Another freaky dream from Rei

[Ebiris]

This is Rei's background for the Space Criminal arc, as the crazy miko
gets to have a nice chat with two other aspects of herself while
unconscious after the fight with Oxyite...

***

Oxyite's energy continues to rise, spiralling faster and faster out of
control, far beyond what he displayed the last time...

There is a cry of, "Sailor Moon!" from a voice I only vaguely recognise
as familiar, barely audible over the roar of energy rapidly expanding
from Oxyite. I pay it no mind, the Mars Pen appearing in my hand with a
flick of the wrist. I don't really know what I'm doing, acting on some
half remembered instinct. It's like when I first used my Fire Soul
attack, just something in my head clicks into place.

It could be memories from my past life, but I also note that what I have
planned is somewhat similar to what I could do while under Metallia's
sway. Energy begins to collect around my focus, but it gathers too
slowly... I desperately force my own energy through it, my entire body
beginning to burn with the effort, but it's still too slow... I won't be
able to stop Oxyite's final blast...

The blast is almost upon me, poised to rip through my barely formed
barrier as easily as thin air, when I am suddenly jolted off my feet,
pulled backwards. There is a deafening roar of sound, and my abused body
is buffetted by the concussive forces before...

Merciful darkness.

Am I dead? I can't imagine surviving a blast of that magnitude,
especially not in the condition I was in.

I hope the others made it... I'm sure Usagi was able to pull off some
sort of miracle to save everyone else. She might be a dumpling head, but
she's dependable when it counts...

The darkness recedes, and I find myself in the courtyard of Hikawa
Shrine. A strange stillness fills the twilight air, with not a single
sound of busy Tokyo to be heard, not even the rustling of wind through
the trees lining the Shrine. The Shrine itself is dark, the only
illumination coming from the full moon hanging in the sky.

An examination of myself reveals no injuries of any kind, though I can
see my hair is still white. A pity, I had hoped that at least my death
would remove that marker from me... I am no longer dressed in my sailor
uniform, it having been replaced with my priestess robes.

"Hello?" my voice rings clearly out across the courtyard. I don't really
know what else to do, but maybe there'll be someone around here to
explain things.

"Hello."

I blink. I'd almost think there was an echo here, as I hear my own voice
reply, but the tone is different. I see a movement out of the corner of
my eye, and turn slightly to see a figure hopping down off the roof.

A very familiar figure.

A pair of violet eyes stare at me from a haughty face, lustrous raven
hair falling straight down her back. Her trim form is only covered with
a tight white bodysuit, a purple bow on her chest and a tiny red skirt
around her waist.

Sailor Mars?

Examining her as she walks closer, I can see that she is slightly taller
than me, and a bit more 'developed'. If I had to guess, I'd say that's
what I'd look like a few years from now... if my hair wasn't white, that
is.

She stops a few feet in front of me and looks me over critically.
"Well," she says after a moment, "Finally we meet. Though I certainly
didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

"I... I don't understand... am I dead?" I ask dumbly. I do have
suspicions about who I am facing, but it's sometimes best to get the
more obvious thing cleared up first.

She shakes her head, tutting sadly. "No, you're not dead. At least not
yet," she answers cryptically, "But you are close enough, and receptive
enough at this moment in time, for me to appear before you." She frowns,
crossing her arms in a huffy gesture, "You've been doing a very good job
of shutting me out in the past."

I'm not dead? Well, that aside, I think it's pretty obvious who she is
now. "You're my past life, from the Moon Kingdom."

"Oh!" she leans back in mock shock, a hand over her chest, "'My past
life' she says? At least you acknowledge that. Makes a change from just
referring to me as 'the old Sailor Mars', as if you were just some
successor to the title and nothing else."

I narrow my eyes at her tone. Yep, I definitely don't like her. "My name
is Rei Hino," I tell her flatly, "I am not you."

Her expression becomes more predatory, and she leans forward. "Indeed?
Actions of the present life take precedence, so does that make you the
same as her?" she points over my shoulder.

Turning round, I am confronted by a pair of ghoulish yellow eyes
underneath a forehead bearing a burnt scar of the Mars symbol. White
hair, exactly the same as my own, frames her grinning face, and I let
out a little yelp as I realise she is barely a foot away from me, before
hopping backwards to give us some space.

