The Hunt of Regrets

Th It wasn’t like she didn’t love him.
       Oh no, even with all the insecurities she had, there was a strongly passionate love there. Well, as much as she could possibly do that. The evident smiles and happiness that had been there a thousand years ago had been disfigured, and there was now a solemn look in her eyes, as she gradually felt her body traveling, the watch that she had received had become her sole savior. Along with him, of course.
       Slowly she came to reality, away from the dream-like universe that would
feel like an eternity, but was actually a mere few seconds. Her feet fell on
the solid ground, and she opened her eyes.
       There everything seemed to be barren, as if devastation had been run right
through this area. She looked around, a placid gaze resting upon her face.
Time tended to change a lot, and she hadn’t been surprised.
       The year was 5765, and an era of destruction had already been put far into
play.
       Mango let out a sigh; she’d never been this far ahead in time. Always, she
had been afraid of seeing who had died, and what had happened before it
truly did.
       It was rather that she feared wanting to make another change to time. It was the one sole curse to this watch, and she promised never to abuse time.
       But right now, Mango Kattan needed to break that promise. She needed to
save him, and after countless hours and hours of research and contemplation,
this was the only way to do this.
       It was the final edit to fix time, as she had concluded, and yet it was
going to perhaps be something that opened a thousand more flaws. She didn’t know, and for now it didn’t matter. She wanted to save him, and this was the only way to do it.
       At least, that’s what she convinced herself.
       Looking around, Mango knew that she couldn’t stand still for long. It was
how war worked. If you stood still, you died, and while Mango could stand back up, she didn’t feel like the many other options that were offered.
       In case anyone recognized her, Mango began to set up her disguise. She took
out her garment grid, and was promptly transformed into an odd outfit. Black trench coat, white ruffled shirt, black pants, and her hair had of course, been dyed black, and her eyes were lined with coal, and red eyes.
       She felt awfully goth in the outfit, but it worked. Shaking her head, Mango
seemed to run off in the direction she needed to go. This was a mission, and
the sooner she took care of it, the better.

       The first village she came upon was small place, where there seemed to be at least a fair amount of senshi. She was fully prepared to take any chances, and had her hanzo ready, hidden beneath the folds of the jacket. She fell down the entire abyss of a cliff, and walked toward the village. As soon as she entered the edge of the civilization, a spear was pointed at her neck, and Mango stepped backwards.

“State your name, and your intentions,” The woman who was pointing the spear-a child, she thought, with green hair, and blazing orange eyes, wearing an outfit that folk tales would consider only the grim reaper to wear, and her face was done in a makeup that was blazing red around her eyes. Mango soon recognized it as blood. There was still no response of fear to her facial expressions, and there were the soft-spoken words she had rarely used.

“My name is Shiboko, and I am here because I have been attacked by a caravan of renegades, and mugged. I was personally hoping that perhaps you could be of assistance.” The game had begun.

As the girl backed away, she seemed to let Mango pass, the child following her. The village was as primative as she expected, though still using technology. They had a water purifier, and a few remote structures that reminded her of perhaps what could’ve remained of Crystal Tokyo. The people were dressed in robes of dark colors, and wore insignias that Mango could not recognize. These people, she realized, must’ve been the civilians of Crystal Tokyo.

Soon, she was escorted into a large shelter. It looked like a ruined apartment, she noted, and as she entered, saw that it was dimly lit aside from candles, and glass orbs that as she graced her fingers by, burned her to the bone.

Finally, a woman emerged from the stairs above (though Mango could only question how it was all constructed and not falling apart) and greeted the woman, acknowledging the child. She offered Mango something to eat, or drink.

“Tea if you may,” She asked softly. The woman looked at her oddly, as if she had never heard of tea, but summoned the child to get something. The girl scurried off, and Mango and the woman sat down chairs that felt like they were going to shatter beneath the weight, and the woman began to speak.

“These are the remaining villagers of the Kuiper belt, I’m certain you have heard of us,” The woman spoke softly, yet with pride. When she saw the look of minor bewilderment upon the girl’s, she seemed confused, but Mango grew pale.

“I’m sorry, I’ve only heard few things of your-“

“It’s quite alright,” The woman held a hand, waving off the excuses as if they were nothing, “We have though, created a strong effect upon this world. It surprises me you haven’t heard of us since we crushed much of the Tairon Overfiend.”

