Chapter Twenty-One: Ruined Guardians
"I can do it."
"What the fuck is that bastard doing?"
"Uh, hi?"
"Hospital! We need to take her to a hospital!"
"I can do it. Let me do it."
"Um, anyone remember we still have a Youma here?"
"Finally," Makoto yelled into the phone. "What the hell have you been doing?"
"Usagi, put that away." Rei pushed the moon stick thing Usagi was holding from Ami. It wasn't that she didn't want Usagi to heal Ami; in fact, she was desperate for it. But Usagi was inexperienced with using it, and she couldn't afford to add another dying friend to tonight's list of events. "There's a hospital nearby. With our speed, we can be there in less than five minutes."
"It's Makoto, you idiot. Wake up! We need you," Makoto yelled. She was gripping the device so hard small cracks were beginning to web from under her fingers. "Higashishinagawa, docks." She paused. "Twenty minutes is too long! Move your ass!"
"I still say hospital," Rei murmured, but she was now unresisting when Usagi shoved herself in front of her and slowly pulled out the dagger from Ami's stomach, the wand held close to her chest. Rei looked away. If Usagi succeeded without problems, fantastic. If not, she didn't want to see it. Instead, she saw Sailor V sighed tiredly.
"Fine, I'll do it," she heard her mutter. She was still breathing heavily. "I'm not exhausted at all. Running across town with the bloody buildings and cars and people in my way in five minutes is nothing. I do it all the time. I don't feel like puking at all."
Soft bells chimed in Rei's ear, her skin prickled in an enchantingly blissful way, her cuts didn't hurt as much anymore. Sailor V noticed and quickly dispatched the waking Youma to watch. Even Makoto stopped cursing Mamoru to stare.
Usagi had her eyes closed, a serene look on her face as she seemed to glow. The light from the silver moon throbbed as if in tune to a heartbeat—Usagi's. A gentle glow poured from her palm held atop Ami's wound. Rei could just hear minute squishing sounds, as if cells, organs, and arteries were finding each other and merging. But then Sailor V stopped Usagi before there was even a sign of the wound closing.
"Okay, that's enough," she barked. She plucked the wand from Usagi's hands when she stopped, startled.
"What? Hey, give that back!" Usagi tried to snatch the item back. "I'm not done!"
"You've done more than enough," Sailor V snapped when Usagi swooned from the movement. "Mercury is out of danger now. She can heal the rest herself. Look."
True enough, colour had returned to Ami's skin and lips. Her breathing evened out; the glazed shock in her eyes was replaced by dull recognition and… Storm, Rei thought worriedly. Zoisite's spell dissolved when he died, but the aftereffects stayed. She saw Ami immediately clam her mouth shut to keep from crying out, and she refused to look at anyone. There was a tremor in her left hand.
"Thank god," Usagi exclaimed, throwing her arms around Ami. "Ami, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Ami didn't reply. Instead, she jumped, and pushed Usagi away.
Usagi sat back, biting her lower lip. Makoto seemed unable to decide whether she liked it or not. Sailor V huffed. Mamoru's voice buzzed through the phone's speaker. Rei reminded herself to inform the others of Ami's disinclination toward hugs later.
"Okay, yeah, we really need to get out of here now." Sailor V clapped her hands to get their attention. Rei automatically rose.
"Wait a minute." Makoto narrowed her eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
"Sailor V. Now, let's go."
"Really? You look different from the posters."
"You mean they look different from me. And I'm serious, the guards will soon be coming back and we still need to clean up. There's Mercury's blood and—" She paused, peering into the burning container. Her lips drooped. "Aw. Sailor V plushies."
Rei blinked.
Sailor V shook herself out of her distraction, then helped Usagi to her feet, slinging her arm over her shoulder. "Up, people."
While Makoto supported Ami, Sailor V gestured to Rei. "Do something about that and we're good to go." She pointed to the small puddle of blood.
"What?" Rei stared incredulously. "Set it on magical fire?"
"Give it enough heat and it'll decompose enough for our purposes."
"How much?"
"Don't know." She gave a thumbs-up with an ill-matched blank stare. "Give it your best shot."
As Rei extended her hands, Sailor V scrambled away and Makoto followed. The flames were so close to her that sweat began to form on her brows. Still, she raised the force of her power, kept pushing until she couldn't take the heat herself. What was left was a charred, black glop of—only Ami would know. While the blood could never be traced back to Ami, at least there wouldn't be any chance of forensics finding alien substance—or magical DNA, she thought wryly.
"Good job," Sailor V applauded. "Now, where to?"
"You're coming with us?" Makoto asked.
"Well, yeah." She adjusted Usagi's weight. "Isn't it about time we meet?"
"How are you relevant?"
Sailor V clutched her chest dramatically. "Oh, that smarts."
Usagi yelped when Sailor V pretended to keel over, unbalancing her. "I think we should just go back to Rei's. All of us. She just saved our lives. I think we can trust her."
Sailor V stared, her eyes studying. Rei really wondered what the mask was for when it didn't hide much; at least, up close it didn't. In fact, why did Sailor V need a mask when her glamour should be hiding her identity for her?
"Cool." She grinned. "How far away is that again?"
Rei promptly took Usagi off her. Relief and gratitude entered her smile that only Rei could discern with her psychic abilities. Sailor V still hadn't recovered from her mad dash to save them.
"Stone," Ami suddenly muttered. She still refused to meet their eyes.
