Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ No Time Like the Past ❯ The Herald ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
*I will refer to the Silence Glaive as a scythe throughout the rest of the series.
CHAPTER 6 (The Herald)
"The game always has an end. It may have its starts and stops along the way but always things move towards ultimate termination. The herald is an omen... an omen of things to come...of dark times and of evil times. Fear the Prophecy players of this game, you may not like what you see. "
"That will not be necessary." Sailor Pluto turned to face the source of those calm words as her eyes widened in fear and surprise. She knew that voice and hearing it could only mean the worst was bound to happen. A figure stood behind them cloaked in shadow, a street lamp barely illuminating its form. In its hand it held an object... a very long staff tipped with a wicked curved blade fixture. It could only be the Silence Glaive, one of the most powerful weapons in the Sailor Senshi arsenal. Time seemed to slow down as the figure stepped forward into the moonlight. It was a young girl. Her aura was such that it seemed the shadows she appeared in clung to her person. Her raven black hair gave way to her dark sad eyes, her entire face fixed in an expression of utter melancholy. Sailor Pluto thought, "Who wouldn't be so grave when they possessed the forbidden power to blot a planet out of existence?" Sailor Pluto managed to choke out the words, "Sailor.... Saturn?" Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stood dumbfounded having no idea how to react to the reappearance of the Sailor senshi of the deathly silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Sailor Pluto saw Tempest shiver in fear and he whispered, "The power... I can feel it." Sailor Saturn seemed to be concentrating on something and she smiled slightly as her sovereign symbol glowed upon her forehead and she gestured upward... Darien's body was hovering over the rooftop. Amazed, they watched as he was gently lowered into his apartment through the window that Sailor Pluto had broken earlier.
Sailor Saturn's face lost some of its tension and she seemed to relax and she softly spoke, "The Prince is safe from harm. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune it is a pleasure to see you again." Then she turned to Tempest and swung the scythe into a battle position and she shouted, "I am the Sailor of Death and Rebirth, the planet of silence is my guardian... Sailor Saturn. I know who you are and I know who you serve, I will not allow you to carry on with your plans." Tempest regained his composure and spoke to Sailor Saturn with venom, "How entertaining, someone new for me to play with. It makes no difference to me who you are, you are just another gnat." Sailor Saturn remained mute and emotionless as she merely choked her grip on the scythe tighter. Sailor Pluto was the next to speak, "Tempest, surrender yourself to us and we will help you. There is no need for you to continue this strife; we may be able to free you from control. Now that Saturn is here maybe we can...." Tempest snarled at them, "Shut up. CHAOS FLARE!" There was a flash of red energy and the scouts were knocked off of their feet at the surprising ferocity of the attack. Tempest's voice rang out from all around them; "No one can challenge the power of Chaos, it is you who shall surrender you pathetic fools... Setsuna I can't stop myself this time, run go get away... ARGH! I am going to rip your spleen out Saturn... NO! KILL ME! DO IT NOW!" Tempest screamed in anguish... his hands to his forehead and his cape convoluting into wild shapes around him, he was struggling with the force that controlled him.
Sailor Pluto felt herself running towards where he was cowering on the concrete of the rooftop. Sailor Uranus began to run after her but a menacing look from Saturn was all that was needed to make her rethink her actions. Saturn spoke, "Let her go. They need this." Sailor Neptune remained silent and stared at the sight, her hair slowly ghosting about in the breeze. Sailor Pluto felt her heart leap into her throat as she knelt beside the shivering form of the man that she loved and she placed her hand on his face... gently caressing it upward.
Tempest looked up at her with a sob, her face was outlined by the moon and in it she was Diana herself... the moon goddess on Earth. He spoke to her gently, "Angel of the Night, carved from the soft light of the moon, I love you." He felt the turmoil within his soul between good and evil slow and a warm feeling enveloped his heart... it always happened when he saw her. He felt her hands forcefully pull him towards her and enfold him in her warm embrace then he felt that feeling again, it felt as if the puzzle was complete when they were together. They slowly pulled away from each other and Sailor Pluto spoke, "I feel alive for the first time in eons when I am with you my love, I'm no longer a wraith... like those I am surrounded with. Their screams are quieted with the mere touch of... your lips."
