Realm Sagas: Story Thirteen: Lirsage By: Chandra Rooney ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal junk {for all the legal junkies!}: Sonic & Knuckles, and all related characters are copy-right of Sega and Archie comics. KTE, ETK, and Masked Echidna are copy-right of KTE. Vampire Sephiroth is copy-right of Vampire Sephiroth. Moon the Echidna, Gabriel Shadows, k.a. Echidna, Sailor Evil, Belladonna, Lirsage and all other original characters are copy-right of Chandra Rooney. All the characters and ideas presented are my own, unless otherwise noted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: k.a.'s Home Realm "So, we close yet?" ETK asked. "Very close," the gray cat, walking along side of him, replied. "Just keep walking." "So where are we going?" he asked after a few moments had passed. "You'll see..." the cat stopped. "All right, now would be a good time to take out that realm portal generator." "Umm...okay." ETK took the brown pack-sack off his shoulder and dug the calculator-shaped device out of it. "How do I work this?" "Merr-ow? You mean you don't know?" the cat looked up at him with large, light blue eyes. "No." The cat made a little cat-noise of disapproval. "All right. You need to input the coordinates of the realm that you wish to travel to." "And those would be...?" The cat blinked. "Hmmm. It appears your memory hasn't completely returned. That's funny. I assumed from watching your past actions it had." ETK crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about." "No, of course not. The genetic tampering had almost the same effect as a regression treatment." The cat paused. "But enough talk. It's best we get you home and cured before you fluctuate again." "I still don't know what you're talking about." ETK mumbled. "Just input the number I tell you to," the cat hopped up onto his shoulder. "12503721504." ETK frowned. "That's a big number. Can you repeat it?" The cat sighed. "1-2-5-0-3-7-2-1-5-0-4." "Okay. Got it. Now what?" "Activate the portal generator." ETK nodded, and pushed a button. A beam of white light shot out from the device. A few micro-seconds later a realm portal formed. "Step into a world," he said for some odd reason. "Nice. You got a name, kitty-cat?" "I'm Venus," the cat said, making herself comfortable on his shoulder. "Hello, Venus." ETK looked at the portal. "I don't suppose you know who I am?" "Why don't you step in and find out?" Venus asked with a small purr. Chapter Two: Silver Echidna Home Realm "You're it, k.a.!" the small red echidna called. "No, I'm not k.t.e.!" the other one cried. "You are!" "No way! It's your turn now!" k.t.e. yelled. "No it ain't!" k.a. screamed. The tall, silver male chuckled a little. He sighed, and watched the two with twilight blue eyes. Eyes like those of his son's. Dimitri played with the short sword in his hands. Things we *not* turning out the way he'd planned. He'd always hoped that one day he could tell Ashrire about the great lineage he came from. Lineage even more proud than that of the Guardians. The boy was born of a soul-bond that joined two First Houses of Silver Echidnas. A bond that unified had Sorceress and Warrior. His own life had been so clear back when he was young. He'd grown up, mostly, with the great honor of being a son of the First House of the Warriors. His grandfather had been greatly respected. Despite the fact that he was a human. Dimitri paused. Funny, he'd never thought much about that. He knew the story well enough, or he was certain he did. "Is it because I made mistakes similar to his that the Blade passes from my hands, unused, to my son's, Father?" he asked the sky. "Are these Realm Protectors fated to walk the paths that your group did? Will we have to bury my son as we buried you?" No answers came. His father was half-human, and the human blood was strong in his own veins. Human's spirits did not talk once they had passed out into the Great Beyond. He would never receive those answers he sought. Not in this way. "It wasn't your fault, Dimitri," a voice said behind him. He turned. The silver female with the silver eyes smiled faintly. "You shouldn't brood, Soul-Bond. It isn't becoming for you." Belladonna said softly. "I'd much rather you smiled." She adjusted her navy gown. "I know it wasn't my fault, Bella." He replied. "It was *his*." "Hatred isn't becoming for you, either," she frowned. "How we were to know that Sephiroth would turn on us? He was Ashrire-kuh's oldest friend. He was our friend as well." She paused. "But...friendship was no match for the power of the Black Materia." "Perhaps it's the human in me talking," he began. "But given the chance, I would not change what happened. We would have never discovered we were Soul Bonded if I