The Road Less Travelled
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
R!
~'~
Oh, I'm a bad person. You won't believe what I did to
Usagi in this part. Oh, someone hurt me. I'm a bad person.
I think I--
Whoops! Almost gave it away! This is R for very graphic
violence *whimpers*. Poor Usa-chan...
~'~
"I'm getting majorly bad vibes, here." Michiru
said suddenly, standing up in the middle of the race.
Haruka grumbled.
"But I'm about to win!" She whined. "I just
passed that asshole..." She gave a futile motion to the
television where her car had just passed one of her
worst rivals, but she stood up anyway. Minako grinned.
"I'll go out and find the girls." She said,
jumping up. "See you." She exited the room with a wave.
Hotaru pulled a sulking Setsuna to her feet and
they looked at Usagi, who grinned manically as she rose
to her feet, cracking her knuckles before she held up
her brooch.
"Moon Lunar Power, Make up!"
"Uranus Planet Power, Make up!"
"Neptune Planet Power, Make up!"
"Saturn Planet Power, Make up!"
"Pluto Planet Power, Make up!"
From ehr place in the doorway, Minako watched
them transform before she ran out. She almost ran right
into Ami, who was posed to knock on the door.
"Ami!"
"Minako!"
"What are you doing here?!" They both yelled at
the same time.
"We just wantedf to make sure you were okay."
"Yeah, well, there's a youma somewhere." Minako
said. "Henshin yo, we've got to get to it."
"How do you--" Makoto started, but Minako had
already called out her henshin words, and as they very
well couldn't talk to her while she was transforming,
they too transformed.
"This way!" Venus yelled, catching a glimpse of
Sailor Moon's silver fuku a few yards ahead in the
sunset.
The outer senshi led them, letting the venusian
soldier catch a glimpse when the former needed, or
started going off track.
This did not go unnnoticed by the other senshi.
"There it is! I can see it." Jupiter yelled, and
before any of them could act, she attacked.
"Supreme Thunder!"
Mars jumped as the bolt of lightning went right
by her, close enough to singe her hair.
"Watch it!" She yelled. But Jupiter was no
longer paying attention.
"World Shaking!" Unlike Jupiter's thunder, the
golden sphere hit the youma, and Sailor Moon leapt down
from the rooftop she'd been standing on, Saturn beside
her. Sailor Moon scooped up the soul that the youma had
dropped.
"This isn't it!" She yelled in frustration.
"Damn it, why can't they choose a good target once in a
while?" She returned the soul to the unconscious boy
that lay a ways away and then turned to face the youma,
who eyed her hungrily.
"Not yet, Jun." The commander from before
appeared beside the youma. "She doesn't know."
"Know what?" Sailor Moon spat, aiming her staff
at him. "I'm sick of your games."
"Oh, this is no game." The commander grinned.
"Not a game at all. You see, one of our scientists made
a delightful machine, Sailor Moon. It allowed us to
find the owner of the Pure Soul."
"And?" Uranus said, noticing how Pluto potioned
herself between the commander and Saturn.
"Well, it's quite interesting, actually." He
seemed ot be enjoying himself. "There are *two* pure
souls. Both of them shall work quite well. But you see,
there's a catch."
"And that would be?" Sailor Venus spoke up.
The commander sent her a dirty look before
answering.
"Both of the pure souls belong to the messiahs
of this world."
Sailor Moon jolted like she'd been shocked. She
backed away from the commander a few steps before she
realized what she was doing and stood her ground.
"Yes, Sailor Moon. You and Sailor Saturn hold
the souls we need."
Uranus stepped in front of her princess.
"You'll have to go through us first, bastard!
Space Sword, Blaster!" She yelled, hitting the
commander square on.
"Attack!" He called to the youma, as he was
thrown back.
"Get out of here!" Venus yelled ot Sailor Moon.
The moon senshi shook her head, her smirk gone, her face
a stony mask.
"No." She said. "I cannot." She wearily raised her
staff and took out the youma with a call of "Selene
Crescent Erruption!". She looked at Saturn, before
giving a quick nod to Pluto.
"Do it." She ssaid quietly. Pluto nodded, and
opened a portal.
"Inside, Saturn." She said. "We will wait at the
gates."
"But--" Saturn protested.
"Taru-chan, please." Sailor Moon whispered,
walking closer ot lay a hand on her senshi's shoulder.
"We don't need two targets running around. I can take
care of myself. I know you can, but it shall be easier
for all of us if you go where you will be safe."
Saturn sighed, and stepped inside the portal.
Pluto followed, and the portal closed.
"Now, Commander, you deal with me!" Sailor Moon
turned around ot face the commander, being held at bay
by the duo of the outer senshi. She motioned that the
inner senshi should step back.
"I have had enough." She said softly. "Surely,
your hell hole won't miss one of you. Solar Explosion!"
The two senshi jumped back so fast Uranus
stumbled. A light, almost innocent looking golden
thread appeared out of thin and and wove an airy circle
around the commander, who looked at it with amused
interest.
His amusement turned to terror as the circle
grew closer and closer, finally winding around him in a
seamless rope.
It exploded.
The commander barely had time to let out the
pain-filled scream that sounded much too human for the
inner senshi to handle.
"What did you do!?" Mars yelled, looking at the
nothingness where the commander had been.
Uranus managed to smile at the inner senshi.
"A more painful attack she developed." Neptune
muttered.
Sailor Moon leaned on her staff heavily.
"It would be me." She said loudly, making them
look at her, but she was staring at the ground. "It's
always me. Has anyone else noticed that? I'm always the
one to live. I'm always the one they're after."
"Sailor Moon..." Venus reached the senshi before
Uranus or Neptune could stop her. "It's okay."
"No it's not." Sailor Moon murmrued. "Everyone
will die again, I know it." She looked up at Minako. "I
missed you." She whispered. "You were my best friend,
Mina-chan."
