(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
MAFREY@charter.net
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307
Swords of Destiny
By
Eric Thorsen and Stacko
LEGAL STUFF:
** The characters and concepts used here are the property of those people
and companies holding the copyrights to the respective storylines, series,
and movies. The only exceptions are those created by the demented minds of
authors of this story. The use of this material should be seen as the sign
of respect that it is. Besides, suing either of us would be a waste of time
since we don't have any money to begin with.
*********************************************
Chapter Three - Misunderstanding part III
*********************************************
It was a quiet afternoon in the apartment that Haruka and Michiru shared
with Setsuna and Hotaru. Setsuna had removed herself from the time stream
for some reason, and Hotaru was out with Chibi-Usa talking to an antique dealer
about a history project. So they were enjoying the afternoon to themselves.
Michiru was sitting at one end of the couch with Haruka laying down on the
same couch with her head on Michiru's lap watching a romantic movie. They
were enjoying the scene that was on the television when the phone rang and
Haruka reluctantly got up and went to answer the phone.
"Moshi Moshi?" Haruka said.
"Haruka?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Rei?"
"Yes."
"What can I do for you?"
"There is going to be an emergency Sailor meeting here at the temple."
"Why?"
"Hotaru and Chibi-Usa had a confrontation with the Beheader. They're
here now while we're waiting for the others."
"We'll be there soon then."
"See you then. Oh, and bring a change of clothes for Hotaru. She needs
it."
"Okay, why?"
"Tell you when you get here." said Rei as they then said their good-byes
and hung up the phone. Haruka then went over to Michiru and informed her of
what was going on and then left to go to the temple.
When they got to the Hikawa shrine, they saw that all the inner Senshi
were already there waiting for them. Michiru handed Rei Hotaru's clothing and
Rei went to give Hotaru her clothes in the bathroom. They all waited around
ten minutes for Rei and Hotaru to return, when they did, they started talking.
"So what is going on?" asked Haruka.
"Chibi-Usa and Hotaru saw who the Beheader is. But they weren't smart
enough to call for help when they confronted him." said Usagi
"Hey, he was about to leave, we had to stop him." replied Chibi-Usa
trying to defend herself.
"So who is the Beheader?" asked Makoto
"The antique dealer." replied Hotaru quietly
"What!" exclaimed everyone except Chibi-Usa and Hotaru. Then everyone
started shooting out questions about the antique dealer, the safety of the two
girls, and what they want to do to the antique dealer when Ami said out loud
for the group to hear.
"Lets get all of what happened from Chibi-Usa and Hotaru before we jump
to conclusions and point out what the problems in what they did or did not do."
"Sorry. Tell your story to everyone." said Usagi .
"Hotaru and I were going to see the antique dealer to see his friend who
was coming to give us more information about the topic we are working on.
Well, when we were heading to his shop, when we heard a fight and the sound of
metal clanging together. I guess our curiosity got to the both of us and we
decided to see what was going on. We peered around the corner and saw the
antique dealer fighting with someone else with swords.
"We were both too far away to hear what they were saying, but it looked
like they were arguing over something. The other guy more seemed to be the
one arguing more than the antique dealer. The antique dealer broke the other
man's sword and said something to him, but the other guy got madder and swung
at the antique dealer with his broken sword. Then the antique dealer swung
his sword, shattered the remaining part of the other guy's sword and cut the
other man's head off. We were both shocked when we saw that, but we were even
more shocked when we saw a white haze form around the dead guys body and head
towards the antique dealer.
"Once the white mist came into contact with the antique dealer, he
stiffened and the mist absorbed into him. Then it looked like wind was
blowing around him as this 'lightning' came from out of nowhere and
surrounded his body. The lightning went all over the place,
destroying whatever it touched. It looked like he was screaming in pain
and shaking quite a bit. When the lightning disappeared, he dropped to
his knees and looked really exhausted. That was when we decided to change
and confront him. When we stopped him, he looked very surprised to see us."
said Chibi-Usa when Hotaru interrupted saying.
"I think he was more surprised to see me then you. He called me by my
OLD name, like he knew me in the Silver Millennium."
"I guess so. Well, we attacked him and he ran to a dead end alley.
Hotaru attacked him using the Silence Glaive, but he was dodging all her swings,
and when she charged at him with the Glaive, he grabbed it and used it to toss
her into a nearby dumpster. Hotaru lost her grip on the Glaive when she was
tossed, so he was holding it when I tried to get him by trying to blast him.
He ducked under my blast like he knew it was coming and drew his sword out.
He came up to me and knocked me out cold." said Chibi-Usa.
"When I was coming out of the dumpster, he called out to me that if I
wanted my Silence Glaive back, I should go to his shop. I saw him walking
out of the alley with my Glaive and his sword. I got out of the dumpster and
transformed because the police were coming. I helped Chibi-Usa up and we
disappeared from the alley as quick as we could and came straight here. That
is what happened." concluded Hotaru.