did." "There is no human in you." Bella replied. "Your grandfather was more echidna than most echidnas will ever be. Whether he was born one or not doesn't matter." "Well, I suppose it must have been the chaos emerald in me talking, then," Dimitri chuckled. "I'll take a shot at fixing that mask now if you want." "There isn't a rush for it. I doubt young k.t.e. will have much use for it." Bella sighed. "Ashrire has natural talent, accelerated by the chaos emerald in his life-energy. He'll be a powerful spell-caster once he's reached his full power. I only wish I could say the same for Moon. There are times I think she won't ever find her touch." Dimitri took her hand. "She will. Give her time." He smiled. "Now who's brooding? Come, show me this mask. I'm interested in seeing David's fabled creation." "Why did you bring me all the way out here?" Selene asked. The boy with black hair and green eyes smiled. "I wanted to be alone when I told you." She blinked dark blue eyes. "Tell me what?" "You know, you don't look all that bad with your hair like that." Gabriel Shadows smiled. "You shouldn't lie, Gabe," Selene told him. "I look like I've got meatballs on my head. But that's not what you wanted to tell me." She paused. "It wasn't, was it?" He smiled. "No. I wanted to tell you something far more important. I-" "Get down!" Selene yelled and pulled him to the ground. A realm portal opened behind them and something fell out. Selene gawked. "ETK?" "Don't be ridiculous," Gabe muttered. "There's no way that idiot clone could find his way here on his own." "Exactly." Selene was up. "Get ready. Where there's one Realm Destroyer, there's always more." "You have no idea how true that is," Gabe said softly. He reached for her, fangs descending... "Don't you dare!" ETK yelled. He leapt up, knocking Gabe over. "Lay one hand on Star and I'll personally rearrange your face, pal!" "Star?" Selene blinked. "I'm not Star..." ETK paused, his fist inches away from Gabe's nose. "You're not Star...uh oh...that means... Realm Protectors!" "That's right, you stupid clone," Gabe hissed. "Realm *Protectors*. Allow me, Moon. It would be my pleasure to get rid of this Realm Destroyer. Permanently." "Gabe...wait," Selene said. She looked at ETK. "Does this Star look like me?" Gabe had already thrown ETK off of him. "Don't listen to him, my love. He's an idiotic clone. Besides, most likely it's some trick of Sailor Evil and Vampire Sephiroth's." "Merr-ow," a cat hopped up onto Selene's shoulder. "He's neither a clone nor an idiot. I'd listen to what he has to say." "Venus!" ETK yelled, from where Gabe had thrown him. "You stupid fur-ball! This is your fault! I should have known this was a trap..." Selene patted Venus. "This is where you ran off to, kitty-cat? To find ETK?" Venus purred, and crawled up onto Selene's head. "Nonsense. I went to find Lirsage. This ETK just happened to be where I looked." The cat settled between the two buns on her head. "So you brought him here?" Gabe smiled. "Good thinking, Venus. After I finish with him there'll be one less Realm Destroyer for us to worry about." "They'll also be one less Protection Senshi to worry about," Venus replied simply. "Merr-ow, I sense another fluctuation coming." "Protection Senshi?" Gabriel blinked. Then he muttered something under his breath. "Of course, the five minor Realm Protectors. The ones without Master Tools." "No one told me we had to find Protection Senshi, too." Selene said. "What do they do, Venus?" "The Protection Senshi are five specially skilled warriors. They were born to guard certain individuals against harm." Venus purred. "Who?" Selene asked. "You'll be told when it's time. Now it's more important to concentrate on the Realm Protectors." Venus hopped off her head, and walked over to the dazed red echidna. "Follow me, Moon. There's someone that I think you'll want to see." Gabe grabbed her arm. "Don't be stupid, Moon. ETK can't be part of the Protection Senshi. He's a *clone*. And a stupid one at that." She shook him off. "Maybe so, but I trust Venus. Her judgment is as sound as anyone." Selene walked over and knelt beside ETK. He was looking at Venus. "We there yet?" he asked her. "Purr, yes." Venus nodded. "Home." "I don't recognize it," ETK replied. Selene picked up one of his dreads. An entire section of it had turned a dark silvery-gray color. As were other patches of his red fur turning the same color. "What's going on, Venus?" she asked. "Isn't it obvious?" the cat asked, she hopped up onto ETK's shoulder and wrapped her tail around her paws. "No," Gabe replied. "It isn't obvious. Why don't you be a good little fur-ball and tell us?" "Merr-ow, very well." Venus began after she was settled. "I left to search out Lirsage's soul