Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, just like you don't and no one else on this site does. I know. Kind of a bummer, isn't it? (Boo hoo, hoo.... ;_; sniffle, sniffle....)
Okay. Notes on inconsistencies; if you read through the last chapter when I first put it out oh so long ago (really not THAT long, I guess....) then you'll probably note that it was originally Rei and Setsuna that were going after Ami and Taiki. In THIS chapter, it's Rei and Michiru. Why? Because when I originally planned it, it was going to be Makoto and Setsuna as one 'team' and Rei and Michiru as another. I forgot when I was writing the last chapter, but I went back and changed it afterward. :p Does that make any sense? I hope, I hope....
Yay! FF.Net is back up and running, and I can post more stuff now! ^^;; For those of you who actually CARE about my writing (few and far between, you are), chapters of my stories might come out less-frequently now. I'm working two jobs and sewing costumes for the anime/sci-fi convention next month (I'm going as Kou Seiya! Yosha!) so my spare time is a rare creature right now. ^_~
Man, so many notes! ....I'm a teeny bit confused here. Before FF.Net went down,
Umbroso Estrella had something like 102 reviews and now I'm back down to 98 or 99....how did
I loose the reviews? I thought only I could take them off....hm. *shrug* I can only wonder, I
guess....
"Shimatta!"
Still leaning against the door to the roof, Taiki jerked his head up at Ami's frustrated exclamation and had to frown; outbursts like that just weren't something that Mizuno Ami was known for. She was standing a few feet away, almost frantically working at her computer. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and her fingers were practically a blur over the keyboard.
"-damn it!" Clenching her hand around the tiny machine, she raised her arm as if getting ready to throw it, but instead heaved a sigh and dropped her arm back to her side. Then, as if knowing what he would say; "pardon my language, but my computer doesn't have enough power to run the scans that I need." Glaring at it, she continued; "I keep getting ALMOST glimpses of where the Oscuridad is, but then the scan cuts out."
"What can we do?"
"I need to hook it up to another computer, or a network of computers, so I can increase the scanning range." Biting her lip, she added; "I think."
Taiki cocked an eyebrow, "the power is still out."
"I know," Ami nodded, "but my computer can power the whole network once it's integrated. It's not the energy that's the problem. The problem is with the strength of the scanner. I'm going to need to use a higher caliber scanning program, hence hooking up to an entire network."
"Ah. Where can-"
WHAM!
The sound of something slamming into the door from the stairway beyond cut Taiki off mid-sentence. Stepping away, the former-idol backed toward where Ami was standing, already reaching for his Star Yell. Behind him, Ami's transformation pen was clutched firmly in her hand as she shut her computer and willed it back into her interdimensional pocket.
"Ready?"
"Hai."
WHAM!
"Good." Taiki kept his eyes on the door as it shuddered once again. "Maker Star Power! Make-Up!"
"Mercury Crystal Power! Make-Up!"
Simultaneous flashes of light, and both now-senshi readied themselves for the inevitable as what they had to assume were the Tsumetai continued to assault the heavy metal door, intent on breaking through their only protection. Almost without thinking, Mercury sent out a mental call for her harp, and Maker held her locket defensively, already preparing an attack.
They'll be through the door in a minute, and then- the blue-haired senshi shook her head, banishing the thought, and looked toward Maker. "If we can get somewhere with a large bank of computers, I can run those scans."
"Hm." A nod. "Where?"
Mercury took a second to consider, wincing when the door strained against another attack, then; "I think Mugen school is the closest. Juuban is actually closer but-" her eyes flicked toward the door again. It shuddered, complaining in the shriek of metal-on-metal against the pressure being put against it. Taking a step backward, Mercury continued quickly; "-I don't think it has the type of computer network I'll need."
"Mugen it is, then." Maker turned, even as the door was bursting outward, and headed for the edge of the roof. Mercury was right on her heels, and behind them both....
"FIRE SOUL!"
