Dark Messiah (A Circles of Time tale), Last Silence: Revolution
Rated R


     Everything is a process leading to a result.
     To achieve the best results, people wrack their
     brains, clench their teeth, apply themselves 
     diligently - and sometimes risk their lives.

     Nevertheless, the results of such efforts are
     not always happy. Tears of grief and cries of
     anger....
     
                    -Wei(kreuz


     Greetings.
     His lordship Chaos here.
     Welcome to a new world and a new tale, one that like all others 
is but one small part of an even greater saga. The tale you are about 
to read is but one of a saga of many stories, a story told through many 
eyes. It spans thousands of years and focuses on the souls of those who 
shall shape the world's history and its destiny.
     Time is the only thing in this world that is relentless, 
unforgiving in its onslaught and indifferent in what becomes trapped 
inside its continuum of past, present and future. When the boundaries 
of linear time and space are crossed, lines must be drawn between those 
involved before a paradox swallows up everything into oblivion. When 
everything comes full circle.
     It is time that we are here to speak of today.
     I am but one author in this saga, Circles of Time. Many 
characters within this story are my own, but belong to an even greater 
and grander tale to which I have had the honour of being included in. 
It is thus that the "Dark Messiah" trilogy holds fragments which, left 
unto themselves, make no sense. If you seek answers to questions in my 
tales, I ask you to continue with the rest of the Circles of Time 
story.
     The Sailor Senshi are the children of Naoko Takeuchi. Other 
Senshi, other mages, and other nemeses belong to the ones who make up 
the Circles of Time creators. Yet I have my own children in this new 
tale, and the eyes of midnight heavens which watch the Silence unfold 
are of my own. 
     If you wish for my characters to find a new time and place within 
another story, I ask for your permission first. From myself, and from 
those who have seen the Circles of Time unfold since the very 
beginning.
     Sayonara....

               -His lordship Chaos (hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com)
                  http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9897/ct.htm


     "One who is samurai must before all things keep
      constantly in mind, by day and by night...the
      fact that he has to die."

                         -Daidoji Yuzan (16th century)


     The regulator moved without making sound. 
     Hood remaining draped over his head, he held in his grasp a long 
pole-arm, elegantly decorated yet without a blade. Yet if he required 
it, a wave of fire would erupt from the tip, flames folding over upon 
each other until they'd become the shining edge of a blade.
     A scythe.
     He was the only one to wield such a weapon. 
     The honour and duty was his alone.
     The ScytheMaster left cobblestone chambers, retreating beneath a 
corridor of archways that seemed to stretch far beyond the echoes of 
his footsteps. He continued to walk, silent in his movements and his 
thoughts.
     Hidden beneath a hooded cloak of darkness, he pushed out from 
this world, and entered the next.  
     The stone walls opened up, shadows forced to retreat as enormous 
and elaborate pillars now flanked him. These pillars revealed an ocean 
of shimmering silver waters that held no visible end to them. On either 
side as he cast glances, he could see nothing but the rippling 
reflection of a pale moon that hung just above the horizon line. And it 
was beautiful, so large and so grand that he could see the outlines of 
craters upon it.
     Somewhere off in the distance he could make out the silhouettes 
of sleek and graceful dolphins frolicking amidst the waves, a stray one 
leaping out from the water and letting its form move before the low-
hanging moon. And then as the dolphin struck the water's surface, 
everything changed. Waves turned to dunes, water into sand. The ocean 
became a vast desert now, one that held a rare beauty despite being so 
empty. The moon never changed its place in the midnight skies; in this 
corridor it was the only constant that remained true.
     Seasons of magik.
     A key to unlocking what only he could seal away.
     All of this was magik, his magik. This was his realm, his domain 
forged from his hands. Everything here was subject to his whim, his 
desire. It may have been illusionary, yet life itself can be 
illusionary, a figment of our minds. It becomes what we see it to be, 
what we dream it of being. Like an illusion it changes by what our eyes 
might see, to what our eyes might perceive. If this is true, then magik 
is the greatest illusion life has to offer.
     He placed a hand against a pillar and leaned against it. For a 
moment the shadows relented and receded from his face. In that brief 
moment his eyes were revealed. And they were beautiful, alluring, 
enchanting. Yet one of them was scared, a jagged streak the colour of 
ocean ice running down his right eye.
     His watched the winds cause the dunes to ripple like the ocean 
waves before them. In the final hour everything would come to 
completion. He had seen it in the Raithe's eyes.
     The ScytheMaster's eyes drifted up to the moon.
     He could feel it approaching, the hands of a great unseen clock 
drawing closer to the inevitable midnight hour. The face of this world 
would change once more, the balance of old shifting to an unstable 
skein.
     It would indeed be a rude awakening.
     He straightened, brushing some stray bangs away from his eyes. 
The desert sands started to break away and crumble. The earth fell 
apart like shards of glass, swallowed up by a blanket of darkness that 
was punctured by a sea of stars. The corridor became a gateway into the 
depths of the heavens. 
     Something cool lapped at his boots.
     The corridor was gone. 
     Water submerged his feet completely. He was at the edge of 
heaven; half a step from his boots were, the pool ended, abruptly and 
neatly sliced apart. This boundary marked the end to the beautiful 
temple behind him, announced the beginning of the cosmos before him.
     The water was flowing swiftly here at the edge of heaven, pouring 
over the side where the glistening silver floor disappeared and faded 
to a black that was the darkness of the universe. He watched the water 
fall and churn upon itself, funnelling closer and closer together until 
it was but a thick yet narrow cascade tumbling far far below him.
     All was silent despite such a volume of liquid being washed past 
him to the depths of a realm below. The waterfall never seemed to find 
a surface to crash against, for where there should have been ground 
there was a ball of light. Yet its light was not one but hundreds of 
tiny incandescent hues all shining together.
     The heart of the galaxy.
     From here, darkness was penetrated with light, shadows perforated 
with multitudes of stars. Together they formed constellations, an 
exotic dance of starlights that burned forever into this midnight world 
he stood at the precipice of.
     This was not another dimension he was staring into.
     It was not a mirror or an illusion.
     It was their galaxy. And inside of it, dozens of smaller star 
clusters, nebulae, interstellar clouds, planets and comets all swirling 
together to the sound of their own rhythmic heartbeat.
     Their future was being set in motion.
     The revolution was at hand.
     And he, Thanatos, lord of the Scythe, was about to do the sole 
task he prayed would never come. The regulator of the Ancients had 
another duty, one known only to two souls. He was one.
     The second and last was the Raithe.
     He could feel the pulse of the cosmos, the beating of the 
universe as he was flooded with the magik of this place. A final 
sanctuary. For millennia on end this had been the resting place of a 
vast and powerful magik.
     For centuries upon centuries it had resided here, its exact 
location known only to him. And now he was about to exile it from this 
place, send it to Earth where it might be better protected.
     The Silence was awakening...and it was here upon Aurora.
     Thanatos' eyes narrowed as out from the shimmering heart of the 
galaxy emerged a chalice of exquisite craftsmanship, sparkling like 
gold. An entourage of spectral butterflies accompanied its slow rise.
     At last it hovered before him, the glow from its form driving the 
shadows away from his face. His features were revealed to no one but 
this work of magik.
     A legendary sacred cup, said to be the purest crystal which had 
become keeper of the collection of anger, love, loneliness, envy and 
happiness. Within this chalice was infinite magik. And whomever held 
this cup within their grasp could decide the fate of worlds.
     Perhaps even the entire galaxy.
     Messiahs...one of light, the other darkness. Serenity and Silence 
both held a chance to lay claim to the powers of the Grail. Time was 
the only thing that mattered; they all could sense the stirrings of a 
dark Messiah. They, the Ancients, who had taken up the duty of 
protecting this sacred chalice. It had been there before any of them, 
and they had become its guardians.
     Their beginning. Their end.
     Their fate in death and life.
     It was the Holy Grail.


          DARK MESSIAH (A Circles of Time tale)

                Last Silence: Revolution


     The continuum was beginning to fall apart.
     At this point in time, that much was evident. But that was just 
it: time. At this rate, the rupture was threatening to tear the very 
fabric of existence to pieces.
     "So," he said quietly. "At last it has begun."
     He was the only one to walk forward as dozens of people fled past 
him, racing away from the destruction. Their faces were of terror and 
confusion as the ensuing rupture systematically obliterated building 
after building. The city was being steadily being annihilated in a 
brutal fashion: from the inside out.
     Gale winds were blowing in every direction, throwing discarded 
newspapers, severed tree branches, and the occasional motor vehicle 
across the streets.
     Eyes of midnight heavens lifted up to the skies.
     Aurora Borealis.
     At least, that's what they appeared to be: a vibrant, violent 
cascade of colours flashing across the entire darkened sky. But such an 
occurrence never happened here. Not in Tokyo. And, according to the 
clocks that had all but stopped, it was supposed to be one fifty-two in 
the afternoon.
     Unnatural phenomenon.
     The Raithe closed his eyes, turning his head aside as another 
building shattered like fragile glass being hit with a sonic pulse, 
reduced to shards of stone and metal. Debris was thrown past him, the 
shockwave screaming furious tempests that threatened to shred the folds 
of his long overcoat in a split second. And yet through it all, eyes 
closed, he stood there with a strange peace about him.
     As if he understood this.
     As if he had anticipated this.
     Strands of the torn continuum beat down upon the city, striking 
randomly and annihilating buildings with their power. The dark skies 
were lit up with new colours to compliment the Aurora Borealis. Crimson 
and orange infernos lifted up the heavens, torrents of black smoke 
pouring through the air. It was a sickening smell.
     The scent of death and destruction was everywhere.
     And in the city, there was anarchy.
     A man hellbent for anywhere but there collided with the Raithe, 
gripping the collars of the his trenchcoat and shouting terrified 
words. "It's the apocalypse!" the man cried. "Save yourself!"
     The Raithe remained still, until his eyes slowly opened. And what 
the man saw inside those eyes became even more terrifying than the 
hellish vortex outside. A smile, dark and almost sinister, crept its 
way onto his face. He shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the furies 
of the storm. "Iie. The continuum is out of alignment."
     The man, still tightly gripping his collar, looked at the Raithe 
as if he had gone insane. "N-Na ni?"
     "Space-time has begun to collapse upon itself," he answered 
distantly. "A paradox has torn a hole through it. If the tear is not 
stopped, everything will become unravelled. We're literally running out 
of time." 
     "B-Bakayaro!" the man exclaimed, starting to run away once more. 
However, those steps were cut short as another building reached 
critical mass and detonated. A screaming body was thrown into the air, 
arms and legs flailing uselessly amidst the shrapnel before a cloud of 
dust swallowed everything.
     The Raithe barely heard the man's extinguished shriek as he 
studied the maelstrom. All the activity, all the carnage, was being 
centred into a single focal point. 
     "It's being drawn into the vortex," he whispered.
     Something had torn open the hole, ripped the fabric of the 
continuum. And it was the source of this...paradox.
     Eyes closed once more as he set out towards the epicentre. The 
closer he drew towards it, the more carnage and the less people he 
encountered. If there was anyone around, they were dead. Smears of 
blood were dashed across the broken fragments of rock. Bodies, some 
intact, others just gruesome puddles of organs and severed limbs, were 
scattered across the green grasses of the park.
     The Raithe's eyes opened.
     Before him loomed a structure of glass and steel. High above the 
point of the Tokyo Tower he could see the swirling chaos of the time 
paradox as it continued to destroy the continuum. Midnight eyes 
narrowed.
     She was here, inside this building. 
     She wanted him join her. 
     A bolt of random energy struck a car, sending the vehicle hurling 
past the Raithe. He whirled, the shakujyo drawn from somewhere beneath 
the folds of his overcoat. With a loud shout of invocation, a fierce 
light exploded from the garnet orb atop the staff, metallic rings 
chiming together to produce a sound that drowned out the howling gales.
     The car, its two front doors left open and flapping wildly, 
collided with a barrier forged of magik, the frame of the roof 
absorbing the full impact. It was crushed, the top sinking and 
compacting the headrests of the seats in a heartbeat. The Raithe made a 
savage downwards slash with his shakujyo, touching nothing but the air. 
Yet the vehicle responded, sliced neatly in two. Each half tumbled of 
either side of him and then crashed into the nearest solid object.
     "Kuso," he hissed, turning his attention back to the tower.
     The stability of continuum was deteriorating faster than even he 
could have possibly anticipated. He quickly found himself at the base 
of the gargantuan skein of girders, beams and mechanisms. All the 
elevator banks leading to the observation decks were gone, the 
elevators themselves and the passengers inside having plummeted to 
their death.
     He could see, through the flashes of light and fireballs 
littering the city, bits of metal poking out through the buckled 
entrance doors to the elevator. No one could have survived such a fall; 
it was better if he left this as it was.
     She was calling to him again, his name sweetly beckoned within 
the depths of the gales. And so he answered, eyes closing once more as 
the shakujyo was raised into the air. 
     The Raithe vanished from sight.
     And reappeared atop the tower's observation deck. Here upon the 
roof he was in full view of the paradox's destructive beauty. Tokyo was 
being levelled in fiery display of death, the edges of the horizon 
painted black as oblivion slowly came to swallow up whatever might be 
surviving this maelstrom.
     But this was not what he had come here to see.
     The Raithe lowered his shakujyo, looking towards the one who had 
called him here. Here, which was the beginning and end of the world. 
     The future.
     The Messiah of Silence was standing across the rooftop, long dark 
hair flowing around her form in the winds, the wicked curve of the 
glaive shimmering in the firelights. She was a silhouette of darkness, 
watching him with maddened violet eyes. Her time was coming, and now 
time itself, the very thing which brought this Dark Messiah into being, 
was paying the price of her existence.
     "You've come to awaken me at last," her voice said.
     Eyes of starlight heavens watched her stand there, defying him to 
cross planes and dimensions to stop her. They both knew he could not.
     Time defied all logic.
     It thrived on confusion and educated guesses. Its existence was 
shrouded in mystery, its very nature abstract and riddled with 
uncertainties. Mass measured how must matter an object possessed. Force 
measured how much of a push or pull something had at their disposal. 
These were all measures that had existed before.
     But what was time? 
     Time measured only...itself. Time in essence was a paradox. An 
intricately complex problem--yet a problem which offered a resolution 
if only one knew how to see things.
     Some people have argued that time can't really exist because it 
is merely a concept, yet this concept of the passing of time has been 
so thoroughly intertwined with our way of life that humanity cannot 
fathom a world without time. Time then does not really exist, as it 
becomes irrelevant when compared to eternity, which is infinitive time. 
Others argue that time indeed exists, that it is heaped with dimensions 
upon dimensions. It is merely humanity's narrowed perception of time 
that limits our knowledge of the workings of time.
     Which made time all the more impossible to control.
     Time was infinite, limitless. One could not measure something and 
define it by such boundaries as beginning or end. Even when bisected 
and dissected, time only ended in eternity. The ability to control 
time, to slow it down and accelerate it--or to stop it altogether--to 
fit one's every whim, was but a dream.
     The Raithe looked down at his open hand, at the daemon egg laying 
peacefully in his palm. The rivers of Time could never be directly 
controlled, only persuaded to flow a certain way. That was the duty of 
one who guarded the course of past, present and future.
     The Möbius.
     Even he could not escape it.


     It was late into the moonlit night when he stepped into 
GlenHawke; many of the other students were asleep. Amidst the usual 
chaotic bustle in the final hours of the day, the young woman named 
Serenity was no where to be found. This was not unusual, though, and 
even Mother Halefyne had come to expect this of the apprentice prodigy.
     He crossed through the deserted courtyard, the rays of the moon 
and the natural glowing aura of the surrounding forest his guides. Long 
silver hair blew past his cheek, possessed by the nightly winds. His 
garments were taken the same way, ruffling over his body as he moved.
     The archives were at last before him. 
     A smile touched Kakkyou's face.
     The Elven prince now lord of Elfhame quietly slipped through one 
of the dividers on the far wall, opening up the partition. He laughed 
quietly as he was presented with the sight of a young lady passed out 
over a stacks of books.
     Head in her folded arms, loose scrolls encircling her, Serenity 
was sleeping soundly, her chest gently rising and falling with each 
breath she took. The candles set around the room were almost burnt out, 
their flames still dancing from an unseen magik flowing out of her.
     Even in sleep she could still manifest a bit of magik.
     "I thought I might find you here," Kakkyou whispered, knowing 
that she would not hear his words. That made this all the more 
poignant, his affection for her growing. She looked like an angel as he 
slept, tresses of long, golden blonde hair draped past her face.
     He approached, careful not to disturb her. The entire room seemed 
to bask in her presence. The archives warmly embraced Serenity's 
sleeping form, their magik becoming hers. Like a mother holding a 
child, so too did this room cradle her. Even in sleep, Serenity was 
giving this ancient of chambers a joy for sharing worlds.
     "You look so peaceful," he whispered, running his fingers down 
her cheek and brushing away a few stray bangs of blonde hair. "If only 
I could gaze into your dreams. They must be so beautiful."
     Then her eyes slowly opened, a kindled glow held inside them as 
pools of limpid blue waters focused upon him. He smiled at her, taking 
her hand in his and raising it to caress his cheek.
     "Is it morning already?" she asked, slowly rising up from her 
groggy state.
     "Technically, yes," he replied with a smirk. "Sunrise will be 
very soon, and it looks like you've been up all night."
     Serenity sat up, pushing off the tabletop to stand. She glanced 
fondly around the room as she bent low to pick up some of the books, 
moving around slowly to set them back into place.
     "You seem so much at home among all these spells," Kakkyou 
remarked, taking up an encased scroll and sliding it back into a slot.
     She nodded. "The magik here is so powerful, yet so gentle. This 
is my sanctuary away from the rigors of GlenHawke, a place where I can 
remain true to myself when everyone else sleeps."
     "And beyond the this place?" he asked. 
     The Elven lord slid open the paper screen that led to the 
courtyard, his feet just behind the threshold of the archival room 
becoming the veranda. The moon was in its first quarterly, a crescent 
form shining a white light over the realms of their world.
     "Beyond the school," she answered. "I find myself laying on a 
grassy hill in the cool night when everything sleeps its deepest, 
staring up at the stars and simply watching them in the darkness."
     Eyes of gentle blue closed as she savoured the cool air, her form 
leaning against the frame of the sliding door. "I wonder what it would 
be like to be somebody special, like Lord Merlin. Imagine being in the 
Court of King Arthur, learning the secrets of the Golden Empire." She 
sighed wistfully. "Being powerful enough to create beautiful things 
like the Crystal Tower in Camelot, the Emerlyte Falls and the Carlion 
Gems!" 
    "Being powerful enough to flatten Camelot with a sneeze," Kakkyou 
added with a dark smile. "Come to think of it, that's something I 
wouldn't mind doing myself." 
     She laughed in spite of his callousness, giving him a playful 
punch on the shoulder. "Kakkyou!"
     He merely shrugged indifferently. "Well, it's true."
     She turned to stare at him. "Do you think King Arthur sees us 
like this, Kakkyou?" 
     The Elven lord's eyes of dragon green stared back at her. He 
scowled. "Arthur? Why would he even think of GlenHawke, let alone sit 
up here to stare at us? I'm not even sure if he knows that this place 
you reside in exists." 
     Serenity shook her head. "Not here. From Camelot. I've heard of 
some of the Sisters say that in the Throne Room of Camelot, where 
Arthur and his Knights sit, there's a magical map of all the places on 
Earth. Every single village, town and city is there on that map, and it 
will show every single person that lives in the Golden Empire. But 
would we be so small, that King Arthur would never see any of us? Just 
specks of black or nothing at all?" 
     He watched the night, let the winds blow through his hair.
     "Kakkyou?" she asked, hesitantly, concerned if she had offended 
him.
     "I doubt that what you've heard is true," he said finally, "I'd 
be surprised that any mage powerful enough to create such a map would 
even bother to create something like that. And a map such as the one 
you speak of would need constant influxes of magik to keep it up to 
date. The only one who would be powerful enough to do such a thing--or 
even create such a thing--here on Earth would be Merlin."  
     His face grew clouded as this darkened mood spread. 
     Not that humanity seemed to need magik anymore. Science was 
becoming their obsession, and what's more, they were corrupting the 
purity of the magik by merging it with machines and other contraptions. 
Interplanetary vessels powered by human wills, weapons forged with 
metal and magik as one...such things he cared not to associate with.
     That was why Elfhame had been created, for his kind to escape the 
changes of this world. Perhaps his father had been right, all so long 
ago, in saying that humans and Elven would never get along. But if that 
was so, why did he come here to be with this young woman whose hair 
shone like gold in the moonlight?
     What was this sensation that seized hold of his stomach every 
time he was close to her? Why was it that for days on end, all he could 
savour within the forests of Arana was her scent?
     "You don't act like a noble, Kakkyou," she said. "Sometimes it's 
easy to forget you're one."
     Kakkyou stared at her for several seconds. If those words had 
came from anybody else, he would have suspected the speaker of lying in 
an effort to catch his attention. When applied to anybody else, he 
would probably have been right. Except this was Serenity speaking, and 
she rarely lied. She didn't see any reason to lie to him. She didn't 
want to attract his attention...she already had it. 
     He turned to her, leaning closer. 
     Confusion reigned in her expression; she was uncertain of what he 
was doing, what he was thinking. There was hesitation and excitement 
all at once within her eyes.
     "K-Kakkyou?" she whispered.
     Caressing her cheek, he leaned forward and gently pressed his 
lips against hers. At first, it was just his kiss against her lips. Her 
eyes were wide in surprise, trembling with innocence. And then they 
slowly, dreamily, closed. She returned the affection, lacing her 
fingers behind his neck. A simple act of touch was stirring inside them 
the passion of magiks already coming alive. 
     They embraced as the crescent moon shone its own pale kiss down 
upon them, their magik intertwining to become one. A fierce wind rose 
as the magik revealed itself, and for a moment the moon seemed to burn 
brighter than it had ever.
     It was a kiss of Elven magik.
     And magik was everywhere in this world, both of light and 
shadows. The aura of their bonding magiks exploded into a fierce white 
glow, echoing of a pale blue tint, sending up a fiery shaft of sapphire 
light that illuminated the world with such a brilliance at a time when 
only the moon could dominate the night skies.
     A ripple of the magik flooded across the land, sending faint 
echoes of their kiss to the boundaries of their realm. And there, 
lurking somewhere in the boundaries of the realm, a dark force stirred.
     The magik had awakened it.
     And now the hunt would begin again.


