Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailormoon Dark ❯ Episode 11: Samantha Makes Contact. The Builder is Coming. ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sailormoon Dark: Episode Eleven
"Samantha Makes Contact. The Builder is Coming."

written by Laurel Wilson ( Sailorhathor@aol.com )
Inspired by the Japanese animated show Pretty Soldier Sailormoon.
The ideas for this fanfic were conceived in 1995, but this actual episode was written in December 2000-January 2001.

The character 'Nelope (SailorColour) appears courtesy of Snow/SailorCharon, who wrote all of 'Nelope's lines and descriptions. She comes from Snow's fanfic series which is not currently available online. So does Blake, who gets a mention in this ep. 'Nelope speaks in broken English.
The concept of Altrusia and the Land of the Lost, plus several of the characters that dwell there, were originally created for the show "Land of the Lost," (c) 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft Pictures. Their appearance in my fic can be considered a fanfic crossover. I, of course, have embellished the original characters and added some new ones. Such embellishments will be noted in their individual profiles.


"Scary visions abound on the night before classes, and I'm not talking about the professors. Ehhehhehheh... anyway, Sam has visions of several senshi coming from a strange, faraway planet called Altrusia. Some of them may not even be human! They think the entire universe could be in danger! I hope not, because Earth, it's part of the universe, right? Uhhh... hehheh."
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Dark Episode 11: Samantha Makes Contact. The Builder is Coming. The moonlight carries the message of love.

        "So Samantha comes out of her room and says that more senshi will die today. She'd had a vision, you see. Not fifteen minutes later, Usagi and her friends show up with two more bodies for the Tree to look after. I tell you, it's almost too creepy for even me to take," Glen said to his friend 'Nelope, who was sitting next to him on the couch. The living room was dark save for the light from the television, where they were watching a tape of Glen's favorite show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000." Glen was in his satin pj bottoms and nothing else, because it was late. It was what he usually wore to bed, so... These fun little pj parties were one of his favorite things.
        'Nelope was wearing a long nightgown, tie-dyed neon colours, cut in a "V" in front that reached to her heart. The skirt reached her ankles, and a slit up each side reached her knees. Although she was pale, her face was weathered and tanned, with a fairly broad mouth and wide raspberry eyes. Her hair was long and vivid red with a long sky-blue streak down the left. She kept her hair in one odango-ponytail on the cap of her head, streak switching to the right before going back to the left for the ponytail. She frowned. "Notnotnot good..."
        "You said it," Glen replied with an uneasy sigh.
        Endora walked into the room with a bowl of popcorn in her hands. Her pajamas consisted of a flannel nightshirt with a picture of Santa Claus on it, plaid flannel shorts, and candy cane-striped socks. "Glen, are you telling her that story? What are you trying to do, give her nightmares?"
        "But this whole thing involves her too. She's one of us. Senshi are their targets. Don't you think she should know about that?"
        "Yes yes, but don't be so graphic about it. The whole 'we've got bodies in our greenhouse' thing. It's enough to give anybody nightmares," Endora said with a shudder. She put the popcorn bowl in Glen's lap, then sat down on the floor between his and 'Nelope's feet.
        "'Nelope-chan fink it important, Endie-'Dora. 'Len-kun right." She glanced around, in a desperate search for a Cherry Coke. "Right tell other Senshi. Wonder who 'ttack next?"
        "Yeah, it is important, but it's creepy to talk about." Endora took three bottles of soda pop out of the pocket she'd made in her shirt, and handed 'Nelope the Cherry Coke she knew her friend liked. "Who knows who these Dark senshi could attack next... they've already sent someone here to come after us." Shuddering again, Endora opened her own drink.
        'Nelope nodded grimly, a rather unusual expression for her child-like face.
        "Well, so far, the only senshi who have been attacked aggressively enough to get killed have been members of the Inner planetary senshi of our solar system. I think they are the real targets at this point. These evil senshi could change their focus, though--wouldn't surprise me at all. That's why I thought you should know, 'Nelope. To be prepared. I'm sure you can handle it, but I think it's enough to give *Endora* nightmares," Glen joked.