The last part was said a bit louder, and it
reached the inner senshi, who looked at Venus
curiously.
"What does she mean, Venus? And how does she
know your name!?" Mars demanded.
Venus flushed. Sailor Moon glared at them,
straightening up.
"Don't ask questions that have no true answer."
She said, in a low dangerous voice as her silver eyes
glared daggers. "I am not attacking you, that should
keep you satisfied." Her voice was clipped and cold.
"Uranus, Neptune, they'll send reinforcements, so get
ready. Venus, you'd better get your senshi and come up
with a good plan really fast."
Venus nodded and huddled the senshi in a very
football-like way.
Uranus and Neptune approached their drained
leader.
"I just sent out a call to Athena and Luna."
Sailor Moon said softly. "I couldn't reach Artemis, but
I told Luna to get him. "I'll need their help when if
the time comes." She looked at both of them. "Don;t
either of you try anything stupid, alright? If my soul
is taken, i don't want either of you to be noble or
heroic. I'm like a roach, right? Isn't that how Shadica
put it? I'm like a roach... no matter how hard you try,
you can't get rid of me. Promise me, Haruka! Swear!"
Uranus looked away, but nodded, scowling.
Neptune sighed.
"My princess, we can't do that." She said.
"Don't make us."
"Then I'll order you." Sailor Moon said coldly.
"You will not taken heroic measures to save me.
Understand?" Ignoring their glares as they nodded,
Sailor Moon turned to the panther and two moon cats who
had approached.
"The same goes for you three. Nothing heroic."
She directed her stare to Luna and Artemis. "Can you
two transform?"
Artemis stared at her blankly, but Luna nodded.
"I remember the spell." She said, looking at
Artemis. "But if he does, I'll eat my tail."
"I remember! I think..."
Sailor Moon glared at him.
"if you don't remember, don't try it." She said.
"Last time you tried it and didn't remember the whole spell,
you wound up as a blob of fur."
"It took the magiis half an hour to figure out
how to return you." Athena added, as Luna transformed
into a lioness.
"I remember it." Artemis insisted. "It goes like
this." So, with his cathood at stake, Artemis began to
mumble in a harsh, gutteral language.
Much to their surprise, he transformed into a
lynx.
"Ha!" He crowed in triumph. "I told you I
remembered it! Eat that!"
Luna glared at him.
"Don't start, please." Sailor Moon said. "Now, I
need you three to be my back-up, okay? If something
goes wrong, your job is to give us the element of
surprise. Got that?"
They nodded solemnly.
"Thanks. Athena, I owe you one." Sailor Moon
smiled at her pet. "No hero stuff, okay? If I'm taken,
there's still hope."
"Yes, My princess."
"And don't do that. See you."
"Hai." The three cats slunk away into the
shadows. Sailor Moon stared after them for a few
seconds before turning to her senshi.
"They are coming." She said, her voice as calm
as it could be. "Prepare yourselves."
She might have said more, but her voice was
drowned out by the sound of the very heavens exploding.
~'~
Later, Uranus had grumbled that there had simply
been no time. Everything happened too swiftly, none of
them would have ever have known what had happened had
it not been for the Mercury computer.
There was a loud crack, thunder, gunshot,
something of the like. Large shadows, monstrosities of
shadows, suddenly loomed up out fo the ground,
surrounded Sailor Moon, and then pulled her
underground, before any of them could even blink, let
alone scream a warning.
She was gone, quite simple.
"Oh my..." Luna whispered. "This isn't good."
"You don't know the half of it." Uranus said
grimly. If Shadica's still in charge... Sailor Moon is
in for a bumpy ride, to say the least."
"We've got to go talk to Usagi's parents."
Neptune said. "We must tell them what has happened."
Athena nodded.
"Yes, it's the only way. We must tell them."
The trio walked off.
The four inner senshi looked at one another.
"Oh, dear." Venus said. "I've got to go, girls.
Usagi-chan will... miss me." She looked at each of
them. "Don't be angry, I'll tell you how she knew my
name later, okay?"
Venus took off in the same direction the outer
senshi had gone.
"She knows something." Mars said almost
instantly the second Venus had left earshot. At the
very least, Mars was supicious of their leader, the
newest addition to their group.
"What gave you that idea?" Jupiter rolled her
eyes.
"Those shadows took Sailor Moon to a subspace of
sorts." Mercury said, tapping the keys of her computer
in a flurry. "She's disappeared from this dimension
entirely."
"They know where she went, how much will you
bet?" Jupiter said.
"I know they do." Luna said, coming out of the
shadows, now a normal cat. Artemis followed her, also
normal. "She was taken to the Dark Sun Warrior's lair.
They'll take her soul and kill her."
"And probably torture her beforehand." Artemis
added grimly. "I remember Shadica. She didn't like
Serenity at all."
"And now with Sailor Moon being the way she
is..." Luna looked terrified. "Dear lord, if half the
world isn't blown apart, I'll be grateful."
"And she does have the ginzuishou." Mars added.
"And she's insane." Jupiter muttered.
~'~
Sailor Moon was only mildly surprised, but very
indignant. She hadn't expected Shadica to stoop this
low just to capture her. A sneak attack?
Dishonorable. And she hated it when people were
dishonorable.
She looked at the walls around her. They were
cold, thick stone, and strong, for she'd thrown her
Selene Crescent Erruption at it, and there was only a
scorch mark... not a single crack. She'd stopped after
one; she knew she had to preserve whatever energy she
had. The shadows had dumped her here, so she knew she
was somewhere in Shadica's realm.
But the door- and window-less walls were very
frustrating. She couldn't hear anything on the other
side of them, but she was almost certain someone was
watching her. Her senses told her so and she always
trusted her senses.
