If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. - 1 Corinthians, 13:1
Intermission 1: Your True Allegiance
At eleven o'clock in the morning, the Formula Nippon race at Tsukuba would be given its green flag. The stands were filled with racing fans of all ages and places, especially eager to see the two most promising racecar driving prospects Japan had ever produced up to that date. Naturally, a certain Haruka Tenoh was one of them.
For that morning's race, Haruka would start second. The pole position was exactly the man who the Guardian had to beat in the championship, Odori Bakazuma. Known as "Iceman" and "the Niki Lauda of the East" due to his nigh-genius expertise in the nuances of racing and car setups, and his lack of social tact, he was considered on par with Haruka in the expectancy to deliver good results in international competitions shortly. And indeed, he and Haruka split the leadership of the championship up to that point, with three races to go.
Naturally, Michiru Kaioh was there on the assigned garage of Team Kameda to cheer on her girlfriend, accompanied by Haruka's father, German impresario Alexander von Sydow. He looked almost exactly like Haruka, except for more pronounced male features, such as broader shoulders, a squared jawline, and a mustache that covered his upper lip.
After a short prayer and a sign of the cross, Haruka hopped onto the cockpit of her red-and-white car. Kintarou Kameda, her team's owner and spotter, was there to give out some last pointers for the race. Haruka answered it all with a confident nod and a thumbs-up. The track's sound system then blared its signal: "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!"
The battle for first place raged on right after the rolling start, with Haruka and Odori changing places, even in the tight corners of the track where overtaking was all but impossible. There was no one in the stands and in the paddock area that wasn't on the edge of their seats to see the two drivers fight it out for the victory. Even the pitstops were thrilling for the audience.
The white flag was eventually deployed, signaling the final lap. The race felt like it would never end, despite the track's relative shortness and the time limit of one hour. But just as they entered the last corner, something unexpected happened: the front wing of Odori's car touched the rear right tire of Haruka's car, causing her to lose control, spin toward the tire wall, and hit it with such strength, the wall undid itself, exposing the concrete walling structure. Naturally, Odori received the checkered flag as the winner. But at that moment, all the attentions were turned to the final corner, where Haruka hit her car.
Michiru and Alexander saw the scene from a monitor in Team Kameda's garage, dazzled but still unworried about Haruka's real condition. The TV footage could only show so much, and at first glance, nothing indicated the real condition of Haruka. Everyone expected she would climb out of the cockpit unharmed. But she did not, remaining there with only a strange movement of her head inside the helmet indicating any signal of life.
Kameda himself tried to communicate through the cockpit radio: "Haruka! Can you hear me? HARUKA!" No response but static. This did not bode well. Only upon hearing this did Michiru become concerned for her beloved's well-being.
The paramedics were put to action immediately, going to the crash site at full speed in their ambulance. As they removed Haruka from the wreck, she was twitching violently, gasping coarsely for breath with her head stuck to the wheel. The paramedics had to take her head out of a stuck piece of the steering column that had splintered off, penetrated through her helmet, and pierced through her skull. They then removed her helmet and her blood-soaked balaclava, and the gaping wound over her left eyebrow where the piece of metal was stuck was still oozing blood in alarming amounts. They then performed an emergency tracheotomy, so she could at least breathe in and out and sutured up the wound, but all of them feared would be deeper than previously thought. They boarded Haruka into the ambulance, leaving behind a thick pool of blood over the sand stops.
The mood was simply not for podium festivities, especially considering the winner had just severely injured his fellow racer. But when the track stewards and team members went after Odori to hear what he had to say, he was nowhere to be found.
Kameda rushed to the paddock to address Haruka's father and girlfriend. "Miss Kaioh, Mr. Sydow, we have to go to the hospital, pronto."
(xx)
The doctor responsible to break the news on Haruka's health condition came out to greet them as soon as they stepped into the lobby.
