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Kendra's red-tipped fingernails dug into the soft, pink flesh of Sailor Bakura's neck.
"Die," the Sith Queen whispered as she tightened her grip. Sailor Bakura struggled against the iron strong hold, thrashing her body and clawing desperately at Kendra's hands, but Kendra only smiled.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sailor Iridonia, Sailor Chibi Bakura, Sailor Chibi Serenity, Sailor Selonia, and Sailor Dathomir stood by, watching in horror. Obi-Wan re-ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the blue force field that separated them from Sailor Bakura. Sparks flew off of the blue film.
Sailor Selonia activated an analysing programme in her mind, and immediately, her personal vision turned into a green grid with a red background. The computer chip in her mind magnified the image of the blue force field and scanned it. Moments later, Sailor Selonia knew why fighting the blue curtain was fruitless.
"It's a shield of light," she announced, "produced from the same crystals that are used in lightsabers... nothing can penetrate it."
Obi-Wan cursed under his breath and holstered his lightsaber. "Sailor Selonia," he said, "see if you can find a weakness in the light's structure... look for a week particle. There has to be a way to get in there, we're running out of time!"
Sailor Chibi Serenity looked at her pink boots and sighed. "It's boring here anyway," she whispered. Clearing her throat, she said, "I can get in." Obi-Wan knelt and took her by the shoulders.
"How?" he asked.
The small pink-haired girl shook her head. "Don't worry, it's not that much of a sacrifice. And I'll understand if you have to kill this body."
Sailor Iridonia looked startled. "What are you talking about, Ame?"
The tiny sailor closed her eyes and whispered a small chant... her body crumpled into Obi-Wan's arms. At the exact same time, a black spiralling cloud appeared on the other side of the lightsaber shield. Puffs of pink clouds spread out like large tendrils. The cloud swirled larger until the fully-grown figure of Sailor Chibi Serenity stepped out.
"Stop this, Kendra. I will not allow this," Ame spoke. Kendra whirled around and gritted her teeth at the woman before her.
"Not this time, Ame. This time... I win."
In a cold, emotionless tone, Sailor Chibi Serenity said, "I'm prepared to give you something in exchange her life."
"There isn't anything you have that I want," Kendra smirked. Sailor Bakura's body hung limply from the Sith Queen's cold hand.
"I have the authority to release your father from the Underworld."
The evil eyes of Kougo Ada lit up, and she snapped her hand open, allowing Sailor Bakura to fall.
On the other side of the blue force field, Sailor Dathomir balled her hands into fists. Sailor Selonia was still trying to locate a weakness in the shield, and Sailors Chibi Bakura and Iridonia had left to try and find an alternate entry into the dark room.
Suddenly and quietly, the delicate sound of wind chimes trickled into earshot of Obi-Wan as he gently cradled Ame's lifeless body. Sensing something approaching, the Jedi glanced around and placed a strong hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. Sailor Selonia gasped as the sound reached her. She spun around and looked at Ame's body. Quite unexpectedly, she dropped to one knee and bowed her head. It was then that Obi-Wan remembered what the sound of wind chimes signalled.
Ame's body began to glow with a pale silver light. A dead, black colour crept over Sailor Chibi Serenity's fuku and her silky pink hair. The black seemed to suffocate all of Ame's once-beautiful appearance. Her face remained the same; only her skin became pale and almost transparent. Sailor Dathomir was the first to see Ame's top canine teeth elongate.
The eyes once belonging to Ame snapped open, and Obi-Wan looked into the cold black eyes of Kurai Oame. The frail girl stood up and smiled deviously. She looked at the loyal Sailor Selonia, still in her respectful position, and grimaced.
"You do not have to bow to me yet," she said in a slight, crisp Hungarian accent. "I am not your Queen here."
With immense trepidation, Selonia stood, but never made direct eye contact with Oame; instead, she meekly backed away and held silent.
A decidedly creepy chill ran down Obi-Wan's spine as he tried to handle three crises at once. His main concern was for Annika, who he could see, lying slumped on the ground near the high-heeled feet of Kougo Ada. His second concern was the possibility that Sailor Chibi Serenity could release Kendra's father. And, thirdly, was the dead, yet quite animated little girl standing in front of him.
Sailor Dathomir looked upon Sailor Chibi Serenity's doppelganger with a mixture of respect, understanding, and curiosity. The Warrior Witch knew that Oame and Ame were one soul when in the world of the living, when back in the Afterlife they were split, each ruling the two aspects of death. They cannot survive in the world of the living if they are separated. Sailor Dathomir watched as the body Oame's soul inhabited, grew weak and increasingly frail. Her breathing became shallow and quick.
Kurai Oame gazed with her icy eyes upon the scene being played out between her literal soul sister and the Sith Queen. Then her stare drifted down to the body of Sailor Bakura lying on the floor, motionless. The spooky child looked at the blue force field before snickering. In movements comparable to a dancer, Oame lifted her arms and placed her palms over her chest. A fierce bright, white radiance emanated from the place where her heart would be.
In her now creaky and failing voice, Oame aimed her fiery hands at the shield and said the words, "Gloomy... Cemetery... Kiss." A noise like frying water popped and sizzled onto the lightsaber shield. Oame craned her head around to face Obi-Wan. "You're... welcome," she said. Sailors Iridonia and Chibi Bakura returned just in time to witness what was left of Ame's body disappear like ashes in the wind.
The shield began to slowly melt away.
Kendra was oblivious to all of this, as she was staring into Sailor Chibi Serenity's pink eyes. "I'll spare Bakura's pathetic life in exchange for my father's."
A strong voice boomed behind Kendra, "No."
Chibi Serenity smiled, "Hello, Oame."
"How dare you!" the now-adult Oame railed at her sister. "How dare you overstep your bounds and attempt to release one of my souls."
"I'm doing what is necessary, Oame. Please don't make this harder than it has to be!"
Oame spun around to face Kendra. "My uncle will not be released!" she spat.
Kendra produced a twisted smile and said, "Fine then, say goodbye to your mother."
"Don't!" Ame yelled.
"Then give me my father! Now!"
Oame looked over at Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was still on the other side of the decaying light shield. Unfortunately, it was still too high and unable to climb over. She needed to buy time, and she knew the perfect way to do so.
With a slight morbid giggle, Oame said, "Fine, Ame. You want Kishi; you're going to have to get him yourself."
Ame sighed, "Where is he?" When Oame simply smiled, Ame grew impatient. "Oame! Please! She's your mother too!"
"I am perfectly aware of that!!" Oame had little self-control, but refused to let anyone know of her plan; while Ame was searching for Kishi's soul, the light shield would decay, allowing the Jedi and Senshi to enter. They would deal with Kendra. Oame smiled eerily. "He's in the Asylum," she whispered.
"What?" Ame replied, half stunned.
"I don't question where you send your souls, don't question where I send mine. You know where he is... you want him, go get him."
Kendra planted herself in front of Ame. "What is the Asylum?"
Swallowing hard, Ame said, "It's a place in the Underworld, a place where Oame sends certain souls."
"There are different places?"
"Yes. Oame is very creative. When she reclaimed her position as Guardian of the Underworld, she redesigned it - splitting it up into several levels... each descending level is increasingly worse."
"And the Asylum? Is it the last level? Is it the worst?"
Ame nodded her fountain of pink hair. "Yes." Turning to face Oame, Ame spoke quietly, "Will you send me directly there? I want to bypass the other levels."
"Of course," Oame snapped her fingers, and a pink portal appeared. From deep within the portal, black clouds seeped out, along with horrific sounds, sounds of screaming and terrifying wails of agony. Strange grunt-like noises echoed deep inside the pink hole, and the cries of unidentified beasts barked and snarled as Ame entered the spectral doorway. "Good luck," Oame smiled.
Ame was always amazed at the sheer darkness of the Underworld. Everything was dead here. People don't realise, Ame thought, they walk around in the Living World, never realising that they feel life around them. The skin tingles, but one doesn't realise it until that cocoon of electrifying life is gone. The Underworld was devoid of everything - no light, no love, and no hope. Then again, that was the point.
With a twirl of her wrist, Ame produced her wand. The crystal on the top slowly came to life with a glow that cast a most helpful light. Ame sighed. It had been a while since she had been in the Asylum, and as she stood staring at the metal door that led to the final level of the Underworld, the familiar air of fright came over her. She shuddered.
