ALL THAT GLITTERS
Chapter 11: "Knight Racing"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
King Endymion closed the distance between himself and his daughter, Sailor Moon, as fast as he could without breaking out into a run. After all, that wouldn't be dignified. But the sight of his daughter alive and well, after his fears that she might be lost to him forever, made his feet race. After a moment, he surrendered to it. To Hell with dignity; that and recriminations could wait for a later time. Right now he just wanted to hold his child in his arms and tell her he loved her.
She stood there, waiting for him with open arms, her forlorn look of mortification changed into one of joy over the forgiveness of someone important to her. Endymion was glad for that. He lived to make his little girl happy. Seeing that dimpled smile on her sweet face and her red eyes dancing was worth more to him than just about anything. That's why he couldn't sense her - - she hadn't been in enough distress. Petulance didn't register. But all was well now.
He was less than an inch away from her. His arms began to encircle her as hers began to encircle him. How soon would it be before she was rolling her eyes and peevishly huffing "Pop" again? Not for a long time, he hoped. Not for . . .
In an instant it knifed through his brain. He felt her distress like a burning poker jabbed into him. It hit him so hard that Endymion actually flinched. Reflexively he turned to it, because the sensation was behind him and in the distance. That was Usa, no doubt about it, and she was in terrific pain and distress.
But if Usa was behind him and some distance off - - who was in front of him? Endymion turned back to what he had thought was Sailor Moon, then recoiled in horror even as the leaves of the green stalk tightened around him, pinning his arms to his torso.
Immediately Endymion tried to jerk away. However the plant's grip was like iron. He couldn't understand it. They were just leaves. How could they hold him in such a vise-like grip? Yet they did. Within moments Endymion began to feel weaker, even as the plant's image would shift from Sailor Moon and back again. He sensed its intent on a purely animal basis. It was a predator and he was the prey. The King of Crystal Tokyo fought to pull free of the plant's grasp, but it held on stubbornly, desperately, drawing his energy and physical fluids as it did. Adding to his desperation was the persistent sense of his daughter's plight. He could feel her pain and worried that she might not have much longer.
And then he felt Serenity's mind touch his. He sensed she realized his plight and the sudden spike of fear in her it brought about galvanized the King into action. Within his hand a single rose materialized. Though his arms were pinned, his hand was still free and with deadly accuracy he flicked the rose at the attacking plant. The flower buried itself stem-first into the side of the plant. Upon impact of the rose, Endymion felt another stabbing pain, this time in his leg. However it quickly disappeared.
Endymion could feel the plant grow rigid, then wither around him. When it grew sufficiently weak, the man gave a mighty tug and jerked free of the clutching leaves. Staggering backwards, Endymion fell to the ground. He was panting and felt as if he'd wrestled with a space cruiser. With a massive effort, the King dragged himself to his feet.
"What . . . ?" he whispered.
Suddenly Sailor Moon was on his right, her arms extended and her eyes pleading with him to embrace her. On his left was Serenity, doing the same. Behind him was his mother and father, each one impossibly alive and each one reaching out to him. Confused and wary, Endymion closed his eyes and reached out along the psychic link he had. That remained true. Using it as a beacon, Endymion bounded off, ignoring the pleas of his 'loved ones'.
He only prayed he wasn't too late.
"LET ME GO, CERES!" Saturn screeched, struggling to get free of her fellow senshi's grip. "SHE'LL DIE IF I DON'T HELP HER!"
"You're not going to help anybody if you kill yourself trying to heal her!" Ceres shot back. The girl was on the verge of tears herself.
"I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE! I CAN'T LET HER DIE!"
Without warning, a mind bolt shot out from Sailor Saturn. It was wild and careened off past Sailor Juno, striking one of the stalks ten meters ahead of them. The bolt passed through the plant and it instantly withered and died.
