Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sennen Hanyou Part Two ❯ Split ( Chapter 2 )

Silver Alliance Trilogy Part Two- To Duel a Sorceress

 

Disclaimer: God dammit, if I owned Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Inu Yasha, Card Captor Sakura or Final Fantasy 8, then there'd be no need for me to write this. This could be an OVA, darn-sarnit! AGH! KAMI-SAMA! WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!?! Oh yeah, I don't own Yogi Bear either. Damn you, Hannah Barbera. Damn you to hell. Damn you old cartoons. Damn Hannah Barbera for making Yogi Bear. And the whole stealing-of-picnic-lunches thing. Damn you all *Rants for six hours*.

 

Author's Notes: Ah, chapter two… destined to be filled with more guides to life and random insaneness.

By the way, did anyone actually cry when they read the first chapter? Coz if you did, don't worry- you ain't the only one… (Rach, you suckaaaahh!!) Anyway… this chapter will probably be a bit shorter, but with a few flashbacks. And a couple of Bi scenes… I think I only wrote 1, though… oh well. Deal with it.

One more thing… who thinks I should put FAKE in here? We could use Ryo and Dee for `certain' things… hee hee heeeeee…

Ooooooh, before I forget. Duo's nickname is Shin. Fits rather well, ne? He may not be in this chapter (hell, he may not even be in this part of the trilogy at all!) but he does get mentioned. So there.

~~~

 

Technical Hippy-crap:

 

“blah” - Talking

`blah' - Thinking

*blah* - Hikari to Yami

**blah** - Yami to Hikari

“blah” - Different language

- blah - - Telepathic speech

<blah> - Youkai/ Hanyou speech

+blah+ - Letter/text message/document/instant messaging (whatever you call it in America, I dunno, we just call it SMS)

 

~~~

 

 Chapter 2- Split

 

1:09 a.m., January 1st, 3000 BC…

 

Atalanta uncurled herself from her mother, yawning as she banished the sleep from her eyes. She looked around the darkened room. It was still early in the morning… a very special morning. Today, all the planetary rulers were coming to sign the Alliance treaty.

She was especially happy. The signing meant that the Elysions would be coming too. And the eldest son of the Elysion King always fascinated her whenever he and his twin brother and little sister came over so their parents could discuss diplomatic stuff. It was like an obsession.

Crawling out of the safety of her parents' bed, Atalanta put on a sapphire silk robe she had received for her fifth birthday from two of her best friends, the Mercurian princesses, Aislin and Ami.

A sound from out in the courtyard made her feline senses suddenly switch to alert mode. She sniffed the air- the scent of an oukami-youkai filled her nostrils. Not wasting any time, she ran, following the scent.

When she reached the courtyard, she gasped when she realised who the wolf demon was.

Heero, the eldest prince of the Elysion royal family.

“W-what are you doing here?” Atalanta asked, staring. Heero offered no reply. <I said, what are you doing here?> Atalanta repeated, now in her full cat form.

The wolf demon transformed to his full form. <Nothing. Nothing at all.>

 

~~~

 

2:32 a.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

The blonde opened her eyes, blinking to allow the pitiful excuse for light to enter her pupils. She looked over at her alarm clock, frowning at the ungodly hour the device said it was. Letting out a frustrated groan, she reached towards her end-table and grabbed her cell phone, rapidly texting a friend whom she hoped was still up at this hour.

+Stouffers, I need to talk to you. If you get this before 6, call me on my mobile. Sykes.+

She sent the message, before climbing out of bed. Walking to her wardrobe, she pulled out a midnight-blue silk robe and wrapped herself in it, then headed for the balcony on the second storey of her house, to await a reply. She didn't really feel like sleeping.

The vibration of the cell phone in her robe's pocket sent her grabbing for the thing. She scowled when she read the reply. +Damn it, Katherine, do you have any idea what time it is!?+

She laughed under her breath a moment later as she wrote back. +Yes, it's about 2:30. Please call.+

Despite her sarcastic humour, she found the reply not as great as she'd hoped it to be.

+I have to sleep. I've got a comp. studies exam first period today, and I want to fit in some early study later. See you in the secret area. Stouffers.+

`Damn you, Anthea, this is so bloody important… I'll make you sleep permanently when I get my hands on you,' she thought bitterly as she switched the phone off and trudged back downstairs to her room. She knew she wasn't going to get much more sleep that night, but the warmth of her bed would be nice, before she had to get ready for the evil place known to all as school.

 

~~~

 

8:16 a.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

“ANTHEA, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!” Katherine yelled as she chased the pony-tailed ninth-grader around the isolated computer kiosk she and a few other girls had affectionately dubbed the `Secret Area'.

“Waaaaahhh!!” Anthea shrieked, dodging desks and chairs, finally diving for Katherine's' laptop. “Don't come any closer, or the lappie gets it!” she warned, flinging herself in front of the almighty piece of technology.

“You wouldn't…”

“Hell yeah, I would!”

“He-llooooooooooooooo people!” a third person said from the doorway. Blonde, uni-banged, and pretty well-off in the cleavage department. “How are we all?”

Katherine and Anthea turned their heads to stare at the speaker. “Elanor,” they muttered in unison.

Elanor feigned a hurt look. “Geez, I feel sooooooo loved,” she sniped, placing her hands on her hips.

“You should,” Anthea said lightly, her hand creeping towards the laptop, gently pulling it further out of the reach of the senior student. “I mean, y'got me!”

“Ants, that's just scary,” Katherine muttered, scratching the other girls' hand, which resulted in the ninth-grader yelping in pain.

Wide-eyed, Anthea brought her uninjured hand to her mouth. “Shit, did I just say that out loud?” she gasped. Her eyes got even wider when the other two girls nodded, both sporting expressions of mingled curiosity and confusion.

- Damn, have you corrupted my friend, Verdandi? - Katherine asked the other blonde telepathically, expecting the eighth-grader to not understand.

- `Course not, `Lan, - Elanor replied, leering at the brunette.

Katherine looked at Elanor, stunned, then at Anthea. “You're not telling me something, right?” she asked accusingly.

“No, I'm not… I gotta go!!!” Anthea replied, quickly logging off the computer she was on, grabbing her things, and bolting away.

