Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Unmei no Hoshi ❯ Episode 6: Terra shin no senshi desu ka?! Dagon no chachu shutsugen ( Chapter 6 )

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Unmei no Hoshi

Destiny of Stars

by P.H. Wise

key:

< > indicates Japanese speech

" " indicates English speech

' ' indicates thought (when not used inside of " ")

Episode 6: Terra shin no senshi desu ka?! Dagon no chachu shutsugen

(Is Terra a true senshi?! The Church of Dagon appears)

It's time for the Halloween party, but it looks like the new enemy is finally going to make its move! Can Haruka and Michiru rescue their daughter and her friends before time runs out?

Key: Speech surrounded by < > is intended to represent Japanese.

~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day in the city of Boston. The sun was shining brightly, the air was clear, and the songs of various birds filled the sky. The faint smell of the ocean drifted through the cool autumn air. This was a day for lovers. A day for joyful laughter, for picnics, and for long walks.

Unfortunately, the beauty of this day was lost on Arashi. As she stood at the entrance to Howard Phillips High School waiting for ... She sighed. She wanted to talk to Alice, but she didn't want to apologize... the world could burn before she would admit to having done wrong.

It was the day after Tetsuro and Arashi's 'man to man' duel, and that feeling in the back of her mind of something being wrong was growing more insistent. 'The storm is coming closer', it told her. 'It's raging just off shore, and when it hits...'

She tried to ignore the feeling. When the late bell rang with still no Alice, Arashi headed for class, thinking that the girl might have come in through another entrance.

As Arashi made her way to her desk (and as the teacher marked her as tardy), she noticed that Alice wasn't in class. She frowned.

After school, Arashi spent some two hours fighting with her pride over whether or not to call Alice. Eventually, she (with great reluctance) forced herself to look up Alice's home phone number in the school directory. When she had found it, she dialed and waited for someone to answer. After a short wait, a rather worried sounding woman's voice came through the receiver. #Hello?#

"Hello, is Alice there?" asked Arashi.

A short pause. #.. No, Alice isn't here...# The worry in the voice grew considerably. #She didn't come home last night.. are you a friend of hers?#

"Oh.. er, yeah, I'm a friend of hers. When she gets home, can you tell her that Arashi called?"

#I'll tell her..# said the woman, who was Alice's mother.

"Thanks."

*click*

Arashi was actually relieved... she didn't have to speak to Alice yet. A short reprieve. Yet at the same time, it worried her that the girl hadn't gone home. Could something have happened? No matter. That was something to worry about later.

The days passed by slowly, with still no sign of Alice. None of her friends had either seen or heard from her. It was as though she had vanished off the face of the earth. On the sixth day, her parents filed a missing person report at the local police station. The tenth day since her disappearance arrived. The eleventh. The twelfth. As the days became weeks with no sign of Alice, the girl's parents sank ever and ever deeper into worry and fear.

******

Michiru sighed, her weariness showing on her face. "Things aren't going well." she said as she sat with Haruka on the couch in the living room of their Boston home. Arashi was out in the yard, it seemed, practicing her martial arts. Every so often the sound of a fist (or a foot) going through a cinderblock or a wooden plank would float in through the air from outside.

"I know." said Haruka, and that was all that needed to be said.

Michiru rested her head on Haruka's shoulder, who responded by putting her arm Michiru. They sat there in silence for a while.

As Michiru rested there in the arms of her lover, the weariness slowly drained from her face.
In the weeks since her conversation with Hotaru, the negotiations had taken a turn for the worst. Robert Marsh was growing increasingly unfriendly and their meetings with him less and less productive (and also less frequent).

"I wish I knew where things went wrong," said Michiru. "I thought that we had worked out something that we could both agree to... but at the last moment..."

She would have gone on, but at that moment, she was interrupted.

"<Mama?>"

"<Ah, Arashi-chan, I didn't hear you come in.>" Michiru said. She was irritated by the interruption, but tried not to show it. She had had a bad day, yes, but she was not going to take it out on her daughter.

Arashi, however, was more perceptive than Michiru gave her credit for. With a concerned look on her face she asked, "<Are you alright, mama? I can come back later if it's a bad time.>"

"<Hai, Arashi-chan. I'm just a little tired. You don't have to come back later.>"

Arashi nodded, moving to sit down in the chair next to the couch that her parents were sitting on. She wore her Gi, and was still breathing hard from the training session that she had just finished in the back yard. Her hands were bruised somewhat, and pain throbbed through them in time to her pulse. She sighed heavily.

"<Looks like I'm not the only one who's had a bad day,>" said Michiru, smiling ruefully.

Arashi blinked slightly. "<How can you tell?>"

Michiru exchanged glances with Haruka.

It was Haruka who answered. The sandy-blonde haired woman gestured towards the yard that Arashi had just left. Broken fragments of concrete littered the area, none larger than a silver dollar. "<Smashing cinderblocks with your bare hands isn't part of your normal training regimen so far as I know,>" she said.

Arashi shrugged. "<Maybe I'm just trying to up the intensity.>"

Haruka and Michiru simply looked at their daughter.

Arashi half-smiled, looking to her parents. "<.. I guess it's foolish to try to deceive you,>" she said. So, she told them about what had happened on the day of the fight, about her missing friend, and everything.

They said that they thought the Marsh boy's suggestion to apologize was a good one, but privately, they were both a bit worried about their daughter having some sort of friendship with someone who might be connected with this new enemy. Eventually, Arashi asked the question that she had wanted to ask since Alice had first disappeared.

"<Mama, can we use the Deep Aqua Mirror to find Alice?>"

Michiru hesitated for only a split second before nodding. "<Of course, Arashi-chan.>" She quickly retrieved the mirror from the subspace pocket that she kept it in.

