BLINDED BY REVENGE
CHAPTER 1
Get Rubeus
Written by Darkpower
Rating: 14 (Dialogue, Violence, Language)
This is the first of what will be several stories that delve into the "Silver Project Saga" (thank you to Alicia Blade for her help in deciding on a name for the Saga). This is set after Sailor Moon R, though it will take a hard turn into a new path (or a different "tangent", or an alternate timeline (sort of a half-AU) that uses the first two SM seasons as a basis for what happens in the Saga.
Keep in mind, however, that because this will be an ongoing Saga, things in canon characters might change from the norm over time, and new characters will emerge that'll have their own reasons for either helping or hindering the Sailors, and new situations will present themselves. Finally, yes, the Outers will make their appearance in the Saga, but that's a while away yet, as is the main reason behind the name of the Saga. The first few stories will set the foundation. I'll bring in the canon characters from S and Super S, too, but in a way that will tie into the plot lines of the Saga. They'll still be the same characters, but with an altered time in which they show up, and a different event that warrants their arrival. This Saga is also all about giving you questions to think about, and perhaps the next chapters either answering them, giving you more questions, or changing the questions you already had. Be prepared!
Finally, thanks to "youroctober" for the betaing of this chapter as well as the rest of this fanfiction. The help is very much appreciated, and I hope that the fanfiction is much more enjoyable as a result of such hard work.
The man couldn't believe it. Lady Emerald had told him that the Dark Phantom couldn't stand failures, and left him for dead as she disappeared. Rubeus had no way out of the UFO he had thought he captured the Sailors in. The same UFO that had now caught fire because Rubeus had started the self-destruct sequence. He was lost, and needed to find his way fast because he was about to die in space, and he knew the famed saying about screaming in space (no one can hear you scream). Now he would be at negative decibels if he tried because no one would want to hear him if he were to be able to, though at this point he didn't care about anyone but himself anymore.
Rubeus, however, was about to find some guidance. He should've known that UFO would not have a self-destruct sequence without a normal means of escape. Even with all the magical powers he and the others that used that huge, bulky spacecraft, if anyone else, possessed, the UFO ('Why am I still calling it that?' Rubeus thought) was still given an escape pod just in case the worst-case scenario came true. This type of thing called for exactly what Rubeus' eyes found. That small, one-man pod that sat to the left of where Rubeus was and where he had last seen Emerald. She would get hers soon, that he knew, one way or another. However, he wanted to live, and to get his revenge.
'Damn it, why am I still thinking about this?', he thought. With no other thoughts entering his mind than to "get his ass out of there now", Rubeus made leaps and bounds to get past the burning embers, and before he knew it, he was there. He fought the latch and was able to get that thing open within moments, and not a second too soon, as he saw the ship ('Yeah,' he thought, 'it's a ship, not a UFO!') begin to rip apart. He would be the next thing coming apart if he didn't act, and so act he did. He got into the pod, closed the latch, and launched the pod into the space, seeing his precious ship bite the dust. Now that he was free (albeit with the fact that he was cutting it too close), Rubeus could finally exhale and start thinking about what to do from here. Though he now had some more time, he couldn't just sit there forever, as that wouldn't be too good for his health, either.
"Emerald, you annoying bitch!" Rubeus said to himself as he pounded his fist onto the armrest of the pod. "I know you'll soon see how loyal the Dark Phantom is, and who he really represents. Yeah, they all think I'm dead right now. I made sure no one would see me get out of there alive. Good thing about sci-fi, eh? We learn how to cloak these beasts sooner or later. You'll never have me back, Phantom."
Rubeus then thought about a few other things, as well. "Wonder how I'll get back to my time. Ah, who cares about the future? This is where it's at now. I'm a product of the past, someone who can shape what will happen in my original time. Which means," Rubeus snickered, "taking care of the Sailors before Rini is even born. I'll be the hero of my time by taking care of the Sailors in this time. Got a score to settle with them, anyway. Better than nothing, though I may want to hide out for a little while. Don't want anyone to know just yet that I'm still alive and kicking."
With that, Rubeus pressed a few buttons and off to Earth he went.
-xXXXx-
It had been a few months since the Sailors had defeated the Black Moon in the future (the same amount of time since Rubeus had escaped his destroyed ship). Rini was reunited with her mother and father, as planned, even though it wasn't easy for the Soldiers to do so, having to get through the Black Moon family and all. Now without any real need to use their Sailor powers, the girls seemed relieved to be able to get back to being normal kids. Only thing was, now that they were friends and had a few talking animals at their sides, normal life seemed to become abnormal before long.
