Part II

It was dark but she knew her way. Fighter hastily progressed down the hallway. She knew that Healer and Maker would not be asleep yet. Why had she run away? Why didn't she check the place out? Because she was scared. The force that had surrounded her body was unlike any other that she had ever felt. Any hope or happiness that she would have had at that moment was purged from her body and mind until all that was left was her animosity and hopelessness.

Fighter stopped in front of Healer's door, her heart was pounding in her ears. Hesitantly she brought her hand up to knock on the large wooden door. Would they believe her or would they think that she was crazy? It didn't matter, she had to find out what caused this energy and make sure that it stayed subdued.

The banging at the door seemed to echo throughout the hallways. Within seconds Healer appeared in the doorway. "What do you want?" She asked Fighter in a more than annoyed tone. When she saw that she had been running she became concerned. "What happened?"

"Will you come with me to check something out?" Fighter panted still not having caught her breath fully. It had been a long run and she didn't think she had ever run that fast in her life.

"What!? At this time of night?" Healer didn't like the cool night. It was the dampness of the air and the dew all around, it made her feel uncomfortable and lonely.

"Please, it's important." Fighter turned to walk away. "I'm going to get Maker, meet me in front of the palace in ten minutes." She didn't wait for an answer, she knew Healer would come and quickly made her way to Maker's chambers.

Fighter and Maker met Healer out in front of the palace. She had not explained anything to Maker yet either. She wanted to wait until they were both together so that she wouldn't have to repeat herself. "So will you tell us now what this is all about?" Healer was growing more impatient with every second that passed.

The night was cool with a bit of a breeze. "I was on the outskirts of the city." Fighter began.

"What were you doing there?" Healer asked cutting her off.

Fighter shot her a glare. "I thought you wanted to know why I'm taking you out here in the middle of the night? Don't cut me off. As I was saying. I was on the outskirts of the city. THINKING. I was sitting near the tunnels that lead under the delta that the city is built on." The group continued walking they would reach the place that she was telling them about in a matter of minutes. "I don't know what happened but as I was standing there in front of one of the tunnels it emitted this energy. It was like nothing that we have ever come in contact with before. It washed over me like a wave. I was immobile. It didn't hurt physically, but mentally it seemed to make my mind ache. Every hateful emotion and every painful thought that I had ever had in my life came rushing back to me at once. And then just as suddenly as it had come it slipped back to where ever it came from."

Fighter looked at her companion's faces to see what they thought. Neither of them spoke. They were at the place that Fighter had just told them this horrible incident happened. "Are you sure you didn't just fall asleep?" Healer asked. "It could have been a dream." She looked at Fighter, even though she said it she herself didn't believe that it was.

"No, it wasn't a dream." Fighter stared down the tunnel that the force had emanated from. Standing in front of the tunnel she seemed to be miniscule in comparison to the gaping hole.

"Our computers haven't picked up any energy or outside forces." Maker explained as she had just been working with them earlier that day. "If what you say is true, we should have detected it."

"Well we didn't and what I say is true!" Fighter understood how incredulous her story sounded but she was no hallucinating. "I'm going in there. I'm going to find whatever possessed that energy." In a determined stride Fighter began to walk into the opening of the tunnel.

"Wait!" Healer called after her. "Can't this wait until tomorrow morning, when it's light out?" She didn't like the idea of going into a big creepy cave at night.

"What's the difference? Either way it's dark in there!" Fighter had turned around to face the other two. "You don't have to come with me, I can take care of myself." She clicked on her flashlight.

"Yes we do have to go with you. And if you could take care of yourself why did you call us out here to look at this with you?" Maker asked with a smug expression.

Fighter looked at her and smiled. "I needed your analytical brain, but I see it worked against me. So, are you coming?"

Healer looked up at Maker who just nodded her head and the three set on their way into the cave.





"Usako, are you happy?" Mamoru asked as he sat across the table from his beloved.

Usagi didn't hesitate in her answer, she was used to covering up these feelings of insecurity in her thoughts. "Of course I am, why do you ask?" Her smile hid everything perfectly.

"No, reason." Mamoru went back to finishing his meal occasionally looking up at Usagi who was doing the same. He knew there was something different about her even if she didn't want to admit it.





Maker has her hand up against the wall feeling its smooth surface as they venture farther in to the tunnel. The light from the flash let only spread a small amount of light on the pitch-blackness. If it weren't for the light they would be lost in complete darkness.

"How far are we going to go into this thing?" Healer asked from behind Fighter. They hadn't come across anything unusual, that is anything that you wouldn't normally expect to find in a cave.

"We are going to keep going down this thing until we find what we're looking for." Fighter snapped back. Healer's questions and constant whining were starting to take their toll on her last nerve.

"We don't even know what we're looking for!" Healer stopped in her tracks as the light from Fighter's flashlight turned to shine on her face.

Just before Fighter was about to snap Maker cut into their conversation. "Look at this!" Maker drew their attention to the walls around them. Their flashlights had been concentrated on the floor as to avoid any potential accidents.

"Why would this be here?" Healer walked up and ran her hand over the wall. It was lined with what appeared to be tiling bricks. Her flashlight moved up to shine light on the ceiling above them. "Look, its on the ceiling too."

