@------
No Greater Love
Chapter 9 - Home at Last
By: Bethany
Editor: Meara
Rated: PG
@------
"Shh, I hear something ahead," the Solider of Time whispered,
placing her finger over her mouth and looking around cautiously.
My heart began pounding in my chest so loud that I'm sure that
everyone could hear it. I swallowed, trying to calm myself, but it was
no use. Sailor Pluto and Tuxedo Kamen walked ahead of Venus and I,
carefully peaking around the corner into the next room. They looked at
each other and then into the room again.
"Pluto...?" Venus whispered, daring to take a step away from me
and closer to the doorway. I tried to pull her back, fearful something
evil was close at hand, but she escaped my reach and tip toed on.
Tuxedo Kamen turned to me just as Pluto walked into the next
room. "You two stay here until we make sure this isn't some sort of
trap."
"But--!" I protested, straining to see past him and into the next
room. His broad chest and height advantage stopped me from seeing
anything.
"No buts, stay here," he commanded and turned, his cape swirling
up in his wake. I watched him go into the room and bit down on my
bottom lip.
"Did you see anything?" I asked Venus hopefully. She shook her
head no and my hopes faltered. I kept a close eye on the door,
straining my ears to hear anything from the other side. Minutes passed
on and still nothing. Just as my patience was wearing too thin to hold
up, our anxious ears were greeted with the sharp sound of breaking
glass and that of water hitting the floor in waves. I looked to Venus
and without a word said between us, we ran into the room.
If I hadn't known better I would have believed we had walked onto
a mad scientist movie set. The walls were lined with impressive looking
equipment, different colored liquids and test tubes. In the middle of
it all were three large water tanks, one shattered and water pouring
into the floor. Tuxedo Kamen stood in its path, holding a soaked and
naked Hotaru. Her eye lids were open and her eyes rolled back in her
head.
I slapped both of my hands over my mouth to prevent a scream from
erupting from my throat. Like lab mice being experimented on, Haruka
and Michiru were in matching tanks side by side, both naked from head
to toe. "Is-Is Hotaru...?"
My husband handed Hotaru's seemingly lifeless body to Sailor
Pluto while he took his cape off and laid it on the ground away from
the pieces of glass and the puddles of water. Pluto laid Hotaru on it
and covered her up, checking for a pulse. Mamo-chan got on his knees on
her other side and placed his cheek to her mouth. "She's not
breathing," he said, tilting her head back.
"There's a faint heart beat," Pluto informed, her eyes taking on
a glassy look as she watched Mamo-chan begin CPR. I stood to the side,
my eyes wide and fear clutching my heart while he continued to breath
into her mouth and then pump her chest.
"Oh God.." I whispered, tears threatening to escape my eyes. It
seemed time stood still while he worked on her. I began crying the
longer she remained lifeless, Venus coming over to comfort me. "Please
don't let her die... please..."
Unable to take my eyes off what was happening, I felt each second
tick by like a timer on a bomb. Pluto watched, horrified, as Mamo-chan
continued to work on her adopted daughter but still Hotaru remained
unresponsive. And then, as beautiful as the crying of a new born baby,
Hotaru sucked in air and began coughing out water from her lungs. I
felt relief drape over me like a warm blanket as Mamo-chan turned her
over on her side so she could cough the water out of her lungs.
Pluto pushed the dark wet hair from Hotaru's face. "That's it,
sweetie, breathe.... breathe...."
Mamo-chan sat back, looking over at the tanks where Michiru and
Haruka were suspended in water. "She needs to transform so that any
damage to her body can be repaired as quickly as possible," Mamo-chan
said, standing up. I rushed over to him, wrapping my arms around his
chest tightly while we watched the color return to Hotaru's face.
@------
Next we broke Michiru and Haruka free from their watery graves.
Thankfully neither were in as bad a shape as Hotaru had been, their
bodies being much stronger than hers. While the others transformed to
regain their strength, I followed as Mamo-chan walked around the room,
trying to make sense of what was going on.
He sat down at the computer, but couldn't bring anything up. "It
looks like whatever they were doing in here was either completed or
abandoned and all trace of the evidence is gone," he looked over at the
Outer Senshi, his eyes resting on Hotaru. "The air supply was pulled
from those tanks and they were left here to die."
I felt a shiver run down my spine, sending cold chills all over
my body. Anger quickly replaced the nervousness and fear that I had for
the Outer Senshi. "Whoever did this is going to pay," I stated, my fist
clutched before me.
"Easy, Usako," Mamo-chan said in a soothing voice. "I'm angry
about this, too. But remember your condition. Let's just defeat this
enemy, go home to our daughter and plan for our next child, ne?" he
continued in that soothing tone that made my muscles relax some. I
nodded my head and felt him hold me close to his body, our hearts
beating at the same time.
