The Fall From Grace

MARCH 4th, 1994 - A SMALL FOREST GLADE JUST OUTSIDE AZABU-JUUBAN, RIGHT AFTER THE DEFEAT OF NEPHELENIA ABOVE TOKYO. The image of a Pegasus hovered in the air for a moment, just above the dewy morning grass, its form shimmering and ever-more insubstantial as the moments passed. As it finally dissipated into nothingness, the body of a young man, clad in white robes, was left behind, lying prone and motionless in its place. "Elios?!" Chibiusa asked in a panic, still clad in her gossamer white dress, the signature raiments of the future princess Serenity. Her pink hair flowed in the wind as she ran towards the body, slipping slightly once on the wet grass as she ran, but heedless of her own safety or stability. All she could think about was the young priest who had risked his life to save hers, whose rapid transformation and aerial rescue had saved both her and her mother from certain death mere seconds ago. "Elios?!" she repeated urgently, a high-pitch of terror creeping into her voice as she held his limp form. The others were coming now, running and yelling both their names with concern and worry. But the sounds were blurred to her, the blood gone from her ears as her whole world collapsed in a tunnel vision that focused only on the face of the young priest in her arms. She felt her legs go limp, and her body drop to the ground, coming to rest on her knees, which wobbled slightly but held the weight. To the others it might have looked like a gentle kneel, but it had been anything but, a prostration born of the weakness bred by mortal panic. "Elios... Wake up... Please, please...!" Her words were small and timid, the high-pitched pleas of a girl grown up too quickly, whose heart had finally opened to the prospect of love, only to find also the pain of its potential loss. Chibiusa's eyes narrowed, and her wide face twisted into a grotesquely sad likeness of itself, quivering and deformed in sorrow. Liquid coalesced in her eyes, blurring her vision, building up and spilling down over her cheek, a single rivulet of aqueous humour wending its way down the side of her cheek, dropping away from her face as she leaned down and kissed the first boy she had ever truly loved. ""Wake up..." she silently, almost breathlessly pleaded. As the tear struck the ornate gold brooch around her neck, it exploded away, the microdroplets propelled by the radiant warm glow of the Ginzuishou within. The mystical stone responded to its owners' subconscious desire, transmuting her dearest wish into a simple healing force, which swept forward in a gentle, effusive wave, bathing Elios in its light, and jumpstarting his nervous system. Light. Warmth. Comfort. Elios' eyes opened slowly, and he met the gaze of the worried little girl-- no, young woman hovering over him. Instinctively, he reached up and stroked the side of her cheek. "Why..?" he asked slowly, strength returning to him in drips and drabs, "Why... are you crying, Small maiden?" "You woke up," Chibiusa gushed, at once childishly and yet with all the tenderness of an adult. Pulling him up slightly, she hugged Elios close, trying to send him her own energy and health. Suddenly, Elios let out a ragged gasp. For a horrible moment, Chibiusa thought something was wrong. But then, as the glade around them shimmered and changed, transforming into an ethereal garden of light, and Elios gently pulled himself from her grasp, standing tall and proud and strong, she knew that everything was finally all right. "What is this?" Sailor Mars asked, as her sailor fuku shimmered and flowed, twisting and reforming into a long, elegant red gown. "These... clothes..." Sailor Jupiter exclaimed as she regarded her new green dress, which seemed at once silken and lighter than air. "Our princess forms," Sailor Venus exhaled as she touched the golden hem of her new raiments, the strong memories of her past life filling in the details quickly enough. "Incredible," Mamoru-- no, Endymion-- said quietly under his breath with amazement, as he felt his body surge with a newfound strength, his ancient armour surrounding him once more. He smiled inwardly as he felt the warmth of Usagi / Princess Serenity press against him, her arms encircling his waist as they both gazed over the ethereal landscape. "Prince...!" Elios exclaimed in joy, forgetting his station for a moment and bounding in front of the monarch future and past. "Thanks to the power of Sailor Moon, the Golden Crystal was freed!" "I know," Endymion said with a warm smile, holding out the Golden Crystal, which hovered over his hand, its radiance reflecting the vitality of the planet and all its dreams. Slowly, reverently, Elios reached forward and tentatively touched the crystal, grasping it ever so lightly with his left hand. The power coursed through him like an electric shock, filling his body with a power and energy he could not understand, much less describe. Any lesser man would have been seduced by it instantly, become slave to the need of it, beholden to its majestic force. But he was no lesser man. He was a high priest of Elysion, specially chosen to bear the burden of guarding and protecting this most sacred object. If the Sailor Crystal was the essence of the Planetary senshi and their worlds, then this was the -- the very heart of the prince, and the planet Earth. Taking a deep breath, Elios produced a regal-looking staff, and affixed the crystal to its top, handing the staff back to Endymion. For a moment, there was nothing but a blinding flash of pure