Chapter 20 - What's Wrong with Usagi?
Usagi's eyes widened at what she had just done.
"What have I done?" Usagi whispered to herself.
"She just killed him! Get her!!" One of the other men shouted. Usagi heard guns going off all around her but never felt one hit her. She looked up to see all the men staring in horror at her. She was floating several feet off the ground and had a strange white shield surrounding her body. She was wearing a long white dress with shells on the shoulders. Her long blond hair turned snow white and her odangos were now heart-shaped. White wings appeared on her back and the barrettes appeared in her hair. The last thing to appear, was the yellow crescent moon on her forehead.
"I just killed someone.." She whispered. "I'm just as evil as them.." She said referring to the men that had tried to kill her as well as the Gundam pilots and OZ soldiers.
"Usagi!!" She heard a familiar voice shouting her name as she floated above the men. She stared at the gun in her hand, unable to break away from the gleam of the cool metal. She could faintly hear the men around her gasp and try to scurry away, tails between their legs. "Usagi!" The voice called again. Duo rushed forward, seeing a man on the ground, laying in a pool of blood. There was a hole in his head where the bullet had met and he was obviously dead.
"What have I done?" Usagi whispered, still staring at the weapon in her hand. "I'm going to hell for this.." Usagi felt someone touch her waist, pulling her to the ground.
"Usagi," Duo whispered, pulling her close to him. "It's all right." Tears began to overflow as Usagi leaned against his shoulder.
"I killed him!" Usagi cried, dropping the gun to the ground. "I've killed someone!" She shouted, pulling away from Duo. "I'm just as evil as you are!!"
"Usagi! You were protecting yourself! If you hadn't done that, you'd be dead now! I don't think I could live without you!" Duo shouted. Usagi began to calm down, looking into Duo's blue eyes.
"I.. I'm sorry.." Usagi said, kneeling down. She picked up the gun, holding it loosely and quickly changed back into normal Usagi. She put the gun in the back of her skirt, pulling her shirt down to cover it. "We'd better get out of here." Usagi said, hearing the sirens as they grew nearer. She took down her hair from the buns on her head, letting it hang down her back in case the gun was visible. Usagi took Duo's hand, acting as if nothing had happened.
****
"What are you trying to prove?" Rileena asked, tugging at the cuffs on her wrists.
"We're not trying to prove anything. We're just trying to start a war." Came a deep voice.
"The last war was fought last year and there will never again be another war. Earth has no military position nor do the colonies. That is one thing that was agreed on when we achieved peace between the colonies and Earth," Rileena said firmly. "There will be no war."
"You are so naïve Miss Rileena," The deep voice said. "Do you really believe that?"
"Why would I believe otherwise, it is the truth of the matter." Rileena said firmly stating her position.
"There will be a war, Miss Rileena. If not, then the new OZ will just take over without a fight. It's as simple as that. You'd better contact all the world leaders and tell them to just surrender right now, they will not be able to challenge us with no military power." The man said, chuckling to himself.
****
"Where are we going now?" ChibiUsa asked, holding Duo's hand as they walked through the festival. Usagi had been unusually quiet that day and it was starting to worry Duo a lot.
"I don't know, you wanna go on some rides?" Duo asked, looking down at the pink haired girl.
"Yay, I love rides!!" ChibiUsa cried, running towards the roller coaster.
"You comin Usagi?" Duo asked, looking over his shoulder at the blond girl. Her eyes were sad and she was acting very strange, even for Usagi.
"That's okay, I'll wait right here." Usagi said, sitting down on a bench near the exit of the roller coaster.
"You sure?" Duo asked, looking into her cerulean blue eyes.
"I'll be fine." She said, forcing a smile on her face. He could tell that the smile was fake, but ChibiUsa seemed to be satisfied with it.
"Let's go!!" She cried, pulling Duo towards the ride.
****
"What's wrong with Usagi?" ChibiUsa asked as the safety harness fastened around their shoulders.
"I don't know. ChibiUsa.." Duo said. "Tell me a little about the future."
"Puu told me not to say anything about the future. It could mess it up and it will never happen." ChibiUsa said, holding onto the bar as the train started to move.
"Oh come on," Duo said, sounding as if he didn't really care. "Just one thing, please?"
"All right, what do you want to know? I'm only going to answer one question though." ChibiUsa said.
"Okay, what's Usagi like in the future?" Duo asked.
