PINK REBELLION
Chapter 11: "Death Claims Its' Due"

By Bill K.

Usa turned over, murmuring in her sleep. The hand on her
shoulder insistently shook her again, drawing a more annoyed murmur
from the pink-haired teen.

"Usa, wake up!" Momoko gasped, shaking the girl harder.
"Honestly, you could sleep through a plane crash!"

"Umm hmm," mumbled Usa. "Just five more minutes, Mom."

By now the Amazoness senshi were up and watching with more than
a little amusement Momo's efforts to rouse their princess. Sighing
in frustration, Momo got up and scurried out of the room.

"Guess she got tired and gave up," shrugged Ves-Ves.

"Hmm," nodded Cere-Cere. "Hey, where's Hotaru?"

Before anyone could respond, Momo marched in with a glass of
water in one hand and a look of grim determination on her face. She
walked right up to Usa and turned the glass over, pouring its
contents right on Usa's head.

"SPUT! HEY!" howled the teen, wrenching to consciousness.
"MOMO! What's the big idea?"

"Well, I tried to wake you up the normal way!" Momoko retorted.
"Usa, Hotaru and her guardians tore out of here saying they had to
help Sailor Moon. I figured you'd want to know."

"They did?" Usa asked anxiously, then calmed. "Oh, wait. This
is the fourteenth. Nothing's going to happen."

Cere-Cere glanced at the clock. "Well," she began, grimacing,
"it is about five until midnight. By the time they hook up with
Sailor Moon, it'll be the fifteenth - - technically."

Usa's eyes grew to saucers. "Oh no!" she cried, scrambling to
her feet. The girl pushed past Momoko and crashed out the door on a
dead run. As her senshi scrambled to follow, they could hear her
barreling down the steps shouting "Moon Prism Power Make Up" as she
ran.

Momoko stood alone in the empty room, staring at the door with
a vague unease, wondering exactly what was going on.
* * * *
Sailor Moon struggled to lift the rubble off of her back. She
could feel Mercury underneath her. Mercury wasn't moving. Pushing
her gloved hands onto what was below her, feeling the jagged edges of
the broken wall jab into her palms, she pressed up. The rubble
wanted to move, but she just wasn't strong enough. However, she
didn't relax. If nothing else, she could keep the rubble off of
Mercury with her bridged body and allow her friend to breathe.

And then, miraculously, it was gone from her back. Rolling off
of Mercury, Sailor Moon looked up in time to see Tuxedo Mask standing
over her, his hands closing around her upper arms. Effortlessly he
pulled her slim body to her feet and hugged her to him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, the concern clear in his voice, and
Sailor Moon fell in love with him all over again.

"I'm all right now," she whispered, trying to mask the pain she
felt. "Help the others."

His cape billowing in the gale-force wind, Tuxedo Mask's gaze
lingered on her for a moment more, then he complied and moved to free
Jupiter. Sailor Moon struggled to keep from being blown over as she
knelt down to Mercury. Mercury lay unconscious. She was breathing,
but that didn't allay Sailor Moon. Ignorant of medicine, she assumed
the worst.

"Tuxedo Mask!" she cried as he and Jupiter were shoving rubble
off of Mars and Venus. "Mercury's hurt!"

Before anyone could respond, a massive lightning bolt struck
the utility pole at the corner. An electrical transformer exploded
in a shower of sparks, plunging the area into darkness. Undaunted,
Tuxedo Mask moved to Mercury's side.

"Sakiko couldn't have done that, could she?" marveled Mars.

"Maybe she's just made the elemental structure of the area so
unstable that nature's getting riled," offered Venus. "Mercury'd be
the one to ask. How's she doing?"

"Breathing's normal," murmured Tuxedo Mask as he examined
Mercury. "She might have a concussion. I don't see any external
injuries beyond a few bruises."

"Is she going to die?" whimpered Sailor Moon.

Another lightning bolt struck near the storefront, drawing
surprised shrieks from some of the senshi.

"Not unless that little girl kills us all," Tuxedo Mask
replied.

