- Joined
- Jan 27, 2011
Episode 1: Come and See! The Four Horsemen ride!
*30th Century AD, Crystal Tokyo, Japan*
The surface of Crystal Tokyo gleamed under the full moonlight, the radiance sparkling brilliantly as the calming light washed over the city in a comforting manner; the city itself was safe once again thanks to the efforts of the Sailor Senshi. The last major threat to the Earth and the Galaxy's safety, Chaos, had been banished to the Galaxy Cauldron at the center of the Milky Way and those which had been killed in battle were resurrected. The King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo, the position also granting them the title of rulers of the world, oversaw their new charge with great enthusiasm, as did the rest of the Senshi Warriors. Chaos itself was no more, what else could there possibly be? The Black Moon Clan was all but sealed away on Nemesis, all of Chaos' counterparts had been defeated. Yes, it was indeed a picture of perfection. The streets were clean of crime and corruption. People could again sleep soundly in their beds, lovers could grow and prosper. And with how long people were living now, it made everything that much better. With age came wisdom, after all, at least in most cases and the people benefited greatly from the care of their protectors/ the Sailor Senshi
However, they would soon find that their actions had drawn the attention of four notorious individuals, ones who looked down on the Senshi's actions with great displeasure and utter revulsion. Ones who would test the very ability of the Senshi themselves to defend their pristine home. Three of these four were currently standing in an infinite and shadowy void, a holographic projection of the city itself raised before them. None of their faces could be seen, for each had a method of concealing them, either partially or entirely. "Look at them, how they blindly follow like sheep. Do they not comprehend what it is their "savior" has done? She thinks herself above the universe, above the natural law! And yet here we sit! These savage beasts deserve to be exterminated!" one of the individuals, dressed in full red and white battle armor complemented with a crimson cape, snarled as he crossed his arms in front of his broad chest, a violent red energy cloud bleeding off his massive figure. The shoulder plates and helmet were adorned respectively with large white and red spikes, the latter arranged in a crown-like fashion on the helmet itself. A massive double-edged blade was strapped across his back, its inner length possessing skull-like imprints along the surface; the eyes of these imprints seemed to leak the same red energy he was exuding, dripping down the length of the blade to the tip much like the blood of a fallen foe. It would travel the entire length before dropping off entirely and vanishing into the space around. A slightly smaller sword too was in a large sheath strapped securely across his waist; the flowing red cape seemed to hide this blade relatively well, however, and likely would not be noticed by anyone who might confront him.
"Calm yourself, War, lest you end up like Chaos" a humanoid figure dressed in a hooded cloak-like garment replied, his tone haunting yet empowering at the same time. Standing just a bit shorter than the man in the armor, his athletic form was covered largely in a skin-tight material of unknown composition. At the elbows and knees sat metal skulls, armor extending from them to the fingertips and toes in the forms of bracers and greaves. His right hand clasped the snath of a large scythe resting on his shoulder, its length white as bone and its lower tip ending in a skull holding a bronze ring its mouth. The tang of the scythe was nothing more than a skull itself with the lower mandible removed to accommodate the beard of the silvered blade, another smaller blade poking out from the cranium which made up the weapon's heel. Its name, fittingly enough, was the Harvester and every inch of its surface was surrounded by the agony of billions if not trillions of extinguished souls. "Calm myself? As they continue to trample on the very fabric of that which defines the universe!? Look at what they do to your domain, Death! Resurrecting the dead as if it were a mere child's game! Have you no sense of duty!? No honor?" Death's grip tightened on the weapon in response, his calm voice replying "I see very clearly what they do, War; however, I do not permit their actions to foul my thoughts. You have seen how they managed to stifle even Chaos itself; we must move cautiously and with precision". War gave a derisive snort, "Chaos was a fool, attacking at only a fraction of full strength. And despite having taken the form of the most powerful Senshi and stealing the Star Seeds of their strongest numbers, he was still beaten by the Sol System's pathetic leader". "Even still, she did not destroy Chaos entirely, only the Fragment that had corrupted Galaxia". "Serenity knows not what she has wrought; the fact that she would even consider such an action is reason enough to exterminate the lot of them. Earth will see its judgment, I promise you that". "I understand your rationale, brother, but cleansing the entire planet? There are those who opposed her actions, you know". "And yet they sat by and watched, only speaking out against her but doing no action to stop the Moon Queen themselves. Right bunch of cowards they are".
Death gave a simple sigh, knowing that once War was focused on something he would not stop until it was completed. He then turned to the one on his left, saying "Famine, do you have it?" A short, frail-looking man dressed in black robes and a matching shrouded cap slowly approached, his head weakly nodding as his voice - distorted from the metal mask he wore over his mouth - said, "Yes....It's about time, too; he was starting to give me a stomachache" Famine then removed his mask before inserting a thin, almost skeletal hand into his mouth and pulling out a pulsing orb of red energy and handing it to the armored hand of Death himself before replacing his mask over his mouth. "Be thankful, War; that Chaos Fragment was not easy to pull back out of the Cauldron, even for me. I guess it's a good thing you didn't have Death release the whole Chaos Shard within you" Famine said, his voice echoing slightly as his sunken eyes turned back to the projection that showed the crystal-covered city. War just nodded and accepted the soul of Chaos, taking his blade from off his back and rubbing the orb across its surface. The eyes of the skull embossings pulsed rapidly, causing the length to glow red and drip more energy than before; this was one of the last steps to what they would have to do. "Another Chaos Fragment is with me; Serenity will regret her rash action" War muttered as he reslung his blade. Soon, the Senshi - and by extension, the rest of humanity - would pay for its crimes; even if the one they had called their Creator, they would not be dissuaded from their duty: To uphold the Balance. And with Destruction having been all but brought to a halt by the actions of the Planetary Warriors, warriors given blessed powers by the very Creator that tasked the Horsemen with managing the shifts between light and darkness, that very Balance was now threatened.