`You're one of my best friends…' Katherine thought. `You can trust me, needle-noggin…'

Elanor looked at Katherine. “So, you let the cosmic cat out of the bag… oh, my God, that was such a bad pun,” she said.

“Whatever do you mean, baka-Plutonian?” Katherine replied.

“Stop it, Atalanta,” Elanor replied, like she'd been given a present. “So, you never died, eh?”

“Holy shit! Ho-ly shit!” Katherine gasped. “How did you know?”

“A lovely line you just said… `Whatever do you mean, baka-Plutonian?' Only a member of the Alliance, or a child of a member, would know I'm not a human, or a Plutonian, for that matter,” Elanor replied, smirking.

Katherine blinked. “Um, I'm reciting something from a play! We're studying the Silver Alliance in Ancient Hist…” She trailed off when she saw the incredulous look on Elanor's face. “I'm not a very convincing liar, am I?” she admitted, sheepishly

Elanor shook her head. “Quit it, `kay. I know, and you should damn well know that you're a Lunarian princess. Sad thing is, though, nobody else remembers. Ultimecia did a good job of fucking our memories up, didn't she?”

Katherine didn't say anything.

“You're not Leo, so don't pull that silence shit on me,” Elanor said with a glare.

“You're upset because Siren got to Leo first. Can we stop talking about this? Tell me, how did you remember?”
”I asked Sis to manipulate time for me.”

“Sis, as in Ellone-Sis?”
”No, Sis, as in Relena-Sis,” Elanor spat maliciously. “How thick are you? Geez. I never forgot. I just moved forward in time. And damn, Sis manipulated it a bit too much. I mean, look at my chest! I could poke someone's eyes out with these melons!”

“Hentai!” Katherine screeched.

“Damned straight. Proud of it,” Elanor grinned cheekily.

All of a sudden, Anthea ran back into the room. “Dudes, I forgot my removable drive thingy. Have you seen it?”

“Nope,” the blondes replied.

“Aw, shit!” Anthea hissed, rampaging around the room in a rush.

Thinking quickly, Katherine devised a plan. Something was up, and she was going to find out what it was. It was most probably going to break her friends' trust in her. It may even get her killed, but she had to know, for the sake of her friends' protection [or something]. “I'm gonna go. I'll meet you two in E2 (2) at break-time. Bye!!” Katherine waved as she walked out, but quickly doubled back, hiding against the corridor wall to eavesdrop.

Unaware, Elanor grinned evilly at Anthea. “Hmmm. This room looks a little… empty… and there's only the two of us…”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. I didn't ask mom for my own room for nothing. You wanna get frisky, then come back to my place after Hell,” Anthea said firmly, folding her arms.

The blonde pouted. “Awww… and here I am, thinking you'll be a good sport and all…”

“Oh, keep it quick. We'll get grief if Mrs Gallagher catches us. She doesn't like our type,” Anthea responded, giving in to the other girl.

“That's what I wanna hear,” Elanor winked suggestively, grabbing the brunette's arm. She spun the shorter girl around and pushed her back against a wall, out of sight of the door. “They can't catch us if they can't see us, right?” And with that, she pressed herself up against Anthea, probing the other girls' lips with her tongue.

Anthea moaned softly, steadying herself on a nearby desk as her knees weakened. She nudged the blonde, and the two separated to get some air. “I said, make it quick,” she protested.

“…so?” Elanor drawled, moving forward again.

“Dude! Class-go-test-arg-mmmm…” Anthea's protests collapsed into a drawn out moan. This time, she pushed against the wall, forcing the younger girl away. “Damn you and your Hentai ways!” she hissed.

The bell rang, and the two girls jumped simultaneously.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit, I've got a Computing test! Wish me luck, and see you at the Spot!” Anthea yelped as she dashed out of the room, completely missing the twelfth-grader, who sat slumped against the corridor wall. She had heard everything.

 

~~~

 

8:52 a.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Katherine scowled at her biology teacher. Class was boring now. A lack of sugar for breakfast was making her woozy… thank whatever primitive Gods still existed that she'd thought to bring an extra-large jar of Mango Tang. Sighing, she reached into her bag, grabbed the jar, and ate a few fistfuls before the teacher could notice…

And, oh shit, now she was on a high. Like anyone was surprised.

She giggled softly, hiding behind her book in the back of the room. The teacher went on and on and on… Gods, why wouldn't the stupid woman shut up already!?

Homicidal thoughts aside, Katherine covered her mouth with her hand… this bloody sugar high was getting worse. She could even see the ceiling go all warpy… she was getting dizzy… before she knew it, she was out cold.

A few classmates stared. One even thought that it was probably a good idea to notify the teacher.

 

~~~

 

1:13 a.m., January 1st, 3000 BC…

 

Atalanta was in the middle of a staring contest with the ookami-youkai. Frankly, it was boring. Her three tails twitched in annoyance.

Her companion, however, just… sat there. Staring. He was like a statue.

“Oh Ra, what did I do to deserve this fate?” Atalanta sighed in exasperation. Giving up, she leaned forward and poked Heero in the forehead with her index finger.

“Stop it… stop it… stop it already!” Heero growled, shuffling backwards. “Do you know how annoying that is?”

“Do you know how annoying you are?” came the angry reply. Earning only a non-committal grunt in reply, she then asked, “What are you doing here, anyway?”
”What are YOU doing here?” was his infuriating reply.

“I LIVE here!” Atalanta sighed, giving up the argument. “You know what? I'm tired. I will see you later.”

