nine
Shin felt the ungodly presence of evil before he heard the screams. The beaker fell from his hands and shattered on the floor, spraying salt water over his shoes. His lab partner, an overenthusiastic young man named Umino or something, jumped.
"Mouri?"
"You didn't hear—"
Shin was cut off as the windows in the lab all shattered. He grabbed Umino by the lab coat and yanked him down, his free hand over his head. Umino's eyes had gone wide behind his oversized glasses as he landed hard on all fours. "What's going on?!"
"Stay here," Shin mumbled, getting to his feet. He and Umino had stayed after with a teaching assistant in order to finish up a project. The teaching assistant had left for a moment to grab a cup of coffee. Hopefully now she would have evacuated to safety... As he glanced out the broken window, a feeling of dread filled him.
"Mouri?"
"We need to get out of here," Shin said as another round of screams filled the hall. When Umino didn't move, he swiftly grabbed the other boy under the arm and pulled him up. "Hurry up!"
Umino stumbled after Shin's footsteps as the two evacuated the laboratory. They darted down the hall, joining the panicked crowd. Shin made sure that Umino was swallowed in the crowd before he made his own departure; he rushed into an empty classroom, transformed into his subarmor and knocked out the remains of glass in a broken window.
Before he leapt out, he squinted at the sky. There, near the center of the city, were two floating men. Dark energy was pouring out of their raised hands, covering the city in a black dome. He narrowed his eyes, spotting the large wormholes that had youja soldiers piling out. The sheer energy from them appearing had caused the windows to explode.
It was almost like Arago's invasion, all over again.
Shin took in a deep breath before he flipped out of the window. He landed deftly on his feet and took off, his gaze focused on the two men. It seemed like the youja soldiers were all clamoring to the middle of the city, right under where the two men were floating. He had no doubt that the other Troopers were already there—maybe even the Sailor Senshi.
"Shin!"
Shin threw a grim smile over his shoulder at Seiji, who easily caught up with him. "What do you think of this party?"
"Annoying," Seiji said, matching his stride with Shin's. "Who do you think those two are?"
"No clue," Shin said, pausing suddenly as he got caught sight of the scene in front of him. A mass of youja soldiers were trying to pile up on something—he couldn't make out what.
Seiji's eyes were turned up to the two floating men, who continued to supply the dark dome. "I ran into Jun. He's with Nasuti."
"Good," Shin mumbled. "Ready?"
"Ready."
"Buso Suiko!"
"Buso Kourin!"
Seiji gripped the heavy but familiar nodachi, his fingers tightening as he pulled a stance. A few of the youja soldiers had turned to them, but most were still clamoring over each other to get at whatever was in the center. A sinking feeling had filled him the second he had spotted the youja soldiers. He felt something there—a strong heat, comfortable to him, as well as a strong spirit. He had no doubt that both Ryo and Shuu were in there.
Unfamiliar to him, however, was the utter feeling of darkness. It almost overthrew Shuu and Ryo's auras. Seiji just hoped he wasn't too late. "Rai ko zan!"
Shin, following his lead almost automatically, swung out his yari. "Cho ryu ha!"
Seiji's attack seemed to amplify as it joined with Shin's waves of water. The two didn't bother waiting to watch for the after-effects; the youja soldiers fell, crumbling into black smoke as they rushed in. They were swinging their weapons, cutting through armor, trying to make it to the center. Shin hissed as a youja soldier managed to knock him back.
Seiji, however, was right at his back, piercing through the soldier's armor effortlessly. "Careful."
"Thanks."
Unbeknownst to them, Saphir turned his eyes down at the two. He glanced at Demand, who was still focused on maintaining their dark barrier. So it was up to him, then. Saphir lowered one hand, aiming at the two figures. A large black flame gathered in his fist before flying down at them.
Seiji sensed it a second too late. He whirled around, watching as the flame grew bigger with its descent; he held out his nodachi. It was impossible with the sheer size of the flame, but he could try. "Rai ko zan!" he called out again, willing all of his energy into it.
His attack was swallowed by the flame. Shit, he thought. Shin had his yari pointed at the black flame, but it was no use—
"Crescent beam!"
The two of them watched as a thin beam of light pierced the flame from the side. Useless, Seiji thought, even if he had no idea where the light came from. And then—the flame burst from the inside, and Seiji realized his sure-kill had expanded. A bright light fell over them momentarily, and he felt his strength return to him.
"That was a close one!" a jovial voice said. Shin and Seiji stared at the orange-clad Sailor Senshi. She winked at them. "Lucky this beautiful girl's here to save you!"
