Act Fourteen - A Giant Problem
The sight of the four guardian soldiers and Tuxedo Kamen brought Setsuna immense relief. Unable to stand any longer, she slid to the ground as Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen ran over to check on both her and Usagi's condition. The time guardian could only vaguely hear the blue-haired doctor's mild scolds as she slipped in and out of consciousness in Mercury's arms. What was happening to her?
Meanwhile, the remaining three soldiers were busy battling the giant. Jupiter, the most athletic of the group, was using her physical prowess and skill in the martial arts to fight, with Mars and Venus providing back up with their attacks, hoping to weaken Antaeus. Unfortunately, he always managed to step out of the way before they could hit. The brunette Amazon cursed under her breath as the giant managed to intercept another one of her punches. He seemed to be getting stronger with every passing minute.
"Give up yet, girls?" Antaeus asked, grinning cockily as he grabbed Jupiter's arm. "Admit defeat and I'll be sure to give you a fast and painless death."
"No deal, Goliath!" she said between clenched teeth.
"The name's Antaeus, and I would seriously urge you to reconsider my offer."
He tightened his grip on Jupiter's arm, bringing tears to her eyes. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much pain he was putting her through, she bit down on her bottom lip, silencing her screams. Luckily, it was just the opportunity Mars needed to launch a sneak attack on the monster.
MARS FLAME SNIPER!
A flaming arrow flew toward Jupiter and Antaeus and stabbed the giant in the arm. He loosened his grip on the soldier of protection, allowing her to easily escape his hold. Using his temporary loss of focus, Jupiter knocked his legs out from underneath him. The giant fell to the floor with a loud thud, causing the ground to shake underneath them, a sensation similar to an earthquake. Then, with a Herculean strength she never thought she had, Jupiter lifted the giant's body in the air.
"Venus! Now!" she ordered, suddenly recalling that in mythology, the giant Antaeus was the son of Gaea who received his colossal strength through his bond with the Earth. Now that he wasn't touching the ground, he should be weak enough to attack.
VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!
The monster screamed in agony before disappearing. Jupiter wasn't sure if the attack was enough to have killed him, considering that usually only Sailor Moon had enough power to destroy a youma, but she was glad he was gone. The three girls then walked over to where Pluto and the princess were to help as three more visitors arrived.
"What the hell happened here?" Uranus breathed to her companions, looking around the wrecked apartment. She knew Usagi would never be mistaken for a neat freak, but this was ridiculous. The soldier of the skies carefully stepped inside, the sound of glass breaking underneath her boots echoing in the silence.
Hearing Uranus enter the apartment, Mars looked up. Her eyes were filled with sadness as she tightly held her princess's hand. Beside her, Tuxedo Kamen was giving the blonde mouth-to-mouth, trying to restart her breathing. "There was a youma attack," she said. "We managed to destroy the monster, but Pluto and Usagi-chan are unconscious."
Sailor Saturn, who was standing behind Neptune and Uranus and therefore didn't have a good view of the disaster, roughly pushed her way between her parents at the news that her other mother and the princess were hurt. It was taking all her willpower not to burst into sobs at the sight of their motionless bodies. Mercury gave her a sympathetic look.
"Saturn, come over here and try to heal Pluto's injuries," she ordered softly, though with authority. "I'm going to go help Tuxedo Kamen with Usagi-chan. The rest of you, go to the kitchen and stay out of the way. Someone may have to call the ambulance if we can't stabilize their condition."
Reluctantly, the rest of the Sailor Soldiers went into the tiny kitchen, though it took both Uranus and Jupiter to drag Mars away from Usagi's side. Once the living room was cleared, Mercury headed over to her prince and princess, leaving Pluto in her daughter's care.
Saturn carefully examined Pluto's body, glad to feel that she still had a pulse and that she seemed to be able to breath on her own. A large area of her torso was burned pretty badly from the lightning attack, but that was easily healed with her powers. Her main concern right now was the baby. Saturn lifted up the short skirt of her mother's fuku and let out a sigh of relief when she saw no evidence of vaginal bleeding. By some miracle, she hadn't miscarried. Yet.
A short time later, a moan escaped Pluto's lips as she slowly regained consciousness. She gave Saturn a small smile when her vision finally got back into focus. "Usagi-chan…" she whispered. "Is she…is she okay?"