call, and I found ETK. After following him for a few weeks, and it's a good thing I did, I realized that he must be Lirsage." "Soul Call?" Gabe asked. "You mean you can see who someone is by listening to their life-energy echoes?" "Why of course," Venus replied. "We Celestials can detect soul calls. After being exposed to a person for a long time we can find them by searching for the echo. But of course, it's hard to pick up those of unnatural creatures, like vampires for example." Gabe looked relieved. Selene wondered why. "Gabe," she began. "Go and see what k.a. and k.t.e. are up to." He stood. "If that's what you want. But I'm not happy about leaving you alone. Watch out, this guy is trouble." He left. Selene looked into ETK's eyes. They were clouded over, hazy, she doubted he even saw her. "Can you hear me?" she asked. "Don't waste your breath," Venus said from ETK's shoulder. "Can't you sense it? He's too busy battling for control over his own body." "What do you suggest we do?" she asked. "Oh, I'd wait till he finally pulls himself together, then do a purifying spell." Venus replied. "You're still in a state where you can cast attacks, aren't you?" Selene nodded. "I may not be in my sailor scout outfit, but I'm still Sailor Moon E." She paused. "A purifying spell. Hmmm..." Chapter Three: Vampire Sephiroth cursed softly once he was out of the sight of Selene. It was still too risky to abandon the form of Gabriel Shadows for his own. Briefly, he wondered if Shadows was still alive. But he abandoned that thought. He'd come back to the place where they'd left the two little brats. But he could only sense one, k.a. Perhaps he should just kill the brat now. Then, once k.a. was dead, he could adopt that form, so he might lure the you k.t.e. to a similar fate. Once he was dead, Moon would be easy pickings. With three Realm Protectors dead and gone, and three Master Tools in their possession; no one could stop the Realm Destroyers. Protector Senshi or not. "Where is k.t.e., k.a.?" he asked the small echidna. "The Caramel kitty-cat took his hat and he ran off to get it back!" k.a. announced. "The Caramel kitty-cat?" He repeated. "Yeppers Mista Gabe!" k.a. came back from behind a rock with a small white object in his arms. "An I caught the Wah-nilla kitty-cat!" Vampire Sephiroth looked down, disgusted, at the white kitten in his k.a.'s arms. "How cute." The kitten looked up and him and hissed. It jumped out of k.a.'s arms and ran off towards where he'd left Selene and ETK. "Wah-nilla kitty-cat!" k.a. cried, chasing after it. "Come back!" Vampire Sephiroth cursed again. There went his chance to kill the little brat...damn cat. Selene got a little closer to ETK. The dazed echidna still hadn't said anything, but more and more of his fur was turning silver. "I'd say anytime now," Venus replied, hopping away. "Go ahead." She nodded. "Moonlight Soul Cleansing kiss," she whispered, and leaned forward. The brown hat was moving along the ground. k.t.e. was running after it. "Caramel kitty-cat! You gimme back my hat!" The hat meowed and kept going. Selene opened her eyes. The warm, dark brown ones stared back at her. The silver echidna, with the odd red streaks in his dreads, sitting across from her blinked. "Well, that was some hello," he grinned. "Lir?" she asked. "Ohmigoddess!" He laughed, and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, I missed you, too." Selene stopped. "Wait a minute...you mean all this time, ETK has been you?" Lirsage's grin faded. "Yeah. I guess so. I'm sorry, Moon. If I had known..." "You can't be blamed," Selene told him softly. "Merr-ow?" a brown hat bumped into her leg. She reached down, and lifted it up. An orangey-tan kitten looked up at her with golden eyes. "Merr-ow?" "You gimme back my hat, Caramel kitty-cat!" k.t.e. came running up yelling. "I want my hat back, stealer kitty-cat!" Lir chuckled. "Who's this?" "Lir, this little guy is k.t.e.," Selene introduced. "k.t.e, this is my friend Lirsage." k.t.e. stared at Lirsage. "You're funny-looking." Lir tipped his head slightly. "k.t.e.? Hmmm, had a little accident with some magic, did we?" k.t.e. climbed up on Selene. "Make the Caramel kitty-cat gimme back my hat. Please Missus sailor lady?" Lir picked up the disregarded hat, and placed it on k.t.e's head. "There ya go, kid." k.t.e. smiled. "Tankies mista Lir!" "Merr-ow?" the orange kitten rubbed against k.t.e.'s legs. "Give her a little pat on the head to show there's no hard feelings, k.t.e.," Lir instructed. "You'll want to be on good terms with that cat. It seems she's adopted you." k.t.e. patted the cat. "You don't ever take my hat again, Caramel kitty-cat." "Hellwo Moon!" another small voice cried. Selene looked up to see k.a. carrying a small