Rei turned to the pile of dust that had once been Zoisite. Reluctantly, as Sailor V seemed to not know anything about the stone, she handed Usagi over to her and headed over to the pile. Carefully brushing the dust aside, she found the blue stone and pocketed it. When she went to retrieve Usagi, she paused. Usagi looked like she desperately wanted to say something. A fear of angering the others seemed to be stopping her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Naru," Usagi said softly. Guilt crossed her facial features again: at nearly forgetting about her friend; at bringing it up to others who were clearly in no position to be able to do anything about it.
"Oh, I don't think you need to be worrying about that."
Rei raised her hand, flames sprouting to life, ready to devour anything at her command. Yet, she hesitated. The one who had spoken wasn't just any ordinary Youma. It was Thetis. How that made it any different was beyond her, but still, she didn't attack straightaway. Beside her, Sailor V inhaled sharply.
"Good evening, Sailor Guardians," Thetis said charmingly. Even without a face, she exuded grace and confidence.
"What do you want?" Sailor V asked through gritted teeth.
"I was asked to inform you, should he be unable to do so himself," Thetis said, "that the human girl Naru has been returned to her home unharmed. She will not remember her abduction, nor will her family remember her absence today."
"What's the catch?" Sailor V demanded.
"I sincerely do not know. I did not ask." Thetis smiled. Somehow, they knew she was smiling. Then her head tilted slightly, angled toward Ami. She gazed at Ami for a long time, and it seemed as if her stance was softening, coming to some unknown terms. She started out of her reverie. "My apologies, Guardians. Until we next meet, then."
She bowed, low and respectfully. And then disappeared in a swirl of glittering water.
About halfway to the shrine, a ringing tone began to accompany their journey. Makoto paused and stared dumbly at the phone in her hand.
"Oh, right," she exclaimed. "Chiba."
"Who's Chiba?" Sailor V asked.
"Should I have him meet us at the shrine?" she asked Usagi. "We can have him fix up the rest of our injuries."
"I don't know him," Sailor V continued. "Let's not."
Makoto glared at her suspiciously. She mirrored it impressively. The call disconnected, and started again.
"Let's just tell him to come in the morning," Usagi suggested. "It'd give him more time to recover his energy and besides, Sailor V looks like she has answers for us."
The person in question looked away. Rei tried to read her, but encountered a curiously strong wall. Sailor V glanced at her, then proceeded to take the rear side of their group. Makoto made Usagi take the call, which was a mistake, because the call continued even when they had entered the back garden of Rei's house. Behind them, Sailor V had been grumbling about persistent outsiders.
At the base of the back door, an unusual sight greeted them. Black and white cats, curled up together in such a way Rei was reminded of a taijitu, shot to their feet at their approach.
"Oh, thank goodness," Luna cried, "you got there in time."
Sailor V flashed a victory sign, grinning broadly. "Never run so fast in my life," she proclaimed proudly.
"You said she wasn't an ally," Makoto accused Luna.
"I… At the time, I honestly didn't know," Luna admitted.
"So is she, or is she not, an ally now?"
"You're being pretty rude, aren't you?" the white cat spoke up—a male, this one. "She's not just your ally."
"Another talking cat," Makoto murmured.
"She is the heir to the great Moon Kingdom of the past," the cat continued, unperturbed, "Keeper of the Silver Crystal. I introduce Serenity, Princess of the Silver Millennium."
"Princess?" Usagi gasped softly.
Makoto stiffened. Even Rei was surprised. Why?
Ami didn't seem to care, or she wasn't listening. Sitting on the porch, she pressed her palm to her stomach wound, which had already stopped bleeding, and de-transformed.
"Serenity," Usagi whispered. "That name sounds familiar."
Makoto nodded silently.
"Princess?" Rei tried to keep the scepticism from her voice. It didn't quite work, and Sailor V started. Then she winked, taking off her mask as she did so to hide it from the others.
She grasped Usagi's hands. "It's so good to finally meet you, Sailor Moon."
"Um…" Usagi stuttered unintelligibly.
"Sailor Jupiter." She smiled, Makoto's earlier hostility forgotten. "How have you been?"
She turned to Rei. Without her mask, Rei noticed more peculiarities to her features. Her glamour did not have the distinctively alienness that they had; it was even more human than the original blond Guardian. Pretty, but not impossibly so; lips a little thin, nose a little sharp. With her dark blond hair, tanned skin and blue eyes, she had a mixed European look. About Ami's height, she managed to hold herself with a regal air that she just seemed much taller. Rei was impressed.
"Sailor Mars." She took Rei's hand in both of hers, eyes strongly intent. Rei suddenly had a nostalgic feeling of loyalty and familiarity toward the girl. "You need to remember your true self. Can you do that quickly?" she whispered, leaning in. "Please?"
Rei frowned, confused. She sounded almost like she was pleading.
"Hey, I know you," Usagi suddenly cried out, pointing. "You're that girl! That English-speaking girl!"
"Guilty." Sailor V grinned sheepishly, and de-transformed. The rest followed as if she had just given them permission. What Rei had thought had been her glamour had in fact been her true appearance. It was as if it had only been a change of clothing. But why pyjamas? "Aino Minako," she said with a flourish of her hands. "An eight-grader just like you all."
"You're not a foreigner?"
"No. Well, I'm half-Japanese. Technically. It's a little complicated with the genetics in my family when both my parents are Eurasians as well." Sailor V—Minako—caught herself. "Anyway, I'm sorry about that. I was…testing."
"Testing?"
She waved her hand as she considered her words. "Just getting to know the people I'll be working with."
