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Post by Zyppora on Dec 6, 2006 8:51:57 GMT -5
Veridian had liquified both of her arms, one disappearing and the other growing into a long, slender tentacle. She was looking at Umitaro, smirking, as the tentacle shot towards the nearest building. It pierced right through the first floor wall, breaking it down and effectively taking away one of the supporting structures. She pulled back the tentacle in time to save it, as the building collapsed in on itself. Both floors had been leveled, but the energy shield remained. Tarda wasn't in that building it seemed.
The second structure to become Veridian's victim didn't collapse right away. The tentacle punched a hole in the wall, but left it intact. Instead, the tentacle came out of a siding wall and pulled back, tearing half of both walls off and allowing the structure to topple over, collapsing to one side. And yet the shield remained. This was like Russian roulette, except for the fact that the gun was held against someone else's head. Veridian enjoyed every moment of it.
Umitaro didn't take a full second to realize what Veridian was doing, and he needed to stop her. Just like the created Atlantean, he knew there was a good possibility that Tarda was in one of the buildings. He'd put her on eternal curfew if she'd picked a less strategic place to hide. But right now that was exactly what caused her to be in danger. He cursed the concept of traitors, and his own people turning against him. Created Atlanteans had been a blessing, and they had been very useful, but the moment one got out of his control, they'd become a nightmare. And that was exactly what Veridian was right now.
Tarda watched the buildings collapse from her own spot. She knew it wouldn't take long before she was next. Running downstairs and fleeing wasn't an option. Veridian was on a destruction spree and she'd have this building leveled faster than she could reach the door. She had one option left. Jumping out of the window and exposing herself. It wasn't favorable, but it was a way to avoid getting killed altogether. Her mind was racing, and she finally reached a decision.
Veridian's tentacle crushed through the side wall of the third building and drew it apart, tearing it down. The loss of the supportive wall made the building, which looked somewhat like an abandoned apartment building, collapse under its own weight. The energy shield remained. 'Three down, three to go.' She thought. The fifty percent chance Tarda had, had been used. Simple probability calculus told her that for the next building, Tarda only had a thirty three percent chance to survive. And for the one after that, only sixteen percent. Her chances grew slimmer with every second.
The fourth building made a nice smash. The roof seemed to have been made from concrete, and flattened the internal structure of the building completely. More to Veridian's pleasing, just before the building collapsed, the shield around Umitaro winked out. Tarda was out of commission.
Umitaro barely maintained his composure. Tarda hadn't escaped. She'd maintained the shield until the building collapsed and as such, it was impossible for her to have gotten out of there.
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 6, 2006 9:03:08 GMT -5
Jupiter and Venus stopped dead in their tracks as the building collapsed in front of them. If they’d been any earlier they would have been caught right in the mess.
“Oh my god!” Jupiter exclaimed in horror.
Venus was quick to begin picking up the rubble, attempting to see if she could find Tarda. “Help me!” she urged Jupiter, staring at the other Senshi.
“She couldn’t have survived, Venus!” Jupiter replied. “How could she have survived that?! She was too busy shielding Umitaro to protect herself!”
“We still have to try,” Venus said, looking back down at the building’s remains.
Jupiter shook her head, but bent down to assist her companion, for whatever good it could do.
Sailor Earth, Mars and Mercury had all witnessed the collapse themselves as they darted in and out of hiding places.
“Holy shit!” Sailor Earth hissed, grabbing hold of Mercury to pull her back slightly. “What are we going to do now?”
Mars took a deep breath. “I’m beginning to wonder if Veridian is really worth helping…”
Sailor Earth bit her lip. The same thought had crossed her mind. Who was the real danger?
