Sailor Moon:
Seven Knights
*************
Part 2: "Alpha Armageddon"
Written by Strike Fiss
Ninja Crowbotics, 1999
"The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane,
clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame or blame."
- Thomas Hobbes
Chapter 1
Razor sharp eyes never stopped their scan of the room as he
tipped the contents of his glass into his mouth. The whiskey slid down
his tongue unnoticed. Any lesser person would have cringed as the
powerful liquor scalded their throat.
But not him.
He was hunting. Nothing could distract him in anyway. Not when
the need had grown to such dizzying heights. It was a new feeling for
him. To be drunk on his own power. His own knowledge that he would
not get caught after tonight.
Just like how he was never caught before.
Yes. This was his hunting ground. Different place, though. He
had read how another like him was caught because he stayed in one city
too long. A smile crossed his lips. This would screw up any profile
they had of him. Oh yes.
People like him were not prone to sudden location changes. Let
alone out of the country. While the NYPD chased their tails in and out
of the bars and strip clubs in Manhattan, he was able to start again at
a new locale.
He liked this place. Instead of overwhelming Tech and Goth and
Alt-Rock music slamming every sense into submission, a live jazz group
was playing the back rhythm of this dusky warm club.
Couples ranging from kids who got in on fake I.D.'s, all the way
up to an elderly pair who were obviously celebrating a heavy double-
digit wedding anniversary, filled the room. Many were slow dancing to
the music, exchanging a rolling passionate embrace when the sweet
saxophone lifted to a solo.
The bar, however, was populated by Prey. Single men and women.
Mid twenties and thirties. To his right sat a few possible prospects.
Eyes stitched shut with bloody twine. He had never seen so many of
Them in one bar at one time.
He mused to himself that their eyes weren't REALLY sewn shut, and
it was just the thrill of the Hunt that made him see them like this.
Still, it made his blood scream for action. To stand up, take out the
large bush machete that was taped to his thigh, and slaughter them like
the blind fools they were.
No.
Not yet. On his left, just one empty seat away, sat another.
Her eyes were fresh. The blood from the stitches hadn't even dried
yet. He imagined the red syrupy liquid smearing across her brow as she
moved her hand to brush back her hair behind her ear.
She was perfect. His heart pounded against his ribs faster. She
was next. The next one to have their vision returned to them. He
smiled when she noticed his gaze. The woman returned the smile. Her
eyes squinting slightly, causing a trickle of blood to escape from one
of the fresh stitch holes.
"Would you be interested in buying a lady a drink?" she said with
a voice that could melt snow in a second.
He motioned to the bartender. "A round for the lovely lady and
I, if you please." He knew he was charming. Something most of his
kind lacked. It proved to be an invaluable hunting tool, however.
The bartender poured them both fresh drinks as she exchanged
seats for the one next to him. "Haven't seen you here before." She
said, taking a small sip of her Screwdriver. "You new in town?"
He nodded, more to himself, as he downed a quarter of his glass
without even flinching. "You could say that." He smiled. "Just looking
for a change in pace, I guess."
Something interrupted the air behind him. He turned slightly so
he could re-size the situation. A young couple had just entered the
bar. The male had a long, dark gray coat on. Something about the way
he moved seemed strange too. His companion, the woman, had long,
purple tinted hair and a wine red dress on. She moved the same way,
perhaps with a bit more aggression.
It was of no consequence, even as the two sat down at the bar to
order their respective drinks. The hunt was on, and nothing could
interrupt it now.
"I'm Sara." The prey tells him, offering her hand.
He kisses it softly. Much too softly for her to ever suspect she
has a good chance of being dead before midnight. "Charles." He replies
with his own name.
Rei glances over to Chris who is absorbed in the bubbles of his
glass. "I never knew they made a drink with Jolt in it." She sighed.
"Figures you'd find it." Her tone is playful, but also lacks patience.
The drive to Edmonton had been the quietest one she had ever
seen. Miharu and Beavis noticed too, and understood when Rei wanted
for her and Chris to spend some time together.
They needed to talk. Something else had happened.
He finally registered what she had said a moment later and
nodded. "Yeah. It's good. You want some? I really don't feel like
getting drunk right now."
Though he never said it, Rei could hear the unmentioned sentence.
"I need all the control I can get." She gently curled her fingers
around his and nodded. "At least the music is nice."
A smile crossed Chris' lips. "I wish we could dance, you know."
He turned, looking into her eyes. They shimmered like a candle would
in the dusk colored light of the bar. "Maybe we should give it another
try sometimes."
She smiled and took a sip of her own drink. "We better have a
first aid kit handy."
Chris smiled back and raised his glass. "Dance with me death...I
am ready." He chuckled.
"Where'd ya' hear that?" Rei blinked.
"A book somewhere." Chris chuckled. "Though the guy who said it
could dance a whole lot better than I could."
Concentrating on the Prey was proving to be harder than he first
thought. Something was wrong. The air reeked of it. Any other time,
he would have given up the chase. Instinct told him to. But it also
reminded him that he needed to hunt.
So, for now, he would stay.
During a lull in the conversation, Chris looked up to the bar. A
mirror was on the other side. He at first thought of moving to another
location in the bar, but the reflection stayed normal.
For now, anyway.
But something caught the attention of his eye to the right. At
first, it was nothing. Just a flicker of light on the mirror.
Probably just light reflecting through someone's drink or off an ice-
cube, or glinting off of the jazz band's lead saxophone.
Something told him not to look. Every instinct in his body
screamed to look the other way.
Chris never did listen to his own thoughts much.
In the mirror, he saw the reflection of a man sitting but five
stools away from him. He was talking to a woman, obviously interested
in spending the night with her. He and Rei had walked past him earlier
on the way to their seats, and nothing had seemed strange.
But now, his reflection had changed. Deep, crimson red blood
oozed from the man's mouth. It pooled from the corner of his lips and
gushed down the front of his expensive shirt like a faucet.
It must have been fate, but at the same time, Charles glanced up
at Chris through the mirror behind the bar. His mouth dropped when he
saw that Chris' eyes were NOT sewn shut.
They glowed a bright white. An accusing, pure white. This man
knew. Both men quickly turned away from each other, shocked of what
they saw.
"What are you looking at?" Sara laughed suddenly. "I lost you
for a moment there."
Charles looked up and smiled, covering up the fact his heart was
racing. "Sorry...I was just admiring the way the light hits your
eyes." Smooth. Very smooth, his mind applauded.
"Rei?" Chris whispered, bringing the glass to his lips. "What do
you make of that guy a few seats down?"
She blinked, then glanced over through the mirror as not to seem
too suspicious. She returned her focus to Chris with a curious raised
eyebrow. "Looks like he's hitting on that woman. Why?"
Chris nodded. "He's not...I mean, he doesn't give you any bad
vibes, does he??" His glass was still next to his lips as he whispered.
Rei sighed and made a second glance. "He looks fine. Just some
guy at the bar. What's gotten into you tonight?"
Slowly, Chris downed his entire drink. "He's going to kill her
later on tonight."
She gasped despite herself. "What?!? Are you mental?" she made
another quick glance through the mirror, and even caught the man out of
the corner of her eye to be sure. "How do you know??" she asked.
Chris closed his eyes. "Because that's what I'd do."
Before Rei could question his cryptic comment, he stood, and
placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom. Just a
second, okay?"
She nodded, stunned. "O...ohkay..."
Chris walked right up to Charles and put his hand on the man's
shoulder. "Hey! Buddy!" he beamed. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
Charles turned and glared at Chris. His eyes still wide, they
pierced through his mind. He could almost feel this man reading his
mind. "Hey. I haven't seen you in a while." He replied with mock
friendship. "How's life?"
Blood seemed to seep from every part of this man's face as Chris
looked down at him, only an arms length away. It was taking quite a
lot of will-power to prevent from vomiting. Chris held it in, though
and put on his best smile. "Hey. I'm goinna take a piss. Looks like
you need one soon too. What do you say we let the women talk and we
check if our back teeth are floating?"
Charles stood smoothly. "Alright." He turned to Sara and smiled.
"I'll be back in a second."
She laughed and nodded. "Sure. I might go powder my nose too."
Rei watched the exchange with amazement. Both Chris and Charles
walked off to the bathroom, asking how the weather was in their ends of
the world.
Sara, noticing Rei was with Chris, turned and shook her head.
"That's men for ya. Every time you want to spend some time with them,
they have to take a piss."
"Yeah. Must be universal." Rei said with a fanned smile.
It was unavoidable. Chris had to walk first, despite his
personal rule never to turn his back on an enemy. He knew it was a
mistake when he found himself flying head first into the bathroom wall.
The man never even gave Chris time to turn around.
"YOU KNOW!" Charles screamed, arms extended at his sides in
ridged fists. "HOW!?!!??"
Chris regained his senses after picking himself off of the floor.
"I know." He said simply. His hand reached into his shirt pocket and
pulled out his transformation disk.
The killer across from him sneered. In Chris' mind, blood
sloshed out of the man's jaw. "You..." he growled. "You're not blind
like the others." A curious smile crossed his thin lips. "You can see
it, can't you?"
"What is it..." Chris said "...that I'm supposed to see?"
"Death." Charles hissed.
Chris blinked. "What?"
Charles laughed. The sound echoed off the bathroom walls. "You
see Death too." His eyes rested in a line with Chris'. "Those fools
out there. They see nothing. They're all blind."
"You were going to kill that woman, weren't you?" Chris said,
just above a whisper. His disk ready to spring out into his weapon at
the mere thought. "Why were you going to kill her?"
Pacing up and down the space between the sinks and the toilet
stalls, Charles finally turned to Chris with a crooked grin. "I'm
going to open her eyes." He said proudly. "I'm going to open
everyone's eyes." His expression suddenly turned sour. "So that they
can see Death too."
"How are you going to do that?"
Charles reached down to his leg. Chris hadn't noticed the Velcro
seem before, and was amazed when Charles pulled a fifteen-inch long
knife from his pant leg.
"With this." He said coolly. "Do you know how to make them see?"
Chris said nothing.
"You take the tip of a knife..." he continued, moving the blade
in a demonstration with an invisible head. "Remove the eyebrows. If
you cut the stitches, it will just destroy their eyes." He smiled.
"You WANT them to see." His machete made little cuts in the air. "You
don't have to worry about the first eye. They only need one." He
chuckled to himself. "But after you're done, they usually can't stop
screaming..." he spat on the ground. "They fear Death so much that
they can't even see it's beauty when He comes for them." Charles
smiled. "So, I force them to have that beauty."
His knife made a final swish in the air, right where a person's
intestines would have slid out of a belly slash.
All the while, this man in front of him dropped mouthfuls of
blood. Chris was shivering with rage. "Murder is hardly a beautiful
death."
Charles growled. "I make them see. I open their eyes." His own
brow lowered. "I thought you understood."
With a flash of blue light, Strike Fiss' weapon had appeared in
his hands. "I don't have to understand. I still know what you are."
"I know you understand." Charles smiled, relaxing his weapon,
despite Chris' own blade. "You're just like me."
Chris' eyes widened. "What?"
"You are me." Charles hissed happily.
The man's smile fell blank as the section of his skull from his
right temple to his left ear was severed from the lower half. The bone
and brain hit the floor with a hollow thud. A moment later, the body
followed.
Strike Fiss sneered at the killer's body. "I." He growled.
"Will NEVER be you."
Just before leaving the bathroom, Strike Fiss took time to plant
a shattering slash across the mirrors above the sink.
Rei's eyes brightened as Chris walked out. "Hey..."
Chris grabbed his coat. "We're leaving."
"But..."
"Now."
Grumbling, Rei followed Chris out of the club. "What the hell's
gotten into you lately?"
Sara had a puzzled look on her face as she watched the two leave.
After they were gone, she stood, and slowly walked over to the men's
bathroom. A quick knock told her there was nobody there, so she walked
on in.
The body of Serial Killer, Charles Brockton, lay on the floor,
rapidly cooling from the laser-clean cut through his head.
Sara's eyes closed. Her hand reached into her purse, and a
moment later, she had a cellular phone in her hand. With a practiced
move, she flipped it open and simultaneously called a number on Memory-
Dial.
"Chief?" she sighed slowly. "You're never going to believe
this."
Chapter 2
"I killed him." Chris said quietly as they drove through the
streets of Edmonton.
"WHAT?!?" Rei yelled.
Chris nodded. "I was right. He was going to kill that woman
later on tonight. The fucker started going on about seeing death and
cutting open people's eyes."
Rei slammed herself back in her seat. "You just fucking KILLED
someone in a public restroom??!"
"What do you want me to say?" Chris replied sharply. "Sorry??"
She turned to him, struggling for words. "I don't KNOW!" she
yelled. "Jesus! Maybe anything that distinguishes your reaction while
killing someone from toasting a bagel in the morning for breakfast!"
"I can assure you that I'm pretty fucked up right now, Rei." He
nodded, more to himself than her. "But I'd rather grieve and get
emotional while I'm not driving in city traffic with icy roads."
Rei watched him out of the corner of her eye as he drove. A tear
had worked its way free, and down the side of his face. She took a
deep breath and gently wiped it from his jaw. "I'm sorry..." she said,
whispering just loud enough to be heard over Nacho's engine. "I'm just
so sick of seeing you have to kill people."
"How many have you killed, Rei?" he asked suddenly.
Her eyes fluttered away from his. "I don't know..."
"Estimate." He pleaded.
She was silent for a long time. "Forty, at least." There was
another long pause. "A few hundred if I count the Watcher Ninjas and
the flower-creatures back when Feolie attacked." Her eyes closed.
"More if the Negaverse crowd didn't survive. I don't know if I killed
them or not."
Chris nodded. "One thousand, two hundred and nine."
Rei looked over to him. "Pardon?"
"That's my cut in the forces of evil..." he sighed. "Whatever
evil is." He shook his head. "At least fifty if you count hand-to-hand
combat." He looked over to her. "Where you see your opponent, and you
know his or her face when you strike them down." He turned his eyes
back to the road. "Where you kill them, and a little part of yourself
at the same time."
Rei nodded, knowing all too well the feeling.
"We're fighting for a good cause, Rei." Chris sighed. "Peace.
The survival of the Universe. Whatever we fight for, it's the right
thing." He said. "But after a while...when it seems like there is an
infinite number of enemies to kill, and if you let even ONE of them
through, you'll fail...it just gets to be too much, Rei."
"I know." She whispered. "I know."
They were silent for a long time. Chris finally shuddered in a
sob, but recomposed himself enough to keep driving. "I miss my
grandpa."
Tears were already coming from Rei's eyes. "I miss mine too."
Driving into the night, their hands held together for support.
They only had each other now.
"That wasn't necessary, Dave." William sighed as their combined
footsteps made a soft swishing sound in the sand.
Dave glanced over to his friend and nodded. "Perhaps. But I've
never witnessed Armageddon before. I don't know how much room we're
going to need." He smiled.
Will had to admit, it was a logical precaution. Though it was an
odd order, evacuating the Omega Web was probably a good idea. Everyone
took field equipment, so even if the entire Head Quarters was destroyed
in the following two days or so, the Omega Web would retain all it's
stored knowledge.
Now, all that was assuming there was an universe in two or three
days to come back to. Dave had studied the Senshi and their Keys since
1982, when he had stumbled across ancient records and stories of their
Silver Millennium. That had been back in the days when the Omega Web
had consisted of a small group of crazed prophets. Even back then,
however, records were amazingly detailed and accurate. From both those
records, and new research he himself conducted before the Great
Darkness, Dave Reinquest had come to one conclusion.
They didn't have a prayer.
Armageddon was a mix-bag of Death, Chaos, Purifying Fires,
Forever Darkness, and basically anything unpredictable. The only Key
that the Omega Web could count on was their own Omega Key. A relic
that Dave and William were going to visit at this very moment.
But it was a Key without a host. Without a host, both Dave and
William came to the agreement that it would be next to useless in
Armageddon.
All of the Omega Web had tried to hold it as their own, including
William, who was the newest member. But the Key was dead to the world.
In turn, it may be the cause of the world's death. The only good thing
to come of the Omega Key was the fact that it wasn't moving.
If Armageddon came, it would have to come to them.
In the vast, nearly endless Omega Web Training Grounds,
Armageddon would not harm anyone needlessly. Their computers could
scan. All the Omega Web's resources would be able to focus on
Armageddon. If there was a chance that Dave Reinquest could stop it,
he would be able to here.
They finally came to it. The Omega Key. To the untrained eye,
it was a small pillar of stones not much higher than their waists, but
Dave knew it was much more. Each of the small stones, just bigger than
a pebble, all clung together like a cluster of fish eggs.
Scans had yielded little of the Key...just like the others. In
fact, it was the Omega Web's inability to successfully scan Strike
Fiss' sword that made them realize it was a Key.
But this one was not a sword. Each of the tiny rocks was made up
of a basic element. Though they hadn't found out for sure, the mass of
the Key dictated there was three hundred and forty-seven stones. One
for each of the known elements. Though the Periodic Table of the
Elements had yet to be charted beyond 109 or so atoms, the Omega Web
had successfully confirmed the existence of over three hundred. That
included the two dozen or so distinct kinds of Power in the universe.
It was a Key, in many senses. To the universe, and also to the
chemical make-up of the universe. Whoever or whatever fashioned it
meant it to be a legend for a map yet to be created.
But what was special about this Key was the way each pebble was
strung together. Thought. Pure thought. It was almost as if this Key
was a mind. Though it had no consciousness, it proved that Thought was
indeed, a separate and vital part of the Cosmos.
It was the magic that held the universe together. Born of either
the Universe, or of the minds of it's inhabitants, Thought was the glue
that kept the Cosmos alive and vibrant. It was the shield that
protected the other Elements. It was also the heart of the Cosmos.
Both an internal and external quantity.
Dave and William stood before the Key of Knowledge, regarding it
with silent awe. It was like beholding the Omega Point itself, without
touching it. This Key held the knowledge and power of the Universe,
yet none were able to use it.
"Looks like a pile of rabbit droppings." William mused.
Dave couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks. I needed that." He
chuckled, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Sometimes, that's all the universe really needs." Will smiled.
"Just a chance to laugh. It's the best medicine, you know."
"In that case," Dave said "we had better start laughing
now...because the universe is going to be royally fucked in a few
days."
