The Crystal Senshi

Savagekitty

Dedicated to those who are true senshi of the heart and spirit.

Chapter Ten

Oh Crap…

"It's fricken freezing out here!" Sapphire rubbed her bare arms and stamped her feet as she looked around the desolate landscape of the Antarctic. Tuxedo Kamen draped his cape over Sailor Moon shoulders as Artemis showed Ruby how to use the tracking crystal.

"Stop bitching, Sapphie." Amethyst shivered, "Wait…" She turned from Sapphire and looked out over the landscape, "That darkness over the horizon…" She turned to Artemis, "That's where they are, aren't they? I can feel it, like a knot behind my stomach. A nauseas, sickening feeling."

Artemis nodded as he pulled a small white cell phone looking tool from his backpack, "Yes. We've been monitoring that area for many, many years. Luna is… was… writing up a time table. Projections to when we think that the Dark Kingdom would march. They have been massing an army for more then 100 years." He flipped the cell phone open and started to type on the keypad. Amethyst leaned over his shoulder, "Calculations?"

"Yes. It will take us about three hours to get there." He turned to the others, "They will probably have traps hidden within the parameter. Some of us won't make it."

Ruby took a deep breath as she tied the tracking crystal around her neck, "Arty, we've been ready since Ami, Minako, and Erin were taken. This is war. And we are gonna take those fuckers out."

Sailor Moon smiled in a way that was almost evil, "Come on girls."

Caty and Kunzite stopped around a corner. They had been running through the twisting passages of the Dark Kingdom for what seemed like hours. Caty's lungs burned and she felt like she was going to toss her cookies. And she did. She heaved a few yards away from Kunzite, hunched over, hands on her knees. She felt cool hands hold her hair back as she finished. She stood and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, "Sorry."

He shrugged, "It's ok. I remember what it was like to be human. As time passes, I remember more and more of my old life. I remember Zoicite taking me to this place in the mountains on a holiday for some fishing and then…a fog in my memory." He scratched the back of his head, "It's like… I am starting to remember you… I mean Emerald."

Caty nodded, thankful he distinguished her from her alter ego. She wished she had water as they moved on. They were working their way through the darkened tunnels to get to Kunzite's chambers to prepare to leave. Kunzite had a secret tunnel out of the Dark Kingdom. They turned a corner and she bumped into Kunzite as she stopped, "What the-"

A small squad of about 50 youma stood between them and their destination. Kunzite stood in front of Caty, clenching his hand. A dark energy sizzled around his closed fist and a dark purple sword of silvery steel and crystal appeared like a light saber out of Star Wars.

"Stay behind me, Caty."

"If I wasn't so weak right now, I would argue with you, Kunzite."

She backed away and ducked around the corner. Kunzite shed his cape for better movement. Caty couldn't see his face but she felt a shift of power surround him as he screamed and ran head on into the mass of youma. She blinked and already five were down. Kunzite hacked into the clueless youma, they fought lazily, sluggish. That confused her as she watched. Why were they so slow? Beryl? Maybe. After what Caty saw her do to Nephrite, she could be drawing energy from the youma. If she was, then the youma could be on a level Caty could fight. She ducked out from behind the corner and grabbed Kunzite's cape. She came up behind a large, very male, youma and tossed it over him. She drew up her leg and hit home. The youma crumbled, clutching his crotch. She brought the heel of her foot down into his face with all her weight behind it. Which was a lot of weight. She felt the facial feature give in a spurt of warm blood and she moved on to the next youma. Fisting her hands, she pushed forward, hitting a youma here and there as she pushed towards the door to Kunzite's chambers. She reached it, panting. She licked her knuckles, they were skinned and bloody, but she felt good. She felt stronger now and getting better every time. She turned, her tongue poking out of her mouth as Kunzite stood in the middle of the dead youma. The last few ran off as he turned to Caty, panting. His chest heaving, he flicked his wrist and his sword disappeared to wherever it went when not in use.

He moved towards her and she backed away. Her chest fluttered as he stood near her, putting a hand to the door. He looked down at her, just moving his eyes. She could smell the sweat and blood on him and the scent that was only his. She looked at him, blinking a few times to clear away whatever emotion had appeared there. She coughed and looked away from him. He pushed open the door and they moved inside, the door closing behind them. He started moving around the room, collecting items. She stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. She grimaced, Jadeite's body was still there, but someone had covered it with a sheet from Kunzite's bed. Kunzite rummaged around his dresser, or what Caty thought was his dresser. He pulled out a few articles of clothing and threw them at her, "You can clean up through that door, it will make you feel better."