This was especially true for Usagi Tsukino, who lay in her bed as the sun was beginning to come up. This was more than unusual for her. She really needed the sleep after all she had been though during the past year; that she knew. However, with the covers over her body, her eyes were wide open. Not only did she go to sleep early, but she woke up early. She wasn't tired at all, and she was wondering how she was doing this. This type of thing, although new to her, was beginning to be commonplace. She wrestled with the reasons as to why she was such an early riser lately, though the more she stared at the alarm clock watching the time tick by, she was beginning to see a reason why she was only laying there instead of sleeping. It was complete boredom. She was living her teenage life (which was starting to near its end as graduation was looming in the distance), which was what she wanted to begin with. However, in a matter of speaking, the more she didn't have to be a Sailor, the more she was missing it. Maybe it was the excitement that came with taking out the Black Moon or the Dark Kingdom or the Cardigans that she missed, or maybe it was being around the Sailor friends that she had made along the way. Either way, she never thought that she would even be looking forward to school. She just anticipated the time in which she could find an excuse to do something, anything, other than the same old same old.
'Six fifty-eight,' Usagi thought. Two more minutes during which she could just think about what was going on in her life right now, if anything. No, make that fifty-nine; one more minute. The clock had only advanced by one minute. Maybe this clock was slow. That alarm needed to sound so no one besides her would suspect that she was abducted by aliens and that a doppelganger was put in her place. She took that minute to look to Luna, which slept at her feet. In a way, Luna was counting on Usagi's sudden screams to wake her up. Luna was expecting it today, but even she wasn't aware of Usagi's sudden change in attitude about school. Usagi could only think of how bored out of her mind Luna was in right now.
Seven. The clock changed again. The alarm went off. No, scratch that, it was the radio now; she had decided to buy a new alarm clock that had a radio in it. Instead of annoying bells, she could be woken up to some goof-ball DJ's on the radio trying to get her to laugh. Depended on the station. Some J-Pop station was playing at the moment, even though she was kind of getting into some harder stuff lately. Even some American music, which was probably because a station dedicated to American music had just launched in the Tokyo market. Played some really good things, though more processed than the J-Pop she was used to hearing. It did play some good stuff that was unique, though, even when they really mixed the genres from one song to the next on there. She got to know some of the songs they were playing. As she jumped out of bed (she didn't wake Luna in doing so), she first tuned to that very American music station and then went to the mirror to get her hair prepped up. Some rock song was playing, and as she was getting her odangos in place, she was more concerned with trying to remember what song was playing. No, never mind, she just recognized it: Metallica's Enter Sandman. That singer's voice, James Hetfield, which she had remembered from the DJ saying it before playing it a few other times, was recognizable anywhere. They played this one a lot lately, and she would've went straight for the import section of the record store to snag the album this was on, if only she could make it past without her parents wondering why there was a picture of a snake on the completely black cover of the CD she had.
'Oh well,' she thought, though she had no one else to blame but Makoto for getting her into some of this type of music. Makoto was getting to become a headbanger through and through, and the musical influence she was having on Usagi was staggering.
Usagi's odangos were in place, she was now dressed, and all she needed to do was to get her shoes on, her bag gathered, and head out the door. The starting bell had yet to ring; it was still about an hour before she had to enter class. She had time to eat breakfast, but even that proved to be a bit of a chore. She usually skipped it anyway-had to because she was constantly late. She had the choice this time, and had for the past few weeks now. But, as she turned off the radio (giving a real big sorry to Stevie Nicks in the process), she only paced downstairs, slipped on her shoes, gathered her bag, and out the door she went.
However, right after she went out the door, Shingo, her younger brother, walked to the edge of the top step, rubbing his eyes. "Usagi, going to school early? I need more sleep. I never saw that happen before." Shingo could only rub his eyes some more, knowing that he couldn't get anymore sleep, as he needed to go to school himself. He only shook his head and went about getting himself ready.
-xXXXx-
Yes, it was an eventful day at school. Miss Haruna didn't even question who this new girl was and what she had done to Usagi this time. Usagi's grades were steadily improving, which was a good thing and no one concerned about her was complaining. That being said, however, what they were worried about was why she was behaving strangely from a personality standpoint. She was very distant in her classes. She wasn't herself, for sure.
Evidence of this suddenly ran right at Usagi while she was walking home from school: Luna, who was panting upon seeing Usagi.
"Usagi," Luna said, exhausted, "how in the world did you get out of bed without waking me? You're a hard person to find anymore!"
"Sorry, Luna," Usagi answered, her tone showing contempt.
