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Description
Attacked – The Silver Starseed Awakened

The cafe was nearly empty as the clock ticked closer to closing time.  Three cars remained in the parking lot.  Through the front window, two girls could be seen chatting animatedly by the kitchen door.  Ame smiled as the smaller, mousy one got up and left the table, entering into another part of the building.  The taller, blonde one was left by herself.  The staff and other two customers she could see weren't paying much attention to the rest of their surroundings.

"Go!" Ame hissed sharply to the monster standing by her side.  The beastly thing lumbered down into the parking lot, leaving gigantic dinosaur-like footprints in the snow.  With one large fist, it smashed the entire front window of the cafe.  At the explosion of glass, everyone in the cafe took shelter.

"Silver starseed!" the beast bellowed, lifting its muzzle into the air, inhaling and flicking its tongue out at the same time.

"Run you fool!" a voice cried.  "Run, Chandra! Run!"

The blonde Ame was after lifted her head from under the cover of the table.  The girl, Chandra, took one look at the beast, then the open kitchen door, and bolted.  Through the kitchen she could see the cook had the back door propped open while he had a smoke.  She flew past him, not feeling the cold as she exited the building.

A ghost-like figured appeared beside Chandra as she ran a silver nimbus that occasionally flashed a human form.  "Keep running!" it called.  "I will bring aid!"

************************************

Bree sat in her room, agonizing over research topics.  It was the beginning of February, and she still hadn't chosen her last two term paper topics.  The ones for her Modern History class, Ancient Greek History, and Sociology class had been easy.  However, she was agonizing on what book to choose for her Victorian literature class and the topic for her History of the East class.  It was so much easier to choose topics in first year, when at the most she had a list of ten to choose from.  Now she could choose anything encompassed in the entire course.

"Bree!"

The apparition that appeared in her room was faint.  Bree could barely make out the feature's of Sailor Mene's face.  She couldn't even see the white parts of her uniform.

"You have to hurry.  The host of the silver starseed is in danger."

Wide-eyed, Bree pulled on her parka.  She grabbed her butterfly off her nightstand on the way to the door.

"Where?" was her one question.

"The river. Run!" the spirit pleaded, fading into nothing.

Bree was out the door a few seconds later, stopping only to lace up her running shoes.
The closer she ran to the river, the stronger the pull of the energy she had been looking for became.  She had been searching for that energy source for months, and now it seems as it was calling her towards it.
Halfway across the bridge, she saw the monster.  It was a giant, lumbering, lizard-like thing.  It was heading towards a long figured that had pinned itself against the western riverbank.

"West Wind Metamorphosis!" Bree cried, transforming into her soldier form.

Once she read the end of the bridge, Sailor Zephyrus applied what she had learnt during her fight with the other soldiers at the hotel.  "Razor Rain!" she attacked, directing a barrage of sleet at the lizard.  The thing roared in agony as the ice-water came into contact with its lower body, freezing to the scales and temporarily immobilizing the beast.

Zephyrus dashed to the beast, at the last moment ducking under the flailing claws of the monster to direct a well-aimed kick at one of its legs.  As she had hoped, the leg shattered.  Only a bloody stump remained.  Unbalanced, the beast tipped over.  It made a few slow attempts to get upright, with no success on just one leg.

It then dawned on Zephyrus that the monster may be like other reptiles – unable to survive in the cold.  The air around the soldier was frigid, and slightly humid.

"Gale Force!"  The blast hit the unmoving target square on.  The wind also blasted on the snow in its path into one solid drift on top of the beast.  Once she could no longer see any of the monster or feel its energy, Zephyrus let the wind die down.

She approached the figure on the riverbank cautiously.  The shade of her blonde hair and face looked vaguely familiar, but Zephyrus couldn't quite place where she had seen the girl before.

"Th....Th....Th...Thank you," the girl managed through chattering teeth.  It appeared that the girl had been chased out of somewhere warm, for she had no coat or mitts on, just regular clothing and boots.  Zephyrus was surprisingly warm herself, although it might only be the adrenaline from the fight.

