Shades of Violet and Darkness

I sat in the Diverse Diner, picking at some sort of unappealing food. I knew that Vra was still on Coruscant; I could feel it. I took a sip of Corellian Ale (like I said before, I look older, which is very convenient at times!), wondering where and what the Sailor Jedi were doing. Even though I'm pretty antisocial, I had to admit, I was curious about them.

I finished the ale and flipped some credits onto the table, enough for the tab and the tip. I walked out of the restaurant, pulling my long black coat around me and slipping my hands into the pockets. It was a chilly night. "It's dark already..." I whispered to myself, even though it wasn't completely dark; the lights from the ships overhead illuminated it enough for me. I began to walk back to the rail station, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, I stepped onto the subway platform, watching the few people around me with a hawk's eye. At night, Coruscant wasn't a place for a lone woman to be, no matter where you were. I could defend myself if necessary, that wasn't the problem; I just didn't feel like fighting tonight. I was freezing and I wanted to go home and get a good night's sleep. More Nightsister hunting was awaiting me in the morning...

I stepped onto the subway and took the seat nearest to the exit. Something wasn't right. I felt so... anxious. I thought it might have been Vra, but I accounted it to my nervousness of being alone.

I sighed. Sometimes I wished I had a boyfriend to keep me company, but then the rational part of me kicked the mushy part's tail for even thinking anything like that. Love is more trouble than it's worth. It's disgusting, actually. Fawning over each other with lovey-dovey eyes and sugarcoated words... ugh. Not for me, I guess.

The subway slowed to a stop, and I stepped off. The feeling was more intense now. I walked to the east, noting the thickening fog. I knew that something wasn't right. I began to hear voices ahead, yelling and screaming.

"Centrali Crystal Power, Make Up!" I yelled, transforming in an instant. I ran towards the source of the fog, using the Force as my eyes, so I didn't run into anything. The yelling became louder.

I reached the end of the alley, spotting a girl in a sailor senshi fuku. I sighed a little. She was alone. Meaning, if Vra had been there, she was gone.

"What's going on? Who are you?" I asked, waving my hands in the air to try to clear the thick fog.

The girl whirled around, looking ready to attack. I was about to say something, but she realized that I wasn't an enemy and stopped.

"I'm Sailor Honoghr, and I see you're a Sailor Senshi, too," she said, pushing her long brown hair out of her face.

Another one, I thought. "Yeah, I'm a Sailor Senshi. But first tell me what was going on here, and why you are standing in front of a dead Twi'lek," I said, looking at the corpse, and then back at her, cocking an eyebrow.

She jumped a little and started to laugh nervously. "Whoops, I guess I forgot about that. What happened is that I felt a strange disturbance, and I somehow ended up here, where I found an evil woman trying to kill this male Twi'lek. I tried to stop her, but she finished killing him before she turned back to me. I guess I didn't expect that." She twiddled her thumbs, looking at the ground in front of her with a mixture of worry and failure on her face.

I felt bad, and I was going to ease up on her, but I realized something: this girl could be Vra in disguise. That would have been typical of her, the coward. I stepped back a little, bracing myself for an attack. "How do I know you're not lying to me, and you aren't really Vra in disguise? That would be very like her..."

Something clicked in her head. I could almost see the little lightbulb come to life beside her. "First of all, I am the Senshi of Truth and Longevity, so you shouldn't have to worry about me lying. Second, are you talking about Vra Vji? Because if my memory serves me right, and I usually have a good memory, that's what the woman called herself. She also said she was a Nightsister," she finished, snapping her fingers.

My guard dropped. I trusted her. But I was also pissed now. "She was here!" I said, growling as I ran towards her. "Sorry about that, I'm Sailor Centrali. What was Vra doing, and where did she go? Tell me everything," I said, begging just a liiiittle bit.

"Whoa, slow down! Okay, come with me," she said, motioning for me to follow her. We walked to the corpse, kneeling down before it. Honoghr pointed to a slimy oval-shaped object attached to the Twi'lek's lekku. "See this?" she started. "She had a modified blaster and shot it at him. I guess it sucked the life out of him. Then, she had a misty black ball that she said was going to give him an evil soul so he could live again as her soldier of darkness. At least I think that's how it went."

A shadow hunter? I wondered, standing up and glancing from side to side. "How did she get away? You didn't try to stop her?" I sounded a little angry, but it was more disappointment than anger.

She looked hurt. "Hey! I tried my best. This is my first time, you know." I could relate. "Okay, I started using my attack against her, and when I did, her misty black ball disappeared. Then she tried to shoot me, too, with her modified blaster, but I destroyed it with my attack. I guess that was her only weapon, so she left. But she did say she'd be back, unfortunately. Anyway, I think the Twi'lek is dead for good, and there's no way to bring him back, unless he lived again as her 'soldier of darkness,' I think. But he's better off dead than serving her, right?"

"Right."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"We'll just have to go home and wait for her to return." I sighed and walked away.

My heart went out to her. I knew how it was to be unfamiliar with your senshi powers...