You only approached Usagi, Rei noted, and kept it to herself.
"If you knew about us, why have you been hiding all this time?" Makoto, it appeared, was really quite shrewd. But Minako had her answers ready.
"One can't be too careful if you're the Princess everyone's looking for," she said. "Besides, while you were getting acquainted with your powers, I had decided to take the free time I had to investigate the enemy."
"The Dark Kingdom?" Usagi asked.
Minako nodded, then her eyes strayed to Ami. "But let's not talk about this tonight. You all look like you really need to rest. I'll come back here tomorrow evening and we can talk then. Mercury." Her tone softened when Ami didn't response. "Ami."
Ami blinked, glanced at her. She quickly withdrew her gaze. "Rei… I… May I…" She was too shaken to form complete sentences.
"Of course." Rei immediately opened the door and gestured the others side while she helped Ami up. They waited in the kitchen as she guided Ami to her bedroom. "Use my bed," she offered gently. "Or just whatever you want. Do you need anything?"
Ami inhaled deeply and shook her head. "Just…" She shook her head again. Her body was trembling so badly Rei couldn't bring herself to leave her. But the storm in her mind was deafening. Blinding.
"I can stay," Rei said softly. "We can talk."
Immediately, Ami pulled away.
"Ami, come on," she said exasperatedly, "stop thinking you have to do this on your own."
Ami blinked up at her. "What other way is there?" she whispered. She sounded so unsure. So confused.
Rei watched dejectedly as Ami sat in a corner, curling up upon herself. She could just make out indiscernible mumbles as the girl buried her head behind her arms.
Back in the kitchen, Minako quickly gulp down the last of her glass of water when she spotted Rei entering. "What did Zoisite do to her?"
"Something bad," she said. She was being vague, but she was a little too numb right now to care. "I'm going to set up futons for Usagi and Makoto in the living room. Will you be staying as well?"
Minako hesitated. She turned to the white cat. "A futon would actually be pretty nice for a change," she said to the cat.
"You don't need to ask me, Princess," he replied calmly.
"Right." To Rei, "Okay, thanks. I'll stay."
It surprised Rei a little that she could actually find three spare futons. She and her grandfather hardly had guests, and when they did, it was never an overnight occasion. Still, she wasn't about to go question him about it when he was obviously trying his best pretending he couldn't hear them and going back to sleep. In the minor chatter the girls had while setting up the living room, Rei learned that the white cat's name was Artemis, Artemis lived with Minako, Minako went to Shiba Koen Junior High School, Shiba Koen was a quiz demon, demons were reincarnated in the form of Minako's mother and police officers, the police were annoying, and that Minako was a real chatterbox on all things non-Guardian.
Makoto, on the other hand, was unusually quiet. She had picked a spot away from the other two, wedging herself between the coffee table and the couch. And as Rei slid the door close and Usagi bid them good night, Makoto's reply was a very curt, "Night."
After some meticulous searching of the many shoji that seemed to labyrinth the house, she finally found the one that was certain to lead to Rei's bedroom. And yet, after all that work, she hesitated. She knew Rei suspected she was lying; sneaking into her room when it was nearly dawn was sure to accentuate her suspicions. But she couldn't sleep. And when Minako couldn't sleep, she checked on her comrades.
Ami worried her. She worried her a lot. Everything she knew about Ami was wrong; she could destroy all her notes about the Mercury of this time and not be any worse off. The Mercury of this time, no, this Ami was supposed to be sound. Not long ago Minako had been convinced that this girl was the one to be able to live up to Mercury's great mind.
It didn't seem so at all now.
She slid open the door, stepping on tip-toes into uncharted territory.
The room was sparse, something she wouldn't have attributed to the well-known miko. Daughter of a popular politician, student of one of the most prestigious—and expensive—private schools in Tokyo, Rei's room should have been brimming with photographs, awards and fashionable accessories. Instead, there was a dresser in the front corner—good quality but otherwise plain—decorated by a few incense candles and a single photo frame. A low table had been shoved into the adjacent corner to make space for the simple futon in the middle of the room. A single wardrobe—too small by normal teenaged standards nowadays—and a couple of bookshelves—one for school texts and the other general—stood by the wall between them. On the opposite wall, hanging on coat racks nailed to the wall were two sets of clothing: a school uniform and Rei's miko attire. On the floor close to Rei's head, a modern bow—Minako had no idea what type—lay on the tatami, in the middle of being maintained, it seemed.
Rei was a very quiet sleeper, and if Minako didn't know better, she would've thought her dead. In the third corner of the room, Ami stirred at the light from the hallway, but remained asleep. Huddled in a sitting position under a light blanket, she looked like she was cocooning herself from the world. Minako knelt down in front of her, ducking her head to get a better look.
How had this happen? Why couldn't she have run faster?
"What the hell are you doing?"
She slowly turned around. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to check—Are you crazy?" Somehow she had managed to scream without screaming. Her hands shot up in surrender, her eyes fixed on the head of the arrow that was aimed directly at her forehead.
Rei glared at her from behind the shaft. "What are you doing here?" she repeated dangerously.
"Hey, Rei, come on, it's me." She cut off when the bow creaked. "Like I said, I wanted to check up on Ami. Totally innocent intentions, I swear."
"You haven't been totally innocent the whole night," Rei said, her hold on the weapon still taut.
"All in due time." She tilted to the side, away from Ami, and the arrow followed her. "Which I assure will be very soon for you. Right now too, if you insist," she said quickly. "Look, you know I'm the good guy or you wouldn't have kept your mouth shut. Or invited me to stay."
