A WISH
Chapter Nine
I'll Huff and I'll Puff
Usagi's terror, at the sight of the empty bed where Jadeite had lain only moments before, raged through her mind and body like a wild thing. Her heart began to beat an erratic tattoo in her chest as all the possibilities ran through her mind. Perhaps someone, or something, from the Dark Kingdom had come to steal him away. He might have gotten stuck somehow by trying to travel without remembering how. Or perhaps it was a human monster, out to steal a child.
Whatever it was, the ache of longing that filled her broke her heart. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she murmured his name again and again. He was just a little boy. No matter that he had once been one of the most powerful people on the planet. He didn't have all of his memories, and she wasn't sure he could survive out there on his own.
Fog filtered over her vision and her chest began to ache at the pounding of her heart. Her breath caught in her chest and she struggled to pull in the next, to no avail. She needed her boy back. He was her son, in the only way that mattered. And he was missing.
She could hear the voices of the other boys, but couldn't understand their words. Mamoru's face swam in her vision and she heard his shouts of alarm, but nothing seemed to penetrate the fog of her mind. She was drifting in an echoing sea and could not find her way back. Darkness closed in on her and she struggled yet again to pull a breath into her lungs.
Strong arms came around her, but she couldn't move or speak. She felt herself being lifted, felt something changing around her, and then darkness overwhelmed her vision and she was lost in blackness, willing her heart to work, her lungs to pull in a breath. Nothing happened. Her mind spun. Thoughts slipped away from her. She couldn't remember how to breathe, and she felt her heart skip a beat, and then slow, and slow again.
Usagi disappeared into the mists of her mind, unable to claw her way out.
Jadeite looked around at the pretty place around him. He liked the trees and the grass and all the flowers. He saw a temple ahead and he liked that too. He was safe here. He knew it, but he didn't understand how he had come to be in this place.
A man wearing long white robes and with blonde hair and a golden horn approached him. "Are you well Jadeite?" he asked.
Shaking his head, Jadeite stood, shivering a little with anxiety. He wanted to go home. He wanted Mommy and Daddy and his Rei. "No," he whispered. "I'm not supposed to be here. I want to go h-home."
"Of course you are supposed to be here little one," the man said. "But not yet. You have loved ones who are frightened for you," he continued. "You should go back to them. You can come again another time, when you have grown a bit and your mother is feeling better."
"I don't know how to go home," Jadeite wailed. "I'm lost!"
"Shhh," the man scooped him up. "You aren't lost if you know where you are."
"Elysion?" Jadeite asked.
"Elysion," the man confirmed. "I am Yume. How about you let me help you get home?"
"Okay," Jadeite said, and laid his head trustingly on the man's shoulder. He smelled of flowers and honey. It was comforting.
"Close your eyes Jadeite. Close them tight and think of your home. Think of your room and your bed. Think of your brothers and your parents. Think of them very hard, and wish with all your might to be there. Can you do that?"
"Uh huh," Jadeite said, nodding his head. He squeezed his eyes closed and pictured his room and his brothers. He tried to remember everything just as it was. He wished and wished and wished to go home.
And then he was. And people were crying and someone was shouting, and then Rei had him in her arms and squeezed him tight. He couldn't stop crying. "I was scared I couldn't get home again," he said, snuggling close.
"Where were you?" Rei asked, her tone full of fear and worry.
"Elysion," he tried to explain, but she seemed not to know. "The dream place."
"The dream place huh?" she asked, and sat on the couch with him.
Jadeite didn't see his brothers and wondered where they were. "What happened?" he asked.
"Usagi got a bit worse," Rei said. "I think she's going to be okay, but her heart started acting up and she couldn't breathe. Mamoru had to bring her to the hospital."
"Is mommy going to die?" Jadeite asked, his voice a whisper. He didn't want mommy to die. She was special and he loved her.
"No, I don't think she's going to die. But she is very sick and we're all a bit worried. Your brothers were crying, and us girls weren't much better with you missing and Usagi sick, it was all scary."
"I'm sorry," Jadeite said, wrapping his arms around her neck. "I'm really sorry. Is it my fault Mommy is sick?"
"No baby," Rei said. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault, okay?"
"Okay," Jadeite said, but he wasn't sure he believed her. He had left and then mommy's heart acted up. That had to be why. He hoped mommy didn't die.
Mamoru stood at the side of the bed, listening carefully to Doctor Mizuno. She'd told him to bring Usagi to the hospital, and he had. Now they were trying to keep her hidden in plain sight. He wasn't sure it was very safe to have her here. Someone might order blood tests and that was a bad thing, but she needed the help. There was a tube down her throat now, taped to the side of her face. She looked so pale and fragile laying there, her eyes closed. The IV in her arm had torn and a new one had been placed on her wrist. There were wires and machines everywhere and he could hardly see her through all of them.
A sob tore out of his throat as he stared down at Usagi. She was the light of his life and he would die if he lost her. Wisps of blond hair floated around her head, and he wanted to straighten them, but with so many wires he was afraid to even touch her.
"I think it's time we called her parents," Doctor Mizuno said.