Relieved, she moved into a large and spacious bathroom. She didn't think she had time for a bath or shower, so she ran water into the sink and grabbed a soft washcloth. She plopped it into the warm water and stripped herself of her filthy clothing she had been wearing since Rei's funeral. She scrubbed the grime from her skin and face, pulling her hair into a ponytail. She found what she thought was Zoicite's hair ties. He was right, she did feel worlds better. She hesitated to put her bra back on. It was sour with sweat, but if she was going to be running through the Dark Kingdom, she didn't want the girls to be bouncing around. She was American, she didn't have the advantage of no breasts like her Japanese counterparts did. She tucked the soft gray shirt into the semi tight breeches. They were comfortable enough, the shirt was a little big. She walked back into his chambers. He had stripped his outer jacket off. His back to her, she looked him over. His gray breeches tucked into knee high boots, a white dress shirt and a black silk vest over that that had thin red thread running through it in loops and curls.

He turned to her, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you for thinking of that. What's the plan?" She came and stood beside him by a small table. A map was laid out and he started to trace routes with his finger, "There are only a few ways out of the Dark Kingdom. She was massing an army, but now… she could just be going alone. Her energy signature is off the scale now. I believe Beryl's body is being used as a puppet for Metallia."

"At least I know what's going on, on some level. I read those manga…er…comic books when I lived in America. Before the others discovered me and my friends. Metallia the energy of evil that is the Dark Kingdom. I don't think how Sailor Moon defeated her in the manga will work here though. This is real life." She tapped her finger on the table, thinking.

"Do you know who the DD Girls are?" She looked at him with a sideways glance as he studied the map. He shook his head, "No. If those are some kind of people that worked for the Dark Kingdom in your book things, they don't exist here."

"Yah, they were the best youma of the Dark Kingdom. They picked off the senshi as they moved towards the Dark Kingdom to defeat Beryl. Damn it, if we only had the Silver Crystal."

He turned towards her slowly, "I'm sorry, I must be going deaf. Did you just say Sailor Moon, Princess of the Moon Kingdom doesn't have the Silver Crystal?"

She poked her index fingers together, "Yes?"

He put his hands under the table and lifted, tossing it like a tinker toy. Caty removed her glasses and started to clean them on her new shirt. Kunzite ranted and raved as Caty stood calmly in the middle of the room, cleaning her glasses. When he finally stopped, panting by the upturned table, she put her glasses back on and her hands to her hips, "Finished now? Because I already did that when I found out. We'll just have to go to plan B until the crystal is found. If its found. I have went over places it could be on paper, in my head, and I have questioned our mentor, Artemis up and down. The only conclusion I have come to is that its hidden within a former Silver Millennium subject. If that's the case, it could be lost to us already, because hundreds of former subjects came to earth and they are scattered all over the planet. Some haven't even been born yet."

Kunzite closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "Alright. We don't have it then. That would have made things a whole lot easier. It's not like we can't do anything without it. We do have you and Sailor Moon. Not to mention Ruby, Sapphire and Amethyst. Speaking of which." He pulled a small round crystal from a pocket and started spinning it between his fingers. Caty smirked.

"Did you steal that from David Bowie and the Labyrinth, or did you think of that all by yourself?" He looked at her with a blank look on his face, "What are you talking about?"

She flapped a hand, "Never mind. Earth humor. Anyway, what's that circus act for?"

"Look." He held it out to her and she squinted. It was white, she figured it was his hand but them she saw someone moving. Several someone's. She gasped and grabbed the crystal from his hand, "Where are they!"

"Here. They are heading towards the Dark Kingdom. I picked up their signatures on my alarm system when you were refreshing yourself. I believe they will be at the gates in about an hour. If we can get to them before Metallia does, we will have a fighting chance."

Caty stared into the crystal, her chest fluttering, "Oh God…oh God…" She looked up at Kunzite, "We? I have no way of pulling Emerald out of wherever she is before I need her. Kunzite, I'm pretty much cannon fodder here. I can go out there and do my best, but I'll be dead before I can actually do something."

Kunzite paced around the room, thinking, "That's true. I hate to admit that, but it's true." He stood by his dresser looking at her, arms crossed. Brooding, he walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her arm out. He walked around her. Caty had a mental image of Lauren's father checking a new colt over, "Kunzite?"

