Reflections of Genesis

Blood poured into her mouth as she gasped in pain. She picked herself off of the floor and kept herself between the monstrosity and the others, and tried to ignore how ... how sweet the blood tasted. Talons raked towards her face again, and she had to fight down the urge to bolt, to make it back to the world she had known, a world so long ago.

Sent flying by inhuman strength and brass claws, she started to pick herself up, but stumbled. The farthest she could rise was to her right knee. Blinded by blood, she could only hear the metallic fiend close in... that and the three escaping. It sounded as if they were almost safe. Then... then she could lie down and die... but not now.

"Whyyyyy...?" The voice was the rasp of a whetstone on steel. "Why do you stay and die... if you had fled, someone older... weaker... crueler... would have died. Why?"

She started to speak, but choked on blood. Her hearing became tinny and distant, and her concentration fragmented. Facets of the day played back for her fevered mind in jewel-like clarity.

***

It was a special day. She had tended to her sister's wounds from the previous day, and made sure that she had eaten well, despite her protests that "a Warrior's duty was to protect women, not be coddled by them." She had watched as Kin had headed off to the secret rituals before the final battle, and called out wishes for luck, and promises to be in the front row at the battle. As she watched Kin-chan leave, dressed in her usual tomboy attire, she once again gave her silent regret that they were sisters. She had sighed and returned to straightening up, but had been overcome with lethargy. She barely reached the bed before collapsing...

...Only to wake in a dream. She identified it as such immediately. The walls were misty and grey, pulsing with tormented threnodies in one direction, but becoming more still and harmonic in the other. She paused for a moment to listen to the lamentations, then started off toward the requiems.

Her path was soon blocked by a young girl sitting before an ornate gate of silver and pearl. The blonde waif smiled up at her, but shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kagami, but it is not for you, or any, to have this power until the tests have been passed."

She nodded, and felt her mind switch gears. The word "test" always brought out her inquisitive, intellectual side, the aspect of herself that would devour any puzzle or mental challenge. She felt certain she would be able to unravel any enigma they presented.

The tow-haired child stepped forward. "You are allowed only five words to answer these three questions. Please use one answer for all three questions. Are you ready?"

She started to nod, then held up her hand. "How long do I have to think about this, and can I say other things, or is the first thing I say my answer?"

The child stared at her for a moment, then broke into effervescent laughter. "You're a strange one. You have until you leave here. Trust me, we'll both know when you've answered my questions. Very well."

"WHO ARE YOU... WHY ARE YOU HERE... WHAT IS YOUR DESTINY"

Kagami reeled under the intensity of the voice which thundered forth from the child. Pillars of stone had less weight, oceans less depth than each word of those questions. Collecting herself, she began to sort data, collating myths that she had heard, philosophy lectures she had attended, riddles she had pondered. She needed more time and more data.

"I believe I shall wait and answer this in a short while. Please forgive the delay." When the girl nodded, she turned and headed down towards the other hall. It was not long before an iron portcullis blocked her path. A stunning red-haired woman leaned against those rust-blackened bars and eyed her. "I must admit, I'm not used to seeing someone more filled out than myself... I don't even know if you'll fit in a fuku... ah well. In order to access the power of hell, you'll have to descend somewhat into it. Find your way out of darkness and into the light, and you will have passed this test. Ready?" Without waiting for an answer, she waved her hand.

Kagami found herself immersed in darkness. Still, close, smothering, the shadows seemed to have texture and form as they clung about her. No sound of footfalls echoed through the blackness, but she soon found that there were walls as her chest bumped into one. Smiling, she put her hand on the wall. All mazes were simple, if one were just to negotiate them logically. One basic principle was to follow the same wall until you found the exit.

Even without sight, she felt the walls close in. Not the paranoia of claustrophobia, but a literal decrease of the volume of the rooms. Slowly, inexorably, the passages tightened. Still, she thought, this was too simple. She continued on and waited for the catch.

The catch was not long in coming. The walls were down to where she had to have only one arm outstretched when she saw the sliver of light. Moment by moment, it grew smaller, obviously a door closing. She started to pick up speed and head towards it when the other catch made its presence known.

He was crying from off to the side. She looked at the door, measuring its rate of closure as she headed towards the child. She was being tested, that she knew, and now the actual purpose of the test was obvious. She scooped the child up when she got to him, comforting him as she turned and ran for the door. Already it would barely be big enough for her, so she knew that she would be unable to save herself. Achieving what she felt was the true goal was far easier.

She slid to the door and thrust the child through, then stepped back, closing her eyes and awaiting her vindication. Moments later light stabbed through her lids and she slowly opened them to readjust to the light. The redhead was appraising her and shaking her head.

"Normally, I'd congratulate you and explain the real reason behind the test, but I don't need to do that here, do I?" When Kagami shook her head, the woman just sighed. "Head back the other way and deal with the third test."

Kagami paused for a moment, uncertain if she heard scorn in the woman's voice, then shrugged and returned towards the center. A crone waited for her, standing before a large pane of glass.

"Come closer, dearie," she rasped out. "I won't hurt you... no, I won't be the one to do that... nosiree my little dandelion." She gestured towards the glass and cackled. "You may be stalling on the test of knowledge, and you may have bypassed the test of compassion, but can you pull your tricks on the test of courage?"

Her first moment of panic crept through her flesh. Valor was Kin's field, not hers. It did, however, give her some insight into why she was here... and thus her destiny... and thus... who she was! "Thank you!" she called back as she ran to the first test.

Skidding and bouncing to a stop, she breathlessly uttered, "Kagami... is... becoming... a... Senshi."

The girl looked up at her, eyes somehow sad. "You put all of that together, figured it out, didn't you?"

