Here is the final part to "The Cardians." Enjoy!
Read and review please.
E-mail me at AngelRaye2@aol.com
Visit my web site at www.angelfire.com/anime3/chibiscouts
Disclaimer: I wish I did own Sailor Moon then maybe I wouldn't have to work so heard right now. Anyway I do not own Sailor Moon. With the exception of Rini I own all of the Senshi's children.
The Cardians
Part Twelve
By
Angel Raye
The Senshi, Chibi Senshi and Mercury Knight walked through the chambers in search of Lady Gemmei. Mercury Knight continued to hold Ariel tightly in his arms. Whatever it took, he was going to protect her and bring her back to Amy. He gazed down at the small bundle in his arms. Whenever he saw how battered up she was he felt rage. How could anyone think of doing this to a small child?
Chibi Mars suddenly gasped and stopped. Everyone else stopped and looked at her. "What is it Chibi Mars," asked Venus.
"I am sensing a strong evil presence," she replied. "Lady Gemmei is nearby."
"Right you are Sailor Chibi Mars," laughed an evil voice. Everyone took up fighting stances and looked around. In a few minutes Lady Gemmei appeared in front of them. "You may have the rest of the Cardians now and Eizo may be dead but in the end I am going to destroy you."
Ariel heard Lady Gemmei's voice and gave a whimper of terror. Even in her father's arms she strongly feared her tormenter. Mercury Knight heard his daughter's cry of fear and he pulled her even closer to him. "It's all right Princess," he soothed. "I'll protect you."
"So I see you've rescued the brat," Lady Gemmei sneered. "Well I can still torture her for the Cardians."
"You keep your hands off of her," Mercury Knight roared.
"Who said I was going to touch her," Lady Gemmei asked. She held up her torture device.
"That's," Chibi Saturn gasped as she recognized it.
Lady Gemmei pressed the button. In an instant a wave of pain went through Ariel's body. She began screaming and writhing in Mercury Knight's arms. "Ariel," Mercury Knight cried.
"Girls do something," Cosmic Moon shouted.
Chibi Jupiter powered up in rage. "JUPITER DEADLY LIGHTENING BOLT!"
"VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!"
"DESTRUCTIVE RAY!"
The three attacks flew out and hit Lady Gemmei's hand. She dropped the device. Chibi Uranus quickly grabbed it. "Over here," Chibi Mars shouted. Chibi Uranus tossed the device over to her. Chibi Mars powered up. "MARS FIRESTORM!" The flames engulfed the device and it burst into flames.
"You brats," shouted Lady Gemmei in rage and she disappeared.
"Ariel," Chibi Saturn dashed over to her best friend. "It's okay. The device is destroyed."
"Daddy," Ariel whimpered.
"It's okay Princess," Mercury Knight soothed. He turned angrily toward the others. "I am going to go and fight Lady Gemmei. What she has done to my child is unforgivable. I want to take care of her myself."
"Ariel's my best friend Mercury Knight," Chibi Saturn stepped forward. "I'll help you."
"I will not allow the woman who tortured my goddaughter get away," Jupiter declared. "I'm fighting too."
"Don't forget Ariel's mentor," Neptune stepped forward. She gently ran a hand over Ariel's face. "I'm going to fight."
"Ariel is a valued member of my team," Cosmic Moon stated. "I'll fight with you."
"Ariel saved me from being taken," Chibi Venus added. "If it weren't for her then I would have gone through all of this. I'm going to fight."
"Very well," Venus stated. "The six of you will go and find Lady Gemmei. Keep an open com so that the rest of us can rush to your help if needed."
Mercury Knight handed Ariel to Sailor Venus. "Daddy," she whimpered.
"I'll be back Ariel," he promised as he kissed her cheek. "Sailor Venus will take care of you. When I get back we'll go and see Mommy."
"Okay Daddy," Ariel choked. Mercury Knight gave her another kiss and followed the others out. Ariel clutched Sailor Venus, drawing comfort from the woman's warmth.
"It's okay Sweetie," Venus soothed. "We'll get you home."
