AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! A bit later than I expected, but there was some stuff I had to deal with at home, so... Anyway, this series follows my earlier story "Hearts of Darkness". I'd advise you to read that one first, as they include some significant changes I made to the standard BSSM storyline. This one deals with the Black Moon arc, with twists, of course. Also, I suck at summaries. And now...on to the story, and hope you enjoy!
Notations
"..." indicates speech
'...' indicates thought
Italics indicate flashbacks/visions/etc
Through Storm-Cloud Eyes
Part 1: Approaching Darkness
by JG Chan
A rumble of thunder.
Like the growling of a gargantuan beast, it rolled forth from the endless sea of black clouds. Below, nervous forms shifted, wary eyes peering upwards at the unmoving canopy above, through the bare shimmer that is their only defense. To them the thunder is the herald of the ever-threatening darkness, a promise that its jagged companion shall find its mark and consume them in the flames of vengeance.
A flash of lightning.
The eerie glow suffused the cloudbanks, briefly illuminating the shape within it. Its crystalline walls stood dull against the gloomy backdrop, cold and immoveable like a giant of ice. Beneath the floating fortress lay nothing but desolate, blasted waste, the beauty of the city lost to all but the people's memories.
A gust of wind.
It howled its way among the towers crowning the dark citadel. Through a window set high atop one of them, storm-cloud eyes gazed down on the gleaming palace below. Like the clashing lightning outside, two burning desires lit these dark orbs, battling each other for dominance in their owner's mind.
One was the need for revenge, a deep, cold hatred for those who have wronged him, athirst for destruction. The other was a desperate passion, flaring bright and wild, unwavering before the myriad obstacles set against it.
A soundless step.
Eyes of darkest blue met those of clouded azure, hardening in sudden alertness, then softening once more. The newcomer's gaze was deeply respectful, yet at the same time inquiring and slightly concerned. No words were needed as the two stared at each other, their eyes and expressions conveying their thoughts as only siblings could. The storm-cloud eyes watched the other nod and exit the room, the door closing quietly. Then, they returned once more to their silent contemplation of the crystal palace, inside which slept the object of both his greatest desires.
He shall have her, no matter the cost...
It was mid-afternoon, and despite it being a school day, there was a fair-sized crowd in the amusement park nestled among the Tokyo skyscrapers. The sun was bright and hot in the clear summer sky, yet there was enough of a breeze to keep the heat from becoming stifling. All in all, it was a beautiful day to be outside...unless you happened to be Chiba Mamoru.
"Will you stop bothering Mamo-chan, you little brat?"
"I'm not bothering him! He's perfectly fine like this, right, Mamo-chan?"
"Umm..."
"No he's not! And who invited you, anyway?"
"Well it's his birthday, of course he's going to spend it with me, baka-Usagi!"
"Who says? I'm the one who bought our tickets, and I say you can't come along."
"Hmmpf, I don't have to list..."
"QUIET!"
Usagi and ChibiUsa both cringed at the abrupt command and fell silent, though neither relinquished her grip on the arm they had taken over. Then, as one, they looked up tentatively at Mamoru's face. The young man sighed in resignation.
"Look," he used his most reasonable tone, "it's a great day, we're here already, so why don't we just all go together and have fun? It's better than standing around fighting, isn't it?"
"But Mamo-chaaaaan!" Usagi whined. "This was supposed to be a romantic date for just the two of us! I've been looking forward to it all week-end..."
"I know, Usako, I'm sorry," Mamoru apologized. "But please? For me?" He smiled pleadingly at her, and was relieved when he saw her blush slightly and lower her gaze. It wasn't often that he did things that way, but it worked, at least.
"Well, if you put it that way..." Usagi conceded shyly, pulling his arm a little closer. ChibiUsa smirked victoriously, but stopped when Mamoru gave her a serious glance. She contented herself with holding his hand as the three of them headed for the entrance to the amusement park.
