Moon's Eclipse by Foenixfyre
Chapter 3 I Only Want to be With You . . .
"There's" boom! "so" blast! "many!" Duo swept the remains of several mechs out of reach and glanced around to see how his teammates were doing. Trowa and Quatre were fighting back-to-back; their partnership was perfect in areas other then the bedroom- down, boy. I doubt they'd appreciate your trademark jokes right now. Wufei was whirling his dragon-headed whip to either side, destroying mechs with each movement. He'd always preferred to fight alone. Won't even admit that it's sometimes good to have someone watching your back. Where was Sailor Moon? There; her Crystal Gundam was darting around the others. She had pulled a saber from somewhere and was using it to neatly demolish whatever the others missed. It's easy to see that she's always fought with a team. Wow, is she smooth!
Duo left off admiration for the newest team member and looked for Heero. "Heero? Buddy? Where are ya?" Only the silence of space and sounds of fighting met his inquiry. Out of the corner of his eye, Duo spied a familiar form far away from the fighting area. What is Heero doing? He hit a few keys and pulled up a secret program. None of the others knew that he'd put bugs in their cockpits; he'd thought it might come in handy at some future point to be able to hear what they were saying when they thought no one was listening.
" . . . I'm coming, Relena."
Relena?! "Heero, what the hell are you talking about?!" Heero did not respond. Whether that was because he couldn't hear Duo or chose not to was a frightening question.
"I love you. All I want is peace to rest with you-"
"Heero! Snap the hell out of it! Sailor Moon!!" Crystal Gundam was at Duo's side in a heartbeat.
"Something's wrong with Heero." He quickly patched her into the
bug's feed.
"But . . . Relena's dead." She gasped. "Duo, it's got to be the Evil! It's messing with Heero's mind, trying to make him kill himself."
"You've got to do something!"
Crystal Gundam shook its head; Duo imagined that it followed Moon's movements. Creepy. "You know him better, Duo, and you'll know better how to either distract him or stop his self-detonating. I'll clear a path, but the rest is up to you." With that, Moon flew away and began destroying the mechs around Deathscythe.
Okay. Duo contacted the others and quickly filled them in. "I figure that, with Moon watching our backs, we should be able to get through to Heero. I'm not letting anyone else die. So come on!"
The four Gundams sped toward their friend, calling his name and trying to break the hypnotic spell that entrapped him. * * *
Heero grasped his self-destruct button and reached out to take Relena's hand. So close. I can almost . . . almost touch her. My love . . .
"Heero!"
"Heero, don't!"
Who? Duo, Quatre. Why won't you let me rest?
Something lashed out and wrapped around Wing. Turning, Heero could see Shenlong pulling on its dragon whip for all its worth. "Wufei, let me go. Relena's calling me. I can finally tell her that I love her."
"I'm sorry, my friend. I can't do that." Was that pity in Wufei's voice? No, it couldn't be; must be something wrong with the comlink.
"Heero!" Sailor Moon was crying his name. "You saved me. You didn't let me die! So what makes you think I'll allow you to take the easy way out?" It looked as though Crystal Gundam had managed to drive off the mechs for a short time. Now, Moon flew toward him. "It's not Relena, Heero! Look at her. Really look! It's just the Evil playing with your mind! Please, Heero! Would Relena really want you to throw your life away?"
Trowa echoed these words. "She'd right, Heero. Relena wouldn't want your death. She'd want you to live the rest of your life!"
"Come on, buddy! We need ya to save our world! We can't do this without you!" Duo yelled.
As his friends' words sank into his mind, Heero turned to stare at Relena. No, my princess loved life more then anything. She abhorred death, especially suicide, as a waste! What am I doing? Slowly, he dropped the self-destruct button and opened a com line. "Sorry, guys. It . . . almost had me there." There was a huge wordless scream of rage, filling their heads. As one, everyone dropped controls to clap hands to ears. An enormous shadow appeared in front of Heero; he gasped and threw himself backward as it reached for him.
"No!" Moon's scream equaled the shadow's in determination, if not in volume. Raising Crystal's fist, she shot a beam of pure white energy. When struck, the shadow keened in pain and deterred fury as it faded from view. "I . . . won't . . . let it . . . take another!" Moon's voice was filled with mixed sorrow and resolution as her Gundam dropped to its knees.
