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Senshi Kurai
Part 14: The Awakened
Jackie ChiangQuick Copyright notes: This is a fanfic based on Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, an anime/manga created by Takeuchi Naoko. Characters belong to her and all others associated with rights [Toei, Bandai, Kodansha, etc], but the storyline, ideas, and any other characters are created by me. 1997 - Jackie Chiang
Terra awoke, groggily. Her head spun. Groaning, she winced at the sharp pain in her body. She slowly opened her eyes.
"Good, you're awake," a voice said.
Terra blinked. "Nani?" she gasped. She involuntarily scooted away from the four girls surrounding her, who all looked like her. "This is some sort of dream!"
"No," the girl in the white robe said gently. "This isn't a dream, Terra."
"Who are you?" she demanded angrily, scared. She looked around the room, noting its grey, cold appearance and seeing a man on the ground. "Why am I here?"
The fading, blurred girl gave her a look. "We are you, Terra."
Terra started, recognizing the voice. "God, it's you," she whispered, horrified. "You're the one who's always haunting me... You're the one who caused everyone to think I'm crazy! You're that damn voice in my head!"
The girl in the odd, yellow outfit sighed. "Terra, please calm down. We don't have much time... You don't have much time."
The girl gave a hysterical, high pitched laugh. "Calm down? You're telling me to calm down? I'm here with a bunch of people who look exactly like me, one of whom is the one who wrecked my life? That's funny, really, it is."
The little girl shook her head. "Terra-san, please listen to us. You don't understand."
"You're right," Terra snapped. "I don't understand. I'm crazy, remember? The crazy girl who sees and hears things! The one who everyone always avoids, the one who no one likes."
"Except for Usagi and her friends," the robed girl interjected softly.
That gave her pause. "Usagi-chan..." she whispered. She smiled gently. "She was my friend... She and minna always invited me places... They came to my house..."
"Terra," the fuzzy girl said commandingly. "We don't have time for this. Athena, just do it."
"Demo-" the little girl said.
"She's right," the girl in yellow said. "We have no choice. Whether she likes it or not, she's a Sailor Senshi."
"Hai," Athena agreed. Staring at the confused Terra, she lifted up her Crystal Staff, pointed it at her, and said, "Crystal Remembrance..."
It all came back in a flash. Every single memory of her past she had ever denied, every thought she had every hidden, every feeling she had ever blocked away flooded into her mind and soul in an instant, leaving her stunned and silent.
"I... I remember everything," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Endymion, Chikyuu, the Moon, the Earth... My parents, my true parents... and my adopted parents..." Her hands went to the crystal rose necklace that she wore even as Gaia.
Gaia... Her eyes flooded with tears as she recalled her deception, her treachery to her friends. "I betrayed them..." she murmured.
"Terra," Earth said quietly, kneeling down next to the girl, "we are all a part of you, for better or worse, for all of time... Don't push us away again... Your friends need you."
"What happened wasn't your fault," Chibi Terra added solemnly. "But if you want to make up, make-up and do it."
This joke took a tiny giggle from Terra. She stared at the four girls around her, each a different section of her.
"Terra..." Athena said, "please do what you want. We don't want to force you to do what you know you can't."
Finally: "I think... I want to be whole again. I want to start over... with my friends this time." The memory sighed with relief, and the others smiled.
"Arigato," Earth murmured, her form dissolving into mist. The others vaporized as well, except for the memory, which was already misty, and reemerged together, forming the sign of Earth. The symbol glowed, vanished, and reappeared on Terra's forehead.
Closing her eyes, Terra wrapped her arms around herself, kneeling on her knees. A bright yellow light flooded around her, and her Gaia suit disintegrated once and for all, leaving her nude. The Crystal Rose appeared in front of her face, and her yellow crystal appeared in front of her body as well, her right hand reaching up to grab it. Opening her eyes suddenly, she stood up, throwing her right hand into the air.
"Wakusei Earth Power, Make-Up!" she yelled.
Yellow nail polish appeared on the hand in the air, and she twirled the crystal around herself. Spinning around in a circle, yellow roses flew out from her crystal, circling her with their petals. The petals formed around her body, creating her white body suit. Spiraling downwards, the petals disappeared on her skin, her yellow high heels with the star charms forming on her feet. Roses spun around her waist, and vanished leaving a double layered skirt, yellow on top, white underneath. Her yellow sailor collar appeared at the same time as her yellow choker, which had the Earth symbol on it, and her shoulder pads were the triple flingy, transparent types. Her yellow bow in front materialized along with a yellow Earth symbol, and her long trailing bow was in back. The tiara with the another Earth sign appeared on her forehead. Holding out her arms, petals wrapped themselves around them, forming her white gloves, with her Crystal Rose in hand. The yellow rose petals dissolved as she landed, forming her cape. At last when she was on the ground, her eyes opened, and her white mask finalized the henshin sequence while faint lipstick appeared on her lips. "Sailor Wakusei Earth!"