"I hate to break up this touching scene, but what the hell
happened?" My eyes traveled from my husband and to my left to catch
sight of the Senshi of Uranus, her hands firmly planted on her hips as
she waited for an explanation.
I exhaled, trying to release some pent up tension as I did. "It's
a long story that will be told in due time. In the mean time," I said
in a take charge voice, directing myself to everyone in the room. "We
need to find the rest of the Senshi and kick this Pharoah 90 back to
his own galaxy."
"Un!" Venus agreed, nodding her head. "Let's go!"
As we walked out of the room I saw Sailor Pluto staring at me
with the strangest glint in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I
would have sworn she looked very sad. As a Solider of Time, I couldn't
begin to imagine what she knew about our futures. I shook the thought
from my mind and concentrated on our mission.
@------
"Deep Submerge!"
There was a heavy stench in the air that came with dead youma
lying everywhere; and I mean everywhere. We had been attacked six times
in a row, the lastest tall, dark and gruesome creature exploding in a
array of beautiful aqua energy provided by the Senshi of Neptune.
We walked around the decaying corpse and out the door, only this
time instead of walking into another room we came upon something quite
different. "Sailor Senshi," a deep voice greeted us as we entered the
room. "It seems you are more enduring than even I have predicted."
"Heioko," Mamo-chan acknowledged, putting a protective arm in
front of me. "Where are the rest of the Senshi?" he demanded, his voice
low and meaning.
"The information would do you no good. You'll never see them
again," he told us matter of factly.
Uranus rolled her eyes, sounding unconvinced. "Indulge us,
then," she replied.
Heioko's lip curved up in a mock smile for a split second before
he nodded his head. "Very well," he said as he pushed a button that
sealed the door we had just entered. As it slammed against the floor I
felt myself flinch. He turned back to us, pushing his glasses up the
rim of his nose. "We have been running some tests on them, and I have
to say - what we have found is quite remarkable. The healing abilities
that you have, the powers you have not only in yourselves but in those
wands that bear your planet symbols, it's amazing."
"Where are they?" Uranus growled, so lowly in her throat that it
seemed another wild animal had spoke, not her.
Heioko shrugged nonchalantly and ran his hand over a sphere on
the computer table behind him. An image appeared out of it, showing a
room with three tanks filled with water - the bodies of Rei, Ami and
Makoto floating in them. I gasped, burying my face in the folds of
Mamo-chan's shirt. They looked dead.
"Now," Heioko began cheerfully. "You have what you want and it's
time for the end. I have been speculating on this for hours," he said
thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "And I've decided that the best way to
kill you is to battle it out." He spread his hands wide, like a teacher
lecturing a class. "Oh sure, I could just kill you and get it over
with. But let's just say...." He created a ball of silver energy in his
hands that illuminated his eyes. "I enjoy a good battle of good verses
evil. You know, down to the last breath. An all out war that ends with
me the victor."
"We'll just see about that," Venus replied, pulling her chain
from her waist and holding it up. "We don't go down without a fight."
"Done," Heioko announced and the ball of energy in his hands grew
larger, engulfing his arms and chest. At the same moment in the tank
that housed Pharoah 90, the top burst open and the black liquid rose
out of the water and into the air, coming down to land on Heioko.
For a minute the room was so full of dark energy that I couldn't
see my hand before my face. Just as quickly it receded. Floating in the
air above us was a being unlike any I had ever laid eyes on in either
of my lifetimes.
With black, empty eyes that glowed from the ball of energy in
it's hands, the being no long even remotely resembled Heioko. It's hair
was solid white and looked to be ablaze from the way it stood tall and
stringy. The white lab coat was gone, replaced by six arms, two of
which held the energy ball and the other four where open wide to
attack. And it was huge, ten or more feet tall, with the speed of the
wind.
For the first time since this began, I had serious doubts about
whether we would win this battle. But Venus was right, win or loose, we
would go down fighting.
He gave us a few seconds to stare at the changes that had
occurred in just the flash of energy before he let out a howl of
laughter and drew closer. "You look scared, Senshi," he boomed, his
voice so loud and deep that I could feel the vibrations in the floor
beneath my feet. "You should be."
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" The rope of golden hearts shot through the
air towards Pharoah 90, but even as fast as it was moving, he was
faster. I stared in shock as the chain hit the wall behind the area
where he has just been, and in that split second he had moved ten feet
away. "Crescent Beam!" she shouted, visibly angered by her miss.
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune shouted at the same time that Tux
edo Kamen threw a hand full of red roses, thorns as sharp as razors
blazing from the stem.
He moved in time to avoid, but not so quickly as before. One
after the other I watched as everyone attacked him, chasing him around
the room. I held my scepter tightly in my hand and ready to attack. But
it seemed there wouldn't be a moment he would be still.
"World Shaking!"
"Dead Scream."
"Shimatta," Neptune mumbled as she came next to me, out of breath
and more than a bit worried looking. "He's so fast."
