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Destiny is drawing near...
She could hear her heart beating, a droning drum from inside herself threatening to drive her over the edge.
Destiny is drawing near...
Her blood rushed in her ears.
Destiny is drawing near...
The silence was driving her mad.
Destiny is drawing near...
She let out a blood-curdling scream, the sound of her voice piercing the air like a lightsaber.
"Momma, where is real momma?" the little girl asked, her blue eyes shining with a fragile innocence as she looked up at the dark woman.
"Your real mother abandoned you. She hates you. She is a selfish woman."
"But why?"
"She hates you. Is that any way for a mother to treat her daughter?"
"I don't know..." the child said, shifting under the heavy lizard-skin armor.
"Well, it is not."
"Ciel!!" Harry called, pounding on the girl's door. He could hear her screaming from inside the room, but the door was locked, leaving her helpless. "CIEL!!!"
"I hate you, you know." The words sounded forced, even rehearsed.
His happy face was slowly melting into a sad one. "......"
"I hate you with every fiber in my body." She paused. "No, really, I do. I'm not just saying that." She looked down to her feet, and a lock of black hair fell into her eyes.
He shrugged it off and turned to her with a smile.
She frowned.
"What is this?"
"A present for you!" she said cheerfully, handing the raven- and green-haired woman a small object, wrapped neatly in tissue paper.
The Force-witch slowly unwrapped the object. In small tufts of tissue paper a perfectly-shaped jewel was nestled. It shone with the special "inner light" that only the special rainbow gems of Gallinore possessed, casting a warm glow on her face. The color was an intoxicating cinnamon, a warm mixture of browns and reds.
"It was mine," the little girl said, "but I want you to have it!"
"But, this... this is the stone we found with your mother..."
"It is alright... I do not mind not having it, as long as you do, Nom!"
"Why do you even bother?" Sumire spat, whirling around in a blur of purple satin and soft black hair.
"Because I care about you... I know you're hiding something from me..." the prince responded, his eyes wandering along the floor.
"What?" she asked, a mix of bewilderment and anger.
"I care about you... and no matter what you say or do to me, I'll always care about you, because I know that you're only trying to protect yourself..."
"What's the matter?!" Minae demanded, running towards the door.
"I don't know!" Harry said, frantically looking in-between the brunette and the door. "She just started screaming!"
Minae grabbed the doorknob and yanked on it, to no avail. "Wait here..."
She stood at her mother's grave, the large rock monument that the women of Stone River had erected three years ago on this date.
She held a large bundle of wildflowers, a rarity during the winter months.
The air around her was crisp and cold, and an icy wind blew through, whipping the heavy woolen garments around her.
It began to snow, and tears filled her eyes, as she stared off into nothingness.
One minute she was fine, dipping her toes into the cool running water of the fountain, and the next she was sobbing.
Eddie looked at her in shock. Never once had he seen her cry. She was always so cold and distant... "Sumire...?! What's the matter?!"
"You're... you're so kind to me, and I treat you like a piece of crap..." she forced, bringing her fingers to her wet cheeks. "Why am I crying?!" she asked, going into a panic.
All he could do was watch her with a heartbroken look on his face.
"I don't know why I try to protect myself... what am I running from? No matter how hard I try to face my fears I always end up running and hiding again..."
"What are you afraid of?" he asked softly, moving closer to her on the marble ledge.
"You..." she said weakly, looking away from those intoxicating blue-green eyes.
"Why..?"
"I have feelings for you I've never felt before... I'm afraid of being hurt... I'm an idiot... I don't know...." She futilely wiped more tears from her eyes.
"Sumire..." he whispered, slowly putting his hands along her cheeks and kissing the tears from her eyes. "I love you... I would never hurt you... and I would never let anyone hurt you, as long as I live..."
She closed her eyes, feeling his soft kisses along her face. She let out a long breath, shivering as more tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
"NOM!!!!!!! TANNETH!!!!!" she screamed, digging her small hands into the soil. She kicked frantically at her assailant with her free leg, glancing her only on the chest-plate a few times. "HELP ME!!!!!"
The Nightsister clamped her hand over the girl's mouth, wrenching her from the ground and holding her solidly in her arms. She dug her nails into the girl's cheek, drawing blood and muffling her pained screams. "Shush, child," she murmured, shaking her with such force that her neck should have snapped.
Yukiko skidded to a stop in front of the door, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Using the Force, she manipulated the lock on Ciel's door, and it flung open with a large crash.
Harry charged into the room, running to the senshi's bedside. "Ciel..." he murmured, looking down at her.
In a word, she looked dead. Her skin was even paler than usual and cold to the touch. Her eyes and mouth were closed. She had no look on her face that hinted of the maelstrom that was raging inside her mind.