As they kissed Sailor Pluto noticed that Tempest was crying tears of pure joy. She saw his hair began to change... the red slowly fading to black and she saw the cape begin to wither. It slowly began to crumble, pieces of it began to fall to the concrete. Sailor Pluto spoke, "Fight it Tempest...." Tempest replied gently, "My name...my real name Setsuna is...." Sailor Pluto covered her mouth with her hand and held back her tears as the shock registered with her, it really was working. His hair was almost totally black and then, it turned blood red. Tempest snarled and a tendril of his cape slammed against Sailor Pluto. She flew over the side of the building and with a cry she managed to hook the jagged edge of the key on its very edge. She dangled eight stories in the air like a worm on a hook. Tempest's form appeared over her and he smiled as he poised his foot to kick her loose, "It's Tempest... learn it well for it is the last you will here as you suffer the same fate as I would have willed your Prince." Tempest laughed and he pulled his foot back for the death knell.
Then his eyes went wide and he coughed up a bit of blood as he reached behind him to extract the blade of the Silence Glaive from his back. Sailor Saturn shouted, "NOW!" He heard a shout, "WORLD SHAKING!" Sailor Uranus slammed the wind energy that she had been slowly summoning since Tempest began his attack on Sailor Pluto into the ground. It sailed towards him... carving a path of destruction across the rooftop and he easily moved to the side to avoid it. He laughingly spoke, "Is that all?"
Tempest felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and he turned to behold the smiling face of Sailor Neptune. She held the Submarine Mirror firmly in front of her face as her smile contorted into hostility and she shouted, "SUBMARINE REFLECTION!" There was a brilliant flash of green light from the glass of the mirror and he covered his eyes with his hands... groaning in pain. Sailor Saturn then made her move... placing her hands on both sides of his face and closing her eyes in concentration. Sailor Saturn spoke, "If you can't kill those demons then I will." Black lightning crackled outward from her as Tempest convulsed violently, waves of power surged from her arms into his skull. Sailor Pluto finally pulled herself over onto the rooftop once more and she beheld the awesome spectacle. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus shielded their eyes from the radiance, the very air around Saturn and Tempest seemed to warp. Finally, the power storm ended and Saturn emerged carrying the limp form of Tempest in her arms. All that was left of his cape was what looked like thousands of tiny glass shards all over the rooftop. There was a greasy black crater where they stood when the exorcism of his demons took place.
Sailor Saturn walked over to the astonished Sailor Pluto and gave him to her. Sailor Pluto slowly lowered to the ground, placing his head onto her lap. His eyes fluttered open and he breathed deeply. He smiled as he looked up at Sailor Pluto and he said, "You really are hopeless you know? You guys just don't give up. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to think with my own brain." He glanced over at Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and nodded, "I thank you with all my heart ladies and you...." He sat up and hugged Sailor Pluto close to him; "I love you with every fiber of my being and whatever happens don't you ever forget that. My name...my dear Setsuna is Aurick." Sailor Pluto's eyes were filled with joy as she kissed his lips for the "first time," he was real and it wasn't a dream. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were smiling, they were reminded of the day that they met those many years ago. Sailor Saturn walked over to the rooftop and stared into space.
She solemnly interjected, "Then it is as I feared... the fight doesn't end with you. The prophecy that I have foreseen will come true with or without you." Aurick stood with Sailor Pluto at his side, "The full extent of their plan is much worse than any of you understand. I am merely a pawn, a forerunner, in what is about to happen to this uni...." There was a brilliant white light and a gate opened in the air before them.
Sailor Pluto felt Aurick shudder against her and swallow with an expression of pure horror upon his face. He shouted to the scouts, "It's them... they have come to reclaim me. You guys get out of here, their power dwarves mine to fight them now is hopeless." Sailor Pluto spoke, "They are going to have to go through me to get to you." Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stepped beside of Sailor Pluto and Uranus placed her hand on her shoulder. Sailor Saturn balanced the Silence Glaive in preparation for battle. A voice spoke, "That can be arranged you fools. Throw down your weapons and return to us what is ours."
