Treason
13
(Resurrection)
The smell of sulfur was in the air and rising up the center of the tower swiftly. My nostrils burned with the contact as my body gasped for breath climbing the stairs towards Healer. Fear swept threw my mind as I thought of Healer all alone above us fending for her life. "STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!!"
I made it to the top of the stairs just in time to witness a solid wall of Epochs being blasted backwards and scattered about. As the tower rose, the levels became smaller and this was extremely noticeable on the floor we were currently on. We had to be near the top of the tower. Just like the situation that Mars and I found ourselves in before, as soon as Healer blasted away the Epochs twice as many would take their place. "STAR SERIOUS LASER!!"
I watched as Healer's head picked up so that her eyes could in turn rest upon me. A faint smile crossed her lips as a posture of relief settled upon her shoulders. Neptune was already by my side and Kamen was soon to join us. Again the Epochs started to enclose upon Healer and were now beginning to encircle us as well. Neptune and Kamen did what they could to hold them off as I fought my way over towards Healer, I wasn't going to lose her now.
We had to be close to Zankou now, why else would there be all of these infernal Epochs around? My confidence was renewed as was my will to press forward. "He's trying to get down!" Healer hissed at me as soon as I got close enough to hear her words. I watched as her form, ever frantic, fighting to hold back the Epochs without her powers. It was a smart approach, things didn't seem to be drawing to a close and we couldn't just go around sporting off all of our energy.
"What?!" I asked, not seeing any reason as to why Zankou would be trying to escape the tower now. She flipped her head back to swing the silver locks of hair that had fallen out of place, away from her eyes. Compared to my own physical state, her's was considerably better off.
"Over there!" Healer round-housed a shorter Epoch in the jaw to give herself room to direct my attention toward the fleeing form of an old man. It was true, there, on the opposite side of the platform was Zankou being escorted by a herd of Epochs. His awareness focused on me for a split second and I could see the sadistic smile that now marred his features. The taunt remained and I wasn't going to let him slip away this time.
"STAR SERIOUS LASER!!" My laser blazed through the Epochs, clearing a path straight towards Zankou. I ran down the parted sea of bodies that lay in the wake of my energy. Though I had no time to really examine them, I couldn't help but notice the charred bodies of the underling men that had fallen around me. When I thought my body couldn't do any more, couldn't go any faster, one thought brought my true potential out. Odango… there was nothing between her and him if he slipped by me, well, there was nothing that I trusted and could put my faith in… it just simply wasn't me.
Tokyo Tower had two sets of staircases, one on either side of the lofty structure. I struggled to catch up to him as I saw his head sink below the floor that I was standing on, he was getting ahead of us. I growled in fury as I felt his soldiers holding me back from all directions. Some of the hands that were holding me from the back were suddenly released and I felt them rip from my body. I turned around and saw Kamen come up behind me. There was a pounding in my heart, and I wasn't quite sure if it was my anger for Zankou or the anger that pulsed through me at that moment from having been partially saved by Kamen.
"He's getting away!" Kamen shouted trying to pursue the same path that I had struggled on. Turning feverishly and casting off all the efforts of the foot soldiers, I had to pity him somewhat, though he was the closest thing to a senshi that a normal person could be, he still wasn't good enough… at least not in my mind.
My eyes widened in horror as I watched one of our escapes crumble. The staircase that Zankou had taken was now being thrown from the tower. A group of Epochs stood at the top of the platform, they had hacked away at the staircase once he was off of it, and thrown it from the tower to prevent our pursuit. There was only one choice. We had to go back down the way that we came. Zankou was gaining too much valuable space on us and my patience had already been worn thin. "Arghhh!!!" I cried as I turn round to wade through the menacing mob. To our luck however, Neptune and Healer were still trying to fight their way to us.
Finally a break, I rushed forward with Kamen close behind. Our small group was together again and keeping the Epochs at a comfortable distance, but much to my unsightly horror once again I saw our escape hindered. The soldiers poured from the stairwell as though they were oozing from the crack in hell that I now believed they had escaped from. "There's no time, we can't get through there in time!" I pointed out frustrated. "Damn it!" I turned about furiously looking for another solution. There had to be some reason why he was retreating from his supposed safety in the tower to the grounds below.
"What do you suppose he's doing anyway?" Kamen asked after beating off a braver foot soldier with his cane. My mind took a side note and focused all of my anger on his actions. That stupid cane, who brings a cane into battle anyway?