     The young prince had been summoned here for reasons unknown.
     His father had insisted he come to this place alone, and in 
hiding. No one was to know he was here. No one was to know why he was 
here--even himself. And so here it was he found himself.
     An inner courtyard. Tiled floors. Glass skylights, flat on the 
ceiling. Small glass squares in a metal frame. Dull shadows of night 
that bounced across the expanse. Arches on all four sides, towering as 
they enticed him with smooth, carpeted stairs.
     He could see a fountain in the center, carved from marble which 
spewed forth water in trimmed streams that splashed into the pool 
below. Dark blue walls, black floors, night sky pouring in through the 
glass portals overhead. The arches parted for broad, open hallways that 
run into other rooms and galleries. 
     He glanced at the plants lining the fountain's walls, which were 
trembling in the cool breeze created by the waterfalls the stone 
lionheads pumped forth. Droplets splashed, adding together for a 
cascading echo. 
     The young prince glanced back at the hallways behind the arches, 
spacious and inviting into other places filled with the fantastic. 
Ancient scrolls, priceless art, incredible sculpture. Hanging gardens, 
crashing waterfalls, exotic menageries. Artefacts that could change 
their form, change his form. Items and pieces of magik not quite 
understood, others all too perfectly understood.
     The gaze from his misty blue eyes returned to the expanse of the 
rotunda as the distant sound of footsteps grew louder. To the far edge 
of left arches, he could see a spiral staircase. Low overhang, wide 
stairs. Deep blue metal framework, transparent glass steps. Winding up 
and down between floors like an ageing pocketwatch measuring time. 
     Aurora's king entered the inner courtyard.
     They stood but a few paces from each other, neither one moving, 
neither one speaking for a few moments. He was being appraised by his 
father. "Komban wa," Rivend said to his youngest son with a slight nod.
     Awkward about the unfolding events, Helios nodded in suit. He 
adjusted the folds of his white robes, brushing aside the bangs of ice 
blue hair from his eyes. "Why did you call me here?"
     For a moment, fear seized his soul. Did his father know? Would he 
approve of a princely son loving a samurai prodigy?
     Yet this was not the reason he had been called here.
     Rivend surveyed this gallery for a brief moment before his grey 
eyes came to rest upon the maturing form of his son. "Helios," he said. 
"The time of your initiation has come. If you are to be the true 
Auroran prince, then you must be tame the savage heart."
     He looked at his father in restrained confusion. "Father?"
     "Are you willing to take responsibility for our planet if duty 
calls upon you?" his father demanded evenly. "Search your soul, Helios; 
if your answers are but lies, the savage heart will destroy you."
     A mystery wrapped within an enigma.
     Savage hearts.
     He could only look to his father for guidance, for some sort of 
meaning hidden beneath a conspiracy of cryptic words. And in turn, 
Rivend's eyes closed. "I see," he said, turning away. "You are not 
ready."
     "Wait!" he called out after his father. Rivend turned, and found 
him standing determined if not defiant. "I may not know what it is you 
speak of, Father, but if it helps protect Aurora then I shall do as you 
ask."
     The father smiled, approached the son. "It will not be easy, but 
I have faith in you."
     Suddenly the stone lionheads spewed forth water in a vicious 
torrent, streams of liquid flooding the gallery. Helios whirled, eyes 
wide in surprise as the waters gathered form and essence around him, 
encircling him within. A rune upon the ground beneath his feet burned 
into being. 
     Aurora's royal mark.
     "Helios...."
     The Auroran prince glanced over his shoulders as a chill ran down 
his spine. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite recognize 
it. He turned his head back to the churning walls encircling him--and 
then saw his reflection inside the water. 
     But it wasn't him.
     It wasn't him....
     It looked like him in every respect, from his facial features to 
his hair to the clothes he was wearing. Yet his reflection was moving 
with a life all its own, existing in a realm beyond the water.
     And Helios could see into its eyes...and saw himself cloaked in 
the darkest shadows and dreaming of the blackest nightmares. All that 
could have been evil inside of him was within the soul of this 
reflection.
     "What are you?" he hissed in a low voice, backing slowly away. He 
had never been witness to this before: one's own duality seeming to 
have taken on a life all its own. 
     What magik was this?
     His reflection smiled coyly, its lips raised in a malevolent if 
not sinister smirk. "An illusion created by the dying night of the 
stars, and the newborn day of the sun. Nothing more, though certainly 
nothing less."
     "What are you?" he demanded.
     His reflection smiled. "Soileh," it replied. "That is who I am. 
Just as you are Helios, thus I am Soileh. We are kindred spirits, 
brothers belonging to same body and possessing the same powers. For 
just as we are two minds, we are still one soul."
     Helios drew closer, looking in disbelief and suspicion at this 
version of himself beyond the ripples of flowing waters. He disliked 
the fact that it was assuming his face. He disliked even less the fact 
that he had no weapons to defend himself with.
     "What do you want with me?" 
     "You are a killer, brother," Soileh said solemnly, relishing 
every word. "It burns deep within your soul. You may have been raised a 
refined Auroran prince, but I know what you are truly like. I give you 
the hunger for destruction, and a thirst for blood. I am everything you 
have come to despise, to hide away in the shadows. Only now the shadows 
have come to swallow us all."
     Soileh leaned in closer, leering at Helios from his side of the 
water. "The time has come, Helios. Join me on the other side, and 
embrace your destiny. A destiny of darkness."
     Suddenly Soileh's hands exploded from beneath the surface of the 
raging wall, sending a rainfall of water across the stone floor. Helios 
jerked back, flinching as he shielded his eyes. Too late did he 
realized his mistake of not running; Soileh's hands seized the sides of 
his face, and pulled him forward with incredible force.
     With a loud splash he was pulled into the walls of swarming 
waters. He barely had time to raise his voice in a startled cry before 
he plunged into an icy realm. Through it all he could hear Soileh's 
sadistic laughter echoing, pounding against his skull.
     He clawed his way back to the surface, only to be pulled back 
inside. He could see through the liquid haze his father standing there, 
watching him. The water all around him faded from blue into darker 
shades, the bubbles from his frantic struggles growing lost in the 
shadows.
     He was drowning in the water.
     He was drowning in the darkness.


     The Rift was black, pulsating, and growing.
     Born from the dark ambition and greed that had once resided in 
the heart of its host, the Rift had opened up a gateway into oblivion. 
Cold, mournful screams of the escaping winds raged across the 
devastated world of Neptune. Where a surface city claimed by Uranus 
once was, the Rift now stood. Its birth had been painful, consuming its 
maternal cityscape in a savage claim of its own life.
     She spun around, her sandy-blonde hair thrown wildly about her 
face in the shifting gales. "Michiru!" she exclaimed.
     Somewhere in behind her she was vaguely aware of a tree being 
pulled into the slipstream and wildly ricocheting off anything it could 
strike.
     An old, exquisitely crafted column was uprooted from the 
courtyard gardens, tipping over and capsizing both princesses from 
their wobbly stances. Michiru screamed as the gales of the Rift pulled 
her closer to the eye of its storm. Haruka found a footing and swung 
her sheathed sabre, Michiru narrowly catching hold of the end before 
she would have been pulled into the whirlwind of the Rift.
     The column continued to tear through the already marked 
cobblestones, yet the pull of the Rift sucked the pillar in and 
swallowed it whole. Everything was being pulled into its centre. It 
devoured anything upon the surface, sending the waves of Neptune's 
oceans into frenzied tsunamis that let rains and water crash down in 
torrents from the heavens above. Soon she and her aqua-haired lover 
would follow.
     Haruka grimaced as she helped pull Michiru back in, fighting to 
keep her strength despite a bloodied shoulder staining her uniform in 
crimson. The path beneath her buckled, cobblestone cracking apart and 
venting grey steam. She winced and tried to swing Michiru away from the 
burning air.
     Her footing was keeping her at bay, but not by much. Already she 
could feel her boots scraping against stone, dangerously coming close 
to running with the winds that would draw them both closer into that 
which was Oblivion. 
     "Michiru!" she shouted over the tempests. "Hang on!"
     "H-Haruka," Michiru whispered distantly. The tattered ends of her 
dress danced wildly around her. The pain in those ocean green eyes was 
too much for her to bare.
     The shaft of the Rift's swirling energy exploded in another burst 
of raging magik, bolts of lightening streaking out and smashing into 
the surrounding buildings. Fireballs and debris rained down.
     A piece of smouldering table crashed through the broken path just 
a few steps away from her. And she was oblivious to it, reaching out 
and screaming her beloved's name. She would not let Michiru die. She 
refused to let it end this way.
     Michiru's eyes widened. "Haruka, behind you!"
     Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something large 
and grey spinning towards her. Haruka jerked her body sideways, 
pressing her back against a wall. The tangled roots of a flying tree 
nearly took off her head, the core of the root system missing her face 
by mere inches.
     But the violent motion caused her sabre's sheath to loosen. 
Michiru's eyes were saddened, a smile upon her face, in that final 
moment where the sheath's buckles snapped and the Rift's pull seized 
her body.
     Haruka screamed out her name, stretching forward as Michiru was 
carried through the air. The Neptuni princess disappeared amidst the 
fragments of palaces and cities, lost to the relentless oblivion of the 
Void.
     "MICHIRU!!"
     The ground beneath her lurched, sending Haruka tumbling forwards 
and ever closer to the heart of the Rift. But something seemed to catch 
her at the edge of the vortex. Her body tumbled and rolled across 
uneven and unearthed cobblestone. The winds were dead here; if the Rift 
had an eye of the storm, this was it.
     Fighting back the bitter tears, clutching her wounded shoulder, 
Haruka slowly rose to her feet. Her stance was shaken, unsteady. In 
that moment the destruction of an entire planet didn't matter to her; 
all she cared about was what she had just lost.
     And then a strange flash of light pierced the darkness of the 
Rift. A tiny, crystal illusion defied the Rift and soared out from its 
churning walls, bouncing along the cracked pathways as if searching for 
something, anything.
     The crystal was looking.
     It found Haruka.
     With a flash of light, the crystal changed its form. A woman was 
standing before Haruka, whose long raven dark hair danced in the winds. 
And held in the woman's arms was the battered but still breathing body 
of Michiru.
     Michiru's eyes fluttered open, and with a distant stare she 
looked to Haruka. "Haruka...."
     The woman let Michiru stand on her own strength, and with a shaky 
step, she walked towards her beloved Uranian princess. Then the dream 
shattered into another new nightmare. The Rift would have been welcome.
     Haruka had no time to react, body frozen in horror.
     The woman turned, staring at them, watching them with violet eyes 
full of frenzied bloodlust. She seized Michiru's hair, pulling the 
princess back. A startled cry escaped Michiru's lips as the woman 
pulled her closer.
     Hands reached for her sternum, and then dug into flesh. There was 
no blood as the fingers penetrated skin and sank deeper into Michiru's 
chest. Michiru screamed in agony, trying to vain to escape the woman's 
iron grip. Thin tendrils of flesh started writhing, pulling themselves 
out from her smooth chest. They swarmed and intertwined as the woman's 
fingers sank entirely inside. The other hand moved now, repeating the 
process.
     This woman had grappled onto something.
     Violet eyes narrowed in malevolent delight. Her arms tensed, 
muscles poised. And then she pulled. With a hideous series of snapping 
bones, Michiru's ribcage came apart. The rows of ribs kept their 
alignment as the woman opened up Michiru's chest like one opens up a 
set of double doors as one. The tendrils of flesh were stretched, pale 
pink clinging to the exposed edges of the opening until one by one they 
all snapped apart.
     Haruka's hand went over her mouth as she tried to choke down the 
urge to vomit, horrified by what was happening. She dropped to her 
knees, weak from the sight.
     The woman pulled the two folds of Michiru's ribcage back 
completely, exposing what should have been flesh and organs. Yet there 
was nothing but darkness. The woman licked her lips, running her tongue 
along Michiru's tear-stained cheek. 
     "Delicious," she whispered into the princess' ear. "Your 
magik...delicious."
     And then she reached inside, her arm disappearing into Michiru's 
open chest. Again Michiru screamed, body convulsing. The woman withdrew 
her arm, but not without having claimed something deep within Michiru's 
soul. 
     Haruka stared at the item in the woman's hands.
     A mirror, one bearing upon its silver back the crest of Neptune.
     Seconds later the earth below Michiru shattered, and with a 
silent scream upon her lips, Haruka saw her lover consumed inside the 
epicentre of the Rift. Swallowed up by the shadows, Michiru's pained 
and sorrowful face was the last horrific sight she could ever remember 
from that night.
     Haruka's eyes were wide, tears streaming down her face.
     "Michiru!" she screamed frantically. "MICHIRU!!"


     It was a dream.
     The same hellish one that had played out before her eyes night 
after night when she fell asleep and the demons of distant memories 
came to her heart. And the dream ended like all the others before it: 
with Michiru's name, she awoke in tears and chills and screams.
     Haruka clutched at her breasts, her heart pounding in her 
ribcage, every last inch of her body soaked in cold, clammy sweat. With 
a trembling hand she touched her face, her lips, reassuring herself 
that it was merely a dream and not a reality. "Michiru," she whispered 
hoarsely.
     She looked up as she felt a warm body wrap its arms around her. 
There was Michiru, tenderly embracing her. "Ganbatte," Michiru 
whispered, as if to strengthen them both rather than just her. "It was 
just a nightmare, Haruka-chan."
     "Michiru," she whispered. She had almost forgotten that she had 
fallen asleep in the Neptuni princess' arms the night before. She 
swallowed hard, trying to force her heart to stop trying to pound 
through her chest.
     Her chest....
     That horrific vision, of Michiru's soul being forced open, 
violated by the woman in shadows. It had to mean something; there was 
no reason for her to dream of something so violent. There was no 
precedence for such a thing.
     Michiru drew closer, snuggled her head against Haruka's chest. 
Her arms wrapped around Haruka's shoulders, trickles of Haruka's sweat 
falling onto her skin. "Haruka," she said quietly. "Your heart is 
racing."
     Haruka nodded, pushing off from the soft covers of Michiru's bed. 
She didn't bother to cover up her nakedness; it was just the two of 
them together. Eyes closed as she rested her head against the curved 
glass of an immense window staring out into the depths of Neptune's 
oceans. The cool temperature of the glass soothed her heated skin.
     She could feel herself calming down.
     And yet every muscle, every nerve, was on edge.
     With both the Uranian and Neptuni diplomats having called an 
early end to the debates for the night, it had proven the perfect 
opportunity for them both to slip beneath the water's surface. Here, in 
the serene depths of the seas, they had made passionate love. But the 
sheer euphoria of that memory was doing her no good to forget the 
hellish nightmare.
     Sandy-blonde hair pressed against the glass, her eyes drifted 
downwards to the sheathed sabre leaning against the curved window, 
laying at her feet.
     "Haruka?" Michiru asked, letting Haruka take her time to explain 
things as she wished to. No longer could she deny the regular cycle 
these nightmares were coming in; Michiru knew they were becoming more 
frequent, and until now had never asked what they were about.
     "It's nothing," she lied, staring out at the underwater city they 
found themselves within. Nothing. She would make it be nothing. That 
vision of Michiru's soul being ripped open, of that...mirror being 
stolen; she would rather die than let that happen. The soldiers of 
Uranus, be they commoner or nobility, always swore an oath to protect 
but one thing their entire life.
     To this they pledged heart, soul, body...everything. 
     At first she always thought her duties loyalties lied with her 
homeworld, the protection of Uranus above all else. For many in the 
military, this was their passion and obsession. Yet now, as Haruka 
looked at Michiru's quiet beauty reflected in the glass, she knew where 
her true loyalties lied.
     Michiru would not die like that.
     She refused to allow it.
     If she had to, she would challenge hell, change time.
     Haruka let out a deep breath, her warm air causing steam and 
moisture to build up on the window. She glanced at the Neptuni 
princess' reflection. Michiru was passed out on the bed, arms sprawled 
across the covers. Haruka found that strange; Michiru never seemed to 
even consider sleep when she was restless like this.
     And then she saw something in the curvature of the glass.
     The reflection of a foreign face.
     Haruka whirled, drawing her sabre and without a second thought 
bringing it down on where the intruder should have been. Yet force was 
met with counter-force, sparks briefly erupting as metal struck against 
metal.
     The Raithe smiled slightly, his shakujyo held before him to parry 
the tall sandy-blonde's attack. "Impressive. I expected little else 
from the daughter of Uranus' royal family."
     She remained relentless in her attack, refusing to let up the 
force she applied to his shakujyo. Blue eyes were narrowed, glaring at 
him. This intruder...not only did he know who she was, but also where 
to find her.
     Abruptly the Raithe side-stepped, pushing away and causing Haruka 
to stumble. She lost her balance only for a moment, back on her feet 
with her sabre ready to strike again. He shook his head, resting the 
base of his staff upon the floor.
     "I'm afraid that will do you no good," he stated evenly. "Your 
sabre is but a weapon fashioned from steel. Mine is fashioned from 
magik; your blade would break before it even had the chance to nick my 
staff."
     Haruka saw his eyes in the dim light of the bedchambers. She 
didn't care that she was naked in his presence; a part of her had yet 
to calm down from that dream. If there was something she focused her 
aggression on to forget her terror, he was it.
     But his eyes. No mere human held such eyes.
     "You," she hissed. "What are you?"
     The Raithe shook his head. "Gomen nasai, Haruka. I wasn't 
expecting you to snap out of the dream so abruptly. Likewise I didn't 
expect you to even notice my presence here. I underestimated the power 
of your will."
     It was but a simple gesture of hand and fingers, yet with it came 
an unspoken command of magik.
     Sleep.
     Haruka's eyes slid closed, her body abruptly dropping to the 
floor. She fell to her knees, but before she fell face-first onto the 
floor, she was caught up in the Raithe's arms. Gently he used his magik 
to return her atop the bed next to her lover. Shakujyo raised over his 
head, starlit midnight eyes closed as he summoned his magik.
     The garnet orb atop his staff glowed to life as the metal rings 
chimed together. And out from the epicentre of light appeared a sword 
bearing the mark of Uranus. If unsheathed the blade would shine with 
purest light, and cut through any force of darkness it met against.
     Already he had placed the Aqua Mirror within Michiru's soul, 
hiding the Talisman inside her pure heart. Now it was Haruka's turn. 
The sword's tip pointed downwards and then slowly descended through the 
air until it penetrated her chest. There was no resistance; just light 
as the Space Sword was taken in by her pure heart, and carefully 
hidden.
     His task done, the Raithe lowered his shakujyo. "I do not envy 
either of you," he said, looking at them. "These new powers you have 
received only means the burden will be that much harder to bare."
     His robes of night fluttered as he turned, sinking back into the 
darkness that had brought him here from Aurora. Very soon the wars 
would begin. Very soon they would need to awaken.
     "Sayonara...Outer Senshi."


     Hotaru's eyes slowly opened as she stirred from her sleep. She 
pushed back the covers, sitting up with a warm grogginess to life that 
can only follow a dream one cannot recall. She rubbed her violet eyes, 
her dark hair covering the sides of her face as she stifled a yawn.
     Dawn was on the verge of coming to Aurora.
     She still had some time to sleep.
     Yet now she could not. A restlessness she could not fully explain 
possessed her. Not excitement or anticipation, yet not fear or 
hesitation either. Her mind was refusing to let her fall back asleep.
     And so she removed the thin layer of clothes she slept in, 
replacing them with the darkened robes of the samurai she was training 
to become. For a moment she combed her fingers through her hair, unsure 
if she was trying to ask herself a question.
     She knew Khai had adopted her when he found her.
     She still loved him, as any daughter might love her father. Yet 
her meeting with Kaori-san had left her with a distant memory. A 
lullaby, sung to her when she was but a baby and falling asleep.
     "Oka-san," she whispered.
     Mother....
     Sometimes she felt as if her mother hasn't left her, that her 
mother was still there beside her, and she could remain quiet and 
listen to the lullabies before falling asleep in her mother's arms.
     Khai had taught her how to be strong. A long time ago, one of her 
best childhood friends had died. Accidentally drowned in the ocean 
tides. At the funeral she had cried. She wept and sobbed as only a 
seven year-old child could. And she could clearly remember her father 
and mentor, though he was sad, never shedding a tear. 
     Ever since then she hadn't cried. Not even once. Maybe it was to 
prove she was strong, to hide the emotions which could hurt so deeply. 
Yet there were times when she felt on the verge of tears, where from 
the very depths of her heart something was crying to be released. 
     It was so warm.
     So warm....
     Abruptly a wave of cold sweat washed over her. Hotaru froze, eyes 
wide as her hands fell to her sides. Dread flooded her body, leaving 
her quivering and frightened.
     "N-Na ni?" she whispered hoarsely, arms wrapping around her 
sides.
     And then she saw him, the Auroran prince lost amidst a churning 
ocean of magik with the palace halls. His eyes were sealed, body 
lifelessly carried with the undercurrents. He was in danger.
     "Helios!" she exclaimed, whirling. Violet eyes darted to the 
glaive laying upon shall shrine dedicated to its storage in her 
chambers. It was taken up in her grasp without hesitation.
     Whatever was happening, she would not let him die.
     She would never forgive herself if he was killed because she 
lacked the will to fight. It was her duty as samurai to protect him as 
a prince. But that duty was far away in the corners of her mind. All 
that mattered as she raced soundlessly down the hallways was protecting 
him, because she could not envision life without her lover.


     Aurora held within its palace walls many numerous courtyards. One 
was partially submerged beneath peaceful flowing waters, where children 
could play in knee-high oceans as they ran down the cobblestone paths 
beneath the surface. Others were mazes of flowers and trees, veritable 
forests and gardens of unparalleled natural beauty.
     Yet this place where he stood was neither type.
     It was a courtyard, outdoors where he could feel the rays of the 
dawning sun begin to warm the cool lands of this planet. Darkness 
fading to light, he stood deathly still, a gaze of intense contempt 
focused upon the lone-standing statue before him. It was taunting him, 
challenging him.
     He glared at it.
     This thing, this piece of forged stone; it meant nothing. It was 
another petty rival, and he would barely take any pleasure in defeating 
it. He was just here kill time before he at last met her, before he at 
last discovered the power she was hiding.
     Long silver hair rippled as the dawn's warm breeze moved past 
him. "Hotaru," he whispered, a psychotic smile upon his face. 
     Her skills as a prodigy were what had drawn him here.
     Yet that incident where they had met...that was consuming his 
thoughts. He had not slept since he had felt that magik from her; he 
didn't care about sleep. 
     Cait Sith stared at the statue.
     Its mere existence was mocking his skills.
     Cobalt blue eyes narrowed, his breathing quickening and growing 
erratic. His lips turned upwards, his brow furrowed, his expression 
changing his face into a maniacal scowl.
     "Zakkenayo!" he shouted.
     And then the something glistened from deep within the darkness of 
the shadows behind him. A glint of light struck against cold metal that 
shimmered for a brief moment before being unleashed. 
     Suddenly out from the shadows behind him exploded three blurs of 
metal, each one screaming towards the statue. There wasn't even a 
pause, three distinct razors of wind cutting the air. The statue was 
sliced apart, breaking into six pieces as debris crumbled from its once 
graceful form. It had not time to react, for it was but a carving. Yet 
even if it had been living, there would have been no time to react. 
     Death was near instantaneous.
     He licked his lips as his weapons retracted and retreated into 
the darkness. His delirium seized control of his mind, and he began to 
chuckle. It was less a laugh and more his exhaling of air. Slowly he 
turned his head, bangs of silver hair clinging to his face from the 
sweat. 
     Cait Sith looked back at Aurora's palace. "Soon, my 
Hotaru...soon."
     She would show him what it meant to have a true rival.
     He trusted she would not disappoint.