"Abunai!" Grabbing Mercury's wrist and diving to the side, Maker spun quickly to face the Tsumetai behind them. "STAR GENTLE UTERUS!"
The attack missed completely, diverted by Mars' previous blast of energy, and both Mars and Neptune launched out of the way and toward the senshi. Ducking to the side as Neptune threw a punch at her, Mercury scrambled back, not wanting to hurt her- former- friend. Maker, on the other hand, was taking on Mars with no such problems.
"MARS! FLAME SNIPER!"
A leap to the left and Maker was out of harm's way. Then, jumping back toward the senshi of fire, she dropped down and kicked out, knocking Mars' feet out from under her. The raven-haired senshi fell, colliding with Neptune on the way down, and landed in a tangle of limbs with a shrieked curse.
"Come on!"
Mercury jumped at Maker's shout and hurried to follow the Starlight, who made a beeline for the roof edge. And when the bluenette hesitated long enough to glance back at the two angrily-rising Tsumetai, Maker again latched on to her wrist and, not waiting for the other senshi to ready himself, leaped from the roof toward the empty street below.
"Ahh!"
It was ten or more stories to the ground- had Mercury's mind not been screaming in fear she would have been able to remember EXACTLY how many stories it was- and there was no way they could survive a drop like that-!
Kami-sama! We're both dead-! It turned out that Mercury's fears were completely unfounded. She should have known better than to underestimate a Starlight. Ah....n-nani?
Landing gracefully, Maker not only managed not to hurt herself, but also to half-catch her companion. "Are you alright?" Making sure that Mercury was firmly on her feet, Maker waited for a nod and then, with a final glance upward, took off as fast as her feet would carry her in the direction of Mugen.
Still somewhat confused, not to mention a little shell-shocked, Mercury followed the tall Starlight without question. She could hear behind them as Mars and Neptune reached the edge of the building just in time to see them escaping; ANYONE could have heard, given the hate-filled shriek that Mars uttered.
I can hardly remember the time they were my friends.... reaching up, she activated her visor. No point in dwelling on what I can't change....at least my visor's working. And strong enough to do what I need it to....I can scan for the other Tsumetai so we don't get caught.
"Which way?"
Maker's voice made her focus on the other senshi, "nani?"
"Which way to Mugen?" Maker repeated, "I don't know Tokyo as well as you- or as well as I did before going back to Kinmoku with the others."
"Oh." A blink and the bluenette shook her head to clear her thoughts, "straight and then left at the lights, it's about ten blocks east of Juuban, right on the corner. Almost downtown but not quite....a huge glass building. You can't miss it."
"Hai."
Their running took them farther, and faster, then Mercury would have expected; perhaps they were fueled by fear and that was what was making the difference, or perhaps she had simply underestimated her own abilities. In either case, luck was on their side as her constant scans for the Tsumetai turned up nothing but blowing leaves and an almost-equivalent to tumbleweeds in the empty streets.
"Here!" Skidding to a stop, she grabbed Maker's hand, "right here!"
"Hai!" Spinning, Maker took her hand back and started to the school, pausing at the gates to look at the sign. "Mugen....an advanced school?" She looked back, raising an eyebrow toward Mercury. "Why is it that you didn't go here, as opposed to Juuban?"
Mercury managed a weak smile. "I could ask you the same thing."
"Touche."
"Hai," shaking her head, Mercury followed her comrade through the broken shaped-metal gates and down the walk that lead to the huge, main glass doors of the once-impressive building. "Haruka-san and Michiru-san used to go here, and so did Hotaru-chan before she died as Saturn and was reborn...." a quiet sigh, "and to answer your question, I didn't go here because I wanted to stay with my friends."
"Hm," Maker nodded, waiting for the blue-haired senshi to enter the building. "Hai. My reasons were much the same, though slightly more complicated; Seiya, Yaten and I HAD to stay together, for the sake of finding our Princess."