"Is that all, Senshi?" he laughed. "Does that mean it's my
turn?" he cackled and with that began shooting black energy towards us.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard Saturn yell to separate
and I moved just in time to see a beam of black light coming at me. I
wanted to dodge, but I couldn't even flinch it happened so fast.
"Silent Wall." The energy reflected off the dome that surrounded
Saturn and myself, but it came so close to my face that I felt the heat
from it. I stepped back, my eyes wide.
The dome went down, but the battle was far from over. All around
me I could hear everyone shouting attacks one after another, fighting
but never hitting their mark. The longer we avoided the dark beams
always on our tails, the slower our reflexes became. I looked around at
everyone who had been trying to protect me as well as fight the enemy
and I pulled my scepter up. Forget waiting until he stays still, no
matter how much of my energy it took, it was time to take him down.
"Moon Princess Halation!" The Senshi had fell into a pattern of
attacking Heioko, their attacks chasing him around the room as he
dodged. From his opposite side I aimed my scepter, hitting him dead on.
The silver energy of my power clashed with his dark energy for minutes
it seemed. I felt my body start to weaken, but still I pushed on.
"Deep Submerge!"
"Dead Scream."
In front of us, Saturn stood with her back stiff as she held up
the dome that deflected all the dark energy beams trying to hit us. My
knees wanted to buckle from the strain that I put on them, but my mind
was more determined.
"Venus Love-Me Chain!"
"World Shaking!"
Just as I was about to fall, I felt a pair of strong arms holding
on to me. Tuxedo Kamen stood behind me, his arms extended beside mine.
"Lean on me if you need to!" he shouted above the sounds of energy
conflicting and the shouts around us. "I can support both of us!"
"No!" I shouted back, barely able to pull myself away from him. I
shook my head, gritting my teeth against the pain in my body. "The
scepter will drain your energy, too!"
"Then let's do this together!" he insisted.
I tried to resist him, but I couldn't fight Pharoah 90 and my
husband at the same time. The energy being drained from my body was too
much for me to bear and continue fighting, so I did what he said. I
leaned back into his waiting arms and found the strength there that I
needed, the strength that I always found in his embrace.
The details of the next few seconds may never come to my memory.
And that's fine, I suppose. The mind blocks things for a reason, and
I'm sure there is a good one for this, too. What I do know is that the
second I let my weight go into my husband's arms, I felt a fresh, raw
energy coming from him. A golden light exploded from our joint hands
and then all went black.
@------
@------
From behind my closed eye lids I could see a light shining on me,
pushing away the darkness from my mind. I blinked my eyes, the sun
coming through the window nearly blinding me as I stared into it. My
body felt like I had been cramped up and stored in a box for months on
end, I was so sore. Slowly I stretched out my limbs and sat up on the
bed I shared with my husband. And that is when every memory came
crashing back to me and I looked again. I was sitting in my bedroom...
on my queen size bed!
I blinked my eyes again, looking around at everything like a
starving person laying their eyes on an all you care to eat buffet.
"Mamo-chan?" I felt beside me for my soul mate's arm and tugged on it.
"Hey, Mamo-chan," I repeated when he turned over, grumbling something
about he was using a vacation day today. The response I received was
his snoring.
I rubbed my eyes and stood up, sliding my feet into my bunny
house shoes and pulling a robe on. The hallway was back to normal, and
from where I stood I could see the play pen in the living room. I
hurried to the room across the hall, swinging the door open. "Mama!" a
small voice greeted.
Sitting in the white crib by the window, playing with a stuffed
animal, was Chibi-Usa. I picked her up, covering her soft cheek with
kisses. "I don't remember getting back here, but I'm so happy to see my
baby girl!" I exclaimed, hugging her close and causing her to giggle.
I left the nursery with Chibi-Usa on my hip and made a beeline
into Shingo's room at the end of the hall. Curled up under his
comforter, my young brother kept right on snoring away as I checked on
him. "Onii-chan sleeping?" Chibi-Usa asked, shrugging her shoulders
adorably. I smiled, nodding my head yes. "Papa?" she asked next,
pointing down the hall.
I went back to my room, only to find that Mamo-chan was still
asleep. I sat on the side of the bed, holding a squirming Chibi-Usa in
my arms. She, in turn, was trying with all her might to get away from
me to pull Mamo-chan's hair. I had half a notion to let her do it.
"Mamo-chan, wake up," I called in his ear. He turned over,
pulling his arms up to stretch as he did. "Sweetheart, wake up," I
called again.
"Wha--what?" he grumbled, peeking his left eye open at me
curiously. "What is i--wait," he suddenly perked up, sitting up on the
bed so fast that he nearly shoved Chibi-Usa and I off. He looked
around, at us, and then at the room again. "Is everything...?" he
asked, waving his hands around.
"Back to normal? Hai," I responded, standing.
"How? When?" I watched as my husband walked to the doorway,
looked up and down the hall, at me, and then at Chibi-Usa. "Where is
everyone?"
