(Dark Void)
As Apollo fled through the darkness his head was abuzz with angry thoughts. The Martian and the Goddess of Neptune had narrowly escaped his trap; through some impossible means Ares had somehow grown a backbone during his final moments and had nobly committed suicide. If that were all, there would have been no need for concern. However, the God of War had passed his powers on to his chosen heir—the human that Apollo had tried to convince Neptune to murder in cold blood. Though it sorely pained him to admit it, he had miscalculated.
How was this possible?! It was perfect! It should have gone according to plan! He couldn’t get it out of his head—that perfectly, smug look on the Goddess’s face when his meticulous plan began to unravel. The very insinuation that a mere child could match wits with him gnawed at his bones. While it was true that the Goddess may have been one of the key tacticians behind the plan, it wouldn’t have been successful if there hadn’t been outside interference; the bolt of lightning and Ares’s betrayal were all a result of the real tactician behind the scenes. But the daughter of the betrayer had been right about one thing: Like mother, like daughter. It infuriated him so much that he couldn’t wait to crush them.
If it weren’t for--Bah, never mind! It’s just a small loss. Ares was a useful puppet, but he was not the best. His smile widened at the thought. Soon, very soon... Just wait for me a little longer!
Ping!
“World...”
What?! Apollo spun on his heel as a golden light lit the darkness.
“...SHAKING!”
Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr---Swoosh!
With surprising ease the Sun God teleported out of the way and earned a grunt of frustration from his opponent. Slowly, silver eyes met dark green. Haruka instantly felt a chill run through her body.
“Oh. It’s just you.” Apollo remarked nonchalantly. “Well, what do you want? As you can see, I’m a very busy person you know, and I can’t afford to be late for an appointme--”
“Cut the crap!” Haruka shot back. Her outburst seemed to actually have taken Apollo aback. “Do you really think I give a shit about your ‘busy schedule’?”
What you did to them...
There was a heavy pause as Haruka panted to catch her breath. Her entire body was shaking with rage.
...I will never forgive you!
“As I see it, you’re just going to have to make some time. Better put it under ‘your funeral’.”
Instead of feeling rage, the God actually found her attitude amusing. The brat has spunk. I’ll give her that.
“Since you already know who I am...and I, you, Uranus Haruka... I assume that introductions are not necessary.”
“Spare me the talk! Just die already!” Haruka lunged forward and the God’s eyes flashed.
“Amazing. Do you really believe that you can defeat me alone?!”
“HaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! WORLD...SHAKING!!”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIRRRRR---Swoosh!
Apollo successfully evaded the attack once again, but this time he unexpectedly came face to face with his opponent. Before he had even blinked Haruka was on him.
“Take this!” Haruka leapt forward and threw a hard punch, grabbing only air, and spun around with a back kick. “Rrg! Would you stop jumping around already?! Hold still dammit!”
“Alright.”
Bam!
Haruka hurled a punch at his face and this time the blow connected. Apollo hadn’t even blinked. His head angled slightly, but his eyes were still trained on her with deadly promise. A terrible feeling flashed through her body when Apollo grabbed her hand and twisted it. Haruka yelped in surprise and instinctively tried to fall back, but his grip was tight. She could only contemplate the blood rushing to her face when flung her like a ragdoll.
“AHH!”
Haruka hit the floor hard, but with a roll she was back on her feet. A little startled, she raised her hand again.
“World...SHAKI--”
CRACKLE!
“Aggh?!” An orange bolt burnt her hand. She glimpsed Apollo’s own raised hand just as another was discharged.
---CRACKLE!
“AHHH!!!!!” It pierced her left leg and flared up briefly around her body. Haruka immediately dropped to one knee and tightly gripped her injured hand. Despite the spiritual protection she possessed in her transformed state, the gloved had been completely burnt off and the skin beneath it was suffering from first degree burns.
My hand—Errgh! It’s shaking so badly. I can barely move it! Dammit! Where did he get this kind of power?
“Please, is that all you can do? Against a weaker foe you may be able to pull off the same attack over and over again and somehow fluke out with a win, but as you can see your power is nothing compared to mine. You were a fool to challenge me alone, Uranus.”
“Yeah, well, I guess that depends on how you look at it.” The faint sound of chuckling reached her ears. “What’s so funny?”
“Hahaha...Oh, nothing much. It’s just, you’re so much like your predecessor...”
“What’d you say?!”
“He was brash and incredibly stubborn. A strong fighter though. Your face says that you don’t believe me, but he was young once too, though, I highly doubt that he’d remembered any of it. I have no idea how a kid like you managed to unseat him from the throne, but for that I suppose I owe you my thanks. It wouldn’t have been so easy to kill him if he were still a God.”
“Grr...” This guy is really starting to tick me off! Haruka whipped out her hand, wanting nothing better than to wipe that smug smile off of his face, but she hesitated when she noted that the atmosphere around the God was distorted. Although it was invisible, the wind told her that there was a large mass of vibrating energy around his form.
The sneaky rat! The moment I attack he will too. Haruka took a deep breath.
“Yeah, well you might be right about that. He was a stubborn old geezer, but don’t you think it’s strange? A weakling like him was strong enough to take down the ‘King’ of the Gods. That kind of says something, don’t you think?”
Apollo’s smile never faltered, but she sensed a shift in his aura.
“Now who told you such a lie? Don’t tell me that the people of Uranus are so arrogant to believe that their God could defeat the ruler of the Gods by himself! If he had fought alone, he would have been crushed like the pest he was.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? Do you even know what you’re saying or are you just babbling now? Regardless of how long you intend to draw this out I will kill you and the others. Even as I speak your armies are being decimated.”