 

~~~

 

11:37 a.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Katherine woke up abruptly, staring at the wall opposite her… bed?

Worried, she looked around, not rising from where she lay. It seemed that her classmates had carried her to the first-aid room. Her theory was proven correct when Mrs. Spry walked in with one of her twelfth-grade friends.

“Dory!” Katherine said happily, beaming at her friend she'd nicknamed after a bad mix of Tang and `Finding Nemo'.

“Hey Syko. What the hell were you doing before?” `Dory' asked, placing a dark hand on the blondes' forehead.

“Eating Tang,” Katherine replied, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

The science teacher raised a brow. “Again? Maybe you should consider having breakfast in the mornings,” she observed, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Will do, teacher-miss,” the blonde said pseudo-meekly. “But I must inform you; I had two bowls of cereal and half a load of toast as a snack before I left. Maybe I should incorporate something else?”

Mrs. Spry coughed. “You ate that much…? Wow… I have two sons your age and they eat half of that a day…”

“Yeah, well, in some respects, I'm still a growing girl,” Katherine slurred, feigning a dizzy spell. She closed her eyes and groaned, trying to end the conversation.

`Dory' frowned. “I'd better get back to class.”

“I need to get back to work, too,” Mrs. Spry said, walking back to her office.

Once the two left, Katherine cracked an eye open and made sure they were gone for good. Happy that they'd left, she sat up.

Then the real dizzy spell hit.

 

~~~

 

6:47 a.m., January 1st, 3000 BC…

 

Atalanta stared out of the window. She could see the oukami-youkai and his family in the grounds talking to her own parents. Her little `conversation' earlier that morning had rattled her- the wolf made her feel really strange. It was an odd sensation, but not a bad one. Actually, she rather liked it. In fact, she wanted to spend more time with the mysterious Elysion prince.

Sighing, she sought after her older brother. She always went to him when she was confused like this.

She found him in the great library. “Onii-chan?” she asked, “A penny for your thoughts?”

“Hm?” Milliardo hummed from the desk he was sitting at.

“You know that prince from Earth? His name's Heero,” Atalanta said.

“Yes. Dangerous little thing, he is. Mama wouldn't be too happy if you got mixed up with him,” Milliardo replied, not lifting his head from the book once.

Atalanta frowned, not satisfied by his answer. “Okay. Just thinking…”

 

~~~

 

12:56 p.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Katherine woke up for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. She looked at the clock, angry that lunch had started, and she was stuck in the first-aid room. On top of that, nobody had even thought of waking her up…

Wait a minute; she was here for dizzy spells. That meant her mom would be picking her up. Or not. It seemed the women at the front desk hadn't even considered calling her mother. Oh well. They'd get a very angry call from a Mrs. Patricia Sykes when Katherine got home later.

She closed her eyes. The dream she'd just had replayed in her mind, in fast-forward. Then in reverse. Then it stopped, right when the little blonde girl was sitting in her room, staring out the window.

It was her at that window on that day, so many millennia ago.

The image of her long-lost love, also as a child, slipped into her mind. Then another image of him, a good thirteen years later, replaced it.

She started crying, thinking of the one she had lost, five thousand years ago. `Heero…'

“Hey, I wonder if she's up yet?” a voice from outside whispered, rather loudly for a whisper.

“Nah, they said she fainted. Poor thing's probably conked out,” another voice replied, a bit softer that the other.

Anthea and Elanor walked in. Katherine quickly wiped her eyes dry, and gave them a little wave.

“Fainted…? Bah, my ass,” Anthea muttered, sitting on the bed. “So, how goes it, buddy?” she asked.

“I've been better,” Katherine sniffled, sitting up.

Elanor raised a brow. “You've been crying,” she stated.

- Of course I've been crying, baka-Plutonian. I just had a vision of Wing, - Katherine shot at her telepathically.

- Really? You miss him, don't you? - Elanor asked.

“It's really silent, isn't it?” Anthea wondered aloud, oblivious to the mini conversation between the other two.

“Mm-hm. I've got to get my lunch from the canteen. Meet you back at the Spot,” Elanor said, patting Anthea on the head.

“Hey… don't do that, it takes me ages to get my hair right,” Anthea admonished.

Elanor winked and left, leaving the ninth and twelfth-grader behind.

“Um, Ants… I've been meaning to ask you something…” Katherine started, not entirely sure of what she was going to say.

Anthea blinked, then nodded. “Go for it.”

“Is there anything going on between you and Elanor?” Katherine enquired, deciding that the blunt truth would be the best.

The question obviously caught Anthea off guard. “Is it that obvious?” she asked, worried.
Katherine sighed. “I'll take that as a yes.” There was an awkward silence. Katherine wasn't a big fan of silence, so she added, “You should've told me. I'm your friend, remember?”
Anthea nodded in agreement. “You're like a sister to me. I just didn't think you'd take it too well.”

Katherine stared, the pieces falling firmly into place. “You're bi, right?”

“Yup,” Anthea replied, subdued.

“I don't mind. It's your decision. I can't change it, can I?” Katherine asked rhetorically. She sent a viscous message after the blonde girl who was toying with one of her best friends. - Damn you, Verdandi, if Shin had his memories back, he'd skin you alive! -

“'Sides… I really, really like her,” Anthea added, staring at the wall.

“I'll bet,” Katherine replied without conviction. - Hahaha, baka, you're so dead! Shin is going to murder you! -

- Shut up, Atalanta. - came the sneering reply.

“Seriously. She's cool, y'know? We've been together for a grand total of… six weeks… shit, now that I think about it, that isn't very long.” Only then did Anthea realize that Katherine wasn't really paying attention, she was too busy arguing with Elanor.

- Do you have ANY idea that you're messing around with Shin's wife!? - Atalanta yelled telepathically

- Shut up, Atalanta! - Elanor replied, sounding annoyed.

Shrugging, Anthea faced the twelfth-grader, and coughed, regaining her attention. “So we're cool?”

“Oh course. You're like my little sister… no, my bad, you and the others are my minions,” Katherine quickly added. - Ha, you're sooooo dead. -

- Go to Hell, Atalanta!!! - Elanor was quickly becoming unhappy with the silent chat they were having.

- Been there, done that. - she sent before sniggering quietly. “Ha ha ha, minions…”

“Shut it, get up, we've got lunch to eat!” Anthea complained.

“You and your stomach!”
Anthea laughed and grabbed Katherine's stuff. “To the Spot we go! Onward! Ha-ha!!!”

Katherine sighed in exasperation. -You're lucky Shin doesn't remember. - she sent.

- Ha, yeah. I like to think of it as having my fun, really. -

Katherine was shocked by Elanor's bold statement. - You mean… you're just playing with her? -

- Urh… did I say that? Well… y-yeah, I guess… - Elanor stuttered.

 

~~~

 

1:10 p.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Anthea grabbed Elanor's bottle of Coke and took a swig. Elanor glared.

