Author's notes-Okay kiddies, be warned: this chapter has slight violence. Notice I said 'slight'; your defenition of slight and mine are probably different, but whose fic is it, 'ey?
Chapter 9
The Keys
"Just where are you taking us, Minako-chan?" Serenity asked the other
blonde just ahead of her and the others.
"You'll see in a minute," she replied.
"I just hope we get there soon," Makoto muttered under her breath.
"We're here." Minako turned a corner. At the end of the hall were
the double doors Adonis had been studying eariler. She turned as face
the group. The other Outer Senshi had joined them as they made their way
there. Now they stepped up beside Minako.
"Mako-chan, Rei-chan, and Ami-chan," Minako said. "Call your
crystals forth." They did so as well as Mianko and the Outers.
Michiru's came from her left forearm and it was shaped like three
small waves of water, Haruka's from her right forearm, it looked like a
pair of wings, and Hotaru's was from her right side and shaped like a
tear. Setsuna's was in the form of a clock. That was when the other
three noticed that their crystals had also changed in shape; Rei was now
shape in the from of a flame, Ami's now looked like an iceberg, and
Makoto's was formed like a bolt of lightening.
"Step up here," Minako said, motioning towards the door. When all
the Senshi were there, Hotaru rasied her hand. A purple light surronded
her hand and the doors before the doors creaked open. Before them was a
large panel with eight different holes in it. Hotaru approached the
panel and placed her crystal in the hole that fitted it. A light shone
from the wall the panel connected to and onto Hotaru's forehead. Her
symbol appeared.
"Senshi of Destruction, Sailor Saturn!" she said. Her crystal
glowed a dark purple and black aura.
Minako motioned for the others to follow suite.
"Senshi of Time, Sailor Pluto!"
"Senshi of Heavens, Sailor Uranus!"
"Senshi of Water, Sailor Neptune!"
"Senshi of Love and Beauty, Sailor Venus!"
"Senshi of Thunder and Lightening, Sailor Jupiter!"
"Senshi of Fire, Sailor Mars!"
"Senshi of Water and Ice, Sailor Mercury!"
When all the crystals were glowing, the wall behind the panel
creaked open. The crystals flew back to their owners and disappeared
back into their places. A shadowed figure stood just inside the door
way.
"Welcome," the person said as they stepped into light's way. "You
made it just in time."
"We came as soon as possible," Minako said, "Ruri."
Ruri responded, "I know. Come." She stepped to the side and
reveiled a long stairway behind her, "We have much to do and not much
time to do it."
----------
"I've brought the captive, Master," Aries said, shoving Kyoko in front
of her.
Kyoko strained against the shackles that held her wrists together
in front of her, wishing she could break them apart.
"Leave," the boy ordered. When Aires left, the boy strode over to
Kyoko. "Still not gonna talk?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
Kyoko responded by spatting on the floor beside his feet.
"That's fine," his hand grabbed her by her throat. Being a bit
taller than her, he raised her up off the floor a ways. His hand glowed
black. "I like doing things the hard way."
Kyoko grinned, despite her situation. "The same goes for ME!!" As
she shouted the last word, she brought up her hands, still chained
together, quickly, striking the boy under his chin, snapping his head
back. He lost his grip on her. Taking her chance, she flipped backwards.
"Come on!" she challenged as she landed.
----------
"How long has this place been under the Palace?" Serenity asked as they
continued down the staircase.
She expected Minako to answer, instead their strange guide, Ruri,
replied. "This chamber has been in Earth's Core since before anyone can
remember. This place..." a small half-smile appeared on her face, "has
also been my home. Since it might be a few more minutes before we reach
it, I might as well tell you all what's happening--or should I say,
'what happened.'
"Eons ago, when the Moon was still at peace, an evil in the form
of a human, an Earthling, started a riot on the surface. They began
small rebellions on the Moon and the other planets, blocking trades to
them and so forth. Ambassadors from each of the planets went to Earth to
try and reason with him. The Moon didn't--" Ruri's pupiless eyes
narrowed. "--They were wise. The leader captured the ambassadors and
then kill--no, SLAUGHTERED them in front of a multitude of his
followers. It was a 'ceremony', as he called it, right before he began
his attack on the Moon.
