slightly healthier colour and her breathing began to become stronger the longer they sat there together with one heart.
Hotaru's soul... was healing itself.
Michiru sat there in disbelief but also hope that it was true and not just her imagination. Haruka sat there just as hopeful and it gave Michiru assurance that it was in fact really happening.
The glow's brightness dimmed slightly but Hotaru still remained with a small shimmer around her person as she lay there with her eyes remaining closed. Michiru and Haruka looked at each other with their hope mingling with a newfound fear.
Hotaru lay unconscious on the bed still as Michiru finally pulled herself away from her side. She was out of danger now and all they had to do was wait until she woke up on her own. The fear in her heart though was still not silenced. Who was this girl? Where did she get this power from? A power that could produce visions of the future, turn off alarms, put her soul into an entirely new place, and now, it was revealed, heal herself? She was too much of a mystery. Who was Tomoe Hotaru?
Michiru looked back towards Haruka and Hotaru for a moment before heading down the hall towards the study. The computer lay in the farthest corner of the room and was covered in a thin layer of dust from the disuse. The last time they had used it had been a month ago when they had looked up the Yoruno family and their company.
Michiru switched it on and she held her breath as it light up and she sat down in front of it and proceeded to log onto the internet. She looked back towards the doorway but Haruka did not appear, and she wasn't surprise. It would probably take a miracle to get her away from Hotaru until she was awake, but Michiru could not provide herself with that luxury. She needed to do her duty... She needed to find answers as soon as possible.
"Tomoe Hotaru..."
She entered the name and a minute late she had found a series of articles about a mysterious Professor Tomoe and as she scanned deeper into the articles the mystery name Hotaru deepened and the uneasiness in her stomach began to heighten.
Michiru turned off the computer and stood up with her legs shaking a bit underneath her. There was something about this...
Michiru grabbed hold of the 'Marine Cathedral' and began to play, but it did nothing to help her calm her nerves like she hoped, but it did give her time to think. Her eyes closed as she played and she tried desperately to drift away from the world and the mystery, but she was helpless against it. She had to face the fear... but she didn't want to reach the conclusion she was approaching. Her eyes opened and the violin stopped playing as she let it drop to her side. She was now powerless against it all from unfolding... If what she suspected was true. She put the violin down onto its stand and walked back towards the room.
Haruka sat beside Hotaru with her hands wrapped around her's.
"What did you find?" She asked breaking the stillness of the night, but Michiru didn't want it broken. She didn't want to speak her fears aloud.
"She is the daughter of a scientists whose experiments were fairly controversial. They involved human subjects." She said.
"And?" Michiru stared at Hotaru not wanting to tell the story any more.
"There was a fire seven years ago, when she was eight. The entire house and lab was the epicenter of a massive explosion. The cause of the explosion was never known." Michiru paused. "She was the only survivor." Michiru said quietly, her voice barely able to be heard. Haruka froze in place as they both stared at the unconscious girl on the bed. Michiru's eyes reflected her fear and one of Haruka's hands touched Hotaru's face gently as she slept.
She looked so gentle, but had been through so much. Yet they also knew how hard her stare could be. They were cold eyes that could suck you into the void if you were not careful...
Like The Saturn...
Hotaru gasped in panic as her eyes opened wide and she sat up on the bed. Her eyes darted around frantically and she froze at the scene in front of her. Haruka was clutching tightly onto her hand as she sat bent over the bed in a deep sleep.
"Papa..." Hotaru whispered softly and she relaxed on the back of the bed. She lifted her hand to wake her.
"Let her sleep." Michiru's voice spoke through the darkness and Hotaru looked up to see her sitting in a bathrobe across from the bed in a chair she had brought from the living room. The Deep Aqua Mirror lay on her lap and Michiru sat playing with a strand of her blue hair. "Its not everyday that I get to see Haruka look so serene." Hotaru looked back down at her 'Papa'. "Hotaru-chan..." Hotaru lifted her gaze to meet Michiru's, but the woman remained staring downwards carelessly towards her knees. "Who are you?" Hotaru sat there with her eyes freezing over. Michiru's eyes narrowed sadly, and they reflected a deep pain. "You said earlier, that if we knew, we would kill you." Michiru lifted The Mirror slightly off of her lap and stared at it with a sorrowful expression; still trying to avoid Hotaru's eyes. "Are you her?" She asked speaking her fears aloud. "Are you... That Soldier of Ruin we fear so much?" Hotaru didn't move and her eyes remained distant and cold. Michiru looked up, but her eyes stared at the covers of the bed and not Hotaru's eyes. "Hotaru-chan... We couldn't kill you now..." She admitted. "We love you too much... You don't have to be afraid-"
"I'm not afraid of dying." Hotaru said suddenly, and with truthful force. "I have never been afraid of dying." Michiru didn't look up at her as Hotaru continued in a firm voice. "I have only been afraid that my mission would end in failure."
