˂Sailor Heart & Eclipse
sailorheart@hotmail.com
Soulsower
Chapter 6
Why did you take these two? What do you plan to do with them?! The others will find us
now, you know!
That's the whole idea, my dear! Feel the immense power coming from these Sailor Scouts. I
could live off of them and only them forever!
You plan to keep them as prisoners?! You said we were just going to get energy from people
and then we could go off to live our lives in peace together! If I knew you were going to do this,
I would have never....
You would have never what, Kyanite? I am the Soulsower. What did you expect? You knew
who I was when you released me. You knew my nature because we are of the same kind! You
wanted to punish the humans, and make their lives as miserable as yours. I will rape the earth of
energy and their misery will be ten-fold compared to your suffering!
I want you to stop this right now! Release those girls and just let me be!
You have no control over me, little one. I will continue my tirade and you must live with the
fact that it is all your doing.
* * *
"That's it! I am going with you!" Darien was determined not to be swayed. He ripped off his
sling and grappled with the cast. "Just as soon as I get this thing off...."
"Stop that!" Serena grabbed her love's hands. She sat him down in a chair firmly. "I will not
having you getting hurt any more than you already are, Darien. You will stay here with Amy and
monitor us through her computer. There's four of us, and once we get Venus and Mars back, the
monsters will have no chance!"
"Don't worry about us, Darien. We know where their liar is, and we'll bust in on them when
they're least expecting it!" Adrian assured his cousin. He certainly had an enthusiasm for
fighting. Be it a good thing or not will remain to be seen. At least I knew his heart was in the
right place.
Lita put one hand on Adrian's shoulder and the other was in a tight fist. "We're going to go
now. They won't be expecting an attack so soon. The faster we get Venus and Mars out of there
the better."
"I... I just feel so useless sitting here." Darien sighed heavily.
"Well I have plenty of things for you to do!" Amy jumped right in wishing she could go to
help the others too, but knowing she would only be a liability to the team, she did not put up a
fuss like Darien. "You can go to the library and research the history of the site where the
creatures are located. My computer can only do so much at once. And since I'm not suppose to
leave the room, you can keep us all updated on Molly. With the break-through Haley witnessed,
her recovery should be quickened from here on out."
"Guess I spoke too soon!" Darien leaned back in the chair with a silly grin on his face.
Laughter rippled through the group. It felt wonderful to relieve some of the tension in the room.
If we were to become too tense and brittle, then we would easily break under more pressure.
I slipped his sling back over his shoulder and then ruffled his dark locks. "Now get your ass
to the library! We all have work to do."
I was eager to get out of the hospital. Away from the smell of medicine, disinfectant and
disease. I wanted the scent of our prey... the Negaverse beasts who took Venus and Mars from
us. Always the ones I cared for.... Raye... my mother... my innocence... the world I once knew.
Will I ever be rid of this hate? I don't like to hate like this. I don't like the feeling of something
that leads me to lose control.
"I will monitor you and keep you updated on everything from here." Amy seemed to have
repeated this all through her stay in the hospital. She needed to feel she was doing something
helpful too. The Princess of Mercury didn't know just how much she really was helping the
team.... even from the confines of this small square room. "You do remember where to go?"
Adrian nodded. "Yes, I know where. We'll drop Darien off at the library and head out to the
ruins."
With that, we started filing out of the room. Sharing a connection through our blood...
siblings sometimes seemed like twins... Serena and I stopped and said `thank you' to Amy at the
same time. She smiled encouragingly at us, but I could see the worry in her eyes as Serena
hugged her. Amy was afraid for us. Just how powerful did her computer tell her our enemy
was?
* * *
It was nearly dark out when we arrived at the ruins. From a distance, nothing looked out of
the ordinary. Yet, up close, the ground seemed to breathe. It had a life of its own. Serena was
even hesitant to walk on it.
"I would definitely say this is the right spot!"