"What's wrong?" she asks, pouting, "Don't tell me you're *scared* of
me?" She follows this up by leering at me in a way that I have to admit
is rather scary.

"What... how...?" I stammer. Admittedly not the strong and assertive
reaction I'd have liked to give, but this is rattling me pretty bad.

"You accepted her presence a lot easier," the Metallia-spawned version
of me says, pointing over at Sailor Mars, "And like you said, she's a
totally different person. Not like me. We're practically the same," she
says, still with that unsettling grin.

I shudder, but I can't truly refute her words. I can remember *being*
her. The past Sailor Mars is nothing to me but a few tiny memory
fragments I got on the Moon, but this... corruption... I was her, and I
can remember everything I did, everything I thought, when I was her.

With an effort of will, I shake it off. "Never mind that," I say
brusquely, "Why am I here? Or more accurately, since this is my mind,
why are you two here?" I take a few steps away so I can keep my eyes on
both of them.

"You almost died," DK Rei says accusingly, her tone reproachful, but I
can sense something more powerful simmering beneath the surface. She
carries herself with so much nervous energy, it's easy to imagine her
suddenly lashing out at me.

"Indeed, there is still a good chance that you will die if your injuries
aren't treated soon," Mars puts in.

"Feh," I snort, "I half expected to die anyway. My question still stands
- what the hell does it have to do with you two?"

"No need to be rude," Mars says peevishly. I am momentarily unsettled by
how much her expression resembles my own when I start to get angry. "I
can't speak for *that*," she gives a distasteful look to my Dark Kingdom
incarnation, who glowers in response, "But it has everything to do with
me. We are effectively the same person, after all."

"No we're not!" "No you're not!"

I shudder again, looking at DK Rei who had spoken in tandem with me. She
only smirks in reply.

Mars frowns, balling her fists at her sides. "Stop denying it!" she
suddenly yells at me, "If you can't accept your past, it'll only hold
you back!"

"No it won't!" I reply acidly, "I'll get held back if I let you have any
influence over my life! You had your chance, and you're dead! Let me
live my life in peace!" my voice rises with my temper, as I take
advantage of this opportunity to truly vent on my stupid past life.

"What life?!" she counters furiously, "You're almost dead!"

"Then I guess if I die, we'll at least have that in common!" I shoot
right back, getting the satisfaction of seeing her wince.

"She really got you there, dead girl!" DK Rei chimes in, which only
serves to draw my ire to another target...

"You shut up!" I yell at the psychotic, evil version of me. "I don't
know what any of this is about, and I don't really care! If I'm dying,
then let me do it in peace!"

Mars answers, though more gently this time - no doubt having been
chastened by my angry words. "Like I said, you're not dead yet. It could
go either way..."

I cross my arms and give her a huffy look, my body language conveying as
much as the words "So why the hell are you bothering me?" ever could.

The older girl sighs, running a hand through her beautiful raven hair in
a stressed gesture I recognise all too well. "It's not just that you're
nearly dead. During the fight, you opened yourself up slightly, just
enough to give me this chance."

"Opened myself up?" I repeats suspiciously. I don't really like the
sound of that...

"Surely you felt it?" she demands, her tone almost pleading, "When you
used your Snake Fire attack that first time against Oxyite? Like you
were on the cusp of reaching a new tier of power, but something held you
back, and in the end, your attack was no different from any other time
you used it," she trails off, her voice a mixture of sadness and
disgust.

I cast my mind back to the fight, wincing as I recall being knocked
through the roof after getting cut up pretty badly... I do seem to
always take the brunt whenever we get attacked, but a glance at DK Rei
reminds me that my life is far less valuable than anyone else's.

Then, I remember getting to my feet, and feeling the flames burning
around me like they normally do at the start of my Snake Fire attack,
only hotter... much, much hotter. The flames were pressing down on me
like a physical weight, and I could feel something in the back of my
head, fighting for release, but I ignored it, channeling the attack like
I normally do...

"It was you!" I accuse my past self, breathlessly.

She nods. "Your own fears of losing control to me made you hold back on
your true potential."