About four more ninth-graders sat around them. The tallest, a Thai girl, giggled hysterically. “…And then this guy with a unibang starts walking on a tightrope! It was sooooo funny! Seriously! That guy was so hot! NO SHIRT!!!”

Elanor glanced sideways at Katherine. - Siren's starting to make sense. -

- Think she suspects? - Katherine replied.

- Nah, - Elanor sighed telepathically.

“YOU TOO, ALEX!?” the Thai girl shrieked, the conversation having progressed.

“Yes. I had this dream. I was older, and I was dating a sexist pig,” a Chinese girl named Alex said quietly.

A strawberry-blonde-haired girl, Erin, stared in wonder. “No freakin' way! I had this dream where I was really pretty and this super-cute guy was with me. ME, I TELL YOU!” she shouted, almost hysterical.

Anthea snorted. “Well, then again, you're a shameless flirt. How many other dreams like that have you had?”

“Oh, heaps!” Erin replied without missing a beat. “`Sept the guy in this one was, like, really familiar!” she squealed, lunging for the jar of Mango Tang, which was saved from a horrible fate by Farah, the one who'd dreamed of unibanged, shirtless acrobats.

“Hey all, d'ya wanna come over this afternoon?” Anthea invited. “Phoebe's going to a friend's place, and mom and dad are working late. Oh, and Adrian's… somewhere,” she added, not really caing much beyond the fact he was elsewhere.

Cries of “OKAY!” echoed through the small area.

Phoebe, who was `conveniently' in the seventh grade, appeared out of nowhere and ran up. “Hey all, I heard everything,” she said by way of introduction. “Cat, Bear, we've got some real explaining to do.”

Anthea spat out the mouthful of Coke she was trying to swallow. “What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked, having told her sister many times to just leave her alone during school hours.
”Awww… you know you missed me, onee-chan!!!” Phoebe squealed, hugging Anthea tightly. Tight enough to cut off Anthea's air supply, causing the older girl to suffocate.

“Air! AIR!” Anthea rasped, beating on Phoebe's shoulders. Phoebe obliged, whacking her sister on the back.

Katherine blinked in shock. “Phoeble, did you just call me Cat?”

“Yeah… shall I call you Neko, or Atalanta? Which would you prefer?” Phoebe asked mischievously.

“RACHELLE!” Katherine and Elanor shouted in unison.

“Bingo!” Phoebe exclaimed, beaming proudly.

Elanor burst out laughing. “Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better!”

Anthea fell over sideways, Anime-style. “What the hell is going on?” she whimpered pathetically.

“And what have I told you about calling me Phoeble?” the seventh-grader asked, punching the eldest blonde in the arm.

Katherine merely giggled. “Whoa, more dead people have come back to haunt me!”

“Shut up you baka!” Phoebe growled, hitting Katherine on the back of the head.

Katherine spun around and snarled at the seventh grader. Her eyes turned distinctly feline as her fangs elongated. “Don't hit me you poor excuse for a librarian,” she intoned darkly. “I am in a bad enough mood as it is.”

Elanor whistled, impressed. “Whoa… angry kitty!”

Enough was enough, Anthea decided. “WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?” she screamed in frustration.

Phoebe promptly fell over backwards in a giggling fit. “Okay, okay… Hyne, this is just too funny!” she exclaimed. Alex, Farah and Erin all just stared blankly, dazed and confused as all hell. Grinning, Phoebe tugged none-too-gently on her sister's hair. “Look, remember yesterday, when we came back from the shrink?” she asked.

“…vaguely…” Anthea said slowly, not really wanting to go where this conversation was heading.

“Well… then, when we got home and dad beat the living piss outta you? And I told you all that shit about those little kids' futures being our futures? To put it bluntly, you're real name is Rika Heartilly, and you've got an unnatural case of amnesia,” Phoebe explained. “We prefer to call it the `Ultimecia-just-erased-my-memories-and-I-got-killed-and-reincarnated-as-an- oblivious-high-school-girl effect,” she added sardonically.

“Holy… shit… you're kidding,” Anthea stuttered, not believing what she was hearing. “Shut up and go away!!!” she hissed at Phoebe, kicking her little sister in the shins. Quickly calming herself down, she turned and asked “So, what about you, Kat?”

“My name isn't Katherine,” she replied mysteriously. “Hell, I'm not even human! My real name is Atalanta, and I'm the Goddess of Life.”

“That's not funny, don't say that,” Erin shuddered, shrinking away. Alex screamed bloody murder and did her best to try and kill the twelfth-grader with a barrage of death-threats and devastating kung-fu punches. Each was trying to ignore what the older girl had said, afraid of what it may mean. Therefore, each reacted in what the felt was the natural way to act in such a situation.

- That's our Nataku, - Elanor muttered.

- Hai… - Katherine replied, ducking underneath a flurry of punches.

Farah was the only one sitting quietly, looking to learn first and reject later. “Um, would someone mind giving us an explanation?” she asked softly, afraid of damaging anything, even if there was nothing to damage.

Katherine dodged a kick, then slapped Alex upside the head, knocking her back. “Okay. I guess you guys have been hanging for some info. Rachelle? Verdandi? You two ready?” she asked.

- Shut up, Atalanta, - Phoebe hissed.

- What she said, - Elanor agreed.

- Fine, fine. - she replied silently, before turning to the rest of her friends “So, I'm guessing Ants isn't the only one with these visions?” she enquired.

Three people nodded. One of them blinked. Two grinned.

Taking that as a good sign, Katherine continued. “I'll tell you a story-”

“Oh, dear God, no!” Anthea cried in mock-horror.

“Shut up. Do you want to know or not?” she spat viciously. Never mind what the other's felt; everything that had happened so far today had her seriously on edge. Seeing Anthea's weak nod of submission, she continued. “Anyway, many, many years ago, a very old but oddly advanced civilization existed. The civilisation was made up of many different races, and they lived on the planets of the solar system. A bunch of these people got killed and then they were reborn in this time. Capish?”

Now four people blinked, not understanding.