"Do you have any idea why that thing was chasing you?" Zephyrus asked the girl.  The girl shook her head, making her blunt bangs bob and sway.  A few white flakes settled on the girls shoulders.  Zephyrus looked up.  It was starting to snow.  The flakes were drifting down sluggishly.  Nothing to be concerned about weather-wise Zephyrus figured.

"I should take you somewhere warm, uh," Zephyrus paused.  She had no idea what the girl's name was.

"Chandra," the girl offered, trying to smile.

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere," a voice came from the darkness.  Through the darkness, Zephyrus could see a familiar figure that she preferred to avoid.

"Thyst," Zephyrus snarled.

"Last chance, Zephyrus," the violet-eyed man said from his rocky perch a few feet down the riverbank.

"Give her to us, we leave, and never bother Earth or its people again."

"Liar."  The voice had come from Chandra's lips, but it wasn't Chandra's.

Thyst ignored it.  "Zephyrus, please.  I don't want to destroy you."

"Oh, but you really should, brother dear," called another voice, this one sickly smooth and poisonous.  Zephyrus looking around, searching for Ame.  The violet haired women stood opposite her brother on the riverbank.  The twins had successfully trapped Zephyrus and Chandra.

"Zephyrus could be a great asset to us and Garon.  Her power is great and it would be a shame to waste it," Thyst pleaded to his sister.

"If Garon wanted her, he would have instructed you to recruit her, instead of ordering her dead."

"But..."

"It appears I have to do both of our jobs for us," Ame seethed.

Zephyrus calculated while the siblings argued.  She had to gain some ground.  The two had trapped her without the soldier ever realizing it.  A plan popped into her head.  She sure as hell hoped that it would work the way they wanted it to.

"When I say so," Zephyrus whispered to Chandra, "grab a hold of me really tightly, and don't let go until I tell you."  Chandra nodded, her lips pursed tight.

Zephyrus could feel the energy gathering around Ame.  "Now!"  She coiled the muscles in her legs. Chandra, grabbed a hold of the warrior, and Zephyrus flung her across her back.  Chandra locked her arms around Zephyrus's neck.  In the same second Ame released her attack, Zephyrus jumped.  She launched herself and Chandra away from the river, and out from the trajectory of the attack.

Thyst stepped aside to avoid his sister's attack, frowning.

Zephyrus landed in a snow bank, letting the terrified girl slide off her back.

"Awaken."

All four at the river started at the voice.  It reverberated throughout the entire city.  Zephyrus's recognized it as belonging to Sailor Mene, but it was greater than what came through the usual apparition.

"Awaken, new ancient  soldier Sailor Mene."

Chandra merely sat in the snow, shaking her head, wrapped in her own arms.

"Enough of this," Ame shrieked.  The falling snow around her took on a purplish tinge as the woman began to gather her power once again.

"Ame, no!" Thyst called out to his sister.  For some reason, hearing the voice caused him to feel uneasy about attacking the girl.

Once again, Zephyrus was able to react faster than her enemy, her training as a runner paying off.  Ame had to summon and centre her power, while the sailor soldier was surrounded by her element.  On a whim, Zephyrus attacked, substituting her normal attack for a similar phrase.  "Blizzard Force!"  Suddenly, the air around the twines was a ferocious winter storm, blizzard snows and winds violently appearing out of the light snowfall.

"Help her," the voice whispered into Zephyrus's ear.

It was instinct.  Zephyrus raised her hands to her chest, beginning to focus and channel her energy above her charm and thus, her heart.  "Wake up, Sailor Mene!" Zephyrus cried above the sound of the winds.

"No," Chandra whimpered.  Yet, despite her protest, a faint silver aura surrounded her body.

"You need to," Zephyrus begged.  She looked to the sky, begging whatever power was listening for help.  For a moment, the clouds parted, and a full moon shone through, silver and bright.  Something glittered briefly in the sky, falling to the Earth.  Zephyrus was unable to see where the thing landed, her attention torn away.