"Alright guys! Let's transform and go get our friends back!" Lita held up her power stick. "Jupiter... Power!"
"I'm with ya! Heart... Crystal... Power!"
"Moon... Crystal... Power!"
Feeling the great energy of the Scouts, I held my arms out. "Eternal... Eclipse...
Transformation!"
The Scouts and I cautiously walked into the ruins. Sailor Heart and Sailor Jupiter leading the
way. I brought up the rear. Things did not seem right. It was too quiet. No animals or birds.
The landscape itself was surreal. Ever so slowly things were distorting. Shapes that do not fit
together lay against one another. The dew on the ground was thick almost like saliva. An
acid-like smell began to filter from the grass. What was happening here?
"Amy said there would be a cave around here..." Jupiter muttered to no one in particular. Her
green eyes searching the area for an opening.
Sailor Heart grabbed her by the arm just as she was about to fall. Directly in front of them
was a perfectly circular hole. It was hardly noticeable in the dark. Luckily Heart had seen it just
in time. "That was too close. But I guess we're going to have to go down there anyway. This
must be what we're looking for."
Peering around Jupiter, Sailor Moon inspected the cavern. "It's so dark. How do we know
how deep it is?"
"We could ask Amy..." Sailor Heart suggested, but I discarded the idea.
"Listen... there's complete silence here... yet everything seems alive and aware. We're
expected. They know we're coming and they want us to come. An entrance into their domain
won't be difficult. So let's not disappoint them."
I leapt into the hole not even sure of my own words. Like a cat, though, I landed on my feet
fourteen feet below. Ahead the walls widened creating a tunnel large enough for us to easily
walk through. They glowed with a dim phosphorus purple light. Streams of blue, black, red, and
orange ran through it. Those colours....
"Eclipse!" Sailor Moon shouted, distressed, from ground level.
"It's okay!" I called back up. "It's only about fourteen feet d..."
I didn't even finish my sentence before the three Scouts jumped down next to me.
Sailor Heart scowled at me. "Don't go pulling foolish stunts like that! We can't afford to lose
any more team members!"
The frown was wiped from his face, though, when he saw the road ahead. I didn't bother to
reply to his scolding. Sailor Jupiter started forward emphatically. "I guess this is where we have
to go. Venus and Mars have to be around somewhere."
In a line, we made our way along the winding tunnel. I ran my hand along the cave wall. It
was hard, but felt strangely like skin. Sailor Moon also touched it and her face showed her
disgust.
"This is too weird. I feel like we're heading into a trap."
"Most assuredly it's a trap." I affirmed her intuition. This cavern was not natural. There was
no erosion from water or lava flows. And it's glow... It was energy, I was certain. A storehouse
of Negaverse energy.
We rounded another bend into a chamber leading to several other tunnels. This place was a
labyrinth. We were being toyed with... and given the opportunity to separate from each other.
None of us were planning to split up though.
"Which way now?" Sailor Jupiter asked folding her arms.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Sailor Heart sighed in frustration.
Sailor Moon let out a little squeak of fear and pointed a shaky finger at the burrow second to
the left. "Just not over there! It's a giant Oni!"
"A what?!" I spun around to see the creature lumbering forth. It's huge body was not built for
speed, but brute strength. Its breathing was labored as it stepped into the chamber.
"An Oni is like an ogre!" Jupiter stood in front of the Moon Princess. The Oni glared at her;
its red eyes void of anything but bloodlust. It let out a low rumbling growl. The giant wore only
a loincloth. Its body was covered in matted hair and two sharp, stubby horns were mounted on
its head. It was difficult to tell in the dim light, but it seemed to have war paint on its face.
"One less ogre in a second!" Sailor Heart gathered his energy together to attack. "Heart...
Acid... Burn!"
The Oni staggered back a step because of the sudden shock, but it was not enough to fatally
injure the massive beast. I took advantage of its stunned state.
"Eclipse... Infinity... Torment!"
