Revised Version
Act 10 (part 3) "Rame's vengeful attack! The Sailor Senshi's harrowing fight!"
"Usagi, Haruka, do you copy?" Michiru's voice cracked through the walkie-talkie.
"Copy, Michiru," Haruka replied, stopping to hear Michiru's voice without the noise of crunching snow to distract her, and to let Usagi rest. The blonde with long pigtails leaned wearily against the nearest tree, the flashlight she held pointed to the ground. Haruka shot her companion a quick look before turning her attention back to the voice carried by the device in her palm.
"Did you guys find anything?" Even from the slightly staticy sound of the walkie-talkie, it was clear that Michiru was tired, but her speech was precise if a little out of breath.
Haruka sighed and licked her dry lips in frustration. "Nothing. Do any of the other teams have any luck?"
"No, there's not a trace of them. Some of the people have returned to the inn a while ago to freshen up and wait for daylight. They say it's too dark to continue the search." A lengthy pause followed when Michiru's voice returned in a soft whisper, "How's she holding up?"
Haruka looked over her shoulder at her princess and smiled proudly. "She's fine, tired of course, but that girl didn't complain at all during the whole time I was with her."
Haruka could almost see Michiru nod as she replied, "The search's been going on all night. I guess we should go back too."
"I'll continue to search, but I'll bring Usagi back with me first. She might not have complained but she doesn't look too good and I don't want her to collapse on me."
"What about you? You've been out all night too."
"I'll be fine, see you in a little while."
"All right then. But have your walkie-talkie on, okay?"
Haruka smiled. "Got it."
With that, the sandy-haired woman turned to the blonde and whistled to get her attention. "Hey dumpling head, let's go back. It's almost morning and you need to rest a while."
Usagi shook her head. "No, I have to keep going. Since the sun is coming up we'll have better light." She pushed herself off the tree when her vision blurred and she slipped and would've hit her head against the tree trunk had Haruka not caught her arm.
A long stream of mist poured out of Haruka's mouth as she sighed. "You can't go on any more; you need to rest." Speaking so Haruka heaved the fatigued blonde up on her back and began retracing their footsteps.
"Haruka, I told you I'm fine! Let me down! Chibi Usa and Helios are out there somewhere and I'm not going to let them-!"
Haruka abruptly cut Usagi off with a steely tone, "Listen Usagi, I know you are worried about them and that you feel responsible for their disappearance, but if you collapse then it will only slow down the search. You understand?"
The older woman's words were not exceedingly forceful, but commanding enough that Usagi bit her lower lip and fell silent. Haruka sighed once again, and as she trekked back towards base, said half to herself, "Why would that guy be outside anyway? And why did Chibi Usa-chan follow him?"
"Because Chibi Usa likes him," Usagi said bluntly then almost slapped herself for blurting it out-loud mindlessly.
"What?!" Haruka almost dropped Usagi and grabbed a hold of her again when Usagi yelped.
"What did you say?" Haruka asked in disbelieve.
Usagi hesitated. She might like to spy on the pink haired kid but telling other people about her secrets was not something she did without a conscious.
"Well, it's a guess really…it's just that they look so close and all…I could be wrong…" Usagi suggested weakly.
Haruka turned her head away from the blonde and nodded. Let's just hope that in this case you're right…
After half an hour Usagi was begging Haruka to let her down again and finally the tall blonde consented as they stood in a small open field.
"The inn shouldn't be too far away now; I can walk on my own." Usagi said as she reached into the pocket on her jacket for a bottle of water. Just as she was about to undo the cap, the water in the bottle began to ripple, but Usagi was not shaking the bottle. Soon the ground beneath them began to rumble as birds screeched, scared out of their roost like bats out of hell.
"Don't tell me there's an earthquake!" Usagi wailed as she held onto her companion.
A loud cracking sound thundered beneath their feet as the earth buckled and split open. Usagi and Haruka were tossed to the ground from the force of the rupture when they heard a monstrous roar coming from where their feet were just seconds ago.
Her head covered with upturned snow, Usagi barely heard Haruka's voice.
"Michiru was right."
