Shadowed: Chapter 1
Aino Minako, or Mina Aino, as she was more popularly known in this day and age, sighed in annoyance as she was disrupted for what must have been the fiftieth time that morning. Fingering her short, lackluster shoulder-length tresses, Minako was promptly lost in memoirs.
She had hacked off almost all of her shining, past floor-length tresses after she had discovered the nearly-fatal mistake of having long hair. Rei had quickly followed her example, being a first-hand witness to what had happened: a particularly venomous daimon wielding knife-tipped claws had grabbed Venus's golden strands of hair. She had hung upside down, determined not to scream, incapacitated by the searing pain of having her hair ripped out by the roots. She had been unable to do anything except hang there, waiting for the others to come.
And when they came, things got worse. Mars's fire arrow had enraged the daimon, and as he dropped her, he had clawed a long, poisoned gash in her head. Mercury had been reduced to desperation, trying to remove the foreign poison and stop the blood flow at the same time from the deep cut. For two weeks, Minako had drifted in and out of consciousness, always registering Ami or Usagi's concerned faces before falling into the dark once more. Only a few times did she remember seeing Rei and Makoto, because they had been busy working with only a team of two senshi.
At the end of the second week, Ami had rarely been present, returning only one or twice to check that there were no other problems or complications and to give Minako a quick check-up, because she was occupied with helping Mars and Jupiter. Usagi, however, had no such duties and had been glued to her side, chattering her fears for her friend so vociferously that it gave her a headache at times. While Minako hadn't considered it the singularly worst experience of her life, it ranked fairly high on her long list of things that had occurred during the building of Crystal Tokyo. Crystal Tokyo, Utopia defined in a whole new sense: the world gone wrong.
Mamoru had later said he had seen her only when the senshi had first teleported to the palace, bringing her to the infirmary. He apologized for his absence, having had to deal with the news leaking out about the senshi commander being injured, along with the normal ruling business while his wife stayed at Minako's bedside. Usagi had also said that Mamoru had been staying up entire nights in deep contemplation over something he refused to talk to her about. The only thing she knew was that it had something to do with the Silver Millennium, and she couldn't think of what it might be. While Pluto had restored all their memories of their first lives, no one had had the time to go through them thoroughly–they were just there, accessible when they needed to be and quiet otherwise.
The Outers were on shaky terms with the Inners, proving recalcitrant in refusing to acknowledge Venus's rightful position as commander. They barely returned to the Crystal Palace, and then it was only to see Usagi and Mamoru. They have spectacularly good timing, Minako thought to herself sourly, always managing to visit when they wouldn't run into the Inners. But they haven't changed, either, the blonde thought bitterly; we've just become as ruthless and cold-hearted as they always were. We should never have let them raise Hotaru.
Suddenly, Minako realized that someone else was in the room with her and had been for a very long time. Cursing her inattentiveness that could have gotten her child, she scolded herself inwardly. She was senshi commander and long-used to dangerous surprises. Why had her attention wavered after so many years of harsh training to make it stay on task? Opening cornflower blue eyes, she exhaled quietly and asked, "How long have you been here?"
"It doesn't matter," the other woman replied equally softly. "You were thinking about your hair, weren't you."
Minako smiled ruefully at the not-quite question. "I know it's a weak point. I was just...indulging in memories. The usual."
"Do you think I don't understand, Mina-chan? I know what our hair meant to both of us and what it symbolized. Only Pluto has long hair now, besides Usa-chan."
"Damn her," she said. Rei didn't need to ask who she was damning, just nodded mutely. "So what's up?"
"The usual. D-17-32." Roughly, the purple-eyed woman's response translated to: daimon-seventeenth-sector thirty-two.
Reaching inwardly for her senshi persona, as the senshi's transformation sticks had been decimated a while ago, Minako asked, "What, again? And in that area? I thought we were getting rid of them...seventeen this week? The number's a little out of the normal range."
Mars appeared without ceremony, seemingly unconcerned. "We'll have Mercury double-check the stats. I wouldn't worry about it, though. This is our life now: hunting down daimons. They exist to make life harder for us."
~*~
Firing a precisely-calculated fog blast into the clearing between the enemy and Jupiter, Mercury's gloved fingers clicked smoothly, efficiently, and amazingly on the keys of her minicomputer as she murmured emotionlessly, "You're late."
"Sorry," Venus replied tersely, "what do you have on this one?"
"Female, spider-like form, main power seems to be an electric green web that will eat through anything and everything it touches. Very strong defenses, level three daimon."