white energy. When it subsided, Neo-King Endymion and Neo-Princess Serenity stood before the priest, their bodies shimmering with radiant light, present-- yet not present-- a future potential brought forth into the concreteness of the now. Instinctively and in unison, the Princesses of the Inner Planets dropped to one knee, and bowed their heads in genuflection. "It's... Just like a coronation ceremony," Artemis whispered, his head bowed as well, long white hair covering his face, barely even noticing that he too was in human form. "It is, Artemis," Luna replied quietly. "Here, today, the new age begins." Artemis was about to shoot back a humorous query along the lines of trying to find out when Luna had begun to say overly dramatic things like "Here, today, the new age begins," when, as abruptly as the ceremony had started, it stopped, like a soap bubble which had glittered prettily in the light, then popped, returning to nothingness. Artemis was back on all fours, almost hugging the ground, Luna beside him, the senshi in their civilian forms, and Usagi and Mamoru bickering over some silly thing in the midst of the glade. The regal atmosphere ended as quickly as it had begun, a midsummer afternoon's dream, and everyone went their separate ways, eager to get on with their lives free of the Dead Moon's influence. All was quiet. All was at peace. And Elios just stood there in the center of the forest, beaming with pride at the good work he had done. It was several minutes before his face tired, the smile faded and he came to the horrible realization that since he had given the Earth Crystal back to the Prince, he was now stuck here in the land of the material plane, and everyone had just walked off and left him all alone-- to face this brave new world all by himself. * * * The loud wheezing and groaning sound of the TARDIS materializing, and its garishly bright lit vending-machine exterior went totally noticed in the hectic maelstrom of activity that was the Azabu-Juuban shopping district at 8 PM, Christmas Eve. "Wai!! Christmas time!!" Minako exclaimed, stepping out of the TARDIS and doing a quick spin under the falling snowflakes, letting the cold crystals land on her face, enjoying the little prickles of cold on her skin as they came to a rest and melted. Xadium stood silently in the doorway for a moment, observing Minako twirling under the soft light of an overhead streetlamp, looking something like an angel spinning amidst the stars. Shaking his head to dismiss the overly poetic thoughts, he turned his attention to his chronometer. "1994," he finally said, exhaling a bit after regarding Minako again for a bit longer than his Gallifreyan sensibilities judged proper. "December twenty--" Xadium was stopped in mid-proclamation by a snowball smashed into his face. As the Time Lord slowly raised his hand and wiped the wet, cold, slush off his glasses and face, he did his best to appear unaffected, even as Minako stood almost doubled over in riotous laughter at her shot. "--fourth," he continued tiredly, unwilling to give her the satisfaction of her victory. "Oh my god!" Minako exclaimed, her hand reflexively rising to cover her face as her eyes adopted a look of total shock. "Hmm, you didn't hurt me," Xadium began, erroneously assuming that Minako, the center of his thoughts, was paying him any mind at all. "I could... *meet myself*..." Minako said slowly, looking around with her eyes narrowed as if there were spies at every corner. "Don't," Xadium replied darkly, using the most dour tone possible to convey the danger of such a thing. Minako nodded numbly, and inwardly Xadium smiled. Sometimes the right tone of voice was far more effective than any amount of lecturing about transtemporal physics. "Good!" The Time lord replied, his face snapping into a bright, jolly smile as he clapped his hands together once in satisfaction and then put an arm around his wife, drawing her to his side. "Now... how would you like me to buy you some dinner?" "Hai!" Minako exclaimed, as the couple began walking down the street, pausing every now and then to take in some of the yuletide shopping displays. As Xadium and Minako happily made their way through Tokyo, immersed in their own little bubble of happiness, they passed by an alleyway, barely giving it a second thought. It was an alleyway like so many others in the tight, overcrowded city-- but with one exception. In this alleyway, someone had just met tier grisly end-- her body splayed across the ground, face a twisted mask of terror and shame, the soft winter slow slowly burying her out of sight, and out of mind. . . . Halfway across the city, in a tiny, cramped and smelly apartment, Elios squatted in a corner, hands over his ears, eyes clamped shut, trying not to see, hear or smell. Life was horrible for him. Ever since being left alone, he had wandered the city, looking for kindred spirits, and by some "miracle"-- as he had erroneously thought at the time-- he had come across the re-incarnated trio of Amazons that he had taken under his protection during the battle with Nephelenia. At first he had been glad to have them around, but now... now he simply wanted to wither away and die. The apartment was a small hovel in the armpit of the city. This month it was being paid for by Hawks-Eyes latest crush, an older dowager with an overactive libido and far too much disposable income. The sounds of her enjoying her investment could be heard coming from the solitary bedroom, drowned out only by the wailing of a