Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S A New Quest Part Three: Expect the Unexpected written by Mike Koos --------------------------------- Our story so far: Osaka Naru and Kino Makoto - as Sailor Jupiter - have returned to the world of Ondyre, each by different means, and have found themselves caught up in a new adventure in a somewhat different world than the one they remembered. Hana, a youth who happens to be part rabbit with no knowledge of her people, joins the party in the name of adventure and to possibly learn more about herself. Later, the party encounters Liana, much to Naru's displeasure - but the rogue has brought the Amulet of Ondyre with her, allowing Naru to once again become Sailor Ondyre. The adventuring party arrives in the town of Geles and learns an unexpected surprise... Liana is, in reality, a Princess! However, as they listen to the tale, they are all unaware of a dark presence watching them... Meanwhile, Ami and Minako continue trying to search for Makoto and Naru's exact whereabouts... * * * * * He repeated the words once, and again. In fact, he'd repeated it enough times that the words had become more of a rebuke than a regret. He felt he rightly deserved it for putting who knew how many people in the world - including the Sailor Senshi! - in so much trouble. All he had wanted to do was put his underused programming talents to a good use, and perhaps earn some extra pocket money. Debugging commercial software programs all day or occasionally taking over for one of the guys in tech support wasn't exactly paying enough to eliminate all the bills. There was a reason he practically lived on instant ramen and anything with caffeine in it, and it wasn't just because he liked doing so. He'd gone to the effort of creating a shareware role-playing game. The idea to do so, much like the world he set the game in, had come to him one night and refused to go away. In no time at all, his creation seemed to become more and more alive to him. But that was to be expected, right? He was playing the role of an artist or writer and giving his new universe life by defining it as best he could. Amazingly enough, he had never had to contend with a case of programmer's block. The world of Ondyre almost defined itself. Ideas came freely to his thoughts at all hours of the day... even the one to cast his heroes, the Sailor Senshi, as the main characters of the game. What had honestly surprised Hirokazu was the ease of which the *program* had been written. He hadn't had to debug or correct it much at all. Every good program *had* to go through the debugging process to rid it of bugs at least a few dozen times, right? Oh, well; it only meant he wouldn't have much of a need to experiment with the debugging codes he had programmed into the game before he released it into the shareware world. But first, an unexpected twist changed all of this. A succubus, who went by the name of Chelise, easily charmed and manipulated him into a position where she could modify the game for her purposes. Ondyre became a place where those who played the game were sent, assuming they were foolish enough to let their characters develop to experience level thirteen... to become Chelise's victims. It fell upon the Sailor Senshi to investigate why people throughout Tokyo were disappearing in an unexplainable fashion. The Senshi entered the game to confront Chelise and save the lost gamers, while Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Chibi-Moon traced the game back to him. In the end, everyone had been returned to their proper place. Hirokazu mistakenly thought that all he had to do was abandon the game and all his troubles would end. This was not the case. Despite reassurances from the Sailor Senshi... most notably, Sailor Mercury, who seemed to know a lot about technological matters, the events would continue to influence how everyone treated Hirokazu. People became afraid to use any program he had come in contact with, even if he had done nothing but make two lines of code more readable. Since it was practically impossible to know which programs he had influenced, users soon were afraid to use *anything* released by the company he worked for. Hirokazu was brought out of his mulling by the sound of the doorbell chime. It certainly wasn't the time for his mail to be delivered. Nor was he expecting anyone else to pay him a visit. Most likely it was another prank doorbell-ringing or another person coming to confront the man responsible for the disappearance of a son or daughter into a video game face-to-face. He'd started to wonder why he couldn't just use the game to zap himself to Ondyre and live out the rest of his life *there*. Well... his luck couldn't get any worse, as far as he knew. He didn't dare say *those* words aloud; it was a belief that once one asked how bad things can get, something far worse soon happened. The doorbell chimed again. Whoever was there probably knew him well enough that they weren't going to be fooled if he neglected to answer the door. He sighed. He wearily trudged to the front door of his small house - he thought so, at any rate - and put a cautious eye up against the tiny glass lens set in the door. On the porch stood two young women whom he hadn't expected at all to see there. Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury. For a moment he was grateful to see them. The Sailor Senshi were practically the only people in Japan not carrying a grudge against him. In fact, he rather liked Sailor Mercury. Had she been but a few years older, he might have dared to strike up a relationship with Mercury. She was of a kind, gentle and knowledgable demeanor that seemed to put others at ease and made it difficult for anyone to argue with her. However, there was no reason he could think of for the two Senshi to pay him a visit... unless it had something to do with the game, or similar matters of business. And just when he thought his problems relating to the game were beginning to disappear... He opened the door. "Hello... Sailor Mercury, Venus." They nodded in response. "Please, come in." "Thank you," said the polite Mercury. When they had first entered this house, the reminders of Chelise's visit were still painfully evident. Chelise had left behind a 'watchdog' monster of sorts - a spider-demon that had covered everything with more than enough sticky webbing to keep its victims trapped there for an eternity. Or, until Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Chibi-Moon destroyed it and freed Hirokazu from the trap. One would think it would take much more than industrial-strength cleaner or, say, a sandblaster, to remove all that from the house... but somehow, Hirokazu had managed to remove most traces of the webbing. "So... how have you been?" he asked, nervously, then cursed himself for doing so. He owed so much to the Sailor Senshi; the last thing he wanted to do was act like an idiot in the presence of his heroes. Minako blinked. "Fine, fine." Unlike Ami, Minako wasn't known for her patience. "But we're here on business." The programmer's mood darkened. "Let me guess: the game, right?" The Senshi nodded again. What else could it be? "It *would* have to be about that, wouldn't it?" He sighed, escorting them to his computer desk. Ami related the story of their missing friends to him. It seemed the young woman who had somehow become a Sailor Senshi and defeated Chelise within the game had found her way back into the game, along with Sailor Jupiter, for unknown reasons. Only Jupiter had had a copy of the game; the other girl had found a different way back. Hirokazu listened closely to Mercury's words. To Sailor Mercury, he felt he owed another debt of gratitude. She had gone out of her way to speak with his superiors at the company he worked for and explain that what had happened as a result of his altered game hadn't been his fault. If not for her efforts, he would never have been able to find another job in programming had he needed to look for one, much less anything to do with computers. He pulled out the 'Adventures of Ondyre' master disk - a small, three-inch disk that looked no different from any other disk in his library - and pushed it into the disk drive. One of the original unintentional adventurers, a girl whose name was Naru, had returned to Ondyre *without* her copy of the game... which, according to Sailor Moon, had been destroyed. Had she gone intentionally? But more importantly, if she