“Hmmm… you guys are dumber than I thought,” Katherine murmured, casting a sideways glance to Elanor and Phoebe. “Okay, we'll have to do this the painfully clear way.” She pulled out a sparkling sphere-shaped object from her pocket. A precious, clear gem…

“Whoa, where the hell did you get that…?” Anthea gasped in awe, wide-eyed and giddy. “That is one big-ass diamond!”

“It's called the Ginzuishou… the Silver Crystal. It's my mothers,” Katherine explained. She held it out, signalling for the other six girls to form a circle around her, to keep the jewel away from prying eyes. “My mother was the queen of the Moon Kingdom. She lived through the war that caused everyone else's deaths. Serenity, my sister, survived the attacks as well. Unfortunately, they passed on a short while later.” She paused, letting that knowledge sink in before looking at them all solemly. “Now, this'll seem like a bad pun, but… gaze into my crystal ball…”

Alex looked in first. She squinted as an image played across the crystal's surface.

 

~~~

 

She saw a man with black hair pulled into an excruciatingly tight ponytail. The man was hacking at various beasts with a gleaming broadsword… another figure glided behind him, stabbing the man, leaving a fatal wound. The man screamed soundlessly and collapsed.

This image was replaced with another. A woman, also with black hair and also wielding a broadsword, shoved the full length of the blade into a fiery dragon… the woman was grabbed and spun around to face another black-haired woman, but with longer hair and equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows. The woman with the broadsword was kicked in the abdomen, then thrown to the ground. The longer-haired woman stepped on the other's neck, pinning her down. She clutched an arrow, put the arrow on the bow, and chanted an incantation. The arrow's tip burst into flame. Then, the arrow was aimed… the longer-haired woman shot the other woman down the throat. The shorter-haired woman jumped as flames jolted her body and slowly burned her insides.

 

~~~

 

Alex screamed, holding her head in her hands.

The other girls all reached to help, but Katherine waved them off. “Leave her. Lina, do you remember?”

“By Ra, I will murder you, Neko!” Alex rasped, glaring. “Great, now I have the mother of all throat aches!”

Erin peered into the crystal. Her eyes widened as she saw a figure displayed in the gem's faces.

 

~~~

 

A robed blonde man was running from someone in indigo armor and a cape. Erin recognized the blonde as the man in her dreams. The blonde looked slightly terrified, dodging an array of dagger-like objects that were sent hurtling his way. The caped man leapt up and landed before the blonde, pulling a rose from out of nowhere. Then, at a dangerous speed, the rose was thrown at the blonde, hitting with enough impact that it coursed through his body and flew out of his back. He gasped and keeled over, coughing up blood.

This warped to the image of a blonde woman, being held captive in a wall of fine glass bubbles, a blue-haired woman sneered, flicking a hind. The wall disappeared, and the other woman fell to the ground. The blue-haired woman dived, grabbing the blonde woman's ankle and twisting it with impossible strength. The blonde woman cried out and tried to slither away, but the blue-haired woman grabbed her hair in one hand and her right shoulder in the other and twisted the blonde's neck around in a three hundred and sixty degree angle. The blonde woman died promptly.

 

~~~

 

“Oh, my God!” Erin moaned in horror, staring at the crystal. “Why did you have to remind me of that, Atalanta?”

“What, no thank-you? Oh well. Great to have you back, Aurora,” Katherine muttered, holding the Ginzuishou in front of Farah. “Your turn, Aislin.”

Meekly, Farah looked into the crystal.

 

~~~

 

A tall, uni-banged man held out a gun, pointing it at someone who was probably in the middle of a gender identity crisis. Shooting a round of bullets, the uni-banged man flipped backwards as the other person lunged forward, clutching a small dagger-like object. Whoever it was pulled off the cape they were wearing to reveal no shirt and loose pants. With the hood removed, the other person's mass of blonde hair was shown pulled back into a loose ponytail. The uni-banged man flipped forward and raised the gun to the blonde's head, but the blonde ducked and administered a round-house kick, tripping the taller man. Slamming on the ground, the uni-banged man rolled over and got up, only to find that the blonde had disappeared. He looked around, and the blonde winked in, grabbing him by the shoulder. The blonde raised the dagger, then brought it slashing across the taller man's jugular vein.

The image melted, changing to an image of a black-haired woman in a long skit, having difficulty out-running a taller brunette woman, who was holding an electrified whip. The black-haired woman conjured a staff and rammed the end into the brunette's stomach. The brunette double over, coughing and spluttering. The back-haired woman took the distraction to dash away, but had her left ankle wrapped in the brunette's whip. Yelping, the black-haired woman struggled and failed. The brunette grinned sadistically, pulling the other woman up by the hair. She threw her into the air and wrapped the whip around the black-haired woman's neck, tightening it until it cut through flesh and any major veins. The black-haired woman was tossed away, dead before she hit the ground.

 

~~~

 

Farah brought a hand to her mouth and whimpered. “My God…”

Katherine briefly patted her on the back. “You just sit down for a second, and I'll be right with you.”

The crystal was thrust in front of Anthea. “I believe it's your turn, onee-chan?” Phoebe said softly.

Gulping and nodding, Anthea looked into the crystal.

 

~~~

 

The image swam in fast. A man with a long braid swung a scythe at a taller man with shoulder-length hair. The braided man yelled out something and slashed, missing his opponent by an inch. The other man drew his arm back and punched the braided man, sending him flying. The scythe spiraled away. The braided man got up and lunged, holding a small knife. The other man dodged every slash, successfully punching the braided man again. The knife in the braided man's hand vanished, then reappeared in the other mans's hand. Triumphantly, the other man stabbed the braided man in the side, ripping the blade out and leaving him to drown in a pool of his own blood.

The image warped to an image of a woman with flowing dark brown hair, flying away from a winged beast-woman dressed in red. The brunette threw a knife at the beast-woman, but it merely bounced off and flew toward the ground. Eyes flashing, the brunette raised her hands above her head and conjured a ball of fire and ice mingled together, but before she could release it against the beast-woman, her arms suddenly began to bleed. The beast-woman cut down the brunette's arms from her armpits to the insides of her wrists. Smirking, the beast-woman threw a fire bolt at the brunette, sending her floating toward the ground, slowly dying.

A third vision appeared. A man who appeared to be the previous woman's twin, sat in a chair, reading, when his own arms started bleeding. Horrified, he stood up, and promptly passed out.

 

