Celestial Warrior Moon:
Disclaimer:I do not own any Sailor Moon related properties. Sailor Moon is the property of Toei Animation and Naoko Takeuchi. This is a fan work created to celebrate the opus. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.
Ashen Author: Welcome back! Thank you for the reviews and for catching up so quickly. Your comments mean a lot to me, as always.
LoveInTheBattleField: I'm very sorry to hear that. Thank you for the poem.
SomeoftheFame: Well, next chapter won't be a particularly happy one, in any case.
FishWolf2215: Yeah, I know how painful cliffhangers can be, but I felt that was a good place to leave off. Thank you for your patience, guys.
Chapter 49
Grief and Aftermath; Rough Night
"Carefully! Hold him steady! Aida, get your footing more stable! We can't afford to move this guy's back around, we have to keep him level even on this terrain!" the head EMT barked at the men carrying Motoki.
The emergency techician then glanced back towards Mercury, and then the ruined landscape and the wrecked cannon chandelier.
"What on earth could have done this?" he wondered.
While the EMTs took Motoki away, Mercury continued to scan the area with her mini-computer and goggles She was trying to pinpoint the exact location of her friends. She was picking up readings all over the place, but only two were nearby. Then her cell rang. She took the device from her belt and looked down at the Caller ID. Haruka. She answered it.
"Hello?"
"Mer…cury…!" came Haruka's strained reply.
"Haruka?! Is that you?! What's wrong?!" Mercury looked around, starting to panic.
Haruka wheezed out the answer in short spouts of words between gasping breaths.
"Buried with Moon…just barely…holding up shield…running out of air…HURRY!" Then the line went dead.
Mercury's head whipped side to side looking all over the immediate area. If they were buried during the blast, then they were the nearby life signs she had detected over there! Her goggles zeroed in on the exact location of the two life readings entombed under a pile of rock and dirt about thirty yards southeast of her. Mercury then leapt into the air, over big chunks of the unsteady terrain, landing on the most stable spots she could. In the distance, there was a loud crashing noise in the direction Jupiter and Luna had chased Alkimia in.
"Better hurry," Mercury thought.
Moon stood in a wide, crouching stance over Haruka as she and the taller both held up their instruments of war against the multi-ton pile of rocks threatening to crush them. They sweated, grunted, and strained against it. Their efforts formed a protective bubble made of pure energy all around them, which they poured every ounce of magic into that they had. Alas, inch by inch, the bubble shrunk as their strength gave way, and the weight bore them lower and lower to the ground. Before long, they'd be crushed by the rocks.
"Is this…how we die?" Moon wondered as exhaustion began to take her.
Then, like a prayer had been answered, there was a roaring sound like water right above them and they could feel the rocks shift overhead. Almost immediately, there was a change in the weight over their heads. It was getting lighter. Through the piled on pieces of stone, they could actually hear it all being cleared away. With each rumbling wave of what had to be water, the rocks were cleared. And then, in about four or five more tries, a patch was cleared away and moonlight streamed in. Then the waters at Mercury's command formed a funnel around the remainder of the pile and swept them away.
Moon and Haruka dropped the shield and collapsed into a limp pile of limbs on the ground, gasping for fresh air as it began to enter and exit their lungs. Mercury looked the two over before saying anything. They seemed okay outside of a few bangs and sheer exhaustion. She hopped over to them and knelt next to them.
"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" she asked, worried.
It took a few more gasps before either of them could answer. In the meantime, the crashing noises that Mercury heard in the distance resumed. She bit her lip.
"Gotta get Moon up and going again. It sounds like whoever's fighting out there had their hands full," she thought fretfully. "Oh, if only I knew that spell Luna used when we fought Gargouille. The one where she used her own energy to give me a second wind…"
Mercury pressed the back of her thumb against her lips as she considered what to do about the spent Moon lying on the ground before her.
"We've never needed to use spells to give Moon our energy before, and I've hardly used any of mine. So, maybe, I…"
She reached and grabbed Moon's wrist.
"There she goes!" Luna shouted as Alkimia dove into a nearby ditch.
Without a thought of hesitation, they leapt over the side after her. They didn't know what she had in store for them, but they were confident that they could take it. As expected, when they charged over the side, they found Alkimia crouching with her hands pressed against the ground. And she was smiling deviously up at them.
"Got 'em!" she thought triumphantly.
Luna and Jupiter landed in low, loose defensive stances ready to either dodge or block any attack she had ready. Then with a flash, that loud crash Mercury had heard rang out. Dust and dirt were kicked up all over. Birds fled their nests into the skies above. Land bound animals also fled in all directions from the sudden violent upturning.
Down in that pit, Jupiter and Luna stared on in surprise and shock at what had happened. They had been expecting another straightforward alchemic assault of the elements, but not this. In hindsight, they could see all had started before they even touched bottom. One minute, they were bearing down on the Youma, and the next, their vision was assaulted with the sparking of her alchemy at work in the ground all them! This upheaval of the earth was followed by a tangle of wires all around. The metal threads lashed out at them and entangled them so quickly and fiercely. Jupiter had been protected from any harm by her armor, but she had heard Luna cry out and gag in pain as she was bound cruelly in them. Now they were on their knees wrapped thoroughly in the thin metal threads.
A pair of wires wrapped around their ankles and thighs, drawing them together so they were forced to sit on their knees. Their arms were drawn together behind their backs, wrapped up all the way from wrist to just under their shoulders, so any movements of their arms was impossible. Other wire wrappings were all over their torsos, and all were connected to the round, newly formed metal platforms they were forced to sit on.
Alkimia stood before them, glancing from one, to the other, making sure her handiwork was satisfactory. Jupiter just snarled at her and electricity started to spark from her armor. Even without her arms, she was confident she could get a good shot off and not have it come back to bite them this time. Next to her, she could hear Luna shudder causing the wires to creak and whine and she suddenly cried out. Jupiter looked to the woman next to her and snarled again. Alkimia had connected them via a single wire. If Jupiter used any of her lightning without discharging it directly from a singular point in her armor, Luna was going to feel the shock as well. And without the use of her limbs, focusing such an attack was impossible. She was also on a platform away from her other element, making an earth-based attack equally difficult to pull off.