There was a long silence between the two. "What do we do now?"
William finally asked.
Dave sat down on a small uprising in the sand and stretched out
his arms. "We do what the Omega Web has been doing since the
beginning." He said. "We wait."
William nodded. "Did you set everything up? Even..."
"Pookie?" Dave smiled, crossing his arms. "Yes. Pookie is
ready. You know where and how."
Chapter 3
Dawn broke over the horizon with a strange, gray mist. The sun's
rays filtered down to the city streets only as a dim glow in an
otherwise dusk-lit scene.
Serena didn't like it. Not one bit. "Let's hurry up." She
sighed. "Rei has to be around here somewhere."
Sailor Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Pluto stepped forward
into the street from the circle-shaped crack in the pavement where they
had appeared from. Serena had wondered why Sharon had insisted on
coming to Edmonton with them, but could get no answer.
"I'm just making sure things are locked down." Sharon had said
earlier. "Andrea's never been one for leadership. I want to make sure
my little sister is okay." She smiled.
The truth was that Andrea, Sailor Hooze, was quickly becoming
their most valuable warrior. She had the raw power of Sailor Pluto,
but also battle experience that Sharon could never hope to have without
fighting in a minor war. Guarding Time was a very lonely, and boring
job. Free of that massive responsibility, Andrea had used her time
with the others wisely, and was able to gain all aspects of a Senshi's
life.
That is how Serena knew something was wrong. Sharon would have
never questioned Hooze's abilities in anything since the Silver
Millennium. However, even as Neo Queen Serenity, she had little power
over Sailor Pluto's enigmas.
Ami, on the other hand, was delighted to be traveling again. She
loved experiencing the new sights and sounds of different cities and
countries. Even on their grave mission to the Negaverse, she was the
happiest they had seen her in ages.
Her computer and VR visor were kicked in to overdrive as she
scanned the city. "I got a fix on Chris' car. They're over by the
Parliamentary buildings. Just a walk down the street and over that
hill." She smiled. "We're getting better at transporting, if I do say
myself."
Traffic had picked up greatly since the Great Darkness was
confirmed over and done with. Life had resumed where it had been left,
to a great extent. Still, because of the fallen pollution in the air,
the entire planet seemed to be old and dusty. In need of Spring
cleaning. Edmonton was covered with a fresh coat of snow, like most of
the Northern Hemisphere, to help dissipate the crud. The leather of
each Senshi's boots left clean foot prints in the snow as they walked
over to their destination.
Lita yawned. "I still don't see how they're still awake over
here. I'm bushed, myself."
"Transport-Lag." Ami offered.
"Oh. Well, anyway, we'd better keep this short. I'm tired."
Serena giggled. "Oh come on! Where's your sense of fun? We're
high-ranking diplomats who just saved the universe! Wait till you see
the surprised looks on everyone's faces when we drop in for a visit!"
This was it, Maury thought. This is history in the making.
Strange. Since he lost the gift of Destiny, he had considered History
to be much different than he once did.
History to him before had been the series of events destined to
happen. Without possibility of change. History had been watching his
blood pool out of his body at the hands of Tumbler. History had been
knowing that if he took one step forward, he would not stagger or slip
on ice or sand. It had been everything in between as well.
But now, without that gift, History was something much different.
In a way, he was glad it had happened. Now, he could watch History
unfold like it was supposed to. History was now a part of his life,
instead of his entire existence. THIS was History. A stepping stone
in his life.
In all of their lives.
Andrea, Demeter, Miharu, Dana, her son, and Beavis all sat next
to Maury as they watched Chris walk into the room. He smiled. Chris
must have hated this. They were as close to brothers as any family
could ever be. Chris didn't like leaving the others to sit on the
bench. He never liked leading them. The only time he was happy was
when they fought at his side. The NA Senshi as one force to be
reckoned with.
But the world did not work like that. It had leaders. It had
Prime Ministers. It had Presidents. It had Dictators and Rulers and
Kings and Queens.
Strike Fiss was to be their counterpart. He was the first, and
it only made sense. Maury would never think about telling Chris that
the order in which they came to be Senshi was more important than he
realized. Fissy would have ignored it anyway.
Thankfully, though, Chris knew it was not the time to be
bickering about leadership, and he did exactly what Sailor Moon had
done. Accepted the role, and got on with the saving-the-universe
stuff.
Rei's eyes told Maury a lot. Maury could read eyes like an open
book. Sometimes, he could see what sentences were in someone's head
before they did. Right now, Rei's mind was in a rather tenacious mix
of anger and fear.
He slowly reached over to her hand and placed his palm over hers.
A silent comfort. Rei smiled her thanks, and breathed out a long
breath that she must have been holding for a while.
"He'll be fine." Maury said.
"I know." Rei sighed.
History didn't wait for anyone. Especially not the Senshi.
History was to be made. Now. Nightmares and bad dreams weren't going
to stop any of them from making History today.
Strike Fiss strode into the room. His sword balanced smoothly
with his stride as he made his way up the red carpet. To the murmur of
the crowd in the room, he was followed by thirty police officers, all
dressed in their finest whites and medals. They filled out a kind of
wedge behind him. Maury recognized it as something from an old Samurai
movie he and Chris had gotten drunk to and cheered on as the battles
raged.
Television cameras tracked the small force as they moved across
the carpet. The Premier, leader of the Alberta government, swallowed
hard at the display. Seated next to him, the mayor of Edmonton, and
the Chief of Police, both showed no worry. This had all been agreed
upon.
Maury, despite the official nature of the ceremony, was smiling
widely, and had his boots rested on the seat in front of him. "God,
his ego's going to be huge after this."
Rei chuckled despite herself.
Chris turned and smiled to them both at the stands, sticking out
his tongue playfully. Maury grunted. "My my, he has good hearing."
The sound of a gavel pounding on a soft leather desk turned
everyone's attention to the Mayor. He stood. "In recognition of the
protection of this planet, and the very city of Edmonton, this
parliament will now give an audience to Strike Fiss."
Chris blinked, suddenly lost. The blinking red lights of cameras
upon him only deepened his falter.
The Police Chief noticed this, and cleared his throat. "I
believe that our young friend here has evidence of some wrong doing?"
"Looks like it's party time..." he thought to himself before
stepping forward. "Thank you." He motioned to the bench of government
officials. "It has come to my attention that..." Chris faltered again.
He turned to Maury.
Maury shrugged.
"This." Chris walked forward, slapping a piece of cloth in front
of the Premier "This was torn from the arm of an assassin that tried to
kill me, and threatened to kill others of my friends and family."
Everyone noticed at the same time that it was a Canadian flag. A
hushed murmur of speculation and gasps filled the crowd.
"You can't..." the man's voice caught. "You can't be saying that
we did anything against the Sailor Scouts!"
"Sir." The Police Chief interrupted. "Though we've had no luck
in determining the exact nature of the attackers who tried to kill the
Sailor Scouts, we have been able to rule out any foreign influences."
What had been left of Chris' apartment was torn up for evidence
by the Calgary authorities. The weapons were of unknown origin, but
the rest of the attackers outfits matched equipment owned by the
Canadian Army. As small as it was, it did have access to some nice
gear when necessary. They even managed to track the flag-patches to an
old shipment of surplus ones that were over a decade old in the
warehouse. Unless someone thought of everything, there was no way
something like that could have been planned for when the Canadian Army
themselves didn't even know where they got the patches from...save from
an elderly janitor in charge of the order who had been long since
retired.
It was the kind of digging and research Chris hadn't seen outside
of the best episodes of "Law and Order." He had been very impressed, a
fact that the local cops seemed to enjoy. All the NA Senshi felt a lot
better knowing they at least had the backup of these officers.
All this was detailed in the report being handed to him by one of
the cops behind him. Chris in turn handed the report to the premier.
"This says that they DID come from this country. We will be in town
for a few more days. I expect to know what kind of country we will be
fighting for by the time we leave." Chris glanced around at the room.
"If we're a threat to anyone, it's the people who don't wish peace."
He paused for dramatic effect. "Perhaps the people should ask that
question of their leaders too."
The premier had read the summary of the report quickly, and
stood. "Wait!"
All eyes turned to him.
The stout man, in his early fifties, was sweating profusely, but
it wasn't out of a fear of the truth. More of the spotlight put on
him. "I will personally bring this to the Prime Minister's attention.
I can promise you that this matter will be held in the highest regard."
An approving murmur swept the crowd.
"Heaven knows that we don't want to see any of you killed." The
man continued. "Quite frankly, I have no idea why anyone would. All I
can tell you is that it was not by this province's government."
An elite armed team of assassins was probably outside of the
Provincial Government's reach anyway. Let alone the Federal. Chris
knew this. They all did. But the scare was necessary. It told them
who their allies were.
The premier was deathly afraid of losing the NA Senshi. He
looked to be on the verge of a mental collapse just by this
confrontation. All three of the Senshi knew right away that their
enemy didn't reside in this office.
It also let Alberta declare it's desire to help the Scouts. Not
a bad public relations gift. The home province of the heroes who
helped save the universe. Not too shabby.
Chris let the man have a genuine smile. He bowed his head.
"Sorry for the interruption to your meeting. I appreciate the speed of
the matter."
The level of tension in the premier's body dropped noticeably,
and he even managed a smile. Maury crossed his arms and nodded happily
over to Chris.
Turning around, Chris walked out of the room, followed by the
impressive fanfare of the formally dressed police officers.
As the doors closed, Chris had to lean against a wall for
support. "How'd I do?"
One of the cops smiled and put his arm on Fiss' shoulder. "Come
on. You look like you could use a drink."
"I'd rather know what the hell I was doing in there." Chris
laughed.
Chapter 4
Rei's eyes widened, and her face was brightened in a large smile
when she saw the Senshi gathered outside. "SERENA!" she ran up to her
and nearly bowled the pig-tailed young woman over in a hug.
Even Meatball Head was caught off guard, and giggled happily.
"Nice to see you again, Princess Mars."
"Oh, that's right!" Rei blushed, unhooking her arms from her
Queen and quickly straightening out her fuku. She bowed slightly.
"Queen Serenity. So glad to have you back." She smiled.
"Quite a stir Chris made today." Sharon mentioned, nodding over
to the three NA Senshi in the middle of a crowd of police and
reporters. "What happened?"
Rei sighed. "I don't know, really. Chris hasn't really told me
what he's up to." She shrugged. "But if there's one thing Chris can
do, it's stir up something."
"When you're all done here," Serena beamed "you HAVE to see the
room they have for you. We all got suites in the Empyreal Palace!
It's amazing!"
Lita nodded. "You ARE coming back, aren't you?" It wasn't meant
as a confronting remark. It was a genuine question.
"Of course!" Rei smiled. Her smile dropped slightly. "I just
need to sort out some things here. That's all. I'm sure you guys will
be okay without me for a month or so."
"Actually...you need to be brought up to speed." Ami said.
"You've missed a lot, Rei. Also, we're going to assign you a post to
Tokyo Security before things get out of hand."
Mina placed her hand gently on Ami's shoulder. "It's okay, Ami.
She has a family. It's only fair she gets to spend some time with them
first."
Rei gave her a thankful smile, but then nodded to herself. "I'll
make sure I get back as soon as I can. Maybe a week." She shook her
head. "But where are my manners for the Ruler of Japan?" she laughed.
"You guys will stay with us tonight. The Edmonton Police got us set up
with some really sweet rooms."
"So long as they're not at the mall." Ami shuddered.
Chris, Maury and Andrea finally had the chance to break from the
crowd, and walked over to the Senshi. "Congratulations, Serena!" Chris
beamed. "Oh, I mean, Queen."
Serena laughed. "And what do I call you?"
"Fiss. For now." He raised his eyebrow. "I plan to one day be
the Dictator and holder of the Iron Claw of Mothra." He grinned.
"Every third day will be a holiday, where everyone is required to pay
homage to me by slaughtering a small rodent."
He looked over to Maury, to say something about him being the
official guardian of Cheese...but he was gone.
Maury was tightly wrapped up in the arms of Lita as they kissed
for the first time in a thousand years. They all smiled happily.
Lita made everyone crazy when she wasn't around Maury. At least she'd
be happy for a while.
Andrea and Sharon exchanged a warm hug. "So how's things?" the
elder Pluto asked.
"Besides being shot at left and right by assassins, I'd say
pretty smoothly." Andrea said, faking a yawn. "Decide to come over for
a visit?"
"Something like that." Sharon said quickly over a smile. "Always
glad to see my sister." She turned and saw Demeter hiding behind Hooze.
"And of course, Demeter!"
The Zistle had never been formally addressed by Sailor Pluto
before. Even now, it was quite an honor to talk to the queen of your
former home planet. He bowed. "An honor, Sailor Pluto."
"Don't worry." Andrea grinned. "Feed him a chunk of welding
glass, and he'll loosen up enough to stop calling you Princess or Your
Majesty."
"Sounds like a plan." Sharon smiled.
Maury, having the need for oxygen, came up from his kiss with
Lita. "Good idea. Party, tonight. To celebrate the fact that we're
the entire world's flavor of the month."
Chris laughed. "I don't think they make ice-cream in 'crazy'
flavor, Mo."
"Or Mo flavor." Lita laughed. "It's too bad. I'd buy it."
"Oooh baby baby..." Maury laughed. "Care for a triple scoop of
Mo later on tonight?"
With the exception of Lita, they all rolled back their eyes at
the lame joke.
Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out Nacho's keys. Then,
he handed them to Rei. "You take everyone back to the hotel. I'm
going to walk." He reached over to Miharu's shoulder and picked up
Beavis. "And you're coming with me."
Rei raised an eyebrow. "You're letting me drive your car? Wow,
I guess you really are crazy." She stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Just drive it slowly, okay?" Chris pleaded. "And watch out for
traffic...and check your mirrors every eight seconds...and..."
Rei silenced him with a kiss. "I know how to drive. See you
back at the hotel."
Nacho, Coco, and Chris set off on different paths. Beavis sighed
to himself. "Chris, I've been up all night. I wouldn't mind sleeping
for a bit."
Chris nodded. "Neither would I. But, while I'm having trouble
with these nightmares, so are you."
"How kind of you." The venom in Beavis' voice was enough to peel
paint.
"As the only Senshi to kill an Elder, I think you'd offer me a
little more respect." Chris mumbled as he trudged through the snow.
"Caution, maybe." Beavis said. "But respect has to be earned." A
pause. "By letting your guardian sleep. That would be a nice start."
He added.
"What's your take on these assassins?" Chris asked finally.
Beavis frowned. "Fine. You want my honest opinion?"
"Yes."
"Someone doesn't want you to gain too much power." The hedgehog
said. "You marched right into a governmental meeting today and took it
over. You stole the show. You were one step away from demanding
obedience by the premier." A ruffle of quills. "Someone doesn't like
that you have the power to do that."
Chris frowned. "Why didn't they go after Hooze or Mo?" Though
the two were attacked, it was not directed at them specifically.
"You're their leader." Beavis said. "You're the Sailor Moon of
the NA Senshi. You were the first. That makes you the leader to the
eyes of politicians."
"I hate politics." Chris sighed.
"But you still use them." Beavis offered. "You pushed your
friendship with the law enforcement of this country to make the
government do what you wanted." He smiled. "That alone says you know a
little about politics.
"You know full well where this is going to lead, Chris. If the
Senshi continue to be in the spotlight as this world continues to
change, more and more people are going to realize you're the winning
team, and will follow you. Others will join because of the things you
fight for, but when it comes down to the wire, people will realize that
the old way of things are soon to die. The Senshi are what's next."
"You can't be serious." Chris blinked.
Beavis was very serious. "I am very serious." He said. "Japan
has the right idea. They capitalized on Sailor Moon faster than I
thought they would. Even though it's more of a public relations thing
right now, they still have the right idea. You know more than I do
that something strange is happening." Beavis said slowly. It was
important he not tell his Senshi too much too soon. "All this has
happened because of Tumbler."
"Tumbler's gone." Chris said with a nod. "And if he does come
back, I know my sword can hurt him. Maury can cook the bastard. With
Serena's power growing, she'll be able to handle him too."
"Of course he's gone." Beavis grumbled. "But just because a
pebble you have thrown into a lake descends to the bottom never to be
seen again, it doesn't mean that the ripples it caused aren't still
bouncing around whatever's on the surface of the water."
"That's called linear time, Beavis." Chris raised an eyebrow.
"I'd think you'd be used to it after living in it for so long."
"You and I are nothing but flecks of sand, Chris." Beavis
protested. "We hit the surface, and we stay around. But the ripples
of our influence only affect a small portion of the water." He cleared
his throat. "Tumbler has destroyed more than you could ever hope to
understand."
Chris was silent for a long time after they walked. Beavis
closed his eyes and allowed himself a small smile. The seed had been
planted.
"What about when I was captured." Chris asked suddenly.
Beavis blinked.
"When Tumbler ripped open my chest and took my star-seed, or
heart-crystal, or whatever the hell it is." Chris pressed. "What
happened? Why didn't I see anything like the others?"
"Chris?"
"What?!"
Beavis swallowed hard. "Don't move."
Right next to Beavis, hovering steadily on Chris' neck, was the
bright red dot of a laser scope.
Chapter 5
Kaboom.
As with so many other things in the Universe, this event
announced itself with a bang. The smoking hole in the ground was the
only other evidence that anything had happened at all, however.
For the longest time, everything was silent. Then, it started.
Soft, fearful crying.
The sound was too small to be heard by anyone. They were too far
away from the city anyway. The sobs continued for a while, but then
sniffled to a stop.
A light, metallic clang followed. More tinging and clanking
announced that indeed, something was moving up the side of the small
crater. A cloud of dust, and water vapor from the snow dispatched by
the explosion, rose into the heavens to finally reveal shapes and
colors.
The first color anyone would have seen was gold.
Deep, rich golden metal. It betrayed it's hidden strength as
armor by appearing to move almost like stiff cloth. Despite it's
amazing metallic composition, the armor held familiarity.
Eyes that pierced through the remaining dust continued to scan
for life. None was to be found. She had arrived undetected.
THEY had arrived.
The form bound in the golden armor strode out of the hole with
powerful steps. Her left arm grasped a tangle of cloth, connected to
the body of another form, who struggled to keep up with the first.
