~~A/N: Yes, my dear readers, THE CHAPTER HAS ARRIIIIIIIVED!!!!!!!! Now Read On!~~
Zoisite led that day, driving at breakneck speeds. Several times, Mamoru called to him to slow down, or he'd burn out the speeder, but the younger man paid him no heed. They travelled uninterrupted for three hours, seeing nothing but snow.
Suddenly, Jadeite gave a loud cry and fell from the speeder. Nephrite called to Mamoru and Zoisite, swinging his speeder around to pick up the fallen man, the others following suit. He came to a halt alongside Jadeite and waited for the younger man to get back up, but he didn't move. Zoisite's eyes widened and he leapt from the driver's seat. "Nephrite, get back! He's being controlled by an U-Tahime!" Sure enough, Jadeite rose jerkily, hands groping for his sword. Zoisite felled him to the ground with a flying tackle, knocking the sword from his hands. Kunzite reached for his shuriken and searched for the right target…
There. A hint of purple behind the white! Aiming, he hurled the throwing star, but a snow dancer got in the way, shrieking horribly as the star was buried deep in its flesh. Kunzite cursed and spun another two towards the creatures, taking both out. Beside him, Nephrite had drawn his sword and was hacking his way towards the U-Tahime. Meanwhile Mamoru had taken up Zoisite's longbow. While nowhere near as good a shot as Zoisite himself, considering the amount of creatures around them, he figured he had a good chance of at least fatally wounding some of them.
At the same time, Zoisite was having trouble keeping Jadeite down. The younger man was struggling for all he was worth, kicking and punching, but Zoisite held him firm. "Damnit, Jadeite, stop it!" he cried, narrowly missing another punch aimed for his nose. Another punch managed to connect, and Zoisite saw stars for a second. As he shook away the stars, he recalled a lesson Kunzite had once taught him.
Every person has several pressure points on their bodies. If you can hit one with just the right amount of force you can easily knock a man unconscious. With too much power, however, you could kill someone. The best one to hit is at the base of the neck, where the spinal cord meets the brain stem.
"Thanks for that Kunzite," he murmured, reaching a hand round the back of Jadeite's neck and pressed his thumb to the pressure point. Jadeite gave a strangled cry and fell limp. Zoisite quickly checked his friend's pulse and was relieved to see he was still alive. Dragging him behind a speeder, Zoisite drew his sword, flipped over the speeder and charged into the fray. Two sweeps of the sword and two Snow Dancers lost their heads. Looking around wildly, he saw Mamoru acquitting himself well with his longbow, while Kunzite, having abandoned the shuriken, and Nephrite wreaked havoc with their blades.
"Zoisite!" Kunzite roared above the sounds of battle. "Where's Jadeite?!"
"He's OK!" Zoisite yelled back. "He's unconscious behind the speeders!"
"Good work!" came the reply. Zoisite hacked his way towards Mamoru. The other man threw him the bow and drew his sword. Zoisite caught the bow and sheathed his own sword, lifting a quiver off the speeder. Drawing and nocking an arrow, he aimed for the U-Tahime.
"Let's end this right now," he muttered, firing straight at the purple mass. The missile struck true, and the U-Tahime fell. At this, the snow dancers fled, shrieking. Zoisite smiled grimly and picked off the fleeing creatures one by one.
"Where've you been all this time?" Nephrite said, laughing humourlessly.
"Trying to keep Jadeite from killing me," Zoisite replied blackly. Nephrite shivered. "I remembered one of those self-defence lessons Kunzite taught us years ago: about the location of pressure points." Kunzite nodded.
"Clever." A groan from behind the speeder caught their attention, as Jadeite crawled out from behind it.
"Ow! What the hell did you do to me, Zoi?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just knocked you out," Zoisite explained. "Otherwise you probably would have killed me. Or someone else." Jadeite winced. Zoisite looked around at the mess. "Come on. We've lost too much time." He leapt back onto his speeder and looked over his shoulder at the others. "Hurry up!"
"Give us a minute, Zoi!" Mamoru said indignantly. "We just finished a fight, in case you haven't noticed!"
