The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production Author's note: Here we go again! More for you! Read! Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit. Guardian's Return, Chapter 3: Crossroads High School: Ami's nightmares didn't return. Instead, new images came. Happier times with her royal family, interaction with a humanoid stranger, more images of the shrouded being, and her realization that he wasn't welcome no matter where he went. Since he was from the outer region, could he have been so hated? His cryptic words presented a challenge to her, and his identity was part of it. 'An entity no being wishes to see, yet all are destined to meet...' she wrote in her notepad in class, recalling his words. '...one brother served the court of Mars... or rather, it served him...' she chewed absently on the end of her pen. 'He and one other (Noah?) served the outer regions, and were not permitted to enter our realm unless on political terms...' she tapped the pen on the notepad trying to figure out the puzzle. 'Three brothers... one inner, two outer... and one of the outers was death itself?' she tried to piece it together, but kept coming up short. 'one brother served the court of Mars... and it served him...? Maybe Rei-chan has a clue.' The bell signaling the beginning of class rang, and a good deal of students filed in through the door. High school wasn't much more complicated than their middle school, aside from the new types of math, history, and science. A new enemy had yet to show itself, and that was a welcome fact. Most students were altogether bored or clueless when answering questions, which was normal when first returning to school... unlike Ami, who as always, showed off with answers. A young man sat in the back of the class, scribbling in a small notebook as he eyed teacher and student alike. He looked to be older than the other students, with long brown shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail. Whenever Ami answered he scribbled at the notepad furiously, his green eyes pierced at her admirably, a smirk grazing his face, then it averted back to the lesson. At lunch the brown haired young man ate alone. He sat, leaning against a tree, and leafing through a small book, a cane by his side. Ami watched him cautiously, eating her lunch with the other girls, and also going over her little 'notes' from before class. She knew better than to trust 'new' students, from past experiences. This one hadn't even bothered with class introduction. It seemed that paranoia could be a good thing now and again. "Rei-chan... our friend said some interesting things while you were gone." Ami commented, not really looking at any of the girls. "Who, Ami-chan?" Makoto looked up before asking, as did the other girls, Usagi having a half-bitten snack hanging from her mouth. "Jaakoku, I bet." Rei replied, a twist of irritation in her voice, as well as a little apprehension. "He isn't Jaakoku." Ami explained. "Could've fooled me, Ami-chan. Not many creatures can pull off looking like death itself." "But I'm sure it isn't him. He wasn't harming me, and he doesn't recognize the name you called him." "So you don't think he was just lying?" "Rei-chan, I dusted Jaakoku myself." Usagi joined in Ami's defense. "That fight took a lot out of me, even if we weren't really, physically there." Rei thought about that for a moment, and Ami took that moment to explain what she initially meant to say. "I've told you about the nightmares I've had recently... it seems this creature that LOOKS like Jaakoku has been watching from inside, and is trying to recover the memories of my past life. When Rei-chan tried to help through meditation, he made himself known to us, and again when you all decided to join in and fight him." Ami explained, then turned to Rei after looking up from the book. "He was part of the Silver Millennium, Rei-chan. He knows who I WAS, not who I am. He mentioned his brothers, and commented on one. He said that one served the court of Mars, but the court of Mars also served him. I'm wondering if it might be possible that he's referring to your father in the kingdom of Mars?" Rei shook her head. "Myhr, the king of Mars, died months before the battle... but perhaps..." Rei trailed off, closing her eyes in silent meditation, then opening them mere moments later. "Perhaps he meant the spirit of Mars himself. Ares. The God of War." "C'mon, Rei-chan." Mina thought the idea was quite silly. "You expect us to believe in the actual presence of Gods now?" "I know he's real, Minako-chan." Rei glared at the blonde with anger in her voice and eyes. "I saw him often in my previous lifetime... and when I pray to the sacred fire, the voice that speaks to me is his. Maybe we can get some information from him?" "It stands to reason, Minako-chan. If he IS the grim reaper, then he represents the God of Death. Saturn's God." "So that's why Hotaru-chan recognized him!" Makoto realized, when a shout broke up their concentration. "FIGHT!" A ruckus had started over by the brown haired youth. Apparently, a group of students didn't like him. It became more apparent when they started grouping around him, one throwing him against a wall and shouting threateningly to him. "Whoa, can't miss this!" Makoto shouted, dropping her lunch and running toward the crowd of students, the other girls following to watch from safety behind the stairs. Brushing himself off, the young man stood and smiled, attempting to walk away when a student tried to push him again. Almost imperceptibly, he grabbed the student's arm in mid-lunge, holding it in place with a calm facade. "That not very nice," he said in slightly poor japanese. "You stop now, while able." He threw the student aside, against some others. The student leapt back up, an aura of darkness surrounding him and the students crowding them. They morphed into monsters, each one was even stranger appearing than the next. Some were merely shadows, some were armored beings, some were grotesque. The first one sported a venom sack on its shoulder and a curved blade as its right arm, pointed at him. "Leave! This doesn't concern you!" The monster shouted at the foreigner. The normal students went screaming from the monsters, and the scouts stayed hidden. The fire alarm rang, and the school was being evacuated. "Man, I've never seen so many of them in one spot!" Rei said. "We've gotta help him! Let's go!" Usagi said, getting