hadn't used the game to go to the world of Ondyre, was it possible the game honestly hadn't been completely to blame for sending many people to the game world? Sure, Chelise had been the root cause of everything, but she was gone, now... and still the game continued to uproot people and send them to a different world. Which meant that there could be others newly trapped in the game that he or the Sailor Senshi were not yet aware of. [Searching for "naru" - please wait.] They waited. It took seven minutes and two screen-saver activations for the system to lock onto Naru within the game's universe... and even then the lock wasn't perfect. The party's status displays appeared at the bottom of the screen, with Naru in the lead as Sailor Ondyre, then Sailor Jupiter, Hana and Liana. The four were currently resting in an Inn located in a town called 'Geles,' holding a conversation; their words appeared in a small window near the top of the screen, rather than being heard through the ether. "Hey! Hello? Can you hear us?" Venus called. The party showed no signs of having heard her call. "What's going on?" she threw out the question to no one in particular. "We can't hear them and they can't hear us?" "I don't think that's all," muttered Hirokazu. He ran a quick scan through the town, the surrounding countryside... "I didn't program any of this." "What!?" From Mercury and Venus both. He continued to scan. "This world is... far more *advanced* than the world I created. I never created any of these locations..." His scans settled on a picture and profile of Hana. "...or races." Mercury studied the picture for a second. "Hmm......" "What is it, Mercury?" her friend glanced in her direction. "I have a theory or two." "Go on." "It could be possible that Ondyre, once called into existence for everyone to go to, continued to exist and develop after we left," the Sailor Senshi with the short-cropped bluish-black hair said. "Since the game wasn't designed to cover or accommodate the growth, it isn't quite synchronized with the world any longer and is currently only a window through which we can watch." Hirokazu turned in his chair to face them, the glow from the monitor throwing a pale light at his back. "I can see that." "Of course, it's also possible that Ondyre was a real world to begin with." Minako whistled. "That'd imply some really *big* coincidences." Sailor Mercury had adopted the scholarly look she tended to lapse into. "Yes. But you have to admit it is possible." Hirokazu's gaze traveled to Sailor Venus, who was in the process of reading the party's conversation on the screen when she withdrew her breath. "Possible or not, it looks like they're on their way to a fight with a major demon." She straightened, long strands of blond hair falling all around her. "Maybe we should use the game and go there ourselves. They need our help!" Ami shook her head. "No. There's no way of guaranteeing where we would wind up, and even if we were to add a teleport ability to the program, it wouldn't do much good as it would primarily only work for places we have been to... until we update the program to cover all of Ondyre." Which wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. Minako's face fell. "That means... there's nothing we can do?" "For now, no. But we can modify the game to cover more of the world, and hopefully we'll be able to do more that way." Hirokazu sighed. "Guess that's my cue. I wasn't planning on having much free time this weekend." "It's only Tuesday," Minako thought to point out. "Yeah, well, in between my projects for work and other things, it'll take that long." Game or no game, they'd come after him if he neglected to show up for work or do any of it. Venus paled slightly. "What?" "Like I said, there isn't much we can do," Mercury repeated the words. "We'll let you work on the game whenever you can and check in from time to time." She pulled a small beacon out and placed it in the programmer's hand. "If you need to contact us for any reason, just activate that beacon and I'll answer as soon as I can." * * * * * The following morning, Hana was the first to wake. Her internal clock was off by a few seconds since she wasn't in her hometown of Mirinis any longer, but she had no way of knowing that fact, as she nonetheless rose with the sun. She pushed her arms high into the air and yawned, looking about her. The room was still fairly dark. Odd... Then she remembered where she was. Hana climbed out of bed and shuffled over to the curtains. The warm hues of the morning sky were beginning to show themselves through a slight cloud cover... though she couldn't see the sun. Obviously, this room didn't face the sunrise in the morning as her bedroom did. Well, no time like sunrise to start the morning, right? "Okay, everyone, it's morning! Time to get up!" Makoto stared through almost-closed eyes at the world. "It's not morning until I say it's morning," she rasped. Naru and the new princess, Liana, weren't as quick to wake. Hana, however, wasn't about to stop trying. "C'mon, guys! The sooner we get out there, the better! You don't want to be fighting monsters at night, do you?" Three pillows cut through the air toward her. She sprang straight up to avoid the pillows - except she hadn't bothered to check the height of the ceiling in advance. Her head bumped against the ceiling and as she fell, the pillows hit her anyway. Hana landed on her rear, whispering a thank-you that she hadn't landed on her tail... She ran a hand over the bump forming on her head. "Oww... okay, fine! You want to sleep, go ahead and sleep! I won't stop you!" No one responded. Hana sighed and fell back against one of the pillows. Why was *she* so anxious to wake up and get moving? If the rest of the crew didn't want to, why did she need to? She wasn't at home... there was no real need for her to wake up early. She could sleep late if she wanted to! Naru woke Hana from the girl's makeshift bed on the floor an hour and a half later. "C'mon, Hana-chan," Naru urged the younger rabbit-girl. "Wake up." Hana's ears perked up for a second or two before falling, as though they were periscopes making sure it was all clear for her to surface. "Mmm... a few more hours..." Naru sat back. "Isn't this the same person who was eager to have us get going an hour or so ago?" "I've changed my mind." Hana buried her face further into her pillow. For a moment Naru was tempted to let Hana sleep for a little while longer. "I'm afraid I have to insist," Naru said at last. "It's getting close to checkout time, so we need to get going soon." "...I'll pay for another day." Naru hefted Hana into a seated position. "No, you won't. Come on, it's time to go." The girl grumbled and drew herself up. mused Naru. In the meantime, Makoto was also grumbling; Liana had claimed the bathroom before Jupiter could lock herself in it to revert back to her untransformed self and then back again, the same trick she had pulled the day before to renew her Sailor Senshi uniform without anyone learning who she actually was. Not that knowing Sailor Jupiter's secret identity meant anything to Liana or Hana, however. Makoto merely insisted on playing it safe... something which she did not do all that often. "I said, I'll be out in a minute!" Liana's voice could be heard from behind the wooden bathroom door. "I only want to clean myself up a bit. I'm supposed to be a princess; I thought I should at least try to better look the part." "Oh," Naru smirked. "Is *that* what it takes to get you to clean up?" "I *heard* that," the new Princess commented. "Just wait until it is *your* turn in here." "It's *my* turn next," Makoto reminded her. Hana tried to rub the sleep from her eyes, careful not to leave behind any fur. "When is it my turn?" "After mine," Naru rose to her feet. The shops in town were no different from the way they were the night before. No one looked at Liana any differently than they had earlier, and she certainly wasn't disappointed that this was the case. Had she thought to tell any of them she was supposed to be a princess, they would never believe her anyway. Hana sniffed in the direction of the mildly overcast sky. "It smells like it's going to rain." While Naru had heard stories of people being able to sense such things as the weather by smell, she had never truly experienced the scent herself, to her knowledge. Living in an urban area often made it difficult to experience all Nature had to offer. She glanced up at the