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 6, 2006 9:30:34 GMT -5
Veridian was smirking evilly at Umitaro. This meant she had killed both his child and his wife now. She felt the way she thought she was supposed to feel: powerful and just. She'd felt the exact same way when she saw the look on Tarda's face, when she had lost her son. Her face was priceless at that moment. Umitaro did a better job hiding his feelings, but to her it was still blatantly obvious that he was suffering greatly from what had just occurred right in front of his eyes. And it empowered Veridian even more. It almost numbed out the painful feeling of her damaged pearl.
She pulled back her tentacle and reformed her hands. She hadn't failed to notice that the Sailor Senshi were once again present on the scene. 'If you can't do the job, then I'll do it myself.' She thought. She didn't bother asking them for help. She didn't need them anymore. Umitaro would make mistakes now. Sure, the pain of losing a loved one would drive him to become even more ferocious. She'd felt that same pain often enough when she was stil alive. But he would drop his defenses. There'd be wide gaps that she could easily exploit to kill him. She could see him trying to refrain from bursting out and attacking her blindly. She wanted to challenge him, to mock him, anything that would trigger him into making a fatal mistake.
Umitaro tried to focus, tried not to lose his concentration under the enormous pressure of his emotions. His military training helped greatly, but he knew sooner or later he'd snap. And it had better be later than sooner. He needed to take Veridian down right now. He charged up another ball of energy and made sure it was charged quite far. He kept pumping energy into it. This time, Veridian would go down. The fast Senshi was out of the way, and Veridian was still made of water. She'd make a nice ice sculpture, he figured. The ball was glowing a bright cyan color now, beaming with energy. It was all he needed. He threw the ball of energy straight downwards, allowing it to hit the floor right between his feet. The ball exploded outwards and the shockwave it caused, froze everything in its path. The blast radius stretched out far beyond where Veridian stood. It froze the buildings and rubbish around, and even the Senshi had to jump back to avoid getting frozen solid.
It didn't take Umitaro longer than a mere minute to completely break out of his cold imprisonment. He smirked as he looked over at where Veridian stood. She was now a simple statue. The look on her face was one of surprise and fear. As if she'd only realized what was happening at the very last moment. Her hands were raised slightly, trying to fend off the inevitable. Everyone with hands did that. It was a reflex, one that was seated deep in the genes. Pierced hands would heal. A pierced lung or heart would not. It seemed that, even though Veridian was a water elemental, her mind was still that of an Atlantean. The ice had a blurring and misty effect, but Umitaro could clearly see the pearl on the inside. It was embedded in the lower torso, frozen solid in place. Umitaro smiled. 'Perfect.'
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 6, 2006 9:42:15 GMT -5
Jupiter and Venus continued to pluck the pieces of rubble from the remnants of the building. Venus seemed bizarrely positive, but Jupiter knew that if they did find Tarda, there probably wouldn’t be much of her left. Still, she knew how important it was to Venus to keep looking, so she didn’t complain. Both did pause for a moment, however, when they saw what Umitaro had done to Veridian.
“Oh no…” Venus breathed.
From their spot, Mars, Mercury and Earth all watched the proceedings as well. Mars glanced at Sailor Earth. “Should I melt her free?”
Sailor Earth couldn’t answer. She didn’t know what to think. Veridian had caused so much damage, but had been the only one powerful enough to keep Umitaro occupied. But Umitaro now faced losing his wife – would that be enough to stop him from continuing his path of destruction? She couldn’t be sure. Although, there was one thing she was sure of… Sailor Mercury was still in possession of the Caduceus…
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 6, 2006 15:13:27 GMT -5
Umitaro pulled his arm back and gave the ice statue a powerful punch. The structure of frozen water is quite stubborn to break, but the delicate details of Veridian's figure formed weak spots and Umitaro's physical strength was simply too much to take. The ice shattered and fell apart, hitting the ground like a thousand shimmering diamonds, some as large as tennisballs, some as small as grains of salt. Umitaro didn't check to see if the pearl had shattered though. His eyes found their focus elsewhere.