"Hey, that's no fair. I can't answer that without telling you more than one thing." ChibiUsa cried, feeling cheated.
"You said you'd answer one question so answer it already." Duo said, coaxing the pink haired girl into talking.
"Fine, I'll tell you a few things about my Mommy," ChibiUsa said. "She's the Queen of the Moon and protects the Universe from any evil that might attack. She always has white wings and wears a white dress. Instead of a moon on her forehead, though, she has a star with nine points. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's that because she's a lot more powerful than Neo-Queen Serenity would have been. She's very beautiful and my Daddy loves her very much. He's given his life to save her a few times. Mommy always manages to bring him back, it takes a lot out of her so I'm not sure how much more she can take."
"But, what is she like? Is she quiet? Is she kind of withdrawn?" Duo asked, looking over the top of the hill. This roller coaster was one of the highest in the world and it had taken them forever to get to the top.
"She looks sad most of the time. Her eyes are sad, like she had a great loss early on and never really recovered from it," ChibiUsa said. Duo pictured Usagi. The way she had looked after she killed that man. The sadness that came to her eyes when she realized what she had done, and now, the way she was acting. She hadn't talked like normal and she had barely eaten her breakfast. "Here we go!!" ChibiUsa cried as they started to go down the first hill. 'Usagi, come back' Duo thought as they sped down the track.
Chapter 21 - A Decision
"Usagi, what's wrong?" Duo asked, sitting down next to the silent Usagi on the couch. ChibiUsa had just gone to bed and Usagi had been sitting in the same place since they'd returned from the amusement park.
"Huh?" Usagi said, seeing Duo beside her. "Oh, nothing." She said, falling right back into her silent stare.
"ChibiUsa told me about the future. You're not going to let this thing haunt you the rest of your life, are you?" Duo asked, taking her frail hand.
"I'm not upset over that. It's just that.." Usagi stopped.
"It's just what?" Duo asked gently caressing her hand.
"This whole thing. ChibiUsa being here, my Senshi trying to kill me, then this happened," Usagi said. "I've never killed anyone in such cold blood. There's something missing now.."
****
"Are we almost there?" Quatre asked, looking out the window of the plane. They'd been traveling from place to place for the last few days, heading for America. They knew that would be where he'd go.
"Eight more hours." Heero said, estimating the time it would take.
"We have got to hurry," Quatre said quietly. "We need Duo's help."
****
"Usagi!!" Duo heard a voice shout. "Get out of here!!" The screeching voice of a young girl rang out.
"I was here first brat!!" Usagi's voice came in reply.
"I take it she's back to normal." Duo mumbled, a sweatdrop appearing on his forehead.
"Hey!! Give that back Usagi!!" The little girl shouted.
"No!! I'm using it!!" Usagi shouted.
"This is going to be a long day." Duo mumbled, listening to the two girls bickering.
*Knock knock* (door)
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Duo said as the knocking grew more insistent. He opened the door to see four young men. "Hey, guys. When did you get here?" He let his four friends come in and walked into the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee.
"Owe, don't pull my hair!!" ChibiUsa's voice shouted.
"Then get out of my way!!" Usagi's voice replied.
"Did we interrupt something?" Quatre asked, hearing the bickering that was going on in the other room.
"Not a thing," Duo said. "Usagi! ChibiUsa! Come out here!" He shouted, trying to be heard over their voices.
"What is it Duo?" Usagi asked, walking into the room wearing a pink tank top and short white skirt.
"What's it, Daddy?" ChibiUsa asked, stepping up next to Usagi. Usagi glared down at the little pink haired girl.
"Did we miss something?" Trowa asked, referring to the fact the little girl had called him 'Daddy'. The four teenagers all had a sweatdrop on their forehead.
"Not much. This is ChibiUsa, my future daughter," Duo said, a sweatdrop appearing on his head. He scratched his head, red forming on his cheeks. They glanced over at Usagi and saw that she was blushing too. "She came to help Usagi."
"She doesn't look a thing like you," Quatre said, looking at the young girl with ruby red eyes. "She does look like Usagi, though." Duo's blush deepened to deeper red that wasn't even humanly possible.
"We don't have time for this!" Heero broke in. "We have to save Rileena!"
"Where is she?" Duo asked.
"Is she on Earth?" Usagi asked, concern crossing her face.
"We think so, we're just not sure where." Quatre said.