"Aino," Seiji said, not knowing how else to react. She grimaced, playing with the ends of her hair before she suddenly fell into a low bow, her arms straight at her side.
"I apologize for my rudeness. Forgive me."
Seiji continued to stare, absolutely startled. Shin, however, grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "While I'm sure Seiji appreciates it, now isn't the time."
"Right, duh," Venus said, smacking her own forehead. She whipped her arm out suddenly, blasting away a youja solider that tried to creep up on her. "So, what do you guys think is in the middle of that soldier fest?"
"Ryo and Shuu," Seiji said, turning his eyes back to the center of the mass of soldiers. They were being held back by something... But the closer he got to the swarm, the stronger the unbearable feeling of darkness grew. "We need to save them—"
"Say no more." Jupiter, the helmet of a youja soldier tucked under her arm, grinned in a way that made Seiji wonder if she was enjoying this. "We're good at rescuing people."
"What do you plan on doing with that hel—"
Shin shut his mouth when Jupiter reeled her arm back and pitched the helmet right into the crowd of soldiers. Five of them fell down. Seiji blinked. "How—"
"Good aim, Jup!" Venus complimented, holding her hand out for a high five. Jupiter slapped her hand enthusiastically. "Anyway, what's the game plan?"
"Charge in there and save them, duh," Jupiter said, raising her eyebrows as if daring one of them to argue. Shin, despite the situation, couldn't help but smile.
"Lead the way," he said. Jupiter turned around quickly and stomped off, already pulling electricity into her fists. Seiji sighed, shouldering his nodachi as he started off after them. He paused when Venus called his name.
"Yes?"
"I really—I'm still upset, believe me," Venus said, her eyes meeting his. "But I understand. Why you weren't there."
Seiji nodded. "It's not your fault," was all he said before he turned back around to race after Jupiter and Shin. By the time they made it to the edge of the mass of soldiers, the feeling of darkness had almost overwhelmed him. Odd, he thought, because he didn't feel like suffocating as he usually did in the presence of darkness...
"Cho ryu ha!"
"Sparkling wide pressure!"
Seiji watched as electricity filtered through the waves of water before flying alone and crashing into the youja soldiers. Venus had also called upon an attack, a small heart of light that burst as it hit a soldier. Lightning and light, how ironic he thought. He raised his nodachi again, leaping into the air. "Rai ko zan!"
Seiji wasn't sure if it was the new armor that gave him power, or if he had grown stronger without knowing. Nevertheless, the amount of youja soldiers that crumbled into dust amazed him.
"Damn, you guys are strong," Jupiter said, eyeing the Kourin nodachi. "One more time, and I think we could get them all."
"Sounds like a plan," Shin said, swinging his yari before attacking again. Jupiter, Venus and Seiji all followed suit, and, true to her words, the youja soldiers all fell. What they saw in the center, however, wasn't at all what they expected.
Ryo, passed out with his helmet knocked off and his armor charred and almost smoking, was on the floor next to Shuu. A pool of blood was seeping from under his armor. Shuu was clutching his own bleeding shoulder with one arm, supporting Usagi's unconscious form with the other. Standing over them with her arms covered in cuts, her school uniform tattered, was Hotaru, her glaive out as she created a barrier. Seiji swallowed, knowing right away that it was her who embodied the feeling of darkness.
Shuu forced a grin at them once the soldiers cleared, but they saw the pain in his eyes. "About time, you guys."
"What happened?" The mirthful look in Venus's eyes was gone as she rushed forward. Hotaru dropped her glaive, panting as she dropped to her knees. "Usagi—"
"She's fine," Shuu said quickly, letting Venus take Usagi from him. He watched as she swept Usagi's hair from her forehead. "She passed out when those guys showed up."
Jupiter cast a dark glance up at Saphir and Demand, who were content to just watch them. "They should be dead."
"Shuu, what happened? Are they really that strong?"
At Shin's question, Shuu grit his teeth. "They attacked me when I had my back turned, trying to take Usagi away. Then Ryo tried to take them on himself but... He's okay, Hotaru healed him. Still..."
He trailed off, glancing down. Seiji placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault."
"I should have been there with Ryo! Both of us together, we could have—"
"Could have gotten defeated together?"
That was Touma, fully armored with his hankyuu ready. Shuu glared half-heartedly. "You're late to the party."
"Why does everyone think this is a party?" Seiji grumbled, more to himself, but Touma smirked anyway.
"We just have so much fun, don't we?" He looked up at Saphir and Demand, a solemn look overcoming his features. "Sailor Jupiter, you should be careful. These guys are after you."
