Starlit Ruins

  'Where has she gone!?' he cried. The four young women who stood before him had each a unique reaction: The brunette flinched, wringing her gauntleted hands, a frightened expression marking her face. The blue haired girl snarled as her auric power peaked, causing the other girls to step back. The remaining two, a raven haired girl - who's s arguing with Jisuruka ceased, the last girl of a trademark infringing purple odango atama. 'Curse that wretched girl!'

  'You cannot of have honestly expected her to maintain her alliance,' Jisuruka stated evenly.

  'No. As a matter of fact, Yanei has exceeded my expectation. That is the meat of the matter,' he snarled. The expression faded, to be replaced by an earnest smile. 'I am proud of her. To have eluded me portrays cunning I did not believe she had. Cunning you four,' he spat vehemently. 'Most of all your dead sister, fail to show me. We are very close to ending this war. Mistakes cannot be afforded!'

  'What about the spooked multitude?' the blue haired girl requested.

  'And squander precious resources?' he growled. 'Do not speak if you have not understood.'

  'Panji just wants to play with the senshi,' the midnight haired girl grinned.

  'Her duties are clear, as are yours.' He turned and approached the battered and bound young woman who winced weakly at the protrusion of dark iron through her midsection. 'You see Xalia? I have kept my end of the bargain. This is the result of your treachery. Did you honestly believe that such a simple spell would elude me?'

  She could not meet his eyes, for she could not move her face, the lips of which were locked to Panji's. Consummate hatred glowered within her soul.

  'Want not, waste not, as the humans say,' he stated coldly, turning away from the badly wounded young woman, in both physical and emotional terms.

  'I never trusted her,' Jisuruka remarked.

  'Then you believe the alliance was a mistake?'

  She floundered in place, gazing about for support, and upon finding none, lowered her eyes submissively. 'No Uraki-Ayo-sama. No. Forgive me.'

  'No Jisuruka,' he said, his voice gaining an interested tone. 'Explain to me your reasoning.'

  She blinked at him then said, 'Omae-sama, I am worried she has cost us time and energy we do not have to spare. The Inner Senshi seem limitless!'

  'An astute observation, but our tactics are not yet spent. Have some patience, and you will be rewarded.'

  'Hai. If it is your desire,' she paused, gazing on as the blue and black haired girls had their way with the weakly struggling Xalia. 'I understand she's strong?'

  'Quite,' Uraki-Ayo agreed. 'Her strength was yours twofold. She would be a fair challenge for you to defeat at full strength. No matter! You may each have a turn with her. Jisuruka and I must leave to discuss other plans.'

  As they proceeded apace, the young woman's vitality was renewed by the ignition of humiliation and sun paling agony, and the verbal expression of it in languishing moans and pleas for mercy. Jisuruka frowned behind the pneumatically closing door of iron and manna. 'She's very pretty. A hyperactive, sweet girl. It's not her fault she was chosen by the Kei.'

  'On the contrary, it is very much her fault. She rose to the performance of skill and talent in her grasp to achieve the status of Neo Senshi. If she had not, Nasura simply would have selected another. Nonetheless, she was the first, and is to be the last. Nasura is aware of her subterfuge, and attempts even now to seek a method of rescuing her. Her attitude regarding this matter puzzles me. Before long she will be dead. I really fail to see how she might be worth the trouble.' Uraki-Ayo neared a redwood throne and carefully placed himself upon it.

  'I think it is due to her loyalty. Such allies are worth preserving, if one has the resources. Uraki-san, I offer, in that light, that she may make a useful pawn. Another lever with which to tip the scales?'

  'We do not discard active pieces. Bide your time and be two steps ahead of the senshi. Each encounter raises the value of our quarry, and the risks we take to acquire them.'

  'Of course Uraki-sama,' Jisuruka bowed respectively.

  'Even this unexpected variable does not alter the odds. The Bishojo Sailor Senshi's advancement has upset the balance too greatly.'