Her boots tip-tapped on the marble ground as she walked to the metal door. Ame opened the lock, and the door swung open.
Back in the Living World, Oame stood with her arms folded, keeping a careful eye on her mother. Sailor Bakura was alive, breathing anyway, but Kendra paced around her like a bird of prey. Oame was not one for games; she liked things done her way or no way, and she had no intention of bargaining with the Sith Queen.
"How long will this take anyway?" Kendra demanded an answer.
"Do I look like a crystal ball?" Oame spat in her direction.
The silver-haired Oame watched with an amount of pleasure as Kendra darted her eyes over the half-decayed light shield. Obi-Wan unleashed his lightsaber and gripped it tightly in his right fist. Kendra smiled and walked over to him, the electric blue hum of the shield only coming up halfway. She could touch him if she wanted. Breathing deliberately and speaking in hushed tones, Kendra leaned closer.
"And what would you do, hero? What would you do if I killed your precious Princess as you watched, totally helpless? What would you do? Would you weep for her, would you get lost in sorrow, or would you be filled with blind, throbbing anger? You'd want to kill me, wouldn't you? You'd want to slice me in half with that laser sword... admit it, you wish I were dead right now, don't you?"
Obi-Wan never lost his dignity, never lost his composure. He stood calmly, meditating and finding a safe, peaceful spot inside his heart. Kendra raised an eyebrow and smirked. Never taking her eyes away from Kenobi, she backed toward Sailor Bakura. Slowly she used the Force to levitate the fallen Senshi until she was at arm's level. With a flick of her wrist, the Dark Queen materialised a vibroblade, which she then preceded to level at Annika's heart.
"Kendra!" Oame yelled, "We had a deal!"
"Maybe I want to break it."
In an eerily similar, yet much faster movement, Oame produced her wand and brought it to rest under Kendra's chin.
"You know," Oame said in a sticky voice, "I've always preferred the taste of Sith blood." Kendra saw her silver-haired, silver-eyed cousin smile, baring her elongated teeth.
Kendra chuckled and allowed Annika to fall. "As much as I'd like to kill her now, I think I'd rather have my father - you understand that, don't you? Oh, that's right, you don't have a father." She grinned. "I think I liked you better as a child - the black hair and eyes thing made you look much scarier."
"Don't press your luck, Kendra, I might just kill you for the fun of it," Oame sneered.
"I would be impressed, considering you can't use your powers on this side of the Veil. Ame is my best friend, remember? She and I share lots of secrets."
"I don't need my senshi powers to kill you, twit. I am half vampire... remember?"
Kendra and Oame stared each other down while the blue shield decayed down another inch.
Ame looked up at the fortress that was the Asylum. It was uninspiring, drab, and dull. The stone, grey barricade went straight up, and there were the occasional barred window dotted the otherwise smooth walls. Ame looked behind her and saw the door she entered standing solitary - in the middle of nothing. A door used for entrances only, rarely exits. Everything else was desolate. The permanent midnight horizon stretched on forever, and one would be certainly lost forever, because no one would come to the rescue. Not here, not in the Underworld... not in the Asylum.
The wails of the prisoners grew louder and jagged to Ame's ears as she approached the ten-foot-high door that led into the main reception area. Ame swung open the door with confidence only the Guardian of the Afterlife could have, and strode towards the front desk.
On the coffin black desk, made of bone, was a thick book - a registry of all who entered the Asylum. Oame, being the efficient ruler of the Underworld, had everyone listed in alphabetical order, cross-sectioned with entrance date, offence, and progress. However, the Asylum is reserved for the worst souls, those that are considered unredeemable, and it hurt Ame's heart to know that the Asylum was always full.
A brown, stumpy creature had been watching Ame's arrival. He knew she wasn't a prisoner, and the creature knew she wasn't Oame, so he watched with great interest. He watched as two daemons pad-footed behind the pink-haired girl and grabbed her.
"Lookie what we done caught!" exclaimed one of the daemons. He smiled a toothless grin and tightened his grip. Ame didn't struggle.
"Yeah," the other one said, "We can use her to bargain with... that fella up on the sixth floor is bound to want to add this one to his collection!"
What the daemons couldn't know was that Ame had been dead a long time, and Heaven was a place of love, of peace, and of learning. Ame had come to know and befriend several passed Jedi and, as such, was more than capable of defusing this situation.
She moved subtly, but swiftly. Ame rounded on the monster that had grabbed her, and with one well-placed kick, she sent him flying into a wall. Her wand grew into a long staff and she crouched down, spun around, and used her staff to trip the other daemon.
The first creature stood up and rubbed his abdomen. "Now why'd you go and do that for? We wasn't gonna hurt ya! We's just gonna sell ya!"
"My name is Sailor Chibi Serenity; I am the supreme Guardian of the Afterlife. If you attack me again, I will be forced to send you to a more permanent place, one that is ten times worse than the Asylum."
The second monster sat up and moaned, "Aw! We didn't know you was one of them!"
Ame took a few steps toward the bigger of the two daemons and held her staff out as a weapon. "Who on the sixth floor would be interested in 'buying' me?" she asked. Without warning, the pair of thugs jumped up and ran off down a corridor.
The stumpy thing, still observing from an upper window, ran to tell his Master of the exchange. Something important had to be happening if the pink-haired one came to the Underworld. Something big must be happening.
The sixth floor, Ame thought. Opening the registry, Ame finally found the name of her uncle, and it was no surprise that he was listed as being housed on the sixth floor.
Making her way through the vast network of tunnels and hallways, Ame found her task increasingly difficult. She passed locked room after locked room, full of inmates being driven totally insane. There were no rules in the Asylum, nothing was monitored, so evil was allowed to be evil, and only the strong survived.
Not all of the souls were locked away in solitary companionship; some were roaming the halls, and others cried for mercy as Ame walked past their barred cells.
"Please!!!" they would scream. "I've learned my lesson!"
Ame knew better. Had they truly been repentant, and had truly learned their lesson, they would've advanced up to the sixth level - the Maze. Hardest of all for Ame was seeing the souls of evil children. Some would snarl at her, others would reach their tiny hands out through the bars and try to grab her, all the while sniffling for their mommies. It was a trick; they wanted freedom, nothing more, and Ame was too wise from her years at the Gates of the Afterlife to fall for it.
After a short while, Ame found herself at the stairs that would take her to the sixth floor, and to her uncle. She hated having to release him, but her mother was too important to the future to let die. Ame wished she could feel something other than pity for Annika. She didn't feel a bond; she didn't feel any love for her mother. She should feel anger directed at Kendra, but she didn't. There was a bond between Kendra and her, one that made her happy. Ame despised her feelings. She was betraying the woman that gave birth to her, and she cursed herself for it.
Ame stopped as she reached the last stair. She was now on the sixth floor. The smell of rotting flesh and dried blood littered the area, and bloody handprints decorated the walls. Something written along the left wall caught Ame's attention. She began to follow the words that led down the hallway:
"Herald the beating of the death toll drum, for something wicked this way comes..." The words were painted in a dull coppery colour. "Blood," Ame whispered. The last letter rested on a seemingly plain door - no different than the rest, yet Ame knew this one was unique.
She snapped her fingers, and the door unlocked and swung ajar on its metal hinges. Suddenly it was if the whole Asylum silenced, because the only thing Ame heard was the squeak of the door.
"I've been expecting you, dearest niece," floated a voice from the corner. Ame walked in and saw her Uncle Kishi. He was standing with his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. His clothes were stained with all sorts of messes and he still possessed a devilish glint to his eyes.
"What are you talking about, Kishi? I don't have time for any of your games."
"I knew you were here - a few friends of mine told me of the encounter they had with you in the lobby. Why else would you be in the Underworld, if not for me?"
"This time your egotism is correct. I am here for you. You'll have to come with me," Ame said, reaching out her hand to grab Kishi's sleeve. He pulled away and waved his finger in the air.
"Not so fast, Baby Serenity, I'm not going anywhere."
For a moment, Ame was shocked - she had never been disobeyed by a soul. Of course, she could've expected no less from her uncle. The tension in the room was so thick; Ame could feel it crawling up her skin like spiders.