The whole scene with Sailor Honoghr played over in my head hundreds upon hundreds of time. As usual, I had been so close to getting Vra, but she was always one step ahead of me. It was maddening.

I picked at a plate of vegetables in the Diverse Diner. I don't know why I went there. I didn't really like the food; I guess it was because it was close to everywhere I needed to go.

I stuffed some more greens into my mouth and froze in place. I felt something. It wasn't Vra, but it was something. With salad dressing dripping down my chin, I slowly looked over my shoulder, scanning the area for anything suspicious.

A few tables over, a girl with long brown hair and green eyes sat, with a doughnut sticking out of her mouth. She was doing something on a datapad. Watching her with a curious eye, it clicked in my head. That was Sailor Honoghr. I wiped the oily dressing off of my chin and stood up, walking towards her table. I sat down in front of her, watching her and wondering when she would notice that she had a visitor.

When she did, she was embarrassed. She took the doughnut out of her mouth and wiped her face. I couldn't help but smirk as I watched her. She was, for a lack of a better word... cute, I guess.

"Do I know you?" She asked me. "You look really familiar."

"I'm pretty sure we met last night, though I didn't catch your name," I responded.

She looked worried. "How did you know it was me?" she whispered.

"I just felt a strange presence, and something in my mind let me know it was you," I shrugged.

"Oh. I never did get your name, either. I'm Kinomoto Minae. That's last name first, so just call me Minae," Minae said, extending her hand.

"I'm Ciel su'Maka," I said, shaking her hand in return. "So, have you seen any sign of Vra in the last few hours?" I asked, feeling a little bad that I was being so forward, but I'd apologize later.

"No. I just woke up an hour ago and came here right away to fill out an application to work here," Minae said, lifting her datapad a little, so I could see the form.

"Hmm. I would've expected her to be on the move, working as fast as she could, not wanting to waste a moment. Though I do think she'll strike again today..." I replied. I didn't know that for sure, but really, when did she not strike?

I stood up, pushing the chair back in. "I should go now," I said, half-sighing, half-groaning. "I can't rest until I've found Vra and she's destroyed," I said, feeling a renewed sense of determination.

We both said good-bye, and I left the diner.

A while after meeting Minae, I was back on Vra's tail. But now I was halfway across the planet and running through the backstreets and alleys of Coruscant as Sailor Centrali. "I feel her! I can feel her here!!" I growled to myself, frustrated with myself. I ran down a flight of duracrete stairs and ended up in a large basement/storage area.

As I looked around, all I saw was corpses, their skin all tinted yellow. "Sith! I'm too late! I missed her again," I said, stomping my foot on the ground rather violently. "But she was here, that I can tell. And I was right, she did come back today. Which means she'll be back again. But next time, I'm going to be waiting for her, and not running to get there in time..." I whispered to myself, thinking out loud.

I turned and walked out of the basement, upset that I had wasted another trip across Coruscant.

"Too afraid to come out and fight, Vra? Just going to send your soldiers to do all the dirty work?" I yelled, on the verge of screaming.

I heard someone gasp behind me, and I knew that it must be Sailor Honoghr.

"We're too late, they're already dead..." Despair flooded Minae's voice.

"Not too late," I said, turning around. "She's only had them killed; they haven't been turned into her soldiers yet. We just have to stop her from taking them, since we can't bring them back to life..." I trailed off, turning my attention to the sound of footsteps. A huge group of about eleven senshi and one knight stood in front of us, eyeing Minae and myself with suspicion. "Hey," I mouthed, raising my hands in defense. Minae, on the other hand, squealed in delight, which confused me even more. Where we seeing the same thing, or am I just mental?

The girl that I'd come to know as Nom spoke up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sailor Honoghr," Minae said, extending her hand to Dathomir.

"Sailor Centrali..." I added, still unsure of the whole situation. I didn't like people invading on my "turf"... (Of course I didn't mind when Bakura, Chad, and Dantooine rescued me, did I? Note to self: I am a hypocrite.)

"We're-" Sailor Hoth began to say, when the howl of wind cut her off.

"Hurry! We have to get them!" Minae yelled, leading the charge towards the bodies. But it was too late; the bodies had already dissapeared into the cloud of black fog. "We failed..." she whispered.

Xarae stepped foward. "It's a trap."

"A what?"

"A trap," she said louder. "Hurry, we have to get out of here!"

None of us felt like stopping to question her. All fourteen senshi ran at full speed out of the docking bay, Minae and me lagging behind. Just as the we had escaped the bay, a huge explosion rocked the entire area, destroying where we had stood no less than five seconds ago. Minae and I were thrown forward by the shockwave.

I landed on my stomach, skidding several feet before I was stopped my a hard cement wall. "I really should've expected that..." I said, groaning as I pushed myself onto my feet. I looked over at Minae. She looked like she was going to cry.

"What now?"

"Vra and her soldiers are gone. They won't be back soon, but they'll be back again later. That was meant to get us," I said. "And thanks," I added reluctantly.

"Yeah, thank you," Minae agreed.

