Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Imperium Galactica Dominaria ❯ Act Four: Scarlet ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

“Ahhh!” She screamed as the blade went through her chest. Charsi fell to the ground with a hard thud as a pool of violet blood quickly surrounded her. The other five–Akara, Chibitaru, Aeris, Kashya and Rose kept fighting. Their enemies, a group of knights, wearing black armor and wielding wicked looking swords that made a rushing sound when swung–which they later learned were warp-blades--had suddenly attacked them. Soon their foes were defeated; however, the girls were barely alive.

“Groan if you're not dead.” Akara stated, trying to sound stable. Aeris and Chibitaru just stirred from their spots and rose up to full height, seemingly uninjured. Kashya let out a scream as she tried to put her left leg back into socket, and Rose was nowhere to be found. Kashya’s armor, once gold, was now a dull, reddish–black covered with the blood of her enemies. Akara stood up and helped Kashya off of the ground. Kashya’s white, glowing blood was still flowing from her shoulder, where one of the warp-blades had caught her. Chibitaru had seemingly been unhurt, but two of her claws had been ripped out, and one wing had been broken.

“Where's Chars–Uh-oh…” Kashya said. She stood stock still, staring straightforward while Aeris squeaked, “Is she d-dead?”

“I don't know...” Kashya replied weakly. No one dared move, no one except Akara who slowly walked over; slow enough to think something would jump out at her. Akara reached her sister, and slowly she knelt down. Her failure to respond proved their fears justified. Charsi was dead. Aeris passed out from blood loss and Akara walked back to the group, stifling tears. Chibitaru bawled, falling on her knees, and Kashya never moved while she fought back silent tears.

“Sniff…sniff… B-but she can't!” Kashya shouted and ran off into the night. This could not be happening. Charsi was a Dragonian, and the only way she could die was to take out her heart. She kept running, hoping that she was mistaken.

“Kashya! Kashya, would you stop!” Akara shouted, after she had caught up with her and had jerked her around by the shoulder.

“Look,” Akara said after she had stopped Kashya, “We’re all sad, but running away won't fix anything!”

Kashya looked back at her with an awkward smile, showing her current state. Tears streamed into the still-running streams of blood down her face. Kashya was nearing a breakdown, but her soul was too strong.

“This is a dream,” Kashya said as she abruptly pinched herself, “Ouch. Well no; it's not a dream, but a cruel joke. Yeah, that's it. You're going to lead me back, and she'll be standing up laughing. She can be a real bitch like that…” She finished.

Akara promptly slapped her across the face, adding to the many injuries she already had. It was the first time she had hit Kashya for anything.

“Don't say that about her, ever again!” Akara said as she raised her hand to strike Kashya again. The same type of people that attacked them before closed in on the two of them now, except in a lesser number. Kashya leapt into action, swinging her sword. She cut three of them down, on the third she started hacking at the corpse, flinging blood and sinew from it as she hacked in a senseless rage. Her aura had started to fade as she regained control over herself.

Akara had done something similar, she had the sigil of Saturn appear on her forehead. She went into a haze, and with a flash she appeared in a violet, sailor suit style fuku, but instead of her mother’s silence glaive, she held a scythe. She turned on a heel of her stiletto boots, swung her scythe out in a great arc cutting three of them down. Only two remained… Akara stretched forth her hand, and started muttering. An intense globe of crimson light with a pulsating triangle appeared in it. Suddenly she threw her arms up in the air, and in one motion thrust them forward and shouted METEO!

At Akara’s incantation, small scale meteors started to hail down on the remaining enemies. One of them cried out, as he was set ablaze by Akara’s spellcraft. After they were dead, Akara shimmered, and returned to her original state. Kashya’s aura had fully returned.

“Well, that could be classified as an overreaction.” Kashya said jokingly, trying to ease her pain.

“Yeah I guess. Kashya, did you see Rose anywhere on your way here?" Akara Asked. The only bodies in the area were those of fallen enemies, no sign of Rose was apparent.

“No…Why?” Kashya replied.