Kishi's cell was littered with various messes, from scraps of scribbled on paper to broken rocks; everything was in disarray. The padding on the walls was ripped and torn in places - and soft billows of fabric puffed out like diseased clouds. Ame could smell the decay in this room; it choked her senses.
"Uncle, I will not ask you again. Next time I will physically remove you. You are being released. Your daughter and I have made a deal."
"My daughter?" Kishi sneered.
"Yes. Kendra."
"Oh," he spoke, drawing out the syllable. "Kendra. Well, isn't that interesting?"
"What?" Ame asked with frustration.
"Did I ever tell you the story about how Kendra was conceived?"
Ame wrinkled her nose. "No. And I do not want to hear it."
Kishi crossed the room and sat down in a simple, straight-backed chair. "Are you sure," he asked. "You'll find it fascinating."
"If I listen to your twisted story, will you come peacefully?"
"Naturally."
"Fine. Tell your story."
On the other side of the Veil, Kendra watched the blue light shield disintegrating faster and faster. If they wanted to, the Jedi could probably jump over it. But, they were biding their time; Kendra could see it in their eyes.
"How much longer is this going to take?" the Sith Queen spat in Oame's direction. Her edginess was plainly evident, and Oame smiled at her cousin's predicament.
"I do not know when my sister will return. Getting nervous, are you?"
Kendra grimaced and began to pace, still keeping a close eye on the unconscious Sailor Bakura. The sound her shoes made on the cold concrete echoed throughout the room, but the near silence was broken by the familiar hiss of a lightsaber. Turning around, Kendra saw that the force field was now down to Obi-Wan Kenobi's knees. He and the senshi started stepping over the shield.
Slowly Kendra took a few steps back.
Oame smiled. "So, the mighty Sith Queen is going to lose her crown... literally. It's a shame there is no place for you to escape."
For a moment, Kendra wondered why Oame would say such a thing, until she noticed that the gateway to the Underworld was still open. Ame can bring me back with her. She smiled at her own cleverness. Quickly, she ran towards the swirling pink spiral, her red and white hair flying in tendrils behind her. When she slammed into the portal, her body collapsed, dead, but Kendra's soul kept running deeper and deeper into the Underworld.
"Sucker," Oame chuckled.
"What happened to her?" Sailor Chibi Bakura asked.
"Living things are not allowed to enter the Underworld, I suppose I should've told her that," grinned Oame. "You've got your wish now. She's dead. Kendra's dead."
Kendra didn't have to run far. Ame sensed her presence and transported her to the Asylum immediately.
"What are you doing here?" Ame asked. Her face sank into a frown, and her eyes budded with tears. "What did they do to you?" Ame pleaded for an answer, but received only silence from the Queen.
"Daddy?" Kendra asked upon seeing Kishi.
"Aa, you are just in time! Please, sit," Kishi said, gesturing to a nearby chair.
Kendra looked at Ame, but the pink-tressed Sailor simply shrugged her shoulders.
"What's going on here?" Kendra demanded to know. She walked toward Kishi was jerked back by Ame.
"Don't touch him. You're not prepared. If you touch him, you'll have to stay here. You shouldn't be here at all, Kendra. This place can have an effect on you."
"Shut up, Ame. I'm sick of your concern. I want to leave with my father now!"
"Girls, girls, that's no way for you two to behave," Kishi patronized them. "You're related."
"Uncle Kishi, this is pointless. Please, let's just go."
"Not yet! I haven't told you my story! The story of how Kendra and Kayla were conceived. It was a beautiful moment in time shared by two people who loved each other very much."
"I know all about the birds and the bees, thank you, Uncle," Ame said disdainfully.
"You jump the gun, dearest niece."
"Oame!" Ame shouted.
"You rang?" the silver-haired Sailor asked. She had appeared next to Ame in a puff of black smoke.
Kishi laughed. "I am graced with the presence of the mysterious Dark Angel Serenity? Lucky me."
Ame turned to her sister and said, "Remove him. He's not leaving voluntarily."
"I will do no such thing," Oame said stoically.
"What?" Kendra yelled, "Have you forgotten about my threat? Do you think I won't kill your mother?"
Oame threw her head back and laughed. "Tell me, how do you plan that, when you are here? Back there," Oame pointed over her shoulder, "you are lying dead on the floor. You made a mistake when you entered the portal."
"Is this true?" Kendra demanded the truth from Ame.
"Yes. But Oame will send you back."
"No, I won't," Oame said plainly.
"You have to," Ame said.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You would like for me to send her back so she can torture Mama some more."
Ame folded her arms. "Since when do you care about the Sailor Senshi?"
"I don't! I could care less what happens to them; it's my mother I care for!"
Kishi shook his head and smiled. He cleared his throat to gain their attention. "It was the Emperor's idea, you know?"
The three girls whipped their heads around to stare at him. Kishi stood and walked across the room, and stood directly in front of Kendra.
"We weren't sure," he started to say, "We weren't sure you were the one. So a few years later we decided to try again. The result was your sister, Kayla." Crossing the floor, Kishi looked out of the barred window, out in to the bleak, gloomy nothingness. A ghostly wind battered the carcasses of dead trees and caused small peaks to form on the surface of a nearby coal black lake.
"Considering the circumstances, your births were miraculous," Kishi continued. "All the trouble we went through to make sure you were safe from that harpy, Annika."
"You would be wise to mind your tongue when it concerns my mother, Uncle, lest I remove it," Oame warned.
"Quite right, your Darkness," Kishi sneered. "I was simply trying to explain. Let me try again. I didn't want Kendra and Kayla to be corrupted by that evil, vile, ugly, stupid, vapid, baby doll piece of trash."
Oame lunged after Kishi, thoroughly intent on silencing him forever, but Ame restrained her. He laughed and sighed.
"Anyway, as I was saying. Had Kendra and Kayla remained where they were, they surely would have been changed. They would not be the beautiful Sith they are today. Oh how I remember that night, the night when we found you two."
"What are you talking about, Father?" Kendra asked. Her voice was a little more rugged, and her eyes were focused directly into Kishi's. "What do you mean, 'when we found you two'?"
"I meant exactly what I said. Sometimes you're as stupid as your mother."
"I don't care who you are to me," Kendra railed. "You do not talk to me in that manner."
"You've got her Princess attitude as well."
Kendra calmed and asked, "My mother was a Princess?" Kishi looked at her and nodded. Ame narrowed her eyes at him; he was planning something.
Oame was suspicious of his tone and manner. He was being coy... mysterious, and that was something to be nervous about. She watched as Kishi stretched his arms above his head and took a leisurely stroll around his dilapidated throne. With his long slender fingers, he flung a tendril of hair behind his ear and sighed.
"Enough story time," Oame stated. "Ame, I am leaving, I suggest you do the same."
"But wait!" Kishi said hurriedly. "This story concerns you too."
"Quite frankly, Uncle, I don't care. There is nothing you have to say that will impress me."
"It involves your mother."
Oame stopped. There were only two things that could gain Oame's attention - one was her sister, and the other was her mother. Dark Angel Serenity spun around and marched her diminutive frame over to Kishi.
"If you have done anything to my mother, I will make sure you end up someplace much worse than the Asylum."
"All I did," he said, "was save her from heartache. If loving my sister enough to prevent her sadness is a crime, then I am guilty." Kishi bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart. Oame rolled her eyes.
"What did you do?" asked Kendra.
"It all started when the Emperor told us about a legend, about how 'the one of Serenity was to bear the one of Chaos.' It was then that I remembered the story of planet Bakura's beginnings... and the Queen of Serenity. The Emperor told me an exact date, it was not a surprise when Obi-Wan Kenobi turned up on Bakura to say goodbye to Annika before he left. It was also no surprise that he stayed the night."
Kendra interrupted him. "What does any of this have to do with me?"
"Did I ever tell you," Kishi smiled, "that my wife is a genius in science? She just loves it. She especially loves reproductive science. Why, I once saw her implant the foetus of a Wookie into an Ewok. The results were disastrous, but she learned a lesson from it. Of course, she had a demented teacher to learn from, but I digress."
"I've had enough of this," Oame said. She materialised her staff and aimed it at Kishi's abdomen. "Stop being vague, you are annoying me."
"You want me to get to the point," he said, taking one of his fingers and tapping Oame's teeth. "As you wish." He walked back over to Kendra.