Apollo had been expecting the short-tempered woman to throw a tantrum, but to his surprise she was strangely quiet.
“...I don’t need their help.”
“And why is that? Tell me. Where is this confidence coming from? You were born a human, and lived like a scavenger for years until Uranus took pity on you and took you in. Compared to him you are nothing. You ascended the throne through sheer luck alone, and yet you still have the arrogance to believe that a garbage-eater such as yourself can even stand a chance against me?!”
Despite herself, Haruka found herself smirking in face of the rant.
“Setsuna.”
The mere utterance of the name prompted the Sun God to frown deeply. That was it. That was the face that she wanted to see.
“Setsuna is dead.” He finally remarked with a stern face.
“Heh. Did I hit a nerve? Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. She was your right hand man and she took you down like it was child’s play.”
The air around Apollo began to spark. “That’s enough!” He threw out his hands and a single beam of energy stormed out. Haruka rolled to the right but the energy flew up behind her and disengaged into five separate beams.
“What--?!”She dove to her left, hitting the ground briefly, and scrambled for balance as the beams tore into the black surface behind her.
“Hah!”
Crackle! Crackle!
Crackle!
In her haste she leapt into the air to narrowly escape another. As she hung mid-air her eyes widened a touch at feeling two more heat sources shot under her airborne limbs. She had luckily missed three beams but where had the other two gone?
“Rgh!” Haruka hit ground and immediately sprinted as another curved around and gave chase. “Hah! Hah! Hah! HaH!”
Damn! T-These things just don’t know when quit!
She turned her attention back to where she was going and was taken aback to rediscover one of the missing beams. It was barrelling straights towards her. Haruka instinctively jerked her right hand but threw out her left at the last second.
“H---AH!”
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
She had deflected the beam with her powers, but she missed the one that had been trailing right behind it. “Shit--” The word had barely left her lips before it pierced her chest. A painful cry was wretched from her throat as the energy circulated around her form, setting her nerves ablaze as if they were on fire. While she was stunned the beam from behind had caught up; it abruptly swung through the small of her back like an uppercut and left a long burn mark across the skin. Haruka grimaced as she was thrust forward, unconsciously knowing that her wounds would not heal in this battle.
Before Uranus’s ruler could touch the ground again Apollo appeared below her. With one hand he grabbed her left shoulder and yanked her down into his uprising knee. BAM! Haruka’s mouth opened in a wordless gasp. She glimpsed the power-lust in the God’s silver eyes moments before he grabbed her foot and began to swing her around in circles. It was a painful, stomach churning experience until finally he planted his foot down and threw her with all his might.
“Augh!”
Crack--Thud! Roll...
When she finally lurched to a stop, she was seeing flashing lights in front of her eyes. Haruka lay doubled over on the ground, as the pain continued to bombard her vision. She couldn’t see anything, but there was a salty taste of iron dribbling down her nose.
Haruka was caught off-guard when someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her up onto her feet. Apollo briefly twirled her in his hold, and brought his other hand securely around her throat.
“Do you still think you can win?” He asked again.
Haruka gulped. As she deliberated for an answer, he lowered his free hand down her arm until it hovered just over her injured hand. Before Haruka could brace herself for the pain he dug his fingers into it tightly.
Crunch.
“AH-HHHHHHHH!! Son of a---!!”
“Well, do you?”
Haruka heaved for breath for a few seconds, before forcing a smile in response. “Are you deaf? I already said that I can! This dimension of yours-- you have to materialize to hurt me. But it goes both ways doesn’t it? Because I can hurt you too!”
Apollo was silent for a moment.
“Is that what you thought?” The laughter in his voice sent chills running down Haruka’s back. “Silly girl, you’re even more foolish than I thought you were. It’s true that I have to “materialize” to affect you directly, but what if I materialized while I was inside of you? After all, it goes both ways, does it not?”
He raised his hand and pressed it on the inside of her left shoulder-blade for emphasis.
He’s not--!!! Her heart skipped a beat. Haruka jerked in an effort to struggle away but the hand around her throat tightened. She felt his arm drawn back for the final blow.
“This is the end. Goodbye, brat.”
S-ShiT!!!!!
SHhhhRRKK!!!
At that moment, a portal opened at the God’s backside.
“Back off!”
“What?!”
“Sparking…Wide Pressure!”
Sssssss----KABLAM!
“Arrgh!!!” The surprise attack hit dead on. Apollo was forced into a hasty retreat as the second round of fire lit the shadows.
“Shine…Aqua Illusion!”
KABLAM!
“Ami, take care of Haruka! I’m going to hold him off!”
Ami? Makoto?! Haruka coughed for breath as she sensed the shorter woman catch her. Through teary eyes she could just make out Makoto’s back as she charged after Apollo. “Wait! You can’t take him alone!”
“HaaaaaAAAH!!!!” Makoto’s eyes flashed as she hurled a fistful of energy towards her opponent. The God lifted a hand in response and unleashed a blast of his own just as the green lightning lashed out. In an instant the white light had engulfed Makoto’s attack and was flying towards her at a startling speed.
“Makoto, look out!”
Makoto’s breathing hitched as everything turned white in her vision. Wha---?
“Makoto!”
“Oof!”
Whup
CRACKLE!!!!
Both Ami and Makoto were sent tumbling to the floor as the white beam roared past and disappeared into the distance. But the reprieve was brief at best; the failed attempt at heroics appeared to only annoy the Sun God further. Apollo turned on the spot and began to walk towards the stunned pair with purpose.
“Are you all right?” Ami asked her friend.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Makoto nodded back despite the faint ringing in her ears. “But we still gotta do something about that and fast!”
