POISON
Sailor Uranus and Akumu walked through the dense forest of the foothills. For many hours, neither spoke as they slid down the steep slopes of the northern mountains. Akumu, wearing only her silk pyjama pants and shirt, had cut up her feet horribly walking across the sharp rocks. She struggled to keep up with Uranus, never complaining about her bloody feet. Finally, Uranus looked behind to see how her charge fared and cursed to herself when she saw the bloody trail Akumu had been leaving.
"What are you doing?" Uranus demanded, striding back to the girl and forcing her to sit on a rotting log.
"I'm fine," Akumu said numbly.
Uranus shook her head. The thief had been acting very strangely since her transformation into the Fury. She had adamantly refused to become Sailor Nyx and had gradually fallen into a sad silence. Uranus found herself unable to coax Akumu out of it, and wished fiercely that her gentler half, Michiru, was with her.
"You're leaving a trail for the demons to follow," Uranus told Akumu as she knelt to bandage the girl's feet.
"What does it matter?" Akumu said. "I'm one of them now anyway."
Uranus looked up sharply. "You are not a demon."
"You saw what I became," Akumu objected. "You were right all along. My powers are far too unpredictable to be controlled."
"You need time," Uranus said, ripping Akumu's pant leg to make a bandage.
"We have no time," Akumu replied.
Uranus sighed and sat back on her heels. She regarded the depressed face of Akumu and thought about how she could help the girl. She thought back to her own understanding of her destiny and realized that Michiru had been with her from the start. Haruka, like Akumu, had tried to run and it was only through Michiru's heroic self sacrifice that she had seen her true calling.
"I can't make you do what you don't want to," Uranus told Akumu, "but I can tell you you're not alone. You have friends now, and we'll all stand by you and help."
Akumu raised her head and Uranus saw her tear filled eyes brimming with gratitude. She smiled for the first time sine Haruka had found her, and nodded. The two girls rose together and continued their trek.
Suddenly, the dense underbrush parted and four large demons leapt out. Uranus pushed Akumu behind her protectively as the girl clutched the cylinder. Snarling with rage, the demons attacked.
Sailor Uranus raised her hand over her head and stared angrily at the closest demon.
"World Shaking!" she called.
One of the demons vanished with a shriek of rage. Another charged Uranus and the two met, locked in combat. The demon growled at Uranus and extended it three-inch claws. It took all of Uranus' strength to keep the talons from her face. Behind her, Akumu screamed.
"Transform!" Uranus ordered, still grappling with the monster.
"I can't!" Akumu protested.
The other two demons had her backed against a tree. Akumu stared at them in fear, but could not bring herself to become Sailor Nyx. The sheer terror of becoming the Fury was enough to keep the powers of Nyx at bay. Sailor Uranus swore and kicked the demon she wrestled aside. The claws tore through her arm, leaving four deep gashes.
Uranus raised her hand above her head again.
"World Shaking!"
Her wrestling partner disappeared. Clutching her bloody arm, she turned to face Akumu's attackers. Uranus drew out her talisman and smiled grimly.
"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus called, slashing out with her sword.
The remaining two demons dissolved away. Uranus fell to her knees and Akumu ran to her. The elder senshi was breathing hard and held her wounded shoulder with one hand.
"You're hurt!" Akumu remarked. She sank to the ground next to Uranus. "It's my fault."
Uranus shook her head and wiped the beads of sweat off her brow with her good hand. "I'm fine; don't blame yourself. Please, help me up."
Akumu stood and pulled the injured senshi to her feet. Ripping off her sleeve, Akumu bandaged the wounded arm. She released her hold on Uranus, but quickly caught the senshi as she teetered and began to fall.
"Uranus!" Akumu gasped.
"I'm fine," Uranus said, cringing in pain and holding her arm.
"No, you're not," Akumu told her, near tears. "I should have helped you. I should have transformed."
Uranus pushed Akumu's helpful arm away and stood unsteadily on her own. Putting on a brave face, she began to walk forward.
"C'mon," Uranus said. "We have to keep moving."
Akumu stared after the senshi for a moment before scooping up the cylinder and following.
********
Abyss bit deeply into the apple. Clear juice dribbled down her chin and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She sauntered over to where Sailor Neptune hung from her chains as she chewed and swallowed the fruit. Neptune watched expressionlessly, trying to ignore the rumbling in her stomach. Since Uranus' escape, Abyss had been regularly torturing the captive senshi, Neptune most of all.