"Simply put, on the date the Emperor specified, my wife and I drugged my sister, placed her on an operating table, and removed two fertilised eggs from her womb. Almost a year later, we implanted one inside my wife; a few years after that, I implanted one inside a Ghostling friend of mine. You know, Kendra," Kishi said, picking up one of her long ponytails. "Red and white," he began to say after mixing her hair about, "red and white make pink."
A look of painful realisation came over Kendra, and she jerked her hair back. "How dare you! How dare you say such blasphemous things to me?"
"It's the truth, which is what you wanted, right? The truth is, you and Kayla are biologically the spawn of Annika Nesicha and Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Oame kicked Kishi's midsection, and he went flying into a wall. "You will pay for slandering my mother!"
"Stop it!!" Ame cried. "Stop... it's true. What he said is true. I've known for years."
Kendra, who had backed against a wall, began to look queasy. She sunk to the floor and let out a guttural howl. "It's a lie!! I am not her daughter, I can't be! It's impossible!"
Ame shook her head. "It is truth. My uncle's wife, isn't here, she's with me. She likes to talk. She died heroically; she died protecting you, Kendra. She didn't want Kishi to get his hands on you. She didn't die in childbirth like he told everyone... he killed her. Her bravery and love is what allowed her to make it out of the Underworld and up to the Afterlife. So, I've known for a while."
"Damn," Oame muttered. "Just when I thought our family wasn't going to get any bigger."
Kendra was clawing at her own face and babbling incoherently. Ame ran over and grabbed Kendra's hands.
"Oame, you have to send her back! The Asylum is affecting her."
"So?" Oame shrugged her shoulders.
"You can't leave her here! She's our sister!"
"And you want me to send her back so she can continue her reign of terror. So she continue to try and kill our mother? And they say I'm the bad one."
Ame stood and faced her identical sister. "If you do not return her... I'll be forced to go above your head. I will go to the Gods."
"Naturally," Oame said, "you will get your way. You hate our mother, and yet the Gods let you visit her. I am never allowed to! When Obi-Wan Kenobi died, whom did they let go back to comfort her? Not me, not the one who loves her. They sent you."
"Just send her back, Oame."
The silver-haired Dark Angel snapped her fingers, and Kendra disappeared. With a twirl of her staff, Oame also disappeared. Ame walked out of Kishi's cell and began to cry. A little, smelly brown creature walked up to her.
"Don't worry none, Angel Serenity. Don't worry - don't worry. Soon, there will be nothing to cry about. We is gonna take over and then there will be nothing to worry over." The brown thing scurried away, but not before he dropped a slip of paper.
Ame scooped it up and gasped when she saw the picture.
"Sian," she whispered.
"What's wrong with my mother?" Chibi Bakura asked as she stood over Annika's still unconscious body. Obi-Wan studied Annika and shook his head in disbelief.
"She seems to be in a healing trance."
Sailor Iridonia agreed. "I don't know how, though; she's never had this kind of Force ability before."
Just then, Sailor Selonia noticed Kendra's body start to move. The Sith Queen's eyes fluttered, and then suddenly snapped open. All the eyes were drawn to Kendra as she stood up, wobbly. She looked at her hands and made fists. Snapping her fingers, a black bolthole appeared. Everyone watched in amazement as she stepped into the blackness, and it closed behind her.
"She was dead," Sailor Dathomir pointed out. Another black hole appeared; this time it was trimmed in pink clouds. Ame stepped out from inside.
"I had to have her sent back. Kendra, I mean. It wasn't Destiny for her to die right now. Please understand," Ame whispered. The senshi exchanged glances and knew that Ame was right. It was painful and hurt, but they knew she did the right thing.
"Ame," Chibi Bakura said, "What's wrong with her?" She pointed to Sailor Bakura.
The pink-haired Angel walked over and knelt beside her mother. Sighing, she said, "It's the Faerie, Amagoi." Ame snapped her fingers, and the little white-haired sprite emerged from Sailor Bakura's heart-shaped brooch.
"Please pray for Rain," Amagoi said in her minute voice.
"Yes, I know, Amagoi. What's wrong with my mother?"
Amagoi smiled and giggled. "She's in a trance! I put her in a healing trance!! She's almost well! Not too much longer, I think!"
Ame nodded and watched as the three-inch Faerie vanished.
"Where did she go?" Obi-Wan asked.
Ame smiled a little. "Akinna Amagoi is a Crystal Faerie; she lives inside crystal. There are faeries all over planet Serenity. The planet is known for its sprites and crystals."
Obi-Wan looked quizzically at Ame. "I thought planet Serenity was destroyed."
"Sometimes it's best not to know the entire truth of a situation, lest your judgment become clouded," she said stoically, thinking about Kendra and Kayla's true parents.
A few hours later, Annika was back to her old self, and eating cookies. Obi-Wan was in the practise room with Anakin, Xarae was in the bath, Nom and Priire were playing Sabaac, and Ame had stepped through the Veil and into her old bedroom in the Room Behind the Waterfall. Locking the door, she sat and waited patiently until a silent portal opened and Sailor Yavin appeared.
"Just tell me when you're ready to send him back," the flame-haired Time Guardian said. Ame nodded. A tall man with reddish-brown hair and solid blue eyes stepped out from inside the time portal, bowed to Sailor Yavin (who blushed), then turned to face the Guardian of the Afterlife. The time portal vanished, and Ame said, "What took you so long?"
"Is that any way to greet your brother?"
"Hello, Sian. What took you so long? Better?"
"Not really, no," he smiled. "And, I'll have you know, I was busy fighting a whole army of bad guys... single-handed. I, naturally, saved the day, and the girl."
Ame folded her arms. "You read way too many comic books. How is the girl anyway?"
Sian sighed happily. "Pera? She is... perfect. Gorgeous. Talented. Loving. Did I say gorgeous? She's everything!"
"She still hates your guts, huh?"
"Yes. But who cares? A boy's got to dream, right? Seriously though," he said, sitting down on the bed, "I did just save her life. Pera is trying to compile a complete history of the Jedi, and it seems she stumbled into a secret Hutt-controlled crime organisation. That girl gets into more trouble..." He trailed off. "I've saved her twice from Thrawn's minions and once from the Haven. Oame is a dear, she spared Pera's life for me."
Ame pulled the piece of paper she had recovered from the Underworld out of her pocket and studied it. The boy in the picture was her twenty-year-old brother, but she didn't know what it was doing in the Underworld and why Sian was important to Kishi.
"Sian," Ame began.
"Why am I here?" he asked suddenly and sombrely. "You know I never wanted to come to the past. I have a hard enough time dealing with my life in the present. I'm away from Mother, I'm away from the rest of my siblings, and I'm always messing up something and making Master Skywalker angry."
"Speaking of Luke Skywalker, have you told him, yet?"
"That I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi's son? No. And from what my Father has told me in conversations I've had with him, he's never told him either. I don't even think Master Skywalker knows about Mother, other than she's the former Queen of Bakura and the current Queen of Serenity. He has told me, on more than one occasion, that I remind him of someone." Sian lay back on the bed and put his hands under his head. "Where are they anyway?"
"Annika has gone shopping with Lys, and Obi-Wan is on the grounds."
Sian nodded. "I don't want to run into them. If I do... I'll not want to leave. So, why did you want me here?"
Ame held out the picture. "I found this in the Underworld. One of the little servants to Uncle Kishi dropped it. He also told me that I shouldn't worry, because they are going to take over."
"Take over? The Underworld? That's impossible."
"This is Uncle Kishi we're talking about, remember?"
"You're right," Sian said. He looked at the picture and scratched his head. "I really don't know why they would have this." Just then, Sian pointed to the door. "There is a group of three girls and two cats on the other side of the door listening to this conversation."
Ame rolled her eyes. For such a big complex, it was terrible trying to find a moment's privacy in the Room Behind the Waterfall. Silently, Ame jerked open the door, and the gaggle of females tumbled to the floor like dominoes.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ame asked. The girls, Chuoko, Kirana, and Yuki, stood up and straightened their clothing. Yukiko quickly tried to explain herself.
"I was not eavesdropping!" the ice-blue haired senshi immediately stated. "I heard voices and was worried that some of the chibis may have snuck in here, that's all."