Taking a moment to revel in her fuku, which she finally wore after 1000 years, she went to check on her brother, Chikyuu, who was still on the ground, out cold.
She knelt down beside him. Putting her hand on his forehead, she softly murmured, "Heal."
His blue eyes fluttered open. He gazed at her for a moment. "A- Athena?" he whispered, confusion and awe in his eyes that were empty of the cold malicious need for revenge.
Earth nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Hai," she answered quietly. "Chikyuu... it's been a long time... but we're reunited."
She hugged him, and they held each other for a long time.
"Hecate!" Cynthia screamed, staring at horror next to Phoebe. "Matte!"
They were in a huge, empty room, which wasn't really a room, more like emptiness... like the space outside the palace. Hecate had her back to the two cats, her arms outstretched, forming a glowing ball of blackness.
Hecate turned her head around, her eyes red, laughing. She smirked, her eyes dangerous slits. "Hecate isn't here right now," she said with Beryl's voice.
"Beryl!" Phoebe hollered. "Let Hecate go!"
Hecate turned around fully, the black ball growing larger and larger, suspended in air. Sighing, she put her right hand on her chin, as if in exasperation. "Really... Why would I do that? I'm perfectly comfortable with this body... It's very useful. Besides, you're only a pair of sniveling cats. Are you going to stop me?"
"No, but we will!" a female voice shouted, twenty figures appearing behind the cats.
Hecate's eyes narrowed. "Princess Serenity," she hissed.
"And the Sailor Senshi," Uranus added.
"And the Magic Senshi," Aphrodite interjected.
"And in the name of the Moon," Wakusei Sailor Moon said.
"In the name of the ice planet Mercury," the Mercury twins said.
"In the name of the fire planet Mars," Mars and Ares said.
"In the name of the lightning planet Jupiter," Zeus and Jupiter said.
"In the name of the planet of love, Venus," the princesses from Venus announced.
"In the name of the planet of silence and death, Saturn," Saturn and Cronus said in union.
"In the name of the planet of time, Pluto," Pluto and her sister said.
"In the name of the planet of the oceans and seas, Neptune," Neptune and Poseidon said together.
"In the name of the planet of the heavens, Uranus," Uranus and Sunaru said arrogantly.
"In the name of the star of all life, the Sun," Sun said.
"And in the name of my sister, Earth," Tuxedo Kamen added, feeling he ought to add something in to make the episode longer.
"We'll punish you!" they said finally together.
"Minna..." Moon said after a moment, "did you have to take so long?" Everyone sweat dropped, including Hecate and the four cats.
"Minna!" Cynthia called, running up to them. "We tried to stop her... but Beryl's too strong."
Hecate giggled. "You're really too late, you know," she said in affirmation. "I've already summoned the armies led by my lord, Master Jade. They'll be here very very soon... and then we'll have this pitiful planet on its knees!"
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Hermes Caduceus Freeze!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Ares Burning Whip!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Zeus Electric Javelin Strike!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" (Using her chain, as in the manga)
"Silence Glaive Surprise!" [*Note: Formerly "Silence Glaive Apply", when I was under the impression her attack was different]
"Tranquillity Spear Utilization!"
"Dead Scream..."
"Death Shriek..."
"Submarine Violin Tide!"
"Poseidon Tsunami Wave!"
"Space Turbulence!"
"Sunaru Heaven Fall!"
"Arashi Rings Flame!"
"Tuxedo Smoke Bomb!" [as in the manga]
The combined attack rammed itself towards Hecate, who watched with an amused smile.
"Matte!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "Hecate!"
The others, remembering too late that Beryl occupied Hecate's body, could only stare horrified as the attack hit Hecate. An intense explosion leveled the area. When it was all over, Hecate was on the ground, unmoving.
"Hecate," Moon whispered.
Giggling. The Senshi stared in disbelief. It couldn't be... Hecate, no Beryl, couldn't have survived the attacks?! Could she?
Hecate slowly pulled herself up, giggling intensely. Her eyes flashed mockingly as she stood arrogantly in front of the surprised senshi. "See? You can't defeat me... It's already been decided by Jade! Foolish moon children! Princess Serenity, Hecate, and Apollo... The three sniveling little sisters will all die together!"
"Sun?" Moon said, looking at the girl.
"Nani?" Sun gasped, looking at the Moon's face that mirrored her shock. "I'm... your sister?!"
