It was as if Howlite had switched off a button somewhere in her mind and everything around her had shushed itself to see what would happen next. This chain of events that had been building for so long, for far too long was finally released into this one moment of triumph.
And it burnt.
Oh god how it burnt.
With barely a hint of command the twisted power of chaos pumped itself though Howlite’s fingers into her starseed, stripping back its limited protection and penetrated it with the full force of a 10 tonne truck. She shuddered as if her body hadn’t registered the intense pain, as if it didn’t recognise a threat to its life, to her soul. And she screamed. She screamed bloody murder as her hand clutched over Howlite’s arm and tried to pull it out. Not because she didn’t want this, she had needed this change, had begged for it even. But it was too much. It hurt too dam much.
Tearing her nails into soft flesh Ate pulled at the General-King’s skin to release her, the soldier’s arm unmoving like metal wrapped around her heart as she forced in more chaotic energy. Her lungs struggled to breathe as she feebly hit the strong wrist, her mouth trying to utter words that her body would no longer produce and she felt her legs give way beneath her. Her stomach roll nauseatingly into her throat as she felt every single fibre burn under the taint of chaos and she cried. It was too much, the price was too much and she wanted it to stop. She could taste blood, smell its metallic scent on her nose as she bit subconsciously into her tongue. It rolled out of her mouth in waves as her throat forgot how to swallow and she began choking on it. But still the pain wouldn’t stop, if anything it intensified, eager to cause more destruction within her as her defensive broke down. The world seemed to be getting dimmer.
“Am going to die”
Her voice sounded far away as if her mind was shouting back at her through water. The world was black and grey with flashes of deep red that made her shudder, her body no longer feeling the pain inflicted on her anymore but seeing it in colours instead. Every tear across the skyline was another barrier brought down, another cut into her pure starseed. Another moment towards death. “What do I do?” She clung desperately to consciousness, her mind working on how to get this done, to survive this stupid ******** idea. Can she truly regret something she had fought so hard to achieve. Was the pain truly that awful? Was death really that scary?
Yeah, it ******** was.
Another hit spiked though her chest and the blood collected on her tongue spilled out onto the floor, her heart hammering against her chest as if it could attempt to fight against the change. “Welcome it, don’t fight, don’t fight it…please…stop fighting it, stop ittt!” She couldn’t tell if she was crying anymore, all she knew was that her face felt wet, though tears, sweat or blood. It could have been a mixture of all three and for a moment she wondered what the hell she would look like to anyone who walked in on them and then a pain broke through her mind that ceased all coherent thought while she vomited blood and finally fell into submission.
+++++++++++++
The call was not unexpected, even for Lyssa who had never held out for such a thing and had no idea what it was, she saw it coming a mile away. She was in the alleys again, forever her home while she sulked from street to street finding it nether upsetting or thrilling to forgo a stable abode. Her paws were wrapped around a cream and broken seashell she had stolen from an irate pixie and with great dexterity had stuffed her ear inside listening to the words of the universe. Sure there was the ever ramblings of the sea speaking up to her, but this time it wasn’t just that she had to listen too, it was the voice of the dead. A voice she hadn’t heard in forever and always and never. Friend, sister, companion, the voice swept over her like a blanket and held her before releasing its ebb, its touch missed in seconds. She started to weep.
“MaIdeN…dOn’t Go..”
She shot up her paws scraping the ground with speed she had forgotten she possessed, her body ridged against its natural desires to twitch uncontrollable and made worse with panic and excitement and the hunger that gripped her all at once. She was here. The one she had been searching for and not. The one she was connected too yet harvested a broken bond. She was here and she was not but Lyssa ran like her tail was on fire towards the voice that called for her. She was coming home.
