The pain was soul wrenching. Enough to make tears fall down Faith's cheeks. She felt the razor sharp slice and then a weight leave her arm. Instinctively she grasped her wound, tightly.
Her lower arm fell to the ground, severed from her body. Blood immediately began to gush from the opened wound. The loss was so intense and so immediate that the solider of heaven was forced to her knees, whimpering in immense agony. She squeezed the severed limb with all the strength she could, knowing if she didn't she would bleed to death in a matter of minutes.
But the loss of blood had zapped most of her strength. She was slowing the flow but was not stopping it to say the least. Her right arm lay a few inches from her. It made her sick but she put up a defiant face for the youma. She curled her lip over her upper teeth, in a cat like growl.
"Faith!"
The girl turned. The Chibi Senshi and Rini were charging through the door, followed by the Cosmic Senshi. After they had gotten the queen to safety, they raced back to fight.
Hope spied her sister clutching her arm and her sister's lower arm lying a few inches from her. A wave of nausea swept over her but then was swiftly replaced by anger. She leapt in front of her sister.
"Get away from her!"
"Oh, did I make you mad, little one?"
Hope glanced around and spied the fragments of her sister's sword. She snatched one up and held it like a knife. She squeezed tightly. Blood ran down her arms but she ignored it. The only thing she knew was pure hate. She was panting, breathing heavily.
Faith stared at her sister. In all her life, Faith had never seen such an outright hate from her sister. But Hope stood firmly planted in front of her sister. She was trembling with rage. Sweat had mucked up her deep blue hair and her eyes were alive with fury.
The youma chuckled but then swiftly found itself screaming.
Hope leapt at the youma, digging the blade in as fiercely as she could, ignoring the pain that shot through the nerves in her hands. The jagged blade sliced through her skin but she ripped it downwards, with as much strength as she could. The youma let out a wail of pain.
The Chibi Senshi and Cosmic Senshi stared.
Daisy was stunned; of all the Chibi Senshi, Hope seemed the one least likely to lose her temper, with the exception of Maggie. But her eyes were burning and when she screamed…
Well, Daisy didn't know Hope knew those words!
But the youma eventually managed to throw Hope down. The girl leapt to her feet and ran to her sister, shielding her with her own body.
The Cosmic Senshi meanwhile were trying to weaken the youma but their attacks were doing nothing. The youma, with a swipe of its hand, knocked them aside. They couldn't use a planet attack but they didn't have a Venus Senshi. The women got to their feet weakly.
"Leave her alone!"
The youma ignored the young girl's cries and walked closer to Faith. If she could wipe out the past self of Cosmic Uranus then her future self, leader of the Cosmic Senshi would fade away.
"NO!"
Hope grabbed her sister hard and screamed, in desperation,
"Neptune Power! Make-up!"
Nothing happened and the youma laughed at her. Tears filled Hope's eyes. She pulled her weakened twin closer.
"Neptune Power! Make up!"
The Chibi Senshi backed up. Hope's birthmark had turned deep blue.
"NEPTUNE POWER! MAKE-UP!"
The youma covered its eyes as a flash of blue light enveloped the room. When it looked again it was greeted with:
"Tidal Wave!"
The youma was caught off guard and flew backwards, slamming in to the ground hard. Sitting up, it shook its head and then gasped,
"No way…"
"Way." Super Sailor Chibi Neptune stepped forward, her eyes blazing. Her tiara was gone, replaced by a glowing birthmark.
The youma was now aware of the reviving Cosmic Senshi and then Rini stepped forward. She reached for the chain around her neck. Thrusting her hand forward, she screamed,
"Moon Crystal Power!"
The flash of pure light sent the youma fleeing. Rini stopped to catch her breath and replaced the chain around her neck.
Chibi Neptune ripped her gloves off and bound them around her sister's wound, pulling them as tight as she could. Faith winced but didn't say anything.
Cosmic Mercury stepped forward, saying,
"So my vision was true."
Cosmic Saturn stepped forward and lifted Faith into her arms. Cosmic Mercury took off her own gloves and lifted Faith's severed arm. In a flash of light, the three vanished.
Hope let out an exhausted cry and her transformation dissolved as she collapsed.
Faith slowly came to, groggily.
"Welcome back Faith,"
The girl looked around as her eyes adjusted. She was in what looked like a hospital wing. It was different from her time but she saw two figures. For a moment, she thought…
"Aunt Amy? Aunt Hotaru?"
A pause, "No faith, Ariel and Madelyn."
"Right, right."
The girl sat up slowly, "what happened?"
But before they could answer, she saw.
A bandage was wrapped on her right arm…but her arm was whole.
She fingered it. Ariel explained,
"Luckily, the cut was smooth. We managed to reattach it. You'll be able to use it. But it'll hurt for a few days. Madelyn could only heal the bone, the nerves will need time,"
Faith merely nodded.
"But the youma did it so easily…"
Ariel nodded, "Hai, Maggie is discussing perhaps more help with the queen."
Faith smiled,
"Just show me where the youma is. They're toast. No more Miss Nice Girl."