Sailor Moon: The Rise of B'aal

Chapter 3:

In her mind, Rei slowly opened her eyes. What she saw was nothing but white clouds swirling across blue skies, as though she was soaring a hundred miles above Earth. She gave a small gasp and opened her eyes wider. All around her was a light mist swirling softly around her. There was no sound at first, except for an occasional rush of air that passed by her. The young Shinto priestess gave a sigh of wonder at her surrounding, and slowly stood on her feet on the cloud-like ground. She looked down at herself and saw she was still dressed in her traditional kimono of her shrine, but she was slightly transparent.

Then, the memory of what happened in her shrine as she tried to do a fire reading suddenly flashed into her mind, and she looked wildly around her. Where was everyone else? What happened? Rei's heart began to beat faster and faster, and she clutched her hands over her heart to still it. By the fires of Mars, what if she...what if she had...died?

Shaking her head to rid herself of the disturbing thought, the black haired girl looked around her once more. Where was she, and how did she get here? "He...hello?" she called out softly, hoping that someone might be near. "Is anyone here? Where am I? I just want..." Suddenly, about 6 inches from her, a figure materialized into solid form. It was a man, about 7 and a half feet tall, and when he became solid, Rei squinted her eyes to get a good look at him. His skin was a deep bronze color, like the people from the Mediterranean and Northern Africa, and he wore a long white robe that covered him to his feet. Across his shoulders was a long ivory colored sash that was pinned together at his right hip. Looking up even more, Rei saw that he looked to be about middle-aged, with dark, slightly curly blonde hair that had soft touches of grey. The hair fell a little past his shoulders. His eyes were a very deep brown flecked with blue. On his chin was a short beard that was also flecked with grey.

The man sighed and turned to the side as he clasped his hands behind his back. He stood there for several moments, as if watching or waiting for something. The whole time, Rei felt a strange...sadness from this man, as though he was regretting something...as though he had LOST something or someone that was very dear to him. What could have made him so sad? Was there something she could do? Even though she acted cold-hearted sometimes, Rei hated to see anyone so sad. Just then, she felt compelled to go and comfort him, to try and alleviate his pain somehow, and just as she was about to call out to him, another figure materialized out of thin air, walking out to the tall man from his left. This time, the figure formed into a man just as tall as the first, but there was such an aura of anger about him that Rei gasped and backed away.

This figure was dressed similar to the first man, but over his white robe, he wore a black chest armor outlined with gold and elaborately designed, and carried a long, jewel-hilted sword that was sheathed on his right hip. His hair was as black as the night and nearly reached to his mid-waist. His skin was only slightly darker than the other man. His eyes were a deep emerald green. He looked to be about in his mid to late twenties, and his face was clean-shaven with a handsome quality that nearly made Rei sigh and her knees buckle beneath her.

The second figure wasted no time and stood before the first man, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "So it has come to this, has it My Lord? I have just received word from the Archangel Micheal that we are no longer allowed on the Earth Realm. Why, Master? Why do you waste your time on this plan in creating Man?" His eyes softened a little when the other man remain silent, and he looked up to him and spoke once more, his voice soft and pleading. "Please tell me, why do you forget about us, your Angels...your perfect creations? Why are you trying to replace us?" At the crestfallen look that appeared on the white-clad man's face, he sighed in resignation and went down on one knee. From ever since many millennia ago when his master had first told him and the rest of the angels about his plan, he had this argument with him. But now, the younger man HAD to make him understand. It was going to be a BAD idea making humans!

"My Liege, you know that I'm the most loyal of all the other Angels, and I would never tell you anything that would hurt you, but what I say is the truth! The whole idea of evolving Man on our Earth will be a disaster. Please, My Lord, you must forget about making them before they destroy everything you worked so hard to create! You must realize that if what you suspect will come about, there will be no hope." The younger man bowed his head and waited for his Master to speak.