  'Omae-sama?' Jisuruka puzzled, approaching the ages old leader and sitting upon his lap.

  'They are angels now, Jisu-chan,' he explained gently, resting his hand upon her naked thigh and caressing it softly. 'They are holy beings, with power enough to annihilate any total force I can send at once, given our limited resources. Even the clones are not so powerful. I could not have prepared for this,' he growled, smacking his fist on Jisuruka's thigh, who uttered out faintly as the bone under her flesh cracked.

  'Forgive me Jisu-chan,' he whispered, chastising himself internally as he took several calming breaths. He began caressing her thigh again, but with greater effort, letting a spell heal the damage done by his rampant temper. 'You have not been unkind to me. This was not warranted.'

  She bit her lip, and bowed her head while reaching under his hood. 'It is my fault. If I had known, you would not have become angry.'

  'Listen child! Do you not hear me? This is pure foolishness,' he growled faintly, removing her hand from his hood. 'You do not deserve the brunt of my temper. Moreover you know better. There is no source in this realm which could have informed you before I had.' Mostly because I have seen your spies slain. 'Forget the womanly nonsense in your head and listen to my words.'

  Jisuruka did not seem fazed as she retreated her hands, clasping them in her lap. 'I have decided that you are to pose as a Neo Senshi, and undermine them. Though it is clear Nasura is aware of the situation, I believe she will not be able to refuse you.'

  'Omae-sama, I fail to understand.’

  'You must assume the appearance of a defector. Nasura will offer you asylum, even though she is well aware of your past deeds. It is not in their manner to refuse the needy. Do you understand?'

  'Hai Uraki-Ayo,' Jisuruka nodded, hiding her nervousness. It would have to be a fairly dire situation for her to betray the NegaForce. She knew she would have to suffer near deathly wounding to gain Nasura's sympathy. Hardly a mollifying thought.

  'Also, I would appreciate it if you could locate and terminate Yanei.'

  Jisuruka nodded simply, straining to contain her reservations. 'And the odds?'

  Uraki-Ayo smirked satisfactorily. 'Yanei poses absolutely no threat. I simply abhor loose ends. As for the young senshi, I can make you the match of any one of them. That will come later. For now, you may let that womanly nature of yours do as it will.'

  A smile met her lips as she slipped his hood away and slid open his cloak, laying a generous kiss upon his crackled and worn lips.

  @~%~~~

  Before them lay a twisting tower of colour, shaping the sky as if wrought by the hands of a drug infused surrealist artist. The five senshi reeled from the potency of the dark essence leaking through the portal. A sudden wash of cold like the onset of a wall of winter clouds, bringing with it an abrupt temperature drop of nearly ten degrees. All eyes centered on the black eye of the swirling mass of dark energy.

  'I guess that's our cue!' Masurani cried as a swarm of shadow-like creatures descend abruptly upon them. The searingly low hallowing war cry of the shadowlings was accompanied by the already bloodied edges of claws and other weapons as the first strike fell.

  Ayla estimated a rough fifty or so, and was hard pressed to determine if they were overpowered. There was no telling the degree of their own comparative strength, and that of Makoto and her husband. She found herself dodging frantically the strike of many a demon, and not all of them successfully. Masurani's design proved to field most of the damage, but failed to take into account the more tender parts of the anatomy. She made a note to herself - if she lived through the battle - to add padding.

  Makoto responded like lightning, her rune sword swiftly dismembering the nearest enemy. Masurani followed suit, drawing her own iridescent Bo into existence and delivering some impressive damage. Hanlan, a
lbeit with a fair degree of comparative sluggishness, brought his club into action, crushing several of the creatures with his initial attack. The pressed-into-combat Naritha seemed to manage with her gauntleted fists alone, even though she simply and aptly avoided a half dozen poorly coordinated attacks.

  "You weren't kidding, were you Sailor Titan?" Ayla called, ducking a deftly delivered clawed strike. She forgot the awkwardness of using the unfamiliar Neo Senshi name, favouring the privacy of the reference.

