Morbid Angel

Minae was unusually quiet. She decided to eat dinner by herself that evening, but the festering tension between the rest of the senshi kept anyone from noticing. She had a tremendous headache, and all the slamming doors and yelling matches surrounding her didn’t help. Annika was still at odds with Priire, and Kyoko had spent all afternoon in the library reading more and more books. Even Amidala herself cancelled her weekly appointments. Minae felt more and more isolated as she carried her plate of food up the winding staircase.

Almost too sick to eat, she lowered herself into a chair and stared at her food. A wave of dizzying heat swept over her body as she felt something shift inside her. The fork slipped from her hand, and she doubled over, grabbing her stomach. Sharp pains shot up one after another like needles scraping her heart.

What’s wrong with me? she thought. The last thing she saw was the red and green rug as she faded into unconsciousness.

Downstairs, in the common room, Xarae Sarin noticed something. Something small, but significant. It brushed her mind like flower petals, gentle and tiny. The Force always communicated in different ways for different people, and Xarae never misunderstood her gifts. She was the most talented of the senshi when it came to the Force - that is why she became so frustrated when she couldn’t place her finger on what she should be noticing. What is it? she thought. She got no response. Whatever it was had vanished. She silently cursed herself and bit her lip.

"Xarae? Is something the matter?" Shuoro asked. The redheaded girl sat not far from Xarae and picked up on her anger.

"No. I just need to clear my mind a bit. Maybe I’ll take a walk."

"Did you want some company?"

The tall woman smiled elegantly at her friend, "Not this time." She turned on a heel and left the room. Shuoro looked at Yuki, who was trying to teach Kirana how to put her hair up in a bun and failing miserably. Kirana’s hair struggled against being brushed back and rolled tightly; strands fell in several directions, and the bun was never tight enough and slid the bottom of Kirana’s neck.

"Yuki, what do you think? Is this as serious as Kyoko thinks? Should we be worried?" Shuoro asked.

Jamming the twentieth bobby pin into the tight bun on top of Kirana’s head, Yuki said, "I honestly don’t know. I-" The beeping of her wrist communicator stopped her from finishing her thought. The top flipped open to reveal the worried face of Sailor Chibi Dathomir.

"Yuki, bring as many senshi as you can find. We are in the shopping district. Hurry."

Shuoro, Kirana and Yuki quickly enlisted the help of Xarae and Chikako. They transformed and were on speeders headed out of the city within five basic minutes. The terrain of Naboo was clear and smooth, leaving an open path, until the neared their destination. Crowds of people ran in all areas, some screaming, some clutching small children. A teenage girl, upon seeing the senshi, pointed her finger, "There! They’re over there!" Then she ran.

Soon enough the five Sailors spotted Sailors Chibi Dathomir, Bakura, and Chibi Naboo. They looked tired and confused as to what to do next. Together, they were huddling in an alleyway. A few metres away, a snarling, menacing creature sniffed the ground, trying to pick up their scent.

"You mean to tell me they couldn’t defeat that thing?" Sailor Omwat said sarcastically. The beast looked no bigger than one of the cats. She started to walk out to it when Sailor Iridonia stopped her.

"Don’t. Look." She stretched a finger to a group of four people; two males and two females. The group stood wearing smirks and occasionally laughed. The tallest male being looked human; he had dark brown hair and carried what looked like a blaster. The two females were also human and looked identical, from their flaming red hair to their crooked smiles. Lastly, the fourth being was obviously not human. He was short, with long ears and large black eyes. Each of them wore similar uniforms; black jacket and pants, with a yellow feather insignia sewn onto the right sleeve.

"That’s a coincidence, right?" Sailor Myrkr asked timidly.

No one answered her because the piercing scream of Sailor Bakura drew their attention back to the cat-like creature that now had them backing into the street. This seemed to be exactly what the group wanted. They smiled, and the lead boy sent a stream of sparks from his fingertips into Sailor Chibi Naboo. She yelled and fell to the ground.

Sailor Bakura materialised her wand and held it to her chest. "Bakura Eternal Make-" she began but didn’t get to finish. One of the females held her hand out, and Bakura’s wand flew to her.

"No!!" she yelled, running after it. The same boy with the lightening in his fingers shocked Sailor Bakura, causing her to drop. Sailor Chibi Dathomir raised her staff to attack, but she felt sharp claws dig into her back. The cat-like creature had jumped onto her back and was digging into her flesh.

"Hoth Ice Reflection Surround!!" A blast of blue ice flew into it, knocking it off Chibi Dathomir’s back. A set of full sharp fangs were exposed as the creature howled in pain as its body started to slowly freeze. The gang didn’t realise the other senshi were there until that moment. The non-human one used his ears as wings and took flight. He was quick, too quick to be attacked. Circling the girls, he threw rocks and debris, but the girls were quick too.

