*Chapter
8: Not Alone (Part B)*
By: Kohan
AN:
Hey, Minna! Okay, I need to clear something up here for a moment,
thank you Rita for bringing this to my attention. I used the word
'koibito' for the relationship between Duo and Rei. The
definition of 'koibito' is: lover or sweetheart. The definition I
am using is sweetheart, not lover. Thanks Rita!! Oh, by the way,
you can thank my hairdresser for this chapter, she really pissed
me off today.
***
"There's
no answer."
"Huh?" Michiru said, shocked, she looked at the others.
There was no expression of shock on Rei's face, nor Heero's, but
everyone else was wide eyed.
"I thought you said that you got her home safely,"
Haruka said, her eyes narrowing. She was looking at Heero.
"I did."
"She's probably just asleep or something..." Michiru
said. "Don't you think we should contact Sailorpluto?"
"Good idea, but my communicator is at home. We have to go
back there anyway for Hotaru. Let's go." Haruka got up
before Rei or Heero could say anything. If she hadn't Rei was
sure she wouldn't have said anything anyway, but she was too
worried about Usagi to think about how mad Haruka was going to be
when they got home. Rei picked up her backpack and followed
Haruka and Michiru to the door.
"We'll come with you," Quatre said, and looked at Trowa
who nodded in response. Haruka also nodded, showing that she
would allow them to come, after all, they still had almost 6
hours until they were to meet the others. So, Quatre, Duo, Trowa,
Heero and Wufei followed them to their apartment.
***
"What
do you mean it's locked?!" Haruka yelled. She was
desperately trying to open the door to Hotaru's room, (duh, it's
locked, hello!).
"Locked by Hotaru Tomoe at 6:37pm.
Override un-authorized" The keypad continued to repeat.
Haruka was beginning to be very frusterated. She had tried
hitting it, she had tried every password she could think of, but
noooo....the damn door would not open. Haruka finally gave up for
a few minutes, and came to sat down in the living room, where
Michiru was trying to contact Sailorpluto on her communicator.
"So she's really doing it?" Rei whispered to Heero, who
was sitting grimly on a barstool.
"Doing what?" Haruka said, she had heard Rei.
"Um..." Rei trailed off, because everyone's attention
had been caught by a faint purple glow coming from under Hotaru's
door.
"She's powering up, isn't she?! Why didn't you stop
her?" She looked at Rei. "Why didn't you stop
her." She was now looking at Heero.
"It's her decision." Heero stated plainly.
"Do you realize how badly she could get hurt?"
"Haruka!" Rei said, "Don't you know that Hotaru
needs this? She has so much power inside her that if she doesn't
use it for something it could destroy her. Her body wasn't
healing from injuries that she was getting, and she couldn't heal
herself! Whenever she healed me, I could feel the power
inside her, aching to get out!" Haruka looked a little taken
back by Rei's sudden outburst, but sat back down.
"She's right, Haruka." Michiru said, her eyes looking
into Haruka's. "But she might be to late to help us."
Rei suddenly remembered Hotaru's heshin wand and took it out of
her pocket. It had started to fade from the base up. 'When it
disappears, you'll know help is on the way' But it hadn't
faded very much, Rei was wondering if Hotaru was going to make
it.
"I can't get through to Pluto," Michiru said. "and
it's nearly 10 o'clock" (time travels fast, ne?)
Everyone
sat for a long while in silence, until it was broken by a loud
sigh from Rei. "This is pretty bad, ne?" she said.
Wufei rolled his eyes as if to say, 'you baka onna, of course
it's bad.' Michiru nodded, and Haruka grunted something out.
"If she would have listened to us, and not left...going
places alone...I would never be so stu--" Wufei started, but
was cut off by Rei.
"My God! Wufei! Your ego! It's filling up the whole room,
and sucking out all the air!" she yelled, glaring at Wufei.
It, however helped break the tension in the room...however, in
the next room, where Hotaru was, more then just tension was
building up.
Hotaru
lay in the fetal position on her bed. Her body glowed a faint
purple color, and every so often, a faint humming could be heard.