Sighing, she sleaned against the wall and
scooched down into a more or less comfortable position,
one she could jump out of quickly but didn't make her
legs or back feel like they were about to fall off.
"Oh Shadiiiicaaaaa...." She called, smirking in
a way that could be considered insane. "I'm getting a
little boooored in hereeee."
She jumped up quickly as the four walls and
ceiling vanished.
She was staring right into a pair of black eyes.
"How horrible to see you." Sailor Moon said,
without change in tone or expression, taking a step
backward and spinning in a circle, taking in her new
surroundings quickly, noting possible escape routes and
the impossible number of youma, and the two commanders
flanking Shadica.
Not good. Only two esacpe routes. One of them
would require going through a solid block of armed
youma and the other would require crossing the room.
The first was going to be very difficult and the
lat was suicide, under the present condition.
"The pleasure's not mine." Shadica replied
smoothly. This exchange of insults took place everytime
they met.
"Well... I suppose you're going to try to kill
me?" Sailor Moon asked, turning to face Shadica,
tearing her eyes away fgrom the horde of youma.
"Oh, no." Shadica said.
Sailor Moon started in surprise as a wall
suddenly sprang up behind her, and a sense of deja vu`
hit milliseconds too late as she found herself being
lifted off the ground and secured to the stone by her
wrists and ankles.
Definatly deja vu. She'd seen this very thing
happen thousands of times. Back on the moon, when
Nehelenia stole dreams, and now, Nehelenia's daughter
used the same method, slightly refined, to steal souls.
It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off,
that her soul was still inside her.
"Wha..."
"So nice to see you're human, Sailor Moon."
Shadica arched an eyebrow. "That's the first thing I've
seen on your face other than that arrogant smirk you
love to wear around me." She took a step closer. "You
don't feel so confident now, do you, moon soldier?
Without your friends and toys to save you? Such a pity
you never found your prince... he might help you
right now.
"Alas, you're going to pay for what you did to
me, Sailor Moon."
Suddenly, the shadowy room was thrown into
relief as torches on the sides of the walls suddenly
burst into violet flame.
Sailor Moon flinched, and a shudder ran through
her body.
The only thing beautiful about the face that was
presented was the thick, silken hair the exact color of
chesnut that surrounded it, and the color of the eyes,
both a clouded emerald green.
The skin was badly scarred, and was more a
reddish-white color than the color the skin should have
been. The lips were slashed and angry-looking splothes
of red jarred her cheeks, her nose off-center, crooked,
and a long, deep scar ran from her left eyebrow to her
chin.
So that was why she was wearing a high-necked
gown, Sailor Mon realized, keeping her eyes on the
floor.
"I still have my scars too, Shadica." Sailor
Moon said quietly. "But you never did hit my face."
Shadica did not reply for a few moments, but
then she smiled, cruely.
"After this is all done, Sailor Moon, you'll
have to live with your perfect, innocent face to
torture you every time you look into a mirror, just
like it has for your entire life." Her voice dripped in
sickening sweet honey. "Because I know the way you
think, my insane little moon soldier. It's you... or no
one."
Sailor Moon opened her mouth to protest, but
only a choked gasp came out.
"Commanders, why don't you give Sailor Moon a
welcome? And make sure you leave her face alone... we
don't want anything marring it. Remlins, go stand watch
and alert me when the moon soldier's friends come for
her... especially when Saturn arrives."
She smiled at the look of dawning horror on
Sailor Moon's face as the blonde realized what her
words meant.
"Gag her if she screams to loudly. I want to
rest."
Shadica swept from the dungeon of her palace
as the two commanders advanced towards Sailor Moon,
fists clenched in glee.
~'~
Haruka hesitated.
"I can't do this!"
"Haruka, they're perfectly decent, honest, kind
people. We can't just let them wonder! It took us days
to find Shadica's kingdom last time. By then everything
had been said and done and Usagi was half dead!"
"She *was* dead."
"Haruka, it wouldn't be right. Whether she said
it or not, Usagi loved this family."
"What if..."
"Haruka."
"But--"
"Tenoh-san? Kaioh-san? May I help you?"
Michiru and Haruka both looked at Ikuko, who now
stood in the doorway.
"Er... may we come in, Tsukino-san?" Michiru
said, solemnly. "We need to speak to you."
"It's a long story." Haruka said, as Ikuko led
them inside. "But you must remember it's true."
Kenji and Shingo gazed at the pair, confused, as
they entered the den.
"Did Usagi ever tell you how her parents died?"
Michiru asked, after Ikuko had sat down, under Haruka's
advise.
"No... we didn't ask. The social worker said it
was a sore subject."
"That's because they don't know either." Haruka
said. "Only five people on this planet know, including
us."
"This is where the story gets strange." Michiru
said, closed her eyes. "It all happened a thousand and
some odd years ago, when Usagi was first born."
At their odd looks, Haruka grinned.
"We told you the story was a bit odd."
"Haruka, please. The day Usagi was born, her
father was bruattally assassinated by supporters of
Beryl. Beryl was Queen of Atlantis then. You see,
Usagi's father was King Kronus, King of the Sun. Her
mother was Queen Serenity, the queen of the moon. Usagi
was princess of the moon. And yes, the moon was livable
then.
"Usagi grew up without a father, but we were
around to keep her company. She never knew what happened
to him, and all the better, for when she was seventeen,
on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, when she was to
recieve her birthright and assume the throne, Beryl had
finally gained the power to attack. We were the first to
die, as we protected the solar system. She took each planet
down, one by one, until she reached the moon." Michiru
paused there, and Haruka took up automatically.
"It was a massacare. People were being slain left
and right... women, children, men, animals... it didn't matter
to Beryl's troops. The inner senshi fell at the gates of the
palace, and the army swarmed over the palace walls, and Beryl
herself took the life of Usagi's financee, and then Usagi took
her own life to keep Beryl from triumph." Haruka sighed, and
closed her eyes and though she could see it being played out
in her mind before continuing.