Chuoko looked around the room. "Someone else was in here. I heard his voice!" she protested.
Yuki squinted her eyes. "Someone is still in this room. I can sense it."
"It's probably me," Ame said, "Now that I've returned to my true form, Angel Serenity, as opposed to Chibi Serenity, my Force signature is amplified."
Yuki, not wanting to question the Guardian, but distinctly feeling a different presence in the room, said, "Perhaps. The energy doesn't feel like yours, though."
"Please, look around," Ame said. "You don't see anyone else, do you?" Ame turned her eyes over the room and pretended that she couldn't plainly see Sian, who was still sitting on the bed. He winked at her.
"No," Yukiko said doubtfully.
"All settled, then? Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone in my room one last time."
"Sure," Kirana said. She and Chuoko left, and Yuki followed, but not before glancing over her shoulder one more time. Ame shut and locked the door. She listened until she heard the footsteps turn the corner.
"Show off," Ame chided her younger brother.
"It's not my fault I have a unique Force ability."
"Force ability. More like half Force, half Senshi."
"I'm not a Senshi Knight, trust me. I've spent countless hours shouting out as many possible transformation phrases I can think of. I'm a Jedi, and I'm happy being just a Jedi."Ame plopped down next to him on the bed and looked at the picture. "Why is Kishi interested in you? What could you have to do with a plot to take over the Underworld?"
"I don't know. It's a mystery, to be certain."
"Where are you in this picture?"
"That was... a parade. A parade on Ando Prime."
Ame thought for a moment, but was still perplexed. "What have you done recently?"
Sian sighed. "Nothing much. I visited Mother on Serenity, I chased Pera to Korriban."
"Korriban?"
"Yes. She was writing a book about Sith Lords and wanted to do some research. Why?"
"Was that before or after the parade on Ando Prime?"
"Before. Why? What are you thinking?"
"Did you kill something on Ando Prime?"
"I was attacked by a local creature. Small, brown, smelly. It was self-defence."
Ame stood and paced the floor. Her eyes darted back and forth quickly as her mind turned over implications of what probably happened. She turned to look at Sian.
"You do know that one of our grandfathers was Naga Sadow, yes?" Ame asked her brother.
"Yes, I know. It's hard to forget that we're related to one of the worst Sith Priests in history."
Ame sat down. "Naga Sadow was pure Sith blood. The Sith today, they follow the ways, and practise the Dark Side, but they aren't Sith blood, but we are. That's why Oame loves it so much... it's rare."
"What are you getting at, Ame?"
"I think Naga Sadow is in the Underworld."
"How? He's interred on Korriban!"
"I know. But you went there with Pera; Sadow used you as a vessel. He housed himself in you, because you're of his flesh and blood. The creature on Ando Prime attacked you on purpose. When he touched you, he took Sadow's soul. You killed the creature, sending both of them to the Underworld."
"Why didn't I feel his presence?"
"I don't know. He must've hid his Force aura. That's how Kishi will have the power to take over the Underworld. Oh Gods... if Naga Sadow gets control on the Veil Between the Worlds..." Ame stopped. She looked at Sian. "We're going to need a lot of help."
Xarae looked at Ame and sighed.
"So what you're telling me is, that if we don't stop Naga Sadow, he can possibly gain access to this world?"
"Yes," Ame answered, "Not only that, but he will have every evil soul in the Underworld working for him, and there is no way to kill what is already dead."
Master Yoda, who had been called in for consultation, tapped his cane on the floor. "Settled it is. Help we must."
"I want to go, I want to help," Anakin Skywalker spoke.
Obi-Wan was quick to tell him no. "You are a Padawan and not yet ready for a battle of this magnitude." Anakin physically pouted.
"I'll go," Xarae said, bravely.
Ame nodded. "Your body will be kept alive here, and we will have to enter the Underworld from the very beginning. Since your souls will be there under special protection from Oame, we can't skip around the levels. Each one will have to be searched thoroughly."
"I'll go as well," Ciel said. Ciel was just as interested in seeing the underworld as she was helping stop Naga Sadow, but she kept that bit of information to herself.
"Count me in too," Priire said. Nom followed suit and volunteered to join the battle.
"No," Ame said coldly. "You two will not be coming."
"What?" Priire stammered. "Why?"
"You are too unorthodox... known for destroying cantinas. As if that is something to be proud of." Ame looked down her nose at the two proud senshi. "I am in charge in the Afterlife. You have no idea what it is like there. Nothing you can imagine is close. Two renegades on my hands is the last thing I need. I will be in total control, and I doubt either of you will take direction."
Priire and Nom were hopping mad. Priire said, "How dare you! I am a good senshi! I do have priorities. And Nom and I may be rebellious, but that does not mean we are incapable of knowing our place."
"I never once," Nom said, "Not once, have I questioned your tactics. I understand the dangers of the Afterlife, and I will bow to your leadership."
Ame folded her arms. She didn't want to take the chance, but really didn't have much a choice. "Fine," she spat. "But I can and will send you back should you become rebellious," she said, putting emphasis on the last word.
"This is all my fault," Annika sighed. "This is my family. I feel responsible."
"There is no need to feel that way," Obi-Wan said. "You can't possibly be held responsible for your ancestry. I know you want to go help with this fight, but you're not going."
Annika pulled sharply away from his embrace. "Yes, I am! Why do you always do that? You always order me around. I'm not your Padawan! Why don't you treat me as an equal?"
"Why don't you ever let me fear for you?" Obi-Wan countered. "I have a right to fear for your life, Annika!"
"Stop it!" Ame commanded. "This is not the time for your petty arguments. I don't care if you go, Annika, but Oame will. I seriously doubt she will allow you passage."
"May I go too?" Tera asked. Ame nodded her approval.
"And me," Mika said, "This is my family too." She smiled warmly at her twin sister.
"Then it's settled," Ame said.
Annika opened her eyes to find herself standing in a vast wasteland. Dark storm clouds swirled above her head, and lightning made random strikes. The terra was firm and cold, as was the wind. If it even was wind that moved the branches of the dead trees and spiked the tiny waves that crested in the nearby river. She felt like she was being suffocated slowly and deliberately, yet she breathed normally and without restraint.
Standing to her left were Sailors Iridonia, Centrali, Chibi Dantooine, Dathomir, Asteroid, Chibi Yavin, Selonia and Yavin IV. All of them wore equal expressions of curiosity. This place was beyond desolate.
Suddenly, the figure of Oame appeared before them. "Welcome to the Underworld," the little vampire woman said; her voice was thick as fog and twice as scary. Her whole aura seemed to give off an icy breeze, and her silver eyes trickled over those Sailor Soldiers that had come to battle. She stopped at her mother.
"Mama, you are not allowed passageway into the heart of the Underworld. I am forbidding it. However, I am giving you temporary control over the gates. You will stay in my dark sanctuary, making sure no one leaves... or enters."
Annika nodded her understanding.
"Amagumo!" shouted Oame. From high atop a hill in the murky distance, the sound of pounding hooves arose. They beat at the ground with a furious pace, and small rocks that lay nestled on the ground shook and hopped into the air in time with the rhythm. Sailor Chibi Yavin was the first to see the vague outline of a solid black steed. The black stallion had legs like iron, pumping away below the equally powerful body. Like a giant bullet, the horse barrelled towards the girls. Sailor Chibi Dantooine noticed that the horse, Amagumo, was pulling a casket-black carriage behind it. The wheels of the carriage turned with an unstable squeak, looking as if they might snap off at any moment.
"What is that thing?" Sailor Asteroid asked timidly.
"That thing," Oame said, "is how you gain passage into the Underworld. Everyone who comes here gets to meet my horse." She smiled, showing her pointy-tipped canine teeth. Amagumo came to an abrupt halt and began to stomp the ground furiously and anxiously. The black carriage swayed back and forth with an ominous force. The cold, coal black eyes of Amagumo bore into the senshi, making them all nervous and frightened. A small, skeletal man hopped down from the carriage and opened the lace and silk-covered door.
"Watchword," he prompted with a scratchy voice.
"Zugaikotsu," Oame whispered. The man bowed and extended his hand to help the Mistress of the Underworld into the transport. One after the other, the senshi climbed in and sat in complete silence. Oame stared at Sailor Bakura with her cold eyes. Sailor Iridonia could sense the warmth in Oame's heart emanating towards her mother. When Bakura smiled at her daughter, Oame blinked back bloody tears.