+++++++++++++
Wherever Venice was she felt alone. It was dark and cold and everything screamed pain. Her head banged with a thousand thoughts and yet nothing came to mind when she focused on one. All she knew was that she hurt and her mouth felt like the aftermath of a night out in Club Rafters. Trying to move she touched her face, her hand sliding down the grime and filth that had collected there since she had fallen, her eyes blurred and watered as she tried to clear them with fingers that trembled. Where was she? She couldn’t seem to remember what had happened, she remembered…waking up that morning, had called into work…felt like she had met some friends…but then? Nothing. She couldn’t remember what happened next. Was she going somewhere? Doing something…important? She groped the ground around her trying to find leverage to pull herself up but her chest heaved and twisted in resistance to any movement the girl wanted to do and she stopped trying, her eyes still trying to focus on the scenery around her. She was next to a wall that much she could tell at least...and she was defiantly hurt. Had she been attacked? She let her hand fall down to her neck line, the familiar feel of her satin top on skin reassure her she was still dressed, a small miracle at least. But still the feeling of anxiety and…emptiness filled her stomach. What…the ******** style="color: darkred">“YoU wEre rEBorn MaIDen…”
The voice startled her into moving, her face turning to the sound as she shifted slightly back, her mind still whirling around the possibility of an attacker close by. She had nothing to fear though, the dark form of a cat was close enough for her to see and she chanced a smile, her hand half attempting to try and pet the creature but never making it that far.
“Hello kitty….hey pus pus…uhhh I feel like s**t kitty…” She rolled onto her back looking up at the stars through the narrowing walls, a fresh breeze catching her matted hair as she breathed deeply. An act that left her feeling worse as her muscle fought against the bruises. She didn’t contemplate further on the voice she heard thinking it was nothing more than a women nearby talking loudly, if she shouted would she come to her aid? She coughed and allowed a feeble “help” to ring out, her head cocked to one side as she listened for the tale-tail sign of running feet. But nothing came and the longer she waited the colder the nights air became.
“Uhh…kitty…go get help kitty….” She motioned to the cats sitting place, the shadows still casting it in darkness as she tried to spot it again. It didn’t move except for the lashing of its tail and Venice huffed in annoyance. “Stupid cat…”
“DiRe MAiden, dO NOt saY suCh ThIngs tO oNe Who has seArchEd fOr You foR ovEr FiVe mInuTes. I raN I proMiSed I Ran as fasT aS I cAn bUt yoU cAn’t catch mE am The ginGErbreAd maN”. Lyssa stepped out of the shadows towards her, her red coat glistening in the street lights as she came to rest next to Venice’s head, her sudden need to squirm rolling her onto her back that ended with a foot beneath Venice’s chin and her ears flapping against her face.
“GinGer is gOOd foR the SoUl, Don’t aSk me wHY buT tHe TeeTh told mE so lASt ThurSDay. TerRible liErs.”
Venice was silent, eyes wide she stared at the cat that had just spoken to her. Opened its mouth and spoke. This was obviously a serious sign of concussion. If she could just move v.e.r.y slowly, she could reach the brick she had seen lying over her shoulder and knock the devil cat into unconsciousness…she just had to not make a…sound….
“WheRe did yOu hIDe your sElf MaiDEn, I meAn rEally, whEre did yOU hiDe yoUrsElf? I thouGht I foUNd yOu beNEath thAt tacO onCe but it wAS only the maYo, do you liKE mayO? I liKe ThE Mayo!” The kitten purred deeply into her chest to the point that she vibrated into Venice’s chin, the raven haired woman still trying to grasp at the brick laying behind her.
“I err…more of a ketchup girl myself…kitty…are you…are you real?”
Lyssa had twisted again so her head was now next to the woman's ear and the purring was becoming louder and more erratic, it was the perfect background noise to this increasingly creepy evening.
“I Am aS rEAl as tHE tREe gNOmes and toEs nAIls aNd thOSe spACes benEath tHe ceLLar dOor. I am THe worDS thAt whispERed to yOu wHen you aRE sleePinG and tHe siLencE yOu heAR in The crOwds. I am yoUrs aNd You arE mIne and wE will be toGEther foreVer, I proMiSe, I ******** psycho cat.” Venice thought as she stared wide eyed at the equally wide eyed cat, the silence stretching worryingly out between them. But then again who was she to judge, she was obviously the one who was creating this hallucination with her damaged mind, wasn’t the cats fault she had made her crazy. She decided to sit up and clear her head, maybe she was hearing a TV somewhere, or voices and her mind was mixing it all up. Taking her time she shifted into a sitting position, her voice catching in her throat as she winced at the pain spiking though her.
“Uhh you know…I, like to get dinner with someone before I end up with them forever, you know? Even a cat. I just…need someone to explain what is going on…” She looked around her eyes trying to catch sight of anyone who might be around. She didn’t mind the cat’s rambling or her insistent twitching but she wanted to go back to sleep now and to do that she needed to get home and soon. Sadly Lyssa had other ideas.
