Astra:
Just to recap on the events of the last few episodes...
Reuisu
pressed every button on the elevator control, trying to get back up and rescue
Lucy. However, it did not do anything
to help him accomplish that goal. All
of a sudden, he looked up at the room where they had been in as a great fire
blasted out of it, shuddering the whole tower.
The power for the elevator cut off as it stopped in between floors. Reuisu's eyes dilated as he knew the
explosion had come from the room Lucy had undoubtedly been in.
Reuisu
looked back down at his hand with the rings on it. He then realized that the impact from the rings on Doomsday's
face had broken the rings. And for one
brief moment, Reuisu believed that he had shattered the Princess of Rings by
shattering her rings.
A Titan
was dead.
Reuisu
narrowed his eyes at the valley.
Reuisu:
Am I really to believe that these are the acts of a loving God? A just God? A wise God?
To hell with your punishments. I was your servant here on Earth. And I spread your word, and I did your
work. To hell with your punishments. To hell with you.
Cephiros:
God doesn't make bombs go off, and you know it. Stop using me as an excuse.
Cephiros:
Well, I've got a secret for you, too: Doomsday is a prick who can't get over
the fact that his father was right about something, and he wasn't.
Reuisu:
Guys, what's wrong?
Miya:
It's Deckard Cain! He's... He's...
Chris:
He's dying.
Reuisu:
Why does this keep happening?! Why do I
keep losing the people I care about?!
First my entire world, then Tristram, then Rei, then Lucy, and now
Cain. Am I doomed to lose everything
and everyone I've ever loved?
Miya:
So there's a sixth Titan?
Michelle
slid the paper and the Titans paper into place with one another, and it seemed
to weld together without any kind of help.
However, what Michelle was referring to was what looked like a seventh
silhouette, half on the original Titans paper, and the other half on the new part.
Chris:
A seventh Titan?!
Reuisu:
Well, it looks like we have a new quest on our hands, people.
*Theme
song: Dare, by Stan Bush*
Michelle
tried for the third time to use her time staff to open up Reuisu's void. It failed like the other times she had
tried. Chris knocked on the speakerphone
that was there.
Chris:
Reuisu, unlock the void!
The speakerphone
responded to him.
Reuisu:
Sorry, it seems to be locked!
The speakerphone
then clicked off.
Miya:
He's been in there for two days straight.
Why won't he come out?
Chris:
He's obsessed with finding some kind of prophecy or legend that'll help him
find the other two Titans.
Michelle:
What about Oracle? We haven't heard
from her in awhile, but she's known Reuisu longer than any of us. Maybe she knows how to get into the void.
Astra:
No luck there. Oracle hasn't spoken to
anyone ever since the incident back in 2002.
Voice:
Hey, guys?
The
three Titans and Astra turned around to see Mina standing in the doorway of the
back room.
Miya:
Hey, Mina. What's up?
Mina:
Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to tell
you guys that I was going to be participating in this contest to decide who was
the best woman of love in the world. I
of course, being the Goddess of love, must participate and fight for my crown.
Mina
stood in a pose of her arms against her waste like some kind of 50s
superhero. Miya stepped up, however.
Miya:
Excuse me, Mina, but last time I checked, I was Sailor Love. As in the sovereign of love, as in the
person whose going to win that contest.
Mina:
Oh yeah?
Miya:
Yeah!
Mina:
Oh yeah!?
Miya:
Yeah!
The two
stared at each other down, having then a brief tongue war. Michelle, Chris, and Astra sighed and
sweat-dropped.
It was
now several hours later. Reuisu checked
the external sensors and saw that the Titans were gone. He checked the time, seeing it was 1:00
AM. He activated the portal for the
void and walked out silently. He went
out behind the storeroom of the coffee shop and into the main room, where a
woman was working behind the table. She
seemed to have browner skin, like she wasn't entirely Japanese in her ancestry. Her hair was in two colors, the top portions
being a bright gold, while the lower parts of her hair were blue. She was wiping the countertop. She saw Reuisu approaching.
Reuisu:
A cup of tea, please.
The
woman nodded and started pouring the tea for Reuisu.
Reuisu:
Are you not curious as to why Lucy is gone?
The
woman, whose nametag identified her as Christine, smiled and replied.
Christine:
Some friends of hers said she's back visiting her parents in England.
Reuisu:
They certainly would...
Reuisu
had mumbled that.
Christine:
Sugar?
Reuisu
looked at the tea.
Reuisu:
Ah, a decision. Would it make any
difference?
Christine:
It would make your tea sweet.
Reuisu:
Yes, but beyond the confines of my taste buds, would it make any difference?
Christine:
Not really.
Reuisu:
But...
Reuisu
stopped.
Christine:
Yes?
Reuisu:
What if I could control people's taste buds?
What if I decided no one would take sugar. That would make a difference to those who sell the sugar, and
those who cut the cane.
Christine:
My father, he was a cane cutter!
Reuisu:
Exactly. Now, if no one had used sugar,
your father wouldn't have been a cane cutter.
Christine:
If this whole sugar thing hadn't started, my Great-Great Grandfather would
never have been kidnapped, chained up, and sold in Kingston in the first
place. I'd be an African.
Reuisu
nodded and put his arm on the counter, leaning his head against hit.