"Uh," Jupiter said, scratching her elbow. Her concerned gaze was still directed at Usagi. "How do you figure?"
"Your friend, Mercury." Touma didn't take his eyes away, not even as Saphir aimed at them again. Touma aimed back, closing one eye. "They think you're the leader."
"Excuse me," Venus said, her hands on her hips as Jupiter suddenly looked smug. "They obviously have half a toe if they think she's the leader."
"Do you mean 'half a brain'?" Shin asked. Venus batted her eyelashes at him.
"It's as if you read my mind!" she squealed. Shin blushed as Seiji rolled his eyes.
"Either way, we have to get Ryo and Usagi-san to safety," Shin said, as if Venus hadn't just been hitting on him in the face of danger. "And Sailor Jupiter, you too—"
"No way," Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles. She shook her head, her glare turned up at the two Black Moon clan members. "I've got old business with these guys."
"Fine. Shin, you take Shuu and the others to safety." Seiji glanced back at Shuu, who opened his mouth to protest. "See if you can't fix that shoulder of yours."
"I can still fight."
"Just leave it to us," Touma said. His fixed an arrow, glancing back for a brief moment. "Tomoe, can you see about the holes?"
"They're already closed," Hotaru said quietly. She hadn't moved from her spot, her hand resting on Ryo's neck. Seiji saw a large gash there—healed over, but still raw and red. He then noticed that her hands were faintly glowing and the gash was slowly fading away. "Neptune and Uranus are out scouting for more."
"Thank you," Seiji said. Hotaru didn't respond, instead getting to her feet. She gave Venus a weary glance.
"I'll go with them."
Venus nodded as she handed Usagi to Shuu. She held up her arm; her index finger glowed. "Take care of yourself."
Seiji watched as Shin, supporting Ryo's weight, led Shuu, Usagi and Hotaru away from the scene. He turned back just to see Touma let his arrow fly while Venus shot off another crescent beam. Demand, however, waved his arm and the attacks skittered off to the side.
"Jupiter, I have an idea," Venus whispered, not at all discouraged. Her hand was back at her side, glowing faintly. "I'll grab them—"
"Sure," Jupiter said, seeing the chain materialize. "Or you could grab onto them and I could fry them through you—"
"Try it. But we probably shouldn't be standing together like this." Touma quickly parted from them, leaping away. Seiji followed suit, his eyes narrowed. Saphir had managed to pull out another black flame, larger than the one before. Maybe if he could get Venus to combine her attack with his again...
Except she suddenly acted. Venus threw her whip-like chain out, snagging Saphir by the leg. Jupiter grabbed onto her hand. "Supreme thunder!"
Lightning left her hands and sizzled up the chain, curling around Saphir's form before he gave a spasm. The fire, however, continued to grow, despite his struggle with shaking off Jupiter's attack.
"Jupiter oak evolution!" she growled, trying a second time, with a more powerful attack. This time Saphir let go of the fireball—only to have it wildly shoot out in different directions. Seiji sucked in a deep breath, swinging his nodachi and slicing cleanly through one that headed his way. So the smaller individual fireballs were weaker—that was good.
Until he saw Venus get pummeled in the chest by one. She was thrown back, screaming. Jupiter, a horrified look on her face, scrambled to grab her friend and get her out of more harm's way. Touma briefly glanced over at the scene, but he continued focusing on shooting each stray fireball down.
Seiji took a step back towards Venus and Jupiter, ignoring the bubble in his stomach. Venus was weakly getting back onto her feet, with Jupiter's support. The pain was evident in the way she held onto her wound, though. He could make out blood seeping through her fingers. The attack, it seemed, only resembled fire in appearance—instead, it cute like a sharp blade.
Seiji whirled around, feeling a sudden overwhelming presence of heat. "Ryo—"
He cut himself off short when he saw a red skirt, black hair, and angry violet eyes. Mars had both her hands up, creating an immense wave of fire that licked up the remains of Saphir's attack. The flames quickly disappeared as she threw a disapproving look at him over her shoulder. "Careful," she said.
Seiji hadn't seen her since the recital. Somehow he wanted to let her know that. "I haven't seen you since the recital."
Mars stared at him. Unlike every other person in the world, whom he usually had no problem reading, her face was completely blank to him. And there it was again, that insignificant little feeling that wormed around in his stomach. He usually reserved that feeling for Nasuti, but somehow this girl drew it out full force, smacking him in the face with its desire to desire.
Then Mars whirled back around, quickly forgetting him as she turned her attention back on the battle. "Hashiba, aim with me."
