Hello again everyone, Here is Chapter 7(Yes the real chapter 7 I caught my mistake after the fact!) of Fantastic Journey. I hope you enjoy it, please R & R and let me know what you think.
Author's Notes - 'Denotes People's Thoughts'
To my wonderful reviewers - THANK YOU! I added some personal comments and information at the end so read them there. They seemed too distracting here.
Here you go...on to the good stuff.
Fantastic Journey
Chapter 7 - Illusions Everywhere
A half an hour had passed when Rei came staggering out of the sacred fire. She looked pale sweaty and exhausted. Makoto hurriedly jumped up and poured her a cup of tea. Stirring the hot beverage, she handed it to Rei.
Letting her sip at it to regain some energy the girls remained quiet as she gathered her thoughts. They watched her closely each one guessing whether the news was good or bad. She sank down on one of the pallets and looked relieved.
"First I could not get anything regarding Mamoru-kun." She held up a hand warding off questions and then continued. "As for Usagi-chan I do know that she is safe for the moment. That is all the fire could give me. I did feel a lurking sense of danger but the fire would not reveal anything."
"So that leaves us right back where we are." Ami looked thoughtfully at Rei. "But at least we know Usagi-chan is safe. I just wish we knew why Mamoru-kun has disappeared." They all sat quietly pondering their next step.
"Have any of you noticed Mamoru's odd behavior?" Minako spoke quietly keeping her head down waiting for the explosion. The girls all glanced at her in shock.
"Minako what are you talking about?" Rei spoke calmly keeping the anger out of her voice for the moment. She was ready to defend Mamoru if needed though.
"Well like earlier, did any of you notice the irritation in his eyes when he heard that I slipped up?" Minako looked at each of the girls for understanding. "It is not the only time I have seen him look irritated either. I have also seen him angry many times, I just don't know think I am imagining it."
They all stared at her thoughtfully and began searching their minds for any oddities they might have missed.
"Don't get me wrong, I would never want to hurt Usagi in any way but I just think it is odd that he disappeared at such an important time." Minako looked at everyone praying they understood.
"I think we should head back out and start searching again in teams. Since we searched all night and a few hours this morning with no luck we need to keep looking." Rei looked at everyone, noticing the exhaustion on all of their faces.
"Guys I know we are all tired and worried but we can do this. Usagi needs us and with this impending sense of danger I feel, we need to hurry." She tried to be upbeat and keep them all from worrying too much but she knew something was very wrong.
Usagi tried in vain to slow her heart down, but his quiet words and the look in his eyes kept her from succeeding. Etienne leaned forward and ran his thumb gently over her cheek causing her breath to catch in her throat.
"Ah ma petite, you take my breath away." He caught her lips in a gentle kiss just for a second and then backed off. Glancing at her, he could see the wonderment in her eyes.
"I think we should work on your meditation." He purposefully changed the topic abruptly trying to keep her off balance. "We did not get much time the first time so we are going to try again."
Usagi noticed he was once again the hard sensei no longer the caring soul. It confused her that he bounced back and forth so easily.
"You must sit over there in a chair." He indicated the chair over by the bookcase as he walked over and turned down the light to a bare glow. He watched as she slowly walked over and sat in one. Sinking down into the soft plump fabric, she relaxed a bit.
"Now remember what we did the first time. I want you to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and only concentrate on my voice. That's right, feel your self relax, breathe deeply. Relax and feel your self get lighter." He watched as she visibly sank deeper and deeper into her subconscious mind. "Keep going that's it, concentrate only on my voice, nothing else matters, feel yourself going deeper and deeper sinking slowly."
He kept his voice soft and alluring to help draw her in. He glanced at her to find her head slumped over.
"Cherie, are you with me?" Etienne watched as she slowly responded.
"Yes I am here." Her voice was soft and unsure.
"I need to know some things can you answer my questions?" He held his breath wondering how well the hypnotic state held her. She sat relaxed and simply nodded.
"Tell me your deepest secret? What do you hide from the world?" Watching closely he hoped there were no limitations to what she could say.
"I am Sailor Moon." She answered without any emotion in her voice. He smiled finally hearing it from her.
"How do you transform?" He waited wondering what she might say.
"I use my brooch." He glanced at the tee shirt she wore and seeing no brooch decided to ask.
"Where is your brooch?" Etienne sat thinking of the ramifications.
"In my house, I left it on my uniform." She answered honestly.
He stared thoughtfully at the girl wondering what else he should ask, until an idea came to him. 'I have read of such things but could it work?'
"I want you to try something new for me. Can you do that?" He waited watching as she nodded.
"I want to ask you something first. Who do you love?" He held his breath hoping to hear his name.
"I...I am not sure. I love two men." She answered him simply. He smiled softly before continuing.
"Who are these two men?" His gaze trapped on her face, he wondered if she would admit it.
"Mamoru and Etienne" she sighed softly as the two names left her lips. Now that he knew, he was ready for the second part.
"I want you to do something for me. I command you to forget every thought and memory of Mamoru! You have never known him! Do you understand that?" She nodded in response and awaited his next question.
His mind ran along another tangent for a moment and he had an even better idea. "Who are you?"
"Tsukino Usagi," the name fell from her lips. It surprised him because he had never known her real name; never bothered to find out, just always referred to her as ma petite.
"Okay I want you to forget everything. There has been no Tsukino Usagi no Sailor Moon. You are just simply ma petite. You have no memories of anything at all. Can you do that?" He waited until she nodded, then added something else.
"All you know is Etienne loves you. Is that clear?" He held his breath until she nodded again. "Now it is time for you to wake up. When you awake, you will remember none of this. Only when I tell you this has been a fantastic journey will you remember everything. I am going to count down from three and when I snap my fingers, you will awake, three...two...one."