Out from the gate a form emerged. He was clad in armor, the gold armor covered its body from head to toe even his face was covered in gold. It wasn't a helmet... but a mask. It was as if the metal was molded to fit its face. Behind the man flowed a writhing cape, the exact type that Tempest had worn. He spoke, "Surrender Tempest and return with me to the council. You must be reformatted." Aurick whispered to the scouts, "He is Chief Centurion Preax, little more than a goon for the council of which he speaks." Preax barked in interruption, "Silence! I do not particularly care to hurt you ladies but if you do not surrender Tempest I will be forced to wreak unspeakable pain upon you." Sailor Pluto noticed a glint of something behind Aurick's back... in his hand he held a brooch that was used to fashion his cape together as Tempest. She reached over and took it from him and she heard his voice in her head, "It's all you need to know." Sailor Pluto responded with her thoughts, "No. Don't speak to me as if we have already lost this battle." Aurick's face twisted into one of pure anger and he extended his arms outward and to the sides... the shards of material covering the rooftop flew to his back and condensed to form his cape once again. He shouted, "I'm not going willingly... from Hell's heart I stab at thee, with my last breath I spit a curse at thee, you get the damn picture you pompous ass."
The battle was then joined. Sailor Pluto and Aurick were the first to fling themselves into battle with the outer senshi following close behind. Aurick spoke, "Join with me my love. CHAOS FLARE!" Sailor Pluto lowered the garnet orb to level with Preax's chest and she channeled her power into the staff. The wraiths of time screamed around her in a storm and shot through the staff like electricity through a wire as she shouted, "DEAD SCREAM!" The combined force of the attacks would have surely collapsed a small mountain; it hit Preax squarely in the chest. As the smoke cleared Preax stood there defiantly and spoke, "I think you dented my breastplate... tsk tsk." Aurick wrapped the tendrils of his cloak around Preax's throat and began to lift him into the air. Sailor Pluto began to charge for another barrage of attacks but Preax merely made a small gesture and the very ground on which she stood enveloped her feet like quick sand and became solid once more... entrapping her. Preax's maniacal laughter filled the night air as he merely ripped the tendrils of Aurick's cloak from his throat and grabbing hold of them... he began to slam Aurick into the ground like a yo-yo in the hands of an angry child. Aurick shakily got to his feet and Preax was ready... his cloak reaching out to entrap Aurick.
Sailor Uranus brought her fists together and slowly pulled them apart to reveal the sheath of her talisman, the Space Sword. She quickly pulled the sheath off and charged at Preax, the blade turned to gleaming hot energy as she shouted, "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" Preax turned and caught the blade in his hand and inclined his head slightly at Sailor Uranus as if curious as to what she was doing and he merely said, "Cute." Sailor Uranus shouted, "Damn you" and engaged in close combat her fists and legs lashing out with swift punches and kicks. Her fist was bloody and bruised from the force of her blows and he seemed unfazed by any of her efforts. On her next kick, Preax grabbed her leg and squeezed. She heard a loud snap and the pain of a broken femur screamed through her leg... it was verbalized as well, echoing through the night. "SUBMARINE REFLECTION!" Preax turned to Neptune... a determined look upon her face as energy hot enough to scorch stone issued forth from the mirror. Preax chuckled to himself, "How pretty." He made a small gesture and there was a loud crack as her head turned at an impossible angle... she fell to the ground like a sack of dirt. Sailor Uranus screamed, "MICHIRU" and as she ran over to see if she was all right, Preax shouted "CHAOS BOLT," and hurled the lightning to hit her in the abdomen. She rolled over groaning in pain and the smell of burned flesh permeated the atmosphere. Pluto screamed as she pulled at her feet, "NEPTUNE! URANUS!" OH GOD NO!"