"Oh, sorry. Well. We do have options. I could admit you into the Dark Kingdom. You could use that power for good."

Caty stared at him then snorted, "Next plan, buddy."

Kunzite rolled his eyes, "We're running out of time here, Caty. You're friends will come upon the gate any time now. They will meet the army and I don't think they could make it past square one, let alone inside to Metallia."

"Kunzite, I have to try and pull Emerald out. If I tainted myself with the Dark Kingdoms…power…whatever… I could destroy any hope of ever calling her again. Do you understand that? She's about my only option at this point." Caty sat on the bed and pouted, "Damn it. I thought finding a boyfriend was tough."

Kunzite snorted and began packing his person with weapons, "Humans."

"I will kill whoever designed these uniforms." The group of senshi stood before the large black gates that lead into the Dark Kingdom. They were plainly ornate with crude pictures of battles and demons killing humans. The doors stood solid in a canyon of ice at the end of a crevice. They were at least 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Wide enough for an army to march through. Ruby shuttered, "God, that's creepy. Arty, how's the key coming along?"

Artemis stood in front of the gate, one hand on it as he read through a book he had in his backpack. He licked his chapped lips and looked up at the others. Sapphire was cuddled next to Sailor Moon under Tuxedo Kamen's cape. Amethyst scanned the horizon with a pair of Sailor Mercury's binoculars. Artemis had kept them after her death. A cold wind had kicked up and they could all feel the dark foreshadowing energy that built around them. Kamen stood by Artemis, looking up at the doors. Arty looked over at Ruby, "I can't find the right spell, if there is even one. This gate might not even open for all I know."

The earth shook and they all stumbled back as the blackened doors began to quake. They slowly opened and the smell of sulfur and stale blood wafted out through them. Ruby caught a nose full and gagged, almost vomiting. Sapphire rubbed her on the back. Amethyst grabbed them, hauling the two women away from the opening doors and pushed them into the shadows. Sailor Moon, Kamen, and Artemis. Hid on the other side as the doors stopped about halfway open and as the group watched, the marching began. Eight across and 15 deep, youma marched in a rectangle formation. The first group marched out and on and another came out, then another. This went on for an hour, the senshi watching as the youma marched on into the white hell of cold. Finally, at the end, in a sedan chair carried by four very large youma, Sailor Moon peeked out and gasped quietly. Beryl, naked as a jaybird, was sitting like the queen she thought she was. From her side, Ruby gagged again, seeing Beryl and half her face missing, now rotting and gray at the edges. They marched away, the doors standing open. The senshi waited to come out of hiding and gathered at the open door.

"Oh my God. Did you see that?" Sapphire stared at Sailor Moon, "Half her face was rotted away."

Sailor Moon squinted out over the limited landscape, "We need to stop them. They are still in the canyon. We can create landslides and Ruby, you can put crevices into the earth to stop them. If that's who I think it is on the sedan chair, we can't stop her. Not right now. Come on, girls, move."

The three remaining crystal senshi nodded in unison and moved. Ruby whipped out her hammer and with a single jump, was up the wall and out of the canyon. Sapphire pulled out her fans from the secret space where all senshi kept their weapons and unfurled them. Gracefully, she drew her arms down and rose into the air like a bird. She landed on the opposite wall and started running towards where the army of youma disappeared. Amethyst turned towards Sailor Moon and saluted. She clapped her hands together, pulling them apart. What resulted was a long six feet crystal staff with a crescent moon of silver at the top and a sparkling amethyst. She stepped back to the icy canyon wall and seemed to fade into it like it was nothing but jello. Sailor Moon blinked after her. She shook her head and looked back at Artemis and Tuxedo Kamen, "You two go in there and find Caty. She could be in the dungeons. If you find her…or her body. I want it brought back. We will not leave her in there alone."

Kamen took Sailor Moon's hand and pulled her into a hug, "We won't leave her alone, Bunny. Go, and try not to get yourself killed." He kissed her gently and let her go. She closed her eyes, letting sparkling tears slip down her cheeks as Kamen and Artemis walked into the darkness of the gates.

Caty followed behind Kunzite in the darkness. He apparently could see in the dark, but being human, she couldn't. She stumbled around in the tunnel, cussing, until he took her hand to lead her. She saw the pinprick of light before she felt the blow at her back. She sprawled to the ground and rolled to the side, hitting the wall, the breath leaving her violently gasping for air. She heard a crunch and groped around for her glasses. She heard scuffling, someone cussing, a low moaning and suddenly there being light. She shielded her eyes, blinking and still gasping for breath. She could finally breath as someone helped her up. She knew it was Kunzite by his smell.