"Usagi is right. You know who the guy is, you should have gotten our
help before you took him on. You guys are lucky you only got away with only
a few bruises." said Rei.
"Sorry." said Chibi-Usa and Hotaru quietly.
"Well, now you know better." said Rei to the two girls, and then to the
rest of the group, "Now the question is, what are we going to do about this
Antique Dealer. We can't go to the police because he's probably from the
Negaverse. So what are we going to do?"
"I say we go fight him and kick his Negaverse butt." commented Makoto.
"I agree. He hurt Hotaru, he needs to pay." said Haruka angrily.
"But we need to plan carefully. He gets energy from killing people, so
we need to be careful on how we face him." said Michiru.
They planned on how to challenge the antique dealer in the best and
safest way that they could come up with. They tried the deep aqua mirror for
answers, but the mirror revealed nothing that could help them. It simply stayed
blank. They agreed that they had to stop him as soon as possible and that they
had better do it that evening. The plan was that they should capture him,
then force him to tell them the Negaverse's plans. They decided to attack in
small groups, and that of all of them, Makoto, Haruka, and Rei would be the
first ones to go in. They knew that they had to start by surprising him and
catching him off guard. When they were about to leave, Hotaru brought one
last item to their attention.
"Wait." said Hotaru. "He gave us some coins. They could be from the
Negaverse."
"Do you have one of them?" asked Ami.
"Yes. Here it is." said Hotaru handing over her coin to Ami.
Ami set the coin on the table and pulled out her computer from subspace
and started scanning the coin. The others waited quietly until she was done.
When the scan was done, Ami's eyes widened in surprise and she whistled as she
read the results.
"I can find no trace of Negaverse energy in the coin. In fact, it's
about 80% pure gold, and around a thousand years old. At present rate, its
worth about 500,000 yen."
"What!" exclaimed everyone.
"What he gave them is a very old and rare gold coin." said Ami putting
away her computer and giving the coin back to Hotaru.
"So, any trace of Negaverse energy in it?" asked Minako
"No, none." replied Ami.
"Well Hotaru, you have a small fortune in that coin then. You better
take care of it." said Michiru to Hotaru while in the background they
could hear Usagi trying to persuade Chibi-Usa to give her the coin she had.
After they got Usagi to stop pestering Chibi-Usa, they started off to the
antique shop to confront the antique dealer.
************************************************************************
AT THE ANTIQUE SHOP DURING THE MEETING
Scott came into his shop from the roof after he was thinking about
confrontation with Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibi-Moon. He looked at the
Silence Glaive on a nearby table and went to a phone. When he got to it,
he picked it up and dialed his friend Kevin's number, but there was no answer.
He gave up after a minute and hung up the phone. He then sat on a bench stool
looking at the Silence Glaive thinking:
"Now what am I going to do about you. I know Talia will come looking for
you. Might as well get you presentable." So he grabbed his polishing kit and
started to clean the Glaive. After he was done polishing the Glaive, he set
it in a display case that it fit into and set it out in the main display area
of his shop, to wait for Talia and the others to arrive to claim it. He
then went back to the storeroom to look at records and bills and wait for
the Sailor Senshi to arrive.
************************************************************************
LATER THAT EVENING IN FRONT OF THE SHOP
The Senshi arrived on the roof of a shop across the street from the
Antique shop to see if anything was out of the ordinary in the area. When they
didn't see anything odd, they had Mercury start scanning the area. She pulled
out her computer and popped on her visor and started scanning the shop and
surrounding area. When she got done scanning, she told the others what she
found.
"There are three Silver Millennium energy signatures coming from inside
the shop. Two are from items and the third is from a person. Another energy
signature on the roof of the building to the right is also a person, but this
person has Negaverse energy all over them and another, unknown energy pattern.
The person in the shop also has that unknown energy pattern coming from them,
but it is much stronger. The person on the roof seems to be making their way
to the Antique shop, but at a very slow, almost careful pace, as if they were
trying to hide." Sailor Mercury announced.
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Sailor Uranus.
"I suggest that we wait and see what's going to happen, then we go kick
some Negaverse butt." suggested Sailor Jupiter.
"I'm for that." said Sailor Venus. So they waited for events to unfold
before they entered the situation.
************************************************************************
INSIDE THE SHOP AT THAT MOMENT
Scott was in the back room going over that months bills when he felt
another immortal approaching. He grabbed his sword and started looking
around. He started in the shop room and slowly made his way to the main
display room of his shop.After a few minutes of looking around but not
finding anything, he still felt the presence of another immortal.
"Ziggy, is that you?" called out Scott.
Suddenly, Scott heard glass breaking above him and looked up seein
someone coming through the skylight as he tolled away. Scott got into a
defensive crouch as the man landed. His uninvited guest brushed the glass off
of himself then stood up and faced Scott with his own sword at the ready.
"Scott Schwartzstern, I presume." said the man with a small smile.
