CHAPTER 7
"Hello Mamoru, fancy seeing you here!" Mamoru nearly choked
on his coffee. Chibiusa and Usagi stared in amazement at the
red hair girl in front of them. Her companion shrugged her
apology to them and a flicker of worry appeared on her face
when Mamoru went into a series of coughs.
"Mika, Adelaide, what are you two doing here?" gasped out
Mamoru after recovering slightly.
"Gee, Adelaide here read about this posh tea house, so we
came." answered Mika. "Who's this cute kid?" Usagi winced as
Chibiusa's outraged voice piped up.
"I am NOT a kid! I'm a TEENAGER!"
"Oh, you don't look like one--" Adelaide immediately cut
off Mika's retort. "Are you Usagi's relative? You both look
alike..." Her voice trailed off at the sudden uneasiness apparent.
"She...Chibiusa's my distant cousin. Why don't you join us?
The food here is quite delicious. Not to mention that..." Usagi
chattered on, tactfully changing the subject. Both Adelaide and
Mika nodded their assent and joined them. Mika and Usagi immediately
entered into a lively conversation about 'posh places'. Adelaide
smiled inwardsly and exchanged a few pleasantries with Mamoru, who
seemed even more uneasy then before. Chibiusa ignored them and
stared out the window while letting out an audible sigh. Adelaide
nudged Mika and nodded towards Chibiusa. Mika grinned and flash
a mischievous look towards her. A few subtle insults caught
Chibiusa's attention.
Both Mika and Chibiusa spent the next hour engaged in a lively
sparring of wits.
=====================
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
"Hey, the kid wasn't as shy as she looked."
"Not shy, more like...in despair."
"Boy, you sure are poetic today."
"Thank you, Mika. But I can do without your sarcasm. Four more
white pawns were captured."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Like I said. At least they took two black pawns with them. But
the white castle has chosen the wrong choice."
"Hold on...Now you've lost me, Delly."
"Don't call me that!"
"That's your pet name." said Mika in a false injured tone.
"Well, I don't like it. So stop that! What I meant was that
Belletrophon is on the prowl."
"Belletrophon...Oh, him! What now?"
"I'm going to pay them a little visit. You go home first."
"Hey, why don't I get to enjoy the excitement too?" yelled
Mika in surprise as Adelaide changed. Sailor Cosmo Eos flung
back her dark hair and flicked her wrist slightly. A metallic
mask appeared, she fixed it on her face and gave Mika an expresionless
look.
"Because I have to go NOW! Passage of Time, open your portals!"
Mika watched silently as Sailor Cosmo Eos vanished.
==========================
Helios shivered, the air was damp and suffocating, quite unlike
his Elysion. He looked round cautiously, the walls were dark and
foreboding. For some reason, he felt like he was being watch.
He had witness the fight in the palace gardens and watched helplessly
as Small Lady was pulled into the dark portal. He ran down the steps
only in time to see Neo Queen Serenity encasing herself in a crystallized
wall. The Amazon Quartets were there before him, attacking the two enemies
furiously. Pandora and Apollo, so they were called.
He had been dragged aside by Sailor Pallas. He then noticed a
flickering portal behind the bushes. Ignoring Pallas' cries of surprise
and protest, he doved into it.
And somehow, he had ended up here. Where was Small Lady? Helios
back jerked in surprise as a voice suddenly boomed out in front of
him.
"Intruder! You are the Guardian Of Elysion! For your intrusion, you
must pay with your LIFE!!!"
Immediately, his surroundings flickered with shadows, all snickering
and laughing. Helios watched them warily. This was too weird. He backed
into a wall as they slowly crowded round him.
"Pegasus Animation!" Helios released his attack. The shadows fled
screaming. A boy about his age appeared and bowed.
"Well done, Helios of Elysion. Now I will be your opponent."
They fought long and hard. The strange boy had the upper hand and
Helios finally collapsed. A sudden shout prevented the boy from delivering
the killing blow. Helios wiped away the blood from his eyes and saw
someone through the blurry haze of pain.
A masked senshi stood before them and was shouting at the boy. Helios
frowned, he could not make out her words, his body hurt and a horrible
thudding noise was tearing his senses apart. The senshi looked none the
better than he, she was also bleeding from several cuts on her body. The
boy appeared incensed by her words and seemed ready to release his attack.
The senshis tensed but the boy suddenly veered and released a huge bolt
of crackling energy towards Helios. Helios watched dumbfounded, the last
thing he saw was the senshi shrieking out the word: NO!!! Then his world
dissolved into the color and taste of his own blood.
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