"I don't know," I answered thoughtfully. I sat back on the bed,
picking up the phone. Chibi-Usa squirmed from my arms as I dialed
Minako's number and went to Mamo-chan.
After a few rings the phone was picked up; well - kind of. The
sound of the phone being pushed off the receiver was followed by a
crash, the sound of something breaking, Artemis screeching and Minako
mumbling a few choice words under her breath. "Nani?" she grumbled into
the phone when at last she brought it to her ear.
"Minako-chan?"
"Usagi-chan?" she replied, I think. Then again, no one could be
sure what Minako was really saying this early in the morning. For all I
knew she was reciting a chant that would end mankind. Everyone else had
tried it, why not her? "Is that you, Usagi-chan?"
"Hai." I looked at my clock and thought a second. "Everyone needs
to meet at my house in thirty minutes, okay?"
"Why?" the Solider of Love answered. I rolled my eyes, half
wondering if she even remembered our battle, when suddenly she shrieked
again. "How did we get back home?!" Never mind my last thought, she
remembers, I mused silently.
I sighed into the phone. "Your guess is as good as mine, see you
in thirty minutes."
"Un!" she exclaimed in return and promptly dropped the phone.
Followed was a high pitch squeal like that of a dying animal -
well, to be more precise, a cat. As Artemis hissed and squealed, even
Chibi-Usa, who was half way across the room with Mamo-chan, looked at
the phone in a perplexed way. I chuckled and hung up the receiver. It
certainly seemed things were back to normal.
@------
"What?"
I found myself, an hour later, sitting in my living room staring
at the Solider of Time with one of those dumb expressions on my face.
You know, the kind that make everyone else in the room laugh, though
secretly glad it was me and not them. Even Setsuna flashed me a smile
and a small shake of the head.
"Instantaneity," Ami repeated, pushing her hair out of her face
with a quick flip of her wrist. "Like a moment, second - flash of
light. Basically in the millisecond that the power of the Silver
Crystal and the power that Mamoru-san has intermixed, everything was
moved back across space and time to the moment before the original time
flux."
"The other world we entered has been restored to it's original
state, as well as this one - only minus Pharoah 90," Setsuna concluded,
watching Mamo-chan with an expression that bordered on worried. I was
too soon to find out why.
"Everything and everyone?" Makoto asked, looking up at all of us.
"Of course," Ami responded. "That is how we are all sitting here
like nothing happened. Only we remember it, since we were in that time.
No one else of our time knows anything that has happened."
"Even Heioko and Daiki?" Mamo-chan mumbled, his head bent over
his clasped hands. He looked up, his dark hair falling down onto his
forehead. "Them, too?"
Setsuna, again, looked uneasy. "I would assume so, yes," she
answered reluctantly.
I placed my palm on Mamo-chan's back and felt his muscles tighten
up. I rubbed soothingly while trying to throw a look to Ami and Setsuna
to change the subject.
After a long uncomfortable silence, Rei finally caught my
message. She cleared her throat, trying to sound cynical when she
began. "So, Usagi, I hear you have some news for us...?"
"News?" I asked, completely taken off guard. Rei cleared her
throat again, and pointed to her stomach. "Oh!" I exclaimed,
dumbfounded that no matter what the situation, news moved fast through
out our group. "Eh, yeah. It seems that I'm pregnant."
"Again?" Haruka asked sarcastically.
"That was fast," Hotaru said and then slapped her hands over her
face as a blush stained her cheeks red. Unknowingly she had let the
tension out of the room like a balloon bursting. Everyone began
laughing as the petite Senshi hid her red face behind Michiru's back.
To my surprise even Mamo-chan began laughing, seeming to forget his
thoughts of Daiki.
"Yes, again. Ami-chan says I'm about a month along and everything
is fine," I informed.
Mamo-chan leaned back, wrapping his left arm around my shoulders
as he did. "But just incase she's going to see Dr. Mizuno tomorrow," he
said, staring directly into my eyes.
I started to say 'since when' but there was no use in arguing the
point. Besides, I only wanted what was best for my child and a check up
wouldn't hurt anyone. I nodded my head in agreement and the
conversation drew into the new addition to my family and off the
subject of Pharoah 90, Daiki and Heioko.
I knew the subject would come up again, especially from Mamo-
chan. But for now, I was glad to talk of happier things.
--End Chapter 9.
Ah ha!!! Finally I'm finished with this chapter!! :) Sorry this took so
long, I was in Florida, and then I just got back today from Kentucky
because I had to go to my sister's bridal shower. Huge thanks to
everyone who emails, reads and reviews! And, as always, I love my
editor to death!! ^_^ I don't own Sailor Moon, yada yada yada...
Anyways, I'm started on chapter 10 already, so look for it sometime
next week. The drier just kicked the bucket, so I have to go to Sears
to get a new one. Ja!
