the_bwg Crossover Challenge - Chapter Three
Title: Second to Gods
Chapter (3): Spider in the Fire
Author: Quirkyslayer
Fandoms: Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Fruits Basket
Genre(s): Action/Drama
Warnings/Spoilers: Character spoilers from Chapter 97 of the Fruits Basket manga. Spoilers from Volume 18 of Sailor Moon Manga.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Akito Sohma had died that day when she lost the complete connection to her family, and now, in the 30th century she is reborn into a simple civilian who dreams of power and greatness. She runs away from her home to prove her worth, and she joins Neo Queen Serenity's Royal Guard. While she is training, she and the Senshi encounter an internal darkness that has been reborn on Earth and looms to destroy the kingdom. This power was Naraku, once sealed and now active in Neo Tokyo. He comes to Akito in disguise and appeals to her darker side. It's up to Akito to learn what is right, and to overcome deception and make up for the darkness in her former life. Naraku/Akito.
Notes: Beta'ed by foamyfan15010. Thanks, chica!
“Cause it’s hard to say what’s real -“
~ “One More Robot” by the Flaming Lips
----
Second to Gods
Chapter Three: Spider in the Fire
“Isn’t it awful?” said a high-ranking soldier to another. Their footsteps echoed rhythmically on the surface of the marble floor as they made their way to the Great Hall. All cadets of the Royal Guard had been asked to attend a mandatory emergency meeting first thing in the morning.
The soldier beside him sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe something so frightening and evil could have gotten past the cleansing Neo Queen Serenity did when she brought the Earth back out of ecological devastation.”
“Yes, but Sailor Mars seems to think it was very heavily and carefully sealed for many centuries within some kind of concrete enclosure. If anything, the power used to seal this great evil could have been comparable to Sailor Soldier power itself.”
“No! That’s impossible,” the other cried, waving his hands in the air in disbelief. “I just can’t believe something as powerful as the Sailor Soldiers could have existed that long ago before their incarnations were revived.”
“Well, whatever it was is in the past; now we must focus on what has been unleashed.” They quickened their pace as they began to come upon the great hall. Many soldiers of various ranks were filtering in slowly, chattering among themselves in rampant discourse and curiosity.
Finally, the high ranking solider replied, “That’s what I don’t get either. How can something so evil, which had been sealed away, be released now? Who in the world released it? It had to be someone of great power…”
“I don’t know, but whoever it was, I doubt it was one of the Senshi. They would know better than to release something like that,” the soldier said. He pursed his lips and surveyed the crowd as he and his comrade finally made their way inside. “I have a feeling this meeting might just be exactly about the one who released such dark energy.” His comrade nodded and they both walked inside to join their fellow ranking officers as King Endymion took the stage.
The crowd became silent as they watched the violet motion of his cloak as he came up to the podium with a serious and somber face. He had horrible news to tell everyone, and though most people already knew the gossip that had traveled throughout the morning, everyone was still hungry for more details.
When the air was completely silent and no one else rustled in their seats, King Endymion cleared his throat and lifted up his head proudly. Within his eyes people could see a great invisible burden, and it rested heavily upon his broad shoulders.
“Thank you for your attention. I suspect many of you know why we’re all here, and many of you may only be partially informed.”
He closed his eyes tightly for a moment and then returned his focus. “As many of you have felt already, there was a disruptive force that appeared early this morning and shook the sensitive psyches of the Senshi and I. As of yet, this disruption is of an unknown origin, but what the Senshi have discovered is that it is pure evil-- a kind of evil that grows off the fear and hatred of others.”
There was a string of gasps in the large room and then people grew silent again, focusing their attention as Endymion divulged more information.
“We had not known of such an evil, for Earth is a peaceful place under Serenity’s rule, as you know. We suspect that such evil was dormant within the earth, even sealed away by an ancient magic not meant to be broken. The origin of whom or what unleashed this evil is unknown to us as well.”
The room fell into a pregnant pause, and many people could see the pain and worry etched onto the King’s face.
“I regret to inform you that this evil has linked itself to the queen and has left her comatose. It is draining her power as we speak.”
Many people gasped again, and others cried in protest and worry. Chattering started up again turning to mild hysteria as the King fell silent and watched their reactions. He had no good news to offer them, and it was plainly obvious by the emotions on his face.