"It shall not escape," Ame screeched.

The riverbank lit up with a violent purple light.  Zephyrus threw herself in front of Chandra, bracing herself for the immanent impact and whatever would follow the attack.  The next flash of light lit up the whole city.  For a moment, everything froze in serene, pale silver light.  The light faded, and the same four figures stood on the riverbank, the snow returned to drifting lazily from the clouds.  Both Ame's and Zephyrus's attacks were gone.

As Zephyrus's eyes adjusted from the light, she saw that in Chandra's place was someone very similar to the spirit that had been visiting her.  The hair was different, and there was a silver tiara instead of a marking on her forehead.  Zephyrus also noticed that while the dress, underskirt, and boots of the spirit Sailor Mene were white, this Sailor Mene's were black.

"What?" the girl who had a moment ago been Chandra asked, addressing no one in particular.

"NO!" Ame cried.  "I will have the silver starseed.  Thyst, help me!"

"Ame," Thyst stumbled.  He looked between his sister and the very determined Sailor Zephyrus.  He glanced only for a moment at Sailor Mene.  Mene appeared frightened and unsure.  It would still be easy to obtain her starseed if Zephyrus did not interfere.

Thyst teleported without a signal to his twin to alert Zephyrus and appeared right behind Sailor Mene .  He reached toward the pale, blonde sailor soldier, gathering the power required to withdraw her starseed.  It was only when his finger touched her skin that he realized the mistake he was making.  The silver aura engulfed Mene again, and flowed out to encompass Thyst as well.  The man suddenly felt at peace, knowing he would be forgiven for all the people he had hurt in order to protect his sister.  The aura dissipated and Thyst was blasted off his feet, thrown several feet away into a snow bank.

It was the snarl that warned Zephyrus of the impending attack.  The energy barrelling down on the two soldiers was immense.  It occurred to Zephyrus at the last second that she was going to die for completing her mission.  Ame would be the only one left in a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zephyrus saw the fire flare in the darkness.

Description
Attacked – The Silver Starseed Awakened

The cafe was nearly empty as the clock ticked closer to closing time.  Three cars remained in the parking lot.  Through the front window, two girls could be seen chatting animatedly by the kitchen door.  Ame smiled as the smaller, mousy one got up and left the table, entering into another part of the building.  The taller, blonde one was left by herself.  The staff and other two customers she could see weren't paying much attention to the rest of their surroundings.

"Go!" Ame hissed sharply to the monster standing by her side.  The beastly thing lumbered down into the parking lot, leaving gigantic dinosaur-like footprints in the snow.  With one large fist, it smashed the entire front window of the cafe.  At the explosion of glass, everyone in the cafe took shelter.

"Silver starseed!" the beast bellowed, lifting its muzzle into the air, inhaling and flicking its tongue out at the same time.

"Run you fool!" a voice cried.  "Run, Chandra! Run!"

The blonde Ame was after lifted her head from under the cover of the table.  The girl, Chandra, took one look at the beast, then the open kitchen door, and bolted.  Through the kitchen she could see the cook had the back door propped open while he had a smoke.  She flew past him, not feeling the cold as she exited the building.

A ghost-like figured appeared beside Chandra as she ran a silver nimbus that occasionally flashed a human form.  "Keep running!" it called.  "I will bring aid!"

************************************

Bree sat in her room, agonizing over research topics.  It was the beginning of February, and she still hadn't chosen her last two term paper topics.  The ones for her Modern History class, Ancient Greek History, and Sociology class had been easy.  However, she was agonizing on what book to choose for her Victorian literature class and the topic for her History of the East class.  It was so much easier to choose topics in first year, when at the most she had a list of ten to choose from.  Now she could choose anything encompassed in the entire course.

"Bree!"

The apparition that appeared in her room was faint.  Bree could barely make out the feature's of Sailor Mene's face.  She couldn't even see the white parts of her uniform.

"You have to hurry.  The host of the silver starseed is in danger."