In a strong, Japanese tongue, the one in the armor said "Stop
your bickering! We are here."
The second woman nearly stopped breathing at the order, though
her entire soul screamed out in pain. Crying was a luxury. It tapped
the endless pool of suffering and let it drain to bearable levels.
"If you make a sound without my permission, I will cast you back
where I found you." The first woman continued, never taking her eyes
off the horizon. She kept walking forward, yanking her companion along
like a lame puppy on a leash.
The air around the horizon crackled with energy. She could feel
it. This was the city. Prophecies had always told it to be in the
skyline of a thousand souls.
Four of the Keys had already assembled here. The raw energy
focused upon this city was amazing. It was more beautiful a sight than
she had ever seen before. Even greater when she held Serenity's naked
Star Seed in her hand.
Now, she had all six Lights in her hand. All she needed to do
now was squeeze.
Sailor Galaxia strode towards Edmonton, holding the robes of her
traveling companion. In her eyes, Chaos itself reigned.
"If you so much as breathe in a way I don't like, I'll shoot." A
familiar voice warned. From behind a park bench, the woman Chris had
seen in the bar last night stood, holding a pistol up at his head.
"I can take her out..." Beavis whispered into his ear.
"Wait!" Chris yelled to both of them. "Just relax! I won't
move."
"Good." Sara grumbled, edging her way towards Chris without ever
taking the weapon off of him. "You're under arrest for the murder of
Charles Brockton." She held out some handcuffs. "Now, are you going to
put your hands behind your back, or am I going to have to do it for
you?"
"Wait a second." Chris grumbled as she grabbed his hands and
yanked them down behind his back. The cold metal of the cuffs
followed. "Hey! That's a little tight!" he turned. "Who the hell are
you anyway!?!"
A badge flipped open in front of his eyes. "Detective Sara
Lambert, NYPD."
"Man, I knew you American had a tough time finding your own
states on a map..." Chris mused "...but this must be a record."
The stout detective looked like she was having a very bad day.
Dirty blonde hair was pushed back in a semi-messy pony-tail. Her eyes
had dark circles around them. Chris almost smiled. He could see a
fellow night-owl a mile away. "You have the right to remain silent..."
she said coldly, holstering her weapon once she was sure Chris was
secure. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court
of law." She grumbled as she checked his coat for weapons, not thinking
anything of his disk.
"Mmm, I wish to wave that right." Chris said as she pushed him
forward to a car that was waiting half a block away with New York
license plates. "That Charles guy was going to kill you. I saved your
life, you know."
She laughed. "I can take care of myself, mister. I live in New
York."
"You would have had to kill him then anyway." Chris continued.
"He was quite disturbed in the head."
"I've been tracking him for half a year now." She said. "I KNOW
he's a killer. YOU ruined six months of surveillance. We were
checking to see if he had an accomplice."
Beavis stayed silent, hanging onto the front of Chris' coat.
"He didn't." Chris said.
"Oh?" she laughed. "And how do you know that?"
Chris paused. The feelings of being inside that man's head and
knowing what he knew all rushed through his mind like a wave. "He
didn't trust anyone enough to have help. He was on a personal mission
against the world."
"Ah. Sure." Sara mumbled. "Mr. Profiler."
"Strike Fiss, actually."
That earned him a loud hitching laugh. "So now you think you're
a Sailor Scout. I appreciate you killing that bastard, but I must tell
you, you're just as fucked up as he was."
Chris didn't know where it was coming from, but he had a strong
desire to kill this woman. "Do you even have jurisdiction to do this?
I mean, you realize this isn't New York City, right?"
"Get in the car." She growled, opening the door and forcing him
and Beavis into the car with a shove to his forehead.
Beavis looked up at him, ready for an order. Chris smiled. "You
know, I've never even got a speeding ticket before."
"Well, at least you're starting at the top. Manslaughter sounds
pretty impressive." Beavis smirked.
"Nice Sean Connery impression." Sara said as she closed her
drivers door in the front seat. She reached into her coat and pulled
out a cell phone.
Chris nodded, and Beavis waddled over behind him to see about the
handcuffs. He looked around. It definitely was a cop car. The rear
seats had been locked from the outside. Though he would love to humour
the NYPD, Chris was hardly in the mood for this. A click sounded that
Beavis had managed to snap off his cuffs. "You know, if I were you..."
his breath caught in his throat when he saw something through the
windshield.
"If I was what?" Sara turned back, only to see Chris staring
forwards. She turned as well. A woman dressed in a golden Sailor
Scout uniform strode down the street.
She was followed by another woman, dressed in all black robes.
The sleeve of her arm was wound up around Sailor Galaxia's fist. "What
the hell is that?"
Beavis hovered to Chris' eye-level. "Oh my god..." the hedgehog
whispered. "Chaos...she has Pain..."
Chris never heard his guardian. Something inside of him wanted
to scream. Every part of his brain sparked with the simultaneous
thought.
Destroy.
Chapter 6
Sailor Galaxia turned to see the door being blown off the side of
a nearby car. "My my..." she whispered to herself with a smile. "We
meet again."
Strike Fiss stepped out. His sword drew with the ring of steel.
Beavis shot out besides him. "Chris! Don't do this!" he gasped
urgently. "You can't beat her!"
Fiss' mind was clouded over. Rational thought screamed for him
to listen to Beavis, but that voice was drowned out by the torrent of
aggression sweeping over him. "I CHALLENGE YOU!" he said. It was not
an offer. It was a warning.
The look in Galaxia's eyes showed that he wouldn't be let down
anyway. Her thin lips pressed together and spread out in a wicked
smile. "Strike Fiss, I believe it was."
Chris paused. "You speak English?"
"I taught her." The woman dressed in black said proudly. Galaxia
shut her up with a look that could have melted granite.
Beavis almost strangled Chris by grabbing onto his collar and
yanking with jus jagged little teeth. "Strike Fiss! We go! NOW!"
"This is between me and Galaxia right now, Beavis. Stay out of
it." Chris said calmly, taking a few steps forward.
"God DAMNIT!" Beavis yelled. "You're going to get us all
KILLED!"
Galaxia dropped her hold on the young lady behind her. Without
further words, her entire body crackled with a dark bolt of energy,
then shot out along her arm at Chris.
Strike Fiss lunged forward, swinging his sword down. The bolt of
energy cut in half and smashed into the pavement on either side of the
Senshi. Beavis' jaw dropped. "Oh my..."
Even Galaxia seemed taken back. Especially when Chris landed and
kept running toward her, sword stretched out at his side, ready for a
swift attack. With a growl, she jumped, but not before letting another
powerful bolt of energy lash out at his head. Chris fell to his knees,
slid under the black lighting, and swung his sword over his head. A
blue flash lashed out as it cut through the air, narrowly missing
Galaxia's back as she dodged.
Chris looked up at the startled woman in black. "If you wish to
live, stay out of this fight." He said briefly, then fell onto his
back, sword shooting out an energy shield as Galaxia's next blast tried
to find it's mark. Though the force field flickered under the immense
strain, it managed to deflect the bolt into the air.
Sailor Galaxia's face was distorted in anger. Chris stood,
brushing some snow off his shoulder. "Shall we get serious now?" he
smiled.
"Yes." Galaxia smiled.
Chris felt someone's hand on his shoulder. The other woman.
Beavis gasped. "CHRIS! NO!!"
It was too late. Instinct kicked in, fueled by the anger of the
fight. With a silent flash, Chris spun. His sword cutting a path
through the stomach muscles of the other woman. Strike Fiss stood,
stunned, as the woman stumbled backwards.
That's when it hit.
Starting from his right hand, wrapped around the hilt of his
katana, pain shot through his arm. It felt like each of his bones were
crushing themselves into dust. Every nerve caught on pure, agonizing
fire.
His scream was cut short as it continued through his entire body,
knocking the air out of his lungs. Strike Fiss, Prince of Saturn, and
welder of the Enceladus Katana...fell to his knees, and rolled up into
a ball, gasping for breath. His sword dropped away, long forgotten,
embedding itself in the pavement.
Beavis watched helplessly, unsure what he could do. The young
woman held her wound, but seemed okay. With the magic sharpness of
Chris' sword, she very well could have been cleaved in half, yet she
was walking over to Galaxia like nothing had happened. Only the tear
in her black robes and a trickle of blood on her hands showed anything
had hit her.
"Was that really necessary?" the woman begged, looking over to
Strike Fiss gasping on the ground.
Galaxia smiled. "No, but it saves me time." She laughed. "And I
think he deserves it after all the insults during our first encounter."
The golden-suited Senshi casually walked over to Chris and knelt down.
"You were quite an angry little man back then." Her sly grin returned.
"I'm glad I can still use that against you."
Chris couldn't even open his eyes long enough to look up at her.
The pain kept echoing from his head to toes, back and forth, getting
more intense each time.
He couldn't even flinch when Sailor Galaxia took the hilt of his
sword and pulled it free of the ground. "This is mine now, you stupid
little boy." She said, standing. "Enjoy your rest. Your pain now will
seem like heaven when I rule."
"Don't...touch...my...sword..." Chris whispered through gritted
teeth.
Galaxia just smiled, and ground the heel of her boot into Chris'
hand. The added pain multiplied and any future words were knocked out
of his throat.
"I'll make sure I set aside a special torture for you." She said
turning away. "Sailor Moon can keep you company as well. There will
be plenty of room."
KRACK!!! A flash of gold filled the air, and Galaxia fell
backwards, stunned. Sara stood behind her opened driver's side door,
her gun smoking. "PUT your HANDS UP NOW!" she demanded.
Galaxia stood, sneering. "You...why are YOU here?!?"
"NYPD! You will put down your weapon, and BOTH of you will lay
down on the ground, face-first with your hands behind your back or I
will shoot you dead!" The laser sight now showed a red dot on Sailor
Galaxia's forehead.
It shivered, despite Sara's best efforts to remain calm. Galaxia
seemed to notice. "It is too soon." She said calmly. "Perhaps later."
With a snap of her fingers, the woman dressed in black cried out
and stumbled forward until Galaxia grabbed a fold of her sleeve. They
walked off down the street, unchallenged.
"God DAMMIT!" Sara holstered her gun and reached back into her
car, grabbing the radio. "I need backup!"
As the chattering of the radio engulfed the area, Beavis walked
over to Chris. He was still curled up in a fetal position, breathing
weakly. "Strike Fiss...you have to get up."
"Just a second..." he rasped. "It's going away...I just need to
rest..."
Beavis nodded.
"Where's my sword..." Chris gasped, sitting up suddenly.
"Galaxia has it." Beavis sighed. "I told you it would be foolish
to fight now. She had help."
"I was doing just fine." Chris coughed. "I fought Galaxia
before. I know what she could do."
"Yes, but you haven't fought Pain before."
"What?"
Beavis nodded. "That young woman with Galaxia has the Key of
Pain."
Chapter 7
After Sara had called for backup, explaining how Strike Fiss had
just been attacked, it took less than thirty seconds for a dozen squad
cars to race to the scene.
To Chris' dismay, none had seen Sailor Galaxia on the way over.
Now, Sara was feeling pretty stupid. She had just arrested Strike
Fiss, thinking him to be a mental patient that escaped from some
hospital somewhere. But no matter what she felt, Chris was pretty sure
he felt like the bigger idiot.
He had lost his sword. His soul. To Sailor Galaxia,
nonetheless. He just HAD to lose it to a sworn enemy that came very
close to destroying each and every one of the Sailor Scouts. If it had
been to some petty thief, he could have swallowed a bit of his pride
and gotten it back without too much trouble. But to the most powerful
Senshi in the galaxy? That was another matter.
Beavis wouldn't dare talk to him as he sat on the edge of the
curb, huddled under a blanket that the police had provided. His eyes
were riveted shut as he tried to convince his body to get over the pain
that still lingered in his nerves. "What was that, anyway?" he said
slowly.
"That woman had the Key of Pain, Chris. You're probably the
first living entity to have experienced it's power in a few thousand
years." Beavis said.
"Lucky me." Chris coughed. "Beavis...I've been hurt before. But
to call that 'pain' would be like calling a hurricane 'breezy'."
Beavis nodded in silent recognition.
"Why do you keep calling things Keys, anyway?" Chris asked after
a moment.
"That's the generic term for those points of power that hold the
Universe together, Chris." Beavis explained. "Your sword is one of
them, as far as I can tell, and so is Chaos. The entity that lives
within Sailor Galaxia."
"And the Silver Crystal." Chris nodded. "Jesus...How many keys
are there?"
"Seven." Beavis admitted. "And right now, they're all on Earth."
Chris looked down at Beavis in his lap and nodded. "So what does
that mean for Earth?"
"It means that we have a very good chance of popping our bubble,
Chris. Focal points of the universe have come together. Not a very
stable situation. It's like supporting the Eiffel Tower upside down on
it's point instead of it's base."
Chris nodded weakly. "And now, she has my sword. Fuck, that
means she has three Keys...herself..."
"Your key is different, though." Beavis said.
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't react the same way with other Keys." The little
hedgehog sighed. "When Galaxia picked up your sword, there should have
been a reaction. No one person can hold more than one or two keys, or
the power overwhelms them and..." Beavis paused. "Well, you can guess
bad shit happens.
"That's why she never touches that woman for more than a few
seconds. She has a Key. She'd risk causing Armageddon without the
other keys. It would destroy the entire fucking universe."
"Beavis..." Chris let out a long, tired breath. "You have to
start TELLING me stuff like this. I can't just guess the right
questions."
"Sorry." Beavis mumbled. "Forget all that four horsemen and
asteroid stuff. The REAL Armageddon is a reset button for the
universe. Basically, all the things like the Laws of Physics that we
take for granted will dissolve. Anything can happen...and about half
of 'anything' is the annihilation of the universe."
"And I'm guessing the other half is stuff like Chaos' little
threat about everlasting Hell, right?"
Beavis nodded.
"Wonderful." Chris grunted, trying to stand. Beavis assisted him
with a little jolt of blue energy.
"Where are you going?" Beavis demanded, hovering up to Chris'
shoulder and setting down. "You're in no condition to move."
"I'm going back to the apartment so I can sleep." Chris muttered.
"And tomorrow, I'm getting my sword back."
He walked over to Sara, who was busy talking to some of the cops.
"Hey." She said, looking away. "Uh...I wanted to apologize for..."
"Arresting me?" Chris smiled. "It's okay. Just doing your job."
She smiled. "Well, yeah..."
"You can make it up to me by giving us a ride back to the hotel."
Chris said, pointing to Beavis on his shoulder. Beavis smiled a toothy
smile.
"I wanted to apologize too," Chris said as they whisked over the
snowy streets of Edmonton. "I didn't know you were a cop. If I did, I
would have left that guy to you."
"How did you know he was going to kill me?" Sara asked. "I mean,
if I wasn't tracking him for a few months now, I must admit, he could
have fooled me."
Chris absentmindedly looked to the rear-view mirror. "I don't
know. Lately I can tell people like that apart from a crowd."
Sara nodded. "Must be your magic powers or something." She
smiled. "No wonder all the cops around here like you. You're going to
send them all to early retirement."
"Who knows." Chris smiled. "Anything's possible." He paused.
"Have you seen that woman before? The one in the golden suit?"
Sara sighed. "No. I've been wracking my brains." She looked
over to Chris. "I assume you're curious to why she said 'what are YOU
doing here'?"
"Almost like she knew you." Chris nodded.
"Well, I don't know her." She grumbled. "I haven't seen either
of those two women in my life. Still, it was downright eerie how she
talked like she knew me."
"Well, if you see her again, I suggest you run." He said. "Oh,
left here..."
They pulled up to a hotel. In the parking lot, both Nacho and
Coco sat empty. They all made it back, at least. Sara made a mental
note of the hotel. "Listen. If I see her again, I'll try and stop
her. If you guys need any help," she wrote something down on a
business card. "Here's my cell number. It's got a nice battery, so
you can reach me anytime."
Chris took the card and pocketed it. "Thanks. Oh, and sorry
about your back seat." He grinned sheepishly. The door was replaced by
a chunk of cardboard taped to the frame.
"It's no problem." Sara laughed. "See ya around." She reached
over and patted Beavis on the head. "You too."
Chris and Beavis walked over to the hotel as the not-quite-spring
air gusted around them. "She seemed nice enough." Beavis said as he
took him into his hands.
"I don't like it." Chris whispered.
Beavis' brow raised slightly, moving his quills back an inch.
"You need all the help you can get. What's not to like?"
Chris shook his head as they entered the lobby. "I don't
know..." he sighed. "This is one fucked up week."
Chapter 8
Miharu yawned wearily as she made her way through the unfamiliar
hallways. The rooms that the hotel had provided were all
interlocking, and gigantic. Together, they were a good five times
larger than Chris' old apartment had been. The row of suites probably
took up half of the floor.
However, with the number of Senshi inhabiting the rooms, it was
still difficult to move anywhere. Only a minute earlier, Miharu almost
tripped over Maury, who had taken up residence on the floor for the
night.
Finally finding a bathroom that wasn't blocked by one or more
sleeping bodies, Miharu turned the corner, opened the door, and almost
screamed.
Chris was standing there. Looking at the mirror. His hand was
pressed up against the glass. She gasped. "Dad???"
He turned slightly. "Oh, sorry. You need to use the bathroom?"
"W...what are you DOING?" Miharu asked.
Not only was he rather absorbed with his own reflection, but
Chris was perched on the edge of the counter top. "Oh..." he shook his
head. "It's nothing...just...thinking."
That was when Miharu noticed his scabbard. It hovered at his
waist, unbalanced. She walked over to his other side. "Oh my god!
Where's your sword?"
"I lost it." Chris said under his breath.
Miharu's eyes shot open. "What??!"
"Someone took it from me." Chris shook his head. "Last night. I
wasn't expecting she had help..."
"What..." she stopped. "Are you still seeing things in the
mirror?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No." he grinned weakly, tapping his finger
against solid glass. "I actually had no nightmares last night. It was
almost like I was expecting one, so I woke up when it didn't happen."
She walked over to the toilet, putting down the cover so she
could sit down on it. "Mom told me that she couldn't figure out what
was causing them." Miharu said slowly. "And you know what an expert
she is at visions and dreams and stuff."
Chris nodded, spinning on the counter so he could sit down.
"It's my sword."