Opening a stunned blue eye, Usagi quickly reached for the locket in her pocket when she saw the gasping jaws of a vicious looking plant with swing tendrils and broad tongue-like leaves.
Chibi Usa straightened her shirt collar around her sweater as she put on her now dry clothes. When her hands touched the necklace Usagi and Mamoru had given her as an early Christmas present, Chibi Usa paused and slipped her hand around the pendent. Her hand flew away when the door suddenly opened. Helios walked in, his face shadowed by the gloom of the room as he said tonelessly, "We should start finding our way back. Your family must be worried."
Without looking at the girl, Helios picked up the folded jacket Chibi Usa had placed on the floor, turned, and walked back towards the door.
"Helios-"
"What?" Helios' voice cracked like a whip through the frosty air. Chibi Usa jerked back involuntarily at the response and said no more as she stood up to follow.
The two of them stepped cautiously down the hill and towards the lake. Chibi Usa looked around nervously, thinking that the red eyes she had seen the night before was still out and about. Without exchanging a single word, the priest and the princess began to retrace their footsteps. Trying to follow the footsteps from the panicked run was not easy. The falling snow, through thin, was beginning to cover up the footsteps and either of them were sure how far they had run or how long before they arrive back at the inn. Ever cautious, both of them periodically looked around to make sure nothing was following them.
When not looking around for monsters or trying to find their footprint, Chibi Usa spent her time staring at Helios' back. The frosty way he had spoken to her meant that something was definitely not right. Bolting up screaming and panting, then snapping at her and leaving without any explanation was already disturbing her enough as it was, but now he wouldn't even speak to her. The princess sighed softly. Things had gone from bad to worse and she had no clue why this was happening except it had something to do with Helios' nightmare. How ironic, Chibi Usa thought to herself. She was the first to keep her dreams a secret, now it was Helios' turn. It seemed both of them just couldn't open up to each other.
Out of the blue, the ringing sound of two Sailor transformation phrases echoed past the two teens and through the trees.
"Moon Eternal Make Up!"
"Uranus Planet Power, Make Up!"
Knowing trouble couldn't be far behind, Chibi Usa looked towards Helios. Helios hesitated. He didn't want to put Chibi Usa in danger but he was not about to abandon Sailor Moon either. However, Chibi Usa didn't wait for his answer and charged toward the source of the voices by herself. Helios had no other choice but to follow. The two of them raced through the foot high snow, sometimes sinking into the white powdery layer. As the figures of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Moon became clear in the distance, so did the monstrosity that seemed bent on crushing them.
Uranus, her sword drawn, had already chopped off a few tendrils, but the snapping jaws and vine were too much for her to handle all at once. Sailor Moon was blasting away at the mincing vines with her wand, but couldn't get a clear shot at the heart of the monster. Rame was grinning as she appeared beside her creation and watched the senshi struggle. Then, from the forest Chibi Usa and Helios came running out. Not knowing who these intruders were, Rame growled and roared.
"Smeraldo Barbs!"
Two thick tendrils shot out through the snow and wrapped themselves around Chibi Usa and Helios. "Ahhh!" Chibi Usa screamed as the vine lifted her and her companion up into the air. Helios fought against the strangling vine with all his might, but the green tentacle would not budge.
The yell from the two captives distracted the two senshi long enough for the plant Fury's vines to swarm up beneath them and overpower them. As the four captured humans squirmed and fought, the strangely dressed villainess glided over to observe her captives.
Rame tossed her neon green hair aside and grinned. "So nice to see you again, Sailor Senshi. But oh, there's only the two of you, and now where have I seen you two before?" The last part was directed to Chibi Usa and Helios as Rame motioned for the Fury to bring Chibi Usa to her. Rame studied Chibi Usa's face with a dissecting look before her grin widened. "Ah, I remember now! You were the girl at the school who tried to stop me once. Even though you're not a senshi, pay back is always nice." So saying the vine holding Chibi Usa snapped down like a recoiling whip, releasing her only after it created a huge creator in the ground, muffling the young woman's scream with the sound of broken earth. Chibi Usa's unconscious body slumped to the ground as her friends and family watched in horror.
"Chibi Usa! Chibi Usa!!" Sailor Moon's sobbing cries went unanswered as the girl lied motionlessly on the ground.
