Chapter 22 – A Trip to the Circus…
Usagi was laughing at the clowns that were currently throwing pies at each other and such, nearly knocking over the popcorn she held in her lap. She glanced over at Quatre and noticed that he was turning bright red, not being able to hold back his laughter anymore.
"Come on Quatre-chan, you're allowed to laugh, you know." Usagi said, smiling at the platinum blond boy. He smiled at her and handed her a chocolate bar which she happily accepted, being nice enough to give Sakura half.
"Arigatou Usa-chan!" Sakura cried happily, hugging Usagi.
"Itai…" Usagi whispered, gently pushing Sakura away.
"Gomen nasai, Usa-chan." Sakura said, blushing slightly.
"It's all right, Sakura-chan, I'm fine." She said, giving her a reassuring smile. Sakura smiled back and happily began to munch on the chocolate.
"Look, there's Trowa!" Rileena cried, pointing to the clown that came out with a mask covering half of his face. Usagi smiled and began to clap her hands.
"Yay Trowa-san!" Usagi cried, clapping her hands. Usagi had seen the act before but glancing over at Sakura, she couldn't help but smile. Sakura's mouth was hanging open as she watched Trowa being strapped to a bulls eye of some sort and a girl with a short frilly skirt stood back, holding a bunch of sharp knives.
"She's gonna throw those at Trowa?!?" Sakura demanded, a look of shock on her face. Usagi shook her head 'yes', smiling reassuringly at the child.
"He'll be fine cherry blossom." She said, smiling again. Rileena couldn't help but smile too, the child was so innocent and also, so kawaii!
The first knife was thrown, landing three inches from Trowa's head. She threw two at a time next, one landing a few inches from his left arm and the other landed right above his left shoulder. She threw two more at the same time, one landing by his waist and the other landing right above his head. A gasp could be heard from the entire crowd as each and every one of the knives missed. After throwing all the knives, the woman with short curly hair turned around and bowed before the audience.
"Yay!" Sakura shouted, clapping her hands excitedly. "That was great!" Usagi smiled and clapped her hands as well, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere she had so long forgotten.
"I'm going to go use the restroom." Usagi said, as she stood up, leaning heavily on the crutches.
"Usa-chan, I don't want you to be alone. Not after that thing attacked you." Quatre said, his eyes suddenly filling with worry.
"I'll be fine, Quat-chan." She tried to reassure him.
"I'll go with her, if you wanted me to." Rileena suggested.
"Would you Rileena? That way Quatre would stop worrying so much." Usagi asked.
"Hai, I was about to go anyway." She said, smiling warmly at Usagi.
"Arigatou, Rileena." Usagi said, as she limped her way toward the restroom, Rileena trailing behind her.
****
"Hmm… at the circus ne?" Miyana was talking to herself. A smirk crossed her lips as she looked into the dark orb. "This will be much easier than I thought."
"Your majesty." A young man in front of Miyana said, bowing.
"Your mission is to bring me that boy… and kill Serenity if it's possible." Miyana said, smirking.
"Hai, your majesty." He said, bowing once again and disappearing through a portal.
****
"Are you enjoying the show Sakura-chan?" Quatre asked, looking down at the child. She nodded her head, smiling brightly.
"Hai, this is the first time I've ever been to one!" Sakura cried happily. "Mama doesn't like the circus anymore, she said that she had a bad experience at the circus when she was young so she won't go to one anymore." Sakura said, pouting. Quatre's eyebrows furrowed slightly. 'I wonder what she's talking about… Usagi never said anything about a circus before… could it be that something bad is going to happen today?' He thought to himself, losing his concentration on the show.
"Quat-chan? Hello? Quatre?" He heard a familiar voice. His eyes cleared and he looked up to see Usagi on her crutches, holding a thing of cotton candy. "What's wrong Quat-chan?" She asked, sitting down and handing the cotton candy to Sakura. Rileena took her seat on the other side of Quatre and turned her attention back to the show. Trowa was on again, only this time, he was juggling swords.
"He's really good…" Sakura commented, watching in awe as the show progressed.
****
"There he is…" A young man said, smirking as he watched the performance. "I still don't see what use a few pathetic humans could possibly be…" He said, shrugging his shoulders. He made his way down the stands, searching for a place to sit. There was a girl with long sandy colored hair that he sat next to.
"Hello, my name is Rileena Peacecraft." She said, smiling at him. He plastered a big smile on his face and took her offered hand.
"My name's Takeshi." He said, then turned his attention back to the show. 'I wonder if I'll be able to use this girl to my advantage…' He thought, bringing a slight smirk to his lips.
****
"Wow!!" Sakura cried, jumping to her feet as she watched the trapeze artists, flipping from one swing to the other. "Did you see that?!?" She asked, an excited look in her eyes as she looked over at Usagi and Quatre. Usagi was busy eating again but was shaking her head 'yes' in excitement.