Blackened balls of energy were hurled at the brute. I knew they would shatter its essence, its
matter, like glass... it has always worked that way before. My power did rupture it, but the Oni
burst into a dozen little replications of itself. I was agape as I realized that we now were faced
with a platoon of ogres.
"Oh, just great, Eclipse!" Sailor Heart spat at me as he booted one in the head and another
vaulted towards his throat.
"Like I knew that was going to happen!" I exclaimed throwing an Oni against the wall.
Immediately I was grappling with another. There was no way I was going to use my power
again.
"Shut up you two and fight!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as she cracked two monster heads together.
It didn't have much of an affect on the dense creatures.
"Moon... Scep.... HEY! Let go of that!!!" Sailor Moon was having a tug-of-war. An Oni had
hold of her scepter preventing her from using it.
I tried to knock out the ogres I was battling with so I could help my sister, but they were
relentless. No matter what any of us did, they just got back up and continued to fight. Struggling
with the monsters up close, I could see that they were indeed wearing war paint. I knew with
each culture the way that the paint was applied to the skin was very significant. I tried to get a
better look in the faint light and managed to see the colours: blue, black, red, and orange. The
walls held these colours within them too.
My train of thought was interrupted by Sailor Heart's frantic cries to Jupiter. I looked her way
to see that six of the Onis had her pinned down. She was trying her damnedest to get loose, but
they had an iron grip on her. The rest of us were kept occupied by the remaining beasts. They
wouldn't let us get near Jupiter to help her. My heart raced at the thought of another Scout being
captured. I couldn't let it happen! But how to defeat these wretched creatures?!
Sailor Heart was in an enraged panic. He could not get the three Onis off of him. They were
stuck to him like leeches. His despair was obvious. Sailor Moon was equally upset as she
screamed out to her friend. None of us could get the opportunity to help Jupiter. The two-foot
Onis had her a secure prisoner.
A shadow appeared from down one of the tunnels. Though I could see its silhouette against
the phosphorus walls, I could not tell if it was human or not. It hovered above the captured
Scout. One of the ogres slammed its fist into Jupiter's stomach, and as her mouth opened in a
howl of pain, the shadow slipped through inside her body. She convulsed as if she were choking,
and then she was still.
The Onis faded and disappeared. Why did they leave if they were such an effective foe
against us? There must be something more deadly awaiting us.
We all scrambled over to the unmoving body of Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Moon took her head
onto her lap. "Jupiter? Jupiter, wake up. Wake up, please!"
Sailor Heart held Jupiter's hand in both of his. He seemed to be near tears. How horrible the
suffering we had already experienced that day, and if Jupiter were to be taken from us too....
Heart kissed the fallen Scout's hand and pressed it against his cheek.
Her eyes fluttered open. Jupiter's hand opened to cup Heart's face. She then threw him back
against the wall leaving him sitting on the ground absolutely bewildered. She kicked me in the
stomach. The pain sent me to my knees. Then Jupiter stood up to wrap her hands around Sailor
Moon's throat.
Moon did not know what to make of the situation. She tried to pull Jupiter's hands from her
throat, but Jupiter was much bigger and stronger than her. The small blond did not have a
chance. I was not about to stand by and watch this happen. I tackled Jupiter freeing my sister
from her clutches, but the Princess of Jupiter was a lot stronger than she usually is. She easily
cast me off to one side.
The shadow that had entered her body was obviously the one in control now. She was
possessed by an agent of the Negaverse and should be treated as such. Yet this posed a problem.
It was still Sailor Jupiter's body, and to destroy that, would destroy her. We had to restrain her
somehow though. Otherwise she would be our downfall.
The possessed Jupiter had Sailor Moon again. Sailor Heart had gotten to his feet, but he
wasn't doing anything. He must know that she is inhabited by the shadow. His face was
contorted in confusion. I could not wait for him to sort through his inner turmoil. I needed his
help.
"Come on, Sailor Heart! Get with the program! I need your help here. Stun her with your
powers!"