"Come on!" Zoisite pleaded. "We can cover another fifty miles before nightfall!"
"Alright, that's it," Kunzite said, marching over to the younger man. "What the HELL is wrong with you Zoisite?! You've become obsessed with finding the girl ever since that first battle! I want answers, Zoisite and I want them now!"
"You're not the only one who wants to know," Mamoru said, coming up beside Kunzite.
"I'll tell you when we stop for tonight," Zoisite said, gunning the engine. "We're just losing time now."
"Zoisite…" Kunzite began, but the younger man cut him off.
"Kunzite! Hurry up! I'm not waiting much longer!"
"Fine. But I WILL get some answers tonight, Zoisite," Kunzite said, taking his place on the back of the speeder. "Count on it." Zoisite nodded as Mamoru slipped onto his speeder, and Nephrite climbed into the driver's seat of the last one as Jadeite dragged himself onto the back. As soon as he was seated, Zoisite gunned the engine and sped away.
*****************************************************
Nightfall came all too swiftly for Zoisite. As soon as the tents were set up and dinner consumed, Kunzite sat down in front of him and fixed him with a stern gaze. "OK, Zoisite. Talk."
"What do you want to know?" Zoisite asked, somewhat flatly.
"Everything. From the top," Kunzite replied. "Why have you become so obsessed with finding Mercury?" Zoisite looked at him.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Kunzite nodded. "Very well. Every night since we entered these wastelands, I have dreamed of her. Three times have I dreamed. Of the place she is held. And twice, Kunzite, I have seen her." Now he had everyone's full attention. "She lies deep in a crystal tower. When I dream, I pass through the doors and down, down through a labyrinth of tunnels. I turn sharply at the end, and the corridor opens into a room. At the far end, there she is. She floats in a pillar, in freezing water. Ice swirls around her. Sometimes it will cut her. Last night she spoke to me. She knows we are coming." Jadeite whistled softly.
"The ice she floats in… you said it cuts her?" Mamoru asked. Zoisite nodded.
"Now do you see the reason for all this haste? She knows we are coming, and she is in pain. Her torment has continued for five hundred years and I mean for it not to last another minute!" He looked around defiantly. "Tomorrow, we will reach her, and before the sun sets I mean to have released her." Mamoru nodded.
"Then let us get some sleep now, so that tomorrow will come faster. Zoisite I think you'd better take first watch again." Zoisite nodded. "Good night then." Soon the tent was silent.
Zoisite sighed. *The morning will not come swiftly enough for me,* he thought. The time dragged by. Zoisite began to think about various strategies the group could use to get back into the town undetected. *We cannot be seen returning. We have to be just another group that went into the wilds and did not return.* Finally it was time. *Now, how should I wake Jadeite this time?* he thought, grinning. He decided on just bopping him on the head would work. It did. Jadeite sat up with the usual array of soft curses and took up watch position. Zoisite settled down in his sleeping bag and was soon asleep.
For the final time he followed the line to the tower. Again he raced down the corridors to where Mercury was imprisoned. Walking up to the pillar, he placed his hand on it again. Her head drifted up and her eyes opened. "Tomorrow, Mercury," he promised. "Tomorrow we will reach you. By the time the sun sets tomorrow, you will be free. This I swear." She smiled at him, but remained silent. 'Once we have freed you, we will head back to the town. The innkeeper there has promised to hide you until the others have been woken. Once we have all the Senshi freed, we will come for them all. We will fly you to the Moon. Then Serenity can take the crown she should have. You will be a Senshi again." He watched with bated breath as her lips opened.
"Now you have entered the danger zone. Snow Kaguyas guard the tower. They are more dangerous than the Snow Dancers or U-Tahime."
"Snow Kaguyas?" Zoisite asked.
"Yes. They have the power to create tempests: freezing winds of snow and ice. But they are very slow. Speed is your ally here." Zoisite considered this.
"So our best course of action would be not to stand and fight, but simply scythe through them?" Mercury nodded. Raising her head, she closed her eyes.