He had spotted Sailor Earth, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars. Off to the side, the building in which Tarda had been, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter were digging. 'Probably looking for my wife's body' He thought grimly. He didn't need to see it. He didn't even care about Sailor Venus or Sailor Jupiter. His eyes were fixed on Sailor Earth. "You. Sailor Earth. Illyria. You have been a thorn in my eye for too long now. You destroyed the crystal in Waterlilly, you created Veridian and you stole the Caduceus. It is your fault that my wife is dead now." His focus turned into a glare.
He started to power up another aqua mirage, similar to the one he used to defeat Veridian. It would be powerful enough to freeze the whole neighborhood. He didn't care anymore. He could freeze the whole world and not care, if he had that kind of power. The woman he was facing had proven to be a tough one. He just wanted to see if she was tough enough to survive this kind of attack. He hoped she froze to death. "And you will pay for it with your life." He concluded.
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Post by Sailor Mercury on Dec 6, 2006 18:20:27 GMT -5
Sailor Earth braced herself, lifting her scythe. “I don’t think so. If you’d just stayed in your own backyard we never would have had this problem in the first place!” she shot back angrily. “I was only doing my duty as Earth’s protector.”
She nodded to Mars, who lifted her hands. They were about to use a combined fiery attack on the Atlantean when Sailor Mercury called out.
“Stop!” she exclaimed, and moved to stand in front of Sailor Earth. She lifted the Caduceus and aimed it at Umitaro’s chest as he powered up his next attack. “If you continue on this path, I’ll have no choice but to use your own weapon against you.” Figuring he’d scoff at her, she kept talking. “And I can use it. I cured Sailor Uranus before she could cause any harm. So don’t think I won’t do it. Because I will…” she narrowed her eyes.
Sailor Earth and Sailor Mars kept their stance in place, and were soon joined by Jupiter and Venus who had overheard everything. They’d given up on finding Tarda, there were more important things to deal with at that moment, and that included protecting Sailor Earth and Sailor Mercury.
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 7, 2006 3:32:17 GMT -5
Umitaro hardly cared about Sailor Earth's threats. He hardly cared about himself at all. The woman he loved was gone, and so was his invasion. And it was all thanks to her. She would pay dearly, no matter how much he got hurt himself. If he had to die, he'd take this witch with him. He smirked as he adjusted the energy flow. The ball would no longer encase in ice those who were near, it would freeze every fiber of their bodies, spelling instant death for them. Drywalkers had always been fragile. He knew their powers as reincarnated Imperial Guards gave them some protection, but he'd blow them right away. They'd die.
It was only when Sailor Mercury stepped forward that he stopped. His face shifted to surprise and astonishment. Her holding the Caduceus. It wasn't anywhere near fear that got to him. She could use the Caduceus alright, but it would be too late anyway. It was the fact that he actually recognized her. He'd seen her before. Not in person, but somewhere from a picture, perhaps. He couldn't tell. Either she reminded him of someone, or it was actually her that he recognized. "You ..." Was all he said. He didn't drop the ball of energy he had built up though, he just stopped charging it.
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 7, 2006 3:44:32 GMT -5
“Now’s our chance, let’s get him!” Jupiter hissed, preparing to make an attack, but Sailor Earth stopped her.
“Don’t…”
Sailor Mercury tightened her grip on the staff, her gaze on Umitaro never faltering. She was starting to feel more confident, as though the power of the Caduceus had provided her with more knowledge and more strength than she’d ever had before. Holding her head high, she spoke again. “Explain yourself.”
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 7, 2006 4:43:05 GMT -5
Umitaro was torn between grief for his wife, hatred for the Imperial Guards, and the highest of respect for the woman who now held the Caduceus. He knew who she was now. Nonetheless, he still held the highly charged aqua mirage attack between his handpalms, not letting it dissolve or drop. It was the only thing that moderately reminded him of why he was even there. The sheer power it irradiated tickled and teased his hands and arms, and it kept him connected to the here-and-now. His brain was rapidly switching between the present situation and the past, the Silver Millennium.