Mango remained silent. Sakura had spoken of this enemy, but Mango had rarely paid attention. It was still a time when she was in the arms of the one who was not for her…

“We were discovered just a few years ago by Lord Elios, for you see, long before the conflicts of the Tairon Overfiend, or much of anything began, we were instated for the time of the Silver Millennium, so that if Serenity’s court fell, the Outer Senshi would be able to have an army in order to overtake whatever enemy they were forced to face.

“But…we were never awoken in time, and so we have slept for thousands of years, until our awakening, in which we have been instilled, and upon our entry to this world, we cut down the Tairon by massive amounts.

“But for a price.” She paused, as the girl appeared, two bowls in her arms, and she set both down in front of the two women, giving them spoons and some other utensil that Mango had never seen. Five pronged in different directions, and with a hole in the end, it most certainly didn’t look like a spoon. Mango decided to observe how the woman would use the utensil, yet she seemed to not touch her food, but continued to speak.

“The Earth around you has grown so barren, at the price of our attacks on the Tairon. The world slowly is degenerating to the beginnings of humanity, yet there is only destruction and death in the future for this world. No one needs to be a prophet to see that.”

 

*

 

“Hey, Ixy, pass the damn water won’t you?”

Under the barren gray and lavender sky, a girl sat on a cybernetic horse, her black hair tied in a ponytail to the side, bangs hanging over the rope tied around her forehead, a charm that was a circle with an X that seemed to overlap it’s bounds hung from the band, and there was an amused look on her face. Donned around her neck was a black leather band with a buckle around the back, and a charm that matched the one attached to the band around her forehead. Covering her chest, was a leather shirt that fell just beneath her bust-the same symbol there as on her neck and forehead-and had no back to it, rather, it had chains holding it together in the back, and the chains attached to the front, but there was a ring in the center, but with no X. Rather, there was a chain linked to the ring from there, that wrapping around her abdomen, to her skirt, which was short, and had high slits in it, but she wore black leather shorts that fell just past the length of the skirt, and her legs were bare, until there were the metal slip-shoes that she had on her feet, in the stirrups of the horse’s saddle. Donned on her arms from the beginning, was a gray leather strap with buckles holding it there, and the fingerless gloves were made as usual, of black leather.

“It’s Ixion,” The other girl-also on a cybernetic horse, wearing an outfit that was almost as similar, but with the shorts a little shorter, and her boots made of chain mail, falling just up above her knee. The girl’s hair was longer, a flash of red that waved like a flag in the sky. The only real distinguishing difference between the two, was the colors of their skirts and bands around their foreheads. The first girl had a white band and skirt, while the second had a vibrantly dull pale blue skirt and band.

“Well, I can’t help it!” The girl whined, “This pole we have to hold is heavy, and taking a lot out of me, I can’t really speak full names!”

“But you just did, Varuna.”

The flags they spoke of were the poles that they were carrying, their capes attached to the top of the pole so that there may be a flag signifying that these senshi were coming. The two leaders of the Kuiper senshi had found that it would only be right to keep order in their society, but as it was so vast, it took two years to travel across the entire area, so it was a journey never ending.

Sailor Varuna sighed, “You’re no fun, Ixion. All we ever do is travel, and whenever I try to lighten the mood, you get all serious. Don’t you ever get tired of this?”

“We’ll do this, until we are incapable. In which case, our kin shall continue our mission.”

She glanced to the army behind her. All the senshi there were donned only in the black leather, no chains, and their bodies were covered from neck to toe. The only symbol that divided them from being almost exactly the same was the color of the band wrapped around their foreheads, but nothing more.

“But this is boring.” Varuna whined in a high-pitched tone, “And besides, we don’t have kin!”

“It was your decision,” Ixion began, “That in order to repent for the flaws of our past, unable to wake up in time for there to be eternal peace, that we follow the spiral, like every link in our chains that made our fate, we will follow it through. Yes?”

Varuna was silenced, opening her mouth to protest, then sighed, “Yes.”

Ixion smiled, “Now, let’s continue.”

 

*

 

“Have you ever thought,” Mango picked up her soup, finally just deciding to eat it as she had in normal custom, “That perhaps…” As soon as she dipped her spoon in, however, there seemed to be some sort of slug-like creature with enormous jaws and teeth trying to bite her spoon off. As if it were instinct, she took the five-pronged utensil, and stabbed the slug in the mouth, opening its mouth wide, and watched as it sunk into the soupy water.

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t be used to that. Sand slugs are a customary dish here, as they ravage the entire area, and when slaughtered, they become useless. They taste good in boiling water, though. Try using your spoon now.”

Mango-with great reluctance-dipped her spoon into the soupy water, and took a cautious taste of the unknown dish. There was at first a bewildered expression, then an indifferent appearance, until she finally resolved that it was ok.