The air around her was thick with stillness. Her eyes were open,
but they were blank, and she didn't move at all. Only her mind
was active.
If there is a God...
Please let him make me a bird...
I want to fly away
Far away from these problems...
I want no more war, but forever there will be.
In our war, there is no black and white.
Only shades of gray.
The
clock chimed the half hour. Rei again looked at Hotaru's wand. It
was 12:30, and the beautifully crafted wand had only disappeared
4/5 of the way. Rei knew then that Hotaru wasn't going to make it
in time for the battle. It was up to them now.
"Duo..." Rei said, looking over at the braided boy who
was in the process of bugging the hell out of the Perfect
Soldier, "If things get really bad...I want you to leave...I
don't want you to get hurt."
"Don't worry, babe!" Duo said with a grin on his face.
"I'm the Shinigami!! Nothing can defeat me."
"Seriously." Rei said, with a big look on her face. Duo
gave her the 'okay' look, and then checked the clock.
"I think we should go, it's better to be early then late, ya
know?" Duo said."
"Duo's right." Said Heero. "Wouldn't want them to
show up and find we're not there, would you?" Haruka nodded,
and got up.
"I'm going to transform first." She said. "Uranus
crystal power! Make-up!" Super Sailoruranus opened the door.
Rei jumped up.
"Mars crystal power! Make-up!"
"Neptune crystal power! Make-up!" Neptune and Mars
followed Uranus out the door, and the Gundam piolets followed
them.
They had arrived at the site, with no sign of the others
whatsoever. It was cold for a summer night, and Rei shivered in
her sailor fuku. 'Where are you, Usagi?' she asked in
her mind...things were beginning to look hopeless. The city clock
struck one, and, as if on cue, a robed figure stepped out of the
shadows.
"You came. I am not surprised." Mammoru--the Dark
Prince said. "When I captured Usagi, I realized that I had
the perfect girl to bring you all to me, and now, we can join
forces...we will be powerful together."
"You baka!" Rei spat, "Thinking that we would ever
join you, even if you did take Usagi, you should have known we
would fight to take her back!"
"This I anticipated." He said calmly, "So, I'm
willing to strike a bargain. We fight, us," From the same
direction Mammoru came, so did Super sailors Mercury, Venus and
Jupiter. "against you. You win, you get Usagi back, and your
troubles are over until the next monster comes along. We win,
however, and, you join us...and your boyfriends? Well, let's just
say that their troubles will be over forever." A small smile
crossed his lips.
"How could you?" Neptune was saying, her question was
directed to the other senshi.
"We have always envied your powers, Neptune and Uranus,
especially little Saturn's...but with us at the back of the Dark
Prince, we will become greater then even her."
Sailorvenus said.
"How do we know?" Mars said, "I mean, that you
haven't already killed Usagi? Bring her out here...show her to
us."
"That was not part of the deal."
"Do it, or the deal is off!" Wufei said forcefully.
"As you wish," Mammoru said, and from behind him a pole
rose, on it, Usagi was tied.
"Usagi!!" Mars yelled
"Usagi!" Yelled Neptune. "You bastard."
"So our deal is on? Hell, I'll even be a fair sport and let
you have the first shot at me. Go ahead, Neptune, show me what
power you possess." Mammoru put out his arms, inviting
Neptune to attack him.
"Deep Submerge!!"
"World Shaking!" The double attack flew towards
Mammoru, but split a second before reaching him. Each seperate
attack was now headed for Mercury and Venus. The unexpected hit
knocked them to the ground.
"Very clever...very clever. But you'll have to do more then
that to defeat me!" Mammoru said, and a white ball of power
blasted from his hand, narrowly missing Neptune, and coming back
for a second round on Uranus. When it missed her, she let out a
sigh of relief.
"I never knew cape boy could do that!" She said.
"Why don't you just blast the bastard down to hell, where he
belongs?" Wufei asked, taking out his gun. Heero did the
same, as well as Duo.
"Flame SNIPER!!!" Mars' arrow was aimed directly at
Mammoru's heart, he dodged it, and it flew off harmlessly into
the background.