An hour later, the three of them sat on a bench near a large fountain, enjoying a round of ice creams. Mamoru smiled; despite the occasional headache from keeping the peace between his girlfriend and her unwanted houseguest, he had to admit that today had been great. Watching Usagi having fun was one of the most heartwarming and relaxing things he could think of, though he couldn't tell whether it was a natural quality of hers, or if he was just biased. Either way, he had needed the break, and was happy that she had done this for him.
ChibiUsa, on the other hand, didn't seem to be enjoying herself as much as he would've expected, and that puzzled him a little. Most of the time she seemed to be happy poking fun at Usagi, but as they neared some of the rides she would hang back even as the blonde cheerfully jumped in line. Try though Mamoru did, he couldn't figure out why she was acting like that.
And then there were the visions...two strange, inexplicable glimpses of a crystal city. He'd seen both of them while in contact with ChibiUsa, so a connection seemed certain. But what did they mean? That was the other, more worrisome mystery, and he had no clue about that one either.
"Mmmm..." Usagi hummed blissfully, interrupting his musings. "This ice cream is soooo good! Maybe I should have another one..."
"It'll be suppertime soon, Usako," Mamoru reminded her.
"Oh, I know...but maybe one more wouldn't hurt..."
"You'll just get fat," ChibiUsa predicted.
"Oh quiet." Usagi replied with a dismissive wave. "It's a wonderful day, and I'm gonna enjoy it as much as I can." So saying, she glomped tighter onto Mamoru's arm.
The little girl glowered, but surprisingly didn't say anything. Curious, Mamoru kept a discreet eye on the child as he finished his own treat, still trying to understand her unusual mood. Then he saw her staring after a mother and daughter walking past the fountain.
"ChibiUsa, how's your family like?" he asked. ChibiUsa looked up at him sharply, then lowered her eyes. For a moment he thought she would ignore him, but then she responded quietly, still looking away.
"Papa's...very nice, and cool, and he always smiles at me. And Mama..." Her tone grew softer, almost reverential, and Usagi paused to listen as well. "Mama's the greatest person in the world! She's beautiful, and ladylike, and she's kind to everyone, and everyone loves her. I want to be just like her when I grow up."
"...You must miss her a lot," Usagi said after a long moment. There was an odd note in her voice; Mamoru was sure he had heard it before, but couldn't recall exactly when.
"Yeah..." ChibiUsa began, but her expression suddenly became guarded again as she noticed whom she was speaking to. "I mean, I'm fine, I'm not lonely or anything," she added a bit unconvincingly.
"ChibiUsa, if you'll just tell us what you're doing, maybe we can help..."
"Oh stop it!" the little girl snapped irritably, turning away from Usagi. "Don't act like you're my mother or something. Not like you can compare to her in any way, though."
"S-so what?" Usagi protested indignantly. "I'm...I'm still young, that's all!"
ChibiUsa gave the scowling blonde an appraising look. "Nah, it's hopeless," she stated. "You're way too immature, Usagi. You aren't going to come close to Mama no matter how long you try."
"Why you..." Usagi glowered at ChibiUsa, then her eyes landed on Mamoru with a calculating gleam. His heart skipped a beat.
'She's not going to...is she?' he wondered, his throat suddenly dry.
"Alright, you spore, I'll show you just how mature I can be," Usagi declared, rising up from her seat towards Mamoru's face. ChibiUsa's eyes widened as it hit her as well.
'Wait, she can't mean...' she thought incredulously, as Usagi puckered up and leaned in towards her frozen boyfriend. Her lips came up within an inch of his, and then...
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
...Usagi found herself on the ground, a pair of hands clamped over her mouth. She pushed them off and sat up.
"What's the big idea, ChibiUsa? I can ki..." she broke off in mid-tirade, and blinked. That wasn't ChibiUsa sitting on top of her. "Rei-chan, what are you doing here?"
"Umm..."
"You weren't following us, were you?" Usagi demanded suspiciously as she got back on her feet.