"How long has it been since you ate?" Abyss asked, taking another bite.
Neptune didn't reply. Abyss smiled and snapped her fingers. The demon guard who stood beside Neptune struck her hard in the stomach. The senshi doubled over as much as her chains would allow. Abyss held up a hand to keep the demon at bay.
"You could end this all now," Abyss told her. "Just tell me your partner's plan."
"Never," Neptune replied.
Abyss snapped again and the demon backhanded Neptune across the face. Her head reeled from the blow and rocked on her neck. Abyss smiled cruelly.
"The world knows of your psychic bond," Abyss continued as if nothing had happened. "The two of you plan without a single word. I knew one of you would escape and the other would sacrifice herself."
Neptune said nothing. She had sensed Uranus' plan to escape, but where her beloved was now was impossible to guess. Abyss watched the girl carefully.
"Three days," Abyss said, discarding the half eaten apple on the floor. "Most won't last past five without food or drink. You are far too willing o die."
Abyss nodded and the demon guard followed her to where the Asteroid senshi hung.
"Perhaps another would be more willing to reveal the senshi's plan," Abyss said. "Either way, you'll all die."
Sailor Pallas swallowed hard as Abyss walked passed her. Neptune painfully turned her head to the young girls beside her.
"Be strong," Neptune told them as Abyss left the Shield room.
"Easy for you to say," Juno grumbled. "I'm so hungry!"
Vesta eyed the discarded apple hungrily. "I wonder if I could reach that with my feet."
"Your feet aren't even touching the ground," Ceres remarked.
"Patience," Neptune scolded them. "Wait for night."
The four senshi nodded and fell silent. Neptune licked the blood from her lip and stared ahead into the face of Sailor Venus. The girl was so peaceful looking in her living death, completely unaware of what happened to her city. Neptune wondered what kind of state the four senshi would be in when they awoke. Would they be up to a fight with Abyss, or would the Dark Moon triumph after all?
********
As night fell, Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn searched for a place to hide. They were tired and hungry after their long hike, but had not seen any sign of pursuit from the destroyed demon camp. They both knew that Abyss thought them dead, and that she had no way of knowing that Pluto had saved them at the last possible second.
As the two girls silently pulled together a crude shelter of branches and leaves, Moon wondered what would become of them. The cylinder was gone, that was certain. Abyss didn't have it, but she knew that Sailor Moon did not possessed it either, which would not prevent her from murdering the inner senshi.
And then there was the problem of Akumu.
"Get in," Saturn said, gesturing to the small opening of their shelter.
Sailor Moon scrambled through the hole, careful not to knock the fragile structure down. To the naked eye, the shack looked like a fallen over tree overgrown with shrubbery. Sailor Moon knew that no demon would find them tonight.
Saturn slid in next to Sailor Moon, pulling her glaive in and laying it across the floor. She looked to her friend and smiled wearily.
"What are you thinking?" Saturn asked.
"About the cylinder," Sailor Moon sighed. "What are we going to do without it?"
Saturn shrugged. "I think we should try to sneak into the palace and free Queen Serenity."
"How would we do that? Abyss will have guards all over the place!" Moon said.
Saturn smiled slyly. "Not everywhere. Getting in will be no problem. The hard part will be getting to your parents."
"And getting the Crystal," Moon added. She sighed again and yawned.
"But first," Saturn said, echoing Moon's yawn, "we should get some sleep."
********
The full moon was high overhead when Saturn came awake with a start. Beside her, Sailor Moon slept on, unaware of the impending danger. Outside, the sound that had woken Saturn came again. It was not loud, but had just enough volume to make Saturn worry. She paused, listening as the sound came a third time. She guessed at two sets of footfalls, which meant two demons who had followed them from Abyss' camp. Quickly, she nudged Sailor Moon awake and placed her hand over the other girl's mouth to keep her from speaking. Wide eyed, Sailor Moon stared up at Saturn, who placed a finger on her lips to indicate silence. Sailor Moon nodded in understanding and Saturn removed her hand.
The sound came again and this time there was no mistaking the sound of foot steps. Sailor Moon slid further back in the shelter as Saturn's hand folded around her glaive. The senshi of Death and Rebirth motioned for Sailor Moon to stay where she was, and snuck out of the shelter.