Mercury nodded slightly distractedly, closing the door behind them as softly as she could and turning with her visor ready to scan the corridor ahead.
"A handy device, that."
"Hai, it is. I'm surprised you yourself don't have something of the like."
A pause and then Maker replied with; "me, too."
Suppressing a giggle, the shorter senshi stepped ahead and scanned through the walls on either side, searching for the distinct LACK of life signs in a humanoid person that signified a Tsumetai.
Nothing....
Her visor vanished with a flash as she tapped an earring.
"Mercury?"
"Nothing, Maker-san." She shook her head, "I can't find anything yet, but that doesn't mean that there's no one out there. We should stay alert, or we may find ourselves in a troublesome situation."
"I agree."
Mercury started forward again, feeling distinctly uneasy about being in a confined space and unaware as to whether there were dangers ahead. But....they needed to get to the computer lab for her to hook into the bank, so....her heels clicked loudly on the tiled halls as she walked, and beside her Maker's boots did the same.
Too loud.... There was nothing she could do about it, though, unless she was wanting to take off the boots and go barefoot. Which is NOT a good idea.
"Where is the lab, Mercury?"
"Upstairs, I believe, but I've only been here a few times, so I'm not sure...."
"Ah. I understand."
Biting her lip, Mercury stopped walking; "what if I'm wrong? Mugen is huge...."
"I'm sure your memory is correct." Maker smiled reassuringly, "but there's only one way to find out for sure, and so we should go and look where you remember the computer lab being. It's better to start there than anywhere else, hai?"
A sigh. "Hai."
She wasn't entirely sure, and that bothered her. Being used to being sure of herself, she felt shaky and uncertain, and she didn't want them to wander around for who-knew-how long....but Maker was already off and heading toward the stairs, so she really had to choice....
....and increasing the feeling of nervousness was a strange sensation, as if she was being watched from nearby.
I'm putting my visor back out.
Another flash, one that- if she saw- Maker chose to ignore, and the visor was back across her eyes, comfortable and reassuring. She scanned automatically as she sprinted to catch up with her Starlight companion, and there was something....a shape beyond one of the doors, moving toward them....two shapes....a third, smaller than the other two....
"Maker! Watch-"
She was cut off by the loud slamming of a door as it opened and hit the wall behind, and then there was a black form- similar to Maker, really- tackling the brunette senshi to the ground, both of the hitting with a thump.
"Maker-!"
"Ami-san?!"
Nani-?! Spinning toward the doorway, Mercury stared blankly at Saturn and Luna. Both of her friends were standing, watching the tousle on the floor in front of them with embarrassed expressions. "Hotaru-chan? Luna? What are-? If you're here, then who-?"
"Itai! Holy hell!"
"Healer? Is that you?"
"What the f-! Taiki!"
Saturn giggled almost silently, sweatdropping. "Ne, Yaten-san," she said as she and the others watched the two Starlights untangle themselves and attempt to sort themselves out to get to their feet. "I told you that you shouldn't just attack them...."
"Shimatta," Healer rubbed an elbow, giving Maker an annoyed look. "I thought they were the Tsumetai, OKAY? I mean hell, they were sneaking around here like-"
"Pardon me?" Maker shook her head, "it so happens that Mercury and I were being quiet for the same reason I ASSUME you were hiding in that broom closet-"
Luna cleared her throat. "It's actually a corridor the one of the science rooms."
"Alright then, for the same reason you were hiding in the science room."
"Which was?" Healer snapped.
"To avoid the Tsumetai, I assume." Luna sighed. Looking at Mercury she continued; "Ami-chan, did either you or Maker-san see Sailor Jupiter or Sailor Pluto?"
"No, why-?"
Saturn shook her head, "it was Jupiter-san and Pluto-san that we were hiding from. They were here, following us, but Healer-san and I managed to hide and then Luna found us shortly after that. They're probably still around here somewhere....the Tsumetai don't give up very easily...."