"They're very good ne?" Quatre asked, smiling as he too, watched the show. He took note of the man that sat down next to Rileena, sensing that something wasn't right. 'That guy gives me the creeps…' He thought, his expression turning serious.
"Quat-chan? What's wrong with you today? You keep drifting off to your own world. Are you feeling all right?" Usagi asked, putting a hand on his forehead.
"Hai, Usa-chan. Gomen, I was just thinking, I'm fine though." He said, forcing himself to smile. She returned a weak smile, knowing that he was worried about something. He was so protective of her and she liked it. She liked how he cared so much for her and it showed on his face… in his every action it was clear… he was crazy about her. Not like Mamoru, sure he protected her when the time came, but there always seemed to be something missing in their relationship. There was something that just wasn't there, something that she needed… she just never felt loved by Mamoru…
"Do you want a drink Sakura-chan?" Usagi asked, holding the cup toward Sakura.
"Arigato Usagi-chan!" She said, and happily took the cup. Even this ChibiUsa was different… she wasn't the demon child Usagi had remembered and they no longer fought… maybe it was just Usagi. She had finally grown up and stopped hiding behind that klutzy ditz she had created to protect her emotions. Usagi handed the child the cup and she happily drank the remaining liquid in the bottom.
"Look at that!" Usagi shouted, pointing to the person on the tightrope.
"Wow!" She cried, her attention focused only on the show.
****
'I think now would be the best time to strike.' Takeshi thought, watching the boy with light brown hair covering half his face stood looking through the curtains. 'Hai, I will strike now.' He thought as he dropped a small orb to the ground, watching as it rolled toward the parted curtain. It fell off of the edge of the step, continuing to roll toward the open curtain. 'Perfect' He thought as the small orb stopped. An evil smirk crossed his lips as he pulled something from his pocket. It was a flute with a black crescent moon on it, he brought the flute to his lips, letting the sweet music flow from it.
"Nande?" Rileena asked, hearing the sweet sound. She glanced over at the man next to her, seeing that he was the one playing the flute. "What are you doing?" She asked, receiving now answer. He continued to play, and a moment later, she gasped at the huge puff of smoke rise from near the backstage entrance. "Nani? What's that?" She asked, not remembering this act.
'It's the final act…' He thought as he continued to play. He heard the gasps from the audience and silently slipped from the audience, leaving the started audience to watch the finale.
"I don't remember this!" Usagi cried in excitement as she waited for the smoke to clear. When the smoke did clear, her breath caught in her throat. "Iie…" She whispered, staring at the figure that stood there in shock. The audience's applause blinded her senses as she gaped at the image that stood before her. It was a youma… a very humanoid one that looked like a clown in a tutu. She stood standing on a ball, posing with her hands above her head, a upturned black crescent moon in the middle of her forehead.
"Usagi!" She heard Sakura cry beside her. Usagi's eyes flashed and cleared as she forced herself to look at Sakura.
"Sakura! Come on!" Usagi cried, grabbing Sakura and limping out of her seat without her crutches.
"Usagi-chan! Come back!" Quatre cried, running off after his golden goddess.
"Chibi Moon Eternal Make-UP!" ChibiUsa shouted, holding the heart-shaped broach above her head. Usagi clutched her broach and prepared to use it, closing her eyes for a moment when she felt a hand clamp down over hers.
"Usa-chan! You can't use that!" It was Quatre's voice. She opened her eyes to see his gentle blue eyes filled with worry. "Please Usa-chan, you're still hurt too badly to fight!" He protested.
"I have to protect Sakura-chan!" Usagi protested, pulling her hand away. Quatre wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and letting her lean against him.
"I'm protecting you…" He whispered. "I couldn't bare it if lost you, please Usa-chan… megami… You're not healed enough to fight." She felt the tears brimming her eyes when she knew he was right.
"Quat-chan…" She whispered, allowing the tears to overflow. "I fell so helpless…" She whispered, leaning heavily against Quatre.
"Come on!" Sakura shouted, grabbing onto Quatre's arms.
"Hai, Sakura-chan, we're coming." Quatre said, picking Usagi up in both arms. He held her with one arm's under her knees and the other behind her back and ran after the child with wings.
****
"So, we have an acrobat here do we?" The youma asked. Trowa did his triple axle flip away from him, landing behind the youma. "We'll just see if this will slow you down." The youma said, a bunch of knives appearing in his hands. A bulls eye rose behind Trowa without his knowledge. The youma held up the knives then threw them straight at Trowa, pinning him up against the bulls eye.
"Tro-chan!!" Rileena shrieked as she ran toward him, tears blurring her vision. "Let him go!" She cried, throwing her body over his, protecting him.