Quatre surprised everyone by giving a huge whoop. "Thought we'd lost you, Heero! Now come on! We've got to-"
"Wait, Quatre." Crystal Gundam flew a slow circle around their group. "The Evil's leaving. I think we won this battle!" Tears of relief were evident in her voice as she punched the air.
"Really? Well, let's get home and celebrate!" Duo replied. * * *
Once the six fighters had returned to Quatre's mansion, Duo insisted on turning their victory into a real party. Now, food and several bottles of alcoholic substances were being passed around a group that included many strangers. As Usagi had never done much drinking (she had not wanted to embarrass herself in front of Mamoru), and she did not know many of these people, she opted to sit out of the circle.
That was too easy. We never managed to beat the Evil in my universe, so what's different about this one?
"Usagi." She turned to see Heero holding a hand out to her. "There are some people I want you to meet. They've got some questions for you about this Evil of yours."
"Sure." She rose, and then stopped to look carefully at the tall young man. "Are you sure you're all right?" There was a haunted quality to his eyes that she didn't remember being there before.
"Hn." He began to turn away, then faltered. He glanced back at her. "I did love her. It . . . it worries me that this thing was able to pin point exactly what would push my buttons. And it did it so quickly."
He means that it scared him. Why don't men ever admit to being frightened? Thank the heavens I'm female. Usagi wisely kept this thought to herself. "It's very powerful. Now you see why I was so afraid of it. That thing managed to kill my friends and destroy my world in a matter of days."
Heero grunted. "Come on. They're waiting." He led her into the other room. "Usagi Tsukino, meet Sally Po, Lady Une, Lucrezia Noin, and Zechs Marquise. These four run the Preventors, our main defensive system."
Staring at her were three women and a beautiful man with long blond hair and sorrow in his eyes. He looked oddly familiar. Heero had mentioned those names the night before, during his story.
"Zechs was formerly know as Milliardo Peacecraft," Heero murmured.
"Peacecraft- oh!" Usagi reached out a hand. "You were Relena's brother, right?"
He glanced at Heero and nodded, narrowing his eyes.
"Care to tell us more about this thing you brought with you?" Lady Une was a tall, slender woman with soft hair the color of mink and serious brown eyes. She crossed her arms and sat down, never taking her eyes off Usagi.
Usagi gave them the same story she'd given the pilots. "If you don't believe me, Heero and his friends saw my Crystal become a Gundam only this morning. You can go look at Crystal Gundam, if you like. I promise, this Evil is very real, and very dangerous. I just . . ."
"You just what?" Noin, who had a short crop of purple-black hair and until now had held tightly to Zechs's arm, crossed to her. "Don't be afraid of us. We just need to know what we're dealing with." She smiled, and the wry grin transformed her face.
"I . . . I was wondering . . . we were able to defeat the Evil today. It didn't fight the way it did in our galaxy. There, it just blasted everything. There were none of these mind games and mechanical droids."
"I've got a few ideas there." The last member of the group had dark blond hair in two ropes on either side of her heart-shaped face. She, too, sat, and looked at the others. "You haven't been here very long. My guess is that it took a while for this thing to find you, and it's taken longer to transport itself here. That probably took a lot of power, so it's low on energy. Right now, I'm betting it's trying to weaken our best defense: you."
"That would make sense," Une answered. "I have to say, young lady, I find it hard to believe that you come from another dimension. We don't hold with mysticism and magic here. But I trust the Gundam pilots, and if they say you have magic, I'll trust them. So. How long would you say we have to prepare?"
"Not long. A few days at the most, while the Evil regains its power." Usagi thought a moment. They don't exist in this dimension. But with the Crystal, it may be possible . . . ""I've got an idea that might improve our chances, but it should wait until tomorrow, when we're rested."
"If you muckety-mucks are finished, we've got a party going on here!" Duo swaggered over, his arm around a petite woman with black hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Hilde and me figured you guys needed to loosen up, so get over here!" He waved a bottle at them. "Usagi, you gotta try this stuff. It's great!"
