A/N: Phew! Chapter 10 is finally ready. This one took me a good three nights of writing to put together. I hope you like it! I've got blisters on my fingers! Haha, just kidding, but extra points to anyone who can tell me where that's from...and it's NOT Sailor Moon. :)
Special thanks to my reviewers, followers, and readers! Every time I get an email that someone new is following or reviewing my little story I find it just SO inspiring!
Thanks to my newest reviewer Becca! So glad you like the story.
Thanks to Thundercrash for letting me hit her up with some spoilers to get her thoughts. :)
Thanks to Jedi Misty and LoveintheBattlefield for all the love & support.
Now, onto the story! :)
Chapter 10: The thorn of the Rose
Matai fled from the thoughts that pursued his mind, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as if he could outrun the wave of anguish that loomed over his shoulder. Before he knew it he was in his room, no longer Tuxedo Mask but just the ordinary orphan he had thought himself to be not ten minutes ago. Grateful that his adopted brother was out traveling with their father he sat down hard on his bed and shut his eyes as he began to shake all over. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes as visions of everyone he had lost flashed through his mind. One particular vision pierced his heart with an almost physical pain. Small lady, their beloved daughter filled his heart with longing and loss.
He fought valiantly against a wave of despair that would have him curled up in bed for days. "I just can't believe she is gone from us forever. I won't believe it." He had to hold on to some hope, even if small, that their family could be reunited, and that the path that this planet was headed could be changed. Even a small light chases back the darkness, and he placed his small candle with Serenity, with Sarah, and finally found sleep, clinging to that small flame in his mind.
Luna watched as Sarah slowly began to wake and chuckled to herself. Some things never changed. It was past eight o'clock. She had decided to break things slowly to her and to take things one step at a time. But in her heart Luna longed to be able to speak with her again, hopefully without a fainting spell this time.
She sat up rubbing at her eyes and Luna leapt up onto the foot of the bed waiting for Sarah to meet her gaze. She found herself suddenly nervous as she took a deep breath before greeting her charge, and beloved princess. "Hello Sar…" Her words were drowned out and cut off by a cry from downstairs.
"Sarah! Get up or you'll be late again!"
The girl suddenly burst from her bed in a panic and began running about talking to herself as she dressed. "Oh no, I'm late again! My teacher will give me detention this time for sure, and she'll make me skip lunch too!" Sarah whined, feeling sorry for herself. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the black cat on her bed and remembered seeing it the night before too. "Did I take that cat home last night?" She wondered aloud before groaning again. "My mom is gonna kill me!"
The subject of her woe came into the room just then to hurry her daughter along. "Sarah you have to hurry. Are you even dressed yet?" She stopped and seemed to freeze as she gazed at the strange black cat on the bed before asking, "What is that?"
Sarah ran up to her mother. "It's a cat I found last night. Can I keep it mom? Please pleasepleasepleasePLEASE?" She hung on her mom, holding her hands together as if in prayer.
Sarah's mother tried to hold on to her tough exterior, but the truth was she did like cats. Tentatively she leaned over and rubbed the cat behind its ears. "I will think about it Sarah. Give it a few days but if it makes a mess or you don't take care of it properly, out it goes!" Inwardly she wondered if it would help keep the children entertained. Running a day care singlehandedly with children running in different directions ran her ragged.
Sarah thanked her mom, stopped a second to pet the cat and bolted out the door. Before Luna could even catch her breath she was scooped up by the mom and carried downstairs. She felt dejected at not being able to even speak to her princess but that was quickly overshadowed by dread as she faced a literal gang of small children. They chattered and shrieked at the sight of her and in seconds were pulling at her tail and ears, and petting her with sticky fingers. With a forlorn sign she muttered, "Oh, I am getting too old for this."
Sarah slowed to a walk gripping her side and gasping for breath. Being late every morning was hard work, and she wasn't even really awake yet. "Can't school start just an hour later?" she wondered aloud as she caught her breath and began running again.