As Haruka, Michiru, and Arashi gazed into the talisman, it showed them several brief images. The first was Alice's silhouette. The second was some kind of underwater city, seen from a distance. The third was a black reef, and that image lingered for several seconds longer than the other two had. Haruka and Michiru exchanged glances.

**** The Next Day ****

Once again, Arashi was at school. It was between classes, and though there were people all around her in the hallways, she walked alone.

"So what are you going to wear to the Halloween party?" came a girl's voice from off to Arashi's right.

"I'm going as Chewbacca!" another girl's voice responded.

"Really? I was planning on going as Princess Leia."

"Wow, that's so cool! Maybe we can get Sara and Amy to go as Star Wars characters, too!"

Yes, gentle reader, even after the great Cataclysm and the Ice that followed it, Star Wars was still a part of American culture. Arashi, listening to this conversation, grew thoughtful. She didn't intend to dress up like a Star Wars character, but she might like...

She shook her head. 'Who cares about a costume party?'

******

"Ne, Amy, who are you going to the costume party with?" asked Kazuko.

The two were theoretically in class, in phys ed. to be exact, and very few of the students were participating in the class, despite the teacher's best efforts to get them to do so.

Amy blushed slightly. "Well, Thomas asked me to go... how about you? Who are you going with?"

Kazuko shrugged faintly. "Steven asked me, but I turned him down. I've got a boyfriend back in Japan."

Amy nodded in understanding. "A long distance relationship..." she said, sighing faintly. They probably wrote each other all the time... she found it to be very romantic.

"Hey," called a familiar voice from nearby, "When did you get out of the hospital?"

Kazuko turned and looked in the direction of the voice. It had come from Tenoh Arashi, and she was approaching them, now only a short distance away. Kazuko smiled. "Yesterday. Sure took them long enough to fix me... they didn't even have anyone who knew healing magics on hand!"

Arashi shrugged, "I know. Can you believe that the streets haven't been cleaned in over three days?"

Kazuko shook her head faintly.

Amy sweatdropped, not knowing quite how to react to what Kazuko and Arashi thought of her home town.

"So what were you talking about, anyway?" asked Arashi.

"The dance, of course!" said Amy, recovering quickly from her uncertainty.

"Oh, that. So you two are going to that?"

Kazuko nodded. "Even if I don't have a date, I'm still going to go. It's one of the few dances that they have at this school, and I'm not going to miss it." 'And also,' she thought, 'It's not often that I get to be the actual center of attention . . . hmph. It would be a very different story if it weren't for that Tomoe girl back home . . .'

Arashi blinked faintly. "Eesh, you really don't like her, do you?"

Before Kazuko could answer, Amy interrupted. "Arashi," she asked, "Are you going? Has anyone asked you?"

Kazuko spoke up then, beginning almost before Amy was done speaking. "So what kind of boy does the daughter of Senshi Uranus and Senshi Neptune like?"

Arashi shook her head, "No one's asked me, but that's alright. I don't plan on going anyway. I can't think about a silly dance . . . I've got other things on my mind. And besides, I want to see the season premier of that new Sailor V spin-off! Bishoujo Genesis Sailor Evangelion! Lady Mars may get on my nerves in real life, but Hino Asuka, pilot of Sailor02, is the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

As Arashi went on about sailor suited Evas, progressively bigger and more numerous sweatdrops appeared behind Kazuko and Amy's heads. When she finally finished her rant, they had but one thing to say, and they said it in unison: "<Kowaii!>"

******

As the bell rang and the final period at Howard Phillips High came to an end, Arashi rose from her seat and headed for the door to the classroom. She had been in Science class, and as usual, she had been bored out of her mind. As she walked out the door, the voice of Steven Marsh called to her from behind. "Arashi?"

She turned towards him, and then blinked as she realized she was blocking the flow of students from the room. Arashi quickly stepped out and waited for Steven to follow. When he did, she gave him a questioning look. "What is it?" she asked.

"I was... er," he began, not terribly sure of himself, "wondering if you'd... sorta like to go to the dan.. er, costume party with me."

Arashi tilted her head to the side and half smiled - a mannerism she had picked up from her mother - and said, "Kazuko already said 'no', I take it?"

Steven blushed.

Arashi laughed and shook her head, "Sorry, Steven, but no thanks."

"Still worrying about Alice?" he asked.

Arashi shook her head, saying, a bit too quickly, "... No. Of course not."

"Oh, I see. You're not worried about her, you're just depressed is all. Too bad she's not here, 'cause I bet if you apologized, you'd feel a whole lot better."

Arashi thought about that for a moment before she shrugged, half smiled and said, "I'm not particularly interested in you, Steven." She paused a moment before shifting into uber-kawaii-fangirl-mode just long enough to say, "And even if I was, I could never betray my Yaten!" And at that, little hearts appeared in her eyes and she stared off into nowhere with a dreamy expression on her face. "Yaten..." she said, sighing slightly. Her display lacked any sort of convincing power; her heart really wasn't in it.

Steven facefaulted. He glanced around quickly, cheeks burning with embarrassment at Arashi's 'display.' He didn't seem to notice the half-heartedness of it. "That's quite an effective way of changin' the subject you've got there, Tenoh. Yeesh. But so far as the party goes, I'm not interested in a date either. I'm inviting you as a friend."

Arashi grinned weakly. "All right, all right. I'll go. Even if it means missing Sailor Evangelion."

Steven smiled widely. "Great! Want me to pick you up at... say, six o'clock?"

Arashi shook her head, "Nah, I'll meet you there if you don't mind."

Steven pikupikued. "Er... OK." he managed.

*** The Next Day ***

Arashi stood at the foot of her bed, trying to decide between the two costumes that were laid out on her bed. Although she had always wanted to wear the first costume... the second one also had a special place in her heart.