Apollo took another step forward when Ami suddenly dashed to the right and Makoto lunged to the left.
“Sparking…Wide Pressure!”
“Shine…Aqua Illusion!”
Sssssss----Crackle! BLAM!
Crackle!BLAM!
Both friends gasped as the smoke cleared.
Ah! No way!
...Impossible! He’s still coming?!
“World...SHAKING!”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrRRRRRRR---Kablam!
A large backlash of wind swept throughout the area as Uranus’s attack struck true to its target. However, Apollo was still standing; the attack had barely left a small indentation where it had hit.
A chill ran down the goddesses spines as the man lifted his head and moved to straighten up. Haruka clenched her jaw as Apollo slowly turned his head towards her. What she saw made her sick to her stomach.
Shit...He’s gone berserk! His silver eyes were glowing with a white light that reflected no sense of self. The group flinched when the invisible vibrating energy surrounding the God crackled once, before igniting into a white flame surrounding his being. The temperature of the surrounding air was climbing at an alarming rate.
What’s he doing?!
Apollo wordlessly lifted his arms over his head and clapped his hands together. The energy around him dove into the ground and pulsed around his form in the shape of a symbolic circle.
What’s this feeling? I know I’ve felt this before! Haruka contemplated as the dimension began to shake all around them. As the energy around the circle began to rise up, she glimpsed a set of red eyes towering behind the Sun God.
“It can’t be--!! Stop him, he’s going to summon!” Haruka yelled. The memory of the twin-headed dragon they had encountered within the ballroom flew to mind.
As the others continued their attacks at a distance, Haruka tried her luck again.
“Sparking…Wide Pressure!”
“Shine…Aqua Illusion!”
Sssssss----Ka--BLAM!
Ka--BLAM!
“World...SHAKING!”
Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr---Kablam!
The combination of their attacks nearly threw Apollo off balance, but his spell had somehow managed to stay intact. Any minute now the summoning would be complete.
“NO!” Why can’t we stop him?! The spell circle was pulsing faster. Unfamiliar feelings began to assault Haruka’s mind. Anxiousness, doubt and fear—it all personified itself within the trembling of her injured hand.
This is as far as we can go? Is it going to end like this?! They had thrown everything they had at the Sun God, and he withstood it all as if they were merely flies to be swatted away. All of their hard work, all the training they had to endure to obtain these powers had hardly even left a scratch...It was that thought that amplified the damage to her pride, especially considering her bold statements that she would be capable of taking down Apollo without any help.
Haruka was at a loss until she thought she heard Michiru’s voice call out to her:
“Don’t give up!”
A spark of self-anger lit within the blonde soldier. “Don’t stop! Keep firing at him with everything you got!” She cried out to Ami and Makoto.
As the two Goddesses readied another assault, Haruka struggled to raise her injured hands up and began to summon up a portion of her power. Her entire body lit up with the golden light.
“HaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!”
If focused power won’t do it, then let’s try raw force! Take...THIS!!!
“HAAAAH!!!!”
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!!!
Crackle-Crackle! Crackle!
Crackle! CRACKLE!
All of her attacks were met by an invisible barrier, but the unexpected blast had weakened the god somewhat. Haruka then flew into an all out charge and was halfway across the floor when she suddenly sensed another presence quickly approaching.
Huh?!
Ping!
SHhhhRRKK!!!
SHhhhRRKK!!!
“WOAH!” Haruka hit the floor as two orange chains flew over her head.
Makoto threw another blast at Apollo’s barrier seconds before the chains reached their destination, weakening the barrier enough that they flew straight through and slung themselves around Apollo’s the arms. The god gave a cry of outrage as his limbs were effectively constrained and her movements were temporarily limited.
“Wait a minute...those chains!”Haruka’s whipped her head around to the shadows on her left. “Minako!”
In the background to Makoto’s right there was another spark of light. Apollo instinctively tried to yank out of Venus’s grasp, but when he could not he planted his feet into the ground and braced himself.
Haruka whipped her head towards the familiar energy. Huh?!
“Deep… SUBMERGE!”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrRrRrRRRR---KABLAM!!!!
Apollo’s chest plate took a direct hit and was damaged.
“Michiru!”
The goddess of Neptune scanned the battlefield. Ami and Makoto were to her left, while Haruka was to her far, upper left. All three of her comrades had already received quite a beating she noted. Her other comrade, Minako, was positioned behind the Sun God and was doing her best to restrain his movements, but he was quickly breaking away from her grip. However, that still left one unanswered question hovering in the tactician’s sharp mind.
Where did she...? Michiru’s thoughts were interrupted when the symbolic circle on the floor erupted with a blast of heat and light.
“NO!” She heard a string of curses spring from Haruka’s mouth as a double-headed dragon descended into the plane. Michiru herself felt her aquamarine eyes widening.
“What in the name of Neptune...?”
“Agh!”
“Minako!”
Minako was forced to cut her losses and back off as the beast stomped down beside the Sun God and broke the chains. A smug look of satisfaction formed on Apollo’s face as he sensed the fear in the air. The dragon seemed to agree and roared hungrily beside him.
“W-What is that thing?!” Makoto was caught off-guard when one of its two tails whipped around and crashed into her side. “GAAH!!”
“Makoto!” Ami rolled and briefly glanced to see her friend hit the ground. She materialized her gun. This time, without any hesitation, she whipped it towards her target and took aim. The round was initially aimed at the dragon but in a split second it dropped towards the Sun God.
“HaAAHH!!!!”
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Bam! Bam!—Swch!
“Huh?!”