“It tastes like Chicken Broth.”

 

*

 

“Hey Ixy, can we switch?” Varuna asked.

“No.”

“Can we stop?” Varuna asked.

“No.”

“Why not?” Varuna whined now.

“Because we’ll be there in a few hours.”

“But I can’t wait that long,” The whining began to eat at Ixion, until finally…

“Yes you can, you’ve done it before,” Ixion kept her cool, yet the entire legion stopped dead. There was a silence, sans a tumbleweed rolling across, blown by a dusty wind. Confused, Ixion looked forward, and realized it. There was a large crack in the earth, perhaps a quarter of a kilometer long. There was a neutral look on Varuna’s face, and the same followed with her fellow senshi.

“Find a senshi who can help you sturdy a chain-bridge,” Ixion stated, “I’ll ready the horses.”

There was a silence between the two, yet they both complied.

*

 

“Back to what I was saying,” Mango had finished her meal, “Have you ever thought, that perhaps those senshi are manipulators?”

There was a silence, and the elderly woman seemed to merely take a sip of her soup, seeming to do the deed more gracefully compared to her guest, “How so?”

“Well…” Mango began, “There was a band of rogues that attacked me. Two carried flags, and the army was rather generic, as if they only followed the orders of one. And I think that the one dressed with blue frills was pulling the strings. There was a gleam in her eyes, and she seemed to attack me. From what you have mentioned, I assume that would be your leader. She’s very malevolent.”

“Surely,” The woman interrupted, “You speak of another army. Ixion and Varuna work very much in unison.”

“Perhaps,” She said, “Except for the fact that a blast of sound was fired at me, shaking my body. She then barked orders to her fellow senshi, and demanded that the chains of retribution be bound to my wrists and ankles. There was argument, but the woman barked the orders, and she reluctantly complied. I escaped before the chains could hit.”

Again, there was a silence, but a grim look upon her face, “Did you hear any of what Ixion spoke of?”

“Something about the dream,” Mango murmured, “And how all would be one with it.”

Slowly, the woman rose to her feet, “Then what you speak of is what I fear. The Tairon has invaded Ixion. Action must be taken before it grows worse.”

Slowly then, the woman walked out of the building, “They are expected soon, so we must act fast. I would find it helpful if you would perhaps, be of assistance?”

Mango had nodded, still in a minor awe. The plan had worked with less effort than she expected. Perhaps these people were of such paranoia that all it took was to name off a few names? She shook off the questioning, and began to leave the building, the necessity was still in her pocket.

It would not take long, now.

 

*

 

The bridge had been formed with ease, a chain bridge with ice and wood planking to secure it. The girls had both agreed that the horses had to go first, for they were the heaviest, (and yet of most value). Ixion guided her horse across first. The cybernetic body seemed to rattle the chains greatly as it would move, but the senshi knew that there was nothing for her to worry of. The senshi of sound had done this time and time again. A trust, that the bridge was sturdy. The senshi all worked in a team, their trust for each other was unending. It was how civilization was for these beings, which lived in near-perfect harmony.

 

The bridge was crossed, and the girl mounted herself on the horse again, awaiting Varuna, and then the steady line of senshi from there. The bridge would then be broken, and there would be little thought of it after that. This was just how life was for them.

Except for today. Today would be different, perhaps a day of regret, or anger. One could never tell, really.

 

*

 

The army had begun its march, a large group of senshi now leaving the town, to begin its march for blood. Mango though, had moved if only a few meters ahead, in an attempt to find them. She needed to do this, or else there would be nothing left for her to do with him. The boy had to live, and she now knew that there was no evading the fate instilled. One could not change time when it came to this. Even if she could, would she want the other options given?

 

Slowly, she saw the army on the trail, coming forward, and she turned to the army behind her, “Take out Varuna, she’ll be leading the troops, I’ll take Ixion, she’ll go alone.”

The army seemed to nod, and Mango ran forward. A great amount of concentration was forced onto her mind, and she noticed the cybernetic horses. The light blue senshi was the one whose horse she needed to manipulate. With a mere whisk of her telekinesis, the horse was forced suddenly to change its angle, causing the girl to take a completely different route.

And so the plan was put to action.

 

*

 

“Ixy!” Varuna screamed, but the senshi said nothing, now being guided away from the group. It was as if an invisible hand had taken the reigns.

“No, Hope! That is not the proper destination!” She yelled, but the horse gave out a frightened noise, and she knew it. The horse was not doing this by itself. Something supernatural was doing this.