"She's alive," Yukiko said, stopping behind Harry. "I know she isn't dead. Something is happening inside of her..."
"What really happened to my mother?" the teenager demanded.
"She abandoned you and committed suicide. How many times have we been over this, Vra? I'm getting rather sick of it."
"That isn't right! It makes me so mad... If I ever met her, I swear, I'd kill her..."
"What did you say?" the sister asked, her eyes lighting up.
"I said I would kill her!"
"You can kill her, you know," she said, turning around. "Embrace the Dark Side, and destroy her."
"What?! You just told me she was dead."
"Everyone is reborn to the cycle of life and death. Your body will die, but your soul does not, and is carried on into another life."
The girl hesitated. "What do I do?"
Sumire held her hand up to the warm afternoon sun, squinting her eyes as she looked on the brilliance of the diamond she wore. She smiled, lazily, rolling over in the soft grass and crawling towards her sleeping Eddie. She rested her head on his chest and held his hand, smiling to herself like an idiot.
"She's in a coma, but her brain activity is functioning at an abnormal rate," the Jedi Healer said to Minae. "Picture her brain as an overloaded circuit. That's what's going on inside her mind..."
"What does that mean?" Minae asked, glancing over the healer's shoulder at him. He was sitting at Ciel's bedside, holding her hand in his.
"Eddie... I need to tell you something..."
"Yeeees?" he asked, smiling at her. "What's up?"
"I... uh..." she mumbled, blushing and staring at her feet. "I think I'm, uh, pregnant..."
"WHAT?! THAT'S GREAT!!!!" he screamed, pulling her into his arms and dancing around the room with her. "We're gonna have a baaaaa-by! We're gonna have a baaaaa-by!"
Despite his reaction, she couldn't shake the bad feeling she had...
She sped through the forests of Dathomir, holding her child against her breast as she ran as fast as she could. She could hear them gaining on her, feel them gaining on her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
The woods broke, and she found herself in a large uphill field. As she reached the top, she could see a settlement a mile or two away. She glanced over her shoulder for a brief second, and bolted down the hill. If I can get there, she might be saved...
In an instant, it was over.
"Eddie!" Sumire called, shaking him by the shoulders. "EDDIE!!!"
But it was too late - the blaster bolt has already pierced his heart. And now the assassin pressed the blaster to the base of her neck...
Kill her.
Kill her.
Kill her.
The words repeated over and over in Vra's head, reverberating like a chant.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
She walked through the train station, glancing from side to side. She could not see her, but she felt her presence. The evil woman's presence, the one who had abandoned her...
Suddenly, she was in view. The raven-haired girl with the pigtails, the one that looked totally lost in the station. She made her way towards her, tapping her on the shoulder. "Looking for me?"
Ciel turned around and gasped. "V-vra..."
"That's me," she said, grabbing her mother by the neck. She could feel the surge of emotion running through her.
Kill her... kill her... kill her...
I am Sumire... princess of Centrali...
Wife of Edward, prince of Terephon...
And mother of Asellus, princess of Gallinore...
Which means... I am... Vra's mother...?!
"Nom..." Ciel gasped. "Where is Nom?!"
"Ciel!" Harry shouted. "Calm down, don't move... I'll go get one of the healers..."
"I don't need one!" she said, throwing the blankets off of her and jumping out of the bed. "I need to see Nom!"
Yukiko and Minae rushed towards her, urging her to relax. "You were just in a coma..." Yuki explained, reaching for her arm. "Please calm down..."
"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!!" she screamed, her shaking hands reaching up to push her dark hair out of her eyes. They fixed themselves on Harry, staring at her in total shock from the corner. She padded across the room to him like a feline, fixing her wild blue eyes on him. "I'll be back," she promised. Then she kissed him on the cheek, and ran out of the room, to confront Nom.
Yukiko and Minae both turned around and stared at Harry, gaping. He blushed like an idiot, running out of the room.
"Nom!" Ciel exclaimed, slamming the door behind her and leaning on it. "Thank the Force... what happened to Vra?!"
"What are you talking about?" the Force-witch asked, giving her a slightly peculiar look.
"What happened to her?! The woman... dragging her..."
Images flashed through Nom's mind. Images of Vra being stolen from Stone River. Images of the strange foreign woman who died there. Images of Ciel. "That was you," she stated simply, blinking a few times. "You are the mother of Vra?"
"Yes! What happened to her?!" she begged, giving her a pleading look. "Please tell me! I need to know... please..."
"There was a raid on my clan, about seven years after you passed away," she started. "Several of my sisters were killed. Vra was taken from the village. We tried to save her, but we were unsuccessful. For years, we neither saw nor heard nothing of her, and we had thought she had been killed. But then..."
"But then?"