On a desk behind her was her CD player and collection of CDs. Among this collection could be seen every album ever released by the Three Lights, a large selection of the music of X (X-Japan), a whole bunch of classical CDs, and various miscellaneous J-pop (including one of Minako's CDs, though Arashi-chan would deny having it if she was asked about it).

She sighed and took a step backwards. Why couldn't she decide? It should be a fairly simple matter. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there arose a thought that maybe she shouldn't wear such indecent costumes to the Halloween costume party, but she crushed said thought mercilessly. As she stepped backwards, she bumped into something that was behind her, and an instant later, the strains of 'Nagareboshi He' began to flow through her room.

~Kimi ha itsumo kagayai te ta

~egao hitotsu chiisana hoshi

~taisetsu ni shite ta yo (eien no starlight)

Arashi blinked and looked at her CD player. 'I must have bumped it just now...'

As she listened to the music, a look of resolve appeared on her face.

~ano hi boku ha mamore nakute

~kuyashi namida kora e ta dake

~ita mi ga noku ru yo (wasurenai sweetheart)

With a determined nod, Arashi grabbed the first of the two costumes.

******

A convertible hovercar rocketed northwards along an abandoned dirt road, its engine roaring. That in itself was unusual, as most hovercar engines... DIDN'T... roar - not unless you were driving it at nearly insane speeds. Although the posted speed limit out here was about 30 MPH, this car was pulling at least 200 KPH (or 120 MPH). Not that the posted speed limit meant all that much out here, considering that the road was abandoned. Haruka was in the driver's seat, of course. Because the highway was unpaved, the car left a considerable dust trail in its wake.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Michiru luxuriated in the feel of the wind blowing through her hair. This was one of the things that she liked best; to ride in a car with Haruka along the sea shore. The sea was shining under the noon day sun, and the cries of gulls and various other sea birds filled the air. It was almost enough to make her forget where they were going, and why they were going there. As they drove, she wondered at why they hadn't gone to investigate the site earlier. The answer came without too much difficulty; the trade negotiations had taken their turn for the worst immediately following her resolution to do this. As a result, the plan to drive out here had been completely forgotten until that moment not too long past when the image of the black reef had appeared in Michiru's talisman.

As they neared their destination - the mouth of the Manuxet - the drive ceased to be such a pleasant experience. The sea breeze was the first thing to change. Where earlier it had been pleasant, even refreshing, now it had grown foul and brackish. There was no longer any green plants, and those plants along the side of the road that remained were mostly thorn bushes and clinging vines.

Fairly soon the smell that was carried with the breeze grew so unbearable that they pulled over and closed the top of the car.

About a minute after they had stopped to close the top of the car, Haruka and Michiru arrived at the mouth of the Manuxet. At Innsmouth. They parked on what had, before the Cataclysm, been a cliff on the north side of town, but now was reduced to a small, crumbling rise that stood some twenty feet higher than the rest of the town at its highest point. Near the shattered remains of what had once been the house at the top of said rise, they got their first glimpse of Innsmouth. Or rather, what was left of Innsmouth.

It looked as though it had once been a fairly large town, but was now in ruins. Down near the waterfront they could see the crumbling brick foundations of what had been a fairly large building, as well as the wreck of a rotting docks. The water itself was... wrong, somehow. It was choked with slime, kelp, and the rotting hulks of abandoned ships. The smell was nearly unbearable; foul, brackish, polluted. The very deep seemed to be rotting. There, a little ways off shore, lay a long black reef which radiated a strange sense of menace.

The buildings throughout the rest of the town were for the most part reduced to their crumbling foundations, though here and there were some which had been of slightly better construction, or perhaps shielded by neighbors from the elements, and still stood. Even these were in states of extreme disrepair, and now resembled more shapeless mounds than the homes and houses they had once been. Near the waterfront, many of the remains of the buildings were almost entirely covered with sand. Near the center of town, a lone steeple rose above the ruins of the town, leaning crazily at an angle that seemed to defy gravity.

Exchanging worried glances, Haruka and Michiru henshined* and then descended into the corpse of the ancient town of Innsmouth.

*Henshin: transform

"Odango should come and purify this place." said Uranus.

Neptune nodded silently, looking about in such a manner that suggested that she expected an attack to come at any time.

The sunlight seemed somehow less bright in that place, as though a cloud had passed over the sun, though there were no clouds to be seen. The shadows lengthened and grew menacing as they made their way through the ruined town, reaching out towards the two Senshi like black hands. All around them they could sense a terrible *presence*, and from the moment they arrived they had felt as if they were being watched. For all that they felt, they saw nothing.

Uranus and Neptune eventually made their way to the center of town; towards the steeple they had seen from the rise to the north. Perhaps they thought that on its holy ground the taint of the surrounding town would be lessened. It wasn't. The exterior of the chapel was almost entirely overgrown with ugly clinging vines, and though its door was open, they could not see within.

As the two Senshi peered into the darkness of the chapel, they sensed something.. watching them. As if something were peering out of that dark abyss back at them. Neptune was quick to produce her talisman. She shone it into the darkness. Its light pierced the shadows slowly, for the evil that had laid ahold of Innsmouth long ago was loathe to give up even the tiniest foothold in the town. Still, the darkness, and the sense of menace with it, receded.

They could now see the inside of this chapel. The crumbling, decrepit old chapel was filled with a blue light which had no visible source, and the shadows of the room undulated along the walls, as if its interior were underwater. They entered warily, ready for anything.

Murals were painted on the walls; paintings of horrible humanoid fish-frog things, dancing beneath a gibbous moon. All around them hung an air of darkness and evil. On the altar was set a great worm-ridden book. On its cover was written the words, vague and indistinct,

'De.. Vermi... yste..is.'

Uranus spotted the book first. Curious, she reached out and began to open it.

Neptune frowned slightly. Something about that book did NOT seem right, and her intuition was all but screaming at her that they would both be better off not opening it. "<Uranus, don't touch it!>" she said.

