Once upon a broken memory - A sailor Moon ficcy

[Hime Arai]

xDDD

[Inu]

xDDD To you too

[Inu]

Part 4

Seiya frowned as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

After learning little more than nothing about the man that had revealed himself to her, she had been blindfolded, much to her protest and struggling, and was taken from the darkness into a well lit room. At first she had no idea where she was, but after actually assessing her surroundings she had realised it was a bedroom. The large bed on the opposite side of the room was a dead giveaway.

“You will be eating with me tonight. I’ll leave you to get changed,” he’d said, before leaving the room and locking the doors behind him. She had spent a good amount of time pulling at the handles of the large wooden door, and just plain trying to knock it down before she had given up.

What had he meant, get changed? She looked around her prison. It was pretty bare, the whole room consisting of the large bed, a full-length mirror in the corner and a closet that sat against the opposite wall.

Taking a bet on the closet, she had opened it to reveal a plain, dark satin gown that had matched the color of her eyes. She had stared at it for what felt like minutes, trying to decide what the heck to do with it, before she had finally removed it from its resting place so she could get a better look at it. “Oh hell no,” she’d shaken her head, holding up the offensive garment. He wanted her to wear that? She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d worn women’s clothing.

That was when the woman had walked in. The one with dark, charcoal hair and eyes to match. Eyes that scared the hell out of Seiya. Whatever this woman was, she wasn’t human. “You’re not dressed,” she’d spoken in a soulless, almost robot sounding voice. “That won’t do. My lord will be displeased,” she shook her head. “I will help you.”

Deciding that whatever she was, the starlight didn’t want to mess with her then and there, she had just stood there as the woman had undressed her and helped into her new dress, her cheeks blazing red. Any other time she would have tried to punch out anyone who wanted to get her naked, but she had no idea what she was up against, and that just annoyed her.

And that was why she was frowning as she stared at her reflection. The woman, who had introduced herself as Nerida after Seiya’s constant attempts at getting her to reveal some kind of information, had fetched her a matching pair of gloves earlier and was now brushing her hair which she had let loose from its usual ponytail.

She fidgeted as she waited for her to finish, uncomfortable with the sudden pampering while in enemy territory. She was so confused that she couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on, or what that man had planned for her. One thing really did bother her though, and that was the fact that her abductor looked so familiar. Yet the reason why was dancing before her, just out of her reach.

“You’re finished,” Nerida told her in the same emotionless voice. She once again focused her attention on her reflection, seeing her hair had just been left down, with two simple, silver star clips holding it out of her face. “You may now go and see my lord,” she told her, stepping aside so that Seiya had a clear view of the open door.

That was when she ran. Her heeled shoes clicking as she ran out into a long hallway. She had to get out of here quick. She had no idea what this guy was planning, but she didn’t want to find out.

“Where do you think you’re going? The dining all is in the opposite direction,” the calm voice behind her made her freeze, and she swiftly turned around to see him standing there, watching her with interest. She didn’t know why she had stopped, maybe it was fear. All she knew was that she should have kept running.

She glared at his amused expression, far from amused herself. “I’m not hungry,” she answered, her voice flat.

He chuckled. “That’s too bad then. I was quite looking forward to-” he cut off mid-sentence, reaching out and gripping her wrist before she even had a chance to react. “Your company,” he finished, flashing her a charming smile.

She struggled, trying to fight against his grip, but found it was no use when he didn’t even budge. “I’m sure you could find some way to entertain yourself,” she growled, attempting to attack him with her free hand.

His eyes seemed to blaze as he reached out to grab her free wrist, pulling her closer to him and stopping any chance of escape. “Now where’s the fun in that?” he breathed, their faces inches apart as he stared in her eyes that were filled with absolute hate for this man.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she spoke softly, but with an angry force to her words.

He smiled, opened his mouth slowly and mouthed three words...

‘Dinner’s getting cold.’

That’s it. She was going to kill him.

*****

Elsewhere, the senshi were completely stumped for ideas. They had no idea what to do about Seiya, no idea what to do about Rei’s vision, and no idea what to do about the owner of the voice she’d heard.