Hecate clucked her tongue, shaking her head. Sarcastically, she said: "Didn't your precious mother bother to tell you of you heritage? Princess Apollo, Princess of the Sun, heir to the throne, half-sister of the Princesses of the Moon, Serenity and Hecate. Your father," she spat out father vehemently, "was King Sun."
She sniffed, then smiled wickedly. "Too bad his little, uh, accident killed only him. You survived, you little brat. I almost had the Sun within my control too! The fates were kind... but they won't be again!"
"You killed my father..." Sun hissed, taking in the meaning of Beryl's words, clenching her fists together. "And you killed my mother too..."
A rumbling sound shook the ground. Hecate turned, her eyes rapaciously wide, holding out her arms as the large black energy ball turned into a portal. In the distance from the other side came the sound of long, vicious laughter pealing through the air.
"No!" Saturn screamed out.
"We can't let it get through!" Hermes cried.
"It's too late," Hecate said, smiling. "Here is my lord, Master Jade! Come, Master!"
With a burst of black light, an eerie, black mass floated outwards, followed by a hoard of shifting, undefinable black things. The force of their entry sent the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen flying backwards, hitting the ground.
"Master Jade!" Hecate bowed immediately.
"Beryl," the black mass hissed slowly. It was the color of black jade, a rare, powerful stone only found on the other side... Wherever that was. "You have served me well."
"Hai, my lord," she said ecstatically. "I have pleased your grace?"
"Hai..." it hissed. "But unfortunately, you've failed to defeat the Sailor Senshi once again."
"Gomen," Hecate/Beryl murmured.
The black mass frowned. "Sorry? Sorry isn't good enough, I'm afraid. You've outlived your usefulness, Beryl."
Hecate gaped in disbelief. "You can't mean that! After all that I've done for you! You can't destroy me!" Beryl's form leaped out of Hecate, who fell to the ground, unmoving, and turned into a streak of red matter.
The black mass laughed, and as Beryl struck towards him, he turned into a man with a sword, and sliced through her. Screaming in agony, Beryl, still the red matter, fell to the ground with a splat. Drifting away into dust... The final confrontation with Beryl was complete.
Jade sneered at the Sailor Senshi. "You thought you could really stop me. That's so... amusing. But as you can see, you are too late. The Second Passing is coming!"
"Second Passing?" Pluto whispered, thinking frantically, her eyes narrowed. "No... It can't be... It's too early!"
"Nani?" Mars demanded. "What is the Second Passing?"
Before Pluto could answer, Jade's minions flew towards them attacking them. They separated, each fighting two or three of the enemies.
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!" Jupiter shouted, spinning in a circle, the lightning mixing with the leaves that hit two of the black masses.
"Poseidon Tsunami Wave!" Poseidon held up her Tsunami Trident, a surge of water coming from its depths, the tsunami crushing more of the dark servants.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Mercury played her Mercury Harp, fingers drawing a stream of cold water from the strings, which swept over the masses.
"Dead Scream..."
"Death Shriek..."
Pluto and Hades combined their oddly silent, pink energy balls, which merged to strike five of the black things.
"Shimatta!" Uranus cried. "There are too many of them!" Her Space Turbulence took care of more of the enemies.
"We have to seal off the portal!" Neptune shouted.
"Aah!" Mars fell to her knees after two flying enemies hit her in the back.
"Mars!" Ares said, then fell to on her side as other masses hit her in the stomach and side.
Mercury, Hermes, Venus, Aphrodite, Hades, Sunaru, Cronus, Zeus, Jupiter, and Pluto followed, all being beaten to the ground.
Jade laughed at their weakness. Throwing up his hands, his voice thundered through the room. "You can't prevent the Second Passing, you weak mortals! It's predestined..."
"Moon Rainbow Wakusei Blade!" Wakusei Moon shouted, slicing through several of the enemies that surrounded her and Tuxedo Kamen.
"Tuxedo Smoke Bomb!" Tuxedo Kamen said, a burst of smoke and fire flying from his hands.
"Arashi Rings Flame!" Sun cried out, her Solar Katanas letting loose flying rings.
"Silence Glaive Surprise!" Saturn said, destroying all the enemies in her path.
"Submarine Reflection!" The light from Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror broke through the darkness of the masses.
Lord Jade narrowed his eyes. "You Sailor Senshi are getting annoying. Let's just end this now."
He flipped his right hand, and black energy flew from it, knocking Saturn, Neptune, Sun, Tuxedo Kamen, and Moon down.
Moon's sword clattered away. "No!" she whispered. She reached for it, but Jade stepped on top of the sword. He smirked.
"Moon brat... Can't defeat me... The legendary power of the ginzuishou is going to end right now."
He drew out his sword.
"Sailor Moon!" the others cried out.
"Your future ends now!" he said, and he flung his sword downwards.
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