"I see...." Mercury closed her eyes sadly. "Mars and Neptune were following us when we left for Mugen, so they may still be." Reaching up, she again deactivated her visor, feeling much more at ease now that she had identified the source of the eyes that she had felt. "So we have four Tsumetai to worry about now, and we still have to get to the computer lab."
"Computer lab?" Luna tilted her head to the side, "why do you need to get there?"
"Long story short? I'm attempting to isolate the Oscuridad's signal." The blue-haired senshi called her computer and held it up for the others to see. "I need the power of a stronger scanner. My computer can power the system, but I need to hack into a much stronger scanner. The problem is," she shook her head and banished her computer back to her inter-dimensional pocket again. "I can't recall where the lab is, for sure...."
"I can help," Saturn spoke up, "I still have the memories from my previous life, so I know where everything is here. I can take you to the lab."
"Good idea."
"Shall we, then?" Luna flicked an ear, "keep your eyes open, though."
"Hai."
All five of them were silent as they quickly made their way up the stairs and to the computer lab, following Saturn. Luna, though Mercury wasn't surprised in the least, rested across Healer's shoulder- and the cat-loving Star Healer allowed her to do so without complaint. Mercury walked beside Saturn, glad for the comfort of a close friend nearby, and Maker took up the rear. They were all hyper-alert, worried about the possible presence of the heartless being they had once called friends.
I was right. Mercury couldn't help but be relieved as Saturn called a halt at the doors to the lab. She didn't like being wrong, even if she was far too kind to say to. Now I just have to do the hook up and-
"You see?" Maker's hand came down on her shoulder as the taller senshi stepped past her and through the door. "I told you that you remembered correctly."
A nod. "Hai.'"
She was lucky in that she'd already had some training in the realm of computer programming, and what she wasn't sure about she was able to wing with relative ease. Besides that, as Mercury worked hurriedly to hook her miniature computer into the main hard drive and integrate it into the system, she had Maker's constant help for when she faltered.
Once she was hooked in, she set about hacking into the strongest scanning system she could think of, her fingers a blur as she worked. Healer, who was standing behind her, was keeping an eye on the door; Luna was seated next to the keyboard on the table, and Saturn and Maker had taken up positions on either side of her, watching as she worked.
"Wait-" Maker's eyes flicked across the screen as new information came up, prompted by her expert hacking. "Mercury, where have you broken into?"
Without looking up, the bluenette responded distractedly, "NASA."
"....oh."
A moment of silence, and Saturn looked at Healer, who had glanced back. The younger senshi half-smiled at the almost look of surprise on the star senshi's face, and mouthed 'wow, ne?' before Healer turned back to her watch duty.
"Yotta!"
"Nani, Mercury?"
Pointing to the computer screen, Mercury smiled, looking accomplished. "Tokyo Tower."
"Wha-?"
Tapping her finger against the screen, she continued, her smile slowly turning into a frown; "I hacked into the NASA computer system and used my own computer to realign the satellites that are positioned over the Earth, pointing them mainly toward Japan. Then I altered the programming, using examples from my own computer, and took scans for the presence of the Oscuridad."
"It worked?"
A nod. "It seems that, after the firestorms, the Oscuridad itself was cloaked behind the layer of ash and smoke that covered the lower part of the atmosphere. That would be why we couldn't SEE it all this time, and possibly why my own computer couldn't scan for it. There might be a component of the smoke that was interfering."
"Oh...."
"Now, I've managed to isolate the main body of the Oscuridad itself," she looked around to make sure she had everyone's attention and was pleased to note that all three senshi, as well as Luna, were focused on what she was saying. "Right now, the Oscuridad is hovering in the air about two miles above the area of Tokyo Tower. From the scans I've done, it appears to be an almost meteorite shape, though much larger."
"You mean it came to Earth as a shooting star?" Luna asked, eyes wide.
"Hai, maybe."
"That would explain why no one caught on before it was too late," Saturn mused softly, "no one pays much attention to a simple thing like a shooting star."
