Chapter 7: Children of the Moon
AC 202: September 24
Location: Mer Point
"Mommy! Daddy!" A child's fearful wail filled the air. A little girl was hanging for dear life to a man's arm. The man smiled cruelly at her, knowing that he finally had a leverage to use against those cursed Elementals. His master would be pleased at this turn of events. Their children will not be as safe as they thought them to be.
"Let my sister go, you monster!" A boy, not much older than the girl screamed at the man. The child ran up to him and kicked him in the shin. "Let her go!" The man grinned down at the kid and kicked him away, satisfied with the smack he made against the wall. He looked around the room, counting thirteen children of varying ages in content. Now he just had to call his backup and they can transport the brats to their headquarters for bartering.
Suddenly a burst of pain slammed up his arm, causing his to drop the little girl. Defiant flashing blue eyes glared at him from the scared girl child. The abductor roared in anger and went after her before something slammed into him. Yet another child was glaring at him, blood red light was gathered in his hands ready to throw at the evil man. "Leave us alone!"
One by one, each child surrounded the man, echoing their friend's words. "Leave us alone!" "Go away!" Several of them had some sort of light in their hands, those that did not stayed back, as if ready to help when needed. One child was helping the one that the man caused to slam into the wall.
"So the brats think they can stop me, eh?" The stranger asked sardonically. Pity none of them knew that he learned their magic the same way they learned theirs - through the elementals. He smirked, casually flicking stunning spells at each of them. To him it was fun to watch each child scurry like bugs for safety and try to fight at the same time. There was a couple children he had to be wary of with the power behind their magic was enough to knock him out. Then a solid form slammed into him.
"Leave them alone!" A cold voice filled with fury told him. He rose to his feet to see his assailant; a woman with black hair pulled back in a braid. Maroon colored eyes speckled with silver glared at him with contempt, daring him to try and remove any child under her care. A cruel smile made it's way across his face as he sprang at her; at last a true challenge.
"Auntie Tia!"
No one was going to harm those children or take them away. Tia had been surprised when she arrived at the Point to find many of the Elementals working there dead and over run by Dark Kingdom soldiers. At least there was no youmas and she had been willing to bet that there was at least one dark magic user with them. The children was her main concern.
Upon arriving, she had found them trying to fight back with what little magic they knew against a fullfledged mage. Her eyes had narrowed when she recognized the man that was attempting to strike a blow at the Element's weakest point, the same man that she had made sure never knew much about the Elements. As soon as she saw her opportunity she sprinted from her spot just outside the door and slammed into him.
"Garen Nigthwin, this is your final resting place!" She coolly told him as she landed on her feet from when he threw her, gathering her birthright to her hand. With a feral snarl, Garen charged her with his own magic.
AC 202: September 24
Location: Belior's Point
"Zoe! Recall Team Sunburst and Nephrite, now!" A silver haired man commanded, his voice being heard over the din. He was in a mealstrom of chaos, directing people to one task or another when an emergency flag appeared in the main communication room.. A woman with wavy blonde hair saluted him from across the room before disappearing towards a smaller communication room. "Someone find out the status on Alpha and Mer Point, now!"
"Sir! Tia is at Mer Point right now." An officer relayed from his station at one of the control panels. This brought a stream of profanity from the man who was obviously in charge. Those in his vicinity moved away from him hoping that he wouldn't notice. When he was in this mood, they knew he could get violent.
"Then get reinforcements there now!" The leader roared. He could feel a headache coming on now. Not only were the children of the Elements were housed there, one of the Triads was there. If the enemy managed to get a hold of them then the Elements was doomed. "And find out why Alpha Point isn't responding!"
Alpha Point, there first space station headquarters was located a stone throw away (figuratively speaking) from Mer Point. Some people called it the twin stations. Everyone else called it daycare or primary school. It would do more harm to the Elements than anything their latest enemy can throw at them and appearently they knew that too.
"Sir. A truncated report just came in from Mer Point. It's forwarded to your station." Another officer calmly told him from a closer console.
"Kunzite, they were on their way to Alpha Point." The soft voice of Zoe commented from behind him. "They recieved disturbing news and went to check it out."
Kunzite nodded to the both of them as his fingers flew across the keyboard at his station in the middle of the room. Dark green eyes rapidly scanned the document. "Shit. Status of the children are unknown. The Elementals at both points are dead. The Rat died trying to get just this little information to us."
He slammed his fist into the console before spinning on his heels. "Jared, prep the teleportation room. Zoe and I are going to Alpha Point as soon as we get there. Zoe, how many children total are at Alpha and Mer?"
"Too many ...." Zoe whispered walking in stride with Kunzite. "At least count, seven at Alpha and thirteen at Mer. Kunzite, if those children are dead or kidnapped, we may just lose the parents to Lord Hades. What about Mer Point?"
"I know, Zoe, I know." He replied grimly, trying to navigate through the corridors and the rushing personnel. "I'm sure Tia will take care of Mer, we'll have to do what we can at Alpha. Knowing Eclipse, they'll be on their way to Mer. Hades help us."
