He was furious. How could those children escape? They should have been killed easily by his shadow beings. And now they were working with her to destroy him. His very existence was being compromised by these weaklings! He could not have his plans disrupted, not now. Too much was at stake. Maybe he was being too cocky relying on his monsters to do his dirty work. He needed a way to get them all at once. But he couldn't leave; his physical body needed to build its power for the upcoming ritual. Perhaps there was another way.............
"It's you," Serena said in surprise. She stepped forward cautiously, not sure what to expect. "You were the one we saw right before we came here. Are you the one who caused that?"
She nodded. "Yes, that was my doing. I apologize for all the trouble I've caused you, and I know that you must want to go back to your own world. But I must ask for your assistance." She lowered her face and spoke in a humble voice. "Please save my world from the evil force that has taken over. I cannot do it without your help." The group looked at each with startled expressions. She sounded so tragic, it was hard for any of them to respond to that.
"Well, could you tell us what sort of evil this is?" Mia asked.
"Yeah," Ryo agreed. "We don't really know anything about what's going on here."
"Of course. Forgive my abruptness. I do owe you all an explanation." She lifted her eyes and after taking a deep breath, she began to tell her story for the first time since this had all begun. "Though I haven't used it for a long time, my name is Alosha. When I was six, the village I lived was hit by a terrible plague. Everyone suffered a terribly painful death, including my parents. Only my older brother, Trem, and I survived. We ran from that place and wandered for days in the forest, hungry and frightened. My brother did his best to take care of me, though even he was losing hope in our ever being found. Then one day, we stumbled upon an old stone fortress hidden in the forest. But before we could enter, several guards found us. Trem fought to get us both out of there, but we were eventually captured. They brought us before someone I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. My parents had told my brother and me stories about him, but we didn't really believe them until we saw him. He was called Arten by our people, and was considered to be the guardian of our world, a living legend. It was said he was immortal and had driven all the evil out of our world many thousands of years before. I had expected a fierce, ruthless person. Someone who wouldn't have any mercy for trespassers like us. I certainly was surprised to see the elderly man who stood before us. His hair was white and his face was full of wrinkles. But his eyes were kind and gentle and he had a good heart. The previous guardian had chosen him and given him extended life so he could protect our world, until he died or until a new guardian could be found. He had been alive for thousands of years, but he couldn't live forever. But Arten had many followers that would gladly take his place, so no one worried about that. We told him of how we had come to be there, then to our astonishment, he offered to take us in. He said it had been many years since there had been children there, and we would be a welcome change. I didn't know it at the time, but he sensed in us great strength. He knew that in the years to come, he was going to need our help. So we stayed with him, and as we grew up, he taught us many things about our world. He was our teacher, our mentor, and our loving parent. Our sorrows over our family and friends' deaths gradually faded, and we were very happy. Arten also taught us magic spells. Trem and I both learned how to manipulate the elements, and various other skills. I was so young, I thought it was just fun, and I learned quickly. My brother also enjoyed these lessons. There were some spells that I couldn't manage to master but Trem could, and some that I acquired but my brother didn't. But as we grew older, we realized that it wasn't just for trivial usage that we were learning these things. When I was 10, and my brother was 14, Arten finally told us that for a long time, he and his followers had been preparing to wage a battle against an evil power that would be entering our world in five years time."
Rowen interrupted suddenly. "Hold it, when you were ten? You look only seven as it is. How old are you exactly?"
Alosha shrugged slightly. "I honestly have no idea how long it has been."
"But how.....?"
She held up her hand to silence him. "Please, I will explain that. Just listen."
"What was this evil power?" Amy asked. She had been listening with quite a bit of scientific interest, finding this all very fascinating.
Alosha's eyes peered at her with such sadness that a lump developed in her throat. Amy suddenly thought that maybe she wasn't taking this seriously enough. This child had seen far too many sorrows in her lifetime.
"It travels through dimensional gaps, going from world to world. It's only drive is to make itself more powerful by stealing energy from life forms of all kinds, preferably humans since they have the strongest life forces. It's only weakness is it must take a host to be able to drain energy from anything. It exists on a different physical plane than ours, and must take control of something or someone to be able to interact in this world. Other than that, it is totally invulnerable. Once it takes a host, it will remain there and gather energy it needs to build up its strength. When it gets strong enough, it will be able to drain the whole planet of energy. Depending how big the planet is, it could take only days or many years. Then it will simply leave, like a parasite. But it is worse than that, because it has a mind and can think. The only thing that could harm it was Arten's magic that he had taught us."