"Usagi, what's going on? I sense a tone."
Usagi let out a deep sigh. "Nothing, Luna! Really, nothing!"
"Ahh, no you don't, Usagi. Not to me, not this time. Come, walk with me, talk with me."
Usagi sighed once more, this time in reluctant acceptance.
-xXXXx-
"I don't know Luna," Usagi answered as she was walking with her animal friend. "I've just been bored lately."
"You're free to do whatever you want to do, Usagi. You always wanted a normal life, did you? It's upon you and now you don't want it?"
"Well, I didn't say that. It's just that-well, it just seems really strange without being around the Sailor business. Just the feeling of helping someone who needs you, y'know. Yeah, I wanted to be a normal teen and all, but the more I'm living it after I've been a Sailor for so long, the harder it is. I'm just so used to the fighting."
Luna let out a quick sigh. "I know what you mean, I think. It's too quiet anymore. You think you want one thing, when you're actually taking the other thing for granted."
"Exactly. I was so tired of being Sailor Moon, but now I can't wait to become her again! Though I know to be careful what I wish for."
"Maybe you just miss them."
"You mean the other Sailors."
"Yes. I told them to come to the temple, a little reunion. Like I said, maybe it's not necessarily the fighting you miss, but the people you were with when you were fighting. I've even asked Mamoru to come, too."
"Miss him, most of all. You're right, Luna. I do miss my girls."
"Come, then, Usagi. To Hikawa Shrine. Sort of like old times."
Without another word, Usagi and Luna headed for the Shrine on the outskirts of Downtown Juuban.
However, unbeknown to either of them, someone was listening to every word of it: Rubeus, who was on the rooftop of a small apartment building, keeping himself hidden from view.
"That girl. She was talking to that cat," Rubeus whispered to himself. "She was talking about becoming Sailor Moon. A shrine? Meeting with others? Like old times? Could it be that she's...? Nah. I know what they say about things that sounds too good to be true. Better be sure I wasn't just hearing things." He then disappeared.
-xXXXx-
The entire gang was at the Shrine, and Usagi was overjoyed to see them again. Luna was correct: Usagi did miss them immensely. She smiled at each of them, but still felt a bit disconnected.
"Hey, girl," Rei said a few moments afterwards. "Heard you haven't been yourself lately."
"I heard you were getting B pluses instead of C minuses," Ami added. "There's something not right with that picture."
"No, nothing wrong, Ami," Usagi responded. "It's just me not being the same person anymore. I just don't feel like the person I was, who can just let loose and be myself."
"I've been feeling the same thing," Minako answered, walking over to Usagi. "It's like, something's been missing since we defeated the Black Moon. Nothing new has happened. Some boring destiny, isn't it?"
"Ah, c'mon, Mina," Makoto barked. "You and Usagi are both going to sit here, after everything that you've said about wanting to be a normal teenager, and say that you miss it now? Yeah, right!"
"It can be possible to face withdrawal from things that you didn't think you were addicted to," Artemis added. "It is possible that Usagi only thought she hated the job, but now that it's quieted down, that part of her life isn't there anymore, and the excitement went with it. My guess is that Miss Usagi Tsukino here misses being Sailor Moon because of everything that went along with the responsibility."
"Not sure if I would ever miss it," Rei added. "I guess it's different for everyone."
"We do have to be on our toes, though, in case there ends up being someone new trying to come after us," Ami responded. "Remember who we're trying to protect."
Usagi was still paying attention, but she was also looking to see where her on-again, off-again boyfriend was. "Hey, where is he?"
"You mean me?" asked a familiar male voice from behind Usagi. She turned around to see Mamoru's smiling face, though it startled her a bit as she had not been expecting him to be that close.
"Hey, don't do that!" Usagi yelled. "Scaring the living crap outta me! You know that's my job and my job only!"
"Well, it seems I perked you up!" her boyfriend chuckled. "Seems it was your friends that you missed."
"Yeah, it was. Really needed to be around people that knew me, and that I could talk to about it."
"As long as you are the future Queen of Earth, it will never be boring, and we'll never be done protecting this place."
"I guess you're right."
"Hey," Makoto interrupted, "you guys coming inside or not? I made a celebration feast for all of us. It's my biggest meal I've ever made, did it once I heard about Usagi being a little down, thought we could treat ourselves."
"Yeah, nothing says excitement like digging into something good like Mako's cooking," Usagi answered. "Something else I missed."
"Yeah, what the hell? An extra fifty pounds, here we come," Minako proclaimed. A "Right!", in unison, was heard amongst the rest of the group, and off into the Shrine they all went.
