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**Priestess Of Light**
By Lady Brick
Lady_Brick@yahoo.com
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: All these characters but a few belong to me.
**Part 5: Hunger**
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"Damea," Taika screamed as the demonic tentacles lashed towards the 
girl's neck.  As much as she disliked her, she had no desire to see the 
young thief's head ripped off or some such horrible fate.

A streak of green and the monstrous appendages sliced through thin air.  
Far above, energy crackled as Damea let out a battle yell.  As she 
descended back towards the ground, picking up speed, something began to 
glow white in her hands.

Taika decided she should probably transform as well, but before that, 
the healthiest act would be to get out of the way.

__________


It was incredible.  Damea had never felt any sensation even close to 
this before.  It was if someone had ripped the lightning from the 
mother of all storms and rammed it directly into every one of her 
veins.  The energy crackled out of her skin, making the air around her 
hiss.  She felt powerful, invincible.  Even more so then she usually 
did.

The ball of light and energy that had been coalescing in her hands 
began throwing off sparks.  Sensing that the attack had reached its 
full power (although unsure where the knowledge that it even was an 
attack came from), she raised her arms above her head, crying out, 
"Lightning Siege!"

The energy ball split into arcs of blinding lightning, spearing through 
the air at the two monsters.  The one that had once been a little boy 
gave a chilling disembodied scream as the magical energy tore through 
its body, flinging the crisped corpse into a nearby tree, where it 
slowly dissolved into black liquid.

"Woah," croaked Damea.  She was so transfixed by the result of her 
attack, she failed to notice that it had only hit one of the two 
intended targets.

A white hot pain lanced across her exposed upper arm, and a tentacle 
sliced right in front of her nose.  Turning, she saw the other monster 
bearing down on her.  Grinning lopsidedly, she began generating another 
attack.

"Blessed Inferno!" rang out in a clear voice off to the side.  Damea 
frowned slightly as and enormous ball of fire smashed into the 
creature, incinerating it.  She turned slightly to see Taika, dressed 
in a uniform similar to her own, head bowed and arms crossed over her 
chest.  Slowly she looked up at the thief.

"Thank you," the princess said, hesitant but genuine gratitude audible 
in her voice.  

Damea was so startled, she forgot whatever rude comment had sprung to 
mind when the princess had attacked her foe.  Her lips twitched, 
finally pulling into a smile, a real one.

Unfortunately, before she could say possibly the first kind words of 
her life in response, the world exploded in front of them.

__________


In the midst of clearing the campsite, Kierke noticed that the strange 
old woman had slumped over from her seat against a large oak.  The 
knight headed over, checking to see if she was still breathing.  He 
gently shook the old woman, but she failed to respond.  He took a quick 
glance at Andora, whose sightless hands deftly gathered their camp 
supplies into neat piles.

"The old woman, is she all right?" he asked the priestess.  She paused 
in her activities, turning her head towards him.

"The medicine I mixed for her will help her sleep," she replied.

"But we're about to leave.  Shouldn't she be awake?"

"She rode on the horse before while unconscious, it shouldn't be a 
problem to do the same again.  Besides, in her condition, it is less 
painful for her to be in this state."

Kierke paused a moment.  "Is something wrong with her?  Some sort of 
disease?"

Andora's expression never shifted, but her voice took on a slightly 
hard edge.  "She has been through a great emotional trauma as of late.  
At the present time, there is little I can do for her.  However, that 
will hopefully change soon."

"How do you know what happened to her?"

"I can feel it."  There was an edge of sorrow to the priestess' voice 
that the knight hadn't heard from her before.  "Her entire being 
screams.  A person torn, twisted, crushed, but not fully destroyed.  
Simply left to teeter on that brink, desperately hoping they will fall 
over and thus end their suffering.  If they are even capable of forming 
a coherent thought."

Kierke looked at the sleeping woman and shuddered.  Andora's words cut 
deep, sharply crafted as they were.  "Who would do something like that 
to a harmless old woman?"

Andora's expression darkened.  "Hopefully, you will never find out," 
she answered bluntly, and would say no more.  

__________


Taika rubbed her eyes in a futile attempt to clear her vision.  She 
heard Damea swear briefly but quite fluently, and was surprised at the 
relief she felt.

"I don't know who you people are, but get off of our property right 
now," came a sharp, slightly high-pitched, and very angry voice.

Blinking violently, Taika managed to gain a blurry focus on the 
speaker.  Her jaw dropped at what she saw.

