Magical Princess Sharra of the Winds
by Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney

Chapter 7: Symmetry
     Although Natsuko hadn't realized it, Mayumi and Cathy had 
come running when they heard the yelling. Bast returned to her 
usual form, and stood up.
     "Um, are you allright Natsuko?" Mayumi managed.
     Natsuko smiled -- sarcastically and widely.
     Before she could make a comment that would scare Mayumi, 
Cathy spoke up. "Bast, what did you mean?"
     "We must do three things." she replied, hopping back up onto 
the bed. "First, we must find Artemis of the Stones. Second, we 
must find and use the Heart Crystal, and finally, we must face 
the Princes."
     "Sounds scary." Mayumi whispered.
     "We'll do our best." said Rina confidently.
     Natsuko calmed down a little, and sat down. "Bast, just what 
is this Heart Crystal?"
     "It... is necessary for us to reach the Great Hall, in which 
the Princes reside."
     Natsuko strongly suspected that there was something she 
wasn't being told, but said nothing to that effect. "So, where do 
we start?"
     "Well," said Bast, lowering her head slightly. "accessing 

the Crystal isn't possible without all five Princesses present."
     "And how are we supposed to find Artemis?"
     Cathy nodded. "She does have a point; we aren't likely to 
just bump into her."
     Bast nodded. "I know. But she is in Japan. Or will be very 
soon. I can feel it."
     "That makes it easier." Rina offered.
     "Kind of." snorted Natsuko. "It narrows it down to Japan. I 
doubt anyone has the resources to search all of Japan." Silence 
prevailed for a moment. Natsuko looked up at the clouds thought-
fully. "Where is the Heart Crystal, anyway?"
     "It is located in the Hall of Light." Bast said at last. 
"There are many entrances on Earth; the one in Japan is in a 
distant and ancient shrine." She hopped down to the floor. "Well, 
enough time wasted. I will go look for her. You stay right here." 
And with that, she vanished.
     Everyone looked at the spot where the cat had been. "There 
she goes again." Natsuko muttered. A faint wind blew through the 
trees.

     Janet stepped out of the tunnel and into the Tokyo airport. 
She knew it would be crowded -- her father had told her such -- 
but she was amazed at how oppressive the crowding felt to her. 
She wasn't claustrophobic in the least; in fact, she sort of 
liked small places, but the moving throng of Japanese people, 
walking around, boarding planes, saying "sumimasen" every time 
they bumped into each other, was somehow unpleasant to her.
     It was ironic, then, that she'd wanted so much to come to 
Japan for so long. Her genes were 100% Japanese, but she quickly 
realized that her mind was quite American. Her comprehension of 
Japanese had reached that of Japanese fifth-grader, making her 
speech far from exceptional.
     Her clothes were passable enough, owing to the virtually 
universal adoption of western-style dress in Japan. Her attitude 
was quite the opposite of the typical Japanese schoolgirl, howev-
er, and her hair, dyed bright green, was a stark contrast to the 
almost universal black.

     Ordinarily, she didn't mind being watched, but it seemed 
that everyone was looking at her with a mix of curiosity and 
disapproval.
     Her father walked up behind her. "Well," he said, "here we 
are."
     They proceeded out of the airport. The two of them were 
going to stay in Japan for anywhere from a couple months to a 
year, depending. He was here on account of his being a respected 
archaeologist, and she hoped to follow in his footsteps. Only a 
few days ago, a system of caves was discovered that baffled the 
scientific community, and he and others had been asked to join in 
the study.
     The two of them piled into a taxi, and since Janet was a 
little better at Japanese, she told the driver where to go.
     "So, what do you think of Japan?"
     Janet smiled. "Dad, we've been here for all of fifteen 
minutes. You make it sound like we're about to leave."
     He shrugged, and pulled out his laptop. "Sorry; I meant to 
say, what do you think so far?"
     She looked out the window. "Everything seems so crowded 
here; the people, the buildings, the cars, everything."
     He typed in a few commands, loading something up. "Japan has 
a population of over twenty million. What do you want?"
     She looked at the computer's LCD display; he had pulled up a 
document of some sort. "What's that?"
     "They sent me this information on the caves by modem the 
other day. It's rather interesting."
     "Oh?"
     He nodded. "Um hm. There's an obscure legend about these 
five princesses. Each one was said to control a different ele-
ment. If the records are to be believed, our family is descended 
from one of them."
     "So, we're looking for princesses?"
     He smiled. "You're the only princess I need. But it would be 
nice to know how much is fact or fiction."
     "Which is why you and your princess are off digging for 
evidence."