"Where is our brother Conquest? He should have finished by now..." Famine then asked, his pupilless black eyes scanning the infinite Void for his 'brother'. Just then, a bright flash of light opened behind them and from the burst rode a giant of a man on a brilliant white Clydesdale, whose mane, hair and tail were as white as snow itself, a fine cloak of white silky material draped over his shoulders and cotton leggings hugging his lean, toned legs. His mouth covered by a large collar, the only visible portions of his body were his hands and upper part of his face. Fine golden rings adorned his slender fingers and across his back was slung a double-bladed, black battleaxe. Atop his head sat a crown of gold, inset with innumerable fine jewels, each one representing a world he'd conquered. "Still here? Why do you not ride? The hordes await to conquer and dominate, and yet here the three of you stand!" the Rider barked, commanding authority as if he should just received it from his existing. Death just waved his hand and replied, "Not important, Conquest. I assume you've finished?" The large man just nodded and replied, "Of course I've finished! Hordes, come!" Conquest just snapped two of his fingers and within moments, legions upon legions of demonic monsters poured forth and surrounded the four of them. "Oh, and a present for you, brother; be gracious I went out of my way to retrieve it" Conquest stated bluntly, tossing a black box towards Death, who caught it deftly. Inside upon opening sat a skull with an inverted black crescent moon engraved on its forehead; Death felt a bit of sorrow cross his heart. He had hoped this would be enough to dissuade the Senshi, but it seemed that was not the case at all. "He tried to lead the Black Moon Clan to destroy the Earth, but it seems even an extension of myself was not enough" Death commented dryly; the skull quickly evaporated, green tendrils embracing Death himself and flowing into the darkness of the hood that he wore. Death Phantom was now back with Death, the master having regained control of the part which he'd sent to try and keep the Balance, only to find that a more "hands-on" approach was now required.
"If we had rode earlier, we could have saved ourselves the trouble" War grumbled; his body showed his impatience, his readiness to ride into battle very clear amongst his brothers. "For once I agree with War, Death; why do we wait? We have a Balance to maintain". "You only wish to ride to claim the Earth as another kingdom, Conquest; don't you dare think your motives are the same as mine!" Death finally interjected, "Enough, you two! What's done is done and there's nothing we can do to change it. Now that we've gotten everything we needed....Famine, you have your incarnation Queen Metalia again.....Conquest, you have your incarnations Queen Nehellenia and Pharaoh 90....War has Chaos....And Conquest just returned Death Phantom to me. Very good, all loose ends are tied". Death then turned to War, stating "Brother, I must beg that you control yourself; you know what kind of power you possess. And you know what will happen if you don't keep it in check". War scowled, unseen beneath his helmet, as he replied heatedly, "Feh. You're one to lecture me, Death; had we moved sooner, we wouldn't have had to resort to this. I know my duty, and I will carry it out". Young as he was, War had a point; perhaps Death was being overly cautious, but all of the Four riding together...No, it was necessary. Earth had been judged, and now it would fall to Destruction, just like any other who threatened the Balance to such an intolerable degree. With a sigh of muted defeat, Death then said, "Now let's begin....Come forth, Despair" At command, a green-skinned Bronco - its own flesh peeling slightly from its bones to reveal a green aura surrounding the exposed skeleton - appeared next to Death who quickly climbed aboard. Its hooves were surrounded by small vortexes of green energy, the appearance of which seemed to be anguished souls. "Let's go eat, Strife" was Famine's distorted, weak-sounding command; a sickly black Hanoverian, the skin pulled tight over its own skeleton and its eyes sunken in like its master's, soon appeared; given the frailty of his form, War helped his brother climb aboard. Famine then held out his right hand and a pair of bronze scales appeared; the bony fingers grasped the centerpiece and brought them down to his side. "Ruin!" War shouted as he stepped back from Famine's mount; in a brilliant burst of fire, a red-grey skinned Mustang rode forth, a thick metal chain connected to the bit in his mouth. The hooves and mane were alight with fire, and small plumes of flame could be seen flaring from the nostrils as Ruin snorted; War's hand grasped the chain firmly and pulled himself into the seat, Ruin whinnying loudly as he rose onto his thick rear legs. "Ride, Vengeance! Show them the power of the Four Horsemen!" Conquest bellowed, his large hand grasping the gigantic axe at the grip and raising it to the air, his own horse reeling before his powerful hooves carried him forward to the largely unsuspecting planet.
Above Crystal Tokyo, a powerful thunder could be heard; strange because there were no storm clouds. Some people arose from their beds to see what the commotion was, not knowing just what brand of danger approached them. However, a portal soon opened, and from that opening came the Rider of the White Horse, Conquest. Conquest atop his mount Vengeance sat high up in the sky, the arm holding the gigantic black axe hanging at his side as he looked down at this pathetic city. The people couldn't believe what they were seeing; who was that? What did he want? Conquest could hear all of this; some were already taken by him, and fewer still were already kneeling before him as if he were their lord and master. This only served to cause more confusion; why were they kneeling, some of the others asked. Conquest smirked beneath his enormous collar; he would make this yet another mark in his crown. "Kneel, you mortal fools! Kneel and bow before your master!" Conquest bellowed, raising his axe high as Vengeance reared up, sending a crack of lightning behind him. Soon his brothers would follow and then these fools would see what happened to those that invoked the wrath of the Four Riders of the Apocalypse.