"As you wish," Touma said good-naturedly, raising his hankyuu. He noted with a raised eyebrow as Mars drew a large bow and fitted an arrow of fire. "Left handed?"
"It's why I quit," Mars said, the smallest of smirks on her lips. "Ready when you are."
"Shin kuu ha!"
"Mars flame sniper!"
It was useless, Seiji thought again as Demand flicked the attacks away. But then he and Saphir suddenly tensed up, falling to the ground. Their legs were completely frozen in blocks of ice. Seiji narrowed his eyes before he spotted the small figure in blue a good distance away. "A diversion tactic?"
"Back to the basics," Touma mumbled, nodding his head in approval. "We're so caught up in trying to overpower the enemy when really, a simple diversion would have worked."
"It won't work a second time," Mars said. Her eyes were fixed on Demand, a frown marring her features. "He has no soul."
"You feel it too?" Seiji quelled the weird feelings inside him, switching his grip on his nodachi. "They're already dead."
"Whoever brought them back did a half-assed job," Mars said quietly, ignoring Seiji's startled look at her choice of words. "Mercury's probably doing a scan to confirm."
"Smart girl," Touma said, unable to hide his proud smile. Mars cocked an eyebrow at him but said nothing. "What's next?"
Before Mars could answer, Demand threw an arm up. A large mass of energy gathered; Seiji felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "We have to—"
"Mercury aqua mirage!"
"Mars snake fire!"
From either side of Demand, their attacks merged but were swallowed up by the energy. It shrunk, only a little; it still pulsed in his hand, yearning for destruction. Mars opened her palm by her side, her eyes trained on the energy. A small flame flared up. The flame crackled from the tips of her fingers.
"After me!" Mercury shouted, darting forward, nearing Saphir and Demand. Her own hands were glowing blue. As soon as she was within arm's reach, she flipped over them. Upside-down and midair, before gravity took over, she cried out, "Shine aqua illusion!"
She landed hard on one knee, watching as Saphir was completely immobilized. Demand's fingers twitched for a moment, struggling to release the ball of energy. Mars sprang forward, the flame in her hand trailing after her. She leapt over Mercury's crouched form; when she landed, she released the flame while slapping two ofuda onto it. The flame separated into two. "Fire soul bird!"
The two separate flames flew straight at Demand and Saphir, flaring up and threatening to swallow her. Mercury stood up, shielding her eyes from the sight with one hand and grabbing Mars to pull her back with the other. Mars reluctantly stepped back and the two exchanged glances. Demand and Saphir's screams echoed throughout the area.
"Those two always worked well together," Jupiter said good-naturedly as she rejoined Touma and Seiji. She was supporting Venus, who had managed to stop the bleeding from her wound. Her uniform, however, was stained with blood.
"Well, they took care of two guys that four of us couldn't handle," Seiji said. "Aino, are you—"
"I'm fine," Venus said. Her gaze was hard. "This black dome thing is still surrounding the city."
"They probably weren't the direct cause of it," Touma mused, watching as Mars and Mercury bent down to check on Demand and Saphir. The screaming had stopped. "Even if we don't know what it does, we have to find the source."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Venus asked. She gingerly touched her wound, wincing a sharp pain ran through her.
"Although I wonder if we could purify it," Touma continued to say, as if she hadn't spoken. "What do you think, Seiji?"
"We can try," Seiji said. He lifted his nodachi, nodding his head up at the sky. "The center?"
"Of course."
Jupiter and Venus watched as Touma fitted an arrow to his hankyuu. He closed his eyes briefly before the arrow started burning with a bright white energy. Jupiter jumped once she realized what she was feeling from the arrow. "That's almost like the crystal," she breathed.
"It's exactly like the crystal," Venus gasped as Seiji swung his nodachi up. It glowed with the same aura as Touma's arrow, although the light at the edges seemed to crackle. She took a step forward, awed. "These guys..."
"Shin kuu ha!"
"Rai ko zan!"
The arrow flew. The nodachi released a large bolt that flew right after it, trailing its path. Mercury and Mars both looked up, eyes wide. "Amazing," Mercury mumbled at the letters her goggles were showing her. The text flew rapidly and freely before her eyes, and she only had a split second to understand. "Energy in its purest, most uncorrupted form..."
Mars didn't need Mercury to tell her. She felt it—the lightest, most genuine—most powerful—thing she had ever felt, even more than the ginzuishou. She watched as the arrow and bolt of light pierced the top of the black dome. Cracks rippled through the dome, like shards of glass, before the dome suddenly shattered into uncountable pieces.