All of her shots had been neutralized by an invisible barrier. On the floor, there was a separate circular symbol encasing Apollo within a revitalized shield.
“So, we can’t near him unless we beat that thing first?” Haruka muttered. “What was lazy-ass...YOU COWARD!!”
On the other side of the floor, Minako narrowly evaded the other tail. The woman leapt over it and rolled up in time to see that it was heading straight for Haruka.
“Venus…Love-Me Chain!”
BLAM!
The chain shot forward and deflected the tail upwards with a powerful thrust. Haruka acted instinctively and dove into the newly created space along the ground and narrowed escaped a painful blow.
“OoF! ...Stupid!” Haruka hissed through her teeth in pain as she accidentally had whacked her hand against the ground. It was twitching uncontrollably now but she bit her lip and got to her feet just as the beast turned one of its head’s towards Minako. With a painful gasp she summoned up another world shaking. But this time, she impaled the glowing ball of energy through the end of her sword. All the while, through the corner of her eye, she could make out Makoto, Michiru and Ami battling the twin to the side.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Crackle! Crackle!
“Deep… SUBMERGE!”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrRrRrRRRRR---KABLAM!!!!
The dragon faltered for a moment before its shook its heads. With a roar it unleashed a blast of air, forcing the team back. As the Goddesses were recovering from the surprise, two beams of light began to charge up in the dragon’s mouths. The spiritual levels of the surrounding dimension were falling rapidly.
It’s going to--!!
“HaaaaAAAHH!!!”
“Haruka?!”
“Stop! Don’t do it!”
Everyone turned their heads as the blonde rushed the creature head-on. During mid-dash she drew her sword back and aimed the world shaking at the dragon’s heads, while being fully aware that Apollo was waiting beneath it. The man’s aura had also flared up expectedly to take the brash soldier down.
I don’t have a choice! If that thing hits us then we’re all dead! She was about to swing forward when one of the two heads suddenly blew up. Its twin swirled around in shock. Apollo caught a glint of red light behind him as the mysterious soldier released a second strike.
“...Flame Sniper.” Another fiery arrow was shot and, with a deafening explosion, the second head also disappeared in a flash of light.
Minako felt her eyes widening in complete shock. “I can’t believe it...” She whispered to herself.
In the distance, she could hear Haruka finishing her assault on the beast. Throwing her entire weight into the strike, the sword pierced pierced its chest; the world shaking tore up the monster from the inside-out and split it into two. Everyone had to clear to area as multiple explosions rocked the vicinity.
KABLAAAAAAM!!!!!!
Haruka was thrown aside by the blast and landed in front of the mysterious person’s feet. “About time you—you...” She looked up and had intended to greet her friend until she saw the golden light brimming around her.
Oh no...
“REI!” She’s alive! Minako called to her but the woman didn’t look back. Her gaze was trained on something else. “Rei...?” That light...
The atmosphere amongst the group of Goddesses grew tense at this unexpected predicament, but the one who was worried the most at the moment was Haruka. The blonde was close to sweating bullets. Why wasn’t Michiru coming to help her?
She’s really going to use that power again? Sure, it’s powerful, but what good does that do if you go berserk?! That was when a strange thought hit her. Wait a minute. But that attack that she just used... I don’t remember her ever using something like that before. That was Rei wasn’t it?
Haruka gasped and threw her hands up when Rei lifted her hand. She was instead surprised when Rei reverted back to her normal, suit of armor form.
“Relax,” Rei said calmly as she withdrew the sword from her side. “This isn’t for you.”
It took a few seconds for her friend to realize that Rei had actually spoken. But that wasn’t all that had shocked her.
“Rei. That form just now... How were you able to access that kind of power?”
“It’s complicated.” Rei muttered. “I’ll tell you about it later...”
Haruka heard a sad undertone in her voice, but the determination in her eyes said a lot more. She was angry, and ready for a fight.
“Wait! It’s good that you’re stronger now, but don’t even think about taking him on by yourself! He’ll kill you.” Behind them, the shield around Apollo fell. The God withdrew his weapon and brandished his sword as he turned to face them.
“I can do this Haruka.”
“What? Didn’t you just hear a word I said?! He’s already gone berserk! There’s no way I’m going to let you—Ah!” Haruka was forced to step back as the golden light around Rei flared up again with vengeance.
As her powers continued to manifest, Rei felt everything begin to change again. Her senses were becoming sharper; her sense of smell, her hearing—she could hear every heartbeat within the vicinity, all except for the single entity that stood before her. Everything and everyone disappeared from Rei’s vision until all she could see was the enemy. For a split second a fierce, almost animalistic instinct threatened to take her over, but now that she was aware of its presence it was easily put back to rest. Rei was indeed angry, but she was also perfectly sane. If she was going to get revenge it was going to be on her own terms.
I’m going to wipe that stupid smirk right off of your face! Rei swung her sword around and charged forward. Apollo eagerly ran forward to meet the challenge. In an instant he dove low and swung up as she swooped down.
“HaaaaAAAAHHH!!!”
“HWOOOOOO!!”
TINZ--FWooOOOOOOOSSSH!!!!!!!!!
The first collision of their blades discharged a powerful wave of energy. The other women in the vicinity braced themselves and clung to one another to avoid being swept away by the fierce winds.
W-What power! The sheer magnitude of their spiritual pressures was putting the dimension’s stability at risk. Haruka dug in her back heels and hugged low to the ground in the desperate attempt to remain grounded, but she was slipping. There was another clash of swords and backlash of wind. Haruka tensed as the wave drew near but suddenly there was another body beside her.
“Haruka!”
Michiru?!
