If you chose not to read Chapter Ten, Sosoru did return to Mamoru and she was healed thanks to some curative plants. Now that she has returned, what is going to happen next?
Chapter 11 – Too Close for Comfort
Usagi and the other girls are walking through the mall. Usagi was in
front while Minako was to her left and Rei to her right. Makoto and Ami
were a couple of steps behind the girls, giving glances to each other. Usagi
pointed to a bench and they all sat down. They have not done any shopping
yet, just a lot of browsing. Usagi let out a big sigh then looked over at Rei.
She was sitting straight up with her arms folded. She had an uneasy look on
her face. Usagi put her hand on her knee and Rei jumped up. Usagi then
screamed and the other girls turned around.
"Rei, what's wrong," Usagi asked, concerned.
Rei brushed her long raven hair behind her ear and exposed her stunning profile. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. She then turned to Usagi and looked into her eyes.
"Something is going to happen today, I can feel it. I asked the Fire what could it be, but it revealed nothing," she said, almost scared.
Usagi put her arm over Rei's shoulder and gave her a little hug.
"Don't worry," she said, "everything will be Ok. You'll see."
Rei let a fake smile run across her face. Usagi decided that they had enough of the mall and it was time to go home. All the girls rose, except for Rei who was still away in thought. "Everything will not be ok. I can feel it."
The girls enter the gates of Rei's temple. The steps were lined with
beautiful cherry trees that swayed in the midday breeze. The girls laughed
and giggled their way up the stairs, but Rei stopped the cheery group. Usagi
turned around and looked at her.
"What's wrong?"
She turned her head to the left and closes her eyes. She listened to the earth, letting it tell her what is going on. She opened her eyes and ran up the stairs.
"Usagi! We must get to the prayer bell!"
She grabbed Usagi's hand and nearly pulled her down.
They made it to the top of the stairs, but there waiting was a Demon. Rei
reeled back and stumbled to the ground. The Demon stood taller than any of
the Cherry trees, and their leaves began to wilt for the intense heat exuding
from it. The birds that inhabited the trees squawked and flew away, leaving
behind their eggs that had begun to boil. Rei held Usagi's hand tight and
tried to get up.
She held her head down and thought, "That is why the Fire said nothing. The enemy WAS fire."
She looked at Usagi and winked at her.
Usagi, not understanding, yelled at Rei, "What are you going to do!"
She pulled out her transformation pen and held it to her chest.
"Doing what I was destined to do."
Rei then transformed into Eternal Sailor Mars and went head to head with the Demon. She could not use her Fire Power because it would only strengthen the Demon. Instead, she used her "Evil Spirits BEGONE!" attack, but the Demon easily dodged. Despite its size, it was extremely agile. She got in a fighting stance as the Demon charged for her. She braced herself but it was no use. Upon contact, it burned her skin andshe flew into the side of the temple. All the girls screamed out. Ami then
grabbed her pen.
"You can't always fight fire with fire, so let's try some ice."
She transformed into Eternal Sailor Mercury and began to charge up
the stairs.
"Wait," someone said. It was Eternal Sailor Neptune and the other
Outers. "Maybe a little water will help, too," she said winking as they both
went up the stairs.
At the top, they could see Sailor Mars was still alive, trying to get up. Sailor Mercury readied for attack but Neptune urged her to wait.
"We must call upon our elements and ask them for their power. Then,
at the same moment, we will attack."
Mercury nodded and the pair closed their eyes, almost in meditation. The other girls looked on, stunned.
"What are they doing," yelled Makoto, "We must attack!"
Uranus grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back.
"Will you stop being so rash," she said sternly, "They are gathering their powers."
Makoto yanked her shoulder back and looked on with the other girls.
Neptune and Mercury stood on either side of the Demon as it looked
on in amusement. The girls made several intricate hand movements and
when then opened their eyes, their pupils were fully dilated, making them
appear to be one solid color. The Demon did not like the looks of this. At the
same moment the girls gathered an energy ball with their hands and pointed
it at the Demon. It raised its eyebrow and they released their Ice and Water
power and the Demon yelled. Soon, the area was full of steam. The girls
were about to rush up the stairs, but Uranus urged them to stay in place once
more. As the steam cleared, Neptune and Mercury was seen on the ground,
overwhelmed by the energy that passed through their bodies. The Demon
stood in the center, no longer red or glowing. The body of the Demon then
fell backwards and shattered.
