It had been nearly a month (or perhaps more, she’d lost track) since Christa had taken the ascent into space. Part of her held onto that deep-rooted fear of finding more than she could handle after she escaped to the moon of her birth the first time. She seriously doubted the existence of a civilization existing on such a tiny place, let alone several that spanned across the solar system. How could that have been possible when NASA and other nation’s space programs hadn’t found a thing on nearby rocks? Magic, or so she was told, and it made sense. There we similar civilizations attested to by other senshi on gaseous stars, comets and other places that the space programs have extensively researched and documented. Magic seemed to be the only explanation.

What Kallichore had found the first time shocked her – a dead sea with a corpse of a beach it once buffeted. High mountains in the distance that stood in an arc around the decimated ruins of a small village signaled the end of the moon’s landscape. The senshi had found herself wandering without really noticing where she was going, only to end up in the middle of a small house that once was home to a family. Several other leveled structures surrounded her then, bits of wood and ash and stone marking where people once sat and ate and slept thousands of years ago. The indentations in the ground indicated walls, furniture and perhaps even cooking fires. Kallichore instinctively knew her civilization wasn’t one of high technology, but one of religion, tight community and the betterment of self.

She considered herself blessed when no memories of the past came to haunt her that day. The senshi fell to her knees in what was probably a bedroom once before and wept. The sheer magnitude of the devastation wrought by the Negaverse was enough to move her to tears. Their evil had swept across the galaxy, from nation to nation, putting thousands upon thousands of civilizations to death. Millions or even billions of people were sent to the slaughter, and the senshi representing each celestial body was helpless to stop it. Even the sovereign body of the Silver Millennium could do nothing to halt the sheer death and destruction. What happened to them and the rest of the solar system was beyond the scope of Kallichore’s knowledge and she kicked herself for it. She wanted to know what had caused the Earth to be spared, if it was spared at all. She wanted to know what happened to the Negaverse and the royalty of the moon and other planets since then. Would the representatives from all the major planets awaken again at some point, or are they lost forever?

These were questions the super senshi desperately sought answers for, and she had an inkling that space might hold it. She had to cast her fears aside to ascend again. Jumping up to the roof of her father’s house, Kallichore knew everyone else was asleep. She pulled out her cell phone and closed her eyes just as she had the first time, and pressed the button that would jettison her out to the moon she once called home.


Once she felt the solid weight of ground beneath her feet, Kallichore opened her eyes. The stray ribbons and pieces of fabric that adorned her fuku floated in a light breeze that swept over the once-filled ocean. Weary brown eyes turned to look over a crimson shoulder at the great expanse that used to be blue. It was a grand and vast bowl of dust now, gray with age and time. The floor was mostly smooth and small outcroppings of rocks no doubt were home to various alien wildlife. The senshi turned again to where a grassland or forest would have been, since none of the home structures were found out that far. The moon must’ve been home to several smaller species due to its size. Kallichore took her first step forward, hearing more than feeling the dry crunching of dust beneath her feet, and wished with all her soul to see the moon in its glory days – lush with greens and blues and alive with the laughter and embracing of communities surrounding a central temple. She could easily see the stone ruins of such a place just ahead of her several yards. It was one of the few remaining structures whose foundation still held more than a few inches off the ground.

The senshi could only guess as to what the structure’s past purpose was. She didn’t have a degree in ancient civilizations, but because all of the houses seemed to surround this building and it was the only one primarily made of stone (or so she guessed based on the evidence), it was an important building. There foundation was smaller than she expected, about the size of two or three of the average houses on the outskirts in terms of flat ground space (roughly, she guessed, three thousand square feet) and the foundation was several feet up from the ground. Along the base were carvings, very faint now, of what appeared to be the same emblem on Kallichore’s chest – a mouth. Her bare hands could trace over the faint indentations to find other symbols, but she could not make them out. The gray dust at her feet would prove useless as well – rubbing it on the markings did nothing to make them clearer. It was a wonder they survived at all on the cracked and chipping foundation. The front of the building was signified by ruined steps, seven in all, gently ascending to the base of the platform. Only four of these steps remained in any appreciable form. She guessed that since the foundation was heavily adorned and carved, the rest of the building might have been too.

The first step was reduced to nothing more than a crumbling waste and the senshi was forced to skip it and move onto the second. They appeared to be made of solid stone, yet displayed the same ethereal color of plaster. Kallichore was shocked to discover they did not crumble under her weight. She gingerly proceeded, step after step, until she reached the solid platform above. It was significantly raised above the ground level of the surrounding houses by about four feet. The platform itself had a smooth, almost marble finish that astounded the senshi. Naturally, the destruction of the moon did not leave the floor unharmed – deep, jagged scarring took up about half of the structure, with fallen pillars and other decorations gouging huge chunks of the stone out of the flooring. Only one pillar stood tall of the twelve or so that lined either side of the building. It had to have been a temple or something of the sort with the sheer significance of the building materials alone. Kallichore’s heel clicked against what smooth finish was left, tracing her bare hand over the grooves in the few pillars remaining with more than a base still standing.