“I’m still lost as to how this photo still exists,” Michiru spoke thoughtfully, glancing over Usagi’s shoulder at the photo she had refused to let go of after she’d seen it.

Even though she couldn’t remember the dark haired female, some part of her obviously did. That was proven when she had seen the photo. It had made her happy, the memory she couldn’t piece together, but at the same time she was sad she couldn’t remember such a happy time.

Taiki nodded. “It doesn’t make sense that this is the only visible proof of her. You would think everything would have been erased,” she commented, trying to figure out how this was possible.

Ami, who had taken a seat beside her, nodded. “There must be a reason for this.”

“Maybe whoever did this didn’t have enough power to get rid of her completely,” Minako tried. As confused as everyone else. Well, almost everyone.

Rei on the other hand, had come up with a different assumption. “Maybe it was Seiya,” she told the others. “It would make sense that she would choose a picture of herself with Usagi to keep herself ‘real’” she finished her theory. She could have been way off, but it was better now that they had something to go on, rather than grasping at straws.

Yaten let out and exasperated sigh. “Even if that was the case, it doesn’t bring us any closer to anything!” she rubbed her temples in annoyance.

Rei stood up then quickly, angrily walking the few steps to the silver haired starlight, and pointed a finger in her face. “I haven’t seen you come up with anything yet. So I suggest you start help thinking of a plan, or shut up and don’t say another thing.”

Yaten looked ready to kill the fiery priestess, but instead just huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at something on the other side of the room. One of these days...

“She’s got a point though,” Haruka spoke up, agreeing with the starlight even if she didn’t really like it. “Even with that information we can’t find out where Seiya is, or anything about this enemy,” her expression was pulled into a frown as she said this, annoyed that nothing was ever easy.

Rei glanced at the other, letting out a light sigh. “I know. I guess I’m just annoyed that I wasn’t able to find anything else,” she lightly rubbed her eyes, the weariness that sometimes came after he predictions finally beginning to hit her.

“You should rest,” Yaten told her not changing her expression, earning a surprised stare from Rei. Did Yaten... care? No, there was no way. She was probably just meaning it so that they could get another prediction out of her or something.

“I agree,” Minako spoke up. “You look tired.”

Rei shook her head. “I’ll rest when we’ve figured this entire thing out,” she told them. “But thank you anyway.”

“Don’t do it!” the sudden outburst caused almost all of them to jump, before ten pairs of eyes turned to stare at Usagi to try and figure out what happened. They soon realised that the blonde hadn’t been talking to any of them though.

Her eyes were clear, staring straight ahead at nothing. Or rather, nothing anyone else could see. “Usagi? Are you ok?” Setsuna questioned, moving to Usagi’s side try and get a response from the young woman.

She wouldn’t get one though, as barely a second later with tears brimming in her eyes, Usagi collapsed, asleep.

“What happened?” Makoto jumped from her seat and practically ran to the blonde’s side. They knew she could sleep through anything, but this was different. “Usagi? Usagi?” she called as she shook the smaller female’s shoulders, trying to get her to open her eyes.

[Inu]

Here is an amazing pic drawn by sarah moon ((TheO)) from my fic! Isn't it gorgeous??? XD



Part 5

The male's eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched how angry the dark haired female had gotten with his reply to his question. He could understand her frustration though, he would be mad too if he'd been taken from everything he'd known. Especially after something like that...

He shook his head. At least the situation hadn't been any graver when he'd arrived. Otherwise he would have lost not only one of his best lackeys, but also a great ally if the opportunity would ever arise.

And he hoped it would.

"You haven't touched your food," he gave Seiya a disapproving look from across the large, wooden banquet table that sat in the centre of a small hall. He had been keeping an eye on her the whole time, to make sure she didn't attempt another escape, and so far he hadn't even seen her glance towards her knife and fork.

She just glared in response, following by pushing her plate further away from herself.

He raised his eyebrow in an amused expression. "What do you believe you have to gain by refusing to eat?" he questioned her. "Or, is it you believe I would try to poison you?" a small smirk appeared on his face as Seiya averted her gaze.