Rei's eye twitched. "Get out."
Minako wanted to continue explaining herself, but the bow was shaking so badly in Rei's hands—and by extension the deadly arrow—that she decided it would be best to give her time to calm down. Never once taking her eyes off the arrow, she sidled around Rei and toward the door. Rei watched her with that hawk's gaze Mars was well known for.
How irritatingly familiar, she mused as she closed the door. With a sigh, she looked for her shoes, then remembered she'd left her bedroom in the middle of the night in her pyjamas. Getting home now would sure be a fun task.
Outside, it was still nice and cool, with no hint of the summer heat that would surely come with the rising sun. The sky was purple, brightening as the orange in the distant horizon grew. It reminded her of Mars. Lately, too many things have been reminding her of the past. Little things. When drinking, she thought of Mercury; when a flower fell in front of her, she thought of Jupiter. It was getting too much. Too oppressive.
"Where are you going?"
She looked back to see Artemis padding up to her and gave him the morning's obligatory scratch behind the ears. "Home," she said, worry etching in her voice. "I really hope Mom didn't decide to check up on me last night."
"Don't worry, Luna taught me a pretty nifty trick with the Crescent Compact's disguising power last night." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Apparently, you can use it on inanimate objects too."
"No." She mocked a scandalised expression, her hand rushing to her mouth.
He nodded fervently. "After I convinced your bolster to make friends with your blanket, I used it on Bolster-san and voila! A sleeping Minako."
"Fascinating!" Really, she could have used that knowledge a long time ago. It would have saved her from many cold nights in the park. She exhaled tiredly. "Do you think I blew it, Artemis?"
He cocked his head in thought. "You probably could work on your acting a little bit," he said in jest. "But no, I don't think you blew it. At least, the one who mattered bought it."
"Well, that one has always been pretty gullible." She turned around to see Rei standing in the doorway. "Tell her everything is ancient and expensive and she'll take extra care to reign in that clumsiness of hers. Very useful."
"Very useful indeed." She reached for her transformation pen; she wasn't about to try walking home barefooted. "Well, see you later."
"Mina… Aino-san." Rei pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You don't have to go."
"But—"
"Out of my room, yes," Rei said. "If I'm wrong—and hopefully it's just 'if'—then I don't want you anywhere near Ami. She's not in any position to defend herself now. But the others can handle themselves. Push comes to shove, I can always sic Grandpa on you."
She grinned. "I've heard of the famous Grandpa."
Rei nodded. "So you better behave."
"Yes, sir." She saluted. "And call me Minako."
For the rest of the morning, Minako followed Rei around as the other girl did her morning chores, having borrowed a pair of sandals. Unless Rei ventured too far away, however, and then she'd sit somewhere and wait. She played it to being the Princess and that princesses should have people carrying her. They both knew her legs were still sore from the night before.
It was six when Rei decided she had done enough. She couldn't open the stalls for there was no one to man them, so they headed back to the house.
"What's for breakfast?" Minako asked.
"Uh…" Rei checked the refrigerator. "Tea and toast. My grandfather doesn't know how to shop when I'm away."
"Coffee?"
Rei eyed the machine warily. "If you know how to work it."
Breakfast was quiet. Rei was quiet. Minako didn't like quiet, so she talked to Artemis. He and Luna had been keeping tabs on news about the docks and told her that the authorities still had no clue about the involvement of magic in past events. Somehow, the government had managed to convince the media that terrorism, or a cult, was the source of these attacks, and the people were buying it, which was fortunate for Minako. The worrisome part was that the government didn't believe this story themselves, and they were taking serious measures to uncover the truth. It wouldn't be any problem to her with the control room's advanced technology, but it was definitely a pain.
Rei perked her head up, a distant look in her eyes that Mars often took when she was listening for something.
"Someone's awake," she said. "She's leaving."
Minako followed her curiously to the front door. She heard the soft click of the door closing as they entered the corridor. Rei sped up.
"Ami," she shouted at the retreating back. The girl had gotten a good amount of distance between them in the short time. "Hey, where are you going?"
Ami didn't reply; she kept walking as if she couldn't wait to be rid of them. Minako frowned. With a flick of her wrist, she silently told Artemis to follow her and keep watch. As Rei fussed to herself in frustration, she spotted a piece of paper on the console table, weighted down by a letter opener.
"Rei." She handed the paper over. "Looks like she wants time alone."
Rei scanned the brief note. Before she could reply, Usagi burst into the corridor.
"Was that Ami who left?" Her voice broke, and tears formed in her eyes. "Oh no, she heard me."
Usagi woke when she heard the door open the first time. But she only really cleared her mind of the little imps of sleep when she heard it the second time and she got up to notice that both Minako and Artemis were gone. She wanted to look for them, but wondered whether it was her place to bother the Princess.
Princess Serenity.
She had that dream again. The one with him. Mamoru. Not Mamoru. Hybrid Mamoru. It wasn't as vivid as the last time. Dark and bright; blurry silhouettes and one-word conversations. How that latter one worked she didn't know: it was a dream.
Except, it wasn't really Mamoru; at least, not in the sense she knew. And she wasn't really her. He called her Serenity. But Minako was Serenity. Right?
Ugh. Headache. Endymions and headaches.
A long time of tossing and turning later, she sat up, glancing over to her left. Makoto's back was to her, the covers pulled up tight to her neck. It was different to how the girl had been sleeping in her room. So guarded and cold now.
She hates me.