Nom hesitated for a moment, then turned, lifting her shirt up to expose her back. Along the base of her spine there were several tattoos, one in particular, which she pointed to. "In my clan, when you are engaged in a battle with a Nightsister and do not perish, you receive a tattoo. I received this after an encounter with Vra." She paused, turning back around to face her. "I am deeply sorry. I did not know..."
"It's alright..." Ciel said, smiling sadly. She stepped towards the woman, hugging her. "Thank you for being a friend to her, when you could..." She pulled her henshin pen out of her pocket. "Centrali Crystal Power, Make-Up!!" The familiar purples and grays surrounded her, binding to her like a second skin. The light faded, and she stood in her fuku, the purple jewel in her tiara glowing fiercely, shedding a vibrant violet light across the room. "Goodbye, Nom," she said, jogging out of the room. I will find you, and I will tell you the truth, no matter your answer...
Seconds after she had left, Harry came running into Nom's room, slipping on a rug and flying into a wall. He stood up quickly, staring at Nom. "Where is she?! Where did she go?! What happened?!"
Nom looked up, annoyed. "Will I be left alone today?"
"Huh?"
"Ciel has left, now you can leave as well," she said, determined not to spend her time on an unreasonable male. She thrust a finger towards the door and went back to her business.
Harry stared at her for a minute, confused. "But you didn't tell me where she is!"
Nom threw the kendo stick onto the floor, storming across the room at him. She took his head into her hands, pulling him violently towards her. Closing her eyes, she held him tight, so he could not struggle against her.
Hundreds of memories and feelings filled his mind. Sadness, happiness, loneliness, and love. Love for a woman, and memories of their life together. Love for their child, whom he was never able to see.
And then, after his last breath, they stopped...
His eyes snapped open, staring into Nom's angry ones. "Are you satisfied?" she asked, letting go of him. "Leave me now, or there will be nothing left of you when she returns."
"Sumire..." he murmured, slowly raising his hand into the air. "Terephon Crystal Power!" In a flash of golden light, the Terephon Knight appeared in his stead, standing tall in his blue and gold uniform. "Thank you," he said, rushing out of the room.
"Males," Nom muttered, picking up the kendo stick.
Kendra could see her now, the young girl whom she had corrupted and would soon become Sailor Sith Gallinore. Only a matter of minutes now, the dark queen thought, an amused grin spreading over her delicate pink lips. And the father, she thought. He will make a promising Sith Knight. Yes, she had to lose a potential Sith in the process, but it was understood from the beginning that Sailor Centrali would be lost.
Soon, soon... she told herself.
The Terephon Knight raced across Coruscant, searching for Ciel.
But instead, he found Vra, staring at him with Sumire's blue eyes. "Father..." she whispered, slowly reaching towards him. "I'm so glad..." she said, smiling and falling into his arms, clinging to him. "Don't leave me now... stay with me..." she breathed, pressing her wet cheeks against his shoulder. "We don't need her... we can start over without her..."
"Your mother did not abandon you..." he said softly, holding the girl in his arms.
"She lied to you, too..." She lifted her face from his shoulder, looking at him with pity in her eyes. "You don't know... she brainwashed you, too..."
"She didn't abandon you, Asellus... she was killed..."
"That is such a lie!" she screamed, looking at him angrily. "How can you not believe your own daughter?!"
"She was killed... the last thing she did was deliver you to the Stone River clan, so you would be safe and happy... and then she died... she used the last of her energy to try to give you a chance at life..."
"That's not true! It can't be... she told me it wasn't!"
"Who told you this...?"
"The Nightsister...the Nightsister who kidnapped me..."
"She was only using you," he whispered. "Your mother is a caring and noble person. She gave her life so you could have one...! Does that sound anything like the demon she was made out to be?"
"No..." she said softly, staring off into nothing. "No... it doesn't..." The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She collapsed into her father's arms again, sobbing violently. "I... I... I killed her parents... I killed my grandmother and grandfather... on the basis of a lie! Oh, Force, what have I done...?!" She asked, looking up at the night sky. "I've soiled my hands with the blood of innocents..."
"And now more innocent blood will be shed!" a high-pitched female voice said, followed by insane laughter. Sailor Sith Iyagaru appeared, her red-trimmed cape fluttering in the breeze behind her. "Merry Christmas!" she declared, raising her hands into the air. "My present to you is a message from the queen! She says that although she was looking forward to two new Sith in the ranks, you two are more trouble than you're worth, and so I've been sent to kill you!" She giggled. "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" Dark Side power swirled in a cloud around her. "Black Hole Engulf!"
A silvery light flashed everywhere. "Gravity Shield!"