Sailor Saturn swung the Silence Glaive and it sang as it made contact with Preax's shoulder. She had drawn blood! Preax slapped her so forcefully that she felt her jaw come out of alignment and kneed her in the stomach. Recovering, Saturn kicked him in the groin and drawing the scythe back out she prepared to strike the deathblow to his neck. He quickly shook the force of her blows off and grabbed her by the throat... the senshi of the deathly silence; one of the strongest of them all and he threw her against the stairwell door. Preax sneered, "This is all you have to offer... the strongest of the sailor senshi. You can't do better than this? How sad, it must be depressing to know that you can't win despite your best efforts." Preax turned and smiled at Sailor Pluto... who still struggled violently against her shackles but could not move them and he said, "Let me get your boyfriend on the way, then Ill take care of you." He reached out and grabbed Aurick... tossing him through the gate like a doll. Then turning to face Sailor Pluto once again his hands began to crackle with energy, "SILENCE BOLT!" Sailor Pluto closed her eyes as the energy split the air with a deafening crack and sailed towards her.
"SILENCE WALL!" The bolt of energy was stopped millimeters from her face and was reflected back towards Preax, it passed through his chest with a sizzle and exploded a window across the street. Preax snapped, "You'll pay for that, we aren't done with you yet." He stumbled through the gate and it closed. Sailor Saturn leaned back against the wall breathing heavily and dropped the scythe that she had used for the attack to the ground beside her. Saturn spoke, "Uranus and Neptune... I can heal them." The force that had bound Sailor Pluto's feet to the rooftop dispersed and she was thrown forward onto her face. Stumbling up onto her feet... she looked around her.
The rooftop smoldered from the numerous craters they had created in the battle. The smoke rose in ebony plumes towards the night sky. There were bodies all around. Uranus and Neptune lay there near death and the highest card in their deck, Sailor Saturn, was injured. Sailor Pluto felt something hard on the ground behind her and so she picked it up... opening his brooch, there was a picture of him as himself, beautiful black hair with gorgeous blue eyes. Sailor Pluto snapped the brooch shut... and she screamed.
TO BE CONTINUED
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CHAPTER 6 (The Herald)
"The game always has an end. It may have its starts and stops along the way but always things move towards ultimate termination. The herald is an omen... an omen of things to come...of dark times and of evil times. Fear the Prophecy players of this game, you may not like what you see. "
"That will not be necessary." Sailor Pluto turned to face the source of those calm words as her eyes widened in fear and surprise. She knew that voice and hearing it could only mean the worst was bound to happen. A figure stood behind them cloaked in shadow, a street lamp barely illuminating its form. In its hand it held an object... a very long staff tipped with a wicked curved blade fixture. It could only be the Silence Glaive, one of the most powerful weapons in the Sailor Senshi arsenal. Time seemed to slow down as the figure stepped forward into the moonlight. It was a young girl. Her aura was such that it seemed the shadows she appeared in clung to her person. Her raven black hair gave way to her dark sad eyes, her entire face fixed in an expression of utter melancholy. Sailor Pluto thought, "Who wouldn't be so grave when they possessed the forbidden power to blot a planet out of existence?" Sailor Pluto managed to choke out the words, "Sailor.... Saturn?" Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stood dumbfounded having no idea how to react to the reappearance of the Sailor senshi of the deathly silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Sailor Pluto saw Tempest shiver in fear and he whispered, "The power... I can feel it." Sailor Saturn seemed to be concentrating on something and she smiled slightly as her sovereign symbol glowed upon her forehead and she gestured upward... Darien's body was hovering over the rooftop. Amazed, they watched as he was gently lowered into his apartment through the window that Sailor Pluto had broken earlier.