“Iv'e got a bad feeling about this. Let's see if she hasn't died as well.” Akara states as they started toward the west. They looked around for a while until the found a crimson trail that led to a lake where Rose's nude, motionless, and tattered body by the lake and her shredded clothes next to a large oak tree. The state of her clothes told that she had struggled against her captors and the absence of her usual voluptuous and provocative undergarments showed that she had lost the struggle.

“ROSE!” Yelled Kashya as she shook her friend's shoulder. Rose responded by whimpering and turning to where Akara and Kashya could see her face. Akara gasped at the sight. Rose's neck was slashed slightly and there were several still bleeding bite marks on her neck and breasts. There was also a long slash across her chest and two stab wounds on her sides. The frontal portion of her body was also covered with the crimson of fresh blood–not all of it was hers. As some of the bodies or what seemed as bodies of some of her captors were in the edge of the forest while some very evil looking symbols were burned into the ground.

“What could have done this?” Kashya asked Akara as she picked up Rose still shaking and whispering some odd melody to herself. The condition of Rose’s body.

“To borrow one of dad's employer's adages. It's the ‘I have absolutely no idea’ thing.” Akara replied, “But I think I know someone who does.”

At the Rangarok home---on earth---

“And that’s all that happened?” Nazz stated. He was sitting behind his desk, the light cut low. Akara shifted in her seat, twirling a lock of her long, black hair with her hand. It was hard to do, but he had managed to pry the information from her.

“Yes. That’s it. Things are still a little fuzzy, though. I may have missed something.” Akara replied, still shaken by the night’s trauma. She was having trouble herself, since she had become the Senshi of Saturn.

“Well, if anything comes up, tell me. What happened to Rose was an unusual occurrence for a Dominarian attack. It wouldn’t be good if Geminite got more of a foothold on Earth.” Nazz finished.

“Geminite would do this…?”

“Not neccisarily him, but someone who might be considered his protégé, his first victim.”

After Nazz had finished, he pulled a book from the shelf, and slid into the wall with a grinding sound…

One week later---

The funeral was short; no one wanted to talk. The following day progressed unbelievably slowly, everyone was at the palace; that's how it worked when something tragic happened, and to them, this qualified. They were short on rooms so they paired upAsura Arina, Aeris Michira, Akara Chibitaru, and Kashya

In room #1: Asura is reading, Rose is in the critical ward of Juuban Hospital.

Number 2: Both doing homework,

Number 3: Writing drill charts and the new drum break for the upcoming marching season.

In the fourth…

"Kashya?" Chibitaru asked hesitantly.

"Hmm.?"

"Uh, do you... nevermind.”

"What?"

"Well, would you like to talk to her?"

"Who?"

"Charsi."

"Wouldn't we all."

"I wasn't joking."

"We could, I mean... I know a spell that..."

"Resurrection?"

"No, we just talk, like a telephone, and a television."

"Intriguing."

"Do you, it's a two person spell."

"Sure, what do you need?"

“Well, something to write with, or carve."

"Can you use wax?" Kashya said as she lit a candle. The white wax slowly started to melt.

"Oh, perfect now, space."

The two of them started to push everything aside, soon they had a large square in the room. Chibi started to pour the wax onto the floor into a large circle with two stars overlapping each other. The wax clung to the crystalline floor, as she started her incantations. She filled in the blanks with various figures and wordings. She put the candle in the middle as she and Kashya sat around it. Chibitaru started to speak in a hollow, cold voice, typical of the casting mage…

"With this circle, we enter the realm of the dead. Achk nesh kahbak senhath. I command the barrier of the planes to part, and give us passage. Hieas kitach mustarath.” She finished.

There was a sudden rush of wind around them as the spell started to resolve.The world around them seemed to part, like a curtain and all the color started to drain out of everything and mix in the circle. Soon, they were across the barrier, the absence of colors came next, the absence of heat followed suit, and then they no longer needed to breathe.