"I'm afraid I have... Very bad news about her current state. Part of her car's wheel bar pierced above her left eyebrow, and not only did it graze through her brain, but it also tore an artery that is vital to keep her cranial pressure. I'm afraid there is little we can do at this point."
All three were completely floored at the news. Haruka was as good as dead, and there was nothing they could do. Michiru in particular was shaking in fear of losing the woman she loves. How could that be? She who faced death itself already and came back unscathed was now to perish to a freak accident. All Alexander and Kameda could do at that moment was to comfort her, as well as each other.
Inside the ICU room she was taken to, Haruka laid on the bed linked to several machines to track her heartbeat and neural functions, and to help her breathe, waiting as her vital signs slowly subsided. Her head had swollen to the size of a basketball and took on a crimson hue due to her disrupted cranial pressure.
One of the medics entered the room, but rather than check on her health state, he put a couple of jewels on her side, and they started acting right away. He left almost immediately, so as not to raise suspicion.
(xx)
Haruka's Dreamscape
Everything around Haruka seemed to crumble and unravel itself as if an all-encompassing nothingness encroached on everything. The Guardian herself felt increasingly nervous and overwhelmed at the sight, especially since she could recognize people and objects that reminded of her own life among the things disintegrating all around her.
"What's going on in here?" Haruka asked herself.
"You are slowly entering the Limbo, the last stop before entering the Hades," answered a voice similar to hers. "As such, your mind is returning to its original state of complete oblivion."
"What the- Who are you?"
A woman who looked exactly like Haruka appeared before her. She had long amber hair, and her body was completely covered in glimmering gold. "I am Eos, the Dawnbreaker. We are one and the same, and it is time we realized this. Do not tell me you are going to let yourself go like that."
"Of course not!" Haruka affirmed. "But seriously, what do I do? I can't die like this!"
"And you won't," Eos spoke once more as she took Haruka by the hand. "In the waking world next to you is a Panacea Prism. You will be healed just fine. All you need now is to accept the power I am about to give you."
Seeing no other choice, the Guardian acquiesced. "Very well," Haruka confidently said as she nodded. "I accept."
"Remember this, and remember it well. Your true allegiance lies not on a single body of authority, but on the entire Universe. And without love, you are powerless."
Suddenly, the nothingness that was just about to crush Haruka's inner self stopped in its tracks. Eos then became the navy-blue Sailor Crystal, which the Guardian promptly picked up, feeling its power expand her Dreamscape back to its normal state, and flowing through her body as well.
I am Haruka Tenoh, daughter of Miyuki Tenoh and Alexander von Sydow. I am also Sailor Uranus, Guardian of the Grounds and Skies, and rightful wielder of the Chandrahasa. I hereby swear to use all of my might to slay any and every foe that threatens the structure of the Universe and its inhabitants.
(xx)
All of Haruka's bruises and wounds were completely healed, from the skin-deep cuts to the cerebral and arterial damage that compromised her organism. Even her head returned to its normal state. She took off her mechanical breathing tubing and coughed hard as her tracheotomy incision closed itself, eventually recovering her natural way of breathing.
The noise was enough for a couple of medics to rush in to the room Haruka was in. There she was, sitting on the bed while covering her breasts with the short blanket that was covering her body. The scene was so surprising, they stood there stunned, and one of them even dropped his notebook on the floor and started fidgeting, as if he just saw a ghost.
The Guardian noticed their presence and then asked sheepishly: "Umm... Can I have something to wear? I don't feel comfortable sitting around naked, you see."
A few minutes later, the same nurse that broke the unpleasant news of Haruka's apparently inevitable demise appeared in the lobby once again with an exasperated look on his face. Michiru, Alexander and Kameda got up again, expecting the worse.
"I don't know how to break this to you, but... The patient appears to have recovered all of her vital functions. And nothing on her entire body indicates she was hurt in any way." The nurse then hastily left to bring Haruka to their presence.