"Are you her?" Michiru asked again, her voice cracking.
"Yes." Michiru put The Mirror down on her lap with her eyes reflecting the sadness and deepness of the sea.
"I thought as much." She looked up at Hotaru finally meeting her gaze. "Is it the fate of this world to fall to Silence?" She asked. "Now that Haruka and I could never kill you?" Hotaru smiled and it shocked Michiru. She had never minded her smile before. It was beautiful and sweet, and there was a hint of innocence buried beneath.
"No." Hotaru said. Michiru didn't understand, and the surprise was plain on her face.
"But... if you awaken!" She exclaimed.
"Its different now." Hotaru told her. "We no longer have to be alone." Michiru shook her head. She didn't understand what Hotaru meant. "We no longer have to stay back, being the silent protectors, or... the last resort."
"Saturn..." Michiru whispered sadly tilting her head. Hotaru remained staring at the top of Haruka's resting head as she spoke and her hand touched her 'Papa's' hair gently.
"We have a new mission." Hotaru continued. "We no longer have to stay by our lonely castles, our tabooed posts, or our darkened cells. We must reach out to that white planet: the tiny star of our solar system that gives off the sweetest and brightest light. The source of all our hope."
"The Moon." Michiru whispered. Hotaru's eyes moved from Haruka back to Michiru.
"It is written in the stars, whom we live for. Its our duty, to protect her. And for me... to protect the future to come."
"The future?" Michiru asked still unsure of what to make of the girl in front of her. Hotaru remained staring with a cold distantness.
"I remember... everything."
...
"Papa!" Professor Tomoe turned around to see his young daughter laughing in the doorway.
"Hotaru! You were suppose to be in bed a half hour ago!" Her mother scolded. "Get back into your room." The Professor rose his hand to stop her mother and smiled brightly at his misbehaving daughter.
"Come on, Hotaru. Let's get you to bed." Hotaru giggled.
"I can't!" She declared loudly. "You haven't read me a story!" She complained. Her father continued to smile and her mother laughed as well.
"Well, I guess we'll have to change that." He said leading her towards her room and her mother remained near the lab.
"I'll be downstairs preparing." She told him and he nodded.
"Alright, I'll be down in a bit." He walked away from her and Hotaru glanced back at her mother suddenly fearful. Her young heart was filled with the irrational fear of never seeing her again. "Come on..." Her father scooped her up into his arms playfully and she let out a squeal of delight as the fear left her.
The Professor threw her onto the bed and he let the covers float down on top of her as she continued to laugh happily.
"A story! A story!" She demanded and The Professor sat down beside her trying to think of a story he had read her before. Her books were still packed up from their recent move into the new house and lab.
"Hotaru was looking up to the sky and she noticed how close The Moon above her looked." Hotaru looked up through the window happily as he spoke and The Moon shimmered brightly like a brilliant pearl in the sky. "She reached up for it, but it was still too far." Hotaru's smile faded slightly and her bright eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as if she were remembering something.
"Its always so far away." She said, "Never letting me keep it close." The Professor laughed.
"So, she said to her Papa, 'Papa, bring me The Moon.' And he-"
"No!" Hotaru cried shaking her head and she was now crawling out of the covers and onto his lap. "Take me to The Moon!" She said. "Take me there and let its light continue in the sky!"
"Hotaru, its just a story." He said becoming concerned at how serious she was taking it.
"You're telling it wrong!" She complained and she stared up at The Moon. "Take me to The Moon, Papa!" The Professor sighed, but then smiled again.
"Okay." He agreed. "So Hotaru's Papa built her a huge, grand, expensive rocket in his underground lab." He grimaced as he pretended to think about spending all of his imaginary money on a single rocket. Hotaru smiled and laid her head on his lap still looking up at The Moon in the sky. "He took her and strapped her in. The count was set." He covered his mouth with one of his hands as he continued. "10, 9, 8..." His voice counted in a muffle as if over a radio and then his hands were on Hotaru's thin waist. "Blast off!" He shouted lifting her small body into the air suddenly and she shouted in joy. "Then-" He let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh no! They were going too fast! The Moon was too close!" He screamed. "They were going to crash!" Hotaru screamed as well and she fell onto the bed with a fit of laughter.
"Are we there? Did we make it?!" Hotaru demanded desperately. The Professor looked around the room as if he were examining the surface of an alien place.