Sailor Saturn's face lost some of its tension and she seemed to relax and she softly spoke, "The Prince is safe from harm. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune it is a pleasure to see you again." Then she turned to Tempest and swung the scythe into a battle position and she shouted, "I am the Sailor of Death and Rebirth, the planet of silence is my guardian... Sailor Saturn. I know who you are and I know who you serve, I will not allow you to carry on with your plans." Tempest regained his composure and spoke to Sailor Saturn with venom, "How entertaining, someone new for me to play with. It makes no difference to me who you are, you are just another gnat." Sailor Saturn remained mute and emotionless as she merely choked her grip on the scythe tighter. Sailor Pluto was the next to speak, "Tempest, surrender yourself to us and we will help you. There is no need for you to continue this strife; we may be able to free you from control. Now that Saturn is here maybe we can...." Tempest snarled at them, "Shut up. CHAOS FLARE!" There was a flash of red energy and the scouts were knocked off of their feet at the surprising ferocity of the attack. Tempest's voice rang out from all around them; "No one can challenge the power of Chaos, it is you who shall surrender you pathetic fools... Setsuna I can't stop myself this time, run go get away... ARGH! I am going to rip your spleen out Saturn... NO! KILL ME! DO IT NOW!" Tempest screamed in anguish... his hands to his forehead and his cape convoluting into wild shapes around him, he was struggling with the force that controlled him.
Sailor Pluto felt herself running towards where he was cowering on the concrete of the rooftop. Sailor Uranus began to run after her but a menacing look from Saturn was all that was needed to make her rethink her actions. Saturn spoke, "Let her go. They need this." Sailor Neptune remained silent and stared at the sight, her hair slowly ghosting about in the breeze. Sailor Pluto felt her heart leap into her throat as she knelt beside the shivering form of the man that she loved and she placed her hand on his face... gently caressing it upward.
Tempest looked up at her with a sob, her face was outlined by the moon and in it she was Diana herself... the moon goddess on Earth. He spoke to her gently, "Angel of the Night, carved from the soft light of the moon, I love you." He felt the turmoil within his soul between good and evil slow and a warm feeling enveloped his heart... it always happened when he saw her. He felt her hands forcefully pull him towards her and enfold him in her warm embrace then he felt that feeling again, it felt as if the puzzle was complete when they were together. They slowly pulled away from each other and Sailor Pluto spoke, "I feel alive for the first time in eons when I am with you my love, I'm no longer a wraith... like those I am surrounded with. Their screams are quieted with the mere touch of... your lips."
As they kissed Sailor Pluto noticed that Tempest was crying tears of pure joy. She saw his hair began to change... the red slowly fading to black and she saw the cape begin to wither. It slowly began to crumble, pieces of it began to fall to the concrete. Sailor Pluto spoke, "Fight it Tempest...." Tempest replied gently, "My name...my real name Setsuna is...." Sailor Pluto covered her mouth with her hand and held back her tears as the shock registered with her, it really was working. His hair was almost totally black and then, it turned blood red. Tempest snarled and a tendril of his cape slammed against Sailor Pluto. She flew over the side of the building and with a cry she managed to hook the jagged edge of the key on its very edge. She dangled eight stories in the air like a worm on a hook. Tempest's form appeared over her and he smiled as he poised his foot to kick her loose, "It's Tempest... learn it well for it is the last you will here as you suffer the same fate as I would have willed your Prince." Tempest laughed and he pulled his foot back for the death knell.
Then his eyes went wide and he coughed up a bit of blood as he reached behind him to extract the blade of the Silence Glaive from his back. Sailor Saturn shouted, "NOW!" He heard a shout, "WORLD SHAKING!" Sailor Uranus slammed the wind energy that she had been slowly summoning since Tempest began his attack on Sailor Pluto into the ground. It sailed towards him... carving a path of destruction across the rooftop and he easily moved to the side to avoid it. He laughingly spoke, "Is that all?"