"O-of course not!" Rei denied the accusation. "As if I would do something so sneaky. It's just a coincidence, that's all."
"Then why is everyone else here?" Usagi retorted, pointing at the other three girls who had just emerged from the shrubs behind the bench, varying levels of guilt on their faces. Rei sweatdropped.
"Ah, well...it doesn't matter why we're here! You can't just go and kiss Mamoru-san like that!"
"What? Why is that any of your..."
And Usagi was interrupted once more, as both she and Rei fell unceremoniously into the fountain, courtesy of a cackling Minako. Inevitably,
chaos ensued, and the rest of their friends could only watch in disbelief as the two drenched girls chased the laughing blonde around the fountain.
"...Do I even want to know?" Mamoru asked.
"Minako-chan's been downing milkshakes since we started following you guys," Makoto explained sheepishly.
"Oh." He turned to Ami. "I can't believe you're part of this too, Ami-chan."
"Well, experience is the only source of knowledge," the blue-haired girl replied, smiling brightly.
Mamoru sighed, as Usagi raced past them once more. There goes the afternoon...
FRIDAY
Above the city of Tokyo, a strange flying vessel appeared, hovering steadily among the clouds. It was enormous, yet none below could see it through the powerful cloaking field it generated. Inside, three figures were gathered in a room lined with mirrors. With a gesture from one of them, images of the city below appeared in the mirrors.
"So...this is the Tokyo of the past..." The red-haired man said. "Hmmpf! Let's just do our jobs and get out of this place."
"Testy, aren't we?" The pale woman with short black hair replied slyly. "Maybe you should just stay up here and watch, if our Prince's mission is so distasteful to you."
"And give you an excuse to rat me out, Oniko?" The man retorted. "Ha! You may be the Wiseman's favourite dog, but don't count on everything going your way here. I'll be the one to find the Rabbit."
"We'll see, Rubeus." The woman then turned cool eyes on their so far silent companion, a young girl with long golden hair tied in twin tresses with two red ribbons. "And you, little girl, should make sure to do as you were told. Or we all know what'll happen, hmm?"
The girl scowled at the woman, then looked away without replying. Oniko smiled smugly, then turned back to the mirrors. "Alright then...let the hunt begin."
"Mako-chan, this grilled fish is wonderful!" Ami's mother said. She winked at the blushing brunette. "I'm glad I let you cook tonight."
"It's really nothing, Mizuno-sensei," Makoto demurred. "You were kind enough to invite me to stay, so it's the least I can do."
"Oh, please don't think of it that way. I should be the one thanking you girls; I know Ami-chan's been so much happier since she met all of you."
"Okaa-san..." Ami protested, mildly embarrassed. Makoto smiled at this rare glimpse of her friend's relationship with her mother, and kept on eating quietly.
"By the way, Ami-chan," Mizuno-sensei said between bites. "Weren't your other friends coming over to study too?"
"They were, but some things came up," Ami explained. "Rei-chan had some pressing work at the shrine, Minako-chan's volleyball practice was moved up to today, and Usagi-chan had to take care of her cousin while her family's out."
"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping to give you the news with everyone present, so we can all celebrate."
Ami quirked an eyebrow. "News?"
Her mother nodded. "Remember that school in Germany we talked about before? I just received a letter from them saying there's a spot open for you in their exchange program this year." She smiled broadly. "Their program is very highly regarded when it comes to entering medical school, so this a wonderful chance, isn't it?"
Makoto stopped in mid-swallow, turning questioning eyes at Ami. The blue-haired girl herself seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden news.
"That's...great news, Okaa-san," she said uncertainly. "Umm, when does the program start?"
"Well, the courses themselves don't start until next month, but they need your reply within ten days at the latest. I have the paperwork in my bag, we can look it over later tonight."
Ami nodded, her expression neutral. Both her mother and Makoto, however, could see the indecision in her eyes, and the reasons behind it. The older blue-haired woman reached out and placed her hand over her daughter's.