     The world was black.
     He was drowning, falling, descending into darkness. The watery 
bubbles floating around him dispersed, but he still felt cold and wet.
     Suddenly Helios hit solid ground, collapsing in a soaked heap on 
this dark matter. A cascade of water splashed down with his landing, 
drenching the prince even more. He coughed, gagging on water and 
gasping for air. On all fours, laid prostrate on the floor in a stunned 
and bewildered state, he let the droplets of water run down his skin, 
damp icy blue hair clinging to his forehead.
     Slowly his mind was able to take control once again. Helios sat 
up on his knees, staring at his surroundings. This new realm was dark, 
almost shimmering like a watery grave. The sense of being beneath the 
ocean abruptly ceased, replaced with a setting of a large corridor 
adorned completely in polished black marble. The arched ceiling 
stretched high above his head, and numerous pillars lined the centre.
     It was all changing faster than a dream, and more dramatic than a 
season.
     "Where am I?" he asked aloud.
     "In the arms of Morpheus, perhaps," came a reply. "But even then, 
can you be certain that this is a dream and not a realm existing within 
yet beyond your own boundaries?" 
     Slowly the Auroran prince turned, and saw himself walking down 
the corridor, the distance between the two being steadily closed.
     "Sioleh," he said.
     His doppelganger grinned and bowed in presentation. "At last 
you've come here...to let me kill you."
     He backed away. "Na ni?"
     Sioleh chuckled, shaking his head. An open palm displayed 
crackling magik waiting to be unleashed. Helios' hands clenched into 
fists; it was the only defense he knew, but against wielded magik he 
was unsure how long he could survive.
     Why was this happening?
     Soileh crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the soul's 
mirrored reflection with the most solemn yet evil gaze his eyes could 
possess. "Your innocence is no longer a part of you, brother; that was 
lost when you first picked up a weapon and learned how to fight."
     With a shout, Helios raced forward, drawing back his fist. Soileh 
dodged the punch with ease, shifting sideways as if he were the very 
wind. And in retaliation, eyes closed and expression as calm as if he 
were sleeping, Soileh grabbed hold of Helios' wrist and flung the 
prince aside.
     Helios felt his body leave the ground, flying through the air 
before he crashed onto solid surface. He groaned, his one arm racked 
with pain. "Sh-shimatta," he hissed, struggling to rise.
     Soileh laughed coyly, amused by these threats. "Helios, we both 
knew you cannot harm me like this, not even if you had the chance and 
the choice. I am a part of you just as you are a part of me. Such an 
attack will not work."
     Split hearts of light and darkness.
     One soul that lied within one destiny.
     "I will not let you do this!" the prince shouted.
     Suddenly Soileh was right in front of him. Hands grasped his 
wrists; it felt like talons had seized him. He couldn't struggle 
against equally opposing forces, his arms drawn up behind his head.
     "One kiss is all I ask," Soileh said, lips so close to his own. 
"As you have shared the magik of your young lady samurai, taste the 
dark powers locked deep within your soul. Embrace me, brother. Embrace 
your destiny, and let this pure soul you cling to be destroyed 
forever."
     And then the prince felt Soileh's lips press against his own. A 
jolting surge exploded through his body. He could feel the darkness 
wrapping itself around his soul, filling him with a dread he couldn't 
describe.
     "Iie," Helios whispered.
     He couldn't die.
     Not when he had someone to protect.
     Not just Aurora and its peoples....
     Misty blue eyes looked up to the darkness high above, and he 
spoke but a single word: "Hotaru."
     Her name echoed across the void, his voice shattering the hold of 
the magik overpowering him. Soileh's body sank into his, and their 
souls merged together. He disappeared, passing through as the prince's 
chest rippled like waves on the water. Yet Helios was not consumed; 
this darkest shadow of himself was no longer a ghost meant to haunt 
him.
     The savage heart had been tamed.
     A newfound warmth flowed through his body. His eyes, half-closed 
from the exhausting ordeal, lowered as an incredible light emerged to 
pierce the darkness. It appeared before him, a flawless gemstone 
glowing with radiant golden light. Its magik coursed through his body.
     "Child of Aurora," a voice stated. "You have proven yourself 
worthy of my magik. You, who has the purity of a child's dream, and the 
determination of a soldier ready to protect that dream."
     His hands slowly raised, palms cupping either side of the 
gemstone. "Who are you?" he asked.
     "I am the pillar which supports your people and your world," the 
answer was. "My magik is what gives Aurora its lifeforce and power. I 
am the Golden Crystal."
     Helios leaned forward, entranced by the surreal world he found 
himself in. It was hard to think clearly, to stay awake. 
"Golden...Crystal?"
     "When the time comes for you to harness my power, I shall appear. 
And when my magik sleeps, you shall act as my guardian."
     "Guardian...."
     He was vaguely aware of the Golden Crystal merging itself into 
his chest, slipping through flesh and bone as if it were merely water. 
His air was coming in through hoarse gasps. It was difficult to breath. 
The world was growing cold and wet. Abruptly a stream of watery bubbles 
rose past him, and the floor disappeared.
     He was drowning again.
     Soileh's realm disappeared into a deep blue ocean, the waters 
slowly growing lighter as the prince feebly kicked his legs and spun 
through the water to find air.
     Suddenly Helios broke through to the surface, unleashing a 
tremendous gasp for air. Water was sprayed everywhere as he thrashed, 
coughing up even more water. A pair of hands grasped his, pulling him 
forward. The prince's feet hit solid bottom, and he tumbled onto a 
floor he recognized.
     For a moment he closed he eyes, the water streaming down his 
exhausted face as he greedily sucked in air for his burning lungs. 
Slowly he opened his eyes again.
     He had returned through the reflection in the water.
     A pair of tender hands brushed Helios' cheeks. Raising his head, 
he pushed off the ground, and smiled weakly as he saw two violet eyes 
and that gentle, pale face among raven dark hair.
     Hotaru smiled as she cradled Helios in her lap. "You're alive," 
she said quietly.
     Eyes of misty blue closed, too tired to open again. "Because of 
you...Hotaru-chan," he whispered as sleep claimed him. "You...saved 
me...."
     It surprised her when she felt something cold and wet fall upon 
the back of her hand, followed by another drop. Something was sliding 
down her cheeks.
     "What is this?" she asked herself quietly. "I promised myself I 
would never cry again."
     Why now, after so long?
     How fragile is the heart, that she cried from just seeing him 
alive and in her arms. She was given back her tears. She knelt down 
onto the floor, letting the tears flow as she quietly cried, her hands 
gently wrapped around the soaked form of her sleeping prince. For the 
first time in a long time she found herself crying for a reason she 
could not understand. And as she cried, the warmth within grew, a 
gentle and passionate magik embracing her. 
     The rune of Saturn flickered upon her forehead. 
     She remained unaware of it.


     Sunlight streamed through the branches of the oak trees, casting 
everything in pale, sunny green hues. The forest isles of Arana spread 
across isles and seas, and even laid claim to part of the bluffs of the 
surrounding cliffsides. It was indeed an elegant place--provided you 
were an Elven. Humans typically lived rather short lives when they 
experienced the Elven world hidden within Arana.
     With a sigh, Kakkyou stretched out his neck. Despite a few 
resounding cracks, he felt quite refreshed by the latest though not 
fully expected turns the past few days had been taking. He was in an 
unusually exhilarated mood, grinning a little more that he was prone 
to. And not all those smiles were darker ones he'd give before exacting 
some form of Elven magik against a intruder.
     The other Elvens noticed the change in attitude in their king. So 
too did the animals of this realm. They all knew the ultimate cause, 
but said nothing aloud. Everything was spoken in hushed whispers, the 
rumours spreading.
     Whom had he fallen for?
     Was it an Elven lady of noble blood, or perhaps even a warrior's 
daughter? Or was it instead one of the water nymphs known to hide 
beneath the tangled roots of Elfhame's forest to avoid being caught by 
humans?
     They all whispered, but did not know.
     And Kakkyou was aware of this all. He feigned ignorance; it would 
cause quite the uproar if it were discovered the object of his 
affections was a human girl. And yet she was no ordinary girl. Her 
magik...that which had caught his interest when he found her so long 
ago.
     The pure rush of her kiss--his lips were still tingling when he 
felt her magik begin to stir from deep within her soul. At first she 
had seemed startled when he pressed his lips against hers, but she had 
not pushed him away.
     Kakkyou chuckled to himself, leaning back on one of the 
perilously high branches of the Elfhame trees. Ah, this was taking him 
back so many hundred of years to when the Elven Playkings were infamous 
upon the lips of all mortals on Earth.
     Eyes of dragon green glanced down from his perch, his place upon 
the edge of Arana where Elfhame trees overtook the high bluffs. 
GlenHawke seemed small from where he watched it. 
     He would return to her again tonight, he resolved. If she wanted, 
he would take her into Elfhame. Let her see what it was like to be in a 
world where true magik was left untouched by the mechanisms of--
     His thoughts came to a sudden halt as the hairs on the back of 
his neck stood on end. Kakkyou stiffened, pushing some stray strands of 
long silver hair behind his sloped ears. As abrupt as he had sensed the 
magik it was gone--yet not without a lasting chill in his entire body. 
The forests in front and in behind were totally empty, but the source 
had been close by regardless. Had he been deeper within Elfhame, he 
suspected he would have never even felt that magik stirring.
     A night owl, its feathers a glistening shining silver, alighted 
his shoulder as he rose to his feet. Kakkyou's eyes narrowed as the 
night owl hooted. It would look strange to a human for a night owl to 
be awake during the day. But this was not a human's domain; they would 
never understand.
     The night owls were a breed of sentry, living alongside the Elven 
warriors for centuries on end. They were the spies, the eyes and ears 
of the Elven worlds. Day or night the owls were always watching, always 
waiting. In their eyes one could see ultimate patience.
     "Tell nobody of this," Kakkyou growled. "I will handle this 
myself."
     The night owl nodded, gave a final hooting and then took back 
into the shadowy depths of Arana's forest. The Elven lord crouched low 
and then sprang from the branch, bounding effortlessly across the air 
and ricocheting off trunks, branches, roots and soft earth. With each 
vault, his heart began to beat a little faster.
     This magik...he knew it.
     He had hunted it before.
     Long silver hair started to ripple and rise, on edge as his Elven 
magik began to manifest itself. Eyes of creamy jade abruptly changed 
colour, dragon green washed away to reveal eyes of pure crimson.
     "So, Morgana," he hissed. "You finally found her didn't you?"
     Dark clouds were starting to overtake the skies.
     It would storm soon.


     It was almost noon at GlenHawke, and the sun was almost sitting 
perfectly in the middle of a sky that was now beginning to see the 
gatherings of a storm. The wind was but a gentle breeze. That would 
easily change.
     Most of the students, young adults just blossoming into the peak 
of their lives, never knew of the harsh world existing outside the 
boundaries that the mountain forests defined. They knew only peace, and 
they were truly the fortunate ones. Many of them were outside, awake 
and alive. Some were learning of magik under the guidance of the 
Sisters. Others were merely lounging in the shade or talking amongst 
friends. 
     Only one of them all was truly sleeping.
     Serenity laid beneath her covers, crystal blue eyes closed as she 
dreamed beautiful dreams. Tresses of golden blonde hair were draped 
past her face, sprawled across her covers. She stirred only slightly, 
her expression as peaceful as a child's. Slowly crystal blue eyes 
fluttered open, and with a warm smile she shifted beneath the covers.
     She was awake again.
     It was hard for her to remain asleep today; a restless feeling 
inside of her refused to lay dormant during these daylight hours. It 
could very well be an after-effect of her night with Kakkyou. Her lips 
tingled at the thought of him. 
     Was this what an Elven kiss tasted like?
     It surprised her when she realized that there as another present 
in her room. Someone was laying on the edge of the bed, smiling in 
watching her sleep.
     Serenity smiled. "Maya."
     A young girl, no more than five or six, long auburn braided hair 
dancing behind her. "Are you awake?" the child asked.
     She nodded.
     One of the most recent newcomers to be found in GlenHawke, Maya 
was learning the origins of magik just as everyone did in the 
beginning. There was no defined ability the child possessed, and so she 
was just beginning to learn where her magik lied. 
     Ever since the first day of her arrival almost a year ago, Maya 
was competing for Serenity's affections. It had been Serenity who had 
been the first one to show her compassion, holding her safe and secure 
in the midnight hours when the nightmares came and she ran out into the 
forest realm. It had been Serenity who had let Maya cry on a comforting 
shoulder late one night in the archives when the child suddenly relived 
the terror of being alone.
     And Serenity had been the first one Maya ever kissed. It had been 
on one of those nights when she bolted into the forest, screaming as 
the demons of her dreams chased after her mind. Keeping her quiet and 
refusing to return to the school, Serenity had gently rocked the child 
to sleep with a lullaby amidst the quiet whispers of the trees. Hours 
later Maya opened her eyes and saw Serenity there next to her, arms 
protectively wrapped around her, crystal blue eyes closed as Serenity 
slept like an angel.
     Serenity had never noticed when Maya stretched out her neck for a 
gently kiss. And when she awoke that morning, Maya never told Serenity. 
She didn't tell anyone.
     Serenity rose from her bed, looking around the darkened room. Her 
chambers had special screens which kept the sunlight out, allowing her 
to sleep easier during the day. Maya watched with bright eyes as 
Serenity stretched out her arms.
     Watching every movement, enchanted.
     Not surprisingly Serenity was quickly becoming one of most 
proficient students of magik. But there was more than just the midnight 
education spent inside the archives, or with Sisters who stayed awake 
with her through the night. Many students whispered amongst each other 
that Serenity had been born with the magik.
     Not just magik.
     But the magik itself.
     It could be caught for a brief moment the way her eyes sparkled 
when they were struck by the rays of evening moon, the way she would 
sing her quiet lullabies and cause even the most dormant of nature to 
stir to life. But more than anything, they could sense the way the 
winds seemed to rise up around her when she began to summon even the 
smallest of her powers.
     Like a faery legend from a child's book, she was growing up a 
hidden princess. Perhaps this was what Maya was entranced with, in love 
with. 
     Serenity turned, looking at the patient child still kneeling at 
the edge of her bed. "Did you want to go outside?" she asked.
Maya giggled in response, grabbing hold of Serenity's hand and 
pulling on it. Serenity could only laugh as she was practically dragged 
out from her room. The darkened paper screen was flung aside, sunlight 
pouring in. Serenity paused for a moment, resisting Maya's pull on her 
arm, lifting her other hand before her face to shield her eyes.
     Such a warm light.
     Yet there was something else in the winds today. It was cooler 
than expected at the sun's heightened hour. The air was moist, the 
skies brimming with darkened colours. It was going to rain.
     Something seemed to excite her as she once again let Maya take 
the lead and race outside. It wasn't often she was here to witness such 
sunshine--at least, whatever of it was still managing to penetrate the 
clouds.
     Maya abruptly stopped, looking up to Serenity's face. The winds 
played with her auburn hair, and she buried her face into Serenity's 
nightgown. The child was laughing, savouring every moment they were 
together. "I wish you could stay here forever with me," Maya said 
quietly.
     Serenity ran her fingers through the child's hair, a fond 
affection in her eyes. "I don't know what the future holds, Maya. But 
hold on to your wish; right now, it's the most precious thing in your 
world."
     She looked out at the green fields of GlenHawke. Numerous other 
girls and young women were busy with their training. Magik was being 
focused and summoned, forged and wielded. The restlessness was growing 
within her again. For now, this was where she wanted to be.
     But something else was pulling at her soul.
     As if destiny had another path for her to take.
     "Kakkyou," she whispered. Was the Elven king standing there in 
this unknown path?
     Maya tugged on her gown. "Serenity, who's Kakkyou?"
     A smile, gentle and evoking memories of his kiss, gave her face a 
quiet radiance. "My friend," she answered. "Perhaps even my future...."


     "Who will it be?"
     His eyes beheld the battleground. This was different from all the 
others, one that gave way to an ominous encounter. The plants around 
the walls encircling them were thick and tangled, a labyrinth of 
branches and leaves. Droplets of moisture glistened as they caught the 
rays of sunlight from above. Yet they were the first guardians for this 
part of Aurora's palace, the plants themselves a deterrent and defense.
     Some would frustrate with their tangles. Others would blind with 
their branches. And then there were those that could kill and consume 
if a hostile soul ventured close enough. It was common sense even for 
little children not to venture into the depths of the tangled garden. 
And so none dared to cross its path. 
     Khai looked down at the Firestaff in his hands. The weapon was 
sheathed, the ends retracted, the spouts not awakened in burning pyre. 
"Hotaru," he answered.
     Shogo brushed the long earthen-brown ponytail off his shoulder, 
letting it drape behind his back. "You're certain about this?"
     He nodded. 
     With a sigh, Shogo turned to survey the duelling arena. "I trust 
your judgement, Khai-sensei. But remember: you should be choosing Cait 
Sith's opponent based on our students' individual skill, and not on 
favouritism."
     "She defeated Reika in their first duel," the samurai answered. 
"There is no time to test her against the others."
     His piercing eyes surveyed the wonders of the tangled garden laid 
out in the vast expanse of his vision. Dozens of labyrinthine 
structures loomed overhead, shimmering as intersecting corridors and 
tunnels ran rampant all around.    
     All around was serenity.
     He could hear the sounds of waterfalls and songbirds echoing from 
one side of the gardens to the next. A veritable feast of forest greens 
and brilliant colours reached all around the paths. The air was clean 
and cool and damp. It was an invigorating rush to walk amidst such a 
realm of raw and wondrous beauty. 
     "Cait Sith isn't exactly like the others," Shogo countered. "The 
Uranian military does not train their warriors as we do. He's 
dangerous--moreso as a rival than an enemy."
     Khai slowly turned to the one destined to take his place when at 
last he retired...or died. "There's something else about her, Shogo. 
Something I felt when I first found her. And Cait Sith has felt it 
too...he came to me last night with but one request: that Hotaru be his 
sole opponent. He won't care for anyone else but her."
     A cobblestone path led their footsteps towards the centre of the 
tangled gardens, to the place where the true battleground lied. And 
their footsteps came to a stop when the winding cobblestone path came 
to an end, and they stood before an archway which had long been 
swallowed up by a menagerie of exotic vegetation.
     "Perhaps you've made the wisest choice after all," Shogo said, 
arms loosely crossed over his chest. "Letting Cait duel another when he 
wants only her would aggravate him even more. I doubt he'd show that 
person any mercy."
     Khai nodded. "For the safety of all involved, Hotaru is 
ultimately the one we shall put in danger."
     At the base of the tangled archway was a silver-hued crystal, 
partially submerged into the ground. And jabbed into the crystal was an 
ancient weapon.
     The sword of destiny.
     Encircled by a ring of stones, ten planetary symbols etched into 
them, the sword stood almost six feet in height from tip to end. Its 
blade was slender and single-edged, intricate runes running down the 
side. Its hilt was decorated with curving skeins of golden arms which 
guarded the hand of whomever grasped the sword.
     Khai watched in silence as a shaft of sunlight enveloped the 
resting place, basking the sword with sparkling white light. In his 
entire lifetime, the sword of destiny had been pulled from its place 
only once. The arena hidden by this sword was a battleground only for 
duels meant to change the very face of the future itself. When the 
sword had last been pulled, it was the final and deciding battle in 
which Arthur arose as the ruler of the Golden Empire.
     "It's time," Shogo said quietly. 
     Khai stepped towards the sword. Fingers reached out for the sword 
of destiny, electrical arcs passing between his hand and the weapon. 
The air was alive with a fierce magik, the light growing brighter the 
closer Khai drew to the sword.
     And then skin touched steel.
     A shaft of light surrounded the samurai, exploding into the 
skies. The winds of fury swept across the garden, Khai lost from the 
view of his successor. Leaves and flowers were torn apart, debris 
circling the vortex as the songbirds spread their wings and merged with 
the light.
     As abrupt as it had emerged, the wind and light died down, 
leaving the garden once more in darkness and shadows. Slowly Shogo 
lowered his guard to survey the tangled archway.
     The sword of destiny was gone.
     But Khai was there in its place, standing motionless with eyes 
closed and head lowered to the ground. His eyes opened, and within them 
Shogo could see the glint of light reflecting from the blade of a 
sword.
     Muscles tensed as his fingers were splayed. Something emerged 
from Khai's palm, tendrils of magik and light thrashing about. The 
sword of destiny pushed forth effortlessly, Khai's skin rippling like 
waves of water until the sword was fully unsheathed from his body. His 
hand grasped the hilt.
     The sword was raised over his head.
     Something loud clicked from in behind the tangled archway. 
Thorns, flowers and trees began to retract, moving away from the arch. 
Menageries of green departed, leaving in their wake a magnificent 
gateway.
     Shogo quietly drew up beside Khai.
     The duel would begin soon.


