Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy Within? ❯ Chapter 5

Authors Notes: Gomen, peoples. I know that this is very, very short, but I just couldn't find any way to drag this out. At any rate, here's my next update. FYI, this takes place in the same timeframe as Chapter Four, so bear that in mind. Hopefully, my next chapter will be longer(heh, it may almost be TOO long:D). Enjoy! Oh, and by the time you read this, I should also have Chapter 3 lengthened a bit for more enjoyable reading.:D

Disclaimer: I own Serin(the concept). I don't own anyone else. I am only borrowing these characters for use in a badly written fanfic to have fun, and make no money. Don't sue.

Chapter Five

He was dreaming again...or at least, he thought he was...that was the only plausible explanation that he could come up with as to why he had awoken in a ramshackle old church. As silently as possible, Sephiroth sat up and quickly surveyed his surroundings, noting with slight surprise that he didn't have his Masamune sword with him. Disregarding that minor inconvenience, the silver haired swordsman began to take in his surroundings, noting that this church, despite its run-down appearance, seemed almost...tranquil. He could feel a rare peace settle into his soul the longer he stayed here...

A soft, melodic humming immediately caught his attention as his gaze snapped to the front of the church. His eyes blinked several times as he confirmed for himself that he must indeed be dreaming.

Kneeling near a hole in the church floor where the ground had broken through was a young woman, in her 20's, Sephiroth estimated. Dressed in an elegant pink dress with a matching vest, she smiled softly, brushing her brown hair back from her eyes. However, it wasn't the girl that caught Sephiroth's attention so much as what she was attending to.

She was carefully nurturing a miniature knoll of flowers.

He had been so stunned by seeing plant growth in such a decrepit place that Sephiroth was unaware he'd approached until the woman looked up, slightly startled. She quickly recovered, however, and gave him a genuine smile. "Oh! You're awake." She quickly began to wipe off her hands and slowly stood up. Sephiroth noticed that although she was a good foot shorter than him, there was something...almost maternal in her nature.

"Where...am I?" Sephiroth finally asked.

The woman smiled and answered, "In my little garden. This was my favorite spot in all Midgar, before..." A dark look passed over her face, until she shook her head. With an almost carefree smile, she gestured to her flowers and conveniently changed the subject, "Beautiful, aren't they? I have to be careful sometimes...weeds like to pop up unexpectedly, even in a tranquil place like this."

Sephiroth found himself nodding in agreement at the girls words....indeed, the flowers seemed to be thriving here, which would normally have been impossible, due to...what? A frown creased his face as he tried to chase the skittering bit of memory that seemed to elude him. Come to think of it, why did it surprise him so much that there was plant life here? It wasn't unheard of...the area around Crystal Tokyo had been restored, thanks to the Ginzuishou's powers, and although Serenity wished to do more, her friends, fearing for their queen's life, had successfully managed to delay her attempts for now. But still...there was something about this...his frown became deeper and more pronounced, until a light touch on his arm brought him back to reality. His gaze locked onto the woman, as he raised an eyebrow.

"Don't push yourself, Sephiroth...you have much to remember about yourself and your past, but..." and at this, her gaze clouded over as she looked down. "Some of it...will be painful. Moreso than what you can remember."

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth demanded. "And how do you know my name?"

Again, the woman smiled, melting the swordsman's initial frustration. "You and I...we had a fateful encounter once." She looked over her miniature garden, adding, "It was an encounter that resulted in pain, heartbreak...and my death."

It was a long moment before Sephiroth could speak. His shock was near absolute, and his skin had paled considerably. "But...how could I have forgotten...and why did I do such a thing?"

Again, that smile. "It wasn't your fault...as was later discovered, you were being manipulated by an alien being...you were deceived into thinking that it was your mother, and that you were the rightful ruler of the planet...once your heart opened that way, it was able to manipulate you easily into doing anything that it wanted...including kiling me." A soft sigh escaped her lips as she continued, "As for why you don't remember...well, in a sense, you do." She turned away and softly giggled. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that to you. I didn't mean to get off the subject. There was a very important reason I came to you tonight."

Despite having been put off balance by this revelation that he was a past murderer, Sephiroth quickly refocused on the task at hand. "That being...?"

The woman's green eyes turned to fix him with a serious, solemn gaze. "Crystal Tokyo is under attack. And the senshi are unable to combat the enemy for a very specific reason."

A sense of urgency, bordering on panic, shot through his body. "What? Who?"

Again, a shake of the head. "You must go there yourself to find out. But I will tell you this...remain firm in your love for Hotaru. No matter how dark things may appear, that alone will get you through. She'll need your support more than ever at this moment." With her words finished, the woman turned and began to walk out of the church.

Sephiroth suddenly called out, "Wait!" to which the woman complied, turning to face him with an arched eyebrow of her own. Sephiroth stammered, "Y, you never told me your name."

With a twinkle in her eye, she called back, "When we meet again, I'll tell you. Hold firm to your love, Sephiroth." And with that, she exited the church, exposing a bright light that engulfed everything...

Waking him up. Shaking his head a few times, a deep foreboding filled his being as Sephiroth stood and began to quickly get dressed in his commander's tent. Glancing over at the other two tents nearby, he was relieved to see that Serin and Mercury appeared to be asleep. Mercury's state slightly surprised him...he had been fully expecting to see her light on, perhaps with her poring over the documents and blueprints they'd managed to pull from their tentative forays into NORAD. Silently, he slipped from his tent, his Masamune sword hooked to his belt. Racing over to the landing area, the swordsman was relieved to see that at least two aircars were prepped for immediate liftoff. Nonchalantly, he strolled over to the nearest one, opened the door, and settled himself in. A quick glance at the gauges confirmed that everything was ready to go, and...

"Hold it!"

Muttering a short curse, Sephiroth glanced up to see one of the larger troops on patrol approach the transport with a laser rifle up by his shoulders. Poking his head out, he called out, "Look, there's some trouble that I need to look into, alright? I need to borrow this for a while."

Even in the darkness, Sephiroth could easily imagine the trooper's confused face as the rifle lowered. "Commander?!? What could be so urgent at 2 in the morning?"

"Just call it a hunch. I've got to check on something, hopefully I'll be back soon."

"B, but sir...what am I supposed to tell commander Serin?" the trooper sputtered.

A brief frown crossed the commander's face as he thought about the whole thing, and then just shrugged. "Tell him I hit you," he answered.

Even a blind man could have seen the look of incredulity on the troopers face as Sephiroth slid back into the aircar, sealed the door, powered up, and took off. By the time people were swarming out of their tents in curiousity, Sephiroth had already gunned the motor back for Crystal Tokyo.

He just hoped that he wasn't too late...