Her eyebrows raised. "You don't think..."
Chris nodded sadly. "Miharu, we believe in one thing above all
else when using a sword. That it is a part of your soul." He took a
deep breath. "I think that there's something in my soul that I would
rather not have there." He closed his eyes. "Something bad.
"Maybe it's just that I'm tired of fighting. I don't know.
Maybe I just need a reminder that what I fight for is a just cause.
But whatever it is, my sword was reflecting whatever it was that I
hated about myself back for me to see." He shook his head. "It wasn't
me anymore. I didn't like it."
"You can't mean that..." Miharu whispered. "I mean...you're not
thinking about leaving your sword, are you??"
Chris shook his head. "I don't know." He turned back to the
mirror. "Do you know what I was doing when I was your age?"
Miharu shrugged.
"I was in school, being tormented by assholes." Chris laughed.
"They weren't really assholes, mostly. I suppose it was just childhood
cruelty. Maury and I had our own little empire of friends to huddle
together for protection." He paused. "You know...I haven't talked to
any of them in a few years."
"You've been busy." Miharu smiled.
He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose so. And now that we're all famous,
I suppose they know why." Chris paused. "So even if I wanted to go
back to that life...I couldn't. The world has changed for me and for
you and for Maury and Andrea and everyone."
"But it's still here." Miharu said quietly. "If you and Maury
and Andrea were still fighting junior high bullies, I wouldn't be here.
The world would probably be gone. Our entire existence would have been
destroyed.
"When you helped save the universe, you also saved the little
thirteen year-old Chris who was plugging away at school and trying to
get accepted into a Student-Transfer program to Japan." She smiled.
His face lit up in a smile, but it faded just as fast. "You're
right, you know." He took a deep breath. "That's why I have to ask for
a favor."
"A favor?"
Chris nodded. "The person who took my sword. It was Sailor
Galaxia."
Miharu's face whitened.
Rei had told her stories. The fall of each Scout. It had been
only three and a half years before the Great Darkness when it had
happened.
Sailor Galaxia had been the galaxy's champion. A Senshi of
incredible power and skill, equaled by none, except by the evil entity
known as Chaos. In a fight between Galaxia and Chaos, the golden-
suited Senshi knew that she would be unable to destroy the evil being.
Instead of giving up hope and leaving it to ravage the universe, Sailor
Galaxia took the evil thing into her body in hopes of controlling it's
power.
However, even as she was doing so, she realized it may be too
much for her to handle, and indeed, it had been. Sending her Star Seed
in the form of a young girl to help Sailor Moon later on, Galaxia was
then possessed by Chaos.
The new Sailor Galaxia then began to eliminate all opposition to
her power. All Senshi in her way. Alone, she destroyed incalculable
numbers of Senshi, stealing their Star Seeds to add to her own power.
In the end, few were left in the Milky Way.
After taking down the entire team of Sailor Scouts, Sailor Moon
and the little girl known as Chibi Chibi were finally able to stop
Galaxia with the healing powers of the Silver Crystal. Even then, the
entity known as Chaos had not been destroyed, but fled.
But if Chaos had found Galaxia once more, and now had Chris'
sword...
He noticed Miharu's reaction. "I know...I know. She has help,
too." He shook his head. "So I need to get my sword back. Even if it
means a return to these god damned nightmares." He sighed. "That's
where you come in. I need your sword. It's the only other weapon that
I know of that will be able to stand up to my katana."
"Of course..." Miharu nodded, trying to smile, but the sudden bad
news was still fresh in her mind. "When are you going?"
Chris looked out the window. "Dawn. I have a feeling I'll be
able to find the bitch if I just keep focusing on my sword. Plus,
maybe I can use the two sword's link to home in on it."
Miharu nodded, more to herself than him. "You know, it's still
my sword." She looked up with a smile. "I expect you to deliver it
back to me in one piece." She faked a frown. "If you fail, you will be
dishonoring your own daughter."
"A fate worse than Armageddon." Chris smiled. "I assure you."
Chapter 9
"Ah, it's going to be a kick ass day." Andrea yawned, reaching
for her Fruit Loops.
Sharon raised a curious eyebrow at her younger sister as she
poured two bowls. "Oh? How do you figure that?"
Andrea spun around happily and deposited a fresh bowl of cereal
in front of her sister...then preceded to top off the bowl with a
generous sprinkle of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "I don't know. I just have
a good feeling. Maybe it's the fact that I got a good night's sleep.
I dunno."
"Either that or Demeter learned what a penis looks like." Sharon
whispered to herself.
Andrea spun. "What?!?"
"Nothing." Her sister smiled evilly to herself.
"I thought so." Andrea said, pouring milk on each of their
breakfasts, not too concerned that she was only able to fit enough to
wet the top of the cereal before it started to spill over. "But
anyway, as I was saying, I have good vibes about today."
Sharon nodded. "Yeah. Must be the fact we have everyone
together under one roof." She smiled. "I always like spending time
with you." She eyed the bowl of cereal in front of her. "Even if I
don't agree with your tastes in breakfasts."
"Hey. I tried those weird omelet things." Andrea said. "Now
you're goinna try some NORMAL breakfast for once."
Sharon sighed and scooped up a chunk of cereal. Andrea watched
her with scrutinizing eyes as she placed the rainbow-colored loops and
sugar into her mouth. A few chews later, she looked up.
"Not too bad." She smiled. "Needs more milk, though."
Rei came rushing out of the bedroom. "Where's Chris?"
Both Plutos shrugged. "I thought he was up on the computer last
night?" Hooze said, stuffing some more cereal into her jaw.
Rei dry-washed her face with the palm of her hand. "He took off
this morning. He's going to fight Sailor Galaxia."
The sound of two spoons dropping from their mouths were Sailor
Hooze and Pluto's only reply.
My life is rather basic when I think about it. With the
exception of killing monsters hell-bent on my destruction, it's rather
ordinary. Eat, sleep, check my e-mail once in a while, and enjoy
snuggling up to Rei at night.
I don't know what it is, but I've decided that Galaxia must be
responsible for these nightmares. Chaos and all that shit seems to fit
with them. So, for now, my mission is simple. Kill Galaxia. Get my
sword back. Dreams gone. Live happily ever after. Then kick the SHIT
out of Beavis for not telling me this before hand.
Knowing it isn't that simple is a lot different than admitting it
to yourself. I know it won't be that simple. Too easy. But, hell,
it's keeping my mind focused on the task at hand.
What the hell am I doing? I mean, I know where I'm going and
everything; I shot out a pulse of energy with Miharu's sword, and
luckily, the link was still there. A nice, smoking hole appeared in
the wall, and I have a bearing on where my katana must be now.
As for the "what the hell am I doing" comment, it refers to an
otherwise unarmed Strike Fiss going up against Sailor Galaxia without
any backup.
Luckily, Nacho is as fast as ever, and I see my destination
before my mind has a chance to refute that prior comment and give me
good reason to get the fuck out of Dodge.
"An abandoned warehouse?" I catch myself saying out loud. "I'm
getting too old for this..."
Oh, my. What a glorious little story this would make. Tumbler
must be rolling over in his grave, laughing at this whole thing. The
building reminds me too much of the Watcher's hideout for my own good.
I swear, if twenty Sailor Galaxia clones pop out of the walls, I'm not
going to be too impressed. Mm, well, at least there's an original
element. That Pain key that Beavis told me about. I don't know what
it was...or how her power worked...but I'm staying the hell away from
her.
I know I'm not the fastest person in the world, but I can
definitely move when motivated. It will be just like dodge-ball back
in high school. You want to stay alive? You avoid the thing that will
give you pain. I was always really good at dodge-ball.
I really resent this. Asking for help like this. God...Miharu's
going to get grounded for the next ice-age once we get back. Shit.
Chris...that fucking...going after Sailor Galaxia like she was a petty
street thug? What the HELL is he thinking?
And Miharu? I'm just about sick to death with all this
sword/honor/soul bullshit. It's one thing to have a philosophy about
killing and the need for weapons...but it's another for my own daughter
to encourage her father to go off half-cocked and fight someone who can
rip the soul right out of your chest without even touching you.
Even Tumbler couldn't do that. Though I'm sure he did it more
for fun.
In the car with me are Dana...who insists on driving (I don't
think I could concentrate on the road right now anyway), Serena and
then the two Sailor Plutos.
Sharon started going on about how bad it was that Galaxia was
back. No shit. But she insisted on coming. Maury wanted to come
too...but we convinced him to just gather support from the cops. Ami
showed us the direction Chris had taken off, and that was it. We were
off after him.
Still, having Sharon and Andrea here is a great comfort. If
anyone can beat the shit out of Sailor Galaxia, Andrea can. With her
older sister here too, they're unbeatable. And to finish her off,
Serena is here. God, I hope it's that simple.
It never is, but I can dream, can't I?
I want this to be over. All of it. I want to lay in the sun
from a Summer Saturday Evening coming through the window with Chris'
arms around me.
That's my biggest regret. I never told him how much I loved it
when we did that. Just slept through an entire day on the couch or bed
or something, letting the sun make shadows over us.
Maybe, though...I never told him because then it would be forced.
Oh, the sweet fool would try to set it up on some distant day after I
told him, and it would seem all perfectly coincidental, but I would
know it was forced.
Yes. That's what I miss. Things like that. Just natural
togetherness. The kind of things that just happen and seem so right.
Despite our hectic lives, Chris and I have always had a healthy chunk
of those little moments. But lately, everything has this undercurrent
of fear. Chris fearing of whatever he keeps seeing in those dreams,
and me, fearing that those dreams are all he thinks of now.
I just want this to be over.
Then, I see Nacho parked out in front of a large building.
Shit.
One way or another...this is about to be over.
Chapter 10
Every instinct told Chris to watch his ass. This was bad. Very
bad. The entire warehouse was shrouded in darkness that shouldn't have
been there with the early morning sun poking through the windows.
Support pillars shrouded his view into the building every few
meters. Some were laced with cardboard box remnants and alley filth
around them, making it hard to pick out shapes that didn't end up being
just another pile of junk.
The light weight of Miharu's wakizashi wasn't helping either. It
wasn't natural for his reflexes. He was used to the extra ten or so
inches on the end and the added weight to make his attacks and blocks.
It was still a sword, and he would be as skilled with it as any
similar blade...but it still wasn't the same.
He reasoned the best course of action would to be slicing off
Sailor Galaxia's arm. Get the sword back and lessen the chances of her
launching another lightning bolt at him at the same time. The only
drawback was that he would have to get close enough to head-but her.
Maybe after she's down, he promised himself. A nice head-but.
Yup. Then giggle like a retard. Good battle-plan.
For the tenth time in as many seconds, he picked out shapes that
seemed to move in the darkness. It was too cold here for there to be
many rats. Maybe a stray pet or two, his mind explained. A lot of
good that does me if one is Sailor Galaxia, he told his brain right
back.
It was right about then when he saw a pile of junk move out of
the corner of his eye. Someone yelped, and Chris only saw who it was
when the tip of his sword was an inch away from her throat. "Sara??"
he gasped out the breath he had been holding.
"Shit, Chris!" she backed away, letting the gun she had half-
yanked-free back into it's holster.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he said, pulling back his
sword.
"I followed when I saw you took off this morning." She smiled.
"Been keeping tabs on you. You seem to attract trouble. Thought it
might be a good idea if you had a little backup."
"Get the hell out of here!" he almost yelled. "Geeze! I thought
you figured it out before...you have NO idea what you're getting into
here. We're about one step away from the end of the universe, and I
need to get my weapon back before that bitch in the golden suit figures
it out!"
Sara raised an eyebrow, but made no indication she was about to
leave. "If it's as bad as you say, then it's my job too."
"It was also the jobs of those two thousand police officers that
got slaughtered in Tokyo when the Lords landed." Chris said. "Didn't
seem to matter too much when they got shot through vital organs."
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can take care of
myself."
"Good, cause I can barely take care of MY self, let alone look
after you." Chris stormed past her, sword swinging in his hand as he
walked.
Sara mumbled something about pig-headed assholes to herself, but
followed him, weapon drawn and drawing a bead on the darkness around
them. "So is she here or not?"
"I think so." Chris said, more to himself than her. "My sword's
here anyway."
"And you never considered that she could have used it to set a
trap for you?"
He shook his head. "No, she doesn't want to set a trap. She
wants to start Armageddon."
The sound of metal scraping across the ground alerted them to a
point just past the shadows. The mirror-like reflection of a blade
glinted a razor edge of sunlight in the dusty cold air. "You're
wrong."
Sailor Galaxia stepped out from the shadows a moment later. In
her hands, she held his sword, admiring the way it played light off of
her uniform. "It is not Armageddon I wish." She continued. "This
universe is stale." Her dangerous eyes raised to meet theirs. "I wish
only for rebirth. A cosmic beginning." She raised the weapon slowly.
"Won't that be wonderful? For an entire reality to reshape itself into
a new image."
Her smile was just as deadly as the sword in her hands. "You all
will be witness to it's birth. Proud parents to my child."
"Your child, Galaxia?" Chris asked. "Children like yours are the
reason abortions are legal. This won't be a rebirth. It will be a
death, and I think you know it. You're already risking it by being
close to so many Keys."
"It would do you well to speak kindly of my child." Galaxia
smiled. "And what of Justice? Does she refuse to speak?"
"The only justice will be the last thing you see as my sword goes
through your eye." Chris took a tentative step forward, bringing his
own blade cocked along his side, ready.
Sailor Moon, Pluto, Hooze and Mars walked into the gigantic open
room. "Woah." Andrea shivered. "Nice place for an ambush."
Pluto shook her head, walking forward quickly, scanning for any
sign of Galaxia. "It's not a trap. She wants us to find her."
A small sphere of light enveloped them, driving back the
darkness, as Rei lit a ball of flame across the palm of her glove. "I
can't see anything in this place."
Serena nodded, squinting slightly. "This doesn't feel right.
Something's wrong."
"You can say that again." Rei nodded. Her hand reached into a
fold of her skirt and returned with a scroll. "My head's ringing.
There's some kind of energy in this place."
"It will be okay." Pluto said, not even slowing. "We just fight
Galaxia and get the hell out of here."
Andrea ran to catch up to her. "What's going on?" she whispered.
"We're walking into the centre of the universe, Andrea." Her
sister replied. "It's okay. It isn't dangerous unless all seven Keys
are here."
"How many?"
"Pardon?" Sharon blinked.
"How many are there right now?" Andrea demanded. "Here."
A long pause as they walked. "Five. Maybe six."
"Great..." Hooze grumbled. "Just great."
Serena's eyes caught hold on something just past Rei's fire.
"Wait!"
They all skidded to a stop. "What is it?" Rei whispered.
"I see someone." She whispered, stepping over a pile of crushed
aluminum cans and garbage bags. In a small pool of dim light from one
of the windows near the wall, a shrouded figure knelt on the floor,
sobbing quietly.
Rei's eyes narrowed. "Serena..."
"I'll be careful." She nodded back to Mars and smiled. They all
stayed back as Moon knelt down in front of the woman. "Are you okay,
honey?"
When the woman looked up, Serena almost fell over backwards.
Tear-stained eyes were glossy and black. "No." she whispered. "I'm
not fine..."
Serena swallowed hard. "What's your name?"
A smile crossed otherwise dead lips. "Nobody has ever asked me
that before."
"I bet you have a beautiful name." Serena grinned. "I'm Serena."
"I don't have a name. I never had a name." Her smile dissolved.
"Oh, pish-posh!" Serena smiled happily. "What does everyone call
you?"
The woman looked up with a quizzical look. "You really want to
know my name?"
Serena nodded, outstretching her hand. "Of course."
Her hand reached out and grabbed Serena's. Her eyes blazed.
"Pain."
She tried to pull her hand free, but Pain had her in a powerful
iron-like grip. Her breath left her. Actually, it was knocked out of
her lungs by something she had never felt before...not like this.
Pain was not this woman's name. It was her warning. Eyes wide,
Serena tried to scream, but her throat was on fire.
"LET HER GO!" Rei demanded, pointing a flaming finger at Pain's
head.
"Don't move." Pain looked up into Rei's eyes. "If any of you
move, I will leave her in an eternity of pain."
Sailor Pluto was fuming. "What are you doing?" her hands
gripping her staff tightly. "You aren't suppose to be here."
"Neither are you." Pain growled, standing, dragging the gasping
Sailor Moon with her. "Move. All of you."
"It's okay..." Serena whispered...looking up at the Scouts.
"Just step back..." Tears rolled down the side of her face, but it was
clear the pain was subsiding.
Andrea held her hand, ready for a scissors attack, but even she
knew it wouldn't save Sailor Moon from Pain's threat. "So now what?"
Pain looked deeper into the warehouse. "This way." She started
walking, never letting her grip in Serena's arm lessen. "I promise
you, this will all be over in a few minuets." She paused. "And I truly
am sorry."
"So am I..." Pluto sneered.
Chapter 11
Everything slowed down. Much more than usual. With the first
testing swing of each sword, the battle had begun. Still, he could
feel something different in the air. In the blades. A kind of
ethereal energy that seemed to make their movements sticky and forced.
Galaxia struck first. Chris hadn't been prepared at the speed of
his own sword, and a jagged tear in his shirt's arm showed the hit.
Had she known how to use the sword's other powers, Chris would no
longer have an arm.
He used the spin from the block to put extra speed in the attack,
and close the distance between them with a mer step. The sound of
metal on metal shot him back, though. Galaxia had used a sword before.
Shit.
The longer a battle between two swordsmen or women lasted, the
more of a chance that someone would die. The more of a chance it would
be you that lost. Though it had only lasted a few seconds, Chris was
already starting to get worried.
CLANK TING PINGG! Up down and middle, Galaxia matched his
jabbing swings with blocks. She spun when he jabbed low, hoping for a
leg hit. The blade caught between two metal plates on her fuku.
She looked down at amusement as Chris tried in vain to pull his
sword free. "Bakka..." she whispered, raising her sword.
Chris dropped his head back, gripped the wakizashi tighter, and
then drop-kicked her stomach, wrenching himself free and throwing her
hard against one of the pillars that dotted the building's interior.
Bakka, that he was indeed. If he wasn't a total idiot, he probably
wouldn't have lost his sword in the first place. "Fine. Let's get
serious." He growled, taking off his coat before Galaxia had a chance
to get up.