The standing figure was silent for a moment, then turned and looked down at him. "No hope?" he asked, his voice loud and clear as a waterfall, yet sad. "No, I don't believe so. There is always hope. That is why I will create beings such as them. They will not be like you, yet the same in some ways..." The man sighed as he continued to watch the kneeling soldier. "These new beings which I will call Man will have something that I've never created before, and which you and the others do not have; souls and free will. I do not want them to be obedient because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to. That is what will make them so special," Sadness once again appeared in the older man's eyes. "Yes, I do admit that some of them will make the wrong choices, but that is what I want becoming a Human to be about; making choices that only their souls and experience could make. I want those who believe in me to come to me willingly, not because they are MADE to do so." He nodded at the the black-haired Angel, his own eyes pleading as he laid a hand on his shoulder.

For so long, he tried to explain to his angels about his plans and his hopes for creating Mankind, how they will be the similar yet different from them. For countless years he had kept this plan to himself, formulating it, letting it grow in his infinite mind before he told any of the Angels. When he finally did, some were very supportive of it, being very curious about how this new species of Man would be different from other species he had created. But others...like the one before him now, were very much against it, saying Man would be nothing but a disaster and would eventually end up being destroyed. But the Master knew it would be different this time, that Man would be a hope that he knew they would come to realize one day.

"I know you and the other Angels love me because you all know about me," he said softly, "but please...try to understand what I am doing here with Man. They must know me and love me by choice and freedom. Those who need to be redeemed will BE redeemed when they come to me by their own free will..." What more he was going to say was cut short by the younger Angel's outburst, his eyes on the brink of tears.

"And so you will give them the choice to laugh in your face, think of you as nothing but a myth? After all that, you'll still allow them to replace us, give them all your love?" the handsome Angel shouted, standing on his feet to his full height. "Why do you want such...such THINGS on the Earth Realm?"

"It is for something you do not understand yet. Please, try and trust me. That's all I ask," The dark blonde-haired man reached out to him, but the soldier backed away.

"The only thing I 'understand' is that this could mean war," he snarled, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not alone in this. I have followers, and they are just as much against this as I am. They will not let you go forward with this plan so easily." The soldier clutched his sword in his hand tighter.

"War?" The robed man sighed sadly and walked forward toward the warrior. He reach for the younger man and took his face in both hands, sadness and a pleading for understanding etched all over his own face. "Is that what you really want? War? What happened to you? You stood by me in all my decisions before. You were my right hand man, the one who would do anything for me. How could you turn from me now? You meant so much to me. You were everything to me...Lucifer..."

Before he could even finished, the soldier slapped away the older man's hands from his face. Tears seemed to fill up his green eyes, and for a second...just one second...he seemed to soften, but it passed as quickly as it came, and with another snarl, he turned and stalked away, leaving the man to stand alone. For a few long moments, the man seemed to stand there as if frozen, a slight disbelief on his face. Even Rei could feel the man's heart break, as though he had lost the most precious thing in his life. Right then, the mists swirling around Rei began to grow heavier, and the scene changed. The Shinto priestess gave a small scream as she felt like she was falling hundreds of feet.

When she opened her eyes a few moments later, she was in a very hot place; a place that was filled with a foul smell and so dark, only the the flames that licked the sides of the dingy and slimy walls gave light every few seconds. Screams of torment and despair filled the whole area, and everywhere Rei looked, she saw the figures of people in various forms of torture when there was enough light to see. She gave another scream of terror and backed away, tripping over a severed hand.

Right at that second, a taller figure rushed passed her, as though she wasn't there at all. The figure was a tall human-looking man that wore a black chest armor and armor around his legs. It was so dark, Rei didn't get to see his face, just the shining of the armor when the flames lit up. The man stopped a few feet away from her as she stood up slowly, and raised his arms high up in the air.