She was too late. Uranus had already begun to open it. There was a flash of light, and then Uranus went flying backwards. She landed on a rotting pew, and the force of the impact shattered it.

"<Uranus!>" cried Neptune, rushing to help her fallen lover.

Although she was a bit stunned by the impact, Uranus was otherwise fine.

"<.. remind me not to do that again.>" she said.

Neptune tilted her head to the side and half-smiled. "<You're always causing trouble for me.>" she said.

As Uranus rose to her feet, she grinned. "<You wouldn't want it any other way.>"

Neptune shook her head, not losing that half-smile. Although both of them were curious to know what was written within, the thought of actually reading it filled them with a sense of doom... Uranus figured that it was dangerous to have that sort of thing lying around. She destroyed it before leaving the building.

From there, they went to the black reef which rose out of the ocean just off shore like the dark finger of a long forgotten demon, filled with a quiet menace. It took some searching, but they managed to find a rowboat at the remains of the docks which was still sea-worthy. It was made entirely of metal, and every bit of it was rusted, but it did the job.

They tried not to notice the stench of the rotting ocean, nor the thick layer of some form of unidentified slimy substance that lay on the surface of the water, or the way that it almost seemed that the boat was sliding across the surface of that slime instead of moving through water.

Neptune was the first to step out onto Devil's Reef. The sense of wrongness in that place nearly overwhelmed her. She staggered, and Uranus was at her side in an instant, steadying her. At the end of the reef there lay a foul, ruined altar, around which was gathered an air of almost tangible menace. On it, many evil things were depicted, the likes of which the two senshi had seen glimpses of only in their darkest nightmares. As they gazed upon the altar, the wind began to pick up. A cold, icy wind that brought with it a chill that pierced them to the bone.

Uranus shuddered.

They lingered in that place until the sun had nearly set, searching in vain for clues. As shadows of the evening began to steal across the sky, the town began to seem more and more oppressive.. almost suffocating. They were fairly well convinced that this place had some connection with the monsters that had been attacking lately, but for all their searching, they found nothing. Eventually, they departed. The idea of being in that place after dark sparked fear even in their hearts.

******

That day after school, the Halloween party took place at Howard Phillips High. Students arrived in costumes of all shapes and sizes - one young freshman arrived dressed as Tuxedo Kamen, while another, a junior, came as Captain Kirk. Several girls came dressed in Sailor Fuku, the most prominent of which was Shiro Kazuko, who actually came in her Terra fuku, having transformed before she went to the party. Tetsuro was there also, wearing an incredibly realistic suit of armor, which was actually fairly similar in style to the armor which King Endymion was able to summon at times. Students were dressed in every type of costume, from ghosts and goblins to power rangers to hobbits and elves.

The party itself was happening in the school's gymnasium, which dozens of students had spent many hours decorating. A stage had been set up near the back, on which a local band called 'The Replicants' was playing music - mostly a relatively new style called Retro-Thrash, but there was also plenty of disco, rock and roll, and a little bit of swing mixed in. Their lead singer had an amazing voice, and put quite a bit of passion into what she sang. When the band wasn't playing, a guy with a sequencer was pounding out some techno.

Along the side wall, right in front of the folded bleachers, food and drink were available for anyone who wanted them - it was mostly snacks and punch, but a little solid food could also be found. The students danced, and ate, and drank, and socialized. As a general rule, Tetsuro and Kazuko were the centers of attention, which was just the way they liked it.

"Kazuko's senshi fuku is SOOOO cool!" said one girl.

"Hey, I dare you to go spike the punch!" said one rather stupid boy to another, who was, unfortunately, even dumber. The two attempted to spike said punch right in front of one of the teachers, who stopped them and sent them home.

"Hey, where's Sara?" said a girl in an angel costume.

"She's not here." replied another girl, this one dressed in an elaborate witch costume, complete with a broom which was equipped with a magi-tech anti-grav device.

"How come?"

"I heard she and her boyfriend were attacked by a monster at the beach!"

"A monster? You're kidding, right?"

"No, haven't you been watching the news? There are all sorts of monster attacks happening here these days."

And so it went, with various conversations springing up and then dying away, people dancing, and dozens of teenagers participating in melodramas that were worthy of being featured on Jerry Springer (Has your identical twin sister seduced your boyfriend or husband? If so, then we'd like to hear about it!).

Into this place came Tenoh Arashi, and when she entered, people stared, and silence fell. Several males immediately got nosebleeds, and were quickly smacked for this offense by their respective girlfriends. On the plus side, Arashi managed to prove to them all, beyond all doubt, that she was indeed a girl. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of gaining the nickname of 'bondage senshi' for the rest of the semester.

Kazuko gaped at Arashi, who was clad in... a leather bikini, hot pants, boots, and not much else. Yes, gentle reader, she was wearing a Sailor Starlight costume.

"Arashi!?" Kazuko said, not believing her eyes. "Don't you have ANY shame at ALL!?"

Arashi smiled faintly, turning slightly red, "Well, I do NOW..."

******

As the party went along, Arashi wound up sitting on the sidelines and watching people dance for the most part, thinking to herself something along the lines of, 'This sucks'. She found herself trying to think up things to do to amuse herself. That is to say, she was thinking of pranks to pull - She decided against putting gorilla laxative into the punch (too messy), and further figured that dropping a bucket of pig's blood on Kazuko's head was probably not the best of ideas (her source for that prank had been less than encouraging in regards to its ultimate outcome) - But I digress.

About half of the people present seemed to think ill of her because of her choice in costume, while the other half.. well, was drooling. She didn't seem to notice either half. Occasionally someone would ask her to dance, but she would rarely take them up on the offer.