"Fighter look out!" Healer shoved me to the side, just in time to miss the falling blade of a sword. I was shaken from my thoughts and immediately regretted the diversion. We didn't have time for this, that was all I could think, and then if finally came to me.
"I'll see you guys down below." I said as I walked to the edge of the level we stood on. This was my only way, I had to go down the outside of the tower.
"Fighter no!" Neptune warned, but I kept moving anyway. There was no other way, they knew this, so why were they trying to stop me. I stood at the very edge of the beam, looking down at the level below. Zankou was undoubtedly descending the next set of stairs by now and had only two more levels to go before he reached Uranus.
I was tugged swiftly back away from the edge by a firm grip. Healer's green eyes were peering into me intensely, but not making me rethink my position. "The fall of one story alone will kill you with those injuries." She warned, her eyes once again moving over the various wounds that covered my body.
"If she dies it's not going to matter any way." I whispered to her, holding my temper, for I knew she would understand where I was coming from if I only said so. As I had expected, her hold loosened from my arm and her eyes held a kinder light. With an unpretentious nod of her head I knew she understood.
I turned away from her and the chaos that had ensued behind her to face the level below. A soft breeze had picked up, carrying the heat and smoke from the blazing fires below up to my face. I inhaled deeply, swallowing the pounding of my heart that had leapt to my throat. I could do this, this was for her.
My feet left the ground…
I felt as though I was weightless and the fall was taking forever. It was as if time had been suspended just for me. Though I could feel the air rushing past me, stinging my eyes, trailing the tears across my face, it still felt like a dream. My arm was out to once again catch my body from falling too far. The familiar pull once again assaulted my shoulder and seized my muscles taught. Reality caught up with me once again and the colors of the world stood still, but only for a moment… My hold wasn't tight enough… that was my excuse, it wasn't because I wasn't strong enough to hold on…
I struggled to gain a more stable position on the side of the tower but to no avail, I was soon plummeting towards the ground again. I knew I would never reach the ground though, the way the tower was bowing out, I would crash into a lower level before that, I just didn't know which one and if it was too far down… well I didn't really want to think of myself splattered across a grated steel floor. A shiver traveled down my spine and caused me to draw my arms and legs into myself.
Now, anyone knows that this wasn't the smartest thing that I could have done. If you're going to fall and hit something, you want your body to be as loose and limp as possible so that it will absorb the impact with minimal damage. If I were to hit the tower in this position I would certainly break my back. I consciously tried to maneuver myself into a more sensible position, but in doing so I caught a snag.
My left arm felt as though it was ripped from my body as a sudden anchor caught my elbow. "AHHHHH!!" In all of my movements I had managed to hook my arm around a metal pole that was protruding from the tower. I guessed that I had fallen three floors, but those thoughts left my mind as soon as they came when my anchor started to give way. My arm was broken, I had no doubts about that, and I couldn't hold my entire body weight up on a broken arm. The pain surged through my arm and was beginning to pulse into my back as well. I almost wished that my arm HAD been ripped from my body so that I didn't have to feel the pain that it was causing me now.
"Persistent little shit aren't you?" Zankou's voice echoed near me. I looked into the level that I had landed on, struggling to regain solid ground and balance. Across the way stood a large group of Epochs and Zankou, who was standing over a heap of a person. Uranus.
"SPACE SWORD…" The clang of metal sounded as Zankou kicked the sword out of Uranus' grasp. She had grown even weaker than when we left her, it was no doubt due to the loss of blood.
"Did you really think that was going to stop me?" A horrendous laughter came from the front of the pack. Uranus' form shook violently as she looked as though she was trying to get to her feet in a futile effort.
"If you touch her, I swear…" The wind senshi's threat was taken half-heartedly as she was kicked back down to her former position.
"You'll do what?" Zankou laughed once more and then proceeded to kneel down to meet Uranus in a pretentious stare. "They're down there, injured and just waiting for me to come and put them out of their misery. You've done nothing to protect your princess and you'll die a failure. It really is too bad because I could see such potential in you too." His head jerked back as Uranus tried to lunge towards him once more.
Odango was injured?
"I will put you out of your misery if you just ask, otherwise I'll allow my army of Star Senshi to come and rip you apart. It really is your choice." Zankou stood, looming over her. The blonde's breath was staggered and I could faintly see a trail of blood trickling from the corner of her lips. "No answer?" Zankou asked as he began to walk towards the stairwell. "Through her over." He ordered as five Epochs made their way over to the fallen senshi of Uranus to pick her up.