"Ami-chan," she said gently. "I know this isn't going to be an easy decision...but it's yours nonetheless. I do think this will help you in the future, but if you would rather not go, I'll understand. Just promise me you'll think it through clearly before deciding, okay?"
Ami smiled. "I will, Okaa-san," she replied.
"Good." Mizuno-sensei rose from her seat. "Now, I'll see to the dishes. Thank you for a wonderful meal, Mako-chan."
Makoto mumbled her reply as the doctor left for the kitchen with the empty trays. Under normal circumstances she would have offered to help, but right now her mind was occupied with other things.
"Ami-chan?" she asked quietly. The blue-haired girl looked up. "What are you going to do?"
"I...don't really know."
"Well, I think you should go for it."
Ami blinked. "But what about our duties as Sailor Senshi?"
"Your dreams are more important, Ami-chan," Makoto said firmly. "You want to become a doctor, right? Then you should go for it all the way. Besides, this looks like a really rare chance, and none of us would want to hold you back."
"Mako-chan..."
The brunette gave her a bright smile; then, seeing the time on the wall clock, announced that she had to get home. Ami walked her to the door, returning Makoto's wave goodbye as her friend turned the corner. She remained silently at the door for a while longer, lost in thought, until her mother called her back inside.
SUNDAY
"So you're sure there's some connection between ChibiUsa-chan and these visions of yours?" Rei asked intently.
Mamoru nodded. "I am. There's no other explanation for them, but...this latest one..." He fell silent, his eyes troubled. Jadeite and Athan looked on silently, sharing similar expressions.
The four of them were gathered in the library of the mansion formerly owned by Nephrite, under his alias of Sanjouin Masato. Shortly after their return from the battle with Adamantite, Athan had taken over the mansion under his own alternate identity, and he and Jadeite had been living there since. It had partly been an arrangement of convenience, but the mansion also held a store of magical ingredients and a library with works dating back to the Silver Millenium. Ami, Rei, and Mamoru had been especially interested in the latter, and occasionally visited to study some of those books. Luna had seemed interested as well, but her hostility towards Athan had so far kept her away.
"Is there some way we can see the visions as well?" Athan suggested.
Mamoru frowned. "I'm not sure...I don't have control over my own telepathy powers yet. I could try to draw it...or one of you might know another way."
"I've tried using the fire to find out about ChibiUsa-chan," Rei told them. "But so far it hasn't shown me anything."
"Why don't we just get the answer out of the kid?" Jadeite asked irritably. "It'd be quicker than us running around chasing images of crystal cities."
"She doesn't trust us, Jadeite," Mamoru replied. "Usako and I've both tried getting her to open up, but all she does is demand we give her the Silver Crystal."
"Then stop being so nice and threaten her or something!" Rei and Mamoru gave the blond man withering glares. "What?" he protested indignantly. "The kid's doing it to you, so why not?"
"Remind me never to let you take care of children," Rei muttered.
"Perhaps we can narrow things down if we can identify that crystal city," Athan said before Jadeite could reply. "Though we're pretty sure nothing like that exists on Earth, right?" Mamoru nodded. "Which means it's either from a different star system or a different time."
"I like how you define 'narrowing down'," Jadeite said sarcastically.
"But Serenity was in the last vision, right?" Rei recalled. "Then that means it can't be a different system..."
"...and we already know what happened in the past," Mamoru continued. "Which leaves us with the future."
The four of them lapsed into silence. Mamoru leaned back in his seat, staring up at the blank ceiling. He had been feeling a growing sense of unease ever since his first vision, when he had taken ChibiUsa's hand after comforting her at the park. Their conclusion that the visions were about the future did little to reassure him. Were they a warning of coming disaster? Was it something he could prevent, or would it happen regardless of what he did? And...what would happen to Usagi, if his visions came to pass? That last question gnawed at him insistently, demanding that he do something...but what that was, he had no clue.