"Not a problem. We should go back now, if there's nothing left here," Xarae said, looking over her shoulder at the two of us. "And you two can come with us, also." Minae started to follow the Sailor Jedi. Being the untrusting person I am, I wanted to protest and leave. But I trusted Minae, and if I didn't go and they tried to hurt her, I'd have to hunt them down and kick every last one of the Sailor Jedi's sorry butts. (Yes, I have a bit of a protective/motherly instinct... *cringe*)

I followed after her, de-transforming. I stayed quiet all the way back to the Jedi Temple...

Everyone sat in a large room, talking about their various adventures. I explained about Vra, Sailor Gallinore, and the nature of my mission, although the details were sketchy at times. I don't open up very well. Minae told her story about crashing on Honoghr, and the Noghri. Some of the others told their life stories, others told little about themselves, some even opted to say nothing. I could relate, I would have kept my mouth shut too, if I wasn't in this situation. They did save us, after all...

I zoned out a little as I finished my story. I felt so uncomfortable here. I wasn't suppossed to be here. But yet, I stayed...

The next morning, I found myself a couch in the Room Behind the Waterfall, dozing off several times. I could see Vra talking to her dark soldiers through the Force, pacing back and forth anxiously.

"This time we all are going to win. Once we defeat all the Sailor Jedi, especially Ciel, who has been bugging me for so long, we can continue to turn the people of the galaxy into more of your kind. Then, I will be the ruler, and there will be no one to oppose me. All that will be left is your kind, my soldiers of darkness." Vra walked across the room where her soldiers were standing. "I have faith in you, my obedient and loyal soldiers. Go out now, and get them. Make sure there are none left. GO!" I stood up quickly, my eyes rushing around the room.

"What's wrong?" Kirana asked, looking at me.

"Vra is preparing an attack. We should go, now," I said forcefully.

"I have not sensed anything yet," Nom said.

"I'm sure she's getting ready. We really need to leave, come on."

"Ciel's right, I can feel her now," said Xarae. "She's going to be not too far away from where all the bodies were last night. Specifically, in the old basement that used to be a hall. Let's go."

As we arrived, we transformed into our senshi forms. I stared at the sky, prepared and ready for the ensuing attack. This was going to be the first battle that I actually had the ability to do some damage to the enemy, and I was very blood-thirsty.

As the fog began to form, I raised my hand into the air, ready to unleash my attack. The minute I saw the soldiers begin to descend, I let go. "Violet Current!" I screamed as a huge beam of purple light sprung from my fingertips, shooting foward with blinding speed and taking out several dark warriors. The other senshi began to unleash their attacks, as well. The battle was on.

I used my attack again and again, destroying more of the soldiers, but they were quickly replaced. I began to run forward, plowing my way through the confusion.

As soon as I finished the sentence, to my suprise, Vra appeared above me, sitting with her legs crossed in thin air. "How come you're not in the battle, huh?" I asked, whirling around at meet another soldier. "I'M BUSY!!" I screamed, using Violet Current again to destroy the soldier.

"Why fight when they can do it for me?" Vra asked, amused at my fustration.

"I promise that the last thing you'll see before you die is me, standing over your bruised and battered body to deliver the final blow," I spat.

"Funny, I thought it would be the other way around," she said, evaporating into the wall behind her. I screamed again, turning around and blasting more of the soldiers. "I'll kill you, Ill kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you..."

I whirled around, hearing a loud crack. Minae's body lay on the floor, in a heap.

"Though it is sad to admit this, she was right when she said she wouldn't last long," Ben whispered.

My eyes went wide. She wasn't dead. She COULDN'T be dead! Too many people had died already in this war, my war. I felt tears on my cheeks, stinging my eyes. "No," I sobbed. "No..."

"Cherry Blossom Swirl Attack!" Millions of cherry blossoms filled the room, engulfing the enemy and covering them from had to toe. When the cherry blossoms disappeared, gone too were the soldiers. And Minae sat in a corner, crying softly.

"MINAE!" I cried, running towards her. I collapsed next to her, hugging her and shedding tears of joy.

I stood in the main hallway of the Jedi Temple, talking to Annika. I had met her before, when she had saved me from Vra as Eternal Sailor Bakura.

"Are you going to stay with us?" she asked me.

"I don't know..." I admitted reluctantly. I had gotten over my mistrust of them, but I still wanted to go after Vra alone. "I don't want to put anyone in danger. Minae was killed because of me."

"Sailor Jedi are suppossed to stick together!" she said with a smile. "If you don't want us to, we won't get involved in your battle. But at least stay here with us. We can defend ourselves, and you'll be safer here with us."

"I suppose so..." I sighed. "Are you sure? I mean, really really sure?"

She nodded cheerfully. "Yeah!"

I smiled, which was very rare for me. "Okay."

The next morning, everyone was eating breakfast, talking about what had happened the night before.

"Do you think she'll be back?" Chouko asked. "Vra wouldn't give up so easily, would she?"

"She'll definitely be back, for me, at least," I said. "But I have a feeling her plan with those 'soldiers of darkness' are over."

"Finally! A break!" Kairi-chan said, smiling.

"Though we don't know how long that break will be," Yuki added. We all sighed, happy it was over... for now...