I had a choice to make, it was either save Uranus from being thrown from the tower, or stop Zankou from retreating further. Before my mind could even think the entire situation through I found my star yell down before me preparing for the blast. "…LASER!!" The energy sought out its target and blasted the Epochs that were holding Uranus clear across the room. The blond fell roughly to the floor but that was nothing compared to the fall she would have received if I hadn't intervened.
"Fighter!" Uranus faced my direction, her mood quickly changed from surprised to enraged. "He's getting away!!" She pointed bluntly to the stairwell that Zankou had slithered into while I was defending Uranus.
"You're welcome." I said with a bit of a smirk and caught a light smile spread across Uranus' face despite the pain she was in before I turned to catch up. The Epochs were dispersing and I figured that Zankou had left the majority of them to block our passage down the stairwells. A question came to my mind though, why hadn't he just thrown Uranus into the Nebula? There was something else in store for the churning swell of gas.
"Fighter!" I heard my name being called again, but this time it wasn't Uranus. I turned around and saw Healer, Neptune and Kamen running towards me from the bottom of the stairwell. I couldn't pause long enough for them to catch up, I had to get to Zankou. Despite my efforts to hasten my pace, they caught up regardless. Was I really in that bad of shape?
Even though the Epochs were few in numbers now, our new enemy made its presence known. The Nebula. Random blasts ruptured the very floor that we stood on and shook the entire edifice around us. There was no aim, and therefore, no way of predicting where or when it was going to hit next. There was no warning like with the canons; the Nebula didn't have to power up, the blasts just spewed forth from it. Our progress down the tower was slowed considerably.
My arm hung limply down at my side, I had no control over it any more, it was completely useless. The earth below us couldn't come soon enough, as we staggered out of the building we came face to face with the ring of fire that was still encircling much of the landscape before us.
The darkness of night still plagued us, but was countered nicely by the infernal fire. Dawn should have been upon us soon, and I could only hope that it would make this situation a bit more bearable. I looked down at my feet momentarily, feeling the wound in my leg opening once again and the feel of the blood pooling in my boot. The pain was a thing of the past, it was almost as if my mind had blocked it out completely. The dagger wound in my leg, the second and third degree burns of my body and my broken arm, and my overwhelming fatigue, they all seemed trivial now as mere ways to hinder my efforts.
Tiny reflections of light peered back up at me from below and my mind was taken from my own state once again. There were small pools of water gathered at our feet. My face turned upwards to gain the attention of my comrades to show them what I had found, but the coolness of their expressions told me that there was something I was missing.
Neptune's eyes stared off into the not too distant areas surrounding us, the ones that seemed to be on the edge of the fire's appetite. I followed her gaze and saw the sight that had kept her attention. Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Venus were laid out on the ground below. Their forms were tangled with mud and even from where I was I could see that the fire had licked them more than once.
"It's about time you got down here." Zankou's voice once again mocked us as he stood off to our right. He paused before continuing, my eyes were narrowed on his form, but Kamen and Neptune still seemed distracted. "Don't worry about them, they've been out for a while, ah hell, who knows, they could even be dead." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, he seemed more agitated that he wasn't receiving the full attention of the surrounding senshi.
"DEEP SUBMERGE!!" Neptune's energy shot over the fallen forms of the inner senshi to extinguish the fire that raged behind them. If they weren't dead, we certainly didn't want to see them burnt alive and they were too far away to help on foot.
Venus and Mars had been with Sailor Moon…
My heart pounded in my chest furiously and the adrenaline was almost too much for me to handle. I couldn't see her and with the smug look on Zankou's face, I wasn't sure of whether or not he had lead her to her demise.
"STAR GENTLE UTERUS!!" The purple energy tore through the billowing clouds of smoke and soared true towards Zankou below the tower. A new hope was born in my heart and mind at the mere sound of Maker's voice. My head whipped around and I saw her standing atop an only partially disheveled building, Pluto at her side.
The blast however didn't do what I was sure she had intended, in fact it didn't do anything. As though there was a sheet of glass before him, Maker's powers were merely reflected back in all directions. "You can't harm me this close to the Nebula, you of all people should have realized that one Maker." Zankou insulted her intelligence and proceeded to laugh haughtily at her dismay.