A little bit surprised that Pluto's first thought was about Usagi and not her child, Saturn slowly shook her head. "She's still unconscious," the soldier of death and rebirth informed her mother. "But Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen are doing all they can to save her."
Pluto quickly sat up and groaned as the world spun around her as if she were riding on a merry-go-round. Saturn motioned her to lay back down. "Pluto, don't exert yourself."
But she didn't listen. Instead, Pluto slowly crawled over to where Tuxedo Kamen was still trying to revive his one true love. Mercury, who was monitoring the blonde girl's condition on her computer, gave her friend a disapproving look. "I thought I told you not to fight in your condition, Pluto," she said softly so the others couldn't hear. "It was dangerous, both for you and the baby. I'm surprised you haven't miscarried."
The guardian of time opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Tuxedo Kamen's small sigh of relief. After several minutes of mouth-to-mouth, Usagi was finally breathing on her own again. Mercury quickly felt for a pulse and gave them a thumbs up sign. "I think she's going to be okay after she rests for a little while," the doctor replied with a small smile. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama, why don't you take her to the bedroom? The rest of us need to have a talk about what happened."
Gently, Tuxedo Kamen gathered the still unconscious blonde in his arms and lightly kissed her forehead before carrying her to her bedroom. It was plainly obvious to the three girls in the living room that Tuxedo Kamen still loved Usagi very much. Even Mercury, who earlier had been giving him the cold shoulder despite the fact that they were both trying to save Usagi's life, seemed to lose her frosty exterior. No matter what he had done to her, Mamoru still loved her with all his heart and soul.
Wiping away a tear that somehow managed to roll down her cheek, Pluto shakily stood up, using her Time Staff for support. Mercury and Saturn offered to help her over to the couch, but Pluto wouldn't hear of it. She insisted on going to the kitchen to talk about the new enemy with the others.
When the three women entered the tiny combination kitchen and dining room, they found the rest of the Sailor Soldiers detransformed and sitting around the square table in the center of the room, except for Haruka and Michiru, who were sitting next to each other on the counter. They were all eating the ham and cheese sandwiches Makoto made while they waited.
Rei was the first to notice Pluto, Saturn, and Mercury's presence in the room. Her eyes were filled with fear as she jumped up. "Is Usagi okay? Do you need me to call the ambulance?"
The blue-haired doctor shook her head as she helped Pluto sit down in an empty chair beside Minako. "Everything's fine, Rei-chan. She's still unconscious, but Mamoru-san started her breathing again. I think once she wakes up, she'll make a full recovery."
The fiery priestess crossed her arms across her chest, flames of anger burning in her violet eyes, at the mention of Mamoru's name. "I still can't believe he had the nerve to show up here today!" she fumed, clenching her fists. "That jerk has no business being here, acting as if he still cares for Usagi. Why, I ought to march right in there and kick him right in the-"
Mercury pushed Rei back down in her chair before she could finish the threat. "Rei-chan, I know you're angry at Mamoru-san for what he did, but he really does love Usagi-chan. This is no time for revenge. Besides, we have more important things to discuss."
On the counter, Haruka nodded her head and glared at the four Inners. "Mercury's right. And for the first order of business, I want to know why we Outers were not informed of the possibility of a new enemy," the tomboy demanded. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Minako open her mouth to disagree. "And don't even try to deny it. I can see it in each and every one of your faces. You know something about what's been going on around here, and I want a full report NOW!"
There was an uncomfortable silence as each of the Inners suddenly found something more interesting to concentrate on. Mercury was blushing furiously while she typed on her handheld computer. Makoto jumped up to make more sandwiches. Rei began chanting a prayer, and Minako simply twiddled her thumbs, humming softly to herself. Haruka rolled her eyes.
"Come on, guys. We don't have time for these games! Just tell us what you know so we can get to work on a plan."
Three pairs of eyes stared directly at Minako.
"What?" she asked innocently. "Why are you all looking at me?"
Silence.
"Just because I'm the one who suggested we not involve the Outers…"
More silence.