"Queen Serenity saw this happen, and outraged that
such a thing had been done that she took out the ginzuishou
and used it's power to give her own life to set everything
right... to send the senshi and Usagi to the future, so that
we might have another chance at life. She sealed beryl away
in a negative plane, for she could not kill the other queen
without killing her daughter's soul."
Michiru sighed, "If only there could have been another
way. We know Serenity couldn't have meant for her daughter to
grow up the way Usagi did. Usagi... she used to be a wonderful,
kind, caring person who despised any kind of violence. She still
is, somewhere underneath. But she's built walls around herself.
She's afraid of getting too close in case of being hurt so
terribly again.
"And now, Shadica, the daughter of Nehelenia, the queen
of the dark moon, another enemy of Queen Serenity's, has captured her.
She's been taken to some hellish place, and we don't know where."
Michiru looked up at the silent Tsukinos. "Last time this happened,
we got to Usagi only just in the nick of time... she has scars
all over her body from the torture Shadica placed on her. She
was dead... we only just managed to save her. We don't know if
we'll make it this time, because Usagi has the ginzuishou now,
and she's... not exactly sensible. She might become rash and
blow up the world."
"She can do that?" Shingo asked.
"Kid, I'm betting on it." Haruka said. "Now, to prove
our story. Uranus Planet Power, Make up!"
"Neptune PLanet Power Make up!"
~'~
Sailor Venus ran though the streets blindly. The
only thing guiding her at the moment was a faint link
to Usagi, and where it led her, God only knew. Her
brain only vaguely noted the graffiti-covered walls and
sirens that were around her, only subtly registered the
shadowy figures that shifted, the broken glass beneath
her sandals, or the baorded-up warehouses and desolate
surroundings as she practically flew by.
Damn it, she felt the pain her princess was
feeling, and knew that the outer senshi, at least, felt
it too. Why weren't they following it? Couldn't they
sense that it grew stronger as they drew nearer?
And it was. She knew she was getting closer.
Blindly, she took a left at a street corner and knocked
over someone in her attempt to make a 90 degree turn so
quickly.
She ignored him as he yelled after her, for she
had finally found what she was looking for. It was so
like the shadows around it that any normal human would
have immediatly overlooked it, but here it was.
The portal to the Black Palace.
The man was still yelling at her, and her mind
finally registered it. She spun around.
"Listen, you jerk! Unless you want to get a
Love-Me Chain where the sun doesn't shine, you'd better
take your insults and shove it!"
The man glowered at her. Not that she could
really blame him, when she thought about it later. She
was a fifteen year old in an absurd costume, with
mussed-up hair and an insane look in her eyes.
"Well... here goes!" She announced to no one,
and promptly stepped into the portal.
The man stopped yelling abruptly.
He looked around and sighed.
How did these things always happen to him?
He walked up to the portal he'd been inspecting
before the blonde had came crashing up and did the only
thing he could--
He walked into it.
There was a swirl, and a vague sense of wind
rushing by, and then it was now he that slammed into
Sailor Venus.
"What are you doing here?" Venus hissed in a
furious whisper.
"Where are we?" He asked, at the same time.
Venus clamped a gloved hand over his mouth and dragged
him into an alleyway, or at least something that
resembled one.
"In the Dark Palace." She murmured.
"I thought so." He replied. "Well, who are you?"
Venus was staring at him in amazement.
"I'd ask the same!" Her voice was indignant.
"How do you know about the Dark Palace! And I'm Sailor
Venus."
"Ah. Yes, I remember you... you look a bit
different, though. I'm Raidon."
It was only too clear from the expression on her
face that the name didn't ring a bell, but it didn't
really matter, because the next second, venus was
doubled over in pain.
"Holy..." She gasped. "Serenity.. com'on! We've
got to get Serenity!"
"The PRINCESS is here?" Raidon nearly shrieked,
as Venus grabbed his wrist and began to weave through
the corridors like she'd walked them every day of her
life, slipping into nearly invisible indentures in the
walls to avoid youma and commanders that seemed to
prowl every corner.
"Yes... Serenity... here..." Venus gasped,
clutching her side as she dragged them both along.
"Shadica... has her. This... way..."
Raidon's brow furrowed. He knew of the link
between the princess and her senshi... but what was the
princess feeling to make Venus be in such pain?
He realized he didn't really want to know the
answer as Venus pulled him to a suddenly stop in front
of a pair of thick metal doors. Even through them,
screams of a young girl were too painfully audible.
"Crescent... Beam... Shatter!" Venus managed to
shout, as she tried desperately to block out the pain
she was feeling so she'd be able to concentrate on
rescuing her princess.
The beam was strong enough, thank god, to
shatter the doors.
And both of them wished it hadn't been. Venus's
pain was completely forgotten as they both stared,
dumbly, at the scene before them.
It takes the human brain approximately point two
seconds to register things.
It was point two seconds too short, or perhaps
to long. As soon as Venus recognized the bleeding,
half-conscious girl in the tattered remains of a senshi
fuku, she flew into a flurry of instictive motion,
sending crescent beams and Love-Me Chains at the youma
faster than she could call them out, and went at the
two commanders with a fury, taking them out by over
whelming them with hit after hit.
All this happened too quickly for Raidon too
follow, but he did know what to do as Venus dealt with
the enemies present. He rushed to the princess's side,
for he knew her even then, and somehow got her down
from the wall and draped his jacket over her.
By then, the room was a mess of blood and
mangled corpses, and Venus stood, breathless.
"We have to get out of here."
"Your first clue, Sherlock?"
~'~
I don't know if she's dead or not. Depends on how many
reviews I get. Oh, I'm a bad person. I feel guilt. Poor
Usagi, I'm so sorry... :'(
*grin* Oh, what a CLIFFHANGER!