sky. There were few clouds there. "It doesn't *look* like it." "You can't always count on what you see," Hana told her. "Maybe so, but I don't think it's going to rain - at least not until much later today," Naru said. Hana shrugged. "If you say so." A few more steps brought them to the seer's shop, where they found a note nailed to the door. After their chance meeting the previous night, the seer had apparently left for parts unknown. It wasn't until Liana turned the note over that she discovered the part of it addressed to her. Their mysterious informant had departed during the night to rally the Diaran forces in anticipation of their Princess and Prince. Hana, her eyes sharper than that of any of her teammates, noticed something in the rows of buildings that caught her interest. "A magic shop! Oh, we've *got* to go there!" She ran toward the shop without waiting for a response. The others looked at each other for a brief instant and then followed after her. The magic shop was as they expected it to be. It resembled the seer's shop in some ways, overcoming it in others, with a commercial bent to it. For every three or four feet of space there was an advertisement or flyer for some sort of magical item, presumably being sold in the shop. Large, open shelves built from what could pass for mahogany lined the walls, each filled with many dust-blanketed old books and forgotten magical charms. Hana reached for a book on a shelf one row from the top and paged through it. Her eyes widened. "Light magic! I've always wanted to learn a few Light spells!" She brought the book to the counter. "How much for this book?" she asked the older man behind the counter. "Oh, and...... Do you have any summoning spells?" There was a touch of embarrassment in Hana's voice as she spoke the last question. Makoto recalled how Hana had mentioned she only knew how to summon 'small woodland creatures' when trying to convince them to take her along with them, and how embarrassed Hana had seemed because of that fact. She decided it was best not to press the issue and leave it alone for now. Besides, she felt she needed to practice and learn some spells of her own. *Naru* could count on more than her Sailor Senshi attacks in a fight; all Makoto had left to fall back on was her remarkable physical strength. But in a land where magic accounted for quite a lot, and where magic was many, many times easier to learn than a foreign language, physical strength alone just wasn't going to cut it. She found a suitable spellbook after taking some time to browse the shelves and brought it to the sales counter, at the same time Liana was buying a Protect ring for her use. Before learning of her identity as a Sailor Senshi, Makoto had always loved immersing herself in adventures and role-playing video games... but she had had trouble imagining how a mere *ring* could have drastic effects on its wearer. These days, she knew better. Naru was the only one who didn't feel a need to buy anything. She relaxed off in a corner, heedless of the curious stares the shopkeeper gave her. For some inexplicable reason, she had never needed to buy a single spell or book. Instead... the magic had *come to her*. *Found* her. *Accepted* her. It had adapted to her, using her as its conduit... and the power seemed to come freely - though it, too, had its limits. If she depended on her magic for an extended period of time it steadily wore away her physical strength until she rested. When 'they' said magic-casting required as much of the caster as it did of the magic, they were telling the truth! Presently, Naru was her untransformed self. She once again wore her motley arrangement of armor and equipment over her simple powder-blue frock. The Vibrance Fork rested at her side as her plain wooden staff; she leaned on it for support. Naru viewed the use of her Senshi powers in a manner similar to the use of her magic... to be conserved, and used only when necessary. That was what she had told herself. In practice, however, she knew she had used her magic more than was necessary. The same probably held true for her Sailor Senshi powers as well - although she didn't feel the same sense of depletion from their use as she did her magic. The questions returned to her mind. Why was she the odd one out here? She had magical powers stronger than most of the people she met, a status as a new Sailor Senshi, and someone else's voice in her thoughts telling her things she could do... most of the questions were voices on the wind, unexplainable to her. Even the end of this new quest she had found herself accepting was unclear. There was no reason the demon Pientris had to be their final enemy... with her luck, Chelise would return for another showdown. Would *that* explain why she had been teleported to Ondyre this time? No. Come to think of it, this time she figured she wasn't going to leave until she found the answers to her questions. "Naru?" Naru looked up with a start. Hana stood near the shop's exit. "We're all done here. You coming?" "Yeah, sure. Right behind you." "So tell me... Princess, which way do we go from here?" Liana grimaced. "I wish you wouldn't do that, Naru. I'm feeling uncomfortable enough about it already." "Umm..." interrupted Jupiter before Naru could respond, "Why don't we check the map that seer gave us?" "Yeah, why not?" Hana agreed, pulling the map from her backpack and unfolding it. She pointed a slightly oversized, fur-covered index finger at a spot on the worn piece of paper. "Here we are, on the edge of the town. The castle of the Diaran Kingdom is... um..." Hana ran her finger along the roads leading from Geles to the Diaran Kingdom. "...here. About three days' travel on foot, maybe more." "Enough time for us to build up some extra experience and strength." Makoto added in her thoughts, her white-gloved fingers subconsciously resting on the spellbook in the canvas bag at her hip. "That's assuming we're going straight there," Naru thought to point out. "We're supposed to go find Liana's brother and parents, remember?" "Ah." No one spoke for several seconds. "So which way ARE we heading?" asked Hana impatiently. "Straight to the Diaran Kingdom," Liana answered. She had purposely resumed her position at the rear of the party. "We don't need to bother with searching for my brother." When she noticed the odd stares everyone was giving her, she explained. "Corwyn and I seem to have this weird knack for crossing each other's paths before too long, no matter how far we travel or attempt to avoid one another. And I have a good feeling he'll be showing up sooner or later on our trip. As for searching for my mother and father, well...... if what the seer told us is true, they are most likely to be close to the Kingdom anyway." "But what if he absolutely has to be there? I mean, don't you want to guarantee that Corwyn will be there?" The rogue shrugged. "How? My brother and I - we don't tell each other where we are going. We merely pick a direction and *move*. He could be anywhere for all I know... but somehow, he always finds a way to find me." wondered Makoto. The last time she had seen Corwyn, the Sailor Senshi - Sailor Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars - used the Sailor Teleport to unwittingly reunite Corwyn with his sister. If what Liana said was true, Corwyn, and possibly Liana as well, lived strangely charmed lives. The same could also have been said for Usagi and Mamoru... if only because Usagi wouldn't let the love of her life stray from her side. She kept the sadness from taking root in her expression. "If she's got a 'good feeling' that we'll meet up with Corwyn down the line, I say we oughta give it a shot," Makoto forced herself to speak up in a nonchalant tone of voice. "We've dealt with feelings, hunches and sixth-senses before as Sailor Senshi, and you'd be surprised how much of it does come true." "Still," insisted Naru, "I wouldn't mind having a little more time to build up our strength and let Jupiter and Hana learn the spells they bought in town." The youngest member of the team looked confused. "What do you need to practice for? You're the Sailor Senshi!" "Hana... just because we're Sailor Senshi, that doesn't mean we're perfect or know all there is we need to know." A peal of thunder rolled through the skies above them, and it began to rain, as if to prove Naru's point. "See?" Naru's eyes found Hana through the thin sheets of rain. "Go ahead, tell me you told me this would happen." Hana stared in amazement at her for a moment. "Should we continue on, or sit the rain out in town?" Even her ears were seemingly drooping from being soaked in rainwater. "I would rather not fight in mud, water and rain. Besides... it really screws up my fur." Naru knew Hana wasn't really the vain type, so if she was cautioning them about fighting in a storm, there might be something to it. "We proceed... while being *careful*." Lightning flashed and thunder exploded. "Very commendable," pronounced a new voice. "A good plan for proceeding under these conditions." The four arranged themselves in a tight circle with their swords drawn and backs to each other. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Monsters fell from the sky in addition to the rain. The creatures landed on their feet and took up positions encircling Naru's party. "We're surrounded!" Hana hissed out of the side of her mouth. "Aren't we always?" Liana scowled, before rushing headlong into the assembled crowd of monsters. Most were humanoid; trolls and dark knights were relatively common monsters to encounter. A few harpies appeared here and there, along with the occasional lizardman and one solitary dark Elf, whom Liana took to be in charge of this attack as well as the one who had spoken. "Cover me!" Naru ordered Sailor Jupiter. "I'm going to transform!" "Right!" the Senshi nodded. She drew her sword. There wasn't much else she could do - using her lightning-based attacks was liable to electrocute *everyone* on the battlefield thanks to the water gathering at their feet, and unfortunately, she hadn't had the time to browse through her spellbook and practice a spell or two. Makoto was grateful for her Senshi uniform, however; at first glance, a Sailor Senshi uniform might not appear to provide much protection against the elements... but in this downpour, Makoto was far more dry than she should have been, by all rights. Her uniform also protected her to a degree against some of the more harsh, naturally occurring elements, such as wind, intense heat and snow. In addition, she had already become inured to hot summers and cold winters while growing up. Naru raised her hand high. "Ondyre Crystal Power... make... up!!" The effects of Naru's transformation were not lost on the attacking monsters. They hesitated, awed, for a brief instant. Naru saw her chance in their delay and executed a Sonic Revolution. Her attack cut a random, arcing swath through many of the monsters. The dark Elf brought up a hand. "Hold." All of the remaining monsters obeyed the command. "These are the ones we were sent to find." Sailor Ondyre narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, we're the ones you were sent to find?" "A message," the Elf cryptically replied. "Our mistress - Chalea - is waiting for the four of you in her fortress. You *must* come, or else. You have no choice. Continue traveling along this path and you will soon arrive at your destination." His message delivered, each of the monsters started to wink out of visibility in sequence, ending with the Elf. "Oh, no you don't!" shouted Hana. She cast the Summon spell she knew best... but by the time her summoned animals - a variety of small woodland creatures, as Hana put it - reached the spot where their Elf target had stood, he, too, had vanished. Without a target to attack, the animals Hana had summoned turned on the caster who had summoned them and swarmed over her, bringing her to the ground. Makoto was the first to react - and the closest. "Hana! Are you okay?" Unexpectedly, Hana broke out into a fit of laughter. "I'm... fine! These... are... my friends. They wouldn't... hurt me. They're just...... *tickling*... me!" Naru and Liana joined them, looking in curious confusion at the sight of a large army of small animals tickling Hana into uncontrollable laughter. "Did anyone else have a feeling of deja vu when that Elf mentioned the name 'Chalea?'" "...I did," admitted Jupiter. "Me, too," Liana seconded. "Why do you ask?" Naru filed away her minor surprise at the fact that Liana knew what the term 'deja vu' meant. "I find it awfully odd that I feel like I know that name when I've never heard it before." "Maybe you have." "If I had, I would've remembered it, I think. But I don't." Sailor Jupiter wiped the water from her damp forehead. "So someone who we may or may not know says we *have* to come meet her. Anyone *else* find this really suspicious?" "Are you kidding?" Liana sighed, folding her arms. "I think this is probably a diversion to keep us from getting to where we're going." "It's working." Liana and Makoto turned to look at Naru. "What?" Naru the Senshi smirked. "I'm curious. Aren't you? Anyway, if things around here work the way I think they do, we're going to have to confront this 'Chalea' sooner or later. We might as well just get the whole thing all over with." "Mmmm... you've got a point." With a barely audible 'poof!,' the small animals that had engulfed Hana disappeared to wherever her summons had brought them from. Letting her laughter die abruptly in her throat, the young rabbit-girl pulled herself to her feet. She was drenched, and her back was completely caked in mud. The fur on her tail and feet had also been matted down by the mud, along with parts of her hands, hair and ears. "I'm a mess, aren't I?" she released the energy left over from her fit of laughter into a slightly depressed sigh. Time for a good look at herself. "Oh, well... there's nothing I can do about it right now," she shrugged. A feeling of sadness became apparent in her emerald eyes. "The rain will take care of the mud, but I'll have to wait until the next town or the rain stops to clean up." Hana flung some of the mud from her feet. "The only problem is that until I *do* clean up, I'll look like the wild animal people think I am." "Hey, *we* don't think of you as a wild animal." Hana swept her damp hair back. "Thank you." She returned her sword to its scabbard. "Maybe we had better get going now?" Leave it to Hana to choose the impulsive plan of action. "I guess so," Sailor Ondyre bravely started down the path. "C'mon, let's go!" Hirokazu scrolled the text window on his monitor back several lines to re-read the conversation the party had had after their latest short-lived battle. "Hmm..." He stared at one word in particular - a name. "'Chalea.' ...Have I heard that name before?" He walked over to the open window and gazed through it at the urban scenery beyond, taking a slow sip from his cooling cup of coffee. All of a sudden, the answer came to him. Chelise's younger sister. *That* was who Chalea was. Hirokazu had seen Chalea only briefly; the younger demon hadn't said much before Chelise took her to Ondyre, although Chelise had threatened to let Chalea drain him if he didn't do as he was told. Since Chelise was evil, Chalea had to be, too. Why else would she send monsters to fetch Sailor Ondyre - the one who had defeated her older sister - and her friends? Chalea had to be *at least* as powerful and dangerous as her sister... Hirokazu reached for the small signal beacon resting atop a small pile of printouts on his desk. It was the beacon Sailor Mercury had given him to use in case of an emergency, what appeared to be a small, clear blue crystal about an inch and a half long, set in a gold cylindrical base. This, in his opinion, was an emergency. He turned the beacon over in his hands, searching for the way to activate it... and found the tiny button in the base. He set the dimly flashing beacon back onto the desk. Hopefully, Mercury would understand he needed to contact her. It was only late morning, and school was undoubtedly still in session. Mercury and Venus were, as far as he could tell, middle-school students. The phone rang seventeen minutes later. Ami's unmistakable voice greeted him on the opposite end of the line, though Hirokazu only knew the voice as belonging to Sailor Mercury. He told her everything that had taken place in Ondyre; that Naru's party was on their way to face a being named Chalea, whose name he recalled as belonging to Chelise's brooding younger sister. "Do you believe they're in trouble?" asked Ami. "I wouldn't doubt it," the programmer replied. "If she *is* Chelise's sister, then it's probably safe to assume she's just as dangerous as Chelise. And you know better than I do how powerful Chelise was." This Ami did know. But then, so did Makoto and Naru, and Sailor Ondyre had defeated Chelise in