Usagi couldn't blame her. She had been warned, several times in fact, and she didn't listen. For all the newfound boost in her confidence, she had forsaken her priorities. Rashness and denial trumped caution and preparedness, a catastrophic victory. She would not accept failure, and she was not prepared for the shock of it happening. She rushed to listen to her emotions, and she forced her friends to entertain her idiocy, and how they had all paid. How ironic that her payment the smallest. How unfair.
Her imagination ran wild and she couldn't bear to stay in the same room any longer. Her feet kept moving once she entered the corridor; the open spaces on both sides didn't feel suited to her. She found the bathroom, locked herself in there. Cool tile floors, a little too cold on her bare feet and behind. She had ignored the slippers to curl herself up against the door. Thinking. Sorting her mind out. Probably brooding.
Luna called from the other side of the door. "Usagi, can I come in?"
"Don't you know what people do in bathrooms?" she mumbled into the crook of her arms.
"It wasn't a request," Luna said. "I'll come in through the window if I have to."
With a sigh, she shifted slightly and lifted her hand to the handle, forcing Luna to squeeze through the little gap of the doorway.
"Usagi," Luna began.
"I know, I was stupid." She burrowed deeper behind her knees. "I nearly killed Ami."
"Yes, you did."
She inhaled sharply. It was expected, but she hadn't realised how much hearing it from someone else's mouth hurt.
"But you also saved her."
What's left of her, she thought painfully.
"Why, less than a week ago you would've been too scared to even try," Luna continued encouragingly. Usagi felt a paw on her hand. "Step by step, Usagi, you'll improve. You just have to do it faster, Usagi. Much faster. Listen to the others. You can't afford another mistake again."
"But Ami—"
"Is like you," Luna insisted. "Step by step. We'll get her back."
Suddenly, Usagi couldn't take it any longer. The emotions boiled up—pity, guilt, self-hatred, anger—and the tears came. "How can you be fine with this?" she screamed. "How can you make what I did not horrible? I screwed up, Luna!"
"It's not—"
"Everyone knows I screwed up! Why won't you just say it?" She pressed her forehead into her hands, sobbing uncontrollably now. "Makoto hates me now. Rei blames me too. And Ami…" Her hands moved to her eyes. "Ami's wrong because of me."
The snap of the handle flipping back to place made her gasp and turn. Someone had wanted to enter. Usagi scrambled to her feet, and in her haste, it took several attempts before she realised she couldn't open the door because her feet wouldn't move back. Once outside, she ran straight to the living room, her feet pounding so hard on the wooden floor she was sure the whole of Tokyo would wake cursing. She slid the door open with a slam and Makoto jumped up with a sleepy glare. She tried Rei's room next and it was empty. Then she ran into the front corridor.
Rei and Minako, who had both been poring over a single piece of paper, looked up at her in surprise.
"Was that Ami who left?" she cried. Dizziness produced by fear and anxiety overwhelmed her. Her body shook. "Oh no," she whispered, "she heard me."
"Heard you do what?" Rei demanded.
"Or say?" Minako added.
Makoto stumbled out behind her, rubbing her eyes with a scowl. "What's going on?"
"Now, Usagi," Luna warned. "Don't need to exaggerate to make matters worse."
"What did you do, Usagi?" Rei was seething now, crumpling the piece of paper in her hand.
Usagi fought to bring herself to meet Rei's eyes, and then, it was an even worse struggle to maintain that contact. She could see her reflection in those intense, dark eyes. Accusing. Pathetic. A growing resolve to fix things.
"I said…" She paused to gather her voice. "I said she was wrong."
"What?" It was as if the air had dropped dead at the budding fury in Rei's voice.
"Wrong about what?" Minako asked.
"How could you?" Rei shouted, and if not for Minako's quick reflexes, she would've been on Usagi already. With an accurate slither of her hands, Minako had Rei in a solid lock. "Why would you say such a stupid thing?"
"I didn't mean anything by it!" Usagi yelled back, feeling defensive. She knew it was bad, but she didn't think it was that bad.
Rei was thrashing so furiously that Makoto had to take over for Minako. "You might as well have told her to jump off a bridge!"
"How's that got to do with it?" She shouldn't be shouting. She was supposed to fix it, not make it worse. "I was only stating the facts. And yeah, it was a poor choice of word but—"
"Poor choice?" Rei said. Makoto grunted when a heel slammed into her shin. "You just told her she was the person she was trying so hard not to be!"
"Rei, calm down," Minako said.
"Butt out!"
"Rei!" Luna chided. "You can't speak to the Prin—"
"Shut up, Luna," she hissed. "Or I'll spill everything."
"What do you mean?" Usagi asked.
"That's between the cat and me."
"Not that," she snapped. "What did you mean about Ami?"
Rei paused, stopped struggling, her mouth open in silent speech, as if the answer was trying to burst from her lips. She dropped her arms, and Makoto let her down enough for her feet to touch the floor. Her chest was still heaving heavily, and various emotions Usagi couldn't decipher flashed across her face. When Makoto warily released her, she picked up the vase on the table and threw it to the floor at Usagi's feet. With an exasperated scream, she stomped out the front door. They could still hear her cursing outside at the garden. Luna went out after her.
Usagi didn't know what to do. Torn between who to fix things with first. She decided the vase might be more forgiving. With a sigh, Makoto bent down to help her. By the time she worked up the courage to say something, Makoto already had most of the larger shards in her hands and was heading into the kitchen. Minako swept up the rest and joined them at the kitchen bin.