Fearful for her own safety, Sailor Ceres released her hold on Saturn. Immediately the slight senshi scrambled back to Sailor Moon's side. With Juno looking on in amazement and just a bit of trepidation, Saturn grasped Sailor Moon's shoulders with both hands. Her black hair flew out from her head and her eyes rolled up so that only the whites were visible. The thin husk that was now Sailor Moon's body arched like a jolt of electricity had passed through it. The others watched as Sailor Moon's ebbing vitality began to slowly restore itself. But the cost to Saturn was immediately evident on her face. A strained grunt of exertion punctuated the vision.
"Somebody do something!" wailed Ceres. "She's going to kill herself!"
"Ceres," Vesta said softly. "She's just doing what she has to."
Ceres whirled angrily on her sister.
"Don't give me that look," Vesta scowled. "I don't want to lose her anymore than you do. But that is our mission, like it or not. We exist to protect the Princess. If one or all of us have to die to accomplish that - - then that's the way it's gotta be."
Ceres looked down. She stared at the ground for moments, then suddenly folded her arms around herself, trying to hold her emotions in.
"Right now Saturn's our best hope to help her, Ceres," Juno added as she continued to project water into Sailor Moon to rehydrate her. "If you've got a better way . . ."
"Of course I don't!" snapped Ceres. "It's just . . .!"
Ceres noticed that Vesta's eyes were closed. The senshi seemed to be almost in a trance.
"Vesta?" Ceres said.
"Shh," Ceres felt in her mind and knew it was Pallas. She looked over to Pallas and found the girl in a trance as well. "Vesta is helping Pallas. Pallas is trying to gather all of our spirit energy and feed it to Miss Saturn Ma'am - - so she can help the Princess get well. Will you help Pallas, too?"
"S-Sure," Ceres said, then colored because she realized she didn't have to. Then she thought, "It's a great idea, Pallas. Take as much as you need."
Ceres felt her spirit leaving her body. She was floating in a blue haze, a sea of pure thought. The sea wasn't draining her, it was joining with her, merging her with - - with what? Ceres thought for a moment. A presence was near her, a presence without form that seemed familiar. Suddenly Ceres realized it was Vesta. There was someone else floating near her without form. Ceres reached out with her thoughts and found it was Juno. Then where was Pallas?
"Pallas is right here," Ceres felt her sister think. "Please don't be afraid. Pallas will be very, very careful."
With a last thought to Gallan and a prayer that she would survive this so she could greet him when he awoke from hibernation, Ceres silently agreed. The presences of her three sisters seemed to warm around her.
"Beautiful Incantation," Sailor Pallas whispered distantly in the real world.
The combined senshi reached out to Sailor Saturn and were instantly sucked into a looming void. For a moment they all panicked. Then Juno realized that Saturn had expended far more energy than anyone had suspected. The void they found was the rapidly emptying reserves of Saturn's spirit energy. As each one suspected, Saturn was pushing herself beyond her limits to try to heal Sailor Moon. Through Pallas, the others funneled what energy they could to her. Embarrassed, Saturn took it and passed it through her body to Sailor Moon, hoping that it would be enough to bring her back.
But they all quickly realized it wasn't. Despite five senshi pouring nearly everything they had into her, Sailor Moon's tiny flame of life continued to struggle to survive. It was becoming a task that threatened to become insurmountable. It was soon evident that the five girls could well die trying to restore their princess - - and still fail.
"OK," they all sensed Vesta think, "then we all die together. But we don't quit. Agreed?"
Silence filtered through them.
"I'm not quitting," Saturn thought.
"Pallas understands what she has to do to save the Princess," Pallas added.
"It's what we signed on for," Juno responded.
There was no fourth response.
"Ceres?" thought Vesta.
"It's not that simple for me!" Ceres thought back. "None of you have anyone else! I-I couldn't do that to Gallan!"
"I feel just as bad for what Yutaka will go through," Saturn thought to her. "If you can't, I understand."