AC 202: September 24
Location: Space
Nephrite slammed his fist into the bulkwark of the bay of the ship he was on with Team Sunburst. That dream the other night was a vision and he had stupidly passed it off as a nightmare from the past. Now he knew. He knew who was leading the Dark Kingdom. He spun on his heels and stalked up towards the cockpit.
"It's Metallia." He growled to the two pilots. Sinking into the navigator's chair, he stared past them into the star streaked space.
"How do you know it's Metallia?" Jadeite asked as he checked the coordinates one more time and the ETA the computer had spit out at them a few minutes earlier. "Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi took care of them centuries ago."
"If not her, then someone is bringing her back. She is the one we'll be facing." Nephrite replied grimly. "I had a vision the other night and I thought it was a nightmare from when we faced Metallia and Beryl." He shook his head. "It was never logged, therefore never reported to Kunz, Zoe or Tia."
"Don't blame yourself, Neph." Blaze told him keeping an eye on the controls. "We've all been on edge since the Dark Kingdom stepped up their activities despite our efforts. They're getting braver if they're starting to attack the Points. We should be thankful that they haven't attacked L7 yet. Although we'll probably have to evacuate them to Belior's Point and to Earth since Alpha Point is no longer safe."
"Omega Point?" Jade queried.
"No!" Neph argued sitting up in his chair. "We're not going to resort to that unless circumstances are that dire. No one needs to witness Death first hand and they will at Omega Point." A shiver travelled up his spine. Omega Point was Lord Hades domain and where Sailor Saturn would be the strongest. No. The Universe's Light will continue to shine strong.
"We're here." Blaze said, punching in another set of commands into the computer. "We're to go directly to Alpha. Eclipse will take care of Mer. Kunz and Zoe ... by all that's holy ...."
The threesome stared at the debris filled space around their destination. It was worse than they were told. Carefully, they made haste towards the station that had once been the proud Alpha Point. Blaze gave a small cry as she noticed one part of the station was missing, the section where communications was located. Bodies could be found floating. "Jade, hurry!"
AC 202: September 24
Location: Mer Point - enroute to the Communication Center
"Usagi, take Pluto, Quatre and Saturn. Get to the Center as fast as you can. Kyle, take Mars, Yuuchirou and Jupiter and investigate where all the shuttles disappeared to here. Trowa, Wufei, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, scout out the levels. All of you, capture however many you can. If you can't, kill them." Heero commanded savagely as the shuttle docked into the bay. "Duo, Mercury, you're with me."
He traded looks with his team mates before jumping out of the shuttle and leading Duo and Mercury away with him towards the command center of the Point. Duo didn't like the glint that flashed through his friend's eyes. This was much worse than being on the receiving end of his infamous death glares. If he didn't believe his friend had changed during the intervening years, he would believe now. There was something worth protecting here.
There was something wrong with this picture. Every indication Mercury found told her this was a well populated space station yet they haven't come across a single body with the symbol of the Elements. They station was obviously taken over, but what happened to the ones that worked there? And what was Heero trying to protect? This little mystery would bother her until she found out the truth later on.
Heero stopped at one of the junctions before motioning the other two against the wall. He hissed at them at what he had seen. "There are several Kingdom soldiers down the hall. No youmas, thank goodness, but too many to sneak through. Mercury, I want you to watch our backs, make sure no one sneaks up on us. Duo, ready to do this once more?"
Duo flashed his cocky grin, readying his gun. "Let's do it."
Heero looked around the corner one more time and gestured. The two of them charged down the hall, guns at the fore shooting down anyone in their way. Heero accepted the fact that in this war, they couldn't spare lives. The men and women that fought for the Dark Kingdom were wholly loyal with all their dark hearts. Duo shuddered at the need to kill once again. He had been glad when they were able to spare the soldiers' lives in the last war, now ... Shinigami was reaping in the souls.
Mercury gritted her teeth, ignoring the death around her. No matter how much she had fought against the enemies of the past, they never killed human beings. Nothing in the healthcare field prepared her for the gore that appeared all around her. Resolutely, she kept an eye out for enemies coming behind them and when they did, she froze them in their place. They weren't dead, just put into sudden cryogenic sleep. These would be their captives.
The number of kills and captives they had was quickly calculated by the blue haired Senshi. There was more here than they had first realized. They must be keeping something in the control rooms that needed to be guarded.
Finally reaching their destination, they shut and locked the doors behind them.
"What are we doing here, Heero?" Duo asked, shouldering his large gun.
"We need to set the security parameters, close down the damaged areas before oxygen depletion reaches critical levels and we need to find out how the Dark Kingdom hacked into our systems to get this deep within the Point."
"Heero ... Duo ... we have company ..." Mercury said lowly backing up into them staring at the rather large youma in front of her. It hadn't been there a second ago. She was the only one in their small group that could use magic and it was more defensive than offensive. As far as she knew, the other two didn't have experiance in magic. The two whirled around and Duo's eyes grew large.