Heero caught Usagi's eye and gave her a small smirk before grabbing the bottle and swigging. With an effort, she managed to shove her troubled to the side, and took the bottle from him. Damn it, I've been through hell in the past few days. I could use some relaxation. In the next room, the more intoxicated members of the party waved cheerfully. And now, I've got new friends to relax with. * * *
Usagi opened her eyes to see sunlight shining cheerfully into her room. And groaned as her head tried to explode. Damn you, Duo! You and your damn drinks! Her mouth felt like sawdust and tasted of worse. Okay, okay, I'm Sailor Moon. I dust youmas and save the world. I can handle a hangover . . . She sat up.
I wish I were dead.
She looked down at herself. Funny, I don't remember undressing last night. Why didn't I put on a nightgown? She was clad in no more then her undergarments. With another groan, she propelled herself away from the bed. After grabbing a robe and stopping briefly to splash water on her face, she stumbled downstairs. Breakfast. That'll help.
"Usagi!"
She winced, jerked. Her head fell off, and smashed on the kitchen tiles at her feet. Thank God she had another one. She turned it, and tried to smile as Quatre walked in with a cup of tea. The beautiful, soothing aroma made her tongue want to roll out.
"Tea?" He chuckled at her pleading tone and brought out the pot and a large mug.
"I always brew this after Duo has one of his parties. The others swear by it."
Usagi managed a small smile, which grew when she heard someone curse as they tripped down the stairs.
"God damn baka and his god damn parties! Oh, my head!" Wufei walked in, rubbing his head where he'd hit it on the banister. "Some one left their clothing on the stairs, just so I'd trip over them! Injustice, I tell ya!" He grabbed the pot from Usagi and drank it straight.
"Those are your clothes, stupid, so shut up. We worked very hard last night to keep you from pulling them off while the other ladies were here." Duo followed closely on Wufei's heels, with Hilde hiding her blurry eyes in his back. "I didn't want to give them nightmares. Quatre, gimme some of that stuff."
As Quatre rose to prepare another pot of his miracle tea, Duo turned to Usagi and leered. Or tried to. "By the way, nice body you got there."
"Nani?!"
"Don't you remember?" Hilde asked. She swatted her partner as he reached for her rear. When Usagi stared at her, she grinned weakly. "The guys were teasing us, so we gave 'em a little floor show. We make a good team!"
Usagi just groaned and hid her face. So that's where my clothes went.
"Duo, what the hell was in that pitcher last night?" Heero entered the room with murder in his pained eyes."
"Um . . . ya know, I don't really remember. This and that- eek!" The braided boy hid behind Hilde as Heero shot him a dark glare.
"Oma o Korosu."
Quatre entered, with Trowa close behind bearing a platter. "Here's the tea, and Trowa made breakfast!" Duo groaned. "Shut up, Duo. It'll make you feel better in no time."
"Why are you two looking so chipper?" Usagi asked enviously.
"They don't drink," Duo replied, his trademark grin fighting to stay on his face. He managed a full leer. "They had their own little party- umph!" He was cut off as Heero slammed his face into the table. Quatre blushed, and Trowa graced them all with a small, but very satisfied, smile.
Usagi smiled to herself as she helped herself to some eggs. * * *
"Why did you want us out here?" Trowa ambled into the loading bay, the last one to arrive. Food, that miraculous tea, and showers had improved everyone's condition considerably. Now, the five pilots stood before Usagi as she stared up at her Gundam.
"I told you how I had four protectors, right? Each representing a different element and planet?"
"Yeah."
"Well, there's nothing like that here. However, I hate to admit it, but your regular weapons aren't going to be much good once the Evil is at full strength. It won't bother with mechanical droids. Attacks will involve things closer to what Heero fought yesterday. I . . . I want to attempt to give you the powers that my friends wielded, okay?
"Um, Usagi?" Quatre nudged Wufei out of his way. "You don't have the little pens, or the crystal pendants, or anything. How're you gonna do that?"
Duo tweaked her pigtail. "Please tell me we don't have to wear the fukos." She giggled at the thought of these very masculine young men wearing sailor fukos, bows and all.