The old dilapidated form of Zankou stood before us, unmoving, unwavering as though he was waiting for something. He was alone with no Epochs to protect him, there was definitely something on his mind. With his arms crossed over his chest he watched with a grin as Maker and Pluto joined us.
"Are you guys all right?" Maker asked curtly as she came upon us. My first thought was to take her up in my arms and hold her tight, forgetting that any of this was happening, but such reunions were to be saved for a later time. I noticed as Maker scoped out our physical situations, dwelling the longest on my own making her assessment.
"I'm fine. Uranus is still in the tower." I stated bringing her and I both back to the situation at hand.
"Is she…" Pluto started with her hand drawn up thoughtfully to her mouth.
"No." Neptune answered wistfully, her pain reflected clearly as her eyes closed momentarily.
"The inners fell just as we were coming around." Maker informed them of their position. "I woke up about a quarter of a mile from here and then ran into Pluto."
It was clear enough that Maker had noticed the Nebula coursing behind Zankou and I didn't think it necessary to point out the obvious. Where was Moon? "Are you waiting for me to tell you my whole 'evil' plan?" Zankou called across to us. I felt my teeth grinding unconsciously at his words and arrogance. I wanted to bum rush him and wipe that smirk off his face, but it wasn't that easy. He wouldn't be standing out in the open like this, there was something protecting him, he had something on us.
"Or better yet, I'll show you." Zankou walked over towards the footing of the tower to retrieve something. What he pulled out pulled at my heart and constricted my throat.
"Chibi-Moon!" Kamen called out when the small senshi came into view being dragged by Zankou. I did feel bad for him, but at the same time couldn't help but fee that this could have been avoided, she shouldn't have been here in the first place.
"Small Lady!" The normally calm and collected senshi of Pluto screamed out, throwing off all restrictions. Maker did her best to hold Kamen back while the rest of us just stared wide-eyed at the new development. Where was Moon?
The small girl was conscious and appeared to be struggling the best she could against Zankou's hold on her. "Once I throw her into the Nebula my army of Star Senshi will be resurrected!" He grinned menacingly as he relayed his plot. "They will obey only me, they are no longer bound to the crown of Kinmoku, and with them I shall take over Earth and then Kinmoku!"
"You're insane!" Healer spat back at him in disgust. "What good is it to control a planet when you've killed all of the inhabitants of that planet? You're going to rule nothing but a floating rock in space!" Her hands were clenched as her anger seethed through her teeth.
Zankou's head dropped and shook slightly. "Who ever said I killed them?" He stared at us from under his thick brows. Haven't you noticed that the sun hasn't come up yet?"
As though we had never thought of doing so before, simultaneously our heads lifted and turned towards the heavens above. The shock hit me as I saw the entire population of Tokyo blanketing the sky and blocking out all light that tried to filter through. They all seemed to be unconscious as they lined the sky, we must have broken through them so quickly when we entered Earth's atmosphere that we didn't notice them.
"You're right, I wouldn't be erroneous enough to kill the inhabitants of this planet, who would I have rebuild it for me when this was over?" He snickered lightly and pulled Chibi-Moon closer to him.
My anger thrust forth throughout my body and I did all that I could no to rush him. I knew there was something up his sleeve and if I did risk a path towards him, I could end up injuring Chibi-Moon.
"Chibi-Moon!!!" A voice called as it crawled from the shadows of the tower. It was her, my angel. Sailor Moon…
"Sailor Moon!!" I called out and couldn't hold myself in place any longer. I felt my feet carrying me as fast as I could down the hillside and over the debris, if I had tried to slow down I would have no doubt tumbled the rest of the way anyway. Her body was beaten and her fuku was torn, I had my doubts as to whether or not I had been through worse than her. Her odangos were all but free from their tight hold and random strands of gold hung down over her face. I sensed someone behind me and I knew without turning around that one of them was Kamen.
As soon as Zankou saw us rushing towards the fallen Moon Princess, he wasted no time in hurling the small senshi into the Nebula. I reached Moon just in time to witness the entire act. The blue light engulfed the pink of her hair and fuku and I caught sight of the sadness in her eyes.
"NO!!!" Sailor Moon screamed in my arms and all I could do was hold her tighter.
The Nebula began to shift and change swiftly in a mass of swirling colors. It was happening, the 'Soul of the Dying Star' was being resurrected…