"Couldn't you attack it right when came into your world? Before it could take a host?" Ryo didn't like the sound of this thing.
Alosha shook her head. "We might have been able to, but we didn't know the exact date of when it would come. We only knew it would come in five years. We also didn't know the exact place it would break through. It could have come through anywhere in our world. Arten didn't have enough followers to scour the whole planet. So he asked for our help when the time came." She smiled at the thought. "He had been like a father to us. Of course we agreed to assist him. We trained harder than ever to learn more magic to fight. Five years passed quickly and we all waited anxiously for its arrival. I was eager to show my skill and to prove myself, but I never got the chance. Arten took me aside one day and told me that I was to remain at this fortress. I had learned much, but this battle would be far too intense for me. I was crushed and begged to go, but he refused. I pleaded with Trem to convince Arten to change his mind, but to my disbelief my brother agreed. He tried to console me, but I was still dismayed. I attempted to make the best of it, though, and honored Arten's wishes.
"Then the day came and it entered our world. It's evil was so immense that we all knew at once where it was, even Trem and I, thanks to Arten's training. Everyone immediately prepared for battle, but my brother hung back for a brief moment to talk to me. He reassured me that everything would be all right and that he wished I could come too. But he would be glad that I would be safe. Then he hurried off to transport with Arten and his followers to where the evil had broken through, a skill all of us knew. I watched sadly as they all disappeared in a flash of light. I was all alone with my worries and disappointment. I was afraid for them, fearing that maybe the demon would take control of one of Arten's men. Or worse, Arten himself! After all, he was very powerful. If that happened, we would all be doomed."
Alosha waited impatiently for the others to return. It had been several hours and still no word from them. What could be taking so long? Shouldn't they have won by now? Maybe they were defeated, a voice in the back of her mind said. She shook that notion off. Alosha wouldn't believe that; she trusted in the powers of Arten and the others, especially her brother. Trem had trained so hard and had grown so powerful. So did I, she thought miserably, but I wasn't strong enough. Even though they hadn't said it out loud, she knew that was the reason. They wanted her to be safe because she wasn't ready. She felt so angry and frustrated. She should have been out there with them!
Sighing, Alosha went to the window and looked out at the stars. A streak of light shot across the sky, making her smile faintly. A shooting star. She silently made a wish for everything to be all right. Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock. The stars abruptly faded away, like a candle that had been blown out. The sky turned pitch black and an icy wind began blowing, whipping up her hair. "Something's wrong....." Alosha whispered, dread building inside her. She knew a sign when she saw it. Things had taken a turn for the worse.
"Alosha...." She whirled around at the sound of the voice and gasped in horror. Arten stood before her, his face etched with exhaustion and distress. He was stooped over and had a hand pressed to his side. He tried to say something, but his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
"Arten!" Alosha was at his side in a second. She rolled him over on his back, then realized her hand was wet. Glancing at it, she saw blood from the numerous wounds on Arten had stained her skin. "Oh, no......" Her hand began to tremble, but she clenched it in an effort to control her panic. Come on, come on, think! Remember what Arten taught you. You know healing spells. Those were easy enough. She placed her hand on Arten's forehead, concentrating her energy. But she was stopped as Arten's hand came up and clasped her wrist.
Arten's eyes opened and he shook his head at her. "It's no use. My death cannot be prevented, no matter much you try."
"Don't say that! I know the healing spells. I'll heal you and you'll be just fine," she said, determined not to let Arten die.
"No, it's too late," he said weakly.
"It's not! Trem can help me! I'm sure if he and I both try, we can do it." She looked around frantically for her brother. She then noticed that no one else had come back with Arten. Why was he the only one that had come back? "Arten, where are the others?" Her voice caught in her throat and she had to swallow hard to be able to speak again. "Where's Trem?"
"They're gone. All gone." Arten's tone was filled quiet defeat.
Alosha sagged visibly at this. "Oh, god." All the others....... Dead? How could that be? "Arten, Trem is......."
"No, he's not dead."
An immense feeling of relief washed over her. "I see, then where is he?" Arten's eyes meet hers and Alosha's heart nearly stopped. His expression was a mixture of grief and devastation. "Arten, what happened? Tell me!"
Arten took a labored breath, wincing in pain. "When we arrived, the evil was waiting for us. It somehow knew we were coming. It didn't even bother finding a host or run. I realized that it could sense our powers and it wanted to take one of us as a host. At first, it made no headway. We all knew how to avoid it and attacked from a distance. It was a prolonged stand- off, neither side getting in many hits. Then it took the offense and fired an enormous stream of energy at us. We all dodged it, expected it to be a lethal blast. But as we looked back to where it was to hit, it simply vanished. The thing had tricked us! Before we could do anything, it lunged straight at me. I think it knew I was very powerful and wanted me for a host." Arten stopped, anguish entering his voice.