Luna looked back at her with one eye strained shut in pain.
"Never mind me…just fry her…" Luna rasped.
"I wouldn't do that," Alkimia asked, pointing at Luna. "You already know that I can shoot your lightning right back at you, and guess where it'll go this time."
Jupiter looked at the Youma out of the corner of her eye, her face set into a deep frown all the while. Alkimia, without mincing anymore words performed more earth alchemy. This time, she drew a short sword from the ground. She stood and stepped over to Luna, who glared up at her. Alkimia held the blade where her neck met her shoulder, slowly drew it back, and then brought it down slowly to take aim. Then she raised the sword swiftly back and sliced down at the bound woman.
Luna wasted no time! She flashed pure white light as she transformed, but that did not stop Alkimia. She cut down at her without fail, but her sword sliced through air as the small black cat dropped to the ground right under the swing. Luna looked up, hissed, and lunged before her opponent had time to recover! Alkimia stumbled back, dropping the sword! Jupiter could hear her muffled screams behind Luna's body, which was latched onto her face. The moon cat howled angrily all the way as she clawed the Youma face and even bit into her scalp. Alkimia gripped her sides, screaming and frantically trying to pull her off her face! She stumbled around, jerking around in all directions in her attempts to pry the howling and hissing ball of fur off of her! Finally, she stumbled back onto the ground. Desperate, Alkimia clapped her hands again and grabbed for Luna! However, Luna let go and flipped backwards high into the air. In midflight, she returned to human form and landed on her feet in front of Jupiter. She stood as tall as she could, arms at her sides and fists clenched tightly.
"You…" Alkimia swore as she wiped blood off her face. Her face was covered in several nasty cat scratches.
Instead of using the alchemy she intended to rend Luna's flesh apart, she touched her face, and the wounds closed.
"Flesh alchemy," Luna said observantly. "Were you intending to stop at step two when that was aimed at me?"
"You know it!" Alkimia answered, murderously.
"Step two?" Jupiter asked, starting to struggle against her bonds again.
"Alchemy is done in three steps," Luna answered. "Step One: Identify the materials. Step Two: break them down. And Step Three: Reconstruct them another form that that material or element can take."
"Step Two…tear it apart…" Jupiter muttered, horrified.
The thought of Luna just exploding into a pile of fleshy goo made her sick to her stomach.
"Enough talk! Die!" Alkimia barked back curtly.
She clapped her hands again and lunged for Luna. Luna dove away, grabbing Alkimia's discarded short sword as she did! She knew if those hands so much as touched her, her body would rend her bones from her flesh! Alkimia was quick and was on her within a second! Luna reeled back, out of reach, and then dug her heels in before jumping right back in! She thrust outwards with the sword, forcing Alkimia to leap to the left, pushing off with her right leg. The blade just missed as Luna lunged past and Alkimia flew hands first to the earth. She used her forward momentum to heave her body up and did a brief handstand before she pivoted on her hands to face Luna again and brought her feet back down to earth to stand upright. By now, Luna had stopped, leaned towards her target, and pushed off with her own feet to lunge at Alkimia again!
Luna's movements were nimble and strong, but so were Alkimia's. As Luna sliced from right-to-left, Alkimia dodged backwards. Luna brought the sword up from the lower left across upwards the upper right, forcing her opponent to lean back, and then she brought it down again just as quickly! Alkimia dove out of the way, just missing getting sliced again! Luna then simply changed the direction of the downward cut in mid-attack to the side, chasing after Alkimia. The Youma winced as the blade nicked her back.
The Youma landed crouching like a frog, but used her momentum to slide her feet around so she faced the Keeper again! Luna lunged in low, thrusting the sword straight out again, but this time, Alkimia was ready, with another slap of the palms. She opened her arms as Luna's strike came within a foot of her, and then her palms smacked shut around the blade! It dissolved into powder on contact, leaving a very shocked Luna still being forced forward with nothing to fight with. Then, before she could get out of range, Alkimia's fist came up into her stomach. Luna wheezed as the air was knocked out of her and her lower body was forced up into the air from the blow. She was spun around in the air by it before landing ungracefully on her back!
She was dazed from both the rough landing and the lack of air in her lungs, briefly, but she soon forced herself to turn over and get, but her movements were slowed. Luna looked with somewhat unfocused eyes to the Youma, who sat stooped like a frog again with her hands on the ground, grinning evilly at her. Luna managed to suck in a quick breath and jumped back, anticipating either another attack or another attempt to entrap her! The soil burst open all around into gaping chasms trying to swallow her up! Luna could barely dodge or jump out of the way fast enough to avoid getting consumed by the hungry earth. She leapt once more, but as she did, something erupted from underneath and grabbed her. Luna let out a yelp that was cut short as she was squeezed by whatever it was and the air was again forced from her lungs. She groaned in agony. It felt like her chest was on fire and her body begged for air! She looked down as the dust settled. A great stone fist gripped her rightly. Motion in her upward peripheral caught her attention and she looked up. Alkimia was practically flew through the air right at her, and this time, she wielded a big, spiked mace raised over her head.
With barely any time or strength to react, Luna forced herself to transform again and clumsily hopped out of the fist's grip and then off the hand altogether. Alkimia's strike came down on it and broke off one of the fingers, which was sent flying. It hit Luna on the way down and she was sent tumbling roughly to the earth and landed on her side rather than her feet. She weakly climbed to her feet, but was kicked and sent sprawling several feet over the grass by Alkimia. With one agonized yowl she bounced on the ground a few times before coming to rest in the grass. Luna, in her cat form lied still as Alkimia's shadow fell over her.
"Luna! Get up! Run away! Oh, God, no! Luna!" Jupiter screamed. She again tried to fight against her restraints to no avail.