~~~

 

Staring into space, Anthea slowly turned around and sent Elanor an unreadable look. Without warning, she picked her bag and folder up and ran away.

“H-hey, wait up!” Elanor called after her. All that did was urge Anthea to greater speeds.

“Leave her be. It's partially your fault she got upset about that,” Katherine said quietly. “I mean, you did take advantage of her and all…”

- What do you mean? - Elanor asked.

- I think she figured it out. -

- No… -

Katherine merely nodded, then tuned to the other three. “I suggest that you all go home for the rest of the. You should rest, and get yourselves sorted out. I know this has been quite the ordeal for you.”

Alex, Erin and Farah nodded, silently picking up their belongings and moving away. Phoebe left at the same time, heading in the direction her sister had fled.

Elanor stood zombie-like. “I'm such an idiot!”

“No arguments there,” Katherine said, sitting on the bench behind her. “How long?” she asked bluntly.

“Since the beginning of this year,” Elanor replied. “Look, Atalanta, I didn't take advantage of her, got it? Shinigami wasn't there… and she came on to me first!”

“She also didn't have her full memories back. It's no excuse,” the older blonde admonished. “You do realize that now she remembers she's been married to Shin for Ra knows how long, and that they had a kid?”

“I screwed up, Elanor stated firmly. “I've got to find her.”

“That would be screwing up even more. Leave her for a while.” Katherine gave her a tight-lipped smile, grabbed her own belongings and walked to the library.

Elanor was left alone, staring at the wall. `Shiiiiiiit…'

 

1:57 p.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Farah leaned over and tapped Anthea on the shoulder while they listened to their science teacher drone on. “Hey, are you okay, Rika?” She earned no reply. Something was definitely up, so she tried the telepathic link she shared with the other reincarnated girls. - What's going on? - she asked silently.

- You didn't know Verdandi and I were together… did you? - Anthea replied timidly.

- What about Shin? -

- I only learned he ever existed just then… if you'd asked that earlier, I would've looked at you like you were mental. But now I remember Shin, and… -

“Excuse me? Miss Stouffers?” the teacher interrupted.

“Yes, Dr. Pohl?” Anthea replied, flinching as the teacher slapped a textbook on her desk.

“Do you have any idea what the class is discussing?” Dr. Pohl asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

“Mm-hm. Pulleys make lifting things easier, gotcha,” Anthea mumbled.

Dr. Pohl blinked. “That's part of it... but you're supposed to be constructing a double pulley system with the rest of your table!”

Reality set in. Anthea groaned and slumped in her chair. “Oh. Right.”

Farah looked at her friend sympathetically. “She's not feeling very well,” she told the teacher.

“Is that so? Well, if it gets any worse, then I'll let you go to the first-aid room,” Dr. Pohl replied, after a pause.

“I'll be fine,” Anthea mumbled, sitting up.

“Good, as I was saying...”

- Why won't he shut up?! - Farah asked telepathically.

Anthea shrugged in reply.

- You like Elanor, don't you? - Farah questioned.

- I don't know anymore... - Anthea replied faintly

- What do you mean? -

- Well, I guess I do... but... oh, God... Shin... - Anthea stared forwards, the room losing focus. The next thing she saw was the image of a balding, grey-haired man as it swam into view. Anthea yelped in shock.

“Hello, Miss Stouffers,” Dr. Pohl said quietly, his face a few centimetres away from the now bemused girl's.

“Holy Hyne!” Anthea shrieked, falling backwards.

“She's delirious!” Farah announced, grabbing a sheet of paper from her folder. “She should go to the first-aid room!” She quickly scribbled a message on the paper and thrust it in front of the teacher.

Dr. Pohl signed the note. “Miss Incharun, you'd better stay with her until her mother picks her up.”

“Her mom can't. She works on the far side of the city,” Farah said, helping Anthea pack her bag.

“Oh... well, it's lucky she lives so close to the school. Walk her home. Have the rest of the day off, in fact. And please tell all your lovely friends to have the rest of the day off too,” Dr. Pohl commanded, somewhat mechanically.

“Yessir! Will do, Sir! Aye-aye-yessir!!!” Farah grinned, to hide her confusion over his sudden change of heart, as she grabbed her own belongings. Moving under Anthea's shoulder, and carrying both bags, she helped her friend hobble to the first-aid room.

After signing in at Reception, the two then awkwardly made their way to the mini-clinic. Anthea started giggling as she jumped on the pitiful excuse for a bed. “You should've seen your face when Dr. Pohl told you to take the rest of the day off!” she managed to gasp out between gusts of laughter.

“What did you do to the poor old man?” Farah asked; adopting the severe tone a mother might with her reprobate daughter.

“Heh heh... it's all in the eyes,” Anthea said, now laughing hysterically at the thoroughly confused look on her face. "You'd better find the others- party at my place!!!” she announced.

“Still up to your old tricks then, huh, Ryu?” Farah admonished.

“Hell yeah! Don't forget- my big sister is the Goddess of Mischief. I've learned a couple of useful tricks over the years. I can make anyone's will like putty in my hands- not to mention I can make their brains like Silly Putty. Oh, the fun I have!” Anthea cackled gleefully.

 

~~~

 

2:24 p.m., June 5th, AD 2004…

 

Elanor was left tagging behind the other five girls, five since Phoebe was at her friend's house, as they headed for the home of the notorious Anthea Stouffers, formerly Rika Heartilly.

“Hey El, `sup with you?” Erin asked, looking back over her shoulder at the younger blonde.

“Nothing,” Elanor replied, not bothering to look up from the pavement.

A couple of minutes later, the group arrived at their destination, a house barely visible behind the many trees in its front yard. Anthea unlocked the front door, and the six girls walked in, dumping their belongings by the table opposite the door. “Make yourselves at home. I'll just get us some nibblies and drinks,” Anthea invited, heading toward the kitchen.

Elanor got up and followed. “Rika-”

“Please go back inside,” Anthea said quietly, not wanting to make a fuss.

“Rika, why are you avoiding me?” Elanor moaned.

- I would've thought it was obvious, - Anthea replied bitterly, silently spitting the words out.

- Listen to me… please… - Elanor begged.

- I'm listening. - was the cold reply.

 