The girl seemed normal enough on first glance.  Her hair was a pale 
silver, falling in soft waves to the middle of her back.  Her eyes were 
deep midnight, slightly wide set above a stubborn nose.  She wore the 
rough but clean clothes of a working peasant.  What set her apart from 
anyone Taika had ever seen was the bizarre contraption she was... 
wearing was probably the best word.

The closest thing Taika could compare it to was a catapult, if a 
catapult were to be shrunk down and mounted on one's upper arm and 
shoulder with a series of metal bands.  A large basket of slender 
branches and cloth was tied to her back.  Her other hand held a small 
torch.  As Taika stared, the girl pulled a small lever on the catapult.  
There was a sound of shifting gears, and a small wooden container, 
looking very much like a miniature barrel, dropped from the basket into 
the catapult.

"I'm warning you, get out of here."  There wasn't a hint of fear in her 
voice.

"Wait, please, we can explain."  Taika realized that her current outfit 
would be rather hard to explain.  "We are, um, well, traveling 
performers.  Yes, traveling performers.  We were-"

Taika stopped short when she realized the girl wasn't paying the 
slightest bit of attention to her.  Not too surprising, when she turned 
her head slightly and saw Damea powering up another lightning attack.

"What do you thing you're doing!?  Are you CRAZY!?"

Damea, whose face had been locked in concentration, suddenly snapped to 
attention.  Looking at the rather odd but definitely human girl in 
front of her, she relaxed slightly, letting the energy fade away.  
"Well," she said, sounding sheepish, "she started it."

Taika looked back to the girl, garbled half-explanations colliding in 
her mind.  However, instead of the terrified expression she expected to 
find, she found a face lit up with excitement.  There was something 
else there too, something she couldn't quite identify.  Hunger, 
perhaps?

"Who are you two?" she asked breathlessly.

__________


It was obvious that the traveling performers story wasn't going to hold 
up any more, not that it really would have before.  However... odd the 
girl, who identified herself as Kasui, appeared to be, she wasn't 
stupid.  She didn't believe Taika's hasty explanation of Damea's power 
as a "simple illusion", and continued to demand their true identity.  
Taika finally relented, admitting that they were warriors on an 
important mission who possessed some simple magical abilities.  
Unfortunately, she quickly realized even this much information was 
probably a mistake.

"That's AMAZING!  I've always heard stories about warriors who 
possessed attack spells that let them control the elements.  Is it true 
you can destroy entire villages with one attack?  Have you ever killed 
anybody?  Can you teach me any of these spells?"

"Ugm," Taika answered, thinking that even if she could teach anyone 
magic, this would by far be the last person on her list.  "It was sort 
of something we were born with, I think.  I don't know-"

"Please, at least come back to my home for something to eat.  It's not 
that far, and you can tell me all about your glorious battles."  Kasui 
stepped forward and took the princess' hand pleadingly.

Taika's vision was disrupted for a moment by a flash of white howling 
against a blue sky, and an intense feeling of sharp snowflakes biting 
into her skin.  Oddly, this deep cold felt somehow similar to roaring 
fires of her power.  The vision faded in an instant, replaced by 
Kasui's staring eyes.  <<No, she couldn't possibly be...>>

"Actually, I would love to come and visit your home.  Damea here has to 
head back to the camp and speak to Andora right away."

Damea stared at her blankly.  "Huh?"

Taika jerked her head towards Kasui.  "About our search.  I think you 
need to talk to her about that.  Right away."

Damea looked at Kasui, confused for a moment.  Then a sudden 
realization hit her, along with a brief expression of horror.  Quickly 
smoothing it over, she turned to Taika, her face solemn.

"Princess, whatever opinions I have formed of you to this point were 
obviously a bit hasty.  You are the bravest person I have ever met."  
She considered Kasui again, briefly.  "I will be back with Andora as 
quickly as possible."  With a flash of movement, she was out of sight.

Kasui looked at Taika questioningly.  "What did she mean by that?"

__________


"I must apologize for my daughter.  She can be... I mean she... She's 
utterly out of control."

Taika smiled sympathetically at the worn-down man who was Kasui's 
father.  She had detransformed before arriving at the house, and had 
introduced herself a one of a small group of travelers whom had 
encountered Kasui.  Apparently, the girl had been involved in several 
"encounters" before, as her father immediately asked how many had been 
injured.

"It had always seemed a blessing when she was little.  Smart as a whip, 
that girl.  Taught herself all sorts of things before I could explain 
them to her.  But she saw an attack by raiders when she was six.  Saw 
half the village killed from where she was hiding.  She wanted to make 
sure that no one would ever do that to our little farm.  And so she 
began the experimenting.

"Her creation was quite... impressive," Taika said diplomatically.  
"What is it called?"