"I don't know how this is gonna work. Just bear with me for a moment." Turning, Usagi knelt before the Crystal Gundam. "Great crystal, that my mother bore before me, help me once more. These five warriors have proved themselves worthy time and time again. Please grant them the powers necessary to save their world." She closed her eyes, and searched. The Crystal wasn't alive, precisely, but together, they would figure this out . . .
She felt the Crystal's warm embrace as it extended their powers over the pilots, testing them, finding them worthy. Yes, these five had the strength of mind, body, and soul required to become senshi. The Crystal Gundam began to glow . . . * * *
Heero struggled not to fight as something invaded his soul, searching for something, although he was unclear of what, exactly, it wanted. Was this the power of Usagi's Crystal? He forced himself to relax, to accept the strange force. Usagi knew what she was doing; he hoped . . .
"You can open your eyes, now." He heard Usagi's light voice, and raised his lids, unaware he'd even shut them against the glare. Usagi had a satisfied smile on her face, and held in her hands five little somethings. "You did it. All of you. Now you'll have the power to fight the Evil. And maybe, this time we'll win."
The slender girl stepped forward and faced Trowa. "Each of you is about to receive the power of one of my inner senshi." She handed the tall brunette a blue, star-shaped crystal. "Trowa, I grant you the power of Mercury. Your element is water. Always cool in the face of battle, but that ice holds a strength that stands against the worst of odds."
Wufei was next in line, and he received a red crystal. "Wufei, to you comes Fire, the power of Mars. Your temper is great, and you are quick to anger, but just as quick to defend your friends and your sense of right."
Usagi had a sad smile as she turned to Duo. "Duo, Jupiter was one of my closest friends. She would be proud to give you the power of air. Always cheerful, but not one to make angry, for once your temper is up, not even hell can stand against you." His crystal was green.
"Quatre, your power is of the heart. Venus is the planet of love, and it fits you well, for your heart is the most open of any here, and your love for your friends is great. Guard this orange crystal well."
Finally, Usagi crossed to Heero, and tears gathered in her eyes. "Heero, there were only four inner senshi besides myself. However, I wish you to receive the golden crystal of Earth. This crystal belonged to my beloved, who fought as Tuxedo Kamen, my protector. You are the center of this group of fighters, and I am proud to call you friend." Her tears fell freely as she placed a glowing crystal into Heero's hands.
She turned to face the others. "Hold your crystal high, and call out to your mother planet. She will heed your cry, and grant you her powers."
One by one, the five men raised their crystals.
"Mercury Star Power, Make-up!"
"Mars Star Power, Make-up!"
"Jupiter Star Power. Make-up"
"Venus Star Power, Make-up!"
"Earth Star Power, Make-up!"
"Dying Moon, Make-up!"
Heero felt himself lifted into midair. What the-?! Okay, okay, if Moon goes through this every time, it's not a big deal. I swear, Usagi, if I touch down wearing a fuko, your ass is mine.
When the flashing lights faded, Heero looked around at his teammates. Usagi stood apart from them; an expression of mixed pride, joy, and sadness on her little face. He and the others were wearing body armor the same color as their crystals, with the exception of himself, who wore black. The odd substance covered their chests, with arm and leg bands, and each guy wore a different headpiece. Heero turned to Sailor Moon. "Well?"
She dashed tears from her eyes. "How do you feel?"
"Fine. Different." The others nodded in agreement with Heero.
"You'll find that you're stronger then before. And I think your Gundams will have a few modifications, but we'll figure those out in the field. Come on, it's time for a little training." A quick smirk crossed her face. "Duo, could I tie a bow on your braid? Just a little one?" A shoe came flying at her.
* * *
REVIEWERS:
Angel313 - Don't worry; this story's complete, but I'm just posting it in stages.
Lost*Faith - Hee! Thanks a lot!
Silly Smiles - Wow! How high can you bounce? Just kidding; I'm glad you're enjoying this so much!
AirLady - I certainly hope you considered this last chapter up to par with the rest!
Auroura - Wow, a repeat reader! I'm glad you liked this the first time! I don't know if you'll really notice many of the changes; they're mainly grammatical or small changes in description and diologue. So, I hope you like it as much this time!
AN; Well, I really hope you're enjoying this story! And remember, your reviews really matter to me. So review!