Steven Marsh, who had arrived just a few minutes after Arashi (dressed as a lord of Serenity's court), had a very good time. The only disappointment for him at the party was that he was unable to dance with Kazuko. He tried, of course.. and she never specifically said 'no', but she made it fairly clear that she wasn't interested.

Things took a turn for the better at about the mid point of the party - that is, when the swing music started playing, and everyone (well, almost everyone) headed out for the dance floor. Arashi had some trouble at first, never having done that style of dance before. Thankfully, Kazuko was willing to teach her, and she was a quick study. When she finally did dance with Steven, she was pleasantly surprised to find that he was fairly good at it. From then until the end of the party, Arashi enjoyed herself greatly, and she soon forgot about the prank that she had wanted to pull.

******

For the second time that day, a hovercar rocketed along the abandoned road, its engine roaring. In that hovercar sat Haruka and Michiru, who were now on their way back from the place of deadness that is called Innsmouth. Although they left the foul air of that place behind them fairly quickly, they did not put the top of their convertible down. They were pulling about 250 kph on their return trip - if the two were eager to get to Innsmouth, they were now doubly eager to be away from it. They spoke very little, though Michiru did point out that it was about the time that the party Arashi had gone to was supposed to be over.

As the car reached the city limits of Boston, Haruka slowed to a somewhat (but only SOMEWHAT) more sane speed. A few moments later, she noticed a flash of light out of the corner of her eye.

That was the only warning she had. The ground in front of their vehicle suddenly surged upwards. Michiru cried out in warning, and for a moment, the world was swept away in a rush of fear and adrenaline. Time seemed to slow as Haruka hit the reverse thrust. The car slowed, but not quickly enough; it hit the barrier of broken asphalt and rock with a horrible crunch.

Haruka was thrown through the windshield and out onto the barrier, smashing into the steering wheel rather brutally on the way out. Michiru, having had her seat belt buckled, remained within the confines of the vehicle. Time returned to normal.

It was at this point that Haruka said the only thing that was really appropriate to say in this situation as she rose to her feet, rubbing a spot on her side where she had hit the steering wheel on the way out.

"Chikishou."

The only reason that she had survived was the fact that she had been using her Senshi powers long enough that some of the benefits that she gained were beginning to transfer over to her civilian form. The car was pretty much wrecked - the entire front end was smashed like an aluminum can all the way back to the passenger compartment. A particularly large chunk of rock was going right through the driver's seat. In the passenger seat, Michiru seemed to be unharmed, though she appeared to be having difficulty in getting her door open. A thrill shot through Haruka when she realized just how close to death she had come. Had she NOT been thrown through the windshield, she would have died for certain.

"Chikishou!" she said again.

"HOOOOHOHOHO!" came a very loud laugh from above Haruka's head (yes, THAT kind of laugh).

Haruka whirled around and looked upwards, producing her henshin wand as she did so.

About thirty feet above the crash, Alice Grant floated in midair, clad in what seemed at first glance to be robes as white as snow. Yet the more one looked at it, the more it seemed a very sickly sort of white - a maggot-white, and to look at it for too long would make the observer somewhat nauseous. In her right hand was strength, yet upon her brow was great folly, though she knew it not.

"I had hoped to kill you both with the first shot," said she. On her face was a queer facial expression that seemed very like a smile, and yet could just as easily have been a snarl. "Looks like I have to do this the hard way."

Haruka wasted no time. While Alice was talking, she was transforming. "URANUS CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!" she shouted in a mighty voice. A swirl of colour surrounded her, and when it passed, there stood Sailor Uranus.

She made her appearance just in time to be blasted full on by a bolt of dark energy, for Alice had finished talking before Uranus had finished transforming, and though she may have become a servant to the dark powers of the world, the girl was not stupid.

Uranus took the bolt in the stomach and went reeling, the wind knocked out of her.

Alice Grant grinned wickedly, preparing to launch another blast of energy at the fallen Senshi. Her hands began to glow with an unearthly light.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"

Just as she was about to loose this second blast, a blue ringed sphere struck her full in the back, blasting her out of the sky. She hit the ground with a tremendous crack.

Sailor Neptune leaped from the roof of the wrecked hovercar and landed at her lover's side. "Uranus," she said, her voice filled with concern, "Are you alright?"

Uranus grimaced slightly and gave a thumbs up. "Never better," she managed to gasp out as she climbed back to her feet. The two turned to face their attacker.. and found that Alice Grant was gone. Where she had struck the ground was a sizable impact crater, but she herself was nowhere to be seen.

The two frowned, growing immediately suspicious. They searched the surroundings, but found no sign of the girl.

"Well, that answers the question of what happened to Alice." said Michiru.

Haruka shook her head faintly. "I'm not looking forward to telling Arashi about this."

Michiru's frown deepened slightly.

'Could this attack have been a distraction? Just an attempt to delay us?' she wondered. Had their enemy wanted to make a serious attack against them, it would have been easiest to do it at Innsmouth. She voiced her thoughts to Haruka.

"But why would they need to delay us?" asked Haruka.

At that moment, a horrible fear entered into their hearts. Somehow, though they knew not exactly how or why, they knew that their daughter was in danger. Both of their eyes widened as identical expressions of alarm flashed across their faces.

"Arashi-chan!"

"Hime-chan!"

******

Arashi sat in the grass out in front of Howard Phillips High, talking with a few of the students who lingered still. The party had ended about ten minutes earlier, and most of those who had attended had already left or were leaving.

The topic of conversation was, much to Arashi's annoyance, her choice of clothing. The girls who sat with her still could not quite believe that she had actually worn a starlight fuku.

"You're very bold, Arashi." said one of them, "I would never be able to wear something like that.."

Most of them weren't quite so polite about it.

After a few minutes of this, she grew annoyed and held up her right hand. Around her wrist was a small silver bracelet with three buttons labeled simply, '1', '2', and '3'. Arashi pushed the button marked '1'. Immediately the bracelet flashed, and for a few seconds, the red-head was surrounded by a strange light. When it faded, she was clad in normal clothing once again.