Rame raised an eyebrow. "So you know this girl. Well then, that makes it even better for me," she said satisfyingly
Helios watched without making a sound but his eyes were wide as all light faded from them. It seemed his nightmares were coming true and he would've screamed had Uranus not shouted that she saw the stunned teen stir.
"She's all right! She's moving!"
Chibi Usa's arm moved like she was trying to push herself up, her chest raising and falling with each struggling breath. But the impact had been too much and her energy quickly drained away, leaving her once again motionless in the white snow.
"Don't worry, I don't want her dead. It's wasteful to let a good quality prey die," Rame said with false reassurance.
Coming face to face with Sailor Moon, Rame's green eyes positively shone with glee. "Now, Sailor Moon. You've caused me and my mistress a lot of trouble." Raring back so that she could touch the plant, Rame calmly explained, "I designed this baby to seek out the human with the greatest energy potential, hoping that I would lure you out, and what do I find? Not only have I discovered the human with the greatest energy potential but also captured the legendary Sailor Moon. And what's even more convenient, Sailor Moon just happens to be that target!" Rame laughed humorlessly, a sickly echo that frightened the birds into flight.
Just then a voice cracked as Michiru's voice spilled out from the walkie-talkie Uranus still carried with her. "Haruka? Are you there? Haruka answer me! What's going on?"
"Michiru don't-!" Uranus gasped but the tip of the vine holding her up coiled around and covered her mouth.
One of the jaws snapped up the device and gingerly dropped it into Rame's hand. "Haruka I'm coming! Don't move; I'll attempt to find you with my mirror. Saturn and I will be there shortly. Haruka!" Michiru's voice pleaded as Rame listen attentively.
Letting the communication device fall from her hand, a carnivorous jaw quickly snapped it up and reduced it to bits as its mistress watched.
Rame smiled victoriously, "Well, well, well, who would've thought I would bag even more senshi today. At this rate we won't have anything to worry about; soon the Earth will be ours!"
"Why are you doing this? What is it that you want?" Sailor Moon said through gasping breaths. The vines were constricting her so tightly it was becoming difficult to breathe
"What do I want?" Rame's reply came as a thin whisper. "I want to be powerful, strong, that's what I want!" Collecting herself, Rame twirled with a strand of her wavy hair. "Did you know, before I joined Bellona-sama I was one of the best-no, the best-mercenary in the universe? I never failed and often my victims never saw it coming when I struck, except of course, for the occasional tortures I do. But then I was betrayed by one of my own damned subordinates and locked away in a galactic prison. Bellona came along one day and offered three pity criminals and myself a chance for greatness. Just when I thought I could reclaim my glory days you pests came along and interfered with my perfect plan! For that you will all pay dearly today!"
A black purple pulse ran through the plant tentacles. Sailor Moon's breath became shallower as the veracious plant sucked her energy out like a pump. Thinking she had won, Rame laughed and in the midst of her laughter, did not see Chibi Usa regain conscious. As Chibi Usa opened her eyes she saw a familiar metallic glimmer. The glimmer acted like a beacon, beckoning her to pull herself together. Dazed, Chibi Usa brought her hand to her head, trying to steady herself.
Disoriented, Chibi Usa pushed herself up, faintly aware of Rame's mirthless laughter. As her mind cleared, the young princess remembered what had taken place before being stunned and looked back to see Sailor Moon being drained by Rame's fearsome monster. As she turned her head to look, the glimmer once again caught her eye and this time she identified it as Uranus' Space Sword, dropped from its mistress' hand during Rame's attack. Reaching out a sore arm, Chibi Usa grasped the sword's hilt as her other hand clutched her aching side.
"Uranus!" Chibi Usa hissed, trying to call Uranus without catching Rame's attention. "Uranus! Over here! Over here!!"
Chibi Usa's persistence paid off as Uranus' caught the faint words in the wind and turned to see a conscious but slightly disoriented Chibi Usa with the Space Sword in hand.
Chibi Usa! Quickly looking to see that Rame did not hear, Uranus managed to wiggle her mouth free from the grasp of the vine and whispered, "Throw the sword to me!" she stretched out a gloved hand that had managed to escape the tight embrace of the tentacle.