Chapter 3 I Only Want to be With You . . .
"There's" boom! "so" blast! "many!" Duo swept the remains of several mechs out of reach and glanced around to see how his teammates were doing. Trowa and Quatre were fighting back-to-back; their partnership was perfect in areas other then the bedroom- down, boy. I doubt they'd appreciate your trademark jokes right now. Wufei was whirling his dragon-headed whip to either side, destroying mechs with each movement. He'd always preferred to fight alone. Won't even admit that it's sometimes good to have someone watching your back. Where was Sailor Moon? There; her Crystal Gundam was darting around the others. She had pulled a saber from somewhere and was using it to neatly demolish whatever the others missed. It's easy to see that she's always fought with a team. Wow, is she smooth!
Duo left off admiration for the newest team member and looked for Heero. "Heero? Buddy? Where are ya?" Only the silence of space and sounds of fighting met his inquiry. Out of the corner of his eye, Duo spied a familiar form far away from the fighting area. What is Heero doing? He hit a few keys and pulled up a secret program. None of the others knew that he'd put bugs in their cockpits; he'd thought it might come in handy at some future point to be able to hear what they were saying when they thought no one was listening.
" . . . I'm coming, Relena."
Relena?! "Heero, what the hell are you talking about?!" Heero did not respond. Whether that was because he couldn't hear Duo or chose not to was a frightening question.
"I love you. All I want is peace to rest with you-"
"Heero! Snap the hell out of it! Sailor Moon!!" Crystal Gundam was at Duo's side in a heartbeat.
"Something's wrong with Heero." He quickly patched her into the
bug's feed.
"But . . . Relena's dead." She gasped. "Duo, it's got to be the Evil! It's messing with Heero's mind, trying to make him kill himself."
"You've got to do something!"
Crystal Gundam shook its head; Duo imagined that it followed Moon's movements. Creepy. "You know him better, Duo, and you'll know better how to either distract him or stop his self-detonating. I'll clear a path, but the rest is up to you." With that, Moon flew away and began destroying the mechs around Deathscythe.
Okay. Duo contacted the others and quickly filled them in. "I figure that, with Moon watching our backs, we should be able to get through to Heero. I'm not letting anyone else die. So come on!"
The four Gundams sped toward their friend, calling his name and trying to break the hypnotic spell that entrapped him. * * *
Heero grasped his self-destruct button and reached out to take Relena's hand. So close. I can almost . . . almost touch her. My love . . .
"Heero!"
"Heero, don't!"
Who? Duo, Quatre. Why won't you let me rest?
Something lashed out and wrapped around Wing. Turning, Heero could see Shenlong pulling on its dragon whip for all its worth. "Wufei, let me go. Relena's calling me. I can finally tell her that I love her."
"I'm sorry, my friend. I can't do that." Was that pity in Wufei's voice? No, it couldn't be; must be something wrong with the comlink.
"Heero!" Sailor Moon was crying his name. "You saved me. You didn't let me die! So what makes you think I'll allow you to take the easy way out?" It looked as though Crystal Gundam had managed to drive off the mechs for a short time. Now, Moon flew toward him. "It's not Relena, Heero! Look at her. Really look! It's just the Evil playing with your mind! Please, Heero! Would Relena really want you to throw your life away?"
Trowa echoed these words. "She'd right, Heero. Relena wouldn't want your death. She'd want you to live the rest of your life!"
"Come on, buddy! We need ya to save our world! We can't do this without you!" Duo yelled.
As his friends' words sank into his mind, Heero turned to stare at Relena. No, my princess loved life more then anything. She abhorred death, especially suicide, as a waste! What am I doing? Slowly, he dropped the self-destruct button and opened a com line. "Sorry, guys. It . . . almost had me there." There was a huge wordless scream of rage, filling their heads. As one, everyone dropped controls to clap hands to ears. An enormous shadow appeared in front of Heero; he gasped and threw himself backward as it reached for him.
"No!" Moon's scream equaled the shadow's in determination, if not in volume. Raising Crystal's fist, she shot a beam of pure white energy. When struck, the shadow keened in pain and deterred fury as it faded from view. "I . . . won't . . . let it . . . take another!" Moon's voice was filled with mixed sorrow and resolution as her Gundam dropped to its knees.