Sara stood back, helpless as the duel continued. There had been
one rule. If Sara interfered, Galaxia would use her other powers. As
long as she stayed out of it, Chris would have a fair fight. One he
thought would be easier than this. Her right index finger stayed
poised on the trigger of her Glock, though.
"You fight well." Galaxia walked towards him. "But you are
unpracticed."
"Haven't used this sword in five years." Chris smiled. "Can't
help but be a little RUSTY!" he lunged. CRACK CLANG!
Galaxia looked down at her armor. A long, straight slit was on
the top of one of her skirt pleats. When she looked back up, her eyes
blazed.
Chris held out his daughter's sword admirably. "Still, it is a
nice change." He smiled. "Wanna trade?"
She jumped at him, sword swinging out in a wide arch. Chris dove
over the slash, and collided with her face, shoulder first. They both
landed hard, but it was Chris who stood first, holding his arm, but
smiling.
Galaxia held her nose as she stood. The chaotic look in her eyes
was growing. Blood began to pour from her cupped hand. Chris couldn't
make it all out, but she told him something about tying him up with
barbed wire and letting the eels and leeches nip at his flesh for a
hundred years.
"Why didn't you TELL me you had tickets to the Spice Girl's
concert?" he replied.
"EEEEERRRRRRAHHHHHHG!" Galaxia met him blade for blade and then
exchanged him a few more blows, shoving him back against another
pillar. Chris spun out of the way and Galaxia put the sword clear
through the other side.
As the concrete and steel fell away with a small rumble, Chris
jumped over the debris and nearly got the tip of his sword in Galaxia's
eye. She ducked at the last moment, spinning to hit him in the back
with her own blade.
Chris fell over, the breath knocked out of him, but his armored
vest proved to be intact when he checked. "Chris...you gotta stop
doing that..." he mumbled to himself, spinning on his knees. Galaxia
had to fall back to avoid her legs getting chopped off.
Galaxia landed a heartbeat away, then paused, looking over his
shoulder with a smile. "Ah, good. Now we can start."
He turned to see someone else there. "Oh my..."
Pain had Sailor Moon in her grasp. Sailor Mars, Hooze and Pluto
looked on with worried eyes, uncertain what to do. Rei glanced up at
him sheepishly. It had been a trap. Not just for Chris, but for
everyone. But...they were still missing two keys!
Galaxia nodded. "NOW!"
Pain lunged at Sara, dragging Sailor Moon with her. "NO!" Andrea
yelled, running after.
Sharon shook her head and joined her sister. "STAY BACK!"
Sara's instincts took over, and her gun raised before she could
remember what happened to Chris. The second that the ruby red laser
illuminated a spot on Pain's forehead, the trigger went slack. BOOM!
Almost instantly, Sara dropped to the ground, screaming, her gun
clattered off into the shadows. "CHRIS! LOOK OUT!" Rei yelled.
Chris spun to meet Galaxia's strike, and returned two of his own.
Something wasn't right. Every time their swords clashed together, a
blue arch of electricity flashed out. She couldn't have been able to
use his own sword's power, could she?
That's when he saw it wasn't just between his swords. The blue
and white lighting began to graze over Sailor Galaxia's armor, then
jumped over to Sara, surrounding her as well.
"What's going ON?!" Chris demanded, looking over their blades at
Galaxia.
Chaos smiled within her eyes. "You have NO idea..." she let go
of his blade like it wasn't a care in the world.
It shot into Chris' hand and he sheathed his wakizashi. Time to
get the hell out of there, his brain blared. You got your sword...now
RUN!
Sailor Pluto was wrestling with her staff, as both she and Sailor
Hooze were being ricocheted by energy. "We HAVE TO GO NOW!" Pluto
gasped, not knowing how this was possible. "It's Armageddon!" she
yelled.
Chris jumped past Galaxia and pointed his sword at Pain's neck.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he demanded.
Pain looked up with a quizzical smile. The shaking body of
Detective Sara Lambert next to her. "It's too late. Running is not
going to help."
Outside, Beavis saw it. The warehouse. It was bursting with a
strange, black light that seemed to be pulling the color from the
buildings and sky around it. Even as he sped towards it, he was in
awe. It was happening. Actually happening.
Armageddon. The bringing together of Reality to form something
new. Something different. Maybe even nothing at all. It was the one
task the Elders had been assigned to in this existence...yet in front
of Beavis' eyes, it was happening despite all their efforts.
The protection of the Keys. The destruction of those who amassed
them. All of it had been for nothing. Tumbler's decimation through
their species had destroyed the Elder's ability to stop this moment any
longer.
His black, watering eyes narrowed as he approached the growing
power hole. But there was still ONE Elder left. One last chance.
Even if he couldn't prevent Armageddon...he could do something better.
Something began to pull them to the centre of the room. Chris
could feel it on his clothes and his weapon. Especially his weapon.
Every fiber in his being wanted to go to that point in time and space.
No! Don't give in now! "RUN!"
Sailor Moon struggled to her feet, grabbing onto Rei, who seemed
immune to the pull. "Rei! Get out of here while you still can!" she
begged.
Rei's eyes widened as the Silver Crystal began to shiver inside
it's broach. "Come on, Queen! Don't give up on me now!" she began
forcing her arms to take the strain of whatever was pulling Serena
towards some invisible point behind them.
Galaxia had already walked over to the point, and seemed to be
the centre of it. "Yes, run Sailor Senshi!" she laughed. "It may
prove amusing."
"Shut UP!" Sailor Pluto growled, pointing her staff at Galaxia.
"You DON'T HAVE ALL THE KEYS!" her eyes narrowed. "And that's not
going to change!" she stopped fighting the pull and launched herself at
Galaxia.
But the moment her staff hit her stomach, Sharon knew it was a
mistake. The force doubled. Serena and Rei were instantly picked up
off their feet, sliding towards Pluto and Galaxia. Andrea, in
desperation, threw up a Paper-Shield, but it dissolved as they hit.
With Sailor Moon's addition to their mass, the force grew to
unbelievable levels. Both Pain and Sara lost their footing and slid to
join the others.
Only Andrea and Chris remained. "I can't transport!" Andrea
gasped, clawing at the crack in the floor that was the only thing
keeping her from joining the others.
"Just hold on, Hoozey!" Chris yelled as wind howled around them.
His sword was in the ground, barely holding his own weight. Concrete
cracked around the blade. Andrea gasped, fingers finally giving way.
Chris swung himself over to grab her arm just before she got sucked
into the pile.
Despite an excellent leather grip, and years of experience with
his sword, Chris' fingers were slowly giving up. With Andrea's added
drag, it was a lost cause. Even if she let go, it would only re-double
the force as soon as she hit.
The blade began to wiggle free of the ground, and Chris could see
the tip was just a few moments away. His fingers just about to give
up, he shook his head. No. NEVER GIVE UP.
His other hand came up, barely noticing it was free of Andrea
already. With both hands, he held his sword. He had his sword back.
He had his soul back.
Even as he hit the others, he had his sword in his hand. He
wasn't about to let it go again.
Then everything stopped.
Everyone blinked. Bodies pressed into each other, unsure what
was next. Beep.
They all looked down.
Beep.
Chris' eyes widened as he looked down at his pants.
Beep.
"Oh no..."
Beep! BEEP BEEP BEEEP!
His sword hilt jammed into his leg, up against his pocket.
BEEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
ZIIIIIIP!
Sailor Moon, Mars, Pluto, Hooze, Galaxia, Strike Fiss, Sara
Lambert, Beavis the Hedgehog, and the woman only known to the universe
as Pain, all dropped through the vortex in the sky, landing on the
soft, white, sterile sand of the Omega Web Training Universe.
Dave and William both looked up from the Key of Knowledge, mouths
open. "Oh shi..."
CHOOM!
Chapter 12
How long? Oh god...how long?
A gritty, raw taste filled her mouth. Sitting up, eyes still
blurred, she spat out the sand. God...she must have been out for an
hour now. It felt like it.
Rei opened her eyes wider, trying to blink away the fuzziness.
When she looked up from the miles of sand around her, though, the sky
had changed.
From a barren, lifeless dark amber that she had seen at first,
the entire horizon had shifted to a creamy storming green.
The echoes of distant thunder seemed to bounce around her. It
was like being trapped in a metal jar. "Chris? Serena?" she looked
around quickly but could see nothing but an endless beach. "Where the
hell are we?" she whispered to herself.
"BELAH!" someone yelled behind her. It was Chris. He had been
nearly buried in the sand, and finally managed to crawl out of the
small dune. He looked up. "Rei?"
"Where the hell are we?" she asked, pulling him free.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "The Omega Web Training
Universe."
"WHAT?"
"I don't fucking believe this." Chris mumbled. He reached into
his pocket and pulled out a small metal card. It had a large crack
down the middle where his sword's hilt had smashed into it.
"What's that?"
"Dave gave one of these to Maury and I a while back. It's a
portal generator as far as I can tell. Takes us to this little
dimension so we could train our powers without ripping things apart."
He looked up at the strange sky. "But this is different."
Rei gave him a worried look. "What do you mean, different?"
"Normally this place looks like just a barren wasteland. The sky
never has a cloud, and there is DEFINATELY not that." He pointed.
Somewhere off in the distance, a purple vortex was forming from a
light cloud-cover. It was almost like a tornado in shape, and it
seemed to be giving off thunder.
Rei shook her head. "Pluto said that there were only five or six
Keys. This can't be too bad...maybe just the first stages."
"What about Dave and his friend?" Chris said, checking his sword
in his scabbard. "What if they have a Key? That's all seven as far as
Beavis told me."
Rei's eyes widened.
Chris slumped down and sat. "You know? That's why I never got
an automatic car-starter for Nacho. Every time I'd sit down, or I'd
fall, something would hit the key-chain and start the car."
"You mean you triggered Armageddon because you fell on your
keys?!?" Rei almost yelled. "That's just a LITTLE more serious than
accidentally starting your CAR!"
"Still, you can get carbon monoxide poisoning if it starts in the
garage and you don't know about it. That's pretty bad too." Chris
smiled weakly, but it was obvious by Rei's scowl that humour wasn't
helping.
"So NOW what do we do?" Rei grumbled.
"Find the others." Chris shrugged. "See what the hell is going
on." He paused. "And considering how this dimension is pretty much
endless, I suggest we start by walking towards that tornado thing." He
got to his feet.
"God I hope Dave didn't have a key. Maybe this isn't even
Armageddon yet." Rei sighed as they began trudging through the sand.
"Since when have we ever been that lucky?" Chris replied.
Sailor Pluto looked up in horror. "No..."
Andrea was still brushing sand out of her hair. "It's okay.
Chris was telling me about this place. It's just a training ground for
the Omega Web."
"Did he ever mention that?" Pluto pointed to the pillar of
rotating cloud and light a few miles away. "That's what I'm worried
about."
"Mm, no, can't say that he did." She looked over to her sister.
"Wait a second. You don't mean that all seven keys are here, do you?"
Her sister nodded. "Between us two, we're a key. And that Sara
woman must have one too. The other missing key was somewhere near that
vortex. Chris' swords make a key. Sailor Moon and Galaxia are both
keys. And Pain tops off the list."
"Shit." Andrea blinked.
"Come on. We better get going." Sharon sighed, walking towards
the centre of the storm.
"What? We're going CLOSER to that thing?"
Sharon nodded and turned. "Considering I'm not sure what's going
to happen if Sailor Galaxia gets there first, I suggest we try to stop
her."
Andrea caught up to her sister and shook her head. "Wait a
minute. You mean you don't know what's going on?"
Sharon smiled. "You have to understand something. I knew about
the keys. I knew some of the possibilities and dangers if they
joined." She shrugged. "But this has never happened in the history of
our universe. If it ever did, chances are our universe wouldn't be
here anyway." She looked over to the vortex. "That's Armageddon. The
first stage. What you're seeing is the blurring of the laws of
physics, and the weakening of space-time."
"What's the next stage?" Andrea whispered back.
"I don't know." Sharon smiled. "But if we live through this day,
you can tell everyone you saw the end of the Universe and lived to brag
about it."
Chapter 13
To be honest, Dave never thought he would be waking up. Even in
a universe filled to the brim with amazing possibilities, and one-in-a-
billion chances, the simple nature of Armageddon dictated that the
universe was about to die very shortly.
When his eyes opened to reveal what looked like a rotating column
of purple fire, he was almost certain that this was the end. Space and
time ripping apart, coming towards him at the speed of thought. But,
after a good second or two, he began to realize it wasn't moving.
"What the hell?" he sat up, ignoring the sand on the side of his
face. A quick look around showed the endless plain of sand, and the
pillar of swirling energy only a few meters away from him. They had
fallen in through a portal...all six keys. Galaxia must have
orchestrated the whole thing.
Damn.
Something was unsettling about knowing that in a very short time,
you may never have existed. The worst part about the whole deal was
that even if the universe died in a minute, you wouldn't stop existing
until then. It was like a time bomb, but the explosion ripped apart
the past and future as well.
No need to worry about that now, though. It was in the hands of
the Senshi. They would help the Senshi to try and make...wait a
minute...they??
William was missing. Dave glanced around again to make sure.
"WILL?" he yelled over the low rumbling of thunder.
Somehow, his super-intelligent brain managed to filter through
all the noise and heard a low moan coming from the other side of the
vortex. "Just a sec, Will!" Dave leapt to his feet, not ready to risk
transporting in the midst of Armageddon.
The vortex must have been only a few meters across, but the sand
it was stirring up made it hard to see more than a foot in front of his
eyes. It was also like wading through maple syrup as he walked.
Normally, that would be weird, but Dave remembered a time he had to
rescue a small monkey from inside a vat of syrup in order to reverse
engineer a retro-virus to save a small African country.
That had been a very interesting day.
He smelled like pancakes for a month afterwards. The Omega Web
doctors just couldn't figure out how to get rid of all the syrup. The
monkey ended up developing a taste for waffles.
Finally, Dave saw something black in the pale sand. A shoe. The
leg it was attached to, however, lead back into the vortex. Dave's
heart nearly stopped. "Will..."
His foot moved, ever so slightly. It was just enough for Dave to
make out in the blurring sand. "Just a second, buddy!" he jumped down
to the ground, bracing his foot against the sand and grabbing William's
leg.
Right away, he knew something wasn't right. It felt like Will
only weighed a few ounces, probably because normal laws of physics
didn't apply to whatever he was in. Not thinking, Dave yanked hard,
and was shocked when he almost pulled himself into the vortex. He
recovered with the dark purple cloud almost touching his nose.
"Dammit..." he re-composed himself and tried again, this time
much slower. Barely even tugging at William's leg, he started to
emerge just a millimetre every second. Any more, and Dave instantly
felt the tug through his arm.
It was agonizingly slow. It took more than a minute just to see
his other leg finally come out of the vortex. Until then, he had been
afraid that all that was left of Will was the leg. As his waist
finally came out, and hints of a hand started to emerge, Dave found
himself whispering to himself. "Please be alight, please be
alright..."
William wasn't just Dave's friend. He was also the brightest new
Omega Webber. A good year or two more advanced than most of the
others. If this man died, the human race would suffer yet another set-
back in their ultimate destiny. Every little bit helped. It was a bit
cold to think of him in such a way, but Dave had a responsibility to
the race as a whole, not his own personal feelings.
He saw Will as him, ten years ago. Abnormally intelligent, but
never taking it for granted. Ready to tackle any problem, but not
quite ready to know when to stop and let humanity precede on it's own.
Even that wasn't stopping Dave from becoming best friends with the
young man.
Finally, his chest was free. Dave almost leapt back when Will's
hand came up and grabbed his lab-coat. He grabbed William's hand and
forced him free with a final, desperate jerk.
William's head came out, gasping for air. He looked up at Dave
with shock, eyes clouded over in a way he had never seen before.
"Will?"
His mouth opened slowly, not quite sure what to do. "It..." he
began to shake. Dave grabbed him and pulled him away from the vortex.
When he finally stopped shivering so badly, Dave set him back down.
"What was it, Will?" he asked, setting him back down.
"It...hurt..." his brow creased in thought as he tried to put it
into words. "But...then...it was all clear..." he began to shudder
again. "So cold...there was nothing left..."
Dave took off his coat and wrapped it around his friend. "What
did you see?"
Will looked up at Dave with a sudden calm. A smile crossed his
lips. "Everything...I saw the Universe." The smile faded just as
quickly. "Then the pain took it...oh god...and fire...so much fire.
It burned like a furnace, but everything was backwards." He began to
shake his head. "NO! NO! NO!" he clenched his eyes shut. "Then they
came..."
The way he said 'they' made Dave shudder.
"You don't understand!" William gasped, grabbing Dave's shirt.
"YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND! IT WAS ALL GONE! EVERYTHING! THEY CAN'T BE
HERE! SOMETHING HAPPENED!" his face contorted into a strange smile.
"He didn't succeed after all...that's going to make them mad..."
William jumped to his feet, dragging Dave with him. "Oh my
god...they're going to come for us, Dave!" he shook his head. "It's
going to be too late...and we're all going to die..." he shook his head
faster. "NO! NO! NO! This ISN'T HAPPENING! THIS CAN'T!" he grabbed
Dave by the shoulders and twisted him to face the vortex. With one,
shaking hand, he pointed. "It showed me things. It showed me things,
Dave...things that can't happen, but will."
"What did you see?" Dave looked back to his friend to discover
tears running down his face. "What the hell is that thing?" he grabbed
Will's shoulders. "Who are 'THEY'?"
William looked dazed, like he was trying to wake up after sleep.
Maybe he was just about to sleep. Either way, he managed to look at
Dave once more and smile. "I saw them, Dave...Beautiful really.
Azrael. He was coming for us, Dave...all of us..."
As William's eyes faded and he drifted to sleep, Dave stood over
his friend with eyes wide. Though the Omega Web has limited telepathic
abilities, Dave was at a loss. Chaos had taken William's mind. Not
Sailor Galaxia, or anything he had ever seen. Simply that Will had
seen something that had been so confusing, yet so important, that his
mind was still desperately trying to digest it.
But the images were fading. Dying fast as his mind refused to
comprehend them. It was ten-dimensional hyperspace seen through a
dirty window. Even the Omega Web hadn't reached that mental level
quite yet.