The building was wide and slowly tapered to a narrower end. Kallichore could see from her position a raised platform in what would have been the back of the structure. Small piles of wood lay scattered throughout as she continued down the otherwise barren path. Whether or not this place had walls was something she could not determine – if there were walls at one time, they may have been plaster or fabric or some other very delicate substance and thus did not survive the catastrophe.

Something drew her forward, something she did not quite understand and could not grasp fully. Eyebrows furrowed and brown eyes narrowed as Kallichore steadily reached that back platform. It was raised only six or so inches above where she stood and only one stair connected it to the floor. Upon it lay the ruin of something that broke her heart. There had to have been a stone wall at the edge of the building that reached the ceiling, and must have been covered in a mural of some kind. Roughly half the wall was left, devastated and warped into a strangely beautiful half circle. Kallichore rushed up to it, nearly tripping over something she did not see on the ground – a metal stool. Catching her balance, the senshi leaned on the half wall and looked over to see where the clanging metal piece had ended up after her brush with it. The stool, three-legged, lay on its side in a heap near where the corner of the room would have been. It teetered too close to the edge and risked falling off and the senshi darted for it, snatching it up by one leg. She righted it out of an unfamiliar respect for it, and pondered why it looked much heavier than it actually was.

The stool’s legs were very ornate with some bits of glass still remaining as decorations. Metal twisted and curled in on itself in intricate, swirling designs. The ends of each leg were crafted into what appeared to be tree roots of some kind. The seat was plain and well worn away by now, but Kallichore knew somehow that it was covered in the soft hide of an animal when it was in use. An inexplicable pull told her to sit upon it and gaze out across the expanse of the temple. The sudden and very distinct feeling frightened her and Kallichore let go of the stool, backing up away from it. She turned and let her eyes roam what was left of the mural on the back wall.

A lush landscape once adorned the stone and plaster that was affixed to it. Within that landscape was a flurry of birds and people, all singing and dancing as one, as a community. The birds were once very sacred and unique to the moon itself, but only part of it could be seen in the crumbling ruin. Kallichore silently walked up to gaze more intently at the bird’s face and wing, noting how large and yet how elegant it was. Three great feathers were on the crown of its head in once-brilliant colors. Its eyes were almond shaped and black or perhaps very dark brown, and its wingspan must have been magnificent. The senshi assumed the rest of the body was a plain color in contrast to the crown feathers, for the bird’s wings and face were the dull color of sand. The people surrounding the bird in the image were mangled beyond recognition, all of them blending into the same white and brown and green mass. All arms seemed to be connected, but Kallichore couldn’t tell if it was actually so or if the damage to the mural simply conceived it. She wanted to reach up and caress the image, but knew her touch would simply damage it further. Solemnly she left the mural behind, wishing she could have seen it in its full glory. It must’ve been the pride of the temple.

Turning back to the stool, the urge to sit on it did not relent. It wasn’t as if the stool was calling to her but it was more that she wanted to. Taking in a breath, the senshi gave in and situated herself gingerly on the seat positioned in the middle of the platform. Weary eyes started a journal across one end of the temple and to the other, noting how the lack of walls allowed her to see in all directions. The community was there at her fingertips, yet was gone forever. Leaning over, Kallichore noted how her position on the stool was quite comfortable and she tossed one leg over the other. It was a tripod, she realized, though the significance of that realization did not dawn on her. After a few nearly silent moments, the senshi decided she had had enough and wished to continue exploring. She made to get up, but something flashed across her eyes.

The temple was suddenly lit, plaster walls filled with murals and painted stories lines the areas behind each of the pillars. The room was enclosed and smelled of wood and smoke and new silks, flowers and oils. Kallichore found herself to be surrounded by nearly sixty or so people, people she had never met. Their mouths, foreheads and eyes were tattooed with various swirls and circles and stripes. These strange people were all wearing outfits in white, their eyes fixated on something slightly to the senshi’s left. They all looked happy, content, relieved. Several children sat in the front rows of wooden benches, eagerly holding each other’s hands and looking up onto the stage. Kallichore was so surprised that she stumbled backward, landing on her rear with the stool clattering in a din of metal beside her. A young woman stood near where the senshi fell, her face adorned with the same tattoos as the other strange people. Her hair was very long and straight, reaching the back of her knees. In the firelight provided by the torches lining the walls, the woman’s hair appeared to be a very deep green. Kallichore knew the woman’s eyes were yellow, for some monstrous noise clear in the distance rang through the temple like a siren and she turned to look at it. There was a distinct look of absolute desperation and horror that played upon her face before she was gone in the blink of an eye.

The senshi gathered herself to a standing position and bent to right the stool. She turned to look in the same direction as the young woman in her vision did, finding nothing but empty and dead space. Once there was a thriving community there, but the woman had seen the end and knew there was little she could do to stop it. Kallichore leaned on the tripod and wept quiet apologies.

(Word count: 2,314)