"Dawn approaches. Soon you must wake." Zoisite nodded.
"Then I will see you tonight." Mercury smiled.
"Until tonight then…"
Zoisite woke and sat up with a jerk, narrowly missing Jadeite's hand. "Bugger. Missed again!" Jadeite said, grinning. Zoisite slithered out of the bag and looked around.
"Hurry. Speed is this day our ally."
"Did you dream again last night?" Mamoru asked. Zoisite nodded.
"She told me as we approach the tower we will encounter things called Snow Kaguyas. They have the power to create winds of snow and ice. She said our best course of action is not to stop and fight, but rather scythe our way through them. Pedals to the metal."
"Fastest drivers today then," Kunzite commented.
"Definitely."
Soon the group was on their way, speeding off on the final leg of the journey.
[I could be really evil and leave it here. But I won't.]
"Today, we don't stop for anything," Zoisite yelled above the roar of the engines. "Nothing!" The others roared their agreement as, over the white snow, the top of a tower came into view. "That's it! We're nearly there!" he yelled in jubilation. Just then the wind began to pick up, gusting quickly.
"Snow Kaguyas!" Jadeite shouted.
"If this wind keeps up we're going to be driving backwards!" Kunzite called.
"Just a little farther! Then we can take them down!" Zoisite yelled from the front. "We've nearly reached them!" Behind him, Kunzite reached for his sword, and took Zoisite's from his friend's scabbard.
"She said scythe through them," he howled, "And that's what we're going to do!" On the back speeder Nephrite adopted a similar pose, with his and Jadeite's swords. Mamoru drew his sword and held it in his right hand, steering with the left. Zoisite flattened the pedal.
"For Mercury!!!" he screamed, charging forward through the mass of snow creatures. Kunzite roared and Nephrite howled as they swung their blades, cutting into flesh time and time again. Zoisite, Jadeite and Mamoru drove at terrific speeds, ignoring the shrieks of the creatures flung aside by their speeders. Zoisite kept his head down, concentrating on the growing spire of the tower ahead of them. "Nearly through!" he shouted about the din. "Come on, baby," he whispered to his speeder. "Nearly there… stay with me…"
With a final burst they broke through the ring of Snow Kaguyas, speeding away from the mess. "They're still following us!" Nephrite called.
"Jadeite! Swap places!" Mamoru called. Jadeite nodded as Nephrite manoeuvred himself close enough to take control of the speeder. Jadeite slipped out of the seat as Nephrite slipped in, and crawled to where his crossbow was strapped. Getting to his knees, he began firing, taking the creatures down one by one.
"They're slowing down!" he reported after a minute.
"We're getting too close to Mercury!" Zoisite yelled triumphantly. "Look!" Sure enough, there was the tower, growing larger every second. Zoisite pulled his speeder to a sizzling halt at the doors. "We're here…" he said softly.
"Zoisite, can we take the speeders inside?" Mamoru asked.
Zoisite nodded. "The corridors are just wide enough. We won't be able to move very quickly though," he said, frustrated.
"You have the map?"
"And the crystal," Zoisite said, producing them both from his pack. He held the crystal in front of the doors and they opened silently. The other four men exchanged looks and slowly brought the speeders around to the doors. Zoisite stepped in first, bearing the crystal ahead of him. Kunzite followed, driving the first speeder, Jadeite poised eagerly on the back. Mamoru drove the next one and Nephrite the last. Zoisite walked swiftly, having travelled this route before. The blue line was scorched into his eyelids, and he led them deeper and deeper into the maze. "We're nearly there…" he murmured softly, turning sharply.
The four who had not seen the chamber before looked around in amazement. Zoisite, however, only had eyes for the pillar at the far end of the room…
There she was. Sailor Mercury, just like in his dreams. He walked towards her as if in a trance, his heart pounding madly. "Mercury…" he whispered. She looked just as beautiful as she had in his dreams and the painting in the secret chamber.
"This is it, Zoi," Kunzite said softly, coming up behind him. Zoisite looked down at the crystal he held, then back at his friends.