Mercury Knight, Jupiter, Neptune, Cosmic Moon, Chibi Saturn and Chibi Venus walked though the corridors. All of them had one purpose in mind and that was to defeat Lady Gemmei. "If only we had either Amy or Ariel's mini computer," Jupiter sighed.
"I can use my mirror," Neptune stated. She held up her Aqua Mirror and images began to form.
Chibi Venus was jumping up and down trying to look. "I can't see anything clearly," she whined.
"That's because you're not from the Neptune bloodline," Neptune replied. Chibi Venus flushed and stopped jumping. Neptune studied the mirror and then pointed. "That way." The others followed her. They entered a room and found Lady Gemmei sitting in her throne.
"So I see you found me," she stated. "Well you're not going to get out of here alive."
"We'll see about that," shouted Chibi Venus and she powered up. "VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!"
Lady Gemmei dodged the attack. "Pathetic," she sneered. She held up her hand and a blast of energy flew out. Mercury Knight and the Senshi all screamed as it engulfed them.
Ariel whimpered softly in Venus's arms. She had dozed off to a fitful sleep but the others didn't need Raye's psychic abilities or Amy's professional eye to tell them that it was not a pleasant sleep. Chibi Mars knelt down in concern by Venus. "Will she really be all right?"
Sailor Saturn ran another scan. "She has been beaten and starved but she will heal from that," she reported. "The emotional scars are what concerns me."
"Emotional," Chibi Pluto asked.
Saturn nodded. "Ariel has been badly traumatized by all of this," she told the girls. "She will need therapy."
"She's lucky," Chibi Mars stated. "Her mama can do that."
"True," Venus agreed. "But sometimes we need someone outside our family to help out. However Ariel will probably be better off with her mother doing the therapy."
Chibi Mars gently placed a hand on Ariel's face. She always hated being away from her mother, especially when she was frightened and alone. So Chibi Mars could only imagine what Ariel was going through. "Don't worry Ariel," she whispered. "We'll get you back to your mama."
Chibi Venus groaned as the energy blast drilled into her and the others. She decided to try and get rid of it. She powered up. "VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!" The attack flew out and decimated the energy blast.
"Good job Chibi Venus," Sailor Jupiter gasped as she recovered from the shock.
"You're not going to win," shouted Lady Gemmei.
"I don't suppose you've noticed but you're outnumbered," Neptune pointed out. She powered up. "DEEP SUBMERGES!" Her attack flew out and hit Lady Gemmei. Sailor Jupiter was about to power up when Lady Gemmei stopped her.
"Before you attack me then let me show you something," she roared. She held something in her hand.
"She has another device to torture Ariel," shouted Cosmic Moon.
"That's right," sneered Lady Gemmei. "And I will use it to put that child in pain. She pressed the button.
In Venus's arms Ariel suddenly woke up screaming in pain. "Ariel," Chibi Neptune cried in alarm.
"Lady Gemmei must have another one of those devices," Sailor Saturn shouted.
"Hang on Ariel," Sailor Venus tried to sooth her. "Hang on."
Lady Gemmei laughed as she continued pressing the button. "I can hear her screams," she laughed.
"Damn you," Mercury Knight roared in rage. "You leave my daughter alone." He pulled out his sword and swung it at Lady Gemmei knocking the device out of her hands.
Ariel collapsed in Venus's arms, gasping for breath. She began to cry very hard. "Mommy," she sobbed. "Mommy."
"Hang on Sweetie," Venus held the child close to her. "We'll get you to Mommy soon."
"Someone destroy that thing," Mercury Knight shouted.
"DESTRUCTIVE RAY!"
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
In an instant the device was destroyed. "How dare you," shouted Lady Gemmei.
"She's only a little girl," Sailor Neptune shouted back angrily. "She doesn't need this."
"I'll see to it that none of you get out of here alive," Lady Gemmei screamed. She was about to move toward them when she suddenly screamed in pain. She looked down and saw that Mercury Knight had driven his sword through her.
"How dare you hurt my little girl," he shouted in rage.
"Mercury Knight," gasped Cosmic Moon in astonishment. She started to run forward but Sailor Jupiter stopped her.