Alkimia stared down with cold, cruel eyes at the fallen form of her foe. Then without a single gloat, she hefted the spiked-ball flew back up over her head and brought it back! Time seemed to slow down for Jupiter. She watched helplessly as that brutal device bore down on Luna. Then it sped back up again as something impaled it and snatched it away! Alkimia cried out in and stumbled back, gripping her wrist as the weapon flew away and then was destroyed in a small explosion a short distance away. Its fragments and something else, big and glowing, flew everywhere. She stepped back, covered her face in her arms.
When Alkimia lowered them again, she heard the distinct sound of wires snapping. She spun around toward Jupiter! The formerly ensnared Warrior was now standing and moving her arms in circular motions to work the kinks out of the joints. In front of her was Warrior Moon, who faced Alkimia with her sword held out and ready. Over her eyes, she wore the goggles that the Warrior in Blue had before, and it was even connected to the mini-computer that was attached to her belt.
"Wha…? Why am I awake, and where did this energy from?" Moon had asked in astonishment at her sudden reinvigoration.
Then she looked behind and saw Mercury lying on her side next to her, weakly holding up her goggles and mini-computer. She looked positively drained, and Moon immediately knew why.
"Mercury?! You didn't…!"
Mercury looked back her with a small smile.
"Sorry, Moon, but it was the only way. You're the only one who knows the purifying technique. Here, take my goggles and the computer. When you were fighting Alkimia earlier, I had it running diagnostics on her the whole time. I just finished the calculations. I have it set to detect her every move automatically. You'll know exactly what attack or technique she's performing while you wear this. You won't have to push a single button. Now, go, and save Reika before it's too late."
Moon hesitated until Haruka's hand touched her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll look after her and give her a proper scolding for doing something so reckless. Now you get going," Haruka said.
"…Roger."
Alkimia shook off the remaining pain in her wrist while she continued to glower at Moon and her newly freed compatriot.
"You okay?" Moon asked Jupiter over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but…" Jupiter turned and glared over at Alkimia. "She hurt Luna."
Both Moon and Alkimia snapped to the side as their gazes went over to the fallen black form in the grass. She was still breathing, but was unconscious. Alkimia smirked, almost psychotically. Moon instinctively threw her sword and then threw it toward the Youma! It spun in the air and began to glow as the energy within became excited, but did not pack the punch of the moon blade boomerang. Alkimia rushed to the small form in the grass and raised one foot to stomp Luna to death! But before she could bring her foot down on her with deadly force, the blade came for her and she was forced to jump back! They pursued her and came closer and closer, until Alkimia reached out…and managed to grab the handle in the middle. She spun around on the ground with it but forced it to stop after a few rotations. Then she spun around once more on her own accord and threw it back to its master!
Moon landed between Alkimia and Luna, and caught the sword back in hand with ease. Alkimia shrugged.
"It was worth a shot," she said apathetically.
Jupiter trotted in behind Moon and knelt on the ground next to Luna. She reached down and gripped the unconscious feline gingerly.
"Jupiter, get her out of here, and then come back, quickly. I'll hold her off until then as best I can," Moon ordered.
"Yes, boss," Jupiter said, not looking up.
She carefully cradled Luna and then ran off, then jumped up the nearby slope of the ditch. This left Moon and Alkimia facing off, just the two of them. Alkimia narrowed eyes as the corners of her lips drew up into a malicious smirk while Moon stared at her with a determined look and a set frown. Moon held her sword out to the side. The blades became charged and buzzed dangerously with both its own and her power.
"Well, come on, then, old lady," Moon taunted. "You're not getting any younger, you know?"
One corner of Alkimia's lips pulled back in a furious snarl.
"What did you just call me?" Alkimia rasped, murderously.
Moon smirked.
"Is your hearing going, too, old woman? I called you an 'old lady'! Wanna hear it louder, ya old crone?! You're all wrinkles! Over the hill! Circling the drain…!"
Alkimia let out an animalistic shriek and ran at Moon.
"Easy now, easy now," Jupiter cooed as she lowered Luna with care.
She had prepared a soft patch of dirt and leaves for their handler to rest on while she recovered. When she had set Luna down, she took off her gloves and ran her hands over Luna's body. She felt no broken bones and her breathing was even, if a bit pained, but that was to be expected from her in her cat form when she took that kick to the side. Jupiter was reluctant to leave her, but the sounds of her leader and their enemy fighting spurned her on.
She stood up, pulling her gauntlets back on. She clenched her fists tightly as she turned from the sleeping cat.
"I'll be back soon," she promised.
"SOIL TRASMUTION INCOMING DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH. BE CAUTIOUS."
Moon hopped out of the way before the spikes jutted out of the ground and impaled her.
"MORE INCOMING. JUMP." Mercury's goggles warned her.
She leapt again as more came up underneath her and then kept jumping lightly on her feet to avoid Alkimia's attacks from below. Finally, on the fourth dodge, she got high enough that she had time to charge up her sword and throw spear-style at her enemy. Alkimia, still crouching, saw the attack coming and was forced to back up quickly to avoid getting gored. In any event, Moon was able to land soundly on the ground and stay there for a moment. She let out a sigh of relief at the momentary lapse in Alkimia's relentless barrage. When she'd taunted her earlier, she was hoping for her to do something stupid, and boy had she. The problem was, she was on the receiving end of the Youma wasting her energy.
Alkimia took a couple of quick breaths to get her wind back before standing back up. By now, her muscles were getting sore and she knew she'd have to end this soon. She glanced to the side as she heard Jupiter's approach. The tall Warrior came into view under the moonlight off to the side somewhere between her and Moon. Jupiter got into her fight, her armor already sparking a bit. Alkimia smirked. Was she really going to try that again?
"No lightning!" Moon called over to her.
Jupiter said nothing while giving Moon a sidelong glance, but just simply nodded. The sparking electricity stopped. Alkimia half-grinned at Jupiter.
"I better get rid of that one first. She's the one who can counter my earth transmutation," she thought.
Her feet slid outwards in a half circle to broader her stance, eyes going between the two Warriors. She waited for them to make the first move. She stood at twelve o'clock from them while they moved to about four and eight relative to her position. Moon and Jupiter exchanged a quick glance as if to confirm something, and they moved in. The ground and plants moved in with Jupiter, reaching toward Alkimia to ensnare her, while Moon's sword began to glow again. In response, Alkimia snapped her fingers, which made the two Warriors and their arsenal lunge in faster.