"Oh shit."
Location: Mer Point - enroute to the Center of the station
"Usagi, what's so important here that's got you upset?" Quatre asked quietly as they navigated through the corridors towards the center. So far they have managed to avoid any confrontations with and of the Dark Kingdom soldiers. Each were quietly knocked out and shoved into a locking room.
"There are children here." Came Usagi's soft reply as she peered around the corner. "Points Alpha and Mer provide primary schooling to all the Elemental children since it was thought the Points were the best protected." The last bit came out bitter as she signaled the coast clear.
Finally reaching their destination, they entered what would be the primary level school to reveal not a soul in sight. The destruction brought fear and worry to Usagi as they searched the place, hoping to find something or someone to let them know if the children were safe. Setsuna marvelled at the set up of the school while keeping an impassive face. Once again, she was besieged with familiarity as this school was set up exactly like the one she remembered so long ago during the Silver Millennium. What was going on?
"Guys over here!" Saturn called out from looking into one of the rooms. Then she yelped ducking out of the doorway. The wall across from the doorway exploded.
Usagi, heedless of the danger rushed to the room and slipped into it. Her eyes widened at seeing all thirteen children looking ready to blast the next person to come through the door while looking scared at the same time. It was her quick reflexes on forming a protective wall that kept the next magical volley from harming her. They seemed to be protecting something ... or someone behind them.
"Mama!" A voice cried and two children detached themselves from the group to launch at the blonde elemental. Falling to her knees, she hugged the two of them to her, glad to have found them safe and sound. Her relief carried over the bond she shared with her husband and her husband's blood brother knowing they would like to be reassured of their safety. An echoing relief came to her from the two men. "Shh ... it's going to be alright. We'll get you out of here."
A gasp brought her attention back to the other children that began to crowd around her. The gasp had originated from Pluto. Usagi's eyes followed Pluto's to the woman she was staring at. Tia, one of the Triads. Relief welled through her. Tia was safe too despite the wounds she sustained. It looked like some of the children had tried to heal some of her hurts. She knew why the Time Guardian stared at the unconcious woman, but Usagi knew this wasn't the place to say anything about it.
"Puu ... she looks like you," commented Saturn.
"Usagi, what's the meaning of this!?" Pluto demanded of her once princess.
"Later, Pluto." Usagi replied holding the timeless Senshi gaze. "I'll explain later when we're safe."
"It's alright. We're here to bring you someplace safe." Quatre soothed a four year old that was clinging onto him. Between the four of them, they needed to bring thirteen children and the unconcious Triad to the shuttle with who knew what was out there. "Usagi, do you know a faster and safer way to get the children back to the docking bay?"
"There ... was." Usagi replied grimly. "I got a glimpse of the escape route. There's something blocking the way."
A terror filled scream made the four adults turn towards the doorway. There stood five of the ugliest youmas the Senshi had the displeasure of meeting.
"What are those?!" Quatre demanded as Pluto and Saturn slid forward, ready to defend the children, their princess, Quatre and Tia.
Location: Mer Point - searching levels
"Uranus, you're with Wufei. Take this area." Venus commanded, staring at a displayed map of the station. Her finger circled the area she wanted those two to cover. "Neptune, you're with Trowa. You take this area."
"What about you, Venus?" Demanded Uranus.
"I'll be fine on my own, Uranus. You guys have more experiance working with one other person whereas I have worked solo on and off since my days as Sailor V." Venus replied looking her straight in the eye.
Neptune nodded before gesturing to Trowa for them to go. Uranus looked like she was ready to argue again when Wufei spoke up, "Let's go, onna. She has the right of it."
Scowling, Uranus followed Wufei as they set off in their direction. Venus frowned slightly before she took off in the area she didn't indicate to the others. She could feel the hate building here and she saved that area for herself specifically. There was only one other time she had felt something like this before and she hoped that this would not turn out to be like last time. Even Artemis didn't know she had run across a youma breeding ground at one point as Sailor V during Crystal Tokyo.
That had been a nightmare with no backup. It had been a routine check in Sector 7 when she had felt her nerves stand on end. The area had been exuding the very opposite of what she stood for - love and light. It had taken her over two weeks to demolish the breeding ground. Even then, she had wondered how she had managed to live through it all. During the last day, she had been mortally wounded by a dying youma. If this turned out to be something like that, they better pray that they can keep the youmas at bay.
Meanwhile, on one side of the space station, Trowa and Neptune were peering into the various room down a corridor. They needed to find the missing Elemental workers. This place should be littered with them. The blood and blast marks on the wall gave the same indication, yet there was no bodies to be found, only Dark Kingdom soldiers which they would either knock out or kill.
Trowa looked at Neptune in concern, unknowing what her feelings would be about killing another person. She seemed to take it all in stride, a determined look on her other wise calm face. No one would have guessed the ruthlessness in such an elegant woman such as Michiru. When she was Neptune, she meant business. If it threatened the peace or her princess, she would kill.