white kitten. "What have you got there, k.a.?" She asked. "This is Wah-nilla kitty-cat," k.a. announced proudly. "Lir, I'd like you to meet my 'little' brother, k.a." Selene gestured to k.a. "k.a., this is my friend, Lirsage." "You look like mista Masked," k.a. told Lir. "Cept you got different hair." "Mr. Masked?" Lir's eyebrow went up. "I should hope so. Seeing how I am Mr. Masked." k.a. thought this was funny. He laughed. "No you're not!" "All right, then who is?" k.a. made a stubborn face. "I'm not telling! Mista Masked is my friend and I'm not telling!" "A loyal little squirt," Lir patted his head. "I like that." "I'm tired," k.t.e. said. "Me too," k.a. added. "Finally, there you are k.a.," Gabe said, as he came upon them. "Your brother can certainly run fast when he wants to, Moon." "Shadows?" Lir stood, and walked over to him. "How ya been buddy?" Gabe frowned. "What?" "Don't act like you don't who I am," Lir punched his arm. "I cannot believe you would forget your only friend. Now gimme a civil answer before I stake you." "I'd be better if I could talk to Moon alone," Gabe replied, tersely. "Go ahead," Lir looked back at her. "If the two little guys are tired, I'll take them back." Selene smiled. "Keep a close eye on them, Lir, they're a handful." "More a handful than myself? Not possible," Lir grinned. "C'mon, k.a. and k.t.e." Gabe waited till they were gone to speak. "Now where were we?" "You were going to tell me something." "Hmm, yes, so I was." He smiled. "It's about your sister." "My sister's dead. You know that, Gabe." "No, you just always assumed she was dead. Well, you were right in a way, I suppose, but you were also wrong." He paused. "I've seen her." Selene blinked. "You have? Where? Is she all right?" "I don't know how to say this...so I'll just tell you." Gabe paused. "Your sister is Sailor Evil." Chapter Four: Dimitri looked up as Lirsage walked into the Study. "Can I help you?" "I'm looking for Lady Belladonna," Lirsage replied. "I have something that belongs to her." "And that is?" Dimitri asked, setting down the black metal mask he was inspecting. "Hellwo Daddy!" k.a. said. "Hellwo Daddy!" k.t.e. echoed. "He's not *your* Daddy, he's *my* Daddy!" k.a. told him. "Where's my Daddy, then?" k.t.e. demanded. "I dunno! Wanna play tag again?" k.a. asked. "Oh-kay..." k.t.e. punched k.a., and ran off. "You're it!" "I'm gonna get ya, k.t.e.!" k.a. yelled, and ran off after him. "I don't believe I know you," Lir began. "Are you new?" "Hardly. Quite the opposite," Dimitri chuckled. "I'm Dimitri. And you would be?" "Lirsage," Lir replied. "Are you an enforcer, Dimitri?" He nodded. "I suppose you could say that." "If I may ask, what's your department?" Lir asked. "I was assigned to the Special Defenses Department some time ago." Dimitri paused. "And you, Lirsage? Are you an enforcer?" "Certainly. I'm what you'd call an independent-task orientated agent," Lir pulled out his wallet, and removed the identification card. Dimitri nodded, reading the card. "A fancy name for a bounty hunter." Lir was silent a moment. "I do my thing, and help out where it's needed." Dimitri closed the backing on the mask, covering the repaired circuits. "In other words, you've yet to find where you fit in the scheme of things. Well, don't worry. You're young; you've got plenty of time." A pause. "Lirsage...hmm. That means 'masked one', does it not?" "It does." Lir nodded. He gestured to the mask. "What have you got there, Dimitri?" "This...?" Dimitri raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why, a simple mask. That's all." "That's the Masked Echidna's mask, isn't it?" Lir said. "Actually, it is...and it isn't." Dimitri pointed to the other mask laying on the desk. It's silver skull face-plate gleamed. "That is the Masked Echidna's mask. At least the one that I was asked to fix." He paused. "I found this one. It appears to have been recovered in an investigation concerning an agent missing-in-action." Lir noted that the other mask had a face-plate like an echidna's face, not a skull. "I'll take that, thank you very much." Dimitri paused. "I reconnected the power feed. It should work again." He looked about to say more, but Belladonna had come into the room, dragging Ash and k.t.e. "Ashrire," she began. "I think you should talk to your father." The tall, red echidna, with the twilight blue eyes frowned. "I have nothing to say to him." "Hey..." Lir began. "You're...you look like k.a." "I should hope so," Ashrire snapped. "Can I go now?" "No." Dimitri stood. "Sit down, Ashrire. You walked out on me before I could finish, but you are going to hear me out." "Lirsage?" Belladonna smiled. "I'm glad you're safe. Your father?" "I did find him, Lady Bella," Lir shifted the black