"Neptune," Uranus yelled as she stumbled up the stairs.
The other girls then followed to check on Mars and Mercury. Uranus lifted up Neptune's head and softly patted her cheek. Neptune slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Uranus. Both began to power down and their street clothes appeared. Haruka held her hand and kissed it.
"You did it, you killed the Demon."
Michiru smiled as Haruka helped her up. Haruka turned around to tell Mercury a job well done, but that was not going to be the case.
"USAGI!"
Everyone turned around and a Demon was standing behind Usagi. It grabbed her and she struggled.
*l*l*l
At Mamoru's apartment, he and Sosoru were getting dressed. She was
in the mirror brushing her hair when she got a bad feeling. She dropped her
brush and Mamoru picked it up. He looked at her expression and started to
ask her what's wrong. He got the same feeling and they looked at each other.
They both ran out of the complex jumped in Mamoru's car. He turned on the
ignition and burned rubber for the Temple. Sosoru was fidgeting in the car,
biting her nails.
"Why didn't we feel this sooner? Usagi could be dead…Damn it!"
She banged her hand on the dashboard as Mamoru swerved through traffic. In a matter of minutes, they were in front of the Temple. They raced out of the car and up the steps. What they saw shocked them. The Demon had Usagi in its hand, hanging by her neck. She appeared to be unconscious. All the girls had transformed and were attempting to attack the Demon, but it was no use. Neptune, Mercury and Mars we
sluggish from the previous battle, no one else seemed to be doing any good.
Sosoru closed her eyes and her fuku appeared on her and she ran up the
stairs. In a blink, Mamoru transformed into Tuxedo Kamen and followed
behind her. When she reached the top all the girls turned around and sighed
with relief.
"Hey, Sailor Triton Moon, can you give us a hand," asked Neptune.
She smiled and ran to the Demon. It raised its molten brow and stumbled back. For the first time, it spoke.
"Y…you are s…s…supposed to be d…dead."
She merely winked and kicked it in the chin. The Demon fell to the ground, dropping Usagi. The other Soldiers ran over to her aid and moved her to safety. The Demon yelled in rage and charged after Triton Moon. She flew in the air preparing her attack.
"I call upon the power of my Mother Planet, Neptune." Sailor Neptune's tiara started to glow. "I call upon the power of my moon of Triton."
Her tiara started to glow. She closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head. She cupped her hands and a small blue ball formed above them. She then lowered her hands to her torso, still cupping the ball.
"My planet, my moon…DESTROY!"
The energy ball got bigger and bigger as it moved toward the Demon. Mars at the same moment used her "Evil Spirits BEGONE!" attack, making the Demon incapable of movement. Unable to move, it simply closed its large red eyes and met its
doom. Triton Moon floated down to the ground and her street clothes
returned. She ran over to Usagi and helped her up.
"Hey, I heard you were in the neighborhood so I decided to swing by," Sosoru said smiling.
Usagi smiled back and shook her hand. "Thank you, Sosoru-san."
Sosoru scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
"Don't mention it. We are all Soldiers, remember?" Usagi smiled, remembering when she said that to Sosoru.
"Yes, I remember." The large group began to converse, walking to the temple to get cleaned up.
Deep inside the Earth, Queen Sosohizu sat on her throne in the Underworld. Her throne room was a dark and bloody area. Her throne rose high above her minions. The floor and walls were black and jagged, magma flowed around her throne, with the exception of a thin black walkway that led to it. Her servants bowed before her, as the two Demons she had sent to earth fell into the lava pits below. She sneered at their failure and let them die begging for mercy. She buried her nails into the arm of the throne and rose.
"My, beloved daughter thinks she is rid of me. She doesn't realize that she only killed my flesh, for I still exist. When the time is right, we will attack the Earth and seize it!" Her servants cheered and jumped in jubilation. She sat back down and motioned to silence the crowd. "My daughter is not as smart as she thinks. I will hold her life in my hands."