"Yes. And who might you be?" asked Scott still on the defensive.
"Daryl Thorne." stated Daryl.
Scott saw that the man across from him was similar to him in appearance.
With this final clue he figured that Daryl Thorne was the man that Austin
Derrindelle had been after.
"Were you the one that killed Amanda Derrindelle?" asked Scott.
"Yes." grunted Thorne.
"Why?"
"She was an obstacle for a plan and had to be eliminated."
"You're lying. Why?"
"The Boss doesn't want you to know and be in the way. So I'm supposed to
take you out."
"Then I guess I got no choice but to fight, huh?"
"Nope."
After Daryl said that, they both charged each other and the clash of
swords file the night as they started fighting. Daryl was knocking over
display cases to get at Scott, who was using them to keep Daryl at a
distance. Their swords met each other in sprays of sparks several
times and more display cases were destroyed, but the fight continued.
************************************************************************
OUTSIDE, SHORTLY BEFORE DARYL ENTERED THE SHOP
"The man on the roof is moving faster now." blurted Sailor Mercury,
shocked at the speed. She then gasped "He just dove in through the skylight."
"I wonder what's going on in there?" asked Sailor Mars.
"The only thing we can do is wait and see wat happens next." replied
Sailor Uranus, slightly baffled at this turn of events.
Most of the Sailor Senshi were waiting by the edge on the roof trying to
see what was happening in the shop, while Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi-Moon, and
Sailor Saturn slept nearby. Sailor Mercury continued to scan the inside of
the shop while they waited. In a few minutes, they could hear the sound of
fighting, clanging of metal, and breaking glass.
"They appear to be fighting each other." said Sailor Mercury.
"Should we go in?" asked Sailor Venus.
"I say we just wait for a moment before we do. If one kills the other,
then I say we go on in." said Sailor Jupiter.
"Agreed." they all said.
Just then, Sailor Mercury's computer started to beep. She looked down to
see what was up, and what the computer showed her,surprised her. The computer
told her that a third person was approaching, but it was what the computer
told her about that person that surprised her.
"There's a third person approaching the shop from the street level. This
person has a Silver Millennium energy signature and that unknown also. But
the power level of this is person lower than the one in the shop, and higher
than the one from the roof. The person's destination seems to be the Antique
shop." said Sailor Mercury to everyone.
All the Senshi that were awake looked down over the edge of the roof and
saw a man dressed all in black walking in the shadows on the sidewalk so they
couldn't see his face clearly. He appeared to be in his late teens or early
twenty's and had a fair build. Other than that, they couldn't see much else.
Then the man stopped and looked in their direction and waved to them, then
continued on his way.
"He saw us!" exclaimed Sailor Venus. "What are we going to do now?"
"Wait and see what he does. If they attack, we had better be ready
for them." Sailor Uranus said.
"Right." Sailor Mars replied.
So they woke up the sleeping Senshi and continued to watch the mysterious
man. They watched him walk up to the front of the shop and look in the display
window and then walk around to the back of the shop.
************************************************************************
INSIDE THE SHOP
Both men stood facing each other as they were breathing heavily and
sizing up there opponent. Daryl had a small smile to his face since he
knew that his energy sapping blast would make Scott very weak and unable
to defend himself. Scott was glaring at Daryl knowing that Daryl could
never beat him in a fair fight, so he must be hiding something. So he
tried to think of what trick Daryl could use that would help him win the
fight. Scott decided to try and talk to him to delay whatever trick was
planned, and to his boss's plan from him.
"So, why did you write my name in her blood?" asked Scott.
"You're an obstacle. You have to be eliminated." replied Daryl.
"Why?" Before Daryl could reply, they both felt a presence of another
immortal and then that immortal stepped into the light.
"Because he wants to get at me. He is hunting down my friends and
students." replied the new arrival.
"Drakkar." "Ziggy?" said Daryl and Scott.
"What are you doing here?" asked Daryl.
"I came on a head hunt." replied Drakkar as he took out his Ninja-to
and faced Daryl.
"Ah, ah, ah. No two on one." said Daryl starting to look a little
nervous.
"He's mine." said Drakkar turning to Scott.
Scott looked at him and sighed helplessly. "He's yours." said Scott,
nodding then lowering his sword.
Just then, police car sirens could be heard approaching the area. Daryl
knew he didn't stand a chance against both Schwartzstern and Drakkar, so he
decided to make a run for it. Drakkar and Scott saw Daryl turn around and
grab an item off a display case and throw it through a window then jump out
the window and run down the street. Drakkar started after him. He jumped out
the window, turned left, then reappeared in the window a moment later.
"It's good to see you again there, Scott. I'll be back later." laughed
Drakkar then he ran after Thorne.
"Life never gets boring, with him around." Scott said, smiling as he
replaced his sword in the display case and waited for the police to arrive.
