A*0-1 whispered, as if she was confronting some of her worst nightmares.
Pluto and Saturn twitched, looking at each other inside the subspace bubble all four of them were. What the hell could make 'Sailor Overkill', She-Who-Crashburns-Star-Systems-Before-Breakfast, sound like that?
And so it was only Neptune who noticed that Uranus had gone very, very still.
She had cheered Moon along with the rest of them when that massive - if very basic indeed - healing and purifying attack had gone perfectly and better then perfectly, covering something like the entire Greater Tokyo area. Not that the great majority of people in said area had noticed anything at all, of course, since that kind of magic was very unnoticeable unless one was being directly affected - 'normal' people wouldn't even see anything, as far as Neptune knew - but after that...
Uranus was watching... A*0-1. Her eyes jerked, once, to the boy A*0-1 had first called "Ryouga", then "Sia", but after that, they had gone back to the red-haired Senshi, who was looking at the boy like she was seeing a nightmare made flesh.
And a then, Uranus's lips - twitched. As if she was in pain. Or trying not to laugh. Or both.
Neptune grew cold.
"...R-R-R-R... Ryouga?"
Ryouga smiled, crookedly, standing on air right on her level.
"Well, yeah. - Long time no see, A*0-1."
" - Sia?"
A*0-1 whispered. Ryouga sighed.
"Sia, huh? So that's the name you remember. ...Typical."
"But..."
Typical what?
"Well yeah, the name does ring a bell a little bit, so maybe I was "Sia", once upon a time. - I'd think I'd be remembering other names then that, though, if I were you. If I were you, ha ha ha..."
Nike stood near the edge of the building, clutching her useless right arm. "Why? Why, Sia?" "Because you are Sailor A*0-1," said Sia, nodding to the others to spread out on either side of her.
Sia... Sia didn't remember. She - He - didn't even seem to remember being Sia.
Ryouga stared at her, expressionlessly.
She remembered. Everyone feared her. Everyone hated her. Not because of what she would do, but because of what she COULD do. Not because she was a problem, but because of what might be.
"Che'. Why do I bother? I wonder about myself sometimes, y'know?"
Ryouga muttered.
"You don't remember, you never remember, not the important stuff, and what you do remember is - "
Ryouga waved his hands.
"Oh, what the hell. - By the way, A*0-1 - we have company. In case you didn't notice."
A*0-1 blinked. What?
"Com.Pa.Ny, A*0-1. And no, I don't mean those Senshi girls who blasted off that ridiculously massive Purifying and Healing spell..."
Ryouga gestured behind them. There was a audible sigh, from empty air.
And then - four other Sailor Senshi appeared from nowhere.
There was something wrong. Uranus had been actually happy to hear the infamous 'Sailor Overkill' was in the vincity. Daringly dancingly gleeful, in fact.
And she did understand her, she did. Even with all the risks involved - how could they just let this chance pass by?
And Haruka loved risks, she knew that too - she drove racecars, what else needed to be said?
Neptune bit her lip. But.
Uranus was watching A*0-1. Like a hungry, hungry thing.
A subspace bubble? A*0-1 narrowed her eyes.
A slightly older-looking woman with dark skin, two girls who looked a bit older then herself probably, and a much younger girl. All in the distinctive Senshi uniform so common around this particular area of the universe, quite near the style she herself was wearing, now.
"Sailor Pluto." The eldest Senshi introduced herself.
"Saturn." This was the youngest.
"Neptune" The girl with sea-green hair nodded at him, and then turned towards the sandy-haired girls besides her, looking somewhat worried for some reason.
"And this is -"
"Sailor Uranus."
The girl stared at her, short sandy hair waving in the breeze. A*0-1 involuntarily took a step back.
Uranus grinned, then. Hungrily.
" - Say, haven't we tried to kill each other a couple of times, over the lifetimes?"
What?
Ryouga froze, realizing that something about Uranus's aura was familiar.
Very familiar.
Shit.
Pluto and Saturn were looking at Uranus like she had suddenly grown two heads. Neptune on the other hand, simply looked horrified.
Oi oi oi Uranus, there are good conversation starters and not-so-good conversation starters, you know...?
Ryouga resolutely told his mind not to gabble or run around in circles. There would be enough time for that later. Promise.