Tempest felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and he turned to behold the smiling face of Sailor Neptune. She held the Submarine Mirror firmly in front of her face as her smile contorted into hostility and she shouted, "SUBMARINE REFLECTION!" There was a brilliant flash of green light from the glass of the mirror and he covered his eyes with his hands... groaning in pain. Sailor Saturn then made her move... placing her hands on both sides of his face and closing her eyes in concentration. Sailor Saturn spoke, "If you can't kill those demons then I will." Black lightning crackled outward from her as Tempest convulsed violently, waves of power surged from her arms into his skull. Sailor Pluto finally pulled herself over onto the rooftop once more and she beheld the awesome spectacle. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus shielded their eyes from the radiance, the very air around Saturn and Tempest seemed to warp. Finally, the power storm ended and Saturn emerged carrying the limp form of Tempest in her arms. All that was left of his cape was what looked like thousands of tiny glass shards all over the rooftop. There was a greasy black crater where they stood when the exorcism of his demons took place.
Sailor Saturn walked over to the astonished Sailor Pluto and gave him to her. Sailor Pluto slowly lowered to the ground, placing his head onto her lap. His eyes fluttered open and he breathed deeply. He smiled as he looked up at Sailor Pluto and he said, "You really are hopeless you know? You guys just don't give up. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to think with my own brain." He glanced over at Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and nodded, "I thank you with all my heart ladies and you...." He sat up and hugged Sailor Pluto close to him; "I love you with every fiber of my being and whatever happens don't you ever forget that. My name...my dear Setsuna is Aurick." Sailor Pluto's eyes were filled with joy as she kissed his lips for the "first time," he was real and it wasn't a dream. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were smiling, they were reminded of the day that they met those many years ago. Sailor Saturn walked over to the rooftop and stared into space.
She solemnly interjected, "Then it is as I feared... the fight doesn't end with you. The prophecy that I have foreseen will come true with or without you." Aurick stood with Sailor Pluto at his side, "The full extent of their plan is much worse than any of you understand. I am merely a pawn, a forerunner, in what is about to happen to this uni...." There was a brilliant white light and a gate opened in the air before them.
Sailor Pluto felt Aurick shudder against her and swallow with an expression of pure horror upon his face. He shouted to the scouts, "It's them... they have come to reclaim me. You guys get out of here, their power dwarves mine to fight them now is hopeless." Sailor Pluto spoke, "They are going to have to go through me to get to you." Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stepped beside of Sailor Pluto and Uranus placed her hand on her shoulder. Sailor Saturn balanced the Silence Glaive in preparation for battle. A voice spoke, "That can be arranged you fools. Throw down your weapons and return to us what is ours."
Out from the gate a form emerged. He was clad in armor, the gold armor covered its body from head to toe even his face was covered in gold. It wasn't a helmet... but a mask. It was as if the metal was molded to fit its face. Behind the man flowed a writhing cape, the exact type that Tempest had worn. He spoke, "Surrender Tempest and return with me to the council. You must be reformatted." Aurick whispered to the scouts, "He is Chief Centurion Preax, little more than a goon for the council of which he speaks." Preax barked in interruption, "Silence! I do not particularly care to hurt you ladies but if you do not surrender Tempest I will be forced to wreak unspeakable pain upon you." Sailor Pluto noticed a glint of something behind Aurick's back... in his hand he held a brooch that was used to fashion his cape together as Tempest. She reached over and took it from him and she heard his voice in her head, "It's all you need to know." Sailor Pluto responded with her thoughts, "No. Don't speak to me as if we have already lost this battle." Aurick's face twisted into one of pure anger and he extended his arms outward and to the sides... the shards of material covering the rooftop flew to his back and condensed to form his cape once again. He shouted, "I'm not going willingly... from Hell's heart I stab at thee, with my last breath I spit a curse at thee, you get the damn picture you pompous ass."
The battle was then joined. Sailor Pluto and Aurick were the first to fling themselves into battle with the outer senshi following close behind. Aurick spoke, "Join with me my love. CHAOS FLARE!" Sailor Pluto lowered the garnet orb to level with Preax's chest and she channeled her power into the staff. The wraiths of time screamed around her in a storm and shot through the staff like electricity through a wire as she shouted, "DEAD SCREAM!" The combined force of the attacks would have surely collapsed a small mountain; it hit Preax squarely in the chest. As the smoke cleared Preax stood there defiantly and spoke, "I think you dented my breastplate... tsk tsk." Aurick wrapped the tendrils of his cloak around Preax's throat and began to lift him into the air. Sailor Pluto began to charge for another barrage of attacks but Preax merely made a small gesture and the very ground on which she stood enveloped her feet like quick sand and became solid once more... entrapping her. Preax's maniacal laughter filled the night air as he merely ripped the tendrils of Aurick's cloak from his throat and grabbing hold of them... he began to slam Aurick into the ground like a yo-yo in the hands of an angry child. Aurick shakily got to his feet and Preax was ready... his cloak reaching out to entrap Aurick.