************************************************************************
OUTSIDE A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
The Senshi were waiting on the roof and waiting for Sailor Mercury to
tell them what the scans told her. Then they heard police sirens approaching
and all that Mercury was able to tell them, was that there seemed to be a
three-way face-off going on in the shop. They heard the sound of breaking
glass, and the Senshi that were watching the shop saw something fly through
the window. Then a man jumped out through the broken window and ran down the
street with a sword in his hand. He kept glancing back as if he were really
afraid of what was behind him.
Then a few second later, another man, who they recognized as the one that
had waved at them, come out through the window, with a sword in his hand as
well. He appeared to be following the first man, but then he stopped and went
back to the broken window appearing to say something. Then he took off running
after the first man.
"So what should we do now?" asked Sailor Moon.
"It appears that the police are arriving, so lets wait until they leave
before we strike." said Sailor Jupiter.
"That would be a good idea." agreed Sailor Neptune.
So they waited.
************************************************************************
AFTER THE POLICE INVESTIGATION
It was now almost eleven at night and Scott was picking up what he could
at the time. He had finished talking to the police investigator and gave him
an edited version of what happened and who it was that broke into his shop.
He was sweeping up some of the broken glass from the broken display cases when
he heard the sound of glass being stepped on and he turned around to see a girl
with long black hair in a red and white Sailor Fuku coming at him with a high
kick.
Scott on instinct, used the broom to deflect the kick and then knocked
her down by sweeping her feet out from under her. When she tried to get
back up and attack again, Scott threw her against the wall knocking her out
cold. He was about to check on her when he saw two more people coming in
through the window. Both were dressed similar to the first one, but one was
in green and white, while the other was in light blue and white with yellow
accents, and they both seemed to want to attack him as well.
The rest of the Sailor Senshi made their way down to the street just in
time to see Sailor Uranus get thrown out the window. They saw her get back up
and run into the shop and then a few moments later, fly back out the window.
This time she waited for the rest of the Senshi to catch up to her before she
went back in. The first few Senshi that got into the shop saw that their easy
assault was not so easy after all.
They saw Sailor Mars slumped against a wall unconscious, and Sailor
Jupiter pinned up against a display case with the antique dealer holding her
in an arm lock seeming to be in a little pain. Sailor Venus went over to check
on Sailor Mars condition. Then Sailor Moon came in and started with her usual
speech.
"I am Sailor Moon, I stand for love and justice. And we are here to take
out low life's that kill people and take their energy, and in the name of the
moon, I will punish murderers and that means you."
The man looked her with a questioning look then said "You sound just like
Princess Serenity, you know."
That surprised all of the Senshi, but to their minds, it confirmed that he
was from the Negaverse.
"You're from the Negaverse. Collecting energy by killing people, and the
fact that you recognize her proves it." said Sailor Venus. She was a little
surprised when she saw him get a angry look on his face as if they had
insulted him when they said he was one of the enemy.
"I'm as much from the Negaverse as you are, Ruri." Scott grunted in a
sarcastic tone.
"Why did you call me that?" Sailor Venus gasped.
"Because that is who you are, Ruri Cathal, princess of Venus." Scott
replied.
"You know who we all are?" asked Sailor Neptune.
"All except the one calling herself Sailor Moon and the one with the pink
hair." Scott muttered.
"You're from the Negaverse. We saw you kill a man and take his energy,"
said Sailor Chibi-Moon.
"He's telling the truth. He's not from the Negaverse." said Sailor
Mercury walking up to the group surrounding him. The others stared at her in
surprise, except for Sailor Uranus who watched the man carefully. She was
the one who saw him pale as if he was seeing a ghost when he finally saw
Sailor Mercury.
"What? How can that be?" the others asked Sailor Mercury.
"I scanned him. No trace of Negaverse energy in him, but
the is a large amount of Silver Millennium energy and a unknown
energy pattern" replied Sailor Mercury.
Uranus saw their quarry pale even more when he heard her say that.
"Sailor Moon." the man said suddenly, with a note of panic in his voice.
"Yes." replied Sailor Moon cautiously.
"You're the leader of this group, right?"
"Yeah."
"Since we are at a standstill here, I would recommend we make a deal here."
"What kind of a deal?"
"I'll release Natasha here if you promise that none of the others will
attack me, so we can speak in a more civilized manner. Do we have a deal?"
Sailor Moon looked at the other Senshi that were around, and saw that
Sailor Mars was now standing up, and then to Sailor Jupiter who was looking
like she was trying to get out of the mans hold but couldn't, then up to the
man. She made her decision and cautiously nodded her head.
"You have my word that we won't attack you until we heard what you have
to say. Unless you start attacking us that is. Are we agreed?" She said
ignoring the shocked stares she was getting from the other Senshi.
"If you or the others don't give me a reason to, I won't attack you
either." Scott said nodding slightly.
"Agreed then." said Sailor Moon.