"Fine!" she finally said, giving up. "You see, it goes a little like this…"
Beside Usagi's bed, Mamoru kept a quiet vigil as the beautiful blonde slept peacefully, a halo of golden hair surrounding her face. He had almost forgotten how angelic she looked when she slept. A small smile tugged at his lips as he gently brushed back a loose strand of hair from her eyes. "Oh, Usako…"
He blinked back tears, suddenly realizing just how close he came to losing her. Forever. If Pluto hadn't gotten to the apartment as fast as she did… Quickly, he pushed that thought aside. He didn't want to think about what could have happened. The important thing was that Usagi was safe. That was all that mattered.
Hesitantly, he reached for Usagi's tiny hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the soft skin. Usagi lightly stirred, but didn't awaken at his touch. He chuckled. Even now, it would take no less than the coming of the Apocalypse to wake the angel from her sleep.
Weaving his fingers through those of the sleeping woman, Mamoru sighed. He was such an idiot. If only there was some way to turn back time to the night of the engagement party. This never would have happened if they hadn't had that huge fight over something as silly as a few thousand dollars. How differently things would have turned out. Usagi would still be living at his apartment, and he might have been able to protect her from the giant. He couldn't help thinking that no matter what he did, he only brought her pain.
"I'm so sorry, Usako," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
At the sound of his soft voice, Usagi slowly turned her head toward her former lover and opened her eyes. "Mamoru-san…"
"Yes?"
She let out a tiny moan as she attempted to sit up in bed. Her body felt as if it was slowly and painfully tearing apart at the seems. What happened?
Seeing her difficulty, Mamoru propped a couple of fluffy pillows behind her back, then handed her a glass of water.
"How do you feel, Usagi-san?" he asked, the concern evident in his eyes.
"Horrible," she admitted after taking a large gulp of water. "It feels like every single muscle in my body is on fire. What happened to me? I don't remember."
"You were attacked by a giant. From what I understand, the monster was about to attack Pluto, but you jumped in front of her, taking the hit."
Usagi gasped, her heart in her throat. "Pluto…the baby…did she…"
"You know?" he asked, surprised. When she nodded, he gave her a small, but slightly sad, smile. "No, she didn't miscarry. Pluto's fine."
"I'm glad," she said truthfully as she squeezed his hand. "Congratulations, Papa."
Papa. The word sounded strange to him, as if she were referring to some middle-aged yuppie with a beautiful, perfect wife and three rambunctious children. Not him, a twenty-five year old hotshot attorney. On a superficial level, Mamoru knew that in little less than nine months, he was going to be a father, but that fact that Setsuna was pregnant with his child still hadn't completely sunk in. It felt like it was happening to someone else.
"Usagi-san…"
The blonde shook her head and brought a finger to his lips. "It's okay, Mamoru-san. I understand, and I'm happy for you and Setsuna-san. Really I am."
Her words sounded sincere, but the look in Usagi's eyes betrayed her true feelings. She was hurt and confused, and Mamoru couldn't blame her one bit. Heck, even he didn't completely understand everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Was it really so shortly ago that he asked Usagi to be his wife? It seemed like an eternity had passed.
"Believe me when I say that we didn't mean for this to happen," Mamoru said, trying to explain, but Usagi didn't want to hear it. Feeling stronger, she got out of bed and slipped into her slippers. "It was just a big mistake. Everything was a mis-"
"Just forget about it," she said sadly, walking out of the room. Mamoru sighed, then followed her out.
"So, you're telling us that you discovered that Usagi's engagement ring was cursed by an energy similar to a former enemy and you purposely decided not to tell us?" Haruka asked, her voice growing more hysterical. "Are you four complete idiots?"
Beside her, Michiru shot her lover a look. Haruka was never the most tactful person in the world. "Haruka…temper, temper."
The tomboy banged her fist on the counter, surprising Artemis, who was sitting nearby. He and Luna had arrived shortly after Minako began her explanation and were shocked to hear what happened.
"I think I have good reason to be angry, Michiru," Haruka declared. "Because of their utter stupidity, the princess was almost killed today."
Luna cleared her throat. "To be fair, Haruka-san, the Inners weren't the only ones who came to the decision not to inform you and the others. Artemis and I were also behind this 100."
"Her more than me," the white cat muttered under his breath, earning a rather painful bite on his tail.