Michiru, Kameda and Alexander were just as aghast at hearing this news as they would have been had Haruka's death been confirmed. They would have complained about a possible prank the staffer was playing on them if they were in more condition to talk. They only felt any relief when the young woman herself appeared unscathed, being pushed on a wheelchair by the nurse with nary a signal of her fatal wounds anywhere on her body.
"We aren't entirely sure of what happened, but when we checked on her, she was completely healed, with only a few minor bruises. Somehow, even her tracheotomy gape was closed. I believe it is best she remains here for the remainder of the day for further check-ups, but for all purposes, she no longer runs any risk of death."
"Don't worry, guys. That's just medicalese for I'll survive and be fine after some rest." Everyone laughed at Haruka's quip. Even the nurse let himself a chuckle.
"I couldn't be happier to hear this, mein liebe," Alexander proudly said as he crouched, embraced, and kissed his daughter on the cheek. Haruka was all too content in retributing her father and benefactor's tenderness.
But the peace and happiness wouldn't last. Some kind of rider approached the hospital on a dirtbike. Without caring to leave the vehicle in the designated parking lot, he simply let it parked just outside the entrance and barged into the lobby.
"You there!" He exclaimed in a somber and guttural voice while pointing at Haruka and Michiru, which startled the couple. He then took off his helmet. It was Odori Bakazuma, responsible for Haruka's now near-fatal accident. His right eye had the same red-and-black signal of an infernal possession. "I must finish what I started," he spoke once more, before morphing into a bluish, muscle-bound creature with the head of a horse. "I am Amdusias, President of Hell. I am dragging you all to the Hades with me!"
"Was ist das!?" Alexander ghastly affirmed in his native language.
"Mother of fuck!" Kameda screamed out.
All the present in the lobby ran away to either outside the building, or further inside to do something about the patients that still rested inside. Since nobody else was present, Haruka felt comfortable going back to the lobby and transforming. But there was something different: She no longer possessed a Transformation Pen, and instead, she rose her hand and instinctively called for her powers. The Jovian symbol of her guardian planet glistened on her brow.
"Uranus Eternal, Make Up!"
The white knee-high boots, the transparent skirt hems and shoulder pads, the white gloves reaching just above the elbow left no doubt she reached her most powerful form to date. She then drew forth the Space Sword, whose blade grew larger and its hilt more ornamented. The Guardian could feel its cosmic strength just by holding it with both hands.
"Amazing..." Uranus commented with a slight smile. "So this is the power of Eos."
With a single swing of the Chandrahasa, Eternal Sailor Uranus managed to push Amdusias away from the front lobby, taking the battle outside so as not to disrupt the rest of the hospitalized. But the demon was not one to give up so easily. Using its own arm as a makeshift sword, Amdusias engaged in a swordsmanship battle with the Guardian, where both traded strong blows that pushed each other back in different ranges.
One such blow that the demon delivered was enough to push Uranus away, towards the wall of the adjacent parking lot. Amdusias picked up a parked car with ease and attempted to quash the Guardian beneath it, only to be parried by the Chandrahasa sword.
"Stay the hell away from her!" Sailor Neptune screamed from afar.
"Michiru..." Sailor Uranus murmured as her beloved put herself between her and the demon.
"Don't interfere! The Demigoddesses must die!" Amdusias then struck Neptune with a punch so fierce, one could hear the crack of her ribs and the rupturing of her innards from a good distance. It was also strong enough to send her flying towards the hospital's outer wall.
"MICHIRU!" Sailor Uranus screamed as she went to her beloved's side. She detransformed immediately, trembling in pain and gasping for breath, and her nose was visibly broken.
"Haru..." the aquamarine-haired girl could only mutter before passing out.
"No, please... Stay with me! Stay awake!" The Sailor Guardian remembered the Panacea Prism, which she took from the hilt of the Chandrahasa, hoping it would somehow work with her just as it did with her early on. But before she was able to put it on Michiru's body, the infernal beast grabbed her violently and started to press its arms around her.
"I will squeeze you inside out now," Amdusias affirmed as it grinned maliciously. Sailor Uranus barely managed to stick out her arm, tossed the healing jewel to Michiru's side just as the demon press onto her with all of its might.