“Oh no, the queen!”
“How can someone do this?”
“Who unsealed this unspeakable evil?”
And suddenly the world didn’t feel safe anymore, and King Endymion empathized with their fear.
“Silence!” he shushed them, and the room plummeted into a hushed sigh.
“Until we figure out how to revive the queen, all of the Sailor Soldiers that conduct your drills will be absent, working on strategies to meet this problem. All drills for lower level cadets will remain and be supervised by the Lt. Commanders under the Senshi. Please, do not panic, and offer your power and prayers to the queen. This meaning is adjourned.”
With a swish of his lavender cape, the King left, leaving the hall speechless and rising with unknown fear.
For the first time since the Dead Moon invaded, they were no longer safe. They had always taken advantage of Neo Queen Serenity’s omnipotent protection, and now, when they did not have it, where was their hope? Who could they rely on now when they could not rely on themselves?
----
As the cadets and soldiers were filtering out of the Great Hall, many of them continued to chatter among themselves about the crisis at hand. Nobody seemed to be outwardly scared, and many wanted to help the Senshi or even take matters into their own hands.
“Well, I say we look for the person who unsealed that evil,” Cadet Naru Masaki said loudly to her teammates. Many of them watched her with wonder and nodded in agreement.
Naru Masaki was known to be one of the most dedicated and hardworking soldiers in her battalion. Many of the younger soldiers worshiped her and the others of her same rank admired her. Akki Tenshou, her bunkmate, was highly unimpressed with Naru’s ‘talents’ unlike everyone else.
Akki saw right through Naru’s boastful façade, and realized through much scrutiny during drills that Naru was mediocre at combat, temperamental in a crunch, and had a mouth that was mostly full of wind. She scored pathetically low on her ESP testing, and even though that did not merit the worth of a combat soldier, it did prove to limit her in her range of expertise. If the Neo Millennium were ever on attack from space or anything else, Naru’s chance in battle would be type-cast foot soldier, and at most, a Lt. Commander.
Her lack of ESP abilities prevented her from pursuing a chance to back up the Senshi, who have the strongest Elemental powers because of their heavily potent star seeds; the core power of any living organism borne from the cosmic Cauldron. Essentially, Naru Masaki was just another human, and that’s why Akki treated her like she was no more special than anyone else.
“Hey Akito-san, your ESP powers scored particularly high,” said Ryome Kitsuagi, turning the attention from Naru to a spaced-out Akki. Naru curled her lip and glared at Akki when people turned to her instead. “Did you feel anything last night when you went to the Medical ward? It had to have happen just about that time.”
“Uh…” Akki felt nervous at first, but then shook her head. There was no way she could trust them with the truth, so she lied, “Slightly, but I was given some medicine and told to stay in the bed. I felt something small but then I blacked out.”
Wide eyes were upon her, mystified that she felt anything at all. If they only knew the truth…
“Who cares? Like I trust Tenshou-san’s intuition anyway! She’s still getting nightmares.” Naru turned to Akki whom gave her a sour look. “Who has nightmares anymore, anyway? This is the most peaceful and happy place in the whole solar system!”
“She must have had a very troubling past life,” Saki Hisouji quipped suddenly. Akki turned to her with interest. Saki smiled at her cryptically and took Akki’s hand. She caressed it, and turned the palm over to inspect it. She traced over her life line, and then turned her hand upward to inspect the grooves on her wrist. Saki’s eyes flickered for a moment, and she gave Akki a very grim expression.
“You must have been a powerful person in your past life, but you were not so kind.” Saki frowned and dropped Akki’s hand. Naru rushed over and locked arms with Saki as she pushed Akki out of the way. Saki began to walk ahead, ignoring Akki as she was left behind. The others in their unit trailed after Saki and gushed over her psychic brilliance.
Akki gritted her teeth. It was true that Saki was by far the most intuitive person in their group; however, Akki possessed something greater than all of them put together. Everyday she worked harder to obtain it, and one day she knew she’d reach inside herself and burst open that core of power sleeping within her.
“Damn bitches,” Akki muttered, and kicked at a marble pillar and then walked steadily to catch up to the other girls.