"This is his fight," she told Cosmic Moon who nodded and stepped back.
Mercury Knight's sword began to glow. "SUPREME ICE SWORD BLASTER!" The sword glowed and Lady Gemmei screamed. The blue light from the sword engulfed her. The Senshi and Chibi Senshi watched in astonishment. None of them had ever seen this much power from one of the knights. The blue light vanished along with Lady Gemmei.
"Is she gone," Chibi Saturn asked.
"She is," Neptune assured her.
"Mercury Knight, how," asked Cosmic Moon.
"I just felt so much rage at what she did to my daughter," Mercury Knight replied. "And I knew I had to destroy her."
"A father's love for his daughter gave him the extra power he needed to destroy the enemy," Jupiter concluded.
"Let's go home," Chibi Venus suggested.
"Right," Everyone agreed and they headed back to the others.
Amy sat in her office going through some paperwork. She had been keeping herself busy so she would not dwell on the fact that her husband was off trying to rescue their daughter. She pushed her hair back and gave a gusty sigh. she thought.
She heard someone come to the door. Amy looked up and saw Greg standing there. In his arms was a small bundle, wrapped up in the cloak from his knight's uniform. "Greg," Amy gasped. She got up to greet him. She peered into the bundle and saw Ariel clinging to her father. The child was cover with welts and bruises but it was Ariel, alive.
"Mommy," Ariel whispered.
"Ariel," Amy cried.
"Mommy," Ariel wailed as she reached her thin arms for her mother.
"Ariel," Amy pulled her daughter into her arms and began to cry in relief. She flooded the little girl's face with kisses. "You're back. I'm so relieved." Ariel flung her arms around Amy's neck and also began to cry. She was so glad to be back with her mother. She buried her face in Amy's shoulder and bawled.
"Mommy I was so scared I would never see you again," Ariel cried. "I thought Lady Gemmei was going to kill me."
"Well you're safe now Darling," Amy sobbed. "You're back in my arms and you're safe."
Nearby, the queen, the Senshi and the Chibi Senshi all watched the reunion with tears in their eyes.
In the palace library Serenity, Mina, Rini and Gloria stood in the Senshi history section. Serenity had the Cardians in her hands. Mina opened the book and Serenity inserted them inside. Then Mina closed the book. A lock with a combination had been placed on it. Serenity punched in some numbers and a click was heard. "Now no one will be able to open this book without the combination," Serenity stated. "Mina and I will be the only ones who know the combination."
"Once the two of you each reach sixteen years of age then we will tell you the combination too," Mina told Rini and Gloria.
"I wouldn't care if I never knew the combination," Rini sighed.
"Same here," Gloria added. "I'm just glad this is over with."
"It may be over girls but for Ariel it's not," Mina told them.
"That child has long road ahead of her," Serenity added.
"But we know we can count on you and the others to help out," Mina said as she glared at Gloria.
"We will," Rini promised and Gloria nodded in agreement with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Ariel sat curled up in her mother's lap. Amy was rocking her in the rocking chair. Ariel had begged for it. All she wanted was to be babied right now. She kept reaching up and touching Amy's face to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Almost as soon as they had calmed down Amy began treating Ariel's injuries. Careful minor surgery had removed the implant from Ariel. The welts and bruises had been tended too. The physical scars would heal but the emotional ones were another story. Amy worried about how traumatized Ariel had been by all of this. Fortunately Ariel was able to spend the night in her quarters that night and not in the palace hospital.
"Ariel darling," Amy whispered. "You need to go to sleep."
"I know Mommy," Ariel replied. "But I'm afraid if I go to sleep I'll wake up and be back with Lady Gemmei."
"You won't Darling," Amy assured her. "You're safe here with Mommy and when you wake up you will be in your bed with Moonbeam by your side like always." Moonbeam had been thrilled to see his young mistress again. He was now lying on Ariel's bed keeping an eye on the little girl.
"I'm still scared Mommy," Ariel choked. Amy held the daughter close to her.
"We'll work through this," she promised. "Now get some sleep and dream nice dreams." Ariel closed her eyes and eventually Amy's gentle rocking lulled her to sleep."