He waited on the corner hoping to catch a glimpse of his golden-haired love. Matai simply couldn't resist after a long hard and painful night adjusting to the situation as it was. His hands itched to run through her hair, just to hold her against him and convince him that she was real. But he knew he had to settle for a glance from a woman who didn't even know he existed.
Sarah was just beginning to think she would make it in time after all when her toe jammed hard on a crack in the sidewalk. She cried out at the pain as all of her books flew from her arms and she hit the pavement hard on her knees and one elbow. Pain brought tears to her eyes, but was soon forgotten at the sight of something that made her day even worse. It was that mean jerk Matai. He had the uncanny knack of finding her at her worst, and never failed to lecture her. "Study harder", "Be more careful bun head", and more. She ground her teeth to suppress a moan. If this day got any worse she might just run back home. Deciding not to give him the satisfaction she refused to meet his eyes and began gathering her books.
"Here you go." came a voice from over her shoulder. She looked up to see Matai crouched beside her with most of her books gathered in his arms. And he was smiling. Sarah didn't think she had ever seen him smile. Frankly it was so unlike him it gave her the creeps. She grabbed the books, looking at him warily and just waiting for the know-it-all comment sure to come. Instead he simply offered his hand to help her up.
"Why are you so nice all of a sudden?" she asked warily.
"What, am I not allowed to be nice? Are you OK? You're bleeding, hold on a sec." He took a handkerchief from his pocket and knelt down to tie it carefully around her knee. Just the simple act felt like electricity going through him, a soothing balm to the troubled thoughts and emotions he was wrestling with. His princess was alive, and there was hope. Everything else could wait. As he stood, struggling to keep his emotions from showing on his face, he hesitated to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face.
Sarah was in shock at the sudden change in behavior and warily sought for a reason. There is no way Matai would be nice without a motive. Although she felt a shiver go through her as he knelt to bandage her knee she still eyed him with distrustful, wary eyes. When it dawned on her just what sort of a view Matai would have from down there, and the hungry look in his eyes as he reached out to move her hair, realization finally dawned on her. She pushed his hand away. "I know why you're being so nice! You're a pervert! Pervert! Help pervert!" She yelled loud enough to wake the neighborhood, smacking him in the face repeatedly with her purse. All Matai could do was to utter stuttering words of protest, his face turning redder and redder while he fended off her purse. Then she took off at a run.
To make matters worse, a few stragglers on the street were giving him strange looks. He met their gaze with a cool stare to dissuade any questions. Feeling lost, embarrassed, and depressed he sat right down on the nearest stoop and put his head in his hands.
Sarah made it to school late but managed to sneak into class while her friend distracted the teacher with a question. They had a smooth operation going.
"You're late again Sarah" her friend whispered, ribbing her a bit.
"It's not my fault. I ran into that annoying Matai again. He's such a pervert! That guy should take some lessons from that dreamy Tuxedo Mask." Sarah began to space out visualizing the handsome tuxedo clad hero who had rescued her the other day.
"Sarah Thomas! Did you not hear me call on you? I swear if you did your homework as often as you daydreamed your grades would look a sight better." Her teacher snapper her mind back to embarrassing reality, all eyes in the classroom upon her as she fumbled through her textbook muttering an apology.
But luckily for her the awkward silence was broken by the principal's assistant coming to the classroom. "Excuse me. Miss Thomas, there is a visitor at the front office for you. "
After some long late night hours his research and the droid Osiri's spying had uncovered the possible identity of the mysterious girl Rubeus called Sailor Moon. As tired as he was from pulling an all nighter he couldn't help but smile. Sapphire had given some thought to how he would collect her. Osiri told him the girl was in school, surrounded by thirty or more children. He had to separate her somehow. Perhaps if someone familiar came to pick her up. Excited by the idea, he immediately transferred his orders to Osiri who took off at once.