When the wind died down she weakly lifted her head and found her partner’s expression full of concern. “Haruka, are you all right? Ah, your hand!”
“I’m fine!” She shook her head when Michiru attempted to heal her. “No, don’t bother. It’s not going to work.”
“What?”
“Long story short, as long we we’re trapped here we won’t be able to heal ourselves.” She met her eyes. “If I were able to heal myself, don’t you think I would have already done it by now?”
“But then--!!” Realizing what Haruka had just said, Michiru’s eyes were drawn to the fighting pair nearby.
Rei!
“Wait!” Haruka quickly grabbed her arm, and received an incredulous look in response.
“Why are you trying to stop me?” Michiru was confused but more so because of the seriousness in Haruka’s eyes.
“...Don’t help her.” As Haruka said this, she let go of Michiru’s arm and staggered back onto her feet. “I’ve been wondering about this for awhile now...About why it had to be this way. But now, I think I finally understand.”
Michiru blinked back. “What are you talking about?”
“Out of all of the Gods and Goddesses, why do you think Apollo took control of Ares?”
In the center of the battlefield, Rei summoned up red flames around her sword and stabbed at the God. Apollo attempted to yank away from the attack, but he wasn’t fast enough and ended up being speared through the left shoulder.
STAB
“GaHHH!” His shoulder guard was instantly swallowed up by the flames. The man in turn swung back with the motion and whirled on Rei. Rei met the blow with a backhanded glance and knocked his arm away as she brought her blade down again. This time her strike drew a long slash down the front of his armor. The metal cracked where the blade had gouged but it had not penetrated deep enough to completely break through. Rei muttered an angry curse under her breath before she relentlessly pursued her retreating opponent.
Ting! Ting!
Slash—Tinz!
Slash—slash----ting! CRACKLE!!
“Don’t you see?” Haruka continued on. “He didn’t control Ares because of his bloodlust. He did it because Ares was the only one other than his sister who was a threat to him!”
Apollo and Rei’s blades met again, releasing another wave of sharp energy.
“But it’s not just that. If we jump in now, we’ll only be getting in the way. There’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to hit Apollo without hitting Rei in the recoil.”
Both fighters were at a deadlock now. They were so close now that Rei could clearly see the insanity in the God’s glowing silver eyes. As Rei pushed her weight against her blade, in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about this predicament. Her opponent had already died once. He possessed no heartbeat, yet he had somehow managed to materialize and was here fighting her at this instant. Could she possibly defeat someone that was already dead?
A chill flew down her spine when Apollo suddenly reached out and grabbed her sword with his gloved hand. It was only for a brief second, but as the armor around his arm shattered Apollo slid his hand up against the blade and discharged the enveloping energy back into her eyes. Rei yelped and stumbled back in surprise.
“Rei!” Minako ran in from the side.
“Minako, don’t!”
The Venusian threw herself between the combatants as Apollo closed the distance. There was no time to think. Minako re-materialized her chains again and sent one directly at the God. Apollo instinctively countered and broke it with a single swing of his blade but the second chain caught him off guard and wrapped about one of his feet. His eyes briefly before he was forcefully pulled to the ground and was dragged backwards for a few seconds before he finally gripped onto the chain and shattered it with his bare hand.
Minako’s heart skipped a beat as he went to retrieve his sword. “Venus…Love-Me Chain!” She knocked his blade further away, prompting an enraged roar. However it appeared that the sword wasn’t quite so essential because he then went straight for her without it.
“Minako!”
“Mina?” Rei muttered in confusion from behind her. Her eyes were still bloodshot but her sight was slowly starting to return. She could distinctively make out someone standing in front of her now.
Minako summoned up her energy again as Apollo’s arm came down, but his fist was interrupted by another. At the last second Rei’s armoured leg flew up and took the blunt of the attack. Metal plates went flying everywhere but she didn’t stop in her advance. Apollo stumbled back in surprise when the Martian blindly lunged forward and tackled him straight into Ami and Makoto’s waiting attacks.
“Sparking…Wide Pressure!”
“Shine…Aqua Illusion!”
Sssssss----KABLAM!
KABLAM!
The God’s armor cracked again.
“Keep at it!” Haruka shouted. She stood up and pulled off her remaining glove with her teeth while Michiru had gone on ahead.
“Deep… SUBMERGE!”
Whiiiiiiiiii---KABLAM!!!!
We’re almost there! Haruka wrapped the glove around her injured hand and picked up her sword again. She then sunk into an offensive position and waited for her opportunity. The moment Ami’s gun shots distracted him, she saw it.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
“HaaaaAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!”
As the others struggled to take the God down, Minako was shaking Rei in a state of panic. After Rei had recklessly attacked the Sun God she collapsed to the ground and hadn’t moved since.
“Rei! Rei, speak to me!”
The Martian finally groaned and winced when her mind registered the pain in her leg. “Ouch, would you stop that already? I’m fine--”
Slap!
Rei was stunned. She slowly turned her head to look at the other woman and saw angry tears in Minako’s eyes.
“You’re fine?! Is that all you have to say for yourself?! When you suddenly disappeared, I...” Her words trailed off before she could finish. From her expression it looked as though there was more she wanted to say, but Minako bit her tongue.
“Mina, I--”
“There’s a lot more that I have to say to you.” She cut her off with a shaky voice. “But right now, there’s a fight that we have to finish. So, until it’s over, don’t do anything stupid and get yourself killed.”
With that Minako wiped away her tears and went to join the group. Rei touched her cheek in silence for a moment. It stung but somehow it didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. Remembering their time on Uranus, it almost brought a smile to her lips.
