Chapter Seven
Usagi stood blankly for what felt like hours, absently rubbing the brooch. She had to find Luna or Artemis, she knew, but she had no idea where either of the cats were, and the shock of having the Senshi of Time appear from nowhere, rescue her, and entrust her with a new mission hadn't yet worn off.
After only a few long seconds, however, Usagi concentrated. Luna was missing-she had run off after Kunzite had attacked and she'd been too distracted to watch where the cat was going. But, Usagi reasoned, Artemis might still be in the house where they'd kept Luna.
She rubbed the brooch again, and then realized she still didn't know how to use it. Presumably it limited her powers, but Pluto hadn't shared the details. She took it off and opened it again, examining the slot inside. It looked as if it had been meant for a crystal of some kind.
"The Silver Imperium Crystal!" Usagi exclaimed. The brooch must be to hold the crystal. Which left the problem of getting the Silver Crystal out of her body.
Perhaps Tranquility, who had been under the tutelage of Luna, would know?
Pluto leapt from rooftop to rooftop, surveying the city. She felt a brief pang of guilt, first at standing by and letting the princess fight alone, and then for lying to the princess about the Crystal. She was of course perfectly capable of using it now, without any strain, but her long-lost Sailor Crystal would never reemerge if she wasn't stripped of the Silver Crystal's protection.
Usagi was not ready to ascend to godhood just yet. She would have to become Serenity the old-fashioned way: through a slow progression of unlocking all her powers as a Sailor Senshi, after which point she would fully pass the Sailor Crystal of the Moon onto Chibiusa, who would take it to the future and take her mother's place as the Senshi of the Moon.
Tranquility was alone.
As the newly-awakened princess and her Senshi became more and more dangerous to Luna and Artemis, she became less and less useful. She was living in a hotel room, which had been paid through the next week. After that, she supposed, she would have to make her way back-she could hardly imagine it as such-'home'. To whatever life she could make in the real, cold, harsh world, without a past life or a future love to ease the way.
Some part of her hoped that one of the cats would come and restore her hopes; another part of her was resigned to a miserable life.
Someone knocked at the door.
Tranquility-Keiko, she corrected herself-pulled open the door.
Usagi stood there, wringing her hands. "H-Hi."
"Hi." Keiko said. "Where's Luna?" She regretted the words the instant they were out of her mouth.
"I-well, that's what I wanted to know, actually. Have you seen Luna? Or Artemis? Please?" There was something desperate in Usagi's eyes, something nervous in her stance. She had to be in a bad situation if she, Moon Princess and miracle worker Serenity needed Keiko's help.
"No, they don't need me anymore." Keiko said bitterly. "Check their base."
"Base? What base?" Usagi asked eagerly.
"Under that arcade." Keiko snapped. Resentment flared-here was Usagi, the great and wonderful, who was powerful and destined for greatness, while Keiko was alone. Why should she help?
"The arcade…" Usagi breathed. She clutched at the brooch again. "Right! Thank you!"
She turned and hurried off down the hallway, leaving Keiko with the remnants of her dreams.
Crown was dark, and Usagi found herself glancing about as she lurked outside the door. It was locked, of course, and though it was night, she was afraid of being seen, and arrested or something.
"Maybe…Motoki's left the back door open…" She mused hopefully. She edged around the building, navigating between trash cans, and found the rusty back entrance. She tugged on the door, and miraculously, it opened.
The storeroom she entered was cramped and dark, and she slowly made her way towards the door.
And then stopped as she ducked around a shelf.
There was Artemis, white and lying curled up on his side. He was whimpering, as if in pain, and Usagi instinctively moved to help him before stopping, hesitant. She shook her head in frustration.
"He's only a cat." She told herself, and then Usagi walked over and knelt odwn at his side. "Artemis? Are you okay?"
"I hurt…" He gasped. "You're supposed to be dead…"
"It's okay…it's okay." She murmured. "Can I help you?"
"You need the Crystal. You need…the Silver Imperi…" Artemis drew in a ragged breath. "Luna was wrong, all wrong. Chaos…is…Pluto hurt me. She hurt me…where's Luna? Where's Venus? I'm…her friend…I promised…"
"They're coming soon." Usagi promised, feeling a stab of grief at his pitiful crying and his delusions. "I'll make it stop, okay?"
"Have to use the Crystal." Artemis muttered. His voice was fading, and his eyes were closed now. "Have to say…the magic words…"
He went very still and silent. Usagi gasped and scooped him up. He felt unreasonably cold, considering he had been alive only a few seconds ago.
A tear dripped down her face and into his fur. Then another, and another. Usagi sobbed brokenly. She was holding a dead cat in her arms, who had died painfully and confuse; she had no idea how to save her beloved or do anything; she was all alone.
Her tears kept falling, and now they had a strange light to them. Momentarily distracted, Usagi laid Artemis tenderly in her lap and reached up to touch her wet face.