"SAKIKO, STOP!" Mars bellowed anxiously into the storefront.
"WE'RE TRYING TO HELP YOU!"

"Maybe we better flush her out," they heard Sailor Uranus say.
The group turned and saw the four outer senshi standing several yards
away from them. Uranus had her hand up, preparing to use "World
Shaking".

"No!" cried Sailor Moon. "Don't! She's just a little girl!"

"If she's causing all of this, she's a clear and present
danger!" Neptune replied coldly as Uranus paused. "I'm sorry she's a
little girl, but is her life more important than the ones she's
threatening in this area?"

"I can stop her!" Sailor Moon said. "I can calm her down - -
make her stop, without hurting her! Please, you have to let me try!"

As Neptune and Sailor Moon faced off, Uranus had her gaze
caught by Sailor Jupiter. She could see the angry glare on
Jupiter's face and it brought back to mind the bitter recriminations
Makoto had flung at her the previous afternoon.

"If Sailor Moon thinks she can do it, we should let her try,"
Saturn added.

"It's too much of a . . ." began Neptune. She stopped when
she felt the hand of Uranus on her arm and turned inquiringly to her.

"OK, Dumpling," Uranus said, speaking almost as much to Jupiter
as she was to Sailor Moon. "We'll play it your way. Give her your
best shot." Neptune gaped in amazement. She couldn't imagine what
had suddenly gotten into Uranus. However she didn't protest. She
clearly disagreed with the response, but she trusted her lover enough
to allow her to have her way and kept quiet.

Sailor Moon nodded and, with an anxious glance back at Mercury,
stepped forward. The senshi and Tuxedo Mask stood poised to
intercede should any menacing move be made toward her.

The Amazoness senshi struggled to keep up with Sailor
Chibi-Moon. Desperation gave the pink-haired senshi a lightning-fast
step.

"How does she even know where she's going?" asked Sailor Ceres
breathlessly.

"Remember the computer history files on this incident?" Sailor
Juno said.

"Um, no," Ceres grimaced sheepishly.

"You would if you studied something besides horticulture. The
file article on this incident came with a video stream of the battle
site. The Princess has been to this time before. She probably
recognized the area - - or else researched it so she knew where it
was."

"We've been in this time, too," protested Sailor Vesta.

"Yeah, but we weren't exactly occupied with learning where
things were, remember?" Ceres told her.

Sailor Pallas trailed the group, struggling to keep up.
Unglimpsed, her expression was one of alarm and anxiety.

"Sakiko?" Sailor Moon said, venturing into the gaping hole in
the side of the building. She scanned the dark interior pensively
until her eyes locked on the barest highlight of light on dark hair.

"GO AWAY!" bellowed the child.

"Sakiko, please. Come out. We don't want to hurt you."

"Liar! Everybody wants to hurt me! Everybody's afraid of me!
Everybody hates me - - everybody except Ami. And-and I killed her!"

"No, you didn't," appealed Sailor Moon.

"Yes I did! I saw it!"

The wind howled more intensely and the swirling black clouds
above them loomed down, threatening to crush them.

"I didn't mean to," Sakiko sobbed. "Just like I didn't mean to
- - to do it to Daddy. But things happen and I can't stop them."

"Let me help you, Sakiko," Sailor Moon offered gently, edging
closer to the girl.

"No! You just want to hurt me, too!"

"No, I don't. I want to be your friend. I thought I was your
friend. Remember the fun we had at the inn, down on the beach? I
thought we were friends then."

Sakiko didn't reply. Sailor Saturn, Sailor Mars and Tuxedo
Mask crowded around the hole in the wall, trying to be as unobtrusive
as possible while maintaining a protective watch over Sailor Moon.
Behind them, Jupiter and Uranus peered over them. They stood side by
side, old animosities forgotten in this time of crisis.

Sailor Venus began to back away from the scene, until she
noticed Sailor Pluto moving toward her. She noticed the inquiring
look on the tall senshi's face.

"I'm going to see if there's a back way into that place," Venus
explained. "Maybe I can flank the kid."