     Something stirred.
     Something dark, evil and there among the shadows of the 
GlenHawke. Serenity's quiet lull was cut short as a cold wind swept 
past her and Maya. The winds were heralding a creature as dark as the 
midnight where it lurked.
     Crystal blue eyes widened. "Maya, get down!" she shouted, pulling 
the child to the ground. 
     The courtyard suddenly exploded in a fiery ball of light that 
bathed everything in dancing colours of yellow, orange and crimson. 
Serenity screamed as she was thrown backwards from the blast, tumbling 
onto the grass. Groggily she opened her eyes and lifted her head.
     The ground just a few feet away from her had been was reduced to 
ash, an enormous but shallow crater having swallowed up the grass, 
trees, and whatever else might have been there. She frantically looked 
around for Maya. The child was safe, and alive, blown away from the 
crater. Maya rose from the ground with trembling arms, the distant look 
in her eyes betraying how disorientated she was.
     Everywhere else, GlenHawke was thrown into an uproar. Students 
were scattering, some crying out and running for cover, while others 
who had seen only distant fire and smoke raced towards the area.
     "Mother Halefyne!" one of the Sisters exclaimed, pushing through 
the clouds of smoke pouring across the courtyard. "Come quick! Ther-
!!"
     She never had time to speak another word as the ground before her 
exploded in frenzy, dirt and grasses raining down. Something emerged 
from the underground, seizing hold of the Sister's neck.
     Serenity's eyes widened in horror.
     It was a massive lizard, covered in dark green scales, standing 
upright on hind legs, a thick tail twitching behind its body. Its 
bulging red eyes, and the rows of jagged teeth sticking out from its 
lips brought out the creature's slender face and oblong mouth.
     Sister Rowyn's feet were lifted off the ground as the creature 
hoisted her into the air. It snarled, leaning closer, a thick red 
tongue flicking out from between its lips. Rowyn's feet were kicking 
frantically, the Sister fighting for air that was slowly being choked 
out of her.
     The creature extended a clawed finger, tracing the tip of the 
nail across her forehead. "No...." it growled. "You...not...her."
     And then it viciously flung her across the courtyard, Rowyn's 
body colliding with one of the buildings. Screens were broken apart as 
the Sister tumbled across the tables inside.
     "Rowyn!" Serenity screamed.
     The creature swung around, its attention caught with her voice. 
Serenity felt her entire body cold and shivering as the beast stalked 
towards her. "You...." it hissed. "Are...you...?"
     It passed by Maya, not even giving the child a second glance. Not 
until Maya turned her head and saw it. Eyes widened in terror, and Maya 
screamed. It whirled, bulging eyes focusing upon the child. With a loud 
snarl its jaws opened wide, displaying rows of jagged teeth dripping in 
whitened saliva that sprayed across Maya's face.
     The child's body refused to move, her terrified expression 
unwilling to change. She laid there quivering as the creature drew back 
its arm, unsheathing enormous and savage black claws.
     "You...not...her," it snarled. "So...you...die."
     Maya's voice found itself.
     She screamed.
     The creature struck, moving with a speed that blurred the 
movements of its arm as it intended to forever silence the child's 
screams. Blood sprayed out in a crimson cascade as one of the claws 
sank into flesh. But it was not Maya's blood. Instead the claw that 
found flesh had punched through Serenity's shoulder.
     Maya found herself alive, turned onto her back as Serenity dove 
and threw them both out of death's path. Yet Serenity had not emerged 
unscathed; she let out a strangled cry as the claw was retracted from 
her shoulder.
     "Serenity," Maya whispered.
     Serenity's eyes were narrowed as she fought against the pain. 
"Maya...get out. Please...leave."
     The creature straightened its stance, eyes levelling with 
Serenity's form. "You...are...the...one," it stated. It raised its arm, 
poised to strike once more. And with a horrific revelation, Serenity 
realized it wanted her alive.
     It was going to kill Maya.
     Suddenly the creature's body was smashed aside, a wave of fierce 
magik sending the lizard's body tumbling across the grass, its claws 
digging up dirt as it spun out of control. Its slide came to a stop, 
and the creature rose, eyes wide in rage.
     "Who...?" it hissed.
     Serenity looked up as a shadow fell upon her. "Halefyne," she 
said.
     The Mother of GlenHawke looked down at Serenity. "Take Maya and 
go. Leave this shadowmancer to me." Her eyes narrowed. "I will not 
allow such a creature to harm my students."
     She slowly marched towards this beast threatening the sanctuary 
of GlenHawke. This was unlike any other creature of darkness she had 
seen; even the demons the Elven could summon were not like this. Her 
magik perforated the air, flowing around her in a glistening emerald 
light.
     It merely snarled in response, snapping its jaws at her. The 
creature dropped onto all fours, prowling to her left side. Halefyne's 
stern expression never changed, remained unfazed as it snarled again.
     Without warning, the creature lunged.
     Halefyne gave a loud shout, opening her palms towards the beast. 
A pulse of magik exploded from her hands, colliding with it and sending 
it tumbling backwards. Yet the instant it was on the ground, the 
creature was up on its four feet.
     The reptile beast flung open its mouth, lashing out its tongue. 
Sticky and pink, the tongue shot out, wrapping itself around Halefyne's 
chest. The Mother shouted in pain as her chest was slowly crushed, her 
body hoisted into the air. 
     Serenity hadn't even left from her place beside Maya, the blood 
staining her nightgown the least of the fears going through her mind. 
"Halefyne!" she cried out.
     And then suddenly an unseen blade sliced cleanly through the 
beast's tongue. The creature howled as it pulled back the severed 
tongue into its mouth, snapping its jaws shut. Halefyne dropped to the 
earth, unravelling herself from the tongue.
     "What the?" she said.
     A chuckle came from behind her. "Miss me, Halefyne?"
     Someone stepped out from the shadows. Standing defiantly against 
the creature, magik crackling vengefully from his clenched fists, was 
Kakkyou. The Elven king glared at the beast with eyes fit to kill.
     "I've sent your master enough warnings in the form of the 
bodyparts of your friends," he stated icily. "I take it she still has 
yet to see the futility of this game."
     The tip of the beast's tongue snaked out from its mouth, touching 
its chin and then darting back into its mouth. It was beginning to 
salivate.
     Without waiting for a response, there was a snap of the Elven 
lord's fingers and a thick cloud of dark mist pulsated out from behind 
him. The mists began to swarm and close together to create form and 
essence. The creation was that of a fearsome dragon-beast.
     "Tear him to shreds--after you've ripped out his heart to show 
him how black it is," Kakkyou instructed. Its immense demon wings 
beating in the air, the dragon let out a horrific screech and plummeted 
towards the lizard, claws and teeth gleaming in the pale light as it 
spewed forth fire.
     Demon creatures fell upon each other.
     Within seconds the dragon-beast exploded into a rainfall of blood 
and gore. Drenched in crimson, the reptile creature snarled, rising 
once more onto its hind legs. "Useless...."  
     Kakkyou blinked, visibly surprised. "Usually they just die when I 
do something like that," he remarked to Halefyne.
"I suggest you find another tactic then," Halefyne retorted, 
standing up. She began to summon her magik.
     The Elven lord placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. "This 
one's mine," he said. 
     "It's endangering the ones under my care," Halefyne snapped. "As 
thankful as I am for your presence, I will take care of this. This 
situation is for the priestesses of GlenHawke to deal with."
     Dragon green eyes narrowed. "The hell it is," Kakkyou growled. 
"This creature, like the dozens before it, has but one purpose. It is 
searching for Serenity. Before you even knew that her powers were 
symbiotic with the moon's rays, Halefyne, I was killing anything that 
hunted her magik."
     He clenched his fist, a glowing shaft of light rising up in the 
form of a blade. A sword, forged as only Elven magik could forge it: a 
weapon of pure energy. 
     "This is personal," he hissed.
     The creature wiped away the drool hanging from its chin. 
"I...know...you," it said. "You...murdered...my...brothers."
     A dark smile appeared on Kakkyou's face. "I've killed a lot of 
demons in my time. I suppose their scent sticks to me, whether or not I 
can smell it."
     The beast reared up and then slammed its front legs down onto the 
ground. Dirt rippled and the earth shook. "I...want...Serenity," it 
hissed.
     Kakkyou pushed Halefyne back as he walked towards the beast. 
"Damned Kappa-youma," he muttered. 
     He knew this breed of beast.
     It had a name: Reptilius.
     The second he cleared past Halefyne, he charged. Reptilius was 
only too pleased to retaliate, bringing around its massive tail. The 
Elven lord was on his feet in a heartbeat. He pushed off the ground and 
flipped around in the air, twisting over Reptilius' head.
     The thick tail of the beast smashed right through the sturdy 
trunk of the tree, sending the tree crashing to the ground. Reptilius 
was the first to strike. Flying with a rage, it lunged for Kakkyou. 
Rage had possessed it, and now it moved faster, hit harder, and spared 
no mercy. The first blow sent Kakkyou high into the air.
     He landed hard, rolling and losing his sword in the process. 
Struggling to shake off the blow, he was only met with a fierce slash 
that tore open his garments across his chest. Blood ran out between the 
shredded fabric. 
     Kakkyou feebly swore, his sounds drowned out as thunder overhead 
rumbled across the skies. His eyes widened as he sensed Reptilius 
towering over him.
     "Pathetic," it snarled, dropping to the ground and smashing a 
foot into Kakkyou' back. 
     The Elven lord gave a strangled gasp as a hideous "crack!" echoed 
from his body. Then his face slumped into the dirt and he grew still.
     The creature let out a grating sound that might have been 
laughter. "Elven...fool."
     "'Scuse me."
     Reptilius turned its head as a finger tapped it on the shoulder. 
Seconds later Kakkyou' fist was rammed into its face. The beast barely 
had a moment to recover before he drove a fierce punch to its chest, 
Elven magik amplifying the strike and blasting the creature into the 
nearest solid object. 
     Namely one of the building walls.
     Kakkyou gave the beast a rather unimpressed look. "That was my 
favourite shirt," he stated. "You're going to pay for that."
     Reptilius howled, thrashing about as it righted itself and 
charged for the Elven prince. The tail moved faster than he 
anticipated, swatted him aside. Kakkyou crashed into a tree trunk, and 
dropped to the ground.
     Reptilius laughed and wiped away the drool hanging from its chin. 
"Tenacious."
     It whirled as it saw movement.
     But already Halefyne had summoned a barrier, crushing it together 
until it pooled within her palms, magik wildly screaming for a release. 
The release found itself aimed directly at Reptilius' face. The blast 
was unleashed, carving a gouge through the earth that pushed the beast 
along with it, sending Reptilius for a drag through the dirt across 
GlenHawke.
     Smoke dissipated from around her body.
     Halefyne made her way to where the Elven king was making an 
effort to stand. "I swear I can't let you go anywhere without you 
getting into trouble," she sighed, shaking her head.
     Another loud crack of thunder. The rains started to fall. Within 
minutes the grasses were soaked.
     Kakkyou managed a grin as he struggled to pushed himself off the 
ground, blood running down his face from a jagged cut on his forehead. 
"I could have taken him."
     Halefyne offered a hand. "Can you get up?"
     That evoked a chuckle. "No. I think I've lost all feeling in my 
legs." With a beleaguered sigh, Kakkyou graciously accepted the help. 
"If word ever gets out about this, I'll never live it down," he 
remarked.
     Reptilius tore through the grasses moments later, her attack not 
even having slowed it down. Bulging red eyes glared at Halefyne.
     "You...not...leave...alive!" Reptilius exclaimed. Reptilius 
opened its mouth, but instead of one tongue, five tongues shot out. 
Each one wrapped itself around Mother Halefyne's limbs and torso.
     "Halefyne!" Kakkyou exclaimed as she was torn from his grip. But 
his legs were still unsteady, and he collapsed onto the ground.
     She winced as she was hoisted into the air, and Reptilius began 
to drag her closer to its jaws. She twisted and struggled in his grip, 
bouncing up and down, wincing as she felt sticky saliva soak into her 
robes and ooze across her skin.
     "Even if I am a human," she said. "I'm not that easy to kill!"
     A shout of incantation escaped her lips, a magik radiating out 
from here that tore apart the tongues into thin ribbons of flesh. 
Reptilius reared up, throwing its head and sending Halefyne spinning in 
every direction. This time it merely snapped its teeth down, severing 
the tongues at the mouth. Halefyne crashed into the mud in a heap with 
the twitching organs.
     A streak of colour shot over her head.
     Kakkyou bounded across the grass, his clenched fist drawing a 
sword of pure energy once more. The crackling blade was raised over his 
head. Reptilius was in mid-flight, its claws fully extended and ready 
to cut through Elven flesh and bone. Kakkyou dodged the beasts' claws, 
which sank into the ground.
     He leaped into the air, and shouted as he brought down his blade. 
The magik struck, cutting through Reptilius' thick armour. It bellowed 
and spun around, swatting him back. Kakkyou flew across the soaked 
grass, leaving a wave of water in his wake. His momentum was stopped as 
he crashed into a tree.
     Groaning, he managed to keep his eyes open and look at the demon 
creature. Reptilius was covering its wound as black ooze spurted from 
its shoulder. The beast howled as a geyser of the black ooze surged 
forth between its fingers, opening its mouth and displaying a newfound 
mass of writhing tongues.
     Reptilius slowly turned to him and then to Halefyne, hatred 
burning in its eyes. It pulled back the entanglement of tongues, loudly 
snapping its mouth shut.
     "You...both...defy...me," it snarled.
     Abruptly its bulging eyes shifted, darting sideways.
     New movement had attracted it.
     The creature saw Serenity and Maya trying to escape. In that 
moment, Serenity turned, eyes widening as she saw Reptilius focus upon 
her. The beast dropped back onto all fours and broke into a run.
     "Serenity!" Maya cried, clinging to Serenity's nightgown. 
     She winced as pain shot through her arm. Her gown was clinging to 
her skin, sticky from the blood. Crystal blue eyes saw the creature 
closing the distance. But what she heard was not the downpour of rain, 
nor her own heavy gasps for her. Not even Reptilius' snarls reached her 
ears.     
     All she could hear were Maya's desperate cries.
     Unless she did something, the child would die. No one so young 
deserved that. Not at the hands of this creature. She refused to let it 
happen. Even if it meant her life, she would give Maya the chance for a 
peaceful future.
     A gust of warm air hit Serenity's body as an aura began to glow 
within her open palms. The colour of her crystal blue eyes erupted, 
blazing a deep, fierce sapphire. She grew vaguely aware of the other 
students of GlenHawke crying and seeking shelter. All she knew was this 
feeling growing inside of her.
     Maya had so much to live for.
     As did she.
     "No more," she whispered.
     Eyes closed.
     Something within stirred.
     A magik....
     Reptilius lunged for them both, its mouth opening and tongues 
snaking out. Crystal blue eyes opened, the magik gathering its first 
manifestation. His kiss was upon her lips as she felt her entire body 
burn with a purifying light.
     A crescent moon flickered upon her forehead.
     Magik exploded.
     The demon's body was lost within the eruption of light which 
swallowed up all of GlenHawke. Everything was still. Time came to a 
grinding halt within a realm opened up by her powers. It was GlenHawke, 
yet the vibrant and natural colours were now shades of grey. Maya's 
face was etched in fear, the child motionless where she would have been 
clutching at Serenity's dress. Mother Halefyne's unconscious form laid 
amidst the mud and water where she had landed. Students of the 
sanctuary were frozen in midstep as they ran.
     Movement stirred within the realm.
     And with it vibrant life and colour.
     Serenity stood, clutching her shoulder yet without an expression 
of pain. Her nightgown fluttered in a wind that could not have been 
present in such a frozen world. Starlights flickered around the edges 
of her gown, the simple design suddenly changing and growing. It became 
long and white, the mark of the crescent moon shining brightly upon her 
forehead. The tresses of long blonde hair running down past her back 
went from blonde to purest silver.
     She turned, and saw another stirring to life in a motionless 
realm. Claws unsheathed, jaws opened up and snapped. A reptilian demon 
rose from the grey muck and mire this magik had sent it tumbling into.
     "Where...is...this?" Reptilius hissed, its head darting to look 
left and right and then left again in a paranoid blur of animal terror.
     "Youma," she stated, watching him with an expressionless face. "I 
will not allow your evil to continue to plague this world. 
     Reptilius' head snapped around, bulging eyes focusing on her. A 
thick tongue snaked out from between its lips, tracing down its chin. A 
growl escaped the depths of its throat. "You?...What...are...you?" 
     She raised her arm to the creature, her palm opening up. The 
magik flowed from her body, brilliant and pure as the light of the full 
moon.
     The demon's eyes widened. "Messiah!"
     "Arise, my knight," she stated, fingers extending and pointing to 
the greyed and lifeless figure of the Elven lord. Shades of noire 
faded, the colours of his skin and blood and garments returning.
     Kakkyou's form slowly rose up, head lowered to the ground. Slowly 
his head was lifted, eyes of dragon green opening up to stare at 
Reptilius. The movements were not fully his own; the will to protect 
her was his, but the magik behind his strength came from another.
     The creature rose onto its hind legs, partially opening its mouth 
to unleash a snarl. Thick rivers of saliva draped from its chin, 
falling to a frozen earth. Teeth were displayed as the demon corrected 
its stance, tail swaying as it turned towards the Elven lord.
     Kakkyou's eyes widened.
     Reptilius bellowed.
     And then both charged towards the other. Reptilius kept to its 
hind legs, a thrashing frenzy of fangs and claws. Kakkyou's fist 
clenched, the magik focusing into a slender blade of pure energy. 
     The two forces collided.
     With an explosive flash of light, Elven and demon were engulfed. 
The light died instantly to reveal the last moments of the battle. The 
rain swiftly followed.   
     Kakkyou was poised low on the ground, one hand gripping his 
sword, the other hand touching the grass. The glowing blade was covered 
in black ooze that slowly dripped from the magik edge. 
     Reptilius was in two places at once: its upper torso was hanging 
beside the trunk of a tree, claws buried firmly into the wood. Its 
lower half was sitting on the grass. Black ooze bubbled and frothed all 
around the remains of the beast. The youma's face was frozen into one 
of pure surprise, displaying the last thoughts it had in a physical 
form.
     In that moment of silence, the world returned to itself. The 
realm of grey shadows and frozen souls faded away. Students cried out 
and ran. Maya's scream found a voice, but not someone to hold on to in 
that final moment. The falling rains sent up hundreds of tiny splashes 
in the puddles of water. Leaves of green were scattered across the 
courtyard.
     No one had known of the magik Serenity had summoned.
     Not even Serenity herself.
     She stood there, between Kakkyou's crouched form and the bisected 
corpse of the Kappa-youma. Crystal blue eyes dimmed and clouded over. 
She collapsed, exhausted and sleeping a dreamless sleep. 
     The rains seemed to have ignored the magik, falling relentlessly 
still, drenching her already soaked nightgown as she laid there in the 
open. 
     "Serenity! Serenity!!" Maya cried, racing towards her.
     However someone was already there beside Serenity. Kakkyou swept 
her up in his arms, cradling her close to his chest. Maya stopped her 
run, staring in awe at the Elven lord. Eyes of creamy jade looked at 
her, and then he walked past her. A screen door was slid open, and 
gently Kakkyou laid Serenity down on the floor.
     He looked to Maya. "Find a warm blanket to put over her," was all 
he said. "I'll return shortly."
     Maya could only nod before scurrying off down the halls.
     Kakkyou ran a hand through his wet silver hair, bangs messily 
clinging to the sides of his face. As much as he didn't want to, he 
returned outside to feel the rainfall upon his face. It was an almost 
leisurely saunter as he made his way to where Mother Halefyne was 
laying.
     "You alive?" he inquired, poking at her side with his foot.
     Halefyne grumbled. "Yes, so stop doing that."
     With a sigh, Kakkyou leaned over and helped the Mother to her 
feet. One of his eyebrows was raised as he appraised her mud-stained 
clothes and face. "That's a new look for you."
     "If you tell me it's an improvement, you lose that eyebrow," she 
retorted evenly, limping towards the remains of Reptilius. 
     It didn't really surprise her when she felt Kakkyou take one of 
her arms and set it over his shoulders. They walked side by side 
towards the creature that had nearly killed them both.
     "You seem to have gotten a second wind," she observed.
     He nodded slightly. "I don't know why, but my entire body is 
running like it was possessed. I don't even know how I managed to 
cleave that thing in half."
     They stopped before the top half of the Kappa-youma.
     The thing in question's reptilian features melted away in the 
rain, revealing a chillingly familiar form. "It's a human male," the 
Elven lord said, not even bothering to hide his surprise.
     Granted he knew of such bargains.
     Humans making a blood oath with those of the demon world, mortals 
mixing their lifeforce with that of the creatures of darkness. All to 
become stronger, feared, immortal. Whenever that happened, the price 
was steeper than expected. The youma would seize control of the human's 
body.
     The human would become a monstrosity such as this.
     Only in death would there be an escape.
"Caltain," Mother Halefyne said.
     Kakkyou slowly turned to look at her. "You know this...thing?"
     She nodded, staring down at the aghast face looking out towards 
the forests of Arana. "He was a knight of Camelot, one of King Arthur's 
neighbouring lords."
     "'Was' once," Kakkyou stated, shaking his head. "My my, just when 
I think I know all the faces you humans can hide behind." He let 
Halefyne's arm off his shoulder, kneeling down to study the grotesquely 
contorted expression of Caltain's face.
     "This was no mere blood pact," he muttered. 
     Someone else had acted as intermediary between Caltain and the 
Kappa-youma. Someone who knew the ways of the dark magiks had merged 
the two together...all for the purpose of hunting down Serenity.
     He brushed aside some of the man's auburn hair to get a better 
look at the face. Suddenly the dead eyes of Caltain rolled inside their 
sockets. Like loose spheres they shifted until each one in its own turn 
locked gazes at both Kakkyou and Mother Halefyne.
     "Damn!" he hissed, recoiling back.
     Those eyes, wide and cold as ice, were staring intently at them. 
"Serenity...." Caltain's hoarse voice rasped.
     Kakkyou shouted something in his Elven tongue, driving his fist 
into Caltain's face. The human's skull collapsed, exploding into a 
cloud of dust and smoke. Black ooze sprayed out from where the bone had 
cracked apart.
     The Elven lord made a face. "Disgusting," he said, flicking his 
hand as thick streams of the ooze slowly draped down the tips of his 
fingers.  
     "Kakkyou!" Halefyne snapped.
     He pointed a finger at her, almost daring her to continue. "Don't 
argue with me, Halefyne. I at least knew what this thing was."
     Against her better wishes, she bit her tongue. "What as it?" she 
asked.
     "A spy," he answered. "Whatever he sees, his master knows. Don't 
worry; I doubt he managed to get anything beyond her name out."
     Without saying anything else, he rose to his feet and walked 
through the rain, returning to Serenity's side as he said he would. 
Kakkyou abruptly waved a hand in her direction. "Oh, and you're welcome 
for me saving your life."
     Mother Halefyne watched the Elven king, a beleaguered smile on 
her face. "I suppose you're going to be reminding me of that for as 
long as I'm breathing."
     She shook her head and started after him.


     With a simple gesture, Morgana watched as the waters in front of 
her throne suddenly erupted in a bubbling and churning frenzy. Blue 
became a white haze, and in there the image began to form. And it was 
Camelot, the city ablaze at night with thousands of glowing lights that 
stretched far across the reflection she was seeing.
     It should have been hers.
     Not Arthur's. Not ever his.
     And yet here it was, still existing under his rule despite all 
that she was doing. He body started to tremble in fury almost out of 
control. Her dreamsleep had been disturbed suddenly when she heard but 
a single word echo in her mind.
     "Serenity...." she said quietly.
     That name.
     It could only belong to the child she had been searching for, the 
one whose incredible magik she wanted to harness as her own. The voice 
of her Caltain had been silenced after that name was given to her. 
Through his eyes she saw a clenched fist cave in the man's head.
     Only darkness remained.
     And so she stood there, before the image of Camelot, hidden deep 
within the Shadowmagik of Ilsa Esylin's ruins. Beautiful and alluring 
eyes of sapphire narrowed. How dare they steal something she was at 
last so close to calling her own. How dare they rob her of the magik 
she rightly deserved to wield!
     With a furious shout she unleashed her own power, the dark magik 
exploding from her palm and shattering the image. Camelot became lost 
in the downpour of mist, foam and water until it became just a soothing 
waterfall once more.
     "Damn you!" she shouted.
     For a long time she was silent, her chest and shoulders heaving 
with her deep breaths. Long curls of indigo traced their way down her 
shoulders.
     To get this far, to build the world as she thought it should be 
built, she had sold her soul to receive a forbidden magik. She had 
murdered her brother's bride. And now she was in the midst of starting 
not just a mere rebellion, but a revolution that would change the face 
of Earth.
     Change the Golden Empire itself.
     Arthur always sought out another means to stop the wars. He 
refused to let sacrifices be made; everything was meant to stop 
bloodshed even when it was necessary to keep the peace. Even now he was 
in endless deliberations with Uranus and Neptune. Those two planets 
would never agree.
     It was human nature to be the individual, to conflict with one 
another. The Golden Empire had been formed by domination. That was the 
heart of being a king: ruling over the people's lives and minds. Only 
then were they happy.
     Why him?
     Why had he been given all the rights to rule?
     Morgana hissed and turned, stalking out of her throne room.
     "Perhaps I could be of assistance," a voice abruptly spoke up.
     She spun around, eyes searching for the source. But her eyes 
could detect nothing amidst the shadows. Her magik reached out and 
groped for the origin of her intruder...and still she found nothing. 
For a moment, uneasiness washed over her. Her powers were heightened, 
but the someone here outranked her own skill in the Shadowspell, the 
very magik which she had used to hide her realm within Ilsa Esylin's 
ruins. 
     Sapphire eyes found someone.
     One of the scattered shadows was moving with a life all its own. 
She watched as the darkness upon the wall breathed and then expanded, 
its edges fluttering to become a long black overcoat. Two eyes opened 
up, and they were blurry like the midnight heavens.
     The Raithe emerged from his hiding place.
     Morgana backed away, her defenses only half raised because of her 
stunned demeanour. "An Ancient," she whispered.
     With a smile, the Raithe bowed. "Good day to you, Lady Morgana. I 
trust I'm not interrupting."
     Warily she shook her head. "You...are not here to stop me?" she 
asked.
     That provoked a chuckle from him, and he shook his head. "If 
Arthur or Merlin had really found your hidden realm, do you think they 
would have sent just me to deal with you? No, Morgana, I am here for a 
different reason."
     He brushed past her, the edges of his black robes billowing out 
behind him as he turned to seat himself upon her throne. One leg went 
leisurely over an armrest.
     "I am here for the benefit of the future," he stated.
     At first Morgana just looked at him with a most curious 
expression. Then she laughed, still unbelieving of this new turn of 
events. "Then you'll join my forces, ally your magik with my own?"
     He shook his head. "I am only here for the sake of the future. 
For the chance at a perfect world."
     "And it will be perfect!" she stated fiercely, moving towards the 
throne. "With me at the throne and you by my side, it will be a 
glorious new era for the Golden Empire!" 
     The Raithe's hand reached out, caressing her cheek. "You have 
been searching for one who will lead your forces into battle," he said. 
"One who holds an immense magik within her."
     She nodded, leaning closer. Her hands moved onto the armrests, 
her lips just a breath away from his. "Do you know where she is?" she 
asked. "My messiah?"
     "You've already found her," he answered, letting his own lips 
come closer to hers. "You just haven't realized it yet. Hotaru...."
     Sapphire eyes shone as she licked the side of his face. "The 
samurai prodigy of Aurora?"
     His fingers ran through her curls of indigo hair, playing the 
same game she was playing. They were thriving upon the tension, 
relishing every sensual temptation meant to bring the other one under 
submission. 
     "She holds a magik beyond anything we can imagine," he whispered 
into her ear, causing her skin to tingle. "I can harness her power, 
make her your messiah."
     Morgana's laughter was sweet, delicate to listen to, wanting him 
to hear more from her. "She could lead my armies," she said, fingers 
tracing along his lips. "In her lies the power with which to conquer 
the Golden Empire, ruled by my brother."
     Her hands found their way through the folds of his robes, fingers 
caressing naked skin beneath the fabric. His chest was warm, his 
beating heart echoing upon her open palms. 
     "Yet she will need to be tested. I am not merely going to let her 
lead my armies until I see what she is truly capable of, that you have 
not deceived me."
     The Raithe smirked, eyes of midnight heavens staring into eyes of 
sapphire. "Leave that to me. Before this night is out, you shall have 
your messiah. And the future will be as it should...Lady Morgana."