Everyone stared.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't think they've ever seen a henshin bracelet before, Tenoh," said a somewhat unfriendly male voice from behind the group.

Arashi glanced towards Tetsuro, who had just walked up, accompanied by his sister.

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Her tone was unconcerned, yet when she saw the almost hostile expression on Tetsuro's face, her eyes flinched away.

"Really," said he, his voice cold and still unfriendly.

Terra shook her head. "Onii-san, are you still holding it against her? I thought we'd all put that behind us."

Tetsuro looked pained as he glanced at his sister. "... you know that no one's seen Alice since the day of the fight, right? And that it's HER fault?" He gestured at Arashi with his thumb when he pronounced the word 'HER'.

Sailor Terra sighed and nodded.

A shouting match might have started between Arashi and Tetsuro then, had things gone otherwise, but at that moment, something happened that made that an impossibility.

Au'ru'mt'hyali stepped out of an old style automobile that was parked a short distance away. He was accompanied by two men and a woman, all three of them severely deformed, though not so badly as the one that Arashi had seen at the Marsh's home when she and her parents had gone there for dinner not so long ago.

The man and the woman produced pistols from their pockets and leveled them at Terra. The click that sounded as the safeties were disengaged was soft but unmistakable. Everyone froze, and slowly, ever so slowly, the eyes of the young people were drawn to the three gunman and the one that they were escorting.

"Sailor Terra," Hyali intoned, "If you value the pathetic existence that you call your life, you will come with me. If you resist, you will die."

Terra stared at the man in disbelief. Tetsuro, on the other hand, wasted no time with such activities. With a flash as of lightning a katana appeared in his hands, a dangerous light glinting along its bitter edge.

The other students scattered.

The bodyguards smoothly pivoted and opened fire on the boy, and the shots struck him directly in the chest. Yet Tetsuro's armor was no costume. It turned aside the bullets, though the impact of those projectiles against his magically reinforced armor still jarred him somewhat. He wasted little time in beginning his attack. Fortune was with him; his first attack struck home.

The first bodyguard was pierced deeply, and with a gurgling cry he fell to the ground. Yet even as he fell, Hyali opened his hand.

Suddenly, the very shadows themselves came to life, wrapping around Tetsuro like hungry pythons. Soon, all but his head was covered in an inky blackness. Unable to move within the constricting darkness, Tetsuro fell to the ground.

Arashi did not fare even as well as Tetsuro. As he fell, she charged Hyali, shouting, "Kazuko, run!" The creature that held the form of a man sneered at her, and with a gesture of dismissal, caused her to be flung into a nearby pole with a force that made Terra wince.

And so the battle, short lived as it was, ended. From the shadows nearby, Steven Grant watched as Terra was taken into the car, with Tetsuro and Arashi taken as well to ensure her cooperation. He continued to watch as the car drove away, completely unable to act. He knew well the ones who had attacked his friends, and he greatly feared to cross them.

Though he knew it not, another pair of eyes marked the scene as well; red eyes whose gaze pierced even through time itself.

******

Haruka and Michiru, or rather, Uranus and Neptune, arrived at the party far too late. When they rushed up, they found that most of those involved had long departed, and those who hadn't were now speaking with the police officers and reporters that were now present. Reporters crowded up to the very edge of the police line, and though the body of the man who Tetsuro had killed had been removed, the blood that was spilled was still evident. It took them very little time to find the police officer in charge of the operation, but somewhat more time to bypass the mob of reporters.

"What happened!?" Uranus demanded of the man as the reporters were pushed back. The flash of cameras filled the night, and she almost didn't hear the man's answer over the clamor of the newsmen and women.

To say that Uranus was not happy about the kidnapping would be a grave understatement. A quivering sort of feeling grew in the pit of her stomach - a feeling which she recognized as fear. This fear was soon joined by a great feeling of helplessness when the police told her that there was no ransom note, no demands had been made, and no one had any idea of where Arashi and her friends had been taken. Uranus exchanged a helpless, horrified glance with Neptune.

It was only when the two Senshi turned to leave that Steven Marsh came forth. Almost he had let them depart. He had almost sided with his family. It had been a close thing, the inner debate of whether he should do what he knew was right and betray his family, or side with the ties that (in his case, literally) bind.

He had lingered there, a safe distance away from the scene to keep from being caught up when the police arrived, and when he saw Uranus and Neptune leaving, he called to them.

"Wait!" he said.

They turned to look at him, and recognizing him as the son of Robert Marsh, their faces grew unfriendly.

"What do you want?" Neptune demanded, her expression grievous to behold, her voice like ice.

Steven flinched away from the wrathful gaze of the Senshi of Neptune. His eyes had no home; he cast them hither and thither, but never upon either of the ones he was speaking to. Terrible they seemed to him, and though he regretted speaking, his conscience still drove him on. "I know where they took them." he said.

"How?" Uranus asked.

"... they're my family. They include me in their plans."

Uranus stalked towards the boy, approaching until he cowered under her, yet at the last moment she was restrained by Neptune, who said, ".. where did they take our daughter?"

Steven stood there, pinned by the force of their gazes much like a nail might pin an insect to a board. He shuddered once and then said, in a voice that was both quiet and fearful, "Innsmouth."

The two exchanged horrified glances (and yet this time those glances were not helpless) and immediately ran off into the night, leaving Steven to take a deep and very relieved breath.

******

The car (for an old style gasoline automobile it was) drove smoothly along the roads in the back country of New England, headed northwards towards the town at the mouth of the Manuxet. Although it would have been quicker to take the highway, there were two on that highway that the driver of the vehicle could not afford to run into. As quickly as the driver dared, the car made its way along the long and winding road that forced its way through the forest primeval.

