Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Mystic Moon ❯ A Heroine's Destiny ( Chapter 3 )

"This looks like a good place to begin," commented Linaddua as her eyes
scanned the area. She licked her lips. "Yesss, a perfect place to find pure hearts." She
pulled out the tarot card that Wiseman had given her.

"Glimue, come forth!" she commanded, flicking the card to the ground. Immediately,
purple smoke began to appear from the card. In a flash, a strange figure immerged.

"Glimue here, ready to serve!" hissed the creature in a raspy voice. Linaddua was a
little taken aback by the creature's appearance but decided that if the creature wanted
to be hideous, that was its own business.

"Glimue, I want you to bring me back pure hearts so that the NegaWorld can rule the
universe!" she instructed, adding a giggle at the end.

"Consider it done." rasped Glimue. With that, it disappeared. Linaddua leered
triumphantly as she could hear the screams of people on the street having their pure
hearts stolen.

Naria eyed the girl with curiousity.

Why is she crying?the feline wondered. Just then, she heard a piercing scream.

Fearing the worst, Naria jumped from the bed onto Hitomi's desk so that she could peer
out the window. There was nothing. She felt Hitomi's hand stoking her fur and she
warmed up against her touch, purring as loud as possible, hoping to cheer her up with
her cuteness. But suddenly, she felt the petting stop and looked up at the girl's face,
eyes questioning. Hitomi stood frozen, staring out her window. Naria followed her gaze
and felt her hair stand on end in fear and rage.

Passing by the window was the most hideous creature that Hitomi had ever
seen. It was a horrible sight. Its skin was green and scaly, with strange markings on her arms. A green moss-like substance covered its body. Its hair was long and flowing... and it moved. Snakes slithered about in it.

Hitomi's eyes widened in fear, she had never seen anything like this, not even on Gaia. She tried to scream but no sound came out. But this horror was soon replaced by a new sensation... anger. She felt her forehead grow hot with fury.

Naria looked up at Hitomi and what she saw made her nearly fall of the desk in
shock. Hitomi was no longer frightened, but angry. Her face was turning dark pink, but
that wasn't what was making Naria so startled. There, on Hitomi's forehead, was a
yellow symbol... the same one that Naria carried on her own head.

Lord Folken was right Naria admitted to herself. Linaddua and Wiseman are here. But
he was also right about another thing... Hitomi really is Sailor Mystic Moon.I've no time
to waste. I must inform her of her destiny! She cleared her throat.

"Hitomi." the cat spoke. Hitomi jerked her head downwards in frustration.

"Geez Naria, can't you see I'm upset? Leave me al-" she stopped dead in her tracks,
staring at the cat with eyes as wide as dinner plates. She began to shriek hysterically
but then calmed down, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes. She took a deep
breath. "Okay Hitomi, calm down," she soothed herself aloud. "You're going insane
now, it's official. You think your cat is talking to you. It's just because you're upset. Now
calm down, and remember, cats can't speak!" she opened her eyes to look down at her
pet as if for assurance that she had just been hallucinating, that her cat didn't actually
just say her name.

"Hitomi, you must listen to me! Your destiny awaits." said Naria, looking into Hitomi's
eyes.

"Ohmigod, you did speak!" whimpered Hitomi, backing away slowly.

"You weren't afraid of that talking cat girl on Gaia." grumbled Naria defensively. Hitomi
stopped backing away and stared into the cat's eyes, as if searching for an answer as
to how she knew about Gaia.

"Who... who are you?" Hitomi asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm your guide towards your true destiny... I'm Naria." Hitomi shook her head, as if
refusing the cat's answer.

"That's just the name I gave you." protested Hitomi. Naria frowned slightly.

"It's the name Lord Folken gave me." she corrected. Hitomi gasped. As if to prove her
identity, Naria held up her right paw. Around the wrist was a white mark that circled the
paw and looked horribly out of place. From far away, it looked like a piece of white
fabric had covered that area... as if to heal a wound. Hitomi gasped again.

"N-naria..." she said, approaching the cat. "Is it really you?"

"It's me, Hitomi," was the feline's answer, pleased that she finally recognized her.
Immediately, Hitomi threw her arms around her.

"Naria, it's so good to see you again!" she murmured through tears. Then she paused.

"But how...? I thought you..."

"I did," she confessed. "As did my sister, and Folken joined us a little afterwards. We
watched Gaia from our place in the sky, and were pleased to see that the world, our
world, was finally at peace. However, evil forces that had been banned from Gaia
decided to go to the Mystic Moon to try and capture pure hearts so that they may
function the Fate Destruction Machine and control the universe.

"I was sent here to guide you to your destiny. Once your destiny as a warrior is
complete, I will be allowed to go back to the spirit world and continue to watch over
Gaia."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Hitomi, holding her hands out to stop Naria. "What's
this about 'my destiny as a warrior'?"

"Yes, sorry, I forgot about that. You are no ordinary teenager, Hitomi Kansaki. You are
one of the few belonging to a special group. Warriors of the far past, reborn in present
years so that when the time was right, they would be told of their true destinies and they
could defend the world from the forces of darkness."
Hitomi looked puzzled. Naria repeated what she had said in a less confusing
way.

"In other words, Hitomi, you are a sailor senshi. You belong to a group of teenagers
around your age who, with special powers, can help stop the evil that plague our
worlds-both Gaia and the Mystic Moon.