metal mask from one hand to another. "He's taught me a lot. But I see that I'm not the only Masked One. Any idea what's going on?" Bella smiled. "Come with k.t.e. and I. I'll tell you as much as I can." k.t.e. was trying to keep both Caramel and Vanilla off him. "The kitty-cat's are tryin to eat my shoes!" "Let's go, squirt," Lir picked him up. "Nice to have met you, Dimitri." "Listen to your father, Ashrire," Belladonna warned as they left. "I mean it, young man." "Fine. I'm here. I'm listening. Talk." Ash replied, crossing his arms. "What I was trying to say when you walked out," Dimitri began, "was that I did lie to you. I've lied to you since you were born. Nothing I say will ever change that, or make it right. But you must believe me when I tell you that I was wrong to do it, and I am sorry. Please, forgive me, son." Ash's eye softened. "I...want to, Father. I do. But...it's hard to. My entire life is a lie. I don't even know who I am anymore. I'm not the Guardian of the Floating Island." "No, you're not. You're Ashrire. Son of the First House of the Warriors. Realm Protector and wielder of the Blade of the Guardian. For now, that's all you *need* to know." Ash groaned. "You mean that *really* is my name? Jeez, it's like I'm fifteen again. Will I ever know what's going on?" "I wouldn't count on it, son," Dimitri smiled. "No matter how much you know, there is always someone, somewhere who knows more." Chapter Five: "My sister is Sailor Evil?" Selene blinked. "Oh...Mother Goddess..." Gabe looked at her, concerned. "That's not all." "Really?" she asked, sarcastic. "What else would you like to tell me, Gabe?" "That I'm not your precious 'Gabe', foolish Realm Protector," he replied. As Selene watched, his face and form changed. His short black hair became long and silver. "Vampire Sephiroth!" She gasped. "Correct." He smiled, showing his fangs. "Now to finish what I started before that stupid clone interrupted me..." he reached for her. "What have you done with my Soul Bond?!" Selene yelled. "Why he's lying dead on the floor of the Castle dungeon." "Guess again, Sephy," a cold voice snarled. They turned. The black echidna narrowed green eyes at Sephiroth. "Looks like you've got your answer. Your 'experiment' reversed Hecate-Chaos' spell on me. I'm half-echidna again. Thanks." Vampire Sephiroth threw back his head and laughed. "So you escape to rescue your poor little Moonbeam. How romantic! You can die together." "I don't think so," Selene replied. She traced a circle in the air in front of him. "SILVER HOLY PURIFICATION!!" Vampire Sephiroth felt the itching begin in his muscles. "You little wrench..." He stumbled back. "This is far from over. I will return." He vanished Gabe smiled. "I guess that means he'll write, eh?" Selene threw her arms around. "Shut-up and kiss me." "Yes ma'am." Chapter Six: Vampire Home Realm Sephiroth fell onto the palace floor. He clenched his teeth and held out against the pain. It was several minutes later before he could raise his head. "So," the voice of Queen Hecate-Chaos began. "You are the Sephiroth of legend. I was going to tolerate you being a member of my Realm Destroyers...but now that I see you've returned to your 'rightful' state, and that's out of the question. I've already called for Sailor Evil. I think it's time someone told her what sort of trash she's become aquatinted with." Sephiroth stood. He brushed at his trench-coat, and replied calmly. "I'm afraid, I can't allow you to do that. It disrupts my plans." He drew his masamune. "You threaten me, echidna?" Hecate-Chaos laughed. "I am as old as the Vampires. I was the First. Even wood can no longer harm me." Sephiroth stabbed the masamune through her heart. "Ashes to ashes, old woman..." Hecate-Chaos screamed. A shrill, terrified sound. Then, her body crumbled into a fine powder and disappeared. "Dust to dust," he finished, his form shifting once more. "And I am not an echidna. At least not as far as Sailor Evil shall ever know." He smiled slightly. Hecate's death had come prematurely, but it was inevitable. How else was Sailor Evil to become the true leader of the Realm Destroyers? A leader who needed a trusted advisor. And who would she trust to such a job if not him? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cast: Selene/Moon: Has she returned to full power? Gabe: He's been returned to echidna form. Ashrire/k.a: he's made amends with his father. k.t.e.: How long will he be five for? Lirsage: Will he help the Realm Protectors? Why does he have a mask too? Belladonna: What does she know about Lirsage's father? Dimitri: He's fixed Masked's mask. Vampire Sephiroth: What has he got planned for Sailor Evil? Hecate-Chaos: she's dead. How will this affect the Realm Destroyers?