The road was dreary, darkened by the gloom of that place. The cataclysm had not by any means spared the forest; the area looked as though a hundred mad giants had gone on a rampage through it. Many long since rotted and shattered trees were scattered about like twigs, and sudden rifts and valleys appeared unexpectedly all throughout the wood, and yet amidst all of the devastation caused by the cataclysm, new life had taken root and, having had thirty years to reclaim the land, was growing tall and green. Around the road the forest gave way only reluctantly, barely standing aside to let it creep through, and closing immediately behind.

Within the car sat two guards whose resemblance to the fish-frog-humanoid things was nearly total, and in the driver's seat sat a darkly clad man whom Arashi had seen before, though she did not recognize him now. His name was Hyali, and he was exceedingly ugly, with a flat nose, a queer narrow face, and skin that held an unhealthy yellowish hue. Also within the car sat Tenoh Arashi and the Shiro twins, bound with their hands behind their backs. The female twin - Kazuko - was still transformed and had access to her power, though it did her very little good, for the guards had said that they would kill both Arashi and Tetsuro if she made the slightest threatening move.

"Who are you people?" asked Tetsuro.

Neither the guards nor the driver made any response. Regardless of anything that any of the three would ask, their captors remained silent.

Eventually, conversation began between the prisoners.

"So Arashi-san, you never did answer me earlier... what sort of boy do you like?"

Arashi looked at Sailor Terra incredulously. "What?" she asked.

"I said..."

Tetsuro shook his head and remained silent.

Arashi interrupted Terra before she could continue, and both her tone and expression were harsh. "I know what you said.. I just want to know why you'd ask that at a time like this."

Terra wilted slightly, yet did not give up entirely. "I just ... don't want to dwell on this situation. Look, we've been kidnapped by these... freaks that look FAR too much like that monster we fought, and I don't know about you, but I'd much rather think about happier things."

Arashi's expression softened at that, yet she did not answer at first.

For several minutes the car drove on in silence, and as the silence stretched out, Terra's face fell as she began to perceive just how stupid she must have seemed, asking a question like that at a time like this.

Eventually, Arashi smiled faintly and said, "I like Yaten-kun, of course!" she said, forcing enthusiasm into her voice for Terra's sake.

"Figures." said Terra.

Arashi smiled in a reassuring manner and said, "Don't worry, Kazuko, my parents will save us. You'll see!"

Sailor Terra seemed to take comfort in that. At least, until the driver laughed loudly.

"Someone's already been sent to take care of your parents, sea-and-sky-daughter. If they're not dead already, then they're not long for this world."

Arashi glared at the driver, and continued to attempt to reassure Terra, all the while trying to ignore the horrible quivering feeling of fear that had formed at the edges of her awareness.

All too soon they arrived at their destination. The car pulled to a stop, and the three prisoners were forced out. Their bonds were cut, for the bonds were not needed any more; they had arrived at Innsmouth, they were surrounded, and the terror of that place was upon them.

When Haruka and Michiru had gone to Innsmouth earlier that day, it had been a corpse. A dead and rotting thing. Now, as Arashi, Tetsuro, and Kazuko made their own journey through shadowed Innsmouth, it was revealed that this corpse was crawling with maggots. Nightmarish creatures danced and gibbered in the night, the sight of which nearly broke the three. Fell voices filled the air, shrieking and howling and warbling in the night, lifted up in grotesque mockeries of song.

Worst of all was the ocean itself. By day the sea-shore is a pleasant place, with the sunlight glinting on the ocean as if the very deep were a great jewel, coruscating effulgently under the warm light of the sun. Yet how different it is when the sun sleeps in the west! When, under the shadow of the evening, fearful things grow in the hearts of men! By night, the ocean is a fearful thing, and even moreso the defiled bay at Innsmouth; for the ocean may be fearful, but it is also beautiful. Yet this is not true of the bay at Innsmouth. Here there was no beauty, only fear and madness. The very ebb and flow of the waves seemed wrong somehow, in a manner that tugged at the imagination and sent it spiraling down the path of darkness. They could see it ahead of them, surging and frothing like a wild animal, seeming to reach for them with dark foaming tendrils.

Arashi felt her blood run cold, and a chill began to spread towards her heart.

Offshore, a cold and clammy fog was rolling in towards them, and fairly soon it was upon them, blotting out the stars above, and reducing the Nightmarish creatures that danced in the night to shapes only vaguely seen and more than half imagined. Yet no fog lay on Devil's Reef. It parted around the reef, going to either side as if some sort of barrier had been erected around that dark finger of rock. The fog only served to increase the terror of the captives.

And ever onwards they were led, now being dragged behind, now being pushed ahead.

At one point, Arashi broke free and tried to run away, but she was quickly seized by a monstrous flopping Thing that emerged from the shadows near her, and was returned to her captors. Slowly, ever so slowly, they made their way towards the distant reef, and towards the Presence that lurked there.

Although it did not occur to her then, Arashi would later admit that she had at least accomplished her goal in going to the party: in the midst of shadowed Innsmouth, the fate of Alice Grant was the furthest thing from her mind.

******

The house lay cold and dreary before him. From other houses there shone forth a cheering light, and the voices of happy families drifted out into the cool autumn air, yet this cheer did not reach the Marsh home. No lamps were lit to brighten its gloom, and even if there had been, it is doubtful that they would have succeeded in doing so.

As Steven Marsh stood at the doorway between the half-light of the night time and the deeper gloom of the place he called home, he was engaged in a great internal struggle. Somehow, he felt called to this place, and almost all that was within him commanded him to enter. The voice of that part of him that still remembered light and life bid him to tarry a while. But no voice of sanity may deny the power that called to him for long, and all too soon he found himself stepping into the dreadful darkness of that place.

His father stood in the entryway. When the man saw his son, he smiled, though there was no warmth in it. As Steven passed him, Robert Marsh turned and followed his son.