----
As Akki walked away, the morning shadows of the pillars seemed to move and meld into kinetic amorphous shapes, slinking through the rays of the sun and angles of the stone.
Within those shadows a menacing figure waited, and with turbulent fire eyes he watched the peace morph slowly into an ominous breeze, siphoning the lingering powers of the queen’s people and the queen herself.
And, as this terrible force hovered within the cracks of the darkest corners, he stared intently, obsessively at one lonesome figure - a host of great power that she herself did not truly know.
He cackled and the wind picked up. He brushed a phantom hand over the stringy tendrils of her hair as she walked along.
She stopped and trepidation filled her nerves. With a quivering jaw, she slowly turned her back around, inquiring the haunting murmur that beckoned her. The surge of power chilled her down to her bones.
“Who - who’s there?”
No one answered, but someone was there. He just wasn’t ready to reveal himself yet.
‘Soon, my child, soon you’ll be mine.’
---
Sailor Mars tied her hair back with her favorite ribbon. She felt droplets of sweat beading down her brow and on the sides of her cheeks. She pursed her lips and sat in front of the fire, putting her hands together and closing her eyes. As she concentrated on the flame, it doused larger and became hotter. She chanted, and the other soldiers hovered behind her, watching her and lending her their strength.
‘Please, show us the enemy we seek. Reveal the identity of the person who has inflicted the queen!’
“Ha!” she cried out, and the flames grew scorching and potent. She stared intently at them as fingers of flame fleshed out and formed a shape in the fire, the answer to the roots of their worry.
In front of them a large spider morphed into the blaze briefly and vanished. Everyone’s eyes widened, and Mars fell backward from too much heat and exhaustion. Sailor Venus was there to catch her, and she began wiping the sweat off Rei’s face.
“Everyone, this is our ancient villain.”
“A spider?” Sailor Jupiter asked with her arms crossed. She gave Rei a skeptical look. “This isn’t some horror movie spider, is it?”
Rei shook her head. “No, the message itself isn’t true to form. The spider is only the core definition, and it may not look like that at all. Our true enemy could even be partly human. I get the sense from the image that the evil we’re facing has terrorized this land before, long ago.”
“Hrmm…I should see if there are any ancient historical documents tied to a spider insignia in ancient Japan,” Sailor Mercury replied right away, and by the look in her eyes she had some preliminary ideas.
“Good, I’ll help you,” Sailor Pluto offered. “There must be something in the King’s library we can find. We might be able to pinpoint the exact era in which this evil was prevalent.”
Sailor Mercury nodded while everyone else agreed and then watched them leave to do their own duties. Sailor Uranus and Neptune, who were more prone to taking charge, decided to pair off.
“We’re going to scry the area outside the palace and maybe we can find a hotspot to where this energy originated,” Uranus announced, and the others nodded as they took off.
“Meanwhile, I’ll help Mars recover here,” Venus said.
“Yes, I’ll regain my strength again and continue meditating. Saturn, I think you should meditate as well. Your powers could be somewhat in tune with the destructive nature of this entity.”
Saturn nodded, and before she left said, “I’m going to check on Small Lady and the queen. I might be able to sense more on her condition.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jupiter offered, trying to be useful, and she and Saturn hurried off as Venus clutched the ailing Mars.
“Feel better?” Venus whispered, pushing back a tendril of Mars’ hair from her sweaty face.
Mars groaned as her head began to throb. She rose a hand up and massaged the spot between her eyes. “What do you think? I feel like with each minute, I’m getting weaker and weaker.”
Venus nodded, “Yes, it’s the same for me as well. It must be this nasty spider demon. It’s taking its toll on everyone, not just the queen.”
Mars paused, and the expression on her face contorted into a revelation. “Wait a minute...what did you say again?”
“It’s taking its toll only every-“
“Not that, didn’t you say something about a spider demon?”
“Well, yeah, sorta like that last boyfriend I had - a real demon. All controlling and seemed to suck the life energy right out of me. Though, he was human and I don’t think …“
“No, Minako, don’t you see?” Mars grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake the rocks out of her ditzy friend’s head. Venus looked at her quizzically as Mars smirked. “I think I have a clue on the origin of this problem.”