"They ..." He began, but hesitated again, once more stunned by what this woman actually was. "They murdered us. They destroyed us. They deserve death!" He found his voice now. "We had no means to defend ourselves! It was them that lead us to become warriors!" His eyes flew over to Sailor Earth for a moment, something that revived his hatred. His voice became more defiant. "They are the ones that killed our families! Why are you protecting them?!"
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 7, 2006 4:55:10 GMT -5
Sailor Mercury arched her eyebrow, watching him carefully, keeping her eye on the attack he was still holding. If he threw it, she’d be ready.
“Damn it, we should just take him down, now, while he’s distracted,” Jupiter hissed, staring at each Senshi in turn.
Sailor Earth shook her head, a sick feeling rushing through her, settling in the pit of her stomach. She stepped up next to Mercury. “What happened? From the beginning, what exactly happened?” she asked quietly. Through her power of empathy, she could feel the hatred radiating from Umitaro, which was directed right at her. She realised the old Sailor Earth wouldn’t have cared. But the Illyria part of her did. She wanted to know the truth. If there was some way she could rectify the situation without letting it end in death for anyone else, she wanted to find it.
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 7, 2006 5:05:58 GMT -5
Umitaro could see Sailor Jupiter from the corner of his eye, and how much she wanted to take him down right there and then. He hardly cared about it. Not even the blonde, the one he had cursed, would be fast enough to bridge the distance. He'd drop the attack and freeze the scene almost instantly. The blast radius was enough to take down half the city. They wouldn't stand a chance. There was just one little reason that prevented him from dropping it right now. And that reason was standing right in front of him.
He turned to Sailor Earth. A glare instantly appeared in his eyes. Obviously he didn't like her too much. "How am I supposed to know what happened?!" He called out to her in a sneer. His tone of voice was drastically different from when he was talking to Sailor Mercury. "The last one to have been there in person died several moons ago. All I know is that the drywalkers are responsible for the Exile. And I figured it was about time we returned the favour."
He then turned to Sailor Mercury again, his voice shifting back. "Why didn't you help us? Why didn't you send the Imperial Guards to aid us, to fight off the drywalkers? You had the power to do so." It was almost as if he now sounded disappointed to a point. "Why didn't you help us? Was Queen Metallia too big a threat to send your troops to Earth? To defend a colony in need?"
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 7, 2006 5:17:46 GMT -5
“What the hell is he on about?” Venus asked, shaking her head.
“You don’t remember any of it…” Sailor Earth murmured, the sick feeling intensifying. She winced slightly, but managed to hold her ground. “And I wasn’t even awake for it. I was… wasn’t even there… I couldn’t have done anything…”
Sailor Mercury took a different angle. “If there is no witness to confirm what you are saying, then how can we believe that it is the truth?” she asked Umitaro.
“The only one who could confirm it sacrificed herself so we could gain possession of the Caduceus.” Sailor Earth muttered, shaking her head. “Sailor Pluto would have known, she would have known the truth…”
The others stared at her in some surprise, realising at last why Sailor Pluto was no longer with them. “Oh, god,” Mars said thinly.
Sailor Mercury never let her gaze waver. “If Sailor Pluto gave up her life for me to have this staff, then maybe the stories you’ve heard and been told aren’t as true as you think,” she said. “Because if we were the real villains, she wouldn’t have interfered to this degree.”
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 7, 2006 5:47:54 GMT -5
Umitaro's mind was racing by now. Things had somewhere turned into a big mess. He was remembering things he shouldn't, people that should still be here were gone, and people that were supposed to be gone forever had appeared. He was starting to lose his concentration, which resulted in the energy in the attack not being contained as well as it had. It started to flare up in faint yellow flares, and from the bottom, it started cracking lightning towards the ground, resulting in frozen spots wherever it hit something solid. It caused Umitaro's tunic to whip around his body, as if the wind picked it up violently.