The third senshi nodded thoughtfully, familiar with this level. Five was the highest level daimon. Three were slightly tricky but not that hard to beat. The problem was their excellent defense strategies that differed slightly with each particular creature. Keeping an eye on Jupiter, who seemed to be doing all right with her lightning reflexes, she asked quickly? "Any weaknesses?"
Bringing up a new scan with a quiet beep, Mercury replied, "Well, if the web is acidic, a well-placed blast of water might weaken it enough for us to try and destroy it. However, its weak spot is shielded very well. Plus, you're never supposed to add water to acid–it's the other way around. I'm not sure what will happen to the daimon. I'll also need some distraction from your part."
"We'll take the risk and distract it," Venus said. They had almost never gone wrong on Mercury's advice. "Crescent Beam Smash!"
"Supreme Thunder!" The first senshi on the scene smiled in tense relief. "Great, reinforcements."
As the green-suited sailor's blast struck the daimon sideways, it squawked and rolled over, giving the blue-suited scout her opportunity. "Aqua Illusion!" When the spider-like creature failed to stop, coming on mercilessly to the one that had hurt her, Mercury summoned her harp for her most powerful attack. "Aqua Rhapsody!" The daimon continued to scuttle forward, grinning sadistically. Unhindered by the Love Chain around one of its legs and a fire arrow in another prat of its body, it reared up and squirted out a fresh blast of web. Jumping aside, the senshi hesitated in her new position for one split second. Wouldn't it be nice, she thought to herself, to let herself succumb to the darkness overtaking their world? She could just let it get her, and there would be nothing left to worry about. Feeling a brutal pain across her collarbone and neck, Mercury's resolve for life returned a second too late. Screaming as her flesh was eaten away by something with the pH of hydrochloric acid at its strongest, she could barely see through the haze of singeing pain until she realized that something had cut the web away.
Jupiter stood before her, sliding a knife back into her subspace pocket, tiara sparkling with thunder. "Oak Evolution!!!"
The creature was stopped for a moment, preoccupied slightly by its new injury. Shrugging, it screeched when new attacks from Venus and Mars came. Gasping, Mercury summoned her energy once more as she saw its weak spot plainly in her vision. But suddenly she couldn't see with the hurt from the acid web, fading into unconsciousness from the pain...and the image of the daimon before her wavered, one becoming two, two becoming three...then disappearing entirely to be replaced with empty black. Closing her eyes, she ignored the other senshi and their alarmed cries. She had learned a very long time ago to focus, despite injury of broken bones. It was far worse this time, but she had the skill, didn't she? Opening her eyes once more, the senshi found herself swimming in a world of brilliant blue light. Clasping it all close to her, she gathered it into a sphere, not bothering to aim as she used all her senses to tell her where her target was. In one outwards motion, she hurled it at the daimon, then collapsed into relieving darkness. But before it came, a strange new prophecy passed before her eyes.
~*~
Mars remained in sector thirty-two, making sure that all traces of the daimon were evaporating and that none of its brethren were around. Venus and Jupiter, meanwhile, waited for Serenity to heal their fourth partner. Once the meatball-headed queen came out, smiling tiredly, they went in, while she went to rest, supported by her husband.
Ami sat on the bed, buttoning her top, looking extremely pale. Venus detransformed and stopped her with one hand, running her fingers across the broad scar that stretched from her neck across to her left shoulder. "Is this permanent?" When she nodded wordlessly, Minako sighed and buttoned the shirt for her. "Tell me what happened out there today."
"Mina–"
She cut Makoto off with a look, waiting patiently for Ami's answer. The blue-haired woman sighed, pulling on a lab coat over her clothes. "I just slipped for a second, and my inattentiveness and clumsiness resulted in a permanent scar. Yes, I've learned my lesson, and no, it will not happen again. Are you satisfied, Minako?"
"No," the blonde said sharply, "it can happen again, and you know it. I want to know what was running through your head when you stopped moving. You could have avoided it all. I want to know what you were thinking."