~'~
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
R!
~'~
Oh, I'm a bad person. You won't believe what I did to
Usagi in this part. Oh, someone hurt me. I'm a bad person.
I think I--
Whoops! Almost gave it away! This is R for very graphic
violence *whimpers*. Poor Usa-chan...
~'~
"I'm getting majorly bad vibes, here." Michiru
said suddenly, standing up in the middle of the race.
Haruka grumbled.
"But I'm about to win!" She whined. "I just
passed that asshole..." She gave a futile motion to the
television where her car had just passed one of her
worst rivals, but she stood up anyway. Minako grinned.
"I'll go out and find the girls." She said,
jumping up. "See you." She exited the room with a wave.
Hotaru pulled a sulking Setsuna to her feet and
they looked at Usagi, who grinned manically as she rose
to her feet, cracking her knuckles before she held up
her brooch.
"Moon Lunar Power, Make up!"
"Uranus Planet Power, Make up!"
"Neptune Planet Power, Make up!"
"Saturn Planet Power, Make up!"
"Pluto Planet Power, Make up!"
From ehr place in the doorway, Minako watched
them transform before she ran out. She almost ran right
into Ami, who was posed to knock on the door.
"Ami!"
"Minako!"
"What are you doing here?!" They both yelled at
the same time.
"We just wantedf to make sure you were okay."
"Yeah, well, there's a youma somewhere." Minako
said. "Henshin yo, we've got to get to it."
"How do you--" Makoto started, but Minako had
already called out her henshin words, and as they very
well couldn't talk to her while she was transforming,
they too transformed.
"This way!" Venus yelled, catching a glimpse of
Sailor Moon's silver fuku a few yards ahead in the
sunset.
The outer senshi led them, letting the venusian
soldier catch a glimpse when the former needed, or
started going off track.
This did not go unnnoticed by the other senshi.
"There it is! I can see it." Jupiter yelled, and
before any of them could act, she attacked.
"Supreme Thunder!"
Mars jumped as the bolt of lightning went right
by her, close enough to singe her hair.
"Watch it!" She yelled. But Jupiter was no
longer paying attention.
"World Shaking!" Unlike Jupiter's thunder, the
golden sphere hit the youma, and Sailor Moon leapt down
from the rooftop she'd been standing on, Saturn beside
her. Sailor Moon scooped up the soul that the youma had
dropped.
"This isn't it!" She yelled in frustration.
"Damn it, why can't they choose a good target once in a
while?" She returned the soul to the unconscious boy
that lay a ways away and then turned to face the youma,
who eyed her hungrily.
"Not yet, Jun." The commander from before
appeared beside the youma. "She doesn't know."
"Know what?" Sailor Moon spat, aiming her staff
at him. "I'm sick of your games."
"Oh, this is no game." The commander grinned.
"Not a game at all. You see, one of our scientists made
a delightful machine, Sailor Moon. It allowed us to
find the owner of the Pure Soul."
"And?" Uranus said, noticing how Pluto potioned
herself between the commander and Saturn.
"Well, it's quite interesting, actually." He
seemed ot be enjoying himself. "There are *two* pure
souls. Both of them shall work quite well. But you see,
there's a catch."
"And that would be?" Sailor Venus spoke up.
The commander sent her a dirty look before
answering.
"Both of the pure souls belong to the messiahs
of this world."
Sailor Moon jolted like she'd been shocked. She
backed away from the commander a few steps before she
realized what she was doing and stood her ground.
"Yes, Sailor Moon. You and Sailor Saturn hold
the souls we need."
Uranus stepped in front of her princess.
"You'll have to go through us first, bastard!
Space Sword, Blaster!" She yelled, hitting the
commander square on.
"Attack!" He called to the youma, as he was
thrown back.
"Get out of here!" Venus yelled ot Sailor Moon.
The moon senshi shook her head, her smirk gone, her face
a stony mask.
"No." She said. "I cannot." She wearily raised her
staff and took out the youma with a call of "Selene
Crescent Erruption!". She looked at Saturn, before
giving a quick nod to Pluto.
"Do it." She ssaid quietly. Pluto nodded, and
opened a portal.
"Inside, Saturn." She said. "We will wait at the
gates."
"But--" Saturn protested.
"Taru-chan, please." Sailor Moon whispered,
walking closer ot lay a hand on her senshi's shoulder.
"We don't need two targets running around. I can take
care of myself. I know you can, but it shall be easier
for all of us if you go where you will be safe."
Saturn sighed, and stepped inside the portal.
Pluto followed, and the portal closed.
"Now, Commander, you deal with me!" Sailor Moon
turned around ot face the commander, being held at bay
by the duo of the outer senshi. She motioned that the
inner senshi should step back.
"I have had enough." She said softly. "Surely,
your hell hole won't miss one of you. Solar Explosion!"
The two senshi jumped back so fast Uranus
stumbled. A light, almost innocent looking golden
thread appeared out of thin and and wove an airy circle
around the commander, who looked at it with amused
interest.
His amusement turned to terror as the circle
grew closer and closer, finally winding around him in a
seamless rope.
It exploded.
The commander barely had time to let out the
pain-filled scream that sounded much too human for the
inner senshi to handle.
"What did you do!?" Mars yelled, looking at the
nothingness where the commander had been.
Uranus managed to smile at the inner senshi.
"A more painful attack she developed." Neptune
muttered.
Sailor Moon leaned on her staff heavily.
"It would be me." She said loudly, making them
look at her, but she was staring at the ground. "It's
always me. Has anyone else noticed that? I'm always the
one to live. I'm always the one they're after."
"Sailor Moon..." Venus reached the senshi before
Uranus or Neptune could stop her. "It's okay."
"No it's not." Sailor Moon murmrued. "Everyone
will die again, I know it." She looked up at Minako. "I
missed you." She whispered. "You were my best friend,
Mina-chan."