"We were fortunate that the Moon had anticipated this. Along with
the first Queen of the Moon, I lead the Lunarians in a full scale
attack. In the mist of the battle, the leader, the one who had started
it all and was the cause of millions of deaths, lost his hold on his
shell. He was reborn as Nemisess, the one who is attacking us today."
"Do you know who he really is?" Adonis asked.
Ruri stopped walking. She stood silently for a moment or two. She
turned her head back and looked directly into Adonis's eye. "He is a
tratior, no matter what form he takes." Her voice was low and deadly.
She started walking again. "We banished him into a Negative deminsion,
yet his 'soul', you could say, found a way out but only in the form of
black mist."
"Wait a minute," Ami intterupted. "If you were around back when
the first Queen of the Moon was alive, then you must be over three
million years old."
"You speak the truth, Mercury. After the battle, I put myself in a
deep sleep, in case Nemisess attacked again. I was hooked up to the
Moon's centeral comupter. It stored everything that happened--on the
Moon, on Earth--anything that delt with the Moon family and it's
followers. After Nemisess, his mist form, appeared again, the only two
who could acess the computer came down here and have been 'feeding' me
the information as well as peparing for what's to come."
She stopped once again, this time because the stairs ended. Before
her was a black doorway. "This way," she said, stepping through. The
others followed reluctantly.
"Who are the two you spoke of?" Edymion asked.
"Us."
A light snapped on and before them stood Artemis and Luna.
"Luna?!" Serenity gasped.
----------
"Had enough?!" Kyoko said, swinging her leg down to hit the boy on his
head.
"Not quite!" he responded, catching her leg with his hand. She
threw her down to the floor. She grunted, arching her back and flipping
back up, bearly dodging the bolt he threw at her.
"You're quick!" he said.
"You're not!!" she countered, jumping off the wall, running back
towards him.
He leaned back, avoiding her punch. He caught her arm.
she thought.
He kicked her in her stomach multiple times, knocking the air out
of her. With the last kick, he let go, sending her crasing into the
wall.
she thought as she tried to painfully stand.
Kyoko felt his fist come down on her head. Her head swam and her
body went limp. Her arms fell to her sides, the chain stopped them from
touching the floor. she thought. She
heard the boy speak, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Then she
felt nothing.
----------
Zukamori suddenly felt a great deal of pain in her head. She rubbed her
temples slightly not wanting to bring attention to herself.
"You two have been down here all this time?" Serenity asked the
black cat in her arms.
Luna nodded. "After Terry released Nemisess, Artemis and myself
came here. I'm sorry I never told you, Serenity. I know you would worry,
but..."
"It's all right, Luna. It's all right," Serenity intterupted.
"Now then," Ruri said to the group. "I've told you all you need to
know at this moment. Are there any questions?" Ruri searched whith her
hand beside her until it bumped against a chair. She grasped it and
eased onto the seat.
"Uh--I have a question," Rei said slowly. "Ruri, are you blind?"
Ruri's half-smile reappeared. "In almost any way you look at it, I
am. My eyes cannot see as you all can, but I can see heat and energy
readings. The heat helps me see anyone nearby. The reason I can tell
each of you apart is because of the energy readings. Everyone has their
own personal energy, so I can make out who is who."
"Oh."
"Ruri," Serenity spoke up. "I'm woried about my daughter. I
haven't checked on her since the earthquakes started."
"There is no need to worry, my Queen."
Helios appeared behind Ruri. "We moved her here as soon as we
could. She is safe. Follow me, I will show you where you will stay until
it is time for the attack."
----------
Pain flared in Kyoko's head as she slowly woke up. She was back in her
cell, chained to the wall. She felt tired from her brief fight with the
boy, but she also felt groggy.
"Awake at last are we?"
Kyoko looked up as the cell door opened. In stepped the boy. He
walked towards her. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him. "What're you
doing here?" she said in a poisonious voice.