However, once more, no one saw that Rubeus was eavesdropping on everything, and this time, his suspicions proved to be correct.
"Well now, Usagi," Rubeus whispered. "You indeed are Sailor Moon, and this time, I know how to find you, at any time. Usagi Tsukino is your name? Perfect! That's all I need to know."
Rubeus then went to a nearby pay phone booth and searched through the attached phone book. His eyes studied the pages, looking for the name of "Tsukino". A hundred pages into the book, he found what he was looking for, ripped out a page, and disappeared before anyone could find him.
-xXXXx-
"Damn, Mako, you made all of this yourself, that fast, and it was that good?" Usagi asked as she was chewing the last bits of her meal. "Talk about overexertion."
"It was nothing," Makoto answered. "I couldn't stand seeing one of my best friends be so down in the dumps, and I knew the best way to cheer you up."
"She probably won't be able to stand after all she ate," Ami added.
"Neither will you, oh wise one," Usagi scoffed back.
"Hey, I only gained twenty. You probably gained that fifty pounds Minako predicted."
"Thirty here," Rei proclaimed. "Yeah, Makoto! You got a hell of a lot to live up to after this. If you can whip this stuff up that fast, I can't imagine what you could do when you have more time on your hands."
"Thanks," Makoto said, smiling. "That really means a lot to me. I'm actually thinking about trying to become a chef when I graduate."
"Yeah, I haven't figured out where I'm going from high school yet," Usagi answered.
"Maybe that's another reason why you've gotten a bit more serious lately," Mina said. "You're thinking about life beyond being a teenager."
"Yeah, that's probably..." Usagi stopped as she looked at the time. "Ah, shit! I gotta get home, it's getting late and my parents have yet to even see me. They don't know I've been getting up earlier. They just think my new alarm clock is working for me better. I'm sorry, guys."
"Nah, no problem, Usagi. I'm glad we were able to help you out," Rei answered. "Remember, whenever you need to talk to someone, you know who to call."
"Yeah, thanks Rei; And all of you, thank you, too." Usagi then slipped on her shoes and headed out the door, seemingly in a hurry.
"Still don't think she really misses being a Sailor," Makoto said a few moments later. "Got a feeling that there's something else going on."
"Yeah, I sensed it," Rei added. "Like she's unknowingly getting some sort of premonition about something and she doesn't know what it is, but it's bothering her enough to make her depressed."
"Something bad?"
"I don't know. The way you said it, and the way I sensed it, is worrying me now."
"She's been like this for a few weeks," Luna added. "Usagi doing better in school I'll take, but this stick in the mud stuff I'd rather do without. Talk about missing someone...it's the Usagi that was always a chore to try to keep in check that I miss."
"I just hope I'm wrong," Rei responded.
-xXXXx-
Usagi was heading home, school bag in hand, with the day growing old and the sun setting, the night sky nearly taking over completely. She was not in any rush, but she was trying to walk quickly to get back home before it got any later. She was only a few blocks away now, and she ran across the street and began to walk the final leg. However, as Usagi looked upwards to see the second floor of her house, she stopped on a dime. One of the windows was a little cracked. It wasn't like that when she left earlier today, she knew that, and the light was on, so someone would've seen it by now.
It was when Usagi got to the archway that she saw a few more cracked windows, this time more than the other. "What the hell?"
She went through the archway to find that her house had a broken lock on it, and the door was nearly blown off of its hinges. Lights were on, and as she entered the house, she became horrified. Chairs were tipped over, and dishes and glasses were broken. It wouldn't have even been that bad had she not seen the evidence that made her horrified: blood. On the walls, on the chairs, and on the banister. It was smeared all over the place, and the more Usagi saw it, the more her widened eyes watered and the more her breaths shortened.
"M-Mom?! D-Dad?! Shingo?!" She got no answer. "Oh, my god!" She dropped her bag on the floor and began to navigate the now torn-apart house, broken glass crumbling beneath her feet.
"MOM! DAD! Please, someone answer! SHINGO! ANYONE!" Still with no answer, she rushed upstairs, and it was then that she heard some crying. It was from her mother, coming from the master bedroom. As she entered, her mother, Ikuko Tsukino, was on the bed crying. Her father, Kenji, was on his back, trying to stop some bleeding from a rather large wound.
"DAD!" Usagi screamed, rushing to her father's aid.
"Why, Usagi? Why did he do this?" Ikuko asked.
"Who?" Usagi screamed louder. "Mother, tell me! Please!"
"Um," her mother stammered with the details, trying to keep her composure long enough to tell her.