No Greater Love
Chapter 9 - Home at Last
By: Bethany
Editor: Meara
Rated: PG
@------
"Shh, I hear something ahead," the Solider of Time whispered,
placing her finger over her mouth and looking around cautiously.
My heart began pounding in my chest so loud that I'm sure that
everyone could hear it. I swallowed, trying to calm myself, but it was
no use. Sailor Pluto and Tuxedo Kamen walked ahead of Venus and I,
carefully peaking around the corner into the next room. They looked at
each other and then into the room again.
"Pluto...?" Venus whispered, daring to take a step away from me
and closer to the doorway. I tried to pull her back, fearful something
evil was close at hand, but she escaped my reach and tip toed on.
Tuxedo Kamen turned to me just as Pluto walked into the next
room. "You two stay here until we make sure this isn't some sort of
trap."
"But--!" I protested, straining to see past him and into the next
room. His broad chest and height advantage stopped me from seeing
anything.
"No buts, stay here," he commanded and turned, his cape swirling
up in his wake. I watched him go into the room and bit down on my
bottom lip.
"Did you see anything?" I asked Venus hopefully. She shook her
head no and my hopes faltered. I kept a close eye on the door,
straining my ears to hear anything from the other side. Minutes passed
on and still nothing. Just as my patience was wearing too thin to hold
up, our anxious ears were greeted with the sharp sound of breaking
glass and that of water hitting the floor in waves. I looked to Venus
and without a word said between us, we ran into the room.
If I hadn't known better I would have believed we had walked onto
a mad scientist movie set. The walls were lined with impressive looking
equipment, different colored liquids and test tubes. In the middle of
it all were three large water tanks, one shattered and water pouring
into the floor. Tuxedo Kamen stood in its path, holding a soaked and
naked Hotaru. Her eye lids were open and her eyes rolled back in her
head.
I slapped both of my hands over my mouth to prevent a scream from
erupting from my throat. Like lab mice being experimented on, Haruka
and Michiru were in matching tanks side by side, both naked from head
to toe. "Is-Is Hotaru...?"
My husband handed Hotaru's seemingly lifeless body to Sailor
Pluto while he took his cape off and laid it on the ground away from
the pieces of glass and the puddles of water. Pluto laid Hotaru on it
and covered her up, checking for a pulse. Mamo-chan got on his knees on
her other side and placed his cheek to her mouth. "She's not
breathing," he said, tilting her head back.
"There's a faint heart beat," Pluto informed, her eyes taking on
a glassy look as she watched Mamo-chan begin CPR. I stood to the side,
my eyes wide and fear clutching my heart while he continued to breath
into her mouth and then pump her chest.
"Oh God.." I whispered, tears threatening to escape my eyes. It
seemed time stood still while he worked on her. I began crying the
longer she remained lifeless, Venus coming over to comfort me. "Please
don't let her die... please..."
Unable to take my eyes off what was happening, I felt each second
tick by like a timer on a bomb. Pluto watched, horrified, as Mamo-chan
continued to work on her adopted daughter but still Hotaru remained
unresponsive. And then, as beautiful as the crying of a new born baby,
Hotaru sucked in air and began coughing out water from her lungs. I
felt relief drape over me like a warm blanket as Mamo-chan turned her
over on her side so she could cough the water out of her lungs.
Pluto pushed the dark wet hair from Hotaru's face. "That's it,
sweetie, breathe.... breathe...."
Mamo-chan sat back, looking over at the tanks where Michiru and
Haruka were suspended in water. "She needs to transform so that any
damage to her body can be repaired as quickly as possible," Mamo-chan
said, standing up. I rushed over to him, wrapping my arms around his
chest tightly while we watched the color return to Hotaru's face.
@------
Next we broke Michiru and Haruka free from their watery graves.
Thankfully neither were in as bad a shape as Hotaru had been, their
bodies being much stronger than hers. While the others transformed to
regain their strength, I followed as Mamo-chan walked around the room,
trying to make sense of what was going on.
He sat down at the computer, but couldn't bring anything up. "It
looks like whatever they were doing in here was either completed or
abandoned and all trace of the evidence is gone," he looked over at the
Outer Senshi, his eyes resting on Hotaru. "The air supply was pulled
from those tanks and they were left here to die."
I felt a shiver run down my spine, sending cold chills all over
my body. Anger quickly replaced the nervousness and fear that I had for
the Outer Senshi. "Whoever did this is going to pay," I stated, my fist
clutched before me.
"Easy, Usako," Mamo-chan said in a soothing voice. "I'm angry
about this, too. But remember your condition. Let's just defeat this
enemy, go home to our daughter and plan for our next child, ne?" he
continued in that soothing tone that made my muscles relax some. I
nodded my head and felt him hold me close to his body, our hearts
beating at the same time.