"I believe I'm the one who will asked the questions here, Kyoko."
He studied her face as he spoke.
"Like what?" she sneered. "As if you could drag any information
out of me!" She stuck her tounge out at him.
"Who said I wanted information?" His response startled her
slightly. He reached with his hand and grabbed her under her chin. He
brought his own face close to hers. "What I want," he whispered
dangerously, "is for you to suffer like I did!"
Before she had time to react, she felt something cut through her
left side right above her hip. A wicked smirk on the boy's face told her
what happened. she
thought angrily as she felt the blood begin to drip down.
He quickly brought his knee up and jabbed her in her side. More
blood fell from the wound as it came out of her mouth, causing her to
almost choke on it.
----------
Zukamori suddenly fell down. Her hand pressed against her side. She felt
the blood that was pouring from a sudden gash there flow around her hand
and fall to the ground.
"Zukamori!!" Adonis gasped, causing the group in front of them to
stop walking. He stooped down beside her, his worry as clear as day on
his face. "What happened?!"
She shook her head. she thought as she
felt blood come out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes closed tight as
she fought to contain a scream that was mounting in her throat.
Luna jumped from Serenity's arm and rushed towards the two. Luna
took one look at the wound before turning her head back to the shocked
group. "Artemis!" she said to the white cat in Minako's arms. "Go back
and check on Ruri! Something's happened to Kyoko!"
Artemis nodded before taking off.
Luna turned back to Zukamori, the look on the cat's face was not a
comforting one. the cat thought.
----------
Artemis ran as fast as he could on his cat legs back to the room they
had been. Just before he reached it, he heard a groan of pain before a
thump.
"Ruri!!" he shouted as he entered. He found Ruri on the floor in
front of the chair she had been in. She was hunched over, her hand
grasping her side. Blood was already collecting on the floor. The cat
made his way to her. "Ruri!" he said. "Ruri! We have to get you to the
infernery!"
"It--it won't help!" she gasped out painfully. Another spasm of
pain shot out as well as blood. "He--he tourching her!!"
"But why?!" Artemis couldn't understand why this was happening.
"He knows she won't say anything!"
----------
The boy laughed as he saw the pain on Kyoko's face. Kyoko hung her head
down a ways, unable to support it up much.
"You think I don't know your secrets?" he jeered. Kyoko looked at
him through her white hair with wide eyes. "Whatever happens to one of
you--" he punched her in her stomach "--happens to the other two! That's
the downside to sharing that kind of power girl!"
"Y-you...coward," she hacked out, blood flowing from both sides of
her mouth now. She slowly raised her head, looking into his eye. He
expected to see hatered and malious in her gold eyes. Instead, he was
shocked to see pity. "Resotring to this..." she paused to take a deep
breath. "Why....why don't you go back?"
He looked at her, confused at her words. "What are you talking
about?"
"Go back....become...whole again...." She knew she was tempting
fate saying this, but she had to. "Join with Adonis....become yourself
again.....T--"
"Shut up, girl!!!" he slashed out and struck her face. When she
didn't move, he realized she was unconcious.
He turned on his heel and walked back out the door. But her words
stayed with him.
----------
"What is wrong with her?!" Adonis demanded from Luna. Luna looked a the
girl who had passed out and fallen into his arms.
"I can't say now," Luna said, "but if we don't tend to her wound
she could die."
"Take us to the imfermery," Ami said to Helios. "I'll work on
her."
----------
"Zukamori-chan! Zukamori-chan!"
The little blonde haired girl turned towards the voice. Coming up
behind her was an older girl by at least ten years with long golden hair
done up in odango and sky blue eyes.
"Sere-chan!" the little girl said happily, reaching up with her
arms.
Serenity laughed as she picked the girl up. "Do you want to go to
the gardens, Zukamori-chan?"
"Yea!" Zukamori agreed.
As the two headed towards the gardens of the Palace, Zukamori
heard servants here and there whispering amonst themselves. They were
'gossiping', as Zukamori had heard the raven haired friend of
Serenity's, Rei-chan, say.
"Isn't that the girl who's mother died when she was born?"