Luna breathed a sigh of relief as one by one the toddlers went down for naps. She was tempted to just sit in a corner and clean herself for hours and hours, but that would have to wait. This world was nothing like the Earth Usagi had been born into so many years ago. Desperation and evil lurked everywhere and Luna was definitely not comfortable with her charge wandering off to school unaccompanied. At least not until Luna had a better feel for the neighborhood and the people in it. Sneaking quietly to the front screen door she leaped into the air and hung onto the latch letting her weight swing it open. She bolted down the hot sunny street, dodging feet left and right. Sarah would be well ahead of her by now, and Luna didn't yet know where the school was but luckily she caught sight of a tardy girl running with a school uniform on and tagged along at a distance behind her.
The school was a run down, chipping brick building with a few windows, one of which had been broken and recently taped up. Knowing she could not enter she crept around to the windows to identify what class Sarah was in. Once Luna had that settled, she contented herself to crouch up in a tree with a view of the window. At first she watched attentively, observing every move that took place in the class, but after a while she found her mind wandering with thoughts of home, mourning in her own way for what was lost, probably forever. Suddenly something roused her from her sad musings and she glanced at the window to see Sarah was no longer there. Her heart skipped and she nearly fell out of the tree in her haste. Luckily for cat instincts she landed gracefully on her feet and tore off around the side of the school looking for her princess.
Sarah grabbed her things, eager to get out of that embarrassing moment but curious as to who would come to see her during school. A pit began to form in her stomach. There was no reason she could think of that wouldn't be bad news. She found her mother sitting in the lobby, her eyes red and a blank expression on her face as she clutched a handkerchief in her hand. "What's wrong Mom?"
"Sarah honey I need to take you home. There's been an accident. One of the little ones…" She stopped short of seemingly breaking down. Sarah ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. "Of course mom, let's go. I'm so sorry. What happened?"
Her mother would not speak further as they left the school and headed towards a deserted back alley. "Mom, why are we going this way? It's a long way to get home, and it's so creepy!" Her mom still wouldn't speak, but she began to squeeze Sarah's hand painfully tight. "Mama, I know this alley is scary, but you don't have to hold on that tight. It hurts!" A chill suddenly crept over her as they got deeper into the alley and she stopped short, fighting against her mother's urgent pulling. "Mama?" she said, looking warily into her mother's face. "I don't like this mama. You're acting strange." She pulled her hand free and took a few steps back.
It was clear to Osiri that the usefulness of her disguise was growing short. It let the energy go and the motherly disguise dissolved back into the shadows, leaving a shiny, raven black, long, and limber creature. Its long arms nearly touched the ground, long fingers touching the shadowy corners of the alley. A big toothed grin split its face showing many tiny sharp white teeth.
Sarah was frozen to the spot in terror. Before she could get her feet to move the shadows suddenly seemed to move of their own accord as long tendrils reached out and grabbed at her arms and legs. Sarah did the only thing left for her to do. She screamed with all the lung power she could muster.
Matai walked towards home, hands in his pockets and head down as if there were something infinitely interesting in the broken pavement stones. He had really blown it with Sarah and was likely never going to get a chance to explain himself. The only way she would have anything to do with him now is if she had her memories. His downtrodden thoughts were broken by a piercing scream. There was no way he could mistake the owner of that scream. It ran through him like a chill. She was in trouble, serious trouble. Reaching into his inner jacket pocket he seized the single rose he always carried.
Luna also heard the shrill terrified scream and instantly knew its owner. She raced on her four paws faster than she had ever thought she could run, and arrived to see a sight that was as terrifying as it was dangerous.
Sarah's arms were wrapped in a shadowy substance at her wrists. Facing her was a shiny spindly black thing with many teeth, inching its way ever closer. "Sarah!" Luna screamed and launched herself at the substance holding Sarah's left wrist, trying to bite through it or claw through it to free her charge.