Sailor Chibi Dantooine was thoroughly creeped out and wanted to go home. It was much too late now, as Amagumo was hurriedly pulling them along a cobblestone path toward a large stone fortress. Chibi Dantooine saw a humungous set of black iron gates swing open to allow the horse and carriage to enter, and then heard them slam shut. She sighed and tried not to think of the horrors that lie ahead.
The first horror was Oame's throne room. Her throne was twisted, rigid, and looked painful to sit on. Upon close inspection, Sailor Chibi Yavin noted that it was made from petrified wood. A large black stone, resembling obsidian or onyx, was nestled in the very top of the throne, and it seemed to throb and breathe with a life of its own. Oame eased into the awaiting arms of her throne and looked down upon those soldiers that had come to fight, not for her, but for their own world. She looked at her mother and smiled. She looked at everyone else and scowled.
There was no tangible air, but when Oame spoke, her voice carried and filled each nook and cranny of the room.
"This is not a game. I do not expect anyone to enjoy their time here; as a matter of fact, if you do find any enjoyment, inform me, so that I may make the appropriate cruel changes." Oame reached over to a large crystal chalice that was perched on a white marble table. As her hand touched the stem, it was filled with dark red liquid. She sipped at it delicately before sighing and lowering her head.
"What I am about to do has never been done, and it is an action that will not be repeated. Allowing you into the Underworld is something that must be done, although I still believe Ame and myself have more than enough power to destroy Naga Sadow." The silver-haired vampire stood and walked toward Sailor Bakura. She extended her hand, and a long black crystal appeared.
"Mama, this crystal is a portal. It has the power to capture a soul. Once this is done, it cannot be reversed. There are not many who have more power than Ame and myself; most of the gods and goddesses answer to us eventually. So, use this wisely." She handed the stone to Annika, who took it with a trembling hand. Oame then turned to face the rest of the senshi.
"We are going to split up into groups, each taking a different level. I will travel into the lower, more dangerous parts of the Underworld. Asteroid, Dathomir, you may accompany me to the Asylum. Iridonia and my aunt, Yavin IV, will take the Maze. Centrali and Chibi Dantooine, you get the Mastermind. Ame, Chibi Yavin, and Selonia will take the Cathedral and Graveyard."
Sailor Iridonia said, "What happens if we find Naga Sadow?"
"Kill him," Oame said.
"This doesn't seem so bad," Sailor Selonia said to Sailor Chibi Yavin as they stood in the centre of a large Cathedral. The ceilings were arched so high that even breathing made slight echoes bounce off the walls. A Cathedral is usually a place filled with light, but not this one. It was dark and dank, the stained glass windows depicted ghastly images of zombies and people writhing in horrible pain. Several of the windows had been broken, and sharp shards of glass jutted out at various angles. Sailor Chibi Yavin screamed, "That one blinked its eyes!" She pointed a gloved finger in the direction of a large statue of a deity. In the darkness of the room, it was hard to make out, but Ame quickly spoke.
"It's beginning," she whispered.
"What... what is beginning?" Selonia whispered back.
A bird screeched its presence, and the girls spun around to see a large black crow perched on a broken windowpane. Sailor Chibi Yavin sighed and placed her hand over her heart.
"Well," she laughed, "it was only a bird. What a relief." Suddenly, she was seized about the shoulders by the godlike statue. It thrashed her about and tossed her into a nearby wall. The force of her impact caused dust and debris to scatter, and the boom shook the floor. Chibi Yavin slouched to the floor. Angel Serenity materialised her staff and spun it three times. Aiming the tip directly at the heart of the beast, she fired a shot of pure energy. The statue was lithe for being made of stone; it quickly jumped up, somersaulted and landed behind Sailor Selonia.
Selonia crouched down and spun her extended left leg, tripping the creature. It went down and shattered into a million pieces. She glanced over at Sailor Chibi Yavin, who was dusting herself off and rubbing her right shoulder. A large gash had been torn in her sailor uniform, but she appeared to be fine. Chibi Yavin limped over to Angel Serenity.
"What was that?" she asked.
"One of Oame's booby traps," the pink-haired angel said coldly.
"I don't understand something," Sailor Selonia said. "I tried activating my scanners to locate a weak spot in the creature's design, but my equipment isn't working."
"The electronic devices implanted in your mind and body are still there... in your body. You left that behind when you came here," Ame informed her.
"They aren't watching me?" Selonia asked in wonder. Ame shook her head, no. Tera felt free and happy, despite her terrible surroundings.
"Let's go," Ame said, "We'll head to the Cemetery."
Annika sat in the large throne in the Sanctuary. She watched the gates, the Veil Between the Worlds, as it swirled and pulsated. She hoped her friends were safe... and she prayed her daughters were safe.
A soft sound, like a hum began to grow and seep through the cracks in the floor. The hum rose like a fine mist and encircled Sailor Bakura's ears; it seemed to turn into a spectral hand with long fingers as it beckoned her to follow it.
Slowly, the hum turned into a word. "Aaaanniikaaaaa...." it sang. It was a female voice, soft and lilting. Annika's skin bristled as the sound crawled up her legs and tickled the inside of her neck. It called to her again. "Aaaanniikaaaaa..."
"Who's there?" Sailor Bakura called. No one answered.
"Follow me," the voice whispered as it trailed down a hallway. Reluctantly, Annika took a few steps after it. The sound cascaded further down the corridor before turning a corner.
"Wait!" she called. Annika ran after it and eventually came to a silver door. Its outside was heavily encrusted with sparkling jewels. The gold door handle was long and curved into the shape of an S. From where she stood, Annika could see the Sanctuary. She figured that Oame wouldn't keep something devastating too close to the Veil. "Perhaps," Sailor Bakura whispered, "Perhaps this is simply Oame's bedroom."
Annika pressed on the door and it swung open. The room inside was immense. It was lush and vivid, full of expensive-looking items. The sound of music caught Annika's attention, and she turned her head to see a very thin, young boy playing an antique harpsichord. The boy was a pale white, a ghostly white, and he possessed long, flowing silvery-purple hair. The young boy turned his head in Annika's direction. She gasped at seeing him, for his mouth had been sewn shut.
"Boys are better when the do not speak," explained a voice coming from behind Annika. The pink-clad senshi froze in her tracks. She knew that voice, and it sent chills up her spine.
"Aren't you going to look at me? I knew you were here, I could sense you. That's why I called for you."
Annika's breathing increased. She bit the inside of her lower lip to keep from crying or running. Pivoting in her boots, Annika's eyes came to rest on Lamia Valentine.
"Let me guess," Lamia said, "You're wondering why I'm here? This is the future Underworld. I'm being punished for some trivial little thing I did. I'll be free before long. Well, why haven't you said 'hello'?"
Sailor Bakura was looking down on Lamia, for the raven tressed vampire was immersed in a large pool. She swam around seductively and crooked her finger in an invitation for Annika to join her.
"What is that you're swimming in?" Annika asked.
"This?" Lamia said, swishing her hand and making tiny waves. "It's only blood."
Annika took a few steps backwards and tripped over an ottoman. A scantily-clad man hurriedly rushed to help her to her feet. She noticed this man's mouth wasn't sewn shut, but he had a look of pure terror in his eyes, and two tiny puncture marks in his neck. Annika pressed herself against a wall. Lamia laughed and climbed out of the bloody pool. She was fully naked, and blood dripped off of her and landed with heavy splats on the white marble floor. Leaving delicate footprints behind her, Lamia walked over to Annika, and smushed her body against Annika's, covering her uniform with deep crimson splotches.
Taking one of her fingers, Lamia fingered the bow of Sailor Bakura's fuku. "It's been so long since I've seen you like this... so... pink." She laughed, and Annika saw her sharp teeth. Annika turned her head and closed her eyes.
"Don't tell me that you've forgotten. You haven't, have you? Forgotten the way we were..." Lamia trailed off and took another blood-tipped finger and traced Annika's collarbones. Then she nuzzled her face into Annika's neck. Instead of biting, she simply kissed, leaving a perfectly-shaped lipstick heart on Annika's skin.