"Yes it is! Why is the princess spending time with her?"
"She's lowering her standards letting that...*barbarian's*
daughter be anywhere near her!"
"Why does the Queen let her own daughter, the Crown Princess of
the Moon, do that?"
"I heard the mother of the child was killed shortly after the
birth."
"I thought she was wounded before giving birth?"
"Maybe so. But I wouldn't ask anyone if I were you."
"True, true."
"Sere-chan?" Zukamori asked her as they walked out of earshot of
the servants. "What's a 'bar-bar-i-an'?"
Serenity stopped walking and looked back the way she had come. Her
eyes glared at the servants, who scattered, not wanting to meet the
Princess' temper.
"They were talkin' 'bout my mommy, weren't they?" The girl sniffed
as tears of lonliness filled her eyes.
"Pay no attention to them, Zukamori-chan," Serenity said gently,
hugging the girl.
"Did you know my mommy, Sere-chan?" Zukamori asked as the older
girl continued to walk.
"Yes I did," Serenity replied, her eyes slightly distant,
remembering days long since past. "And she was no barbaian, Zukamori-
chan. They no nothing about her. She was a trusted and well respected
friend of the Queen's."
----------
"Zukamori and Ruri are all right at the moment. Whatever happened to
them seemed to have right right through one of their kidneys, both of
them, but I fixed it." Ami looked over the group in front of her.
"They're still asleep."
A relieved looked crossed everyone's face.
"Do you know how they got injured?" Makoto asked.
Ami shook her head.
---------
"We've got to hurry," Artemis said to Luna.
She nodded. "Kyoko is injured badly. We have no time to waste."
A white light flashed. The cats had taken to their human forms.
"No matter what," Luna said, her eyes narrowing in detremination,
"we leave with her or we don't leave at all."
"All the Keys must be in place or we have no hope."
----------
NEXT: What's up with Zukamori and Ruri? Why did they get hurt in the
same way Kyoko did? What was Kyoko talking about? Why must the boy join
with Adonis to 'become whole again'? Why was Zukamori on the Moon? Who
was her mother? And what are 'the Keys'?
__________
Chapter 9
The Keys
"Just where are you taking us, Minako-chan?" Serenity asked the other
blonde just ahead of her and the others.
"You'll see in a minute," she replied.
"I just hope we get there soon," Makoto muttered under her breath.
"We're here." Minako turned a corner. At the end of the hall were
the double doors Adonis had been studying eariler. She turned as face
the group. The other Outer Senshi had joined them as they made their way
there. Now they stepped up beside Minako.
"Mako-chan, Rei-chan, and Ami-chan," Minako said. "Call your
crystals forth." They did so as well as Mianko and the Outers.
Michiru's came from her left forearm and it was shaped like three
small waves of water, Haruka's from her right forearm, it looked like a
pair of wings, and Hotaru's was from her right side and shaped like a
tear. Setsuna's was in the form of a clock. That was when the other
three noticed that their crystals had also changed in shape; Rei was now
shape in the from of a flame, Ami's now looked like an iceberg, and
Makoto's was formed like a bolt of lightening.
"Step up here," Minako said, motioning towards the door. When all
the Senshi were there, Hotaru rasied her hand. A purple light surronded
her hand and the doors before the doors creaked open. Before them was a
large panel with eight different holes in it. Hotaru approached the
panel and placed her crystal in the hole that fitted it. A light shone
from the wall the panel connected to and onto Hotaru's forehead. Her
symbol appeared.
"Senshi of Destruction, Sailor Saturn!" she said. Her crystal
glowed a dark purple and black aura.
Minako motioned for the others to follow suite.
"Senshi of Time, Sailor Pluto!"
"Senshi of Heavens, Sailor Uranus!"
"Senshi of Water, Sailor Neptune!"
"Senshi of Love and Beauty, Sailor Venus!"
"Senshi of Thunder and Lightening, Sailor Jupiter!"
"Senshi of Fire, Sailor Mars!"
"Senshi of Water and Ice, Sailor Mercury!"