The door closed on its own.

Up went Steven Marsh, feeling his way through a darkness so thick that he feared that he had been struck blind. Up the stairs, following the call of his destiny.

Soon he realized that he was approaching his sister's room, and the thought of going in provoked in him a reaction of pure revulsion. By no means would he step through that doorway!

Even as he thought this, the image of the mirror of true-seeing appeared in his mind, and it occurred to him that were he to look into it, it might show him what had become of the three whom his family had taken captive.

In he went, and his sister was there to greet him.

"I knew you would come," she croaked, bidding him to come and see what the mirror may show him.

As Robert closed the door to the room, he intoned, "It is time."

As Steven peered into the mirror of true-seeing, he saw what he had desired to see - there were Kazuko, Arashi and Tetsuro. And so it was that even as Arashi, Kazuko, and Tetsuro were brought to Innsmouth, Tetsuro was able to watch them through the scrying mirror.

So caught up was he in the images that the mirror showed him that he never noticed his own reflection.

******

In that place of darkness, Arashi felt intensely grateful for the presence of Kazuko and Tetsuro with her there. At the same time, she wished that they were both safe and far away from here. This secondary wish was not very strong however, as the thought of being in that place alone brought a horrible gnawing fear to her heart. A half remembered quote arose in Arashi's mind, though she knew not from where. 'While it may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two, two is not twice one. Two is a thousand times one.'(1) Here, amid the shattered moonlight and shaken shadows of Devil's Reef, solitude would likely have driven her mad.

The priest Hyali concluded his prayer to whatever unknowable creatures that he served, and there was a fell light in his eyes. "And now, children, you will see the purpose for which I have called you here." he said, speaking to the crowd of chaos spawn that encircled the three humans. "For on this night, at last, the stars are right!"

There was a great clamor as every creature gave a cry of exultation. The sound of their shrieking filled the night.

The three prisoners sat there mutely, knowing that there was no escape from this place. Even if they ran, they would be seized by the THINGS that had gathered round. And if by some chance they escaped from the Things, they would have the defiled waters to cross.

But Hyali held up his hand, and soon, all was silent once more. "Children, it is time. The Great Awakening is at hand!"

As Hyali turned towards Sailor Terra, the chill that comes of the sudden realization of doom ran through her heart.

The priest held forth his hand, and behold! A golden light shone out from his palm. Yet the light was not warm, and it pierced like the most bitter of spears. This deadly light lanced out from his hand and passed through Sailor Terra with a flash as of lightning.

Pain flooded Terra's senses, and she screamed.

The gibbering of the watchers increased as a shining jewel took shape and floated up from the body of the captive Senshi.

"Here," cried Hyali, "Is the true-starseed! Here is the instrument of our Great Lord's arrival!"

The crowd of Things roared its approval.

Yet even in Hyali's hour of victory, his hope was cheated. All fell silent as the star-seed began to change.

Arashi and Tetsuro could only stare in horror as Terra's starseed darkened to black, giving off a noise very like pieces of glass being ground together. Tendrils of inky darkness burst up from the ground and wrapped around the false senshi's body.

Terra screamed once more, and this time her scream was filled with a horror that went beyond words, as if her very soul were being rent in that moment. And then she fell utterly silent.

--=- END EPISODE SIX -=--

--=- OMAKE -=--

*ring*

*ring*

"Moshi moshi, Tomoe residence."

#Hotaru-chan!?#

"Michiru-mama?"

#Hotaru-chan, Arashi-chan's been kidnapped! They called themselves the Church of Dagon, they're based at the Mouth of the Manuxet, and they're working for a Spawn of Chaos! We don't know what to do!#

The receiver drops from Hotaru's hands as a snarl appears on her face.

#Hotaru-chan?#

Her eyes darken to coal-black, and her fuku appears on her in the place of her normal clothing.

#Hotaru!? Are you there??#

She isn't there. Sailor Saturn has vanished from her home.

She reappears in the sky above Innsmouth, where gibbering things dance in the night... "DEATH." she intones as darkness begins to boil around the Silence Glaive, "RIBBON." She sees Arashi out on Devil's Reef, and adjusts the power level of her attack to spare her. "REVOLUTION!" she cries as she sweeps her blade towards the things that gibber and dance in the night. Death was come to Innsmouth, and she was not pleased with the crawling things that wormed their way through its rotting husk.

Back in Boston, Haruka and Michiru have assembled themselves enough to begin driving towards Innsmouth. Abruptly, they realize that things have suddenly become deathly quiet. No, not deathly quiet... there is NO sound. At all. They speak, and nothing reaches their ears.

In Crystal Tokyo, Neo-Queen Serenity is making a pronouncement to her court. As she speaks, her voice suddenly fails, and although she continues to move her lips, no sound emerges. She trails off, her face going pale as she looks towards New England.

And each of the Senshi do likewise, staring towards New England with eyes wide.

All over the world, sound ceases as The Silence descends. Life begins to follow sound, but, is held in check, is prevented by... something. It is not the will of She who wields the power of Death that all life on Earth should end. The Silence shakes the world's very foundations, but does not break them. But over Innsmouth, a great blinding flash of light can be seen as ribbons of pure death and destruction streak down to the town, ending the existence of everything they touch. Only the very tip of Devil's Reef is spared, where lie the unconscious bodies of Arashi, Kazuko, and Tetsuro. All else is consumed.

When the attack finally fades, Saturn floats down to what remained of Devil's reef, scoops up her 'sister' in her arms, and then vanishes. Where the town of Innsmouth once stood in ruins, now there is only a great crater of cold glass, into which the sea begins to flood.

--=- END OMAKE -=--

(1) - The quote is taken from 'The Man Who Was Thursday', by G.K. Chesterton. It is a very good book, and I do not hesitate to recommend it. ^.^