"Then what?" Alosha pleaded. "I have to know!"
Arten shuddered slightly, but strained to speak again. "I was too surprised and slow to do anything. It was almost upon me when your brother pushed me out of the way, putting himself directly in its path. And it....it took him instead."
Alosha listened in stunned silence, her brain going numb. Finally, she managed to find her voice. "What are you saying?" she said, not able to grasp this horrible news.
"It took Trem as its host. We all knew it was too late. But even then, I thought I could defeat it. But I didn't realize how strong your brother really was. His abilities surpass even mine, if that is possible. Once it established its control, it easily destroyed our ranks' one by one using Trem's powers." Arten finished and spoke painfully. "Now it's all over. We lost."
"No! It's not!" Alosha said insistently, her shock wearing off. "I'm still here! Once I heal you, we can go and free Trem from its hold. There must be a way!" Desperate, she searched his face for any sign of agreement.
Arten looked at her, his eyes void of hope. "There's nothing we can do. There is no way to free your brother, and I will be dead soon."
"No, you're not going to die!" But even as she said those words, something in her knew that he wasn't going to make it and angry tears began to stream from her eyes. Her sorrow overwhelmed her and she slammed her fist onto the ground. "Damn you!" she yelled venomously, suddenly enraged at Arten. "Why didn't you let me come?! I could have helped! I trained so hard for this, and for what?! Now what will become of us? What will happen to Trem?!" Her outburst ended as quickly as it had come, and then all she could do was weep miserably.
Arten feebly put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I've failed you both. I should have been more prepared, but I was too confident. Now our world is doomed."
Wiping her eyes stubbornly, Alosha stopped crying. "No. I refuse to accept that. You are the guardian of this world and it is your duty to insure that this planet will be safe. If not now, then in the future."
"What are you saying?" Arten asked raggedly, having trouble understanding what Alosha was getting at.
She stood and spoke with resolve. "When you die, a new guardian must be chosen. And there is no one left to take that responsibility, except me. So," she said, taking a deep breath and finalizing her decision, "I will take your place. I will guard this world and save it from the thing that has taken my brother."
Arten stared at her for a moment, then shook his head weakly. "Alosha, that is very noble of you, but you are not ready for that responsibility. And I would not think of putting that on your shoulders."
"There is no other way. You are going to die. I may not be that powerful, but I will fight as hard as I can until I defeat this evil or until I am killed as well. After all, it is better to be killed trying then to not even attempt to do anything, even if it is useless." She looked down at Arten and smiled faintly. "Isn't that something you always taught me?"
Arten saw a familiar headstrong and stubborn look in Alosha's eyes, one that had constantly let her have her way many times. It made him realize that she was not going back away from this, and that he really didn't have a choice after all. She might actually be able to do this, he thought, suddenly seeing a hidden strength in her that he had never noticed before. He finally nodded. "I suppose I did say that. I can do this for you, but you must know that there is no turning back."
"I understand." Alosha said determinedly. "What must be done?"
Arten sat up with much difficultly, breathing haggardly. "When I was chosen, I had trained for many more years than you have. So I was much stronger than you are now. But there is a way to boost your powers so you can fight this evil."
"How?"
"I can put you in a state of suspended animation for several years. During that time, your unused powers will accumulate and grow. I can also fuse my powers into you now, making you even stronger. But you will not be able to use them at first, at least not to their full extent. When you awake, the spell I'm going to put on you will probably hold back your powers for a while. It will also hinder your abilities until it wears off. But once it does, you will have an immense energy at your disposal. Do you understand?"
Alosha swallowed nervously, but nodded. "I will do my best to defeat this evil and fulfill your wishes."
"There may be some side effects. And while you are sleeping, the evil will grow stronger and spread through the land. There is no way of knowing what to expect when you awaken. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes."
Placing his hand on her forehead, Arten smiled. "All right, prepare yourself." He closed his eyes and began mumbling in a strange language. Alosha suddenly felt a crushing amount of information and power surge into her body, causing her extreme discomfort. She couldn't move or scream, even when the pain became intense. It was as if time and space were converging upon her at once. Finally, the agony subsided, Alosha was able to open her eyes. Arten was lying down again, looking satisfied. "It is done."
Alosha was confused. Besides being very disoriented, she didn't feel any different. "Arten, are you sure it worked?"
