A/N: Sorry for the delay between chapters! Work has been crazy with everything that's going on in the world right now, but I've finally had some time to get some writing done. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
Dislclaimer: As always, I don't own Sailor Moon or any of its characters.
Chapter 3: to protect you on your worst days
Screams and explosions still boomed from the next room over. The darkness of the hall added to the feeling of impending doom deep in the pit of Usagi's stomach. Had her friends survived? Were they fighting for their lives at this very moment? She shivered at the thought and pressed herself closer to Seiya's side. His arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her snug against him. Usagi felt safe and secure in his arms, but her mind kept wandering back to the moments just before when Mamoru's arms had been the ones holding her. She watched him for a moment as he turned his head to look behind his shoulder—his eyes were deep and determined. Usagi's breath caught in her throat for just a moment. Those eyes were so serious—she was sure she had seen this look before. Was it in Mamoru's eyes? She couldn't remember—a movie perhaps. Yes, surely it had been some foreign prince with that look in his eyes as he set out to war to fight for his princess. Romantic and tragic...a TV drama or—
"So what exactly happened?" Mamoru's voice suddenly broke through Usagi's thoughts. How long had she been day dreaming? Her brain felt slow and heavy as though it were moving through water to conjure up a single idea. Her eyes turned to Seiya who looked fierce as he spoke with Mamoru. His voice was low and urgent. Usagi could hardly focus on the words over the sounds of the screams and booms coming from the concert hall.
"I had just walked off stage for a costume change, when I realized I had left one of my props in the green room. Yaten and Taiki were still on stage, finishing up their little bits, but around the time I made it to the green room door, it sounded like an explosion came from the stage. I ran to the TV monitor in the green room to see what was happening, but the feed only ran for a few moments before fizzling out." Seiya swallowed before beginning his next sentence. "Like I said, what I saw wasn't human. It looked almost like a woman...but her skin was green and her hair was fiery red. She was screaming something about a crystal when the feed stopped.."
Mamoru scoffed, seemingly more to himself at his own disbelief, and rubbed his temples. Seiya's eyes darted down the darkened hall, the tension putting him on high alert. Usagi could feel her own heart pounding—she couldn't believe any of this. There weren't monsters in the real world—that was only on TV and in the movies—and what were the chances that she would be at the exact location that something so absurd was happening? She felt Seiya's warm hand squeeze her shoulder, a soft reminder that he was still here to protect her. Usagi leaned into him for a moment, taking in the smell of his cologne once more. His hand brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and she felt completely safe again.
"So what do we do?" Mamoru whispered, glancing down the hall behind his shoulder once more. "Tsukino said her friends are in there...and Yaten and Taiki, too." Usagi felt her stomach drop slightly as Mamoru reverted back to calling her Tsukino. She wished he was still calling her that name he had said before...Usako. Why had it sounded so perfect coming from his lips….
"I think we have to get in there," Seiya replied. "I tried the phone in the green room...it's dead. The outer doors are locked too somehow. We're going to have to wait this out until someone gets help." The news sent another shiver down Usagi's spine. She looked up to Seiya with fear, but he just smiled back. "I think I know how we can get into the main concert hall."
Seiya grabbed Usagi's hand and motioned for Mamoru to follow. He led them quickly through the shadows, as crashing and screams echoed through the hallway. As they passed a double door to the main hall, it rumbled, causing Usagi to scream and stop in her tracks. As she watched the door, shocked, a man's voice screamed for help while he banged on the inside of the door. Tears sprang to Usagi's eyes and Seiya pulled her back gently, whispering for her to keep going. Mamoru's dark eyes watched Usagi with a look that seemed to be pity. She turned away from him, clutching herself closer against Seiya's arm.
They made their way further down the hall until Seiya reached a door with bright red letters that read "authorized personnel only." He swiped a badge from his pocket against a keypad on the door, and it flickered green in the darkness. He pushed it open slowly and led Usagi and Mamoru into the dark of the backstage. Blue backstage lights seemed to float in the darkness, just barely illuminating the ground. Seiya pressed his finger against his lips, and led the group down a flight of stairs as the sounds from the frightening concert became muffled from above them. The stairs opened up to a room of a single blue light where Usagi could make out a ladder built into the wall. The rungs went up the wall into more darkness.