Fighter looked around. The dirt walls had ended and now they were in what looked like a hallway. "Let's keep going." Was all she said before plunging into the darkness once again.

As they made their way further down the hallway Fighter was out in front of the other two. She wasn't far enough however, that Maker and Healer wouldn't notice her stopping dead in her tracks. Alright maybe that wasn't a good choice of words.

"What is it? What the hell are you doing?" Healer raised her voice ahead so that Fighter could hear her. Fighter said nothing as she continued to look at the wall next to her.

When Healer and Maker caught up to where she was they saw that she had been looking in what appeared to be a room. They in turn peered in also and had the same stunned reaction as Fighter. "What are they doing here?" Maker asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen so many like this before." Fighter commented.

Healer almost lost her stomach as she gazed over the room flooding with human bones. They were in no particular order and there was no way to tell how many were there. If she had to guess she would have said that it was an entire army. Healer couldn't take the sight of it any more and turned away from it while Maker and Fighter stood in amazement. As Healer turned the light from her flashlight shown down the hallway that was still ahead of them. She saw more openings to doorways and saw that the tunnel began to branch off into more paths. "There's more!" She shrieked.

Maker and Fighter immediately turned their attention to what Healer was saying and noticed the same thing. "What the hell is this? Is the city built on a giant grave yard?" Fighter asked almost to herself but her companions heard her.

"Let's get out of here." Maker said her voice a little shaky.

"No, we haven't found what we came looking for yet!" Fighter wasn't about to leave and had an air of determination in her voice.

"No, we didn't find it, but look what we found instead. Fighter please! Let's leave. NOW!!!" Healer was almost in her face her eyes not leaving Fighter's face.

"We should tell the Princess what we've found. Maybe she knows something about it." Maker tried to think of a good reason besides the fact that she was scared to get Fighter to leave.

"Fine!" Fighter said as she turned to the direction that they had just come from. "But if Kakyuu doesn't have the answers then you're both coming back down here with me to find them, deal?!"

Maker and Healer hesitantly agreed only because they knew that they wouldn't be able to leave until they did. They made a slow pace out of the tunnel taking in as much as they could with their now growing dim lights. A wind began to stir from behind them.

Fighter stopped in her tracks as she felt the gentle breeze against her skin. "Do you feel that?" She said in a whisper.

Healer nodded. The wind began to make an echoing sound in the tunnel as it grew a bit stronger behind them. "Something's coming." Maker said in an almost panicked whisper.

The three began to walk backwards as they watched in the direction that the wind was coming from. For no reason Healer turned, faced their destination and took off in a mad dash as the light of the stars became visible.

Fighter and Maker were shocked at the sudden movement and turned to see Healer fleeing. As they turned to do the same they were hit with the same force that Fighter felt earlier.

They were trapped. Whatever was coming out of the tunnel behind them had no challenge in doing whatever it wanted to them. Once again, as suddenly as it had started up it stopped. The three women dropped to their knees onto the ground below when they finally escaped the cave.

Fighter looked at Maker and Healer to see their reactions. Now she wasn't the only one to feel it. It was exactly the same as the last time, they couldn't doubt her any more. Healer's eyes were wide and she was gasping for breath while Maker was on her knees propping her body up with her arms and staring at the ground.

"Come on. We have to tell Kakyuu." Fighter said as she got to her feet.





"Did you enjoy it?" Mamoru asked while wiping his mouth with his napkin.

Usagi nodded. "Yes, very much." She was silent again as she looked down into her lap.

"Usako, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Usagi picked her head up slightly but still wasn't looking him in the eye. "I just felt like you were taking me out tonight for a reason. We never go out like this any more and it's not my birthday or our anniversary. So what is it?" With this last comment Usagi's eyes were locked with Mamoru's.

Mamoru smiled. "I never could hide anything from you." He took her hands in his over the table. "I'm leaving again." He spoke softly as if he spoke any louder he would break. "I'm going to America to study."

Usagi's face revealed nothing as the news crossed her mind. She slowly withdrew her hands from his and placed them on the edge of the table. "Well good luck this time." Was all she said.

Mamoru couldn't tell whether she was sad, happy, or angry about any of this. Normally he could read her face so easily and know just how to make it better. "Are you saying that you don't mind?" He asked as he put his hand back on top of hers.

"No, I don't mind. This is your dream. Who am I to hold you back from fulfilling it? You wouldn't do it to me, right?" Usagi gave a weak smile to him conveying her sadness.

Mamoru moved to her side of the table and took her up in his embrace.





The light rapping at her door brought Kakyuu back from her thoughts. "You may enter." She said in a loud enough voice so that her visitor could hear her.

Fighter entered first followed by Maker and Healer. "Princess. may we talk to you?"

Kakyuu was a little surprised that all three of her Starlights needed to speak to her at the same time and at such an hour of the night. "Please, sit." It must be senshi business.

Fighter explained the situation to her princess and then Maker gave an accurate and detailed description of what they had found. The entire time Kakyuu didn't say a word. "Do you have any idea about any of this?" Healer asked in almost a pleading voice.

Kakyuu stood and crossed the room to take a book from her shelf. When she returned she resumed her seat in front of her Starlights. "Yes, I know what is going on. I had hoped that this day would never come but it's time that you knew for the war will begin soon."