"Father! It is done! I have found a way to take back what was once ours! You may have been forbidden to enter the Earth Realm, but through me, you will once more reign supreme. It will take many years, but time is nothing to us. Please, put your strength into me, and I will make all possible! Man has now fallen, and their hearts are full of darkness. Let us make the plans now!" The figure threw his head back and gave a dark, evil sounding laugh. For as long as he could remember, he'd been taught how he and his father's followers were cheated of their home, from their status in the Cosmos, and now it was time to plan for revenge! Soon, all will feel the pain of being shut from the glory from Heaven, and it will begin with Man, God's hideous mistake.

There was a low rumbling sound, followed by a slight earthquake. The flames all began to grow brighter and stronger then, and a pair of red, blazing eyes appeared before the figure. The rumbling stopped, and for a few seconds, there was silence. Then, a deep, throaty voice echoed through out the evil realm. "Let it be so," the voice said simply. Loud shouting and whooping suddenly erupted from the many evil beings that were condemned there, and their eyes glowed with anticipation of what was to come. Reveling in the high celebration and shouts, the dark figure threw his hands up once more and laughed loudly.

The red eyes turned towards where Rei stood trembling, but before it could do anything, Rei felt as though she was falling again. She gave a scream as she felt herself being pulled, and then all went black.

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"Everyone, move back, she's in shock!" shouted Ami as she pushed forward. As if by second nature, the blue-haired genius took a deep breath, leaned down over the still form of Rei, and performed CPR. For a few seconds, the girls watched nervously as Ami gave her some of her own breath and pumped her chest.

"Rei-chan..." Usagi whispered, tears forming in her blue eyes. Tanya reached over and took Usagi's hand in her own, knowing how close the two have grown together since their "fighting" days.

A minute later, like a miracle, Rei's body jerked and she took a huge gulp of air, then coughed a few times. The black haired girl slowly opened her eyes as sweat poured down her pale face, and looked around her as she propped her upper body on her elbows. "M..minna..? Guys?" she whispered out tiredly.

"Rei-chan! You're alright!" shouted Tanya, rushing and gathering her in a big hug as everyone looked on.

"H..hai..I'm fine..." the priestess said as she gently hugged back the dark-skinned girl.

"My gosh Rei, what happened?" Minako asked as Usagi rushed forward to envelope the weak girl in a hug when Tanya was done.

"Yeah, we were trying to wake you up for nearly 3 minutes! You were out cold," said Makoto. She moved up to sit next to Minako,

"It...it was only a few minutes?" Rei's eyes widened as she remembered the vision she was now sure was of the past. She shook her head and tried to sort it all out. What could it have all meant? What was going on? This was nothing like she and the other girls faced before, even when she had the vision about the coming of the Messiah of Silence years ago.

"Yes, we were about to call the ambulance when Ami took charge...looks like all those extra credit Health classes did come in handy, ne?" praised Tanya as she winked at the medical school bound girl.

"Yeah, but now we all have to let Rei get some rest. We can all meet back here with everyone else tomorrow and Rei can tell us what happened then." With that, Ami began to flock everyone towards the front door of the shrine.

With one final look back, Ami gave a small smile. "Are you going to be alright? I could stay if you like," she said.

"No, it's alright," Rei returned a weak smile and stood up shakily, heading back to her room. "Yuuichiro and my grandfather should be back from Kyoto by tonight. I should be fine until then." She gave a nod of reassurance. And it'll give me time to figure out my vision. Rei thought to herself.

"Alright then, call us when you're ready." Ami gave one last concerned look, then followed the other girls out. Once down the steps and giving a final wave to Rei as she watched them go from her doorstep, the girls made preparations for the meeting the next day.

"So I'll call Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru later on tonight, and since tomorrow is Saturday, we'll meet at Rei's shrine in the afternoon, unless something comes up, okay?" confirmed Ami.

"Right," agreed Usagi, "Judging from the look on Rei's face, we can't afford to lose any time. This might prove to be very bad,"

The girls nodded to each other once more, and after walking together for a few moments, each headed off their own way home as they came to their block or the bus stop they needed to catch the bus. Soon, it was just Usagi and Tanya, and she bid Tanya goodnight as she hopped onto her bus when it came.

