Chapter Four

            "Amy?"

            The doctor sighed and faced her queen and king, wiping her glasses on her coat.

            "She's slipped into a coma. I'm doing all I can."

            The queen lowered her head and nodded. Her husband put his hands on her shoulders. "Can we see her, Amy?"

            Amy stepped aside, "Of course."

            The two royals tore through the door and to their daughter's bedside.

            Rini laid still, unmoving. Her pink hair laid by her ears, limp. Her face had gone pale. An IV of life giving blood was entering her left arm. Serenity grasped her little girl's hand and rubbed it. The girl had managed to finally to power down but the loss of blood when her wings had been ripped apart had taken their toll.

            Serenity kissed her daughter's palm, two silent tears streaming down her face. Her daughter made no reaction, absolutely none.

            "Oh, Mother," she looked upward, towards the now full moon, out the window. "Please…"

            Endymion held his wife close as he could and tried to calm her down.

            Throughout this, Rini remained still.

            When Gloria came to, her hands and legs were bound swiftly and tightly. She swallowed and her parched throat rejected. She had to twist to sit upright. She took a glance around at her surroundings.

            She seemed to be in some sort of cave, it was damp and wet with rats scurrying over the floor. She could hear bats overhead. She kicked a fat black rat which had been gnawing at her sock. It landed on its back, gave a painful squeal and scurried away.

            "So, I see our guest is awake."

            Gloria lifted her eyes and saw Hiroshima. The woman snapped her fingers and to Gloria's shock, she found herself lifted off the ground, no pulleys, nothing. Just telekinesis. But the Senshi of love did her best not to show any fear. If she was here then that meant that Annika was safe.

            "I'm sure you're wondering what I plan to do with you."

            Gloria made no reply but Hiroshima saw the desire in her eyes. She chuckled, a low and dark laugh that chilled Gloria to her heart. But she swallowed and waited for this woman to continue.

            Hiroshima removed a pen which Gloria immediately recognized as her henshin wand. A lot of good it would do her if it didn't work though.

            Gloria gathered her voice into as touch a voice as she could and said,

            "What do you want?"

            "Oh so you do speak."

            "I can do more than that, now answer me!"

            Hiroshima flicked her wrist. Gloria's bonds vanished but then the girl found herself held immobile in some invisible force field. Obviously it was held by magic.

            Hiroshima looked skyward.

            Gloria followed her gaze. Venus slowly translated into view. It hummed deep golden a moment.

            Gloria screamed. A blaze of power shot through her. It felt like her hair was going to catch aflame. Her face turned deep blood red. Her nerves were tingling. It felt like a laser was running through her body. Her blood was boiling.

            But then just as suddenly, it stopped. The girl lifted her head, tears streaming down her cheeks and gasping for air.

            Hiroshima had a golden locket in her hand, "You never realized how much power your wand filtered out did you?"

            Hiroshima continued. "See, it's quite simple. You're my 'antennae' so to speak. Your body is capable of conducting your guardian deity's power without your wand. However, the price, as you may have realized, is that your body feels the power."

            Gloria growled, "The others'll stop you."

            "Will they?" Hiroshima clamped the locket onto her shirt, "Will they, little one? Their wands have no way of sending them power."

            "Their guardian deities…"

            Hiroshima burst out laughing and shook her head, "Surely you gest. Those foolish children have no way of knowing how to call upon it. Even now, the only reason your guardian deity is aiding you is because my power and it senses your danger."

            Gloria glared as she left,

            "Who said they had to call on it?"

            Faith ran after her friends on the way home. To avoid any suspicion, the girls continued going to school. But none of them could concentrate very well. Their leader was out of commission. They couldn't transform. Sailor Chibi Venus was missing.

            Hope stopped, "Faith, are you coming?"

            Faith was snapped out of her thoughts, "Yeah, I'm gonna stop and get a soda. I'll meet up with you at home."

            Hope bit her lip but sensed that Faith needed time to think so with a nod, she ran ahead.

            Faith did buy a soda but she took the side roads home. As she walked through the alleyways, she thought of what was to come.

            This villain had nearly killed Cosmic Moon. According to Annika, she was the incarnation of evil so she was capable of anything. She sighed deeply. She hated feeling helpless.

            And if she couldn't transform, she couldn't fight the enemy.

            A wave of rage overcame Faith. She screamed,

            "What the hell are we supposed to do?!"

            To her cry, she received silence. She let out a sigh and walked on. But as she did, a violent wind began to blow. She put her hand sup to hide her eyes from the dust but as she did so, a feeling of pressure hit her lungs. She gasped for air.

            The wind spoke her name, in a whisper,

            "Faith Danielle Ten'ou."

            The mark of Uranus lit up on her forehead. Her blue hair came out of its ponytail and flew behind her. The wind was lifting boxes, even cars off the ground and flinging them backward. But Faith stayed firmly planted against the ground. She swallowed hard,

            "Na…Nani?"

            She saw no figure but heard a voice, a voice none other could hear. Only she could hear it because it was spoken through the wind.

            "You know who I am, Faith."

            "H…Hai."

            "Who am I?"

            "You…you're my guardian deity. You're the spirit of Uranus."

            "Hai. I am."

            Tears gathered in Faith's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. But there was no fear in her eyes. Her birthmark grew brighter, turning golden as the wind's voice became a roar in her ears. She felt warmth in her ears, blood, which spilled down her temples. But she remained where she was, as the soothing and fierce wind rolled over her.

            "What…what do you want?"

            "I want you to listen."

            Faith nodded and felt a drop of blood hit her hand. It was coming from her ears, but she could still hear. She swallowed and did as asked, too stunned to disobey.

            "Your link to my power has been blocked. But not destroyed. You can draw my power still."

            Faith nodded, her eyes wide in awe, at a force she knew was there but could not see. The wind answered her awe and wonder.

            "But you know the power of this opponent."

            Another nod. Faith began to cry as the stinging wind hurt her eyes.

            "Help, you need help. And you must take it soon, without adult interference. Go to Margaret Allison Mei'ou"

            "Yeah…Maggie."

            "Go to the future. There you will find the help you need."

            Then the winds died down and Faith, overwhelmed and exhausted fell to her knees.