the end. If there was anyone capable of confronting Chalea, it would be Sailor Ondyre. Sailor Ondyre had the full backup of Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, as well as Liana and her brother Corwyn, at the time. Now, only Sailor Jupiter and Liana were at her side - along with young Hana, with no other means of support. "I still haven't made much progress with the game." Hirokazu hated to have to tell her that, though how much progress could he be expected to make in around twenty-four hours? "I understand. I'll be over as soon as I can, but--" "But you're in class right now and you can't just break away to come here," he finished Ami's sentence for her. The voice on the other end of the line paused, and he imagined the blush rising on Mercury's face. "Yes," she continued. "I may call sooner if I get the chance." "Okay. I'll continue trying to experiment with the program and see if I can get anything to work." * * * * * After a quick trip back into town to make sure their stockpile of supplies was enough for the coming journey and battle - and to give Hana a chance to clean herself up somewhat, dress better for the rain and change the wrappings on her feet - Sailor Ondyre led her small party of adventurers back to the path that would take them to their meeting with Chalea. Strangely enough, not a single monster stepped forward to challenge them. They walked for an hour this way without being attacked. The only thing greeting them as they traveled was a steadily increasing downpour of rain. "Why aren't they attacking us? Usually we're on the hundredth fight by now!" Liana was exaggerating, of course. She was entitled to do so; being stuck trudging through one of the worst storms she'd ever seen under an extremely cloudy sky was bad enough without adding paranoia to the mix. More dark clouds were rolling in to obscure the sky, so that it seemed more like the dead of night the closer they came to Chalea's fortress. Naru frowned. "They're saving us for their master." "Comforting thought," snorted Jupiter. "Isn't it?" said the other Senshi. "How much do you want to bet that if we break away from this path or turn back, they'll attack us?" Hana matched pace with the two Sailor Senshi. "Umm... isn't gambling wrong?" Naru smiled. "I was asking a rhetoric question, Hana." "'Rhetoric?' What does that mean?" "You didn't see that one coming, did you?" Makoto gave Naru a playful elbow jab. "A rhetoric question is one you ask without expecting an answer," Naru decided to answer Hana's question rather than Makoto's. "Oh. So why ask at all?" Naru sent the taller Senshi a look of warning. "Because some things have to be said." Through the gloom, she saw a thick branch by the side of the road that would have made a perfect torch for lighting their way, were it not for the storm. As it was, they could barely see the muddy road below their feet. "I think I see a light ahead!" indicated Liana. A light ahead, on the path they were traveling. In all this darkness... there weren't that many things for the source of that light to be. Chalea was insuring they found their way to her. "How cute," Sailor Jupiter scowled. "She's left on the lights for us." As they neared the fortress they could see more of it. By this time it had grown almost completely dark except for the light coming from the fortress' open drawbridge. "Even if we *did* want to go somewhere else, we would never see where we're going," Hana's complaint cut through the darkness. "You have reached your ending point, where you will rest forever," a voice that sounded strangely familiar to everyone but Hana spoke next. "There is *nothing* you can do now but enter." Naru's eyes opened wide. The next thing any of the group knew, Sailor Jupiter was striding into the fortress. "I knew it was a good idea to start hating it whenever she does that," Naru muttered, running to catch up to Jupiter. Liana and Hana followed immediately behind them. As was to be expected, the drawbridge sealed shut behind them. "Very good. Now proceed to the main chamber. Don't take too long." "Chalea?" asked Naru. "Especially you, Sailor Ondyre." The voice stopped speaking. "Is it too late to say that I don't like this?" Hana said cautiously. "Nice *rhetoric* question, Hana." "I didn't mean to!" Sailor Ondyre laughed. "There's nothing wrong with asking rhetoric questions." The voice returned. "Oh, shut up and get in here, already!" Ahead of them, the torches on each side of the rusted metal door at the end of the hall came to life. The door itself creaked open. Hana shivered... more from the realization that she was soaking wet than from fear. she thought, sourly. Oh, well - she had a feeling things were bound to become hotter in the near future, anyway... The four adventurers stepped through the doorway... and into familiar settings. "I don't believe it!" said Jupiter, frowning a little. "Didn't we just go through this with Lemnias?" This was because the room itself did, in fact, bear a strong resemblance to Lemnias' warped altar room. An evil influence had shrouded most of the wall in darkness, as though everything had been either burned or covered by the smoke from such a blaze. The very air also implied the same idea; if they stopped to think about it the pollution from Evil in the air began to choke them. Chalea's fortress had originally been a waystation of sorts... a rest stop for weary travelers passing through the countryside, and at the same time, a first line of defense against invaders entering the territory. A relic from ages past, and little-used in the present day. Chalea had taken over the largest room in the structure - the main dining hall - and turned it into her own throne room, her throne at the place of honor at the head of the large, wooden table. Preparations for a long-abandoned feast remained everywhere throughout the hall - but Naru did not feel like imagining who was going to feast this night. "I'm glad you could find the time in your busy schedules to come." Chalea was seated in the center of her throne, her hands bridged on the table before her. She appeared to be around the age of fifteen in Terran years, a girl whose globe of black hair jutted away from her head in many unruly directions. Her red eyes blazed like unstoppable fire. She wore dark violet clothes, all of which conspired to help her blend into the shadows even if she wasn't trying. What set her apart from a typical humanoid was her narrow, Elfin ears, and her wings, which looked as if they had been taken from a gray dragon. If there was any question as to whether Chalea was of Light or Darkness, her appearance answered those questions. Her voice alone radiated a larger, more ominous presence than she physically did. "The day's here at last. It was YOU," she pointed an accusing finger at Sailor Ondyre, "who destroyed my sister, Chelise. Now, I'm going to make sure you suffer an even worse fate!" Naru realized, but there was no reason to be happy. This wasn't Chelise... though all the same, a demon of the same caliber of power. Still, something wasn't quite right about this encounter. Naru wasn't sure how she knew this to be true; Chalea's voice simply seemed to have a second, exterior presence to it, as did the demon's aura, which Naru couldn't see but instead sensed, from a distance. Were her Senshi powers giving her these extra senses? The succubus was in no mood to give her time to test her theories. Chalea sprang to action and attacked, opting to overwhelm the entire party with an immense tidal wave of magical power without allowing them time to retaliate. After two miserable years of being stuck here in this world, Sailor Ondyre was hers to kill! She threw back her head and laughed. Again, Naru felt a second presence. Another wave slammed the four warriors into the rear wall of the hall. thought Makoto. It was bad enough everyone enjoyed playing 'toss-the-good-guys-into-the-rear-wall...' She readied a Sparkling Wide Pressure; it was cut short by a new wave. Oh, well - no one ever said fighting massive amounts of water with electricity was a good idea. Naru's fire spells also wouldn't count for much against as much water as this unless she had a higher-level spell in her repertoire that she hadn't used to this point. Liana excavated a three-foot deep hole beneath them using her Earth magic. They dropped safely out of the path of an incoming wave. She had noticed that the onslaught of water Chalea was sending their way was a