The moon cast shadows around the forest as Saturn hid behind a tree, holding her glaive tightly. Her purple eyes scanned the trees carefully, looking for any sign of movement. To her right, bushes rustled and Saturn brought her glaive up, ready to strike if necessary. The bushes parted and two figures limped into the clearing. The larger of the two leaned heavily on the shorter, and although both were masked in darkness, Saturn could see they were not demons. Stepping from the shadows, she leveled her glaive at the throat of the shorter figure, which brought them to a halt. As Saturn tried to figure out who she was facing, Sailor Moon stuck her head out of the shelter.
"Who are you?"
"Hotaru," the smaller figure said. "It's me."
Saturn lowered her glaive. "Akumu?"
"And Sailor Uranus," Akumu said. "Please, help her."
Saturn hurried over to her two friends as Sailor Moon scrambled out of the shelter. Akumu gently lowered Uranus to the ground and Saturn could see the sheen of sweat on her pale face.
"What's wrong?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Get her inside, quickly," Saturn said. "She's been poisoned."
********
Diana moved stealthily down the deserted hallways of the Crystal Palace. The moon was high and full as she darted under the legs of guards and hid from the view of patrols. She didn't dare tell anyone, but she quite enjoyed sneaking around. Too long she had lived in the shadow of her parents and had been denied responsibility. At last she was able to show Queen Serenity and King Endymion how useful she could be.
Her latest mission, after Serenity had heard that Abyss was starving the captive senshi, was to make sure they had something to eat. This was no easy task for the small purple kitten. Every night she would sneak down the servants passage to the kitchen and steal all the food she could carry - which was not much. She would then have to take it from the kitchens up to the Shield Room without being seen or heard. For three nights she had successfully made the journey and the senshi, although hungry, were not starving to death.
Balancing a napkin filled with food in her mouth, Diana darted across the hall and squeezed between the large doors that were always left ajar. Five demons stood outside every entrance, but the room itself was empty of guards. Diana deposited the small bag of food in the middle of the room and pawed it open.
She first took out two small sausages and dragged them to the two cages on Endymion's desk. Abyss apparently had not yet missed the purple kitten, and so her midnight missions continued uninterrupted. Careful not to make too much noise, Diana pushed one sausage in each cage for her parents. Luna and Artemis said nothing by way of thanks, but each watched their daughter with thankful, worry filled eyes. They knew if Abyss ever caught Diana, they would never see their only child again. Quickly, they ate the sausages as Diana returned to her bag.
Feeding the senshi was more complicated since they were chained to the wall. Diana pulled a hunk of bread from the bag and pulled it to Neptune's feet. She then managed to carry it up Neptune's body until the kitten perched on the senshi's shoulder and held the bread out in her mouth. Neptune ate as much as she could, and whispered thanks to the kitten. Diana proceeded to do the same to the four Asteroid senshi until her bag was empty. The kitten then went into the meeting room of the Planetary Ladies through which Uranus had made her escape, and pulled a bottle of water from the shelf. She used a long straw Endymion had constructed and placed in her collar to allow all the captives to drink. Diana then disposed of the bottle beneath Endymion's desk, retrieved the napkin, and ran back to Serenity and Endymion's bedroom, her mission accomplished.
********
As the sun rose over the mountains, Akumu stretched and woke. She had spent the night outside in front of a small fire she had constructed. Sailors Moon, Saturn, and Uranus were piled in the shelter and Akumu glanced over at the mass of branches in worry. She had not realized how badly Uranus had been injured until the elder senshi had toppled over as they walked. Akumu had tried to wake her, but Uranus was already lost in fitful slumber. How she had carried Uranus, or how she had found Saturn was beyond her understanding. She was just thankful she had reunited with her friends.
The cylinder lay next to her, the pale light of the inner senshi's life energy churning inside. She wondered how long Lady Mercury had given the safety mechanism before it shut off on its own. It had been several months already and Akumu knew they would soon run out of time and Abyss would win.
She jumped to her feet as Sailor Moon scrambled out of the shelter. The pink senshi's face was full of concern as she walked over to Akumu.
"How is she?" the blue haired girl asked.
Sailor Moon shook her head. "Hotaru is trying to heal her."
Akumu blinked in surprise. Sailor Moon gave a sad, half smile.
"I keep forgetting you're new," Sailor Moon said, attempting a joke. "Hotaru-chan has healing powers, but she takes the illness into herself. The poison is too strong for her to get rid of, but she can ease the pain."
"It's my fault," Akumu muttered. "Why do I have to be so afraid?"