"I hate to break up this touching scene, but what the hell
happened?" My eyes traveled from my husband and to my left to catch
sight of the Senshi of Uranus, her hands firmly planted on her hips as
she waited for an explanation.
I exhaled, trying to release some pent up tension as I did. "It's
a long story that will be told in due time. In the mean time," I said
in a take charge voice, directing myself to everyone in the room. "We
need to find the rest of the Senshi and kick this Pharoah 90 back to
his own galaxy."
"Un!" Venus agreed, nodding her head. "Let's go!"
As we walked out of the room I saw Sailor Pluto staring at me
with the strangest glint in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I
would have sworn she looked very sad. As a Solider of Time, I couldn't
begin to imagine what she knew about our futures. I shook the thought
from my mind and concentrated on our mission.
@------
"Deep Submerge!"
There was a heavy stench in the air that came with dead youma
lying everywhere; and I mean everywhere. We had been attacked six times
in a row, the lastest tall, dark and gruesome creature exploding in a
array of beautiful aqua energy provided by the Senshi of Neptune.
We walked around the decaying corpse and out the door, only this
time instead of walking into another room we came upon something quite
different. "Sailor Senshi," a deep voice greeted us as we entered the
room. "It seems you are more enduring than even I have predicted."
"Heioko," Mamo-chan acknowledged, putting a protective arm in
front of me. "Where are the rest of the Senshi?" he demanded, his voice
low and meaning.
"The information would do you no good. You'll never see them
again," he told us matter of factly.
Uranus rolled her eyes, sounding unconvinced. "Indulge us,
then," she replied.
Heioko's lip curved up in a mock smile for a split second before
he nodded his head. "Very well," he said as he pushed a button that
sealed the door we had just entered. As it slammed against the floor I
felt myself flinch. He turned back to us, pushing his glasses up the
rim of his nose. "We have been running some tests on them, and I have
to say - what we have found is quite remarkable. The healing abilities
that you have, the powers you have not only in yourselves but in those
wands that bear your planet symbols, it's amazing."
"Where are they?" Uranus growled, so lowly in her throat that it
seemed another wild animal had spoke, not her.
Heioko shrugged nonchalantly and ran his hand over a sphere on
the computer table behind him. An image appeared out of it, showing a
room with three tanks filled with water - the bodies of Rei, Ami and
Makoto floating in them. I gasped, burying my face in the folds of
Mamo-chan's shirt. They looked dead.
"Now," Heioko began cheerfully. "You have what you want and it's
time for the end. I have been speculating on this for hours," he said
thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "And I've decided that the best way to
kill you is to battle it out." He spread his hands wide, like a teacher
lecturing a class. "Oh sure, I could just kill you and get it over
with. But let's just say...." He created a ball of silver energy in his
hands that illuminated his eyes. "I enjoy a good battle of good verses
evil. You know, down to the last breath. An all out war that ends with
me the victor."
"We'll just see about that," Venus replied, pulling her chain
from her waist and holding it up. "We don't go down without a fight."
"Done," Heioko announced and the ball of energy in his hands grew
larger, engulfing his arms and chest. At the same moment in the tank
that housed Pharoah 90, the top burst open and the black liquid rose
out of the water and into the air, coming down to land on Heioko.
For a minute the room was so full of dark energy that I couldn't
see my hand before my face. Just as quickly it receded. Floating in the
air above us was a being unlike any I had ever laid eyes on in either
of my lifetimes.
With black, empty eyes that glowed from the ball of energy in
it's hands, the being no long even remotely resembled Heioko. It's hair
was solid white and looked to be ablaze from the way it stood tall and
stringy. The white lab coat was gone, replaced by six arms, two of
which held the energy ball and the other four where open wide to
attack. And it was huge, ten or more feet tall, with the speed of the
wind.
For the first time since this began, I had serious doubts about
whether we would win this battle. But Venus was right, win or loose, we
would go down fighting.
He gave us a few seconds to stare at the changes that had
occurred in just the flash of energy before he let out a howl of
laughter and drew closer. "You look scared, Senshi," he boomed, his
voice so loud and deep that I could feel the vibrations in the floor
beneath my feet. "You should be."
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" The rope of golden hearts shot through the
air towards Pharoah 90, but even as fast as it was moving, he was
faster. I stared in shock as the chain hit the wall behind the area
where he has just been, and in that split second he had moved ten feet
away. "Crescent Beam!" she shouted, visibly angered by her miss.
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune shouted at the same time that Tux
edo Kamen threw a hand full of red roses, thorns as sharp as razors
blazing from the stem.
He moved in time to avoid, but not so quickly as before. One
after the other I watched as everyone attacked him, chasing him around
the room. I held my scepter tightly in my hand and ready to attack. But
it seemed there wouldn't be a moment he would be still.
"World Shaking!"
"Dead Scream."
"Shimatta," Neptune mumbled as she came next to me, out of breath
and more than a bit worried looking. "He's so fast."