ready to transform. She stopped when the others didn't seem to listen, as they continued watching. "Guys?" Usagi wondered why they weren't morphing. Then she saw it, not quite sure what to make of the situation herself. He mumbled something incoherent, taking an odd fighting stance. The creature lunged, swiping at him with the curved blade. With calm movements, he would step aside, duck, crouch, and at one point even caught the blade in both hands, holding it tight as the beast struggled to carve him to pieces. As he held it, he suddenly panicked, and jumped clear as the venom sac spurted a stream at him, eating away at the concrete behind him. Coming back down from his jump, it punched this time. He deftly blocked the blow, but remained off-balance from the landing, and didn't see the curved blade slice in from the side, digging between his ribs. He howled in pain, then grabbed the curved blade-arm with his gloved hand, his other still holding the fist, wrenching the blade free from his side. The monster appeared bewildered, and the student suddenly flipped upward, holding the arms as leverage as he kicked it in the face repeatedly, then planted his foot on its chest as he flip-kicked it in the jaw, flipping clear back to his cane, which he lifted and braced himself upon, holding his ribs with the other hand. The other monsters seemed baffled as the first one shook off the kicks it received, growling and lunging once more in a blind rage. This time, however, he grabbed the blade-arm AFTER it passed and he fell flat, kicking the sharpened appendage into the beast's stomach and throwing him clear. It convulsed for a moment after landing, then exploded in dust. The other monsters quickly jumped in, a dog-pile forming on the new student. "That's it, we can't wait any longer!" Usagi exclaimed, ready to transform, when the girls pulled her down again. A monster just missed her head as it flew clear from the pile. Usagi looked again for a moment, then decided. "Moon Eternal, Make up!" "Mercury Planet Power, Make Up!" "Mars Planet Power, Make Up!" "Jupiter Planet Power, Make Up!" "Venus Planet Power, Make Up!" One monster after another rocketed away from the pile, shattering or exploding as they hit walls that crumbled, trees that were knocked over, and one was ripped in two from the force of impact as it hit a stair rail, but there were still far too many tearing the young man apart. "Can we take them down without hurting him?" "I'm pretty sure I can. Give me a shot." Venus drew on her power, a sparkling golden chain with heart-shaped links sprouting from her aura as she grabbed the end, snapping it forward like a whip. "Venus, love-me chain!" The tip of the chain tore through a layer of monsters, swerving this way and that to her will, trying not to hit the young man that was somewhere within, the monsters powderizing. They seemed to take notice, and a few went for their new adversaries. A bit too late. "Mercury, Aqua Rhapsody!" "Jupiter, Oak Evolution!" Ice and thunder magics began tearing into the remaining monsters, who now saw them as a larger threat. As the number of monsters diminished, they could see the foreigner swinging his cane like a weapon, apparently with enough force to decapitate monsters with the handle. Finally having enough room to get clear, he jumped out of the crowd as Sailor Moon attacked. "Silver Moon, Crystal Power Kiss!" the rainbow torrent of energies flashed over each of the monsters until the last one's dust settled in the wind. Seeing no other monsters, the girls went to look for the one they saved, only to see him slink around the corner of the school. "Hey, c'mon! He's getting away!" Mars went to take off after him, but the others didn't budge. "What for?" Venus asked. "They were attacking him, weren't they? "He did a pretty good job fighting those things. He wasn't even surprised or scared! That's a deviation from the norm if ever I've seen one!" she insisted. "Guys, hold on. We shouldn't go after him like this. Let's follow him quietly!" Jupiter suggested, and willed away her transformation. "Running around like this during the day isn't the norm either. The media might even catch on to this. Imagine the headline: senshi in school!" The senshi trailed him for a bit after detransforming, hiding behind whatever cover they could find. He wasn't getting very far, using the wall for leverage, when he stopped and leaned against a wall, as if still exhausted. "How long you five follow?" he shouted, not even looking back, clutching his side. The girls babbled in embarrassment, except for Ami. She left the others and wandered over to him. "Hey, are you okay?" "Fine, I-" he paused, looking at Ami. He was at least a foot taller than her, and grew flustered, realizing he was staring at her. "Forgive me... my name is Samuru Sotanaht." "Ami Mizuno," She held an outstretched hand. Samuru took it, but brought it to his lips and kissed it instead of a friendly shake. "Pleasure to meet Mizuno-san." he continued in his mangled japanese. She pulled her hand away, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. In looking down, however she spotted Sam's side, where there was a very large, and still-growing spread of blood forming on his shirt from the puncture wound the first monster gave. "Oh my gosh! Are you sure you're okay? My mother's a doctor. The hospital's not too far from here." she told him, pulling at his arm. He turned away, twisting his arm from her grasp, and shook his head. "No, fine." He dashed a few yards, which belied his need for a cane, and crossed an intersection the girls chasing after a moment's hesitation. "Sam, watch out!" Ami shouted, realizing he hadn't crossed at a crosswalk, and a car was barrelling down the street. She covered her eyes, as did most of those present, and they could hear the shattering of glass, but other startling sounds were present that didn't belong. Ami dared to peek, and barely believed what she saw. The car had seen better days. All four tires had blown out, every window was shattered, and the metal hood had crumpled as though the hood had been stepped upon by a very large foot. Oddest of all, however, was the circular- shaped pothole surrounding the car, as though the blacktop had been compressed a few inches. The car hadn't hit Samuru, that much was certain... but he was nowhere to be seen. He was gone. --------------------------------------------------------------------- TBC.