Matai's heart pounded as he oversaw the scene from a nearby rooftop. He had never seen such a creepy being in his life, though the memories Luna had given him confirmed that they had faced such things in the past. Still, it sent a chilling shiver down his spine. And that thing was way too close to Sarah. Moving into action he leapt from the roof, landing behind her throwing the rose as he dropped. It struck the bands holding her other wrist, and between Luna's quick thinking and the rose snapping the other side, Sarah was free. He stepped in front of her protectively and met Luna's eyes. "Get her to safety." he said before turning to his adversary.
Luna dug her claws lightly into Sarah's shoulder to snap her out of the terrified stupor she was in. "Run girl! Come on!" She knew there was no choice but to awaken her now, if only they could find a secluded place for a moment.
Sarah only vaguely took notice that the cat was speaking to her like the other night. She stumbled at first and then took off at a run, though she cast one look behind her and gasped when she recognized Tuxedo Mask.
"In here, quickly!" Luna instructed Sarah after spotting the shell of an abandoned store.
"You're talking…," Sarah wondered aloud still bearing a somewhat blank look in her eyes.
"Yes I am talking. I'll explain later. Right now I need you to listen. You're the princess of the Moon and a brave sailor warrior, and right now I need you to wake up and transform! Now take this and call out Moon Prism Power!" Luna did a flip in the air, accessing that inter-dimensional pocket where the Mauian guardians stored their charges' henshin wands and tools when they needed to be awakened. But to her utter shock, she could not produce Sailor Moon's henshin wand. There was nothing there!
Sarah thought this was all very hilarious. "Oh sure, I'm a princess? Do I have a handsome prince too? Did he find me with a glass slipper? You're funny little cat!" She fell over with laughter, the danger of a moment ago suddenly forgotten.
Confused and increasingly annoyed she pounced on Sarah's chest, claws extended. "Actually yes you did, and I'm not a little cat! I'm Luna! Now if you'll just let me concentrate for a minute…!" Luna's mind raced. She had always been able to call the henshin wand. A sinking feeling came over her as she wondered if it was because the moon was so damaged. Perhaps that power was lost now. That thought seriously disturbed the feline, shook her to her very core.
She realized suddenly that Sarah was crying, bawling her eyes out. Luna nuzzled her face. "I'm sorry Sarah. I didn't mean to snap at you. Don't worry. Let's get you somewhere safer for now. Sarah I am so sorry." She was apologizing for much more than her outburst as she eyed her princess with tearful sympathetic eyes knowing what the girl had lost though she did not know herself.
Luna realized that whatever was pursuing her probably knew her identity which meant Sarah was in serious danger. Without being able to henshin there was little Luna could do to protect her. The only thing she could think of for the moment was to take her underground where she had first met that Irish boy who freed her from stasis. "Come on, I know a place we can go for now." She urged the blonde up and began to lead her to the entrance Luna has escaped from that night. Her heart was heavy and she struggled to find some hope in the situation.
The droid creature was fast, and could seemingly teleport itself to any nearby shadow. Every time Tuxedo Mask thought he had a clear shot and charged at it the thing would disappear only to appear behind him. He had already taken two hits from it, illustrated by stinging pain and the tears in his cape and jacket. He wasn't keen on taking any more if he could help it. It laughed at him as they did a sort of wary dance around each other, both looking for an opportunity to make a move. And he had yet to even make a scratch on the droid.
He must have stepped across a shadow without realizing it because suddenly the ground seemed to rise up and sweep him off of his feet. Sprawled onto his back he tried to roll out before he could be caught but the creature snagged the shoulder of his cape, pinning him to the ground. Its alien eyes looked at him as it showed him another toothy grin. He even imagined it made a sort of muffled laughing noise as it raised one of its spindly fingers up like a lance, aimed straight for his chest. The appendage turned from shadowy to hard and real as it loomed overhead and began to descend rapidly.
Realizing in those few seconds that this thing was going to kill him, his deepest regret was that he would no longer be there to protect Sarah. Everything seemed to progress in slow motion as the pointy arm came down with all of the creature's force behind it, but before it could touch his chest the creature let out a startled cry and sprang back. He noticed a knife sticking out of the creature's midsection. His eyes naturally followed the logical path of the knife to a young Asian teen standing in the middle of the alley.