"Guess it worked," Touma said, grinning at Seiji. Seiji offered his own smile before he turned his attention to Mars and Mercury. Mercury was hovering over the bodies, typing away furiously at her super computer. Mars stood a little off to the side, her hands on her hips. They were speaking to each other softly.
"They worked together for awhile before we came into the picture," Jupiter said, seeing his gaze. "Sometimes we all forget it since we've been together for so long, but Rei and Ami sort of really get each other."
"They're like the Neptune and Uranus of the guardian Senshi," Venus joked. Then she realized what she had said and turned bright red. She rubbed at her suddenly bleeding nose, smiling stupidly. "Oh, hehe—"
"Oh my god you pervert," Jupiter groaned, slapping her on the back. Venus squawked.
"Oh shut up! Don't tell me you haven't ever wished you were Michiru-san—"
"Not just so I could date Haruka-san!" Jupiter retaliated. Venus huffed, sticking her nose in the air.
"Who's dating me?" Uranus asked as she appeared from the shadows. The light from the setting sun reflected off the jewels on her sword. She held it up and waved it a bit, glancing at the top of the nearest building. They all followed her gaze to see light reflect off of something. "Neptune's up there. Scouting for holes. I think they're all set."
"Where do we go from here?" Jupiter asked. They turned their eyes to Mars and Mercury.
"Touma and I will find Shin and the others," Seiji said. He hesitated before adding, "Will it be alright to meet at Setsuna-san's?"
"Mamoru's place is closer," Venus said, rocking back on her heels. She had her hands laced behind her fingers, watching as Mercury and Mars moved to check the bodies more personally. "I'm sure he'd want to have Usagi near."
"Alright. Hashiba, Date, you two help me with the bodies." Uranus started off, not bothering to wait for the two. "Venus, Jupiter, you two find whoever the others are and bring them to Mamoru's."
Venus and Jupiter left without a word. Seiji stared, wondering how his own plan was overpowered so quickly. His confusion intensified when they neared the bodies. "They're alive?"
Mars gave him a sharp glance. Unlike before, when she had looked at him like he was stupid, her gaze this time was more inquisitive. It was Mercury, however, who spoke. "Yes. When I had scanned them earlier, I had seen faint signs of life. Heartbeats, blood pressure, lungs barely expanding. I had a theory that perhaps there was something clouding our analysis of them, hiding their life source from us. Thankfully Mars followed my lead and understood that she should purify them."
She didn't say what everyone else was thinking. Uranus spoke after a moment. "So then Rubeus, and Esmeraude?"
Mercury hesitantly lifted her eyes to meet the older Senshi's. "Perhaps we had killed them."
Touma cleared his throat. "Mizuno, you don't know that..."
Mercury blinked a few times. The goggles disappeared and she saw him in clear light, her eyes widening. "Oh. Oh, Hashiba, you're—here."
Uranus frowned. "Who did you think it was?"
"I wasn't—I just—I had only assumed it was—I'm not sure," Mercury concluded, fidgeting. Her cheeks were flaming red. Mars turned away, trying not to smirk. "Anyway, I—um, that is, we should—where are we meeting?"
Uranus stared. It was Seiji who answered. "Mamoru's, we agreed on."
"Oh," Mercury said. Then she promptly dropped her smart computer. "Oh dear."
Mars swooped down to grab it. She handed it to Mercury without a word, nodding as Mercury stumbled over a simple 'thank you'. Seiji raised his eyebrows. Touma scratched his cheek.
"You kids are so weird," Uranus said. She crouched down, grabbing Demand and hoisting him in her arms. With a bit of effort she managed to stand.
"Haruka, I can carry him—"
"Get the other guy," Uranus said, cutting Touma off. "Hurry up."
Seiji lifted Saphir onto Touma's shoulder, conscious of the fact that Mercury was still fiddling with her hands. The journey to Mamoru's was short but near silent; more than once he caught sight of Mercury opening her mouth to say something before she decided against it. It was obvious, he thought, that sometime between when they had met at the café to now, she had developed a little crush. On Touma. Who had no idea, because he was Touma.
Seiji's eyes turned to the unconscious man on Touma's shoulder. He could easily feel Saphir's life flowing strongly through him. Earlier, the two felt so dead... It had to take someone very strong to be able to cover up that life force. Someone like Badamon, he thought. But Badamon was gone...
"Hurry up, you're lagging behind," Mars said, giving him a dry glance. His stomach did a flip as he picked up his pace, hoping he looked nonchalant.