Chibi Usa nodded and struggled to get up as she used the sword as support. Willing all of her energy into her bruised and sore right arm, Chibi Usa flung the sword towards Haruka's hand. Miraculously the sword handle flew into its owner's hand. With a lightning quick downward slash, Haruka severed the vine that had bounded her. As the oozing green tendril fell to the ground, Uranus dropped down and leaped high into the air, neatly cutting the remaining tentacles holding Sailor Moon and Helios prisoner.
"What?!" With the table suddenly turned, Rame clutched her fist and screamed to her monster. "Kill them! NOW!!"
The searing teeth of the mutated plant threw themselves at the senshi and priest. Uranus picked up Sailor Moon, who was unconscious from being drained, just as a snapping jaw landed where she lay a moment before. Helios sought shelter behind a tree and sighed in relief when he saw Chibi Usa crouching not far from him, ducking behind a small mound formed from fallen lumps of snow that had slid off a nearby pine.
But his sense of relief ended before he could even complete exhaling his sigh as a green jaw slammed into his tree, breaking it in two like a match stick.
"Helios!" Chibi Usa screamed as pine needles and snow flakes were thrown into the air.
Helios pulled himself to the ground and nearly missed being crushed by the fallen trunk while the debris covered him as gravity pulled the snow and other whatnot back down.
Chibi Usa, her chest heaving from the shock of almost seeing her companion crushed, screamed when someone landed beside her. Uranus, her sword in one hand and Sailor Moon in the other, knelt down beside her and said in a horse voice as she hid behind the short snow wall. "How the hell are those things so quick and focused?! I can't shake them!"
Chibi Usa shook her head when she noticed one of the red blood colored eyes snaking towards her. The princess' breath caught in her throat as she felt sweat forming on her brows despite the freezing temperature. Expecting a monstrous jaw to shred them into untidy little bits any moment now, Chibi Usa almost laughed when the eye began to turn away. Just then Helios stirred, groggy from the chaos that nearly buried him in snow, moaned and tried to find his bearings.
The eyes snapped back like a cat hearing the tempting squeak of a mouse. Seeing this, something clicked in Chibi Usa's mind as she quickly whispered, "Helios don't move! Those eyes sense heat, you have to stay covered under the snow!"
Helios complied without question and laid his face back down to the frosty surface. Chibi Usa watched tensely from behind her crude bunker as the stocked eye whirled around, seemingly confused before turning back.
Before long they heard Rame's enraged voice booming, "Where are you Sailor Senshi?! I know you're around her somewhere, you can't escape me!"
Everyone remained silent as Rame's tirade continued. Uranus looked down at the comatose Sailor Moon then back at her Space Sword. She tapped Chibi Usa on the shoulder and said, "If Michiru and Hotaru runs into this mess then it'll only be worse for everyone. I have an idea, but I'll need you to watch odango here okay?" Chibi Usa nodded compliantly. Uranus, kneeling so she could have a better view of her surroundings, saw that the plant's numerous armed tentacles were still gasping and the eyes were still searching. Rame was floating in the air not far from her pet, her green eyes glaring dangerously as she continued to search for her escaped adversary.
Uranus took a deep breath and tightened her grip around her weapon. Without another moment of hesitation, she leaped into the open, closing the distance between her and the enemy's back with each elegant bound as the snow kicked up by her feet created a dancing trail behind her, briefly rejoining their fellow snow flakes descending from the sky. With one final powerful push of her legs, she leaped high into the air and came up behind Rame.
The green-haired plant tamer gasped in surprised as Uranus brought her sword down. But instead of decapitating or even injuring the woman, the sword pinned Rame's dress to the flesh of the meat-eating plant. The plant roared in a cry of pain, its vines and eye stocks flaying wildly in the air. Undistracted by the noise, Uranus was on top of Rame, holding down the woman's arms as they struggled atop the flank of the beast.
"Let me go!" Rame demanded but Uranus only replied by bolting her down with even greater determination. It didn't take long before the eyes discovered the batch of body heat and directed its jaws to strike the target. Tilting her head slightly, Uranus watched from the corner of her eye as the jaws descended upon her. In a split second, she let go of Rame and dropped down to the ground, rolling through the snow upon landing.