All Haruka could do as she gasped for breath and tried to escape from Amdusias' grasp was to hope for Michiru's recovery in her own particular way. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...
(xx)
Michiru's Dreamscape
The Guardian saw herself on a wonderful beach, where the colors of the fauna behind her meshed together all too well with the pale yellow sands at her bare feet and the greenish-blue sea before her, all under the warmth of the bright blue morning sky above.
And from underneath the sea emerged a girl with aquamarine hair like Michiru's, which mixed itself with the sea, and flew down to cover her breasts and lower parts.
"I am Metis, the Seaparter. We are one and the same, dear Michiru. And it is time you tap into your true heritage. More than just a Sailor Guardian, you are a Demigoddess. Your true allegiance lies not to a single body of authority, but to the entire Universe. And right now, forces of evil are on the rise once again that will put it all to risk. Let me hand you my power, and remember... Without love, you are powerless."
Without saying anything else, Michiru walked on the ocean and held hands with Metis, who, in a flash, turned into Michiru's turquoise-colored Sailor Crystal.
I am Michiru Kaioh, daughter of Chiaki Kaioh and Petros Diamantakis. I am also Sailor Neptune, Guardian of the Seas and Elements, and rightful wielder of the Trishula. I hereby swear to use all of my might to slay any and every foe that threatens the structure of the Universe and its inhabitants.
(xx)
Sailor Uranus was barely able to free herself from the clutches of the wretch, and she quickly ran to where Michiru still lay inert.
The aquamarine-haired girl opened her eyes and got up all of a sudden, seemingly unaffected by the demon's attack. The symbol of Neptune glimmered strongly on her forehead. She raised her hand to the sky and called for her power.
"Neptune Eternal, Make Up!"
Just like Haruka, her Sailor Guardian uniform ensemble had the Eternal elements. She drew forth her Deep Sea Mirror, which immediately went through a metamorphosis, becoming an elongated, three-pronged weapon.
"I hope I didn't scare you too much," Sailor Neptune affirmed.
"Don't sweat it," Sailor Uranus answered with a relieved smile. "What matters is that we are here, alive and strong."
Neptune agreed. Both Guardians then joined each other, pointed their weapons towards the demon, and called forth for their basic attacks.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
The energy orbs fused together, forming a light beam that completely vanquished Amdusias right away. And in its place, Odori Bakazuma appeared once more, severely hurt and unconscious.
"I didn't even know I had this much power inside of me..." Haruka commented as she detransformed.
"Me neither," Michiru answered, also returning to her civilian state. "We better take him into the hospital," the Guardian of the Seas stated as she went to Odori's aid. Haruka agreed and helped her carry her former opponent to the lobby. The staff was still startled by Amdusias' invasion earlier on, but now that the danger was clearly dealt with, they were able to steadily resume their routine. Odori was promptly given entry as a patient.
"You guys are alright?" Kameda rushed to the Guardians' company together with Haruka's father.
"Don't worry," Haruka reassured them with a wink. "We went to a safe place and took the only hurt guy back here for treatment." Michiru corroborated her girlfriend's statement with a silent nod.
"Well, great!" Alexander beamishly affirmed. He then went to his daughter's ear to whisper something. "This little mission of yours is incredibly dangerous, mein liebe." Haruka could only chuckle a bit over her father's secret statement. "Anyways, shall we go back to the hotel? I could give Herr Kameda a ride as well."
All four agreed - Including Kameda, who accepted the ride to go back to the Tsukuba circuit to help in the closure of the garage.
Back at the hotel room they shared, Haruka and Michiru were finally able to ponder about what just happened that day.
"Setsuna told us of some demons running around Tokyo, remember? It seems Odori was possessed by one such monster."
"I hope he's alright," Haruka commented. "The next race is in Fuji next month and I wanna beat him fair and square for the championship."
"She also mentioned an incubus, remember?"