Wide-eyed, Bree pulled on her parka.  She grabbed her butterfly off her nightstand on the way to the door.

"Where?" was her one question.

"The river. Run!" the spirit pleaded, fading into nothing.

Bree was out the door a few seconds later, stopping only to lace up her running shoes.
The closer she ran to the river, the stronger the pull of the energy she had been looking for became.  She had been searching for that energy source for months, and now it seems as it was calling her towards it.
Halfway across the bridge, she saw the monster.  It was a giant, lumbering, lizard-like thing.  It was heading towards a long figured that had pinned itself against the western riverbank.

"West Wind Metamorphosis!" Bree cried, transforming into her soldier form.

Once she read the end of the bridge, Sailor Zephyrus applied what she had learnt during her fight with the other soldiers at the hotel.  "Razor Rain!" she attacked, directing a barrage of sleet at the lizard.  The thing roared in agony as the ice-water came into contact with its lower body, freezing to the scales and temporarily immobilizing the beast.

Zephyrus dashed to the beast, at the last moment ducking under the flailing claws of the monster to direct a well-aimed kick at one of its legs.  As she had hoped, the leg shattered.  Only a bloody stump remained.  Unbalanced, the beast tipped over.  It made a few slow attempts to get upright, with no success on just one leg.

It then dawned on Zephyrus that the monster may be like other reptiles – unable to survive in the cold.  The air around the soldier was frigid, and slightly humid.

"Gale Force!"  The blast hit the unmoving target square on.  The wind also blasted on the snow in its path into one solid drift on top of the beast.  Once she could no longer see any of the monster or feel its energy, Zephyrus let the wind die down.

She approached the figure on the riverbank cautiously.  The shade of her blonde hair and face looked vaguely familiar, but Zephyrus couldn't quite place where she had seen the girl before.

"Th....Th....Th...Thank you," the girl managed through chattering teeth.  It appeared that the girl had been chased out of somewhere warm, for she had no coat or mitts on, just regular clothing and boots.  Zephyrus was surprisingly warm herself, although it might only be the adrenaline from the fight.

"Do you have any idea why that thing was chasing you?" Zephyrus asked the girl.  The girl shook her head, making her blunt bangs bob and sway.  A few white flakes settled on the girls shoulders.  Zephyrus looked up.  It was starting to snow.  The flakes were drifting down sluggishly.  Nothing to be concerned about weather-wise Zephyrus figured.

"I should take you somewhere warm, uh," Zephyrus paused.  She had no idea what the girl's name was.

"Chandra," the girl offered, trying to smile.

"Oh, you aren't going anywhere," a voice came from the darkness.  Through the darkness, Zephyrus could see a familiar figure that she preferred to avoid.

"Thyst," Zephyrus snarled.

"Last chance, Zephyrus," the violet-eyed man said from his rocky perch a few feet down the riverbank.

"Give her to us, we leave, and never bother Earth or its people again."

"Liar."  The voice had come from Chandra's lips, but it wasn't Chandra's.

Thyst ignored it.  "Zephyrus, please.  I don't want to destroy you."

"Oh, but you really should, brother dear," called another voice, this one sickly smooth and poisonous.  Zephyrus looking around, searching for Ame.  The violet haired women stood opposite her brother on the riverbank.  The twins had successfully trapped Zephyrus and Chandra.

"Zephyrus could be a great asset to us and Garon.  Her power is great and it would be a shame to waste it," Thyst pleaded to his sister.

"If Garon wanted her, he would have instructed you to recruit her, instead of ordering her dead."

"But..."

"It appears I have to do both of our jobs for us," Ame seethed.

Zephyrus calculated while the siblings argued.  She had to gain some ground.  The two had trapped her without the soldier ever realizing it.  A plan popped into her head.  She sure as hell hoped that it would work the way they wanted it to.

"When I say so," Zephyrus whispered to Chandra, "grab a hold of me really tightly, and don't let go until I tell you."  Chandra nodded, her lips pursed tight.