Only, instead of explosion of flames they were expecting, instead, two balls of pure static electricity formed in Alkimia's palms.
"ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE OF CYCLING ENERGY," the goggles read.
"Eh?" Moon whined.
It was altered into pure energy of a somewhat different kind as its color changed to a light red. She spun around on her heels, releasing the energy and building it up, and it exploded into a swirling funnel of pure energy! The force of it being unleashed blow Moon and Jupiter back as it grew taller until it was a regular swirling column of kinetic power! At the top, Alkimia twirled around with it, allowing the energy to pass through her body to keep control of the monstrousity she had constructed. There was no wind sucking things. In fact, if anything, the ejection of moving force was forcing objects away from it. The ground underneath began to dry under the heat.
The goggles scanned the formation quickly.
"A FUNNELING FORMATION OF SELF-SUSTAINING OF KINETIC ENERGY. THE NUMBER OF GIGAWATTS WORTH OF ENERGY IN USAGE IS BEYOND COUNT."
"Oh, great," Moon muttered sarcastically.
"THE SOIL DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH WILL HEAT UP AND IGNITE IF THE FUNNELING ENERGY IS ALLOWED TO REMAIN."
Moon gritted her teeth in frustration while Jupiter speechlessly sat up in the dirt as Alkimia's spin stopped, but the funnel underneath her kept up its kinetic discharges. Not far off, the girls became keenly aware of the sound of more sirens and some helicopters even over the buzzing of Alkimia's construction. They slowly rose to their feet, moving as one.
"You are ants to me all the way down there!" Alkimia shouted down at them.
"What do we do?" Jupiter asked, breathlessly.
"Uh…" Moon opened her mouth dumbly and then shut it again.
"RECOMMENDED ACTION: STILL CALCULATING."
Alkimia smirked down at them again.
"Well, in that case, I'll make the first move this time!" she shouted.
Two figures made of pure energy burst forth from the funnel and flew at such speeds that they weren't able to register it fast enough to defend themselves. The figures ran them through with their incorporeal bodies throwing them violently back into a pair of nearby trees. Moon and Jupiter yelped as bounced off the hard bark and fell down to the earth below. Jupiter was quick to recover and got her hands and feet planted on the ground, even if she was on her stomach. The energy creature that had hit her before came back around, but this time, Jupiter rolled out of the day. Moon, for her part, turned over and directed her sword up at her attacker. It collided with the sword and burst into a mist of energy.
Alkimia sneered and withdrew them before sending them back for another round. Jupiter say the next one coming much sooner and punched out, discharging her own energy. It disrupted the flow of energy beast that it dissolved as well and retreated to reform. The other had already put itself back together and attacked Moon, who simply jumped sideways out of the way. It came back around, but she just dropped down, allowing it to pass over her head. Alkimia groaned and recalled them back into the funnel. It was time for a new strategy.
"WARNING: INCOMING DISCHARGING ARCS OF ENERGY," the goggles read while showing the predicted paths they would take.
"Follow me!" Moon shouted to Jupiter.
This time, innumerable arcs of energy shot out in all directions, impacting with the earth. From there, the arcs raked across the surface boring into it and blasting deep ruts into it as they flailed about at random. Moon leapt over to Jupiter, grabbed her wrist, and then together, they jumped away. Several arcs came at them at once from the left. The duo slid to a shut, dug their heels in, and jumped right and over them and dropped down just in time to avoid being clothes-lined by a higher weaving stream. Then they turned and dashed into the trees. The energy discharges cut right through tall wood sending several falling onto the ground and into other trees.
Once inside, Moon and Jupiter made a beeline for where the latter had left Luna. With the trunks bearing down on them, Jupiter made a mad dive and grabbed up their handler and safely passed under an incoming tree right before it slammed down on she had set her down to begin with. She shot back up as Moon jumped in beside and they kept running. Jupiter held Luna delicately in her arms like one would an infant.
From there, they were forced to come to a complete stop as several trees slammed into the earth right in front of them. More descended down on them from right overhead. So they jumped onto the nearest fallen trees and kept leaping ever as the force of the new fallen made the others start rolling. Jupiter leapt frog-style from trunk to trunk as they rolled, slid, and fell over all while evading the sweeping energy arcs. Moon was using the momentum she could work up kicking off of them with one leg. Then she allowed herself to jump a little too high and cleared the canopy. Moon came up facing in the direction of Alkimia's pillar of light and saw that she was pursuing and that she had made a very grave error. One well-aimed bolt struck her dead in the chest and sent her flying back into the trees.
Jupiter gasped as she saw her leader fly violently back down.
"OH, NO! MOON" Jupiter shouted. She ran for all she as worth toward where she'd seen Moon fall.
"Huh. I'd say she's overdoing it, and that's coming from me," Entomon mused, as he paused his fight against Mask and Mars.
They all stared at the glowing force of nature Alkimia had whipped up as it tore through the park. Entomon was beginning to wonder if his presence was as necessary as Metalia had made it out to be. Mask and Mars exchanged a glance, and then tried to dash past the Youma. Entomon quick-stepped back into their way.
"Don't think I forgot you were there," he growled.
They both glared at him in return.
Haruka stopped and turned to look in the direction of what sounded like a train engine tearing through the park. She merely raised a brow upon spotting it. It was rather difficult to miss. She was out in the parking lot, carrying an unconscious Ami back to the car.
"That's not good. I hope they're okay in there," Haruka muttered.
Then she scowled as she damned her own helplessness under circumstances like these.
"Why? Why am I so weak?" she thought, despairingly.
"Moon! Moon!" Jupiter shouted in panic as she passed out into the open where her comrade had fallen.
She slid down a short bank and over to the crater her leader lied in, groaning. She was facedown, sprawled out, with her sword lying out of her reach.
"Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?" Jupiter begged.
She got down on one knee next to her friend and looked at her more closely. Everything seemed to be in alright, aside from bruises and some burns.