The old grandfather clock in the hall rang out then, announcing that three o'clock had come. Rei stood up and gathered her things, saying she was supposed to meet the girls soon. She turned to Mamoru.
"Did you want to tell her about this?" she asked him. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"She won't be happy if she finds out, Mamoru," Athan warned.
"I know," Mamoru replied. "But I want to have more information first. Telling her so soon would just make her worry."
The others looked at each other, but did not object. Athan left with Rei so that he could drive her back to the shrine, leaving Jadeite and Mamoru alone in the mansion.
"...So, now what?" the blond asked his prince.
"We can start here, I guess," the dark-haired man replied, looking around the library. "Let's go through this place and see whether there's some spell we can use to find out about my visions."
"Right," Jadeite agreed. The two of them fell to work, and silence fell once more over the mansion.
"Usagi-chan? What's up?"
The distracted blonde turned away from the window to see Motoki standing by the table, clad in apron and wash-rag, as usual. The Crown Fruit Parlour was slowly winding down as suppertime approached, freeing Motoki do his cleaning.
"Oh, hi, Motoki-oniichan," Usagi said with a slightly sheepish smile. "Sorry, I didn't see you coming."
"That's alright," he replied, sitting down across from her. "So, what's up? I don't see you here alone too often."
"Ah...I was just thinking about stuff, that's all," Usagi said dismissively. Her expression became thoughtful all of a sudden. "Umm, do you have a minute, Motoki-oniichan?"
"Sure," Motoki replied, curious. "Why?"
"Well...I was wondering if...I could ask you a kinda personal question?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"How did you feel when Reika-san went to Africa?"
Motoki blinked, wondering why Usagi would ask such a thing. The blonde's expression was serious, however, so he decided to just answer, and leave his own questions for later.
"Well...I really didn't want her to go, at first," he reminisced. "Two years is a pretty long time...and I was worried that maybe we'd grow apart during that time, or something like that." He looked at Usagi. "But the thing is, I realized that Reika was having an even harder time with it than I was. She loved her research a lot, but she didn't want to hurt me either...So in the end I decided that I would support her as much as I can. I thought that, if I could help her even a little to reach her dream, I'd be happy..."
"...Are you?" Usagi asked in a small voice.
"...I think so," Motoki answered with a rueful smile. "I mean, I did miss her a lot after she left, but after we started writing to each other, and I saw how excited she was about her work, I felt a lot better." He gave her a questioning glance. "But enough about that. Why are you asking this all of a sudden, Usagi-chan?"
"Well, Ami-chan told us today that she might be going to study in Germany. Everyone else was happy for her and congratulating her, so I did too, but...I was really sad. I guess I'm being selfish."
"It's only natural to feel that way, Usagi-chan," Motoki said comfortingly. "I'm sure your friends all felt the same inside, and I think Ami-chan knows that."
"Yeah..." Usagi agreed, then sat up and smiled at Motoki. "But I think I've figured it out now. I'll call Ami-chan tonight." She got up, once more seeming full of energy. "Thanks, Motoki-oniichan."
"No problem," the young man replied. He waved as the blonde girl exited the parlour, then went back to work with a smile. All in all, today was a good day.
Night fell, and the midsummer heat died down to bearable levels as the moon rose to its zenith. In the quiet darkness of Azabu district, a black-clad figure dropped out of nowhere onto the roof of a small grocery store. As it walked to the edge, the dim light of a nearby sign illuminated two streams of golden hair and an inverted black crescent on its forehead. The figure scanned about slowly and, seeing no one, stepped off the roof and landed in front of the service entrance. With a casual swipe of its hand, the door lock was broken, and it entered the rear of the store.
The place was pitch black, but the figure moved as if it was clearly lit, weaving past boxes and shelves. As it reached the corner of the room, it pulled out what looked like a long black crystal spike. A faint purple glow was visible along its length. The figure placed the sharp tip against the floor and pushed down, watching the crystal sink slowly but easily into the ground. Once only the very top was left, the figure moved some boxes in front of it and headed for the exit, pulling the door closed behind it.