The last part was said a bit louder, and it
reached the inner senshi, who looked at Venus
curiously.
"What does she mean, Venus? And how does she
know your name!?" Mars demanded.
Venus flushed. Sailor Moon glared at them,
straightening up.
"Don't ask questions that have no true answer."
She said, in a low dangerous voice as her silver eyes
glared daggers. "I am not attacking you, that should
keep you satisfied." Her voice was clipped and cold.
"Uranus, Neptune, they'll send reinforcements, so get
ready. Venus, you'd better get your senshi and come up
with a good plan really fast."
Venus nodded and huddled the senshi in a very
football-like way.
Uranus and Neptune approached their drained
leader.
"I just sent out a call to Athena and Luna."
Sailor Moon said softly. "I couldn't reach Artemis, but
I told Luna to get him. "I'll need their help when if
the time comes." She looked at both of them. "Don;t
either of you try anything stupid, alright? If my soul
is taken, i don't want either of you to be noble or
heroic. I'm like a roach, right? Isn't that how Shadica
put it? I'm like a roach... no matter how hard you try,
you can't get rid of me. Promise me, Haruka! Swear!"
Uranus looked away, but nodded, scowling.
Neptune sighed.
"My princess, we can't do that." She said.
"Don't make us."
"Then I'll order you." Sailor Moon said coldly.
"You will not taken heroic measures to save me.
Understand?" Ignoring their glares as they nodded,
Sailor Moon turned to the panther and two moon cats who
had approached.
"The same goes for you three. Nothing heroic."
She directed her stare to Luna and Artemis. "Can you
two transform?"
Artemis stared at her blankly, but Luna nodded.
"I remember the spell." She said, looking at
Artemis. "But if he does, I'll eat my tail."
"I remember! I think..."
Sailor Moon glared at him.
"if you don't remember, don't try it." She said.
"Last time you tried it and didn't remember the whole spell,
you wound up as a blob of fur."
"It took the magiis half an hour to figure out
how to return you." Athena added, as Luna transformed
into a lioness.
"I remember it." Artemis insisted. "It goes like
this." So, with his cathood at stake, Artemis began to
mumble in a harsh, gutteral language.
Much to their surprise, he transformed into a
lynx.
"Ha!" He crowed in triumph. "I told you I
remembered it! Eat that!"
Luna glared at him.
"Don't start, please." Sailor Moon said. "Now, I
need you three to be my back-up, okay? If something
goes wrong, your job is to give us the element of
surprise. Got that?"
They nodded solemnly.
"Thanks. Athena, I owe you one." Sailor Moon
smiled at her pet. "No hero stuff, okay? If I'm taken,
there's still hope."
"Yes, My princess."
"And don't do that. See you."
"Hai." The three cats slunk away into the
shadows. Sailor Moon stared after them for a few
seconds before turning to her senshi.
"They are coming." She said, her voice as calm
as it could be. "Prepare yourselves."
She might have said more, but her voice was
drowned out by the sound of the very heavens exploding.
~'~
Later, Uranus had grumbled that there had simply
been no time. Everything happened too swiftly, none of
them would have ever have known what had happened had
it not been for the Mercury computer.
There was a loud crack, thunder, gunshot,
something of the like. Large shadows, monstrosities of
shadows, suddenly loomed up out fo the ground,
surrounded Sailor Moon, and then pulled her
underground, before any of them could even blink, let
alone scream a warning.
She was gone, quite simple.
"Oh my..." Luna whispered. "This isn't good."
"You don't know the half of it." Uranus said
grimly. If Shadica's still in charge... Sailor Moon is
in for a bumpy ride, to say the least."
"We've got to go talk to Usagi's parents."
Neptune said. "We must tell them what has happened."
Athena nodded.
"Yes, it's the only way. We must tell them."
The trio walked off.
The four inner senshi looked at one another.
"Oh, dear." Venus said. "I've got to go, girls.
Usagi-chan will... miss me." She looked at each of
them. "Don't be angry, I'll tell you how she knew my
name later, okay?"
Venus took off in the same direction the outer
senshi had gone.
"She knows something." Mars said almost
instantly the second Venus had left earshot. At the
very least, Mars was supicious of their leader, the
newest addition to their group.
"What gave you that idea?" Jupiter rolled her
eyes.
"Those shadows took Sailor Moon to a subspace of
sorts." Mercury said, tapping the keys of her computer
in a flurry. "She's disappeared from this dimension
entirely."
"They know where she went, how much will you
bet?" Jupiter said.
"I know they do." Luna said, coming out of the
shadows, now a normal cat. Artemis followed her, also
normal. "She was taken to the Dark Sun Warrior's lair.
They'll take her soul and kill her."
"And probably torture her beforehand." Artemis
added grimly. "I remember Shadica. She didn't like
Serenity at all."
"And now with Sailor Moon being the way she
is..." Luna looked terrified. "Dear lord, if half the
world isn't blown apart, I'll be grateful."
"And she does have the ginzuishou." Mars added.
"And she's insane." Jupiter muttered.
~'~
Sailor Moon was only mildly surprised, but very
indignant. She hadn't expected Shadica to stoop this
low just to capture her. A sneak attack?
Dishonorable. And she hated it when people were
dishonorable.
She looked at the walls around her. They were
cold, thick stone, and strong, for she'd thrown her
Selene Crescent Erruption at it, and there was only a
scorch mark... not a single crack. She'd stopped after
one; she knew she had to preserve whatever energy she
had. The shadows had dumped her here, so she knew she
was somewhere in Shadica's realm.
But the door- and window-less walls were very
frustrating. She couldn't hear anything on the other
side of them, but she was almost certain someone was
watching her. Her senses told her so and she always
trusted her senses.
Sighing, she sleaned against the wall and
scooched down into a more or less comfortable position,
one she could jump out of quickly but didn't make her
legs or back feel like they were about to fall off.