"Besides, we didn't have that much to go on, other than the ring," Minako said, trying to defend their actions. "I just didn't think it was necessary for us to tell you guys until we had a better idea of what we were up against. I mean, wouldn't you find it just a little bit suspicious that an enemy we defeated over eight years ago was somehow resurrected?"
"I don't care, Minako!" Haruka shouted. "We should have been informed. We're supposed to be a team, or did you forget that?"
"Oh, now you want to be a team? I can recall a time about six or seven years ago when the word 'team' wasn't even a part of your vocabulary."
"Come on! That is ancient history. I thought that after the whole mess with Pharaoh 90, we agreed to work together."
"That may have been the case, but this is our turf this time. The Dark Kingdom was our enemy, not yours. You know nothing about their goals and strategies, and you have no experience fighting them. We, on the other hand, have fought the Dark Kingdom twice in our lifetimes. Therefore, we have an advantage."
Haruka muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "And managed to get yourselves killed both times," but only Michiru was close enough to hear. The aqua-haired beauty poked the blonde in the ribs as Usagi and Mamoru entered the kitchen. All conversation then immediately ended. Rei jumped up from her seat and ran over to Usagi.
"Usagi, are you okay?" she asked, giving her friend a hug.
"I'm fine, Rei-chan," Usagi replied with a small smile. "Just a little sore. What were you guys arguing about?"
Haruka looked like she was about to start another tirade, but Michiru clamped her mouth shut, allowing Hotaru to explain what happened. "Well, it seems that Luna and the others discovered that your engagement ring was cursed by the Dark Kingdom, but decided not inform the rest of us until today."
"My ring? The Dark Kingdom?"
Usagi felt faint. If it weren't for Rei holding her up, she most likely would have collapsed right there on the kitchen floor. The priestess lead her to the table and helped her into the now vacant chair beside Makoto. By the sink, Ami, now destransformed along with Setsuna, quickly filled up a glass of water and handed it to the shocked princess.
"But how?" she asked once she found her voice again. Usagi looked around the room at the faces of all her friends, hoping against hope that they were just playing some kind of cruel joke on her, but it was obvious that they were quite serious. Luna jumped on the table, a sympathetic look on her face.
"I know this is shocking news, Usagi-chan, but it appears to be true, as evident by the attack today."
Antaeus' words echoed in her mind: But the heir to the kingdom, the beautiful and powerful Queen Jade, lives on. At the time, she didn't want to believe it was true, but evidently it was. Beryl's daughter was alive and looking for revenge. That was the only explanation.
"Jade…"
Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Who's Jade, Usagi-chan?"
The blonde wasn't even aware that she had said the name aloud. She looked up and saw the others staring at her in expectation.
"During the fight, Antaeus told me that the heir of the Dark Kingdom was still alive and that her name was Jade," Usagi said. "My guess is that she is Beryl's daughter."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Minako couldn't but snicker. Makoto gave her a strange look. "What is so funny, Minako-chan?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking about what poor fool was so desperate and horny that he would share a bed with that witch. Do you think it might have been one of the generals?"
Artemis rolled his eyes at his mistress's antics. Trust Minako to think about such a silly thing at a time like this. He was about to scold her about taking her duty as leader of the Inner soldiers more seriously, when Ami shut her computer with a satisfied look on her face.
"I think I just figured out where Jade, or whatever her name is, is hiding. I've scanned the entire Tokyo area and managed to pinpoint the location of a place emitting the same type of energy as was found in Usagi's ring. If my hunch is correct, we should find the Dark Kingdom's headquarters inside an old mansion located in the historic part of Azabu, not too far from Mamoru-san's apartment building."
Haruka pumped her fist. "Great! Let's get going."
Usagi's gaze fell on the floor. They still didn't know the worse of what happened. Antaeus had stolen the transformation brooch containing the Silver Crystal, meaning she couldn't transform into Eternal Sailor Moon. How could she fight Jade when she couldn't even transform?
"Usagi-chan? Is something wrong?" Makoto asked.
"My brooch is gone," she said quietly, barely able to get the words out.
