Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Labyrinth Chapter 10: Plans for the Ginzuishou, Questionable Loyalties, a sailor moon fanfic

Chapter Ten: Plans for the Ginzuishou, Questionable Loyalties

"Slow down!" Ami exclaimed as Usagi sobbed wildly on her friend's shoulder. Rei was having similar trouble with Usa, who could have been a mirror for Usagi's actions.

Finally, the dark-haired girl managed to choke out, "He's gone! I felt him disappear! I-he-it..." she hiccuped softly and started crying again. The rest of the girls made various noises of distress and disbelief.

Usagi wailed, "This is all my fault! Mamo-chan is gone because I sent him away from me! If he had been with us, we could have protected him!" Her sobs faded into a soft weeping that was nevertheless frightening in its intensity, and this time Mako-chan moved forever to embrace her.

Ami pulled out her mini computer and began rapidly typing things. The others watched her hopefully, but she finally shook her head and murmured, "They're right. I can't find him anywhere."

Michiru pulled out a beautiful mirror that all of the senshi recognized as her talisman, the Deep Aqua Mirror.

"Show me Mamoru-san," She whispered. The silvery surface of the mirror glowed softly for a moment and began pulsating with a murky light. Finally, an image began to appear. Everyone leaned forward expectantly and the image broke apart with the sound of shattering glass.

"Oh!" Michiru exclaimed, examining her broken talisman. She shook her head with disbelief and dismay and said, "Wherever he is, there is a powerful barrier shielding him."

A tremendous explosion suddenly threw them all into the air. Everyone landed on their feet, except for Usagi and Usa, who landed on their faces.

A giant, shadowy shape loomed nearly forty feet into the air, dragging itself from the ground directly beneath them. It vaguely looked like a massive bear, and had glowing red eyes. It lashed out with a shadowy paw, and the girls sprang clear in every direction.

"Henshin yo!" Usagi yelled, scrambling to her feet.

"Moon Crisis!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Uranus Planet Power!"
"Neptune Planet Power!"
"Saturn Planet Power!"
"Moon Prism Power!"
"Make-UP!"

With whirling colors, multicolored ribbons, and various flashes of light, the senshi team transformed. Sailormoon posed and shouted, "For love and justice I am the beautiful sailor-suited soldier Sailormoon! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"

The shadowy creature snarled, revealing glowing red teeth with crimson slime oozing from them. Where the slime hit the ground it left smoking craters.

"Eeew.." Sailormoon exclaimed with disgust.

Sailormars rolled her eyes and shouted, "Mars Flame Sniper!" Her attack was quickly followed by shouts of:
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"World Shaking!"
"Death Ribbon Revolution!"

The shadow dissolved, allowing the attacks to pass harmlessly through it before reforming into its bear-like shape.

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Deep Submerge!"

The shadow dematerialized again, but this time reformed behind SailorMoon, who was hanging back indecisively.

"Aieeeeeee!"

Its head moving too quickly for the eye to follow, the shadow snatched SailorMoon up in its jaws. The teeth, being made of energy, didn't pierce her body, but the senshi screamed in agony anyway, her eyes slightly glazing with pain.

"SailorMoon!" The other Sailormoon shrieked. She threw her arms up over her head, keeping her hands slightly apart. A white light flashed between them, and her sword, the Lunar Rose Blade, appeared, the handle facing her, the blade pointing towards the heavens. She grabbed the hilt with both hands, and rushed at the shadow. SailorMoon screamed again, and the creature's fangs flashed a bright red.

"Hang on, SailorMoon; I'm coming!"

"The time is almost upon us, Kage. Ready yourself."

Her excitement was evident in her tone, but she was too distracted to notice Kage's decidedly preoccupied response.

"Of course, My Lady."

Sailormoon sprang into the air, her sword ready to slash through her granddaughter's bonds. However, she fell several feet short, and landing on back on the ground without leaving so much as a scratch.

SailorMoon screamed before growing deathly pale. As the creature shook her sharply, her body hung limply in its mouth. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly, and she weakly raised a hand to the jewels in her hair. She was shaking uncontrollably and weeping softly with the effort by the time she managed to pull one loose. Holding it carefully, she moved her other hand to retrieve the next jewel. Sailormoon and the other senshi held their breath as SailorMoon struggled to ready her attack. However, as she reached for the next jewel, the first slipped from her fingers. She whimpered, a helpless sound that was all her body could manage.