"I'm not sure how much help I'll be," Usagi said. "I have to worry about Mamoru and the Sailor Senshi. I will help as much as I can, though."
"Usagi.." A voice whispered. Usagi recognized it immediately.
"Pluto?" She said, looking around the room. When she turned around, a woman walked down the hallway towards her and bowed at her feet.
"Princess, please allow us to protect you." Uranus said, stepping out from behind Pluto.
"I will be fine." Usagi lied, knowing that the Senshi were as strong as she was.
"The Inner Senshi have grown more powerful than ourselves. We were attacked yesterday by them and almost didn't make it out alive." Neptune said, appearing next to Uranus.
"Hey, how'd they get in here?" Duo asked, confusion on his face.
"ChibiUsa!" Saturn said, appearing next to the rest of the Outers.
"Hotaru!" ChibiUsa cried, running to the girl that was a few years older than her. The little girl with pink hair ran over to the dark haired girl that had appeared, her ruby red eyes sparkling with glee.
"I'm lost," Duo said, seeing ChibiUsa run to the dark haired girl. "How does she know that girl?"
"It's a long story." Sailor Pluto said, approaching the young man. Sailor Uranus stepped protectively in front of Usagi.
"We'll be taking over from here." Sailor Uranus said, taking Usagi's hand.
"Uranus, I'll be fine." Usagi said, smiling at the tall woman.
"I'm not going to take any chances, Koneko, we're going to protect you from now on." Uranus said.
"I don't need any protection. I'll be fine, Uranus," Usagi said, pulling her hand away. She stepped in front of Uranus, walking towards Duo. "Duo has been doing fine. He'll protect me, don't worry so much."
"Princess, the Inner Senshi are more powerful than we are now, we can't take the chance of them attacking you. You have a future here now, you cannot destroy this one as well." Neptune said.
"Duo, are you going to help us or not?" Heero asked, his cold voice breaking into the conversation.
"I uhh.." Duo trailed off.
Chapter 22 - The Final Battle Begins
"Well?" Heero said, stepping beside the American pilot.
"I will help save Rileena," Usagi said, looking at the young man. "She offered me a place to stay before she knew who I really was so I'm going to help."
"You can't Princess!" Uranus said firmly. "You have a responsibility as the Princess and we can't let you get hurt or killed!"
"I'm tired of being the Princess!! I came here to get away from it but the curse followed me here!! I just want to be a normal teenage girl!!!" Usagi shouted. Uranus took a step towards Usagi, but Sailor Pluto's hand clamped down on her shoulder.
"It's all right Uranus. She will be fine." Pluto said.
"We want to go with you." ChibiUsa and Hotaru said at the same time.
"It's too dangerous Koneko," Duo said, kneeling beside the young girl. "You should probably stay with them."
"But I'm a Sailor Senshi too, I want to help Usagi!" ChibiUsa whined.
"The Inner Senshi will attack sooner or later," Hotaru said. "We have to be there when they do. You're strong, but they are just as strong."
"Well, Sailor Jupiter is gone," Usagi said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "So they will not be quite as strong."
"It's not safe for you, though." Uranus protested. Usagi's eyes cast to the ground as she shook her head in agreement.
"I cannot go with you," Usagi whispered. "I cannot risk it, they will attack me and eventually they will be able to drag me back. I cannot put the mission at risk. And I cannot put you at risk, my dearest duo.." Usagi whispered, kissing Duo lightly on the lips. There were tears forming in her eyes as she turned toward the Outer Senshi. She joined hands with ChibiUsa and Hotaru and in a bright flash of light, was gone.
"Usagi!!" Duo shouted, seeing her disappear before his eyes.
****
"Perfect. Usagi has left that pathetic little human's side. Now's the time to get her back." Mamoru said, his evil laughter filling the air.
"Mamoru.." A voice said. "How did you get so evil? You were never like this, what has happened to you?" The voice whispered.
"It was her.. she made me do this. She would not come willingly so I had no other choice than to take her by force." Mamoru said quietly, wondering where the voice had come from.
"You were always a pure hearted young man that was full of love and life. Now you are bitter and resentful. Do not let this hatred consume you. In the end, you will not survive if you let this resentfulness take over your body.." The whispered voice continued.