Damn hormones.
x
It took awhile, but everyone was eventually situated around Mamoru's living room. Minako tried explaining to the Troopers that it would be okay for them to get out of their subarmors, but they all politely refused.
"Darn," Minako mumbled under her breath, making a fist. She grabbed Makoto by the elbow, leaning over conspiratorially. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "You think they're nude under there?"
"Minako, you—" Makoto made to argue before she paused. Despite herself, her eyes skimmed over Shin briefly. Minako grinned, nudging her.
"Minako knows best," she sang as Makoto's quickly shook her head.
"You're rubbing off on me way too much—"
"What are you girls giggling about?" Michiru asked politely, handing Shin a cup of tea. Makoto grimaced, knowing that Michiru knew. Michiru always knew.
"Nothing, nothing," Makoto said, trying to look innocent. She wondered if it worked. Probably not, seeing Michiru's quirked eyebrow. Makoto sat up straight, playing with her hands awkwardly. She was sharing one sofa with Haruka and Minako, while Ami and Michiru took the other. "We're waiting for Usagi to wake up?"
"Could take awhile," Haruka joked, earning a smile from most of the Senshi. Shin allowed himself to crack a smile, but Seiji, from his spot perched on the arm of Haruka's sofa, inaudibly sighed. They were taking the situation very well, he thought—too well. He understood that they went through a lot (Touma had shared with all of them his meeting with Mizuno), and he understood that different people had different ways of coping. But he just couldn't get used to their method of handling things.
"May I ask where Setsuna is?" Shin asked from where he sat around a table with Shuu and Rei. Touma was on the floor by them, his chin in his hands.
"Active duty," Michiru answered swiftly. The Senshi understood that she meant Time Gates. The Troopers, however, blinked. "Sorry, I mean—she has other obligations that extend beyond protecting the world."
"Okay," Shuu said, not fully understanding as he rubbed his bandaged shoulder. He had refused to let Hotaru heal him after he learned that it took her own energy to do so. "So... Mizuno, Touma told us about your theory."
Ami's shoulders scrunched up as she fixed her gaze on the carpet. "It might have a few loopholes, I know, but there is sufficient enough evidence—or rather, coincidence—to suggest that these enemies—assuming that they are enemies and not misguided, of course—have a fixation on Sanada—or perhaps it is the armor he bears, although it makes me question why they would not target yours, unless they are after the Kikoutei, which H—hashiba has told me no longer exists—"
Minako coughed. Ami blushed once she realized she was rambling.
"I—I mean to say—"
"They're not misguided," Rei said, coming to her rescue. "Their aura doesn't feel that way. Whoever this enemy is, they're probably using the Black Moon clan to hit us emotionally."
"Pfft," Minako said, crossing her legs and scowling. "If by emotionally you mean 'to piss us off,' then I agree."
Makoto cast a dark look down the hallway, to Mamoru's room where Usagi and Ryo, both unconscious still, were being watched over by Mamoru and Hotaru. Demand and Saphir were also in the room; Hotaru had stabbed her glaive into the floor between their bodies, saying that her Silent Wall technique would act as a barrier if they woke up and tried anything. Mamoru tried not to have a heart attack over his damaged hardwood floor. "She really said they were good people?"
"Yeah," Shuu answered, catching the look on her face. "You don't seem to believe it."
Makoto met his gaze. He was surprised at how angry it was. "That guy Demand? Oh yeah. Don't believe it at all."
"Something tells me we're missing out here," Haruka said, surprising Shin.
"You don't know this enemy?"
"No," Michiru replied honestly. "This was before we were awakened."
"You don't need to know them," Rei said flatly, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. Haruka rubbed her chin, leaning forward.
"You guys sure are defensive."
"Demand sucks," Minako said, waving her hand in the air. "Like big time. And of course Usagi is too busy living like a rainbow to really see that—"
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Shuu asked. "She probably has a reason for thinking he's okay—"
"Don't get us wrong, we love her to death," Makoto quickly explained, seeing how he looked a bit offended. "But really, Usagi trusts people way too much."
"I'm hoping that wasn't a jab at us," Seiji said dryly. Makoto narrowed her eyes, trying not to take offense.
"Of course not," she mumbled, thought it was true that Usagi had reprimanded the Senshi more than once for being distrustful of the Boys from the Roof.
"Did you get anything from the dome they were trying to surround the city with?" Touma asked suddenly. He had been quiet since they had arrived at Mamoru's lost deep in thought. At the sound of his voice, Ami jumped.