"Moon?!"
Moon began to stir and squeezed her eyes shut from pain and dizziness. Her limbs moved a bit. Looking over her movements, Jupiter was relieved to see she was okay.
"Our armor is a wonder," she commented.
Jupiter then noticed that they were both bathed under a red glow. She looked behind and saw Alkimia leering down on them from just beyond a line of trees.
"Found you," she said looking very vulturine to the Warrior right then.
Jupiter set Luna down and stood up. She stepped in between the Youma and her friends, protectively, making Alkimia snicker.
"Oh, how pwecious!" Alkimia cooed mockingly, but then turned more menacing. "The fool thinks she can protect them."
Jupiter mentally winced, but she didn't dare show it, else give her foe more confidence. She nervously bit the inside of her mouth. What was she going to do? Could she do anything against that much energy condensed all into one place at once? Jupiter narrowed her eyes slightly as she considered it while the energy storm in front of her crackled and prepared to attack again. She recalled earlier when Alkimia had filtered her lightning through her own body and out the other hand. It was almost like she was letting it flow, like water.
"Nothing for it," Jupiter thought, resolutely.
Behind her, Moon had managed to get up on her knees. She shook her head, trying to get rid of daze. Above, Alkimia raised her arms and in conjunction with this motion, several tendrils of energy went up with her. Flashing a triumphant smirk, she chopped her arms downwards, and the coils of energy followed.
Jupiter raised her right forearm up over herself protectively and released a small amount of electricity that took the shape of a shield over her. When the red energy collided with it, it surged into and into Jupiter. Jupiter clenched her teeth to hold back an agonized scream as the pain took hold, but she didn't lose concentration. She focused on letting it flow through her armor, and then drew back her other arm as if to punch. Then she rolled it off her shoulder towards Alkimia and all the energy that had gone into her shot out of that fist!
Alkimia cried out in shock as her storm had its own energy redirected back at it. It current punched into the side of the swirling column, making it bend and twist in several places. The arc going into Jupiter ceased as the storm started to falter. Jupiter dropped onto her hands and knees as soon as she was free to do. She coughed and gasped for air as her vision blurred as she felt her muscles grow heavy. She almost dry heaved, and then forced herself to look up at the storm before her.
Its surface had become less dense. After a few moments, Alkimia regained complete and it took its former shape. While this happened, Jupiter observed the Youma as her own vision cleared. She strained and focused, recalculating the alchemic necessities to hold it together. When the storm was stable, she was coated in sweat and almost went into the dry heaves as well.
"She's almost finished. Keeping up this storm must be putting a huge strain on her, but for her to use it to begin with means she's desperate. If we can disrupt her again, she'll be weak enough to revert, I'll bet," Jupiter thought, climbing to her feet.
Jupiter forced herself to stand firm, not willing to cave under the strain just yet. Motion in the corner of her eye showed that Moon had gotten up again, but she still clutched the side of her head and stumbled a little. Luna was beginning to stir, too.
"Welcome back," Jupiter said, partially turning her head toward them to make sure they heard.
Moon looked up at Alkimia looming over them with weary eyes.
"Jupiter…" she mumbled.
"Yeah, I know," the other answered.
Alkimia looked down on them, seething with rage. She drew one hand back, if as to backhand someone and a strand of energy emerged from the side, following her motion. Both girls stooped and loosened their stances to evade when necessary.
As Alkimia prepared the next attack, lights appeared over the horizon and shined right on her. The Youma looked toward the source and saw a pair of copters flying closer. One was a police chopper and the other was with a news station.
"Crap," Moon whispered, worriedly.
She waved her arms and began shouting frantically.
"NO! Get away from her!" she shouted toward, and then made a 'go away' motion with her arms.
Alkimia turned momentarily from the Warriors to the unwelcomed presence of the airborne crafts, hissing at the brightness in her eyes. Then, another chunk of the funneling energy burst out from it and took the shape of its master as it sailed towards the guests.
"Crap!" Moon and Jupiter shouted together and they ran in to do…something.
They dashed for the funnel only to be repelled by random energy lashing out of them, forming a sort of barrier. They blocked with their gauntlet-protected forearms and landed on their feet, digging in to stop themselves from sliding back too much.
"Oh, Kami, no!" the police chopper pilot shouted as she tried to steer away.
Alas, the energized visage of Alkimia went right up to the windshield and looked in, giving the officers inside reason to panic. Alkimia, seeing through the 'eyes' of the energy in her shape, got a closer look.
"What's this?" Alkimia's voice boomed loudly, as if over loudspeakers. "A strange flying contraption? I haven't seen anything like this since my trip to the moon."
The pilot started to steer it away. Alkimia, and thus, her copy, smirked. If she attacked the chopper now, she would force the hands of those two idiots down below before they could come up with a proper strategy.
"Don't run! The fun's just getting started!" she shouted at the pilot and passengers.
She started to raise an 'arm' to swing at them, but the Warriors were on her. Jupiter let out a determined shout as she leapt toward the tornado-like hunk of raw energy.
"Maybe I can interfere with my lightning again," she thought as she raised two sparking fists.
The automated discharge of energy to drive them back let loose on them again, and while Moon was sent back. Jupiter met it head on. The energy was not that different from her own lightning and she punched into it with both arms, creating a hole that she was able to pass through.
Above, Alkimia halted her assault of the police chopper and turned to look down just in time to see Jupiter dive right into the heart of her kinetic energy. The side of it exploded into an electrical-like discharge as she did. Inside, Jupiter released her lightning and let the red energy mingle with her own. She groaned and gritted her teeth in pain as her body was assaulted once more by the sheer might of energy cycle. She again let it pass through her armor to lessen the effect. She outstretched her limbs, cross eagle style as she tried to gain some measure of control. Above, Alkimia's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"So, you want to match wills with me, girly, then so be it!" she thought.