“Heh. Same goes for you.” Rei stood up and transformed again. “Mars Planet Power, Make-Up!”
FWOOOOOOOOSH!
Let’s end this.
As the light faded away, she drew back her hand and a red bow and arrow materialized. On top of that, she summoned up blood magic and funnelled its power into the shot. As the two powers exponentially began to accumulate, her comrades on the battlefield ran for cover.
“Get back!”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Makoto, Minako and Haruka had successfully retreated, but Ami was finding it very difficult to make distance. The Sun God was focusing on her. He had sensed the danger nearby and wasn’t about to let her go. Ami’s shots continued to hit him dead on, to the point of severing his chest plate, but it wasn’t enough. He was still coming at her.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Click. Click—click.
Oh no! I’m out! Ami discarded the gun and tried to summon up her powers, but it wasn’t fast enough. Apollo lunged and she screamed.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Minako had reverted back to her normal form and lashed out at him with her brother’s sword.
Slash!
Apollo calmly leapt back, allowing the Goddesses to try and push him back. Over his shoulder, Minako could see that Rei had finished powering up and was ready to pull back herself when the God abruptly grabbed at her blade. “Huh?” The words barely left her lips when Minako was yanked forward so fast that she couldn’t tell up from down when he suddenly came down on her with both fists.
“GAH!” He hit her squarely in the back, knocking her straight to the ground. She couldn’t see it, but she immediately knew that her backside armor had been smashed in. A surge of panic flashed through her as the God was about to come down again.
“Minako!”
The Venusian squeezed her eyes shut, only to have them shoot open again when she heard someone else cry out. There was a struggle happening above her.
“AAH!!”
“MICHIRU!”
Everyone froze when Apollo grabbed Michiru and swung her in front of him, effectively putting her between him and the Martian. Rei hesitated. Behind the man, Minako glanced at her sword. She had barely reached out for it when a warning shot narrowly missed her head and thoroughly startled the Venusian. The air around the God was sparking dangerously; she was effectively stuck as well.
“Michiru!!!” Haruka shouted from the side.
“D-Don’t come any closer!” She warned them.
Rei felt her hands tremble. Her arrow had been aimed at Apollo’s head, but if she released the arrow now then Michiru would also be killed in the attack. As if almost looking for the answer, her eyes met Michiru’s and felt her heart skip a beat.
“Rei! Shoot it!” Michiru continued to struggle, yet not as much as before. Judging by the grip on her neck, she knew that the God could snap it at any second.
I...Rei narrowed her eyes.
“What are you waiting for?! This is your chance!”
Despite her plea, Rei’s heart was still wracked with indecision. She had disliked Michiru, but never enough to want to kill her. Even as she hesitated, she could feel her friends’ intense gazes all rest on her. Haruka’s especially.
Haruka briefly met Michiru’s eyes and saw the determination in them. For a moment there seemed to be a silent exchange between the two women. Without a word, Haruka suddenly broke the gaze and then shot Rei a serious one.
“Haruka...?”
“Do it.”
“What?!” The rest of her friends were just as shocked as Rei was.
Is she just going to let her partner die? From where Minako was sitting she could see that this was beginning to become too much for Rei. If it were anybody else in her position, she was sure they would have already buckled underneath the pressure. Well, perhaps not for one person. It was then that it occurred to her:
Where’s Setsuna when we need her? Wait a minute. Where is Setsuna?!
Rei was trying to keep her breathing and shoulders relaxed when she heard a faint voice in her head saying,
“Shoot it.”
But I can’t! I’ll kill her!
“Trust me.”
Rei paused. There was something oddly familiar about that reassuring tone.
That voice. Is that you, Setsuna?
At that exact moment, the woman stepped out of the shadows from behind the Martian.
“Setsuna?!” Haruka cried out in shock. Am I seeing things?! “But I thought you were--”
Apollo instinctively tensed as her presence was unmasked. His silver eyes flashed, and then widened in recognition and something else as her face came into the light. A name was slowly being pieced together in his mind.
...Set...suna. His gripped on Michiru automatically slackened.
“Now!” Setsuna commanded.
“Here...it comes!” There was a roar in Rei’s ears as she released the arrow and watched it fly towards the pair.
Michiru’s eyes narrowed in anticipation. The moment it had been fired, she tightened her grip on the man’s hands and pulled her weight to the side. The arrow flew past her side and pierced the middle of Apollo’s chest. Apollo gagged as the attack registered, but he didn’t have a chance to recover; behind him, Minako grabbed at her sword and plunged it into his back from behind. There was a moment of tension between the parties as the sword was slowly removed and the Sun God slumped to the ground.
“Is--Is that it?” Ami dared to ask.
“Did we get him?” Makoto whispered beside her.
“Michiru! Setsuna!” It looked like Haruka couldn’t decide who to run to first.
“I am all right.” Setsuna nodded.
“The same goes for me.” Michiru panted.
“But how? I...” Both women watched as Haruka debated with herself whether or not to believe them. She was angry, but she was about to become angrier; their reunion was interrupted when Apollo’s body abruptly burst into flames and converged into a single one overhead. The next thing that they heard was a mocking laughter that boomed throughout the air around them.
“I’m really starting to hate that laugh.” Haruka growled under her breath.
“AHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That was pretty good! But now, it’s over.”
“What did you say?!”
“He’s referring to his real body.” Setsuna said calmly.
“What?! You mean, that wasn’t him?!” Haruka shot back. This time the woman offered no explanation.
“That’s right! What you fought was merely a piece of me. But what does it matter now? As we speak, my trump card is coming right to me! You will all meet your end soon enough!”
“No...Is he talking about Hotaru?!”