"Mother? You must know!"
"Uh, tall guy...short and spiky red hair, has this purple vest on him. That's all I really could see"
'Oh, my god! Rubeus? But he was...'
"He shot your father near his heart, but he was trying to get me out of the way," her mother continued while shaking like a leaf. "That madman was beginning to fire something at me when he just vanished! I didn't know what to do, I don't have the training you have! I just told him to stay down to try to stop the bleeding! It was only a half-hour ago! I was going to call the police, but I was scared that he was still here, and you know how useless they've been lately!"
Usagi ripped off a piece of her school uniform's skirt and handed it to Ikuko, seemingly ignoring her critique of the police, even though she disagreed with her, as she usually did. "Here, get this onto the wound. Keep pressure on it; Looks like you got lucky there, dad!" She then looked around the room and into the hallway. "Where's Shingo?"
"S-Shingo?" her mother asked.
Usagi became angrier as she held her head in disbelief. "Mom, please tell me you didn't just leave him!"
"You know how he's been lately! He's been going outside with his friends, I sometimes don't even hear him leave or come back! I didn't know if he was here or not! He could've been in his room when it happened! He came to us and shot us with some beam thing, and I was tending to...Usagi, wait!" Ikuko made sure Kenji was alright before running after Usagi.
Usagi rushed to Shingo's room, also finding with the door's handle broken. It was when she went inside that she found Shingo with a wound of his own, only unconscious on the floor.
"Shingo!" Usagi screamed before running to the comatose body, skidding on both knees to get to where she could tend to her younger brother. She checked for a pulse, but also found that she couldn't hear any breathing, and if there was a pulse, she didn't feel anything.
"Oh, my god!" Ikuko cried once she found Usagi with Shingo. "Shingo, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..."
"He's not breathing! God, Shingo, wake up for me!" Usagi felt tears streaming down her face as she kept searching for something, anything, to tell her that he was still alive. Finally, she was able to find the faintest pulse. It was just enough to tell her that he was still alive, but he wouldn't be for long. Heightening that danger was the loss of blood from a huge wound that she found on his chest, and then another on his left leg.
"MOM, CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE! NOW!"
"Usagi!"
"DO IT!"
Unlike any other time when Usagi would yell like that at her mother or "backtalk" her, Ikuko knew this was a life or death situation, and that her daughter had first aid training and would know if someone needed immediate medical attention. She therefore knew that Usagi had every right to scold her for not acting right now.
As Usagi's mother rushed to the phone to call for the hospital, Usagi once more tore off some pieces of her blouse to keep the wounds from doing any more damage to Shingo. It was all she had, and she didn't want to leave her brother. She also frantically undid the red ribbon on the front of her shirt and wrapped it around Shingo's leg to secure the makeshift bandage even further. She then prayed for two things: to let Shingo live though this, and for her first aid training to not fail her. "C'mon, Shingo, stay with me, please. You're not going to die, not if I have anything to say about it, you hear me?! Don't die on me!" She then thought to herself, 'Mother, why didn't you even check on him? Did you even know that I wasn't here?'
A few seconds after finishing her prayer, Ikuko came back into the room, in a panic. "Is he going to...?"
"I hope not! God, I hope not!"
"They'll be here soon, Usagi. They said they will contact the police, too, though I doubt they'll even rope off this place! I'm sorry, Usagi, I should've...God, I feel so damn stupid! I knew you weren't here, thank God, your bag wasn't here and I know you take it every day! I noticed that earlier. I heard Shingo leave earlier, too, but I didn't hear him come back in, I was trying to cook dinner and he must've sneaked back in! God, I'm such a horrible mother!"
Usagi could only grit her teeth, not caring at all about the details at this point and only caring about avenging her family. She had never felt such sadness and anger infused within her before. Though the description her mother had given on who had done such a thing proved to be a bit unbelievable.
"Mom, you're sure you're describing this guy right, aren't you?"
"Positive. He said something about knowing who Sailor Moon is, and that he wanted her to face him or something! He thought we knew where she would be, he thought...God, Usagi, I think he was after you; he thinks you're Sailor Moon!"
"Then he should've came after me, not you guys!"
"I told him we know nothing about that, and he didn't believe us! Said he knew how to get her out of hiding, and that's when he began all of this. I'm not even sure why he let me off the hook."
Usagi couldn't answer as she was too concerned with Shingo right now. Thankfully, a few moments later, the two heard sirens outside, and a team of paramedics flooded the room just a few seconds later.