"Oh Shadiiiicaaaaa...." She called, smirking in
a way that could be considered insane. "I'm getting a
little boooored in hereeee."
She jumped up quickly as the four walls and
ceiling vanished.
She was staring right into a pair of black eyes.
"How horrible to see you." Sailor Moon said,
without change in tone or expression, taking a step
backward and spinning in a circle, taking in her new
surroundings quickly, noting possible escape routes and
the impossible number of youma, and the two commanders
flanking Shadica.
Not good. Only two esacpe routes. One of them
would require going through a solid block of armed
youma and the other would require crossing the room.
The first was going to be very difficult and the
lat was suicide, under the present condition.
"The pleasure's not mine." Shadica replied
smoothly. This exchange of insults took place everytime
they met.
"Well... I suppose you're going to try to kill
me?" Sailor Moon asked, turning to face Shadica,
tearing her eyes away fgrom the horde of youma.
"Oh, no." Shadica said.
Sailor Moon started in surprise as a wall
suddenly sprang up behind her, and a sense of deja vu`
hit milliseconds too late as she found herself being
lifted off the ground and secured to the stone by her
wrists and ankles.
Definatly deja vu. She'd seen this very thing
happen thousands of times. Back on the moon, when
Nehelenia stole dreams, and now, Nehelenia's daughter
used the same method, slightly refined, to steal souls.
It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off,
that her soul was still inside her.
"Wha..."
"So nice to see you're human, Sailor Moon."
Shadica arched an eyebrow. "That's the first thing I've
seen on your face other than that arrogant smirk you
love to wear around me." She took a step closer. "You
don't feel so confident now, do you, moon soldier?
Without your friends and toys to save you? Such a pity
you never found your prince... he might help you
right now.
"Alas, you're going to pay for what you did to
me, Sailor Moon."
Suddenly, the shadowy room was thrown into
relief as torches on the sides of the walls suddenly
burst into violet flame.
Sailor Moon flinched, and a shudder ran through
her body.
The only thing beautiful about the face that was
presented was the thick, silken hair the exact color of
chesnut that surrounded it, and the color of the eyes,
both a clouded emerald green.
The skin was badly scarred, and was more a
reddish-white color than the color the skin should have
been. The lips were slashed and angry-looking splothes
of red jarred her cheeks, her nose off-center, crooked,
and a long, deep scar ran from her left eyebrow to her
chin.
So that was why she was wearing a high-necked
gown, Sailor Mon realized, keeping her eyes on the
floor.
"I still have my scars too, Shadica." Sailor
Moon said quietly. "But you never did hit my face."
Shadica did not reply for a few moments, but
then she smiled, cruely.
"After this is all done, Sailor Moon, you'll
have to live with your perfect, innocent face to
torture you every time you look into a mirror, just
like it has for your entire life." Her voice dripped in
sickening sweet honey. "Because I know the way you
think, my insane little moon soldier. It's you... or no
one."
Sailor Moon opened her mouth to protest, but
only a choked gasp came out.
"Commanders, why don't you give Sailor Moon a
welcome? And make sure you leave her face alone... we
don't want anything marring it. Remlins, go stand watch
and alert me when the moon soldier's friends come for
her... especially when Saturn arrives."
She smiled at the look of dawning horror on
Sailor Moon's face as the blonde realized what her
words meant.
"Gag her if she screams to loudly. I want to
rest."
Shadica swept from the dungeon of her palace
as the two commanders advanced towards Sailor Moon,
fists clenched in glee.
~'~
Haruka hesitated.
"I can't do this!"
"Haruka, they're perfectly decent, honest, kind
people. We can't just let them wonder! It took us days
to find Shadica's kingdom last time. By then everything
had been said and done and Usagi was half dead!"
"She *was* dead."
"Haruka, it wouldn't be right. Whether she said
it or not, Usagi loved this family."
"What if..."
"Haruka."
"But--"
"Tenoh-san? Kaioh-san? May I help you?"
Michiru and Haruka both looked at Ikuko, who now
stood in the doorway.
"Er... may we come in, Tsukino-san?" Michiru
said, solemnly. "We need to speak to you."
"It's a long story." Haruka said, as Ikuko led
them inside. "But you must remember it's true."
Kenji and Shingo gazed at the pair, confused, as
they entered the den.
"Did Usagi ever tell you how her parents died?"
Michiru asked, after Ikuko had sat down, under Haruka's
advise.
"No... we didn't ask. The social worker said it
was a sore subject."
"That's because they don't know either." Haruka
said. "Only five people on this planet know, including
us."
"This is where the story gets strange." Michiru
said, closed her eyes. "It all happened a thousand and
some odd years ago, when Usagi was first born."
At their odd looks, Haruka grinned.
"We told you the story was a bit odd."
"Haruka, please. The day Usagi was born, her
father was bruattally assassinated by supporters of
Beryl. Beryl was Queen of Atlantis then. You see,
Usagi's father was King Kronus, King of the Sun. Her
mother was Queen Serenity, the queen of the moon. Usagi
was princess of the moon. And yes, the moon was livable
then.
"Usagi grew up without a father, but we were
around to keep her company. She never knew what happened
to him, and all the better, for when she was seventeen,
on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, when she was to
recieve her birthright and assume the throne, Beryl had
finally gained the power to attack. We were the first to
die, as we protected the solar system. She took each planet
down, one by one, until she reached the moon." Michiru
paused there, and Haruka took up automatically.
"It was a massacare. People were being slain left
and right... women, children, men, animals... it didn't matter
to Beryl's troops. The inner senshi fell at the gates of the
palace, and the army swarmed over the palace walls, and Beryl
herself took the life of Usagi's financee, and then Usagi took
her own life to keep Beryl from triumph." Haruka sighed, and
closed her eyes and though she could see it being played out
in her mind before continuing.