Scott quickly released the arm lock he had on Jupiter and took several
steps away to give her some room then sat down in a nearby chair. Sailor
Jupiter looked as if she wanted to try hit him again but a look from Sailor
Moon made her calm down a little so she quickly went over an joined the other
Senshi glaring at the shopkeeper. When Sailor Moon was sure that Jupiter was
all right, she looked over at the antique dealer, then sat in a chair and
indicated he should start talking.
He nodded then relaxed a little looking wary and very tired.
"Who are you?" asked Jupiter. "And how do you know our old names?"
"To answer your second question first, I was also in the Moon Kingdom
when it fell to the Negaverse around two thousand years ago." Scott replied.
"So my mother sent your soul to the future also?" blurted out Moon.
Scott gave at her with a questioning look, raising his left eyebrow.
"So you are Princess Serenity?" Scott asked.
"Uh... so what if I am. Who are you?" said Moon.
"I now go by the name Scott Schwartzstern, Antique dealer. I went by
another name during the Silver Millennium." Scott began.
"And what was that?" Sailor Chibi-Moon interrupted.
"A name from my past which is now dead." Scott replied with a hint of
anger in his voice.
"What about this unusual energy pattern that you have?" Mercury asked.
"And what about that person that you killed?" asked Venus.
"It will take me too long to explain that all to you tonight. It's late
out and I can tell most of you are tired because I can see you yawning at
times. How about we talk about all this tomorrow when we are all rested up."
"Are you just trying to get away?" asked Mars belligerently.
"No, Krystal. Even if I did, you know what my name is and what I look
like. So you would only have to tell the police, and I would soon be caught."
Scott replied.
"Where and when do you want to meet?" asked Moon.
"There is a shrine on the outskirts of Tokyo, the Nashimoto Shrine. I'll
be there tomorrow at two in the afternoon. You know where the place is?"
Scott asked.
"We'll find it." Mars confirmed.
"All right then. We'll meet there at two in the afternoon. Remember no
attacks and no Police" Scott announced.
"What about the Silence Glaive?" Saturn asked, stepping up and looking
around for her weapon. Scott looked at her and smiled.
"Look inside that case behind you, Talia." Scott responded, looking as if
he were trying not to laugh.
Saturn glanced down behind her and saw the weapon case that Scott was
talking about. Saturn glanced toward Mercury, who quickly scanned it. After
verifying it was safe to open, Saturn opened the case and pulled the Silence
Glaive out. When she got a good look at it she was surprised to see that the
Glaive had been cleaned and polished, and had purple ribbons tied to it. She
looked at it then up at a smiling Scott.
"I knew you would be coming back for it, so I polished it up for you as
a way of saying sorry of what I did to you earlier." said Scott
apologetically
"Um, Thanks." said Saturn quietly, blushing slightly at the memory of
what he had done to her that afternoon.
"No problem. You better go and get some sleep, I'll see you all
tomorrow." said Scott.
"So we will meet you at the shrine tomorrow at two in the afternoon,
right?" Jupiter asked.
"That's right." Scott replied.
"Why do you want to meet there?" asked Mars.
"It is Holy Ground. It would not be polite to attack there."
replied Scott.
Then the Senshi left the shop and walked down the street too meet up with
Luna and Artemis, who were waiting for them in an alleyway.
"So what happened?" asked Luna impatiently.
"We're meeting him at the Nashimoto Shrine tomorrow to talk." Sailor Moon
replied, a little bewildered at the way events had turned out.
"Why?" asked Artemis confused as to why they hadn't fought the Antique
Dealer, but instead set up a time to talk with him.
"So we are all rested enough to fight if need be." Mars said angrily as she
thought about her humiliating defeat at the shopkeeper's hands.
"He noticed that some of us were tired and he looked pretty tired himself
He asked us if we could talk tomorrow and we agreed." Mercury said as seeing
the looks of confusion that both cats had on their face.
"He said he was from the Silver Millennium. Do either of you know him?"
Neptune asked.
"No, he doesn't seem familiar." Artemis replied glancing over at Luna.
"You girls go home and get some sleep. We'll watch him and see what he
does. We'll call if anything happens." Luna assured the girls.
"Okay Luna." Sailor Moon said nodding and yawning hugely at the mention of
sleep.
While the Sailor Senshi walked home, Luna and Artemis made their way
towards Scott's shop to observe him and see if they could find any clues to
his identity.
************************************************************************
AN HOUR LATER
Scott had just finished boarding up the broken window and finished
sweeping up all the broken glass. He hung a sign on the door saying, "Closed
for Repairs". He was heading up to his bedroom on the second floor, when again
he felt the presence of another Immortal nearby. He cursed softly and grabbed
his Katana and headed to his workshop.
He looked around but didn't see anybody, so he made his way to the back
door.He was up against the wall by the door near the doorknob. Scott had his
sword in his left hand and his right hand went and unlocked the door. He
then started to lean over to look out the backdoor window. He noticed that
someone was leaning over to look in the same way Scott was looking out. So
it looked like he was looking at a mirror. The man was dressed in all black
and had a smile on his face. It was then that Scott knew who the man is,
it was Kevin O'Connell. Scott relaxed his stance and let Kevin in.