Neptune shoved the one thought she had to the back of her mind and it kept trying to resurface. The other Senshi and herself would have given anything to keep Usagi's hands clean of blood, to keep her innocent. It seems they failed even that. She glanced sidelong at Minako's chosen mate and marveled. Minako was bright, bubbly and could talk a mile per minute despite her alter ego as leader of the Senshi. Trowa was quiet and indrawn. However, the silent support he gave Minako was his testament of love for the Senshi of Love.
Pain truck her body as it collided with the wall next to her. Next to her, Trowa looked no better than her. The both of them looked up to find a half dozen youmas advancing on them.
Uranus and Wufei on the other hand were doing better than the chinese ever expected. Uranus was as efficient as his partner and wife, Sally. A small smirk appeared on his lips, an amusement knowing that her temper was as volatile as his own whereas Sally's was calm, to balance his own fiery temper. Thinking of her, he hoped that she was safe.
It amazed Uranus that she was able to work with someone as well as when she normally worked with Neptune. Wufei understood her where they didn't need to communicate verbally (which could have given away their positions on a few occasions). It would be interesting on what would happen should they get into a serious fight, not like the light skirmishes they had with the Dark Kingdom soldiers.
That was another thing that was bothering her. As many times as they have run up against any of Chaos' minions, they always had some version of youma hanging around. Even the debriefing they recieved at Ceres Point said there should be youmas here. Yet there was a curious absence of them. An absence she wasn't willing to trust. Wufei gestured to her and they were on their way down yet another corridor.
Location: Mer Point - Docking Bay
"Follow me," Kyle commanded setting a brisk pace towards the 'control tower.' "We should be able to find some information in the Control Tower."
"Mars!" Jupiter exclaimed catching her fellow Senshi as she stumbled. Her eyes were filled with worry as Mars could only groan in reply. She looked up at Yuuchirou who looked affected as Mars, but not quite so bad.
"Hurry," Yuuchirou croaked , gathering himself away from the feeling that had beset him. He swept his wife into his arms. "We must hurry ... evil's growing faster here." Jupiter nodded, sidling to the side to allow them ahead of her. She would take the back. Kyle smiled ever so faintly at how they worked and remained at the front.
"This way."
It took them a little bit before they reached their locked destination. By now, even Jupiter and Kyle was feeling the oppressive darkness that permeated through the docking bay. The Elemental tried all the tricks he was taught to open the door before he had Jupiter charge it with a good electrical zap. Afterwards, the door opened with ease and they slipped in. They nearly gagged from the smell from within, wondering what had made such a stench.
"Darkness ..." murmured Mars as she clung to Yuuchirou. "They're here. They're back! Different ..."
Kyle spared her a look before he strode over to a console and started typing in codes that would allow him into the system willingly (or unwillingly). Jupiter and Yuuchirou worked together to bring Mar's precognition under control where Mars could understand more of what was being shown to her. After Mars was relaxed in a chair, her partners started exploring the small enclosure that served as the docking bay's control tower.
A yelp brought the attention of three people to the red Senshi. Mars had been staring under one of the consoles, where a cupboard was slightly open. She rose to her feet, unease tripling as she reached forward to pull it open. She stumbled back with a yelp at the unwanted discovered treasure.
Oh kami-sama ... She ran over to the door and proceeded to lose the contents of her stomach.
"Oh my god, Xian ... " Kyle shuddered when he went to see what had upset Mars. Inside the cupboard was one of the missing Elementals, limbs were missings and the blood that should have been present was gone. There was a look of horror on his face, agony and hopelessness. Quietly where his companions couldn't hear him, as he reached over to place his hand over his dead friend's forehead, "Journey safely to Lord Hade's realm, my friend. Tell him what you have seen."
Beneath his hand, Xian's body dissolved into lights before disappearing.
"Kyle?" Jupiter questioned. The last time they had seen someone dissolve like that was when Sailor Moon had healed them and they had died.
"All will be explained later, Sailor Jupiter." Kyle replied.
"Mars, Jupiter, Kyle. Look!" The three did as they were bade, looking out the large glass windows down into the docking bay. A glow over the flooring illuminated the dark corners, revealing to them what had been hidden.
"A breeding ground. They had made the Points a breeding station!" Kyle exclaimed in horror. Movement caught his eye and he called up the sector on the monitors. In a cage, to the side were the missing Elementals (both dead and alive) kept in crowded cages.
A chill went through them all. They had to save them or they became food for the newborn youmas.
********************************************************************************
Author's Note:
Huzzah! I got another chapter done! Now I can focus on trying to write chapter 3 of Hidden. I'll get it one of these days, I tell ya! I will! *ahem* I guess I'm more having trouble trying to figure out what kind of songs to use. Maybe I should go peek at my dad's karaoke machine. Yeah.
I hope you liked this chapter. And ... all I have to say about the cliffhangers ...
It's catching!