"Just don't be a priss about it," Vesta added. "In or out?"
"I'M NOT A PRISS, DAMN IT!" A moment passed. "In - - I'm sorry, Gallan."
Saturn began funneling even more healing energy to Sailor Moon. Cramping pain began to filter through the linked minds to all of the senshi. The five senshi realized they were approaching a precipice at top speed, that they were moments away from hurling into a chasm of their doom. Regrets? Too many to name - - but they'd have all of eternity to dwell upon them.
A hand closing on her shoulder wrenched Sailor Saturn out of her healing focus and severed the connection with the others. They each sagged and took several moments to reconnect with their senses. When Saturn finally was able to see straight, she looked up - - into the face of King Endymion.
"Stand down, Senshi," he said, smiling softly. "You've done all you can. I'll take it from here."
The five watched the king gently, tenderly scoop the limp, frail husk in pink and white into his arms. Instantly a golden glow surrounded them both. Endymion looked down into the drawn, withered face of the girl he held in his arms. For a moment they all thought he was going to crumble into tiny pieces. Then he straightened up and became the commanding savior once again.
"Are you going to make the Princess well, Your Majesty?" Sailor Pallas asked.
"I can't," he said softly, never taking his eyes off of Sailor Moon. "But I can keep her alive until we can get her to someone who can. Gather in close."
Despite their overwhelming fatigue, the senshi obeyed. When they were in close, Endymion's aura flared to a richer shade of gold. The seven turned into light and rocketed up into the heavens and away from the small planet. And as they left, a hundred thousand desperate voices begged them to come back.
She hadn't said a word. Serenity had suddenly turned and left the computer room. She didn't acknowledge anyone, neither their stares nor their questions. She simply left.
Immediately Luna bounded after her. Rei quickly followed, so Makoto and Minako felt compelled to do so as well. Torn at first, Ami decided that further sensor searching was pointless and took off after the others. Left alone, Artemis wondered if he should stay or go. Then Diana popped her gray head into the door.
"Come along, Dad," she said with an eerie surety to her voice. "You'll miss out otherwise."
The white cat froze the program and bounded after his daughter.
He found everyone on the aero-pad atop the palace. Serenity was in the center of the landing pad staring off into space. Rei and Luna were three paces behind her, concerned about her behavior and yet timidly reticent to say anything. Makoto, Minako and Ami were paces behind them. Minako glanced up to see if she could see what Serenity saw. Ami studied Serenity anxiously, while Makoto was just confused.
Out of nowhere a beam of energy came down from the heavens and struck the landing pad two meters from Serenity. The inner senshi instantly produced their henshin sticks, but Serenity stood her ground unafraid. Moments later Endymion materialized. He was surrounded by Saturn and the Asteroid Senshi. When they all saw the emaciated Sailor Moon in his arms, everyone gasped in horror - - except Serenity. Ami started forward, but was stopped by Rei. The royal couple closed the gap between them as Serenity's silver aura flared. She reached out and touched her child, caressing the girl lovingly on the cheek. Silver and gold auras joined and a burst of white light exploded from them. When it dissipated, Sailor Moon was restored to a close approximation of the vivacious young teen they all knew.
Ami moved in and checked the princess. Rei moved in and supported Serenity, who was reeling from the energy expenditure. A waiting medical team on stand-by at Ami's behest was waved over and the princess was hustled to the medical center. Serenity, accompanied by Rei, started to follow, but stopped and turned to Saturn and the Asteroids.
"Thank you," she smiled through her anxiety. "Thank you for saving her."
"We," Juno began, then softened. "We were just doing our duty, Queen Serenity."
"Well, you did your duty with great honor," Endymion added gratefully. "We owe you five a huge debt."
"Queen Serenity?" Pallas piped up. "Is the Princess going to be all right?"
Serenity grimaced. "We'll do our best. Thanks to you five, we have the chance."