     Hotaru stared up at the skies, and only saw the world below. 
"Such a strange place for a duel," she said quietly, clutching the 
shaft of her glaive.
     This was the first time she had ever heard mention of such a 
place, let alone find herself there. Amidst a tangled garden she and a 
handful of other students had followed a cobblestone path, coming to an 
archway that should have been blocked by flowers and thorns. Yet the 
arch was opened, awaiting them to proceed.
     A rune upon the floor had awaited them, and a shaft of light 
brought them to here...an upside-down battleground which hung suspended 
from a seemingly endless cloudline. Far below them were the lofty 
towers and spires of Aurora's palace. A dizzying height, a grandiose 
view which would make her sense of balance all the more difficult to 
master.
     Violet eyes glanced to the one who was her opponent.
     He had already been awaiting her, standing at the far end of the 
arena, upon the edge of an upside-down world with his back to her. Some 
would have assumed he was watching the twisted logic of this arena 
where the clouds were at one's feet. By his posture she knew he was 
doing no such thing; he was preparing himself for the duel.
     Slowly he turned his head, bangs of silver hair fluttering around 
his face as two cobalt eyes rested upon her form. They were wide, wild, 
dangerous. As if the eerie calm he possessed in standing there were but 
a breath away from a loss of sanity and control.
     The crumpled remains of a Uranian military uniform laid next to 
where he stood, edges rippling in the winds. Without it, without that 
hauntingly excited look in his eyes, he seemed almost out of place. 
Perhaps a wandering soul who wished to watch the midnight heavens from 
a vantage point unlike all others. He seemed almost...handsome.
     "Be careful," someone behind her said quietly. "Cait's fighting 
style is completely different from ours. None of us have ever witnessed 
Uranus' techniques."
     Hotaru turned around.
     She found herself looking up at a young woman with long, fiery 
red tresses of hair tied back and laced with a black ribbon. She 
recognized the runes in black running down the fellow samurai's left 
arm.
     "Reika!" she said in surprise.
     Reika's expression registered no affection or emotion. Instead 
she continued to watch Cait Sith. "I may not like losing to you," she 
stated. "But I'm not about to let any of us lose to the likes of him. 
There is no honour in his eyes; only an unsaciated lust for battle."
     Both turned as someone moved into the centre of the arena.
     Their sensei would mark the start of the duel.
     His eyes were closed, his one hand balling into a fist and then 
relaxing. Muscles tensed as his fingers were splayed. His footsteps 
came to a stop upon a circle painted in black, a silver rune scrawled 
across the darkness. Something emerged from Khai's palm, tendrils of 
magik and light thrashing about. The sword of destiny pushed forth 
effortlessly, Khai's skin rippling like waves of water until the sword 
was fully unsheathed from his body. His hand grasped the hilt.
     The sword was raised over his head.
A shout of incantation came from his lips as he flipped the sword 
around, its blade now pointing at his feet. The blade was smashed into 
the floor of the arena, metal sinking and merging with the rune marking 
the central circle. The rune started to glow, unleashing a blast of 
magik and light that shot downwards from above, striking the resting 
place where the sword of destiny had once laid in awaiting another 
battle to decide the tides of fate.
     Arms outstretched, Khai was lifted into the shaft of light, head 
bowed as he hovered somewhere between an upside-down platform and a 
rightside-up castle. The sword of destiny had become his soul; for now 
he would await until the battle found itself a victor.
     It had begun.
     Yet Cait Sith had not unsheathed his own weapon.
     By all indications he had entered the arena unarmed. He bent down 
and picked up the jacket, carrying it with him as he walked towards the 
centre of the battleground. Hotaru approached the centre from her side, 
glaive brandished carefully in her hands.
     She was skilled with such a bladed pole-arm. 
     But her opponent was infamous for his own unique weapon, one 
possessed by his sheer will and soul.
     Manriki-gusari.
     The weighted chain.
     "Shogo-sempai," Reika said quietly, watching from the outer rim 
of the arena. "The manriki-gusari is used exclusively for parrying and 
defense. Is he not putting himself at a disadvantage?"
     Shogo's eyes narrowed. "Do not underestimate Uranus' weapons or 
their warriors."
     Cait Sith lifted the uniform jacket into the air, high over his 
head. Fingers splayed. The jacket was released, caught by the winds and 
falling upwards...downwards...to where Aurora's palace awaited an end 
to its descent.
     "My king wanted me to come here and fight for the honour of our 
planet," he said quietly, eyes tilting upwards to stare at her. His 
tongue ran along his lips. "I only came to fight, to find the one who 
could be my rival."
     What could have been a chuckle escaped his throat. 
     "And I have found you...Hotaru."
     The way he had looked at her before, when they had crossed paths 
while she walked with Lady Kaori; this was the look in his eyes now. A 
shiver ran down Hotaru's back. She gripped the glaive tighter, swinging 
it around her head and then levelling its wickedly curved blade with 
Cait's head.
     Where was it?
     Where was his weapon?
     Cait Sith's lips forged a savage smile. Hands in his pockets, he 
turned to walk away from her. As if he didn't care at all about the 
duel.
     "Wait!" she exclaimed, starting after him. Her glaive's blade was 
lowered. Her guard was dropped. 
     And Cait Sith's eyes narrowed as his face became alive in pure, 
frenzied malevolence. "Hotaru...."
     Something glistened from deep within the darkness of the shadows 
behind him, a glint of light striking against cold metal. Hotaru saw 
the light and whirled, letting her glaive come before her.
     Suddenly out from the shadows behind Hotaru exploded three blurs 
of metal, each one screaming towards her. Violet eyes widened as she 
sprang into the air, leaping aside as three distinct gouges were torn 
across the arena's floor.
     Her landing was swift, silent, flawless. Yet not giving her 
enough time to gather her wits. Already his weapons were seeking her 
out again. Hotaru threw herself backwards, eyes widening as a metal 
chain exploded from the shadow, link upon link spewing forth and 
snaking out towards its intended target. Head over heels, she vaulted 
backwards as the chains neatly tore more gouges across the ground, 
clouds of dust and debris scattered everywhere. 
     Cait Sith remained motionless, a dark smile starting to play with 
his own lips as Hotaru landed, only to find the slender weights pulling 
themselves out from the ground and then lunging for her once more. 
Already it was looking like this young samurai had underestimated him, 
Hotaru jerking around in all directions as the weighted ends kept 
poised in the air and then tried to shoot forth and entangle her.
     One chain lunged, and she brought down her glaive. Sparks 
exploded as the blade cleaved through the metal links, severing the 
weight from the rest of the chain. The cut end went dead, the remaining 
chain writhing and shrinking back.
     For a moment a satisfied smiled was upon her lips.
     It vanished seconds later when another weight deliberately 
slammed itself into her back, knocking her forwards. Hotaru cried out 
as harsh pain shot through her. She could barely keep up with the 
spinning world, the skies normally above her now below her and twisting 
in her vision. Her footing was unsteady as she landed again, and Hotaru 
stumbled.
     The chains seized the moment. 
     One wrapped itself around the shaft of her glaive, the weighted 
end locking on. Chain links stiffened and then with a vicious yank 
pulled the weapon from her grasp. The glaive clattered to the ground 
far from her reach.
     A second chain snaked itself around her waist, clenching tighter 
until her lungs began to burn. Hotaru let out a strangled cry for air, 
eyes closing as she fought to hold back the pain from overpowering her.
     The chain which had ripped away the glaive from her snaked 
forward, rising up and curling itself as if poised to strike like a 
scorpion's tail. Suddenly the weighted ends snapped apart, the casings 
splitting in half and tumbling way. Revealed within was the true weight 
at the end of the chains: a thin, metal blade.
     "Ara, what do you think?"
     Hotaru was still choking, clenched jaw trying to suck in air as 
she heard Cait Sith's voice reach her ears. He was walking towards her, 
as relaxed as if the battle wasn't even taking place.
     Cobalt blue eyes cast a glance at the manriki-gusari.
     "These are more than mere weighted chains," he said. "I've made 
special adaptations, giving them these speared ends. It's very much 
akin to the 'rante' whipping chain...but I can assure you this is my 
very own design."
     Abruptly the chain around her chest relaxed, uncoiling itself and 
returning to swarm around its true wielder. Rippling links of metal 
were wrapped around his arms, weighted ends gone to reveal the thin, 
shuriken dart-like spears linked to the ends of the chains. Three in 
total rotated around Cait Sith, twisting in a skein of savage metal and 
deadly magik.
     "That was too easy a victory for me," he said. "It would appear I 
overestimated your skills as a samurai...or else I overestimated the 
skills of your sensei as a teacher."
     Violet eyes narrowed.
     And then she was gone from her place, already racing towards the 
glaive. Cait Sith's eyes closed momentarily as he smiled. Two of his 
manriki-gusari erupted from the hovering coils of metal, screaming 
through the air towards where she was.
     Hotaru vaulted through the air, rolling across the ground as she 
landed and with a sweeping motion of the hand clasped the pole-arm of 
her weapon. It was all one fluid movement, her body acting upon the 
magik than upon the mind.
     Chains attacked.
     The glaive moved in a blur of shimmering blade, sparks flying in 
all directions as she fought back the speared ends of the chains. Not 
one could penetrate the defense she was wielding, each one sent back 
recoiling from the blows she delivered. With a shout she smashed the 
glaive into the ground, a wave of magik exploding from the blade of her 
glaive.
     Many other times a simple line was carved into the ground from 
such an unleashment of her weapon. This time the entire arena erupted 
violently, as if it was a rug someone was shaking out. Stones and 
debris were flung and incinerated in the wake as a magik roared to life 
and began its onslaught towards Cait Sith.
     Cobalt eyes widened in glee as he saw it smash towards him. He 
turned, pulling back all his weighted chains into the shadows. Suddenly 
three chains erupted from the shadows before him, cast by the glow of 
her assaulting magik. A shout came with his own incantation, the 
speared ends plunging themselves into the ground, converging at one 
point and meeting her attack head-on. A barrier was raised, hot steam 
and scarlet magik spewing out.
     Magik struck against magik, and hers tore through his defense. 
Cait Sith's eyes were wide in an almost insane glee as he merely stood 
to watch her magik reach out and then strike. For a heartbeat, his 
motionless body was lost in the light.
     The attack died quickly after, revealing broken stones and debris 
forced into the shape a shallow but gaping crater. And at its centre 
was Cait Sith. His breaths were slow, laboured, his entire body heaving 
with each time he sucked the air into his lungs. She watched his taut 
skin ripple, droplets of sweat finding their ways into his open wounds, 
mixing with the blood running down his arm. If there was pain, he 
either hid it well, or was too caught up in the frenzied moment to 
notice or care.
     He raised his arm, tongue reaching out and licking the blood from 
the back of his stained hand. "This...is nothing. What are you holding 
back for?!" he exclaimed, enraged with her. "Let me see it! Let me see 
the magik you are hiding!"
     With contemptible hiss, he sent the weighted chains after her 
once more. They were no more than blurs of metal, and once more she 
found herself on the defensive. The glaive moved like a demon 
possessed, striking down and forcing back any movement coming from the 
speared ends of the chains.
     Suddenly Cait Sith was right beside her.
     "Masaka!" she exclaimed.
     He levelled a hard punch to her cheek, the blow sending her 
sprawling onto the ground. The glaive was lost from her grip, snaked 
and pulled away from her by one of the ravelling chains. She coughed as 
she bounced off the stone floor, trying to still use that momentum to 
crawl away from him.
     Cait Sith snarled, stepping and then letting the tip of his boot 
ram into her side. The edge smashed itself into her ribs, lifting her 
small body off the ground.
     "Hotaru!!"
     She was vaguely aware of the shout from Reika's lips as she 
fought to stay conscious. Cait Sith's scowl was all she could see as he 
stalked towards her once more. His hand shot out, fingers wrapping 
tightly around her throat. Her air was choked as he lifted her off the 
arena, her feet dangling in the air. 
     The scorn for her in his eyes was unmistakable.
     He hurled her through the air, not even letting her tumble into a 
heap before the chains stirred to life. She said nothing as she felt 
the cold-edged tip of the spear nuzzle against her cheek. He let the 
chain follow a line down her cheek, propping up her chin. Eye to eye 
they stared at each other. She tried to glare at him in angry defiance. 
She hadn't meant for the tears to start flowing.  
     Cait Sith's maniacal expression never changed, even when he 
suddenly found the sharpened edge of a katana blade pushed beneath his 
chin, skin cut just enough to draw a trickle of blood running down his 
neck.
     Reika glared at him, visibly restraining herself from slicing 
apart his throat where he stood. "Enough," she hissed. "You've won. 
There's no point in hurting her any further."
     A maddened smile crept upon his mouth as cobalt eyes slowly 
turned to Reika. Daring her to try and stop him. And it was then, 
without even looking, that he marked Hotaru with the sharpened edge of 
his manriki-gusari. She screamed as the spear shot upwards and sliced a 
thin line up her cheek. The cut seemed to pierce every inch of her 
face, attacking like a thousand sharp needles.
     "Chikusho!" Reika shouted. Hesitation was the last thought in her 
mind as she drove her katana blade through what should have been Cait 
Sith's neck.
     But he had already leaned backwards, hands clapping over the 
sides of the sword and pushing the blade up into the air rather than 
allowing it to slice apart his throat. His palms never moved away, he 
and Reika fighting for dominance over the fate of the weapon's next 
movement.
     Her arm was fully extended in gripping the katana; he could pull 
it away if he wanted--but that meant giving her the only heartbeat she 
needed to draw her second katana and pick a place for its blade to sink 
into on his body.
     Suddenly one of the chains laying dormant on the arena's floor 
burst forth, the links smashing themselves harshly into the back of 
Reika's knees. She collapsed instantly, falling backwards as Cait Sith 
wrenched the katana from her hands. 
     She was half expecting to find herself dead before she hit the 
ground. But instead the katana sword was jammed into the stone next to 
her. Even if he had wanted to, Cait Sith could not have broken metal 
forged by the Ancients. They both knew it.
     He stood there, looming over her, the towers of Aurora's palace 
far below where he stood on an inverted arena. His eyes narrowed at 
her. "You are nothing to me," he hissed. "You samurai fight for 
honour...I fight to win. That is why she lost; our styles are too 
different." 
     The winds were stirring once more, blowing his long silver hair 
in front of his face as he turned to Hotaru. Cobalt eyes watched her 
delicately press a palm against her cheek, blood flowing between her 
fingers and dripping onto the ground.
     "She could never be my opponent."
Coils of lifeless chain stirred, the manriki-gusari retracting 
back into whatever shadows he had summoned them from. A Shadowspell 
would keep them concealed until he called for them to be wielded once 
more.
     "It's not as deep as you might think," he said, turning away. 
"Yet I have given you a taste of my battle aura on the tip of my own 
blade. The agony you feel now is but a fraction of what I could give to 
you."
     Hotaru's eyes grew dim, distant.
     She collapsed onto the arena's floor. Cold, shivering, alone, she 
felt the warm stinging of her cheek slowly fade away with each 
agonizing beat of her heart. There was a surreal warmth in the blood as 
it flowed down her face. Reika's voice calling out her name was a vague 
recollection in her mind. Hotaru remained catatonic, collapsing into 
Reika's arms.
     Cait Sith glanced over his shoulder as he left the arena. "The 
magik you refuse to unleash," he said. "That is your true heart and 
soul. When you at last choose to let such power bloom, I will be 
waiting."
     Cobalt eyes narrowed. "In that magik lies the heart of my true 
rival."


     Once more he was pensive, scowling as he found himself worrying 
over a kingdom which Arthur should have been watching over. The 
Ancients were too worried about the effect to see the cause, and the 
Golden Empire's king was deliberately avoiding a confrontation with the 
cause.
     Morgana.
     It all returned to her, no matter which way he examined all the 
different possibilities. Whatever magik she had gotten a hold of, she 
was certain using it to the fullest of her advantage.
     Merlin smiled then.
     The only good thing that he could ever find in the Elven race was 
that they didn't consort with a lot of humans, let alone evil ones. 
Elvens found such people too tiresome; Morgana's powers certainly had 
not originated from the forest isles of Arana. 
     But now the question remained of what to do with his knowledge? 
There was no one else who seemed to believe him when he spoke of 
immanent danger that would work to unravel the fragile peace of the 
Golden Empire, one planet at a time. Little help was being offered his 
way; all he could depend on was his own wits and magik.
     His own wits and magik against an enemy who lurked in the safety 
of the shadows everywhere he turned to find her, against a revolution 
that was being patient in cultivating the ignorance of the rest of the 
Solis System. As much as Merlin was tempted to sit back and let Morgana 
seize control, to prove beyond a doubt to the others that his warnings 
were not mere paranoia...he could not.
     Loyalties were hard to break.
     And then there was the Raithe. Once more that damned character 
had vanished from sight if not existence. He had caught traces of the 
Raithe's magik upon Aurora when that gathering of the Ancients was 
over. But all too quickly it had faded away. Of anyone, the Raithe was 
the one who remained too silent, remained too invisible.
     Hence the Raithe knew too much.
     Merlin's brow wrinkled as he scowled, an action becoming far too 
regular a practice for him. Where had that enigma of an Ancient been 
these past ten years?
     The shadows of his domain rippled, winds flowing through the 
chambers. A few pages of open books were flipped over, some of his 
experiments rattling lightly from the breeze. Merlin turned to see who 
had now found their way into his domain. He half expected to see 
Arianna, returned to call him for another pointless time of arguing 
with the rest of the council.
     The Raithe would have been more expected than the sight of the 
one who now stood in his presence. It was a woman, tall and with tanned 
skin, carrying a key-shaped staff adorned with a jewelled orb that 
seemed strangely familiar. A woman...with an impossibly short, pleated 
skirt.
     Merlin's surprise barely registered upon his face, but was 
contained wholly in his eyes as he gazed down to her long...long...long 
bare legs, vision tracing its way up to her pleated skirt. He had never 
seen anyone, nobility or commoner, who wore such garments. No female in 
his presence had ever left her legs so exposed for him to see--well, 
not when it came down to matters of business.
     "Scandalous."
     That was the first word out of his mouth as his even gaze now 
focused upon her rather than her revealed body curvature. "If you 
wanted to catch my attention," he said to her. "All you had to do was 
enter my realm as the Ancients do."
     The woman stepped towards him. "I need to talk with you," she 
said.
     "I would rather prefer you introduced yourself first," Merlin 
countered. "It's not exactly every day I'm visited by someone in 
such...such impossibly short attire. Even when she is not an Ancient 
herself."
     Surprised for a moment, she hesitated in her words. "Gomen," 
Setsuna said at last, bowing slightly. "I am Sailor Pluto."
     Merlin's unfazed demeanour cracked. "Sailor...Senshi?" he mused, 
surprised to say the least. "But I have heard of no one taking up the 
henshins. And Pluto's royal family has but two sons and no daughter to
carry--"
     Setsuna raised her time staff, the garnet orb flickering to life. 
"I am not here from the present, Merlin. I am here from the future."
     Magik shifted beneath the aged guise he wore, wrinkles fading 
before her eyes, his hair darkening to a deep black. In seconds, all 
that remained the same were the eyes, still watching her with the same 
ancient mysteries locked inside his gaze.
     "You seem familiar enough with my true nature," he stated. "I see 
no reason to hide behind this mask in your presence. However I fail to 
see why I should trust you, let alone help you, Sailor Senshi. Forgive 
my suspicions."
     She nodded. "You're afraid I've been sent by Morgana."
     A dark smile appeared on his face. "The thought had crossed my 
mind."
     Magenta eyes glanced at the host of artefacts gathered here in 
his domain. She had gone through great lengths to track his movements 
here to Camelot, and then to discover where he had hidden himself among 
the shadows of the palace.
     Abruptly he moved forward, brushing past her and attending to 
another seemingly more pressing task. Yet she watched him go about his 
business with a quiet confidence about her. As if she knew the next 
words out of her mouth would hold him captive.
     "We have something of mutual interest to discuss," she explained. 
     He didn't look up from golden-crafted dragon on the table before 
him. Fingers delicately ran their course down the carving's curved 
form. Abruptly the golden eyes were pulled back to reveal something 
black but alive none the less. The golden dragon stirred, emitting a 
slight squeak as it fought the solid metal in moving.
     "And that is?" he absently inquired, fixated on the dragon.
     She approached the other side of the table, standing across from 
him. "The one who calls himself the Raithe."
     He froze. The Ancient's eyes were raised, followed by the rest of 
him. "If you ever doubted that you held my unwavering attention," he 
said. "Believe me, you have it now. Why does the Raithe concern you?"
     She was leaning on the key-shaped staff as she watched the 
dragon, giving it attention and a brief instant to yawn before the 
golden eyes closed and the beast slept. "Words can mean very little to 
ones who exercise incredible power," she said. "I will show you why I 
am here."
     The time staff was placed in between them. 
     Light flowed from the garment orb, mists filtering out from all 
corners of his chambers and pooling together within the crystal atop 
her staff. Merlin's eyes beheld a dead city, dwelling in a darkness 
that turned savage. Devastation followed, and annihilation was the last 
thing he saw before the garnet orb was lost in another flash of light. 
     "What was that?" he asked.
     "A paradox," she answered, withdrawing the time staff. "One that 
will destroy our future."
     "Your past," he countered.
     Pluto smiled. "I know the Past, but the Past is happening 
forever, ne? I know all the history that I was taught. All that has 
happened since I took my post, and all that has happened since I was 
born." 
     Merlin stared at her for several seconds before he closed his 
eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Perhaps I shouldn't press the 
matter," he remarked dryly. "I can feel a headache appearing when you 
talk about something like that."
     Pluto smiled at that. "Regardless, though, something I did will 
trigger it here in the distant past. Two alternate realities will co-
exist in one plane of time and space."
     She didn't have to say the rest; they both understood the end 
result well enough. Two realities conflicting for domination would 
instantly tear apart their world. Past, present, future: all would find 
new rest in the arms of oblivion. And at best, the rampant destruction 
of the paradox would be localized to just the Solis System.
     "And you believe the Raithe is involved in this paradox somehow?" 
Merlin pressed.
     She nodded. "He knew I was coming before I even arrived here in 
the past. Every time I finally discover a clue leading to the paradox's 
origins, I find the Raithe already there. He knows more than he wants 
to tell me...and with the power he holds as an Ancient, I fear what 
he's capable of."
     Merlin continued to watch the garnet orb manifest more winds of 
magik, opening a palm and letting the shimmering mists filter through 
his splayed fingers. "If you and I are still here to discuss the 
paradox," he said. "I can only assume that somewhere along the 
timeline, the damage has been repaired. To an extent, the future is 
safe." A sigh escaped his mouth. "The Golden Empire may yet be 
preserved."
     He caught sight of something in her eyes as she looked away.
     A sadness.
     Merlin stiffened, a chill involuntarily running down his spine. 
"Or am I wrong?" he demanded in a low, hushed voice.
     Setsuna looked at the Ancient. "This is the future I know," she 
said quietly. "The future that must be." 
     The garnet orb of her time staff exploded in light, bathing them 
and his realm in her magik. And he saw it all. A city of shimmering 
colours, of a beautiful crystal citadel at the heart of a city. And 
there in its heart and soul, a woman with long tresses of golden hair 
flowing down around her.
     Such magik...so different from the magik found here.
     "Serenity," he found himself whispering.
     For a long time he was silent as he watched people and events 
move their course across a timestream already set yet still so unknown 
to him. "I do not see myself in your future," he said quietly. 
     She nodded.
     "How will I die?" he asked, raising his head and looking at her 
with an eerily calm face. "No specifics, Sailor Senshi. I want no day 
and date, no time and place. But do I die the way I should, the way I 
want to die: defending Camelot and the Golden Empire?"
     Pluto seemed uneasy in giving a response. "Hai...but it will be 
defending a future world, and not this one."
     Merlin's eyes closed as the weight of his knowledge pressed down 
upon him. She let him remain in his thoughts without interruption, 
understanding all too well what it meant to be burdened like this. To 
know too much when everyone else around you knew so little. But his 
quieted spirit did not last for much longer.
     "It was selfish of me to assume you came back just to save the 
Golden Kingdom," Merlin said. "I may not be a farseer like Grimm or 
even the Raithe, but I can sense the magik of our world slowly 
unravelling. And there is nothing that I can do to change it."
     Destiny.
     Like a thousand souls travelling a thousand different paths which 
all lead to the same distant city, whether or not they are aware of it. 
For some, one task would be more important than anything else they had 
ever done. For others, it was the eternal duty that meant all the 
difference.
     Time was endless, but it did not wait.
     In that moment, a choice had to be made.
     "Who wants to live forever?" he whispered to himself. Slowly his 
eyes opened. "Alright then, Sailor Pluto...what is it I have to do to 
protect the future?"


     The Raithe stood at the edge of the arena, watching the upside-
down palace of Aurora tower high over his head. Night had fallen, 
darkness consumed by a dazzling array of lights, each one unique from 
the rest and demanding his full attention. Yet none were truly given 
his attention, for he was consumed with other thoughts. Here, atop a 
battlefield which had seen the samurai prodigy fall to the cold edge of 
a metallic chain, he found himself in silence.
     His eyes moved down to where he stood. A perfectly clear 
reflection looked back up at him from beyond the floor, yet it was not 
his own. An old monk with tanned skin stared back with two human eyes 
bandaged up in white linen. A third eye upon the monk's forehead opened 
up, and stared.
     "Komban wa, Grimm," the Raithe said. "Tell me, what do you see 
inside those blind eyes?"
     A silhouette appeared behind him. The seated and hovering form of 
the Ancient farseer. "More than I care to reveal to the rest of the 
Ancients," the monk answered solemnly, voice low, almost like a growl. 
"I have seen the Silence, and its Messiah. And I have seen you there."
     Eyes of starry midnight narrowed. "How many others know about 
this?" he asked.
     "Dante is partially aware," Grimm answered. "Though that is by 
your own choice. I have seen his glaive draw blood at the hands of a 
harbinger bearing the mark of Saturn."
     "And Merlin?"
     "He suspects yet has nothing of proof. Besides, his concerns lie 
with Morgana and not you. He has other more pressing matters than 
worrying about what you're up to."
     The Raithe smirked at that. "Always like Merlin to attend to a 
woman over an old friend."
     "You may not be friends for much longer," Brother Grimm stated. 
"Tonight, from the shadows you seem to enjoy hiding in, you shall start 
a war."
     Aurora's palace was shining brightly above yet below him. So much 
vibrant life within those walls; if he listened through the winds that 
were to be found up here on the inverted arena, he could hear the 
masquerade trying to invite him for a dance.
     The Raithe turned, edges of his dark robes flapping in the winds. 
"You are not here to stop me, Grimm. That much I know."
     The silhouette, with its third eye watching him from a darkness 
that should not have been there, nodded. "It would have been rather 
inappropriate of me not to say good-bye, knowing what I know. We all 
have our loyalties and duties, Raithe. Perhaps because yours is the 
darkest of all, no one else can fully understand why you are who you 
are."
     No hesitations. No second thoughts. No doubts. If he had to leave 
this world any one way, it would be like this. "Revolution," he said 
quietly.
     It was time to prepare the future by destroying history.
     Grimm's outline faded away, nothing more than a brief illusion 
caused by the lights of the shining stars. "Do what must be done."
     "Sayonara, Grimm."
     The Raithe pushed off the arena floor, his magik and flight 
carrying him through the air. Down and up became a blur as he both 
ascended and descended to Aurora's palace. And the monk's voice 
travelled with him: "It was good while it lasted, ne?"
     The Raithe nodded. "Hai."
     But life held one absolute among many others.
     All good things must come to an end.
     And the end was nigh.