Sailor Moon was flailing wildly. Her face beginning to turn colours. We had to save her! I
anxiously repeated myself. "Stun Jupiter with your powers, Heart!"
"I.... I..." Sailor Heart shook his head. A tear fell down his face.
I couldn't stand it any more! I couldn't let Sailor Moon have the life strangled from her. I
rushed at Jupiter again trying to smash her head against the wall. My sister fell in a heap onto the
ground. If I could knock Jupiter's body unconscious, it may be of no use to the shadow within
her. Still, she out-powered me and tossed me away once more.
Everything spun before my eyes. I might have even blacked out for a couple of seconds.
When the world did become clear to me again, there was only Sailor Heart left standing in the
chamber. Where did the others go? Where was my sister?!
I pulled myself to my feet. My head still feeling woozy. Sailor Heart finally snapped back
into reality and came over to help me steady myself. I gave him the best disapproving look I
could.
"What happened there? I needed your help, and now your woman and my sister are gone! It
is just you and I!"
Heart looked away, disappointed in himself. I perhaps shouldn't rub it in so much. He is
mentally suffering because of what had just happened. His big blue eyes told the entire story. He
attempted to explain things to me.
"I just couldn't... I couldn't hurt her! I mean... that's Jupiter! She's our team-mate... she's our...
she's..."
"She's the one holding your heart in her hands." I finished the sentence for him. I was doing
my best to sound sympathetic, but I know my voice was harsh. At least Jupiter was alive. What
about Sailor Moon? She may have killed her! And Mars and Venus... what about them? Raye
gone... Cherry Hill would never be the same... I would never be the same. "Look Sailor Heart, I
know what she means to you. But we haven't time right now to wrestle with the aches of our
hearts. We've got to put all emotion aside. Thinking clearly and rationally, we can save them!"
Sailor Heart walked a little bit away from me. He pressed his trembling lips together in a firm
line. It was his turn to look upon me with disapproving eyes. "Is that how you resolve every
situation? I've seen you fight, Eclipse. You push your feelings aside and battle like an empty
beast... just like those Onis! You've got to take those emotions and use them!"
Empty beast? Excuse me! "Listen here, Heart. I see that your Scout name denotes all that is
contained in you. BUT! But I am not as stone-cold as I appear. That is my sister that was
strangled. Do you not think I feel despair and rage? That is my lover held captive somewhere in
this labyrinth. Do you not think I feel heartache and vehemence? Whether it looks like it or not,
the Sailor Scouts are my friends and I do care what happens to them. Yet I cannot think through
a frenzy of emotions... and you cannot either!"
My out-burst quieted him though I could tell that he wanted to verbally retaliate. He had
calmed himself enough to speak to me with a strong even voice. "You do things your way, and I
do things my way. We're both in anguish here. Yeah, I know that. My emotions may
overwhelm me sometimes, but don't insult my intelligence or powers of perception. I know
there's more to you, Eclipse, otherwise you wouldn't be here fighting along side us Scouts. So
let's just work together for once. We don't have a chance if we don't keep our truce."
Heart was doing his best to talk to me in this way. Obviously he knew he could reason with
me like this. I respected his efforts. I no longer had doubts about whether he could see the
situation clearly. We could do this. "You're right. No more arguing. Now which tunnel did
they go down? I think that's our best bet."
"That one there." Sailor Heart pointed to the one right of center and headed into it. "Let's
go."
* * *
"Perhaps Sailor Moon can heal Jupiter with her crystal when we find them...." Sailor Heart
mused as we made our way cautiously through the burrow.
I didn't know what the crystal could do. I have never seen her use it except to transform. I
know that it is extremely powerful though. I suppose Sailor Heart would know more than I. I
was also glad to know that he is an optimist.
"What do you think?" Heart said again for I didn't hear him the first time. "You were really
lost in thought there..."
"I'm not quite sure what the crystal can do. I realize it's quite powerful though."
"Were you thinking about Raye?"