Once outside, the figure jumped back onto the roof, and from there to a taller building nearby. Looking back down at the grocery store, it could see the slight deepening of darkness around the building, a sign that its mission had been successful. It sighed, then turned and looked up at the moon, a forlorn expression on its face.
"Anshar..." it whispered, the soft, feminine voice filled with regret. Then it jumped into the air and vanished.
TUESDAY
Mamoru lightly traced the design on the sheet in his hand, following the circular patterns with his fingertip. It struck him suddenly how strange this situation was: here he was, a college student in the 20th century, holding a crackled, yellowed page describing a twelve-thousand-year-old magical spell and contemplating whether to use it. A whimsical smile briefly tugged at his lips before he turned back to Athan and Jadeite, assuming a more serious expression.
"How likely is this spell going to work?" he asked.
"That's not the problem," Athan replied. "All the spell does is put you in a trance in a specific way, such that you can make contact with the entity of your choice. That part will work perfectly. The problem lies in what you find at the end, and whether you can return."
"You mean it might be dangerous?"
"It might," Zoisite confirmed, his voice mentally reaching his Prince from where his Guardian stone lay on the table. "If whatever you find using this spell is or becomes hostile, then you're the one who'll have to protect yourself." Mamoru frowned, and repeated the words to the two older men.
"It's a lot like how Rei uses the fire, actually," Jadeite added. "The only real difference is what the spell can potentially reach. This one used to be used to commune with planetary deities." He frowned. "But Earth doesn't have one, does it?"
"I wouldn't say that for sure," Mamoru replied thoughtfully. "I have...this feeling that something is watching over this planet. I can't explain why, but it's there."
The others looked at each other.
"There were some debates about that," Athan recalled. "Nobody ever came to a conclusion, as far as I knew."
"So, are you going to try it?" Jadeite asked Mamoru.
The younger man simply nodded. As his two companions began drawing up lists of components and such, he sat down and stared at the spell sheet once more. If this worked, he might be able to solve the mystery of his visions...and then he could do whatever was necessary to protect his future with Usagi. With that thought in mind, he placed the sheet back on the table and joined the other two in beginning preparations.
"Usagi-chan!" Naru called out, waving at her friend who had just come up to the roof. The blonde waved back and ran over, sitting down next to Naru against the grill fence.
"Isn't Ami-chan coming up too?" the redhead asked, opening her bentou.
Usagi giggled. "I was about to ask her, but she was talking with Ryo-kun, so I left them alone."
"Aww...Ami-chan is so lucky. I wish Umino would be a little more like Ryo-kun. You don't have to be weird to be smart."
"I dunno, Naru-chan, I can't picture Umino not being weird." As if to illustrate her point, Usagi concentrated hard and tried to do just that. All she got, though, was an image of Tuxedo Umino Kamen, which made her cringe a little.
"Hey, there's Enzu-san," Naru said. Usagi looked up and saw the new transfer student coming out of the stairwell. She was slightly taller than Usagi and appeared a bit older, with purple eyes and long blonde hair in a style very much like Usagi's, except without the odangos. She glanced briefly in their direction before moving to another part of the roof. Thinking for a moment, Usagi got up and went over to her.
"Hiya!" she said brightly. "Umm, Nana-chan, was it?"
"Yes, Tsukino-san," the purple-eyed girl replied neutrally, not looking up.
"Oh, Usagi-chan is fine," Usagi answered, plopping down next to Nana. The other girl gave her a startled look, then turned back to her food.
"So, how do you like it here so far?" Usagi went on, still smiling.
"...It's okay," Nana replied, shrugging. "I probably won't be here long, anyway."
"Oh..." Usagi looked down at her own bentou. "You said your family travelled a lot, didn't you?" she said in a more subdued tone. "It must be hard to move around so much, and not be able to spend time with your friends..."