God this guy was annoying. If she didn't want to eat, then she wasn't going to eat. Simple as that. It wasn't for any special reason that she had pushed her plate away. Though the theory of poisoning had crossed her mind when she had first entered the hall and spotted the feast.

It had almost been like he was welcoming a guest, and not just feeding a prisoner he had acquired. She had felt uncomfortable the moment he had opened the large double doors leading to the hall. Never mind the fact that she had felt his eyes on her the whole time, or that her wrists actually stung from where he had gripped them earlier. It wasn't even that she had been forced into wearing a dress, something she hadn't even gone near her entire time on Earth. No, what had made her uncomfortable was the way he had treated her when leading her here.

The guy had kept a firm grip on one of her wrists, which she had been very annoyed about, but his grip had been gentle. He smiled at her and at one point even attempted to make small talk, asking what she thought of the castle, if she were cold and even how she was. She had flat out ignored him, both mad that he'd even look at her, and confused as hell that he was treating her like someone he had invited over for dinner, rather than someone he had forced there.

Her stomach growled as she glanced towards her plate and she glared at nothing in particular as she cursed in her mind. She didn't know how long it had been since she had eaten, having no idea what day it even was, but she did know that she was starving. That still didn't mean she wanted to eat anything she was given by that man.

"Please," he spoke up, startling her. "Don't be afraid. I swear to you that your food will no harm you in any way," he chuckled lightly and Seiya wasn't surprised to find that that pissed her off.

Re-directing her glare to the man she still hadn't managed to find anything about, she stared at him for a few moments, before picking up her knife and fork and cutting a piece off of what she guessed to be chicken. She stabbed the piece roughly, hesitantly bringing the food to her mouth, sniffing it lightly, before finally letting herself taste it.

She waited for a few moments after she had chewed and swallowed it, and after finding that nothing had happened to her, she continued with her meal.

The sound of laugher stopped her as she went to take another bite, drawing her attention back to her captor. "I'm glad you approve," he was watching her with the same amused expression he had been earlier, but his features had softened.

That did nothing to soften Seiya's guard though. She knew the ruse. They would seem as though they weren't really that bad after all, that you shouldn't be afraid and that for some strange reason they cared about you, then when you finally trusted them they would stab you in the back and their true motives would come to light.

"Who are you?" she watched him carefully as her question was asked. "I believe I at least deserve to know the name of the man who's holding me against my will."

He chuckled, watching her carefully before whispering a name so lightly that she almost missed it.

*****

"I want pancakes," Usagi mumbled as her first sentence when she finally awoke, rubbing her eyes lightly as she let out a light yawn as if everything was perfectly fine, like she had only dozed off, rather than collapsing after yelling out something the other girl's still couldn't make sense of.

Rei just rolled her eyes, but still kept a close watch on her friend. None of them had any idea what had happened, and when she'd been questioned about it, Usagi had said she couldn't remember what she had seen. She didn't even remember calling out or fainting.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ami looked the blonde over quickly, before deciding she seemed to be alright.

Usagi nodded. "Where'd everyone go though?" she glanced around the room, noticing that the outer senshi had disappeared during her nap.

"Setsuna said she wanted to check on the gates," Minako answered, referring to the gates of time that Pluto watched over and kept safe from intruders. "And Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru went home so they could try and figure out something to do," she nodded.

"Mirchiru's eyes were glued to her mirror, weren't they?" Makoto commented.

Ami nodded. "It's because she doesn't like that she hadn't been given a warning that something was wrong," she explained.

They all knew that Michiru had been frustrated that she hadn't had a single sign of trouble, that she had been completely in the dark. They were all frustrated with that though, and Minako had murmured something about the aqua haired senshi being lucky she even had something like the mirror, earning an elbow to the side from Rei.

"You're sure you can't remember anything?" Minako asked her fellow blonde for the fifth time, only causing Usagi to pout as she nodded her head in definite response.

"How many times do I have to say it?" Usagi frowned. "The last thing I remember is you guys telling Rei to rest and then... nothing!" she held her hands up in a 'poof' motion to show that the memory was gone. If she could remember she would have told them already. Asking her over and over again wasn't going to make her suddenly remember everything.