Her fingertips came away glowing, and the water on them was, impossibly, hardening and growing and shining like a captive star. It fell into her palm and lay there, a little miracle.
The Silver Imperium Crystal. Usagi cupped it in her palms, and then laid it on Artemis's back. The light seemed to seep into him. For a long moment, Usagi couldn't breathe.
The white cat stirred. "Luna?"
Usagi stood up, Artemis still in her arms, the crystal in her fist. "It's okay." She said softly, and she carried him into the main room of the arcade. She laid him down on one of the booth benches, made him comfortable, and then sat down across from him and opened her brooch. She sucked in a breath, and then inserted the crystal. It didn't fit.
But it glowed brighter, and the brooch glowed as well. Her forehead was suddenly burning. Usagi reached up to touch it, and the skin beneath her bangs felt warm.
Something pink appeared in the slot in the brooch, and grew. The pink crystal pulsed, once, twice, and then Usagi felt words coming into her head, felt an instinct, formerly dormant, awaken within her. She pressed the Silver Imperium Crystal to her breast, and it sank into her skin, resting in what seemed to be her heart.
"Moon Crystal Power, Make…Up!"
Artemis opened his eyes halfway and saw a light like the sun. "Princess…" He muttered, and drifted off to sleep.
Luna followed Sailor Moon as she made her way down the street. What she was after, Luna was unsure of. Luna had planned to meet Artemis at the base, but he could wait. Besides, he had expressed some disapproval with her methods, and Luna had no need for any more enemies.
She kept to the shadows as Sailor Moon reached the park, saw that it was deserted, and stopped.
"Luna? Luna, where are you?"
Luna resisted the urge to snarl with irritation, and attacked. As she leapt, claws extended, however, Sailor Moon spun around and held up her hands.
"Wait! Luna! Artemis was asking for you!"
"What?"
"He was attacked." Sailor Moon explained. The Senshi paused, trying to think fo a way t opurify Luna. She didn't have the use of the Silver Crystal anymore, but there had to be some sort of weapon with her Senshi form, right?
Sailor Moon put her hands over her head, and sure enough, a wand formed between her outstretched fingers. She grasped it and brought it straight down, pointing it at a startled Luna, who was still processing the fact that Artemis was actually hurt.
"Moon…Healing…Escalation!"
The four Senshi were gathered at a convenient rooftop, sleepy eyed but determined. A sudden light had pulsed through them all, transforming them, and they had rushed out to battle without delay. But there didn't seem to be a youma anywhere.
"It has to be Usagi." Sailor Mars said. "She called us here."
"But where's she?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "Mercury?"
"I think I've triangulated her position." Sailor Mercury replied. She typed a few more things onto her handheld computer, and then nodded. "In the park. Let's hurry."
The youma came out of nowhere. Sailor Moon had been watching over an unconscious Luna, fretting over her healing technique, when at least ten of the monsters- big ones, with tentacles and red eyes and teeth and the ability to spit acid-appeared around her. She barely had time to stand before one of them lunged, and Moon jumped back, cradling the black cat, and summoning the wand with the other hand.
"Moon Healing- Ah!" Moon was knocked down by a flailing tentacle, an acid burn already forming on her leg. "No!"
"Fire Soul!"
"Mercury Aqua Mist!" Sailors Mercury and Mars arrived on the scene, dispatching a youma each.
"Sailor Moon!" Venus grabbed Moon by the arm and hoisted her up. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, but I have to protect Luna, and I still don't know where Mamo-cha- Moon Healing Escalation!- I don't know where Mamo-chan is!"
"We'll find him after we take these creeps out!" Jupiter snapped. "Supreme Thunder!"
The ten youma were down to five as Venus sliced a youma in half with her Crescent Beam. The Senshi formed a circle around Luna's body, and the youma, now evenly matched, were quickly dispatched.
And then Mamoru fell out of the sky. Literally. He hit the ground, eliciting a scream from poor Sailor Moon, and then sat up, dazed.
"Usako?"
"MAMO-CHAN!" She flung herself around his neck, and he slung an arm over her shoulders for a moment before dragging them both to their feet.
"What happened?" He asked.
"I don't know. I thought the Dark Kingdom had you!"
"They did." Mamoru said. "Something happened- some kind of explosion. From inside of me."
"You…exploded." Mercury repeated. "Maybe Sailor Moon's awakening triggered yours?"
"The Shitennou- those four men from the Dark Kingdom- will come after us." Mamoru said. "I know them. Somehow."
He dragged a finger along the dirt. "In a past life…"
"Time for all of that later." Mars said seriously. "Come on. Let's head home and sleep."
"We can always try again in the morning." Sailor Moon agreed, and the six of them began walking.
Tomorrow would come. Someday, they would reach the future they'd been promised.