Four days later Gloria was heading to Mercury's quarters. None of the other children had seen Ariel in the last four days. Amy had been keeping her home and home schooling her. The children knew that Ariel was spending her days in the therapy part of the palace hospital and then spending the nights in her quarters. Amy was treating Ariel on an outpatient basis. The other Senshi and the queen were helping out where they could. Mina told Gloria that Ariel would be joining everyone for dinner that night. Gloria had something she wanted to say to Ariel in private.
She got to Mercury's quarters and knocked on the door. Amy let her in. "I promise Aunt Amy I won't say anything to upset her," Gloria promised.
"Very well Gloria," Amy replied. "But I will be nearby and if you do say anything to upset her I will be talking to your mother."
Gloria nodded her head. She walked over to Ariel who was sitting on the couch with a book on her lap. Gloria noticed that the welts were healing. "Ariel," she said.
Ariel looked up. "Hi Gloria," she whispered.
After an awkward silence Gloria finally spoke, "I never got a chance to thank you."
"Nani," asked Ariel.
"For saving me from being kidnapped," Gloria replied. "If you hadn't pushed me out of the way then I would have been beaten and tortured."
"It was all my fault to begin with," Ariel pointed out. "I didn't want anyone to suffer for my mistakes." After a moment's hesitation Ariel whispered, "I'm really sorry I let you take the blame for so long."
"I know," Gloria replied. "But what you went through was much worse then what I went through." She gazed into the younger girl's eyes. "I was angry with you but you have shown me what a good friend you are. Just know that I am always for you,"
"Thank you," Ariel whispered.
"Well I have got to go," Gloria got up. "I'll see you at dinner tonight." She quietly left. Ariel stared at the door.
Amy came into the room. "Is everything all right darling," she asked.
"Yes Mommy," Ariel replied as she turned to her mother. Amy saw something that she had not seen for a while, a smile. "She forgives me." Amy smiled. She sat down next to her daughter and held her tight, glad to have her little girl home again.
Read and review please.
E-mail me at AngelRaye2@aol.com
Visit my web site at www.angelfire.com/anime3/chibiscouts
Disclaimer: I wish I did own Sailor Moon then maybe I wouldn't have to work so heard right now. Anyway I do not own Sailor Moon. With the exception of Rini I own all of the Senshi's children.
The Cardians
Part Twelve
By
Angel Raye
The Senshi, Chibi Senshi and Mercury Knight walked through the chambers in search of Lady Gemmei. Mercury Knight continued to hold Ariel tightly in his arms. Whatever it took, he was going to protect her and bring her back to Amy. He gazed down at the small bundle in his arms. Whenever he saw how battered up she was he felt rage. How could anyone think of doing this to a small child?
Chibi Mars suddenly gasped and stopped. Everyone else stopped and looked at her. "What is it Chibi Mars," asked Venus.
"I am sensing a strong evil presence," she replied. "Lady Gemmei is nearby."
"Right you are Sailor Chibi Mars," laughed an evil voice. Everyone took up fighting stances and looked around. In a few minutes Lady Gemmei appeared in front of them. "You may have the rest of the Cardians now and Eizo may be dead but in the end I am going to destroy you."
Ariel heard Lady Gemmei's voice and gave a whimper of terror. Even in her father's arms she strongly feared her tormenter. Mercury Knight heard his daughter's cry of fear and he pulled her even closer to him. "It's all right Princess," he soothed. "I'll protect you."
"So I see you've rescued the brat," Lady Gemmei sneered. "Well I can still torture her for the Cardians."
"You keep your hands off of her," Mercury Knight roared.
"Who said I was going to touch her," Lady Gemmei asked. She held up her torture device.
"That's," Chibi Saturn gasped as she recognized it.
Lady Gemmei pressed the button. In an instant a wave of pain went through Ariel's body. She began screaming and writhing in Mercury Knight's arms. "Ariel," Mercury Knight cried.
"Girls do something," Cosmic Moon shouted.
Chibi Jupiter powered up in rage. "JUPITER DEADLY LIGHTENING BOLT!"
"VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!"
"DESTRUCTIVE RAY!"
The three attacks flew out and hit Lady Gemmei's hand. She dropped the device. Chibi Uranus quickly grabbed it. "Over here," Chibi Mars shouted. Chibi Uranus tossed the device over to her. Chibi Mars powered up. "MARS FIRESTORM!" The flames engulfed the device and it burst into flames.
"You brats," shouted Lady Gemmei in rage and she disappeared.
"Ariel," Chibi Saturn dashed over to her best friend. "It's okay. The device is destroyed."
"Daddy," Ariel whimpered.
"It's okay Princess," Mercury Knight soothed. He turned angrily toward the others. "I am going to go and fight Lady Gemmei. What she has done to my child is unforgivable. I want to take care of her myself."
"Ariel's my best friend Mercury Knight," Chibi Saturn stepped forward. "I'll help you."
"I will not allow the woman who tortured my goddaughter get away," Jupiter declared. "I'm fighting too."
"Don't forget Ariel's mentor," Neptune stepped forward. She gently ran a hand over Ariel's face. "I'm going to fight."
"Ariel is a valued member of my team," Cosmic Moon stated. "I'll fight with you."
"Ariel saved me from being taken," Chibi Venus added. "If it weren't for her then I would have gone through all of this. I'm going to fight."
"Very well," Venus stated. "The six of you will go and find Lady Gemmei. Keep an open com so that the rest of us can rush to your help if needed."
Mercury Knight handed Ariel to Sailor Venus. "Daddy," she whimpered.
"I'll be back Ariel," he promised as he kissed her cheek. "Sailor Venus will take care of you. When I get back we'll go and see Mommy."
"Okay Daddy," Ariel choked. Mercury Knight gave her another kiss and followed the others out. Ariel clutched Sailor Venus, drawing comfort from the woman's warmth.
"It's okay Sweetie," Venus soothed. "We'll get you home."
Mercury Knight, Jupiter, Neptune, Cosmic Moon, Chibi Saturn and Chibi Venus walked though the corridors. All of them had one purpose in mind and that was to defeat Lady Gemmei. "If only we had either Amy or Ariel's mini computer," Jupiter sighed.
"I can use my mirror," Neptune stated. She held up her Aqua Mirror and images began to form.
Chibi Venus was jumping up and down trying to look. "I can't see anything clearly," she whined.
"That's because you're not from the Neptune bloodline," Neptune replied. Chibi Venus flushed and stopped jumping. Neptune studied the mirror and then pointed. "That way." The others followed her. They entered a room and found Lady Gemmei sitting in her throne.
"So I see you found me," she stated. "Well you're not going to get out of here alive."
"We'll see about that," shouted Chibi Venus and she powered up. "VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!"
Lady Gemmei dodged the attack. "Pathetic," she sneered. She held up her hand and a blast of energy flew out. Mercury Knight and the Senshi all screamed as it engulfed them.
Ariel whimpered softly in Venus's arms. She had dozed off to a fitful sleep but the others didn't need Raye's psychic abilities or Amy's professional eye to tell them that it was not a pleasant sleep. Chibi Mars knelt down in concern by Venus. "Will she really be all right?"
Sailor Saturn ran another scan. "She has been beaten and starved but she will heal from that," she reported. "The emotional scars are what concerns me."
"Emotional," Chibi Pluto asked.
Saturn nodded. "Ariel has been badly traumatized by all of this," she told the girls. "She will need therapy."
"She's lucky," Chibi Mars stated. "Her mama can do that."
"True," Venus agreed. "But sometimes we need someone outside our family to help out. However Ariel will probably be better off with her mother doing the therapy."
Chibi Mars gently placed a hand on Ariel's face. She always hated being away from her mother, especially when she was frightened and alone. So Chibi Mars could only imagine what Ariel was going through. "Don't worry Ariel," she whispered. "We'll get you back to your mama."
Chibi Venus groaned as the energy blast drilled into her and the others. She decided to try and get rid of it. She powered up. "VENUS BEAUTIFUL SHOCKWAVE!" The attack flew out and decimated the energy blast.