His eyes darted to her and he stared in shock. "What?" he asked, and his voice sounded hoarse and scratchy.
"They have a right to know. I'll make the call," she added. "I can explain it better than you can right now anyways. But they need to know the truth."
"Is she going to die?" Mamoru heard himself ask the question, but he felt like he was drifting away into a chasm of despair.
"She's a fighter Mamoru-kun," Doctor Mizuno insisted. "She seems to do better when you're close," she added. "Hold her hand, talk to her, give her a reason to keep fighting."
He nodded and took the hand that didn't have an IV, rubbing his thumb over the back of it, touching the soft skin that felt so thin. He would hold on to her. He wouldn't let go for anything until she came back to him. Without Usagi, he was nothing.
He didn't even hear the doctor leave. The steady beep of machines surrounded him and he caught the jumping lines of the heart monitor, moving up and down, and watched it in fascination as it moved and beeped with each heartbeat. That was his indication that his little Usako was still alive.
Someone came in the room and pushed the big chair closer to the bed, urging him to sit down. The woman, a nurse he thought, urged him to talk to Usagi. He wasn't sure what to say, but he opened his mouth and words poured out.
"I love you Usako," he whispered, brushing her bangs back from her face. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I can't do this without you, so you have to come back. You have to be okay."
A sob tore out of his throat, but he swallowed and kept talking. "I can't win this fight without you. I don't want to," he added. "I think you're the only one who gives me hope. You have to come back to me. I need you. Your family needs you. Your mom and dad, and Shingo. They need you to keep fighting to come back. You have to fight for us Usako. You have to come back. Please."
Tears poured down his face, but he didn't care. He didn't try to wipe them away. "The boys need you Usako. They need you to come back and hold them close and tell them everything is going to be okay. And the girls need to laugh with you, and learn everything there is to know about being girlfriends. You're the best girlfriend. You make me laugh and smile and when I'm with you I can breathe again and it doesn't hurt so much because I know I'm not alone."
He swiped at the tears on his cheeks with one hand, not letting go of hers. "Usako, you have to fight this. I can't fix it, even though I want to. But you're strong. You are so, so strong, and you can do it. Please come back to me. Please. Usako." He laid his head over her hand, clasped tightly in his own, and wept, unable to speak through the tears for a long time.
Usagi didn't speak. She didn't wiggle her fingers, or squeeze his hand. She didn't smile that warm, loving smile at him. She was so still and pale it terrified him. He lifted his head as he stared at her, willing some sign that she could sense his presence.
"Usako, please. I can't do this without you. I can't breathe without you." His chest ached and his throat was raw from crying. "I love you. Please come back to me."
Nothing. No response from the love of his life.
"Come back Usako," he breathed. "Please, please come back. I love you so much." He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. Her finger tips were cold, but there was still warmth in her palm. "Please come back to me," he whispered. "Please."
It was nearly ten at night when the phone started ringing. Ikuko sat up in bed and grabbed the handset on the nightstand. "Moshi moshi?" she said, a question in her voice. They never received late calls.
"Ikuko?"
"Yes?"
"It's Ami's mother, Doctor Mizuno. Are you awake?"
Fear spread through Ikuko and she clutched at the phone. "I am. Are the girls okay? Usagi?"
There was a sigh through the line. "I need to talk to you about that. I'm right outside your door. Do you think you can come open it for me?"
"Yes." Ikuko hung up the phone and then turned to shake Kenji awake. "I think something is wrong with Usagi," she said, wishing she knew what was happening. She'd been worrying about her daughter constantly for weeks, and now she knew she'd been right to do so.
Kenji sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face. "With Usagi?" he asked. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know!" Ikuko cried, panic creeping up on her, making her want to scream and hide under the bed like a child. "Doctor Mizuno, Ami's mom, is here."
Kenji hurried out of the bed and pulled on his clothing before hurrying around to help her. He urged her down the stairs and toward the couch before he went and pulled open the door. Ikuko heard him say something to Doctor Mizuno, but couldn't make out his words.
Then she was sitting on the couch in front of Ikuko. "I don't know if we've been formally introduced," she said. "I'm Mizuno Saeko."
"Tsukino Ikuko and Kenji," her husband said as he sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Please, what's wrong with Usagi."
Doctor Mizuno sighed. "She's sick. Very sick. Let me explain everything and then I'll take you to see her, okay?"
Ikuko nodded, but didn't speak. She didn't want to hear how, she just wanted to be with her daughter and know everything was going to be alright.
"Usagi isn't a normal teenager. You might have caught hints of it, like I did with Ami, and dismissed it just as easily as me." She sighed. "Usagi is Sailor Moon."
A high pitched noise sounded in Ikuko's head and she shook it, trying to pay attention. Words faded in and out for several minutes.
"She made some sort of wish," Saeko was explaining. "And because of the wish she ended up bringing all four of them back to life, but had to deliver them herself. What I mean is that she was sort of pregnant, but different. According to Ami and Rei all four were attached to one placenta, which you don't see unless you have identicals. Anyways, she delivered them all, but it took a lot out of her. The whole thing took three days and from what I understand she was in a sort of cocoon thing so she wasn't eating or drinking during this time."