Wanting to have some time alone to think about what happened, Tanya decided to walk the long blocks home. She was just about to leave the bus stop when a figure walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

She jumped nearly a mile high with a scream and turned around. When she saw who it was, she leaned against the pole and tried to control her breathing, her hand over her heart. "Y..Yaten?" she breathed out, beads of sweat forming on her dark forehead.

"Tanya, what's wrong? I didn't scare you that much, did I?" The silvery-haired young man asked as he reached forward to gather her in his arms. "Gomen, I was just coming to Rei's shrine to look for you. I didn't mean to..."

"You sure as heck did! Baka!" Tanya yelled out, and punched him on the shoulder. When Yaten winced, she chuckled, then sighed and leaned her head against his chest. "No, I'm sorry. It's not you. We fought a new enemy today, and Rei-chan...she..she had a vision tonight..."

With Yaten's arm safely around her shoulder, Tanya quietly told the young singer what occurred that day as they got nearer to her house, and as he listened, his eyes narrowed. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you out. I wish I hadn't left school early just to meet my manager..."

Tanya reached up and gently placed a finger on his full, sensuous lips to silence him. "It's okay Yaten. We managed fine. We're going to have a meeting tomorrow with the Outers at the shrine tomorrow. Do you think you can make it?" Tanya chuckled as she watched Yaten grimaced at the mention of the Outer Senshi.

"Well, alright, but only if I don't have to sit next to Haruka. She may have toned down a lot in her attitude against me, but I'm not taking any chances!" With a twinkle in his green eyes, Yaten smiled and winked at the smaller girl.

"That's all I ask," Tanya smiled back. "But for now, just be here with me," She encircled her arms around the young man's waist and reached up on her tiptoes to give him a soft, passionate kiss, grateful for the little time they were spending together. She didn't even mind the curious looks they got from others passing by on the sidewalk. As long she was here, with Yaten, nothing else mattered.

Soon, they arrived at her modest home, and right when they reached the front doors, the door opened to reveal the worried face of Tanya's father. "Oh, thank goodness, I was hoping you wouldn't take too long!" he smiled. "There's an old friend here I thought you might be interested in seeing!"

He ushered the two young people in, and when the visitor rose from the living room couch and smiled at them, Tanya gave a squeal of delight. "FATHER O'BRIEN!" She rushed right into his arms, laughing as the older man picked her up in a hug and twirled her around.

"Oh, what's this? Where's the wee little one named Ti whose diapers I used to help her Papa change?" smiled the Irish man, his blue eyes flashing. "This can't be her! All I see before me now is a beautiful young woman! " He then turned to look at Yaten coming in after her, "And I don't seem to be the only one who think so now," he chuckled, already know this was her love from the way he looked at her.

"Oh Father!" Tanya blushed as she leaned away from the hug.

"Come, we have so much to catch up on!" Peter Cambridge quickly ushered everyone into the dining room for dinner and to talk about old times. But inside, he knew it was just a matter of time before his old friend revealed the real reason he came. He just hoped they were ready for it.

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Bzuzu knelt before his master, trembling slightly in the hot, dark recesses of Hell. "You have failed, Bzuzu," the deep rumbling voice said, causing the hot, foul smelling realm to nearly shudder.

"Please, I am sorry my Master!" the red demon squealed. "I did not anticipate such power! I will get them next time, I promise. I have a new strategy that I am sure will overpower them! They are not invulnerable. You nearly had that psychic one!"

The figure seem to consider that for a moment, then spoke again, "Do not fail me again," The tone in the voice alone promise unforetold torture if he did indeed fail again.

"We WILL gather enough of the purest souls, and those senshi will PAY!" Bzuzu swore, bowing low on the filthy and slimy ground, eager to go and take his plan into action. His plan will work, even if he had to put his life on the line for it!

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To be Continued....

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