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Aello: Storm's Power
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Nephrite had stiffened when he, too, felt the tiny vibrations seep into his mind and tell of the great pain the Princess Serenity had suffered before ending it all in a simple, if violent, thrust. His heart, momentarily, stopped as another pain gripped him, enfolded by the loss of Jupiter. Something had died, the moment the scream had cut through before, and a piece of him had gone with it.
Jupiter's body slumped against him, limp and lifeless as a doll, and her uniform shimmered, grew, and shredded as the green silk of her skirt swirled around her. Her tiara grew warm against his shoulder as the jewel lit like a star before the ornament faded into green and gold glitters. They fell from her head as he pulled her slim form away to look at her closely and to her neck, reshaping themselves into a golden chain with the green jewel hanging in the center. She was no longer Sailor Jupiter, Senshi of Storm and Lightning, but Princess Jupiter, of the Inner Court of the Supreme Princess, Serenity.
And, if possible, she was lovelier than ever.
"Jupiter..." he breathed reverently, slowly kneeling to lay her on the ground. She was pliant, the stress and pain ended abruptly when the scream had cut through her as if it were a sword. Her long, slender, dress swirled around her legs, showing the expanse of one thigh through the part of the materials. He shook himself out of those thoughts, watching her face. The sign of Jupiter was no longer alive on her forehead, now like a dead jewel set into her pale skin though by rights there should be some reflection. He closed his eyes, turning away from her pale beauty.
She died with the name of her duty on her lips, not his own. Maybe he was wrong about her feelings for him. She had died because her duty had died. And it was her loyalty to the Princess that had kept her from joining his side, to never have made him stab her in the first place.
"Traitor!" A voice hissed and Nephrite snapped around to see Zoisite. A tiny memory whispered through him. Zoisite, the scholar, who was somewhat of an outcast because of the inability to move beyond the crystals that he alone, could control his emotions. And the delicate friendship and understanding Princess Mercury had had with him before the added shock of her separate identity as a warrior made him realize just how perfect a match they were. Now, the warrior and lord that faced him was none of the vague and secretive man he had once known and worked with. His suit was shredded and ripped in several places, the forest green nearly dyed red with blood. The iciness in her pale eyes made him wonder about his sanity as he looked as if he had gone through all the pain and suffering and then some. The once loosely held hair was more of a mess, frozen and damp because of a wash of water that had never touched Nephrite.
"Zoisite...where's Mercury?" He whispered, though he already knew. He ignored the jibe about his loyalty.
A look of anguish, confusion, and suffering crossed his face. "What does it matter? She's dead, Nephrite, but I do not bear the look of disloyalty in my eyes as you do! You betray Metallia, our Empress, and Beryl, our Queen. Get up and start fighting again. Queen Serenity still lives and her power out weighs all of these petty Princess' abilities together."
Nephrite narrowed his eyes. "They have more power than we could ever even begin to understand."
"You care for the woman who fell before your power, Nephrite?" Zoisite spat, indicating the fallen girl vaguely. Nephrite stood as he saw a tiny shimmer behind Zoisite, a glint of darkness that reminded him of a mirror. Shifting slightly, though he was loath to move away from Jupiter's body, he looked at whatever had been formed. A large, shimmering black shard glinted back evilly. "They are only women...witches, really, with their pathetic powers."
"We serve a demon, Zoisite. Which, do you suppose is worse: the woman you just killed, or the monster we serve now?"
He narrowed his eyes. "We serve Earth and Beryl has only the wishes for its safety. I am not serving her, but Earth!" But, from the wild look in his eyes, Nephrite knew that it was only repetition, perhaps Metallia.
*Unlike you, my loyalty to my friend would never be questioned...what of your Prince, the great man you protected for the galaxy? You betrayed him...* Jupiter's voice echoed in his head, softer than it had been. He could almost see the tall woman standing, watching them both, before her gaze settled on him alone. Her eyes...they seemed almost real, a pair of shining, emerald stars that glowed with electric fire and yet, something deeper and powerful than her spirit. For a moment, the express of torment, the longing to say something she couldn't, before suddenly, he knew. Smiling sadly, the warrior nodded, turned, and walked away.
Nephrite shook his head, concentrating on Zoisite again. Was he edging closer? He thought the lord was, moving slightly so as not to alarm Nephrite of his stalking. He shifted away, before his foot touched brushed against something, and he looked down to see Jupiter's gentle face.
He felt rather than saw Zoisite give a cry and leap forward, the crystal sword in his grasp and racing toward him. In the back of his mind, the peaceful image of Mercury and Zoisite shimmered away. Gathering the little energy he had left, another sphere of energy formed in his hands before racing away from him.
The saber shattered, chime tones breaking into the stillness around them both. The white orb didn't stop, much to both their surprises, and continued like a shooting star straight into Zoisite.
"No! Nephrite, how could you!" He cried moments before the light washed over him, like waves of ice water. Vaguely, as the strange sensation of white-hot ice clouded his vision and faded away, a pair of large, darkened blue eyes stared at him sadly. Even as Zoisite's footing buckled, the angel, for that was what she was, kneeled and touched his face. Her fingers felt like a combination of calm watery and icy winds, yet somehow warm. She felt like a cloud. And, when she closed her eyes and tear slid down her cheek, a shattering feeling spread through him. "I forgive you, Zoisite," the words slipped through her lips and, as if a pain ripped through, the white light wrapped around his body and he felt slender arms and a pair of feathery soft wings warm him. Then, in a matter of moments, the pain hit him, slashing into his heart and screaming through him like a banshee, he fell completely on his stomach. "Traitor," he said quietly, but he didn't know if he meant Nephrite or himself. Then, mercifully, he knew nothing except an empty blackness and a faint blue glow fading away.