Everyone suddenly remembered the girl they had been chasing. The thought of Apollo getting his grubby hands on Hotaru again was making Haruka’s blood boil.
“Grr...Okay, we’ll talk later. C’mon! We have to go after him!”
The others nodded. “Right!”
Setsuna lifted her staff and the crimson light engulfed the area once again.
(Hotaru)
While the others had been fighting, Hotaru had been steadily tracking her way through the dimension. It had taken her awhile to hunt down her opponent’s spiritual trail, but all of her hard work was starting to pay off; his presence was becoming stronger and more pronounced by the second.
Up ahead she broke through another wall in the space and exited into a large room. For a moment she scanned the area. There was an elevated platform that was encased by a circle of pillars to her right. She instantly recognized the image from one of Setsuna’s visions.
This is it. He’s here. Hotaru narrowed her eyes and silently materialized her silence glaive. Usagi, please be all right.
As Hotaru cautiously approached the structure she felt her stomach begin to knot up as she sighted the orange light shining past the pillars. It tickled something within her memory, but for the sake of her loved one she ignored the uneasy feeling. Hotaru continued to creep forward until she finally reached one of the columns and ducked close to it. Then, slowly, she peeked around it. The light was bright, nearly blindly her, but up ahead there was a dark shadow lying close to the ground. She blinked. When her eyes adjusted she felt her heart skip a beat.
Without thinking she rushed out to the woman’s side and began to shake her. “Usagi?!” Oh no... “Usagi! If you can hear me, say something!”
When she heard her sister moan she silently breathed a sigh of relief. Thank Goddess...She’s alright.
“So...You’ve finally come.”
Hotaru turned her head and came face to face with a large spiritual mass of hovering orange energy. Although his appearance had changed since she last saw him, she knew the presence instantly.
“Apollo.” She shot him a look of disdain. The former God chuckled in response.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Have you finally decided to come home?”
Hotaru winced when a loud buzzing in her head started.
“Hotaru? What’s wrong?” Usagi reached up and placed a hand against her pale cheek. Instantly, upon contact, there was a flash of light before her eyes. Usagi was forced to pull her hand back, but for a moment she had sensed a foreign signature buried deep within her sister’s mind.
There’s something there.
Hotaru grunted and beat down the tingling sensation until the noise dimmed. “Usagi,” she hissed out. “Whatever happens, stay here, all right? I’ll...protect you.”
“No, wait! You’re not well!”
Apollo was amused when the ‘child’ stood up and dared to raise her blade against him. It looked as though she were serious this time.
“You would dare to raise your blade against a blood-relative? That’s too bad...And here I went through all the trouble of bringing you a...present.”
Both siblings tensed when a cloud of black particles materialized a few meters in front of them. But they were more shocked when they realized that the figure standing before them was Nozomi. The girl looked ragged. She stared at the floor with empty, glowing red eyes, as if she were already dead.
“Nozomi!” Usagi gasped.
Hotaru was taken aback, but she was more angry than surprised. “What have you done to her?!”
“Haven’t I always told you, my dear niece? Worry about yourself first.”
“Let her go!”
“Ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see with one, single thought, I can end her pitiful life. If you are so concerned about the girl then you will abide by my commands. However, if you are that desperate to get to me, then you could always do the deed yourself. After all, what’s one more life compared to the countless of lives you’ve already taken?”
He saw Hotaru hesitate, but only for a second. He was mildly surprised when the girl suddenly began to step towards the girl, with her weapon still in her hands.
“Hotaru? No! You can’t be serious!” Usagi protested. She tried to scramble up onto her feet, but the dark look that Hotaru shot her made her freeze in her tracks.
“Do you recall what I told you earlier, Usagi?” Her sister asked her. “On the battlefield, sometimes, you will come across times when there will be things that you need to do...even if you do not wish to do them.”
“But she’s our friend! She’s still alive!”
“So?”
“Huh?” Usagi was shocked.
“What he said was true. I have already killed many people, so what is one more life? If we do not stop him, millions more will be lost.”
“But...”
Tup...Tup...Tup.
Crak—kzz...
Hotaru stopped in front of the girl with dark energy crackling all around her. Nozomi’s eyes blankly stared back as the woman raised her hand.
“I’m sorry..but you’re in my way.” Hotaru pulled her hand back.
“Hotaru, NOOOOOO!!!” Usagi screamed.
Hotaru instead lashed out with her other hand and punched the girl in the head. Nozomi crumpled to the ground but in her place was the shadow assassin who had possessed her. The creature briefly blinked back in confusion and moved for its weapon but was cut down by Hotaru’s blade before it could defend itself.
SLASH!
“SKRRREE!!!”
Shroom!
Contrary to what Usagi had thought Nozomi soon stirred on the floor. The blonde had nearly broken down into tears as she rushed to the girl’s side. All the while, Hotaru had remained frozen to the spot. She watched her sibling pick the smaller girl up and held her close, protectively, but she said nothing. There was a dark and contemplative look in her dark-eyes.
“Amusing...”
Her uncle finally said.
“You rejected the darkness within her with your own. However, it was a foolish waste of time and energy. Regardless of your plans, you cannot put them into action as long as they are around.”
“Hotaru? What is he talking about?” Usagi asked her from behind.
“She was going to sacrifice herself and take me down with her. A noble intention, don’t you agree?”
“So...it’s true. You really were going to kill yourself.”
“Usagi...”
“I don’t understand!” Her family was momentarily taken aback by the emotion in her voice. “Why do we have to fight each other? Why are you doing this?!”
Apollo was silent for a moment. In his eyes, he thought saw his sister instead of his niece.