Rame tried to move away but was pinned by the sword. The momentum of the shrill jaws was too great to stop even with her panicked command.
"Stop! No, no, NOOO-!" her last cries were cut short when half a dozen jaws slammed through her body then tear into the monster's own flesh. As green-blue ooze splashed over the white snow, the plant shrank down back to its original form before turning to a pile of blackened ashes. The Space Sword landed nearby, erect like a wintry Excaliber.
Uranus stood up, and tried to catch her breath before turning back to the others.
"Uranus you did it!" Chibi Usa cheered.
Helios pushed himself up and dusted off the pine needles and snow from his hair and jacket when he noticed Sailor Moon beginning to stir. Noticing Helios' gaze, Chibi Usa quickly dropped down to her knees and clasped Sailor Moon's hand. "Usagi! Usagi!"
Sailor Moon's blue eyes slowly became visible again. She took a deep breath of air before turning to look at Chibi Usa. "Are you all right Chibi Usa?" Sailor Moon asked fore mostly, putting her daughter's welfare before her own. Chibi Usa nodded and stifled a sob. Laboriously, Sailor Moon stood up and looked out across the field. Uranus, who had walked over to the remains of the monster to retrieve her sword from its snowy sheath, paused when she looked to examine the monster's remains.
A dark look overcame Uranus' eyes as she turned back to the others. Sailor Moon walked the small distance over to meet her fellow senshi. "Chibi Usa gave me a quick rundown of what happened. Thanks, Uranus," She said with a warm and grateful smile.
Uranus however, did not return the smile. Instead she leaned in and replied in a dead serious voice, "There's something you should see. Come with me."
Sailor Moon blinked, not knowing what Uranus meant. From the older senshi's tone she knew something was amiss and Sailor Moon knew instantly it had to be serious. The future queen glanced back at the two teens. Chibi Usa was walking over to Helios' side and they didn't seem to notice the conversation between Uranus and herself.
The pigtail-sporting heroine sighed and sneezed as she once again noticed that they were standing in foot high snow. Shivering as she crunched towards the spot Uranus indicated, Sailor Moon looked down at the remains and gasped when she saw what was amongst the ashes. There in the burnt-looking soot was a sliver of ebony colored crystal, gleaming faintly in the dull light. The energy radiating from the crystal made the hair on her neck stand on end as Sailor Moon recognized the familiar aura.
"The Black Crystal…but what is it doing here?" Suddenly the black crystal turned into a ball of purple-black fire and disappeared into thin air.
"What was that?" Uranus demanded, her sword at the ready. Sailor Moon gulped as goose bumps send another shiver down her spine.
"I'll explain later, this is definitely not good…" Sailor Moon's voice trailed off as she looked back at Chibi Usa.
While the two senshi were away, puzzling over this new revelation, Chibi Usa approached Helios and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? I thought-"
But before she could finish Helios uncharacteristically cut her off with a brisk answer. "I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about."
Taken aback, Chibi Usa nodded numbly as she turned her eyes away from Helios. The cold air seemed even colder all of a sudden as Chibi Usa wrapped her arms around herself.
Helios turned away as well, his eyes troubled, his hands each pulled into a fist as if he was angry at something or someone.
The silence was broken when Hotaru's voice ringed out, "Chibi Usa-chan! Helios-kun!"
"Hotaru-chan?!" Chibi Usa whirled around to see a transformed Saturn and Neptune running their way.
Saturn hugged Chibi Usa and Chibi Usa hugged her back even harder. "You all right? When we arrived you were missing and we searched all night for you! Then Haruka-papa wouldn't answer our calls so we came looking for her!"
Chibi Usa nodded appreciatively. "We're all okay. A monster attacked us but everything's fine now."
Neptune smiled. "That's good. I couldn't see you in the mirror until a moment ago. It must have been the enemy's power clouding my mirror."
"Oh, Saturn and Neptune, you guys found us!" Sailor Moon said as she and Uranus walked back to rejoin the group. Neptune grinned when she saw Uranus, still walking and in one piece, and felt true relief wash through her.