"Is that all, Senshi?" he laughed. "Does that mean it's my
turn?" he cackled and with that began shooting black energy towards us.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard Saturn yell to separate
and I moved just in time to see a beam of black light coming at me. I
wanted to dodge, but I couldn't even flinch it happened so fast.
"Silent Wall." The energy reflected off the dome that surrounded
Saturn and myself, but it came so close to my face that I felt the heat
from it. I stepped back, my eyes wide.
The dome went down, but the battle was far from over. All around
me I could hear everyone shouting attacks one after another, fighting
but never hitting their mark. The longer we avoided the dark beams
always on our tails, the slower our reflexes became. I looked around at
everyone who had been trying to protect me as well as fight the enemy
and I pulled my scepter up. Forget waiting until he stays still, no
matter how much of my energy it took, it was time to take him down.
"Moon Princess Halation!" The Senshi had fell into a pattern of
attacking Heioko, their attacks chasing him around the room as he
dodged. From his opposite side I aimed my scepter, hitting him dead on.
The silver energy of my power clashed with his dark energy for minutes
it seemed. I felt my body start to weaken, but still I pushed on.
"Deep Submerge!"
"Dead Scream."
In front of us, Saturn stood with her back stiff as she held up
the dome that deflected all the dark energy beams trying to hit us. My
knees wanted to buckle from the strain that I put on them, but my mind
was more determined.
"Venus Love-Me Chain!"
"World Shaking!"
Just as I was about to fall, I felt a pair of strong arms holding
on to me. Tuxedo Kamen stood behind me, his arms extended beside mine.
"Lean on me if you need to!" he shouted above the sounds of energy
conflicting and the shouts around us. "I can support both of us!"
"No!" I shouted back, barely able to pull myself away from him. I
shook my head, gritting my teeth against the pain in my body. "The
scepter will drain your energy, too!"
"Then let's do this together!" he insisted.
I tried to resist him, but I couldn't fight Pharoah 90 and my
husband at the same time. The energy being drained from my body was too
much for me to bear and continue fighting, so I did what he said. I
leaned back into his waiting arms and found the strength there that I
needed, the strength that I always found in his embrace.
The details of the next few seconds may never come to my memory.
And that's fine, I suppose. The mind blocks things for a reason, and
I'm sure there is a good one for this, too. What I do know is that the
second I let my weight go into my husband's arms, I felt a fresh, raw
energy coming from him. A golden light exploded from our joint hands
and then all went black.
@------
@------
From behind my closed eye lids I could see a light shining on me,
pushing away the darkness from my mind. I blinked my eyes, the sun
coming through the window nearly blinding me as I stared into it. My
body felt like I had been cramped up and stored in a box for months on
end, I was so sore. Slowly I stretched out my limbs and sat up on the
bed I shared with my husband. And that is when every memory came
crashing back to me and I looked again. I was sitting in my bedroom...
on my queen size bed!
I blinked my eyes again, looking around at everything like a
starving person laying their eyes on an all you care to eat buffet.
"Mamo-chan?" I felt beside me for my soul mate's arm and tugged on it.
"Hey, Mamo-chan," I repeated when he turned over, grumbling something
about he was using a vacation day today. The response I received was
his snoring.
I rubbed my eyes and stood up, sliding my feet into my bunny
house shoes and pulling a robe on. The hallway was back to normal, and
from where I stood I could see the play pen in the living room. I
hurried to the room across the hall, swinging the door open. "Mama!" a
small voice greeted.
Sitting in the white crib by the window, playing with a stuffed
animal, was Chibi-Usa. I picked her up, covering her soft cheek with
kisses. "I don't remember getting back here, but I'm so happy to see my
baby girl!" I exclaimed, hugging her close and causing her to giggle.
I left the nursery with Chibi-Usa on my hip and made a beeline
into Shingo's room at the end of the hall. Curled up under his
comforter, my young brother kept right on snoring away as I checked on
him. "Onii-chan sleeping?" Chibi-Usa asked, shrugging her shoulders
adorably. I smiled, nodding my head yes. "Papa?" she asked next,
pointing down the hall.
I went back to my room, only to find that Mamo-chan was still
asleep. I sat on the side of the bed, holding a squirming Chibi-Usa in
my arms. She, in turn, was trying with all her might to get away from
me to pull Mamo-chan's hair. I had half a notion to let her do it.
"Mamo-chan, wake up," I called in his ear. He turned over,
pulling his arms up to stretch as he did. "Sweetheart, wake up," I
called again.
"Wha--what?" he grumbled, peeking his left eye open at me
curiously. "What is i--wait," he suddenly perked up, sitting up on the
bed so fast that he nearly shoved Chibi-Usa and I off. He looked
around, at us, and then at the room again. "Is everything...?" he
asked, waving his hands around.
"Back to normal? Hai," I responded, standing.
"How? When?" I watched as my husband walked to the doorway,
looked up and down the hall, at me, and then at Chibi-Usa. "Where is
everyone?"