     "But what are these spirits?" asked Cathy.
     Natsuko shrugged. "It's not important; they're there, 
they're real, and they can help us. They want to help us."
     "When's Bast coming back?" asked Rina, "We've already missed 
a day of school."
     Natsuko shrugged and closed her eyes. She could see, or 
rather, feel, the spirits around her. She picked out a pair of 
strong air spirits, and told one to find Bast and the other to 
find Artemis.
     Mayumi looked at her, confused. "What are you doing?"
     Natsuko stood up. "I told some spirits to go look for them. 
There's not much else we can do now."
     Barely fifteen minutes later, the two spirits zoomed into 
the room, their excitements making them visible as a whitish-blue 
shimmering in the air.
     Natsuko stood up. "They're both in the same place! Let's 
hurry!"

     Janet had to admit; the tunnel system was impressive by any 
standard. They had been walking through, and carefully mapping, 
the tunnels for nearly an hour now.
     Somewhere, she heard a meow. Not sure why, Janet turned down 
a side corridor, and walked for a while. It didn't take her very 
long to realize that she was lost. Then, suddenly, she spotted a 
white cat. It stepped closer to her, heaved a sigh of relief, and 
said, "Hello there."
     Unable to think of anything else to do, Janet screamed.
     The cat jumped back. "Please! I'm not going to hurt you."
     "Th- then what do you want?"
     "Stay calm." she said in a soothing voice. "I am Bast. I 
have come to help you reclaim your destiny, as Artemis of the 
Stones."
     Janet was sent reeling, as much by the hodgepodge of mythi-
cal personages as by the fact that there was a talking cat stand-
ing in front of her. She remembered her father's words; our 
family is descended from one of them. Could the myth have had 
some basis in reality?
     "It isn't a myth." Bast said firmly. "You are one of the 
five Princesses reborn -- the last to reawaken. These tunnels 
lead to the Hall of Light, where the five once resided."
     "Y-you read my mind!"
     Bast nodded. "My powers have grown great, but not as great 
as yours. I will show you.

     The four of them rushed through the streets of Tokyo. It was 
quickly becoming apparent that Natsuko was, by far, the best 
runner among them, and even she was hard-pressed to keep up with 
her would-be servants.
     Finally, they had to stop.
     "This isn't gonna' work." Rina groaned.
     "She's right." Cathy added. "We can't run to the other side 
of Tokyo, and it could be anywhere in Japan."
     Natsuko frowned. "They'll lose the scent soon."
     "Can't we teleport there?" asked Mayumi.
     Natsuko scowled. "Do you know how?"
     "Well, Bast did say something about us being able to join 
our power, to do stuff like that."
     "I think we should at least try." Rina offered.
     "But what if we screw up? What then?" She looked at the 
ground. "Besides, they'll be looking for us."
     "Well," said Mayumi, quietly, "It was your idea to run out 
here, you know."
     "Fine." said Natsuko, standing up straight. "Let's do it."

     The universe had turned itself upside down in the space of 
about three minutes. Or at least, it certainly seemed that way. 
Three minutes ago, the was just Janet Ishii, but now she was also 
Magical Princess Artemis of the Stones, with the power to command 
some of the forces of nature, and a cutesy outfit and magical 
wand with which to do so.
     Her mind had simply gone numb.
     "So, you're the last one."
     Janet spun around. A Japanese girl, with shoulder-length 
black hair and intense, dark eyes stood before her. Behind her 
were three other girls -- two Japanese and one blonde American. 
All were dressed much the same as she was. Janet managed a nod.
     "I'm Natsuko. Bast filled you in on why we're here, right?"
     She nodded again. "Uh, yeah."
     Natsuko looked deep into the clear crystal of her hand. "The 
time has come."