"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Nana grumbled, a little irritated at the talkative girl.
Usagi gave her a hurt look. "I just thought you might have been lonely, that's all." She looked down again. "One of my best friends is going to be leaving tomorrow to study abroad...so I've been thinking a lot about what it'd be like, to be alone in a new place. Isn't it lonely not to have your friends with you? Even if you don't see each other a lot, just knowing that they're near feels better, doesn't it?"
Nana looked at the other blonde uncertainly, her impatient retort bitten back as she saw Usagi's sincerity. Somehow or other, this girl who falls asleep in class had hit right at the heart of what had been bothering her. She felt a slight flush of shame come over her then.
"I'm...sorry, for snapping at you," she apologized. "I jumped to the wrong conclusions."
Usagi shook her head, smiling again. "It's okay. Friends?"
Nana returned the smile with a shy one of her own. "...Yeah, sure. I could use a friend."
Usagi grinned, then began demolishing her lunch with her usual gusto. Nana watched her with an amused smile, eating her own lunch at a more normal pace. Eventually, the break ended, and the girls headed back down to their classroom, not seeing the swirl of shadow in the air above the school. As the darkness faded, Oniko appeared, her cloak drawn about her and her eyes glowering at the closed stairwell door.
"Just what are you up to, little girl?"
WEDNESDAY
ChibiUsa looked around Usagi's room with a feeling of discouragement. It had been close to two weeks since she had come to the past, and she still hadn't found the Silver Crystal. She was sure Usagi had it, but after poking around the house, ransacking her room repeatedly, and demanding it outright from the blonde, she was no closer to her goal. It almost seemed like Usagi's laziness was working against her, too; the constant but ever-shifting mess made it hard to tell whether she had really searched everywhere.
The small pink-haired girl sat down and rested her head on the low table. She didn't like this at all. She didn't like to be alone, and she didn't want to be away from her Mama and Papa. She didn't even like to be so mean to Usagi, even though the blonde's unabashedly childish behaviour annoyed her to no end; her Mama was never mean to people, after all.
Looking up, ChibiUsa caught sight of the picture hanging on the wall, showing Usagi and her family...and herself, courtesy of Luna-P. 'But...it's not real...' she thought, on the verge of tears. 'They aren't my family...Mama...' She shook her head. 'No! I can't cry...I have to be strong...Mama was always strong and graceful...I have to save Mama...because...'
"ChibiUsa! Come on, we have to hurry, Ami-chan'll be leaving soon!"
ChibiUsa started, then took a steadying breath and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. 'I'll make Mama proud,' she said to herself. With Luna-P floating along behind her, she left the room and headed for the stairs.
Usagi was standing near the door in a short-sleeved pink blouse and blue skirt. She gave her 'cousin' a slightly suspicious look as the little girl reached the bottom of the stairs.
"You weren't going through my things again, were you?" she asked.
"Hmmpf. It's not like it's any messier than it was anyway," ChibiUsa replied disdainfully, sitting down to put on her shoes. "And didn't Ami-chan say she didn't want everyone seeing her off?"
"Yes she did, but we're going anyway, so hurry up."
"We wouldn't have to hurry if you hadn't had detention again," the pink-haired girl pointed out. Usagi scowled and stuck her tongue out at her, even as she opened the door. ChibiUsa followed her out, and the two went on their way.
Minako watched another bus pass by them. "Darn, we're gonna be late if she doesn't show up soon," she said.
"It shouldn't be too long," Makoto replied. "Detention ended a little while ago, so she should be on her way."
Rei didn't say anything. The three of them were waiting at the bus stop for Usagi and ChibiUsa, so that they could all go see Ami off at the airport. Usagi being late certainly wasn't new, but there was something else bothering the young miko. Her spirit sense had been acting up lately, even though the fire had so far been silent. Coupled with Mamoru's strange visions,
it had her worried enough that she'd started looking out for anything out of the ordinary. That was when she caught sight of the flashing pillar of light in the distance, even as her spirit sense roared up in her mind.