::grins:: Buh-bye for now everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. It belongs to their respective owners. I own nothing. If they sue me, the only thing they'll get are the dead moths in my wallet. ::sigh::
AC 202: September 24
Location: Mer Point
"Mommy! Daddy!" A child's fearful wail filled the air. A little girl was hanging for dear life to a man's arm. The man smiled cruelly at her, knowing that he finally had a leverage to use against those cursed Elementals. His master would be pleased at this turn of events. Their children will not be as safe as they thought them to be.
"Let my sister go, you monster!" A boy, not much older than the girl screamed at the man. The child ran up to him and kicked him in the shin. "Let her go!" The man grinned down at the kid and kicked him away, satisfied with the smack he made against the wall. He looked around the room, counting thirteen children of varying ages in content. Now he just had to call his backup and they can transport the brats to their headquarters for bartering.
Suddenly a burst of pain slammed up his arm, causing his to drop the little girl. Defiant flashing blue eyes glared at him from the scared girl child. The abductor roared in anger and went after her before something slammed into him. Yet another child was glaring at him, blood red light was gathered in his hands ready to throw at the evil man. "Leave us alone!"
One by one, each child surrounded the man, echoing their friend's words. "Leave us alone!" "Go away!" Several of them had some sort of light in their hands, those that did not stayed back, as if ready to help when needed. One child was helping the one that the man caused to slam into the wall.
"So the brats think they can stop me, eh?" The stranger asked sardonically. Pity none of them knew that he learned their magic the same way they learned theirs - through the elementals. He smirked, casually flicking stunning spells at each of them. To him it was fun to watch each child scurry like bugs for safety and try to fight at the same time. There was a couple children he had to be wary of with the power behind their magic was enough to knock him out. Then a solid form slammed into him.
"Leave them alone!" A cold voice filled with fury told him. He rose to his feet to see his assailant; a woman with black hair pulled back in a braid. Maroon colored eyes speckled with silver glared at him with contempt, daring him to try and remove any child under her care. A cruel smile made it's way across his face as he sprang at her; at last a true challenge.
"Auntie Tia!"
No one was going to harm those children or take them away. Tia had been surprised when she arrived at the Point to find many of the Elementals working there dead and over run by Dark Kingdom soldiers. At least there was no youmas and she had been willing to bet that there was at least one dark magic user with them. The children was her main concern.
Upon arriving, she had found them trying to fight back with what little magic they knew against a fullfledged mage. Her eyes had narrowed when she recognized the man that was attempting to strike a blow at the Element's weakest point, the same man that she had made sure never knew much about the Elements. As soon as she saw her opportunity she sprinted from her spot just outside the door and slammed into him.
"Garen Nigthwin, this is your final resting place!" She coolly told him as she landed on her feet from when he threw her, gathering her birthright to her hand. With a feral snarl, Garen charged her with his own magic.
AC 202: September 24
Location: Belior's Point
"Zoe! Recall Team Sunburst and Nephrite, now!" A silver haired man commanded, his voice being heard over the din. He was in a mealstrom of chaos, directing people to one task or another when an emergency flag appeared in the main communication room.. A woman with wavy blonde hair saluted him from across the room before disappearing towards a smaller communication room. "Someone find out the status on Alpha and Mer Point, now!"
"Sir! Tia is at Mer Point right now." An officer relayed from his station at one of the control panels. This brought a stream of profanity from the man who was obviously in charge. Those in his vicinity moved away from him hoping that he wouldn't notice. When he was in this mood, they knew he could get violent.
"Then get reinforcements there now!" The leader roared. He could feel a headache coming on now. Not only were the children of the Elements were housed there, one of the Triads was there. If the enemy managed to get a hold of them then the Elements was doomed. "And find out why Alpha Point isn't responding!"
Alpha Point, there first space station headquarters was located a stone throw away (figuratively speaking) from Mer Point. Some people called it the twin stations. Everyone else called it daycare or primary school. It would do more harm to the Elements than anything their latest enemy can throw at them and appearently they knew that too.
"Sir. A truncated report just came in from Mer Point. It's forwarded to your station." Another officer calmly told him from a closer console.
"Kunzite, they were on their way to Alpha Point." The soft voice of Zoe commented from behind him. "They recieved disturbing news and went to check it out."
Kunzite nodded to the both of them as his fingers flew across the keyboard at his station in the middle of the room. Dark green eyes rapidly scanned the document. "Shit. Status of the children are unknown. The Elementals at both points are dead. The Rat died trying to get just this little information to us."
He slammed his fist into the console before spinning on his heels. "Jared, prep the teleportation room. Zoe and I are going to Alpha Point as soon as we get there. Zoe, how many children total are at Alpha and Mer?"
"Too many ...." Zoe whispered walking in stride with Kunzite. "At least count, seven at Alpha and thirteen at Mer. Kunzite, if those children are dead or kidnapped, we may just lose the parents to Lord Hades. What about Mer Point?"
"I know, Zoe, I know." He replied grimly, trying to navigate through the corridors and the rushing personnel. "I'm sure Tia will take care of Mer, we'll have to do what we can at Alpha. Knowing Eclipse, they'll be on their way to Mer. Hades help us."