"The spell won't take effect right away. But it will soon." Arten suddenly convulsed and Alosha knelt next to him again. He gripped her arm, his words coming out in short gasps. "You are now responsible for this world's safety. Be careful of the evil force. It is ruthless and cunning." Arten's painful spasms became less frequent as the light began to fade from his eyes. His voice trailed off as he took his last breaths. "Take care off this world. Destroy....the....evil...." Then his eyes closed and his hand slipped to the ground. He was gone. The room became very quiet, save for the sound of the wind blowing.
Alosha started to sob quietly as she gently kissed Arten's cheek in a gesture of farewell. "Rest well, Arten. I will not fail you." Even as she took the task of burying him, she still wept. She cried until fatigue washed over her as the spell took effect. As she blacked out, she swore she would avenge her mentor's death and her brother, Trem.
"When I awoke, I found I had reverted back to the age of a child. This was no doubt one of the side effects Arten mentioned, but I didn't dwell on it. I realized that I was much more powerful. However, I tried to use these abilities I got weak easily. The spell has not worn off yet, you see. I surveyed the land and found it in utter ruin. The thing has taken control of everything, corrupted the earth, and destroyed the people."
"It killed everyone?" Serena asked softly, deeply saddened at her story.
"No," Alosha shook her head. "There are still a few people left, but they all remain in hiding. Most were drained of their energy, leaving nothing but their depleted souls. He controls them as well. He sent them to dwell in underground caverns scattered throughout this world. They are his slaves, doing his bidding."
"Those are what you guys saw right before you teleported," Darien said. Mia also confirmed that. They had already heard all of this before from Alosha
Cye was disheartened at this. "Those shadows were people?"
"Yes, that is all that is left of them. But if the evil were to be defeated, their energy would be returned to them, and our world would return to normal, peaceful times." Alosha clasped her hands and made her plea. "Now I must ask for your help. I cannot use these new powers yet and I must stop this thing before he makes things any worse. I sense that very soon his power will be strong enough to sweep through my world and drain all the energy from everything. This battle will be incredibly dangerous, but you were all chosen because your powers are able to injure the evil being and the monsters it's created. Please, help me to defeat it!" she pleaded.
The group of teens was silent for a while. This thing sounded really bad, maybe worse than most things they had fought. Then Serena spoke up. "I'll help." The other scouts looked at her in surprise. Their leader looked back at them with a positive smile. Then Raye stepped up next to her.
"Me too."
"Count us in!" Amy, Mina, and Lita joined the Serena and Raye. Darien, Reenie, and the two cats also came forward.
"We'll help any way we can," Darien said.
Alosha looked at them gratefully. She glanced over at the Ronins. "And you?"
Ryo turned to his friends. "Well, guys? What do you think?"
"Sounds like fun!" Kento declared enthusiastically.
Cye chuckled at his friend, but readily agreed. "I'm in."
"Sure, why not?" Sage said, shrugging.
Rowen didn't answer right away, his face set in an unreadable expression. Everyone was so eager to fight that it made him feel out of place.
"Rowen?"
The archer shook himself and smiled at his teammates. "Yeah, I'll help." But even as he said that, Alosha alone noted his hesitation. But she didn't mention it.
"Don't forget about me!" Yuli exclaimed. "I'm staying too!"
Mia put her hands on the boy's shoulders. "Well, if Yuli stays, I stay too."
Ryo shook his head, incredulous. "If you insist, Yuli. Just try to stay out of trouble."
"Ah, Ryo, you know I'm not scared of anything!" He walked over and petted the tiger. "Besides, Whiteblaze can protect me." The tiger growled softly in agreement.
"It's settled then," Serena said. "We all stick together, Ronin Warrior and Sailor Scout alike."
"Right. Together, we can beat this thing." Ryo agreed. He stuck out his hand and Serena took it. The two leaders clasped hands, forging a partnership between the groups. Each person looked at each other, all of them comrades now.
"Thank you all. I owe you a great debt." Alosha's sad eyes were now filled with hope and joy. Somehow, she thought, we will win and bring peace back to this world. I promise, Arten.
Was that a corny explanation? I don't know really, but that's the low down on things. Oh, well, hope you don't think it's too stupid. If anything sounds like something you've already heard on an anime or fanfic, I wasn't trying to copy. It's really hard to think up ideas, but I think I'm doing ok. Especially those dumb names. Alosha I got from a book I read, because it's a cool name. Trem and Arten are names I came up with. I've been on vacation, so it's great to be back writing again. So, see you next time!
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