"An excellent strategy," nodded Pluto. "Do you require
assistance?"

Venus was about to say "no", then raised an eyebrow. "Can you
move quickly and quietly?"

"As quickly as the sands of time," Pluto replied wryly, "and as
quietly as the passage of days."

"I'll take that as a yes," smirked Venus and nodded her fellow
senshi on.

"Sakiko?" Sailor Moon said as she cautiously moved closer. "I
know you think you've done wrong. I know you're scared - - scared of
everyone and scared of your power. I know what it's like. I know
what it's like to have this great power that seems to be able to do
anything. I know how scary it can be, because you know if you ever
slip or let go without thinking you could do something really bad.
I've lived with that for two and a half years now."

Sakiko remained silent.

"You've probably lived with that even longer. All I want to do
is help you - - help you control your power and be a normal little
girl again. Well, as normal as folks like us can be."

"Do you mean it?" Sakiko asked in a small voice.

"I'll try my best," Sailor Moon grinned. "I'm not perfect, but
I can do a few things.

For a few moments it seemed Sakiko was falling under the spell
of Sailor Moon as so many others had in the past.

"HOTARU!" shrieked Sailor Chibi-Moon as she ran upon the scene.

Reflexively Saturn turned to her friend's voice. That motion
allowed Sakiko to catch sight of her. Quickly she noticed Mars and
Tuxedo Mask also hovering nearby.

"LIAR!" she bellowed.

Up from Sakiko sprang a spectral wraith. It arched to the
ceiling, then dove at Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask shot forward even as
Saturn turned around. In the second it took her eyes to bug out, her
glaive was up.

"Silence Wall!" Saturn shouted.

Her protective shield sprang up in front of Sailor Moon, to no
avail. The wraith passed through the shield effortlessly and
battered Sailor Moon, knocking her to the floor. Instantly Tuxedo
Mask was by her side, his walking stick out and ready to defend her.
Saturn locked eyes with Sakiko and in an instant the usually
mild-mannered girl's temper bubbled over.

A shaft of psychic energy with the properties of a dagger shot
out from Saturn's mind. Sakiko, though, felt it before it could
pierce her consciousness. Angrily she reflected the dagger back at
Saturn, intensifying the speed and strength of the psychic bolt. The
psychic dagger pierced Saturn's brain and she tumbled backward
helplessly.

"Nooooooooooo!" wailed Chibi-Moon.

She clawed her way to Saturn's side, cradling the girl's head
in her lap. Her four senshi, as well as a horrified Uranus and
Neptune, looked on as Saturn looked up at Chibi-Moon. The girl's
mouth was twisted and wordless and her eyes stared up at her friend,
silently communicating the shock and confusion and sudden
helplessness of her condition. She gestured mutely with hands
pulled into claws. It was as if she'd suffered a stroke.

"I'm sorry!" Chibi-Moon sobbed, anguished tears washing down
her face. "I came all the way back to prevent this! I'm sorry I
failed you!"

"Aw, man!" Vesta sniffled in frustration, her own tears
sprouting as she watched her heart-broken Princess. She turned to
Juno. "Isn't there anything we can do?" Juno shook her head sadly.

Pallas, though, turned suddenly. Distracted by the injury to
Saturn, Sailor Moon had forgotten momentarily about Sakiko. Pallas
saw the little girl mentally scoop up debris. In a second it shot
forward, projectiles headed for Sailor Moon and in a second Pallas
acted.

"Beautiful Incantation!" Pallas cried, gesturing ahead of
herself with both hands. The projectiles were deflected, as if
struck by an invisible hand, and swatted into the far wall. At that
point, Venus and Pluto struck.

"Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Dead Scream."

The twin attacks combined and exploded into Sakiko with the
force of a tank. The concussion threw the little girl from her
hiding place, bouncing her twice on the floor before she rolled to a
stop near the far wall.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" barked Venus.

Sailor Moon hesitated, reluctant to use her power on the
battered little girl against her will. A hand closed around her arm.
She looked up into the eyes of Tuxedo Mask. He silently told her it
was necessary and with great distress she summoned the Moon Tier.