"Well, I'm going home," Makoto said, wiping her hands on her jeans.
"We might have a meeting tonight," Minako reminded.
"Yeah, whatever."
Then it was just Usagi and Minako. Minako, Princess Serenity, Sailor V. Keeper of the highly sought-after Silver Crystal. Minako, the stranger. Who was now staring at her with a very unsettling gaze.
"Should I be worried or not?" a man's voice came between them.
Usagi's head whipped to the door. "Grandpa!"
A short, thin elderly man with a heavy grey moustache, Rei's grandfather gave a tired smile. "I'm glad to see you're fine, Usagi." He paused. And she realised it was cue for her to report on the ones he hadn't seen.
"We're all good, Grandpa," she said. She felt bad lying, but he didn't look like he could handle it if he knew the whole truth. There was a soft cough at her back. "Oh, this is…" Shoot! She'd been so preoccupied with the Princess Serenity situation that she had forgotten Minako's full name.
"Aino Minako," Minako said, waving at him. "But you can just call me Minako." She glanced at Usagi, the request for her too.
At first, Rei's grandfather just looked sad. Then, as if quickly resolving himself, he shook his head, pulled back his shoulders. A teasing grin as he went to take her hands. "Ah, Minako-chan! My, what a ravishing beauty you are."
Minako giggled, generously playing along. "Oh, Grandpa."
"Really, you must have all the guys chasing after you." He suddenly slapped his forehead. "How could I forget? Usagi, your friend is waiting outside at the front of the shrine."
"Thanks, Grandpa," she said, leaving just as Rei's grandfather asked Minako if she wanted to work with him in the shrine. As he had said, there was someone pacing the grounds. Mamoru. His hair dishevelled, yet still gorgeously so, bags under his eyes and a tired slump of his shoulders, it was obvious he hadn't gotten the rest she'd wanted.
"Usako." Just hearing the care and worry in his voice nearly made her cry again. In his embrace, she spent several minutes just trying not to let the first sob escape. She knew she only needed to win this round to hold back the tears for as long as he was around. He must know that too because he just held her, not saying anything.
"I'm sorry." She forced a small laugh when she pulled back. "Not a sight you expected to see first thing in the morning, huh?"
He nodded fervently, his bloodshot eyes sparkling gently. "Odangos. Or rather, the lack thereof is unexpected."
She hit his chest lightly. "How do you think I sleep?"
"With odangos," he said seriously.
She was just beginning to laugh when she caught herself. It was a real one, a real laughter because she had felt happy at what he'd said. But it felt wrong. Undeserved. Burrowing her face into his shirt, she mumbled, not really expecting him to hear, "I screwed up."
"Then fix it."
Just like that. Because, when she thought about it, that was really all that was needed. There was nothing else that could be done about a problem than to fix it.
"I checked on your friend like you asked," he said. She pulled her head back at the mention of Naru. "Your faceless monster was telling the truth. As far as I can tell, she's perfectly fine. A little confused about the blanks in her memory, probably too sharp for her own good. But fine."
If Mamoru had not been holding her, the feeling of relief that washed over her would have sent her to the ground. "Thank you."
"Is this Chiba?" she heard Minako's voice say, tight with… Something, she thought worriedly.
"Minako!" Feeling self-conscious, she pulled away from him. "Yes. Uh, Chiba Mamoru." She turned to him, an introduction on her lips.
"Who's Chiba Mamoru?" Minako cut in, her eyes narrowing.
It was a weird question. "I don't understand."
"Who is Chiba Mamoru?" she repeated. She took a step back, and it looked very much to Usagi, from Makoto's training with Rei yesterday, to be a fighting stance.
"Tuxedo Mask." The reply came out of Usagi unbidden. Maybe it was an automatic reaction toward a Princess. Most likely it was the commanding, dangerous tone Minako had taken.
Mamoru froze, but he didn't question her.
"The thief?"
"He hasn't stolen anything," she said defensively. Then looked to him for confirmation.
"I've seen you around, jewel thief," Minako said to Mamoru. "You have some magic too."
He played it cool, shrugging. "It seems that way."
"Transform."
"What?" Usagi quickly clamp her mouth shut; it had felt like interrupting the preamble of a potential crossfire.
"How about we both transform?" Mamoru said, his voice calm but there was a distinctive clench of his jaw.
"How about I just turn my back while you transform?" Minako countered, with a mocking sweet smile. She spun on the balls of her foot with the innocent grace of a dancer.
He looked to Usagi for support, but she wasn't sure herself. On one hand, Minako was the Princess she was supposed to be protecting, and the idea of royalty just instilled some kind of obedience in her. On the other, Minako was a stranger. True, without her, they would've been dead. But this request she was asking was suspicious. Minako showing weakness willingly called for more caution than her declining to match powers by transforming.
"Do it," she told him. Clearly, there would be no getting out of it anyway.
When Minako faced them again, her eyes were wide open and focussed. Intending to capture the glimpse of his glamour before it disappeared with her knowledge of his identity. Then she snarled, her lips pulled back, blue eyes shooting hatred. "Get out," she hissed. He hesitated and she had picked up pebbles and was throwing them at him. "Get out! Get away from her!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Usagi screamed, jumping in front of him. The rocks continue to fly, wide; still, just the anticipation of a connection drove them back.
"He destroyed everything!" Minako looked crazed. "Everything! Everything's gone because he couldn't keep his hands where they belong!" She stalked over and began shoving him. "Go away! Go away now or I'll do something I'll regret!"