  'Ki-HA!' Masurani cried, pushing her hands forward to release a burst of fire-like energy. 'Me? Kid you? Heck no,' she replied with steep inwardly drawn breath and curt glance at her friend. 'Sailor Seraph is one tough gal!'

  As the horizon of the battle lit the edge of each senshi's mind, it rather appeared that they would be able to hold the unending stream of demons. Until the number was replenished, and after several minutes, increased.

  'This isn't exactly working out the way I planned it!' Ayla declared over the sounds of battle. 'Not that I actually had time to…'

  'Hai, Sailor Sol!' Makoto agreed. She lowered her head and sword, pointing it towards twenty or so approaching demons. A red light gathered at the red-grey razor edging of the blade, and then focused forward in a simple beam, incinerating everything in the path it constructed through the wall of shadowy beasts. Masurani and Ayla both seemed stunned. Han, on the other hand, bellowed a very male cheer.

  'Now is not the time for admiration,' Makoto called, curtailing their distraction. In response, Sailor Titan merely smirked. She applied her fist to one of the demons, adding a pair of words to her strike: 'Stone Fist!'

  The creature suddenly became a statue of incredible detail before falling several hundred feet to shatter on the street below. Impressed, she continued with that approach, sans attack phrase.

  'Light Spire!' Ayla hollered, gesturing towards the nearest demon, which screamed inhumanly as it was consumed by a pillar of blinding luminescence. Naritha gripped an iridescent shield, and stepped up her mode of combat by disabling the occasional opponent with carefully targeted blows.

  'Sailor Titan! Cover Sailor Seraph!' Ayla ordered. It instantly occurred to her that they were stalemated. As combat wore on, and Ayla noted an untimely weakness constraining Makoto, who had demonstrated the greatest prowess in this small war. Consumed by her own unceasing opponents, she lacked the ability to offer assistance. Separated from the others, Makoto's fatigue finally overtook her, and her strength waned.

  Makoto! Flee! Ellison warned. Unfortunately, one of the creatures removed the sword from her slackened grasp with a solid blow. A pair of demons took her arms, holding her, as a third struck at her stomach.

  Masurani's anger spiked as she watched Makoto's restraint. She attempted to carve a path through the unyielding creatures with several bolts of focused chi. Yet, they replaced those vaporized in such a manner that seemed to indicate they were aware of her targets. There was a blur of light, and the shadowling holding Makoto's right arm washed away as it absorbed the creature. With an easy throw, Makoto propelled the second some distance away, her strength fuelled by unconcealed rage.

  'Sensei!' Masurani gasped.

  A tall, thickly muscled man adorned in an orange gi smiled towards her darkly - yet warmly, his thick black eyebrows set to match the stern expression of his face.

  'Good evening Masurani!" he responded affectionately as he relaxed into an offensive stance. "What's going on?' His voice betrayed his intense look by portraying the stark calmness and pleasantry of his disposition.

  'It's a long story, I'm just glad you're here!' Masurani stated openly, taking advantage of the demons' pause. Her Bo segmented the six before her by the time they realized that the stranger was not on their side.

  'Well, maybe you'll find some time to tell me about it.' He pressed his hands together, palms faced towards a target, which he vaporized in short order with an energy bolt, along with the dozen others within its path. 'I guess I didn't make it back.'

  She looked puzzled. 'What? What do you mean?'

  'Home,' he said plainly. His body became a tornado of fists and feet as he proceeded to level the opposing army. Over eighty shadowlings fell, dropping like ill-trained white belts. After the passage of mere seconds, he halted, and said; 'Your training was finished so I tried to get home, but I guess I didn't make it…'

  Masurani nodded seriously. 'Gomen nasai, sensei.'

  'That's okay,' he shrugged, zen-style. 'I would have helped anyway.'

  They gathered about the stranger.