The old man shook his head.  "She never gets around to naming them.  As 
soon as one's finished, she gets bored and starts working on another.  
That little catapult of hers you saw came about when she accidentally 
blew up our supply of flour for last winter.  Figured it was because of 
the pressure in the barrels and the heat from the-  Never mind.  You 
don't want to know."

Taika looked at the man closer.  His eyes were set in deep hollows and 
his hands shook as he dished up a bowl of stew for her.  Either Kasui 
was even more psychotic than she appeared, or...

"Her inventions come in handy here, don't they?" she probed.

"I thought we were far enough from Tuogane that we were safe.  Else I 
never would have tried to raise a family here."  The old man sighed.  
"It's not just the raiders.  Those monsters from the Emperess' army, 
they pass through here sometimes.  Kasui's ma, my wife...  She 
disappeared a few years ago.  Never knew what happened to her, but we 
could guess."

"The youma were seen in the area?"

He nodded.  A tear, almost hidden by the creases in his skin, slid down 
his face.

Kasui's mother then.  Her own parents.  Perhaps even Damea's family, 
which would explain a lot about the thief.

Octavia had a lot to answer for.  And Taika was becoming increasingly 
glad she was one of those chosen to do it.

__________


"Can I wear your crown, Auntie?" the little girl asked, her voice so 
sweet and innocent that one would think it was the first time she had 
done so.  Her round blue eyes stared up with a longing that could 
crumble granite.

Octavia, Empress of Earth, commander of tens of thousands of monstrous 
youma, smiled gently and ruffled Theia's pale blond hair.  The child of 
Losna, her advisor, Theia had grown up under the Empress' fond eye, 
insisting on calling the woman "Auntie."  Much to the surprise of those 
around her, not to mention herself, Octavia allowed it.  She would have 
never admitted it, not even to herself, but the girl had claimed a soft 
spot inside of her.  Perhaps even a drop of love, if she was still 
capable of that.

"You know you aren't allowed to," Octavia replied, half scolding.  The 
crown of twisted black metal and green stone would have looked absurd 
on the child.  Besides, it was hers.  She had crushed hundreds of 
thousands in her quest for power.  No one would ever touch her crown.

Already distracted, Theia cocked her head to inspect the fine black 
embroidery on the sleeve of Octavia's robes.  One small hand wrapped 
around her wrist.

The world exploded in white.

__________


*Iantha, wait up!*

*If you're going to be that slow, you can't come.*

*Please wait!  You're running too fast!*

*I'll slow down a little.  But you should have stayed at home.*

*I want to come with you.*

*Then learn to run faster*

Laughter.  Outstretched hands clasped.  Long grass and flowers tugging 
at bare feet.  Warm sun on faces.

The world exploded in darkness.

__________


"What's wrong Auntie?"

Shaken, Octavia stared into the young girl's eyes.  There was something 
so familiar.  Like staring into a mirror from a past life...

The Empress shook her head, disgusted.  Theia's eyes were blue, like 
her own.  Of course they would look familiar.  As for the rest of the 
nonsense, she was probably just tired.  There was no reason for her to 
become soft and sentimental now.

"Go find your mother," Octavia told the girl, her voice harsher than 
she meant.  Theia just smiled and jumped off of her lap, skipping 
across the hall and out one of the side doors.  Octavia watched her go, 
her arms feeling empty for a fraction of a moment.  Then her mind 
shifted back to the problem at hand, the mysterious woman and the 
warriors she was gathering.

__________


Eris, handmaiden to the Empress, peered around the edge of the 
doorframe, watching the advisor's daughter leave in the opposite 
direction.  Something about the child had always bothered her, a 
feeling that something wasn't quite right with her, perhaps even 
supernatural.  Empress Octavia commanded ultimate power on this world, 
and Eris had no wish for that to change.  If the Empress hadn't taken 
such an obvious liking to the girl, Eris would have found a way to had 
her killed.  But her suspicions were not worth her own neck.

"Excuse me," came a cold voice behind her.  The handmaiden jumped, 
startled.  Losna stepped past her, her hard eyes focused on the other 
woman's face, leaving only as she stepped through the doorway.

If Eris found the child disturbing, her mother was infinitely worse.  
Her coldness was similar to Empress Octavia in many ways, in fact, the 
two women were very much alike.  Was it possible that Losna had the 
same ambitions, and was a threat to the Empress?

"Our spy within the group has notified us that another girl has joined 
them," Eris heard the advisor say.  "Shall I have some more youma 
dispatched?"

She would wait and watch.  And if there were truly a threat here, if 
the purpose of the mother and child were darker than they appeared, she 
would see to it that they would be destroyed before they could do any 
damage.