Chapter 8: Ragnarok
     The five of them stood in a cavern that seemed to be made 
entirely of prismatic crystals. Rainbows were hurled all over the 
room by the white light that pervaded, yet had no apparent 
source. At the center of this prismatic inferno was a clear, 
glowing gem.
     Natsuko regarded it suspiciously. "What do we do now?"
     "You must have love in your heart, and take the crystal from 
its resting place." Bast said carefully.
     Natsuko nodded, and stepped towards the crystal, which would 
allow them to finally end all this. Slowly, very slowly, she 
reached her hand out and rested her fingers on its luminous sur-
face.
     A blood-curdling scream reverberated through the cavern. 
Natsuko's entire body was torn at by hungry strands of blue 
electricity. The pain she felt was unimaginable, but she was 
resolute; she would overcome this!
     The other Princesses gasped.
     "Natsuko!" Bast was quick to yell. "Let go before it kills 
you!"
     She let go, and fell to the glowing floor. Natsuko could see 
smoke rising from her own body.
     "Can it be?" said Bast, her voice barely a whisper. "Was 
this life that unkind to you?"
     Perhaps it had been. Natsuko had heard the word love again 
and again, but never truly knew what it meant. She slowly picked 
herself up, and surveyed her companions. They looked on her with 

a mix of pity and shock. "Mayumi." she said at last. "You do it."
     Mayumi hesitated, but did as she had been asked. When she 
held the gem in her hands, a blindingly intense blue glow en-
veloped the cavern.
     Natsuko could feel the light -- it tore at her very soul -- 
and fought it. A small part of her wanted to give in, but the 
rest would not go without a fight.
     When at last it ended, all was as before. The five Princess-
es stood there in silence.
     Mayumi released the crystal, and it hovered as it had be-
fore. She turned to Natsuko, an calm in her eyes that had never 
been there before. "Sharra, we're ready." The voice was Mayumi's, 
and yet it was not.
     Natsuko turned to Bast. "Bast, what's going on?"
     "How is it that she--?" Cathy, too, spoke with a voice that 
was not quite hers.
     Natsuko took a  step towards the cat. "Bast, just what the 
hell did that crystal do?"
     Bast lowered her head, knowing that Natsuko would not like 
the answer. "It's... it's supposed to restore your true... old 
identities."
     Ariel turned away. "Yet she resisted. Sharra is lost. We 
have no leader."
     "But why can't she lead us?" asked Diana. "She has the 
strength..."
     Artemis frowned. "The strength of hatred."
     "Can we really afford to be so choosy?" asked Venus.
     "She hasn't an ounce of love in her soul!"

     "And yet," said Diana, "she has fought valiantly and honora-
bly whenever it was needed. When Baal tried to tempt her, she 
refused."
     Venus nodded. "And the spirits are strong with her, perhaps 
even stronger than they were with Sharra."
     Natsuko stood there, not quite sure of what to do. The way 
they talked about her made her blood boil. "Can I say something?"
     The four of them turned and looked at her.
     "Sitting here and talking is all good and fine, but it isn't 
being very productive. If we're going to fight the Princes, we 
should either make plans or just get to it."
     The four of them exchanged glances, and nodded in unison. 
The five of them stood in a circle, and joined hands. An instant 
later, they vanished.
     Bast took one last look at the crystal, and then followed.

     The five Princes sat on their thrones in the Great Hall. 
Anubis paced nervously.
     "You fools." he muttered. "Now is the time to strike! Do you 
not remember Sharra's words?"
     "If she was indeed correct," said Baal, "then it won't 
matter at all where we meet." He let some electricity spirits 
dance between his outstretched fingers. "Besides, they'll need 
time to prepare."
     "Unless they can find the Heart Crystal -- their equivalent 
of the Eye of Darkness."
     A small voice rang through the Hall. "They already have."
     Anubis turned to address the visitor, and smiled, revealing 
rows of sharp, gleaming teeth. "Bast."
     Natsuko strode in, followed by the Princesses. "Now, it 
ends." she said slowly.
     The Princes stood up in unison. Baal stepped forward, and 
held one arm high above his head. "To the death."
     The obsidian cave faded, and then the ten of them floated in 
a glass sphere. Below were mountains, deserts, forests, lakes, 
rivers, volcanoes, and so on. Beyond the edges of the sphere was 
a black void.
     Natsuko concentrated. The spirits flowed into her with 
astonishing speed. The raw power she held was enormous. She was 
only distantly aware of the other Princesses fighting the other 
Princes. Baal watched her, gathering his own spirits. When she 
felt she had enough, Natsuko lashed out with a flurry of light-
ning bolts.
     Baal fell back, and prepared a counterattack.