"Don't blame yourself," Sailor Moon said. "We'll find a way to save Haruka, the city, and the others too."
Akumu shook her head. "I'm sorry, princess, but I think I should leave."
Sailor Moon frowned angrily. "Running away again? What did that accomplish last time?"
Akumu looked at her friend with pain filled eyes. "Please, Usagi-chan, understand. I can't transform anymore and even if I could, who knows what I would be? I'm a burden to you and this mission."
Sailor Moon crossed her arms over her chest. "Kuusou Akumu, if you leave again, I'm never going to speak to you!"
Akumu smiled. Sailor Moon kept trying to look angry, but the smile eventually spread over her face as well.
"Okay, Usagi-chan," Akumu said. "I'll stick around, for a while longer, anyway."
"Good," Sailor Moon said. "Now, help me think of a way to get into the city."
********
Abyss stared at the frozen senshi with a smile on her face. It was all coming together at last. The senshi are gone, captured or dead, and soon Queen Serenity will be unable to provide strength to the city. Then, the Crystal Points will be destroyed and nothing will be able to stop Abyss from ruling Tokyo and the entire Crystal Kingdom.
Six guards came in, with the royal couple between them. Queen Serenity and King Endymion kept their heads high and proud, despite their current status and Abyss found it hard not to admire them. Her smile widened when she thought of how history would remember her - the person who had succeeded where Chaos itself had failed several times, the one who forever shattered the sailor senshi.
"Greetings, Majesties," Abyss said. "I trust you slept well?"
Serenity said nothing and Endymion glared at his captor with malice in his eyes. Abyss snapped her finger and a demon came forward with a chair. Abyss sat, keeping the monarchs standing before her. She made sure that the senshi and the cats were listening before she began her report.
"Good news," Abyss told them, "the princess and her friends have been found. It seems they were trying to sneak into my camp to see if I had the cylinder of the life energies. Your daughter seemed quite upset when I told her I did not. Apparently, she lost it somehow."
Serenity gripped Endymion's arm tighter, but both their faces remained expressionless.
"A shame, really," Abyss continued. "She probably would have made an excellent queen and warrior. Too bad she crossed me. I assure you all, she did not live to repeat the error."
Serenity gave a small moan and buried her head into Endymion's arm. Abyss laughed and leaned back in her chair.
"Cross off one princess, one child senshi, and one adult," Abyss said. "They won't ever be bothering me again."
"One adult?" Neptune said softly. "Haruka?"
Abyss jumped to her feet and turned to face Neptune. "You had to bring that nuisance up again, didn't you? I will have that senshi by the throat if it's the last thing I do! No one defies Abyss and lives to tell the tale!"
Neptune looked at Serenity and smiled. The queen wiped her eyes and nodded grimly. Abyss threw herself back into her chair and waved a hand at the monarchs.
"Take them away," she ordered her demon guards. "I can't bring myself to look at them today."
As ordered, the six demons brought Serenity and Endymion back to their rooms.
********
Serenity threw herself on the bed and sobbed. Endymion sat beside her, rubbing her back soothingly. Diana popped out of her hiding place in Serenity's desk and ran over to the bed. She looked up inquiringly at Endymion, but the king only shook his head sadly.
"Chibiusa," Serenity whispered, pulling herself into a sitting position. "How could I let this happen?"
"It wasn't you," Endymion said. "It was Abyss."
"She was our daughter," Serenity cried. "We should have protected her, kept her in the palace."
"As I recall," Endymion told his wife, "we did. She's the one who kept sneaking out."
"And Hotaru-chan," Serenity sighed. "Do you suppose she'll be reborn?"
Endymion shrugged. "She is the senshi of Rebirth. Perhaps, if the time is right."
"And Akumu," Serenity added. She paused her lament for a moment. "Did Abyss say one child and one adult senshi?"
Endymion thought back and nodded. "So either Hotaru or Akumu escaped."
Serenity sat up. "Who was the adult senshi? It couldn't have been Haruka or else Abyss wouldn't have been so upset when Michiru mentioned her."
"Excuse me, Ma'am and Sir," Diana said, "but could the grown up senshi be Miss Setsuna?"
The royal couple exchanged a look. They had both forgotten about the senshi of Time, the one Planetary Lady who rarely attended court. Chibiusa carried the Cronos Key with her everywhere she went.
"If Setsuna was there instead of Hotaru or Akumu," Serenity said slowly, "she would not have let Chibiusa die."