Outside of the swirling kinetic energy, Moon took a step back as she noticed the 'storm' becoming quite a bit more unstable. While it stood perfectly still as a pillar before, now it widened and was wobbling around as two wills fought for control. Inside, Alkimia and Jupiter both strained for dominance of the energy storm. Moon could faintly see the still form of Jupiter wrestling some command away from Alkimia, and knew that this was her only chance. She swung the sword around in an eight-figure a few times to loosen the joints in her right arm before getting down to business. Then she rotated her shoulder joint around in circles.
"I have one shot at this," Moon said, determined. "I better do this right."
She hefted the sword back, turning her body sideways with her left side facing the funnel. She took in a deep breath, and let it out.
"MOON…"
She threw her whole body into a spin.
"…BLADE…"
She neared the end of her second turn and was about to let go of the sword.
"…BOOMERANG!"
The spinning disc of a sword flew through the air towards the base of the storm, weaving its way back and forth through the trees before coming to meet where the storm met the ground. The base exploded as it cut into it. Alkimia cried out as the entire storm had a spasm caused by the interruption at the base. The sword made a sharp turn straight up and cut through its eye. It spun against the flow, further disrupting it in its already compromised state. It zipped past Jupiter, a mere inch away. Its interference caused the green clad Warrior to get thrown from the storm. Jupiter let out a brief scream as she flew back first towards the ground. She slammed into the dirt and bounded off, and then rolled head over foot for several yards before coming to rest in an unconscious heap.
In any blinking of the eye, Moon's sword was near the top, bearing up towards Alkimia, who fought to maintain her now precarious position. The sword zoomed past her, giving her a full blast of energy on the way and finally breaking her hold over the sword. The energy burst out as a wave in all directions as its core was popped and Alkimia was thrown violently through the air.
"Holy… Watch out!"
Both helicopters were hit with the wave and sent spinning away while their pilots struggled to regain control.
"Are you getting any of this?!" the reporter shouted the cameraman.
"Like hell! We're gonna crash!"
By now, both choppers moved out of sight into the distance.
Alkimia crashed violently onto the ground with a crunch. She opened her mouth to capacity to scream as her eyes rolled back into her head, but only silence streamed out. She had landed on her left side, hard, and she could tell from the pain her arm, some ribs, and left collarbone were all broken. She likely even had a head injury. Her throat made a low creaking sound as she exhaled, mouth still agape as wide as it would go. She twitched on the ground in torturous pain while working her right hand over to the other in a last ditch effect to fix herself.
A shadow fell over her and she looked up through red-tinted haze in her vision. Moon was standing over her with one blade pointed towards her and a canopy of energy surrounding her. The Warrior's aura touched her own, and Alkimia's eyes shut wide open as she realized what was about to happen. Her lips moved to speak "No", but no one heard.
Not far away, Luna was on her hands and knees in human form. She looked up and saw Moon standing over the fallen form of Alkimia. Her feline night vision allowed her to see more than that, though. She saw just how mangled the Youma was. She started to shout.
"N…-!"
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" Luna's protest was drowned out almost before it could begin.
Pain compounded onto pain in the Youma as the flood that allowed for Alkimia's dominance were forced back and she was once again locked behind the dam. When the light faded, Reika had returned to her place in reality. Moon started to smile happily, but then Reika's body lurched up and she let out a garbled scream. Moon reeled back in fright and shock.
"Reika…?! Reika, what's wrong?"
Reika's body began to jerk around uncontrollably and her mouth gnashed opened and shut violently while wild eyes rolled all around.
"Move!" Luna panted as she clumsily jogged past.
She threw her weight onto the less injured side of the young woman, preventing her from thrashing around too much. Luna's head jerked around towards Moon.
"Help me! She's having a seizure!"
Moon stepped in and helped hold Reika down while Luna let go with one hand and tore off a section of her own shirt at the stomach. She quickly balled it and then stuffed it into Reika's mouth before she bit her own tongue off.
By now, the sirens were getting closer. Moon and Luna looked in the general direction of the faint flashing lights over the horizon and hoped help would come in time.
Mask stumbled back and leaned himself against the trunk of a tree, sweating and gasping. His sword fell from his hand as he sunk to the ground. Not far away, Mars was on her back, crawling backwards as Entomon stalked towards her, mouth watering. Then he stopped, suddenly. Then he spun around, facing his back to Mars, who took the opportunity to turn over and scurry away.
"No…" he rasped, barely audible. "Not again…"
His pinchers suddenly snapped shut in the manner a human might clench their fists in anger as his entire body went rigid. Then he turned to face the Warrior and accomplice again.
"Alkimia has been defeated, and that means…" he growled and took a step forward.
But then he stopped again and looked away, towards the North. It was as if he was listening to someone talk to him. He grunted gruffly and turned towards Mars again, and then turned his head briskly back towards the North as if being called again. He looked from them, back to the North, and then at them again. The look in his eyes said that they were getting off lucky. Entomon sighed exasperatedly and stepped back. His body disappeared as he teleported away.
Mars and Mask slumped down, letting out long sighs of relief. Then they looked at each other.
"We should go," Mars said breathlessly.
Mask nodded and then looked in the general direction that Motoki had been left in, looking very worried.
"I could have killed those two, you know?" Entomon scolded Beryl.
The Queen of the Dark Kingdom regarded the Great Youma coolly.
"There was no point. Even with the help of a second Great Youma, the Warriors prevailed, but at a heavy price. The old man has fallen very ill and the woman Alkimia was stored in as severely injured," Beryl replied.
Then she smiled cruelly.
"For thwarting us twice in the same night, I think I'll let them stew in their own juices over their 'victories', if you can really call what they've achieved that," she said.
10:17PM, Tokyo Medical Center
"Coming through!"
People stepped aside when the doors to the ER were swung open by a nurse's aide. A stretcher was wheeled through the doorway and into the hall by six people, five nurses and a doctor at slow running speed pushing it along its sides and keeping it steady. The doctor was a slim little man with thick glasses. He was bald with a grayed beard and stomach. The patient was hooked up to an I.V. unit and a few other machines for taking readings of his vitals, as well as a breathing apparatus.
"Patient's name," the doctor requested.
"It's Furuhata, Dr. Nakada. Motoki Furuhata," answered one of the nurses. She was a heavy set woman with thick curly hair. "His middle lumbar vertebra was broken in some kind of fight. The EMTs said it was completely pulverized."