Even then, two images stood out in the confusion. Dave could
barely see them even now as his own mind tried to grapple with the
thoughts retrieved from William.
The first was like he had said. Fire. Cold fire. Both ice cold
and red hot at the same time. It ripped through space as far as the
eye could imagine. Just thinking about it made Dave's skin break out
in a sweat.
But the second was much more disturbing.
Everything was silent.
Deathly quiet.
And he came.
With light behind him, yet casting shadows down at his vision.
He was fast. If the mind had eyelids, a blink would have missed it.
Angel.
William had seen the Angel of Death.
Beavis looked over the plain with tired eyes. In this half-
reality, his powers had diminished to painfully tiny levels. Instead
of flying at the speed of thought, he could barely hover across the
sand at the speed of a car. Searching for what he needed would take
days.
He had already found the others.
Chris and Rei had landed about the furthest away from the Vortex,
but had an early start. The two Plutos were not far behind, but on the
far side of the centre.
Galaxia was awake, and moving already. Pain and Detective
Lambert were both still unconscious, but a lot closer to the centre.
Sailor Moon had just awaken, and decided to head for the centre as
well.
That's where it would be. The Seventh Key. The Key of
Knowledge. Thought would meld with the cosmos and make it reality.
Beavis knew what needed to be done, but it was going to take some
ingenuity. There would only be one chance for success. Armageddon
wound not happen in this universe again for a long time. Perhaps never
again.
One chance to make things right.
In the morning.
Beavis looked around, found a small dune, and began to burrow
inside the fine sand. When sleep finally took him, he dreamed of the
future.
It would be glorious.
Tumbler would be gone.
Gone.
Chapter 14
"I'm not going to stand while you sleep." Rei sighed, slumping
down to the sand.
Chris raised his eyebrows. "I thought you loved the out-doors.
Just rough it."
"This is not roughing it." She mumbled. "We're stuck in an
alternate dimension with no food or water, no sleeping bags, and it's
too fucking cold and too damn loud to sleep. There's sand on parts of
my body that you haven't even seen yet."
"I doubt that very much." Chris chuckled under his breath.
"You'd be surprised." She replied quickly. "How much further to
that vortex thingy anyway?"
"When I was a boy, one thing I learned was that if you keep
checking how far you are on your journey, eventually, that's all you
do."
Rei shook her head.
"About half a day." He said. "We may as well sleep now."
"You're the one that's a Key holder." Rei shrugged. "You don't
need me."
Chris gave her the "oh yeah, this again" look.
"Don't give me that look." Rei sighed. "The only reason I'm here
is because I happened to get sandwiched between you and Serena when the
portal went off."
"Well, hey, while you're here, you can be a chum and not get all
depressed." He sighed, slumping down on the sand.
She sat down next to him. "Considering this might be our last
day in existence together, I think we better find a more pleasant line
of conversation."
"What should we talk about?" Chris asked, yawning despite
himself.
"I don't know." Rei sighed, leaning her shoulder against his.
"You know...I never did find out something about you."
"Oh?" Chris smiled. "I thought I was an open book."
"Almost." Rei admitted. "The only thing you've ever hidden from
me successfully was that whole Hope Diamond thing." She paused. "But
when the Lords were here...and your double had appeared, you mentioned
that he'd probably be an evil villain like off of your favorite
movies." She paused. "But you never told me what your favorite movie
was."
Chris was silent for a long time. "I haven't watched a movie in
a thousand years." He whispered. "You know that?"
Rei nodded.
"I don't have a favorite."
"You have to have a favorite." She smiled.
"I used to." Chris shrugged. "I mean, Face/Off was excellent.
And I really liked Scent of a Woman. Army of Darkness is always good."
"What do you mean, used to?"
"I'm living a fantasy." Chris said after a long pause. "Why
would I want to hold one above the one I'm living?"
"This is hardly a fantasy, Chris." She sighed. "This is the end
of the world. Life and death."
"Life isn't this, Rei." He shook his head. "Life is going to
work, nine to five. It's having two-point-five kids, a big, hairy dog,
and a mortgage. This is not life." He smiled. "It's something
better."
"What about that?" she pointed off into the distance to the big
vortex gathering cloud overhead.
"If we had lives, Rei, we would hear about it on the evening
news. Not see it close up and personal." He said. "We'd say 'Oh,
isn't that peculiar, what's for dinner?' and go on with our lives."
She looked over to him and shook her head. "You mean you'd trade
a normal life for this chaos? Where you and I die on average twice a
millennium? Where we have lost the ability to count how many people
we've killed without help of a database?" she sighed. "Were we're
stuck in the middle of an ocean of sand? Talking about movies instead
of sitting down in a soft sofa and watching one?"
Chris nodded. "I wouldn't trade any of it for the world."
They sat there, looking at each other for a long time, not saying
anything. Finally, Rei leaned over and gave Chris a kiss. "Neither
would I." She sighed. "I must be insane."
He maneuvered himself so they were pressing up against each
other's back. "One more thing you never knew about me, Rei."
"Oh?"
"Back on Enceladus..." he sighed. "My grandpa and I had to share
this block of ice that was supposed to be a house. Don't get me wrong,
it was actually warm compared to outside, but the floor was nothing but
cobbled ice. No beds. We had to sleep on it.
"So, we did this." He smiled. "Sat up against each other. When
I was finally more than a skinny kid, I was actually able to support
the man."
Rei smiled to herself, the mental image of a tiny Chris snoozing
up against the distinguished older man. "Cute." She whispered.
He nodded. "He was great, you know. Just like your grandpa.
The man used to live and breathe for me. Everything he did, ever
moment he was awake, and everything he fought for...it was all to try
and give me a better life. Trying to make sure I had a home to go to
someday. Responsibility and things that I loved. Something to fight
for myself.
"Then, one day, without me even really knowing it yet...he died.
Just like that." Chris blinked. "I never even said goodbye, you know.
Never did forgive myself. If I had just gotten there a minute
sooner...Mo and I could have stopped it. Five minutes sooner, it
wouldn't have even started." He shook his head. "I've never been
regretful about the killing. I have to do that. The sword on my side
isn't a toy, and it isn't a warning sign. It's made to kill." He
sighed. "But...when it isn't fast enough, people die. People I love
die."
He looked up at the sky, taking a deep cleansing breath. "And I
can't help but miss them." He smiled. "We used to talk all night
sometimes. Just like this, Rei. Just sat against each other, and I
would listen to the sound of his voice through my back as he told me
stories.
"I'd love to just sit there and fall asleep to the sound of his
voice."
The gentle rise and fall of Rei's chest was only interrupted by a
silent yawn. She was asleep. Chris' mouth curled up in a smile. Even
as his own eyes started to close, he continued. "He would have loved
you, Rei. You were both so damn stubborn...but always for the right
reasons, so I never did seem to mind." He paused. "I'd give anything
to have him back. He would have loved you just like I do."
On the silent, thunder-echoed plain of sand, miles away from
anything, Rei and Chris slept. The only sounds that mattered were
their own heart-beats.
This had to be a nightmare.
Strange, since Sara couldn't remember dreaming for more than a
decade of her life. Ever since things started happening to her. It
had started small. Little things in her life, like finding ten bucks
on the street just after she had been ripped off at the local
restaurant. Little pay-backs. If some asshole shoved her aside in the
street, he'd be clipped by a cab a moment later, breaking a bone in the
process.
At first, these little things had been coincidence. Now,
however, she knew it was something else.
But this was getting out of hand.
Between mass murders and transforming Sailor Scouts, Sara was
quite certain she was way out of her league. This was a true nightmare
to a person who thought that everything would work out in the end.
That Justice would prevail, and anything bad would be balanced with a
right.
Sara ran through the endless sand, weapon out in her hands,
raising and lowering silently as she encountered hills or valleys. She
must have been running for hours now. Desperate. A rat in an endless
cage. A maze without walls, without beginning or end. Only the thin
tornado in the middle. It was probably the only thing that kept her
from going around in circles.
She could track a criminal, on foot, across a dozen abandoned
blocks of twilight in the middle of the city...but here, she was
completely lost.
That's when she nearly stumbled across a dark form in the sand.
"SHIT!" she tripped over her own two feet, Glock flying across the
dune.
Pain looked up at her. "Hello, Sara." She whispered.
Sara scrambled to her feet. "How do you know my name?"
"I know all names." The young woman sighed. "Except my own. You
are Sara. Keeper of the key of Justice."
"What?" she blinked. "What the hell is all this Key stuff?" she
frowned. "You're under arrest."
Pain smiled as Sara took out a pair of handcuffs and was about to
grab her wrist. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said. "You
might not like the sensation. I doubt even your key would protect
you."
"What is a KEY!?!" Sara almost screamed, slumping to the ground.
"WHERE THE FUCK AM I!?!" she took a long, shuddering breath. "On
Monday, I was having a great time. Closing in on my career bust of
that killing son-of-a-bitch, and enjoy a promotion once I got back to
New York. NOW? I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone with some kind of
Mormon priest that shoots pain from her hands, some bitch that can
shoot lighting from her gold-plated ass, and a guy who's name seems to
have originated from a drunk night of gold-fish watching!"
"I don't know where we are." Pain smiled. "But I do know about
you. Oh yes. Your key is very special."
Sara was near tears. "YEAH? AND????"
"You have a key that was inherited from your mother." Pain
shrugged. "That doesn't normally happen. All the other keys are
physical objects. You have the power built into your soul. A very
interesting mix." She paused. "If it would make you feel better, I'll
put on the hand-cuffs myself."
"Please..." Sara whimpered, tossing her the cuffs. "Now,
please...what's going on??"
"I'm going to die soon." Pain whispered.
"What?"
The young woman nodded, then smiled. "That was the deal. I
helped Chaos in return for the pleasure of death." She paused, looking
down at her wrists. She took the serrated end of the handcuff and drug
it across her skin.
Sara's eyes widened as blood began to pour from the jagged gash.
"Oh my god..."
Almost as soon as it started, however, it was gone. She raised
her wrist to show no wound. "I cannot die. Though, trying usually
relieves some of my suffering." She shuddered. "It's a hobby, you
could say."
"But..." Sara blinked. "You're suffering?"
Pain nodded. "What I show people...is not even half of what pure
pain is." She smiled weakly. "If I could die, I would have the instant
this Key was forced upon me. The pain would rip me apart."
"That isn't right." Sara mumbled to herself. "Suffering isn't
justice."
"Maybe not to your inherited powers...but it matters not." Pain
said, clicking the metal cuffs around her wrists.
Sara watched Pain curl up into a ball on the sand. "You're going
to sleep?"
"Nothing will happen until tomorrow. Even Chaos' ambition has
limits to what her body will withstand. We shall all rest for tonight.
Tomorrow, it will begin."
"Or end." Sara sighed, leaning back against the sand.
"Ends are nothing more than new beginnings, Sara." Pain
whispered. "That alone is some justice to the horrible things you will
see."
Long minutes passed without any more speech. Finally, Sara
looked over to the woman. "What about you?" she paused. "Galaxia
won't kill you...don't you know that?"
Pain was silent.
"She doesn't care in deals." Sara whispered. "She doesn't give
much thought to anything, unless it helps her achieve her dreams."
"I know." Pain whispered back, wearily. "But it's the only
chance I have."
Sara sat up. "No...it's not your only chance."
Chapter 15
"You're quiet." Rei whispered as they trudged through the sand.
Chris nodded. "Couldn't sleep. Not much, anyway."
The spinning cloud ahead had gotten a lot closer since last
night. They must have only been a few hours away now. "I've been
thinking." She said. "We should buy a house here." She chuckled. "I
mean, in Edmonton. Or somewhere. Just to have a place we can come to
here. The temple is great, but not very useful if you're on the wrong
continent."
"You're thinking about buying a house?" Chris smiled.
Rei sighed. "Okay, I'm not. But if we don't talk about
something, I'm going to go insane."
Chris was quiet.
"Chris?"
He smiled. "Sanity is overrated anyway, I say go with the flow."
"I'll re-phrase that. We talk, or I go insane and kill you." She
smiled sweetly.
"How about them local sports team, huh?" Chris smiled back. "And
the weather. Ooooh boy, them tornadoes last for days!"
"I HATE THUNDER!" they heard a voice over the next sand dune.
"UUUUHGH!"
Both Chris and Rei's eyes widened as they realized it was...
"SERENA!" Rei yelled as she saw two meat-balls pop over the hill.
"REEEEIIIII!" Serena nearly bounded over the sand and collided
into Rei at speeds some cheetahs would be envious of. They fell over,
giggling. Serena gave her friend a tight hug. "Oh than you! I was
scared I was the only one in this weird place."
"Air!" Rei gasped.
"Oh, sorry." Serena let her go, the stood up, helping Rei to her
feet. She looked over to Chris. "What happened, anyway?"
Chris blushed slightly. "I fell on my keys and started
Armageddon."
Serena's eyes widened.
"But the important thing is that you're here." Rei said,
straightening out her skirt. "We have to get you to that vortex
thing."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Rei nodded. "Well, like you said, if Galaxia gets there first,
the universe could be doomed to eternal hell. If we get Serena there
first, we can stop that, and return the universe to normal. Maybe even
better."
"Sounds like a plan." Serena nodded. "But, what do we do when we
get there?"
"Do a spooky voodoo jig, of course." Chris smiled, then shrugged.
"We'll play it as we go along."
"Ah, the universe is in good hands." Rei mocked.
"Darn tootin!" Serena smiled widely.
William's eyes finally fluttered open. Dave nearly jumped out of
his pants. "Will? You there?"
His friend nodded. "W...water?"
Dave shook his head. "None." He looked around. "We seem to be
locked in our own universe. I can't transport, or do much in the way
of powers."
"Damn." William coughed, reaching up to his mouth and wiping away
some of the sand that had landed on him near the tornado. "Oh well,
I'll live."
"Good." He nodded. "You remember much?"
Will shook his head. "No. It's all gone. Bits and pieces are
still in my brain, but I can't see them as well as I used to." He
shudders. "God, I must have freaked the hell out of you. Sorry man."
"That you did. But no need to apologize." Dave looked around.
"I think the Senshi and the others are coming. Still a few hours off,
but they must be coming towards this thing." He motioned to the funnel
cloud. "What do you think?"
William thought for a moment. "I think that's the final stage.
Whatever key gains control of that thing will be able to change the
Universe, Dave. From what I saw...at least what I can remember...that
thing is a window to it's very centre."
"So, I suppose we wait here." Dave sighed.
ZIP! ZEWF!
Two large puffs of sand flew up around them. Dave blinked. "Or,
we can take cover."
"Good idea." Will dove to the ground as two more balls of light
spun over his head and impacted into the sand.
Both Omega Webbers looked up once the dust settled to see the
golden armor of Sailor Galaxia reflecting what little light there was
back at them. On her face rest a smile. "Oh..." Will coughed. "I
didn't think shit would travel that fast."
"And yet, here she is." Dave finished the thought. "You up to
this?"
William swallowed back the dryness in his throat as best he
could. "Doesn't matter if I'm ready or not. Let's do it."
They both stood. Galaxia raised an eyebrow. "You have no power
here." She shook her head. "You can't stop this."
Dave picked up his lab coat, gently brushing off the sand as he
went. "Then why..." he slid his arms through the sleeves and
straightened the front. "...are you the one that's sweating?"
Galaxia raised her hand angrily, wiping her brow.
"You're on our turf, miss Chaos." Dave rolled up his sleeves.
"You don't think we'd be unprepared, do you?"
She frowned, and continued to walk towards them. "Get out of my
way."
William walked calmly to a spot a few meters away, then stomped
his foot in the sand. A second later, a metal cylinder popped up out
of the sand. It was about the size of a mail-box, and had what looked
like a hatch on the side. He opened it with a touch, revealing two
long, mechanical pieces of equipment. Will took one out and threw it
to Dave, then kept the other for himself.
Dave flicked a switch on the side, and parts of the weapon began
to light up and hum. Galaxia took a step back, unsure of what to do.
Dave rested the long weapon on top of his arm, holding it by a grip. A
tiny holographic aiming system appeared along the top surface of the
weapon, automatically training pink and white crosshairs on Galaxia in
four different places.
A second later, William had his weapon ready as well. "We'd like
to congratulate you." He took an aggressive step forward. "You get to
be the first live test subject of the world's first Jacketed Nanno-
Antimatter Gauss Bazooka."
"We call them 'Pookie' for short." Dave pointed out proudly,
tapping the side of his weapon where the word "POOKIE" was painted on
with red letters. "Set for narrow aperture..."
"Ready."
"Locked."
"Cocked."
"Ready to Rock!"
Galaxia had started to run long ago. Both men trained their
weapons on her as she darted, and pressed the triggers.
Two lines of green light and a slight recoil were all they saw.
From the end of each "Pookie" flew an aluminum and anti-hydrogen slug
that ripped across the air at near light-speeds. It was only sheer
luck that Galaxia had flung herself at the ground that the two shots
flew over her head and impacted into the sand.
Dave and William had to shield their eyes from the bright flash
that followed. Antimatter mixed with the sand and air, producing a
violent energy and radiation outburst. Galaxia gasped as she slid down
into the large crater that formed, scrambling to fight the slipping
sand around her.
As they waited for the cloud to dissipate, Dave had a smile on
his lips. "Who needs fancy powers when you have antimatter?"
"I can hardly wait for the 3001 model." William nodded back.
"Let's set it to triple fire." Dave said, pressing a few buttons
on the side. "Show this bitch we mean business."
Galaxia finally clawed her way out of the hole in the ground,
growling angrily. She had gotten this close. Two mortals were NOT
going to stop her now.
These were not mere mortals, however. They were mere mortals
with big guns. And not just any guns.
They had Pookie.
"HOO HAW!" Dave yelled, letting forth a volley of half a dozen
shots. The weapon recoiled along his arm, taking the brunt of the
incredible after-shock. The bullets actually whipping through the air
too fast to form any sonic boom.
Galaxia desperately tried to shield herself from the power, but
it was more than overwhelming. She was tossed aside like a sack of
potatoes in a hurricane, her entire body smoldering from the effort.
William smiled, lined up the tracking system to Sailor Galaxia's head,
and launched another barrage.