----
As the day ended, weary soldiers began filtering back to their beds. There was less laughter but just as much chatter as things seemed to stay ominous and uncertain within the atmosphere at the palace. There had been no word on anything new concerning the queen, and many felt that things would only get worse, and they mentally began to prepare for it.
“Have a good night, Commander Fuhara,” quipped a yeoman as he waved goodbye to his commanding officer.
“Get a good night’s sleep, Yeoman Hiro-san, and I’ll see you first thing daybreak for the minutes. Hopefully, we’ll learn something more about this situation.” Commander Fuhara watched as his yeoman trailed off to his own quarters, and then he turned his heel and began walking back to the command station.
He brought his fingers through his moist black hair and sighed heavily as it began to sprinkle outside. He began to jog toward the command station for cover, and he felt his normally pristine navy boots cake with mud and wet clay as he ran. The rain became thicker and his hair had fallen into his face. He was only about twenty meters from the command station, so he hurried, trying not to suck in the rain as he breathed.
Suddenly, lightning shot in the sky and the thunder clouds cackled. He was sent reeling backwards as lightning hit a pillar and shook it apart from a small structure in front of him.
The sky was darker and sheets of water blanketed him as he tried to bring himself up off the ground.
Groaning, Commander Fuhara stood up, brushing the mud off the back of his pants and bottom as he went over to inspect the damage of the pillar.
Then, the rain became even thicker over his eyes and he feared he was seeing things. A dark violet viscous fluid began to seep out of the pillar and mesh with the water. Fuhara blinked - sure it was a mirage from the torrent rains.
But he was deathly wrong.
“Who the hell are you?” he yelled at the oily black shape, molding into a human figure before him. “You’re not authorized to be here.”
The figure of tar smiled at him with a Cheshire grin and leaked out an appendage to grip the Commander’s throat. Fuhara winced as a tough, constricting tentacle enclosed around his neck and began squeezing his breath.
The last thing he saw was a menacing face that seemed to shimmer in the violent rain. The figure spoke in a stern, haunting drawl, “Your face, I need it.”
Then, Fuhara screamed silent with a suffocated tongue.
TBC…
Chapter (3): Spider in the Fire
Author: Quirkyslayer
Fandoms: Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Fruits Basket
Genre(s): Action/Drama
Warnings/Spoilers: Character spoilers from Chapter 97 of the Fruits Basket manga. Spoilers from Volume 18 of Sailor Moon Manga.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Akito Sohma had died that day when she lost the complete connection to her family, and now, in the 30th century she is reborn into a simple civilian who dreams of power and greatness. She runs away from her home to prove her worth, and she joins Neo Queen Serenity's Royal Guard. While she is training, she and the Senshi encounter an internal darkness that has been reborn on Earth and looms to destroy the kingdom. This power was Naraku, once sealed and now active in Neo Tokyo. He comes to Akito in disguise and appeals to her darker side. It's up to Akito to learn what is right, and to overcome deception and make up for the darkness in her former life. Naraku/Akito.
Notes: Beta'ed by foamyfan15010. Thanks, chica!
“Cause it’s hard to say what’s real -“
~ “One More Robot” by the Flaming Lips
----
Second to Gods
Chapter Three: Spider in the Fire
“Isn’t it awful?” said a high-ranking soldier to another. Their footsteps echoed rhythmically on the surface of the marble floor as they made their way to the Great Hall. All cadets of the Royal Guard had been asked to attend a mandatory emergency meeting first thing in the morning.
The soldier beside him sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe something so frightening and evil could have gotten past the cleansing Neo Queen Serenity did when she brought the Earth back out of ecological devastation.”
“Yes, but Sailor Mars seems to think it was very heavily and carefully sealed for many centuries within some kind of concrete enclosure. If anything, the power used to seal this great evil could have been comparable to Sailor Soldier power itself.”
“No! That’s impossible,” the other cried, waving his hands in the air in disbelief. “I just can’t believe something as powerful as the Sailor Soldiers could have existed that long ago before their incarnations were revived.”
“Well, whatever it was is in the past; now we must focus on what has been unleashed.” They quickened their pace as they began to come upon the great hall. Many soldiers of various ranks were filtering in slowly, chattering among themselves in rampant discourse and curiosity.