He climbed to his feet quickly as the creature removed the knife, and began to come at the stranger. Matai knew this was no place for a civilian, even one with a few knives on him. Quickly he stepped in front of the creature. "Get out of here kid. You can't fight this thing."
Jian had just been coming back to the tiny apartment he had managed to rent by doing odd manual labor jobs after the gang war. It was tiny, dingy, and he felt a bit lost in it after living amongst the family for so long. But at least it was quiet, usually. That was, until a woman's scream echoed down the empty alley road. Curiosity got the better of him and he ran towards the sound. A woman with a black cat on her shoulder bolted past him, which Jian thought was a bit odd. But what really glued his feet to the spot was the large black whatever-it-was looming in the end of the alley. "wǒ kào! (Holy S_t)," he muttered aloud to himself looking on the monster's movements with wide eyes.
What was even more ridiculous was the man fighting it. Dressed in attire more suitable for balls, costume parties, and business meetings the wiry white man tried to fend the thing off with a black cane. It was honestly the strangest thing he had seen in all his life. He could only assume at first that it was some sort of elaborate stunt being pulled off, perhaps to advertise a circus. But then the black thing slashed the tuxedo clad man across the shoulder and he could actually see blood from within the torn fabric. No, this was definitely frighteningly real.
Jian ran towards the dead end, one of his knives slipping from an arm holster into his hand. He didn't really know why he was getting involved. It was smarter not to. But no one had ever told him he was a genius. Just as the thing had tuxedo guy pinned he let loose with the knife, flung with a flick of his wrist just as he'd practiced for so many years whenever he was bored. He felt a thrill of adrenaline as he realized the blade had actually stung the creature.
Even though Jian had just saved the man's life, he strangely tried to shove Jian away, calling him "kid" and underestimating him. Like a guy in a tuxedo who looks like he's never been outside an office could fight this? And what was with the "kid" thing. He wasn't very different in age from Jian himself. "Back off bái mù!" He shot back with fierce defiant eyes. (bái mù means white eyed, blind, not understanding the situation and reacting in a wrong way as a result)
Anger quickly replaced fear and Jian faced the thing, staring straight into its cold eyes as it opened a nice toothy grin for him. "Man you need to see a dentist!" He retorted back, pulling another knife from a concealed location into each hand.
At first Tuxedo Mask was concerned for his safety but he refused to leave, meting his eyes with a fiery look of defiance as he faced the creature, showing surprisingly little fear. As they fought the creature he had to admit the boy had skills. Apparently the other thought much the same as he called out "You got some moves for a businessman mask-face." And despite the tense battle they shared a laugh.
At best Jian realized the blades only stung the creature, hurting it but not enough to incapacitate it completely. He refused to give up, fighting for his pride now. He would show that guy he was no kid to be trifled with, and would bring this monster down right before his eyes. Sweat ran down his brow as the thing kept them running and dodging shadow tendrils from everywhere. He didn't notice, his intense concentration rested only upon each moment, looking for opportunity. A strange feeling began to come over him, and his hands began to tingle. The sensation increased as he was pressed to defend himself. He glanced down at his hands, noticing that a blue light seemed to be coming from his palms and down into the knives he held. Too busy dodging to really focus on it he kept fighting.
Tuxedo Mask knew this had to end soon. Both of them were tiring and this thing seemed to still be in prime form despite the gashes the Asian teen had given it. He also could not help but notice the strange light as the teen's blades began to glow softly. There was no time to ask about it now. A tendril tried to grab his ankle and he hit it hard with the staff, knocking it away just in time to dodge a swipe from the thing's long fingers. It chuffed to itself, seemingly enjoying making the two men squirm.