AC 202: September 24
Location: Space
Nephrite slammed his fist into the bulkwark of the bay of the ship he was on with Team Sunburst. That dream the other night was a vision and he had stupidly passed it off as a nightmare from the past. Now he knew. He knew who was leading the Dark Kingdom. He spun on his heels and stalked up towards the cockpit.
"It's Metallia." He growled to the two pilots. Sinking into the navigator's chair, he stared past them into the star streaked space.
"How do you know it's Metallia?" Jadeite asked as he checked the coordinates one more time and the ETA the computer had spit out at them a few minutes earlier. "Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi took care of them centuries ago."
"If not her, then someone is bringing her back. She is the one we'll be facing." Nephrite replied grimly. "I had a vision the other night and I thought it was a nightmare from when we faced Metallia and Beryl." He shook his head. "It was never logged, therefore never reported to Kunz, Zoe or Tia."
"Don't blame yourself, Neph." Blaze told him keeping an eye on the controls. "We've all been on edge since the Dark Kingdom stepped up their activities despite our efforts. They're getting braver if they're starting to attack the Points. We should be thankful that they haven't attacked L7 yet. Although we'll probably have to evacuate them to Belior's Point and to Earth since Alpha Point is no longer safe."
"Omega Point?" Jade queried.
"No!" Neph argued sitting up in his chair. "We're not going to resort to that unless circumstances are that dire. No one needs to witness Death first hand and they will at Omega Point." A shiver travelled up his spine. Omega Point was Lord Hades domain and where Sailor Saturn would be the strongest. No. The Universe's Light will continue to shine strong.
"We're here." Blaze said, punching in another set of commands into the computer. "We're to go directly to Alpha. Eclipse will take care of Mer. Kunz and Zoe ... by all that's holy ...."
The threesome stared at the debris filled space around their destination. It was worse than they were told. Carefully, they made haste towards the station that had once been the proud Alpha Point. Blaze gave a small cry as she noticed one part of the station was missing, the section where communications was located. Bodies could be found floating. "Jade, hurry!"
AC 202: September 24
Location: Mer Point - enroute to the Communication Center
"Usagi, take Pluto, Quatre and Saturn. Get to the Center as fast as you can. Kyle, take Mars, Yuuchirou and Jupiter and investigate where all the shuttles disappeared to here. Trowa, Wufei, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, scout out the levels. All of you, capture however many you can. If you can't, kill them." Heero commanded savagely as the shuttle docked into the bay. "Duo, Mercury, you're with me."
He traded looks with his team mates before jumping out of the shuttle and leading Duo and Mercury away with him towards the command center of the Point. Duo didn't like the glint that flashed through his friend's eyes. This was much worse than being on the receiving end of his infamous death glares. If he didn't believe his friend had changed during the intervening years, he would believe now. There was something worth protecting here.
There was something wrong with this picture. Every indication Mercury found told her this was a well populated space station yet they haven't come across a single body with the symbol of the Elements. They station was obviously taken over, but what happened to the ones that worked there? And what was Heero trying to protect? This little mystery would bother her until she found out the truth later on.
Heero stopped at one of the junctions before motioning the other two against the wall. He hissed at them at what he had seen. "There are several Kingdom soldiers down the hall. No youmas, thank goodness, but too many to sneak through. Mercury, I want you to watch our backs, make sure no one sneaks up on us. Duo, ready to do this once more?"
Duo flashed his cocky grin, readying his gun. "Let's do it."
Heero looked around the corner one more time and gestured. The two of them charged down the hall, guns at the fore shooting down anyone in their way. Heero accepted the fact that in this war, they couldn't spare lives. The men and women that fought for the Dark Kingdom were wholly loyal with all their dark hearts. Duo shuddered at the need to kill once again. He had been glad when they were able to spare the soldiers' lives in the last war, now ... Shinigami was reaping in the souls.
Mercury gritted her teeth, ignoring the death around her. No matter how much she had fought against the enemies of the past, they never killed human beings. Nothing in the healthcare field prepared her for the gore that appeared all around her. Resolutely, she kept an eye out for enemies coming behind them and when they did, she froze them in their place. They weren't dead, just put into sudden cryogenic sleep. These would be their captives.
The number of kills and captives they had was quickly calculated by the blue haired Senshi. There was more here than they had first realized. They must be keeping something in the control rooms that needed to be guarded.
Finally reaching their destination, they shut and locked the doors behind them.
"What are we doing here, Heero?" Duo asked, shouldering his large gun.
"We need to set the security parameters, close down the damaged areas before oxygen depletion reaches critical levels and we need to find out how the Dark Kingdom hacked into our systems to get this deep within the Point."
"Heero ... Duo ... we have company ..." Mercury said lowly backing up into them staring at the rather large youma in front of her. It hadn't been there a second ago. She was the only one in their small group that could use magic and it was more defensive than offensive. As far as she knew, the other two didn't have experiance in magic. The two whirled around and Duo's eyes grew large.