And she, Endymion, Rei and Luna hurried off to follow Ami and the medical team.
Without acknowledging anyone, Saturn started forward. The others turned to look at what she was headed for. At the entrance to the aeropad, Haruka and Michiru were standing, looking anxiously at her. As she crossed the pad, Saturn broke into a run. Haruka knelt down.extending her arms, and Saturn dived into her. The girl dissolved into shuddering sobs as Haruka's arms folded around her. Michiru stroked her hair and whispered comforting words to the girl as Haruka hugged her tight. The Asteroids looked on, sad for Saturn and just a little envious.
"Come on," Vesta nodded, starting forward. "Maybe they'll let us watch."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Juno told her.
"Come on," Vesta grunted. "The worst they can do is kick us out."
She ventured toward the door, seeing Haruka and Michiru leading Saturn away. Pallas immediately followed and, a few moments later, Ceres fell in line as well. She glanced back to Juno.
"Coming?" Ceres asked. "It's not like we've got anything more important to do."
"They'll kick us out," Juno scowled, but moved to follow.
As the four girls left, changing from their senshi forms as they went, Makoto and Minako stood watching them. There was a visible sense of pride in the expressions of both women.
"What do you suppose happened?" Makoto asked.
"Beats me," Minako replied. "I can't wait to hear about it, though."
"I'm just glad they were able to handle it," Makoto said. The two ambled toward the entrance to the palace.
"Hey, they were taught by the best," Minako shrugged, then glanced devilishly at her friend. "You helped, too."
Makoto gave the woman a hip nudge.
Inside, Jun-Jun let the distance grow between her and the others. It wasn't that she wasn't concerned about Princess Usagi. It was that she was certain she and her sisters would be barred from the medical wing until she was out of danger. Therefore, she spent her time mulling over their mission and dissected it, looking for what they might have done differently.
Turning a corner, Jun-Jun spotted a unique sight in the halls of the palace. Sailor Pluto stood down the hall in the shadows. The woman stared anxiously at the other end of the hall, which was the medical wing. Instantly Jun-Jun put two and two together, realizing the close relationship the mysterious senshi had with the princess and the debt she owed her for what started all of this.
And then she remembered something else. Hoping that Sailor Pluto wouldn't spot her approach and simply fade away into the mysterious limbo she resided in, Jun-Jun moved toward her. Within five feet, Pluto turned to her.
The woman's gaze was instantly intimidating, despite the anxiety over the princess she still had. It was like she could see everything you'd done and everything you were destined to do. But that was what Jun-Jun wanted to ask her about, so she forced herself on. Pluto seemed to know what the girl was about to ask her and seemed reluctant to answer, but she didn't flee. Gathering her courage for a moment, Jun-Jun spoke.
"Sailor Pluto sama," ventured Jun-Jun.
"Sailor Pluto will do," Pluto responded neutrally.
"OK," Jun-Jun swallowed. "I've heard you can see into the past."
"I possess that power," Pluto admitted reluctantly.
"Do you know who my parents are?" Jun-Jun asked - - almost pleaded.
Pluto's gaze dropped.
"Your princess is injured," she whispered hoarsely. "Your duty is to be by her side."
"I know what my duty is," Jun-Jun persisted, "ma'am. Please answer the question."
Pluto looked at her sympathetically.
"I know who your parents are," she said.
Jun-Jun began to speak, but Pluto cut her off.
"There are things you are not yet meant to know," Pluto told her. She tried to soften the blow as much as she could, but was most emphatic.
For her part, Jun-Jun looked to be about one second away from bursting into tears. Then her jaw tensed. Not wishing to risk a response, her eyes dropped to the floor and she nodded. Pluto watched her turn and walk off. The senshi of time emitted a melancholy sigh.
But as she headed for the medical wing, Jun-Jun realized a glimmer of hope. Sailor Pluto had said "not yet".
Concluded in Chapter 12