  'Masu-chan! You mean you know this…' Ayla's voice faded as she gazed at him. She blushed harshly. 'Gomen!'

  He shrugged, pleasant smile warming his face. 'That's okay. Uh, I suppose you're Masurani's friends?'

  'Hai,' she nodded. 'Since we were very young. She - um - never told me you were so…' she cleared her throat, eyes wide. 'Um, I mean… about you.'

  She giggled nervously. It was Masurani's turn to blush. 'Well, um… Okay, everyone, this is Goku. Goku, this is Kino Makoto.'

  'Ireson Kino Makoto,' she corrected pointedly.

  'Oh!' Masurani gasped with a blink and a smile. 'Gomen nasai Makoto-san.'

  'Nevermind,' she replied.

  'Good evening,' Goku bowed. She bowed at the waist in reply.

  'Um, that's… um…'

  "Uh, Hanlan Ireson," Han supplied with a slightly irritated expression. "If ya dig I'm not Japanese, eh?"

  ‘Sure,’ Goku bowed, looking vaguely puzzled, then sighed indifference.

  'Hai. Then there's Naritha,' who bowed as Goku did. She blushed, and giggled anxiously. Goku merely smiled.

  'So what's going on here? What's with all the demons?'

  'Invasion,' Makoto supplied frankly. 'By the way… um, Goku-san, thank you for helping me.'

  He squinted at her for a moment, then spoke in gauged, serious tones. 'Are you an angel?'

  "Like frickin' lightning, ain't ya?" Hanlan muttered. "Too bad yer brain ain't as fast as yer fist!"

  Hanlan, he means well.

  I knew that Mako-babe, but how can a guy be so flippin' strong and so flippin' stupid?

  Does it bother you that you see yourself in him that much? she poked, though not unkindly.

  Uh… what'ya mean, babe?

  You want to know why I fell for you, buster?

  Sure. I told you. Looks, brains, and kick-ass fightin' skill.

  Because you treated me with respect. Even when you refused the idea that I could defend myself.

  What, it's that damned simple? You ain't kiddin'?

  Makoto merely glanced at him for a solitary instant, assuring him of the credence of the idea. By the love of his life, he had been told that even in his worst days, he had offered a very rare, and honourable thing. It was to him a very worthy treasure. So, even as Makoto broke their short lived conversation to answer Goku's smoldering question, Hanlan drifted over to her and wrapped an arm about her waist, smiling without restraint.

  'Hai.'

  'Why are you here?'

  In a world separate from the war, the mindless violence, the threatening evil, Makoto answered his question with a peace of soul that stilled all onlookers. 'I am here to defend all that I have loved, and to protect the future of this world. I know you have done no less in all you have come through.'

  He blinked slowly, as if in reply. He pursed his lips, pinched his brow and then said, ‘Okay. Then we can fight together, right?’

  ‘Uhm, yes?’

  ‘Good!’

  Han wafted over to him. The two made for an impressive comparison: Hanlan, a tough looking thug of unmistakable physical prowess, standing over the more attractive Goku who represented the shorter, faster, while still remarkably muscled fighter.

  'So just who are you anyway,' Hanlan demanded, not bothering to bear kid gloves. 'How'd you truss up those shadowthings so damned fast anyway?'

  'That's another thing!' Ayla agreed.

  Goku did not seem at all intimidated by Hanlan'
s greater stature. He pressed a hand to the back of his head with a well mannered smile and laughed, 'Can I help it if I'm strong?'

  'Strong!?'

  Masurani laughed along with him.

  'Nasura should be back soon,' Ayla offered. 'When she gets back, we can talk.'

  'That's fine. It will be a while before the next wave arrives,' Makoto explained.

  'How long?' Ayla questioned tensely.

  'Ten to twelve hours. Maybe longer.'

  'Oh, okay,' Goku replied, relaxing. 'Can I get some food then? I'm starving!'

  Chapter 39

  Moments of Respite