Chapter 8: Life and Death Matters
"We're back!" Snively called out. Tails was the first to greet them
since he was the closest. He was followed by Sonic, Shadow, and then the rest of Knothole.
"How was your vacation?" Morgan asked. She and the other members of the Senshi had just shown up.
"It was absolutely awesome!" Sam exclaimed.
"By the way, how are you feeling?" Snively asked.
"Better than I was a few hours ago," Sam replied, though he could tell she was lying.
"Maybe you should see Dr. Quack," Sally suggested thoughtfully.
"I probably will in a while," Sam answered.
"What did you do?" Alex asked.
"You didn't go skydiving again, did you?" Melissa asked.
"Skydiving? When was this?" Snively asked Sam, slightly alarmed.
"Umm, eighth grade," Sam, said.
"For the next few months, please don't do anything too rash," Snively told her.
"I will," Sam replied.
"What did I just te-"
"I was just kidding! Relax," Sam said calmly.
"So, what did you guys do?" Rouge asked, bringing up the previous question.
"We went and saw Earth's Seven Wonders of the World," Snively said.
"It was soo cool!" Sam said. The Freedom Fighters noticed how much closer they were since they had left.
"I hate to break up the party, but we need to put our things away," Snively said.
"No, we don't. Remember who you're married to?" Sam asked. She pointed one of her fingers at the luggage and motioned it up.
Strangely, the luggage obeyed. Then, she pointed to their hut and the luggage flew there. She then pointed to the window and the luggage went through the window. Sam let her finger drop, and they heard a thud from the hut. Snively could have sworn he heard glass break but decided to ignore it.
"Sam, let's go see Dr. Quack about you," Snively said.
"We'll see you guys later," Sam said before she and Snively walked towards Dr. Quack's hut.
"Why, hello! I haven't seen you two for a while. What can I do for you?" Dr. Quack gregariously asked.
"Sam seems to be having horrible stomachaches," Snively replied.
"They're really not that bad, you guys," Sam protested.
"Let's have a look just in case," Dr. Quack said.
"Back off!" Sophia snapped. She was in a battle with a demon. So far, she was losing. She felt a twinge of pain in her left arm. She looked at it, only to find that there was a huge gash.
The demon knocked her down with a dark energy ball. She pressed something on her wand before falling unconscious…
Soon, it was lunchtime in Knothole. Sonic and Sally were looking for Tails in vain.
"He wouldn't just disappear! He's like my little brother," Sonic exclaimed.
"Relax, he'll turn up soon," Sally said in a false calmed voice.
"And we can help with the turning up part," Sam and Snively walked up.
"I would go find him right now, but Dr. Quack said I'm not allowed to
move around much," Sam continued.
"Why?" Sally asked.
"We'll explain later," Snively answered.
"Hey guys!" Alicia said, walking up to them. "What's going on?"
"Tails is missing," Sonic said glumly.
"I'll go get everyone else and we'll go look for him. By the way, have you seen Sophia, by any chance?" Alicia said.
"Actually, no. She wasn't here when Snively and I got back today," Sam replied.
"Hmmm. I wonder where she could be. Probably off doing something," Sally said.
"Well, I'll get started on it," Alicia said as she was walking away.
"So, what'd Dr. Quack say?" Sonic asked.
"We'll tell you later since it's a pretty big announcement," Snively replied. "Sam, don't you have somewhere to be?" he turned to Sam.
"Ummm, no," Sam replied, trying to get out of it.
"Yes, now off to bed," Snively ordered.
"Party pooper," Sam laughed before heading to where she was supposed to be.
"I better follow her to make sure she's actually listening," Snively said. He left without another word.
"I wonder what the announcement is," Sally said curiously.
"I'm going to check the city to see if 'Buttnik got him," Sonic said before running out.
Sophia woke up to find herself tied up in a candle lit room.
"Ungh, where am I?" she asked herself. She suddenly felt a sharp jerk of pain on her left shoulder blade.
"Ow!" she cried out.
"Quiet!" She heard a sharp female's voice, who sounded at least 22.
"Who's there?" Sophia asked.
"That's none of your business, Moon Brat," the voice said. The figure walked out and revealed herself as a tall redhead. She had venomous green eyes and was dressed in a black gown.
"Sydney?" Sophia asked incredulously.
"So, you remember me. How's your sister?" Sydney replied.