solid, magic wall of water, not a true tidal wave. It would not divert and flow the same way normal water would in Nature. But, their advantage would only last until Chalea adjusted her attacks to compensate for their ingenuity. The four understood this without speaking a word. Liana was the first to leap out of the hole to attack. Ordinarily, Makoto would have been the first - except this time she couldn't use her Senshi attacks and would be left vulnerable to any walls of water. Unless... Liana commanded the ground at Chalea's feet to rise up and engulf her. The demon dodged the effort by taking to the air until the spell subsided. Next came Hana's turn. She cast the same Water spell that had had so much of an effect on Lemnias. When the water dissipated, however, Chalea stood unharmed. Makoto crouched down in the hole, pulling out her spellbook and hastily paging through it. There *had* to be something in the book she could use here! Page, page, page... ah-ha! She closed the book and recited the spell. An instant later she vanished into thin air. Sailor Ondyre charged straight toward Chalea. "Sonic... REVOLUTION!" Chalea dodged this attack as well, by throwing herself to the right... "SPARKLING... WIDE... PRESSURE!!" ...Straight into an attack from Sailor Jupiter, whom had teleported to a position behind Chalea. The demon stumbled in the direction opposite the blast. Naru, who had been watching Chalea intently, turned to Hana. "You know that summoning spell you tried earlier?" "Yeah. What about it?" By this time Chalea was recovering from Makoto's attack. "I want you to use it on her." "But she's a demon! What good will sending small animals against her do? They're bound to get killed!" "Trust me," the Senshi assured her. There was no time left to argue. Fortunately, Chalea had her back turned to them, about to blast Sailor Jupiter for having the nerve to attack her from a different direction. Hana raised her hands to call the animals to this place. Naru and Makoto didn't recognize each of the animals that materialized, rushing to overwhelm their demon target. That mattered little now, of course. Chalea turned around almost as the animals had her. Her eyes widened. Then, she did something completely unexpected. She sat down and allowed the animals to crowd on and around her. As Hana had done, Chalea giggled, playing with the animals, who curiously enough didn't seem to mind. Naru felt the second presence separate from Chalea on the edges of her perception. Everyone else in her party was stunned. Liana and Hana stepped forward to launch an attack while Chalea was distracted, but Naru held out an arm to block their path. "Wait." A demonic face took shape in a field of raging dark blue flame high in the air above Chalea. {You fool! Get up! You *must* attack them!} All of the anger had disappeared from Chalea's face. She stood and blinked innocently. So did the small squirrel atop her head. "Why should I?" {They are the ones who destroyed your sister and trapped you on this world!} Chalea shook her head to clear it. The squirrel leapt to the ground. "I understand it all now. You've been... *controlling* me, using me!! Yes, that girl DID destroy my sister, but Chelise deserved it! She was truly evil, and what she did was wrong!" {Do not assume to preach to me, child. You, like your sister, are also a child of Darkness. You, too, have done some of what she has.} "Not by choice!" growled Chalea. "And although I have to live with my compulsions and their consequences, I see now that you were controlling my sister in the end. Controlling me. Both of us, from our Dark nature." Her eyes glowed scarlet. "I will never allow that to happen again!" The demon overseer seemed unconcerned. {Your sister had a stronger will than yours, child. And still I controlled her. I controlled *you* by the strength of your depression over your sister's loss alone! What makes you think you can stand against me?} "You're not as strong as you think. You gained incredible strength by adapting and fueling my anger for your own power! Without anger... without hatred... prejudice, Evil intent, and Darkness, you have no power!" The demon overseer laughed - a cold, echoing laugh that sent chills through everyone's spines. {You have a lot to learn, child. For your insolence, I will leave you now to your fate.} The image of the face wavered out of existence. Chalea inhaled deeply, swallowing hard. Finally, she glanced at each member of Naru's adventuring party in turn, whom had by now moved to surround her from four directions, and walked back to her throne. Folding her wings shut to her back, she settled into the chair. "I'm ready for you to destroy me," she lowered her head. "I know what I've done, and I deserve it." The squirrel that had remained near Chalea's feet during her argument with the demon overseer clambered up onto the arm of the chair and sniffed at her hand. She shooed it away. "No," Naru said, walking toward Chalea before the others could react. "You don't." Chalea wore a puzzled expression. "What are you saying? I'm a demon. A succubus. It's my existence to tempt males and drain them of their life-energy. Don't you get it? I'm a child of Darkness, like he said." There was a note of pleading to her voice; Naru understood Chalea was attempting to convince herself she needed to be destroyed. "Maybe so," Naru continued, "but it's not every demon who can go against her nature for the purpose of Good." she smirked inwardly. Chalea considered Naru's words but said nothing. Naru was unsure how exactly to approach the remainder of the subject, and settled for doing so awkwardly. "I'm sorry about having to destroy your sister... but she was threatening my life along with many others." The succubus lowered her head sadly again. "I know. She gave in to her Dark nature and let it guide her actions." Naru offered Chalea her hand. She was aware of the risks of such an action - Chalea's own touch could be lethal! Or, if not that, then a scratch from any one of her fingernails could be dangerous... Would the fabric of her gloves protect her from such an attack or mishap? Chalea looked at the proffered hand for a few seconds, and ultimately, reluctantly, took it. "We don't want to fight if you don't." Naru helped Chalea to her feet. "It ends here." "Not quite. You still have to fight Pientris, I think." "Pientris? Was that him?" asked Makoto. Chalea nodded. "He came to this world from Earth a long time ago. He felt that this world - this *dimension* - was even more ideal for him to possess than the one he'd left, and began to build his power." Liana leaned against the table - a strange example of a Princess, Chalea thought. "So what's stopped him? Why did he just stop with taking over the Diaran Kingdom?" "He didn't stop with your kingdom. It's his base of operations now. From the castle, he holds the entire world in his grasp. He orders the monsters to terrorize people, encourages Evil everywhere and uses others as his tools to control the world." "Like you." "Yes." Chalea began to tell them her story. "My sister and I were originally from Earth. You see, because we're succubi, we suffer from a compulsion to seduce men and drain them in order to get the life-energy we need to survive. Chelise found out about this world and dimension, as well as the programmers link to this world. She reasoned that most computer users are male, and with the help of a computer game, she could have all of them sent here." "Where she could have a lot of helpless guys to drain," Liana said. Makoto was still dealing with the realization that Ondyre was apparently not an RPG-created world but an entire real world in itself, in its own dimension. Its own universe. "Yes. When she came here, Pientris gained control over her and influenced her Evil to grow further." "But... weren't you affected?" "I didn't even want to come, really. I guess Pientris told her to bring me here hoping I was just as bad as she was, but aside from the compulsion, I don't think I'm really evil. You probably know the rest of the story; when you destroyed her, I was trapped here. That, and because I'd lost her, made me upset." "And that let Pientris take control over you." "Yeah," the succubus sighed. "Now, I know better. I hope." "You know, this guy really needs to be stopped," remarked Hana. Her teammates agreed. "He must be the reason all these monsters are showing up now on our world." "Not entirely. The monsters, even me, existed before