"Good job Chibi Venus," Sailor Jupiter gasped as she recovered from the shock.
"You're not going to win," shouted Lady Gemmei.
"I don't suppose you've noticed but you're outnumbered," Neptune pointed out. She powered up. "DEEP SUBMERGES!" Her attack flew out and hit Lady Gemmei. Sailor Jupiter was about to power up when Lady Gemmei stopped her.
"Before you attack me then let me show you something," she roared. She held something in her hand.
"She has another device to torture Ariel," shouted Cosmic Moon.
"That's right," sneered Lady Gemmei. "And I will use it to put that child in pain. She pressed the button.
In Venus's arms Ariel suddenly woke up screaming in pain. "Ariel," Chibi Neptune cried in alarm.
"Lady Gemmei must have another one of those devices," Sailor Saturn shouted.
"Hang on Ariel," Sailor Venus tried to sooth her. "Hang on."
Lady Gemmei laughed as she continued pressing the button. "I can hear her screams," she laughed.
"Damn you," Mercury Knight roared in rage. "You leave my daughter alone." He pulled out his sword and swung it at Lady Gemmei knocking the device out of her hands.
Ariel collapsed in Venus's arms, gasping for breath. She began to cry very hard. "Mommy," she sobbed. "Mommy."
"Hang on Sweetie," Venus held the child close to her. "We'll get you to Mommy soon."
"Someone destroy that thing," Mercury Knight shouted.
"DESTRUCTIVE RAY!"
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
In an instant the device was destroyed. "How dare you," shouted Lady Gemmei.
"She's only a little girl," Sailor Neptune shouted back angrily. "She doesn't need this."
"I'll see to it that none of you get out of here alive," Lady Gemmei screamed. She was about to move toward them when she suddenly screamed in pain. She looked down and saw that Mercury Knight had driven his sword through her.
"How dare you hurt my little girl," he shouted in rage.
"Mercury Knight," gasped Cosmic Moon in astonishment. She started to run forward but Sailor Jupiter stopped her.
"This is his fight," she told Cosmic Moon who nodded and stepped back.
Mercury Knight's sword began to glow. "SUPREME ICE SWORD BLASTER!" The sword glowed and Lady Gemmei screamed. The blue light from the sword engulfed her. The Senshi and Chibi Senshi watched in astonishment. None of them had ever seen this much power from one of the knights. The blue light vanished along with Lady Gemmei.
"Is she gone," Chibi Saturn asked.
"She is," Neptune assured her.
"Mercury Knight, how," asked Cosmic Moon.
"I just felt so much rage at what she did to my daughter," Mercury Knight replied. "And I knew I had to destroy her."
"A father's love for his daughter gave him the extra power he needed to destroy the enemy," Jupiter concluded.
"Let's go home," Chibi Venus suggested.
"Right," Everyone agreed and they headed back to the others.
Amy sat in her office going through some paperwork. She had been keeping herself busy so she would not dwell on the fact that her husband was off trying to rescue their daughter. She pushed her hair back and gave a gusty sigh. she thought.
She heard someone come to the door. Amy looked up and saw Greg standing there. In his arms was a small bundle, wrapped up in the cloak from his knight's uniform. "Greg," Amy gasped. She got up to greet him. She peered into the bundle and saw Ariel clinging to her father. The child was cover with welts and bruises but it was Ariel, alive.
"Mommy," Ariel whispered.
"Ariel," Amy cried.
"Mommy," Ariel wailed as she reached her thin arms for her mother.
"Ariel," Amy pulled her daughter into her arms and began to cry in relief. She flooded the little girl's face with kisses. "You're back. I'm so relieved." Ariel flung her arms around Amy's neck and also began to cry. She was so glad to be back with her mother. She buried her face in Amy's shoulder and bawled.
"Mommy I was so scared I would never see you again," Ariel cried. "I thought Lady Gemmei was going to kill me."
"Well you're safe now Darling," Amy sobbed. "You're back in my arms and you're safe."
Nearby, the queen, the Senshi and the Chibi Senshi all watched the reunion with tears in their eyes.