        "Ha ha. Come on, there are more pleasant things to talk about. Like the fact that your sister is coming home tomorrow."
        "Oh yeah! 'Nelope, my sister comes home tomorrow."
        "Gee, I thought I just said that," Endora joked.
        'Nelope laughed raucously.
        "The Kyomu Sisters' Tour ends here tomorrow night, so Wilamina will be back in Japan. She's still their worldwide publicist." Glen leaned back, putting his arms behind his head. "I haven't seen her in six months... her and her crew."
        Endora mischievously grinned. "Wila's crew... that would include Kyomu Nezumi, wouldn't it?"
        Looking at the ceiling, Glen replied, "Nezumi is the head of that crew. Hey 'Nelope, Nezumi and Kikan are giving a concert tomorrow night; you wanna go? We've got backstage passes."
        'Nelope's eyes lit up almost immediately, stars glinting. "Reeeeeeally? Ooo! Lovta'loveta'loveta'!" She suddenly frowned a little, crossing her arms and becoming jokingly dour. "Only if Endie-'Dora and 'Len-kun promise 'haveseff!"
        "Sure," Glen immediately answered. He thought about it for a few seconds, then cracked an embarassed smile. "Um, what am I promising?" After all the time he'd known her, even he sometimes had trouble understanding her dialect.
        "'Haveseff! 'Haveseff! You no unnerstan'?" She sighed and reached for a piece of paper to scrawl the kana in her terrible handwriting.
        Endora giggled.
        When she was done writing, Glen read the paper. "Oh, behave myself! I will if you will." He winked.
        "That was really nice of you to give those extra free tickets to Usagi and the others. After all they've been through, they could use a night out," Endora said.
        "I think we all can. I'm telling you, it was the weirdest thing, the way Sam predicted those deaths... walking into the living room like she was in a trance or something... kinda like how she is now." Glen did a double-take.
        There was Samantha, standing in the doorway that led to the hall.
        "Sam?" Endora questioned.
        Her expression blank, it was as if she was in a trance. "The Builder is coming," Samantha said.
        Endora stood and approached her. "Sam? Who's the Builder?"
        "A being from another galaxy. Master of the matrix. He has no need for our level of conversation, but he speaks to me," Samantha replied in that methodic tone.
        Glen suddenly asked, "The Builder of what?"
        "Civilizations. The matrix. Systems to control both. All that can evolve can devolve as well."
        "I don't know what she's on, but I want some," Glen joked to 'Nelope.
        'Nelope blinked, and picked up the movie she had brought along. "May-treeks? Wonder if like movie! 'You feenk dat air you breethin?'-type-feeng... No live in world we feenk we live in... Or 'Nelope jus' strange."
        "It's both; the world is not what we think it is, and you're strange."
        'Nelope pouted indignantly. "Oiii!"
        Glen put an arm around her and squeezed her, chuckling, to show he was kidding. "There's definitely stuff out there we don't understand, that we can't see, but these visions Sam is having still freak me out. I mean, aliens coming here? The matrix? I thought that stuff did only exist in the movies." He tapped 'Nelope's video. "Maybe I'm wrong."
        "The Builder is coming. To deliver the ring. His touch is all over the universe."
        Placing a hand on Samantha's arm, Endora shook it lightly. "Sam? Stop talking to the Builder now, okay? You've delivered his message."
        Sam's eyes suddenly cleared, and she blinked. "Endora? Hey. Whatcha staring at?"
        "She always blacks out when she has these visions. She won't remember talking to us, but she'll remember the message," Glen explained to 'Nelope.
        'Nelope nodded understandingly. "Blake-san do same sometimes. Weeeeird stuff, mann."
        "Freaky," appended Glen.
        "Was I talking to you guys?" Samantha asked.
        "Yes, you were going on about some being from another galaxy, who was on his way here," Endora replied.
        "To bring a ring," Glen added.
        "May-treeks." 'Nelope added further, trying to be helpful.
        "Oh, yeah. I remember what he said. The Builder is coming."