"This will help you, Sakiko," she said softly. "Silver Moon
Crystal Power Kiss."

The silver waves radiated out from the Moon Tier, seeking out
Sakiko with its healing power. But Sakiko reacted in fear and
suspicion. Her psychic power exploded out, desperately fending off
the silver energy she feared would mean her end. Beyond reason,
beyond anything but naked animal need to survive, Sakiko poured all
her energy into holding Sailor Moon's power at bay.

"She's going to meet her Daddy," sobbed Pallas. The senshi
turned and buried her face in Vesta's chest, her sister Amazon
protectively folding her arms around the girl.

"Sakiko, please," begged Sailor Moon - - but the girl was
beyond reason. Frantically she poured every ounce of strength into
resisting the might of the silver crystal. The little girl struggled
for as long as she could. Then suddenly her eyes glazed over and she
crumpled to the floor.

Tuxedo Mask was the first one to her. Sailor Moon was behind
him in an instant, peering fearfully over his shoulder as he pressed
his fingers to the artery on Sakiko's neck. She could see blood
trickling from the girl's nostrils.

"Mamo-chan?" she squeaked.

Tuxedo Mask shook his head and Sailor Moon dissolved into
shuddering sobs. At the same time most of the others gathered around
Chibi-Moon and the fallen Sailor Saturn.

"Please don't die, Hotaru," Chibi-Moon wept. "Hang on,
please." Saturn gasped for air that came with difficulty and
struggled to mouth words that wouldn't come. "If only we were in the
future! Mama could save you. If I were really Sailor Moon, I could
save you. But I'm not! No matter how hard I want it, I'm never
going to be like her! If I was, I could save you!"

The girl's eyelids squeezed shut. The action squeezed off one
of many tears. It dribbled down her face and under her chin, until
gravity caught it and drew it downward. The droplet splashed onto
the locket that held Chibi-Moon's bow to her fuku.

And the locket began to glow.

"Look!" Mars said excitedly, pointing to it. Sailor Moon
turned, teary-eyed, from Sakiko's body and looked. A hopeful smile
sprouted on her face.

"Her powers," whispered Sailor Moon. "Her powers are beginning
to evolve."

To the amazement of her and the gathered, Chibi-Moon's fuku
began to swirl and brighten until it gave off a white light. When it
dimmed, her costume was the same, but she held a copy of the Cosmic
Crescent Wand in her hand. Attached to the wand's crescent was a
pink crystal.

Chibi-Moon stared at it, dumbfounded. Then she felt a hand on
her shoulder. She looked up and found Sailor Moon standing over her.

"Hold the wand over Hotaru," Sailor Moon smiled gently, "and
say 'Moon Healing Escalation'."

Chibi-Moon's chest was heaving so much she couldn't find her
voice at first. After swallowing several times, she managed to
summon it.

"Moon Healing Escalation," she said, her voice cracking in the
middle.

Glowing particles gently poured out from the Cosmic Crescent
Wand. They sparkled pink in the dim light of evening. Carried by
the dying wind, they wafted down and landed on Sailor Saturn's face
and chest. As the pink particles, resembling moon dust, landed on
her, they began to glow more brightly.

Saturn's gnarled hands began to relax and resume their shape.
Her mouth slackened and returned to its delicate form. The girl's
breathing became easier and more natural as she took in the healing
particles. Her eyes glazed over with contentment. The eyelids
drooped once, then placidly opened again. With Chibi-Moon's help,
Saturn sat up. Leaning on her hands, she exhaled deeply.

"I think I owe you my life," Saturn said to Chibi-Moon
gratefully.

Chibi-Moon exploded into a torrent of tears and violently
hugged her best friend. As she clung to the girl, shuddering with
sobs, Saturn brought her arms up around her friend's torso, hugged
her in return and gently patted her on the back. And from inner
senshi to outer to Amazoness, everyone exchanged earnest looks of
relief and gratitude.

Concluded in Chapter 12