Chapter Fourteen: Reprised
I want to go back. I keep looking behind me, worried about Mako-chan and Ami, but Haruka keeps pushing me forward. They didn't even let me say goodbye, and I have a bad feeling about this.
Rei is meditating and Michiru is using her mirror, both trying to figure out the right path to travel. But it's hard to find when you're not sure of the final destination. We're walking very slowly and cautiously.
I've stopped crying now. I close my eyes and imagine myself in Mamo-chan's warm embrace… but I find myself confusing his image with Dimande's, reassuring me that he and everyone will be with me and kissing my hand. I remember the pain in my chest, and Mamo-chan's image comes clearly back into my head. I need to do this, to protect the planet, so that he can be cured.
….
"I understand why you feel so conflicted," Petz said as she stared into Saphir's clear blue eyes. "Usagi is a wonderful person: she always seeks out the good in others, and would willingly sacrifice herself if it would save even one person— she saved me and my sisters."
"I know all that. I also know that protecting her means protecting the fate of the world. I want to protect her: I really do care for her, as a friend. The problem is my brother…" How can I say this to Petz?
"You're not sure whether he loves her and wants to protect her because of the kind of person she really is, or if he is still obsessed with his ideal image of Neo-Queen Serenity?" Petz spoke seriously, though concerned that perhaps she had spoken out of bounds, braced herself to need to apologize. She checked herself. I'm with the one I love. We're no longer on Nemesis, I'm not a subordinate pining for the Prince's brother anymore. I should not fear him.
"Yes! Thank you for understanding. That is exactly what I'm confused about. I don't want to help my brother protect her just so he can try and win her love. What happens if he doesn't get the response he wants?" Saphir thought back to the crazed look in Dimande's eyes when he realized that Sailor Moon was Neo-Queen Serenity. I don't want to see my brother like that ever again. I want no part of that kind of behaviour.
Petz reached across the table and put her hand over Saphir's. "I know that it's hard to do, but I think that, like Usagi, you should trust in your brother's heart. He's not possessed by the black crystal or manipulated by Wiseman anymore. He's your brother: the one who cared for you when you were younger, and promised you a happy life on Earth. You have to believe in him."
My sisters and I were so cruel to each other, so consumed by greed and desire for power, when we wore the black crystal earrings. Once Sailor Moon purified us, it was like our eyes were opened—we became the loving family we had been as children again. It pains me to say this, because it means that I could risk losing Saphir again. But I have to be true to him. "Go with Prince Dimande; protect her together. He needs you, and she may need you both." Petz kissed Saphir, being sure to keep her eyes closed so no tears would fall on his face.
….
Mako-chan finally seems to have stabilized. She is still unconscious, but her body no longer seems to be fading away. She will need to rest for a long time, and certainly will not be able to transform for even longer, but I believe that she should make it. She is lucky to have defeated Argus before her Star Seed's shine was completely drained…
This is not a suitable place for her to rest, though; she is lying on a hard dusty floor. She has a high fever, and it is incredibly hot here. And who knows what other dangers lurk in this maze…
The sound of footsteps behind her caused Ami to jump up immediately; arms outstretched in order to completely protect the resting Makoto.
"You have no fear of me harming her any further; her power has been expended nearly completely," the skeletal figure of King Minos laughed. He began to chant, and Ami, finding herself unable to move, braced herself for what may come.
I shouldn't have hesitated… if I had attacked before he began to chant, this wouldn't have happened. Now it's too late. His magic has rendered me helpless, hardly able to flinch. My chest aches as the meditation drains my Crystal's power and calls forth the Caduceus…
"Your deity, Hermes, is the one that allowed there to be peace between the two powerful serpents entwined in mortal combat that form Caduceus. It seems suitable that now the beasts will defeat the one who tamed them!" King Minos cackled. "I must go now to meet your other companions and retrieve the Silver Crystal. I trust that the Caduceus will be more than enough to beat you and come to my aid!" His voice echoed while he disappeared through the walls once more.
Ami, finally able to move once the chanting ceased, tried to think of a plan before her power was transferred completely to the two fighting snakes. Their gigantic mouths snapped, displaying fangs capable of spraying highly poisonous venom. Though they constantly tried to attack each other, they seemed to realize their common goal of beating Sailor Mercury, and slithered towards her, bodies moving in unison.
What can I do to defeat these giant snakes? If I don't, they will go after Usagi. They are born out of my own power… only I can destroy them. But the pain is more than I can bear… I can hardly breathe, let alone think and fight. Wait… I am not a physical fighter like Makoto. Perhaps the clue is in what King Minos said himself. Ami dodged the shots of venom aimed at her and tried to get behind the snakes to buy herself time to think. Hermes brought peace to the fighting vipers… If I can only remember the legend… The bickering amongst themselves momentarily distracted the snakes from their goal.
A rod! Hermes drove a wand, or some kind of rod, between the entwined snakes to stop their fighting.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Ami cried out, forming as straight a blast of water as possible. Immediately, she called out, "Sabão Spray Freezing!", freezing the stream of water instantaneously as it blasted between the bodies of the snakes.
All her power exhausted, Ami panted and dropped to her knees, staying awake just long enough to see that the ice pole dividing the snakes caused their fighting to stop. Their glowing eyes staring at each other in shock, the separating of their bodies caused their power to dissipate, and finally they turned to dust.
Ami smiled, relieved that she was able use the last of her energy to protect Usagi.
Stay safe, Usagi… Sorry I couldn't stay with you…
….
Walking with the other Senshi through the dark corridor, Usagi suddenly stopped completely and whipped her head around.
The other Senshi glared at her, confused.
"Ami? I… I thought I heard Ami speak to me," she said shakily. Not Ami, too… please, no. Please, Ami, Mako-chan, be safe…
….
This pain… her pain… It has happened again.
I cannot wait much longer.