       ;  Millions of miles away, in a galaxy that was very far from Earth, there was a planet called Altrusia. On this planet of jungle and desert-like terrain, with mountains in the west, lay a city in ruins. The Lost City. It had been built into the mountains, with great stone monoliths marking its entrances. Those monoliths now lay in large crumbly chunks near the three openings that led into the city within the mountains. Some columns still stood to reflect the light of the three moons that orbited around this rock in space; it was deep into the night on this side of Altrusia. But beings were stirring within the city, because they always performed their duties at night. Tonight, the Lost City especially bustled with activity.
        The priest had received an oracle.
        A little girl with her blonde hair done up with a ribbon walked deliberately across the plaza in front of the Lost City. Even though she was wearing a fancy magenta-colored dress, white stockings, and black patent leather shoes on this hot night, the child did not break a sweat. On the other side of the plaza, an Allosaurus watched the girl from behind a pillar, her tail curled protectively around her offspring. The huge dinosaur would not go near the child because it could sense she was not ordinary.
        The girl was flanked by two very tall creatures that were best described as lizard men. Their features were reptilian, although they stood on only two feet. They had green scaly skin, claw-like hands, large awkward feet, and oval-shaped heads with a horn-like protrusion on top. Perhaps the lizard men's most striking characteristic was their eyes--black and big, like smooth reflective marbles. It was impossible to tell when they were looking at you. In this land, the lizard men were commonly called Sleestaks .
        Unconcerned with the men, the little girl headed into the city--she knew exactly where to go. She had been summoned here. The lizards lumbered after her on their awkward feet, looming high above her. But the child was not the least bit afraid, no matter how big they were.
        The Lost City bore itself deep within the mountain, going deep underground, through so many caves and tunnels it would be possible to lose oneself just passing through them. Unless you were smart enough to devise a way to mark your path, you could get lost indefinitely. But the little girl did not get lost--she confidently walked the tunnels until she reached a cave filled with white billowy smoke. Two Sleestaks guarded the entrance.
        They did not speak, only made intimidating hissing sounds. These were the only audible sounds they ever made, these less intelligent Sleestak.
        "The priest Li'am asked me to come here," the child said.
        Parting for her, the guards allowed her to pass.
        The smoke enveloped the girl as she entered. She was now inside a temple consisting of several pedestals, upon which rested a collection of bleached white Sleestak skulls. Urns sat in each nook; the smoke was billowing out of them. Standing beside one of the pedestals was the Sleestak priest who had summoned the child to this temple.
        "Where is the Builder?" Li'am asked. But he did not ask this question by opening his mouth; he asked it within the child's head, by means of telepathy. Sleestaks like him were incapable of normal speech as humans knew it. Exposure to the smoke of the temple, the Sacred Smoke, made this telepathy possible.
        She replied, "I am his representative," in telepathy. "I am one of his people. I also build, but not as grandly as him. With his power, I will represent him. You may call me Shuriko ."
        "What does it mean?" the priest asked. The meaning of names mattered quite a bit to the Sleestak.
        "It means 'repairman' in an Earth language. That is my purpose, to repair unbalanced portions of the matrix."
        "Why an Earth language?" Li'am asked with disdain. He was not very fond of the Earthlings he had met.
        "The Builder has an affection for the Earth. That is why we take on the form of its children. That is why so many of the Builder's dimensional doorways open to Earth." She paused, looking around. "I was told there was an oracle that foretold events concerning me?"
        "It concerns us all. I would much rather speak to the Builder."
        Smiling slightly, Shuriko said, "I am his representative. His power is at my command. We are one mind. You will speak to me."
        "Very well," Li'am relented. "I will tell you what the oracle said once the others get here."
        "The others?"
        A group of figures approached the Lost City, accompanied by Sleestaks. The group was made up of a blonde sixteen-year-old girl who looked quite apprehensive; a green Sleestak; a brown Sleestak who was shorter than the others, with hands that had actual fingers, wearing a red tunic that sparkled in the moonlight and a gold pendant necklace; and a short woman almost completely covered in dark brown fur. The woman clung to the teenage girl with fear.
        "Sa opari? Sa ego meni ku?" the hairy woman asked in her own language.