Nephrite stood there, gasping slightly at the power he had wielded against Zoisite so easily. Even if he hadn't known...remembered who they were, Nephrite knew. He knew! He had just killed his comrade, someone who had only been lulled into Metallia's trap, as Beryl had been. First the loss of Jupiter, then the Prince, now murdering Zoisite...was there anything left to live for?
Something inside him snapped. "No!" He shouted, looking from Jupiter's beautiful slain body lying on the dirtied ground and Zoisite not far away. Above, the stars glimmered, laughed, giggled, and their song seemed to reach out and enhance his senses. The slight wind carrying the heady odor of death past him, the faint tingles of power that brushed his mind as souls screamed out in pain and suffering and withered away, and the emptiness that filled him.
So acute were his senses that he felt the tiniest shift of sand behind him. Turning around carefully, he saw a figure he had not expected to see. Or rather, he had not expected so see the shape that person was in.
She wasn't as beautiful as Jupiter had been, but there was a pulsating, faint glow of beauty around her, as if she represented beauty itself. Vaguely, he remembered her name, but the pain in his chest and mind blinded that reason out. Even so, she looked awful. Her eyes had a wild, distraught, and disconnected look in them, like a frightened doe hesitating about what to do when chased by a pack of hounds. Her long, golden hair was ragged, jagged in places as if shredded. The orange uniform was torn, ripped, and her skin showed numerous claws and cuts and she was bleeding from a gash in her side.
"Venus," he said faintly, seeing her stand there with that desperate and beseeching look of a child with only one solution. "What..."
"You killed her, how could you do it?" She interrupted, motioning towards the fallen princess. The rage burned brightly in her cobalt blue eyes, but they were dark with confusion, the color of midnight skies. "But you killed him too..."
Nephrite shifted slightly away as she stepped closer, looking at her shaky grip hold on to the sword. "Yes, I did, Venus."
"Venus, Venus," she whispered sadly, "I no longer have that name. The Princes and Princess are dead, my friends are too, I'm alone...and Beryl is winning. That demon will win...and I have failed." Venus looked down briefly and, something about her voice hit him like one of Jupiter's storms, like her aello. She had once been such an optimistic leader, he remembered, and this dead voice she had now struck him.
"The aello..." he muttered. "I don't believe that. We can try, Venus."
Venus smiled bitterly. "I know. Kunzite said the same thing before he died." She looked at the sword in disgust and dropped it to the ground. "The aello...you did love her then."
"Kunzite loved you too."
She looked at him crossly. "I thought he did too..." she said in a neutral tone and, when Nephrite stared into her eyes, there was a true fear in them. "Which is why I have to kill you now. Metallia may be gone from you for now, but...I don't think you can fight her forever and the Queen may still be alive..."
The words hit him like a wave. "I understand." And inside, a storm of his own raged and burned him, but it was a good burn. It felt like lightning and wind, each filled with pulsing energy, and an endless scape of emotion he had for Jupiter whenever her name touched him. It took him a moment to realize what it was.
*The aello isn't a power, an entity or a blessing. It's here,* and he remembered Jupiter's weak and gentle hand touch his chest, where his heart had beat rapidly.
"I understand," he repeated, knowing that, as soon as he was gone, Venus would surrender to her weaknesses herself, alone. "But Kunzite did love you." Nephrite said firmly, remembering one of his leader's rare smiles meant only for the giggling princess of love. She had been happy then, and so had the rest. Prince and princess alike, there were no differences then, and they shared a bond: love. Deeply, he wondered if they would have a time like that again.
Venus didn't reply. "It was nice knowing you, General Nephrite." And she gathered what was left of her energy together, knowing that he was hardly injured and quite powerful, and closed her eyes. "Love..." the golden light whirled, "Crescent," the twin moons gathered at her fingertips. Nephrite waited as patiently as he could, but he had to fight Metallia's ingrain orders to never willingly allow death to touch him. "Shower!" The energy shot up into the air and, for a moment, nothing happened.
All at once, the sky seemed to open up as great comets of
rushing energy beat into the ground around him. He saw Venus collapse, shuddering a moment before her long
golden gown fell into place.
And the last image he saw was a storm of green electricity,
with emerald eyes glittering like stars shining with love.
calyce - rosebud
aello (if you hadn't already guessed) - storm (but it's used in a
different way, sort of. ^_^
Not that I'm going to say
exactly what...)
alphito - white goddess
Yeah, I know. Sounds a bit reminiscent of a Greek legend,
doesn't it? Just for those of you who don't understand, the tale I'm
referring to is the one about Penthesilea and Achilles.
Penthesilea was the valiant queen of the Amazons. The daughter of
Ares, she was an ally to the Trojans, and fought rather heroically
against the Achaeans. In battle with Achilles, he [unfortunately]
killed her, but upon seeing her dying, fell immediately in love with
her beauty and bravery. He was ridiculed by fellow warrior Thersites;
Achilles, blinded by anger and love, killed the man.
But that's just a very quick summary to what happened in the
legend, but all the basic info. All I used is there. ^_^
I hope you enjoyed the modifications to the plot. I would
think that the prospect of the Generals and Senshi falling in love
during the heat of battle is a relatively new thing. ^_^ If it
isn't, oh well.
Email's nice...*hint, hint!* ^_~
And, yes, I will be concentrating on all the Senshi, instead
of just using Mercury in the plots. After all, it isn't fair to put
only one of them through agony and back... ~_~
~Lady Heartfire~