Sailor Uranus brought her fists together and slowly pulled them apart to reveal the sheath of her talisman, the Space Sword. She quickly pulled the sheath off and charged at Preax, the blade turned to gleaming hot energy as she shouted, "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" Preax turned and caught the blade in his hand and inclined his head slightly at Sailor Uranus as if curious as to what she was doing and he merely said, "Cute." Sailor Uranus shouted, "Damn you" and engaged in close combat her fists and legs lashing out with swift punches and kicks. Her fist was bloody and bruised from the force of her blows and he seemed unfazed by any of her efforts. On her next kick, Preax grabbed her leg and squeezed. She heard a loud snap and the pain of a broken femur screamed through her leg... it was verbalized as well, echoing through the night. "SUBMARINE REFLECTION!" Preax turned to Neptune... a determined look upon her face as energy hot enough to scorch stone issued forth from the mirror. Preax chuckled to himself, "How pretty." He made a small gesture and there was a loud crack as her head turned at an impossible angle... she fell to the ground like a sack of dirt. Sailor Uranus screamed, "MICHIRU" and as she ran over to see if she was all right, Preax shouted "CHAOS BOLT," and hurled the lightning to hit her in the abdomen. She rolled over groaning in pain and the smell of burned flesh permeated the atmosphere. Pluto screamed as she pulled at her feet, "NEPTUNE! URANUS!" OH GOD NO!"
Sailor Saturn swung the Silence Glaive and it sang as it made contact with Preax's shoulder. She had drawn blood! Preax slapped her so forcefully that she felt her jaw come out of alignment and kneed her in the stomach. Recovering, Saturn kicked him in the groin and drawing the scythe back out she prepared to strike the deathblow to his neck. He quickly shook the force of her blows off and grabbed her by the throat... the senshi of the deathly silence; one of the strongest of them all and he threw her against the stairwell door. Preax sneered, "This is all you have to offer... the strongest of the sailor senshi. You can't do better than this? How sad, it must be depressing to know that you can't win despite your best efforts." Preax turned and smiled at Sailor Pluto... who still struggled violently against her shackles but could not move them and he said, "Let me get your boyfriend on the way, then Ill take care of you." He reached out and grabbed Aurick... tossing him through the gate like a doll. Then turning to face Sailor Pluto once again his hands began to crackle with energy, "SILENCE BOLT!" Sailor Pluto closed her eyes as the energy split the air with a deafening crack and sailed towards her.
"SILENCE WALL!" The bolt of energy was stopped millimeters from her face and was reflected back towards Preax, it passed through his chest with a sizzle and exploded a window across the street. Preax snapped, "You'll pay for that, we aren't done with you yet." He stumbled through the gate and it closed. Sailor Saturn leaned back against the wall breathing heavily and dropped the scythe that she had used for the attack to the ground beside her. Saturn spoke, "Uranus and Neptune... I can heal them." The force that had bound Sailor Pluto's feet to the rooftop dispersed and she was thrown forward onto her face. Stumbling up onto her feet... she looked around her.
The rooftop smoldered from the numerous craters they had created in the battle. The smoke rose in ebony plumes towards the night sky. There were bodies all around. Uranus and Neptune lay there near death and the highest card in their deck, Sailor Saturn, was injured. Sailor Pluto felt something hard on the ground behind her and so she picked it up... opening his brooch, there was a picture of him as himself, beautiful black hair with gorgeous blue eyes. Sailor Pluto snapped the brooch shut... and she screamed.
TO BE CONTINUED
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