Finally, the high ranking solider replied, “That’s what I don’t get either. How can something so evil, which had been sealed away, be released now? Who in the world released it? It had to be someone of great power…”
“I don’t know, but whoever it was, I doubt it was one of the Senshi. They would know better than to release something like that,” the soldier said. He pursed his lips and surveyed the crowd as he and his comrade finally made their way inside. “I have a feeling this meeting might just be exactly about the one who released such dark energy.” His comrade nodded and they both walked inside to join their fellow ranking officers as King Endymion took the stage.
The crowd became silent as they watched the violet motion of his cloak as he came up to the podium with a serious and somber face. He had horrible news to tell everyone, and though most people already knew the gossip that had traveled throughout the morning, everyone was still hungry for more details.
When the air was completely silent and no one else rustled in their seats, King Endymion cleared his throat and lifted up his head proudly. Within his eyes people could see a great invisible burden, and it rested heavily upon his broad shoulders.
“Thank you for your attention. I suspect many of you know why we’re all here, and many of you may only be partially informed.”
He closed his eyes tightly for a moment and then returned his focus. “As many of you have felt already, there was a disruptive force that appeared early this morning and shook the sensitive psyches of the Senshi and I. As of yet, this disruption is of an unknown origin, but what the Senshi have discovered is that it is pure evil-- a kind of evil that grows off the fear and hatred of others.”
There was a string of gasps in the large room and then people grew silent again, focusing their attention as Endymion divulged more information.
“We had not known of such an evil, for Earth is a peaceful place under Serenity’s rule, as you know. We suspect that such evil was dormant within the earth, even sealed away by an ancient magic not meant to be broken. The origin of whom or what unleashed this evil is unknown to us as well.”
The room fell into a pregnant pause, and many people could see the pain and worry etched onto the King’s face.
“I regret to inform you that this evil has linked itself to the queen and has left her comatose. It is draining her power as we speak.”
Many people gasped again, and others cried in protest and worry. Chattering started up again turning to mild hysteria as the King fell silent and watched their reactions. He had no good news to offer them, and it was plainly obvious by the emotions on his face.
“Oh no, the queen!”
“How can someone do this?”
“Who unsealed this unspeakable evil?”
And suddenly the world didn’t feel safe anymore, and King Endymion empathized with their fear.
“Silence!” he shushed them, and the room plummeted into a hushed sigh.
“Until we figure out how to revive the queen, all of the Sailor Soldiers that conduct your drills will be absent, working on strategies to meet this problem. All drills for lower level cadets will remain and be supervised by the Lt. Commanders under the Senshi. Please, do not panic, and offer your power and prayers to the queen. This meaning is adjourned.”
With a swish of his lavender cape, the King left, leaving the hall speechless and rising with unknown fear.
For the first time since the Dead Moon invaded, they were no longer safe. They had always taken advantage of Neo Queen Serenity’s omnipotent protection, and now, when they did not have it, where was their hope? Who could they rely on now when they could not rely on themselves?
----
As the cadets and soldiers were filtering out of the Great Hall, many of them continued to chatter among themselves about the crisis at hand. Nobody seemed to be outwardly scared, and many wanted to help the Senshi or even take matters into their own hands.
“Well, I say we look for the person who unsealed that evil,” Cadet Naru Masaki said loudly to her teammates. Many of them watched her with wonder and nodded in agreement.
Naru Masaki was known to be one of the most dedicated and hardworking soldiers in her battalion. Many of the younger soldiers worshiped her and the others of her same rank admired her. Akki Tenshou, her bunkmate, was highly unimpressed with Naru’s ‘talents’ unlike everyone else.
Akki saw right through Naru’s boastful façade, and realized through much scrutiny during drills that Naru was mediocre at combat, temperamental in a crunch, and had a mouth that was mostly full of wind. She scored pathetically low on her ESP testing, and even though that did not merit the worth of a combat soldier, it did prove to limit her in her range of expertise. If the Neo Millennium were ever on attack from space or anything else, Naru’s chance in battle would be type-cast foot soldier, and at most, a Lt. Commander.