"I think so..." He said thoughtfully. Hotaru was now beaming again. "And look!" He pointed towards the doorway. Hotaru put her hand on her forehead to shade her eyes as she followed his gaze.
"What?!" She asked.
"There's The Moon Rabbit!" Her father cried. Hotaru gasped and climbed over his lap again.
"Making rice cakes!" Hotaru squealed and The Professor laughed.
"A little brown bunny making rice cakes! I never thought it could be real!" Hotaru glared up at him.
"Its not brown!" She declared. "Its pink!" The Professor put his hand on his hips and frowned deeply.
"I've never seen a pink bunny." He complained in jest, but Hotaru's eyes had grown cold and she was staring off into the distance. It was a sudden change from the happy girl she normally was.
"She's pink." Hotaru said. "And her cute little ears come up on both sides of her head, and her red eyes... always staring back at me in the darkness." The Professor leaned in closer to her.
"Ah, an albino." He said. "That isn't pink though, that is white and red!" Hotaru smiled up at him.
"Nu-uh!" She cried. "Its pink!"
"White!"
"Pink!"
The Professor laughed and kissed her forehead.
"Fine, you win. She's pink." Hotaru yawned as he spoke. "See, I told you. Bed time."
"The story isn't done..." Hotaru complained rubbing her eyes. She didn't want this to end, not now... it couldn't come so soon. She didn't understand her thoughts, but still they came to her. The need to keep her Papa by her for as long as possible.
"Yes it is." He said tucking Hotaru back in.
"What about The Princess?" Hotaru asked. "Do I get to meet her too?" She demanded with her eyes drooping. The Professor smiled and kissed her forehead again.
"Some other time." He said and he stood up. "We'll just be downstairs in the lab." He told her. Hotaru's eyes were almost closed now.
"Okay..." She whispered. He smiled as he watched her drifting off to sleep and turned off the lights, but it was only just as Hotaru had slipped into sleep that the nightmare unfolded before her.
The ground shook violently beneath her feet and Hotaru leaned against the edge of the portal that lead to The Moon Castle. From there the nightmare unfolded before her eyes as she tried to maintain her balance and hold in The Fourth Dimension's shelter. It was all happening underneath her, and she could do nothing to stop it.
The Earth and The Moon were darkening and everything she could see was dissolving and crumbling to the ground. It was as if she were viewing The Silver Millenium's demise again, but this time she was not the one who had turned the Sickle of Death, The Silence Glaive, upon the world. The destruction struck Hotaru to the very core of her being and she could only let out a high pitched scream as the violence remained swirling beneath her.
"No!" She struggled to pick herself up and she peered into the darkness as it enveloped everything below her. Then out of the darkness Hotaru saw the destruction made complete and the castle and world lay in ruins and in an incredible rushing wind came from the darkness that had enveloped it. The paradox had taken everything and everyone, and it had ripped everything Hotaru had loved away. Hotaru's eyes scanned the world below hoping to see anyone, just anyone, moving! To hear a sound other than the still rushing wind. Her heart stopped as she finally heard something through the howling of the wind; a soft cry. Hotaru turned her head towards the sound and she leaned farther out of the portal. Out in the distance... she could see her... Chibiusa was floating in the middle of it all and she was completely alone. "Chibiusa!" She jumped into the chaos and rushing wind with only a thought to save her.
"Hotaru-chan!" Chibiusa exclaimed as Hotaru reached her. The older girl hugged her close against her chest, but the chaos that had seemed to begin settling down now escalated around them again as it reacted to Hotaru's presence in a future that now longer exsisted. The two shouted in surprise as the darkness surrounded them and they both began to fall through the darkness together. At least... they were not alone...
"We have to stay together!" Hotaru shouted over the noise of the rushing wind that blew there hair in their faces. "Hold tight to me!" Chibiusa cringed in pain.
"Hotaru, something's happening... to the past." She said with tears in her eyes, and as Hotaru looked at her she could see through her for an instant. Hotaru gasped. This wasn't happening! She hadn't seen that! "Hotaru-chan. I-" A tug pulled on them and Hotaru's grip slid as both girls screamed. Hotaru scanned around for others frantically, but no one was in sight. It was only Chibiusa and Hotaru... "Hotaru-chan..." Chibiusa's eyes were sorrowful and Hotaru could see completely through her.
"No! Chibiusa! We can fix this! I'll stop it!" Chibiusa just stared at her mournfully as they continued to fall more quickly.
"You're my best friend, Hotaru..." Hotaru gasped in horror as she could no longer hold Chibiusa and she was being taken away from her as if she were drowning in rushing water.