"Why do you want to know? It's not like you care," Sophia retorted.
"Such a sharp mouth. You probably learned it from Sam," Sydney said as if she knew something. Sophia tried to get out of the ropes but found she couldn't.
"What gives?" Sophia said to herself angrily.
"Like our new invention? It's a dark angel's rope. Keeps anyone from getting away. Sort of like your moon crystals," Sydney informed Sophia.
She kicked Sophia and walked out. Sophia watched her go with narrowed eyes. She kept struggling to get out.
The Sailor Senshi, minus the two leaders, were with the Freedom Fighters searching for Tails. They had split up to cover more ground.
"This would be so much easier if Sam could help," griped Morgan.
"Would you please shut up! You've said that five times in the past minute," Alicia snapped.
"Guys, stop fighting. We're not going to find Tails any easier that way," Alex said.
"Help! Sonic!" They heard a small voice scream.
"Tails," Alicia, asked, "is that you?"
"Alicia, help!" was her reply.
"Let's go!" Erika stated. The Senshi ran into a clearing and saw Tails was captured by a dark angel.
"Flaming Manda-"
"No! He has Tails, remember?" Erika exclaimed.
"Surrender, or I'll harm the child," the demon sneered. The Senshi were deep in thought.
"Can I please get up? I'm so bored," Sam said.
"No, you heard Dr. Quack. He said you have to be down most of the time," Snively answered, coming from the kitchen.
"Yeah, but I've been down practically the whole day. And besides, I wanna help find Tails," Sam protested.
"Sam, you'll have to lay low for awhile. That way, the demons don't know you're weak. Will you please relax?" Snively lectured.
"Just give me a half hour. I promise I'll be careful," Sam said, giving him the 'puppy-dog' look. Snively thought about it.
"Fine…but I know you'll be careful, because I'm coming with you," he finally said. They walked out of their hut and into the Great Forest.
"Fine, we 'surrender'," Alex said as she and the rest of the Senshi raised their hands. The demon released Tails, who rushed behind the Senshi.
"Moon Tiara Magic!" They heard a triumphant voice shout. Sam, now Sailor Moon, and Snively walked from the foliage after a fast spinning, yellow disc object hit the demon, knocking it down several feet.
"Oh, you guys know I can't sit still when I know something's up," Sailor Moon (Sam) said.
"Enough, we have something valuable of yours," the demon growled.
"Whatever," Alicia, now Sailor Mars, said.
"Fire Bird Soul!" Sailor Mars (Alicia) yelled as the rest of the Senshi were firing attacks. Her attacks were all fire-based. It hit the demon easily. The demon got up and fired at Alex and some of the others, which they dodged.
It went flying through the air towards Tails, who was frozen in his place by fear.
"Move!" Mars yelled as she grabbed Tails out of the way. Tails was nipped across the upper arm.
Mars and Tails landed on the ground. Mars heard a slight crack and felt a tremendous amount of pain in her right wrist.
"Ow!" Mars cried out. Tails got up and helped her up. Morgan, now Sailor Jupiter, launched an earth-based attack.
"Sam, now!" Erika, now Sailor Mercury shouted.
"Gotcha covered, Mercury," Sailor Moon (Sam) said before performing the same attack as before her wedding. As soon as she was sure the demon was vanquished,
Sailor Moon collapsed as she transformed back into Sam. Snively helped her to her feet.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"I'm fine. I just got a little tired, that's all," Sam replied wearily.
"Um, Sam, could you fix this. It kinda hurts," Alicia, now her regular form, asked.
"Whadja do this time, 'Lish?" Sam asked playfully.
After giving Sam a dirty look, Alicia replied, "I, uh, I think I broke my wrist."
"Ooooh, that's gotta hurt!" Sam exclaimed. She walked over and healed Alicia's wrist.
"Thanks," Alicia said.
"I wonder where Sophia is?" Alex wondered.
"One mystery's solved. Now on to the next one," Melissa said, walking up.
"A distress signal keeps beeping on the computer," Melissa continued.
"A distress signal?" Sonic asked.
"But the only ones that are missing are the Outer Senshi and Sophia," Sam said.
"I checked the Outer planets, and they were where they needed to be. So, that leaves-"
"Oh my gosh. Sophia!" Sam said, finally realizing why her younger sister hadn't been around all day.
Sam sank back to her knees in horror. Snively eased her down, trying to
understand what she was thinking.