Nothing was making sense to Ikuko. It sounded outlandish, but Saeko seemed absolutely serious. She tuned back into the conversation as best she could.
"... been monitoring her for several days, but tonight one of the boys went missing and it caused Usagi to have a panic attack. With her heart and lungs already weakened, it sent her into a coma. I have her in the hospital but we have to be very careful because her blood has changed so we can't let anyone take any..."
Ikuko's mind was reeling. She didn't truly understand what was happening. Everything seemed a bit too bright and shiny. She realized she was crying.
"I'll drive you there now. Mamoru is with her. I don't think he would leave her side if you pointed a gun to his head. He'll protect her, I promise."
She recognized that name. Mamoru, the boy Usagi had been dating. Was he somehow involved? It occurred to her that she had missed much of the conversation. The world faded in and out as Kenji helped her put on her sweater and led her out to a shiny car. She sat in the seat and watched the lights of the city pass by. Then they were walking down a white hallway and they stopped outside a door.
Inside, Ikuko could hear a boy crying. That worried her. His words came through, though he was speaking quietly. "... back to me Usako. Please fight. I need you. I love you. So many people love you Usako. You have to come back. Please."
She pushed the door open and saw Mamoru, tears streaming down his cheeks, clutching Usagi's hand. Her daughter looked like death. She was skin and bones. There was no fat on her, and hardly and muscle left. She looked almost grey, her lips slightly blue around the tube that was taped to her cheek. Machines beeped, seeming to echo off the walls as she moved forward, getting closer and closer to her little girl.
"Usagi?" she asked. The wraith in the bed hardly resembled her daughter at all. "Usagi!" she cried, rushing to the other side of the bed and taking up her other hand, careful not to squeeze around the needle in it. "My poor baby girl."
Mamoru was still crying, clutching at her other hand. She watched him as he stared at Usagi's face, and wondered what he was searching for. She turned to look, willing her eyes to open. Nothing happened. They stayed closed. Usagi's chest rose and fell with the whirring of the machine, but there were no signs of life in her. It was as though a porcelain doll lay in the bed.
A beeping started and Mamoru lifted his wrist and pressed a button with the hand holding Usagi's.
"Jadeite is back," someone said. Ikuko thought it might be Rei. "He was in what he calls the dream place. Elysion."
Mamoru gasped and breathed the word as if the idea of the place brought him hope. Then he slumped. "Is he alright?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"He's okay. Shaken up and worried about Usagi."
In the background Ikuko could hear a little voice. "I want mommy," he whimpered.
"See?" Rei said. It was definitely Rei. Ikuko recognized the timber of her voice. "The others are about the same. Let her know we love her. Has she woken up yet?"
Mamoru shook his head. "Mizuno-san says its a c-coma." He broke down and couldn't talk anymore, laying his head on Usagi's hand as he wept.
It was Kenji who stepped forward then. He took the communicator gently and raised it so he could see the girl on the screen. "Hello Rei. We're with them now. We've got them."
"Okay. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner," Rei said in a small voice. "Luna always said anyone who knew would be in danger."
"I understand," Kenji said. "You just take care of those boys," he added. "We'll see to Usagi and take care of Mamoru for her until she wakes up."
"Okay. Thank you Tsukino-san."
Ikuko stared up at her husband, worry and fear clutching at her throat like a vice. Doctor Mizuno entered the room and brought a needle over to the IV, adding something. Ikuko didn't really understand any of what was happening. She was in total shock and couldn't make heads or tales of anything. She watched as her husband, the man who hated any boys getting close to Usagi, patted Mamoru's shoulder and promised everything would be alright. Then he walked around to her side and wrapped his arms around her, promising the same thing.
Only Ikuko wasn't sure he was right. Even if Usagi got better, she was still Sailor Moon. And Sailor Moon would have to fight again. She stared down at her daughter's face, waiting for even a hint of that cerulean gaze, and sighed, praying she would be alright.
Reader Response: Most of you know I have a ton of stories that are already finished. Some I always intended to write sequels for, like Losing Control, or Kidnapping Sailor Moon. Recently however, I've also been asked to continue a couple other stories... and I'm giving you all a chance to have your say. Which story do you want a sequel for the most:
1. Kidnapping Sailor Moon (Rated T)
The story continues with the Black Moon Arc - a few twists added along the way.
2. Losing Control (Rated M)
The story continues with the Black Moon Arc - a few twists added along the way.
3. The Rose (Rated M)
The story continues with the approach of a new enemy and culminates in the Calamity that changes the world forever.
4. The HoneyMoon (Rated M)
The quest to find the fountain of youth and save the Shitennou. Then stories continue as the girls realize their love for their soulmates, as Haruki and Shingo are brought into the fold, and as a new enemy is faced and the time of the Calamity approaches.
5. Married Strangers (Rated M)
The continuation of the fight against Beryl
6. The Prison (currently rated T, but is being rewritten so that might change)
The story continues with the Black Moon Arc - a few twists added along the way.
Send me a message, or add it to a review. Just put in the number if you don't want to type the title out. I look forward to hearing what you want the most.