badly played electric guitar as Fish-Eye continued practicing his Visual Kei act. Tigers-Eye, thankfully, was out at the mall hunting for teenagers to woo. "OH MY GOD!" Yelled Hawks-Eye from the bedroom- and it wasn't a scream of ecstatic pleasure. "She's DEAD!" Elios uncapped his ears (not that it had helped much) and got up, curious. Fish eye, for his part, tossed his effeminate blue hair over his shoulder and strummed on his guitar once, before declaring, "well that's the price you pay for seducing old hags, Hawks-Eye." "SHE DIED!" Hawks-Eye screeched, running out of the bedroom, wrapped in nothing but some bedsheets around her waist. "DURING--!" "That's a new one," Fish-Eye replied calmly, his voice sounding like a seductive, slow female drawl. "It's usually the man who cacks it." Elios looked at the exchange wide-eyed, his pure and noble mind racing to process and understand what was going on. When he had come to this place, the first few nights he had been appalled-- totally shocked at their behaviour, the immorality, the seduction, the cheap and fast way the trio toyed with the emotions of others. But night after night of the sounds of raucous debauchery had begun to take its toll on his mind. He was beginning to understand what they saw in the pleasures of the flesh. Sin suddenly seemed so... overhyped as a deadly menace. After all, no one was getting hurt, right? "SHE DIED WITH A GRIN ON HER FACE?! HOW TACKY!" Fish-Eye chortled after having wandered into the bedroom for a quick examination of the corpse. "How are you going to clean this up?" He asked, tossing his hair and putting a well-manicured hand on his hip. Tigers-Eye responded by blowing through his fire stick and incinerating the body... and the bed... and just about every other flammable thing in the room, which quickly turned into a blazing inferno. "How many times have I told you not to use that thing indoors," Fish-Eye droned, trying to sound cool and composed while internally freaking out over the flames. He quickly strutted to the door and, once out of sight, dashed down the stairs in raw panic. "Damn! I forgot to take her wallet before I lit her up!" Tigers-Eye cursed and ran out the door, still wearing nothing but his bedsheet. "The apartment," Elios spat in shock, loitering for one moment before running outside as well. Outside, he stood and watched with a crowd as the building began to collapse inward, its structure totally compromised. The Amazons had run off and melted into the throng, leaving him alone. And the police were coming. Nervously, Elios looked around for any means of escape. "Hey, mister, wanna date?" The question came from a rather chesty purple-haired young girl who couldn't have been more than 11 years old. Her outfit was a strange hybrid of typical schoolgirl seifuku and the latest in fishnet tramp, adorned with the latest in baubles and cute Hello Kitty accessories. "Sure, kid," Elios said out of desperation more than anything else. He just needed to be somewhere else. "The name's Momo," the kid replied, popping some bubblegum as she linked arms with him and pulled him away just as the police arrived and began cordoning off the area. . . . Slamming against a stack of old wooden crates, an older-looking schoolgirl with auburn-red hair and a school uniform to match coughed up a bit of blood as she tried to run away. She had decided to take a new shortcut home from school, so she could get to the Christmas shopping earlier. But now, she began to fear, she would never make it at all. "No!" the girl screamed, dropping to the ground and blubbering, sweating profusely. Her mind was on fire, lit up with rapid-fire images, all her memories and dreams slamming into her pre-frontal cortex at once. "Don't make me remember!" she cried out. "I don't want to remember!" She pounded the ground with her fists, trying futilely to prevent the images of her past dreams and desires from bubbling up. But it was no good. Her whole life, down to the most intimate and embarrassing of details, as being laid bare-- and she knew it was watching-- watching and enjoying. Savoring not only the voyeuristic sensations of seeing her life replayed, but also her fear and shame at being so exposed. She fought, and fought, and tried to resist. Finally, the struggle was over as her brain hemorrhaged under the strain, a trickle of blood oozing from her nose as she slumped to the ground, dead. Sated for the moment, that which had fed on the exquisite agony of her final moments smiled in its own way and vanished, off to seek new, delicious prey. So tasty, the minds of the women in this world. . . . CHRISTMAS DAY, 1994 "Mmm..." Xadium muttered in bed, rolling over, feeling something odd on his arm, other than the warmth of the sleeping Minako he had expected to find. Eyes opening slowly, he saw a large plush Domokun toy lying next to him, with a note pinned to one of its felt teeth. "Gone shopping!! Back soon!! ♡" "Minako..." Xadium exhaled in exasperation. The plan had been to simply take the night off to rest and let the TARDIS gather more astrotemporotelemetric data to cut down on the number of Time Hops needed, but now Minako had decided to *go shopping*. In her own *past*. Bah. He'd have to find her before she met herself or her friends and ended up doing something stupid to the timeline. Getting up quickly, he performed the necessary ablutions, donned his customary outfit and made his way out of the TARDIS. . . . Minako bounded around downtown Tokyo with abandon. It was so surreal to