"I—just only a little. It was, well, my computer," she said, looking helplessly around. Minako was grinning, Makoto looked concerned, and Rei just stared. "It's—the energy—the same one that kept Demand and Saphir dead—it was expanding, like—like."
She fell quiet, looking absolutely bothered. Haruka squinted at her, head tilted, as Michiru covered up a laugh by taking a sip of her tea. Minako's grin widened. "Do go on."
"Um," Ami whispered, looking at her feet. "That is—the source of the dome they were trying to create, it's the same as whatever was shielding their life energy."
"I see," Touma said, closing his eyes.
"Touma? What are you thinking?" Shin asked. Touma sighed.
"Just that if it were the same energy source, then maybe the dome was meant to do the same thing to us."
"Come again?" Minako asked politely.
Touma opened his eyes, looking at her. "As in turn the whole city into mindless, almost-dead soldiers."
"Well that's morbid," Makoto said, leaning back and crossing her arms. She fixed her gaze on Ami. "You agree?"
"It's feasible," Ami admitted, running a hand through her hair. She seemed to have forgotten her nerves in light of the new theory. "Most likely. I do wonder, though—Setsuna has Rubeus's remains still, does she not? What was she able to conclude?"
"Beats me," Haruka shrugged as Michiru explained, "She compared the remains to dust from Planet Nemesis. Close match, something like that."
"What's a Planet Nemesis?" Shuu asked, butting into the conversation.
"Beats me," Haruka repeated as Ami answered, "A planet from the future, actually."
"Does anyone else think it's kind of weird that Setsuna just has Planet Nemesis dust lying around?" Makoto pointed out.
"Or the fact that she's analyzing dead bodies?" Shuu input. He glanced over at Shin before adding slyly, "Your girlfriend's a little odd."
"Girlfriend?" Minako's eyes bugged out, her hand clutching her chest. "You're dating Setsuna?!"
"N—no!" Shin protested, wondering how the conversation quickly turned to his love life. "We're good friends, actually, just that—"
"Good," Minako said, winking. Shin smiled uneasily at her mood change.
"Minako, leave the poor boy alone," Michiru reprimanded. "And Setsuna is not odd, she is just curious."
"Right, anyway," Haruka said, sensing that Michiru was starting to become irritated with all the young kids in the room. The two of them weren't that much older, but there was a gap in the maturity. Maybe except for Shin and Seiji. They seemed like good kids. "So far we know this—dead guys are showing up, except they're not really dead, just fake dead."
"The youja soldiers seem real enough," Touma mused. "Part of me thinks maybe an old enemy of ours..."
"Badamon?" Seiji asked sharply. "I had the same thought."
"I wonder if there's a way to contact Kayura," Shin said. "She would know if something is amiss in the Youjakai."
"No thanks," Shuu said, grimacing. "It's great that she's on our side, but she was kind of crazy—"
For some reason, he looked at Rei. Rei looked back, giving him her best death stare, even though she had no clue why. Unperturbed, Shuu winked at her before turning back to the conversation.
"There has to be some way. Maybe Setsuna-san could get us in contact with the Youjakai?" Seiji asked, glancing at Haruka.
"Right, sure, we could ask her sometime. Who's Kayura?"
"A descendent of Kaos," Shin supplied. "We've had—history with her. It's actually quite a long story, but in the end, she's on our side now. She's currently the empress of the Youjakai, so she might have an idea of what's going on."
"Rei, have you seen anything lately?" Michiru asked. Rei looked up at her, wondering if her face was betraying her emotions.
"No," she lied, her voice even. How sad, she thought, that it came from practice over the years—practice of telling her fellow Senshi that everything was okay when it really wasn't. If anyone could read through her, it would be Michiru. The older Senshi, however, seemed to trust her. It almost guilted Rei into telling the truth, but she maintained her composure easily. "Have you?"
"Unfortunately not," Michiru said, smiling sadly. "I was thinking that maybe your skills have heightened over the years."
"If you haven't seen anything, Michiru, then I doubt I would have," Rei said kindly.
"Suck up," Minako said, at which Makoto smirked. Rei ignored them both.
"What are you guys talking about?" Shuu asked, giving Rei another look. She really was turning out to be a crazy crow-loving shrine lady.
"Rei has spooky mind powers," Makoto answered. The way Rei didn't seem offended led Shin to believe that it was some kind of an inside joke.
"So like Seiji then," Shuu said. Seiji started, glaring at Shuu. "Don't look at me like that! You know it's true."