Pientris' influence. I was told a long time ago by someone that Good and Evil are always present and always do their best to keep each other in check. All Pientris had to do was influence the Evil on this world and encourage the monsters to breed. He can take over the world with very little effort." "If he hasn't already." "He's still got a way to go." Chalea gathered her resolve. "Please, if it's possible...... I want to go with you to fight Pientris. I want to see that he gets what he deserves. If not, then at least I'll end my existence in a more honorable way." The request surprised the team. "What about your compulsion? We can't take you along if you'll be draining every man we come across. I don't want to have to avoid towns from now on," Naru said evenly. thought Liana, incredulously. Chalea winced. "Okay, I'll admit the compulsion makes me think of that with every male I see. And I can't survive unless I drain at least *some* energy. So I'll make a deal with you - you take me along, and I'll only go after the guys who *really* deserve to be drained... the criminals, muggers and rapists." One theory Naru had heard once was that demons, like angels, were souls who had been directed to new tasks after the conclusion of their mortal lives. If that was the case, what had Chalea done to deserve her current existence? "Officially, you realize we can't condone your having to drain anyone." "I understand that." "So... what about your appearance? You must be able to change it, unless I miss my guess." In response, Chalea metamorphosed. Her wings receded; then the rest of her body blurred, taking on a different form. Soon, the succubus had the body of a bright-eyed Elf girl. "Hmm..." Makoto made an attempt to conceal her amazement. "Is that illusion, or real?" Chalea smiled. "Mostly real, with a fair amount of illusion. It's my curse; I have to be able to physically seduce a man as well as magically." "Ah... I think I don't want to hear any more about this." The succubus' smile remained, though weak. "Yeah. It made me sick to think about it, too. But my compulsion made me do all that anyway, and after all this time it's unfortunately become a big part of who I am." Hana met her gaze. "How long have you been... like this?" Chalea fought to keep her voice audible. "I have no idea. Years pass, and you forget to keep track because it really doesn't matter anymore. I'm doomed to live like this for the rest of Eternity, never aging, unless I'm destroyed either by starvation or by someone who has the power to destroy me, like all of you." "You don't have any alternatives?" "I wouldn't be here if there were." "Well, I suppose you can come along, then, as long as you *promise* to behave yourself," concluded Naru. "Can you fight without Pientris' power backing you up?" "Absolutely!" * * * * * It was a great day. Yeah. No, really, I'm not kidding! And we were finally going to be able to play our first game of outdoor volleyball this season in P.E. class. Now, before you hear some lame rumor or story from someone else, I'll admit it - I'm a volleyball freak. So? People're always telling me they're afraid to play against me because of my... 'dedication' to the game. That's a laugh! Making me sound like a pro trying to bully everyone else into a game... *Anyway*, as I was saying, we finally were going to play an outdoor game. I would've gotten to play more if Ami-chan hadn't paged me on the communicator. I had to pretend to need to go to the bathroom just so I could go talk to her. Sheesh, the things we do just to keep a secret... She told me all about Naru and Mako-chan and their group going up against Chelise's sister, and that she was supposed to call back later - except that she'd forgotten about her big test today in... darn, I forgot. It's not like it'll be a big deal if she misses ONE test, is it? But she was worried, and asked me if I'd make the call to see if Mako-chan and the others are okay. Now I'm worried again, too. She *always* does this to me. Leaves me to find an excuse to sneak off and do something team-related on my own, I mean. And I'm getting tired of it. I'm already getting strange looks from all my teachers for all the trips to the bathroom I take! You think monsters never attack during school hours and where we can immediately get to them? Guess again. Study hall's as good an excuse as any, though. I was expecting to have to sit through another boring geography class when Fujie-sensei calls study hall because she's indisposed. Maybe something she ate at lunch. I don't know. I placed the phone to my ear, put a couple of coins in the slot and dialed the number Ami-chan gave me. "Hello, Sawada Hirokazu residence." "Hello... this is Sailor Venus." Cool! I feel like a secret agent again! 'I'm Agent Oh-Oh-One, and my codename is Sailor V......' Nah. "I thought Sailor Mercury was supposed to call." Gee, he almost sounds *disappointed.* "She had to take a test, so she told me to call in her place. But she's told me everything that's happened. So...... how are they?" "They're fine." I can tell by his voice that he's telling the truth. It's obvious... Artemis and other people tried to help me learn voice analysis a long time ago, but I never quite got the hang of it. If anything had happened to any of them, though, he'd probably hold himself responsible. "They survived the fight. In fact, you're not going to believe this, but Chalea is now a member of their party." He's right. I don't believe it. "You're kidding." "No. They found out the major demon they're on their way to fight was controlling her, so they freed her from that. She asked to join up with them and they let her." Of all the strange things to happen... "So they're back on the right path now? How far have you gotten with the program?" "A bit farther. I've been able to catalog a lot by watching them go through the countryside and fight." "Other than that..." I prodded. "Nothing." "Nothing!?" "You aren't familiar with how much work it takes to put together a program like this or modify it, are you?" Uh-oh. He's got me on that one. "No." "It takes a *lot* of work and time to create or modify a game. That includes this one. You don't just crank it out of some easy-program computer construction kit." 'Easy-program computer construction kit?' Oh, please! "Okay, I get the idea!" So cut the metaphors! "I know you're worried about your friends. But we're not going to fix this any faster by worrying." Easy for you to say. I sigh. "Okay... I'll give Am-- umm, Mercury the good news. I've gotta get going - I've got to get back to class." *Why* am I in such a rush to get back to total boredom? Mako-chan's on Ondyre having all the fun and I'm stuck *here* on Earth in school! Talk about injustice... "Right. Talk to you later. Bye." Well, *that* was easy. Now... I wonder, should we bring Usagi and Rei-chan in on this? It isn't right not to tell them what's going on. Usagi must be tearing out her hair by now. I really should check with Ami-chan first. * * * * * By the time the unusual party of two Sailor Senshi, a girl who was part rabbit, another a Princess who until the previous day had been a common rogue, and a fifth girl who happened to be a succubus in disguise took to the road beyond the waystation, the rain had died away. The dark pall looming over the rooms of the waystation and the skies outside were also no longer present, having had less to do with Chalea's presence than they had thought. An issue nagged at Naru's thoughts. It was the same one she had discussed with Chalea before setting out once more for the Diaran Kingdom. The issue? Chalea's ability to change her appearance was primarily designed to render her more attractive to any males she met. Certainly the last thing any of them needed was to have to fend crowds of hopeful males off everywhere they went. Chalea had agreed to try to tone down her natural charm as much as she could - but without any men around to test her attractiveness... Naru would have preferred to be absolutely sure before proceeding, given their questionable friend's nature. There was no way to guarantee Chalea would keep her abilities in check. Chalea wasn't even sure she *could* subdue her charm that easily, either. All that was left was hope, and faith in her new traveling companions. She knew they were suspicious of her - heck, *she* was suspicious of herself. Not being worried about the Dark side of her nature which drove her would be a horrible mistake. One