In the palace library Serenity, Mina, Rini and Gloria stood in the Senshi history section. Serenity had the Cardians in her hands. Mina opened the book and Serenity inserted them inside. Then Mina closed the book. A lock with a combination had been placed on it. Serenity punched in some numbers and a click was heard. "Now no one will be able to open this book without the combination," Serenity stated. "Mina and I will be the only ones who know the combination."
"Once the two of you each reach sixteen years of age then we will tell you the combination too," Mina told Rini and Gloria.
"I wouldn't care if I never knew the combination," Rini sighed.
"Same here," Gloria added. "I'm just glad this is over with."
"It may be over girls but for Ariel it's not," Mina told them.
"That child has long road ahead of her," Serenity added.
"But we know we can count on you and the others to help out," Mina said as she glared at Gloria.
"We will," Rini promised and Gloria nodded in agreement with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Ariel sat curled up in her mother's lap. Amy was rocking her in the rocking chair. Ariel had begged for it. All she wanted was to be babied right now. She kept reaching up and touching Amy's face to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Almost as soon as they had calmed down Amy began treating Ariel's injuries. Careful minor surgery had removed the implant from Ariel. The welts and bruises had been tended too. The physical scars would heal but the emotional ones were another story. Amy worried about how traumatized Ariel had been by all of this. Fortunately Ariel was able to spend the night in her quarters that night and not in the palace hospital.
"Ariel darling," Amy whispered. "You need to go to sleep."
"I know Mommy," Ariel replied. "But I'm afraid if I go to sleep I'll wake up and be back with Lady Gemmei."
"You won't Darling," Amy assured her. "You're safe here with Mommy and when you wake up you will be in your bed with Moonbeam by your side like always." Moonbeam had been thrilled to see his young mistress again. He was now lying on Ariel's bed keeping an eye on the little girl.
"I'm still scared Mommy," Ariel choked. Amy held the daughter close to her.
"We'll work through this," she promised. "Now get some sleep and dream nice dreams." Ariel closed her eyes and eventually Amy's gentle rocking lulled her to sleep."
Four days later Gloria was heading to Mercury's quarters. None of the other children had seen Ariel in the last four days. Amy had been keeping her home and home schooling her. The children knew that Ariel was spending her days in the therapy part of the palace hospital and then spending the nights in her quarters. Amy was treating Ariel on an outpatient basis. The other Senshi and the queen were helping out where they could. Mina told Gloria that Ariel would be joining everyone for dinner that night. Gloria had something she wanted to say to Ariel in private.
She got to Mercury's quarters and knocked on the door. Amy let her in. "I promise Aunt Amy I won't say anything to upset her," Gloria promised.
"Very well Gloria," Amy replied. "But I will be nearby and if you do say anything to upset her I will be talking to your mother."
Gloria nodded her head. She walked over to Ariel who was sitting on the couch with a book on her lap. Gloria noticed that the welts were healing. "Ariel," she said.
Ariel looked up. "Hi Gloria," she whispered.
After an awkward silence Gloria finally spoke, "I never got a chance to thank you."
"Nani," asked Ariel.
"For saving me from being kidnapped," Gloria replied. "If you hadn't pushed me out of the way then I would have been beaten and tortured."
"It was all my fault to begin with," Ariel pointed out. "I didn't want anyone to suffer for my mistakes." After a moment's hesitation Ariel whispered, "I'm really sorry I let you take the blame for so long."
"I know," Gloria replied. "But what you went through was much worse then what I went through." She gazed into the younger girl's eyes. "I was angry with you but you have shown me what a good friend you are. Just know that I am always for you,"
"Thank you," Ariel whispered.
"Well I have got to go," Gloria got up. "I'll see you at dinner tonight." She quietly left. Ariel stared at the door.
Amy came into the room. "Is everything all right darling," she asked.
"Yes Mommy," Ariel replied as she turned to her mother. Amy saw something that she had not seen for a while, a smile. "She forgives me." Amy smiled. She sat down next to her daughter and held her tight, glad to have her little girl home again.