"Ziggy, what are you doing here?" asked Scott.
"What? Can't I visit an old friend of mine once in a while." replied
Kevin.
"You know what I mean."
Kevin smiled because he knew what Scott meant. "He disappeared about
several blocks from here. Like he was there one moment, gone the next."
"Hmmm, strange. Do you know who sent him after me?"
"I have a guess, but no solid proof."
"Who?"
"Damian Rochefort."
"I haven't seen or heard of him since the Titanic sank."
"That's why I said I didn't have any solid proof. He is the only one
that has this much of a thing against me."
"At least the only one that would do anything to get to you."
"Well, yeah, and sorry I'm late. After seeing that guy that has been
after everyone I know, I had to go after him."
"That's okay. The two girls that wanted to talk to you didn't show for
some reason. I also had a visit from an Immortal that claimed I had taken
Amanda Derrindelle's head and came after me."
"That would have been her husband, Austin, what happened?"
"He wouldn't believe me and kept attacking me."
"And you took his head?"
"Yeah." Scott sounded downcast when it came out.
"Man, you haven't been having any luck lately, have you?"
"Ha, ha. To top it off, I had a run in with Princess Serenity and her
court after the police left."
"What! Princess Serenity was here? They're back?"
"I would say......."
Movement outside a window caught Scott's eye and he looked out the window
but didn't see anyone. Kevin had a puzzled look on his face when Scott
abruptly stopped talking and looked out the window. Scott looked back at him
and said: "There's someone outside." in Gaelic. That made Kevin tense up and
he nodded his head to acknowledge Scott. They both got up and went to separate
areas in the shop.
************************************************************************
OUTSIDE
"I don't think he saw me." said Luna when she landed next to Artemis on
the box next to the other window.
"They seem to be splitting up." replied Artemis after he glanced inside
briefly.
"I'll follow the second one. You go after the Antique Dealer."
"Okay."
They split up, looking for their personal quarry. Artemis went around
the back of the shop to see what he could find. He got to the back door
and saw it slowly closing. He quickly made his way to the door to look around
and inside. Before the door shut, he quickly slipped inside.
Artemis did a quick look around and only saw what appeared to be a
workshop of some sort. He saw many antiques that appeared to need cleaning
set on a table. He made his way to the table and jumped up to look at the
antiques when a picture caught his interest. It was a picture of the Senshi,
but blurred enough that you couldn't make out who they were. There was
writing in the corner that said 'another photo for your strangeness collection'
and was signed, 'Kevin'. {Must be a friend of his}. He was so busy looking
at the picture, that he failed to noticed that the person he was supposed to
be following was sneaking up behind him. He noticed him when Scott grabbed
him with one hand and lifted him into the air.
"Gotcha." Scott laughed.
Scott lifted the now squirming and hissing white cat from his worktable
Laughing a little at the futility of the animal's struggles. Then he noticed
that the cat had a strange crescent moon mark on it's forehead and that gave
Scott a nagging feeling like he should know where he has seen it before.
Scott got his hand placed just right so the cat couldn't bite or scratch him,
and made his way to the kitchen. When Scott made it to the kitchen, he saw
Kevin already there carrying a bag with something squirming inside of it.
When he got closer, he was able to hear the sounds of a cat hissing from
inside the bag.
"See you caught yourself a cat also." said Kevin when he saw the white
cat in Scott's hands.
"It was the only thing sneaking around my workshop." replied Scott.
"This cat was the only thing I found outside. What should we do with
them?"
"I don't know. But this one seems familiar to me somehow."
"If you say so. You know what's strange?"
"What?"
"The cat I caught is similar to that one."
"How so?"
"Instead of being all white and male, this one's all black and female,
but it also has that crescent moon mark on its forehead."
"Hmmm?"
"You know something, don't you?" knowing the look on Scott face.
"I might." replied Scott.
Scott looked down at the struggling cat in his hands and then with a toss
and a flick of the wrist, he twirled the cat so it was now facing him. The cat
was momentarily so dazed by the quick twirl that when it got refocused, it was
looking straight into Scott's eyes. Artemis saw that the man holding him was
smiling strangely, which didn't speak well for his chances, so he prepared to
scratch his captor.
"Hello, Artemis." said Scott, smiling a little more. That caught
everyone off guard. Artemis momentarily forgot that he was about to scratch
Scott. Kevin looked at Scott as if he were afraid that his friend had lost
his mind. But Artemis decided to pretend he was still a normal cat.
"Meow?" meowed Artemis hoping the guy would let him go, but Scott
still held onto him, smiling even more.
"Ziggy, open the bag so I can throw him in with the other one."
Scott said, otion to his friend.
"Uh....Okaaaaay." Kevin said still confused a little about what was
going on.