Her lack of ESP abilities prevented her from pursuing a chance to back up the Senshi, who have the strongest Elemental powers because of their heavily potent star seeds; the core power of any living organism borne from the cosmic Cauldron. Essentially, Naru Masaki was just another human, and that’s why Akki treated her like she was no more special than anyone else.
“Hey Akito-san, your ESP powers scored particularly high,” said Ryome Kitsuagi, turning the attention from Naru to a spaced-out Akki. Naru curled her lip and glared at Akki when people turned to her instead. “Did you feel anything last night when you went to the Medical ward? It had to have happen just about that time.”
“Uh…” Akki felt nervous at first, but then shook her head. There was no way she could trust them with the truth, so she lied, “Slightly, but I was given some medicine and told to stay in the bed. I felt something small but then I blacked out.”
Wide eyes were upon her, mystified that she felt anything at all. If they only knew the truth…
“Who cares? Like I trust Tenshou-san’s intuition anyway! She’s still getting nightmares.” Naru turned to Akki whom gave her a sour look. “Who has nightmares anymore, anyway? This is the most peaceful and happy place in the whole solar system!”
“She must have had a very troubling past life,” Saki Hisouji quipped suddenly. Akki turned to her with interest. Saki smiled at her cryptically and took Akki’s hand. She caressed it, and turned the palm over to inspect it. She traced over her life line, and then turned her hand upward to inspect the grooves on her wrist. Saki’s eyes flickered for a moment, and she gave Akki a very grim expression.
“You must have been a powerful person in your past life, but you were not so kind.” Saki frowned and dropped Akki’s hand. Naru rushed over and locked arms with Saki as she pushed Akki out of the way. Saki began to walk ahead, ignoring Akki as she was left behind. The others in their unit trailed after Saki and gushed over her psychic brilliance.
Akki gritted her teeth. It was true that Saki was by far the most intuitive person in their group; however, Akki possessed something greater than all of them put together. Everyday she worked harder to obtain it, and one day she knew she’d reach inside herself and burst open that core of power sleeping within her.
“Damn bitches,” Akki muttered, and kicked at a marble pillar and then walked steadily to catch up to the other girls.
----
As Akki walked away, the morning shadows of the pillars seemed to move and meld into kinetic amorphous shapes, slinking through the rays of the sun and angles of the stone.
Within those shadows a menacing figure waited, and with turbulent fire eyes he watched the peace morph slowly into an ominous breeze, siphoning the lingering powers of the queen’s people and the queen herself.
And, as this terrible force hovered within the cracks of the darkest corners, he stared intently, obsessively at one lonesome figure - a host of great power that she herself did not truly know.
He cackled and the wind picked up. He brushed a phantom hand over the stringy tendrils of her hair as she walked along.
She stopped and trepidation filled her nerves. With a quivering jaw, she slowly turned her back around, inquiring the haunting murmur that beckoned her. The surge of power chilled her down to her bones.
“Who - who’s there?”
No one answered, but someone was there. He just wasn’t ready to reveal himself yet.
‘Soon, my child, soon you’ll be mine.’
---
Sailor Mars tied her hair back with her favorite ribbon. She felt droplets of sweat beading down her brow and on the sides of her cheeks. She pursed her lips and sat in front of the fire, putting her hands together and closing her eyes. As she concentrated on the flame, it doused larger and became hotter. She chanted, and the other soldiers hovered behind her, watching her and lending her their strength.
‘Please, show us the enemy we seek. Reveal the identity of the person who has inflicted the queen!’
“Ha!” she cried out, and the flames grew scorching and potent. She stared intently at them as fingers of flame fleshed out and formed a shape in the fire, the answer to the roots of their worry.
In front of them a large spider morphed into the blaze briefly and vanished. Everyone’s eyes widened, and Mars fell backward from too much heat and exhaustion. Sailor Venus was there to catch her, and she began wiping the sweat off Rei’s face.
“Everyone, this is our ancient villain.”
“A spider?” Sailor Jupiter asked with her arms crossed. She gave Rei a skeptical look. “This isn’t some horror movie spider, is it?”
Rei shook her head. “No, the message itself isn’t true to form. The spider is only the core definition, and it may not look like that at all. Our true enemy could even be partly human. I get the sense from the image that the evil we’re facing has terrorized this land before, long ago.”