        "It looks like we're going into the Lost City, Sa. It'll be okay. They don't seem to mean us any harm. Sarisataka Ejiri. Anu opi bisa," the teenage girl replied.

(If you would like to decipher the Pakuni in this fic yourself, go to Laurel's Pakuni Dictionary . This page was made for a rpg I run, but it will serve its purposes for this fic too. In most cases, the Pakuni will be translated by another character in reply.)

        "Holly, something serious is happening here," the brown Sleestak told her. "We're being brought to the Library of Skulls to deal with some turmoil the Skulls have prophesized."
        "But Enik," Holly began, "what can we possibly do? Is there some problem with the matrix tables?"
        "The turmoil cannot be solved with the matrix tables, apparently."
        "But look at the group we've got assembled here, Enik . I mean, sure, you can probably do something to help, but me and Sa?! And S'Latch?" Holly gestured toward the green Sleestak who stood apart from his brethren. "He's supposed to be an outcast. Why would they want his help?"
        "I am as bewildered as you, Holly Marshall," S'Latch said.
        S'Latch and Enik were not like the other Sleestak; for one thing, they could speak as well as hiss to communicate, and therefore did not need to rely on telepathy to talk to other species. Both were more intelligent than their brethren. The brown lizard man, Enik, had come from 1,000 years earlier, winding up in this time period by an accidental trip through the wrong dimensional doorway. In his time, all of the Sleestak were like him, and were known as Altrusians. They were natives of this planet. Somewhere along the way, during those 1,000 years, the Altrusians had become Sleestaks--not even Enik knew how it happened.
        S'Latch was what they considered a mutant; he had been born with the appearance of a Sleestak, but the intelligence of his ancestors. For this the Sleestaks feared him and had tried to kill him; he was an outcast. So why had they called S'Latch to the Library of Skulls?
        The Sleestaks took them to the smoky cave where they were asked to come inside by Shuriko. "Please, assemble around the Skull of Index, and the priest will tell us why we have been brought here."
        Sa still cowered against Holly's side as they entered the cave.
        "Do not be afraid. We mean you no harm," Li'am told them by telepathy. The Sacred Smoke took effect fairly quickly.
        "Sa we puka?" Sa asked.
        Li'am repeated it by telepathy to Sa, in her own language, Pakuni. She looked all around, confused about where the voice was coming from.
        "Why are we here?" Shuriko questioned.
        "The Skull of Index has told me of events yet to come that concern us all. On Holly Marshall's planet of origin, the Earth, a teenage girl has acquired an immense power--one of the strongest forces in the universe. But her personality has been split by methods unknown to us and now she resides in two bodies. One good, and one dark and cruel. It is something like the balance that the matrix tables are used to maintain. Once this balance is interrupted, disaster ensues. The Dark part of this girl intends to use the power she has acquired to wreak havoc wherever she goes. If she succeeds in her plans, our planet will be in danger next. I have been assured by the Skull of Index that Altrusia will be annihilated if we do not do something to stop this girl."
        "Why Altrusia?" Enik asked. "Is there something here the girl feels threatened by?"
        "We don't know why. We only know that the Skulls do not lie. I must accept that the fate the Skull of Index has prophesized for us will come true unless we stop it," Li'am replied.
        "What can we do?" Holly asked. "Whoever this girl is, I don't want her to destroy either planet. My dad is back on Earth, and my uncle and brother are here, with me. I don't want any of them to die."
        "We will ask the Skull of Question. The Skulls instructed me to call all of you here for this purpose. We shall begin the ritual now." Li'am stood before the pedestal that held the Skull of Question. "Great Skull, we seek permission to question."
        A sudden yellow light materialized in the Skull's vacant eye sockets. The light pulsed as the Skull "spoke." "Before question is history."
        Li'am repeated the Skull's words. "Before question is history."
        Nearby, Sa bobbed up and down excitedly. She pointed to the talking Skull that was lit from within. "Ogansa bisasa! Ogansa bisasa!"
        "Big magic? I guess you could call it that," Holly remarked.
        Li'am dutifully went to the Skull of History. "Oh mighty Skull, we seek permission to question."