Rei sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know if we should be more worried about my vision or Seiya..." she commented, looking back to the group. They still had no idea whether the two events were even linked...

She had realised something though, in the time Usagi had been unconscious. She had actually thought about her vision, trying to remember every detail. The laughter had come from a male, of that she was sure of, as well as the mention of the name Serenity. But, now she felt like they had been two different voices... two completely different beings.

Like they didn't have enough to worry about.

Taiki sighed, her and Yaten not having moved from their spot against the wall, even when Usagi had collapsed. They had known the others would take care of her, they didn't need anyone else crowding around. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked Yaten.

Yaten shook her head. "What can we do?" They didn't have any leads, any plans... they didn't even have anyone to blame, and she was annoyed. "Hey," she spoke in a harsher tone then she had intended, but she didn't care, and the other girls all turned to look at her. "So do you have any idea what the hell is going on?"

Makoto glared at her, and was ready to say something when Ami lightly placed a hand on her arm to stop her. Now really wasn't the time for fighting.

They all looked between themselves, no one speaking up. None of them had a single idea of what their first step to be, and that wasn't a good position to be in. "If only we had some clue. A name, place, face, something," Minako commented.

"Maybe I can help with that," a voice that belonged to none of the senshi , yet was familiar, spoke and they all glanced toward the doorway to see who had spoken.

The owner of the voice was greeted with shock gasps and glares from all of the girls. "You..."

*****

"Apollo?" Seiya repeated the name in almost the same whispering tone. The name was familiar...

He shook his head. "Apollon dear. Apollon."

[Inu]

Part 6

"Oh please, is that how you greet a guest?" the woman standing in the doorway sighed, shaking her head as she studied each of the girls sitting before her with their guarded expressions, some even getting ready to attack her.

It had been a while since she had seen teh group, and they had not been left on the right foot. Even if each girl before her looked different to when they'd faced each other last, it was easy for her to recognise them simply by the presence they emitted, and obviously it was the same in their situation.

When she did not receive a response, she sighed again, running a hand through her long hair that began as blonde, but ended in a warm red the further her hand ran down. It would not be easy to break away the girl's suspicions of her, and she wondered how she could prove she meant no harm.

Holding her hands up in a sign of submission the first thing each girl noticed was that her wrists were bare, no trinkets, bracelets or any other accessories decorating them. Studying the rest of her figure, they could see that she was wearing a plain yellow dress, and matching pumps, but she was not decorated by jewellery of any kind.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Galaxia lowered her arms, a small smile on her face.

Though they would admit that she wasn't hiding any weapons, and that she seemed to mean no harm, the group wasn't about to let their guards down around a woman who had attempted and almost succeeded in killing each of them.

Yaten was the least trusting of the woman before them, and even attempted to attack her. Taiki managed to grab her mid-lunge, and held her fellow starlight back. "Let me go!" Yaten struggled, fighting as best she could against her companion's strong grip. "How can you just stand there and do nothing?" she hissed, her eyes mirroring the fury she felt.

The second starlight simply tightened her grip. "Attacking her will do you no good," she told the silver haired starlight firmly.

Yaten struggled for a few more moments, before finally giving in and calming down. "If she so much as twitches she's going down," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Noted," the older woman rolled her eyes. "I did not come here to cause trouble anyhow, I came to lend a hand," she told them, smiling lightly.

Usagi, who was now seated behind the inner senshi after they had put themselves between their princess and their enemy, blinked as her thoughts swirled through her mind. "But... Didn't you die?" she spoke the only words that came to her mind as she studied the obviously still alive woman.

Galaxia couldn't help the laugh that broke free from her lips and drifted through the silent room. "I believe I did, though I can't really remember much of what happened," she explained, her eyes seeming to look somewhere far off as she recounted the story. "The next time I opened my eyes I was here, on Earth. Alive and well, and not sure what to do with myself."

"Then why come here?" Ami questioned, not finding it strange that the older woman had been 'reborn' as such, each of the senshi had gone though the same thing. Though any normal person would not believe such a tale, it seemed normal to them.