Uranus walked up beside her partner and gave her a serious look, wordlessly sending her the message, "I need to tell you something later." Neptune mutely nodded back as she tensed again.
Saturn turned to face the rest of the groups and laughed from seeing everyone safe and sound. "We should go back now before they send another search party to locate us too."
"Yeah, let's go. I feel winded," Uranus the storm senshi said, causing all but two of the people around her to smile and giggle.
The day after the two lost teens were found, doctors were called for and each received a full check up. Chibi Usa decided to change the story of how she and her friend got lost in order to avoid excessive attention. Helios agreed with her story; he too felt uncomfortable with the inevitable media frenzy should their true tale be told. Finally, after a day filled with physical check ups and a police report, it was time to pack up and go.
Inside the inn, Haruka and Michiru sat in their room, the warm vapors from their teacups floated gently into the air.
"Did Usagi tell you what that crystal was?" Michiru asked, her hands cupped around the warm teacup.
Haruka shook her head. "No, but I heard her say the words 'Black Crystal'. I think it belonged to a Wise Man. I remember he was defeated by the others right before we became involved with the Death Busters."
Michiru remained solemn, her sea-colored eyes reflected onto the surface of the sap green liquid in her cup. "Does this mean that this Wise Man character is back, you think?"
Haruka shrugged. "No clue. We should discuss this with the others since they know this enemy, if he is in fact the enemy, better than we do."
Michiru was a bit surprised by Haruka's suggestion, since both of them preferred to work alone, but this case was simply too complicated for them to handle alone and Haruka was right, the others probably knew more about the Black Crystal and Wise Man than they did. "I'm sure Usagi will tell the others about this when we get back to Tokyo. The last thing anyone needs is to have a dead enemy coming back to haunt them," Michiru agreed.
Haruka stood up and stretched her arms. Michiru stood up as well and sighed as she opened the door to the garden.
"Still, I have a bad feeling about this…" the deep-sea senshi said as she watched the snow flakes continued to fall.
Outside, the Tsukinos were bringing out their belongs, waiting for the cab to arrive. Usagi sighed as she looked tearfully at the place. "This sucks. I was hoping we could go skiing but we ended up spending the weekend trudging through the snow."
Ikuko patted her eldest child on the head. "But we couldn't just leave Chibi Usa-chan and Hikaru-kun outside now could we? And beside, you're a big hero now for finding them."
Hotaru, standing nearby, laughed. "But Usagi-san is already a great heroine!"
"Oh, is that so?" Ikuko looked teasingly at her daughter.
"All right, so I'm a little mad about not being able to enjoy the trip but," Usagi sighed, "Chibi Usa's all right and that's what's important." The blonde cast a genuine smile towards her future daughter.
Chibi Usa heard the comment, but continued to silently drag her suitcase out to the courtyard. Helios walked out with his own bags and saw the young woman struggling with hers. He placed his belongings in the courtyard and without a word, took the suitcase from her hand and moved it the remaining distance to where the other luggage was kept.
"Oh, thanks…" Chibi Usa said weakly as Helios walked back. Helios nodded and did not meet the girl's eyes as he walked past her. As Helios walked back he came across Haruka and Michiru where two hallways intersected. Haruka's navy colored eyes followed Helios as he walked down the hall before turning her eyes to Chibi Usa.
"Already packed I see. I guess we should get a move on it too," Haruka said casually as she grinned at the girl before her.
Chibi Usa replied with a surprised tone. "But you guys have been here for little more than a day!"
Michiru nodded. "Yes, but Hotaru-chan has school tomorrow, just as you do. I don't want her to miss class."
Hotaru, hearing this, let out a small lament as she gave her adopted parents a pleading look. "Do I have to? It's so pretty here and we haven't done anything fun yet! Please, oh please Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama!"
Haruka paused as Hotaru's puppy eyes burned holes into her. At last Haruka sighed and threw up her hands. "All right then, we'll stay for a little bit longer! But only two days; I can't let you miss a whole week of school!"
Hotaru giggled and wrapped her arms around Haruka and Michiru's waists. "Thank you, thank you! Can Chibi Usa-chan stay too?" she quickly added.