Seiya turned to face Mamoru and Usagi. "It leads to the stage's trapped door," he whispered, grabbing a rung with one hand. "It'll bring us up to the center stage, so we'll have to be quick and run off the side before it sees us." Suddenly Seiya grabbed Usagi up into his arms, pulling her tight against him. He placed a kiss on top of her head before leaning away to look at her. He brushed his fingers down the side of her face, causing a million butterflies to erupt inside her stomach again. "Usagi, I love you. I will do everything in my power to protect you," he whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on Usagi's trembling lips. She could feel the tears well up in the corners of her eyes again, even though she felt safe in Seiya's arms. What would she do if something were to happen to him?
When Seiya pulled away from their kiss, there was a coldness left in his place. There was a squeeze in Usagi's heart as she swallowed the rising lump of fear in her throat. She had to be strong for Seiya. She had to be strong for her friends. They were all counting on her to do her best.
"I'll go first," Seiya directed. He looked to Mamoru, "and you—"
"Mamoru Chiba." Mamoru nodded to Seiya.
"Mamoru, then," Seiya said, locking eyes with him, "follow behind Usagi. Protect her with your life." There was a pause as Seiya swallowed hard. "She's everything to me. I couldn't live if something happened to her." Usagi could've swore she heard a slight tremble in Seiya's voice, but he had hoisted himself up the ladder before she could look into his eyes. Her voice caught in her throat, and she turned toward Mamoru, whose gaze had fallen back onto her. The blue of the backstage lights streaked across his face in the shadows. There was something behind those eyes, wistfulness of sorts, but he blinked and it disappeared in an instant.
Mamoru took Usagi's hand, leading her to the ladder, her cold fingers trembling in his warm, sturdy hands. Was he not afraid? She couldn't tell in the darkness, his face shadowed by the eclipse his figure made in front of the light. "Don't worry, Usagi. We'll protect you," he whispered, as he placed his other hand against her back. Usagi nodded, and grasped onto the rungs of the ladder. Above her, Seiya had reached the top and pressed against the ceiling above him ever so slightly, cracking the trap door open and letting the light from the stage above trickle down into the darkness.
"She's in the audience," Seiya whispered. "If we run off stage we can hide. I don't think she'll see us." As Seiya opened the trap door, the screams of the audience rang through the air, unmuffled by the barrier of the floor. A high pitched voice was screaming something about "the crystal" followed by more bangs and screams. Usagi heard Seiya take a deep breath before stealthily climbing off the ladder. Usagi clambered out behind him, her heart beating a thousand beats a minute.
Her eyes were met by the blinding lights of the stage, and she struggled to make out the scene before her. Squinting in the lights, she looked out into the audience. To her horror, many people were laying completely still on the floor as others pressed themselves against the outer walls of the concert hall. Some people banged on the doors, screaming for help, while others cowered closed to the ground. In the middle of the floor, a woman as Seiya described with greenish skin and hair like fire, stood screaming. People ran towards her, attempting to attack her, but she would extend her hands, a red beam of light shooting from her palms and engulfing their bodies. The light would shine brightly around them before quickly dissipating, leaving their bodies to crumple to the floor.
Usagi's feet seemed to stop her in her tracks as she watched the scene unfold. Her ears felt like they had been stuffed with cotton and her vision spun. She took a wobbly step, peering out into the crowd and suddenly seeing four familiar faces—Minako, Rei, Makoto, and Ami. They had gathered together behind the monster, Makoto and Minako in a fighting stance as Rei seemed to be preparing an ofuda between her palms. Ami steadied Rei against the frightened crow. The flimsy strip of paper in Rei's hands went straight as a board between her palms, and she suddenly lunged forward toward the monster. The events seemed to happen slowly to Usagi as she watched Rei throw the paper ward at the monster. It landed on the woman's back, and she screeched—a cloud of dust billowing off the spot where the paper landed. The monster turned to face Rei and swiped at her, throwing her body into their three other friends behind her. Their bodies thudded to the ground, leaving them laying lifeless. Usagi's breath caught in her throat for just a moment before she let out a blood curdling scream.
Suddenly time came rushing back to normal, and Usagi clasped her hands over her mouth. Mamoru stood just an arm's length away to her left and Seiya off in the wings of the stage on her right. She could see the fear in each of their eyes. Her eyes darted back to the monster who's neon eyes were now staring directly at her.