her to see all the stores that would be gone in just a matter of a few months, and to see all the games, manga and clothes that would be similarly out-of date all fresh, new and exciting again. The city was still rebuilding in places from Galaxia's attack 10 days ago, but the yuletide shopping craze was doing much to blot out the frightening images from the people's minds. "Ten days..." Minako muttered to herself. Ten days ago, "in strictly linear terms" as her husband would say, she had been dead, cut down by Galaxia with frightening ease. It was the first time she'd ever heard of Sailor Crystals, or felt the odd sensation of being dead / undead, her consciousness held in suspension in the Sailor Crystal, caught in Galaxia's fist. It had been a feeling of raw terror and impotent rage. Now here she was, alive, again, years on past that horrifying moment of trauma. Minako knew where her past self was, too. She was holed up in her room, pretending to have the flu. The truth was, she had been deeply depressed, and totally bedridden out of a kind of existential weakness. As the only Senshi besides Saturn and Moon to really have remembered her death during the time of the Silver Millennium, at that time she had known the icy grip of death thrice-- once at the Shitennou's hands in the past, once at the hands of the DD girls, and then the final, easy cutdown at the hands of Galaxia where she hadn't even been able to raise a single bit of offense. It was the one subject that dampened her normally everpresent eppervescent cheery attitude. She didn't mind going down fighting-- as a soldier that was her job, her destiny. But to be so... helpless... Minako hated to feel helpless, to be unable to defend those she loved. It was that feeling, and the distinct reality of her own fragile mortality, that had made her sick that week. Only Artemis, her closest friend in the whole world, had known, and to his credit, had done his best to assuage her feelings and guide her back to normality with his unique combination of silly jokes, klutzy attempts at helping and his wisdom-- which was something people rarely saw him use in daily life, but it was there, nonetheless. Aino Minako of 1994 had missed Christmas Day that year, but Minako of 2005 wouldn't. A fair trade, she figured, looking back. "Minako-chan!" someone exclaimed, as Minako slammed into them, so engrossed in her own thoughts that she had completely missed their presence. The feel of soft paper under cloth hitting her chest instantly told Minako who she had banged into. "Mako-chan~" Minako exhaled under her breath. The athletic girl was tall and strong, but as with most who were athletic in their formative years, had developed precious little fat in certain strategic areas. Makoto's desire to be more feminine had led her to therefore employ the use of tissue paper as a curative-- a fact which had not come to light until one unfortunate gym class in which a dodgeball had forcibly dislocated the stuffing on impact. "What's up? I thought you were down with the flu-- and what's *that*!?" Makoto's eyes widened like saucers as she spied Minako's gold wedding ring. "Shimatta," Minako spat under her breath. She'd forgotten all about that. Damn Makoto's fast eyes! Of course back then both of them had been that way, always checking out the ring fingers of all the girls at school in order to make educated guesses as to the states of their romantic lives. "Ano..." she began hesitantly, "I'm just wearing this so jerks won't molest me while I'm shopping... it's a present from my aunt...." She chuckled and hoped Mako-chan would buy it. "Clever!" Makoto beamed, slapping Minako on the back. "But since when do guys bother you?" Minako's face fell. She'd forgotten what a lousy track record she'd had back then. She really did look at the past with rose-thorned glasses. "Quiet," she muttered under her breath. "Minako-chan! You were just fooling your mother so she'd think you were sick in bed while you went shopping... didn't..." Hino Rei paused and frowned as she came up behind Makoto. "Hi, Rei-chan," Makoto said, as Minako withered slightly under Rei's gaze. She quickly offered the same line about the ring. "You look taller to me..." Rei said slowly. "And a bit more..." she let her gaze linger on Minako's chest for a moment. "Don't tell me you..." she looked back at Makoto, who blushed furiously, then scowled. "Stop bringing that up," Makoto snapped a little testily. "No!" Minako exclaimed. "It's just the cut of the dress..." Man, Time travel was annoying. But then again 10 years and being married would tend to change a girl, wouldn't it? Minako tried not to giggle. What she really wanted to do was brag that with the exception of Usagi, she had been the first to get latched, but she had to keep her mouth shut. Stupid Time Travel. "Sprachgefühl". Mizuno Ami muttered, her head in a book. "The Feel of a Language." "Some things never change," Minako muttered. "Hi Minako-chan," Ami said, waving absently, for all intents and purposes looking like a book with a body attached. "The classic model of activation of telomerase, for which activity has been found in most cancers including cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), dictates that..." Ami frowned, wrinkling her nose as she quizzed herself while the other girls gossiped. "... enzyme activity is generated by pathological reactivation of telomerase in telomerase-negative somatic cells. " Minako replied without thinking, parroting something she had heard Xadium