On the ground, Sailormoon stared as if frozen at the blue jewel that had landed almost on her feet.

Sailorneptune suddenly exclaimed, "I can't take this anymore!" She called the Deep Aqua Mirror to her, and seconds later Uranus followed her example by unsheathing the Space Sword, her own talisman.

"Submarine Reflection!"
"Space Sword Blaster!"

"We've got to help!" Sailorjupiter called to the other senshi. Nodding their agreement, the Inner Senshi rallied behind her.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The first two attacks were rushing towards the mouth of the shadow, and the attacks of the Inner senshi were several seconds behind them. All gazes locked on the attacks – it was likely they were SailorMoon's last chance at freedom.

"NO!" Saturn screamed, "SILENCE WALL!"

The later group of attacks collided with Saturn's barrier and dissolved. Jupiter whirled towards the senshi of destruction, not bothering to try and disguise her anger.

"Why did you-"

Jupiter stopped abruptly as SailorMoon's screams cut through the air again. She turned around in time to see the remaining force of Sailoruranus and Sailorneptune's attack slam into SailorMoon, missing the shadow completely.

Sailorneptune stared up at SailorMoon with horror as she realized what she and Uranus had done. Uranus, keeping the Space Sword in her hand, said, "I can reach her from here...even if Sailormoon can't." She darted away from the rest of the senshi and ran full speed at the looming bulk of the shadow.

"The time is drawing near, Kage. Our goal is in sight!" She drummed her fingers with excitement on the edge of her throne and she looked down at Mamoru, who was still imprisoned at the foot of her dais.

"Don't worry, Endymion. Soon, everything will be as it should be."

He glared at her and punched the wall of the barrier so hard he split his knuckles. She snickered as his blood left a smear across the side, and Mamoru moved his mouth angrily.

"Don't bother. Kage has to concentrate on the matter at hand, and I choose not to waste my own energy allowing you to speak."

She licked her lips with anticipation and whispered, "Almost time, Kage. It's almost time."

Standing next to her in the shadows, Kage remained silent.

Uranus sped at the shadow, the Space Sword held ready. Near the base of the creature, several feet under the jaws that held SailorMoon ensnared, Sailormoon bent down and picked up a blue jewel. She gazed at it, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over, and Uranus launched into the air over the other senshi's head. She did indeed go higher than Sailormoon had managed, and raised the Space Sword to slice through the energy fangs.

As she shot upward, the surface of the shadow began to boil and writhe, and while she was still several feet from where her sword could do critical damage, a force hurtled her away from both the creature and SailorMoon. The shadows pulsed briefly with a dark energy, the surface boiling madly.

"Damn!" Sailoruranus landed heavily, but was on her feet again in an instant. "I have to try again."

Sailorsaturn raised the Silence Glaive, twirling it slightly as she did so, and said, "I'll go."

"Now wait a second," Mars snapped, "what about the rest of us?" Jupiter nodded her agreement, while Venus stared up at SailorMoon with concern and Mercury tried to take readings on the shadow with her computer.

Uranus snarled and then growled, "I already said that I'd go."

Neptune added, "I want to try again. It was my Submarine Reflection that knocked SailorMoon unconscious in the first place."

Venus, paying attention to the conversation suddenly, said, "That means you already hurt her. Give one of us a chance."

Saturn clenched her jaw and said, "No more fighting!"

"Stop, everyone."

Sailormoon's calm voice carried over the snarling of the shadow and all of the bickering of the senshi. They froze and everyone turned to face her. She tossed the hair jewel towards them. It landed at their feet with a chime and Sailormoon said, "Watch that for me. When I bring SailorMoon down, I'm going to hand it to her myself."

Sailormars opened her mouth and took a step forward, but then snapped it shut, stopped, and didn't go any closer. Sailormoon smiled gently at her and then at all of them. She turned back around, grabbed her henshin brooch with one hand, and whispered, "Please give me the power I need to save her."

Sailormoon bunched her legs and sprang into the air. Her brooch flared with energy, and her sword glowed with an answering light. She rose higher than she had the first time, and reached the spot where Sailoruranus had been repelled.

"Get ready, Kage..."

Blackness surged off of the surface of the shadow and Sailormoon disappeared from sight under a blanket of darkness. Moments later, she emerged, a pair of shimmery, wings of translucent energy on her back. Her fuku had turned completely white with golden highlights.