“I caN do tHAt!! The fur ball sprang up as if electrocuted and bounded up onto Venice’s legs, her claws kneading at her tights, ripping them in places as she twirled around in a circle on the uneven surface. “YoU arE tHe DiRe MaIdEn, yOu arE giFTed and maGIcal, a gloRIous solDier of MetAlLia oUr QueEn, our saVior, our gODDess. ShE hAs choSEn you to bE a pARt of hEr aRMy, chOSen so loNG agO, it wAs writtEN in tHe grAVy of oLd. You hAVe bEEn asleEp for so lONg aNd uSEd agAInst your wILL all thIs tIMe By ThE WhiTe CourT, agAInst your heARt and nOw, you aRe Set fREe, seT frEe to coMPlete yoUr deSTiny by thE sIde of tHe MetALlia and HEr sOldiErs, besIde me! FOR-EV-ER.”
Lyssa was actually shaking with joy at this speech, her claws tight on Venice’s leg, so much so the girl had to pick the kitten up to stop any further injury.
“Hooooo-kay, a little bit creepy there kitty…but that makes no sense what so ever…am actually talking to a cat so none of this makes sense but…I’m some sort of soldier…Senshi? Like…a Superhero? Are you high kitty cat?” She popped the cat back on ground avoiding the lashing claws as another fit racked its small body. “Ahhh you poor bugger, obviously touched in the head…wait! What am I saying, this is all fake! A figment of my imagination! A ******** shroom trip!” Pulling back she rubbed the heel of her hands into her eyes, her head bent down low as she slowly tried to fathom everything out.
“BUt you Are! Let mE shOw you pLEase!” Lyssa pattered her knee with a gentle paw before sliding away, her legs taking a second to get use to walking right so she wobbled in all directions until she stopped a few meters away. With a violent heave Lyssa began to cough…or choke depending on how you saw it but Venice knew it as the all familiar sound of a kitten about to be sick. She recoiled in horror.
“Oh god! Please I don’t need to see that, I believe you! I believe you! I Promise! Just don’t be sick!”
But it was too late, the cats mouth had opened wide and was throwing up a…a....pen!? Its green and black edges were covered in god knows what but Venice couldn’t deny its shape even when it looked like it had two bat wings attached to it emerging from between sharpened molars. It took her a second to realise the gross event had ended before Venice could react to the scene before her as the cat and pen began glowing a brilliant green before her eyes - just to top of this ******** up moment. The irises of the kitten were now flooded in a sightless bright glow, its mouth twisting into what could have been a smile as she bent low and nudged the device with her nose.
“Sailor Ate, Corrupted Senshi of Pollution. You have finally been found, you have finally returned home to us.” The voice echoed eerily through the alleyway, the sing-song tone no longer there as she stepped closer. “You are indeed a solider, reborn into this era from a life long ago when a weak and feeble kingdom ruled, a time forgotten, banished. Metallia, our queen, our goddess, our savior, she offered us more, ultimate control, power and you, you were one of her foot soldiers in this glorious time, we were…so close…” The voice seem to tremble as remembering something awful but the cat shook her head to gain focus on the tale at hand. But you were stolen from us, caused to be re-born as a traitor, as one of them. But we forgive you, we forgive you.” The pen now resting against Venice’s hand glowed brighter at her touch, its warmth radiating up her arm soothing her pain. It seemed to call to her and she in herself was entranced by the item, the soft words of Lyssa flowing though her ears.
“Take it, and call forth your power, your birth right…Ate…your finally home.”
She tried to convince herself that this was stupid, that she would wake up in a hospital bed on a thousand drugs having a schizoid embolism but she couldn’t stop that feeling of familiarity between herself and the pen, its loving touch against her skin like an old friend she had no idea she missed. She didn’t feel herself picking it up, or moving her mouth to say the words but the moment of transformation inside her would be something she could never forget as she finally became who she was always meant to be.
Lyssa little chest swelled with pride, the glow around her had finally disappearing allowing the chaotic voices in her head to return with gusto but she clung to the one repeating sound that kept her grounded. She is home It was Ate, Eternal Senshi with her black wings and long beautiful hair she had finally come back to her from her silent place that Lyssa could never reach. Ate was her charge and she her guardian. They were finally together.
“ EeeEeeeIIII, ThE pEngUIns wilL bE so hAPpy!”