Three more green streaks slammed into Galaxia's invisible
defenses...which were proving to be not nearly effective enough against
Omega Web technology. As she fell hard, her magic faded and her chin
split open on the grating sand. A muffled cry was all that Dave and
William heard. Plumes of sand blocked their vision.
"We really have to get some kind of radar on these things."
William coughed as the dust settled.
"Enough playing around." Dave said as he saw Sailor Galaxia's
shape emerge in the thinning dust. "Set to wide aperture, and use one
of the auto-tracking rounds...just to make sure." He flicked another
switch on the side. "Armageddon may have started, but I'll be damned
if it means we have to live through Chaos' wet dream."
Both weapons hummed to life as they generated the needed
antimatter. Much more than normal. This would be one shot, one kill.
"Locked?" Dave asked.
"Cocked." William nodded, looking over to Galaxia, who had barely
even managed to get to her hands and knees.
"Ready to rock." Dave nodded.
Both weapons trained their holographic sights on her head, just
as she turned. Blood gushed from the open wound on her jaw. Beaten,
defenseless, and too stunned to move, Sailor Galaxia's head was ripped
apart by two jacketed bullets of antimatter.
Chapter 16
Everyone saw the flash. It was hard not to. Right next to the
vortex, a pulse of light flew outwards and lit up the entire sky.
Chris, Rei and Serena had to turn their eyes away from the blast. "Oh
my god! What was that?" Serena gasped as the light died down.
"I don't think I want to know..." Chris mumbled.
They were just a dune or two away now. Not more than ten
minutes. "Come on." Rei said, breaking into a run.
No arguments arose. Even from Serena, who's notorious lack of
physical endurance was often the subject of many an arguments. This
was the End of the World. No time to stop for a rest. "Do you think
we're too late?" she huffed as they ran.
"If we are, then I doubt we'd still be running." Rei replied as
they slid down a small hill.
"And that purple thing is still here." Chris said. "That has to
be a good sign."
Not another word was said. They just shut up and ran.
"I used to be a little girl, you know." Pain whimpered. "I can't
remember where...or who I was...but I know that I was once."
"When did you get it?" Sara asked softly, sitting only a bit away
from Pain. "Your Key...I mean."
She shook her head. "I don't know. It must have been at least
ten years before the Great Darkness. And I've been off the planet ever
since."
"How..." Sara paused. "How did you get off the planet?"
"I can't remember..." she shuddered. "I think...I had tried to
kill myself every other way...but it didn't work...and so, I remember
thinking that in space, I could die for sure. Because there was
nothing. No air. No water. No life." She shook her head quickly.
"But it didn't work. The nothingness just amplified the pain. Made me
more aware of it." A sad smile came to her lips. "I think that's why I
can bare it now. On Earth, it's slightly less."
"What does it look like?" Sara blinked. "I mean...your Key..."
Pain looked up. "You really want to see?" she smiled slightly.
"I mean, it's not anything too fancy, like Galaxia's suit, or that
Silver Crystal thing."
"Oh come on!" Sara smiled. "I'd show you mine, but like you
said, it's not an object I can really share."
"Well, I'll have to take these handcuffs off." Pain motioned,
holding out her hands.
"I..." Sara paused, instinct kicking in. She was a cop of ten
years. This went against every bit of training she had ever received.
But then again, so did Armageddon. The NYPD didn't give
promotions based on their detectives ability to handle the End of the
World.
"Sure." Sara leaned over and carefully slid the key into the
locks, twisting it open. Pain held still, so as not to accidentally
touch her new found friend.
They had talked the night away. It was strange, but it actually
was enough of a destruction for the constant torture to lessen
slightly.
Or maybe it was Sara's Key. The Key of Justice. A force of
equalization in the universe. So long as the people around it were
kind to the owner, it blessed them with equal respect.
But having a friend was something almost alien to Pain. Memories
blended together to form a gray swirl of images no more distinct than a
grain of sand on this endless beach. Any friends she once had were
long forgotten.
It was nice to have a friend again. Even if it was just for a
little while. Before Chaos took everything. Possibly even without
fulfilling their deal.
Upon retrospect, Pain hated to think what she had done. Chaos
wouldn't kill her. If anything, the evil entity would revel in the
irony of intensifying her anguish. It would be a simple thought of a
sick mind to rid the universe of such things as 'learned tolerance of
pain.' Every moment would be as if your body was ripping itself
apart, then forcing it's jagged pieces into your brain. There would be
no rest. No respite. It would be impossible to 'get used to it'.
But...it had been a chance. One chance in a zillion. Pain
desperately took that chance. Foolish as it had been to make a deal
with the devil, it had been done without hesitation.
Sara finally nudged the cuffs of her hands and sat back. "Well?"
she smiled.
Pain took a deep breath. "I'm warning you...it's not a pretty
thing. Not like any other."
"I can handle it." Sara nodded.
"Very well." Pain said, standing slowly. Her hands came up to
the neck of her robes, and she began to unfasten little ties that ran
down the front of the otherwise plain black wool.
Sara blushed slightly as she saw a slit of skin exposed
underneath. "Uh...if you don't want to get naked...I mean, I didn't
know you would have had to..."
"I have little shame." Pain replied, finally freeing the last of
her buttons. "But if you want me to stop, I'll understand."
"Well, my mom didn't raise me to be a voyeur..." Sara smiled.
"But I'm dying of curiosity. If you don't mind, I don't mind."
Pain nodded, and with a gentle shrug of her shoulders, her robes
dropped away.
Sara almost screamed.
Crisscrossed over the young woman lay a long, jagged scar. It
ran from around her neck, over her left shoulder, crossed over between
her breasts, and then wrapped itself around one of her thighs and then
down her other leg to her knee.
That wasn't the worse part.
The scar was moving.
It was like a snake made out of barbed wire. As it slithered
across Pain's skin, it tugged at the flesh around itself. Where it
crossed with itself, blood crusted over long-forgotten wounds that were
never left to heal completely. Purple and swollen where the skin was
tugged in too many directions at once to stand intact.
Pain raised her arm, and Sara found herself backing away as the
winding snake of scars moved down her arm and began to circle the tips
of her fingers. "When I touch someone, Pain visits their flesh for a
mere moment. Eyes blink slower than it's touch. But even that is
enough to send even the strongest into throws of agony." Her eyes were
distant. "If it touches for a heartbeat, they die the most terrible
death known to mortals. I have only done that once, and even I had
tears just from watching it happen."
Sara's mouth was dry, and she found she couldn't speak. "My
god..." she rasped to herself.
"But after it touches someone else..." she continued "it always
comes back to me." She lowered her hand, and the snaking line of flesh
moved back to a more central pattern on her body. "It keeps me alive
because it likes me. What you see is only a fraction of the whole Key.
Most of it..." a lump in her throat seemed to stop her for a moment.
"...Most of it is in me."
"Please..." Sara whispered. "put on your clothes..."
The young woman nodded wearily, and gathered her robes, pulling
them up over her tortured body. "I'm sorry...but you asked to see it."
Sara looked away briefly, trying to gather her thoughts. "I
didn't think it would be that...bad..." she said. "Maybe just a
necklace with a little skull and crossbones on it." She looked up at
Pain. "Haven't you tried to destroy it?"
The woman nodded. "I have done things that would have turned
metal into vapor...and still, it does not die. Therefore, I do not
die." Her face seemed a decade older from a moment ago. "Only a Key
may destroy a Key."
One of the beauty things about antimatter was that it had a lot
of destructive potential without a lot of noise or shock-wave. It
violently annihilated anything within a meter or so radius; but outside
that you could literally be standing next to the target and not even
feel a breeze against your skin when it exploded. The Omega Web prided
itself in making weapons that destroyed what needed to be destroyed,
but leaving the rest of the planet intact.
So when they saw a glint of gold rising in the dark cloud of
vaporized sand, they knew something was not going to make this day go
by any easier.
The voice was not Sailor Galaxia's. In fact, it was unlike
anything they had ever heard before. A strange mix of high and low
pitches. Each varied in volume and tone. It was like listening to a
crowd of ten people speak at the exact same time.
"Fools..." it hissed at them. "You cannot destroy a Key..."
William looked over to Dave urgently. "Dave?"
He looked back at his friend. "This is bad..." he nodded,
cocking his firearm and setting it for a higher rate of fire.
"I have spent eternity waiting for this moment..." the voice
hissed again. "You fail your reputation, Dave Reinquest. I thought
you knew only a Key may ever destroy another." Something was forming
into a solid shape in the middle of the dust. "You are not nearly as
smart as I've heard."
"We'll just see about that." Dave mumbled, reaching over to
another part of his weapon. With the opening of a hatch, he accessed
another small switch. He smiled over at Will. "This is where the
weapon got it's name."
ZIP! POOK! IEEEE! The bazooka seemed to split open, then
widened. The back end flew out another two feet, forming an exhaust
vent. The front end of the barrel now split open down the middle,
widening. When it had done transforming, the weapon now gripped Dave's
arm like a glove, and was twice as long. "Groovy."
It began to laugh. Dave frowned, targeting the blob of substance
in the middle of the cloud. "For your sake, I hope you don't miss."
The voice said, followed by another fit of bellowing laughter.
"I never miss." Dave growled, pulling the grip-trigger.
sssssssshhhhhhKARRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!
Dave, Will, and about a ton of sand all flew back from the
resulting explosion. There was no bright flash this time, just
destructive, crushing energy unleashed. Enough to jump-start a frozen
star...but even as Dave was trying to regain his bearings, he saw
something move. "Oh no..." he whispered.
Fire.
That's what it looked like. Golden fire. Wild and jagged,
frozen in a kind of twisted face that stared back at them. It was no
longer laughing, but was indeed intact. Only a small slash on it's
cheek showed any form of damage...and Dave was pretty sure his weapon
wasn't what caused it.
"I say again...you fail your own reputation." Chaos murmured.
"If you were smart, you would have ran." It smiled slightly. "But now,
I will play a game with you two."
Dave didn't reply. What could he say to the face of Chaos
itself? His teeth gritted against each other as he wracked his brain,
thinking of anything that would save their asses.
Nothing was coming to mind.
"Game?" William growled. "This is all a game to you anyway. I
don't see how we're any different."
"Oh, but you will." Chaos smiled. Suddenly, it moved. The gold
color began to run together, forming a more liquid mass. Then, faster
than a blink of an eye, it shot forward.
Dave managed to dodge out of the way, but William was caught by
the arm and swung around to a stop, falling into the sand.
Everything was silent.
Dave looked up slowly. "Will? You okay?" he couldn't see Chaos
anywhere.
William looked up at Dave.
In his eyes, chaotic flecks of gold raged.
Dave's mouth dropped.
Will smiled the same smile that Chaos had used. He slowly raised
his bazooka and trained it on Dave. "Time to play."
Chapter 17
Andrea was so busy running, she didn't see the crater. "WOAH!"
Sharon gasped, looking around for her sister who momentarily
seemed to disappear. "Hooze?"
She had landed next to something at the bottom. It was
strange...the sand around her seemed fused with heat, but wasn't
glassed over like an explosion would have caused. Plus, there was an
arm sticking out of the crater wall. "HOLY SHIT!" Andrea nearly
climbed out of the hole on the momentum of her surprise.
Sailor Pluto peered over the edge of the hole to the remnants of
a body. The entire upper half had been cleanly vaporized. What was
left of the legs and stomach was clad in a pure white Sailor Scout
uniform. "That's Sailor Galaxia!" she whispered, not believing what
she saw.
Andrea looked closer, but had never seen the woman before anyway
to make a comparison. "Are you sure? Why is she dead?"
"Who cares?" Pluto knelt down and gave Hooze a hand out of the
sandy pit. "That's one less thing to worry about."
They both ducked as three green streaks of light flew up into the
sky, originating somewhere around the central vortex. "What the hell
is going on?" Hooze sighed. "Who brought all these explosions?"
"I don't know." Sharon sighed. "But I think I'll be able to skip
new-years-eve fireworks and be confident that I saw better on this
day."
The vortex was only a few meters away now. "What do we do?"
"GET DOWN!" Dave ran at them from behind the purple vortex and
dove at them.
Half a dozen green flashes of light slid over their heads as they
all hit the ground. "DAAAAAVIIIEEE!" William called after him. "Come
out and play!"
All three cringed as the antimatter bullets impacted off in the
distance, kicking up more dust. "What's going on?" Sharon gasped.
"What are those things on your arms?" Andrea pointed to Dave's
Pookie.
"Very bad weapons." Dave said quickly, picking them up and
running towards the cover of the dust cloud. "That's William, my
friend. Chaos got inside him somehow, though." He coughed. "It's
trying to get to the vortex, but I don't think it can do it when it's
inside a body."
"God I hope not." Sharon sighed. "Or this is going to be a very
short party."
"Where are the others?" Dave asked as they ran. Three more
streaks of green left vapor trails in between them. Dave spun around,
then launched three of his own rounds, kicking up more sand for
camouflage.
"We haven't seen anyone else." Andrea said. "It took us all day
just to get here!"
Dave closed his eyes. "It's probably our only chance...if we can
get Sailor Moon in there, the Silver Crystal might not fuck up the
universe."
"What the hell do you mean 'probably'?" Sharon demanded.
"If any one key get inside that vortex, it's going to throw off
the balance of power. Good, evil, all that shit, right?"
"Damn." Sharon sighed. "What if me and Hooze go in there?"
Dave looked at them. "You know better than anyone that fucking
with time is a bad thing. This vortex amplifies every fuckup to a
power of ten million." He raised an eyebrow. "No offence, but the Key
of Time is probably not a good idea."
"None taken." Andrea nodded quickly. "But what about William?"
Pluto nodded sadly. "I know he's your friend, Dave, but you have
to do what's best for the..."
"Don't worry. I'll kill him!" Dave growled. "But right now, I'm
not sure if staying in his body is the only thing keeping Chaos from
winning!"
Sharon blinked. "Good point."
"DAVE!" William yelled out through the cloud. "Don't think I
won't do this all night!" he laughed. "You may as well kill yourself
now! Come out, and I'll put one of these nice little bullets in your
head like you did to my previous body!"
Andrea shot Dave a smile. "You killed Galaxia?"
Dave nodded. "Nothing to it." He turned to William's approaching
shadow. "Come get me, buddy! You know I can't shoot a friend, so
you're going to have to catch me first!" he yelled, touching another
button on his Pookie and pointing it at the ground a few meters in
front of him.
William emerged from a billow of dust. His eyes were almost
glowing gold now. "I must say, Mr. Reinquest, you certainly are a fun
opponent. Had it just been you and I at the end, you could have
stopped me for a while." Chaos grinned through Will's mouth. "But you
brought your friend. That was a mistake. Giving him a weapon was
equally as stupid. I know everything he knows now."
Dave nodded. "Oh, one thing, though."
"Mm?" Will smiled, raising his Pookie.
Dave's eyes twinkled. "William didn't design these weapons." He
pulled the trigger-grip. A loud hum filled the air. "I did..."
Andrea and Sharon dove out of the way as a beam of solid green
light slammed down into the ground, sucking the matter out of the way
like a giant vacuum.
William fell into the resulting hole, but managed to get off a
shot at Dave. Dave nearly managed to dodge, but the round hit him on
his arm, causing a bright flash and a crackle of electricity to spark
out from his weapon.
"Dammit!" he threw off the bazooka and turned to the others.
"RUN!"
Andrea and Sharon both took off across the sand, followed by Dave
a heartbeat away. The explosion rocked the ground from under them,
tossing them aside.
Dave coughed up a good mouthful of dirt. "Ugh...that didn't
work."
They turned back to hear William yelling at the top of his lungs.
He was trapped in the hole. "At least we have a little time..." Sharon
swallowed hard.
"Time?" Andrea smiled. "That's half the problem."
A cloud of dust was rolling in. "What the hell is this?" Rei
grumbled as they slowed down to meet the lower visibility.
Chris knelt down and reached to his back, taking out his laptop.
"No fucking way..." he blinked, looking up.
"What is it?" Serena blinked.
"Someone's been using antimatter..." he smiled. "That has to be
Dave! They're in this vortex thing too!"
Rei breathed a sigh of relief, but turned to the cloud. "What
about this stuff?"
"Half-vaporized sand." Chris shrugged. "It's too small to clog
up our lungs, but it's reflecting my scans...no...it's not the sand.
It's the antimatter and this damn vortex."
"Wonderful." Rei sighed as Chris packed away his computer once
more. "Let's get Serena to that purple thing, let her do the strobe-
lighting effects, then get the hell out of here."
"WAIT!"
The three of them turned to a small black oval approaching them
from the centre of the sandstorm. Chris raised his eyebrow. "We meet
again, Mr. Bond."
Beavis skittered across the sand until he was fully visible. "So
you expect me to respond to that?"
Chris smiled. "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"
They all looked over to Chris and sighed. Beavis shook his head.
"This is no time for your comedic sketch, Strike Fiss."
"Are you sure?" Chris said. "I happen to have an A.B.C.'s song
that's quite hilarious."
"Do you all want to get out of here alive or not?" Beavis yelled.
"Actually, I was wondering more why YOU are here alive." Chris
replied. "I didn't think Elders had Keys."
"Perhaps not, but we do know more about this than you could ever
HOPE to learn in a thousand lifetimes." Beavis replied. "Now, I have
been flying around this damn wasteland for the last forty hours trying
to find you. From what I can tell, you have less than another hour
before that vortex collapses and we enter what the Omega Web so
lovingly calls Beta Armageddon."
"What's that?" Serena asked, hopeful.
"Our universe dies." Beavis replied simply.
"No coffee breaks, then." Chris mumbled.
The little hedgehog nodded, then hovered up to shoulder level,
perching on Chris. "Dave and William were holding off Galaxia last I
knew. We must get one of the Senshi to that vortex, and complete
Armageddon before it's too late. Leaving it unfinished is not
possible.
"But this will all be for nothing if you go in with unsure
hearts." Beavis said. "And I don't mean love and justice, Sailor Moon.
Purity is half the problem with Armageddon. When you wish to destroy
anything that alters reality's basis and it all goes sour."
Serena blinked. "I don't understand...?"
"This is important, Sailor Moon." Beavis said. "If the Silver
Crystal controls you, purity will win." He paused. "And we all die."
"Oh god..."