“Hrmm…I should see if there are any ancient historical documents tied to a spider insignia in ancient Japan,” Sailor Mercury replied right away, and by the look in her eyes she had some preliminary ideas.
“Good, I’ll help you,” Sailor Pluto offered. “There must be something in the King’s library we can find. We might be able to pinpoint the exact era in which this evil was prevalent.”
Sailor Mercury nodded while everyone else agreed and then watched them leave to do their own duties. Sailor Uranus and Neptune, who were more prone to taking charge, decided to pair off.
“We’re going to scry the area outside the palace and maybe we can find a hotspot to where this energy originated,” Uranus announced, and the others nodded as they took off.
“Meanwhile, I’ll help Mars recover here,” Venus said.
“Yes, I’ll regain my strength again and continue meditating. Saturn, I think you should meditate as well. Your powers could be somewhat in tune with the destructive nature of this entity.”
Saturn nodded, and before she left said, “I’m going to check on Small Lady and the queen. I might be able to sense more on her condition.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jupiter offered, trying to be useful, and she and Saturn hurried off as Venus clutched the ailing Mars.
“Feel better?” Venus whispered, pushing back a tendril of Mars’ hair from her sweaty face.
Mars groaned as her head began to throb. She rose a hand up and massaged the spot between her eyes. “What do you think? I feel like with each minute, I’m getting weaker and weaker.”
Venus nodded, “Yes, it’s the same for me as well. It must be this nasty spider demon. It’s taking its toll on everyone, not just the queen.”
Mars paused, and the expression on her face contorted into a revelation. “Wait a minute...what did you say again?”
“It’s taking its toll only every-“
“Not that, didn’t you say something about a spider demon?”
“Well, yeah, sorta like that last boyfriend I had - a real demon. All controlling and seemed to suck the life energy right out of me. Though, he was human and I don’t think …“
“No, Minako, don’t you see?” Mars grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake the rocks out of her ditzy friend’s head. Venus looked at her quizzically as Mars smirked. “I think I have a clue on the origin of this problem.”
----
As the day ended, weary soldiers began filtering back to their beds. There was less laughter but just as much chatter as things seemed to stay ominous and uncertain within the atmosphere at the palace. There had been no word on anything new concerning the queen, and many felt that things would only get worse, and they mentally began to prepare for it.
“Have a good night, Commander Fuhara,” quipped a yeoman as he waved goodbye to his commanding officer.
“Get a good night’s sleep, Yeoman Hiro-san, and I’ll see you first thing daybreak for the minutes. Hopefully, we’ll learn something more about this situation.” Commander Fuhara watched as his yeoman trailed off to his own quarters, and then he turned his heel and began walking back to the command station.
He brought his fingers through his moist black hair and sighed heavily as it began to sprinkle outside. He began to jog toward the command station for cover, and he felt his normally pristine navy boots cake with mud and wet clay as he ran. The rain became thicker and his hair had fallen into his face. He was only about twenty meters from the command station, so he hurried, trying not to suck in the rain as he breathed.
Suddenly, lightning shot in the sky and the thunder clouds cackled. He was sent reeling backwards as lightning hit a pillar and shook it apart from a small structure in front of him.
The sky was darker and sheets of water blanketed him as he tried to bring himself up off the ground.
Groaning, Commander Fuhara stood up, brushing the mud off the back of his pants and bottom as he went over to inspect the damage of the pillar.
Then, the rain became even thicker over his eyes and he feared he was seeing things. A dark violet viscous fluid began to seep out of the pillar and mesh with the water. Fuhara blinked - sure it was a mirage from the torrent rains.
But he was deathly wrong.
“Who the hell are you?” he yelled at the oily black shape, molding into a human figure before him. “You’re not authorized to be here.”
The figure of tar smiled at him with a Cheshire grin and leaked out an appendage to grip the Commander’s throat. Fuhara winced as a tough, constricting tentacle enclosed around his neck and began squeezing his breath.
The last thing he saw was a menacing face that seemed to shimmer in the violent rain. The figure spoke in a stern, haunting drawl, “Your face, I need it.”
Then, Fuhara screamed silent with a suffocated tongue.
TBC…