He had an idea forming in his mind. If only they could get all of the creature's attention locked on to one of them, the other might have a shot at taking it out. But it would involve trusting this stranger with his very life, and vice versa. "Have you ever heard of playing possum?" He asked the kid, hoping he would understand the meaning. At a terse nod, Matai then pointed at the other buoy and then himself. The droid looked confused, not comprehending, but more than eager to get back to playing with its prey nonetheless.
Jian could surmise what game tuxedo was playing at. It would be risky. Jian liked risky. He let the creature lash out at him dodging out of the way enough to just get nicked, but acted as if he'd taken a full blown hit. He let the knives fall from his hands as he went to his knees and then face down unmoving onto the concrete. His eyes never closed but he remained motionless, watching with held breath. The creature prodded him with a tendril and seemed somewhat satisfied that he was out of the picture. But still it left bits of itself back in the nearby shadows, keeping some of its attention on him. That just wasn't going to be good enough.
Tuxedo Mask redoubled his efforts, lashing out at it with a vengeance and throwing everything he had at it. He knew he had to get the droid's full attention. He got in a few good blows, making the being reel backwards in pain and slowly but surely he won its full focus. But in doing so, he had backed himself into a corner. The creature knew it and reveled in what would soon be a quick demise as it pushed the man further and further in.
He was trapped. His back hit against the wall. It was now or never as the creature raised a spiky appendage, sharp glistening point aimed right at his heart. He had a strange feeling of déjà vu being in that position again. And that was when Jian made his love. Sliding his favorite knife given to him as a parting gift from his inner coat pocket he leapt up and flew at the creature with all the strength he could muster. His hands blazed blue, the strange energy seeming to travel down the hilt of the blade as he slammed it with all of his weight and will into the creature's back. The blue energy that throbbed in his palms spread out from the knife point. The creature writhed screaming, and then exploded in a flash of brilliant light.
The creature's sudden disappearance dumped Juan to the ground, where he stayed on his knees, looking curiously at his very normal looking hands. Both men were panting hard and wiping sweat from their brows.
"Just how many knives do you have?" Tuxedo Mask asked, arching an eyebrow.
"As many as I need," came the somewhat defiant reply.
"I can believe it." Nodding thanks at the stranger he took off, leaping onto a fence and to the nearest rooftop. He needed to find Luna and Sarah. Worry was driving him crazy. She couldn't possibly go home and Luna would know that. So all he had to do was figure out where Luna would most likely try to meet up with him. He headed to the place on the road where they had first met. It was a non-descript place and likely to be the safest.
He was grateful to find her. Luna stood all alone, a small shadow beneath a streetlamp. He ran up to her, crouching down to her level. "Luna, where's Sarah? Is she alright?" Luna was shaken and trembling and he instinctively reached out a hand to soothe her.
"She's alright. I have her hidden for now. But…" A tear fell from her eye as she continued, "She can't transform. I don't have her henshin wand." It wasn't hard to derive what that meant and Matai's face was crestfallen. He could almost feel the pain of his love's loss if she no longer had the power of the Moon. A surge of protectiveness surged through him. He would have to be even more protective if her if she couldn't defend herself. Luna interrupted his thoughts.
"They know who she is, her identity. And it's only a matter of time before they find where I've hidden her." She looked at him with wide white fearful eyes. "You are her only hope right now. You must find your generals and awaken them before it's too late. You can't defend her alone forever. They're too powerful. "
Matai knew she was right. If it hadn't been for the stranger tonight he might have died. But he would face ten of those creatures if it meant she was safe. Just because he had Luna's borrowed memories of Crystal Tokyo ad his accomplishments as King didn't mean that he was equal to that. In this body, this incarnation he didn't have years of combat training, years of practice with the abilities he possessed. He was a baby cub just learning to walk in the grand scheme of things, going up against an army of creatures overseen by a militant madman. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he could not pull this off alone.
"I know Luna," he sighed, "But I don't think I remember how."
A/N: Don't worry, though it looks bleak all is not lost. I have plans for Sailor Moon yet! :)