say to a scientist the other day. To her it was just words with no real context or meaning behind them. The next moment the sound of Ami's facefault and subsequent collapse on the ground in a twitching mass of incredulous disbelief could be heard. Her body lay on the icy ground splayed out in the most comical position imaginable, with books strewn all about her as Minako looked on, shaking her head. "Who are you and what've you done with Minako-chan!" Rei joked. . . . Xadium sighed and continued walking through the yuletide crowds, becoming more annoyed by the second. He had intended to spend the morning taking temporal calibration readings, and perhaps purchasing some pocky before setting off again. Minako just had to have taken it upon herself to sneak out of he TARDIS and go who-knows-where, shopping. He had to believe that she was not silly enough to so something monumentally stupid like interfering in her own past. The damage to the timeline would be incalculable if she did. Moving slowly, he took in the sights. Tokyo was crowded, noisy and overindustrialized, still suffering the effects of having a relatively large population crowded into too small a space. It would be some decades before the effects of the negative birth rate would kick in, and the island would be somewhat more relaxed, human-density wise. Well that and the seismic eve... Xadium's reflections about the future yet-to-be were shattered as he heard as a curious mewling noise, almost lost in the din of the crowd sounds around him. At first he thought it was a cat in pain. He liked cats, such graceful, aloof creatures. They reminded him of Time Lords for some reason-- going where they would and doing what they would--damn the entreaties of those around them. It was the same kind of spirited independence he had seen in Minako, come to think of it. Xadium frowned as he turned towards an alley, where the sounds were coming from, apparently emanating from behind a pile of crates and boxes. Typical. Some cat must have given birth, and rather than take care of it and its offspring, the humans had left them out there to die in the cold. It was that callous indifference to the lives of tier fellow creatures that sometimes made the Time Lord wonder why he even bothered with humans at all. Well, his conscience pricked him, it's not exactly like the Time Lords were any better with the attitude they had towards the lesser races. But still, even they wouldn't leave animals to die in dumpsters. You almost left her there to die... Time Lord... a voice hissed in the back of Xadium's mind, as an image of Minako-as-Sailor-V from a future yet to happen but in his past flashed before his eyes. . . . FLASHBACK - FEBRUARY 21st, 2001 For the last terran year Xadium had scavenged as much technology as he could, but on a meagre budget it was proving to be an arduous and unrewarding task. Worse still, he had gotten the definite sense that Matrix was coming to Earth, assuming he hadn't moved in already. The time of their inevitable confrontation was drawing nigh, and he was not ready. Not by a long shot. Going outside in the still dark, cold and foggy morning, Xadium tried to keep his eyes open. Time Lords generally needed only one hour of sleep a night, but he had been pushing himself for weeks building a kind of computer center in his "living room". Capable of pulling information from all global networks, it took over a whole wall, and was a hacked-together kludge of disposed of computer technology scavenged from second-hand stores and dumpsters (being a University town, students who left tended to just throw away what they didn't want to take with them when they moved). The Time Lord mused with some annoyance that the heart of the impressive complex in his room was a Gallifreyan data node smaller than the size of a sugar cube-- all the other nonsense was merely there in order to make a "human-readable" interface. Commenting to himself on the sheer ignominy of having to "Dumpster Dive" (as his friends put it) for technology, the Time Lord looked around to make sure no one was looking, and stacked some crates in front of the bug blue dumpster which serviced his part of the apartment complex. Clambering up on them, he looked down into the darkness of the foul-smelling container and cursed his fate. Flipping on a small penlight, as the beam shone down and cut through the darkness, he gasped in shock as he saw not a computer or stereo set he could salvage for PCBs, capacitors and transistors, but the battered and bleeding form of a young woman who was groaning slightly. Xadium was neither a charitable nor a hateful man. He simply kept to himself, going about his work discreetly and in solitude. He had some acquaintances, but no real friends amongst the humans. The nature of his mission being what it was, he certainly had no time to master the social graces. Thus, when he was first confronted with the sight of the hurt woman, he looked around in confusion. Surely there were authorities who could take care of this. Surely he wouldn't have to bother himself with this strangely-clad young woman. Was she a "cheerleader" or something? Xadium almost left her there, but saw she was bleeding and in an unsanitary environment. Infection could set in. The Time Lord knew he had no choice. As much as he disliked dealing directly with the noisy, nosy, annoying humans, this one would probably die if not tended to. And he wouldn't have that on his conscience. Quickly he ran back to his apartment, got a ladder and