"All of you. Get behind one of those blocks. I don't know what's going to happen when she is released. The pillar could vanish, it could melt, it could shatter, I'm not sure. So I suggest you shift." Mamoru nodded.
"Jadeite, get a fire going. She's going to be freezing. Nephrite, blankets, Kunzite, bandages." The men produced these from their packs and Jadeite started a small fire. They slipped behind their blocks and waited. Zoisite approached the pillar as he had done in his dreams.
"Time to wake up, Mercury," he said softly, spotting the place on the top of a small pedestal beside the pillar. He took a deep breath and gently laid the crystal into its place.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the edges of the glass panel began to glow, brighter and brighter. Zoisite took a step backwards as the light became nearly blinding… inside the pillar Mercury's eyes shot open, locking with Zoisite's as the glass front began to crack. He covered his face with his cloak as the glass shattered and the icy water poured out in a great wave. He thrust his cloak away from his face just as Sailor Mercury fell from her place. He staggered as she landed in his arms, gently lowering her to the ground as his friends popped their heads up over their blocks. Brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. He stared down into her eyes. Weakly, she raised one slim hand to gently touch his cheek. "Zoisite," she whispered, "You came for me…" Her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out as Mamoru dashed over, followed by the others.
"Zoi?" Mamoru said, touching the younger man's shoulder. Zoisite blinked and snatched the blankets from Nephrite, swiftly wrapping them around the unconscious girl and carrying her over to the fire. Laying her down gently, he took the bandages from Kunzite. Thankfully, there was only one wound: a scratch along her left arm. He carefully wrapped the bandage around the injury, securing it firmly.
"Zoisite, you're bleeding," Kunzite said, noticing the slash across the younger man's cheek.
"It's nothing," Zoisite said, continuing to watch the girl.
"Is something wrong?" Kunzite asked. Zoisite looked up at him, troubled.
"She said my name Kunzite. How the hell did she know my name?"
"You said you'd been dreaming of her, yes?" Nephrite said from across the fire.
"Yes, but I never said my name!" Zoisite said. "How on earth could she know?"
"We won't know that until she wakes up," Mamoru said, looking puzzled. "Let her rest, for now."
"What did she say?" Jadeite asked.
"She said, 'Zoisite, you came for me,'" he replied. At his words, Mercury stirred, groaning slightly. Zoisite raised his head. "Jadeite, get some food heating. She's bound to be hungry." Mercury groaned again and opened her eyes.
"Zoisite," she whispered again, looking into his eyes. Her head shifted slightly as she took in the others sitting around the fire. "Jadeite… Nephrite… Kunzite…" she saw Mamoru. "Endymion-sama…" She moved her arms, trying to sit up, but Zoisite placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Please, rest. You've just woken up after five hundred years in that place…" Mercury gasped.
"Five hundred years?!" Zoisite nodded. "Then you cannot be… yet you are so much like him… Zoisite…"
"That is in fact my name," he told her. "I am the 30th in my line to bear that name." She shook her head, dazed. "These questions can wait. You need to rest. Things will become clearer in the morning," he told her. *I hope,* he added mentally. Mamoru passed him a pillow, which he slipped under her head. "Sleep, Sailor Mercury. Sleep and heal." She smiled one more time and closed her eyes.
"I suggest we get our sleep too," Nephrite advised softly. "I believe we will need it." The others nodded and took their bedrolls off the speeders.
"I will stand watch for now," Zoisite heard himself say. "I need to think." The other men nodded and were asleep in very short order. He stared down at the sleeping girl and sighed softly. *Tomorrow,* he promised himself, *All my questions will be answered.*
~~A/N: She is awake at last!!!!!
Here, as always, be thanks.
Kitn: They reach her at last!!
Nabooru: Here she is, my friend! And they're going in planetary order: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Moon last. Ah, you review again!!!!
Ocianne: *grins evilly* Yep, Kunzite's next!
nova33: Here is more! Thanks for another review!!
Pyro*Chic: *blinks* You… reviewed me… twice… for one… chapter… ME LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankyousomuch!!!