Zephyrus could feel the energy gathering around Ame.  "Now!"  She coiled the muscles in her legs. Chandra, grabbed a hold of the warrior, and Zephyrus flung her across her back.  Chandra locked her arms around Zephyrus's neck.  In the same second Ame released her attack, Zephyrus jumped.  She launched herself and Chandra away from the river, and out from the trajectory of the attack.

Thyst stepped aside to avoid his sister's attack, frowning.

Zephyrus landed in a snow bank, letting the terrified girl slide off her back.

"Awaken."

All four at the river started at the voice.  It reverberated throughout the entire city.  Zephyrus's recognized it as belonging to Sailor Mene, but it was greater than what came through the usual apparition.

"Awaken, new ancient  soldier Sailor Mene."

Chandra merely sat in the snow, shaking her head, wrapped in her own arms.

"Enough of this," Ame shrieked.  The falling snow around her took on a purplish tinge as the woman began to gather her power once again.

"Ame, no!" Thyst called out to his sister.  For some reason, hearing the voice caused him to feel uneasy about attacking the girl.

Once again, Zephyrus was able to react faster than her enemy, her training as a runner paying off.  Ame had to summon and centre her power, while the sailor soldier was surrounded by her element.  On a whim, Zephyrus attacked, substituting her normal attack for a similar phrase.  "Blizzard Force!"  Suddenly, the air around the twines was a ferocious winter storm, blizzard snows and winds violently appearing out of the light snowfall.

"Help her," the voice whispered into Zephyrus's ear.

It was instinct.  Zephyrus raised her hands to her chest, beginning to focus and channel her energy above her charm and thus, her heart.  "Wake up, Sailor Mene!" Zephyrus cried above the sound of the winds.

"No," Chandra whimpered.  Yet, despite her protest, a faint silver aura surrounded her body.

"You need to," Zephyrus begged.  She looked to the sky, begging whatever power was listening for help.  For a moment, the clouds parted, and a full moon shone through, silver and bright.  Something glittered briefly in the sky, falling to the Earth.  Zephyrus was unable to see where the thing landed, her attention torn away.

"It shall not escape," Ame screeched.

The riverbank lit up with a violent purple light.  Zephyrus threw herself in front of Chandra, bracing herself for the immanent impact and whatever would follow the attack.  The next flash of light lit up the whole city.  For a moment, everything froze in serene, pale silver light.  The light faded, and the same four figures stood on the riverbank, the snow returned to drifting lazily from the clouds.  Both Ame's and Zephyrus's attacks were gone.

As Zephyrus's eyes adjusted from the light, she saw that in Chandra's place was someone very similar to the spirit that had been visiting her.  The hair was different, and there was a silver tiara instead of a marking on her forehead.  Zephyrus also noticed that while the dress, underskirt, and boots of the spirit Sailor Mene were white, this Sailor Mene's were black.

"What?" the girl who had a moment ago been Chandra asked, addressing no one in particular.

"NO!" Ame cried.  "I will have the silver starseed.  Thyst, help me!"

"Ame," Thyst stumbled.  He looked between his sister and the very determined Sailor Zephyrus.  He glanced only for a moment at Sailor Mene.  Mene appeared frightened and unsure.  It would still be easy to obtain her starseed if Zephyrus did not interfere.

Thyst teleported without a signal to his twin to alert Zephyrus and appeared right behind Sailor Mene .  He reached toward the pale, blonde sailor soldier, gathering the power required to withdraw her starseed.  It was only when his finger touched her skin that he realized the mistake he was making.  The silver aura engulfed Mene again, and flowed out to encompass Thyst as well.  The man suddenly felt at peace, knowing he would be forgiven for all the people he had hurt in order to protect his sister.  The aura dissipated and Thyst was blasted off his feet, thrown several feet away into a snow bank.

It was the snarl that warned Zephyrus of the impending attack.  The energy barrelling down on the two soldiers was immense.  It occurred to Zephyrus at the last second that she was going to die for completing her mission.  Ame would be the only one left in a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zephyrus saw the fire flare in the darkness.