"Oak evolution!" Jupiter called out the attack in a
strange voice that Mars had never heard before...she could tell
that this battle was not going to last very long. The attack flew
around and around Mars, and she was being lifted up by
electricity and leaves...it was pleasant, that is, until the
crunching started. She felt like she was being compressed, and it
hurt. She let a scream escape her lips, and the attack stopped.
"Rei-chan!" Duo yelled and ran towards her.
"Aqua Raspody (Is that Mercury's attack? 0.o)!!"
Mercury's attack headed for Duo.
"No!" Mars yelled, and flung herself inf ront of the
attack, absorbing the hit. Her body was suddenly cold, and then
it wore off, leaving her gasping for breath.
"Why...?" Duo asked, kneeling by her, and putting her
head in his lap.
"Here..." Rei said, and took out her heshin wand and
handed it to Duo. "You promised you'd leave if things got
bad. I can't protect you anymore...get out of here." She
reached around for Hotaru's heshin wand, but it was gone...help
was on the way.
"I promise I'll leave, if you'll only stay alive for
me..." Duo said, Rei could see a tear in his eye.
"Don't cry..." She said, and reached a gloved hand up
to wipe his cheek where the tear had spilled out. "Leave,
Duo, I'll see you again. I promise."
"Aishiteru, Rei-chan..."
"Aishiteru...." Rei said, and closed her eyes for a
last time.
True to his word, Duo got up, ready to leave. But could he just
desert them like this? The battle was well underway, and while he
had been with Sailormars, the battle had intensified, and
Sailorneptune was gasping for breath. They needed help.
"Dead Scream." The words were whispered against the
night, as if an answer to their prayers. Pluto had arrived on
scene. Duo smiled a little, he could fulfill Rei's wish without
any guilt now. To make himself feel better, he fired a few shots
at Sailors Mercury, Jupiter and Venus, and fired several more at
Mammoru. He knew they would do no good, but he didn't care. He
then used the night as a cloak and disappeared. Pluto's attack
headed towards Mammoru, hit him, but he didn't seem phased by it.
Now Neptune was trying to get to Usagi, to cut her loose, and she
managed it just before Mercury launched another attack at her.
Unfortunately, Usagi was unconscious. Wufei ran to catch her
before she hit the ground, and managed it. Neptune, however,
wasn't so lucky...the attack hit her full on, and she went down.
Uranus ran to her, and grabbed her hand.
"Michiru..."
"Fight, Haruka," Michiru said, a little sadness in her
voice. "because a world without Haruka...is no world at
all..." She was gone. Uranus looked up from Neptune's body,
her eyes full of hatred. She was looking at Sailormercury.
"We always got along, Ami...but now I realize what a selfish
brat you are! Space Sword Blaster!!!" Mercury was unable to
stand against the attack, and her body went limp as she fell.
"Let your death be a lesson in your next life." Uranus
said, and took out her sword, preparing to kill herself with it.
"Uranus, no!" Pluto yelled, but her words were to late.
"How could you...?" She said, her eyes full of sadness,
but the sadness broke as they returned to Mammoru and the two
other senshi still standing, she was prepared to fight until
death.
Sailorsaturn ran as fast as she could to the center of town. Her sailor fuku had changed, the ruffled sleeves had returned, as well as the several pointed star brooch at her bow. The glaive had also changed, where there used to be a black staff, was now crystal clear, and three purple stones rested on the glaive. Saturn hoped she wasn't too late.
***
AN: Okay, just a simple note here...er...no flames...please? Okay? Need a little explanation for me killing off the senshi? Well, um, don't worry, k? You know they all come back, people!!! So, chill!! Anyway, I'm about ready to finish this up, there will probably be only one full chapter left...but don't worry, I'm planning on writing a sequel...and for those of you that are wondering, Mammoru will get his due. And you Rei fans, sorry...she's my favorite inner senshi too, but trust me, she won't be out of the picture for long, I promise. And you Uranus fans...um about this suicide...she wanted to be with Michiru!!! Have some compassion!! Don't cry... the sun will shine again!! BWA ha ha...er...