"Chibiusa-chan!" Chibiusa's hands clasped together prayerfully and her eyes closed together tightly, and her brooch let out a single, bright, pink light that spread out and filled the entire void they were falling through as Chibiusa remained invoking her power.
"Onegai..." She pleaded desperately; her form ghost-like, and a few specks of light had begun to drift behind her.
"Chibiusa!" Chibiusa's eyes opened again, and she smiled sadly with tears in her eyes as Hotaru fought against the rushing, water-like, past; her eyes wide as she reached up desperately towards Chibiusa.
"You can do it..." Chibiusa whispered. "Hotaru..." Hotaru gasped in disbelief, and heartbreak as Chibiusa vanished into a million tiny lights that floated down around her in the darkness.
"Chibiusa!" Hotaru screamed with her voice trilling painfully. This couldn't be true! The pain filled her heart as she lost the fight against the pull of the void, and fell violently into the past. "CHIBIUSA!"
Hotaru gasped as she bolted up on the bed with her entire body shaking violently with fear, and her cheeks stained red with tears. The images of the dream covered in a layer of shadow, but the things she could still make out were frightening. She had fallen for what had seemed like an eternity struggling to keep those images safely within her and for some reason, Hotaru could not remember, the images had obeyed. Whatever had been trying to take them away from her had lost its strength the longer she fell and she had found it easier to keep them intact, but... hidden just beneath her consciousness. Hotaru's head hurt as she tried to unlock the images again to see them, but they refused to show themselves, at least for now.
Hotaru's eyes tried to adjust to the funny lighting around her and there was something around her making the air difficult to breath. The large cloud of smoke rose up from the bottom of the doorway and Hotaru's mind began to remember where she was again.
Hotaru gasped, but oddly enough it was not from the smell of fire all around her, but the familiarity to it all. She had seen this before.
Hotaru's feet touched the hot ground and she ran through the burning door and towards the lab as the raging fire stung at her body. She had to get to the basement. Papa and Mama were in danger... The lab door opened wide and Hotaru could see the entire underground was consumed in flames. She covered her mouth as she ran deeper into it, but she continued to cough and the fire was burning her continuously as her eyes stung.
"Papa! Mama!" She cried and tears dripped down her ashen face. There were several other people inside still and she could hear their voices.
"Over here!" They were all trying to make their way to the lab entrance where Hotaru had stood a minute before, but they did not look like they would make it through the flames. Horrible sounds rung out over their shouts and it filled the entire lab as it shook violently. Hotaru pushed forward into the flames and smoke. The small girl was ignored in the midst of the flames and people.
"Papa!" She cried out once more as she saw him struggling to get up off the ground. She raced over to him and crouched down to avoid the smoke and flames above her, but as he looked up she could see it; something evil and sick flashed on his face. Hotaru paused as her mind began to spin.
That was not her Papa anymore... The memories were swirling in her mind and the horrid sound from before was growing louder. It was like the sound of hundreds of moans calling out at once and a rushing wind spun around the lab enticing the fire. Hotaru took her gaze off of her Papa and she watched the swirling dark vortex forming above them.
She had seen this before... a long time ago. A lifetime ago.
Her forehead was beginning to burn anew, and it was no longer from the flames. A deep laughter mingled with the moans as the darkness emerged from the vortex and a dark hand began to descend upon her. Hotaru's eyes narrowed and her fist tightened as she continued to crouch down in the flames. Her whole body began to glow as power surged through her and the memories of the future opened up to her.
"I will not be a pawn of destruction." Hotaru spoke with a low voice; and older voice. "Not this time..." The darkness of the vortex spread out above them and the hand was only a yard away from Hotaru's face, but this time she knew what was going on. She was not a child staring up at it defenselessly as it took her will and freedom away from her. This time... she would fight! She would not become his Mistress 9! She had a promise to fulfill! She would stop it, and then they would all fix it together.
Hotaru stood up straight with her fist clenched tightly to her side.
"Iie." She spoke loudly and without fear. Her violet eyes pierced through the dark chaos above her as her body continued to glow and power was rushing through her veins. The moans from the vortex increased as the hand descended upon her. What could a weak girl could do against a god-like being? She was small and frail, too small for her age.
Her hands moved outwards from her body and she summoned the power surging within her awakening soul; a soul that had not been entirely locked away from the start. The power surged through her as the hand came down against her, but she could not control it like she once had been able to. The hand was now upon her and Hotaru crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes as she willed the power to come over her, but it still could not be channeled properly like she needed it to be. The hand touched Hotaru's chest and she gasped as her eyes opened wide and she let the destructive power break free of its internal barriers and the sound of a loud explosion filled the lab as Hotaru stood there releasing all the power she could access; her forehead brightly blazing with the Sickle of Saturn.