Neptune took deep breaths to calm herself. She couldn't read the mirror correctly if she wasn't calm. Sure, there were roars and explosions going on out there... but she had to trust that Uranus and Jupiter were handling things. She needed to find Hotaru. She was the only one who could.
So she stayed in the classroom, alone, concentrating on the Deep Aqua Mirror. And cursing that all it seemed to be showing her was images of the sea...
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and whirled.
Rarely had their enemies been so... blatantly formed. A decaying corpse stood before her, demonically deformed... and grinning. "Well, well, well... look what we have here..." it said with an Australian accent, "one little darkstalker, all alone. I think I'll make up for my earlier mishap by sacrificing you..."
Neptune had no clue what this... thing was talking about, but being sacrificed wasn't on her agenda for the day. "Submarine Reflection!"
The zombie-thing just sidestepped the attack, then suddenly began spinning. Electricity arced across him as he rammed into Neptune, Shocking her badly, throwing her across the room, and making her drop the Deep Aqua Mirror.
Neptune got back up, slightly dazed. She briefly wondered if this is what it felt like to get hit with one of Jupiter's attacks, then she shook her head and ran. She needed to get to a more advantageous location to fight this... thing.
"Don't bother running, honey! You'll only die tired!" Raptor screamed after her.
Neptune didn't listen. She just kept running. At least, up until the point when Raptor appeared right in front of her. Before she could react, he struck with an suddenly elongated elbow bone that nearly impaled her, and knocked her out the window...
And right into the pool.
***
Michiru wondered a moment why she wasn't drowning... but then, she'd been in outer space without any sort of protection before. Water was no problem...
But then, she began hearing a voice...
--It Is Time, My Child. Time To Accept Your True Form.--
"True form? What? Who are you?"
--I Am Salacia, Mother Of The Sea And All Those Who Are A Part Of It. It Was I Who Protected You, Giving You The Form You Now Wear, When Your Destiny Took You Away From Me. Now The Time Has Come, And You No Longer Need To Hide. It Is Time To Return To What You Really Are... One Of My People.--
She felt a cold chill wash over her, but not an unpleasant feeling. It was more like being cleaned, like losing a layer of dirt she never knew she had.
She didn't realize it right away, but her skin had changed, and was now covered with delicate scales of similar colors to her hair. She did still have her hair, but now a large fin parted it down the middle, and her now-pointed ears stuck out too. Gill slits opened on her neck, and her hands and feet developed claws and webs.
Michiru, the eldest child of Rikou, and princess of the seas, was reborn.
--Go, Child. And Remember, The Seas Will Always Welcome You.--
And feeling strangely whole for the first time in her life, Michiru swam up to the surface of the pool.
***
Neptune broke the surface, searching for her opponent. This time, she'd show that pile of bones...
Unfortunantly, Raptor found her first. A lance of bone struck out, successfully piercing her through the shoulder this time. "Hey! I caught one!" Raptor yelled with unholy glee. "And this one looks like a keeper too! And here Le Malta says I'm a bad fisher..."
Neptune found herself slammed against the wall, held into place by Raptor's bone. As she watched, his other hand transformed into a wicked looking knife. "Don't worry, fishie! The pain will be over shortly..."
But before he could strike...
"A Dragon?! #$%& me, I don't get paid enough for this..."
"I thought all of you were dead all ready? Well, just wait a moment, and I'll fix that..."
"Geeze... this place is infested today..."
"Honey, you can punish me anytime!"
(Sweatdrop) "Maybe I need a new opening line..."
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(Posted Tue, 18 Feb 2003 09:01)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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