"No!" I deny, not wanting to believe her, "I'm strong enough on my own!
I don't need you!"

"Strong enough?" she repeats, mockingly, "Is that why you're bleeding to
death right now? You certainly weren't 'strong enough' to prevent Oxyite
from releasing that final blast of energy."

"Ignore her," my own voice coos into my ear. With a start, I see that DK
Rei has sidled right up to me. "You don't need anything she can offer."

"Oh, this should be rich," Mars snorts, "Are you going to offer her
power now? Bah, everything you had came from Metallia, and she's dead."

DK Rei flushes angrilly, glaring at Mars. "That's where you're wrong!
Even if... even if..." surprisingly, she begins to tear up, "even if
Metallia-sama is gone, it doesn't change anything!"

Putting some distance between myself and... the other version of myself,
I speak up. "Metallia is dead, and I *never* want to be like... like
that, ever again!" I say forcefully.

"But don't you remember how powerful we were after Metallia-sama changed
us?" DK Rei asks earnestly, "Don't you think with that kind of power,
you could have beaten Oxyite easily?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I scowl angrily, neither
confirming nor denying her words, "Metallia," I end the word harshly,
without the honourific she uses, "Is dead. And all those powers left
when she did."

"Are you sure?" she asks, smirking as a small rock floats up from the
ground to hover near her. "Metallia-sama only unlocked the true power
within you. Nothing to do with being Sailor Mars, and everything to do
with being Rei Hino."

I stare, transfixed at the telekinetically held rock, ignoring the angry
sputterings of Mars while DK Rei continues smirking confidently. "Surely
you've noticed that your psychic abilities have grown since then." She
vanishes, reappearing behind me, leaning forward to whisper in my ear,
"You may have forgotten how to do some of these things, but you can
still relearn. With my help."

"No!" I cry, breaking out of my reverie and stumbling away from her. "I
never want to be like you!"

"So you choose her?" DK Rei asks, throwing a disdainful glance at Sailor
Mars.

"Of course she will!" Mars replies hotly, "She and I are practically one
and the same. You are just some filthy corruption spawned by Metallia!"

"Liar! Metallia-sama only unlocked her true nature! She might be in
denial now, but she can't deny I am a part of her. Unlike you, who are
seperated by thousands of years and reincarnation!"

"Shut up, both of you!" I suddenly cry, not wanting to hear them bicker,
especially when I've went through the same arguements in my head so many
times before...

They both stop glaring at each other and turn to look at me. "Well?"
Mars asks, arching an eyebrow, "Can you accept me? If you do, you'll be
able to realise your full potential as Sailor Mars, and protect the
Princess properly. You shouldn't have to worry about *her* any more,
either."

"Feh," DK Rei waves dismissively, "Are you going to let an irrelevant
past hold you back? Or would you rather embrace the future as I have?"
she stares at me intently, a confident look on her face.

"Maybe... maybe I'm not as strong as Usagi," I concede, looking down
thoughtfully."But I'll still give my life to protect her. So long as
it's *my* life to give!" I continue, looking up with a determined
expression, "I'm strong enough to do that!" Then I turn to the other
white haired aspect of my personality, "And I'll keep fighting for the
future, but on my own terms! I won't ever turn into a monster like you
again!"

Mars shakes her head sadly. "You are a fool, Rei Hino. Your friends have
accepted their pasts, and haven't been changed by it. Why are you so
scared of me?"

"Because you failed!" I suddenly cry out, "You never protected the
Princess or the Moon Kingdom, and everyone died! I'm strong enough to
protect her without your help!"

"Why protect her at all?" DK Rei asks curiously, "She doesn't appreciate
you. In fact, she hates you."

I turn a harsh glare on her at those words, "Shut up! Maybe I did let
Metallia mess up my head and make me think those things, but I won't let
you confuse me! I don't want anything to do with either of you!"

"You can't deny yourself forever, Rei," Mars says quietly.

"I'm not denying *my*self," I reply coldly, spinning around to put my
back to both of them.

"You'll come around eventually," a voice says, though I can't tell
whether it is Mars or DK Rei, as my vision slowly blacks out, and I find
myself in my living room, staring up at Minako's face...