-xXXXx-
"Give us some room, ma'am!" an emergency room doctor commanded as the team of paramedics and fellow doctors rushed Shingo, who was on a stretcher and in a pitiful state, into one of the cubicles in which they could begin administering the medical care. Usagi could only feel a sea of tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew who had done this, and why he had! She couldn't say a word to her parents, though, about her being Sailor Moon. Not yet, anyway. This incident was beginning to spark some thought as to whether or not to tell them the truth. That could wait, though, as Usagi's main concern was that Shingo survived this. As she looked on the as best as she could, only seeing her small brother hooked up to many machines, knowing that her brother didn't belong there, she could only pray once more.
"Doctor Mesta told me that your dad's going to be alright," Ikuko said as she came to embrace her daughter. "They think they can stitch him up easily, they said."
"What about Shingo, though? I'm glad dad will be alright, but Shingo...oh God, mom, why did he think I was...?"
"Are you?"
"I...I really..."
"Never mind. It's not appropriate of me to ask that. Don't know why I did when our son could die." She then broke off the embrace and leaned against a wall, only to punch it in frustration a few moments later. "Damn it! Usagi, I feel horrible! I should've at least made sure Shingo didn't return! I'm such a failure, Usagi! Shingo must hate me now! He's on those damn things because of me, I couldn't protect him! I'm sorry, Usagi, it's all my fault!
While she heard her mother's words and wanted to respond to them, Usagi had so many other thoughts in her mind all at once, and it was beginning to eat at her psyche. "Excuse me, mom. I need some air." Usagi then quickly headed outside the hospital walls. Ikuko didn't pursue her, even though she believed she should have. She knew Usagi needed some time to herself, especially with knowing the person who tried to kill her family was looking for her.
-xXXXx-
"He's alive! That son of a bitch Rubeus is alive!" Usagi yelled as she used her Sailor communicator to call her friends. There was another reason why she needed to get outside: To inform the others about the new danger, and what had happened.
"Hold on," Makoto responded. "He's alive? Didn't that strange thing he was on...?"
"I don't know how, and I don't care! All I know is that he knows I'm Sailor Moon, and he went after my family! My dad needs stitches now because of him! What he did to Shingo...oh God!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Usagi," Rei answered. "We'll just get over there as soon as we can."
"No, don't worry. He wants me, and that's what he'll be getting. Tell Mamoru to get to the hospital. I don't want to risk anything else happening there, him being there will hopefully keep Rubeus from trying again."
"But Usagi, you don't know...!"
"Moon, crystal, power! Make up!"
She now had a reason to transform. This is what she desired, though it was far from how she wanted it to go. This was the type of incident that would give her nightmares some nights. She was with one thought, however, and that was to find Rubeus, and to end this. The feeling of the many ribbons surrounding her making up her Sailor suit, gloves, and knee high red boots were something in which she missed dearly. As the golden sparkles that made her tiara on her forehead completed the transformation, Sailor Moon could only think of one thing: to completely eradicate Rubeus and make him feel what he put her family through. She hoped that her friends told Mamoru to protect her family at the hospital (and that he obliged), and that Rubeus would be deterred from harming them anymore than he already did.
She rushed to Juuban Park, a few blocks south of the hospital building. No one was there as the park was closed, and Usagi got to an open field of grass in the middle of the park and just stood there.
"RUBEUS!" Sailor Moon began screaming. "You're the one that wanted me to come out, and now you got my attention, you coward!"
"You shouldn't be so willing to face me just yet, Sailor Moon!"
Usagi looked right in front of her after whipping her head back and forth, trying to find him, when she saw him appear, floating with his arms crossed just a few inches off the ground.
"Yeah, look at you!" Rubeus yelled out at her. "You wanted to come after me, yet you don't do it? What a pity!"
"You piece of shit! If you ever even touch my family again, if Shingo dies because of you, so help me, I'll..!"
"What? Kill me? You couldn't before; Emerald thought she had when she left me to die in that ship! Luckily for me, I still had that escape pod to see my way here! You're not easy to find, though!"
"Why are you telling me this?"
"To say that this won't be the last time you see me! Hell, you didn't even know that I saw you talk to that damn feline about your boredom, did you, Usagi Tsukino?"
Usagi didn't show any shock. She really didn't care at this point how he found out. "Don't worry, pal! That just means I'll be ready now more than ever for you!"
"Ha! You weren't when I hurt your family, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing them all die! Hell," he continued, snickering though his rhetoric, "I don't care how much you try to stop me! It won't be the last, Usagi! Hope your brother has a safe ride to Hell!"