"I don't know," I answered thoughtfully. I sat back on the bed,
picking up the phone. Chibi-Usa squirmed from my arms as I dialed
Minako's number and went to Mamo-chan.
After a few rings the phone was picked up; well - kind of. The
sound of the phone being pushed off the receiver was followed by a
crash, the sound of something breaking, Artemis screeching and Minako
mumbling a few choice words under her breath. "Nani?" she grumbled into
the phone when at last she brought it to her ear.
"Minako-chan?"
"Usagi-chan?" she replied, I think. Then again, no one could be
sure what Minako was really saying this early in the morning. For all I
knew she was reciting a chant that would end mankind. Everyone else had
tried it, why not her? "Is that you, Usagi-chan?"
"Hai." I looked at my clock and thought a second. "Everyone needs
to meet at my house in thirty minutes, okay?"
"Why?" the Solider of Love answered. I rolled my eyes, half
wondering if she even remembered our battle, when suddenly she shrieked
again. "How did we get back home?!" Never mind my last thought, she
remembers, I mused silently.
I sighed into the phone. "Your guess is as good as mine, see you
in thirty minutes."
"Un!" she exclaimed in return and promptly dropped the phone.
Followed was a high pitch squeal like that of a dying animal -
well, to be more precise, a cat. As Artemis hissed and squealed, even
Chibi-Usa, who was half way across the room with Mamo-chan, looked at
the phone in a perplexed way. I chuckled and hung up the receiver. It
certainly seemed things were back to normal.
@------
"What?"
I found myself, an hour later, sitting in my living room staring
at the Solider of Time with one of those dumb expressions on my face.
You know, the kind that make everyone else in the room laugh, though
secretly glad it was me and not them. Even Setsuna flashed me a smile
and a small shake of the head.
"Instantaneity," Ami repeated, pushing her hair out of her face
with a quick flip of her wrist. "Like a moment, second - flash of
light. Basically in the millisecond that the power of the Silver
Crystal and the power that Mamoru-san has intermixed, everything was
moved back across space and time to the moment before the original time
flux."
"The other world we entered has been restored to it's original
state, as well as this one - only minus Pharoah 90," Setsuna concluded,
watching Mamo-chan with an expression that bordered on worried. I was
too soon to find out why.
"Everything and everyone?" Makoto asked, looking up at all of us.
"Of course," Ami responded. "That is how we are all sitting here
like nothing happened. Only we remember it, since we were in that time.
No one else of our time knows anything that has happened."
"Even Heioko and Daiki?" Mamo-chan mumbled, his head bent over
his clasped hands. He looked up, his dark hair falling down onto his
forehead. "Them, too?"
Setsuna, again, looked uneasy. "I would assume so, yes," she
answered reluctantly.
I placed my palm on Mamo-chan's back and felt his muscles tighten
up. I rubbed soothingly while trying to throw a look to Ami and Setsuna
to change the subject.
After a long uncomfortable silence, Rei finally caught my
message. She cleared her throat, trying to sound cynical when she
began. "So, Usagi, I hear you have some news for us...?"
"News?" I asked, completely taken off guard. Rei cleared her
throat again, and pointed to her stomach. "Oh!" I exclaimed,
dumbfounded that no matter what the situation, news moved fast through
out our group. "Eh, yeah. It seems that I'm pregnant."
"Again?" Haruka asked sarcastically.
"That was fast," Hotaru said and then slapped her hands over her
face as a blush stained her cheeks red. Unknowingly she had let the
tension out of the room like a balloon bursting. Everyone began
laughing as the petite Senshi hid her red face behind Michiru's back.
To my surprise even Mamo-chan began laughing, seeming to forget his
thoughts of Daiki.
"Yes, again. Ami-chan says I'm about a month along and everything
is fine," I informed.
Mamo-chan leaned back, wrapping his left arm around my shoulders
as he did. "But just incase she's going to see Dr. Mizuno tomorrow," he
said, staring directly into my eyes.
I started to say 'since when' but there was no use in arguing the
point. Besides, I only wanted what was best for my child and a check up
wouldn't hurt anyone. I nodded my head in agreement and the
conversation drew into the new addition to my family and off the
subject of Pharoah 90, Daiki and Heioko.
I knew the subject would come up again, especially from Mamo-
chan. But for now, I was glad to talk of happier things.
--End Chapter 9.
Ah ha!!! Finally I'm finished with this chapter!! :) Sorry this took so
long, I was in Florida, and then I just got back today from Kentucky
because I had to go to my sister's bridal shower. Huge thanks to
everyone who emails, reads and reviews! And, as always, I love my
editor to death!! ^_^ I don't own Sailor Moon, yada yada yada...
Anyways, I'm started on chapter 10 already, so look for it sometime
next week. The drier just kicked the bucket, so I have to go to Sears
to get a new one. Ja!