Quatre surprised everyone by giving a huge whoop. "Thought we'd lost you, Heero! Now come on! We've got to-"
"Wait, Quatre." Crystal Gundam flew a slow circle around their group. "The Evil's leaving. I think we won this battle!" Tears of relief were evident in her voice as she punched the air.
"Really? Well, let's get home and celebrate!" Duo replied. * * *
Once the six fighters had returned to Quatre's mansion, Duo insisted on turning their victory into a real party. Now, food and several bottles of alcoholic substances were being passed around a group that included many strangers. As Usagi had never done much drinking (she had not wanted to embarrass herself in front of Mamoru), and she did not know many of these people, she opted to sit out of the circle.
That was too easy. We never managed to beat the Evil in my universe, so what's different about this one?
"Usagi." She turned to see Heero holding a hand out to her. "There are some people I want you to meet. They've got some questions for you about this Evil of yours."
"Sure." She rose, and then stopped to look carefully at the tall young man. "Are you sure you're all right?" There was a haunted quality to his eyes that she didn't remember being there before.
"Hn." He began to turn away, then faltered. He glanced back at her. "I did love her. It . . . it worries me that this thing was able to pin point exactly what would push my buttons. And it did it so quickly."
He means that it scared him. Why don't men ever admit to being frightened? Thank the heavens I'm female. Usagi wisely kept this thought to herself. "It's very powerful. Now you see why I was so afraid of it. That thing managed to kill my friends and destroy my world in a matter of days."
Heero grunted. "Come on. They're waiting." He led her into the other room. "Usagi Tsukino, meet Sally Po, Lady Une, Lucrezia Noin, and Zechs Marquise. These four run the Preventors, our main defensive system."
Staring at her were three women and a beautiful man with long blond hair and sorrow in his eyes. He looked oddly familiar. Heero had mentioned those names the night before, during his story.
"Zechs was formerly know as Milliardo Peacecraft," Heero murmured.
"Peacecraft- oh!" Usagi reached out a hand. "You were Relena's brother, right?"
He glanced at Heero and nodded, narrowing his eyes.
"Care to tell us more about this thing you brought with you?" Lady Une was a tall, slender woman with soft hair the color of mink and serious brown eyes. She crossed her arms and sat down, never taking her eyes off Usagi.
Usagi gave them the same story she'd given the pilots. "If you don't believe me, Heero and his friends saw my Crystal become a Gundam only this morning. You can go look at Crystal Gundam, if you like. I promise, this Evil is very real, and very dangerous. I just . . ."
"You just what?" Noin, who had a short crop of purple-black hair and until now had held tightly to Zechs's arm, crossed to her. "Don't be afraid of us. We just need to know what we're dealing with." She smiled, and the wry grin transformed her face.
"I . . . I was wondering . . . we were able to defeat the Evil today. It didn't fight the way it did in our galaxy. There, it just blasted everything. There were none of these mind games and mechanical droids."
"I've got a few ideas there." The last member of the group had dark blond hair in two ropes on either side of her heart-shaped face. She, too, sat, and looked at the others. "You haven't been here very long. My guess is that it took a while for this thing to find you, and it's taken longer to transport itself here. That probably took a lot of power, so it's low on energy. Right now, I'm betting it's trying to weaken our best defense: you."
"That would make sense," Une answered. "I have to say, young lady, I find it hard to believe that you come from another dimension. We don't hold with mysticism and magic here. But I trust the Gundam pilots, and if they say you have magic, I'll trust them. So. How long would you say we have to prepare?"
"Not long. A few days at the most, while the Evil regains its power." Usagi thought a moment. They don't exist in this dimension. But with the Crystal, it may be possible . . . ""I've got an idea that might improve our chances, but it should wait until tomorrow, when we're rested."
"If you muckety-mucks are finished, we've got a party going on here!" Duo swaggered over, his arm around a petite woman with black hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Hilde and me figured you guys needed to loosen up, so get over here!" He waved a bottle at them. "Usagi, you gotta try this stuff. It's great!"