"Who are you?" Mamoru demanded, searching for the sound of the voice. A ghostly figure appeared in front of him. It was the figure of a woman with long hair done up in the same style as Usagi. "Queen Serenity?" He asked, recognizing Usagi's mother in a second. "Do not bother me woman. You're daughter must be brought back with me to our world."
"Leave her here. She will not be happy if you force her to go back. You're world will still be safe. Somehow, the Senshi will defeat the evil that will come in the future." Queen Serenity said quietly.
"I care not of the evil that is coming. ChibiUsa must be born." Mamoru said coldly, his memories of the pink haired girl tugging at his heart.
"There will be another that you will love just as much," Queen Serenity said. "Just leave my daughter be.."
"Leave me woman, this is my business. I care not of your opinion. She will be going back with me." Mamoru said, blocking the woman's voice out of his mind.
"Mamoru," A voice came. Mamoru's eyes shot up to meet those of Minako. "We are ready to attack Cosmic Rainbow Moon again." She said, her blue eyes void of any feelings.
"Very good, you may preside." Mamoru said waving his hand for her to be gone.
****
"Where are we going?" Usagi asked as she looked around the darkness.
"Just stay close, Koneko." Uranus said, as they walked through the dark tunnel. A light was visible far ahead. They finally reached it and stepped out onto a regular city street. It was the middle of the day and several people gasped as they saw the six girls appear out of nowhere.
"Wasn't that a little too noticeable?" Usagi asked, seeing the shocked looks on the people's faces.
"It doesn't matter now, we have a great battle ahead of us." Neptune said.
"You two had better transform, I think we have company." Pluto said to Usagi and ChibiUsa. Usagi looked in the direction Pluto was pointing to see three of the Inner Sailor Senshi and a very angry looking Mamoru.
"Cosmic Rainbow Butterfly Make-UP!!" Usagi cried, holding the new broach above her head.
"Cosmic Pink Butterfly Make-UP!!" ChibiUsa cried, holding a similar broach in the air. Moments later, the two girl lightly landed on the ground.
"I am Cosmic Rainbow Moon!!" Usagi cried. "I fight for love and justice, on behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!!"
"Can it odango atama!!" Cosmic Mars shouted. "Cosmic Mars Flame Sniper!!" She shouted, sending a flame arrow straight at Cosmic Moon. Cosmic Moon into the air, her wings catching the wind. She floated above the rest of the Senshi, slowly gathering energy for her attack.
"Cosmic Rainbow CRISIS!!" She shouted, sending the attack at the three girls.
****
"Look out!!" Duo cried, knocking Rileena to the ground. They had found out where Rileena was and had gone to rescue her. Duo was the first to find her, but they had met some unexpected guests as they tried to make their exit.
"Duo!" Rileena cried, helping the handsome young man to his feet. He held his arm where he had been shot and struggled along the long corridors.
"I have to find Heero.." Duo muttered, reloading his gun as the two hid around the corner.
"Duo, where are you two?" Heero's voice asked over the radio.
"We're still inside, there's soldiers and I don't think they're gonna let us go without a fight. I need your help!" Duo shouted into the radio.
"Come on!!" Rileena shouted, grabbing Duo's arm shots were fired from down the other hallway.
Chapter 23 - The Waiting Period
"Pluto Dead Scream!!" Pluto shouted, sending her attack at Cosmic Mercury. Mercury dodged the attack sending it crashing into a building behind her.
"They're too fast!! We're going to have to fight them together!!" Cosmic Moon shouted. "Cosmic Rainbow.." Cosmic Moon started, closing her eyes while drawing in vast amounts of energy.
"Cosmic Pink.." Cosmic ChibiMoon started.
"Neptune Deep.." Neptune started.
"Uranus World.." Uranus started.
"Saturn Silence Glaive.." Saturn started.
"Pluto Dead.." Pluto started. Cosmic Moon opened her cerulean blue eyes and narrowed them on the three Inner Senshi that stood before them.
"CRISIS!!"
"CRISIS!!"
"SUBMERGE!!"
"SHAKING!!"
"SURPRISE!!"
"SCREAM!!" The energy of the six attacks joined together, forming a vast attack of pure energy.
"I will set your souls free.." Usagi whispered, crystalline tears forming in her eyes. "I can forgive you for what you have done, but I am afraid it is too late to save you lives.." She whispered, feeling sorrow rake her heart.
"Usagi!!" Rei shouted. "I'm sorry!!"