The senshi looked up at her with awe as she continued to travel through the air. She raised her sword high, and with a yell brought it around in a wide slash. The teeth parted, the Lunar Rose Blade vanished, the shadow disappeared with a scream, and Sailormoon caught her granddaughter by the wrist as she fell limply from her vanished prison.

"Get ready..."

SailorMoon's eyes suddenly shot open and she screamed, "NO!"

Startled, the blond lost her already tenuous hold on SailorMoon.

"Now!"

"Usa-chan!" Sailormoon dove towards her granddaughter, who had already lapsed unconscious again.

No!

Sailormoon screamed as a wave of energy suddenly hit her, her wings vanished, her fuku returned to normal, and she plunged rapidly towards the ground.

SailorMoon continued to fall, but her descent suddenly halted as Kage appeared out of thin air and caught her. Jupiter sprinted towards her leader, jumped into the air, and caught her moments before she hit the ground.

Kage floated down more slowly, SailorMoon cradled carefully in his arms. The others ran to Sailorjupiter, who had lowered the unconscious Sailormoon gently to the ground. Most of them seemed to be fighting tears but they clustered as close to the fallen senshi as possible. Only Sailorsaturn seemed unmoved.

"Sailormoon?" Jupiter asked quietly. Mars pushed her way to the front of the group and dropped to her knees beside Sailormoon.

"Usagi? Usagi? Can you hear me? Please wake up. Please..." Tears were running freely down her face, and she sniffled loudly as she grabbed Sailormoon by the shoulders.

"Wake up!" She commanded imperiously, her voice shaking. When Sailormoon didn't open her eyes or show any sign that she could hear them, Sailormars wailed and hugged her tightly.

With their attention riveted on Sailormoon, Kage landed silently on the ground, still holding SailorMoon, unnoticed by the senshi. He laid her gently on the ground, stroked her cheek delicately, and vanished.

"Kage?" The woman's voice was dangerously calm, and Kage knew that his life was hanging in the balance.

"My Lady?"

"What exactly just happened there?"

"We failed to shatter the ginzuishou, My Lady. It was too powerful for us. Instead, we managed simply to put a minor flaw in it, and stop Sailormoon from claiming a new form."

"No. Not that. I'm aware of that. Where did you just go, Kage?"

"I wanted to see the destruction of Sailormoon first hand, My Lady." He bowed smoothly, repressing the nervous chill he internally felt, and waited for her response.

It wasn't a reassuring one.

Her voice remaining hard, she snapped, "Oh really? How strange, then, that the story this tenshi," she waved her hand to the side casually, and a beautifully winged woman stepped from the shadows, "tells me is quite a different one."

"My Lady!" Kage exclaimed, trying to sound offended, "Will you believe the word of one of those sniveling creatures, or myself?"

"Well," She replied lazily, "I suppose there's only one way to find out, now isn't there?" She whipped a hand out towards the tenshi, which dissolved with a scream, leaving a small gem floating in the air. The gem flew towards the woman, who deftly caught it. "Let's just relive the battle, shall we?"

She looked down at Mamoru and smiled viciously, adding, "I'm sure you'll enjoy this too, Endymion. Your lady love plays a leading role."

She tossed the jewel in front of her, which projected an image into the air. The woman silently watched the battle of the senshi and the newest shadow monster, delighting in every scream and failed attack.

Finally, as Sailormoon flew to save her granddaughter, the woman leaned forward expectantly. When Sailormoon screamed and passed out, the tenshi had apparently kept its gaze on SailorMoon, for the image never left her. Kage, as expected, appeared out of nowhere and lowered the fallen warrior to ground. The woman called the gem back to her hand, tossed it around idly for a moment, and then caused it to vanish.

After a moment of silence she said, "It's strange, Kage. When exactly did you plan on watching the destruction of Sailormoon? You seemed far too concerned with the little brat from the moon to pay attention to anything important. Is there some specific reason you saved her and decided not to enlighten me about your plans?"

Her voice remained calm and lazy, but Kage could sense her barely contained fury. "My Lady, seeing as how we could only manage to flaw the ginzuishou, and therefore allow Sailormoon to live, I assumed that you would want SailorMoon to live as well. It will give you more time to torture her. After all, just because Sailormoon survived the initial creation of the flaw doesn't mean that she'll ever wake up. This could cause SailorMoon to disappear without a trace, or trap her in a paradox forever."

He snickered, and in a scramble to save face, added, "Don't forget that we've got SailorMoon's grandfather right here. As long as you control him, you control the fate of the princess. Without him, she doesn't exist."