"Come," Lamia said, pulling her naked body away. "Let's celebrate our reunion. Now that Akira is dead by my own hand, I'll have you know. There is nothing to stand in our way - you, Oame, and myself will rule the Haven, and then the Universe. How it was destined to be." Another man suddenly appeared and helped Lamia wrap a red silk robe around her body. The man, this one with short yellow hair, poured Lamia a glass of something a deep crimson colour, and then from a different bottle, he poured another goblet. Lamia extended the second one to Annika.
"Take it, and drink with me." When Annika just stood there, staring at the fine chalice, Lamia smiled. "Don't worry, it's wine. At least yours is."
Shaking her head violently, Annika said, "No. I'm not here for you, Lamia. I'm here to help my daughter."
"Our daughter," Lamia corrected.
"I'm going. I should get back to the Sanctuary," Annika said.
"Don't be silly. You can't leave so soon, you just got here. Look around you, pet. Look at this glorious prison." Lamia gestured to the room. "See that bed? It's exactly like yours, from that heavenly time when you were mine."
Annika looked. It was the same bed that she'd slept on when she was imprisoned in the cage at Selket. Its large cast-iron poles were covered in white organza, and the sheer panels that hung down were tied back. Swooping through the open centre canopy, the lace hung down like fragile spider webs. White and pink pillows decorated the actual bed, and in the centre was a single red rose.
Lamia snapped her fingers, and three ghostly apparitions materialised. One carried a violin, another a viola, and the third held a cello. They quickly joined the boy playing the harpsichord. The music they began to play was slow, and the notes melted into a lush, off-kilter A Minor. The tune caused Annika to sway on her feet, and she suddenly felt light-headed.
"Aa. It's coming back to you, I can see your skin flush. You still have my blood in your veins. It will never leave you; it is ingrained into your soul. Your body is warm and shaky, you can smell it... smell the life that is in blood." Lamia crooked an eyebrow at Annika and curled her lips into a wicked grin.
Annika stood taller. "No," she said. "I'm not a part of you anymore!"
Lamia giggled and glided over to gaze into her eyes. "Prove it." The vampire dipped a long, bony finger into her cup and placed a single drop of blood on Annika's bottom lip.
It burned. Annika wanted to lick it off so bad that tears were forming in her eyes. Each passing second the crimson dot lay on her lip, the desire inflamed a passion inside Annika's soul. Lamia slowly brought her thumb up and wiped the blood off.
"Well," Lamia whispered, "You failed the test."
"But I didn't taste it!!"
"You didn't have to... I know you wanted to. I win this round. You're never that far from me, you know."
"Shut up, Lamia," Annika said. "You do not control me! You're egocentric, and arrogant, and evil, and I -"
"You what?" Lamia cut her off. "Hate me? You can't say it, can you? The powerful Senshi of Love can't bring herself to hate anyone."
Annika knew Lamia was right. She didn't hate anyone, but the truth was that Annika was still very much attracted to Lamia... her light, her fire, and her intensity. It was such a contrast to the quiet, reserved Obi-Wan. And Annika loved Obi-Wan with more than her soul, but Lamia kindled a dangerous fire deep in the recesses of her heart. She ignited a flame that Annika didn't know she had, a fierce, unbridled passion that shook her to her bones. And it terrified the Bakuran Princess. It meant that she was capable of having feelings for someone other than Obi-Wan, it meant she could be madly in love and still attracted to other people, it meant that she wasn't perfect after all. She was, in fact, human, and subject to all their pitfalls and weaknesses.
Lamia sat on a very expensive chair and glared at Annika. "You think ill of me, and I can't have that. So -" she snapped her fingers, and the door swung open "- there, take your freedom... while you can."
Tears streamed down her face as Annika ran back to the Dark Sanctuary. She collapsed in the throne and sobbed. She didn't hear the footsteps enter the Sanctuary.
"Did I ever tell you that I hate cemeteries?" Sailor Chibi Yavin said to Sailor Selonia.
"No."
"Well, I hate cemeteries."
Ame shushed them and crouched down close to the soft, muddy, moss-ridden ground. A slow fog rose from the moist terra, obscuring all but the broken, cracked rows of tombstones. The air was cold, and it burned Chibi Yavin's lungs. Ame placed her fingers on the ground and sighed.
"Run," she said calmly.
"Why?" asked Selonia.
At that moment the ground shook and bubbled up. Slowly, several hands began to rise from the ground. A lot of them were purple and in various stages of decay. After the hands came arms, heads, torsos and finally entire zombie-like creatures.
"I told you to run," Ame shook her head. Selonia and Chibi Yavin were grabbed by a pair of zombies and quickly taken below ground. Ame sighed again. "Too late."
Ciel and Chuoko stood in a stark white room facing a black-cloaked figure. The demented creature paced back and forth, sizing up both females. Finally he stopped at grinned. Ciel grimaced at his yellow, rotting teeth and foul, sour breath.
"The Mastermind has decided. If it is a hunt you want, a hunt you shall receive." The Mastermind tapped his cane on the tile three times and a trapdoor opened beneath Centrali and Chibi Dantooine, and they fell down a long, dark tunnel, until they fell onto broken twigs and dried leaves.
"Where are we?" Sailor Chibi Dantooine asked. She looked at her fresh surroundings. A forest. Trees that seemed to have no tops, fallen logs and flying bugs wove a thick curtain of mystery around the two girls. "Is this a park?"
"I don't know," Sailor Centrali said. A shot from high up in the trees ricocheted off of a branch and hit Chibi Dantooine in the arm. She screamed and fell to the ground, with blood gushing from the wound. Another shot came. It missed.
"Get up, Chouko!!" Sailor Centrali yelled, while tugging on her arm. The two girls ran down an incline and disappeared behind some trees.
"What's going on?" Chuoko screamed.
"We're being hunted! Remember what the Mastermind said?"
"How are we supposed to look for Naga Sadow if we're running for our lives?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
Another shot. The girls screamed and ran.
"We've got to shake the hunter, Chuoko!" Ceil yelled. She was running so fast that she didn't see the ankle trap. She was struck to the ground in tremendous agony. She looked down and saw a sharp-toothed mechanism clamped onto her ankle, digging its metal mouth through her skin and down to her bone. Sailor Chibi Dantooine immediately ran to her downed friend.
"Just go, Chibi Dantooine! Leave me here. Run!"
"I'm not leaving you!!"
"Good, I won't have to go far to add you to my collection," said a rough voice behind the girls. They looked around and stood face to face with a green-skinned male creature that carried a big gun. He was dressed in brown and green attire and carried an assortment of weaponry.
"Please," Ciel begged, "Please don't kill us!" The creature stared at her and then aimed his gun at her head.
"Why are you doing this?" Chibi Dantooine wanted to know.
The hunter lowered his gun. "I like to hunt, it's very relaxing."
"Murder relaxes you?"
He threw his head back and laughed. "It's not murder! You're just stupid, pathetic animals. And you," he said, pointing to Ciel, "have beautiful colouring. You'll look marvellous on my wall." He raised his gun and aimed his crosshairs in the centre of Chibi Dantooine's head. She clinched her eyes shut.
Chuoko heard a clonk, then a thud, and then silence. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Angel Serenity standing with her staff in front of her, and the hunter at her feet.
"I've always found this world to be very ironic," Ame said, "Considering Oame is herself a hunter. She'd kill you herself when she hungry enough. Oh well." She snapped her fingers, and Chuoko's gunshot wound, and the leg trap on Ciel disappeared.
"Come on," the pink haired Guardian said, "Let's get out of here, the Mastermind told me has not seen Sadow."
"He wouldn't lie?" Ciel asked.
"Not to me."
Mika tripped over a hidden wire and toppled to the stone ground. The walls began to shake.
"What did you do, Yavin IV?" Sailor Iridonia asked.
"Oops."
The stone-lined walls started moving inward. Sailor Iridonia sighed, helped Mika to her feet, and then both girls ran. They turned, left, right, right, and then left. The Maze was frustrating. They had battled daemons along the way, but what made this level of the Underworld so devastating was the sheer amount of mental ability involved. There were puzzles, and tests, booby traps and hidden passageways. And Sailors Iridonia and Yavin IV had passed the same mark on the wall six times.
"This is getting ridiculous," Xarae said after she and Mika were safely away from the walls.