"So we found," Maker agreed.
"The odd thing is that I my scans don't detect any life presences on it, just the energy of the Oscuridad and nothing else." A frown, "there's nothing controlling it. No life, no will, so sentience. Just the energy of evil itself."
"Which means," Healer concluded for her, "that if we destroy the meteorite, we destroy the Oscuridad, right?"
"Hai, I think."
"Good." Luna nodded, "then we've got a plan. Now we can break the communicator silence. We have to contact Usagi and Seiya and tell them t-"
"Tell them to what?" A mocking voice laughed from the doorway, "run off to Tokyo Tower? Fly to the Oscuridad? How will you get there, senshi of love and justice? You can't Teleport. Not without us."
Maker, Healer and Saturn, who had been standing already, whirled to face the doorway; Mercury was on her feet so fast that the chair she had been sitting on fell over, and Luna hissed loudly, her fur standing on end as her back arched angrily.
"Really," Jupiter sighed, "you STILL think you can stand up to the Oscuridad's power?"
"Not very smart of you." Pluto agreed, tapping a finger against the garnet rod. "You should know by now that you don't stand a chance."
"It's you who don't stand a chance!" Saturn countered, throwing up her hand and calling her glaive, "we've been through this before. You of all people should know what I can do if I must, and-"
"Really, shrimp," Jupiter laughed, "and then where would the power to destroy the Oscuridad come from? It seems to me that you are the only one who poses a real threat to it....or us, for that matter...."
Saturn's lips compressed and she glared.
They were right....
"JUPITER! OAK-"
"DEAD-"
No! They'll kill us....they'll kill us before we can- shaking her head, Mercury called her harp; "MERCURY! AQUA RHAPSODY!"
"Ahh!"
"Argh!"
The wall of water collided with the two Tsumetai, ending their attacks before they could complete them. Both Tsumetai were thrown backward into the hallway, leaving the doorway open....and there were no words as first Luna, then the senshi, dashed for the exit. Saturn rounded the corner and started down the hallway first, followed closely by Maker and Healer, and finally by Mercury, who paused long enough to retrieve her computer-
-her heels again slapped against the floor loudly as she ran, skimming past her former-friends....so close she could almost touch them....
"Gotcha'!"
"Ah!" The blue-haired senshi fell, barely catching herself, as Jupiter's hand closed on her ankle.
"Mercury!" Ahead, the other stopped, turning to aid her-
-and both Jupiter and Pluto were already on their feet, Mercury held tightly against Jupiter's chest.
A human shield....
"Ami-san!"
"Ami!"
"Ah..." Mercury gasped, gagging as Jupiter's hand closed tightly on her throat. "Just...."
"STAR GENTLE-"
But Pluto's garnet rod was pointed toward Mercury in the blink of an eye.
"No!"
"Ami!"
Gasping again, Mercury managed to wrench an arm free; "just go!"
"But-"
"Mercury!"
"Ami-chan!"
"SHABON SPRAY!"
The thick fog of Mercury's attack filled the hallway, blinding the Tsumetai more than the senshi. They were closer, after all....and the senshi watched helplessly as the shadowy shapes in front of them twisted and writhed. Mercury was struggling.
Then-
"JUST GO! PLEASE!"
"But-"
"Let's go," Healer shouted, "she knows what she's doing!"
Saturn and Luna followed without comment, though their eyes were sad. Maker, however, faltered before running after them all. Purple eyes shone, darkly and with an anguish she would never admit to anyone.
Ami....
"Maker! Just go-"
"DEAD-"
"GO! PLEASE, GO!"
"-SCREAM!"
Shutting her eyes tightly, Maker spun and raced away.
Mercury's last scream echoed in her ears as she ran, leaving her closest friend- and a part
of her heart- behind.
__________
Me: Okie! Two more chapters! Yosha! ^_^ Yay. Review, minna! I just live on my reviews!