Chibitaru tried to talk, but she choked; no breath meant that they couldn’t speak. After a while a gust of nothingness shook Chibi’s concentration. The circle faded, and they fell to the ground, without the customary pain or thud…

"Umm, Chibi, we can talk telepathically." Kashya thought at her. The world they were in was strange. There was no color, and no source of light, but everything was visible. Fog filled the area, and a light mist was in the air. Chibitaru looked down, and saw a small cord of light, emitting from her navel.

"We’re in trouble." She said abruptly.

"How?" Kashya asked. Normally Chibitaru was the cocky one in the triplets, but now, she seemed almost scared.

“Well, these cords mean that our bodies are back at the palace. If they try to wake us up, the cords will break and we’ll die. Also, without that circle, we can’t cast here, there’s no mana to draw and our blood is back home.”

“I never knew how that really worked… Well, let’s find Charsi, and maybe she can get us back home.”

“And if not, we are cursed to wander forever as the dead… If that just isn’t de-frickin-lightful.” Chibi said, oozing sarcasm. They were both scared, and well justified to be that way as a sudden rush of nothingness, nothinged them off of their feet.

"Ahh, lookey here! It’za livers." The spirit that had just whooshed them said. He had a very bad accent, and few teeth.

"Apparently you are mistaken. We’re visiting." Chibi thought at the ghost, trying her best to sound stable.

"No, no, you misunderstand, my little morsel. You are a liver, someone who is livin." He replied, with a look of unearthly hunger.

"Do you know Charsi? She's recent." Kashya piped in. If there was any way for her to see Charsi once more, she would do it… Even if it meant dying.

“Aye. Meeza know Charsi. She’za quite a help 'round 'ere."

"Where dose she reside?" Kashya asked again, with growing irritation for the dead man.

"Whyza ya need ta know that? Not gonna help you anytime soon, see.”

“That’s where we’re headed, so tell us."

“Not going to happen, darin. You see, Those with life, rarely wander so voluntarily into our domain. And we’ve been ‘ere a very long time.” The ghost ended. Several other ghosts appeared, grabbing at the cords at Chibi and Kashya’s stomachs. Both of them dodged out of the way… After a while of running from the army of spirits trying to take their lives, via possession a familiar voice sounded, “What’s all this! Back! You’re here for a reason! … If you touch them, you’ll have the Necrosim to answer to!”

The horde backed off, at the sound of the name of Death’s Enforcers.

"Ch-charsi?" Kashya said in disbelief.

"Kashya!" Charsi shouted as she nothinged/tackeled Kashya. She looked the same as when she had died, except she was in a white robe, and was transparent.

"This place looks like a fun place to explore. I’ll leave you two alone…" Chibi said, trying to make herself scarce. She was right, the place was a bit of a village, with rows of gray huts lined up from horizon to horizon, where the dead awaited their time to live again. Geographical outcroppings happened every now and then. Chibi started walking away from the other two. She was welcomed by some of the ghosts and struck up several conversations.

"I missed you." Kashya said in a sorrowful tone.

"Mhesragonis." Charsi replied equally saddened.

"What?"

"Oh, I said 'I missed you too' it was in Dragonian."

“So what is this place?” Kashya asked her.

“This is the village where the souls of the dead await their turn at life once more. Sad place, but it’s peaceful.”

“So there’s a chance you’ll come back!”

“Sorry, but I’m not scheduled to return for another five-hundred years. I wish it were different…”

“Oh… I see.” Kashya said as her mood deadend.

Chibi was once again in front of the two girls. She appeared very distraught.

“Kashya, we have to find a way back! They’re trying to wake us up!” She said, grabbing at her cord of light.

“But, you said if they do that, we die. And the cords will get severed.” Kashya replied. Her spiritform started to feel fuzzy, as she saw her cord start fading.

“This may feel a little weird…” Charsi said as she grabbed them both at the shoulder, “I banish you from the realm of the dead, until your rightful return!” She finished as she pushed the girls from behind. There was another rushing sound, and the two were back in their earthly forms.

“Hey! What in the hell, kind of spell is that!” Arina said as she pulled Chibitaru from the floor.

With a look of heartbreak, and tears in her eyes, Kashya cried out once, turned and threw her self onto the bed, and said “The best kind…”
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