A Decieving Title by Køi Waters [silenceglaive@hotmail.com] Beautiful imagery. January 5 2072. Despite all the prophecies of technological advancement, computerized showers, openface fridges, the 21st century remains more or less like the 90s. The worlds didn't come to an end on December 31st 1999, nor on any other day. - In the country garden in a valley in the heart of Nova Scotia a stately aged woman sat in her wheelchair. Her hair was straight and white as any metaphor can accurately describe. Yet she wore, as she had each day, a completely black ensemble; a black angora sweater and black pants. Her nails had been painted purple by her maidservant, Mary, who perferred to be called Alexandra the Second. All was as she had instructed it to be. The woman confirmed this yet again as she scanned teh grounds with her deep purple eyes. The garden was full violets and lavanders, and purple flowers of all sorts. Har thatched cottage was filled with the lamps she had collected over the past 90 years. Her name was Hotaru Tomoe. ------------------------------------------------------- WARNING: PLease take this time to remember that this is a peice of completely idealistic, fictitious writing, created by the 'messed up' fan, Køi. Hence the term, 'fan-fic' ------------------------------------------------------- Oh, yes the grandchildren. They had just arrived with their distant cousins who had flown them up in Kaiou and Tenou, the vintage helicopters from the 20th century. "Grandma! I got *Distinction Plus* on my violin exam, 3 art scholarships and went on a trip to Italy this year!" exclaimed Shi, the youngest at 12. Not to be out done by his sister, 17 year old Seikatsu added, "I got on SuperDuperHonourRoll in all my courses, and went to International science fair with my project on volcanoes." Hotaru studied the four that stood before her. Shi, Seikatsu and Fukkatsu were the children of Hotaru's son, Tonbo, who live in New Orleans against the wishes of most of the rest of the family who believed that the United States was the root of all evil in this world. Hotaru's daughter Murasaki lived in Tokyo, still following the her mother's faith [no, not Wicca, but...] the Cult of Serenity [ha ha] which awaited the coming of the frozen sleep and creation of the Utopia Crystal Tokyo. Murasaki's only daughter was Shizuka. 'Silent'. And she was. Nary a word [gotta love that: 'Nary a word'] crossed her lips, but she had inheirited her grand mother's eyes which watched every movement, every action. She was the kind you could FEEL watching you, and FEEL her presence in a room. Tonbo urged Fukkatsu, eldest daughter at 22, (and yes, the eldest grandchild as well) to mention her year's accomplishments. "Um, I... well, our band went on tour across Europe this year.... and we hit platinum on September 15th [Normal Day!]," she mumbled as clearly as possible as she poked some pebbles with her toe. And Shizuka watched. "What are the young people doing these days??" Hotaru's cracking voice exclaimed, "Why, when I was your age I was out battling aliens and helping women disguised as men who henshined into women find princesses with curly toed shoes!!" "Right, gramma. When Spice Girls make a come-back." "Oh, that was just in this life. BEFORE that I was busy being a medium for spirits in other demensions!" "Uh-huh, gramma. Sure you did." "I'm Telling You!! I DESTROYED THE WORLD!!!!!!!!" "Okay grandma, time for your medication..." "Don't You Get It?? I WILL NEVER DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" But she was surrounded by disbelievers. Alexandra II took her to her room and gave her a glass of milk to subdue her. After Alex had left, going off to tend to meals for the rest of the family and tomorrow's cake, Shizuka slipped into the bedroom and sat next to her grandmother on the bed. The lamps gave off a glow which to any other would be considered eerie, but to Shizuka was comfotingly firmiliar. "Shizuka. What can you tell me about the AntiMessiah?" Shizuka nearly choked at these words and looked to Hotaru for further explanation. "You follow the Cult of Serenity, yes?" Hotaru asked. Shizuka nodded. Her faith in this 'cult' was deeper than anything she had ever experienced. Some how she knew the frozen sleep had to be true, no matter how deranged it may seem. The senshi, the messiah... it didn't make sense, yet it DID... "So, the senshi, what of