        "Before question is history," the Skull repeated. "The history of our ancestors. There was a time when we were Altrusians, and we ruled this land through our intelligence. Then came the time of our downfall, the time that began our downward spiral to becoming Sleestaks. Now we rule the land through the fear that we cause in the minds of the populace. Though we are still the greatest race of this planet, we are not what we once were. You must hear the reasons for your history."
        "Of course, great Skull. Continue."
        "The story would best be heard from someone who was there. Someone who took part in our downfall."
        Li'am turned to Enik. "You have been lying to us. You were there when the Altrusians were turned into Sleestaks."
        "Altrusians are incapable of lying!" Enik barked in an insulted tone.
        "The Skull of History is not talking about Enik," Shuriko said. "The Skull is talking about me."
        "I was mistaken, Enik," Li'am stated simply, with no apology. "You were there when the Altrusians were transformed into Sleestaks?"
        "Yes," Shuriko replied. "I was there. I have been here with the Builder since the beginning. We came to this planet a very long time ago, and your people, the Altrusians, welcomed us here. I believe they were afraid of us. They agreed to build us a temple of our own, the temple in which the Builder dwells now."
        "The Builder didn't build his own temple?" Holly commented.
        "That is not the type of building my people do. We build through the evolution of various species," Shuriko said.
        "I don't understand."
        "I believe I do," S'Latch declared. "The Builder brings about evolution to the civilizations he touches. The species evolve, they build better worlds."
        "Yes," Shuriko replied. "Sometimes, this responsibility requires that we experiment, which is exactly what we tried to do in Altrusia."
        "Experiment? "
        "The Builder opened many doorways to other dimensions to begin his experiment. He wanted to see what a civilization made up of many different species would be like, what results it would yield. The best way to do this was to open those doors to all kinds of planets. The more different, the better. He wanted species that had never lived together to be placed on the same world. That would yield the most interesting results."
        "That's how the land of the lost was built," Holly mused.
        "The land of the lost?" Shuriko questioned.
        "Oh, that's what my family has always called this place. It kinda caught on with some of the natives."
        After giving Holly an odd look, Shuriko continued. "Hm, yes. That is how this civilization was built. We chose many interesting creatures to populate it, including all types of dinosaurs, which have thrived here. But the Altrusian race did not like how our grand experiment was affecting this planet. The open dimensional doorways were causing changes in the balance of the land; the weather and the behavior of the moons became erratic. Earthquakes became a more frequent occurrence. The Builder offered his immense knowledge of the matrix to the Altrusians, so they duplicated his technology as best they could with materials this land could provide. That is how the Pylons and the matrix tables were born.
        "There eventually came a time when the Altrusians grew tired of the Builder's experiment. They wanted their planet to go back to what it had been before the Builder arrived. Of course, the Builder refused--who would cease such a grand project after it had gone so far?"
        Enik interrupted. "It is what you can expect from a race that had been forced to take part in such an experiment, an experiment that completely changed their homeland and way of life!"
        To try to calm him down, Holly put a hand on Enik's arm. He glanced at her, then his demeanor softened a bit.
        Shuriko's young expression became much too hard for a supposed child of her age. "You cannot deny that the Altrusians benefitted greatly from the Builder's technology."
        Enik paused. "In some ways, yes, we did."
        "Then allow me to continue. As I said, the Builder refused to stop his experiment. The Altrusians then declared war on my people. There were so many of them, and so few of us, that the Builder had to protect us in the only way he knew. As the Altrusians advanced on our temple, he used his power of devolvement on them. The head of the Altrusian army called a retreat out of fear. But it was too late.
        "Your race thought they had gotten by without punishment for a little while, but the results of the Builder's power soon became apparent. Your original god, the only female of the Altrusian race and the one who lays all of the eggs that keep your race going, suddenly died. Within her last batch of eggs was another female, your new and current god. But she looked different. Very different. She could not speak, and her intelligence was limited. Some within your number suggested she be killed, but that would mean the end of your race. There must be a female to lay the eggs. So she was allowed to live.
        "The subsequential batches of eggs the new god laid consisted of male Altrusians who resembled the god in appearance and intelligence. They were not Altrusians--they were Sleestaks. The priest of the time assured everyone that a female of the original calibre would eventually be born and return your race to their former glory. Your race is still waiting."