"Queen Serenity saw this happen, and outraged that
such a thing had been done that she took out the ginzuishou
and used it's power to give her own life to set everything
right... to send the senshi and Usagi to the future, so that
we might have another chance at life. She sealed beryl away
in a negative plane, for she could not kill the other queen
without killing her daughter's soul."
Michiru sighed, "If only there could have been another
way. We know Serenity couldn't have meant for her daughter to
grow up the way Usagi did. Usagi... she used to be a wonderful,
kind, caring person who despised any kind of violence. She still
is, somewhere underneath. But she's built walls around herself.
She's afraid of getting too close in case of being hurt so
terribly again.
"And now, Shadica, the daughter of Nehelenia, the queen
of the dark moon, another enemy of Queen Serenity's, has captured her.
She's been taken to some hellish place, and we don't know where."
Michiru looked up at the silent Tsukinos. "Last time this happened,
we got to Usagi only just in the nick of time... she has scars
all over her body from the torture Shadica placed on her. She
was dead... we only just managed to save her. We don't know if
we'll make it this time, because Usagi has the ginzuishou now,
and she's... not exactly sensible. She might become rash and
blow up the world."
"She can do that?" Shingo asked.
"Kid, I'm betting on it." Haruka said. "Now, to prove
our story. Uranus Planet Power, Make up!"
"Neptune PLanet Power Make up!"
~'~
Sailor Venus ran though the streets blindly. The
only thing guiding her at the moment was a faint link
to Usagi, and where it led her, God only knew. Her
brain only vaguely noted the graffiti-covered walls and
sirens that were around her, only subtly registered the
shadowy figures that shifted, the broken glass beneath
her sandals, or the baorded-up warehouses and desolate
surroundings as she practically flew by.
Damn it, she felt the pain her princess was
feeling, and knew that the outer senshi, at least, felt
it too. Why weren't they following it? Couldn't they
sense that it grew stronger as they drew nearer?
And it was. She knew she was getting closer.
Blindly, she took a left at a street corner and knocked
over someone in her attempt to make a 90 degree turn so
quickly.
She ignored him as he yelled after her, for she
had finally found what she was looking for. It was so
like the shadows around it that any normal human would
have immediatly overlooked it, but here it was.
The portal to the Black Palace.
The man was still yelling at her, and her mind
finally registered it. She spun around.
"Listen, you jerk! Unless you want to get a
Love-Me Chain where the sun doesn't shine, you'd better
take your insults and shove it!"
The man glowered at her. Not that she could
really blame him, when she thought about it later. She
was a fifteen year old in an absurd costume, with
mussed-up hair and an insane look in her eyes.
"Well... here goes!" She announced to no one,
and promptly stepped into the portal.
The man stopped yelling abruptly.
He looked around and sighed.
How did these things always happen to him?
He walked up to the portal he'd been inspecting
before the blonde had came crashing up and did the only
thing he could--
He walked into it.
There was a swirl, and a vague sense of wind
rushing by, and then it was now he that slammed into
Sailor Venus.
"What are you doing here?" Venus hissed in a
furious whisper.
"Where are we?" He asked, at the same time.
Venus clamped a gloved hand over his mouth and dragged
him into an alleyway, or at least something that
resembled one.
"In the Dark Palace." She murmured.
"I thought so." He replied. "Well, who are you?"
Venus was staring at him in amazement.
"I'd ask the same!" Her voice was indignant.
"How do you know about the Dark Palace! And I'm Sailor
Venus."
"Ah. Yes, I remember you... you look a bit
different, though. I'm Raidon."
It was only too clear from the expression on her
face that the name didn't ring a bell, but it didn't
really matter, because the next second, venus was
doubled over in pain.
"Holy..." She gasped. "Serenity.. com'on! We've
got to get Serenity!"
"The PRINCESS is here?" Raidon nearly shrieked,
as Venus grabbed his wrist and began to weave through
the corridors like she'd walked them every day of her
life, slipping into nearly invisible indentures in the
walls to avoid youma and commanders that seemed to
prowl every corner.
"Yes... Serenity... here..." Venus gasped,
clutching her side as she dragged them both along.
"Shadica... has her. This... way..."
Raidon's brow furrowed. He knew of the link
between the princess and her senshi... but what was the
princess feeling to make Venus be in such pain?
He realized he didn't really want to know the
answer as Venus pulled him to a suddenly stop in front
of a pair of thick metal doors. Even through them,
screams of a young girl were too painfully audible.
"Crescent... Beam... Shatter!" Venus managed to
shout, as she tried desperately to block out the pain
she was feeling so she'd be able to concentrate on
rescuing her princess.
The beam was strong enough, thank god, to
shatter the doors.
And both of them wished it hadn't been. Venus's
pain was completely forgotten as they both stared,
dumbly, at the scene before them.
It takes the human brain approximately point two
seconds to register things.
It was point two seconds too short, or perhaps
to long. As soon as Venus recognized the bleeding,
half-conscious girl in the tattered remains of a senshi
fuku, she flew into a flurry of instictive motion,
sending crescent beams and Love-Me Chains at the youma
faster than she could call them out, and went at the
two commanders with a fury, taking them out by over
whelming them with hit after hit.
All this happened too quickly for Raidon too
follow, but he did know what to do as Venus dealt with
the enemies present. He rushed to the princess's side,
for he knew her even then, and somehow got her down
from the wall and draped his jacket over her.
By then, the room was a mess of blood and
mangled corpses, and Venus stood, breathless.
"We have to get out of here."
"Your first clue, Sherlock?"
~'~
I don't know if she's dead or not. Depends on how many
reviews I get. Oh, I'm a bad person. I feel guilt. Poor
Usagi, I'm so sorry... :'(
*grin* Oh, what a CLIFFHANGER!
~'~