He risked a glance at his 'lady' to see how things were going, and was surprised to see that she didn't even seem to be listening to him. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and she murmured, "I control her fate..." She looked at Kage angrily and burst out, "What right do I have to control the fate of others?"

Despite confusion at the sudden change in her mood, he still managed to smoothly reply, "You have the power, and therefore you have the right. Their fate is tied in with your own, remember. Everything that has happened to you is their fault. Why shouldn't you take control? They took control of your fate, your destiny, and they ruined it."

The doubt vanished from her voice again and she answered, "Of course. Of course..."

Kage breathed a small sigh of internal relief; he seemed to be off the hook for the time being.

"Kage."

He cringed as her voice echoed around the chamber.

"I'll spare your life this time. But," she paused for added significance, "if this ever happens again, you die."

"Yes, My Lady."

The first thing SailorMoon heard was crying.

Her eyes opened slowly. Above her, there was nothing but a cloudy gray sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the air suddenly felt humid and heavy.

It's going to rain. She thought with detachment. Her whole body felt heavy, but after some struggling which left her weak and shaking, she managed to pull herself into a sitting position. Her face was dirty, her fuku was ripped and had burn marks on it from the creature's acidic saliva. It took her a moment to realize that the other senshi were huddled around something, but their backs shielded her from whatever it was.

They're crying. Why?

Struggling to wake up – the world still seemed slightly fuzzy around the edges – SailorMoon slowly looked around. There were no the signs of battle anywhere...

What's happening?

She looked down at herself and remembered that she too, was dressed in her sailor fuku.

We were fighting? I was fighting?

Suddenly, as if guided by an invisible force, she struggled to her feet, and took a shaky step towards the group. A few drops of rain started to fall, and thunder rumbled directly overhead.

Mercury was the first to sense something behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes widened. Stepping to the right, she bumped into Uranus and Neptune, who also turned to look. SailorMoon walked by them, and sensing her approach, Venus and Jupiter, standing on the left, both turned to look. Sailorjupiter brought a hand up to her mouth in amazement, and both stepped back to let her pass. Sailorsaturn was standing in the middle, the Silence Glaive held in her hands. She turned around, looked SailorMoon up and down, nodded her head respectfully, and stepped back to stand next to Sailorvenus.

The senshi from the future could finally see her goal. Still cradled in the arms of Sailormars, Sailormoon lay still. Although facing the approaching girl, Mars didn't see her coming until she was nearly on top of them. Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Usagi..."

Looking down at her fallen friend and then back up SailorMoon she shook her head with disbelief.

"How can you look so much alike? Serenity..." She whispered with awe.

SailorMoon fell to her knees, and hesitantly, Sailormars passed Sailormoon to her. Looking down at her golden-haired grandmother, SailorMoon began to cry. "The flaw..." She whispered, "The flaw has formed. The only thing that can heal her now is the ginzuishou, and it's broken."

"No!" Sailormars cried out, "You're the princess, just like Usagi, use your power: heal her!"

"I can't! Not without the ginzuishou! Mine is broken, and Usagi's is too dangerous to use. There's nothing I can do." She hugged Sailormoon tightly, searching for a way to make everything okay again. "Mine is broken..." she whispered softly.

She laid Sailormoon gently on the ground, and reached down into her soul, putting all her power into calling for the ginzuishou of the future. A silver aura sprang up around her, and her tiara dissolved, leaving a shining, golden crescent moon in its place. Her eyes shut, she moved like she was in a dream and cupped her hands in front of her. A pile of beautiful iridescent dust slowly appeared, and the silver aura intensified, focusing on the powder. It slowly floated from her hands, and formed into a loose sphere glowing with a silver aura. SailorMoon gasped, sweat beading on her brow, and the dust began loosing shape again.

"Mars Crystal Power!" Holding her henshin wand to the sky, Sailormars kept her gaze locked on the two Sailormoons.

Following her lead, the other senshi called to their own powers.

"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Uranus Planet Power!"
"Neptune Planet Power!"
"Saturn Planet Power!"

Their own individual auras flared to life around them, and the dust slowly solidified into a crystal. Gradually growing weaker as their power was drained, the senshi panted and began to look wilted. The ginzuishou continued to tremble, and SailorMoon gasped again, her fuku beginning to shimmer. The image of the ginzuishou began to waver wildly in her hands; she was losing it.

"Pluto Planet Power!"