"Oh shit."
Location: Mer Point - enroute to the Center of the station
"Usagi, what's so important here that's got you upset?" Quatre asked quietly as they navigated through the corridors towards the center. So far they have managed to avoid any confrontations with and of the Dark Kingdom soldiers. Each were quietly knocked out and shoved into a locking room.
"There are children here." Came Usagi's soft reply as she peered around the corner. "Points Alpha and Mer provide primary schooling to all the Elemental children since it was thought the Points were the best protected." The last bit came out bitter as she signaled the coast clear.
Finally reaching their destination, they entered what would be the primary level school to reveal not a soul in sight. The destruction brought fear and worry to Usagi as they searched the place, hoping to find something or someone to let them know if the children were safe. Setsuna marvelled at the set up of the school while keeping an impassive face. Once again, she was besieged with familiarity as this school was set up exactly like the one she remembered so long ago during the Silver Millennium. What was going on?
"Guys over here!" Saturn called out from looking into one of the rooms. Then she yelped ducking out of the doorway. The wall across from the doorway exploded.
Usagi, heedless of the danger rushed to the room and slipped into it. Her eyes widened at seeing all thirteen children looking ready to blast the next person to come through the door while looking scared at the same time. It was her quick reflexes on forming a protective wall that kept the next magical volley from harming her. They seemed to be protecting something ... or someone behind them.
"Mama!" A voice cried and two children detached themselves from the group to launch at the blonde elemental. Falling to her knees, she hugged the two of them to her, glad to have found them safe and sound. Her relief carried over the bond she shared with her husband and her husband's blood brother knowing they would like to be reassured of their safety. An echoing relief came to her from the two men. "Shh ... it's going to be alright. We'll get you out of here."
A gasp brought her attention back to the other children that began to crowd around her. The gasp had originated from Pluto. Usagi's eyes followed Pluto's to the woman she was staring at. Tia, one of the Triads. Relief welled through her. Tia was safe too despite the wounds she sustained. It looked like some of the children had tried to heal some of her hurts. She knew why the Time Guardian stared at the unconcious woman, but Usagi knew this wasn't the place to say anything about it.
"Puu ... she looks like you," commented Saturn.
"Usagi, what's the meaning of this!?" Pluto demanded of her once princess.
"Later, Pluto." Usagi replied holding the timeless Senshi gaze. "I'll explain later when we're safe."
"It's alright. We're here to bring you someplace safe." Quatre soothed a four year old that was clinging onto him. Between the four of them, they needed to bring thirteen children and the unconcious Triad to the shuttle with who knew what was out there. "Usagi, do you know a faster and safer way to get the children back to the docking bay?"
"There ... was." Usagi replied grimly. "I got a glimpse of the escape route. There's something blocking the way."
A terror filled scream made the four adults turn towards the doorway. There stood five of the ugliest youmas the Senshi had the displeasure of meeting.
"What are those?!" Quatre demanded as Pluto and Saturn slid forward, ready to defend the children, their princess, Quatre and Tia.
Location: Mer Point - searching levels
"Uranus, you're with Wufei. Take this area." Venus commanded, staring at a displayed map of the station. Her finger circled the area she wanted those two to cover. "Neptune, you're with Trowa. You take this area."
"What about you, Venus?" Demanded Uranus.
"I'll be fine on my own, Uranus. You guys have more experiance working with one other person whereas I have worked solo on and off since my days as Sailor V." Venus replied looking her straight in the eye.
Neptune nodded before gesturing to Trowa for them to go. Uranus looked like she was ready to argue again when Wufei spoke up, "Let's go, onna. She has the right of it."
Scowling, Uranus followed Wufei as they set off in their direction. Venus frowned slightly before she took off in the area she didn't indicate to the others. She could feel the hate building here and she saved that area for herself specifically. There was only one other time she had felt something like this before and she hoped that this would not turn out to be like last time. Even Artemis didn't know she had run across a youma breeding ground at one point as Sailor V during Crystal Tokyo.
That had been a nightmare with no backup. It had been a routine check in Sector 7 when she had felt her nerves stand on end. The area had been exuding the very opposite of what she stood for - love and light. It had taken her over two weeks to demolish the breeding ground. Even then, she had wondered how she had managed to live through it all. During the last day, she had been mortally wounded by a dying youma. If this turned out to be something like that, they better pray that they can keep the youmas at bay.
Meanwhile, on one side of the space station, Trowa and Neptune were peering into the various room down a corridor. They needed to find the missing Elemental workers. This place should be littered with them. The blood and blast marks on the wall gave the same indication, yet there was no bodies to be found, only Dark Kingdom soldiers which they would either knock out or kill.
Trowa looked at Neptune in concern, unknowing what her feelings would be about killing another person. She seemed to take it all in stride, a determined look on her other wise calm face. No one would have guessed the ruthlessness in such an elegant woman such as Michiru. When she was Neptune, she meant business. If it threatened the peace or her princess, she would kill.