A*0-1 on the other hand, had turned bone white.
" - Say, haven't we tried to kill each other a couple of times, over the lifetimes?"
That voice, that aura, that seeped directly into her soul...
"We're friends, Sia. We grew up together," said Nike, looking from one to the other. "Kina. Rain. Silver. You know me."
"Yes, but now you're Sailor A*0-1," said Sia. "The Sailor of Ultimate Creation & Destruction. I'm sorry, but you can't be allowed to fully awaken."
"Sia?" asked Nike tearfully, shaking her head. "No. This can't be happening. I'm not-"
"WORLD BREAKING!" "FIRE WAVE!" "METAL BURST!" "THUNDERSHOCK!" "DEPTH CHARGE!"
"...Kina?"
A*0-1 whispered. This was a nightmare.
"Kina. Kina? - Is that all you remember - Kina? Well, well, well..."
And then the Senshi with the short sandy hair - threw back her head. And laughed.
Pluto and Saturn were still looking at Uranus like she had two heads, or maybe half a dozen, but that didn't seem to be phasing her in the least, frankly.
This was Not Good. Ryouga told himself he was not going to glibber now. Later.
If there was a later, that is.
"But you were always like that, now that I actually remember you a little- You and your selective memories..."
And then Uranus smiled, coldly as the winter wind.
"Ha'shel."
And A*0-1's aura inverted. And burned white.
A*0-1 reeled.
Ha'shel.
No.
Ha'shel
No!
"Nike! I was Nike!"
She remembered. Everyone feared her. Everyone hated her. Not because of what she would do, but because of what she COULD do. Not because she was a problem, but because of what might be.
"I was Nike!"
"Oh, sure you were. As surely as you were Ha'shel. And Lancran. And Benarre. And so many others, isn't that so, Ha'shel!!"
A*0-1 clapped her hands over her ears.
Lancran - A light that spread over a planet, breaking, crushing - but I got it back! I got it all back, I remade them again, they didn't remember a thing, I did, I did -
Oh sure you did. Except for all the Starseeds which were lost, and all the data that was lost, and the energy, and -
Benare- The Dark thing inside her, which giggled and took her over longer and longer, it'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaulteveniftheworldisSilencedAllLifeGone -
And Ha'shel - Laughter echoing as the Star System she was born in dies, serves them right for notlovingmetryingtokillme, she's the strongest she could always go elsewhere -
No
A*0-1 pounded on the ground. She wasn't sure just how she got there, but the ground was always hittable, yes - as long as she didn't break the planet's fragile skin, that is -
I was Nike I was Nike I was Nike and I didn't do anything but everybody my friends yes tried to betray me kill me -
"Shut up, Kina!"
"Ohhh, can't take the truth, Nike dearest? Oh, yes I do remember you now a little, I do - "
Uranus smiled, hungrily, madness lurking in her eyes.
"So what about a little - bout, then? Friendly-like, you know?"
Pluto and Saturn looked at Uranus gap-jawed. Ryouga would have too, if he hadn't been busy watching A*0-1 pounding on the ground and creating big wide cracks...
"Bout? Bout? With me? You've lost it, Kina - "
Neptune was frozen, her mouth soundlessly moving.
Uranus. Sailor Overkill. Can smash Star Systems.
"Suure I have, "Sailor Overkill" - what, scared to take on lil' old me? Maybe you should try calling yourself "Sailor Overhyped" sometimes, then!"
Uranus waved her arms then, and A*0-1 closed her mouth. A opening had opened up in the air, right above them. Pluto, off to one side, was slowly starting to swear in several dead languages, but nobody was listening, including herself, if she was to be truthful about such things.
"Come on to 'round Uranus, then, so we have less chance of blowing up the only planet with a viable ecosystem in this Star System - You're not as good at the Making as the Breaking, you ought to know that much by now at least -"
"Well that does take a bit of skill, not to mention aesthetic sense, yes"
Ryouga mumbled, and started creeping towards Pluto, a little bit at a time.
"You."
A*0-1 whispered.
You.
Neptune was staring blankly at the scene in front of her. Saturn on the other hand...
Saturn was readying her Glaive.
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(Posted Sat, 26 Aug 2006 17:19)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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