"What the...what was that?" Makoto exclaimed, as the light flickered and winked out.
"Something evil..." Rei gasped out, reeling a bit from the mental jolt. "We have to check it out!"
"But what about Ami-chan?" Minako objected, holding up the bag with their gift in it. "Maybe we should call her..."
"We can't," Makoto said firmly. "This is for her dream, isn't it? We can't hold her back from it."
"I'll take care of that," a deep voice said from behind her.
The girls turned around and saw Athan standing there, his car still running. The three of them exchanged glances, then nodded. Minako handed the bag to the dark-haired man. "Thanks."
"No problem. Good luck."
Athan got back into his car and sped off towards the airport. Even before he had disappeared from sight, the three girls were running towards where they had seen the light, hands reaching into pockets for their wands. Rei brought up the rear, a worried look on her face. 'Please let this not be as bad as I feel it is...' she prayed.
Sailor Moon held ChibiUsa tightly as another blast of energy hit her in the back, making her stumble several steps. Gritting her teeth, she turned her head to glare defiantly at the red-haired man floating behind her, who responded with a smirk.
"You're pretty resilient, for a flimsy little girl," he said. "But you're not going to get in my way. Give me the Rabbit, and I might let you live."
"Why are you after her, you creep?" Sailor Moon demanded, ignoring his offer.
Rubeus responded with another energy cluster, which Sailor Moon barely dodged. "You're in no position to be asking questions. Give her to me or die!"
Another blast hit her, and she fell to one knee with a strangled cry. Still held firmly in her arms, ChibiUsa gasped at the expression of pain on the blonde's face. However, the little girl was much too terrified to say anything.
Earlier, as they were running to meet the girls, Usagi had tripped and landed flat on her face, as she occasionally did. ChibiUsa had gone on, looking back and giggling, and thus had not seen the truck coming until she had run out in front of it. With a loud honk and a screech of tires, the driver had swerved and narrowly missed her. In her fright, a crescent moon had appeared on her forehead and shot its moonbeam into the sky.
ChibiUsa had fallen back on the sidewalk, trying to make her heart stop pounding, when the man had appeared. He had short crimson hair and wore a brown vest and camouflage pants, and his eyes had a cruel gleam to them. However, it had been the downturned black crescent on his forehead that had drawn ChibiUsa's attention; she had seen that symbol once before, when her home had been attacked.
Petrified with fear, the little girl had remained where she was, not hearing a word Rubeus had said, and not able to move when the man had floated down towards her, intending to grab her. But before he could do so, she had felt herself lifted up and carried swiftly away. Snapping out of her daze, she had looked up to see Sailor Moon holding her protectively, even as Rubeus had started shooting energy blasts at them.
And now, the red-haired man had finally caught up with them, and was about to launch another attack. Sailor Moon braced herself and shifted to better shield ChibiUsa...but that proved to be unnecessary.
"BURNING MANDALA!"
The rings of fire impacted against Rubeus' back, drawing a grunt from him and interrupting his attack. Spinning around, he saw Mars, Jupiter, and Venus arrayed against him, ready to attack.
"I don't know who you are, jerk," Jupiter stated, "but you won't get away with hurting our friend!"
"Tch, you're wasting my time," Rubeus spat. "Nipasu, Jamanen!"
At his command, a pair of droids appeared, one dressed in an ice-blue kimono, the other seemingly made of red slime. They faced off against the three newly-arrived Senshi, while Rubeus turned back towards Sailor Moon and ChibiUsa. The true battle was about to begin...
To be continued...
END NOTES: So, how was it? I'm trying something new with this series, so I'm not sure how well it'll work yet. As always, reviews would be appreciated; can't improve without feedback, after all. Also, bonus points to whomever knows who the third Black Moon member is. ;)