"I only know what I've been told. The drywalkers are responsible for the Exile, not us. And why do you protect the Earth witch? She is responsible for the death of my wife. The wife of a fellow Mercurian. She is responsible for the failure of the invasion. She's clearly proven to be our enemy!"
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Post by Sailor Earth on Dec 7, 2006 6:01:20 GMT -5
“Sailor Earth is not responsible for your wife’s demise,” Sailor Mercury replied, her voice still strong. “Veridian is. One of your own, an Atlantean,”
“He’s right though,” Sailor Earth said thinly, her Senshi outfit suddenly flashing back to Illyria’s black shirt and pants. It flashed back again just as quickly, but it was a sight that caused much alarm to the other Senshi.
“No, he’s not!” Jupiter said, reaching out to grip Sailor Earth’s arm tightly. “He’s totally wrong!”
Sailor Earth shook her head, sending tears down her face. “I’m the one who created Veridian in the first place.”
“It was an accident, you never intended that to happen,” Venus said, moving up and putting a hand on the Earth Senshi’s shoulder. “This wasn’t your fault, Sailor Earth. You were doing your duty as Earth’s protector. The Atlantean’s were posing a threat. You were protecting the billions of innocent people who don’t deserve to die.”
“Sailor Earth was not responsible,” Sailor Mercury repeated, glancing at Sailor Earth before looking back at Umitaro. “You were only told what happened, you didn’t experience it. You weren’t involved in the Exile, so how can you possibly know what really happened?” she tapped Veridian with the staff. “This is the result of your power mad ways. The created Atlanteans. You were attempting to play God. You got yourself into this mess. Perhaps this is what caused the Exile. Atlanteans trying to play God by manipulating nature. Perhaps the Atlanteans started the War and the Dry Walkers had to defend themselves.”
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Post by Zyppora on Dec 7, 2006 6:22:32 GMT -5
Umitaro shook his head to try and stay clear of the confusion the Sailor Senshi caused him. 'They're wrong.' He kept chiming to himself. The lightning coming from the ball of energy flew around dangerously, leaving spots of frozen debris everywhere. The power in the ball was dissipating. But Umitaro couldn't be bothered containing it too much. "You're wrong! Mercurians were NEVER a folk of war! The drywalkers attacked us for no apparent reason! And the Imperial Guards, the so-called law enforcers of the solar system, left us to die!"
He didn't have much time to continue though, as something else happened at that very moment. Something none of them could have foreseen. Sailor Mercury was stabbed in the shoulder from the back by a tiny tendril of water. It emerged on the front side and twirled around the Caduceus, yanking it out of Mercury's hands. In the same motion, it jerked upwards, tearing itself out of Mercury's shoulder. The damage wasn't much, far from fatal, but it was painful enough to put her out of commission.
The tendril carried the Caduceus back to Veridian. She was definately pissed, and deformed. The ice had damaged her, but not as much as the shattering had. She was lucky the shattering hadn't broken her pearl in half. Even the slightest missing chip could put her out permanently, but it was only cracked. She had been lucky far too often.
Her face was pretty much the same, weary, but whole. Her body had missing parts, and some she had trouble keeping solid. After the shattered ice had melted a decent amount, she'd managed to sneak out in the dialogue the Senshi had held with Umitaro. She'd been able to somewhat reform and now that she had the Caduceus, she was going to rectify herself. Her pearl would be whole again. Perhaps she'd be able to become flesh and blood again.
Her tendril formed into an arm again, thin and deformed, patches of skin missing and showing the illusive bones and muscles represented by water. It was a hideous sight, but it worked for her. She held the Caduceus and glared at everyone on the scene. Umitaro had done this to her, but the Sailor Senshi had done nothing to prevent it. That made them just as guilty in her eyes. "You should have killed me ... when you had the chance." She said in a voice laced with hatred.
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