What?! My hesitation to answer left the floor open for him to continue talking.
"I don't mean to get too personal or anything, but I don't understand what is going on between
you two. It's been something that has been nagging at me since you arrived. It's not as if I
disapprove or anything..."
I liked the opportunity to get my mind off the danger waiting possibly just around the next
bend. "No offence taken. Raye is a special woman. If I were normal, then things may be
different. But I'm immortal and I don't think it's fair for either of us to get into a relationship. To
watch all those you love grow old and die is not a pleasant thing... especially when it happens all
the time."
"I always thought it would be great to have eternal life..."
Foosteps running down a tunnel. A laugh. Jupiter laughing.
"I think she's stalking us!" I exclaimed under my breath. There were so many tunnels. I
wouldn't even know it if we were just going around in circles.
"At least she's still alive." Heart spun around as we heard more laughing. "And she's
somewhere close."
"Jupiter... Thunder... Crash!"
We dove to the ground as the lightening bolts zoomed over our heads. We were almost
zapped by her! Sailor Heart sprung up and responded to the surprise attack.
"Heart... Acid... Burn!"
He fired off the way the lightening bolts came, but there was no sound. She was no longer
there. Heart stood ready for more action. "Where did she go?!"
I was happy that he actually reacted this time. Perhaps our little chat before had cleared his
head a bit. I think, though, that he knew his power would not kill her. He just wanted her back
safely... and in one piece.
Jupiter's laughter echoed through the labyrinth. "Do you two really hope to defeat me? You
are so pitiful! Can't even get along with each other!"
"You should know me better than that, Jupiter! I don't give up that easily." Heart replied.
His hands in tight fists. We placed ourselves back-to-back so we could see all around us.
"I do know you better than that, Adrian. That's why I know you won't be able to defeat me.
You haven't got it in you to hurt me!" The laughter was manical. It wasn't her speaking, but they
were still having an affect on Heart. Then she addressed me. "And you, Eclipse, you're nothing
without the Scouts around. You're merely Haley, a poor haunted soul."
Is the Negaverse using what Jupiter knows to get to us? That had to be the answer.
Heart called back pleading with his princess. "You can fight it, Jupiter! I know you can do
it!"
Silence for a moment. Was Sailor Jupiter managing to battle the shadow within her? Was
she winning?! She wailed in tortured grief.
"Lita belongs here now! You cannot win her back! Jupiter... Thunderclap... ZAP!"
We pressed ourselves against the walls of the cavern, but we did not escape her entire assault.
Our legs and chests burned. The lightening had torn through our clothing and skin. The pain
was grand, but I was not going to let it slow us down.
"So you want to play that way!" I closed my eyes summoning up all my energy. Thinking of
poor Lita possessed by that evil ghoul and the other Scouts trapped in this labyrinth. "Eclipse...
Prominence... CONSUME!"
A shaft of flames shot forth down the tunnel. I heard screaming.
Sailor Heart grabbed me and shook me. "What do you think you're doing?! You could have
killed her!"
I wiggled out of his grasp glaring back at him. "I most likely didn't even hit her! That power
is so random that I'm never sure I'll hit a target accurately. I wasn't going to stand by and be
fried! I had to do something to slow her down!"
"You just better not have killed her." Heart muttered hotly.
We waited a few minutes for any response. There was nothing. No footsteps or laughter. I
had definitely got somebody's attention. We continued forward tentatively.
The walls were getting brighter. This had to mean we were moving closer towards the source.
My heart skipped a beat at that thought. I had to stay optimistic like Sailor Heart. The Scouts
were all still alive. Their energy is too valuable for the Negaverse to kill them. Me, on the otherhand, I am only an eclipse of what they are.
I noticed that two more veins of coloured energy had been added: pink and green. Finally I
understood. I knew where those bands in the wall were coming from. We had to find the origin.
There we would find the Sailor Scouts.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/fuji) (
geocities.com/tokyo)