Chapter 19 Interlude The hall was dark, which was normal since it was late and that was good. She needed darkness for this. If anyone saw what she did, the word would get out and... She shook her head, not wanting to think about it. "Just get this over with," she told herself, coming to the door to the infermery. She paused and closed her eyes. After a moment or two, she opened them and walked in. Helios was sitting in a chair as he had been for the past seven or so weeks, asleep. She smiled to herself. He rarely ever left Small Lady's side, all ways hopeing she would wake up soon. Concern clouded her features as she turned from the Priest to the girl on the bed. Being in a coma for almost two months could mean consequences that the Princess will have to deal with when she did wake up. But now she could only hope Small Lady would have enough streangth to resist the poison in her system long enough to fight. Swiftly, she walked over to Small Lady, wanting to get this done with and over with. Raising her hands, she placed one near the sides of the pink-haired teen's head. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, hoping against hope that the outcome would be different this time. It was. But it was not one she liked. "Then I'll just have to make sure it doesn't happen!" she said, knowing what she was going to do was risky, but had to be done. ---------- "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!" The boy stiffened as the scream rang through his ears. He surpressed a sigh. Kome-sama was irritated again. "A little early today," he mumbled as he turned to face his master. Kome threw her hands up in the air, bellowing, "XANATOS!! NEMESISS!! GET IN HERE NOW!!!" The cloud-being and Xanatos appeared beside the boy. "You called, my lady?" they said in unison. "Have you gotten it done yet?!" Kome raged. "My lady," Xanatos replied, "as we said, it would take two months and we are only a few days away from that time." "Well, what's taking so bloody long?!" "This procedure is extremely delicate, Kome-sama," Nemesiss said. "If not down correctly, then we will both die in the process." "Oh, yes," Kome said, rolling her brown eyes, "that will be such a waste!" "Kome-sama," the boy spoke up. "I know the location of that crystal you wanted." Kome frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing on him. "What?!" she hissed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, boy?!" "I didn't know until recently!" he said hastily. "The boy--Adonis, I believe is his name--he has it! The Preist must have given it to him!" Kome was silent, thinking about this information he had supplied her with. "Xanatos. Nemesiss. Get back down there and refigure the odds of the procedure if we had that crystal. Now," she ordered. "Yes!" they said, before disappearing. The boy grew nervous. He knew that Kome-sama had just said that to get them out so she could talk to him alone. The odds of them *getting* the crystal now where off the scale--not in their favor. Kome slowly began to walk towards him. "Boy," she said in a calm voice, sending chills down his spine, "what was it I said to you when I found you so many years ago?" "T-that if I followed you, then I could find out about...my past," he stammered, turning his eye to the ground. "Yes," she said looking up at the ceiling, "yes. And do you rememebr the state I found you in?" He did not answer. "I'm sure you rememeber," she continued, a sneer coming onto her face as she returned her gaze to him. "How could you forget? After all...you were treated as an outcast in Outer Crystal Tokyo. Everyone either beat you, spat on you, or ignored you completely. Do you remember why?" He stared at the ground, trying to force the images her words brought back away from his mind. With his head bent down, he failed to see Kome's body surrounded by a black mist. The mist slowly streatched out like tendrills towards the boy, encircling him. She smirked further, her eyes turning from brown to white. "They treated you like garbage because of your gift, boy. They could not appericate the power you gave to anyone you touched nor the energy you can use," Kome went on, her soft voice echoing in the room as well as in his mind. As she kept speaking, his eye began to glaze over. Kome reached him and raised her hand, pushing his head up to meet her hollow eyes. "But I found you, cleaned you up, and taught you how to control your gift, how to use it against the Queen and her Senshi. Do you remember them, boy?" "Yes..." he said in a flat voice, void of any emotion at all. "They are the ones that erased your memories, boy. Because of them, you know nothing of your past. Nothing. Just blackness." "Yes..." "You wish them dead, don't you, boy?" she asked, placing her hand back at her side. "Yes," he said, his eye narrowing. "Good," she sneered triumphantly. "And I know just how you can do it." ---------- "Focus. Remember, feel for it." "All right. All right, ready," Minako grumbled. She slowly looked all around her in the darkness, waiting for it to appear, watching to see which side it would pop up at. She was wacked upside the head by the medium sized silver ball she was supposed to be advoiding. "I said *feel* for it, not watch, Minako," Kyoko said again with a hint of a sigh in her voice. Grumbling, Minako turned to watch as the ball disappeared in a flash of gold light. "How am I supposed to dodge it if I don't watch it?!" she demanded, looking up in the direction she thought the veiwing room was in. "We're over here. To the left." "Oh. Sorry." "Quite all right. Now, try it again, this time, close your eyes." "Say what?" "You heard. Now do it," Kyoko ordered. "Oh, whatever!" Minako sighed, doing so. "I think you're just doing this to beat us up, Kyoko!" "Don't make me mad, Minako," Kyoko warned. "Now, use your other senses to find the ball, not your eyes. After all, your eyes can trick you some times." Minako did not reply. She stayed as still as she could, trying to concentrate as Kyoko told her. Use your other senses... What did she mean by that? Minako decided to listen for the ball. Using all her will power, she tried to slow her heart down a few notches so she could hear better. When