When all the crystals were glowing, the wall behind the panel
creaked open. The crystals flew back to their owners and disappeared
back into their places. A shadowed figure stood just inside the door
way.
"Welcome," the person said as they stepped into light's way. "You
made it just in time."
"We came as soon as possible," Minako said, "Ruri."
Ruri responded, "I know. Come." She stepped to the side and
reveiled a long stairway behind her, "We have much to do and not much
time to do it."
----------
"I've brought the captive, Master," Aries said, shoving Kyoko in front
of her.
Kyoko strained against the shackles that held her wrists together
in front of her, wishing she could break them apart.
"Leave," the boy ordered. When Aires left, the boy strode over to
Kyoko. "Still not gonna talk?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
Kyoko responded by spatting on the floor beside his feet.
"That's fine," his hand grabbed her by her throat. Being a bit
taller than her, he raised her up off the floor a ways. His hand glowed
black. "I like doing things the hard way."
Kyoko grinned, despite her situation. "The same goes for ME!!" As
she shouted the last word, she brought up her hands, still chained
together, quickly, striking the boy under his chin, snapping his head
back. He lost his grip on her. Taking her chance, she flipped backwards.
"Come on!" she challenged as she landed.
----------
"How long has this place been under the Palace?" Serenity asked as they
continued down the staircase.
She expected Minako to answer, instead their strange guide, Ruri,
replied. "This chamber has been in Earth's Core since before anyone can
remember. This place..." a small half-smile appeared on her face, "has
also been my home. Since it might be a few more minutes before we reach
it, I might as well tell you all what's happening--or should I say,
'what happened.'
"Eons ago, when the Moon was still at peace, an evil in the form
of a human, an Earthling, started a riot on the surface. They began
small rebellions on the Moon and the other planets, blocking trades to
them and so forth. Ambassadors from each of the planets went to Earth to
try and reason with him. The Moon didn't--" Ruri's pupiless eyes
narrowed. "--They were wise. The leader captured the ambassadors and
then kill--no, SLAUGHTERED them in front of a multitude of his
followers. It was a 'ceremony', as he called it, right before he began
his attack on the Moon.
"We were fortunate that the Moon had anticipated this. Along with
the first Queen of the Moon, I lead the Lunarians in a full scale
attack. In the mist of the battle, the leader, the one who had started
it all and was the cause of millions of deaths, lost his hold on his
shell. He was reborn as Nemisess, the one who is attacking us today."
"Do you know who he really is?" Adonis asked.
Ruri stopped walking. She stood silently for a moment or two. She
turned her head back and looked directly into Adonis's eye. "He is a
tratior, no matter what form he takes." Her voice was low and deadly.
She started walking again. "We banished him into a Negative deminsion,
yet his 'soul', you could say, found a way out but only in the form of
black mist."
"Wait a minute," Ami intterupted. "If you were around back when
the first Queen of the Moon was alive, then you must be over three
million years old."
"You speak the truth, Mercury. After the battle, I put myself in a
deep sleep, in case Nemisess attacked again. I was hooked up to the
Moon's centeral comupter. It stored everything that happened--on the
Moon, on Earth--anything that delt with the Moon family and it's
followers. After Nemisess, his mist form, appeared again, the only two
who could acess the computer came down here and have been 'feeding' me
the information as well as peparing for what's to come."
She stopped once again, this time because the stairs ended. Before
her was a black doorway. "This way," she said, stepping through. The
others followed reluctantly.
"Who are the two you spoke of?" Edymion asked.
"Us."
A light snapped on and before them stood Artemis and Luna.
"Luna?!" Serenity gasped.
----------
"Had enough?!" Kyoko said, swinging her leg down to hit the boy on his
head.
"Not quite!" he responded, catching her leg with his hand. She
threw her down to the floor. She grunted, arching her back and flipping
back up, bearly dodging the bolt he threw at her.
"You're quick!" he said.
"You're not!!" she countered, jumping off the wall, running back
towards him.
He leaned back, avoiding her punch. He caught her arm.
she thought.