"Oh, one of those demons who seduce women inside her minds? What a lech," Haruka affirmed as she winced. "If I meet him, I am so going to kick his ass."
In the end, other than a few pesky journalists knocking on the door and asking how she could possibly recover from her accident, the day ended well and they could sleep calmly that night.
(xx)
One week later...
The roaring applause of the public was not enough to rise the spirits of Michiru Kaioh, as she finished her violin solo in a special performance of the Tokyo Philarmonic Orchestra at the Chiba Cultural Center. Even as she got up and bowed in reverence to the enraptured audience, she kept a low profile and fought tears that tried hard to come down.
"Something the matter, Miss Kaioh?" The orchestra conductor asked.
"Just a brief sickness, sir," Michiru excused herself. "If you don't mind, I'll be back at my chalet."
The director agreed to let her go, knowing she would eventually return the next weekend for the following date of the tour.
During the hour-long trip, she remembered the words that the Demigoddess Metis had told her. Could it be that the love she shared with Haruka made it possible that she unveiled even stronger powers than before? Is she really one and the same with her as well? What would that imply in her mission?
She returned to the seaside chalet she shared with Haruka just before dusk. A magnificent and well-off place, far enough from the frenzy of the big city but near enough to reach for its conveniences in little to no time, it was a privilege that few people in the world could possibly enjoy owning.
But in that evening, it was not enough to keep two strong women from weeping. An empty feeling took over Michiru as she opened the glass door of the veranda and saw the seas in disarray beneath her, and the skies becoming glum and gray above her. The sun was just starting to settle down into the horizon. And for the first time in who knows how much time, she cried. Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't tell the reason. Nothing made Michiru feel worse than feeling powerless.
She went down to her room's bathroom to clean her face, noticing how her eyes had become slightly red. Upon coming out, she saw Haruka plummeting down on their bed. The closer she got, Michiru was able to see that she, too, was crying. It was a soft weep, the kind of weeping that people who keep a stiff upper lip in public release when they are away from the judging eyes.
"Haruka..."
"Do you feel it too, Michiru?" Haruka asked while turning around, moisture visible around her eyes. "This feeling... of helplessness, all of a sudden?"
More tears started to form in Michiru's eyes. "Yes... Yes, I do. Why is that?"
"Do you remember what happened last week? When you were about to die, and so was I? I think it has to do with that..."
On that day, they almost separated for good. But also in that day, their bonds of love strengthened to their strongest level, and it reflected in their powers as Sailor Guardians. But they knew that both had another kind of power, one directly tied to the structures of the Universe itself. Your true allegiance lies not to a single body of authority, but to the entire Universe, both of them heard from Metis and Eos. What exactly did those words mean? Could it be that their role as Sailor Guardians is not necessarily attached to the eventual reign of Usagi Tsukino as the new ruler of the galaxy?
Michiru felt a bit more comfortable in her lover's arms. "Perhaps... We are just about to face the biggest battles of our lifetimes. And I'm not even referring to the physical combats."
Haruka agreed, also feeling somewhat more alleviated, but the thought of the real extent of her mission still made her feel uncertain, like a few times in her life before. She did not want to imagine having to square off against Sailor Moon once more. She felt she had done enough damage to her and the other Sailor Guardians with her reckless actions. Just the thought of the possibility that she may need to go against her future liege made her heart sink again.
Trivia: Chandrahasa and Trishula are weapons from the Hindu Mythology - The former is given to the hero Ravana by Lord Shiva, the latter wielded by Shiva himself.
Once again, my eternal gratitude to all my followers and readers. Don't be afraid to leave your comments, in any language you'd like. ;)
litakino1987: Una vez más te agradezco por el aporte, y que está de tu agrado. Tus comentarios me alegran el dia!
Anonymous Commentator: Excellent guesses! And you just wait about the roles they will all have. Hopefully, you won't be disappointed.
In the next chapter, old faces will reappear. And a sneak peek into Hell.
Best regards from The Hospitaller Knight.