__________


"And so we travel to Tuogane with the hope of putting right all the 
wrong Octavia has done," Andora finished.  Kierke studied the 
listeners.  Kasui's eyes glowed with eagerness, her father much less 
so.

"Well," he said slowly, "it's a difficult story to believe.  Of course 
I'd like to see Octavia brought down as much as any other man, but-"

"Please Papa!  I want to go with the Priestess and fight the evil 
Empress!"

Kierke barely managed to choke back a laugh.  This girl may look about 
the same age as Princess Taika, but she was years away in terms of 
maturity.

Andora opened her mouth to speak, but Kierke interrupted her.  As wise 
as she may be in the ways of the world, he wasn't sure she knew how to 
relate to an overprotective father.  He could.

"I can assure you that the Priestess speaks the truth.  I have seen the 
Senshi with my own eyes."  Well, he had seen Taika only, but he 
believed the brief account of the battle she had given him before 
Andora's speech.  "As a knight of the kingdom of Sartaine, I assure you 
that your daughter will be safe and-"

"A knight?  A real knight?"  Kierke found himself staring into a rapt, 
almost maniacal face.  "That's so amazing!  How many people have you 
killed?  Aren't you a little old to fight?"

Damea laughed out loud at that.  Kierke thought he heard a snicker from 
Taika as well.  For a moment, he considered wishing the girls good luck 
and leaving them and their destiny far, far behind them.

"Well, I suppose..."  Kierke was startled to hear the relief in the old 
man's voice.  He glanced at Kasui again, noting that he felt even more 
like abandoning the group than he had before.

__________


"Who's that?" Kasui asked as soon as she spotted the old woman asleep 
on the horse.  She led a large black mule laden with her "inventions" 
from the stable, despite everyone's urgings that she wouldn't need them 
as a Senshi.

"Some old woman they found."  Damea shrugged, glancing warily at the 
mule as though she expected his burden to spontaneously explode without 
warning.

Kasui turned to Kierke, already bored.  "Can I see your sword?"

"No!" the knight snapped before he could stop himself.  He sighed, and 
tried again in a softer voice.  "Why don't you go talk to Andora?"

"Looks like having her around is gonna be interesting, at least," Damea 
muttered to Taika as Kasui walked by.

"Even more interesting than you," the Princess replied.  The thief shot 
her a look as a giggle slipped out.

"So tell me more about this great warrior stuff," Kasui said brightly 
as she approached Andora.  "Like what kind of powers do we have."  The 
priestess didn't reply right away, so she added "I'm Kasui," since the 
woman was blind.

The corner of Andora's mouth twitched.  "I know," she replied dryly.  
"The powers of each Senshi are derived from the planets from whose 
energy they draw."  She placed a hand on Kasui's head.  "Your powers 
represent those of Mercury, and are thus associated with water and its 
various forms."

"Water?  That's it?"  The disappointment was unmistakable.

"Mercury was the most peaceful of the Inner Planets.  They preferred 
the scientific arts to the fighting ones."

"But what's the purpose of on without the other?"

Andora ignored the question, instead withdrawing a blue-tipped henshin 
stick from her robes.  She handed it to the girl.  "This is the key to 
your power.  Keep it safe, and treat it with respect."  She inclined 
her head towards Damea a few feet away, who didn't seem to notice her 
implication.  "If we should come across any-"

"Mercury Planet Power Makeup!"

Andora sighed.  She heard the animal shriek in terror, and Damea, 
possibly Kierke, swear loudly.  The energy faded, leaving an ecstatic 
Kasui admiring her blue and silver uniform.

"Kasui."  The girl looked at the Priestess, who appeared less than 
happy.  "This isn't a game. Magic like this can attract-"

A loud snarl interrupted her.  Turning, she could see the energy 
signatures of ten youma, similar to the ones that had attacked Taika 
and Kierke's home.  From the gasps of the others, they saw them too.

"Taika, Damea, transform!" she ordered, grasping her staff tightly.  
"Kasui stay back until-"

"Finally!" the Senshi of Mercury yelled, launching herself at the group 
with a battle cry.


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This fic is moving along at a snail's pace, but it IS moving along.  
Don't give up hope, as I haven't given up on it ^^  I'd like to say the 
next part won't take as long as this one did, but as I can't guarantee 
it, I'll just say I hope it doesn't ^^;

As always, comments are very helpful and very welcome, so please drop a 
note to lady_brick@yahoo.com if you get the chance ^^

NEXT TIME: Yet another Senshi is found, the truth about the mysterious 
old woman, and Octavia's spy revealed!