Haruka sweat dropped. "Hotaru-chan, Chibi Usa-chan needs rest. She's been out in the cold all night, attacked by a monster, and nearly killed. Good thing we told the police she's okay or else if the TV station catches the news she'll be swarmed over by reporters. I think her ordeal was pretty grueling, besides the fact she was all alone by herself the whole time."
Chibi Usa blushed and said quietly to the side, "But I wasn't actually alone…"
Unbeknownst to her, Usagi had soundlessly walked up and heard her words. "What did you say?" Her voice so startled the teen that she yelped and jumped.
Clutching her shirt, Chibi Usa blushed hard as she forced her heart back down from her throat. "Nothing! I didn't say anything!"
Usagi raised a suspicious eyebrow when it hit her. "Hold on a minutes, were you and Helios together the whole time?" she whispered.
"Yes, I mean No! I-oh!" Chibi Usa sighed in exasperation as she pulled Usagi away from the three pairs of curious eyes. "All right we did, but the only reason we didn't tell any body that is because I didn't want everyone pulling me over and asking me questions like you are right now!"
"So you two actually spend the night together?!" Usagi's face was beginning to match the color of the teenager. "Wait, you two didn't-"
Chibi Usa cupped her hand over Usagi's mouth and half dragged the blonde away to a unoccupied area. Once they were some place private, Chibi Usa released her hand and shouted back, her face red hot. "How could you even think that?! Of course we didn't!"
Usagi blinked, sweat dropping, "Well-it's just that I thought you two were-you know!"
Chibi Usa sighed and bit her upper lip. "No…we're-we're not together or anything…"
"But I thought you said you spend the night together!"
"Usagi, I mean Helios and I aren't lovers!" Chibi Usa swallowed hard as she said this.
Usagi sighed, her eyes had a disappointed look in them but her voice became soft and calm. "Chibi Usa I know you don't want the attention but you still shouldn't lie to us! We're your family, and this is major stuff you're hiding! You could've told me at least, I'll understand."
A fury suddenly rose in Chibi Usa's heart as she stepped back and said very audibly, "No, you don't understand, you don't!" With that, Chibi Usa turned away, trying to hide her tears as she abandoned Usagi and ran down the hall.
Usagi stood stunned. She didn't expect Chibi Usa to react so strongly, but then again, maybe the kid was right, even if she was Sailor Moon and a future queen, she couldn't read everybody's mind perfectly. Everything seemed to have gone down hill for the teen since her arrival a few months back. First her powers failed, then she fights through depression, and now…The blonde gulped when she remembered the crystal she had seen in the snow the day before. There were a lot of unpleasant memories connected with that oddly beautiful and tantalizing crystal, and the others were not going to like hearing about this when she got back home.
"Chibi Usa's behavior, the Black Crystal, Wise Man…please don't let it happen again, I don't want to lose that girl again." Usagi closed her eyes and prayed.
Outside, Chibi Usa sniffled several times before she pushed back the tears. So what if Helios had spent the night with her under the same roof? They were in a dangerous situation and needed to rely on each other, not to mention she'd probably be dead if he hadn't been there pull her out of the frozen lake. Now Usagi was mad at her for telling a lie and it had made her seem like she was hiding something like a criminal. Not since her first days in the 20th century had the pink-haired maid felt so frustrated and isolated with the mounting problems around her.
But some part of her reminded Chibi Usa that she had felt Helios holding her hand last night, that he had looked down upon her like lovers would before he kissed her. Chibi Usa shook her head. Nonsense, it was probably just a dream cooked up by her tired and frightened brain to heal itself before morning broke. Nevertheless, it was a good dream to escape to, thought the princess.
Chibi Usa wiped her index finer under her nose, trying to look calm before walking out into the courtyard once again. This time everyone was outside, either helping to load the luggage into the taxi or else simply talking and wait. Seeing her friend approaching, Hotaru ran towards her, a camera in her hand. "Chibi Usa-chan, I almost forgot to take a picture before you left! Come on!"