She squinted to see who it was, but finally stopped. Her glasses had broken, leaving her as blind as a bat. Literally. Blurs with vague shadowy outlines. Kunzite pulled her behind him, "Nephrite."

Caty gasped, having saw Metallia dig her thumb into the King's eye. She thought he was dead for sure.

"Well Kunzite, my loyalty to our Queen has paid off. I wanted to see you before I killed you. You and that senshi whore."

She tilted her head to the side. Something was wrong with his voice. It was lilting with hate and loathing. Now it was flat, almost monotone. She put a hand to Kunzite's shoulder, putting her head down. She felt so blind and useless, more then she had before her glasses had broken.

"I can see what she's done for you, Nephrite. A whole new man. Is that why she left you behind? I heard the rumblings. They are marching, aren't they? Why not go with them?"

Nephrite giggled, "Because she knew you would be here, Kunzite You are a threat now. You aren't King material. She always did think you weak. She didn't want to bring you in. You know Zoicite, though. His way or no way. Come on, Kunzite."

Caty heard the scraping of metal on stone and Kunzite pressed her to the wall and moved away. She slide down the wall, trying to make out what was happening. All she could see were two shapes moving in the light. Darkness on darkness and maybe a flash of what she thought was metal. Something hit the wall near her head. A wet something. She groped until she felt it. She squinted as her hands felt over it. She felt the wetness of eyes before she saw them. Screaming she pushed away, wiping her hands on her clothes. Someone grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to her feet. She beat her fists against him until he grabbed them, "CATY! Its me! For Heaven's sake, calm down."

Shivering, she pressed against Kunzite, "He…it… head…" He rubbed her back, "I killed him, it's ok. Can you see? What happened to your glasses?"

She wiped the tears from her face as she started to calm down, "They broke. I'm pretty much blind now. I feel like Velma."

"Who?"

"That's right, you don't know about Scooby Doo. Never mind. I'm blind, lets just leave it at that."

"No matter. We need to keep moving." He grabbed her hand as the light faded from the cavern, leaving them once again in darkness. He lead her towards the pinprick of light, his hand tight in hers.

"SONG OF THE HAMMER!" Ruby brought her the staff like hammer down on the cliff's edge and with the combination of Sapphire's Razor Wind, brought both sides of the canyon down around the second group of youma. The first and third group dealing with Amethyst's Living Crystal attack. And the last groups, about three of them, had Sailor Moon to deal with. Sapphire moved from her side of the canyon to help Moon with the last of the youma. Moon crumpled to one knee as Sapphire let out another Razor Wind to finish off the youma. Beryl was no where in sight. Ruby helped Moon to stand. Moon stumbled a few steps away, leaning down to vomit. Ruby rubbed her back, "You need to rest. If we are surprised by Be-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as two hands come up from the icy earth. Grabbed her ankles, It yanked. Ruby screamed as it pulled her into the ground where Sailor Moon had stood only seconds before. Moon gasped and grabbed her arms as Ruby was pulled into the earth. Sapphire was screaming something from the other side of the canyon as Amethyst ran to help. She slid like a baseball player to home, grabbing Ruby around the middle and yanked. Ruby popped up like a jack in the box and collapse onto Sailor Moon as Sapphire landed from the other side of the canyon, "What the fuck happened?"

Ruby lay on her back, panting, "Something grabbed me." Amethyst examined Ruby's ankles, there were dark indents in the leather of her boots, dirty and a little singed like from a great heated source. Ruby winced as she stood, "That sucked. But where I was standing was where she was. That's probably where Beryl went. Now that the army is defeated, we only need to worry about her."

"Ruby, the crystal." Sapphire picked the crystal off Ruby's chest. It was glowing. Ruby looked at the others, "Caty or the Silver Crystal is close. I can't tell which. Lets head back towards the Gate."

They had gone a few hundred yards when they saw it. Coming around a crop of glacier, they didn't understand what it was until their brains could catch up. The three Crystal Senshi stopped as Sailor Moon took a few steps forward. Beryl towered over the Antarctic as a giant. Maybe 100 stories tall, she stood on a plateau, her back to the senshi. Dark energy flowed around her like clouds. Her hands out, she gathered it to her. Sailor Moon opened her mouth, blinking, "Oh…crap."

End Chapter Ten

Oh Crap