At that, Usagi threw herself at her, wrapping her arms around and lacing her fingers at her back. "He'll go, Minako," she yelled, making sure she was heard. "He'll go. Please calm down!"
She couldn't see Mamoru, but she was sure he wasn't happy about it. Still, he said, "Yes, I'll go. All right? No harm done. Usagi?" She peered over her shoulder, still holding tight to Minako. "I'll see—"
"No!" Minako roared. Usagi winced. Mamoru hesitated for a second, but seeing her pleading eyes, he finally took off. Minako didn't calm down immediately, her teeth still bared as she breathed heavily through her nose, her body shaking uncontrollably. Without looking down, she said, "You can't see him again."
Usagi's first instinct was to immediately argue. To fight back the demands this stranger had no right to make. Instead, she forced herself to think her response through, her arms still around Minako, afraid she'd go after him. "Can you tell me why?"
"Nothing good can come from someone like him."
Making ridiculous demands was one thing. Insulting someone she—What? Did she love him? She wasn't quite sure yet. Well, insulting him when she didn't even know him cut straight to Usagi's heart, through her logical defences. "How can you say that? You don't know anything."
"I know more than you," Minako shot back.
"No! No, you don't," she exclaimed angrily. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought the position they were in didn't really portray the anger and betrayal she felt toward this stranger. But it seemed to be having an effect on Minako, and she didn't want to waste it. "You can't just force us apart for no reason!"
"You want a reason?" Minako shrugged her off easily, and pointed in the direction Mamoru had left. "It's because of him that we're like this!"
"What the hell is it you think that Mamoru did?"
"Not Mamoru!" Minako's mouth suddenly flapped soundlessly; the words, whatever they were, wouldn't come out. A secret that she nearly let out. Like Rei earlier. Tears dampened her. The fight went out of her as quickly as it came, and when she spoke, it was so soft Usagi had to strain to hear it. "Everything. Past. Present. Ruined."
Then she left without another word. And Usagi saw, as she passed, frighteningly glazed eyes, unseeing. In another world. Another terror.
By six o'clock that evening, everyone had seemed to calm down from whatever it was that made them leave Rei's shrine without notice that morning. In Rei's case though, it was more like she forced herself to push aside her angers with meditation and chores and shrine work up until it was time for the meeting. Then she set to making teas, making sure her grandfather stayed away, cursed at the ill-timed message from Kaidou saying he had something he wanted to tell her in person, studied the rest of her compatriots.
Out of everyone, Minako looked the least troubled. In fact, she was being very perky—too sickly so—and talkative that Rei knew she was actually one of the worse offs, keeping mostly to herself on the stool by the wall that her grandfather normally used to reach things. Then there was Makoto, outwardly and inwardly calm. Except maybe for the accusing glare she had on her face. Usagi was more difficult to interpret; she kept shifting back and forth between self-deprecating and resolving. And Ami.
Ami was worst. She came in dark pants and jacket, with the hood on and close to her face despite the heat. Her head always down, hiding behind glasses she usually only used when reading. She had gone straight for a corner that still put her in view of the others and facing the front, then pulled her legs in, arm hugging her middle. Walling herself up. Any attempts to communicate besides asking for information only she knew was met with silence.
"All right, so everyone's here," Minako chirped, starting the meeting. "Cats are here, despite being a pain and deciding to leave this all up to us. Let's get down to business." She stood in front of the couch Makoto and Usagi sat on, a space between them. Rei had decided having a good view of Ami was essential. "First, introductions. Mainly mine, since you all know each other and you'll soon know why I already know you." Rei could see Makoto putting the pieces together and her glare deepened. "Please hold judgements until later. I'm not a total snoop.
"So, here I'm Aino Minako. You know me as Princess Serenity, or by my alter ego, Sailor V. A year ago, about the same time the Dark Kingdom became active, Artemis found me, gave me a yada-yada lecture and access to my magic, and we've been fighting Youma ever since. That was, until you showed up, Usagi. As Sailor Moon." There was a little uncertainty in her voice. But no one other than Rei seemed to notice. "You turned out to be pretty good at fighting, so I thought I'd get a breather. Find out…which…of my Guardians you're supposed to be."
Not a bad cover-up, Rei thought.
"Then the rest of you showed up, and I got the basics. Name, age, school, family. Maybe a little stalking for personality info." She quickly dismissed Makoto's request to interrupt. "Okay, yes. I delved a little deeper than that too. It was only from there that I was convinced of your identity." She didn't explain what 'there; was. "So assurances done, with your successes in battle, I took the opportunity to investigate the Dark Kingdom." She paused and sat back down, gesturing in Rei's area, which included Ami. "Here's where I think it's best you relay what you know and I add the details. Ami?"
Ami made no effort to lead the meeting except to materialise her supercomputer and hand it over to Rei. When Rei fumbled with the controls, she set up the projector screen and slides for her. Silently. Head down.
Rei stood and pointed to the first slide: one of the early Youma. "So, we all know the Dark Kingdom employ these monsters they call Youma. Shapes, size and abilities vary. There's a sort of separation between the types of Youma." The slide changed to portray three different Youma. "You have the generic claws and fangs type; the one with physical attack powers; and the one with the more dangerous mental powers. Most of them don't need much to be defeated. But from what I can tell, there can be over a thousand of them." There was a sharp intake of breath from the two on the couch. Next was a slide with three images. "The child demon. This one they call Thetis and this one Hysminai. There may be a fourth one. From what I could tell, they're higher on the command chain than the Youma. Stronger. Feared even.