"YOU!" The monster snarled and jumped high into the air. When she landed at the end of the stage, her arm outstretched toward Usagi. "You're the one!" Her head fell back as she cackled, revealing the sharp fang-like teeth in her mouth. "You're the one with the crystal!"
Usagi backed away slowly from the monster, more tears welling up in her eyes. "No! No, I'm not! I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a regular girl." As Usagi walked back, her toe caught on a loose electrical wire, causing her to trip. She landed hard on her backside and began to cry. "I'm too young to die!" She could hear Seiya and Mamoru shouting for her to get up as the monster raised her hand above her head.
"It's alright, darling, it won't hurt for very long," the monster laughed, fanning her fingers out from her palm.
Mamoru launched himself forward to try and throw himself in front of Usagi, but the monster shot a green ball of light at him, which sent him flying to the ground. Usagi screamed out, scrambling through her tears to try and scoot herself away from the monster, but her legs felt like jelly beneath her. She looked to Seiya in the wings who had also begun to run toward her, but the monster shot a different, yellow orb of light at him, which froze him in his tracks. Her eyes locked with his as he stared at her in fear.
"Now that those obstacles have been taken care of," the monster chuckled, licking her lips, "it looks like I'm free to do as I'd like." She walked nearer to Usagi, a large red light forming in her palms. Usagi's eyes stayed locked with Seiya's. The only comfort she had in this moment was knowing she could see him. Even though he was far from her, she could still live in this final moment knowing she had been truly loved. She mouthed the words to him from afar, "I love you." Even though he was frozen, his lips moved ever so slightly to mouth the reply back, "I...love...you...too." The sound of the energy forming in the monster's hand had begun to buzz louder than anything Usagi had ever heard. She could feel the heat from it radiating from the monster's palm. She closed her eyes tight for a moment, preparing for the end.
In the sound of the buzzing, Usagi thought she heard a voice whispering to her. It was hard to hear clearly, but it came in and out of the sound. "Usa...you ha.. wake up...you are sai...moon...the people need y...remember…" Before she could process the words, there was a sudden loud boom. Usagi's eyes flew open and her vision was greeted by the monster tied up in purple ribbon. The ribbons squeezed around the monster, causing her to scream even more, until suddenly her figure crumbled into a pile of tiny green and red jewels.
In the wings, Seiya's body was released from its frozen state, and he fell to the ground. The bodies strewn across the ground suddenly began to move and mumble. Usagi squinted into the darkened balcony above the ground floor of the theatre and could make out four figures in skirts.
"Who are you?!" Usagi screamed, scrambling to the front of the stage, trying to see the figures more clearly.
A strangely familiar, feminine voice called back, "Protectors from afar." Then, as quickly as they had appeared, they disappeared into the shadows, leaving Usagi staring into the darkness.
Seiya ran to Usagi, falling to his knees and wrapping her arms around her. "Usagi...I was so scared I was going to lose you." His voice held back his own tears, but Usagi could only stare into the dark balcony where the shadowy figures had been. Her mind raced as she struggled to make sense of everything. Why did the monster come after her? What was the crystal? Who was speaking to her before she nearly died? And why did this all seem so strangely familiar?
"Seiya, I'm fine," she whispered back to him, removing herself from his embrace. From the crowd her friends were racing up to the stage between the confused and disheveled audience members. Yaten and Taiki poked their heads out from behind the rear curtain on stage. Usagi sobbed, "Everyone is okay…."
Seiya reached for Usagi's hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. She looked into his blue eyes and then to Mamoru who still sat, staring at the couple with a sadness in his eyes. For a moment it was just Mamoru sitting on stage, but when Usagi blinked it was as if everything changed. There was rubble and fire and dust. A man in black armor sat where Mamoru had been, his dark eyes still in contact with hers, and blood...blood everywhere. Usagi took another shaky step toward Mamoru before her vision began to grey until the last thing she saw was Mamoru's concerned face.
A/N: Well, there it is! I have so much planned for this story in the future. I can't wait to share it all with you. I hope you're just as excited for what's to come! Let me know what you thought. Hopefully the next chapter will be out a bit sooner. :)