"But if she died as well," Endymion disagreed, "perhaps it was in defense of Chibiusa."
Serenity sighed. "I thought I would feel when our daughter was gone. Those times in the past we nearly lost her, it felt as if I was dying as well."
"But you knew for certain then," Endymion told his wife. "All we know now is that we can't trust Abyss. Chibiusa and the others may well be alive."
Serenity's eyes locked on her husbands and she clasped his hand firmly. "I hope so, darling."
********
Akumu kicked a rock and looked back at the shelter. Sailor Moon sat outside the entrance, looking in at Saturn and Uranus. The two outer senshi were resting inside, one regaining strength and the other lost in a poison filled mind. Akumu sighed and paced around the burnt out fire pit. There must be something she could do. She looked up at the sun, high overhead in the mid day sky.
"Lucis," she whispered. "Guide me now, please."
As if in answer to her prayer, something fell from the sky at her feet. Akumu bent over to pick it up and saw it was a stick of some sort. At the top was a black ball with two rings around it and a grayish star on the top. Akumu turned it over in her hand, wondering what it was.
"A transformation pen!"
Akumu nearly jumped out of her skin as Sailor Moon spoke from directly behind her. She whirled around and saw the princess staring at the stick in her hand.
"A what?" Akumu asked.
"A transformation pen," Sailor Moon repeated. "Use it to transform into a senshi."
Akumu looked at it dubiously. "I didn't need one before."
"How did you transform?" Moon asked.
Akumu shrugged. "I don't know. I just did."
"Try it," Sailor Moon urged. "Hold it up and say whatever you say to become Sailor Nyx."
Akumu looked from Sailor Moon, to the stick, to Sailor Moon again. The pink senshi was waiting in anticipation for her friend to transform. Akumu bit her lip and thought about becoming the Fury again. She shook the thought from her mind.
"Maybe later," Akumu said.
Sailor Moon frowned and, as if it sensed Sailor Moon's disappointment, the transformation pen began to glow. Akumu dropped it in surprise, but the pen floated until it was eye level with Akumu. It spun once and a beam of light came from the pen and struck Akumu in the forehead. Her hair flew back and a crescent moon with a star on top appeared on her skin.
"That must be your symbol," Sailor Moon said.
"My what?" Akumu tried to say, but the light of the pen suddenly expanded she felt herself falling.
********
Sailor Moon stared at her friend. Akumu stood trance-like in front of her, the black transformation pen still shooting a beam of light at her head. The pink senshi licked her lips and cleared her throat. Akumu didn't move.
"Hotaru?" Sailor Moon called.
Saturn's head appeared from the shelter. She seemed very tired and her face paler than before. It took her a moment to see what was happening. She gasped, leapt out of the shelter, and was beside Sailor Moon in a second.
"What happened?" Saturn asked.
Quickly, Sailor Moon told her what had transpired in the last ten minutes. The two young senshi watched in mesmerized amazement until the beam of light broke free of Akumu's head and both the pen and the girl toppled to the ground.
"Akumu!" Sailor Moon gasped.
Akumu blinked and stood right away. The mark of Nyx was still on her forehead and her eyes had turned white. Without saying a word, she picked up her transformation pen and headed to the shelter, floating above the ground. Saturn and Moon watched.
As Akumu neared the haphazard shack, the leaves and branches that made up the hut flew to both sides leaving Sailor Uranus lying on the ground. Akumu floated until she hovered right next to Uranus's head before raising her face to the sky. The wind picked up around her, streaming her hair straight up, and Sailor Uranus floated until she lay floating three feet above the ground.
"Guardian of the Mind and Senshi of Dreams," Akumu said, "I protect the realm of the Spirit that you are invading."
"Who is she talking to?" Sailor Moon whispered.
Before Sailor Saturn could answer, Akumu disappeared and Sailor Uranus floated down to the ground, landing gently where she lay before. The two younger senshi ran to the elder one.
"Her fever is gone," Saturn said in astonishment.
"Did Akumu heal her?" Sailor Moon asked.
Saturn looked down at Uranus's sleeping face. "I guess we'll find out when she wakes up."
********
Abyss stood on the balcony of the Crystal Palace. From this vantage point, she could see the progress of the destruction of the Points. Already two of the five Points had been reduced to dust and in a few days, nothing would remain. She smiled and laughed out loud. At last she, Abyss of the Black Moon, would win where countless others had failed. At last she would rule the world.