Sailor Moon had enough, and ran to attack him, only to find that he was gone with a maniacal laugh. She looked all around, but there was no one there to go after. "Yeah, just hope I don't send you there first, pal!" she growled. She then quickly transformed back into her original alias, and returned to the hospital.
-xXXXx-
Usagi ran back like a sprinter, only to find that her friends were also there expecting her to come back.
"Usagi, what happened?" Luna asked.
"Rubeus knows who we are," Usagi answered. "He said there are going to be more attacks. He wants us dead, wants me to suffer."
"Going to have to be on guard, then," Rei replied.
"What happened to Shingo?" Ami questioned.
"He was in the emergency room last I knew. I couldn't stand there watching it. My mother was asking me if I was Sailor Moon. Rubeus attacked them demanding that they presented me to him, telling them that I was Sailor Moon. They didn't believe it."
"Did you...?" Artemis began to ask.
"Not yet, but my mother might be suspicious now, and I don't know how long I can or should keep this a secret from them. If this is what Rubeus is going to try to do..."
"No!" Artemis harked. "Don't ever tell anyone who you are, not even...!"
"She may have a point, though," Mina interrupted. "If Rubeus wants to be a coward, then it might be helpful to at least let them know who to call for if he tries this again."
"Rubeus might reveal it to the world, anyway," Makoto added. "He can do whatever he wants with that kind of information."
"No," Usagi answered, "that would be too risky for him. No one would believe him."
"Still, you shouldn't tell them, Usagi," Artemis continued, although a bit calmer. "Being Sailor Moon is a huge responsibility, and if you are going to..."
"I'd rather people know who I am than to have my family go through this again, Artemis! If telling my mother I'm Sailor Moon gives them something against the next attack..."
"Hey, Usagi!" The girls heard Ikuko yell out from the hospital doors. "It's about Shingo. I told him to wait until I get you!"
Usagi cut through the others and into the hospital, and they all came in right behind her.
-xXXXx-
"Okay, good news," said the tall Doctor Mesta, "he's still alive."
"Oh, thank God," Usagi exhaled. The other girls only listened and prayed that everything that the doctor would say was good news.
"Bad news, though," the baritone Doctor continued, "is that he's going to have to be put into our intensive care unit for a few weeks. We want to make sure he's alright, since whatever shot him got him good. The wound was pretty deep. I don't know if the kid will be the same once he recovers. I think he will be, but I've seen kids with smaller gunshot wounds be paralyzed or worse."
"We'll pray for him," Ikuko responded.
"You should. Actually, I think you might want to thank your daughter here. If we got to him any later, he probably would've died. Her quick thinking to use what she did to stop the bleeding bought us some much-needed time, as well. She's a hero, miss. Whatever she was doing to learn that stuff, make sure she keeps learning it. Not enough of people like her are willing to do what they can to save lives. I think you guys deserve some much needed sleep. Go home and come back here tomorrow morning. We'll be working on him throughout the night, and I can hopefully have some more info to give for you then. That is, unless you would like to stay here, being that you're his family."
"Usagi, you want to stay with your friends until this all is resolved?" Ikuko asked.
Usagi was puzzled about her even asking that. "Wait, you're saying that you don't want me to stay here with you?"
"Usagi, I know you want to protect your brother and all, but seeing how angry you are right now, I think it would be better if you didn't have to see it again and again! It would be too much for you! That," Ikuko sighed, "and I feel guilty about not knowing Shingo was there. I feel awful for what I let him go through. I got to prove it to myself and to him that I didn't intend on just letting him die, Usagi. Maybe if I can be the mother now that I wasn't when he got injured, it would be a step in the right direction!"
"Mom," Usagi said, "you don't have to feel sorry for yourself. You didn't know, and I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Yeah, you could've done things better and I'm sure you wish you could've, but that's the past, there's nothing you can do to change your mistakes now. All you can do is to learn from them and make sure this never happens again. There's only one person at fault here, too, and that's the person who came after you to begin with. Mom, no matter what you think of your abilities or the mistakes you have made, I trust you. I love you."
Ikuko and Usagi looked at each other, and then hugged tightly for a few moments.
"Tell my dad I'm going to be alright," Usagi said as the two shared their family bond. "He doesn't need to worry about me."
"Alright, sweetie. I love you, too. Thank you, Usagi. I needed to hear that, especially coming from you."
Usagi let a tear escape her as she let go of the embrace. With deep regret, Usagi walked out of the hospital doors, her friends following her, unsure what to think about the situation.
"Good kid you raised there, miss," the black-haired and mustached Doctor said afterwards.