"You want to play too?" The youma asked, a smirk on its face.
"Get out of her Rileena!" Trowa ordered, trying to pull free of the knives.
"Iie! I'm going to help!" She cried, reaching up and grabbing one of the knives. As she attempted to pull the knife out, dark energy raced through her body. Her shrill cried of pain echoed through the tent as people rushed to get out.
"Where are they going?" The youma asked itself. It held up a hand and dark energy swirled around the room, clutching all the people and stealing their energy. "Miyana-sama will be very pleased." The youma said smirking as it held their energy.
"Hold it right there!" A familiar voice cried. "I am a pretty sailor suited soldier of the future Moon! I am Eternal Sailor ChibiMoon!" The pink-haired girl cried, striking a pose. "On behalf of the future Moon, I will punish you!" She cried, finishing her speech.
"Can't these little powder-puffs do anything without a speech?" The youma asked dryly. It glanced at the girl with sandy-blond hair that lay on the ground, seeing that she was coming to. The youma leaned down and picked her up, a pressed another one of the knives he had thrown at Trowa earlier, against her throat.
"Rileena…" Trowa whispered, tugging against the knives that pinned him against the wall. He heard the cloth ripping as he pulled away from the bulls eye and soon had both of his arms free. [A.N. He ripped most of his shirt off in the process ~_^]
"Come on you little pink powder-puff. Let's see what you've got!" The youma said, throwing several knives at the child.
"ChibiMoon!" Usagi cried, still in Quatre's arms. She tried to pull away from him to help, but he held her tightly.
"Usa-chan, there's nothing you can do… it's too dangerous!" He cried, his grip tightening on her slightly.
"I HAVE to help her!" Usagi protested, feeling the tears collecting in her eyes.
"Itai!" ChibiMoon cried as one of the knives nicked her ankle. She fell to one knee, a look of pain crossing her young face. She looked down at her hand and turned pale when she saw the blood that poured from the wound.
"Just as I thought, this little cream-puff is nothing," The youma said, smirking. "Now time for the grand finale!" The knife that was being held at Rileena's throat lengthened until it was about two feet long. The youma's hand wrapped around Rileena's throat and dark energy shot throughout her body, making her cried echo through the arena.
"I… I can't do this alone…" ChibiMoon whispered, struggling to stand on her hurt ankle. "I… I can't give up!" She cried, her scepter appearing in her hand. "Rainbow Sugar Therapy KISS!!!" The rainbow attack headed straight for the youma and an unsuspecting Rileena.
"Iie…" Trowa whispered, watching in shock as the attack headed straight for her…
****
"…." A man sat in front of the television. There was a woman… a woman with long white hair done up in two heart-shaped odangos. She looked strangely familiar but he couldn't seem to put his finger on it. He listened to the news report and came to believe that the woman had taken the place of one 'Sailor Moon' that had disappeared a few weeks earlier. "Hmmm…" He thought, as he watched the video footage of some sort of huge battle. He had heard of it, they were saying that she had saved the entire world from some great disaster… they weren't even sure what she had saved them from, but it had to have been bad if it had made the headlines.
"Master… we have just received reports that a young girl calling herself 'Eternal Sailor ChibiMoon' is fighting a youma in a traveling circus." A man said, bowing before him.
"Very good, prepare my shuttle. I will departing at once." He answered, rising from his seat.
****
That's all for now^_^ Sorry for the cliffhanger (actually I'm really not *snickers*) I just figure if I leave a good cliffhanger, I may get more reviews *hopeful look* Anyway, I'm hitting a little bit of writers block right now so I'm sorry it's been taking me so long. PLUS, it took a while for me to get those 10 reviews *sighs* I'm gonna have to extend that rule again, though. Cuz I think I only got 11 reviews total last time. So, I won't write the next chapter til I get 10 reviews or more (more is always better though *wink wink*).
Duo: Hey P-chan! *waves*
P-chan: Hey Duo-chan! *huggles* (I stole Eternal-chan's word -_-). You DID review didn't you? *stern look*
Duo: Umm… hehehe *sweatdrop* I'm going to go right now *looks nervous*
P-chan: *looks satisfied* Good! Cuz if you don't, I STILL have my secret weapon, who happens to get VERY cranky when you wake her up from her nap *evil smirk*
Duo: *sweatdrop* You wouldn't…. *looks nervous*
P-chan: Hai, I'd do it *giggles* Better go review it! That mean ALL of you reading this TOO!! *glares at the reader that's thinking of leaving without reviewing* I can ALWAYS wake up ChibiPoky-chan, she gets VERY cranky when she sees we aren't getting reviews. It'd be even worse if I woke her up from her nap to say that *evil smirk* better go review or email us at pokahydee@hotmail.com