The question seemed to have caught the woman off guard, and she stumbled in her thoughts for a moment. "At first I was just wandering aimlessly, not sure where to go, but then I found myself on a path that I just had to follow. And when I arrived here, well, I'm not sure how to explain it," she answered honestly. She had just felt like she needed to be there, that she was needed there.

Rei narrowed her eyes as she listened to her story. "Try to explain," she spoke blankly, no longer sure what she was supposed to think of the other's arrival.

"You needed answers, and I believe I can help you find them. Though I can't do much, I do have information," Galaxia told them calmly. Ever since she had awoken there was an ominous feeling surrounding her, and she had begun to feel the tug of a familiar presence that she would much rather forget.

Usagi was the only one who truly believed the older woman's words, the others all still studying her, watching for threats, and just plain not trusting her words. "What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the obvious worry on the woman's face.

Galaxia frowned, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. If what she was feeling was truly what she thought it to be, then there was more danger then she first realised. "It is chaos."

This earned a round of shock gasps, as well as one 'I told you so' from Minako, who received glares from everyone in the room. Now was not the time to gloat about being right that their worst enemy had come back to haunt them once again. "What do you mean?" Makoto questioned, being the first to find her voice.

"That's right," Minako chimed in. "Chaos was defeated, destroyed, gone for good. Bye bye."

"I mean," Galaxia continued. "That chaos has returned, and no matter what you think it will not change this fact. I can still feel it's presence after being so closely tied to its power," she shuddered at the memory of the dark tendrils wrapping around her mind and body.

"No," Usagi shook her head firmly. "No, not again. Not after all we've been though," she let out a soft sob as Rei placed an arm over her shoulder.

The miko then turned from her friend to the woman she still did not trust, but had decided they would have to cooperate with for the time being. "So what are we supposed to do about this?" she questioned.

*****

"I'm glad you have finally found your appetite," Apollon chuckled as he watched Seiya finally enjoying the meal she had been given. Though she was still not happy with her situation, she was a smallest bit glad she had managed to get some kind of information from her captor.

Rolling her eyes she swallowed the mouthful she had taken a moment earlier, before glaring at him. "Don't act like we're friends," she huffed, looking from him to the other side of the hall.

She still didn't like how pleasant he was trying to act and would rather he play the part of a normal villain. One who was completely in love with themself, and confident in their ability, who treated their captives like dirt beneath their feat. At least then she wouldn't be so confused about her situation.

The male made an expression that Seiya refused to believe was a pout, as she turned back to look at him. "Please, why must you act so defensive around me, I mean you no harm," he smiled charmingly. It was disgusting.

"You expect me to act like a guest when I've been kidnapped and held against my will? I don't know where you learnt about life, but let me set things straight. No way," she practically spat in his direction, stood up quickly, and walked from the room.

She knew that she would have no chance of escaping so soon, not after her first failed attempt, so reluctantly she made her way back to the room she had been first introduced to. "What have I gotten myself in to?" she spoke to no one as she flopped on to the large bed, using her arm to cover her eyes.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen after that, she had only wanted to keep Usagi safe, and to do that she had had to leave, to find out what was after her. She could never have dreamt that the youma had been after herself, and not the lunar princess she had sworn to protect.

She was just beginning to doze off when a knock at the door jolted her from her rest. Without waiting for an answer, or conformation to enter, Nerida walled into the room holding a pile of clothes that she placed at the edge of the bed. "Come," she spoke in the same, robotic voice as she held her hand out to Seiya.

"What now?" the starlight groaned. Was she not able to even rest in peace.

Nerida's expression didn't change, but instead of waiting for Seiya to come to her, she instead grabbed the dark haired female's arm and pulled her along with her. "It is time for your bath," she answered.

Seiya sighed, not in the mood for taking orders at that moment, and instead attempted to escape from the woman's grip. She soon found it was as useless as trying to escape from Apollon's, the woman was much stronger than her, and it again helped her theory of her not being human. With a groan she finally gave up and let herself be dragged along.