The others stared at each other in complete shock, unbelieving of the news."Are you sure, Usagi-chan?" Luna asked. "Maybe you just misplaced it somewhere. It has been quite a long time since you've had to use it. Could it possibly be in the attic of your parents' house? I know you left behind a couple of boxes-"
The blonde shook her head. "No, that's not it, Luna," she said, trying to hold back her tears. "Antaeus stole it from me right before Pluto arrived."
"What?" the black cat exclaimed as she began pacing across the table top. "Oh, boy. This is worse than I originally thought. We have to get that crystal back."
Setsuna, who had remained fairly quiet during the whole discussion, stood up, a determined look on her face. "Luna's right. We have to get the Silver Crystal back as soon as possible. Otherwise, the entire world could be in danger."
Behind her, Ami gently pushed the expectant mother back into her chair. "Setsuna-san, you are not going to fight again," she stated matter-of-factly. "Not in your condition. It was a miracle that you didn't miscarry after the first attack. I just cannot allow you to put your baby…"
Her words trailed off when she realized that the three other Inners were looking at her as if she just told them that humans were actually evolved from horses. It took her a few seconds to get what she just said, then Ami could feel her cheeks warm. It seemed as if Setsuna still hadn't told everyone that she was pregnant. "Oops!" she said, covering her mouth. "I didn't mean to say that, really I didn't. I'm sorry, Setsuna-san. I'm so embarrassed."
The garnet-eyed woman sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay, Ami-chan. They were going to find out sooner or later. I guess now is as good as time as any."
Three pairs of eyes shifted from the red-faced doctor to the guardian of time. At first they didn't say anything, still letting the news sink in, but a few seconds later, Minako and Makoto jumped from their seats and Rei ran over behind Setsuna, embracing their friend in a huge group hug.
Antaeus dreaded facing Queen Jade. She was not going to be happy with today's events. Not at all. He only hoped that she would be in a generous mood after he presented her with the crystal.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the heart-shaped transformation brooch that he managed to steal from the girl who moonlighted as Sailor Moon. It was the only thing he managed to do right with this mission. The small object in his hand had the power to be either his salvation or his death sentence. Of course, he hoped for the former.
"ANTAEUS!"
Great! The queen was calling him and he still hadn't come up with a good excuse that would save him from Jade's notorious temper. Nevertheless, Antaeus snapped his fingers and teleported to his mistress's bedroom. It wouldn't look good to show up late to her summons.
He found the lovely queen on her large bed, dressed in a lacy, black negligee that left little to the imagination. The giant felt himself get aroused, despite his fear of what was to come. He and Jade were on-again, off-again lovers, and it appeared that she was prepared to reward him handsomely if he was successful in his mission. Antaeus cursed his bad luck as he approached the bed and kneeled.
"You called, my queen?"
Jade smiled seductively as she patted the mattress beside her. Once again cursing his luck, Antaeus slowly arose from his kneeling position and sat down on the bed. The normally distant queen then greeted him with a passionate kiss before asking the question he feared most in the world.
"Were you successful in your mission, my dear Antaeus?"
With shaking hands, he held out Sailor Moon's golden brooch to the beautiful queen. Jade took the brooch, a pleased look on her face. After all this time, the Silver Crystal was finally hers! She kissed him again.
"I knew I could count on you," she purred. "Where did you hide the bodies? I want to see them." Antaeus froze, immediately arousing the queen's suspicions. Playfully, she ran a finger along the outline of one of his biceps, then sharply dug her long fingertips into his skin. The pain brought tears to his eyes. "I asked you a question, Antaeus. Where are the bodies of the prince and princess? You did kill them, did you not?"
"Not exactly…"
Jade's green eyes narrowed as she roughly ran her nails down his arm, leaving a dark trail of black blood. Serenity and Endymion were still alive? She should have known Antaeus couldn't have been trusted to carry out her plan. This was the last time she would let her hormones overpower her better judgment. Without a second thought, she pointed a finger crackling with energy toward her lover, who suddenly didn't look so big and powerful.
"Jade-sama, no. Please don't do this. Give me a second chance. I promise you I will get rid of those Sailor Brats. Think about us, about Damian… Nooooooo!"
She watched the body of the giant crumble to the floor in a pile of ashes, no remorse in her heart. "You big fool!" she spat, before slipping into her robe and heading to her son's room to tell Damian a bedtime story.