Kevin held out the bag and opened it. Scott tossed Artemis in before
Luna could react to the bag opening. Kevin then quickly closed the bag and
tied it off. He then handed the now struggling two cats in the bag to Scott.
Scott took the bag and set it on the kitchen table. The two cats tried to
roll the bag off and would have succeeded if Scott didn't grab a chef's knife
and drove it between the two cats, pinning the bag to the table. Both of the
cats yelped when the knife struck the table. The two cats quieted down very
quickly.
"Now, are you going to behave, or are we going to have trouble here."
Scott growled, but got nothing but silence in response. "It's now one in the
morning, I'm tired and I don't have time for all of this. I know both of you
can talk, so drop the 'normal cat' routine okay."
"Cat's can't talk, Scott ol' buddy." said Kevin really starting to worry
about Scott's sanity slipping.
"We can." came a female voice from the bag.
"What the!?!" exclaimed Kevin when he heard the voice.
"Hello, Luna, good to hear you again." said Scott.
"Sorry if I don't return the greeting, but I don't talk to strangers."
said Luna with a hint of anger touching her voice.
"That's all right, I'm not really a stranger." Scott responded calmly.
"You know those cats?" asked Kevin with a trace of baffled question in
his voice.
"Yes. They were Queen Serenity's royal advisers until she died in the
final battle of the Moon Kingdom. Now I think they are Princess Serenity's
royal advisors." explaining to both Kevin and the two cats.
"How do you know that?" came a male voice from the bag.
"Hello there Artemis. Good to see you've decided to join us, and to
answer your question, I was there." replied Scott
"You could be from the Negaverse and know all that." said Luna with the
same hint of anger in her voice.
"If your trying to get somewhere Scott, it's not going anywhere." said
Kevin still confused about where this was leading, but he seems to remember
something about two cats from his past.
"Then I better get to the point." said Scott
"Yes, please." said Kevin somewhat tired from being up this late talking
to Scott and two cats.
"Luna, you stole several fish cakes from the royal cook when she wasn't
looking. I made you return them when I caught you running out of the kitchen.
Artemis, I caught you sneaking looks on the girl side of the royal baths when
Princess Serenity and her court were in there. Any of this ring a bell?"
asked Scott with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"I didn't do that." exclaimed Luna surprised at the memory of that
incident.
"I thought I saw a rat go in there." said Artemis defensively.
Then suddenly, both of them figured out what Scott was playing at. "Oh
my God. It can't be. Gerrek!!" exclaimed both of the cats.
"Hello you two, remember me now?" asked Scott.
"What are you doing here?" asked Luna.
"If you two will behave yourselves, I'll let you out of the bag. I'm
getting tired of talking to it. Do we have a deal?" asked Scott.
"Yes, you have a deal." said Luna. Scott reached over and untied the
knot that held the bag shut, and the two cats wiggled themselves out of it
and sat in front of Scott, grooming.
"If you don't believe me why don't you use your psi-powers, Luna, and
scan my mind? It would probably save a lot of questions" Scott with some
amusement as she looked at him disbelieving when she had gotten her fur
rearranged.
Luna looked over at Artemis and saw him nod his head. Luna sighed and
then concentrated on reading Scott's mind. What everyone in the room saw was
a ray of yellow light go from the crescent moon mark on Luna's head to
Scott's forehead.Where the beam of light touched on Scott's forehead, the
symbol of Minerva appeared there and then disappeared shortly after the beam
did.
What Luna saw when she scanned Scott's mind amazed her. She saw the
battle that destroyed the Moon Kingdom from Scott's perspective and saw that
he was killed in that fight. What really surprised her was that he died long
before Queen Serenity had used her power to send the children of the moon
kingdom to the future. But then she saw that he had come back to life
shortly before Queen Serenity had used her power and then the discussion that
he'd had with the dying monarch.
She then saw his life passing like she was watching a movie in fast
forward. Seeing his life as he lived from when he arrived on Earth, over
two thousand years ago. Watching, as he saw all his friends die and other
darker parts of his life,until she got to a part that made her stop to look
more closely, a part that involved the other man in the room. The man that
was reborn from the power from Queen Serenity.The person that had been known
at one time as Prince Siegmund Drakkar IV.
"Drakkar!" Exclaimed Luna when she broke off the connection.
"What?" asked Kevin and Artemis at the same time. One with a hint of
bewilderment in his voice and the other wondering how the cat knew his name
and what that yellow light was all about.
"You were the first prince of Neptune. Prince Siegmund Drakkar IV."
said Luna staring at Kevin.
"Uh, Yeah, I know that already cat lady." said Kevin hesitantly.
"Well, I'd like to continue this," Interrupted Scott. "But it's getting
late. So was I telling the truth about who I am, Luna?" asked Scott.
"Yes. You were telling the truth." replied Luna.
"Good. Now what were you two doing spying on me?" asked Scott.