climbed in the dumpster, retrieving the woman and taking her inside, where he gently lay her on the bed while he tried to figure out what to do about her wounds. Taking a damp rag, as she grunted in discomfort, he cleaned off as much of the blood on her as he could, so he could assess the real extent of the damage she had taken. There were some nasty gashes all right. There was also a curious blast pattern on her outfit, but the Time Lord filed that data away for later. Blast. While carrying the title of "Doctor", Xadium was no physician, and somehow, he noted dryly, a degree in Temporal Exitonics wouldn't do much for this girl in her state. "Unh." The human was still making noises, but nothing coherent. The Time Lord hesitantly went over to look at her. To him, humans were like wild animal-creatures, things to be observed from a distance, perhaps even admired at times, but best avoided and left alone. They were willful, violent and easily betrayed each other. He had never cared for them much, other than some generic concern for the sanctity of life which was a courtesy he extended to everything from people to ants. Even roaches, which he hated, he loathed to kill. So having a total stranger in the heart of his TARDIS, in the midst of his personal space, was distressing and annoying to him. He wished the female would just go away. But she was hurt. Blasted conscience. . . . Instinctively, the Time Lord knew the voice wasn't from his mind. He'd been assaulted by enough telepathics in his long life to know the feel of a foreign presence in his mind. Narrowing his eyes, he realized two facts almost simultaneously. One, whatever it was was above him now, and moving at high speed. Two, the melwing noise he had heard had not been from a distressed cat. The stench of recent death was assaulting his nostrils, even as he began to run, following the strange flying object which was moving away at high speed. The scent of perfume, pheromones and blood told him it was a female that had died, probably in her late teens or early twenties. He didn't have time to stop and check, however, as the creature was moving away at incredible speed. Quickly bursting out of the other side of the alley and onto a sidewalk, Xadium saw a bicycle leaned up against a lamp post. Without pausing to check if anyone was watching, he leapt onto it, and began riding off, weaving through the crowds and onto the street at high speed, heedless of direction or traffic. Whatever this thing was, he knew from the brief mind-touch that it was malevolent, and should he lose it, he would probably never encounter it again. But even as these thoughts crossed Xadium's mind, he found himself flying through the air like a projectile. Something had impacted the front wheel of his bike through the spokes, locking up the wheel and causing it-- and him-- to pitch forward. As the Time Lord saw the asphalt of the road rush toward him in a rapid blur, his last conscious thought was "what idiot threw a rose through the front wheel?!" Then all was blackness. . . . "It's not nice to steal other people's property," came a confident, strong voice from somewhere above Xadium, who groaned a bit and began to open his eyes. Hovering over him like a spectre was a man in a tuxedo, cape and top hat, wearing a bright white mask. "That creature..." Xadium muttered, still too dazed from the impact to be coherent. "Stay there until the authorities arrive," Tuxedo Kamen admonished, pointing his cane at Xadium's head. "There is... evil to fight." Sensing a gang fight a block away thanks to his re-possession of the Golden Crystal, Tuxedo Kamen launched into the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and finally swooping down amongst the brawlers, dispensing with the hooligans in a Jet-li like display of heroic bravado that unfortunately cannot be described here. As Xadium tried to get up, he was slammed back down by the flying bodies of some unfortunate thugs who had felt the true extent of Tuxedo Kamen's power. The Prince of the Earth may have been relatively useless when in the shadow of the senshi, but on his own, he was a formidable fighter, and was clearly enjoying the chance to flex his muscle without having to cede the center stage to the girls. The Time Lord winced and made to push them off, but suddenly the raised themselves off the ground like fallen marionettes whose strings had been pulled up by an unseen puppeteer, their movements jerky and un-coordinated. Leaning down, they leered at Xadium with unfocused eyes. Clearly the bodies themselves were still unconscious and limp, but they were being manipulated by some incredible telekinetic force. "Let us see what is in your mind, Time Lord," one of the boys said, his throat rippling as some unseen hand rubbed his vocal cords into motion. A hand rushed down with violent force, and again there was nothing but blackness. . . . Minako giggled as she split from the pack of girls, waving and laughing. She had forgotten how really *good* it had felt to be with them just talking, laughing having fun. Haruka-tachi were fun too, but there was still an unspoken class difference with them that got in the way of their being the same level of *closeness* she felt with these, her "sisters" in the Inner Senshi. Sadly, she reflected on how everyone's life-paths had begun to diverge in the 31st century. Before she could complete the thought, she tripped over a guy lying in the street, mud covering his face. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, bowing, as the guy rolled over, a broad grin on his face. His clothes were disheveled, and lipstick covered his partially exposed chest. "E-Elios..." Minako spluttered, instinctively crossing her legs. The boy barely even noticed her, giggling slightly. Despite her common sense telling her otherwise, she asked, "Are you all right?" "That was..." he began, in a tone half mixed with awe and half weak and tired. "I never knew..." Minako looked at him uncomprehendingly. Elios finally locked his gaze with her, but was still not really paying attention. "Those jerks... never told me... I could have something like that... I... I... wasted my life guarding that damn rock... for what?! They used me as their stooge while they went out and had fun at all the parties..." Minako looked at him uncomprehendingly. "I never knew I wanted this... until I had it... now I want more..." He grinned broadly, and looked over Minako appraisingly. Minako looked at him uncomprehendingly. Elios was too weak to make good on his salacious thoughts-- not that he understood them exactly-- and dropped back to the ground. "all my life, I've been doing what everyone else wanted... and not living my own life... never even having my own dreams..." Minako's expression softened-- she could understand that. "You should always go for your dreams," she said softly, helping Elios to sit up in a corner and clean off before leaving. She hadn't realized how late it was getting. X-chan would be worried. . . . "What is it with Japan and biologically infeasible creatures running amok?" Xadium muttered with disdain as he eyed the "monster" which was hovering before him. A huge eyeball with grey fluttering wings jutting out of its side, and some kind of flame dancing atop it, the thing hovered in the air, its pupil expanding and contracting as it scrutinized Xadium, who was pinned against a wall in some nondescript warehouse via telekinetic force. I am Zircon, the eyeball-like thing said telepathically. Instinctively, Xadium raised his mental barriers. "Do you know you're completely unrealistic?" Xadium asked in mock frustration. "I mean look at you! Where would the attaching ligaments for your wings go, anyhow?" Your bluster hides your fear. Zircon replied, its eyeball darting back and forth as it took in every inch of the Time Lord's appearance. "Fear of what, being defeated in a staring contest?" Xadium quipped. "Well, your lack of an eyelid or any sort of nictitating membrane would seem to guarantee you a win..." His voice trailed off as he saw two of the meat-puppet gangsters re-enter the room, carrying a schoolgirl between them. She was terrified, and barely able to walk. "What are you going to do to her?" the Time Lord snapped, all traces of jocularity gone from his voice. Just... this... Zircon replied, fixing its gaze on her. Suddenly, the girl's head jerked back, and her eyes widened. Screaming followed shortly thereafter, with pleas to stop the torture completing the scene. Xadium tried vainly to break free of the telekinetic vice grip. He felt the telepathic waves from Zircon, the piercing beams of thought cutting into the poor girl's brain, ravaging her consciousness. "Why are you doing this?!" he exclaimed, straining against his bonds. He wanted to save the girl, but dimly began to realize it might not be possible. I come from the realm of nightmares, Zircon explained with a hint of malevolence. I was left behind when those girls killed my master. I require... sustenance. "You feed off raw emotion, don't you?" Xadium asked coldly. "But you don't need to do this! There's plenty of ambient emotion around a city like this! Enough to sustain you!" Indeed, Time Lord, the "joy" of the season revived me, Zircon replied, even as the girl twisted and writhed in raw agony. But these heightened emotions of raw fear... taste so much better... "You're a sadist," Xadium spat, trying desperately to break free even as the girl dropped to her knees and then finally collapsed, her brain little more than a slushy pulp leaking from her nose. Why does the death of this one pain you so, Zircon asked, floating over to the Time Lord. They are like ants to your kind. Xadium focused on maintaining a tight control over his emotions. He knew the creature was trying to feed on his emotions of anger and helplessness. Oh very good, Zircon chuckled. Do you want to kill me, to avenge this girl? And the others I have feasted upon? Xadium narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Suddenly, he stumbled forward as the telekinetic grip was released. A red-and-green blur had streaked across the warehouse, and smashed Zircon in the wing. "Your reign of terror stops now," Tuxedo Kamen said dramatically, from the distance. Xadium took the opening to pull a letter opener from his pocket. What happened next took less than five seconds. Your morals prevent you, Zircon mocked, as it floated in front of Xadium, monocular face staring ahead seemingly impassively, seeing the glinting, sharp cutter in the Time Lord's hand.You're going to let me go because you respect life far too much-- you can't harm me... Xadium growled. The bastard was enjoying his moral conflict and feeding off of his frustration. Zircon bobbed up and down excitedly as it supped on the delicious pain. ...and then I will go after her as the Amazons did. The creature's laughter echoed through the Time Lord's mind, rebounding and amplifying with every passing second. Xadium did not need to be told who "her" was. He instantly deduced Zircon was