"Next, the Shitennou, who command the Youma: Jadeite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Kunzite. Maybe. The last one we got the name without a face," Rei admitted.
"No, Kunzite is right." Minako sounded strained when she confirmed the name.
"And we think they may once be human." Four images of young men appeared, three of them identical images of the respective Shitennou they were placed under. "Warren Ishikawa from Japan; missing since seven months ago. Michel Laurent from France, four months ago. Connor Mac…Mahon from the USA, ten months. And Hakim…" She decided the name was too difficult to pronounce. "From Taji…oh, god, why do I have to pronounce the difficult stuff…kistan, fourteen months."
Minako peered at the albino-white hair and pale skin, the tall, well-built form with a rather nice-looking face. "Yeah, with a little more built, he could be a good doppelganger."
"Doppelganger?"
"Like how we are to the original Guardians, except different." The slip of the tongue went unnoticed by the others.
"Good, now we have a face to look out for," Makoto said.
"Three dead and secured," Rei continued.
"The stones?" Minako asked. She nodded. "It would've been very helpful if I'd known that earlier."
"It would've been very helpful if you'd introduced yourself to us earlier," Makoto muttered.
"I told you—"
"Doesn't look like your solo escapade got you that much more intel than what we have," Makoto retorted.
"You only got that much because of Rei."
"Yeah." Makoto scoffed hatefully. "Because Rei was taken. And it's only luck that she wasn't tortured or killed."
"I had my hands busy with the Youma and watching you guys, okay?" Minako snapped. "I'm not all-powerful. I can't be everywhere. But you think I'd let her get taken if I knew she was there?"
Rei started. "You were there?"
"Of course! You need to train and earn the experience yourself, but I'm always watching in the big fights in case you can't handle it."
The room fell silent. Minako fuming and looking insulted. Makoto confused. Usagi, who had also been developing an accusing look at the exchange, looked sorry. Ami didn't look like this was news to her. Rei found herself reconsidering her opinions on the elusive Sailor V.
"Well, okay. Uh, and sorry." Makoto offered the same respectfully, and then Usagi got a little loose with the apology that Minako had to assure her several times that they were fine. The next image was of a woman in her early-thirties. Very tall with a head of flaming red hair, she had been smiling to the camera in joy with a baby in her arms. A poor choice of picture for their motivation, Rei thought. "I caught a glimpse of the female commander, and this woman that Ami found prior matched my description. Maria Wa…something from Russia, disappeared during a geological expedition in the North Pole nearly sixteen months ago. Minako?" Minako looked like she was in another world in her head. "Minako?"
She blinked, grinned painfully. "A redhead now, huh? Yeah, that's her. Beryl. She might have also taken to calling herself Queen."
"Queen Beryl?"
The pained expression deepened. She rubbed her temple, not replying. Rei decided not to push.
"So, last on the Dark Kingdom command chain, someone they call their master," she said, and returned the computer to Ami. "No visuals, no description. Only thing we know about him or her or it—"
"Her," Minako offered softly.
"Is that she might have once been inactive, a slumber they called it, and feeding her human energy wakes her, gives her strength. At this time, we know she's awake. How powerful she is, is unknown. Anything you can offer, Minako?"
"Evil," she whispered. "That thing is pure evil. The one who destroyed the Silver Millennium. Destroyed everything."
"You said Mamoru—" Usagi spoke up.
"He was the catalyst. Just as bad. But her... Metaria…" Her voice started to break. "She killed the original Guardians. No, worse. She ruined them."
"How do you mean…ruin?" Rei asked slowly, as if talking to a child. And the response she got was like that of a child's. Minako bit into her fist, shaking her head, refusing to answer. Fumes of dread, anger, disorientation spilled out, consumed, screamed to be saved. Froze Rei in place as she listened to the wails of the dead and the cries of the souls. The roar of fire and the destruction of stone.
By the time Rei was pulled back to reality, some time had passed. She wasn't sure how long, but when her eyes refocussed, there were two glasses of water in Makoto's hands and Usagi was by Minako's side, talking soothingly. Rei drank thirstily, one eye watching the strength returning to Minako, in her face, in her posture.
"We have to kill her this time," Minako began softly, her eyes rising to meet theirs. "Metaria has to be gone for good this time. Before she destroys everything again."
A/N: Sorry for the later update. I have a policy of keeping three chapters ahead so I have extra time to ensure consistency between chapters, and Chapter 24 was not something I'm good at writing. I'm only just satisfied with it, so I can update this; let's hope the 3-chapter period until it's time to upload it will fix any problems. Thanks for reading! Let me know how I'm doing?
Dani: I wasn't quite satisfied with that scene, but if even one reader was happy with it, I'm glad. Thank you! :) The question is irrelevant, actually. It was meant to be a little hint to Ami's somewhat possessive side—like how some people won't let others sit on their bed etc.—but the intended follow up never came in the few chapters after that, so I'm thinking I'll delete that someday (Unfortunately, the 3-chapter wait isn't perfect.). And yeah, I thought it'd be fun to include some references like that. :) About the ice key: In this story, I'm taking the view that their powers are elemental in nature, and not that they control the elements. Using Mars' fire as an example, Mar's magic is the force, the fire is the form it takes, and is the method by way it works. Like say, the magic is the one that destroys, the fire is the how it destroys, by burning. So it's not that she made a key out of ice, but that her magic forms a physical presence in the form of an ice key. And magic is just tougher than steel in the Sailor Moon universe :). I hope I explained that well enough.