"As long as Sophia isn't hurt, she'll be okay," Bunnie tried to comfort.
"Yeah, one problem. Since she a Senshi member, the whole underworld will be after her! If they catch her, they will use it against us," Sam explained, still shaken.
"Let's go back to Knothole and see if she's there," Sally suggested. They agreed and started back home.
Sydney walked into the prison chamber to see her new prisoner. When she stared, she met a pair of angry eyes.
"You know, pink is really not your color," Sydney commented. Her reply was being flung across the room.
"I can't wait until we have a little 'meeting' with your sister," Sydney said angrily. She left in a huff as Sophia tried to bust out, without success.
"What's the big announcement?" Alex asked. It was dinnertime in Knothole and by then, all of Knothole was curious about the announcement.
"I actually wanted Sophia to be here for the news," Sam said.
"Sam, we don't know where she is. Everyone's done everything they could to find her," Sally said.
"I know. But, I know I'll feel guilty about her knowing at the same time as everyone else," Sam replied.
"We can help you with that," Snively said.
"We'll tell them not to tell Sophia so you can later," Rouge said.
"Good plan," Sam replied. "HEY! Your attention please!" Sam yelled. Everyone looked at their table, slightly surprised.
"Looks like you got their attention," Snively muttered. Aloud, he said,
"As you all know, Sam and I have a huge announcement. Sam, anytime you would like to continue..."
"No, you go ahead. You're doing a much better job than I could," she laughed. He gave her a slight dirty look before continuing.
"Sam and I are going to…" he looked over to her for emphasis, "have a baby." There was an eerie silence in the room before it became filled with cheers. Sam stood.
"Hey! We're not finished yet. None of you are to mention this to Sophia. I would like to tell her," Sam said. The room was buzzing with voices.
"That's huge news!" Morgan exclaimed.
"Please don't say huge," Sam slightly whined. Morgan hugged Snively and Sam.
"Congrats!" was all anyone else could say…well almost.
Melissa smiled. "I guess you two are going to be busy for a few months. By the way, did you ever figure out how to get rid of that crystal?"
"Yeah, but can we talk about something else?" Sam replied quickly, before anyone could ask. She noticed Snively turned a shade of red.
"Be that way, but I'm sure everyone would like to know," Rouge smirked.
"Yeah, you wish," Sam, replied to the comment. Sam's phone started ringing, startling her.
"Yeah?" She answered. "Who?!" She doesn't sound too happy, Snively
thought.
"How!...When?...Where?" she continued, "could you hold up for a
sec?"
"Sam, what's wrong?" Sally asked.
"They've got Sophia."
"I don't think that's all of it," Alicia said.
"Hold that thought. What? Okay, okay, fine. Yeah, see ya later," Sam hung up. "Guess who that was?"
"Sophia?" guessed Sonic.
"No, a lot of you wouldn't know her. It was Sydney," Sam said flatly.
"Sydney! No way!" Morgan said.
"What does she want?" Melissa asked.
"She wants to have a meeting with the Senshi. Why is my only question? It's not like we get along," Sam wondered.
"Maybe it has something to do with what that demon said," suggested Rouge.
"Hmmm…something valuable," Snively said to himself. "What if he was talking about Sophia," he continued.
"That's probably what it meant. Right now, I need to figure out a way to bust Sophia out," Sam answered. Snively looked at her eyes and could've sworn that a fire was starting in them.
"Sam, we'll get her," Shadow said.
"That's not a good idea. We're messing with magic ten times stronger than all of the Chaos Emeralds, plus the Master Emerald combined," Erika said.
"How do you know about the Emeralds?" Knuckles asked demandingly, walking into the Mess Hall.
"We had to study them," Alicia replied.
"Why?" Sonic asked.
"They wanted us to know what could possibly kill us and what wouldn't," Sam answered, still trying to plan a way to rescue Sophia.
"Sam, don't worry. We'll figure out a way to get Sof'," Alicia said.
"Maybe I can help," a male's voice said. A tall, black haired boy walked out of the shadows.
"Who the heck are you?" Alex demanded.
"I'm Travis, and I'm the new representative for Earth," Travis replied. Melissa couldn't do anything but smile. He is so cool! she thought.
"Why are you here, and how did you get here?" Erika asked.
"I was told by King Raciel that the Senshi needed help finding a member," he answered.