"Uh sure…" Chibi Usa said unenthusiastically. As her eyes drifted across the clean but crowded courtyard, the pink-haired princess spotted Helios standing in the back of the group. Do you really want to do this? she asked herself. Tired and drained from running in the woods, and tired from her emotional tussle, Chibi Usa stopped.
"What is it?" Hotaru asked, feeling Chibi Usa's hand pull away from her.
Chibi Usa demurred, still not sure if she should go along with the idea she has in mind. She desperately wanted to have a picture for the frame she had bought, but after what had happened recently it suddenly felt foolish and she felt so tired, too tired to even think. But this was what she must do right now, it was what she had wanted. Looking at her friend's face then glancing back at Helios, Chibi Usa said softly, "Hotaru, before you do that, can you…can you take a picture of Helios and me?"
Hotaru stared for a moment before a sly grin slipped over her face. Hotaru patted Chibi Usa's arm and nodded. "Sure, I'll go call him over-or would you rather-"
"No, I would actually prefer if you ask." Chibi Usa involuntarily blushed. Seeing her best friend's reaction, the girl with short raven hair nodded knowingly.
"All right then, I'll go; wait here."
Chibi Usa turned her face away as she heard Hotaru's voice, "Come on, it's your first time here and you're leaving already! You have to have a picture at least!"
Hotaru's strangely cheery voice was mixed with Helios' weak protest. "But we'll be leaving soon. What if we miss the flight?"
"You'll be fine! Besides, I actually hope you do miss your flight, then Chibi Usa-chan and I could stay for a while longer! Now just stand right there, good."
Hotaru herded Helios beside Chibi Usa. Inwardly, Chibi Usa was amazed, for Hotaru became extremely energetic when she's helping her friend with her love life. Please don't tell me Hotaru-chan's taking after Usagi and Minako-chan! Chibi Usa rolled her eyes and jumped when Hotaru called to her.
"Chibi Usa-chan, don't look so stiff! And turn a little to your left!"
Chibi Usa did as directed and found herself rubbing shoulders with Helios. The boy beside her did not look at her but it was clear from his nervous stance that he was not very comfortable at the moment.
"All right, one, two, three, smile!"
Chibi Usa hurriedly pushed up a smile and tried not to blink at the camera flash. Hotaru turned to a person near her after she took the first picture and asked him to take a group picture as she joined her friends. Standing between the two, Hotaru wrapped her arms around Helios and Chibi Usa's shoulder, forcing their faces closer together. That done, the camera went off and Hotaru took back her camera and thanked the bystander.
"I'll give you a copy of the pictures as soon as I can get them developed. See you back in Tokyo, and take care," Hotaru said, melting back into her normal docile demeanor.
Chibi Usa nodded, "I will." The taxi's horn bleared and Chibi Usa turned to leave, "See you back in Tokyo Hotaru-chan."
A brief shimmer appeared in Bellona's room as Rame's Black Crystal shard floated back to join its counterparts. Bellona snorted as she watched the return of the shard. The tyrannical leader turned her ear to the apparition-like being beside her; her mask a dull white against the ashen colored realm around her.
"That fool caused her own destruction. She was always too brash, proud, and vengeful." Wise Man's deep condemning voice said as his crystal ball hovered above his lap.
"That might be true, but it also means that I have just lost a valuable soldier of whom I went to great trouble to liberate." Bellona tapped the arm of her throne irrationally.
Wise Man chuckled, causing Bellona to turn to him, perplexed. "Why do you laugh, Wise Man?"
The purple cloaked figure's hand washed over the crystal ball to reveal a weary looking Chibi Usa sitting in the backseat of the taxi. "Rame's death may be a lose to us, but in the long run it is also a gain."
"How is that so?"
"My mistress," Wise Man explained patiently, "Sailor Moon, the princess' future mother, has discovered the shard of Black Crystal Rame had used to maximize her Fury's power. It must have terrified the senshi to know that I am possibly still at large, and she would surely contact her fellow warriors. This will only add to the tension already building around Small Lady and her 20th century friends. Plus, now that priest Helios has so willingly and unconsciously fallen-in with our plan, it is only a matter of time before the princess of Crystal Tokyo is ours!"
A/N That's it for this rather lengthy three part arc. So did you like it? Do tell me!