referring to Minako. His surprise at the revelation slipped though his partial mental barrier, and he cursed his lack of control. Damn his lack of discipline when it came to her! Oh, she never told you? Zircon asked, with just a hint of relish tingeing its malevolent mental voice. The Time Lord was afraid and angry now. So delicious... so delicious! Never told you how they pinned her, struggling and fighting, and forced their way into her hopes, dreams and desires... Xadium bit his lip in frustration as images of Minako held up helplessly against one of the Amazon Trio's boards assaulted his mind. Zircon sensed his building rage and would have smirked, had he had a mouth. The raw power of the visceral grief was electrifying. Never told you... never told you how they violated her, two at one time, pushing into the depths of her soul... never told you about her screams, her tears as she begged them to stop... the look of painful, agonistic bliss... Xadium's fists were balled up now, his complexion almost pale with barely controlled rage as he saw Minako's face contorted in agony and distress, the images searing themselves into his memory, raw and visceral, as if he were actually there, himself. He wanted to reach out, to pull those bastards from the Trio away-- to save her.. to help her in some way-- but he could not. He was boxing at shadows, and he knew it, damn it all. Maybe she didn't tell you because she wanted to spare your feelings... Zircon mock-empathised. Or maybe she said nothing because she secretly enjoyed it. The creature let out a low, gravelly, taunting laugh as Xadium stepped forward, barely holding himself back from reaching out and crushing the floating eye in his bare hands. The rage was free-flowing and powerful now, a wonderful torrent of perfect nutrition. And now, because of your morality, your conscience, your value of the sanctity of life, Zircon taunted, You're going to let me go... and I'm going to visit her myself, and do it to her again... and again.. and again... The creature chortled. Your wife... will give me much pleasure. Her fear, shame and agony will fuel me even as your grief does now. And then, at the end, when she cries out for your help one last time... she will end up like this... Zircon looked down at the body of the dead girl for a moment. "You will hurt NO ONE ELSE!" Xadium yelled even as his hand shot forward, stabbing the letter opener directly into the center of Zircons eye-face, watching it split and divide, viscous goo spurting out as the creature screamed in agony. The Time Lord's intense rage had blocked the transmission of his intent to strike. At least, that's what Xadium would later tell himself, trying desperately to reconcile the feeling of satisfaction Zircon seemed to emit at the last second, and the almost visceral pleasure he seemed to feel at making the fatal strike, not to mention the charge which had seemed to suffuse his body. Xadium pushed the feelings out of the way and looked down at the corpse coldly. He had done what had to be done. That thing would never assault anyone again. As Tuxedo Kamen watched impassively, Xadium walked out of the warehouse slowly. . . . Xadium stepped into the TARDIS slowly, tiredly, moving more on autopilot than anything else. He had forgotten all about trying to find Minako, and was just trying to get home to collapse and rest. His mind was reeling, and he was mentally foggy and tired. "Hi X-chan! I'm back from shopping!" Minako smiled brightly at her husband and bobbed up and down a little cheerily, trying to melt away any angry response he might have had to her messing around with history. But to her surprise the Time Lord merely looked at her with a distant, sad look, reaching forward and teasing her hair a little. His expression was at the same time ancient and tired, as if completely drained of life. "Let's go," he finally said quietly, trying to smile a bit, and lightly kissing her on the lips before going to the TARDIS console and inputting new co-ordinates. "I'm.. sorry?" Minako said weakly, trying to apologize, assuming that his expression was related to her activities. But by the way Xadium moved, it was clear he had probably not even heard her. She looked at him worriedly and followed him to the console, which soon shuddered with power as the TARDIS vanished, leaving Tokyo far behind. . . . "Go for your dreams," Elios muttered, with a smile on his face, as he picked the lock to Chiba Mamoru's apartment door and made his way into the apartment, moving silently in the nighttime shadow. Making his way to the bedroom, he leaned over the slumbering form of the Earth prince and stretched forth his hand, flexing his fist a bit. Mamoru's chest began to glow with a ruddy golden light, and Elios made a pulling motion, hauling the Golden Crystal from his body. As Mamoru gasped in his sleep, Elios used the power of the crystal to send him back into a deep slumber, taking the crystal in his hand and then gleefully sliding it into the top of his head. As the power burst back into his body, Elios smirked, reaching into the collective unconsciousness to find a fitting template for the image he wanted to portray to the world. feeling his muscles bulge, and his priestly robes shimmer and shift into a more contemporary urban style, He grinned, the light glinting off of one tooth. "Hard Core" he muttered under his breath as, with a burst of bright light, he transformed into a gleaming white Pegasus and exploded out of the window, soaring into the Tokyo night.