“You brought this upon yourselves. You all claimed to be my friends, my FAMILY! And then what do you do? You go off into your own little worlds and pretend that I don’t exist! You’re all happy because of the sacrifices I MADE! Why am I the only one who had to suffer?! And then...you all abandoned me. You betrayed me!! You bastards killed me and then continued on as if nothing had happened! Well, screw you! All of you...! You self-proclaimed rulers and your dogs...you can all go to HELL!!!!”
Sheeeeeeeen....
The mass of energy began to flare up. Apollo was readying his attack and Hotaru was preparing to counter it.
...You must really hate me... don’t you? Usagi heard his voice within her head.
“No.” She shook her head. “I pity you.”
“DISAPPEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!”
A beam of orange light charged towards the trio. Hotaru raised her glaive. “Silence Wall!!”
BLAM!!
A purple barrier came up as the beam struck it. The strain on her body was immediate. Hotaru dug her feet into the floor and pushed forward for support as more blasts followed. As each one connected with the barrier, Hotaru winced; even if she were in top condition the challenge would have been daunting.
BLAM!!
BLAM!!
BLAM!!
“Rrrg!!!” T-This isn’t good! Now that he’s purely a spiritual being, he doesn’t have limits on his spiritual powers anymore! And as long as we’re in this dimension he’ll continue to draw power from it!
BLAM!!
...He was right. I had intended to sacrifice myself. However, if I attempt to do so now, both Usagi and Nozomi will be caught up in the blast.
As if knowing what she was thinking, Apollo added,
“If you use that power, they will not be the only ones affected.”
“What?!” The buzzing in her head was growing louder.
“Your ‘friends’ are somewhere in this dimension as well. Despite the barrier that you’ve put up, they somehow got in. A nuisance, but it’s served me well.”
CRACKLE—BLAAM!!!
Hotaru’s barrier finally gave in.
“Hotaru!”
Hotaru fell to the floor and coughed violently. The barrier outside, surrounding the city was still intact. Her body was reaching its limit.
“...Usagi... I’m sorry. I guess I’m just useless after all.” She was surprised when her sister hugged her tightly. Usagi...?
“Thank you.”
Hotaru blinked. When Usagi pulled back, she saw a strange light in her sibling’s blue eyes.
“You protected me all this time, Hotaru. So now, it’s my turn to protect you.” She smiled. For a moment, it didn’t quite register in Hotaru’s mind what the blonde had said. She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when Usagi suddenly stood up and stepped towards Apollo.
“No, what are you doing?! He’ll kill you!”
Usagi came to a stop a meter ahead of the pair and stared up at the glowing mass of energy. It was hot, and there was so much anger radiating from it. But despite that, in her mind it was still her uncle.
I only wish we could have met under different circumstances...
Hotaru held her breath when Usagi brought her hands out in front of her and a white crystal emerged from her chest.
Don’t tell me she’s going to...! Her thoughts were cut off when Usagi’s white energy began to cascade throughout the area. Her heart crystal was powering up, and it was making Apollo uneasy; where their energies touched, there were sparks.
“Hey, Hotaru? Do you remember when you asked me why I said I would fight? The reason is... is because I want to protect the people that I love!”
Hotaru’s heart skipped a beat. “But that still won’t be enough! You’ll die!”
Usagi’s blue-eyes softened in understanding. “I still have to try...”
There was a flicker of orange light from above.
“...Die...”
“USAGI!”
Ping!
SHhhhRRKK!!!
“What?!”
There was a flash of purple light in the distance. “Dead...Scream...”
WhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrRrRrRRRRRR---Kablam!
“GRAAGH!”
The God whirled his spiritual sight around. He knew that attack very well and he was looking for its owner. But instead, he found himself shrinking back in horror when the others appeared. They were walking between the pillars, but they were not alone. Each of the young women he had ruthlessly hunted was standing side by side with the spirits of their mentors—his former friends whom he had killed himself. Even Ares was there. The man’s dark eyes glared back at him from beside the young Goddess of Mars.
“So this is where you went, you coward!” Haruka shouted.
Their eyes, the expression on their faces, it was just like last time.
“N-No...” The flames of his body flickered.
There was a blast of purple light behind him and suddenly his being felt heavy. Setsuna had initiated a barrier on one half of the room. In front of him Hotaru dashed forward and initiated one for the other half.
“Silence Wall!”
Their barriers joined in the middle and trapped the former God’s spiritual form down.
FwooOOOOOOOOSH!!!
Apollo was beginning to panic. He couldn’t move. In a rush he began to blast at the combined barrier around him, but his attacks were hardly doing damage.
“No! No! NO!”
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
“Do it now!” Setsuna shouted over the wind. “Channel your powers to Usagi!”
“Right!”
“GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!” Apollo shouted loudly as the lights began to light up all around him.
Here we go...!
“Mercury Planet Power!”
Mercury’s insignia lit up on Ami’s forehead as a blue light flew to the crystal in Usagi’s hands. Usagi’s eyes widened a little as the power joined together with hers.
“Jupiter Planet Power!”
“Uranus Planet Power!”
“Neptune Planet Power!”
“Venus Planet Power!”
“Mars... Planet Power!”
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
Ping!
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen---
“Moon... Prism Power!”
Their powers combined and exploded from the crystal as a white beam of light that charged at the Sun God. Both Hotaru and Setsuna simultaneously released the barrier seconds before impact.
FwooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!
“NOOOOOO------OOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”
KAA---BLAAAAAAAAA—AAaAAAAAA---AaAaAAAM!!!!
(Sun Battlefield)
Outside the city, a white beam of light could be seen rising up from the center of the City of Gods...
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