Neptune shoved the one thought she had to the back of her mind and it kept trying to resurface. The other Senshi and herself would have given anything to keep Usagi's hands clean of blood, to keep her innocent. It seems they failed even that. She glanced sidelong at Minako's chosen mate and marveled. Minako was bright, bubbly and could talk a mile per minute despite her alter ego as leader of the Senshi. Trowa was quiet and indrawn. However, the silent support he gave Minako was his testament of love for the Senshi of Love.
Pain truck her body as it collided with the wall next to her. Next to her, Trowa looked no better than her. The both of them looked up to find a half dozen youmas advancing on them.
Uranus and Wufei on the other hand were doing better than the chinese ever expected. Uranus was as efficient as his partner and wife, Sally. A small smirk appeared on his lips, an amusement knowing that her temper was as volatile as his own whereas Sally's was calm, to balance his own fiery temper. Thinking of her, he hoped that she was safe.
It amazed Uranus that she was able to work with someone as well as when she normally worked with Neptune. Wufei understood her where they didn't need to communicate verbally (which could have given away their positions on a few occasions). It would be interesting on what would happen should they get into a serious fight, not like the light skirmishes they had with the Dark Kingdom soldiers.
That was another thing that was bothering her. As many times as they have run up against any of Chaos' minions, they always had some version of youma hanging around. Even the debriefing they recieved at Ceres Point said there should be youmas here. Yet there was a curious absence of them. An absence she wasn't willing to trust. Wufei gestured to her and they were on their way down yet another corridor.
Location: Mer Point - Docking Bay
"Follow me," Kyle commanded setting a brisk pace towards the 'control tower.' "We should be able to find some information in the Control Tower."
"Mars!" Jupiter exclaimed catching her fellow Senshi as she stumbled. Her eyes were filled with worry as Mars could only groan in reply. She looked up at Yuuchirou who looked affected as Mars, but not quite so bad.
"Hurry," Yuuchirou croaked , gathering himself away from the feeling that had beset him. He swept his wife into his arms. "We must hurry ... evil's growing faster here." Jupiter nodded, sidling to the side to allow them ahead of her. She would take the back. Kyle smiled ever so faintly at how they worked and remained at the front.
"This way."
It took them a little bit before they reached their locked destination. By now, even Jupiter and Kyle was feeling the oppressive darkness that permeated through the docking bay. The Elemental tried all the tricks he was taught to open the door before he had Jupiter charge it with a good electrical zap. Afterwards, the door opened with ease and they slipped in. They nearly gagged from the smell from within, wondering what had made such a stench.
"Darkness ..." murmured Mars as she clung to Yuuchirou. "They're here. They're back! Different ..."
Kyle spared her a look before he strode over to a console and started typing in codes that would allow him into the system willingly (or unwillingly). Jupiter and Yuuchirou worked together to bring Mar's precognition under control where Mars could understand more of what was being shown to her. After Mars was relaxed in a chair, her partners started exploring the small enclosure that served as the docking bay's control tower.
A yelp brought the attention of three people to the red Senshi. Mars had been staring under one of the consoles, where a cupboard was slightly open. She rose to her feet, unease tripling as she reached forward to pull it open. She stumbled back with a yelp at the unwanted discovered treasure.
Oh kami-sama ... She ran over to the door and proceeded to lose the contents of her stomach.
"Oh my god, Xian ... " Kyle shuddered when he went to see what had upset Mars. Inside the cupboard was one of the missing Elementals, limbs were missings and the blood that should have been present was gone. There was a look of horror on his face, agony and hopelessness. Quietly where his companions couldn't hear him, as he reached over to place his hand over his dead friend's forehead, "Journey safely to Lord Hade's realm, my friend. Tell him what you have seen."
Beneath his hand, Xian's body dissolved into lights before disappearing.
"Kyle?" Jupiter questioned. The last time they had seen someone dissolve like that was when Sailor Moon had healed them and they had died.
"All will be explained later, Sailor Jupiter." Kyle replied.
"Mars, Jupiter, Kyle. Look!" The three did as they were bade, looking out the large glass windows down into the docking bay. A glow over the flooring illuminated the dark corners, revealing to them what had been hidden.
"A breeding ground. They had made the Points a breeding station!" Kyle exclaimed in horror. Movement caught his eye and he called up the sector on the monitors. In a cage, to the side were the missing Elementals (both dead and alive) kept in crowded cages.
A chill went through them all. They had to save them or they became food for the newborn youmas.
Author's Note:
Huzzah! I got another chapter done! Now I can focus on trying to write chapter 3 of Hidden. I'll get it one of these days, I tell ya! I will! *ahem* I guess I'm more having trouble trying to figure out what kind of songs to use. Maybe I should go peek at my dad's karaoke machine. Yeah.
I hope you liked this chapter. And ... all I have to say about the cliffhangers ...
It's catching!
::grins:: Buh-bye for now everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. It belongs to their respective owners. I own nothing. If they sue me, the only thing they'll get are the dead moths in my wallet. ::sigh::