"What you saw out there tonight, that creature, was one of the NegaWorld's
minions. They go around taking people's pure hearts. It's your job to stop them."

"But how?" asked Hitomi. "The only 'power' I ever had was being able to foresee things,
and that stopped when I left Gaia."

"Well, before you can do anything, you must first transform."

"Transform...?"

"Oh that's right, the transformer." Naria back flipped into the air and suddenly, a
transformation brooch landed into Hitomi's hands. She looked it over quizzically.

"Hitomi, you must fight that monster and destroy it or else the universe will collapse!
Now hold up the brooch and shout, 'Mystic Moon Power!'" commanded the cat.

Hitomi thought it sounded like a funny thing to say, but decided to give it a try.

"Mystic Moon Power!" she shouted as she held up the brooch.

Pink light surrounded her. Red boots appeared on her legs. A strange white
leotard-like top surrounded her, and matching elbow-length gloves covered her arms. A
blue miniskirt appeared at her waist, and as the finishing touch, little moon earings
appeared at her ears, barrettes to her shoulder-length brown hair (which she usually
wore in two buns), and a golden tiara to her forehead.

When the transformation was complete, Hitomi looked at herself in her full-length
mirror and giggled. She twirled and posed, pretending she was a model on stage. Her
eyes fell down to the blue skirt and she felt a burning sensation in her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" asked Naria.

"Err... the skirt. It's a teensy bit too... well... teensy." Naria chuckled softly but then
instantly turned serious.

"Come on, Sailor Mystic Moon! We have to go find that creature and destroy it before it
gathers enough pure hearts to destroy the universe!"

"Right!" she agreed enthusiastically. The two of them jumped out the window onto the
street.

"Now where did that baka go?" wondered Hitomi aloud. Naria suggested that
she use her senses and her power to find invisible opponents. Hitomi concentrated and
within seconds she pointed towards the park.

"That way," she instructed.

"I'll take your heart crystal, hee hee hee!" cackled Glimue maniacally as she
grabbed a bystander and sucked the life out of him. The man's body grew limp and
Glimue tossed it by the bench in the park.

"Excellent work, Glimue," commended Linaddua.

"I live to serve you, Mistress Linaddua," hissed the creature, and bowed. It spotted
another victim and sprang for it. It was a woman, looking to be around her late 20's.

"Your heart crystal is mine!" howled the monster as she grabbed the woman by the
collar. It opened its mouth, ready to take the woman's life energy.

"Stop right there!" commanded a voice.

"Huh?" Glimue dropped the woman (who scrambled to her feet and ran) to look for the
source of the order. It wasn't very hard. There, standing on a park bench, was a girl,
silhouetted by the moonlight.

"Who are you?" sneered the tarot card creation. As if on cue, the girl's face became
visible.
"I am the champion of justice, I am Sailor Mystic Moon! I will right wrongs and triumph
over evil!" she moved her hands into an accusing point. "...and that means you!"
A big sweatdrop appeared on Linaddua, Glimue, and Naria's head, all a little taken
aback by the fluffiness of the speech.
"Well, Sailor whatsyername," began Linaddua, making her presence known to the
heroine, "that was a wonderful little entree. However, pretty words won't save you.
Glimue! Finish her off!"
"With pleasure," the monster licked its lips hungrily and lunged at Sailor Mystic Moon.
The heroine easily dodged it and gave it a powerful kick.
Wow, those self-defense classes really came in handy,thought Hitomi smugly. Glimue
was now officially enfuriated. It snarled viciously and from its hand shot a blast of
energy. Sailor Mystic Moon avoided it by a few inches.
"It's getting weaker, Sailor Mystic Moon!" Naria called from the sidelines. "Finish it off!"
"How?!" she demanded, defending herself from a hearty blow.
"Use your tiara!" explained the feline. "Touch it, and shout 'Moon Tiara Magic'. It will
transform it into a disc, and you must throw it at the monster."
"Got it," the sailor scout nodded her head. She did as she was instructed, and aimed
the disc at the monster. "Moooooooon..... Tiaraaaaaaaaaa..... MAGIC!" she cried,
throwing her weapon at her opponent.
"Gah... ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!" shrieked Glimue as a pink light engulfed her. The light
disappeared, and the tarot card from which the villain had been created landed in the
ground. The image of Glimue remained for a moment, before dark smoke rose from it
and the picture vanished. The heart crystals that had been stolen returned to their
original owners.
"No, the heart crystals!" gasped Linaddua in horror. Sailor Mystic Moon quietly
retrieved her tiara, looking at the evil woman who stood watching in midair. "You
destroyed my creation," said the woman, glowering. "We'll meet again, Sailor-Brat!" she
vanished into the air, cackling insanely.
Sailor Mystic Moon regained her usual every-day form, and fell to her knees.
"Hitomi, are you alright?" Naria crept up to her, concerned. Hitomi was pale.
"That thing was so freaky..." she croaked, her eyes far-reaching. Naria saddened a
little.
"Hitomi, I know this is hard for you, but you must fulfill your destiny to save our worlds!"
Suddenly, Hitomi's face changed into a bright grin.
"That was awesome! I sure showed them! We gotta do this again,sometime!" she
giggled and scooped the animal up in her arms. Naria smiled, pleased that Hitomi was
accepting this duty so easily. But her expression turned grave.
"There's still a lot you must learn..." her voice trailed off, lost in the wind as Hitomi ran
home, the cat in her arms.