"Thanks for the concern," Melissa said. "I need to make a few calls before the meeting. Sydney said she wanted all Senshi members," Sam said before walking out.
About 8:30, the Freedom Fighters, Senshi, and Travis were waiting at
the Power Ring Pool.
"Where is she?" Sam asked impatiently.
"Sam, calm down. They'll be here. Besides, isn't it supposed to be Sonic's job to be impatient?" Snively said.
"Hey!" Sonic said. Sam smiled a little. Snively was somewhat relieved. He really didn't like the fact that she was so tense. A purple aura appeared, followed by several others.
"Sophia!" Sophia had her head down and eyes closed. She had several cuts, bruises, and gashes.
"Sophia!" Sam screamed. Sophia disappeared in a blue aura and reappeared in Sam's arms. Sam started to heal several of her wounds, while Sydney stood there and watched.
"Why are you still here?" Morgan asked.
"Oh, no reason," she lied. Sophia came to and saw Sam.
"Ungh, Sam?" she asked.
"Shh. Guess what?" Sam replied.
"I don't know," Sophia answered.
"You're going to be an aunt," she whispered into Sophia's ear.
"Sam, no way! Really?!" Sophia said excitedly.
"Yeah," Sam smiled. She turned and faced Sydney. "Why are you still here?"
"I have to get a small thing," Sydney replied. She grabbed a sword from nowhere and commanded the other demons to seize the Senshi and Freedom Fighters.
"Good. Now, tie them up and make sure they can't get away." The demons did as they were told, as if they were like the robots in Robotropolis. Alicia had a bad feeling about the whole situation.
Sydney walked over, passing everyone, until she got to Sophia. She played with her sword for a moment before she did as planned on doing from the beginning.
Sophia screamed out in pain. Sydney smiled. Sam broke free of her restraints and roundhouse kicked Sydney in the back.
"How did you escape!" Sydney growled in anger. Shadow used Chaos Control and helped get everyone else untied. The rest of the Senshi vanquished the demons and watched Sam and Sydney while Sonic ran to get Dr. Quack. Sam finally got Sydney on the ground.
"How dare you come here and pull a stunt like that," Sam said, clearly angry.
"Just wanted to give you a wedding gift," Sydney simpered before disappearing in a purple aura. Sam rushed to Sophia and tried to heal her.
"No, come on. Please don't die on me," Sam was saying, trying all she could to heal her younger sister. Snively tried to encourage his wife by holding onto her.
"Sam, be careful and congratulations. Snively, please take care of my sister. Guys, make sure the baby isn't like Sam in any way, personality wise. Just imagine having another Sam," Sophia said but coughed at the last part.
"Sophia, no. You're not leaving me," Sam said tearfully. She was horrified.
"Sam, it was a dark angel's blade tipped with poison. You can't even survive that, much less me. You have to be either all angel or Eternal Sailor Moon. Since you're only half angel and you haven't gotten to
Eternal, there's no way you can save me," Sophia said, sounding distant. She closed her eyes and everyone knew that would be the last time they would see her eyes.
Sam turned away and buried her face into Snively's chest. He let her stay there and comforted her.
"It's going to be okay. She's in a better place," he soothed. The other Senshi members bowed their heads for the fallen soldier. The Freedom Fighters also looked down. On top of that, it clouded over and started to drizzle rain.
Travis picked up Sophia's unmoving form and disappeared. The Senshi gave Sam hugs and parted their separate ways.
It was about half past eleven, and neither Sam nor Snively, had moved. Snively felt Sam relax and looked down. He felt a cool hand touch his shoulder and looked up. It was Bunnie.
"How's she doing?" Bunnie asked quietly.
"She cried herself to sleep."
"Poor thing," Bunnie sympathized.
Snively nodded and replied by saying, "I'm going to take her home."
"I'm sorry," Bunnie said before going to her hut for the night.
"So am I…" Snively said to himself. "So am I."
It was three weeks later and everything settled down. Everyone seemed to have moved on, except for Sam. She was a lot more quiet and
responsible. She was in their bedroom, listening to 'Meant to Live' by Switchfoot and writing.
"Sam?" She looked up to see Snively looking at her with worried eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"We need to talk. Ever since Sophia died, you have completely shut yourself out of this world. Why?" he asked.
"I've just been busy, that's all," she answered.