"I know, but what are we going to do? I haven't seen anything here but daemons. I haven't seen any trace of an ancient Sith Lord."
Sailor Iridonia folded her arms and frowned. "Well, let's try turning left this time."
Angel Serenity appeared before them. "He's not here."
"How do you know that?" Sailor Iridonia asked.
Dark Angel Serenity came into view, accompanied by a very frightened-looking Sailor Asteroid and a somewhat frightened Sailor Dathomir.
"I told her," Oame said. "One of my uncle's informants in the Asylum was persuaded to tell me what he knew. We are no longer looking for Naga Sadow, we are only looking for Kishi."
"Why is that? What happened to Naga Sadow?" Sailor Yavin IV asked.
Nom said, "She will not tell us."
"Just find him," Oame ordered.
Sailor Dathomir was not satisfied and wanted to know exactly why they had called off the search for the Sith Lord Sadow. "I think that Sadow is more important than finding Annika's brother at this point."
Ame smiled slightly.
In a move so fast that it took a moment for the senshi to see it, Oame had grabbed Sailor Dathomir by the neck and slammed her against a wall. For such a small woman, Oame was extremely powerful; her grip was choking Nom. "If you ever question my decisions again, I will snap your neck and drain your blood in less than five seconds," Oame hissed. Her teeth seemed to sparkle in what little light illuminated the small alleyways of the Maze. Nom seemed to give her a silent nod of respect, and Oame released her grip.
"Our problem," Ame said, returning the discussion to the situation at hand, "is finding Kishi. I don't recall seeing him in any of the levels."
"Wait a minute," Sailor Yavin IV said, "Where are Sailors Chibi Yavin and Selonia?"
"They were captured in the Cemetery," Ame explained.
"What does that mean?"
Oame grimaced. "I'll explain once we find my uncle. And you're right, Ame, he isn't here."
"If he isn't in one of the five levels... where else could he be?" Sailor Asteroid asked.
Suddenly, Oame's eyes grew wide. "The Sanctuary! Mama!"
Annika was resting her head on her knees and letting her tears dry, salty and warm on her cheeks. She wanted to go home. She suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Why are you crying, sister?" a male voice asked.
Annika jerked her head up and saw her brother, Kishi, standing before her. He looked haggard and tired. A strange glint coated his eyes, and a slight grin played on his lips. He took a few steps closer to his sister and put his hands in his pockets.
"Kishi?" Annika asked. "What are you doing here? How did you get to this place?"
"Aw, poor Force-less Annika. This is the future. This is where I happen to be in the future. This is where I am sent... after you kill me."
Sailor Bakura's eyes snapped open and she gasped. "What?? What are you talking about?"
"You see," he said, taking another step closer, "in the future, you are very mean and vengeful. You are a terrible Queen; the people of Bakura want you dead. I try to stop you one day from hitting one of your children, and that's when you turned your senshi powers on me. I died a martyr."
Annika's whole body shook and she felt sick. "That... that... that can't be!"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Kishi... I... I'm so sorry!" she yelled. She ran to embrace her brother, but when she got close enough, he grabbed her arm and jerked her to the side.
"You stupid twit. You'd believe anything, won't you? You naïve piece of trash, you disgust me. Yes, you do kill me, but you do it protecting the ones you love."
Annika looked puzzled. "I don't understand. Please, let go of me, you're hurting me!"
He smiled evilly, and Annika saw a shimmer of something horrible in his eyes, something vicious and dark. Kishi put his hand on her cheek and caressed her softly. He looked down at her uniform and then into her eyes. Cocking his head to the side, he furrowed his brow in thought. Then his face relaxed, and he smiled.
"Do you know," he asked, grabbing Annika by the shoulders, "do you know how much I want to be like you? You get everything. YOU got the crown, YOU got the powers of not one, but two planets, YOU are the Goddess! And what did I get? NOTHING!" he yelled in her face.
Annika tried to wrench herself free, but Kishi only tightened his grip.
"But, all that will soon change. Do you know why?"
A very scared Annika shook her head.
"Because I'm going to take it from you." He pressed her up against a wall and grabbed her chin. "Whatever it is that makes you so damn special... will soon be mine, if I have to rend it from your filthy insides myself!" He kissed her forehead.
Sailor Bakura was shaking violently. "Please," she whispered, "please let me go."
Kishi leaned in closer and pressed his lips against her ear. "Not until I take what is rightfully mine." With a strong movement, he dropped Annika to the floor and pressed his body on top of hers. Annika struggled and squirmed.
"You're only making this worse!!" Kishi yelled. He tugged brutally at her skirt until it ripped off. With one hand, he swiftly pinned Annika's hands above her head. He tore her bow off and clawed cruelly at the rest of her uniform.
"Kishi!! Please, don't do this!" Annika begged.
He didn't seem to hear her. Instead, he took one of his knees and pressed it between her legs until he could sandwich his hips between her thighs. Annika began to cry as she realised what he was going to do to her. She remembered the black crystal Oame had given her, and how she told her it could capture a soul. Annika closed her eyes and felt the mineral appear in one of her hands.
Oame's words of irreversibility floated into Annika's head, and she hesitated. Kishi reached down to unfasten his pants, and Annika closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me," she whispered. She brought the tip of the crystal down onto the hand Kishi was using to keep her pinned down. There was a great flash of light.
When the room had returned to normal, Kishi was lying on top of Annika. He wasn't moving. Annika put her hand over her eyes and screamed, long and loud. She rolled her brother's body off and sat up. Looking at the crystal, she noticed a swirling motion inside, but Kishi's soul was still lying there.
Ame and Oame arrived in the Sanctuary followed by the rest of the senshi. Oame looked at Annika; her uniform had been ripped to pieces and what was left was covered with big bloody prints. Ame stood, wide eyed. She looked to her mother and then to Kishi's figure on the floor.
"What happened here?" Angel Serenity asked.
Oame had big tears of blood cascading down her almost-transparent skin as she cradled Annika in her arms. Ame walked over and took the crystal from Annika. She looked inside it, and then nodded at her sister.
Ame quietly explained to the other senshi, "Naga Sadow forged his soul with Kishi's. That's how he went unnoticed. Annika captured him."
Sailor Yavin IV walked over to her sister. "Annika... what happened?" she whispered. But Annika merely shook her head.
Oame whispered, "Don't worry, Mama, you won't remember any of this on the other side of the Veil. No one will remember."
Obi-Wan Kenobi sat, reading quietly in the room where Annika's body was being kept alive. He was not the only one in the room. Ippin was there, and Harry was there, as were a few others. Obi-Wan had yet to defeat the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. The fact that his Force sense couldn't penetrate the resilient walls of the Underworld made him uneasy.
Annika's eyes fluttered open, and she stretched her arms. Obi-Wan smiled and put down his book.
"Did you find Naga Sadow?" he whispered to her.
She thought for a moment, and said, "You know... I really can't remember. I don't remember anything, really. I remember the horse, Amagumo. But that's all."
Ciel's eyes opened, then Priire's and Nom's, Xarae's, Chouko's, and Mika's eyes all batted open. Tera's didn't. Neither did Tanrei's. Ippin began to look nervous. When the melodic sound of wind chimes filled the room, Ippin clutched her daughter's limp hand.
Oame appeared in the centre of a pink portal, black clouds swirling at her feet. She looked first at Annika and smiled, then to Obi-Wan and snarled.
"Tera does not wish to return," Oame said nonchalantly.
"What??" Annika said. "Why?"
"She wants to be reborn somewhere else, she no longer wishes to be a senshi. Considering that she helped the Underworld, I have decided to grant her request."
Oame spoke quietly. "I wish to thank you all for helping to defeat Naga Sadow."
"So, he is gone?" Annika asked. Oame nodded.
"Why can't I remember anything?" Priire asked.
"Because I do not want you to," Oame said, settling the matter.
Ippin, who had remained very quiet, took a few steps forward. "Where is Tanrei? Why isn't she waking up?"
Oame stated plainly, "Your daughter also wishes to be reborn. She does not wish to return."
Annika reached out and touched Ippin's shoulder. Priire quickly came over and wrapped her arms protectively around her sister. Ippin ran out of the room and down the hall, with Priire following.
With one more loving look at her mother, Oame stepped back inside the portal, and it closed behind her.
About the Senshi in this story:
