Chapter Nine:
Written: March 29, 2006
Rewritten: April 15, 2008
"How could I have been so stupid?" Universe berated herself, slipping out of a shadow and then dashing forward. She couldn't believe it; she had been trained better than that. To allow herself to become distracted just like the enemy had wanted her? She was not stuck in the first lifetime for crying out loud!
She slammed to a halt as she reached the clearing, violet eyes widened at the scene that greeted her. The Senshi of Pluto and Saturn looked to be worse for the wear.
"Hotaru?" She queried kneeling down to the smaller Scout, as she was closest.
Saturn opened her eyes after a moment or two, "Nee-sama?"
"You okay? What happened?"
"Little bruised up, but fine," the younger Scout mumbled moving a little and getting to her feet. "We had sensed energy in this area, but we all split up to try and locate it."
Pluto had regained consciousness, gotten to her feet, and joined them, "Thanos jumped us."
"He went at the Ronin before, informed them I was around when I shouldn't have been," Universe scowled, "It was a diversionary tactic, and it worked."
"Oh no," Saturn sounded panicked as she looked around. "Mini-Moon and Diana were with us."
Pluto's eyes were narrowed, but Universe shook her head, "Leave the young ones to me. Thanos wanted to get me riled, he did it. This trap was for me, I need to find out why it was so important."
"All right," the Time Guardian murmured, rubbing at her forehead. "We'll head on back, and leave it to you."
"Nee-sama, be careful," Saturn urged her, "If they laid this for you, then it can't be good."
"Don't worry, what's the worse that can happen to me? I die? Doubtful," the Lady of the Universe took off without another word, having located the ice demon.
Saturn and Pluto exchanged worried looks, but knew that they had to leave this in her hands. When Universe was on the war path, she was on the war path…Granted, she wasn't there yet, but at this point they doubted it would take much for her to get there
Thanos let out a sigh through his nose, arms crossed in front of his chest. His gray-green flecked eyes were half closed, as he leaned against the tree and waited. So far, things had worked out quite well.
He had been able to get the Senshi to doubt Universe not that much before, and the affects of that were not about to wear off anytime soon. He considered the true success in pushing Wildfire enough to let the Inferno take the anger out on the Secondary Guardian.
That had worked out perfectly, the ice demon could have been pleased with such an accomplishment, but he was largely disinterested in such trivial things. All he cared about was completing the whole of the plan, not triumphing over the individual parts.
Luck had been with him when he went after the Senshi, he had taken advantage of the Moon Princess of the Future being with the unprepared Outer Senshi. If nothing else got Universe to come to him, that would.
While he should have been worried, he wasn't. He had realized that the Scout was physically weak after intervening so much when the whole of her power was still being restricted.
Akemliek was certain she would continue to pay for those actions for the next few weeks. Further, she'd been without her real power for so long using it even minimally had led to near-instant fatigue.
Now that they had exploited her weakness…The fact that she relied on the others powers and unity in order to fight…Thanos was quite certain she did not stand a chance.
It would not take much to get her out of the picture for a while. In fact, with the way the warriors had reacted to what he had "told" them there was really no need to go any further, the damage had already been done…And there was no way the Ronin would see what was coming.
Sailor Mini Moon was seething in silent rage; too often she had been called a burden by the other Scouts and she understood why, so to find herself in this position? Oh she was not a happy camper; Diana was miffed as well angrily flicking her tail back and forth.
Thanos had appeared out of thin air, the two Outer Senshi and she had been following the negative source, but were ill-prepared. He had quickly taken the two out and then trapped Mini Moon in some sort of bizarre shield.
"Just you wait till the others get here!" the small Sailor snapped out, "Then we'll see how long you'll be sleeping for. Hopefully, it'll be permanently."
Thanos gave a half snort to this, opening his eyes, "I am counting on someone to come. More importantly, I'm expecting Universe to show up."
The small child became quiet as she listened to this, and then it suddenly came to her…Her eyes widening in shock, "You…You know!"
"She didn't make a point of stressing it before, but yes I am aware of her reliance on the others powers, as well as the fact she needs them to trust her," the ice demon commented in a bored tone.
A large beam of energy came hurtling at him, and nailed the demon square in the chest.
"Even if you do know," Universe growled out angrily, "That won't save you."
Thanos let out a grunt, thankful that his armor had protected him from the fatal effects of the shot. He quickly pulled himself to his feet and drew his scimitar.
"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" he inquired as he lunged forward.
The Scout jumped back, and twisted to the side to avoid the follow-up swing; she then rammed her fists into his gut causing him to reel back at a momentous speed. She quickly got ahead of him and then proceeded to kick him in the back.
Thanos scowled as he was quick to recover control of his body before she could do anything else to him. He was critically eyeing her, trying to see if she was in anyway hesitating.
She was; it was barely there, but it was more than enough for him to see it. Good, that meant he stood a chance here; time to go through with the plan.
Meanwhile, Mini Moon had settled into a meditative position hoping to use a technique or two she had learned in the future here in the past.
She concentrated on the sphere-like barrier surrounding her, trying to find a flaw within the design; basically she was looking for the weakest point.
The girl had learned quite a lot at home, but had not been able to put it to use yet; her mother had warned her to only use her new talents when she had to. She had also been told not to use them until the warriors were aware of whom Universe was.
Now why that had been a requirement, the child had no clue, she had been obedient but this could most certainly count as an 'emergency.'
'I found it!' Mini Moon inwardly cheered, before opening her eyes and getting up turning to the spot. However, she paused to assess the battle and was taken aback by what she saw…Thanos had managed to land several blows to the Sailor of the Universe, and the warrior was struggling to continue to fight him.
The Scout of the Universe was in trouble, while her agility was at an almost normal level everything else was off. Her reaction time was half of what it should been. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, and she had no way to summon up enough power for her main attack.
To make matters worse, she wasn't the only one who knew that, Thanos did as well and the ice demon was pressing his advantage. She had managed to avoid him from striking her vital spots, but just barely…If she didn't come up with a plan soon, she was sunk.
"Come now Universe," He taunted with a malicious grin, "Is this the best you can do?"
She glared at him, eyes dangerously flashing, "You're lucky, because if I were at half-strength you'd be a mud puddle right now."
He let out a chuckle, he did so enjoy the banter that came about when dealing with her, she always had something smart to say; "Oh I'm sure of that."
He took a step or two towards her, and then paused for a moment to think something over.
"Remind me, why is it you defend such pathetic fools?" Thanos inquired grin widening.
Before she could toss back a nasty comment, Thanos was sent soaring through the air and crumpled against a tree…After smacking his head against the trunk.
"Because not all of us are pathetic," Mini Moon cheerfully declared, catching her tiara as it returned to her.
Universe let out a chuckle in mirth, "They finally got around to training you themselves, did they?"
The young Senshi smirked, "After a certain someone's pressing, yelling, pushing, and shoving, ya they did."
"Oh they do listen to me," She remarked to herself, "I might almost find myself impressed in another millennia; irony at it's best."
Mini Moon merely blinked, she hadn't realized the elder Scout was in this bad of a mood, "Ermm, should we get going before icicle-boy stirs?" She motioned to the stunned and dazed Thanos who had not yet moved.
"No, I'll take care of Icecube," Universe said with a slight sigh; one thing the warrior did not like was leaving loose ends.
"Forget it!" Sailor Mini Moon agitatedly snapped, "You don't have the strength for it; forcing yourself to gather enough energy to finish him off will probably kill you."
The Scout raised an eyebrow, sarcastically shooting off, "What makes you think I'm not intending for that to happen?"
The child shook her head no, "I don't believe that! Elayne isn't that type of person, she cares about others and she wouldn't go looking for death just because a few of her friends are being complete morons."
"Chibi-Usa," the Guardian began in a soft voice, only to be cut off.
"No, you listen to me!" the girl gritted out, "I won't watch you turn into the person you…," She stopped short, and then stated, "I won't let you become so submissive to the others that you forfeit your own identity, and I won't watch you walk out of the palace for the last time."
Of all the things for the child to say, that hit the Sailor of the Universe like a ton of bricks, her violet eyes widened in shock..
"They sent you back, because I died?" She murmured looking at the small girl for some form of verification; largely confused.
Mini-Moon looked prepared to answer, but shook her head, "I'll tell you later."
"Let's go then," Universe murmured eyeing the waking demon warily, "After thinking about it? I really don't want to have to deal with him today."
Mini Moon gave a small nod, "Okay."
The Scout of the Universe slowly walked forward before jumping back courtesy of a handful of hastily shot arrows.
'Raikken,' she thought in disgust and distaste, 'I don't have the strength to deal with them, let alone Thanos, but both? Man, I have managed to get myself stuck in a nasty predicament.'
She had to get the princess out of here and fast, the only way to do that was to teleport; however, she would be exposed for a number of minutes and in that amount of time Thanos could do plenty of damage. Though only now coming too, it wouldn't take long for him to shake out of his stupor.
Thanos could probably track her if she were to teleport anyway, and once severely wounded she would be an even easier target.
'I have to risk it,' Sailor Universe gritted her teeth together and grabbed the younger Scout by the arm, more or less dragging her to the nearest shadow.
Thanos grunted and quickly hauled himself up, growling low in his throat as the Sailor of the Universe tried to make a hasty exit.
'You're not getting away that easily,' he thought to himself with a smirk. Using the fact that she was now defenseless to his advantage, Thanos sent off a chilling-blast of dark energy, ice embedded within the swirling mass.
All the Guardian could do was shove Sailor Mini Moon in front of her, and take the full-force of the attack, before teleporting out of sight.
"Are you okay?" The young Scout asked worriedly, not quite sure as to what just happened.
There was a pained-expression on Universe's face. She had gritted her teeth together to bite back the scream that had almost escaped from her throat as the attack ripped through her. Right now she was trying to keep her breathing normal.
"I'll be fine," the Senshi responded instead, getting to her feet and looking around to see where exactly they had ended up.
As she turned around, Mini Moon let out a startled gasp, "Your…Your entire back…"
The Secondary Guardian frowned and checked before visibly wincing at what little she could see, "Oh boy, no wonder I actually felt that. He managed to rip me to shreds with that little stunt."
She gently took the child by the arm and tugged her forward, making it so that now the girl was in front of her, "There now you don't have to see that."
"You need to get back to the mansion and fast," the young Scout had paled, "You're bleeding horribly!"
"Hey calm down kiddo," Universe gently soothed, "I can prick my finger and then bleed enough to fill a donation for all the Red Cross Clinics in Japan. I've always been like that; my family were bleeders, what can I say?"
She finally realized exactly where they were and how far away they were from the mansion. Thanos had stopped going after them for a moment, his presence having suddenly vanished.
"We should be all right for now," Universe murmured, turning her attention to the Scout and her guardian. "Now mind bringing me up to speed?"
Mini Moon rubbed at her arm, "Neo had been pressuring Mom to send me back to this time for a while. Mom didn't take her up on it though…Neo had become so…Cold and bitter, and the Senshi barely trusted her."
The child paused, "She had been away for a bit, and when she came back one of the councilmen suggested her presence scared the people. She had already warned everyone that he was of a traitorous nature, but they didn't believe her."
"Neo left because she realized they wouldn't stand up for her, and things fell apart," Universe said in a calm tone. "And while she had been away the Ronin went missing."
Mini-Moon nodded, "Kayura and the Seasonals are stuck in the Nether Realm because they've been locked in. And, you're gone…The councilman had Neo followed by some newly trained cronies of Akemliek which she easily defeated, but he caught you off guard…And…"
Diana closed her eyes, mewing out, "He killed you, slit your throat."
"And then Mom sent us back here, just prior to the palace being attacked," Mini-Moon whispered out, eyes tightly shut.
"Chibi-Usa," Universe sighed kneeling down and placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, "It'll be all right. Neo didn't die, she came back here. That's the point she jumped back from. She couldn't change things there anymore so she allowed everyone to think she was dead, and came back here to meddle."
"I knew Neo came back, but I didn't think it was from that point," Mini-Moon was surprised. "So, she's still alive!"
"Mhm, and she didn't want you returning until the warriors defeat Thanos for a reason. She wanted to try and prevent whatever happened to the Ronin from occurring this time around," Universe grinned a little. "No worrying about it, okay?"
She then added, "I promise you, I'll continue to do everything I can to change your future. I won't let anything happen to the Ronin, or anyone else in your family."
"That means you're going to take better care of yourself, right?" She asked quietly, "Cause you're part of my family too."
Universe chuckled a little, saying with a slight smirk, "I'll try, but you know how Ryo-tachi love to get into trouble."
Mini Moon grinned, as it had been somewhat of an inside joke between them in her time, "Do I ever."
The Secondary Guardian fell silent her violet eyes scanned around again, "Meh, my senses are being distorted. Can't find where anyone is."
"Universe?" Mini Moon asked with a frown.
"You and Diana should make your way back, Setsuna and Hotaru are waiting on you, and I'm sure the other Senshi are by now," she said quietly.
"Aren't you coming?"
Universe let out a sigh as she murmured, "Munch, I have no intention of going near the others right now. I'm the last person they want to deal with…" She suddenly scowled, "And plus Thanos is coming."
"But you can't," the small girl began to protest.
"Chibi-Usa!" The Scout cut over-top of her, in a stern voice, before kneeling down and placing her hands on the child's shoulders, "Please little one, I need you to trust me. Especially now that the others don't; I'll be fine."
The younger Scout relented, "All right, we'll go."
The Secondary Guardian nodded her thanks, quickly getting to her feet pausing from taking a defensive stance when she realized it was only White Blaze that had just come through the brush.
He hesitated a moment looking the Senshi of the Universe over with increasing worry, 'What happened?'
"Thanos," She answered simply, snapping her head in the direction the demon was now approaching from. "White Blaze I need you to take these two back to the others."
'I'm not leaving you like that,' the tiger rumbled out, indicating her current condition with a slight inclination of his head, 'At least permit me to wait until Kokuen, gets here.'
"No go now," Universe sternly commanded, "I won't be able to hold him off for a great length. Take them and leave!"
'I won't abandon you in such a fashion,' White Blaze growled back, angrily swishing his tail for emphasis.
"Blaze," She paused and looked at him, "You're not abandoning me! I'm asking you to get the small ones to safety. Please just go my friend; this is something I have to do alone."
He let out a long sigh, 'As you wish then.' He crouched down so that Mini Moon could mount, and then quickly got to his feet dodging as a blast of energy came his way.
Universe let out an aggravated hiss, as she leapt up and performed a kick catching Thanos high in the chest; she gritted out, "Move it, Byakuen!"
The tiger gave a nod and then bound out of the clearing at such a pace that the child on his back almost fell off.
White Blaze continued to go as fast as his burden would allow, leaving the small princess to hang on for dear life. Poor Diana had to dig her claws into Mini Moon's hair to stay put. The child didn't appreciate the thick-claws being in her skull, so the Sailor grabbed the kitten and then held the creature firmly in her one arm.
Now only having one limb to steadily hold Blaze's fur by, she sank lower to his neck, and tried to pitch her weight forward.
'Clever girl,' the tiger commented, since Mini Moon had moved her weight off his hind-end he could now go faster, 'This certainly helps.'
"I'll take that as 'thank-you,' I think," the child commented, she had never enjoyed riding the tiger at fast paces, so she was doing everything not to scream at this point.
White Blaze might've slammed on the brakes if he weren't so worried about the Guardian, 'How…?'
Mini Moon cringed and let out a small 'eep' as the cat took a huge leap over a fallen log, so it took her a few minutes to respond to his inquiry.
"Your mental line is just as accessible as anyone else's, Black Blaze's too. The warriors in my future have their past memories; they taught me how to communicate with you and him."
'Why haven't you made this fact known?' He asked, confused as to why the child would wait so long to say anything.
"My family didn't want me using any abilities I had learned until everyone realized who Sailor Universe was," She responded quietly, "I had put up mental blocks when I first returned to this time to hide my new strengths, but I just took the barriers down while clocking Thanos over the head. I had to do it at least once."
'I understand,' White Blaze rumbled, 'Let us hope we can find someone that is close by, Universe is in a lot of trouble.' The tiger didn't bother to make the comment that apparently her charges recklessness had rubbed off on her.
"I know," Mini Moon murmured quietly, "Since her powers rely upon the strength and unity of the other warriors, she can't fight when there is arguing amongst them since her abilities become inaccessible. Add to the fact that they doubt her too, and she's a sitting duck!"
A small mew caught the young Scouts attention, and she frowned, "What is it Diana?"
"I saw Sage, he's in the clearing to the left of us!" the lilac kitten stated.
White Blaze immediately made a move for that direction, causing both child and cat to screech in protest and cling even tighter.
'I am never riding express again,' Mini Moon grumpily thought to herself.