"No, I don't think that's all. Sam, you need to tell me. I feel like I don't know you anymore. You're scaring everyone. Your friends say you haven't been showing up for concerts or rehearsals, much less Senshi meetings," Snively exploded. Sam listened, but paid more attention to her notebook. Snively looked over and couldn't believe it.
She's paying more attention to that book than me! he thought.
"Sam, you're not even paying attention. I also recall you not crying at Sophia's funeral and only after she died."
"I wasn't crying on the night she was killed," Sam snapped back. Snively was taken back by this sudden mood swing.
"She and I made each other swear not to cry if the other died, and I intend to keep that promise. Why do you care?" she continued.
"Because you are my wife and best friend! The only thing is, is I'm wondering if you are the same person I'm in love with," he replied, struggling to hold back tears.
"I just feel like nothing's the same. I feel like I have to be strong
so no one can hurt me," Sam said, getting off the bed.
"Sam, you're right. But, you can't let that get in the way of your life. The only one who's hurting you is you. I miss you Sam," he replied.
"It feels like I have to do better. I was supposed to keep her safe and I failed. I promised her and mom that before mom died," Sam said, getting choked up.
"Sam, what are you talking about?" Snively asked.
"I never knew my biological mother until right before her death. Sydney was a part of her death too," Sam said darkly. "I just feel so alone and defenseless. On top of that, I have to take care of the whole universe, you, and the baby," she was crying before the end of the first sentence.
"Sam, you are not alone! How could you think such a thing? You know there is a whole universe full of people who love you with me loving you the most," he told her, walking up to her from behind and embraced her. She tried to push the affection away.
"You need to snap out of it," he said.
"I'm so afraid I'll screw up again," she whispered.
"I have no idea why you think all this. We are supposed to make mistakes. No one is perfect, and you know that. Just look at my uncle," he said, trying to get Sam to smile.
"I'd say," she was trying hard not to laugh.
He took notice and said, "Was that a smile? Does Sam actually know how to smile?"
She was laughing by then, something so soothing to him. It was wonderful, melodic, and contagious. As soon as she stopped, she looked at him.
"How do you do it?" she asked.
"Do what?" he asked, confused, leading her to the living area.
"How do you always cheer me up? I haven't had any desire to sing for about a month, and I now I feel like singing and dancing," she replied.
"It's magic," he teased.
"Nuh-uh, I know magic. But I think I know what it is though," she said.
"Oh, and what might that be?" he asked.
"Love," she giggled. They sat down on the couch and Sam leaned on him.
"You have no idea how correct you are," he said.
"I think I do," she said back, smiling.
Later in the evening, everyone gathered around a campfire. Sally saw
the couple looking much more lighthearted than they had the last few weeks.
"What are you two so cheerful about?" Rotor asked.
"Sam finally saw the light," Snively replied.
"What day is it?" Sam asked randomly.
"Why does it always seem that you pick the oddest times to be random? And, for the record, it's Thursday," Rouge said.
"Thursday? I thought it was Saturday. Oh, Snively, I'm not going to be home Sunday morning," Sam answered.
"Why?" he asked her.
"I have to be somewhere, and I'm pretty sure you'll be bored," she replied. Sam paused, as if waiting for a certain comment. The Freedom
Fighters knew who she was waiting for and closed their eyes.
"Um, I guess I'm going to the studio to work on a few things. I'll see you all later," Sam said before opening her portal and walked through it.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but she doesn't sound like she's going to her studio," Shadow commented.
"What do you mean?" Sally asked.
"Isn't she always a little excited going there? She seemed to have a dull voice," Shadow explained his comment.
"What are you saying?" Snively inquired.
"I'm just saying I'd keep a close eye on her," Shadow said before he and Rouge turned and walked away.
"I'll be right back," Snively said, before dismissing himself to his and Sam's hut. He dashed to the bed and grabbed the notebook that Sam had earlier. Snively flipped through the pages seeing bits and pieces of songs before finding a page that interested him. It was at least three paragraphs long.
What is she doing? More importantly, why is she hiding it from me? Shadow might have a point. No, that's ridiculous! Sam would never do that, would she? he thought. He could tell it was a letter to Sydney, it said something about a temporary truce and a possible surrender.
What? There has to be more to this. But what is she surrendering? Snively wondered as he closed the notebook. He had an uneasy feeling that something was terribly wrong, but what it was, was the real question.