them?" "The senshi were the protectors of the moon princess, Serenity. The Messiah. The innersenshi for Serenity, the asteroid senshi for Small Lady Serenity, and the outers to summon the senshi of silence. The AntiMessiah." "The spirit of death..." "...and rebirth..." Shizuka watched as the sign of saturn appeared on her grandmother's forehead. "Grandma... you're...?" "Sailor Saturn." Wow. Now, imagine your grandma saying "Hey ______, I'm Slr Satrn." to YOU, esp. if Sailor Moon is your religion. That's like finding out Joni mitchell is your mom. Hotaru pointed to the doorway. Above it was mounted the massive, the illustrious, the infamous Glaive of Silence. "When you leave, take this. When you get to Tokyo go to the Hikawa (or whatever) Temple. There you will find Hino Rei." There was a pause as Shizuka stared at the weapon in awe. The legandary Silence Glaive. THEE Anti-Matter device. The Manifestation of Apocalypse. The No-Mercy Razor Blade. She knew she would never have to shave again. "...then what?" "I don't know. I've been wanting to do this for a long time: Get in touch with old friends, put my offspring into troubled waters with customs, cause spiritual unrest in Tokyo and the world over... the world's greatest birthday present, you know..." "Great, why don't I just bring Small Lady back from the 30th century while I'm at it?" "Hey, yeah! I think I've got Setsuna's address kicking around someplace. Although, you could always check the phonebook. How many people do you know listed as 'God of Hades, S.'?" "Grandma, you're not REALLY a senshi, are you?" "No, I just got Mary to tatoo the sign of saturn on my forehead with phosporescent dye before you came in... YES I'm a senshi. Do the math, duh!" "Hmm, I suppose you're right. Can you teach me how to do that? I want a PEACE sign, with a little gar--" "Anyway, just so you know, the frozen sleep isn't really going to come." "Did you really kill Endymoin? That is SO cool!" "You mean, >will< I? Well, eventually, yes. You won't live to see that, tho. So, as I was saying, the frozen sleep isn't happening." "What?? Why not?? It HAS to! The Books of Serenity were written in the future, it can't be changed." "A very wise person told someone who is writing all this down that once you have a grip on the pen of reality, you can write history. So I did." "But WHY??" "I made it so the world will have to be DESTROYED once more before the Crystal Millenium. You know, the adrenaline you get in knowing, 'I am destroying every- thing that is. The universe is collapsing at the wave of my finger/incomrehensibly-powerful-and-sharp-in-a- very-big-way weapon. Everyone I know is dead. THIS IS THE END!!!!!!!!!' AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH !!" Shizuka backed slowly away toward the door, "y-you're mad...!" Hotaru continued to laugh psychotically as her eyes began to glow, "Much madness is the divinest sense. Much sense is the starkest madness..." The bulbs in the lamps began to shatter one by one, victim to no apparent force otehr than Hotaru herself, and her unlimited thoughts. (I mean, she's destroyed the world, she's seen it all.) The cabinets began to shake, as did the fixtures on the ceiling. Shizuka screeched as she brushed with death, narrowly missing being bi-sected by the falling Glaive, and ducked out the door. "It's Grandma! Sh-she's lost her mind!" Shizuka cried to her cousins who were astonished she could in deed TALK. The men with white jackets were called, and soon Hotaru had a coat of her own. they took her far, far away, and all she could see was white... white... white... white... Hotaru screamed and sat up suddenly in bed, breathing heavily. Her mind was jumbled in the darkness, and all she knew for certain was that K-chan was tehre beside her, stroking her hair and singing softly. "Oh, now, baby, baby don't you cry..." (has Koi been listening to too much Pfloyd? no...) She let the music (AND lack there of on occasion. It happens.) fill her being as she came to grips with what was real and what she had dreamed... And she began to laugh to herself. "K-chan..." "Firefly...?" And hotaru stopped. WHat could she say? It was a dream, and ONLY a dream. If it DID mean something, it couldn't be much of anything, and if it was something, what did it matter Here & Now? "I love you. I'm all right. Go back to sleep." And so she guarded his dreams for the rest of the night.