He snapped his fingers and watched as her eyes blinked open. A small yawn slipped from delicate lips and he smiled softly.
"Well how do you feel?" He glanced at her surreptitiously waiting to see what would happen.
"Did I fall asleep?" She glanced at him anxiously hoping she had not embarrassed herself.
"No you just reached a deep level of concentration." He smiled reassuringly at her and to his dismay he heard a funny beeping sound coming from his pocket. Pulling out his communicator, he saw that Rob-Pierre had need of him.
"Ah my boss has need of me, I will return as soon as possible ma petite." He stood and leaned over placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Try to miss me?" He looked teasingly sad until she spoke.
"I already am." Usagi smiled at him love shining in her eyes and Etienne grinned as joy suffused his heart.
Etienne locked the door behind him before walking down the hallway. He knew where Rob-Pierre would be and headed for the main office. Knowing that the news was probably not good he was trying to prepare a contingency plan.
'Falling in love with her was never part of the plan but I cannot regret it. How can I disappear with her and save us all? There has to be a way to protect her. I don't want to lose her but if it is the only way to save everyone, I will do what I must.' With one last sad glance back towards her door, he schooled his features into calm acceptance and opened the door.
Rob-Pierre rubbed his hands together with glee. That fool rose boy was about to agree to leave and forget the girl. 'The idiot has no clue what's going on. His own arrogance will get him killed and with Sailor Moon out of the way, the rest of the plan is too simple.'
He grinned knowing that everything was coming together perfectly. When he had begun plotting the scheme his biggest worry had been Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen but now Etienne had taken care of Sailor Moon for him, even going as far as falling in love with the girl. Rose boy would be out of the way and all he had to do was start-collecting souls. Once he had enough human souls he could enslave them and replace Government Officials one at a time.
Tapping his foot, he wondered what was taking Etienne so long to arrive. 'He probably doesn't want to leave the girl. Poor besotted fool.' Rob-Pierre still did not understand all of the soft emotions that people claimed to have. 'What a waste!'
The door opened startling him from his musings. Etienne walked in and surprisingly looked happy. There was a strange air around him. Rob-Pierre could not put his finger on it but Etienne seemed different somehow.
"I came immediately. What is the news?" Etienne held his breath hoping against hope that it was good news.
"I think you are right. He looked thrilled at the chance to get rid of her. By the way how did you ever know that he would be willing?" Rob-Pierre studied his associate closely.
"Well I happened to see them the night you attacked." Etienne avoided mentioning the scar; he did not want Rob-Pierre angry now. "He looked irritated at having to catch her."
Rob-Pierre digested the news wondering how it might help him. "So you are saying that he does not return the love she has for him?"
"I think not, but that is no longer a concern. I conveniently helped erase her memory while I had her under. Hypnosis is useful." He did not mention that he had fail-safe measures in place. 'I know what this man is capable of and I will do what I must to stop him at any cost.' Etienne hid his rebellious feelings, keeping a calm mask in place.
"So we are ready for the next phase. It has been two hours since I left him and it is time to get an answer." Rob-Pierre grinned and stood slowly. "Wait here I shall return in a moment and we will figure out how best to get him out of here." He walked through the door and shut it behind him.
Etienne's shoulders drooped in relief, worry leaving him in waves. He thought that Rob-Pierre saw through his mask, but apparently, he was still safe. If or when Rob-Pierre figured out his duplicity, he would be hurting if not dead. Knowing how vindictive he was Etienne knew Rob-Pierre would cause as much pain as possible before killing him. Etienne schooled his features back into a calm mask and chased the tension from him.
Mamoru sat smiling in anticipation. His plan was too perfect and he enjoyed the simplicity of it. 'Once Usagi is dead, things will be even better. With the girls being sympathetic to my grief they will do anything to help me feel better.'
He didn't know how much time had passed but he was getting impatient waiting for his captor to return. He jumped in surprise when the door opened. Rob-Pierre made his way into the room studying Mamoru as he walked.
"Well Rose Boy, your two hours are up. Have you made up your mind?" He watched Mamoru closely waiting in anticipation.
"I think it is a good idea but you must assure me that the item that we are bargaining with will never end up being my problem again." Mamoru glared at his captor emphasizing his point.
"I can assure you that the problem has already been taken care of. The person, you so callously speak of, has no memory of you or anything from before today." Rob-Pierre let the disdain in his voice show. He had no liking for this egotistical ass.
"That is a good thing then. I'll accept your offer on one condition. I would like to see the item one last time before I leave." He prayed his captor would accept his condition. Wearing his poker face, he kept his face blank and stared at Rob-Pierre.
"I will have to ask my associate but I think that may be plausible. Let me arrange your release and I'll figure something out." Rob-Pierre studied Mamoru as he spoke. 'What is he up to now? I had better make sure to have Etienne close at hand.' He smiled and stood before continuing. "I'll be back shortly." With that said, he strolled to the door never looking back...
Here is an end to Chapter 7. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please R & R and let me know what you think.
Red-Rose18 - I can't apologize for what my Muse decides. I hope on the whole you like the story though.
Santi - I am glad you like my twist. Thanks!
jamesstutz - I love your review. It was great. Thanks, You are a great reviewer. ;)
Maroon Heart - I am glad you like it so far. The fountain was intended to make the reader wonder whether her dream her own or does he know more than he lets on.
Cardcaptor Eternity - I am sorry you did not catch that. They are two different people. Thanks for reading. I do hope you enjoy.
PoisonMoon - I am sorry you do not like Mamo-chan's yuckiness that is due to an email I received, (You know who you are! THANKS) in which the reviewer made some awesome points and my muse happened to agree so I thought WHAT IF...? There really is no specific reason. I hope overall you will like the story though.