thing she could do, on the other hand, was influence the monsters in the area not to attack them as much while they passed. The other team members would undoubtedly want a few chances to build up their experience on the way to fight Pientris. Come to think of it, she could stand to build up her strength, too. She'd need to be fairly strong in order to live up to her promise of defeating Pientris. Thank goodness Sailor Ondyre and the others were around to add their strength to the effort. The four were so young, so innocent, so... good, basically. Unlike her. Being of Darkness wasn't her fault, as far as she was aware, and she was likely going to pay for all that the compulsions had led her to do over the years. Though - to its credit, there were far fewer ways for people to be tempted on Ondyre than on Earth. The barriers between Good and Evil were clearer, better defined. Chalea let her mind dwell on these points, as she always did. It was one of the few things keeping her Darkness from overwhelming her entirely and forever. Her sister had allowed that to happen. Chelise had originally been as 'innocent' as her younger sister. Neither had known any previous existence. But somehow, they knew they were sisters; that was enough. They kept to themselves, not socializing with anyone or anything else, save the victims their compulsions forced them to take. They were scared of what they were and what they had to become. Over time, Chalea watched her frustrated sister give in to the Darkness. In the end there was very little of the original Chelise. Chelise, who had become what she once feared she would - a thoroughly evil demon with no conscience to separate her from her compulsion - and she no longer cared. She had become the kind of demon she was supposed to be. If not for the fact that they were sisters, Chelise would likely have banished Chalea from her sight forever. She instead insisted on forever trying to convince her younger sister to join her in Darkness and Evil. Chalea wondered. she pleaded. There was a suspiciously familiar presence to the voice attempting to persuade her to give in to Darkness. It was persistent and always difficult to ignore, more so as Time passed, but... Of course! The voice laughed. More laughter. "Umm... Chalea?" Sailor Ondyre's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "It's time to fight." She made a quick check of their surroundings. Sailor Ondyre was right - the usual complement of monsters had worked themselves up to encircling the party. Curse that Pientris! Had she not been arguing with him she might have sensed them coming, or tried to influence them not to attack. He'd probably sent them in the first place. Hana and Liana immediately drew their swords and advanced on the opponents they singled out. The two Sailor Senshi dropped back. Chalea figured it was standard procedure for the Senshi to let the bad guys make the first move. And for once, she was on the side of the good guys. The girl whose colors were green and pink and wore her long, dark brown hair in a ponytail - Sailor Jupiter, Chalea recalled; she had heard of the Sailor Senshi on Earth but never had the chance to see any of them fight in person - was a novice magic-user. This was obvious in the way she carried herself while casting it. That, and the fact that Jupiter paged through her spellbook before every spell was also a dead giveaway. Her fellow Senshi, in dark blue and orange, whom Chalea only knew as Sailor Ondyre, carried herself like a long-time spellcaster yet not an established hand-to-hand fighter. A Sailor Senshi who was better at magic than with the use of her Sailor Senshi powers? Chalea made up her mind to ask Naru about the final fight between Sailor Ondyre and Chelise before her own destruction. Jupiter cast a Wind spell that radiated outward from their position in all directions to push their enemies back a few feet. She took a single step and almost faltered. "Be careful!" Chalea warned her. "If you're new to magic and not careful with your spells, you can literally cast yourself into oblivion." The Senshi nodded. "Using up all of my life-force. Right." Life force. Now why hadn't she thought of that before now? Chalea shouldered her way to the front lines, then reverted back to her true form. All of the monsters on the battlefield were shocked to see her. "Mistress Chalea!" She didn't reply, lazily gesturing to one of the nearest monsters to come close instead. The monster's eyes seemed to glaze over. It did as she urged. The party recognized with a start what Chalea was up to. "She isn't going to...?" Naru shrugged. "It's what she does. She's a demon, isn't she?" Chalea opened her arms wide to welcome the monster into her embrace. Soon afterward, her wings grew in size and folded around them both, obscuring them from view. A bright light - and a faint scream of agony - imploded within. Her wings opened, returning to their normal size at her back. Draining the monster of its life-energy had drained it of the color of life. Its entire body was now the color of ashes... fitting, as the wind scattered it exactly as such. Chalea smirked, a new energy to her facial features. "Okay! Who's next?" Several of the weaker-willed monsters ran. "Mistress Chalea," said one, whom the party decided to be the monster in charge. "We were unsure if the report of your defecting to the side of Good was true. Obviously, it was, and your existence is now forfeit!" The succubus shrugged. "Who's going to take it from me? You? Uh-uh. I've got a vow to keep." Surprisingly, Chalea spread her wings and flew closer to the monsters' ringleader. "Your charms will not work on me, girl," he sneered. "Is that so?" stated Chalea, with bemusement in her voice. She hovered in a circle around him. Sensing his chance to attack, the monster willed himself to raise the weapon that would slice the errant demon in half. Nothing happened. She continued to circle him. But... he found he did not want to take his eyes from her. He stared at her as though she were a flame that held him transfixed with its hypnotic dance. She had him, and they both knew it. Chalea ran the palm of her hand against his cheek. The hand glowed for a fraction of an instant. When she removed it, the monster screamed, his skin boiling. It could no longer breathe, and fell to the ground, hands locked around his throat in a mad attempt to coax just one breath out of it. None would come. Naru's party averted their eyes to avoid seeing the monster's final, futile attempts to cling to his existence. When they opened their eyes, the remaining monsters had fled from the battlefield and Chalea stood with them again. Her victim lay alone on the ground, his skin a highly unnerving, sickly shade of pale white. Hana found her voice. "What was that...... that you *did*... to him?" She shuddered. "The 'Touch of Death,'" Chalea relaxed her features. Naru recalled her earlier gamble that Chalea wouldn't hurt her when she offered a hand to help Chalea to her feet. Thank goodness for strange turns of events... The sounds of another battle drifted to them from a distance ahead. They ran, hoping to see what the source of the disturbance was before it was too late to help stop it. A hill rose ahead, which Liana remembered as leading into a valley. Once at the top of the hill they could see the details of the battle. In the midst of a circle of monsters was a golden-haired boy. A pixie was at his side, and with her help they were doing their best to fend off the monsters' attack by sword and magic. "Those are the same monsters that were trying to kill us a moment ago," Makoto growled. Chalea's eyes, meanwhile, were not on the monsters but the boy. "Yeah!" Hana resisted the urge to scowl, taking a breath. "We've got to help him!" Chalea broke into a run. "And we will!" "Chalea! Don't you dare!" called Sailor Ondyre, racing after Chalea. She tightened her grip on the Vibrance Fork as she ran. "I'm going to have to have a talk with her about her willpower..." Liana squinted to get a better look at the boy. "I knew it. I told you so!" Curiosity got the better of Hana. "Then that boy is..." "Corwyn, my brother. You guessed it." ------------ Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, Louis-Phillipe Giroux, David Wills Special thanks: Edison Pongklub Apologies to: Takeuchi Naoko and the others who brought us the manga and animated versions of Sailor Moon. All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?