Heero caught Usagi's eye and gave her a small smirk before grabbing the bottle and swigging. With an effort, she managed to shove her troubled to the side, and took the bottle from him. Damn it, I've been through hell in the past few days. I could use some relaxation. In the next room, the more intoxicated members of the party waved cheerfully. And now, I've got new friends to relax with. * * *
Usagi opened her eyes to see sunlight shining cheerfully into her room. And groaned as her head tried to explode. Damn you, Duo! You and your damn drinks! Her mouth felt like sawdust and tasted of worse. Okay, okay, I'm Sailor Moon. I dust youmas and save the world. I can handle a hangover . . . She sat up.
I wish I were dead.
She looked down at herself. Funny, I don't remember undressing last night. Why didn't I put on a nightgown? She was clad in no more then her undergarments. With another groan, she propelled herself away from the bed. After grabbing a robe and stopping briefly to splash water on her face, she stumbled downstairs. Breakfast. That'll help.
"Usagi!"
She winced, jerked. Her head fell off, and smashed on the kitchen tiles at her feet. Thank God she had another one. She turned it, and tried to smile as Quatre walked in with a cup of tea. The beautiful, soothing aroma made her tongue want to roll out.
"Tea?" He chuckled at her pleading tone and brought out the pot and a large mug.
"I always brew this after Duo has one of his parties. The others swear by it."
Usagi managed a small smile, which grew when she heard someone curse as they tripped down the stairs.
"God damn baka and his god damn parties! Oh, my head!" Wufei walked in, rubbing his head where he'd hit it on the banister. "Some one left their clothing on the stairs, just so I'd trip over them! Injustice, I tell ya!" He grabbed the pot from Usagi and drank it straight.
"Those are your clothes, stupid, so shut up. We worked very hard last night to keep you from pulling them off while the other ladies were here." Duo followed closely on Wufei's heels, with Hilde hiding her blurry eyes in his back. "I didn't want to give them nightmares. Quatre, gimme some of that stuff."
As Quatre rose to prepare another pot of his miracle tea, Duo turned to Usagi and leered. Or tried to. "By the way, nice body you got there."
"Nani?!"
"Don't you remember?" Hilde asked. She swatted her partner as he reached for her rear. When Usagi stared at her, she grinned weakly. "The guys were teasing us, so we gave 'em a little floor show. We make a good team!"
Usagi just groaned and hid her face. So that's where my clothes went.
"Duo, what the hell was in that pitcher last night?" Heero entered the room with murder in his pained eyes."
"Um . . . ya know, I don't really remember. This and that- eek!" The braided boy hid behind Hilde as Heero shot him a dark glare.
"Oma o Korosu."
Quatre entered, with Trowa close behind bearing a platter. "Here's the tea, and Trowa made breakfast!" Duo groaned. "Shut up, Duo. It'll make you feel better in no time."
"Why are you two looking so chipper?" Usagi asked enviously.
"They don't drink," Duo replied, his trademark grin fighting to stay on his face. He managed a full leer. "They had their own little party- umph!" He was cut off as Heero slammed his face into the table. Quatre blushed, and Trowa graced them all with a small, but very satisfied, smile.
Usagi smiled to herself as she helped herself to some eggs. * * *
"Why did you want us out here?" Trowa ambled into the loading bay, the last one to arrive. Food, that miraculous tea, and showers had improved everyone's condition considerably. Now, the five pilots stood before Usagi as she stared up at her Gundam.
"I told you how I had four protectors, right? Each representing a different element and planet?"
"Yeah."
"Well, there's nothing like that here. However, I hate to admit it, but your regular weapons aren't going to be much good once the Evil is at full strength. It won't bother with mechanical droids. Attacks will involve things closer to what Heero fought yesterday. I . . . I want to attempt to give you the powers that my friends wielded, okay?
"Um, Usagi?" Quatre nudged Wufei out of his way. "You don't have the little pens, or the crystal pendants, or anything. How're you gonna do that?"
Duo tweaked her pigtail. "Please tell me we don't have to wear the fukos." She giggled at the thought of these very masculine young men wearing sailor fukos, bows and all.