        Enik mournfully shook his head. "Then it was war that doomed my race, just as I thought. I was there when the Builder first came and changed everything with his dimensional doorways, but I did not see this war... this devolvement of my people. Before that happened, I became lost, and my journey ended here."
        Considering what he had heard, Li'am approached the Skull of Question. His blue crystal necklace rattled against his chest. "Oh mighty Skull of Question, I have listened to my history as you instructed. What must we do now?"
        "The Builder's powers will prove useful to solving the problem that overshadows our planet. It will not be easy to bring the powerful girl out of her hiding places--there will be multiple altercations, but your presence in the situation can make all the difference. You must use the disguising powers of the Sacred Smoke to become the type of warriors this girl will recognize. To fight her on her level. Then you must utilize the might that Altrusia has to offer, and go to the Earth through a dimensional doorway to join in the struggle. If you do not, we are doomed," the Skull detailed.
        Li'am seemed unhappy with these instructions. "You want me to join forces with these people you have called here and take them to Earth to fight the battle that will save my planet? These people?"
        "Yes."
&nb sp;       Hearing all of this, Holly gasped sharply. "You mean... you're taking me back to Earth? Oh my... my God... I'm going home! I'll get to see my dad again! Can I go tell Will and Uncle Jack? They should start packing-"
        "Your brother and uncle will not be coming," Li'am snapped.
        It took Holly a few moments to get her voice back, she was so shocked. "Why not?!" she asked indignantly. "I won't leave without them!"
        "Because they were not called here. Therefore, they are not needed."
        "But I won't go without my family! I won't leave them here!"
        "It does not matter, because you will not be staying on Earth. Once the battle is over, you will be coming back here," Shuriko declared.
        "What?! If you think I'm going to blow a chance to get my family home by trooping right back here once I'm done with this battle, you've got rocks rolling around in that little head of yours!" Holly yelled.
        "Holly, this will not help matters," Enik said, trying to calm her down now.
        "You have no choice," Li'am scowled at Holly. "The Skulls have chosen you. Their request must be honored. If you do not help, Altrusia will be destroyed, and you and your family will die. If we allow your family to go back to Earth with you, then why would you have any reason to defend Altrusia? You would be complacent to stay on Earth simply because you have been away from it for so long. Then the plans of the Skulls would be for naught. If we take only you to Earth, then we are assured you will help us, because you will not leave your family back here on a doomed planet. It is all in the best interest of the Sleestak race," Li'am explained.
        After looking at Li'am in disbelief, Holly burst into tears. "It's not fair! You're practically holding Will and Uncle Jack hostage!"
        Enik put a sympathetic arm around her, patting her shoulder. "It will be alright, Holly Marshall."
        Sa did not understand much of what had been said, even if it had been translated into her own language within her head, but she understood the emotions behind tears. While bobbing up and down as she usually did, she patted Holly's arm.
        "I should have known you Sleestak would pull some kind of trick on me. That's all you've ever done," the teenage girl sobbed.
        "Silence. Prepare yourselves for the change that will ready you for battle," the Skull of Index instructed.
        "You mean we're leaving immediately?!" Holly cried incredulously.
        "It's better that way Holly. Your family will only try to interfere if you stop to say goodbye," Enik said.
        "Interfere; that's all they've ever done," Li'am snippily added, to get back at Holly for her comment about the Sleestaks.
        "But how can I leave without saying goodbye?" the girl tearfully asked Enik.
        Something in Enik's face, which was capable of little expression, showed that he was touched by Holly's tears and her attachment to her family. "You are very loyal to them, Holly Marshall."
        "Of course. I love them."
        Cocking his head to one side, Enik remarked, "You will have to explain 'love' to me one day. It is a very curious human trait."
        The Skull of Index instructed Li'am to place some crystals of various colors into one of the urns, the Sacred Smoke urns. The urn began to put out more smoke until the Library of Skulls was full of it.
        "My head feels funny," Holly said. It was the effects of the smoke; it had the power to cause hallucinations. Even the illusion that one was a human Sailor senshi.