Kagami nodded, catching her breath. "It wasn't hard, when I realized I was supposed to face sacrifice, and to fight, and to deal with cryptic questions. So, which one do I get to be?"

"You still have another test. Return to the crossroads," her eyes twinkled as she uttered that word, "and face your fears."

Again, Kagami was non-plussed. When she played these games with the scholars back home, they always seemed pleased at her ability to solve puzzles and riddles, but here... She was still pondering that when she returned to the center area. The pane of glass was still there, and the crone as well, but the latter seemed to be sleeping. She approached the glass, intent on figuring out the last puzzle.

She was unsuprised to find that it was a mirror. She took a moment to study her reflection, straightening her hair and clothes. She was surprised, however, when her image reached out towards her. More precisely, her image started to leave the plane of the glass, but changed as she materialized. Flesh became black metal, brazen talons replaced nails. The creature before her resembled the original only in the overripe voluptuousness of her build and the serenity of her face, the latter made all the more disconcerting by her obvious intention to attack.

"Kin-chan, where are you now," she muttered as she dodged backwards. She continued to dodge and run, but her opponent kept closing in. Finally, she closed her eyes and thrust her hand out. She felt the palm strike metal, and then heard a loud clang. Reopening her eyes, she saw the metal monster lying on the floor, apparently felled by her panicked attempt to fight back. She looked over at the crone, who was watching her intently.

"So, three for three. I figured out what's going on, the trick of the maze, and apparently the last was dealing with my fear of violence. Which Senshi do I get to be?"

The crone shook her head sadly, then hobbled over and touched a wall. The mist swirled open in an arch, revealing her empty bed. Then the crone walked back over, joined by the woman and the child. They spoke in unison.

"Perhaps it is not your destiny to become a senshi. The answers a senshi must give come from the heart, from the soul, not from simply history and calculation. Go, Tenka Kagami, and know that a success earned the wrong way is a failure."

Her jaw dropped. Numbed, she walked past the threesome and towards the hole. Kin would get a kick out of this at least. She smiled wanly and started to step through.

And then the ripping sound came. The redhead cried out in shock and pain, while the child screamed. She turned back and had to reign in every instinct to keep from bolting.

The metallic form had gotten up.

It stretched six batlike wings and hissed at the threesome. The woman jumped back, and the child had scrambled away, but the crone was too slow, and was sent sprawling by the wing strike. Talons descended upon her only to be sent off course by something.

It took her half a moment to realize that the something was her shoulder blocking the monster. She had to admit that it was a lot more painful than her sister made it look. Rubbing the shoulder, she looked back at the three. "Get out of here.. I'll hold her off."

'Yeah,' she thought, 'and I'll solve the full value of Pi, too. At least they'll get out.' Searing pain answered her unspoken opinions. She realized that the talons that had ripped open her side were poisoned, and that she was going to die, and die defending the people who didn't even think she was good enough.

"Well, it looks like they were right." She struck back at her aggressor, but it casually dodged, then slashed across her forehead. A quick glance back showed that the crone was most of the way to the gate, but not close enough. With this thing's speed, it could close the distance and kill her if she so much as faltered.

Multiple strike carved her body, sending the burning venom deep within her veins. She turned and swung, trying to throw her weight behind her blow, but instead set herself up for a twin blow to head and stomach.

"Whyyyyy...?" The voice was the rasp of a whetstone on steel. "Why do you stay and die... if you had fled, someone older... weaker... crueler... would have died. Why?"

She started to speak, but choked on blood. Her hearing became tinny and distant, and her concentration fragmented. Facets of the day played back for her fevered mind in jewel-like clarity... but she pushed them aside.

Slowly, she lowered her head and brought her hands before her, as if in devout prayer. In this pose, the blood missed her mouth, and she could gasp out a few words.

"Why...? Why...? Because... for now, for the rest of my life, it would seem...," she coughed, then continued, " I AM A PARIA SENSHI!"

Her words echoed through the room, rippling the pools of blood. Eight lines formed about her, and motes of light burst forth from them. These lights darted about her, tasting of her wounds and growing brighter. Where they fed, her wounds diminished and her tatters were replaced by a Paria Fuku. She stood and faced the monster... the mirror... the embodiment of her potential for destruction. Guided by a sense of rightness to her actions, she stepped forward and called out, "Celestial Mandala Hell! Fury!"

As her reflection had taken on the Fury's form, so did she, but where the other was guided by an animalistic cunning, she felt the presence of a thousand thousand warriors guiding her, lending her their prowess. This monster, she now saw, would enter her world unguided, unchecked, if she did not stop it here. She allowed the damned to guide her to vengeance.

The battle was nasty, brutish, and short. She staggered towards the three, drained but unharmed. "I suppose this is where you find a better senshi. I'm sorry I failed you, I'm just happy... well, that you all lived. And that I did, too."

The child ran up and hugged her leg, while the woman made a far more appealing embrace on her torso. They led her through the arch and towards her bed. "Silly goose, you passed", chuckled the crone. "When the chips were down, you answered all three tests, and from your heart. You have a fine destiny before you, Sailor Nirvana."

She was about to ask a question when she was awakened by the sound of someone entering the door. She sat up, noting she was still in her Paria fuku, and Kin... no, GravityTurquoise, walked in to the room. Senshi gazed at senshi for long moments, then both spoke in unison, her quiet disclaimer sharing the air with her sister shocked and indiscreet exclamation.

"This should be interesting."

"What the f*ck?"

Silence reigned for a brief moment, but Kagami stood, sliding her hand across her skirt to remove a a slight wrinkle, then smiled her "I've always been more graceful, my beloved sister" smile.

"Would you like some tea?"

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