     All over the world, the skies darkened. Volcanoes that had 
been silent for thousands of years suddenly erupted, filling the 
skies with black ashes. The seas became suddenly turbulent, 
earthquakes shook the world, and thunderstorms tore across the 
skies. The people of the world looked up in wonder and fear. Some 
watched the gathering clouds, but many looked to whatever gods 
they believed in.

     Diana and Arkal were locked in a deadly battle. Storms of 
leaves, shards of wood, and worse, flew through the air. Armies 
of animated trees met in mortal combat.
     Thunder raged overhead. Diana looked up for a moment to see 
what had happened; in that instant, she felt a white-hot shaft of 
pain as an unnaturally sharp wooden spear plunged through her 
chest...

     Artemis and Ariel faced Pyrakalth and Jeykrethal. Shafts of 
living magma shot out between the two pairs, destroying instantly 
whatever they struck.
     A piercing scream rang through the sphere. Ariel and Artemis 
both looked for a brief moment, catching a glimpse of Diana, 
impaled by a spear held by Arkal. In that instant, they were 
incinerated by a burst of molten rock.

     Venus and Trimalthus stood at opposite ends of a lake. 
Waves, ice shards, and columns of water flew between the two. 
Then, they both went into the water, and took to flinging deadly, 
aqueous energy.
     The ground shook, and the water vibrated. Venus heard a 
distant cry, and looked for its source. There was a rushing 
though the water, and a blade of ice had run her through. Like a 
painful blue dream, she began to sink.

     The five Princes hovered before Natsuko, Baal slightly in 
front of them. "Well, Sharra, all the others are dead. What will 
you do now?"
     Natsuko was numb. They were all dead. The only people who 
had ever really cared about her had been just been killed by 
these five. She closed her eyes, a boiling mix of rage and grief 
welling up inside her. Finding no outlet, it only increased in 
intensity.
     "Well."
     Natsuko opened her eyes. "Mayumi, Cathy, Rina, Janet," she 
whispered, "give me the strength to avenge you."
     The spirits, not just of air, but of all nature, swirled 
around her. The air shimmered with raw power, and Natsuko began 
to pull it into herself. When she felt she couldn't hold anymore, 
she took a tiny bit more, and then forced it all outwards.

     Just as suddenly as they had come, the storms, earthquakes, 
and floods ceased. The clouds parted, and gentle sunlight came 
down from the skies.
     The people would likely never know why it had happened, but 
they did know one thing for certain; it was over.

Epilogue: Dawn After Darkness
     The Glass Sphere shattered.
     When Natsuko came to, she was in her own bed. Slowly, she 
sat up and looked around. The room was lit by the pale gray light 
of the very early morning.
     When she saw the mirror, she remembered the titanic fight 
that suddenly seemed so distant. Had it all been a dream? It 
seemed far too real to have been from her subconscious, yet to 
surreal to have possibly happened.
     She reached over and turned on the light. There, on the 
floor, were Mayumi, Cathy, Rina, and Janet. All were in sleeping 
bags, and all except Janet (who had street clothes on) wore 
pajamas.
     Mayumi blinked in the iridescent glow, and gradually opened 
her eyes. "Oh, Natsuko." she muttered. "Just 'cuz you save the 
world and all doesn't mean you have to wake us up so early."
     "Sorry." she said, turning the light off again.
     It had all been real, but they were alive. Natsuko lay down 
on her futon, and did something she had not done in far too long. 
She smiled. Not for sarcasm or to be mean, but for joy.
_________________________________________________________________

But Wait There's More:
     Coming soon (or whenever I get around to writing it); the 
action-packed sequel to Magical Princess Sharra of the Winds:
     War of the Elements: In this new series, the Magical Prin-
cesses return to normal life, only to be faced with new groups of 
foes, both internal and external. The Princesses must face the 
Lesser Elements, and Natsuko must face something terrible and 
dangerous within her own mind.

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Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney                     blackbird@blackbird.nu
Blackbird's Domain                        http://www.blackbird.nu/
The Official Thrash Home Page          http://thrash.blackbird.nu/
Knight Kevlar of the Immortal Frog        Silver Knight of Mihoshi
              "Be nice to me; I might just develop 
             psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo!"
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