        Suddenly the smoke flowed back into the urn like a film being run backward. Holly gasped. She was surrounded by human women in strange short dresses! "Where did you come from? Where's the priest? And S'Latch? And..."
        The woman holding the urn touched her dark blue hair with a sigh. "A human female. I should have known this task would require such humiliation."
        "Li'am?! Is that you?!"
        "Of course." She ran her fingers over the blue crystal necklace around her neck. "This necklace belongs to Li'am, doesn't it?"
        "Yes."
 & nbsp;      Li'am was now wearing a senshi dress in shades of blue with a sparkly tunic top, like Enik's tunic. When Holly took longer looks at the others, she realized that the blonde lady in the yellow fuku was S'Latch! She had a necklace made of yellow crystal that hung down in three round pendants. And the woman with dark brown hair, a vision of beauty, she was Sa! "Sa?!"
        Sa was just as overwhelmed as Holly with this amazing change. She picked at the clothes with unfamiliarity. "Sa wom te me? Ogansa bisasa!"
        "Yes, Sa. Yo. Big magic indeed."
        "Ta em ama sha. Ta wir ga tesa. Tesasa!"
        "Yeah, I know, Ta isn't going to like this at all." Ta was Sa's very anti-human mate. "But it will be alright. Wu be wesan, Sa. This isn't permanent." She pointed to Sa's outfit. "Em aometa."
        "No Sa. Em aometa," a deep, smooth as velvet voice said from behind Holly.
        She turned to look at her. "Enik?! Is that you? Oh my, it is you! Your necklace, and your bracelet... look at you!"
        Enik had tranformed into a red-haired beauty in a scarlet fuku. She was the only one who wore no shoes; her feet were bare on the cave floor. There was indeed Enik's gold pendant around her neck and Enik's red crystal bracelet on her arm. Her red hair was styled into a ponytail that had been pulled through the vertebrae of a small dinosaur like a spinal cord, and tied on the end with a strong leaf.
        Lastly, Holly took a look at herself. Her red checked shirt had turned into a tunic, and her brown corduroys were transformed into a Sailor skirt. The rest stayed the same--Holly still had her pendant and her signal mirror around her neck, and her hair in braids as usual. But now, each braid was held together at the ends by green crystal encasings.
        Li'am noticed that there were several staffs against the wall, three of which incorporated the Skulls of Index, History, and Question. The Skull of Index spoke from atop his staff. "Enik, you will wield the power of the red crystal, the wisdom of Altrusia, and the knowledge of the Skull of Index." The Staff of Index, a bamboo pole with a sliver of triceratops horn attached to it and the Skull on its end, became Enik's main weapon. "You are Sailorskull of Index ."
        "Li'am, you will be the keeper of the blue crystal, the powers of the Sacred Smoke, and the knowledge of the Skull of Question." Her major weapon became the Staff of Question, a bamboo pole with slivers of stegosaurus spikes and the Skull of Question affixed to it. "You are Sailorskull of Question ."
        "You, S'Latch, are now empowered with the forces of the yellow crystal, the tidal flows of the three moons, and the knowledge of the Skull of History." S'Latch's weapon, the Staff of History, consisted of a bamboo pole with the Skull on top of it and a sliver of Allosaurus tooth connected to the side. "You are Sailorskull of History ."
        Sa was told about her part in all this in Pakuni, but the others heard it in English. "You keep the power of the white crystal, Sa, and you will be taking one of the Altrusian poison trapper plants with you for defense. This is a very important duty--white crystals are the most scarce. You will represent your people as Sailorpaku ."
        Although she was listening, Sa picked a bit distractedly at her clothes some more. She tried to shake the brown moccasins off her feet; Pakuni did not usually wear shoes. "Sha em makiya pum te Sa. Arri makipum?"
        "Yes Sa, when we get a free moment, I will explain everything. Yo, Arri makipum ome."
        The Skull of Index moved on to Holly. "Holly Marshall, you are the leader of our team of warriors."
        "Me?!" Holly exclaimed.