He kicked her in her stomach multiple times, knocking the air out
of her. With the last kick, he let go, sending her crasing into the
wall.
she thought as she tried to painfully stand.
Kyoko felt his fist come down on her head. Her head swam and her
body went limp. Her arms fell to her sides, the chain stopped them from
touching the floor. she thought. She
heard the boy speak, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Then she
felt nothing.
----------
Zukamori suddenly felt a great deal of pain in her head. She rubbed her
temples slightly not wanting to bring attention to herself.
"You two have been down here all this time?" Serenity asked the
black cat in her arms.
Luna nodded. "After Terry released Nemisess, Artemis and myself
came here. I'm sorry I never told you, Serenity. I know you would worry,
but..."
"It's all right, Luna. It's all right," Serenity intterupted.
"Now then," Ruri said to the group. "I've told you all you need to
know at this moment. Are there any questions?" Ruri searched whith her
hand beside her until it bumped against a chair. She grasped it and
eased onto the seat.
"Uh--I have a question," Rei said slowly. "Ruri, are you blind?"
Ruri's half-smile reappeared. "In almost any way you look at it, I
am. My eyes cannot see as you all can, but I can see heat and energy
readings. The heat helps me see anyone nearby. The reason I can tell
each of you apart is because of the energy readings. Everyone has their
own personal energy, so I can make out who is who."
"Oh."
"Ruri," Serenity spoke up. "I'm woried about my daughter. I
haven't checked on her since the earthquakes started."
"There is no need to worry, my Queen."
Helios appeared behind Ruri. "We moved her here as soon as we
could. She is safe. Follow me, I will show you where you will stay until
it is time for the attack."
----------
Pain flared in Kyoko's head as she slowly woke up. She was back in her
cell, chained to the wall. She felt tired from her brief fight with the
boy, but she also felt groggy.
"Awake at last are we?"
Kyoko looked up as the cell door opened. In stepped the boy. He
walked towards her. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him. "What're you
doing here?" she said in a poisonious voice.
"I believe I'm the one who will asked the questions here, Kyoko."
He studied her face as he spoke.
"Like what?" she sneered. "As if you could drag any information
out of me!" She stuck her tounge out at him.
"Who said I wanted information?" His response startled her
slightly. He reached with his hand and grabbed her under her chin. He
brought his own face close to hers. "What I want," he whispered
dangerously, "is for you to suffer like I did!"
Before she had time to react, she felt something cut through her
left side right above her hip. A wicked smirk on the boy's face told her
what happened. she
thought angrily as she felt the blood begin to drip down.
He quickly brought his knee up and jabbed her in her side. More
blood fell from the wound as it came out of her mouth, causing her to
almost choke on it.
----------
Zukamori suddenly fell down. Her hand pressed against her side. She felt
the blood that was pouring from a sudden gash there flow around her hand
and fall to the ground.
"Zukamori!!" Adonis gasped, causing the group in front of them to
stop walking. He stooped down beside her, his worry as clear as day on
his face. "What happened?!"
She shook her head. she thought as she
felt blood come out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes closed tight as
she fought to contain a scream that was mounting in her throat.
Luna jumped from Serenity's arm and rushed towards the two. Luna
took one look at the wound before turning her head back to the shocked
group. "Artemis!" she said to the white cat in Minako's arms. "Go back
and check on Ruri! Something's happened to Kyoko!"
Artemis nodded before taking off.
Luna turned back to Zukamori, the look on the cat's face was not a
comforting one. the cat thought.
----------
Artemis ran as fast as he could on his cat legs back to the room they
had been. Just before he reached it, he heard a groan of pain before a
thump.
"Ruri!!" he shouted as he entered. He found Ruri on the floor in
front of the chair she had been in. She was hunched over, her hand
grasping her side. Blood was already collecting on the floor. The cat
made his way to her. "Ruri!" he said. "Ruri! We have to get you to the
infernery!"
"It--it won't help!" she gasped out painfully. Another spasm of
pain shot out as well as blood. "He--he tourching her!!"
"But why?!" Artemis couldn't understand why this was happening.
"He knows she won't say anything!"