"I know you are.." Usagi whispered, feeling warm tears on her flushed cheeks. The energy of the attack hit the three girls, as the light faded, it revealed three gems, each the color of the three Inner Senshi appeared on the ground. The four henshin sticks appeared, floating towards the broach on Usagi's chest. They floated a few inches away, their powers flowing into the Silver Imperium Crystal that was glowing brightly inside of the broach.
"Thank you odango," A familiar voice said. "You did set us free, even after we betrayed you." Rei's voice said.
"You are a true friend even if we are not." Makoto's voice said. Usagi could feel the warm tears as they slid silently down her cheeks.
"We will always be with you, Princess," Ami's voice said. "If you ever need any advice on homework, I'll be there." Usagi forced a smile, knowing that it would be impossible for Ami to help her study anymore.
"I'm sorry Usagi. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened," Minako's voice said. "If I hadn't gone after Mamoru.."
"It is all right, Minako. Mamoru and I were not meant to be together." Usagi whispered. "I forgive all of you, you are my real friends. I am only sorry that I could not save you."
"Oh but you have saved us, odango.." Rei's voice said, trailing off. "You've kept every promise you ever made to us and now you must go on living without us.."
"Goodbye, my friends.." Usagi whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. The light faded and Usagi was floating above the ground, the wind whipping her blond hair around her face.
"Koneko!! Look out!!" Uranus's voice cried out. Usagi turned just in time to see Tuxedo Kamen flying towards her. She dropped her staff in surprise as she felt his arms grab her and spin her around. She felt something sharp and cold being pressed against her throat and glance down to see a black crystal dagger being pressed to her throat.
"Don't take another step closer," He growled. "I will take her life."
"Let her go!!" Uranus shouted, a jeweled dagger appearing in her hand.
"Not until I get what I want." Tuxedo Kamen growled.
"What do you want then?!?" Neptune shouted.
"I want safe passage home, with Usagi." Tuxedo Kamen said calmly. Usagi struggled against him, but to no avail. He was much stronger than she was physically and could not break his hold on her.
"No way!!" Uranus shouted. "You've hurt her enough, you don't need to take her away from the one she loves!!"
"You are you protectors? You'll do anything to save her? All I'm asking is for you to let me go back to our world with Usagi." Tuxedo Kamen said.
"There's no way I'm letting you take her!!" Uranus shouted, anger crossing her brow.
"I'll tell you what. I'll give you three days to make a decision. If, by then, you do not agree to send us back, I'll kill Usagi myself." Tuxedo Kamen said. Before the Outer Senshi could protest, he disappeared with a struggling Usagi.
****
Duo stepped into the apartment he had been sharing with Usagi and ChibiUsa. When he opened the door, the house was quiet. Five people stepped in after him. He winced in pain when Heero bumped into him. His hand shot up to his shoulder that was bleeding badly.
"Usagi?" Quatre called quietly, stepping into the dark house. He flipped on a light and saw that the house was perfectly clean. 'Someone must be here, Duo would never keep this place so clean'. Quatre thought.
"Usagi?" Duo called weakly. He heard a groan from the couch and saw two girls sleeping on the couch bed. "What?! Why are they here?!" Duo asked, seeing the two Outer Senshi, Uranus and Neptune, sleeping soundly on the couch.
"Duo, what is going on?" Rileena asked, walking up behind the American. She saw the two women sleeping on the couch. "Who are they?" Rileena asked.
"Usagi's protectors." Duo said quietly.
"Protectors? I thought she was a warrior, why would she need protectors?" Rileena asked.
"I'll explain in the morning. Heero, take her to one of the bedroom." Duo said. Heero and Rileena walked towards the back of the house, disappearing down one of the hallways. The other three Gundam pilots went into the back of the house as well, discovering another older woman and two young children. Duo sat down on one of the armchairs, ripping the sleeve of her shirt off. He heard a groan from the couch and saw the woman with green hair sit up. She looked over at him, obviously very surprised.
"When did you get back?" Michiru asked, looking at the boy. She could see blood and immediately sprang to his care. "Let me do that." She said, taking him into the kitchen. She opened one of the cupboards, pulling out a small first aid kit. She dressed the wound and then sat back, holding a cup of tea she had made.
"Where's Usagi?" Duo asked. Michiru set her cup back on the saucer, her eyes cast down at the floor.
"She's gone.."
****
So, how do you like it? Please review ok?