"I hope she makes the right decisions, though," Ikuko answered. "I'm afraid that guy might try again."
"I can call the police again, see if there is anything else they can do to protect you guys."
"No, don't bother. Would be a lost cause knowing them. Don't think they could do anything about some freak of nature with supernatural powers, anyway. Probably just hide from him like they would anyone else. They probably would think I was some kind of weirdo."
"I'm sure they would still care, but I'll respect your wishes nonetheless. Let me know if you change your mind. I'll go and catch up the paper work for Shingo. You should get some rest. G'night, miss. If you need anything, let me know." Mesta then left Ikuko to do his work, making sure his long, white doctor's coat didn't get caught on any doors along the way.
'Why did he say you were Sailor Moon, Usagi?' Ikuko thought. 'You don't have to hide it from me if you are. If it's true, please do me a favor and let this guy have it. Shingo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to neglect you.' She tried her best to keep her tears hidden as she went to the room that her husband was being kept in.
-xXXXx-
"He knows who I am, he knows how to find me, and he knows how to lure me out," Usagi was saying as she continued to fight with several decisions in her mind.
"That guy said you were a hero," Rei responded.
"I'm no hero. I'm just a teenager. Someone who tried to hide my problems from you guys, from my parents, everyone. I was never like that."
"You were correct, though," Luna answered. "Be careful what you wish for!"
"Yeah, I got it alright. At least now I know that it's for my own reasons. I need to avenge Shingo, avenge myself. I'm no hero. My family is hurting now because of me, and so help me, that will never happen again."
"Just don't tell her, whatever you do," Artemis said.
"Actually," Luna chimed in response, "maybe we should let her make that decision herself."
"Why should she?"
"Because," Luna continued as she now faced Artemis, "for one, Usagi has felt responsible for this because she never said anything about her other life. And two...I don't think her mother is going to be untrustworthy about something like that. It wouldn't hurt us from the Sailor standpoint."
"Oh no, I don't mean that. I sensed she was pure. But if Usagi feels as though that's the reason why she's somehow responsible for this, then imagine the guilt she might inure once she were to reveal that to her mother, and then say that she could've done something to prevent this. I don't want to see the result of that. I wouldn't reveal it. Not yet, anyway."
"My mother is going through too much right now," Usagi added. "I want Rubeus' head first. He now knows who I am, so if he wants a fight with me, he knows I'm not that hard to find."
"As long as I can get the old Usagi back," Luna responded. "I want the cheery girl you once were. I miss that, Usagi!"
"Hey, you said the good grades can stay, Luna," Makoto smiled.
"I do want them to stay, but if it means that I lose the side of her I fell in love with..."
"She's always been here, Luna," Usagi answered. "No matter how much I grow, I'll always remember who I can trust, who has been here, and who can help me. You guys are so important to me. I'd never give you guys up for anything." She then turned to Mamoru, who had to bite his tongue to not say how seldom she was even acknowledging his presence there. "Mamoru, I need you to do me a big favor."
"Anything for you," Mamoru answered.
"Stay here and look after them for me. If this creep comes back, I want to know there's someone that'll make him think twice about attacking my family again."
"But Usagi,..."
"I trust you so much, I wouldn't ask you this if I didn't care for you as much as I do, you know that."
"I can't stand to see you hurt, though. If anything were to happen to you and I wasn't there to do what I could..."
"Rubeus wants to come after me, Mamoru. It was me that should've taken those shots; it should be me in that damn ICU hooked up to those damn machines. This is unlike anything I've faced before. This is not about protecting the future or guarding any crystal. He's made this very personal, and I intend on showing him how personal it really is. If anything happens, Mamoru, you know how to get in touch with me, alright? And don't worry about who knows it. If he's going to attack them again, I'd rather them know about you being Tuxedo Mask than him laying a finger on them."
Mamoru let out a deep sigh, signifying that she was correct. "They're part of my family, too, Usagi. I'll do anything to make sure they're alright, for me as well as you."
"Thank you, my love. Trust me, it pains me to be separated from you again, but at least now I know where you are." Usagi turned around, walked a few paces, and then looked up at the starry sky.
"What's going on with the seriousness, Usagi?" Luna asked. "I've never heard you talk like this before."
"I've never felt like this before, Luna," Usagi answered, now with her hands balled up in fists and trembling violently. "Rubeus is going to realize that no one! Messes! With! My! Family!"
Thank you for reading this first chapter. I know it was a bit on the short side, and you might have a lot of questions. Don't worry, I'm just evil like that, and that will be the first in what could be many questions going forward. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing them.
Good night, and good luck.