----------
The boy laughed as he saw the pain on Kyoko's face. Kyoko hung her head
down a ways, unable to support it up much.
"You think I don't know your secrets?" he jeered. Kyoko looked at
him through her white hair with wide eyes. "Whatever happens to one of
you--" he punched her in her stomach "--happens to the other two! That's
the downside to sharing that kind of power girl!"
"Y-you...coward," she hacked out, blood flowing from both sides of
her mouth now. She slowly raised her head, looking into his eye. He
expected to see hatered and malious in her gold eyes. Instead, he was
shocked to see pity. "Resotring to this..." she paused to take a deep
breath. "Why....why don't you go back?"
He looked at her, confused at her words. "What are you talking
about?"
"Go back....become...whole again...." She knew she was tempting
fate saying this, but she had to. "Join with Adonis....become yourself
again.....T--"
"Shut up, girl!!!" he slashed out and struck her face. When she
didn't move, he realized she was unconcious.
He turned on his heel and walked back out the door. But her words
stayed with him.
----------
"What is wrong with her?!" Adonis demanded from Luna. Luna looked a the
girl who had passed out and fallen into his arms.
"I can't say now," Luna said, "but if we don't tend to her wound
she could die."
"Take us to the imfermery," Ami said to Helios. "I'll work on
her."
----------
"Zukamori-chan! Zukamori-chan!"
The little blonde haired girl turned towards the voice. Coming up
behind her was an older girl by at least ten years with long golden hair
done up in odango and sky blue eyes.
"Sere-chan!" the little girl said happily, reaching up with her
arms.
Serenity laughed as she picked the girl up. "Do you want to go to
the gardens, Zukamori-chan?"
"Yea!" Zukamori agreed.
As the two headed towards the gardens of the Palace, Zukamori
heard servants here and there whispering amonst themselves. They were
'gossiping', as Zukamori had heard the raven haired friend of
Serenity's, Rei-chan, say.
"Isn't that the girl who's mother died when she was born?"
"Yes it is! Why is the princess spending time with her?"
"She's lowering her standards letting that...*barbarian's*
daughter be anywhere near her!"
"Why does the Queen let her own daughter, the Crown Princess of
the Moon, do that?"
"I heard the mother of the child was killed shortly after the
birth."
"I thought she was wounded before giving birth?"
"Maybe so. But I wouldn't ask anyone if I were you."
"True, true."
"Sere-chan?" Zukamori asked her as they walked out of earshot of
the servants. "What's a 'bar-bar-i-an'?"
Serenity stopped walking and looked back the way she had come. Her
eyes glared at the servants, who scattered, not wanting to meet the
Princess' temper.
"They were talkin' 'bout my mommy, weren't they?" The girl sniffed
as tears of lonliness filled her eyes.
"Pay no attention to them, Zukamori-chan," Serenity said gently,
hugging the girl.
"Did you know my mommy, Sere-chan?" Zukamori asked as the older
girl continued to walk.
"Yes I did," Serenity replied, her eyes slightly distant,
remembering days long since past. "And she was no barbaian, Zukamori-
chan. They no nothing about her. She was a trusted and well respected
friend of the Queen's."
----------
"Zukamori and Ruri are all right at the moment. Whatever happened to
them seemed to have right right through one of their kidneys, both of
them, but I fixed it." Ami looked over the group in front of her.
"They're still asleep."
A relieved looked crossed everyone's face.
"Do you know how they got injured?" Makoto asked.
Ami shook her head.
---------
"We've got to hurry," Artemis said to Luna.
She nodded. "Kyoko is injured badly. We have no time to waste."
A white light flashed. The cats had taken to their human forms.
"No matter what," Luna said, her eyes narrowing in detremination,
"we leave with her or we don't leave at all."
"All the Keys must be in place or we have no hope."
----------
NEXT: What's up with Zukamori and Ruri? Why did they get hurt in the
same way Kyoko did? What was Kyoko talking about? Why must the boy join
with Adonis to 'become whole again'? Why was Zukamori on the Moon? Who
was her mother? And what are 'the Keys'?
__________