"I don't know how this is gonna work. Just bear with me for a moment." Turning, Usagi knelt before the Crystal Gundam. "Great crystal, that my mother bore before me, help me once more. These five warriors have proved themselves worthy time and time again. Please grant them the powers necessary to save their world." She closed her eyes, and searched. The Crystal wasn't alive, precisely, but together, they would figure this out . . .
She felt the Crystal's warm embrace as it extended their powers over the pilots, testing them, finding them worthy. Yes, these five had the strength of mind, body, and soul required to become senshi. The Crystal Gundam began to glow . . . * * *
Heero struggled not to fight as something invaded his soul, searching for something, although he was unclear of what, exactly, it wanted. Was this the power of Usagi's Crystal? He forced himself to relax, to accept the strange force. Usagi knew what she was doing; he hoped . . .
"You can open your eyes, now." He heard Usagi's light voice, and raised his lids, unaware he'd even shut them against the glare. Usagi had a satisfied smile on her face, and held in her hands five little somethings. "You did it. All of you. Now you'll have the power to fight the Evil. And maybe, this time we'll win."
The slender girl stepped forward and faced Trowa. "Each of you is about to receive the power of one of my inner senshi." She handed the tall brunette a blue, star-shaped crystal. "Trowa, I grant you the power of Mercury. Your element is water. Always cool in the face of battle, but that ice holds a strength that stands against the worst of odds."
Wufei was next in line, and he received a red crystal. "Wufei, to you comes Fire, the power of Mars. Your temper is great, and you are quick to anger, but just as quick to defend your friends and your sense of right."
Usagi had a sad smile as she turned to Duo. "Duo, Jupiter was one of my closest friends. She would be proud to give you the power of air. Always cheerful, but not one to make angry, for once your temper is up, not even hell can stand against you." His crystal was green.
"Quatre, your power is of the heart. Venus is the planet of love, and it fits you well, for your heart is the most open of any here, and your love for your friends is great. Guard this orange crystal well."
Finally, Usagi crossed to Heero, and tears gathered in her eyes. "Heero, there were only four inner senshi besides myself. However, I wish you to receive the golden crystal of Earth. This crystal belonged to my beloved, who fought as Tuxedo Kamen, my protector. You are the center of this group of fighters, and I am proud to call you friend." Her tears fell freely as she placed a glowing crystal into Heero's hands.
She turned to face the others. "Hold your crystal high, and call out to your mother planet. She will heed your cry, and grant you her powers."
One by one, the five men raised their crystals.
"Mercury Star Power, Make-up!"
"Mars Star Power, Make-up!"
"Jupiter Star Power. Make-up"
"Venus Star Power, Make-up!"
"Earth Star Power, Make-up!"
"Dying Moon, Make-up!"
Heero felt himself lifted into midair. What the-?! Okay, okay, if Moon goes through this every time, it's not a big deal. I swear, Usagi, if I touch down wearing a fuko, your ass is mine.
When the flashing lights faded, Heero looked around at his teammates. Usagi stood apart from them; an expression of mixed pride, joy, and sadness on her little face. He and the others were wearing body armor the same color as their crystals, with the exception of himself, who wore black. The odd substance covered their chests, with arm and leg bands, and each guy wore a different headpiece. Heero turned to Sailor Moon. "Well?"
She dashed tears from her eyes. "How do you feel?"
"Fine. Different." The others nodded in agreement with Heero.
"You'll find that you're stronger then before. And I think your Gundams will have a few modifications, but we'll figure those out in the field. Come on, it's time for a little training." A quick smirk crossed her face. "Duo, could I tie a bow on your braid? Just a little one?" A shoe came flying at her.
* * *
REVIEWERS:
Angel313 - Don't worry; this story's complete, but I'm just posting it in stages.
Lost*Faith - Hee! Thanks a lot!
Silly Smiles - Wow! How high can you bounce? Just kidding; I'm glad you're enjoying this so much!
AirLady - I certainly hope you considered this last chapter up to par with the rest!
Auroura - Wow, a repeat reader! I'm glad you liked this the first time! I don't know if you'll really notice many of the changes; they're mainly grammatical or small changes in description and diologue. So, I hope you like it as much this time!
AN; Well, I really hope you're enjoying this story! And remember, your reviews really matter to me. So review!