Dr. Nakada let out a long, tired breath and then gave a single shake of his head. He grabbed up Motoki's chart from one of the nurses and skimmed it for the major details. One look at it and then a glance down at the patient himself told the doctor what he needed to know.
"He's lost a lot of blood and his body went into deep shock. If we don't operate right away, he's not going to make it. We're going to have to move that open heart surgery appointment back a little. Hisane, reschedule the Hino appointment for 11:30 instead of 10:30. Then call Dr. Ichikawa back in to take care of the Shinozaki tumor extraction. I don't think I'll be making that appointment at this rate," Nakada ordered.
"Yes, Doctor," the nurse answered as she hurried off.
Nakada turned to one of the other nurses.
"Fuyutsuki, get a hold of the patient's family and make sure that they're informed right away," the doctor then ordered.
"They're already on their way, sir. They called us, actually. Apparently a friend of the patient informed them before even we could."
"Okay, good," Dr. Nakada nodded.
He looked at the others.
"Listen up people, operating room 7 is empty. Let's get this show on the road!" Dr. Nakada said.
They turned the final corner into the hallway they needed and carted Motoki down swiftly
10:41PM, Tokyo Medical Center
The ambulance turned into the parking lot and pulled around to the ER entrance at the side of the building. It stopped by the automated sliding doors and immediately the back doors flew open. The EMTs brought out the stretcher and wheeled it inside. The patient it bore was a young woman with long brown hair, was bandaged up heavily in several places, including her head. She had her arm in a sling.
They were greeted by a male nurse who briskly walked up to them. He accepted the patient's chart from them and then led them down a hallway where the preliminary care could begin.
"Nishimura, Reika," the nurse read the name aloud.
In the waiting room, Chad fidgeted uncomfortably in the seat he had taken. He ignored the various magazines and the ceiling-mounted television. He couldn't focus on any distractions while so worried about Rei and the others going off to fight that other monster. However, he did glance up at the TV, anyway, in case the news had any other updates on the situation in the park, but no avail. The rampage had stopped, but the Warriors had disappeared right after, so he had no idea where Miss Rei or the others were. Right now, it was mostly just the anchors going over the damage done in Nakashima Park at this point.
"…and with the massive damage to the park's wooded area, there are at least two injured, a couple that were probably going on a night walk there," the female anchor said.
Pictures of Motoki and Reika appeared on the screen next to her.
"The two victims of the incident have been identified as Motoki Furuhata and Reika Nishimura, two local students attending Azabu Technical College. The two are listed as being in critical condition and being treated at Tokyo Medical Center. They each sustained severe injuries during the monster attack. Furuhata is currently being treated for a broken spinal cord while Nishimura is just as worse for wear with a broken arm, several fractured ribs, a broken collar bone, and a concussion," she went on.
"Motoki Furuhata…why do I know that name?" Chad tried to recall.
He was distracted from his train of thoughts when the automatic doors opened. His head jerked around to see who was coming, and then he slumped back into the hunched over position he had been in.
"Oh, it's just that guy Makoto's dating," Chad said with disappointment as he turned back around.
He didn't even look up when Mamoru hurried past, his mind still too preoccupied with the girls. Mamoru came to a stop, leaning over the front desk with his hands resting on it. A middle aged nurse came out from the back and greeted him with a friendly smile.
"Hello, sir, how can I help you?" she asked politely.
Mamoru shuddered slightly as he hiccupped slightly and then swallowed hard.
"Sir… is everything alright?" she asked, becoming a little concerned for stressed young man.
"Yeah," Mamoru replied breathlessly.
He shook it off and looked back at her.
"Hello," he said breathlessly. "I'm here to check on a couple of friends, they were just brought in a little while ago. Th-their names are Motoki Furuhata and Reika Nishimura. They're the ones that were hurt at Nakashima Park."
"Give me a sec, sir, and I'll check," the nurse replied.
She sat down in the front of the computer and started going through the files. She glanced up from the screen to Mamoru.
"You said Furuhata and Nishimura?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered, weakly
She looked back at the screen, pulling up the necessary files.
"Mamoru?" a voice called softly behind him.
Mamoru turned toward the source of the voice, still leaning on the front desk. He froze in front when he saw who it was. Motoki's parents had just come up behind him. They wore matching grief stricken looks of anxiety, which Mamoru had to turn away from.
Kozo Furuhata, a middle aged man from whom Motoki had inherited his build and facial structure from, but none of the coloring, currently had his arm around his wife. He had black hair that was a little gray around the edges, and his dark eyes looked at Mamoru with concern. Misao Furuhata was a short, stocky woman from whom Motoki had gotten his blonde hair and blue eyes. Kozo wore a dark red sweater and jeans while his wife was a light green T-shirt and a dark brown skirt that halfway down her shins.
"I'm trying to find out… about Motoki right now," Mamoru said softly.
"Excuse me," the nurse said, standing up to look at the Furuhatas. "You are the parents of the patient, Motoki Furuhata?"
"Yes," Kozo and Misao answered.
"There's no new information on your son save for what we already know. Dr. Nakada is treating him right now. We'll know what his condition is as soon as surgery is finished," she said.
"Wh-when can we see him?" Misao asked.
The nurse shrugged and shook her head.
"I honestly have no idea. We'll just have to wait and see, but we'll let you know the instant anything's changed," she promised.
Kozo seemed to stare off into space for a moment, and then feebly nodded his head.
"Alright… Thank you," he replied, at an audible level that could barely be said to be over a whisper.
The couple slowly turned and started to turn away to go sit down somewhere in the waiting room, but stopped when Misao looked toward Mamoru.
"Mamoru, you should sit down, too. There's no more you can do right now," she said.
Mamoru nodded slightly and followed them over to the few vacant seats. This entire thing felt unreal to him and he felt like he was watching from outside of himself while his body just did as it was a told. He sat a few seats away from the Furuhatas, since there was no spot with three empty seats in a row. He flopped down sat on the edge of his seat and leaned back with his arms limply hanging at his sides. The Furuhatas, a little ways away, leaned on each other for comfort as they waited with whatever patience they could muster for news of their son.