"You know," Ami whispered softly, holding her gaze unblinkingly. "We all do, except Mako-chan. Every day we live another day is not a blessing. It's a curse. We protect this world-but for what? For the people? They spend every minute whining about how we failed them and how we could have prevented the Great Freeze. Do they really care that much if we survive? I don't care if we survive anymore. I don't even care if Usagi-chan lives. If she dies, she'll still be with Mamoru-kun. We have no one in this world but each other. And we're breaking, Mina-chan. There's no hope for us. We can't even stand against a simple daimon anymore, and we don't have Moon or the crystal to help us. We always depended upon her and the crystal, didn't we?" she asked bitterly. "Well, that did us a lot of good, didn't it. We were reborn four some-odd times, and what good did it do us? We looked forward to being doctors, chefs, priestesses...we looked forward to this future called Crystal Tokyo. Did we get a Utopia? No. We just got the living version of hell. And pretty soon, we're all going to end up in the more orthodox version."
Horrified, the brunette woman stepped forward, protesting, "Ami-chan, stop it! You can't mean that. We'll fight-"
"We'll fight until we die," Ami said coolly, "what are we living for? We'll die soon, and then the rest of the world will go with us–unless Usagi-chan does something else extraordinary with that damned crystal. And do you know what happens after that? We're called upon to protect the universe again! That's our whole life, don't you understand? Fight, fight, fight. Well, I'm tired of fighting. Mako-chan, I should thank you for saving me. Now I can go and fight more, when that's the last thing in the world that I want to do."
When Makoto began to cry, Minako fixed Ami with a steely gaze. "You listen to me, Mizuno Ami, senshi and princess of Mercury. We have a duty to this world, and we fight till we die. Yes, we'll probably die soon, but we'll go down fighting–just like Artemis and Luna taught us to do. Do you understand me?"
"I am no princess."
Minako turned on her heel and left after receiving a nod of agreement from the other woman, straining to keep herself under control. And in that room, Ami sat in silence, thinking. Makoto cried next to her, but neither spoke.
~*~
A few thousand feet away from Crystal Tokyo, the dark slums of the world began: the world left behind. People were starving and living off whatever they good, dying left and right from starvation, dehydration, and disease. Relief efforts from the Palace could only feed so many people, and even Serenity and Endymion were starting to run low on food. There were not enough workers to build greenhouses and do any of the work necessary for farming. But there were still some people...some people that had determination and courage. Some people that fought to survive. And one of them was Jadeite Higashikaze, and he was no quitter. He would be someone who would live in this harsh would. His mission: find a partner and sneak into Crystal Palace to do his job, which would pay quite a hefty sum of money.
~*~
In the urban center of the world, nearest to the Crystal Palace, business still thrived. But crime and illegal actions were rarely condemned, and no one was sure whom to trust. Violence reigned supreme, and anyone who didn't care a gun was considered a stupid moron that didn't want to live. Nevertheless, a trace of humanity and civilization still remained...although no one was sure whether it was to break or save the world. Not that there was much of it left...
"Yo, Nishi!"
Zoicite Nishikaze turned around, annoyance written in every angle of his handsome face. "What do you want now? I finished everything you wanted, and I deserve a break," he muttered, green eyes snapping in anger.
The balding man scurried forward quickly, balancing a humongous stack of papers and manila folders. "Got a job for you." Before the blonde could protest, he retrieved a sheet of white paper with directions and one extremely large sum at the very bottom. "Look at the pay before you do anything."
Glancing down as he reluctantly reached for the paper, Zoicite, or Nishi, as he was more popularly known in office, barely managed to keep breathing. "What the hell do you think you're pulling on me?"
"I'm not pulling anything," the other retorted defensively. "From...the boss."
Eyebrows slanting downwards, Nishi nodded shortly and headed to an isolated office in the busy building. Every section was bustling with people except for this one... "Kita."
"Nishi. I told you to stop calling me that."
"Why'd you send me this? What do you really want, Kita?"
Kunzite Kitakaze sat back in his chair, smiling slightly as he touched the tips of his fingertips together. "Let's just say that it's a secret...and you know what happens if you won't do this for me, Nishi. I'm paying enough."
"I don't give a damn about what you're paying. I want to know what's going on here," the shorter, slimmer man demanded.
Powerful muscles rippling, Kita stood up and grabbed his shoulders, slamming him hard against the wall. "I give the orders here, Nishi. You aren't satisfied? You can walk out that door and into the street. Understand? Now do what the sheet says and stop wasting time. You have approximately forty three hours and twelve minutes in counting." Ignoring the stream of very developed vocabulary issuing forth from his mouth, the silver-haired man laughed with real amusement. "Get out, Nishi."
"I hate this world. I hate this life. But I still want to live. How ironic is that?" Shaking his head, Nishi headed out onto the street, on his way home...where his equipment was so advanced and dangerous that it was more than illegal, if such a thing was possible.
~*~
Shadowed