"Myrkr Force Shield!" the purple fuku-ed girl yelled. A protective bubble of purple light surrounded the five senshi but left the other three vulnerable and in the middle of the street. Sailors Bakura and Chibi Naboo had crawled over to Chibi Dathomir and inspected her wounds. Superficial - they might require a dip in the bacta tank, which was always an unpleasant experience but the safest way to heal a wound that might be infected.

Sailor Chibi Naboo saw the thing with the long ears trying desperately to break into Myrkr’s force field to no avail. It swore and threw heavier and heavier rocks, but everything bounced off.

"I don’t know how long I can hold this up," Sailor Myrkr cried. The force field was slowly draining her energy.

On the street, Sailor Chibi Dathomir had an idea. "If we distract it, maybe we can give the others enough time to get better shelter."

Nodding, Chibi Naboo yelled, "Gungan Blue Ball Launch!" Instead of directing the attack at the flying thing, she aimed it at the three remaining members of its group. They lunged to avoid the attack, but one of the females was hit in the arm.

"You little brat!!" she cursed. Raising her hands to the sky, she muttered something, and a dark brown fog crept around them.

"I can’t see!" Sailor Bakura screamed. None of the senshi could, and from the sound of the frantic noises that came from the six senshi, Sailor Myrkr’s energy was gone, and the shield collapsed. They were being pelted with debris being thrown by the flying creature.

"Enough!" a voice echoed. It was too dark to see anything except shadows, but the figure of a woman was clearly evident through the fog. All four members of the gang gathered around her and bowed deeply out of respect.

Sailor Hoth felt her way along the ground. She couldn’t find or hear anyone. "Don’t be dead," she whispered.

As if on cue - "Ouch! Watch where you’re going!" Sailor Bakura said. It never ceased to amaze Hoth how moody Annika could be, even in a crisis.

Following the sound of voices, Sailors Omwat and Iridonia found their way over to the others. Sailor Myrkr and Chibi Bespin were still missing.

"This is ridiculous. We’ve got to get out of here," Sailor Hoth said.

"You’re not going anywhere," the cold voice belonging to the figure of the woman said. Sailor Hoth watched as the woman raised her fist to the sky. Lightning crackled around it violently, and then she rammed her fist to the ground. A large split in the soil quickly grew to a great chasm. The senshi scrambled to get away from it.

The fog was lifting now, and Iridonia again felt the soft touch of the Force. It was the same feeling she felt earlier. Squinting her eyes, she saw the woman casually walk away with her minions trailing behind.

"She looks like..." she said. It couldn’t be...

"Sailor Iridonia, help!" cried Sailor Chibi Dathomir.

Xarae turned her attention to see Sailor Omwat dangling on the edge of the chasm. Sailor Bakura grabbed her arm, but it was too late. The blue-skinned girl toppled over the side. Sailor Hoth dove for Bakura, grabbing her pink boots. They continued to slide. Sailor Chibi Naboo grabbed Hoth, Chibi Dathomir had the ankles of Chibi Naboo, and Sailor Iridonia barely got a hold of Chibi Dathomir.

Sailor Omwat’s feet were suspended over what looked to be a sixty-foot drop. Rocky hills and sharp crevices lined the inside of the chasm. Kirana’s white gloved fingers were intertwined with Annika’s.

"Listen Annika... if you can’t hold on..."

"Don’t say that! I’ve got you!"

"I just want you to know that I understand."

"I’m not letting you go, Kirana!"

Sailor Hoth was slowly loosing her grip on Sailor Bakura. "Everyone! Pull!" she yelled.

It was no use. The more they struggled, the more they slipped. Sailors Myrkr and Chibi Bespin had been hurt slightly but managed to go get help. They returned with Tuxedo Jedi, Sailors Asteroid, and Yavin IV.

Sailor Hoth gritted her teeth as Annika’s boots started to slip from her hands.

Omwat laughed. "I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that last pastry."

"That was you?!?" Bakura yelled.

A gasp escaped Yuki’s mouth as her grip gave way, and Sailors Omwat and Bakura tumbled down into the abyss.

The time seemed to go slower. There was no more sound, no more cliff, no more falling. Kirana and Annika gripped hands and looked into each other's eyes. They shared a moment that filled them with a strange feeling. Suddenly, they knew what to do.

"SukuKieru!" they whispered simultaneously. A white light shone from the symbols on their heads as they clenched their eyes tight.

The shock of the senshi who were still on the ground turned into abject horror while they stared down into the chasm.

"Where... where did they go?" Sailor Yavin IV said.

"I don’t know," Sailor Chibi Bespin whispered.