     Hotaru's quiet breaths were a comforting sound amidst the subdued 
silence in her room. She at last seemed to be free of the fever, of the 
sweat running down her pale face, of the moans that escaped her mouth 
as her body fought against an unseen plague of magik.
     It had been like that for the past few hours, and now his angel 
could dream of beautiful dreams. Khai kissed her gently on the cheek 
before retreating from her chambers. A fleeting glance was cast at her 
glaive, laid upon the special shrine designated for the weapon.
     "Gomen ne, Hotaru-chan," he said quietly.
     The door to her chambers was slid shut.
     Reika and Shogo were both waiting outside, each samurai leaning 
against a respective part of the building across from Hotaru's. By 
their expressions it was evident that hadn't talked in the time they 
had been standing there.
     "Her fever's broken," Khai said.
     While a sigh of relief escaped Reika's lips, Shogo remained stern 
in his expression. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" he said, 
arms crossed over his chest. "You knew Cait Sith would use that 
technique if he won against Hotaru."
     "There was no guarantee the rumours were true," Khai answered, 
pausing as he came to the pillar. "Cait has only fought against 
opponents in the Uranian military. We could only be certain if the duel 
was taken outside of Uranus' jurisdiction."
     Reika looked to the two. "Na ni?"
     Her hands were moving towards her katanas.
     Khai held out a hand, silently ordering her to stop. From above, 
the lights of the palace towers shone down through the open world where 
the apprentice quarters laid. Beacons in the darkness of night.
     "Cait Sith uses a very strange and volatile technique," he 
explained. "He feeds off the magik anyone invokes in a battle against 
him. The more powerful the magik, the more potent the euphoria he 
feels. It's become a drug to him, one that has destroyed his mind. All 
he knows anymore is the bloodlust. All he searches for now is the one 
who can become a rival, who will satisfy his hunger for combat."
     Shokkan.
     A sorcery named after the mage who had first discovered it, the 
mage who had become its first victim. In drinking the magik of another, 
one could very easily become a demon.
     Shogo glanced down the empty courtyard; most of the other 
students were in their respective chambers, or else doing late-night 
training. "This form of magik has been outlawed in the Golden Empire-
but Uranus seems to kept up the practice...not that it's helped their 
warriors either."
     Khai's expression remained sombre as Reika looked to him in 
confusion. "You saw the frenzied glaze to his eyes, Reika. All he lusts 
for in life is the chance to fight the ultimate fight. The magik has 
already claimed his sanity in allowing him to wield it. In time it will 
drive Cait Sith to murder himself--by his own hand or by another's."
     Bangs of dark hair hid his eyes in the shadows as he looked back 
at the chambers where Hotaru slept. "That's why I allowed him to come 
here and duel against one of our students. Rivend-sama wished to know 
if the rumours were true; it has become his passion to wipe out that 
form of magik, ever since it claimed Queen Guinevere's life years ago. 
When the first stories surfaced that Uranus had developed a warrior 
whose primary tactics laid in the use of Shokkan, he asked for my 
help."
     "And you let your own daughter fight him, even when knowing what 
you did?" Reika snapped. No longer was she leaning against the wooden 
beams as Shogo still was; now she was prepared to stand in Khai's way 
until her anger was quelled.
     A glare from Khai's eyes had her backing down instantly. His eyes 
did not threaten. They warned. Sometimes the most dangerous and most 
lethal of opponents was the one who knew when to hold back their true 
power. 
     "When Hotaru was cut by the manriki-gusari's modified 
spearpoints, she was fed the same magik that Cait Sith uses for 
Shokkan. However he has been raised on this magik; his steadily growing 
immunity has led him to an unquenchable thirst for blood. For Hotaru, 
the backlash attacked whatever weakness it could find."
     Shogo's eyes trailed back towards Hotaru's chambers. "One 
soldier's euphoria is another's poison," he murmured. "It would reduce 
her to madness if she could not cope."
     "And you would let her die like that?" Reika hissed. Her hand was 
on one of the katana's grips, the weapon awaiting to be drawn. "There 
is no honour in such a death!"
     Again Khai shot her a glare that caused her to go silent. "Her 
fever has broken," he stated. "This means she's already recovered. 
Right now she just needs rest...."
     Their sensei looked away, concern revealed in his eyes for but a 
brief moment. He had omitted to them both that he had quietly sent for 
a Healer from Earth to ensure that there would be no residual effects 
from this. While he held a first duty of training his apprentices, he 
could not deny the passion that possessed him as a father.
     "I'm surprised you even came here, Reika," he said, breaking the 
uneasy truce of silence between them all. "You don't seem the type to 
wait for word on an opponent's health."
     Reika's defiance faltered. A new guard was put up, and she 
avoided his gaze. "Losing to her is one thing," she stated. "But Hotaru 
losing to the likes of that bastard is another. If she had not defeated 
my katana blades, I probably would be the one laying in bed, that 
damned sorcery running through my blood."
     Eyes looked down at the ground, a hand running down the tattoos 
scrawled on her arm. "I know Hotaru would have waited outside for me if 
that had happened. I owe her that much."
     Their conversation was abruptly cut short as the echoes of 
frantic footsteps sounded down the passageway between the buildings. A 
young prince raced closer to them, bangs of ice blue hair dancing 
around eyes of winter's mist.
     "Hotaru!" the prince exclaimed breathlessly.
     Shogo managed to slow Helios down. "Daijobu; she's just resting. 
No permanent harm was done during the duel."
     Knowing that he would never be able to enter her chambers without 
their permission--and that the odds were three to one against him, 
heavily in the favour of the samurai--Helios nodded as he tried to 
catch his breath.
     "I came as soon as I heard," he panted. "How bad is it? Is she 
still in pain?"
     Shogo shook his head. "Iie. She's sleeping peacefully. Ne, Khai-
sensei?"
     Khai nodded. "Hai."
     Helios' eyes nervously glanced over to Reika. She pushed some 
curls of her fiery hair away from her face; whether or not she realized 
it, she was quite nicely intimidating the prince. His gaze darted back 
to Khai.
     Khai gave a slight nod with his head, motioning towards the door 
to Hotaru lay sleeping. Helios parted company with the samurai, quietly 
sliding open and shutting the chamber door behind him.
     Reika slowly turned to Khai. "Why did you--?"
     "Give him the time alone to be with her," Khai instructed, 
cutting into her words. "Reika, you'll need your rest tonight. I 
suggest you follow the course the other students have chosen to take."
     Against both her wishes and her better judgement, Reika bowed. 
"Hai, Khai-sensei." 
     She briskly disappeared down the courtyard, leaving the cool 
grasses and cobblestone pathways for the warmth of her own chamber.
     "I didn't know the prince was so concerned for her," Shogo said 
quietly when Reika was no longer in sight.
     Khai nodded. "It would appear so. But we had best deal with this 
when the morning comes. There will be enough hell to pay without Helios 
going for Cait Sith's throat."
     "Especially if Cait decides to rip out Helios' throat."
     "Don't make me unnecessarily worry, Shogo. If that ever happened, 
the Golden Empire would be burned to ashes by war. I doubt we'd be able 
to recover again."
     The two walked through the vast open area at an unhurried pace. 
For the students it was a time for the quiet peace of sleep. For the 
sensei such as they were, there was much to still talk about.


     He had fallen asleep next to her, his hand gently holding hers, 
their fingers laced together. Hotaru barely stirred as he laid draped 
across the edge of her bed.
     In a few short hours the sun's rays would warm the face of 
Aurora. But for now, the night reigned. Darkness and shadows danced 
inside the room, the magik of the lanterns understanding that there was 
no need for any brighter a light.
     One of the shadows stirred.
     A hooded figure emerged, cloaked beneath a hood of darkness to 
rival the depths of the shadows themselves. A shakujyo was gripped, 
slowly pushing out from the folds of robes. The metallic rings on the 
ornamented top chimed together.
     The noise awoke the prince.
     Helios' eyes fluttered open. "Who...?"
     For a moment he caught a shimmering from beneath the shadows of 
the drawn hood. Like a thousand midnight stars....
     "I was sent for by Khai, the samurai master," the one in black 
said quietly, touching Helios' shoulder. 
     Wintry blue eyes still were uncomprehending.
     "You call ones like me a Healer," the one in black said, voice 
still not much more than a whisper. "There is sorcery at work within 
Hotaru's body, and I am here to purge it."
     The prince drew back from Hotaru, allowing the Healer to take a 
place by her side. For a moment his eyes darted to the beautifully 
crafted crystal lodged in place atop the shakujyo.
     "Will she...?"
     A chuckle came from beneath the hood. "Hai hai. Patience, my 
young prince. Already she has fought the worst of the Shokkan poison. I 
am merely here to ensure there are no lingering effects. This...is 
child's play compared to what I usually deal with."
     Helios nodded, bowing respectfully. "You have my sincerest 
thanks," he said. "If there is anything I can do for you during this 
time, ask and I will be your servant."
     Again the Healer chuckled, looking at him. "All I require silence 
and solitude. Leave us, that I may complete my work. When my task is 
finished, I will let you know. I cannot imagine a better thing than 
your gentle face being the first thing Hotaru sees when she awakens."
     "Hai."
     The one dressed in black never looked away from Hotaru's sleeping 
form, even as the door to her chambers was slid shut behind the Auroran 
prince.
     The hood was drawn back.
     And the Raithe's eyes of midnight heavens looked down at the 
sleeping young woman. She appeared so innocent, so peaceful as she 
dreamed whatever it was a girl her age dreamed of.
     Love?
     He glanced back at the door, where he was sure an Auroran prince 
was worriedly pacing the corridor. Hotaru was fortunate to have a 
dedicated soul such as Helios to watch over her. But fate seemed like 
such a capricious mistress sometimes...lots of times. He could easily 
testify to that.
     Much to the chagrin of 'Onee-san'.
     The Raithe knelt down beside her, a gentle touch from his fingers 
caressing her cheek. Hotaru stirred, quietly whispering in her sleep.
     "Helios...."
     Eyes of midnight heavens closed briefly as he kissed her lips. 
"When you wake up, you won't even remember my name," he said quietly.
     Before, the transformation into a harbinger had required a pure 
heart to give life to the newfound Messiah of Silence. Instead, the 
magik of an Ancient would feed the darkest of hearts. The garnet orb of 
his shakujyo was already flickering to life, waves and winds of magik 
stirring the air around him.
     The staff was gripped tighter in his hands as he rose. Now he 
stood over her, one hand drawing into the folds of his dark robes. What 
emerged from his closed palm was the egg from Pharaoh 90. Inside was 
the ichigensai taiki, the single celled lifeform that would absorb 
Hotaru.
     And become the Messiah of Silence.


     Setsuna's head snapped up, magenta eyes widening.
     Merlin's concentration from his multitudes of scattered and open 
archival books was lost. His youthful complexion watched as winds of a 
strange breed of magik swept through an otherwise guarded domain. Book 
covers were slammed shut before the books themselves rattled off the 
edges of piles and tables. His many experiments clattered, some 
spilling over. Beyond the place where he and the Senshi of Pluto stood, 
he could hear the frightened cries of the creatures in his care. A 
panicked whinny from the unicorn was loudest of them all.
     The glow of the enchanted lanterns flickered and dimmed. 
     Even the shadows seemed afraid.
     Many times, when such a breath of magik came through, it was 
merely as a flood. To be felt once and then nearly lost forever. But 
this...this was staying, refusing to leave. The light in his realm 
continued to flicker. 
     He turned to Setsuna. "This is new," he said, not the least bit 
impressed with it.
     A chill ran down her back.
     "It's here," she whispered.
     At last she could sense it, the moment she had been expecting and 
dreading for sixteen years. Her destiny seemed to truly begin here, 
where it all would begin and end.
     The time paradox had arrived.
     "I will go with you then," Merlin said, standing up.
     She shook her head, already moving past him. "No. This is my task 
as the guardian of time. It was my mistake that caused this, and thus 
my duty to repair the damage."
     "You cannot state that my further involvement could rupture the 
tear even more," Merlin countered, chasing after her. "I'm already too 
deep in this to simply walk away from it now."
     Setsuna scowled; for one of the Ancients who was most open to 
what she had to say, he could be incredibly stubborn at the worst 
possible times. She stopped and turned, her long dark hair flowing 
around her back. "What about Morgana?"
     He froze. "Na ni?"
     "This could be the moment she's been waiting for," Setsuna 
stated. "The time where she can begin her conquest of Earth. I may be 
time's guardian, but I have not seen the future of this world, save for 
a very distant one. If you're not here, the Golden Empire could be 
destroyed faster than you ever feared it to."
     The Ancient stopped, staring at her. A low growl escaped Merlin's 
lips. She was right, and they both knew it. His features abruptly 
shifted, hair turning long and fishbone white, wrinkles marring the 
handsome features of his face. Once more he had become the sorcerer-
mage of Camelot.
     "If you so insist," he said, forced composure in his words 
flowing between his teeth. "But where does that leave you, Sailor 
Senshi?"
     Flickering lights were starting to return in a steady shine. 
Shadows were growing calmer in their darkness. But this was merely a 
prelude, the first wave to harken the coming of the paradox. No doubt 
it would get worse. The magik would certainly be thrown into chaos the 
greater the tear's essence became.
     Setsuna looked back at Merlin. "Aurora. But I don't have much 
time to reach the StarChamber at Lyonesse."
     He regarded her in surprise. "But...Camelot has its own 
StarChamber. If you were so intent on seeking me out, why not come 
directly to this city than to one of our outer provinces?"
     The shock on her face had no time to be hidden.
     The Raithe had been right in saying for her not to trust him. The 
conspiracy was becoming to grand for her to ignore. At the heat of it 
all, in every shadow she pulled away, in every enigma she stumbled 
across, the Raithe was there lying in wait.
     He was the cause of the paradox.
     He had betrayed them all.


     The magik inside her chambers was rampant.
     Crackling alive.
     Frenzied.
     The ichigensai taiki locked within the shell of the daemon egg 
was released as the egg shattered, fragments falling around her bed as 
the creature laying dormant inside began its infection.
     Hotaru's eyes suddenly opened wide, her body jolted as the magik 
attacked. She screamed as the ichigensai taiki burrowed into her chest, 
tendrils of her flesh opening up and wrapping around he creature, 
pulling itself into her. Magik warped the ways of her body, disrupting 
nothing inside as the daemon entity sank deeper, the ripples her skin 
closing.
     The mark of Saturn burned upon her forehead, its magik working to 
fight against the ichigensai taiki. The entity didn't like this 
interruption; all resistance was destroyed within her. Hotaru's next 
scream was choked, reduced to a hoarse whisper as she clutched at her 
breasts.
     Pain. It was hurting again. Anything to make it stop. So weak. So 
helpless. Make it stop. Pain. Anything. She could feel her body move, 
shaken frantically if not violently. The voice screaming out her name 
seemed familiar. Voices of friends and family all at once. 
     The daemon entity tore through her, burning, scattering her 
thoughts, destroying her body. Fiery darkness shattered every particle 
of her soul. Destroying her, taking her thoughts, her feelings, her 
emotions--every part of her that existed 
     The one whom she knew to be Hotaru was dying.
     A new soul was taking her place.
     Her eyes opened up as her body was flooded with a new power. She 
was lifted into the air, growing and ageing in a glow of dark shades of 
magik. Her hair grew longer, her body more rounded and developed. 
Samurai uniform became provocative dress, planetary mark becoming a 
black star.
     A child's smile became a woman's laughter. Dark, evil laughter 
that echoed across the deserted room. 
     No longer was she Hotaru.
     Mistress 9 had awakened.


     The StarChamber was far behind her as she raced through the 
corridors and grand halls of Aurora's palace. Dawn was almost coming to 
the planet; life within the palace was only just beginning to stir.
     And here she was racing desperately through a maze of rooms in 
search of but one soul. Hotaru was at the heart of the paradox; 'Onee-
san' had said that it began when her daughter had been sent into the 
past to avoid a war of the future.
     Time key gripped in her one hand, Setsuna kept a rapid pace. It 
was amazing that her heart could keep up with the speed of her steps. 
All too quickly she found herself inside a courtyard open to the 
darkened skies. A pathway led to the private chambers of the students 
beneath Khai's tutelage.
     Someone waited for her.
     The Raithe was standing there, leaning against one of the wooden 
beams directly in front of Hotaru's door. His head slowly turned to 
look directly at her as the sounds of her footsteps grew louder. 
Midnight heavens were alive in a macabre delight. He put his finger to 
his lips, and winked.
     "Shhhh."
     Suddenly he fell backwards into the darkness, swallowed up by the 
shadows, leaving her there. As much as she wanted to send a Dead Scream 
after him, tearing into the shadows and scorching whatever of him the 
magik could find, she restrained herself.
     She knew he was the cause.
     What concerned her now was the effect.
     She had to find Hotaru. It was but a single step she took towards 
Hotaru's room, but in that single step her hair stood on end and her 
body grew cold. Setsuna stepped back as she faced a chillingly familiar 
aura. A dark magik...where in her lifetime or lifetimes had she felt 
this before? Magenta eyes looked to the still closed door of Hotaru's 
chambers. 
     "Masaka," she whispered.
     There was a heartbeat of dead silence.
     Seconds later, Aurora found the first Messiah.


     The Ancients had gathered together in the expansive gallery, at 
the table carved in the form of a silver, tapering and rampant dragon. 
The dragon's head lifted, jaws once more stretching hideously long, its 
mouth opening wide and wider still as its head made a half-revolution 
to turn back and face everyone else seated.
     Their regulator, the ScytheMaster, sat there on the crimson 
tongue that had become the throne, arms upon the sloped fangs now 
armrests. The dragon's head tilted down, eyes flashing an eerie 
sapphire as all the enchanted lanterns dimmed.
     All but two of the entire council were present. To many it came 
as no surprise to discover the Raithe's absence. It would have 
surprised them more had he actually appeared. But the greatest surprise 
still laid in Merlin's empty chair at the dragon-shaped table.
     "Where is he?" one Ancient asked quietly.
     Arianna shook her head. "He was gone from his domain when I 
travelled to Camelot to find him. There were traces of a Shadowspell 
recently invoked. Merlin knows he's been called here...He's chosen to 
remain on Earth."
     "I'm pleased we at least know his whereabouts," another Ancient 
remarked sternly, eyes crackling with lightening. "However, we have 
more pressing matters to attend to. What we have feared the most has 
come to pass: the Messiah of Silence has appeared. And out of all the 
possible places, she's chosen to first manifest her magik upon Aurora."
     "Do we know what awoke her?" another Ancient asked. She turned to 
the form of the wizened, blind monk. "Grimm, surely you have seen 
something."
     The monk's third eye opened up, glanced around the table. "What I 
have seen is not meant to be spoken," he stated. "The beginning and the 
end all meet here. And everything is as we have seen it."
     Dante's eyes slowly opened. The oracles of dancing sapphire flame 
had remained pensively closed until now. "What about the Grail?" he 
asked quietly.
     From beneath a hood of shadows, the regulator watched as the 
dragon table stirred, everyone there on edge. The unsheathed scythe was 
in his hands, the scar upon his narrowed eye faintly shimmering in the 
dim light of the room. "We all knew about the Messiah of Silence the 
instant she awakened. For centuries we have discussed tactics to 
counter whatever magik she might invoke. They all led to the Grail."
     A hand stretched out from beneath the folds if his black cloak, 
palm opening up. A brilliant light swallowed his hand, the light dying 
quickly to reveal resting in his grasp a chalice of exquisite 
craftsmanship, sparkling like gold. An entourage of spectral 
butterflies accompanied its appearance.
     "The purest form of all magiks lies within this sacred cup," 
Thanatos said quietly. "It is up to the Messiah who finds it to decide 
how this magik shall be used. The Grail has been here before us all, 
patiently waiting both the light and the darkness. And we have been 
protecting it, that it may find itself in the possession of the one 
true Messiah."
     The Ancients knew the unspoken implications of his words.   
     They had not yet found the Messiah of Light.
     "So what do we do?" Arianna asked solemnly. "If the Messiah of 
Silence is threatening Aurora, then she is threatening the Grail. We 
cannot afford to let our world fall into the silence that is oblivion."
     The ancient whose eyes crackled like lightening nodded. "Before 
all our decisions, before all our strategies and tactics, first and 
foremost we are to protect the Holy Grail at all costs. It cannot 
remain here if we wish for the true Messiah to use it."
     Dante looked around the dragon-shaped table. "Where must its new 
sanctuary be?"
     The ScytheMaster turned to the monk.
     "This war in heaven will soon fall to Earth," Grimm stated. "It 
is there that the Grail must rest, until the true Messiah can be 
found." 
     Dante asked once more, "What about us?"
     From beneath the shadows of his hooded cloak, Thanatos' eyes 
slowly closed. "For now, we must pool our magik together in these final 
hours. A new sanctuary realm upon Earth must be built for the Grail. A 
new guardian for the chalice must be found. And then both guardian and 
Grail must be sent to Earth to await their destinies. But for us...our 
destiny lies here with Aurora."
     A laugh was drawn from the breath of one of the Ancients. His 
eyes glowed with the furies of the storms as lightening trailed around 
his arm. "Kuso. Maybe I should have joined Merlin when I had the 
chance."
     Arianna turned. "You would forsake your duty, Raiden?"
     Raiden's smirk never disappeared, but he met her gaze with steel, 
determined eyes. "My duty lies here with the Grail. I'm prepared to 
die, Arianna. I have been for hundreds of years--but that doesn't mean 
I have to like it."
Thanatos slowly stood from the dragon-jawed throne, raising the 
pole-arm over his head. A wave of fire erupted from the tip, flames 
folding over upon each other until they became the shining edge of a 
blade. The scythe was unsheathed, raised over his head. His other hand 
reached forward, letting the Grail hover over the centre of the dragon-
shaped table. Already the magik of the regulator was beginning to forge 
a new realm.
     One by one the Ancients stood, summoning and invoking their own 
powers. Winds stirred and flooded into the expansive chambers, gusts 
and gales of visible magik flowing around them. Everything was pooling 
itself around the Grail, an orb of mist and magik encircling the sacred 
cup.
     Their own destinies laid as one with Aurora. 
     Immortality meant nothing.
     Only the future, and the newborn life it held, mattered.


     The apprentices' quarters were in chaos.
     Flames and black smoke were everywhere, screams and cries echoing 
across the courtyard. Debris littered if not completely blocked many of 
the entrances. And through the haze of firelight and the stinging air 
of the smoke, silhouettes of the samurai apprentices were frantically 
trying to escape.
     Shogo winced as a wall of fire erupted before him. A swipe of his 
arm and gust of magik scattered the flames, carving a passage through 
the inferno. "What the hell happened here?" he hissed, stepping 
through.
     Khai knelt down on the floor.
     Uneven chunks of rock and stone and palace structure were 
littering the areas he could see through the blaze. The explosions had 
moved right into the palace walls encircling this open area. Here a 
part of the stone walls had been torn apart, shrapnel scattered in 
every direction. And it had claimed a victim. A student, appearing not 
more than thirteen or fourteen years into her life as a samurai, laid 
there half-crushed by fallen rock. She had been running away, her life 
abruptly stolen by this event.
     Tragedy.
     "Hotaru...." he whispered. He could for now only pray she was 
spared from this.
     The sensei grimly looked at the shimmer from the pool of blood 
the girl laid in before standing. Eyes closed, his own magik reaching 
out. The Shadowspell was often used to cloak. Other times it proved 
invaluable when trying to seek out another.
     "There!" he stated, pointing to a fallen pile of debris amidst a 
toppled rooftop of wood and tiles. "Someone's injured behind that 
room."
     Shogo was already racing towards the collapsed chamber, dodging 
whatever random bursts of flame he could. A flying leap was made as he 
vaulted over the awkwardly sloped roof, landing atop the jagged edge of 
a broken stone. 
     Khai's eyes widened as he recognized a familiar aura to the 
injured. "Masaka."
     "Helios-sama!" Shogo exclaimed, sliding down the rock. 
     Aurora's prince laid there amidst the rubble and fires, breathing 
yet unmoving, wintry blue eyes closed as one of his uniform sleeves was 
soaked in crimson. Helios moaned quietly as he was gathered up in 
Shogo's arms. A loud series of pops sounded above his head. Shogo's 
head snapped upwards, only to see another rainfall of stone tipping 
over and falling towards them both. The walls enclosing this courtyard 
were crumbling.
     There was no time for him to put the prince down and take up his 
own weapon. Neither could there be any time to escape the onslaught of 
stone. "Kuso," he hissed.
     Suddenly a flash of metal shone down from above, the piece of 
rock intended to crush him cleaved neatly in half. Two ends of stone 
crashed violently on either side of Shogo, who protectively drew Helios 
closer to his chest.
     Someone behind him landed upon the fallen rooftop. Shogo glanced 
over his shoulder, and saw Reika panting for air. Her eyes were 
fiercely narrowed, both katanas unsheathed and in her hands, awaiting 
for another chance to be wielded. It wasn't hard to see in her eyes who 
had taken control of the panic during the first moments of the ordeal.
     "This area won't be able to hold its own support for much 
longer," she stated, a trickle of blood running down from her hairline. 
She was still dressed in her nightwear. "We've been able to get most of 
the survivors to a safer place. But the rooms are infernos, and one 
stone at a time the walls are coming down to crush us."
     Khai leaped onto a piece of fallen wall, looking directly at 
Reika. "How many injured?"
     She shook her head. "We can't know for certain until everyone's 
cleared. Many of the students are already dead."
     A loud groan echoed from above their heads, and a fiery beam from 
above came crashing down beside them. Smoke and pulverized stone was 
sent everywhere as the samurai scattered, the flames becoming even more 
frenzied in their blaze.
     "Reika, daijobu?" Shogo called out.
     Her form punched through a veil of blackened smoke, landing next 
to Shogo. "Hai. But I'm not about to stay in here any longer than I 
have to."
     "You've already done more than what could have ever been expected 
of you," Khai stated, appearing through the remains of a broken 
doorframe. "Reika, take Helios-sama to a safer place. Shogo and I will 
look after th--"
     He abruptly  whirled as he sensed a new presence entering through 
use of magik. The Firestaff was in his hands before he was turned 
around, the ends rapidly extending and the spouts exploding to life.
     One dressed in a flowing cloak immediately jerked back, a wall of 
magik erected around the newcomer. Khai recognized the magik and 
lowered his staff. "Who are you?" he asked.
     "I am the Healer you sent for," the newcomer said, still in shock 
at the carnage all around them. "What has happened here? Was this the 
emergency you called just me alone to attend to?"
     "Iie."
     Everyone turned as they heard the words of the prince they had 
vowed to serve and protect. Helios' eyes were open slightly, his 
breathing laboured. "Iie," he said, his voice shaken but growing louder 
as he spoke. "Iie...you can't be the Healer. I already saw the Healer 
inside Hotaru's chambers."
     Shogo's gaze met with Khai's.
     They both shared the same thoughts in that one glance.
     "We have to find the king," Khai stated. 
     Shogo nodded, grimacing as he surveyed the damage. "He could be 
anywhere in the palace; that leaves a lot of ground to cover."
     Khai let the ends of his Firestaff retract. "Find the wounded, 
see who among them can still fight. This explosion was no accident; I 
can almost taste the dark magik in the air. And I doubt whoever invoked 
it has decided to leave already."
     He turned to her. "Reika, I am entrusting the prince's life in 
your protection."
     Reika nodded. "Hai, Khai-sensei."
     Shogo helped Helios stand, the prince's stance shaken but far 
from being weak. Reika moved in beside Helios, letting him use her 
shoulder as a crutch.
     "You come with me," Shogo said to the Healer. "We still have 
injured you'll need to attend to."
     The Healer nodded. "My services are yours."
     Another series of stone blocks came crashing down, the impact 
causing the entire courtyard to violently shudder. Flames roared 
forward, belching out torrents of black cloud which had all but claimed 
the air of this place. In that moment, the others disappeared.
     Reika turned to the Auroran prince, sheathing one of her katanas 
over her shoulder. If he was to rely on her for balance while he 
walked, she couldn't afford to have both hands gripping her weapons.
     "I'll need to take you to a secluded place," she said. "We can 
hide you there until we're certain its safe to have someone attend to 
your wounds."
     Helios shook his head. "I can't do that."
     "I have been taught basic Healer magik," she stated, growing 
impatient. They began to walk as the courtyard slowly collapsed and 
burned behind them. "I can look after your injuries for now."
     "Iie," he countered solemnly. "I won't hide. I have to get to the 
crystal."
     Reika's eyes flashed menacingly with his seemingly royal 
stubbornness. "You're in no condition to run around the palace, 
especially when there could be someone here who wants your family 
dead!"
     "The Golden Crystal is my responsibility!" he snapped, glaring at 
her. It was surprising how such gentle eyes could suddenly become 
clouded in anger. "I was entrusted into your care, but the pillar of 
all Aurora's magik was entrusted to me. If I cannot protect it, then I 
am not worthy of taking up my father's crown."
     "I have my duty!" Reika protested.
     "As I have mine," Helios said. "Please...once I get the Golden 
Crystal, you can hide me anywhere you want in the palace. But even if I 
have to go alone, without you, I will not let my own life come before 
that of my people."
     Wintry blue eyes softened, revealing inside a concern left 
unspoken. They trembled as Helios cast a final glance at the fiery 
remains of what had once been his beloved's chambers. He didn't know if 
she was alive or injured...or even dead.
     "For Aurora's sake, I can't be afraid."
     Reika scowled, looking from him and then back to the courtyard. 
Another building exploded into flame and debris, clouds and smoke 
billowing out like a flood.
     "Alright," she said finally. "I'll take you to this crystal. 
Where do we have to go?"


     An inner courtyard. 
     He stood there amidst tiled floors, glass skylights and fountain 
waters. Archways surrounded him, artefacts quietly standing in place in 
the adjacent halls and chambers. Such menageries were unrivalled in all 
the Solis System.
     Aurora's king turned and looked to the stone lionheads of the 
fountain. The water was still clear, frothing as it splashed from the 
statues into the pool below. Echoes of the falling water was the only 
sound in this place. His eyes followed the winding curve of the spiral 
staircase, the glass steps and metal frame an aesthetic pleasure amidst 
the serene beauty already here.
     The lionheads of the fountain suddenly erupted, a cascading flood 
washing in behind where he stood. The waters were shaped by the hidden 
magik, taking the form of a vortex. Raging tides swarmed and swirled 
until the entire structure dissipated, the water now a gentle, damp 
mist that covered the rotunda.
     Rivend slowly turned around.
     He looked at the Golden Crystal hovering there in the air, its 
brilliance resonating with a quiet echo. The pillar of their world, the 
source of all their magik. He understood what had occurred to suddenly 
throw the palace into an uproar; the presence of balk magik was 
undeniable. It was only a matter of time before the intruder sought out 
the power of the crystal.
     Something stirred within the shadows of the chamber.
     Aurora's king slowly turned away from the glow of the crystal. He 
could feel the dark aura here; it had been patiently waiting for him. 
And then out from the darkness of the archways emerged Mistress 9.
     The glaive was leisurely held in her hands.
     "Such magik, your Golden Crystal," she said, sauntering out into 
the light. A smile was on her face as her eyes narrowed, daring him to 
defy her. "I want it."
     "I will not let you take this," Rivend stated coldly. "My life 
was meant for nothing else but its protection. If you think you can 
just take it from me, then you are gravely mistaken."
     Suddenly magik exploded around him, sending out a shockwave that 
shattered the fountain and made a savage spiderweb of the floor. The 
aura became fire, circling and swarming around the king's body.
     Rivend held his outstretched palm to the heavens, low chanting 
from his lips feeding the growing magik. A stream of fire erupted from 
his flaming palm, pouncing upon Mistress 9. The fire took on the 
twisting form of a snake, the fires coiling around her body and 
crushing her tightly in its heated embrace.
     Eyes closed, the Messiah of Silence merely smiled as she was lost 
within the crackling flames, being burned alive by the snake. It was by 
any standard a gruesome spectacle as the jaws clamped down on the 
Mistress 9's head and swallowed her entire form, the air and everything 
in it was incinerated within moments of joining the serpent's fiery 
gullet.
     The collision sent up a cloud of smoke and fire that seemed to 
touch the ceiling of the room, bathing the walls and arches in a 
crimson glow that matched the intensity of the newfound sunrise. 
Suddenly the inferno was torn apart, flames snuffed out in midair. 
There was no smoke, no scorches. Nothing had been touched by the 
attack.
     Mistress 9's violet eyes opened up.
     She laughed. "Ara ara, is that the extent of your powers?"
     Rivend stepped back, alarmed and dismayed. "I may no longer be 
the one who rightly wields the magik of the Golden Crystal," he said. 
"But to think that you could deflect its sacred fire...."
     The Messiah of Silence took at step towards him, closing the gap 
between predator and prey. The glaive was taken up in one hand, 
positioned behind her back, blade pointing to the ground. Her long 
raven-dark hair billowed out behind her as her own magik began to 
manifest.
     Violet eyes were alive in savage delight.
     "Shin'ne."
     She pounced, driving forward with near blinding speed. Rivend's 
startled shout was abruptly silenced as her own power tore a gaping 
hole in his throat, the magik exploding out the back of his neck. With 
a gurgle of blood staining his mouth, the king tasted his last moments 
of life. 
     Mistress 9 never gave him the chance for a quiet death.
     She threw up her hand, a burst of magik exploding from the ground 
beneath his feet and catching Rivend in the chest, slitting the king 
from crotch to skull with a razor's edge of energy. Rivend's mouth 
gushed blood as his lifeless body tumbled in two heaps on the ground, 
the scent of charred flesh and bone heavy in the air.
     Her laughter echoed across the courtyard as she slowly arose from 
her place, violet eyes turning to one of the archways. There beneath 
the curved stones stood Aurora's prince. No description could have ever 
hoped to convey the horror upon Helios' face as he stared at his 
father's body.
     "ODO-SAN!!!" he screamed.
     A blur of motion shot past him, the gleam of twin blades caught 
in the light of the rising sun coming down from the glass dome. 
Mistress 9 spun her glaive around, raising the pole-arm to deflect a 
vicious strike from Reika's katana. The second katana came from an 
upwards angle; this too was easily deflected.
     Both forces were pushing against each other.
     Neither one intended to yield.
     "Abazureon'na!" Reika hissed. "I'll never let you leave this 
place alive!"
     "I know you," Mistress 9 said, intrigued by a vague recollection 
in her memories. Violet eyes widened, unleashing a wave of magik. Reika 
was sent tumbling into remains of the shattered fountain, her legs 
kicking up amidst the pools of water as she crashed into the broken 
lionheads.
     Helios' paralyzed body found motion, his soul willing to move 
once more. "Reika!" he exclaimed, placing himself between the fallen 
samurai and the Messiah of Silence.
     Yet Mistress 9 showed no signs of intending to fight him. She 
sauntered up to the prince, laughing sweetly as she lowered the glaive. 
Helios' eyes were of frightened defiance as she slid a finger beneath 
his chin, letting it run along his cheek.
In a chilling realization, he recognized those violet eyes.
     "Hotaru...."
     "I remember you," Mistress 9 whispered into his ear. "Such a 
lovely face, my young prince."
     Suddenly her fingers squeezed against his windpipe. Helios let 
out a strangled cry as he was choked, his frantic attempts to breath 
abruptly ending as Mistress 9 picked him up by the neck and then threw 
him across the room. He struck the spiral staircase, his wounded form 
draped across numerous stairs as he fought to rise.
"Wh-What has happened to you?" he asked through clenched teeth, 
fighting back the pain that was screaming across his body.
     Mistress 9 laughed. "That sad little child? She was swallowed up, 
forgotten. She is no more. Only I remain."
     Clutching his bloodied arm, Helios limped towards her. "I will 
not let you take the Golden Crystal," he hissed. "Even if you are her, 
even if you once were my Hotaru-chan, I will not let my father's death 
be in vain."
     The glaive was raised, its blade levelled with his head.
     "Then you shall join him," the Messiah of Silence stated. 
     She charged, racing forward as she brandished the glaive. Helios' 
eyes narrowed as he summoned his own powers to form a barrier. The 
blade struck the barrier, sparks flying in all directions and falling 
like rain as Mistress 9 relentlessly worked to shatter his magik. 
Helios grimaced as he felt his barrier slowly breaking apart. There was 
no chance he could last against such power. 
     Suddenly the ground between them erupted, stone spewing forth 
amidst the debris as a long metallic chain ripped through the tiles. 
The weighted end split apart, revealed a savage, sharpened prong. 
Mistress 9 leaped back in surprise as the manriki-gusari lunged and 
tried to tear a hole through her chest. Instead the point gouged a 
slender trail across the tiled floor.
     It never stopped moving, link after link of chain spewing forth 
from the shadows as it adjusted its possessed flight, pushing out from 
the floor and curving back towards Mistress 9.
     Helios was sent tumbling backwards from the blast. He winced as 
his back struck the floor, but the pain was momentarily forgotten as 
someone stepped in front of him.
     Cait Sith slowly turned back to the Auroran prince. "Get out. 
NOW." Bangs of silver hair fluttered around his face as two cobalt eyes 
returned their gaze to Mistress 9.
     "You would protect him, even at the cost of your own life?" 
Mistress 9 inquired, finding this seeming act of honour amusing. "It 
will still change nothing."
     Cait Sith licked his lips in anticipation of what was to come. 
"Oh, but that's where you are wrong. My motives are not so lofty or 
pure. I'm not here for Aurora' sake...this is for my own personal, 
selfish reasons."
     Helios was already moving away from the two. "Daijobu?" he 
quietly asked the fallen samurai.
     Already struggling to rise to her feet, Reika nodded. "Your life 
comes before mine. Worry more about yourself." She jammed one of her 
katanas into the floor, using the weapon to push off the ground. 
Scattered cuts were across her chest and limbs, small trails of blood 
staining her nightgown. At her silent command, the second katana flung 
itself through the air and into her awaiting grasp.
     When this had first began, when the first fires exploded through 
the apprentice quarters, the only time she had been given was to snatch 
her weapons and sling the sheaths over her back. Seconds later the room 
was ravaged by flames, a detonation sending her through the sliding 
screen door of her chambers.
     That had failed to kill her then.
     She'd be damned if she would let this woman kill her now.
     Reika turned to find Helios, and saw the prince standing before 
the Golden Crystal.
     Eyes of wintry blue eyes closed.
     The Golden Crystal moved closer to him, its light a blinding glow 
that swallowed up everything around it. Abruptly the light died, the 
crystal passing through the prince's chest. Helios' head tilted into 
the air as he absorbed the magik, his pure heart now the hiding place 
for Aurora's pillar.
     Helios' eyes opened up.
     Reika understood well enough what was left unspoken.
     He broke into a run, moving as fast as his battered form could 
take. She was a few steps behind, her back to his back, her eyes 
watching Mistress 9. The Messiah of Silence growled and gave chase, her 
glaive poised to kill either one as her desire saw fit. Abruptly a 
metal chain shot in front of her, forcing her back as the chain was 
joined by another, and then another.
     Someone was refusing her to leave.
     Slowly the Messiah of Silence turned.
     Cait Sith approached her, the chains wrapped around his limbs and 
chest, a writhing series of metal links and sharpened points swarming 
in the air around him.
     It was just the two of them now.
     "All my life, I have been searching for one who can fight, who 
can be my one true rival." Cait Sith's lips curled upwards in a savage 
smile. "You are what I first sensed within Hotaru. At last I have found 
you."
     Three elongated points moved between them, aimed at Mistress 9. 
And then amidst the tangled skein of chains another appeared. It was 
joined by yet another.
     "The highest level anyone in the Golden Empire has ever achieved 
in manriki-gusari control was four chains," Cait Sith stated. "I 
control five. When I fought Hotaru, I went easy on her, only using 
three."
     His tongue ran along his lips, savouring the taste of the 
impending bloodshed. "But you are not her. I'll decorate my chains with 
the colour of your blood."
Suddenly he was upon her, his charge a blur of motion and metal 
as with a loud battle cry he flung the multitude of speared ends 
towards her.
     Mistress 9 smiled viciously, and accepted his challenge.


     The sun's pale glow was lost behind more of the thick, black haze 
that was spreading across the palace of Aurora. If it could be called 
that. An hour ago it had once been a castle full of vibrant people. Now 
it was both a graveyard and asylum as the inferno that had claimed the 
quarters of the samurai apprentices spread. Panic was sweeping the 
corridors and chambers as unbendable flames continued in their 
onslaught.
     Vicious.
     Relentless.
     And through the growing waves of smoke, amidst the tremors that 
caused the foundations of every hall to shudder, among the numbers of 
people crying and screaming as they raced to a safer haven, a wounded 
samurai and a young fatherless prince helped carry each other.
     Reika stopped, glancing out through the rows of open pillars to 
the world outside the palace. Eyes widened as the sun was slowly being 
blotted out by the haze. But more than that...something else was 
swarming over the palace. A storm, blackest of nights, was gathering 
life overtop of them. The distant blinking lights of fleeing transport 
ships could be seen circling around the pulsating mass of clouds.
     Suddenly the skies were alive as a frenzied swarm of lightening 
bolts shot down from above. Reika shielded her eyes from the intense 
shine as the lightening struck. In the split second between blindness 
and sealing her eyes shut, she saw numerous flashes of light. 
Explosions from the transport ships, struck by the sheer destructive 
force of the attacking lightening.
     The entire palace reeled, the floors beneath their feet rocking. 
Helios was thrown off-balance, tumbling onto the floor. Reika fought to 
stay on her feet, eyes opening as the light died down. A new horror and 
terror was before her as she saw one of the largest towers torn apart 
by the lightening, a gaping hole open up amidst explosions and fiery 
magik.
     Moments later the base of the tower imploded, collapsing upon 
itself. The enormous spire, housing hundreds of chambers and easily 
thousands of souls, tipped over, falling in seemingly slow motion 
before it smashed down upon another part of the palace. The upheaval of 
the earth afterwards was almost instantaneous.
     Reika was thrown onto the floor alongside Helios, wincing as the 
pain in her back flared up again. A blast of dust and debris from the 
crashing tower was sent in every direction, the air pressure shattering 
walls and pulverizing stones. Reika climbed over Helios, using her body 
as a shield as the wave overtook their corridor.
     Everything was descending into hell.
     The columns around them cracked, a few shattering and crumbling 
apart. The panicked masses were caught in the wave. Numerous ones were 
swept up in the winds and dust, choked and then smashed mercilessly 
against whatever solid object happened to be in the way. Others managed 
to dodge the tempests, only to be faced with the palace tumbling down 
in the wake of the cloud.
     The fortunate ones were crushed instantly.
     Many more suffered being pinned beneath rocks, and sucked into 
the depths of the darkness as the floors gave out and collapsed.
     Reika was silently grateful that the tower hadn't collapsed into 
the oceans; the tsunami born out of its impact would have surely swept 
them all away to a watery grave.
     After what seemed like an eternity, the hideous aftershocks of 
the fallen tower ended. Reika grabbed hold of the prince, half pulling 
and half dragging him down the corridors. Dust and shards of stone 
debris rained down from above.
     Screams were heard in every direction.
     "We've got to get to a transport!" Helios shouted through the 
chaos.
     Reika felt her stomach tighten up. 
     There was no chance any transport would survive a take-off with 
this crazed storm raging around the palace. But there was no other 
option: either remain here and face the cold evil of Mistress 9, or 
take their chances outrunning the amok magik raging around them.
     Helios shoved her in the side, pushing them both aside as a mob 
of frantic masquerade dances came racing around the corner. It was a 
stampede, Reika and Helios lucky enough to avoid the people who were 
trampling each other down in a mad dash to get away.
     It was doubtful any of them had a specific place to go to.
     They were terrified.
     And thus they simply ran.
     Another rumble swept the corridors, slamming the two into the 
walls. Reika swore as she struck her shoulder, agony searing through 
her torn flesh. But she refused to let it end here. Khai had entrusted 
the prince's safety to her. There would be time to bleed later.
     Now it was Helios' turn to act as her guardian. He propped her 
arm over his shoulders, helping her walk. "This way!" he said, 
motioning with his head to an antechamber. "My father once showed me a 
room called the StarChamber; it feeds off our magik and uses it to 
teleport us off the planet. We can use it for an emergency transport to 
Earth."
     Reika coughed as she inhaled a lungful of dust.
     To generate something as powerful as a site-to-site transport 
between planets, the magik consumed would have to be immense. She held 
little doubt that even with both their combined magiks, they'd be 
killed by the process.
     "But the magik--"
     "The Golden Crystal will supply the power we need to get there," 
Helios countered. "We have no other options left to us." Misty blue 
eyes narrowed. "She can murder my father, she may destroy this 
palace...but I will never let her steal Aurora's magik." 
     He was swearing this upon the king's grave.
     Sadly, she knew that there would be no kingdom left to reap the 
benefits of this gentle and dedicated prince. If Rivend had been unable 
to stop that woman who was once Hotaru, then no one else on Aurora 
could. The annihilation of the palace was merely the beginning....
     Through the glass domes overhead, another circling transport was 
struck by a bolt of lightening, the fireball illuminating the fiercely 
darkened skies. The shockwave shattered the dome, fragments of razor-
sharp glass crashing down upon them.
     Helios tensed, eyes widening.
     Reika hissed through clenched teeth.
     They were both directly beneath the downpour of glass shards. 
Even if they ran, there was no chance the could escape without their 
legs being cut to ribbons--and that was if they were lucky.
     Her eyes closed as the winds stirred around her. Fiery red bangs 
danced as she summoned whatever magik she could in those few precious 
seconds. Her fingers clenched the folds of Helios' robes. And with a 
shout Reika twisted her body and flung Helios into the air. 
     The prince's body tumbled and rolled out of the path of the 
plummeting glass. "Reika!" he screamed, falling into his stomach, eyes 
wide in horror.
     A saddened expression was on her face as their eyes met for the 
last time. Seconds later she was lost amidst the fury of glass shards, 
her body convulsing as the broken edges punched through whatever flesh 
and bone they could find. Blood sprayed out in every direction as a 
muffled cry from her lips was abruptly silenced. 
     Helios threw himself off the ground, frantic tears streaming down 
his cheeks. "REIKA!!!"
     Suddenly the tiled floor beneath him buckled, stone erupting into 
uneven levels. Helios leaped off the ground, trying to get closer to 
where Reika's body laid. Everything beneath his feet collapsed, falling 
into darkness.
     An arm seized him, wrapping around his waist and holding him back 
as the place where Reika laid plummeted into the shadows of the lower 
levels of the palace. He didn't realize that the one who had taken hold 
of him was hovering the air. All the could think about was the saddened 
look in her eyes before she was lost to the light of a hundred 
fragments of glass.
     "Let me go!" he shouted, struggling.
     He was thrown backwards, crashing onto the edge of where the 
floor still remained intact. Wincing, Helios looked up at the one who 
had saved his life.
     The Raithe dropped down from above, shakujyo in hand. "Such 
recklessness is most unbecoming of you," the Raithe stated. "She gave 
her life so that you might escape. You were willing to honour your 
father's sacrifice; why are you suddenly so eager to throw away hers?"
     Helios stared at the Ancient, unable to speak as the dust rained 
down on their heads. "She...she swore to protect me with her life. It 
is a debt I will never be able to repay." 
     Eyes of midnight heavens turned to the broken framework of 
Aurora's palace. "Iie; there is a way. Helios, get out of the palace 
before Mistress Nine decides to invoke her final magik. If you are 
caught here in those last moments, then all hope for the future is 
lost."
     The prince slowly got to his feet.
     "Arigato," Helios said. A forlorn glance was taken to where Reika 
had once saved his life, and then he turned and ran to the StarChamber.
     The Raithe turned back to the gaping chasm in the floor. "Not all 
things die," he said quietly.