~~~

 

Katherine smacked Erin. “They're having a private chat. Which means you're not supposed to eavesdrop.”

“Awww… c'mon, Neko, just for a minute?” Erin pleaded, bombarding the older blonde with a killer doe-eye look.

“That doesn't work on me. Sit down and shut up,” she ordered.

Erin pouted in defeat. “You're no fun,” she mumbled.

“Thank you for stating the obvious,” Farah said from behind a book she'd pulled from her bag.

Elanor stormed back in. “I'll see you all tomorrow,” she muttered, grabbing her things.

“Hey, wait! This is supposed to be a reunion!” Erin said, pulling the younger girl onto the couch and holding her down. “Don't be such a party-pooper!”

- Bad chat? - Katherine asked, keeping the conversation private.

- No shit, Sherlock. - Elanor looked at the carpet, blinking as a few tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

“Coke's ready!” Anthea called with a forced cheerfulness, waltzing into the room with glasses of soft drink on a big tray. She scanned the room quickly, noticing that Elanor was avoiding her gaze. She saw a tear run down the blonde's cheek. She faltered, setting the tray down before she dropped it. “I've got some Tim-Tams inside, give me a mo and I'll have them here before you can say `Shinimegami'.” She faked a grin and walked back to the kitchen. As soon as she was hidden from the living room, she collapsed into a chair, covered her face with her hands, and let her own tears flow.

 

~~~

 

Alex continued to repeat the five-syllable mantra, but no Tim-Tams came. “Damnit, I want a Tim-Tam!” she hissed after the twenty-fifth repeat.

“I'll drag Ryu back in,” Katherine said, jumping up and traipsing into the kitchen. She wasn't too surprised to see the brunette sobbing by the counter. “Almost every time I've seen you recently, you've been crying,” she gently chastened, kneeling before the younger girl and placing a friendly hand on her knee.

Anthea looked up without replying, her face streaked with tears.

“Aw, geez… Imouto… stop crying. We can't have a repeat of last week, can we?” Katherine pleaded.

“I had an excuse last week,” Anthea sniffled.

Katherine opened her arms. “Huggy, okay? Then we'll go back inside.”

“Damn you, sis,” Anthea muttered, returning the sisterly embrace. “Why must you always play the peacemaker?”

“That's just what I'm here for. Come on, get up.” Katherine hauled the short girl off the chair she was sitting on, and proceeded to drag the brunette back to the living room.

 

~~~

 

The other girls had started a conversation about the school day, and getting their memories back.

Well, except Alex, who was getting impatient for the promised Tim Tams.

“Shinimegami. Shinimegami. Shini- Finally!” Alex exclaimed as the pack of Tim-Tams, followed by the other two people, entered. “I'm hungry. Gimme, gimme, gimme!” she ordered, lunging for the biscuits.

“Paws off,” Katherine snapped, smacking the girl's hand away.

Alex pouted and sat back. “I want a Tim-Tam.”

The conversation turned rather quickly as the other five dived for the biscuits.

“Damn you all to hell…” Alex muttered, scowling.

“Ah, don't worry about the Tim-Tams, Lina, they're going somewhere safe,” Farah smirked, grabbing half a pack for herself.

 

~~~

 

An hour later, the packet of biscuits was thoroughly demolished, and everyone was sitting with their feet up on the coffee table. Katherine reached for the Tim-Tam package, praying to whatever mortal Gods were listening that there was at least a crumb left. She sighed as she tossed the crumb-less package across the room, causing it to bounce off Alex's head. “Hey… who's up for a story?”

“No stories… please, Hyne, stop this evil,” Anthea groaned, covering her face with a hand. “Don't ever say `Who's up for a story' or I might mistake you for Relena and cause an an `accident' that is purely `accidental'.”

“Here's one… once upon a time-” Elanor started.

“Has anyone ever wondered why most stories begin with `Once upon a time'?” Erin asked, butting in as per usual.

“Nah… that requires thinking, which is a complete waste of time,” Katherine piped up from behind the pillow she had snatched off Farah.

“ONCE UPON A TIME,” Elanor shouted, trying to bring the attention back to her, “there was a really cool princess, who was bi, and she was in love with another princess, who, luckily, was also bi, and was also becoming a queen sometime soon. The cool princess really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY liked the to-be-queen, so she told her and the to-be-queen told the cool princess that she liked her too, so they became an item, until the to-be-queen got killed, leaving the cool princess very, very sad and lonely. So, many years later, the cool princess asked her big sister, who watched over the Garnet Gates, to send her into the future hoping to find the reincarnation of the to-be-queen. She did, and they became a couple again. But then they had a tiff, and the reincarnated to-be-queen is still angry at the cool princess even to this day.”

Anthea looked at Elanor in horror. “In your dreams and in my nightmares!”

“Okay, okay, I'll admit it-”

“WHAT THE FUCK EVER HAPPENED TO `NO'?!”

“THAT'S ENOUGH!” Katherine yelled, throwing her hands up. “I'm sick of this! Nobody here can have a civilised conversation with this sort of atmosphere! Rika! Verdandi! Follow me!” She marched towards the kitchen.

Anthea raised both eyebrows in silent surprise, shrugged and followed. Elanor scowled, but followed as well.

“Sit,” Katherine ordered, pointing at the two closest chairs. When the other two did so, she continued. “Okay, from what I've gathered, and what I've been told, it seems that you two are having a bit of an argument,” she said.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Anthea muttered.

Elanor hissed “Thank you very much for stating the obvious,” at almost the same time

“Look, you two, cut the sarcasm,” Katherine ordered. “Now, I want you two to have a normal conversation. You will work everything out here and now. I'll be like a counsellor, so I'll make sure this doesn't turn into a bad episode of Jerry Springer. Go.”

Anthea scowled. “I have nothing to say.”

“Well, guess what? I do. Answer this for me… what am I to you?” Elanor asked.

“A waste of space, or, if you'd prefer it a different way, someone I have to get over, and quick,” Anthea shot back.

“But…” Elanor trailed off, unable to speak.

“Hmmm… I'm sensing some elements of hostility here…” Katherine noted aloud.

“Shut up, Atalanta,” Anthea and Elanor said in unison.

“I can't believe you did that. You know how much I love Shin… and you made sure he was out of the picture so you could charm me!” Anthea accused, verbally attacking Elanor.

“I didn't, you forgot Shin, and on top of that, you confessed first!” Elanor brought up as a shield.

Anthea glared; her eye twitched as she resisted the urge to slap the blonde across the face. “I did not.”

“You did too!” Elanor retorted. Shaking her head, she shut her eyes tightly. “You know what… look, I'll make this easier for you. Yes, I was playing around. No, I never really liked you, okay? Give a girl a break!”

“What… ever happened… to `No'? You could've avoided all this!” Anthea shouted, furious. “But nooooo, you had to string me along all this time? I hate you!”

“Oh, come on, that's harsh,” Elanor protested

“So? What you did was even worse!” Anthea howled.

“She has a point there, Verdandi,” Katherine added, lightly.

“Atalanta, please,” Anthea hissed. She then rounded on Elanor again. “Gods, if my parents could see me now! It's going to be great when my parents get home! `Oh, hi mom, dad, great news! Hey dad, remember that time we were talking about Emily (*) and Megan (*) getting all mushy over some guy at the Kendo club, and I'm doing the whole what's-so-great-about-him? thing, and you thought I was a lesbian? Well, you were half right. I'm bi, and I've been in a relationship for a while now, but I JUST GOT DUMPED!' Wonderful, my parents will have HEART ATTACKS!”

“Rika! Calm down!” Katherine said, trying to soothe the raging temper of her friend.

“NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, DAMNIT!” Anthea hollered, bursting into tears of fury.

“Elanor, I think it would be a good idea if you leave,” Katherine indicated to the other blonde quietly, moving in to hug Atalanta and let the brunette cry into her shoulder.

“Oh, I will. Geez!” Elanor grabbed her belongings and stormed out, slamming the door.

Katherine comforted Anthea until she stopped crying, patting the younger girl's hair. “I got the gist of it all. Look, I have to go, but believe me, I regret it. If you need to talk, call me on my mobile. We'll sort it all out.” With that, she gave Anthea another quick hug and left, running to catch up to the other three who had left only a few minutes earlier, when the fight began None of them really wanted to stick around while the girls in the kitchen argued.

 