The dark attack crashed into the barrier, exploding and fizzing out. Sailor Centrali stood in front of Vra and the Terephon Knight as the air cleared. "Sailor Sith Iyagaru, I presume? I'm Sailor Centrali, soldier of gravity and ultraviolet light, also the Guardian of Solitude! For the innocent life you've attempted to take," stressing the word innocent, "I will punish you!"
The Terephon Knight stepped up next to her. "Likewise, the soldier of happiness, devotion, and speed, also the Guardian of Youth, the Terephon Knight!"
She's protecting me... Vra thought, staring at the purple and gray fuku'd senshi. I've hurt her so many times... I killed her parents... and yet, she's protecting me...
"Oh, bite me!" Iyagaru screamed, sending more dark power from the palm of her hand at them.
The two senshi flew backwards, landing and sliding on their backs. They struggled to stand up, weak and sore from the physical and emotional stress.
Iyagaru grinned wildly, holding her hands up in the air again. "Gooooood-bye!" she said. "Black Hole... ENGULF!"
Ciel and Harry closed their eyes, waiting for Death. But Death did not come, for them, at least.
Vra's body absorbed the attack, collapsing in front of them. "ASELLUS!" Ciel screamed, rushing to her side.
"Mother... I'm sorry..." she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I didn't know. I thought I was some sort of martyr of justice. I was wrong. But, I guess, in the end, I am, aren't I...?" And then she passed away, slowly fading from the galaxy.
Before they had a chance to mourn, a transformation began to take place.
Sailor Centrali began to float into the air. Her tears fell from her eyes, splattering on the duracrete below her. The jewel in the middle of her tiara began to glow again, becoming a beacon in the night sky. The air around her glowed purple. Suddenly, her hair began to shoot out in all directions, growing at an alarming rate. Her body began to glow violet, her fuku melting away, being replaced by a long purple satin gown. Feathers flew everywhere as a pair of wings appeared on her back. A sword appeared in her hand, the hilt carved out of onyx, the blade pure amethyst, reflecting the violet light that the angel emanated.
"I am Princess Sumire, the Guardian of Solitude," the former Sailor Centrali said, opening her eyes, which had lost their blue pigment and were now a slate gray color. She raised the sword in front of her, pointing at Sailor Sith Iyagaru. With every movement she made, glitter seemed to shed from the dress, creating cascades of light below her. "You have taken an innocent life, and for that, you shall be sealed away in the Gates of Solitude for all eternity." She held the sword in both of her hands, tightening her grip around it. She raised it into the air, closing her eyes. "Spirits of Solitude!" she called, soft tendrils of black hair floating behind her. "Cast this soul away until the end of time. Solitude Seal!"
Sailor Sith Iyagaru began to scream as she felt a what could only be described as a cold fire growing inside herself. It spread all over her body, devouring her. Everything turned black as she was absorbed into the amethyst sword, swirling around as black mist inside the blade.
The princess slowly descended from the sky, firmly planting her feet on the ground. And as quickly as it had started, it was over, Sailor Centrali now lying on the ground, her soft hair billowing through the air and settling past her feet. The wings were gone, the light was gone, the dress was gone, the glitter gone, the sword gone.
The knight rushed towards her, nudging her softly. "Sumire... Sumire! Wake up, please..."
The senshi's eyes slowly fluttered open, now their normal aqua blue color. "Where is Asellus...?" she asked, looking around. She began to panic. "She's not gone... she can't be gone..."
Harry looked away from her, holding back his tears. "S-she's..."
Ciel stood up, cupping her hands around the jewel in the center of her chest. Using the Force, she extracted the Centrali Crystal from within it, holding it in her hands. "She's not lost yet."
"You can't do that... the crystal will be destroyed, won't it? And that means..."
"No more Sailor Centrali? Sailor Centrali's mission has been completed. Vra Vji, the Nightsister, has been destroyed. Soon, she will cease to exist." A slow grin spread across her face. "Haven't you noticed that I hate being a sailor senshi anyways? I don't want this destiny."
"If you don't want it, I don't want it, either." The Crystal of Terephon materialized in his hands, sparkling with its golden light.
The two crystals floated into the air. "Centrali Crystal Power!" Sailor Centrali called.
"Terephon Crystal Power!" Terephon Knight called.
"Activate!" they called, in unison.
The violet and gold crystals merged into one sparking white jewel. Their fukus melted away, as they made their last wishes as Sailor Centrali and The Terephon Knight.
Please, Force... give us back our daughter!
The white crystal exploded, flooding the skyline in blinding light.
And when it disappeared, a small child stood in its wake, no more than six or seven. Her golden-blonde hair was tied up in two teardrop odangos with small pigtails attached to them. She was clothed in a glittering gold dress tied with a purple sash that trailed behind her as she walked towards Ciel su'Maka and Harrison Griffin.
"Merry Christmas, mama, papa!" she shouted, jumping into their arms.