     It was no longer a duel.
     A duel had rules, regulations, honour.
     Theirs was a battle. Anything could go and nothing was forbidden. 
The one whose magik was the most ruthless would be the one who would 
emerge the victor--and the only one alive.
     Cait Sith vaulted backwards, spinning through the air amidst his 
chains as Mistress 9's glaive nearly cleaved him in half. He struck the 
wall, crouching low in that split second before gravity took hold of 
him. Cobalt eyes narrowed as he pounced, ricocheting from the wall and 
soaring high into the air.
     As he descended upon Mistress 9, he flung his manriki-gusari. 
Three pronged ends of the lethal chains screamed through the air. 
Mistress 9 brought the glaive around in a vicious arc, knocking all 
three chains aside.
     She dodged another chain as Cait Sith landed on the floor, 
throwing the speared end at her face. The glaive was spun around in her 
hands, Mistress 9 whirling and smashing the blade into yet another 
chain that tried to bury itself into her back.
     Cait Sith knelt to the ground, palm against jagged pieces of 
marble tiles. With an almost inaudible hiss he snarled, "Is that the 
best you can do?"
     Suddenly the ground beneath the Messiah of Silence erupted into a 
frenzied, writhing mass of chains, each one furiously venting its magik 
upon anything it could find to tear apart. Debris and stone were 
scattered as the manriki-gusari converged upon her like a pack of wild 
predators.
     Violet eyes narrowed, a dark light flickering within them.
     A shockwave of magik erupted from her body, flinging the frenzied 
mass of chains back. Metal links and speared ends arced and flew out of 
control around Cait Sith as his attack was deflected.
     There was no time for him to react to it.
     He was launched by unseen hands into the floor, bearing the full 
brunt of the impact, his body convulsing like a rag doll. "Sugoi," he 
gurgled amidst the blood in his mouth. "Such wonderful power. So 
destructive...a rush to behold."
     Violet eyes narrowed. 
     She saw in him a completion, a final act of unleashing everything 
within her to make her the one true Messiah of Silence. And while she 
thanked him for that, he would die regardless. The taste for evil was 
brimming in her dark heart. 
     The warrior was right; such power! Such wonderfully dark powers 
at her very command. All this locked deep within her, released by the 
ichigensai taiki.
     She laughed, a glint in her eyes sending the very concrete earth 
below where Cait Sith laid into a frenzied storm. He was blown upwards 
amidst shrapnel which tore into his back, flinging him aside where he 
crashed at her feet.
     The glaive's blade was pushed beneath his chin.   
     Mistress 9 laughed, expecting him to cry. Expecting him to beg. 
Yet the maniacal glimmer in Cait Sith's eyes only intensified, daring 
her to push the envelope of her magik even further.
     "This is not a duel," he hissed.
     Suddenly the shadows beneath him opened up and swallowed him 
whole. Shadowspell invoked, he became invisible to her. Mistress 9 
spun, an enraged shout escaping her as she searched for her opponent.
     Cobalt eyes opened up from the depths of a darkness behind her. 
And out from the darkness exploded the five weighted chains he wielded. 
One of the weighted points wrapped around the shaft of the glaive. With 
a loud clink of metal, the chain was pulled taut. Cait Sith gave a 
fierce shout as he yanked hard, emerging from the shadows and tearing 
the glaive away from Mistress 9.
     The other chains fell upon her, clamouring to be the first to 
draw blood. She merely watched them approach--and then strike nothing 
but the ground where she had once been standing.
     Cait Sith's eyes widened. "Na ni?!"
     She had invoked the Shadowspell for herself.
     He turned as he saw her emerge from beneath one of the adjacent 
archways of the inner courtyard. Mistress 9 began to laugh. 
"Beautiful," she said, turning to him, her eyes burning with an insane 
bloodlust as she gripped her glaive. "Beautiful! I was hoping to feel 
this from you!"
     Cait Sith launched his chains, snagging hold of the glaive's 
shaft once more. But suddenly Mistress 9 pulled hard, ripping the chain 
forwards and taking Cait Sith with it. He soared across the chamber as 
Mistress 9 swung with unnatural power, slamming his body into the frame 
of the spiral staircase.
     She cackled, throwing him back across the room.
     The chain was released. Cait Sith pulled himself out from the 
crumpled side of an archway that was now perfectly moulded to his 
body's form. Blood ran down from his temple, his shirt now going from 
white to scarlet as the tear across his chest started to bleed.
     Cait Sith smiled, the action of laughing bringing another trickle 
of blood from his lips. "You wounded me," he remarked. "Seriously, 
critically wounded me. Only a handful of people have ever managed to do 
that." 
     His eyes widened in frenzied pleasure. "Sugoi. SUGOI!!"
     The chains attacked, Mistress 9 moving with a speed rivalling the 
lethal velocity of the manriki-gusari. Her glaive was barely visible, a 
blur amidst the winds as she parried and deflected the array of strikes 
that came at her from all directions.
     Sparks were all around her like starlights.
     The glaive moved above her head, behind her back, down at the 
base of where she stood, and then she spun around to deliver a vicious 
slash to the ground. Magik exploded from the strike, the shockwave 
tearing through the tiled floor towards Cait Sith.
     He dove aside with relative ease.
     Cobalt eyes closed. He remained oblivious to the bangs of silver 
hair against his face, sticky with sweat, dust and blood. The Shokkan 
sorcery that burned in his blood was at a peak, the euphoria of the 
battle sending his entire body into a rapturous delight of adrenaline.
     He was feeding off her dark powers.
     A new attack was born.
     Cait Sith's lips moved rapidly as he chanted, magik causing the 
winds to stir, blowing his hair upwards. Light filtered around his 
crouched form, the chains recoiling and circling around him in wait of 
being unleashed.
Abruptly all five manriki-gusari dove into the ground.
     Mistress 9 lowered her glaive. "Finished?"
     It was Cait Sith's turn to laugh. "Bakayaro."
     From five points around her the chains exploded, snaking across 
the room to form a Star of David. Mistress 9 remained at the centre, 
where the chains converged and swarmed. She was motionless as the metal 
links wrapped around her, coccooning her body.
     The chains raised her metal coffin into the air.
     Cait Sith rose, an unstable laugh echoing across the gallery. He 
licked his lips. "You're mine," he snarled.
     And then, with alarming ease, the chains shattered. Metal shards 
tumbling across the floor, raining down from where Mistress 9 had been. 
     Cait Sith's eyes widened in shock. "M-Masaka!" he exclaimed.
     Suddenly he was smashed against the wall, being crushed against 
the stone. The surface cracked, spiderwebbing as his body caved in the 
rock. He was pinned, unable to move, his chains uselessly laying in a 
tangled skein of metal links on the floor.
     Mistress 9 sauntered up to him, running a hand down his cheek. 
"So young," she whispered into his ear. "So beautiful. Tonight, I will 
love your magik to death."
     Cait Sith's eyes bulged from their sockets as his entire chest 
was crushed, everything inside pulverized instantly. He convulsed, 
streams of blood spraying out from his mouth, dribbling down his chin 
in a glistening crimson flood.
     Still laughing to herself, Mistress 9 ran her hand down the 
fallen warrior's bloodied face, her palm and fingertips now stained in 
scarlet. Her eyes were wide, savouring the last breath, relishing the 
final moment. 
     It took but a glance, a thought from her. Cait Sith's body was 
ripped apart in every direction, his blood spilling across the ground. 
Scarlet droplets struck against the side of her face as the remains of 
the Uranian warrior splattered to the ground in a gory mess. 
     Footsteps sounded amidst the eerie silence of the battle's 
aftermath. Mistress 9 was still in her euphoric state as a lone samurai 
raced out from one of the corridors and into the gallery.
     Her sensei.
     Her father.
     Khai's dash came to an abrupt stop as he saw the broken remains 
of the courtyard. His eyes found Mistress 9, the long tresses of raven-
wing hair masking her face. But he knew the voice behind that 
chillingly cruel laugh.
     He understood who the Messiah of Silence had once been.
     "Hotaru...." Khai whispered hoarsely.
     She turned around, a pool of gore and scarlet liquid growing from 
where Cait Sith's tattered remains laid at her feet. A sadistic smile 
was on her face.
     "Odo-san...Odo-san...."
     She smiled, her tongue sliding out between her lips. With a slow, 
langorous motion she licked one of her fingers soaked in Cait Sith's 
blood.
     His eyes, once wide in horror, hardened and narrowed. He slowly 
drew out his Firestaff. The ends extended, spouts erupting in unbridled 
flames. The child may have once been his daughter, but the woman was an 
enemy of pure evil. His first duty was that of a samurai; he could not 
forget that now.
     Not when so much was at stake.
     Mistress 9 giggled, raising her glaive.
     "Odo-san...."

 
     Setsuna ran.
     Unlike the scattered souls around her, fleeing the crumbling and 
burning palace, she had a purpose. A reason to be there, to dive into 
the heart of the fire when everyone else turned away in terror. They 
were aimless in their movements, uncertain of where to go or what to 
do; all they wanted was escape. They did not run. They tripped over 
each other, crawled and clawed past one another. All that they could 
conceive in these moments was the fear. 
     Pure, unbridled fear.
     She had not time to be afraid.
     The instant the light of Camelot's StarChamber faded away to 
reveal the walls of Aurora, she was running. She had been ever since. 
The pleated skirt of her sailor fuku fluttered out behind her as she 
threw herself back, the windows in front of her exploding as another 
shockwave smashed into the walls.
     The stones next to her buckled but held.
     Setsuna lowered the key-shaped staff from her face, tresses of 
her long dark hair shimmering emerald in the flickering lights of the 
palace. She could feel it growing: the paradox was here, at hand and 
ready to be unleashed.
     A fledgling creation of ultimate destruction.
     Magenta eyes beheld in the air the magik of the continuum. It was 
warping, the Möbius twisting and contorting to dimensions that should 
never have been.
     "Kuso," she hissed, breaking into her run once the veil of dust 
started to settle from the corridor.
     The Raithe...everything traced its origins back to him. If the 
paradox were a child then he was its father. She had seen him moments 
before she was nearly consumed by that explosion which claimed the 
apprentice quarters.
     Setsuna vaulted into the air, soaring over a gaping hole in the 
floor. The ceiling of this corridor had been ripped apart, revealing 
overhead the menacing skies of swarming darkness and electrified blak 
magik.
     Abruptly the place where she intended to land shattered, the 
earth bursting forth into flames and spewing pieces of the tiled floor 
into the air. Setsuna's eyes widened as she twisted her body in mid-
flight, her boots striking the side of a chunk of stone. Her momentum 
was working with her as she pushed off the rotating rock, ricocheting 
off another and then another until she at last landed on solid ground.
     The worst of that ordeal behind her, Setsuna continued her flight 
through the palace. She passed by so many inhabitants of Aurora. Not 
all of them were alive--or in one piece. Numerous stains of blood 
trickling out from beneath fallen debris marked the resting place of 
many a soul lost in this catastrophe.
     "It's close," she whispered.
     The power of the paradox.
     Origins....
     She turned and abruptly stopped her maddened pace as she found 
herself on the threshold of a once grand gallery lined with archways. 
The battered remains of a spiral staircase were all but twisted and 
smouldering frame of metal. The floor was littered with craters, carved 
up and smashed apart. The walls and archways didn't look any better.
     And then she saw the one wielding the glaive.
     "Hotaru," she whispered.
     Mistress 9 never heard the name spoken by her true mother. The 
evil within, possessed by the ichigensai taiki, was letting a bloodlust 
for destruction consume her heart. The Silence was her only passion, 
her only destiny.
     With a shout, Mistress 9 brought the glaive down upon Khai's 
Firestaff. He swung his weapon, deflecting the strike. A moment of 
struggle was not wasted between them as he swung the Firestaff, sliding 
her blade away from his face. One of the spouts erupted in a stream of 
flames, the air alive with fire. Mistress 9 jerked back, the ends of 
her flowing raven hair singed from the intense heat.
     She growled, slashing at Khai's chest with the glaive. He dove 
backwards, rolling across the ground as the sleek edge of the blade was 
jammed into the floor next to his head. The samurai didn't even flinch, 
kicking back onto his feet and then attacking.
Strikes and parries and counterstrikes were all but a blur of 
rapid motions as he and Mistress 9 brandished their weapons against 
each other. Both were meant to be used as pole-arms, for close combat. 
Weaponry didn't matter; it was skill against skill alone. Sparks were 
exploding all around them, raining down to the oblivious fighters.
     Mistress 9 opened her hand, a pulse of dark energy gathering 
around her palm before launching itself at Khai. He dodged the magik, 
concealing himself with the Shadowspell. Mistress 9 still found him, 
unleashing a volley of magik.
     He darted and ran across the rows of archways, gravity suddenly 
arbitrary for him as     the walls became his floor. The magik smashed 
into the stones not two steps behind, throwing out debris that narrowly 
erupted at his heels. His pace was swift, but Setsuna could track him 
by the line of fire Mistress 9's magik was following.
     At the last moment Khai vaulted from the archways, his body 
twisting around through the air before he landed on the uneven and 
broken tiles of the floor.
     Mistress 9 smiled savagely. "Impressive."
     He raised his Firestaff, prepared to engage her once more.
     They charged, the blade of her glaive sent smashing down over his 
head. Khai raised the Firestaff, blocking the attack. Her weapon's 
deadly edge was hovering over his head; he could have licked it if he 
dared to.
     Khai tipped the balance of his staff, throwing the glaive's blade 
down the floor. He whirled, raising the end of the Firestaff and 
letting flames lick the place where Mistress 9 stood. Violet eyes 
flickered with stirring magik.
     His inferno was snuffed out.
     Seconds later an invisible force sent him crashing into the floor 
behind him. Hissing as the Firestaff was lost from his hands, Khai 
weakly pushed himself off the ground as blood ran down his face.
     Setsuna's grip around her time staff tightened, her knuckles 
white beneath the long gloves. She could no longer remain a distanced 
guardian over time. Unless she intervened, then it was only a question 
of how long Khai could hold out before Mistress 9 killed him.
     Aurora's fate she didn't even want to consider.
     She had to stop the Messiah of Silence.
     Magenta eyes closed as the mists of time started to manifest 
around her garnet orb. The crystal jewel started to glow, capturing the 
magik she summoned. Many attacks and battle cries are given in a 
scream, a shout, a proclamation. But more often the most dangerous ones 
come from nearly inaudible voices.
     "Dead--"
     Suddenly the tip of her key-shaped staff was knocked upwards, 
breaking her concentration. Setsuna nearly fell back as someone pushed 
against her. For a moment she lost her balance; it was quickly 
regained. But her senses could not recover as quickly as she saw the 
slender pole of a shakujyo blocking her staff. Metal rings chimed, 
their sounds lost as Mistress 9 unleashed another wave of magik that 
destroyed an archway--yet still failed to destroy the samurai.
     "You...." she whispered.
     The Raithe's eyes of starlight heavens narrowed. "Don't be a 
fool, Setsuna," he hissed, forcing her to remain at bay as Khai and 
Mistress 9 continued to tear apart the courtyard.
     "A fool?" she snapped. "You were the one who created that woman! 
The paradox lies in your magik; the blood of countless lost souls is on 
your hands!"
     She pushed him away, swinging the time staff in her hand. The 
Raithe brandished his shakujyo as he stepped back, the two weapons in 
their own rights colliding as she tried to bring the ornamented top of 
her staff down upon his skull.
     "She is Mistress Nine!" the Raithe stated, raising the shakujyo 
to stop her attack inches over his head. "The Messiah of Silence--and 
her arrival is necessary for the future."
     "What future do you speak of?" she demanded angrily. "This 
future? One of bloodshed and death?!"
     "Now is not the time to have a conscience, Setsuna!" the Raithe 
hissed. 
     "I will not let him die!"
     The Raithe's eyes lost their patience, now glaring at her. "Then 
do you like being dead, Setsuna?! If you interfere, then that vision of 
the future Tokyo you saw will be fulfilled. The city, along with the 
rest of this entire solar system, will be mercilessly destroyed by 
paradox."
     The dream....
     Her eyes widened. "Masaka," she whispered.
     He was the hooded figure she had seen.
     The Raithe seized the opportunity, sliding her time staff off his 
shakujyo. For the moment, the stunned disbelief in her eyes was giving 
him a chance to speak. "If you interfere now, Mistress Nine will be 
destroyed and Aurora will be spared. The Messiah Wars will never 
happen...and the Silver Millennium will never exist. You want to see 
the future, Sailor Pluto? Let me show you the future!"
     The garnet orb atop his shakujyo abruptly exploded in a fierce 
light, bathing them both and embracing them into the folds if its 
magik. Aurora's devastated palace faded. The Messiah of Silence and the 
samurai disappeared from view.
     What replaced Aurora was a horrific vision.
     The world was cold and dark, empty and lifeless. Ruins of what 
might have once been sprawling cities littered the land from one 
horizon to the next. It began to rain as Setsuna found herself standing 
atop the skeletal remains of a building. A desolate sight was presented 
all around her.
     Pulsating clouds of a storm that had long since gathered yet 
refusing to leave the skies churned over her head. She brushed a few 
strands of dark hair from her face, looking at the future.
     A graveyard.
     It was Earth.
     Sounds other than the hollow echo of the breeze captured her 
attention. The Raithe was upon a towering pile of debris and upheaved 
underground. A blackened hood atop a blackened robe swirled around him 
in the eerie winds.
     "Welcome to the future," the Raithe said loudly, raising his arms 
high as if to announce to arrival of armageddon. "This is what will be 
if you do not allow Aurora to be destroyed: you are sitting the heart 
of what once was Camelot. In a short time, Pharaoh Ninety will find 
another way to our solar system. The devastation in your dream is 
merely the effects of the paradox tearing apart the future Tokyo. Pray 
you are not present for when the war against Pharaoh Ninety 
begins...and ends in but a few fatal hours. The Golden Empire will be 
annihilated with little resistance, and become nothing more than a 
lifeless string of planets."
     Setsuna strained forward to protest. 
     She knew the history of the Sailor Senshi and the Deathbusters. 
"Pharaoh Ninety doesn't even know about this place yet!" she cried out 
at him. "Why would the alien entity come here, to a rural system that 
even the Senshi Wars passed by?"
     The Raithe's expression remained solemn.
     The eyes still betrayed him.
     "Masaka," she hissed, rising to her feet, the key-shaped staff 
taken up in her grip. "You...you did this. You've condemned Aurora to 
die!"
     "I did it so that countless others worlds might live," the Raithe 
replied evenly, his scowl menacing enough to keep her from considering 
any form of attack. "Don't judge me now for what has been done, 
Setsuna. Judge my actions of today three thousand years from now. And 
then in time you shall understand why I have followed this path. But 
right now, time is not a luxury you can afford."
     Hands gripped the cloak of night, pulling at the rippling folds 
and letting them loose. The hooded cloak was released from over his 
form, caught in the winds to become a dark cloud unto itself as it was 
swept through the jagged remains of Camelot.
     Midnight eyes stared solemnly at her. "Your daughter is not the 
cause of the paradox, Setsuna. You are."
     She recoiled as if slapped. "N-Na ni?!" she stammered.
     "You are the one who sent Hotaru back in time," the Raithe said. 
"You are the one who triggered the events that shall very soon become 
the Messiah Wars. And if you try to undo what has already been done, 
then the paradox will destroy everything. Not just Khai, but the entire 
planet of Aurora, must be sacrificed to ensure that future events 
unfold as they should."
     Setsuna fell to her knees, pounding in frustration on the steel 
beams she was atop of. "I can't accept it!" she exclaimed angrily. 
"That this world should be destroyed all because of me!"
     Suddenly the Raithe was knelt down next to her.
     His voice was a quiet whisper, grim but yet not without hope. 
"Iie...it's not just you. Like me, like us all, you're just a pawn in a 
circle of time, something destined to happen in all planes of 
existence. While a part of it is reaching completion, the circle still 
goes on relentlessly, regardless of how betrayed we feel. We all have 
our roles to play, and now is the time for you to realize what it means 
to take up the duties of a guardian of time."
     The ruins of Camelot faded to darkness.
     And the darkness to the fiery light of warring magiks.
     Khai and Mistress 9 were still fighting, each one wielding their 
weapons with relentless and ferocious intensity. The two were a breath 
away from each other, glaive pushing against Firestaff. The ground 
beneath them was buckling as their magiks smashed against each other.
     Setsuna found them surreally distant as she knelt on the floor at 
the edge of the inner courtyard. Her entire body was cold, trembling 
fiercely. Her heart was pounding rapidly inside her numb chest.
     "Was this why I came back?" she demanded in a hushed voice, her 
own self-control on the verge of being lost. "Was this my destiny?"
     "This is your duty, Sailor Pluto," the Raithe countered, slowly 
rising to watch the final battle play itself out. "Why does a flame 
burn? Why does the firelight rise into the shadows of the night? It is 
because of purpose. And fire is meant to burn, so it has purpose. Make 
your choice now; tomorrow's fate depends on how you act in this moment. 
Condemn this world...or condemn your future."
     Magenta eyes looked up.
     And then Setsuna turned away, unwilling to watch. "Gomen nasai, 
Khai," she whispered, clenching her jaw and forcing back whatever tears 
would fall down her face.
     Forgive me....
     Mistress 9 lunged, raking down the glaive. Khai dodged the 
strike, swinging the Firestaff between them as a stream of fire worked 
its pyre magik to incinerate the Dark Messiah. Her hair violently 
danced behind her as she dispelled the attack. The flames backfired, 
sucked in by a vacuum and thrown into Khai's face. His eyes narrowed as 
he hastily threw up a barrier, the air around him burning. 
     And then Mistress 9 was right in front of him. The Firestaff was 
knocked from his hands, the weapon spinning into the air before 
clattering amidst a pile of rubble. 
     He never had a chance to react.    
     Khai's eyes widened as Mistress 9 plunged the glaive into his 
chest, a sickening crack of bones as it cut through his ribs, piercing 
flesh and organs. The blade punched through his back in a gentle storm 
of crimson droplets that rained down on the floor behind him.
     The force from the impact sent him off his feet, mouth and eyes 
wide as a trickle of blood dribbled from his lips. "H-Hotaru," he 
gasped, a shaky hand reaching out to her.
     Mistress 9's eyes narrowed. 
     "Shin'ne."
     With a vicious stroke she pulled the glaive out from Khai's 
chest. There was never a second's hesitation on her part. The blood-
stained metal of the glaive was but a scarlet blur as it spun through 
the air. Khai's stifled gasp was cut short as Mistress 9 sliced 
straight through his neck, beheading the samurai.
     He was dead before the blood started flowing.
     The decapitated body slumped over, collapsing in a heap as Khai's 
head rolled across the floor. Mistress 9 gleefully giggled at the 
sight, the thrill so powerful she could almost taste the insanity of 
the evils upon her lips.
     Abruptly a flash of light pierced the veil of darkness high over 
her head. Violet eyes narrowed in silent fury as she recognized the 
power of the Golden Crystal leaving Aurora. 
     Helios had found the StarChamber. 
     "Kono yaro," she growled.
     That the prince of this pathetic world had escaped was only 
prolonging the inevitable. Mistress 9 looked down to the end of her 
glaive, the shining metal now glistening in falling droplets of blood.
     It was time to prove her power.
     To use the power to end all other powers.
     Ripples of magik flowed through the air, the lights and even the 
fires dimming in fearful respect. She raised the glaive over her head, 
invoking the magik that made her the Messiah of Silence.
     The make of the glaive changed. The pole-arm became distorted in 
her grip, the colours growing darker. New runes appeared upon it, the 
ornamented head where the blade was attached taking a new form. The 
blade itself lost its colour of blood, the scarlet liquid burned in the 
transformation. And the blade grew, the curve becoming longer and more 
wicked to behold. It was alive in dark energy.
     At last it had become a true weapon for the Dark Messiah.
     The Silence Glaive.
     Her violet eyes narrowed. "Death." 
     The incantation of annihilation.
     The Silence Glaive started to glow with unnatural light, its aura 
causing the air to fall and freeze. All other lights but the one 
radiating from the glaive ceased to exist. Wisps of tempests took on 
substance, gales and winds becoming grey mists that encircled her.
     The Messiah of Silence swung the glaive over her head, bringing 
the blade poised to strike at the floor.
     "Reborn."
     Setsuna could not longer hold the bitter tears back as she felt 
her body chilled by a power never meant to be used. It was a cruel fate 
for her, for them all to suffer through. But it was the only way to 
stop the paradox.
     "For the future," she whispered.
     The Raithe's eyes narrowed. 
     And somewhere upon all of Aurora, life paused as if realizing its 
abrupt end. Shogo slowly stood amidst the ranks of wounded samurai 
apprentices. The Ancients in their sanctuary realm went silent. Those 
who had survived this long inside the hellish demise of the palace 
forgot about their fear. And millions of people scattered across the 
planet found themselves turning and looking to whatever horizon the 
palace lied beyond.
     The Silence Glaive's cold metal blade touched the ground.
     Mistress 9 smiled with the final word, the pronouncement of death 
for the world of Aurora. In the time it took to witness a dream or 
inspiration, to feel the heart beating faster with love, this world 
would see the light.
     And then end.
     "Revolution." 




     ....END OF THE BEGINNING





     FINAL THANKS:

     -To Sailor Skuld, who gave me the chance to be a part of Circles 
      of Time. You've been both the supporting friend and chiding 
      mother when the need has arisen. I am indebted to you for your 
      faith and encouragements in my work.

     -To Todd Foster, my fellow Messiah Wars conspirator. While I have 
      adapted parts of Dark Messiah to fit your tale, you have adapted 
      so much to fit into mine. In sharing the sometimes seemingly 
      countless Emails, I can see why you took up a position to write 
      about this epic saga from another viewpoint. This war may be far 
      from over, but don't give up hope. The end is in sight... 
      somewhere.

     -To Fiona Lim. Originally designated to do the Messiah Wars, 
      parts of her own manuscripts from this saga have been adapted 
      and rewritten into Dark Messiah. To write this story without 
      thanking her would be wrong, and so I humbly acknowledge what 
      she has contributed to the Messiah Wars, whether she knows it or 
      not.     

     -To Matthew Kent, whose book of ancient weaponry has proven 
      invaluable to me in creating the world of Aurora's samurai. Your 
      noble sacrifice of letting me use and abuse your reference 
      guides has not been in vain.





          Violent desire, Violent desire
          Painting every shadow in colours of red
          Roaring like the lion, Roaring like the tide
          Follow me and I will put them all to bed
          A goodnight forever....

          
                         -Brad Holmes
                             (Vampire Princess Miyu, TV series)