"We thought that you were the Beheader, from the news, that is going
around killing people." said Luna.
"Why would you think that?"
"Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibi-Moon saw you kill a man."
"Sailor Chibi-Moon? That was the pink haired one, right?"
"Yes."
"I see. Looks like I got a whole lot to explain tomorrow."
"They also saw 'lightning' form around you." said Artemis.
"So we thought you were from the Negaverse." said Luna.
"Now I really have a lot to explain." Scott groaned bringing his hands to
his face.
"Why don't you try now?" asked Artemis.
"It's really very confusing, and I would rather only say it once." Scott
replied a little defensively.
"All right." Luna and Artemis agreed.
"You two better get back to Princess Serenity before she wonders what
happened to you two." Scott finally said getting to his feet to let the cats
out.
"She will be happy to know who you two really are." said Luna.
"You will not tell her, is that understood?" Scott said flatly, glaring
at both cats to make his point clear.
"Why?" asked Artemis.
"I'll tell her tomorrow." Scott replied.
"But..."
"No buts. Is that understood?"
"Okay" both cats finally agreed.
"Are you going to the meeting, Siegmund?" asked Luna.
"Why do you want to know?" replied Kevin to Luna with a question.
"I think the 'talk' that Gerrek is going to have tomorrow is going to
concern you also. I think you need to be there." said Luna.
"I'll be there." said Kevin after he looked at Scott for the answer and
got his affirmative.
Once both of the had cats left the shop, Kevin looked at Scott sternly.
"Okay, what's going on here?" said Kevin.
Scott sighed and told Kevin everything that had happened to him from
earlier in the day to present. He was surprised when he finally heard who
attacked Scott after he left to chase Daryl, then nodded when Scott mentioned
the place where the meeting was to be held. Scott thanked him for saving his
life when Daryl came and asked if he wanted to stay the night. Kevin told him
he had to do some things before the meeting, but he would meet him in time to
allow for the necessary proprieties to be taken care of before it. Scott locked
up and went to bed, after letting Kevin out.
************************************************************************
IN THE NEGAVERSE
Damian Rochefort sat on his throne waiting for Daryl to report the
results of his latest mission. He sensed an immortal approaching, then saw
Daryl walking into the room, then stop before him, and bow.
"Report." Damian demanded.
"I was unable to take Schwartzstern out." replied Daryl, flinching a
little at the finality of those words.
"Why?"
"I was interrupted by Drakkar before I could finish him." Daryl said
softly. "He tried to follow me, but I was able to lose him."
"You failed me." boomed Damian angrily.
"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time." begged Daryl.
"We shall see. Time to bring in someone better equipped to deal with
Drakkar. Annie!!." yelled Damian.
They both felt a presence nearby and turned as a woman walked in. The
woman stood about five foot four inches and looked to be around the age of
18. She had dark, red hair done up in a rather severe style, and jade green
eyes. She wore tight black jeans, a men's white dress shirt and a black
leather jacket.
"Yes?" asked the woman.
"What have you come up with to get back at Drakkar?" asked Damian.
"It seems that Drakkar's friend, Scott, has two, young, mortal admirers."
began Annie. "I've been watching his shop and following him wherever he went.
I saw the incident that took place with him today. He was visited by the
Sailor Senshi in his shop after Daryl's assault and in an alley when he took
Derrindelle's head."
"Is that right." said Damian a little surprised at her fast work.
"We could ruin the Senshi at the same time we take care of Drakkar, if my
plan works right."
"How so?"
"The two Senshi that attacked Schwartzstern in the alley, I've seen them
transform. I know who they really are now, and where they go to school. We can
kidnap them and use them to force Drakkar into our hands."
"I like that. All right, you will give Daryl the details of this plan.
You, Daryl, will kidnap these two Senshi." said Rochefort.
"Yes, sir." said Daryl as he bowed.
Annie cleared her throat a little to regain Rochefort's attention.
"Yes, Annie, was there something else?" Rochefort growled.
"My lord, there is a possibility that Drakkar and Schwartzstern may be
able to get the Senshi to aid them if we involve the two little ones." She
said. "Currently they are distrustful of each other but that may change very
rapidly if we involve the Senshi in what was until now a personal vendetta.
It might be better to involve only immortals in this situation."
"No, Annie, I think it rather more likely that the Senshi would blame
Drakkar and his friend for involving the two youngsters than aid them."
Rochefort responded shortly. "Proceed with your plan, but keep me informed
in all events. I want no surprises in this operation, is that understood,"
he grated out, glaring at his two minions who nodded understanding.
"Very well then," he ground out signaling their dismissal. "You have your
orders, proceed. And do not fail me." This last was said with a glower
directed toward Thorne.
After Daryl and Annie left to talk about the plans on what had to be done,
Damian smiled to himself and looked into the distance.
"Soon Drakkar. Very soon I will have your head, and an end to your
interference. Then I will rule the world. There will be nothing you can do to
stop me ever again.