        "Yes. You will represent this entire planet as Sailoraltrusia . The staff you will wield, the Heart of Altrusia, is a very vital weapon. It is made from the heart of this land, the energy source of this planet, and many crystals of all colors. As you can see, the crystals have been joined together in a large ball. They have been placed in a careful arrangement as to not cause any reactions between them. You must be careful in handling the staff. It will serve as your supply of crystals while on Earth.
        "Individually, Holly Marshall, you will have the power of the green crystal at your disposal.
        "Additionally , you will all have the ability to call on the Builder's greatest power when it becomes most necessary. But you can only use it once, so choose your moment carefully."
        "Why only once?" Holly asked.
        "Because it expends a great deal of energy; it can only be used very infrequently," Shuriko explained. "Sometimes the Builder must hibernate for several years after using it to recuperate."
        "But how will we know when to use this power? And how do we use it?"
        "You will figure that out for yourselves. It is time to leave," the Skull declared. "Go to Enik's cave and follow my instructions which I will give you there. You will open up a dimensional doorway to Earth. Go through it and find a place called Valhalla. The people there will help you."
        "Of course, we will go right away." Enik took "her" staff and headed for the cave.
        As they made their way down the tunnel, a strange gaudy creature came bouncing toward them, pursued by a lumbering Sleestak. The creature was shaped like a hatbox with foil paper covering it, big springs attached to its bottom on which it bounced to move, and what looked like a pink sparkly whisk broom sticking out of what could be its head. The springs let out a loud "BOING!" noise each time they bounced.
        "Box! What is it doing here?!" Holly exclaimed.
        Enik told the Sleestak that it was alright; the box wasn't hurting anything. As the Sleestaks had been told what was happening, this one did not even question the strange red-headed human.
        Holly, laughing, turned to Shuriko. "If the Builder is such an advanced form of life, then why did he let such a bizarre-looking robot into the land of the lost? We're overrun with those things!"
        Box bounced on by her, paying her comment no mind. Boing! Boing! Boing!


      &n bsp; Not far from the destination of the Altrusian senshi, Hotaru sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest. The room was lit softly by the light from all of Hotaru's lamps that she had collected, each one equipped with a low wattage bulb so none would overlight the room. With a frustrated sigh she looked out the window once more at the backyard, bathed in twilight. There was Hotaru's practice setup, but it was now all in pieces. The bricks, flowerpot, fresh plant, and even the shatterproof glass were broken and cracked.
        "What's the point of trying anymore? I'll never get control of my powers. I hurt Mama-Michiru and Papa-Haruka too," Hotaru said dejectedly.
        "Your discouragement is understandable, Hotaru Tomoe, but you are wrong."
        Surprised, Hotaru turned to see Sailorodin standing in her room. "Sailorodin! What are you doing here?"
        Odin placed the Oracle before her face. It glowed, and showed the 16th Rune, Berkana. "Berkana." She lowered the Oracle. "Growth. Rebirth. A Rune of blossoming. You can do anything you put your mind to right now, Hotaru. In this period of your life, you will do more growing than ever before. All you need is determination, right thinking, and right attitude."
        "You mean I should continue my practice with more determination than ever before?"
        "As long as there are flower pots out there left intact, you should not give up," Sailorodin said with a smile. "Stay hopeful, and you will develop the power you long for. I hope you trust my Oracle." With a bow, Odin entered Hotaru's closet and closed the door behind her.
        "Hey, that's not the way out!" She jumped up, running to the closet and opening the door. The closet was empty. "How does she do that?!" Hotaru sighed and leaned against the door. "Berkana. The Rune of growth and... rebirth. And me, being the senshi of death and rebirth. Perhaps it's a sign that this is a new time for me. A new fate."

"The first day of classes is upon us! I can't believe it. I'll be doing it without Rei-chan, Ami-chan, and Minako-chan... it's like some horrible nightmare. To try to cheer me up, Mamo-chan takes me out to the Kyomu Sisters concert. Kitaeru has frightening visions about them! What could be up with those sisters? With all these strange visions going around, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a weird encounter. Would you?"
Sailormoon Dark Episode 12: A Vision of the Void! The Bride Borrows Something Blue. The moonlight carries the message of love.

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