she did, she strained to hear it, not really knowing what it would sound like. A slight buzzing sound caught Minako's attention. It was coming from her right. She stayed where she was until it was almost on her, then jumped out of the way. She opened her eyes and saw the ball fly past. She grinned. "See? Was that so hard?" Kyoko said. "Not when you know how to," Minako replied. "Ready for the next step?" "Which is?" "Dodging two at the same time." "Great," Minako said sarcasticly. ---------- Ruri smiled at Minako's words. She knew that the blonde was glad for the extra training, as well as everyone else. She looked at Kyoko out of the corner of her eye. She could see waves of energy coming from Kyoko from her using her telekenesis to control the ball. Ruri noted. "Here we go," Kyoko called down to Minako, who nodded. From behind, Serenity watched as Minako continued on with the excersise. "What is the point of this again?" she asked after a while. "To teach the Senshi that they need to learn to use their other senses," Ruri replied. "While they're in their normal states, you know, not transform, then they can get better in their Senshi forms." "Oh," Serneity said, still slightly confused. ---------- "Is it still working properly?" Xanatos said to Nemesiss. "As properly as it has been for the last two months," the cloud replied. It grumbled something under its breath. "What was that?" Xanatos asked. "I was just wondering why we have to go on with this insane plan of Kome-sama's, Xanatos," Nemesiss replied. "We both know that I didn't just make clones of the Senshi. They are far more than that. If they were only clones then there wouldn't be the link. So why do we have to keep this up?" Xanatos sighed, rubbing his aching temples. "I find myself wondering that myself sometimes," he admitted. "I just think that Kome-sama is doing this to escape boredom. Either that or she thinks someone will find out who and what she really is." Nemesiss thought that over. "Xanatos," it said after a while, carefully, "what if she's not imagining things?" "What do you mean?" "What is someone will find out about her? What if someone all ready knows?" At those words, Xanatos raised a hand and touched his throat, remembering the blonde Grave Keeper that had beheaded him so long ago. Had she not caught him off guard, he would never have let her do that. If it wasn't for his powers, he would have been killed. His eyes narrowed as he recalled their most recent encounter. She had made a fool of him yet again by defeating him so easily and escaping him. His fist clentched. "If someone does know," Xanatos said, "then we ignore it, Nemesiss. When it process is completed, we will win." ---------- "Helios-sama? Helios-sama? Please wake up." Helios slowly became aware of the hand shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and saw Hotaru standing beside him, a concerned look on her face. "Hotaru-san?" he said groggily. "What's wrong? Why're you so worried?" "Are you feeling all right, Helios-sama?" she asked him. He looked at her strangely. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Hotaru looked as if she doubted his words. She took a breath before saying, "Helios-sama? You've been asleep for almost three straight days." That woke him up completely. "What??" he gasped. "Three days?!" "Yes," she responded. "I kept checking in on you since the day before yesteryday and you were asleep all the time. I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't. Are you sure you feel fine?" "Yes. Yes I feel fine. But...three days??" His eyes widened and he stood from his chair aburtly. "Then...that would mean--" he stopped, turning his gaze to Chibi-usa on the bed standing beside him. "They're in the meeting room," Hotaru said. "Then it will be time." She turned and began to walk out the door. She stopped and turned back, looking at Chibi-usa. Hotaru thought sadly, She quickly turned and ran out the door to the others, before she could burst into tears. Helios stared into the space in front of him. "Three days?" he whispered. "Three days? I don't even rememeber falling asleep. How--" Helios stopped. "Kyoko?!?" he shouted in surprise, looking around. Kyoko continued. "It's almost time, then?" Helios said softly. Helios looked down at Chibi-usa, still sleeping peacefully, oblivious to what was happening; Helios slightly envied that. He would give almost anything if he could stop any of this. But he couldn't. He was not even supposed to be there. But he couldn't help it. He knew that she would want him there beside her. "Darkness swallows Light," Chibi-usa spoke, snapping Helios's attention to her, "Light swallows Darkness. It has been that way since Time began. Battle after Battle. Eons after Eons. Who will be the one to take a stand? Who will be the first to break the eternal circle?" Those words....she had often repeated them. What did they mean? Only she knew. Helios reached over and took her hand in his. He got on his knees beside her bed. Holding her hand with his, entertwining their fingers, he softly said, "Please...Golden Crystal..." he began to glow a soft gold color, "...your power and mine....to the Maiden..." The glow traveled from his body to his hands, then flowed into Chibi-usa. Helios struggled, trying to force more of his power to her, knowing, somehow, she would need it. With his last bit of streangth, Helios looked up at her face, and smiled. He gripped her hand tightly as he slumped forewards, landing on the bed. "Maiden....lead them...." As unconciousness overcame him, he bearly felt a slight pressure against his hand from Chibi-usa's.... ---------- NEXT: The beginings of the Battle as well as some of the answers! ----------- Whew! At last! The Battle does begin next chapter (maybe ^_^) course it might only have two paragraphs for all I know! Sorry again for the wait, minna-sama! I am *SUCH* procastinater! Keep looking for an update, I don't even know when it will be up. Um, my web site is slowly (bearly) coming along. Still looking for submissions. Only one besides myself are beign posted as of yet. You know who you are. Don't worry! my site will be operational at some point in time. Until then, e-mail! -Anaconda-