"Seiji is unusually perceptive," Shin said when he saw Ami's curious glance. She nodded, her gaze travelling to Rei. Again, the priestess looked rather unbothered. It was almost ridiculous, she thought, that they would act so differently because of this new group of allies. Makoto was trying to play it cool, Minako was more overenthusiastic than usual, and Rei was as haughty as she had been when they first started out as Senshi. As for herself—Ami knew she was a stuttering mess, but she wondered if part of it was due to Hashiba. Ever since she had realized their scandalous (by her standards, anyway) night together, she had been a wreck. At least she was no longer having an allergic reaction...
Suddenly Rei stood up, running across the living room with a speed none of the Senshi had ever seen before. Seiji's head whipped towards Mamoru's bedroom door. "They're gone," Rei hissed as she threw open the door, ofuda ready at her fingertips.
"Gone?" Shin repeated, the second to reach the door. Over her shoulder, he stared at the scene in front of him. There was a large black hole on the ground, much like the ones the youja soldiers came out of. Mamoru was standing in front of Usagi, who was blinking wearily as if she had just woken up. Ryo was still unconscious, on the bed.
"The enemy opened a portal underneath them," Hotaru said, meeting Shin's gaze evenly. "They worked around the barrier."
"Damn it," Makoto said, her fist thumping against the doorframe. Beside her, Shuu grit his teeth.
"Cowards," he muttered. "Couldn't fight us directly so they took the easy way out."
"What do we do now?" Minako asked from the back of the group lingering by the door. She was barely breathing as she watched the hole. So they could open up anywhere, she realized. That meant that the city wasn't safe anywhere. But that also meant the enemy didn't know exactly how to target them specifically—otherwise they would have opened the holes in their personal homes.
"Let me take a quick reading," Ami said, already at work on her super computer. It was a moment before Ami nodded. "Got it. Hotaru, please close it, quickly. There's a large energy source on the other side."
"The Youjakai," Touma said suddenly, his eyes on Hotaru as she seemed to grab at the edges of the hole. "I released an arrow into the hole in the battle against—Rubeus, was it? And the energy that surrounded the arrow felt the same as the Youjakai's."
"Guess we'd better get a hold of this Kayura girl," Haruka said. She watched as Mamoru pulled a shocked Usagi into his arms.
"What's going on?" Usagi whispered to him, her hand cupped around his ear. "What happened? I just remember—Demand, and Saphir—"
"We can explain later," Mamoru said, running his fingers against her bangs. "You're safe now."
The portal was just wide enough for Hotaru to grab onto both ends. She kneeled, puckering up her lips in concentration as she moved to push the two ends together. Everyone watched as the ends slowly started to close.
"That's kind of cool," Minako said to Michiru. "Wish we could do that."
"It can be a pain," Michiru said calmly, shrugging.
"Especially when they're eighty feet in the air," Haruka added, nodding in agreement.
"You're just afraid of heights," Hotaru sniped over her shoulder. She and Michiru shared a grin as Haruka pouted.
"That is a blatant lie!"
Then Hotaru gasped, glancing down in shock at the hole. There was something heavy beckoning at her, like a gravitational pull. She tried to lean back, but the pull was too strong. She couldn't even move her hands. All eyes were on her again as she braced one foot against the edge of the hole, trying to pry her hands away.
"Hotaru—princess, what's wrong—shit—"
Haruka was cut off as Hotaru fell into the hole. Her fingers were the last things they saw of her—still grasping the edges—until the hole closed shut. There was a deafening silence that filled the room. Minako snuck a fearful glance at Haruka and Michiru. To their credit, both of them were taking it well—as well as any parent who just lost their child to a supernatural wormhole could be.
Michiru stepped forward first, crouching down at the spot where the hole had been. Her fingers traced the now non-existent hole, trailing slowly along the ghost of the edges. "The Youjakai, you said?"
"It's a theory," Touma said, glancing at Haruka. Her fists were clenched and her jaw was tight, but her eyes betrayed nothing about how she felt. "Though I would bet my life that the holes lead there."
Michiru stood up so quickly that he thought she was going to fall over. Her cold gaze met his. "You will find a way to contact this empress Kayura."
"You'll be the first to know," Shin said reassuringly. Michiru bowed her head at him in quick thanks before she approached Haruka's side again. Haruka touched her elbow and they shared a private look.
"Ugh, what killed me?" Ryo moaned. He slowly sat up in bed, running a hand through his even messier hair. After a large yawn, he finally realized that there were other people in the room, and they were all staring at him. "What happened?"
"Oh man," Shuu said, casting a look around. "Who wants to start?"
an thank you for the reviews! thank you for reading! i hope you enjoy!