Reuisu:
You see? Every great decision creates
ripples. Like a huge boulder dropped in
a lake. The ripples merge, rebound off
the bank in unforeseeable ways. The
heavier the decision, the larger the waves.
The more uncertain the consequences.
Christine:
Well, life's like that. Best thing is
just to get on with it.
Reuisu
sipped his tea.
Reuisu:
What would you do, if you had a decision?
A big decision?
Christine:
How big?
Reuisu:
Saving the world.
Christine
laughed.
Christine:
Really?
Reuisu:
Really.
Christine:
I wish you the best of luck.
Both
Mina and Miya sighed as they drove in Chris' car back to the coffee shop. It was now a day later, and the contest had
past.
Both
Mina and Miya had won in a tie.
Mina:
This is completely unbelievable.
Miya:
We both accomplished the same things in synched time.
Michelle:
Face it, you two: you are never going to discover who's the best love person or
whatever. Get over it.
Mina:
There may be another way.
Miya:
How?
Mina:
We could try to best each other in Sailor abilities.
Miya:
Great idea! Chris, turn off into this
warehouse here.
Miya
pointed to an abandoned warehouse to their left. Chris sighed and turned the car over to the warehouse. They went inside and got out of the car.
Mina:
Let's get this show on the road! VENUS
CRYSTAL POWER!!!
While
she says that, her transformation stick shines as a round, yellow crystal snaps
onto the stick. Yellow energy bands
with stars twirls around her, forming her sailor fuku. She stands behind a wreath with the Zodiac
symbol of Venus in it.
Miya:
Gladly! CRESCENT HEART POWER!!!
Out of
Miya's heart brooch came three large hearts.
One heart descended down her body, and the other two onto her arms. As the hearts passed over her skin, they
formed the gloves of her Sailor outfit.
As the larger heart passed over her torso and slowly over her legs,
forming the mini-skirt and the boots. As
the three hearts ended at her feet and hands, they shot up to her head and hit
it, forming the tiara and earrings. She
stood in a pose with her making a smooching face.
The two
immediately went at it, Sailor Venus launching a barrage of kicks at Sailor
Love, who countered with blocking moves from her arms. Sailor Love tried to fight back with
punches, but found that she could do little against Sailor Venus' blocks. Suddenly, both had an inspiration.
Love:
CRESCENT HEART-
Venus:
VENUS LOVE CHAIN-
Love:
CRUSH!!!
Venus:
ENCIRCLE!!!
At the
same time, Sailor Love launched five pink hearts at Sailor Venus, and Sailor
Venus released a yellow chain of hearts around Sailor Love. Sailor Love was wrapped up in the chain
immediately, and collapsed to the ground.
Sailor Venus was not crushed by the hearts, but she was trapped within
the box of hearts.
Chris:
Looks like another stalemate.
All of
a sudden, an explosion on the nearby wall distracted them all from the
battle. From the wall came two demons. Their faces were shadowed, but their eyes
were glowing with a red intensity like Diablo's skin. Their bodies were thin and wrinkled, with dark-gray skin. They had heavy golden armor surrounding
them, as with each having a large sword in their left hand. Their right hands were glowing with a purple
intensity.
Michelle:
Are those Doom Knights?
Chris:
I think they might be Abyss Knights!
I've been studying some of Reuisu's books on demons, and they look like
the description!
The Abyss
Knights raised their right hands and fired a purple beam of energy out of their
hands at the two Titans. They
immediately jumped out of the way, and the ground where they had been standing
on exploded into an array of concrete and debris. Sailor Love and Sailor Venus attempted to free themselves with
little luck. Michelle and Chris hid
behind some metal crates. Michelle
pulled out her communicator.
Michelle:
Reuisu, this is Michelle! We're under
attack at a warehouse in the Western part of Crystal Tokyo! Reuisu, can you hear me? We need backup! Reuisu?! Reuisu?!
And in
the void, Reuisu slammed a jagged knife down in the communications grid in his
void.
Reuisu:
How can I work with these endless distractions?! Now, where was I?
Reuisu
examined the ancient texts again. It
was an excerpt from the Prophecies of the Final Day.
Reuisu:
"And a child will cradle Terror in his breast as the heart of man falls
under the shadow. A Wanderer will pass
through the ancient lands trailing chaos in his wake. The Three Brothers reunited as the mortal world trembles before
their might. And so it was foretold
that the Three, once reunited, would be shattered again..."
Michelle:
No answer. I guess we'll have to do
this ourselves.
Chris:
When we're through with this, Reuisu is going to be sooooo killed...
All of
a sudden, Sailors Love and Venus managed to break themselves out of their
bindings!
Love:
You thinking what I'm thinking?
Venus:
I hope so.
The two
Abyss Knights turned their attentions at the two.
Love:
CRESCENT HEART-
Venus:
CRESCENT BEAM-
Love:
CRUSH!!!
Venus:
SMASH!!!
Five
pink hearts appeared out of nowhere and slammed into one of the Abyss
Knights. It was slowly crushed into
dust. Sailor Venus raised her index
finger up, and a yellow beam fired out of it and into the Abyss Knight, burning
through it's armor and skin, and it screamed in pain. It quickly fell back down onto the ground, dead.
To Be
Continued...