~~~

 

Erin spotted her first. “So, what happened? I want all the juicy bits.”

“I figure, by the guilty look you have, that all is not well?” Farah inquired.

“No bloody way,” Katherine sighed.

“C'mon! Tell me, tell me, tell meeee!!!” Erin whined.

Katherine pushed the other three girls forwards, down the ramp at the train station closest to Anthea's home. “Leave `em alone. They're not exactly… talking.”

“You are sooooo no fun,” Erin muttered, tripping over Farah's foot. She went flying.

“Sucker,” Alex smirked.

“That is so NOT fair. You're all so mean!!!” Erin wailed, rubbing the first part of her anatomy to hit the pavement.

Farah giggled. “Welcome to reality.”

“Welcome to Shut-Up-Now-Or-Omae-O-Korosu,” Erin growled, stealing her brother's favorite line. (*)

The other three laughed. The strawberry-blonde haired girl pouted. Justice was served as Katherine practically kicked Erin the rest of the way down the ramp and onto the platform.

 

TBC

 

~~~

 

In the next chapter: (Mainly revolving around Katherine/Atalanta and Farah/Aislin) Katherine gets a little note from the future from a supposed family member. Setsuna, one of Elanor's sisters, returns from the Gates of Time to tell our girls of the different realms intertwined with their own, and the situations in those realms.

 

Author's Notes: From next chapter onward, all the girls will be using their real names (Katherine/Atalanta, Anthea/Rika, Farah/Aislin, Erin/Aurora, Alex/Lina, Phoebe/Rachelle), and there'll be a few new characters (Megan/Akara, another oukami-youkai, but obviously female, is one, and she plays an important role, as does Bushra/Yalanda, Jenna/Jenova and Jessica/Archamais.)

And y'know what? I'm not gonna bother putting dates in anymore…

YES, characters from the mentioned animes/games will appear gradually! I'll get to it!

Little note- I'll post this fic, along with parts one and three, on my website (www.ryuuakumashinimegami.tk) . If you're a fan of the Sims, please take a looksie at my new-born Skin collection, available for downloading if you wish at my All-Sims website (www.shinisims.tk). Yeah, yeah, I know, Sims of Death, what else were you expecting?

 

(1) I'm really pissed off. I enjoy my mythology, and `Aa! Megami-Sama!' (`Ah! My Goddess!' to you lame-brainers who don't know the Japanese name for it) got it all wrong. Verdandi, Urd and Skuld (Present, past and future respectfully) are the three Germanic/Nordic fates. Where the hell did the name `Belldandy' come from?! If they're gonna use a mythological concept, could they at least get the names right?!

(2) Another Home-away-from-home. What can I say, we're computer nuts.

(3) Another friend. It has occurred to me that most of my friends names begin with `E'. Esther, Emily, the OTHER Eleanor (See the different spelling?), Erin, Ericka, the other Emily, Elizabeth WD, Elizabeth R…

(4) Akara Ten'ou. Haruka's (Sailor Uranus/Amara in the Dub version of SM) sister (well, we'd like to think she is, anyway. They look sorta the same, and Akara does have an odd affinity with Uranus…). However, we just call her Megan for the hell of it. We do, however, call her annoying tag-along, Rebeccah, the Monkey. It's quite a long story… mostly involving me saying `Go spank your monkey' to piss her off. Ah, the wonders of Tang shots…

(5) Well, in our little world, Aurora, Duo and Heero are the three Elysion kids. Aurora (Erin) has her memories back, but as far as I'm concerned, the boys don't. Ask Atalanta. She's giving me all the ideas for this.

 

~Words of wisdom for today:

Have you ever noticed how long the grass bends before the wind, ensuring it doesn't break under the pressure; rippling and bowing in the breeze, going with the flow? Stupid, isn't it?~

 

Once again, this was Shinimegami. Keep reading, or I`ll have my army of rabid monkeys attack you. Thank you and come again!