And yet, as Ixion tried to pull at the reigns, the horse only sped up, and the senshi saw them suddenly make a U-turn. Within seconds, the girl was headed back for the cliff in which they had crossed, and at the rate they traveled, the velocity…

She’d be dead soon, she feared.

But soon, though, the horse reached the cliff, and kicked off. A look of astonishment crossed Ixion’s face. The horse had jumped! By how things looked, also, they may just make it! There was a feeling of enjoyment, of adrenaline pumping through her veins, and she knew that the horse would make it over…

But then there was a feeling of pain, something tearing out of her body, and she turned. There stood a girl, dressed in a Terran fuku, pink and black frills attatched, and wearing the golden bracelets…

There was a scream, the girl trying to make an attack, but she felt herself vanishing, a pale blue aura forming in front of her, and she fell off the horse, down the cliff, into oblivion.

 

Mango used the little telekinetic energy that remained to summon the gem into her hands, and a box was created. The gem sunk into the small confines, and a chain formed around it, locking Ixion’s sailor crystal into a safe abyss. Nothing would get it until the time was right. For now, though, she needed to prepare to return home.

That was until a set of spikes unleashed themselves behind her into the girl’s back, and she screamed, about to fall, but turned, falling to the feet of what looked like a ghost.

A girl, dressed completely in a black cloak, which blew in the desert wind, stared Mango down.

“Do not take the crystal,” She said, “For you shall cause a great misbalance within this world.”

Mango looked up, “Kiss my ass. I spent enough time searching for this crystal. Planning, trying to save the one I love.”

“But you do not realize,” The hooded figure’s voice was soft, “How they will follow you. Across time, across space, across the dimensions, until they find him, and rip the gem from his body.”

“I’ll be by his side, they’ll never do it,” She coughed up blood, realizing that the inside of the trench coat was now damp from the blood of the spikes.

“No,” She whispered, “There are too many, one ordinary senshi cannot take them all.”

“But I’m not ordinary.” She rose to her feet. Within a split second, her hanzo had slashed across the woman’s cloak, causing blood to stain it, and her disguise to loosen, There, Mango’s watch kicked in, and as she vanished, she left the woman with one line, “I’m extraordinary.”

 

The girl rose to her feet, brushing herself off, and discarding of the cloak. There stood a woman, her fuku shaped similarly to a Terran, but far different. For one, the plastisilk armor glistened red, and from the hips of the black skirt, to the bottom of the black bow, there was a triangular cut, exposing the teen’s abdomen. The charm in the bow was the shape of the Ouroboros imprinted on a scarab beetle As she dusted herself off, she examined the back bow-also black, and her shoes, which were black platforms boots, with red charms placed at the top of bright red sideways crescent moons. She ran a hand through her blonde locks, making sure that the green bangs were not at all disturbed. There on her head rested a thin black ribbon holding the same scarab beetle with an ouroboros imprinted, as on her front bow. Letting out a sigh, the girl could only gaze at the sun.

“Damnit,” She muttered, and looked across the crease of the cliff to the other side, where a young girl was now mounting the horse. Looking almost exactly like Ixion’s fuku, the girl held a lyre in her hands, and her hair was green, flowing like a waterfall to her skirt. In silence, she took the horse away from there, never to be seen by those whom would seek it.

 

*

 

The journey was long, hard, and drove fear into Varuna. They had barely escaped the grasp of the villagers. No casualties except for a few of those rebelling, but otherwise, there was only Ixion unaccounted for.

The sun had set, and the moon had risen, the sandstorms kicking up gradually, and the girl just sunk into the sand, closing her eyes.

“How am I supposed to lead them without Ixy?” She murmured, her head dug into her knees, and she just wanted to cry, but she could not. Now it was no longer harmony, but a melody. How could she do it? Not without her companion, friend, and guide…

Her woe was cut short by the screams of one of the little ones. She got out of the sand, moving toward the cries, and found the girl screaming.

“It’s so dark! Someone help me! They’ve torn me away and put me in this…thing!”

Varuna approached the girl with caution, and slowly she heard the girl continue to scream.

“Please, help! I don’t know where I’m going!”

“You’re right here,” Varuna said soothingly, but the girl suddenly broke down into sobs.

“It’s so dark, so cold…I’m alone…help me…please.”

There could only be confusion placed upon Varuna’s face, and she rose to her feet, scooping up the girl, to hold her close in comfort. Thank the gods she was light, or else it would be impossible.

Yet then, in that moment of comforting a troubled senshi, that she knew she could do this…and yet at the same time, she knew she had to find Ixion.

No matter what it took.