10:51PM
The automatic doors of the ER waiting room slid open and four teen girls stepped inside. They were all a little bruised, banged around, and tired, but overall in good condition. The black headed girl in miko attire walked over to the young scruffy young man dressed in priestly wear.
"Chad?" Rei asked.
Chad look up dumbly and gasped.
"Oh, Miss Rei," he said, barely containing himself from jumping for joy right there in the middle of the waiting room.
He stood as the others walked over to them.
"How is Grandpa?" Rei asked, in a subdued voice, but her eyes betrayed her worry.
Chad exhaled briskly.
"He's alright… for now," Chad answered. "But to avoid a heart attack, they're going to have to perform open heart surgery. He's resting in one of the ones in the back."
Rei paled and her looked away into space as that sunk in, the shock visible on her face. Ami put a comforting hand on her shoulder while Usagi and Makoto exchanged a distressed look.
"How long…" Rei managed to utter.
Chad shrugged.
"He was due at 10:30, but then some other patients came in. They were in really bad shape, so Master's operation has been pushed back by an hour. I think I even heard one of the nurses muttering about needing extra help," Chad explained, uncertainly.
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head while he spoke, and looked around not wanting to meet Rei's gaze. Rei, for her part, could not have been more deflated of her usual bravado and hung her head. She wasn't about to cry in front of everyone, but she wanted to just forgo dignity to do it. She didn't, of course.
Makoto cautiously stepped in beside her and looked at her sadly. Then she looked away again.
"I know how it feels… You have every right to worry, but… I don't think Grandpa Hibiki would want that right now," she said.
She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes, damning herself for not having anything better to say. Makoto stepped away, feeling terrible for not being able to think of anything meaningful to say under these circumstances.
"Damn it, I feel so useless," she thought, bitterly. "I don't know what to do that can do any good right now. Offer some optimism that might not pan out? It sucks when someone you love is hurt or dying, and the hurt never goes away if the worst happens. It just buried and waits for the chance to get unearthed again."
Her eyes happened to stop on Mamoru, sitting leaned forward in a nearby seat with his head low and his hairs entwined in his hair tightly clutching his head.
"That's right… Motoki's his best friend," she thought miserably.
Chad to the side and downward.
"You girls should be going," he said.
"Huh?" Rei, Usagi, and Ami looked at him, not sure what he meant.
"Today's a school night and finals are coming up. That might not mean much to you right now, but it'll mean a lot to Master. I… When he wakes and if you flunked out over this, he'll be so sad," Chad explained.
Rei's jaw tightened and she was about to argue, but a hand gripping her arm interrupted her stubborn streak before it could fully take control again. She looked behind her at Ami.
"Chad's right. It won't do any good to sit around worrying when you can't do anything for him. We should all be going home," she said.
"But… If I don't stay, there'll be no one waiting for him out here. Dad isn't going to interrupt his important wok to come check on his own father," Rei answered, resentment creeping into her voice at the mention of her father.
"I'll be here," Chad offered. "I'll be here all night if I have to be, and I'll call you as soon as I know anything. You can come right back if you need to."
Rei turned back to him, still looking doubtful. It was apparent by now that they could try to argument with her all night, but on Rei's list of current priorities, school had been bumped down quite a bit. Usagi decided then, that it was time to intercede. She stepped up and got in front of Rei. She breathed in and out sharply a few times as she worked up the moxy to sound convincing.
"They're both right, Rei. It's been a long night for everyone and we don't do anyone any good if we're dead on our feet like this. The Dark Kingdom won't wait for us to get our beauty sleep. If there's another attack tomorrow and we spent the whole night up here, we'd have no more strength to fight with. I'm sorry, Rei, but we have even more to worry about than your Grandfather. Even if you're too worried to really get any sleep, you can at least rest up in the comfort of your own bed," she said.
Usagi bit her lip. If anything was going to get through to Rei, it was bring up her duty as a Warrior.
Rei stood there, staring at her, torn between sound logic and her fear for her grandfather. What if the surgery failed and he died and she wasn't here? But, what if there was another attack tomorrow. Rei 's features tightened as she tried to think. In the end, the only answers she came to were that the others were right. Eventually she bowed her head slightly and nodded.
"Alright, let's go," Usagi said.
She lightly grabbed Rei by the arm and turned her to walk out. Ami followed them, but slowed to look for Makoto.
"Ah! There!" she thought.
Makoto was standing next to Mamoru. They each had a styrofoam cut of water now and she was saying something to him, and he nodded in response.
"Makoto," Ami called.
Makoto up at them. She saw that they were leaving.
"I'll be by in a while," she replied.
"Okay," Ami conceded.
Somberly, the others, all knowing one thing was for certain. It was going to be a long, rough night even with both of the Youma out of the way.
12:51AM, Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Mathias bolted up in bed when the phone in his hotel room rang, rousing him. His arm reached around randomly trying to locate the source of the offending noise before finally locating it on the fourth ring. He put it to his ear.
"He…hello?" he asked groggily.
"Mathias, this is Défago," a man's voice on the other end said.
Mathias froze. His missing would be partner? But how?
"Wha…?"
"Meet me at the Hundseck Hotel. It's on the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse just before it turns North. There's something you need to see. Don't ask any questions. Be there by a quarter after 3 in the afternoon tomorrow."
Click.
"Hey, wait!" Mathias cried, but it was too late. The only thing he heard on the other end was the buzzing of an inactive phone line.
He stared at the phone dumbly, utterly dumbfounded and on the back of his feet, so to speak. What was going on?
A/N: Next Chapter: Chapter 50: Difficulties and Decisions; Hardship
Oh, God, for the scene where Alkimia had Jupiter and Luna bound in wire and at her mercy, I actually had to look up bondage techniques. Never again… Never again… Now pass the brain bleach!
There is a reason all three of the people injured in the Youma fights were taken to Tokyo Medical Center. It's one of the biggest hospitals in that city, so it seemed like a likely point of convergence.