"But, if you control the Silver Crystal..." Beavis said, his tone
dead serious "...then you may be able to focus Armageddon onto
something besides total destruction."
Chris looked over to Beavis. "Go on?"
"Tumbler." Beavis hissed.
"What?"
Rei shook her head. "He's dead. Gone."
Beavis nodded. "He is drifting in the void between Universes
right now. If Armageddon targets him, nothing in this reality will be
effected besides our knowledge of him."
"What do you mean, our knowledge of him?" Chris asked.
"When we leave this vortex, the outside world will have no idea
what Tumbler was. How he got here, or what he did." He paused. "We
will remember, though."
Serena nodded. "That sounds like a fair trade. Tell me what I
need to do."
"You must focus on your goal. Destroy Tumbler. Nothing else,
nothing more or less. Step into the central point, and that will be
all you need to do."
"Do you have any power here, Beavis?" Chris asked as they stood.
"Not any of use." The hedgehog admitted. "I can barely even
fly."
"Okay, then stay out of the way." He replied, taking out his
sword, then reaching around to grab the second blade. "What happens
once this is over?"
Beavis sighed. "I don't know. But I'll find you if we're
separated."
They all nodded. "Then let's get this over with."
Chapter 18
"I don't understand." Pain said, closing her eyes.
Sara looked up with eyes that were too old for her youth. "It's
Justice. I don't want it any longer." She sneered. "Balance has only
gotten me into trouble." She looked around. "And by the looks of it,
it may have destroyed us all."
"But your Key is internal." Pain whispered. "It's a part of your
soul and mind."
Sara stood. "Listen. That Sailor Galaxia bitch...I don't know
anything about her compared to what you others know. I know only the
fact that she wants to turn our world into hell." She shook her head.
"Tell me. What kind of cop would I be if I let that happen."
Pain shook her head. "I can't do that."
"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Sara yelled. "That thing is less than
two days walking from here. That means they're probably fighting to
get to the centre right now." She looked at the woman. "And...it gives
you a chance to be rid of your pain. Even if it means your death."
"There..." Pain swallowed a lump in her throat. "There is no
sure way to tell if it would work."
"And that's not a better deal than that chaotic bitch gave you?"
Sara growled. "At least with me, you have a remote chance!" she held
out her hand. "If I don't do this, we all die anyway. We may never
even have existed. I don't much like the thought of that, do you?"
Pain shook her head, tears rolling down the side of her face.
"But if I die now, saving the entire universe..." Sara whispered.
"I would consider that the greatest honor. More than any medal or
promotion."
"You..." Pain whispered "...you must ask me again. Be sure of it
this time. I will do what you ask, but only if you are sure."
Detective Sara Lambert, of the NYPD, stood and took a deep
breath. "I want you to kill me." She said simply. "With your Key."
Pain looked up with tears in her eyes. "Do you have any family?
Friends? You wish the others to notify??"
"No." Sara said with a weak smile. "Justice more of a solitary
virtue."
Pain stretched out her hand to Sara as she stood. "Then you must
take my hand. Once you do, there will be no stopping it." She closed
her eyes. "I cannot watch a friend die."
In the brief moment between where Sara took Pain's hand and it
started...she heard her say "I hope this works for you too."
The shock was intense, and it grew. This time, Sara saw it. The
barbed wire snaking onto her skin from Pain's wrist. It cut her as it
went, her flesh not as used to it as her friend's had been.
Before she could pull away, Sara forced herself to wrap her arm
around Pain's back in a desperate hug. She screamed as the pain
wrapped itself around her body
But at the same time, Pain felt something different. Sara's Key.
Justice was taking over. Eye for an Eye. Tooth for a Tooth.
Pain...for an equally destructive force.
Even as Sara's mind and body were ravaged by the splitting sharp
agony, the Key of Justice focused on it's attacker, and fed it the one
thing that the Key of Pain could not withstand. The one thing that it
had made sure to protect itself against.
Joy.
Both women screamed into the air as their keys devastated each
other. A sound unlike anything on any planet filled the air. A
howling scream that overtook theirs. The Universe itself crying out as
it's power shifted positions.
Beavis looked up into the air. "No...oh god no..."
Chaos screamed as it used William to claw it's way out from the
hole. "NOOOOO! IT CAN NOT END YET!"
Dave, Andrea and Sharon all glanced to the screaming sky,
terrified that the End of the World was upon them. "Something's
happening..." Dave whispered.
"No shit..." Andrea blinked.
"Wait!" Dave looked over to the funnel cloud. "Look!"
At last, the howling wind of the cosmos died down, leaving only
Pain's desperate screams. In her arms rested the lifeless body of her
friend.
Jagged scars crisscrossed her face, but they were not moving.
Pain gasped in air desperately, readying herself for the Key's return
to her body.
But it never came.
For the first time in a thousand years, she felt the pleasant
sensation of sand between her toes. Her jaw open, she looked down at
Sara, clinging to her shirt. "Oh my god...it worked..." she whispered.
Sweet, salty tears ran down into her mouth. "Sara...you did it."
The sand cloud began to whip away from the centre, driven by the
changing forces in the air. It revealed Chris, Rei and Serena standing
together on the hill overlooking the vortex.
The clouds above were changing...thinning.
The cyclone was fading.
"What do we do?" Rei whispered suddenly.
Chris stood there, not saying anything.
"Well?" she repeated.
"I don't KNOW!" Chris said desperately. "It's going away!"
Serena's eyes were wide. "But...that means..."
"Either we're saved..." Chris whispered. "Or...Beta Armageddon."
Chapter 19
Chaos searched the mind of William desperately, trying to access
any theory he might have on getting out of the hole. Every time she
thought the young man might have an idea, however, he managed to gain a
little more control.
"You're going to lose." Will's mind told her. "I'll make sure
you do." It growled at her. "You will NOT have this Universe!"
Two of the Keys had been destroyed, throwing off the gathering of
energy. It would only be a matter of time before all her plans were
lost, and Armageddon would be nothing more than a memory.
But William's mind was too vast, even for the Key of Chaos.
Finally, she looked down at the weapon on William's arm. The
hole Dave had sucked him down into was too steep and slippery to claw
her way out...but that didn't mean she couldn't make a new hole.
It was one last hope. She flicked the switch that she knew was
the rate-of-fire control. It was now set on rapid fire.
Fire.
Green shots slammed into the sand ahead of her so fast that she
lost count. A moment later, the flashes of antimatter annihilating the
sand filled the air. It was wonderful. Chaos reined. Matter
destroyed.
Chaos had to admit, she was enjoying herself. Her grin widened
when she thought that in her perfect universe, this would only be the
beginning.
Dave and the two Pluto's ran over to meet Rei, Serena and Chris.
"Does any of you have any idea what's going on?" Andrea asked.
"Hell no!" Chris replied.
Rei turned to Serena. "Then we have to do it."
Serena blinked. "What?!?!"
"If that thing dissipates, and does absolutely nothing, then
we'll all be fine." She explained. "But if it still is active, and
Armageddon nukes the universe, then you have to try and stop it!"
Dave shook his head. "If there's a chance that this thing will
go away by itself, you HAVE to risk it." He turned to the vortex as it
began to spin slower and tighter. It would only last for a few more
minutes now. "You can't fuck this up by introducing the Silver Crystal
when it might go away on it's own."
"She won't fuck it up." Rei replied. "Beavis told us that all
she has to do is focus on an objective. As long as she has control
over the Crystal, it should work."
"Like Chaos wanted to turn out universe to hell, Serena can keep
it exactly how it was to begin with." Chris nodded. "If she can do it,
it will double our chances of living to tomorrow."
Dave frowned. "Beavis told you this?"
Chris sighed. "Yes. I know he's done more harm than good
lately, but this is the end of the universe, Dave. Beavis and his
entire race were put here to protect it. If he's fucking us over now,
then we're screwed either way."
The scowl would not leave Dave's face. "Fine. We get this over
with, but in case it doesn't work...I told you so." He smiled slightly.
"I can't say it later, because later might not exist."
Serena took a deep breath. "So, I gotta step into that thing?"
The tornado seemed to be upside-down now, spinning up like a
giant spike towards the sky. The base was a lot smaller now, too.
Only a few meters across. Just enough for one or two people to stand
in it completely.
Dave nodded to Serena. "I think so."
"Does anyone know..." she paused "...if I can get out of it once
I'm in?"
"I pulled William out of it earlier." Dave nodded. "It may scare
the hell out of you, but you should be just fine."
"Then this is it." Serena shivered. "No more putting it off. Do
or die."
Even Rei had a lump in her throat at the sheer courage Serena had
as she walked towards the vortex. This woman was walking to what could
be her certain death, and the destruction of the universe.
Chris and Andrea gave each other a hug as they watched Sailor
Moon go down the hill. "Well, Hooze." Chris said. "I'm sorry for ever
calling you names."
"I'm sorry for hiding your stuffed koala bear when I was ten."
Andrea apologized.
Chris' eyes widened. "That was YOU?"
Andrea grinned sheepishly.
"Man. I hid two hundred bucks in that thing!" Chris sighed.
"Oh..." Andrea smiled. "No wonder you were so pissed off."
He crossed his arms. "Serena better not nuke the universe. I
want my two hundred bucks back."
"Okay, okay..." Serena whispered to herself, trying to calm down.
"It's not a tornado...it's just purple stuff." The low rumbling that
the vortex was making didn't help to ease her fears.
"Just think about Tumbler...nuke him, save the universe." Serena
nodded.
Her destination was only a few seconds away now.
Chris' eyes widened as he saw it. It was a bright light under
the sand, just on the other side of the vortex. Had the purple cloud
been as big as it was, he would have missed it, but with the weakening
flow of energy, he could see it as clear as day. "Oh shit..." he
whispered, pulling out his katana.
"What is it?" Rei asked, noticing the flashing too.
Dave shook his head. "It's William and Chaos...shit...she's
trying to get out!"
"Andrea...can you teleport?" Chris asked.
Hooze shook her head. "No..."
"Shit..." he took off after Serena, sword in his hand.
Serena saw it a moment too late. A bulge of sand and light on
the other side of the central cyclone. KRACKBOOOOOM!
She was thrown aside by the sudden surge of air that hit her.
Landing on her ass, she managed to sit up painfully in time to see
William crawling his way out of the hole he had made. Serena wasn't
fooled, though. It was Chaos. Pure and simple Chaos. She scrambled
to her feet, clutching her broach.
It wasn't going to be fast enough. Oh god...no...not when they
were so close...
Chris ran faster than he had ever done so in his life. His
sword's pulse ability wasn't working, so he was on his own. Serena had
been thrown aside. The Silver Crystal wouldn't work...not like it
normally did. They weren't going to have enough time. Serena wasn't
going to get to it on time.
Chaos threw aside it's weapon, staggering to a standing position
on solid ground. Armageddon was no more than ten meters away from her.
It was glorious. The clouds swirled and beckoned her closer with their
beauty. Chaotic, random beauty. Devastating and wonderfully playful
at the same time.
But this body would not enter. William fought with every bit of
strength he had in his enormously powerful mind. In the end, it was
just enough to stop them. "NOOOOOOO!" he yelled into her thoughts.
"WE STAY HERE!"
Chaos growled. "Perhaps."
A bright, gold flash of light filled the air, and William flew
backwards, gasping onto the ocean of sand.
Hovering in front of him was Chaos. The twisted solid fire that
composed the features of a sinister smile and wicked eyes. She was
free from his body...and free to enter Armageddon.
Serena had just started to call out the words "MOON POWER" when
Chris raced past her, nearly bowling her over in the sand. "Chris!
WAIT!"
Breathe in, push, breathe out, push...GOD DAMMIT BODY! MOVE!
Chris forced his mind to focus just to run. Run faster. Faster.
Strike first, or die. The Quick and the Dead.
His arms came up, holding his sword out like a dagger. No time
to go around...no time to think...just act.
As Chris leapt forward, into the purple vortex, he forced his
sword out, stabbing into the violent clouds.
His last thought was "This one's for you, grandpa..."
Chapter 20
An inch.
That's how close Chaos had come to entering the funnel.
As the final, crackling clouds of Armageddon dissipated, they
revealed Chris, holding out his sword, standing over the Key of
Knowledge.
The face of Chaos was in a stunned expression, not quite sure why
the tip of a sword had emerged from the clouds and slammed in between
it's eyes. Chris stared at it, huffing and puffing, trying to catch
his breath. Finally, he swung the chunk of jagged gold onto the ground
and withdrew his sword.
Chaos shifted slightly as death gripped it's body. What was
left, anyway. Chris slumped to the ground, gasping for air. Never
letting go his sword.
Rei, Dave, Andrea, Sharon, and Serena all rushed around him, not
sure what to do. "You did it, Chris..." Rei whispered finally.
Dave looked around quickly. "What changed?" he looked at them
all with pleading eyes. "Oh god...what changed? Chris, what did you
change?"
"I..." he swallowed hard. "I don't know...?" his voice was
distant. "I...touched..." a strange, calm smile was on his lips. "I
touched the cosmos..."
Rei knelt down and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "It's
over...finally over..." she whispered.
Serena breathed a sigh of deep relief. "I don't feel any
different...maybe it didn't work?"
Dave walked over to William and offered the man his hand. "How
about you? You feel any different?"
Will smiled back up at his buddy. "No, but I bet you'll never
let me call you Davie again."
They exchanged a hug, just glad to be alive still. Dave broke
and then raised his watch to his mouth. "O.W. Team 1 check in! This
is Dave! Check in immediately! I don't care what you're doing, Sonia,
just answer!"
"Dave?" came the first response. "Holy shit! It's over, isn't
it!"
Dave nodded quickly. "Okay, listen Sonia...gather the group. We
need to do damage assessment to the Web and the universe...if that's
even possible."
Sonia's voice let out a little "Mm". "Okay, we're all still
here...but, Dave, there's some shit started. I don't know if it's
cause of the Armageddon..." she paused. "What key took hold?"
"Strike Fiss'." Dave sighed.
There was a long pause. "Mmm. Well, okay. I'll get the group
together. Half an hour in the main conference lobby."
Serena looked up. "We have to get back. See what's going on..."
Voices seemed to just blend together after a while. All Chris
could feel was Rei's arms around him. It was nice.
His mind was fuzzy. Somehow, he heard Dave talking about
him...and his sword. Serena was talking now. Saying they should get
the hell out of there. Everyone seemed to agree.
Beavis arrived.
On his shoulder he could feel Beavis, desperately asking Chris
something about Tumbler.
Andrea yelled something about another person, and Sharon seemed
to share her observation.
And then everything went black.
Sleep.
Epilogue
Chris' eyes opened to see fire.
Maury was next to him, driving. They were in Nacho. "You're
awake." He smiled. "About time. Rei was having a fit. Kept asking us
to call an ambulance." He paused. "They have enough to worry about
without you fainting."
"What?" Chris coughed, his eyes coming into focus. "What
happened?"
"You passed out. Dave managed to transport you all out of that
training dimension, and we rescued you from the warehouse just before
it collapsed."
Outside the windows, as the car passed down the street, buildings
burned. People ran out in the middle of the street, screaming for
help. Maury had no choice but to ignore them as they drove. There
were just too many, and a solar-flare wasn't going to be any help to
the fire-department.
Chris' eyes were wide with terror. "Oh my god...I did this?"
Maury looked at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Armageddon..." Chris looked over to his friend. "I touched
Armageddon. I was the final fucking key!"
"Chris...relax, bro." Maury said, putting his hand on Chris'
shoulder. "This wasn't your fault."
"Where's Sailor Moon? Rei?? Andrea?"
"Back at the hotel." Maury said. "Hooze transported the rest of
them, and I knew you'd be pissed if we didn't save Nacho, so I took
you."
As Chris watched the chaos around him, Maury's words had all but
been forgotten. He wouldn't have known. Maury's universe had changed.
Only the Keys would know what had happened.
He could have changed Earth to a fiery death-trap and nobody
would ever notice the difference.
Chris had to glance away from the fire, but accidentally looked
into the mirror. He would have jumped out of his skin if it weren't
for the seat-belt.
In the rear-view-mirror, HE stared back. Blood, red and gooey,
poured from his mouth. Lips curled up into a smile. Dead, tired eyes,
dark and lifeless, looked back at Fiss. "Welcome home..." the image
said.
"Welcome home..."
To be continued
***********************************************************************
It is 7 in the morning, I've been up all night, and god damn...I
love nougat. HAHAA! Life is good!
Now, for my customary ranting and raving. Ahem. SK 2 has been
brought to you by the letters H and D. As in "Hard Drive". Sorry for
the delay. I am a week later than I had hoped to be, mainly because I
needed to get a new hard drive put in my sweet computer so I wouldn't
go insane from the grinding noise it used to make. That set me back a
few days, and that was a very bad thing considering I had to work a
whole week straight. At least I got it done in just over a month. I
haven't been writing this fast since AR 1 and 2! Wow!
All weird spooky after-Armageddon stuff will be in SK 3, so don't
get confused, just get intrigued for now. I should be able to pump out
the next story a bit faster. I just wanted to leave it on kind of a
mind-altering climactic point.
Lets see. Special thanks go to all the fans, and the gigantic
army of Christophers and Chris's that will one day rule the earth. You
can't stop us. Don't even try! HAHAA! Even all you Michael's can't
hope to stop our hoards. Look around. You'll see that we are already
resident in key places in our society. And Christopher Reeve isn't
paralyzed. He's just playing possum, so nobody discovers he ACTUALLY
HAS Super-Powers!
HOME PAGE:
http://www.oocities.com/Tokyo/9110
Good ole' Crystal Canada will be updated first and foremost with fresh
SMSK stuff. Though you can get it at a few other sites, this one is
open 24 hours a day, and has Jolt Cola. Just like 7-11, only better.
E-MAIL:
Strikef@bigfoot.com
e-mail me if you dare! HAHAA! Well, if you want to, at least. I
loves e-mail! And I will try to reply within a few days. Even if you
just want to talk about my amazing kiwi-eating-abilities, I don't mind.
So, stay tuned to this station for the next spooky installment of
SAILOR MOON: SEVEN KNIGHTS! Guaranteed to be Chock-A-Bock-Full of
sweet-potato action!
-Strike Fiss
(
geocities.com/Tokyo/9110) (
geocities.com/Tokyo)