Disclaimer: I don't own sailormoon

Chapter Nine

Mina sat next to Serena and watched as her eyes slowly opened. The slivers of blue gradually got bigger, util the whole orbs could be seen. Mina smiled at her when she turned her head.

" Hello."

" Mina?" Serena asked, her voice raspy.

"Yeah, how do you feel?" Mina asked.

"Sore. What happened? I remember waking up and someone trying to force something down my throat. Was that you?"

" No, it wasn't me. Oh, Serena, I've got us into a terrible situation. The people who found us are trying to kill you and I don't know why." Mina cried.

" Trying to kill me?"

" The liquid they were trying to force you to drink, it was poison."

' But why would they want to kill me?" Serena asked, confused.

"I don't know, I was hoping you would." Mina said.

" Thinking about it, it might have something to do with my parents, but I'm not sure. Is there any chance of getting a drink?"

" Not right now. I don't want to leave you in case they decide to come and try again. I don't want to use the cup that had the poison because I'm not sure what it weas and it might have left a residue."

" What are we going to do?" Serena asked.

" Get out of here. I heard three horses riding away, so that means that at least three of them are gone. That still leaves five, but I think I've found a way to get out of this room without going through the kitchen. But it's going tohurt you.' mina said.

" Pain is nothing new to me. What's your plan?"

" Unfortunately there is no roof underneath this window, but there is a small ledge. We're going to use the classic ' get out through the window' trick. Mina said, trying to lighten the mood as she bent down to help Serena sit up.

mina tried to ignore the flashes o-0f agony she could see contort Serena's features. She knew if she dallied they would never get out of there alive. Making sure their movements were muffled by the rug on the floor, she got Serena up and helped her move towards the window.

"I'm going up to check on them." Amy said, walling to the bottom o0f the stairs.

" Don't go in that room!' Zoicite said firmly.

" I'm not, I'm just going to knock and see if Mina answers.' Amy replied.

" Call out if anything goes wrong." Lita said.

"Will do."

Amy walked up the stairs, quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible. She didn't want to alert Mina tpo her presence before she reached the door. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, a feeling that something wasn't right in that room. She had been trained to notice her surroundings and things out of the ordinary, and the quietness emanating from the room above had made her suspicious. People as angry as Mina, should be pacing the floor, but nothing indicated that she had been. She was sure Serena would have woken up by now, and it worried her that Mina hadn't even moved to get her something to drink.

She stopped briefly at the top of the stairs to listen for voices coming from the room. When she heard them she moved cautiously up to the door and pressed her ear against it. What she heard made her blood freeze. She quickly rushed back to the top of the stairs, relieved to see that one of the others were standing at the bottom. She motioned frantically for the rest of them to come up, then raced back to the door and slammed it open.

Mina was just getting her feet secure on the ledge beneath the window, readying herself to help Serena through, when the door slammed back on its hinges. Serena screamed in fright, and Mina moved frantically to get her through the window.

" Come on Serena... MOVE!" Mina yelled.

Ignoring the pain in her back, Serena hoisted herself onto the windowsill and swung her legs over it. But she wasn't quick enough.

Zoicite was the second in the room, after Amy, and barged past her when he saw what was happening. He reached Serena just as she was lowering herself onto the ledge, grabbing her under her armpits and hauling her back in. Mina yelled and whacked him over the head with something. He swore but didn't let Serena go. The others were quickly beside him, helping to bring Serena back over the windowsill and into the room, with Mina frantically trying to pull her through from the other side. Five against one were terrible odds and Mina eventually lost her hold on Serena. She watched as she disappeared back into the room they had so nearly got away from. She stood where she was; despair seeping through her, stopping her from moving.

Lita made sure the struggling Serena was held tightly, then cautiously stuck her head out the window, ready to pull it back in if anything came flying at it. When nothing did, she stuck it out fully and regarded Mina thoughtfully. She was staring at the wall in front of her, tears streaming down her face, barely holding on. She looked like she was going to topple over the edge.

" Come back in Mina." Lita said quietly. " Your escape failed, and you can't leave Serena here to fend for herself."

Mina started violently at the sudden voice, and grabbed frantically at the wall to try and regain her balance, when she started to fall. Her fingers hooked onto a loos rock and held tightly.

" Come back into the room." Lita said, extending a hand.

Mina looked at her, then the ground. She calculated the height and decided to go back into the room. But when she lifted her hand to try and grab another rock, she lost her balance and fell away from the wall, heading quickly for the ground.

Lita cried out as Mina fell, watching her get ever closer to the ground. She quickly averted her head, so she wouldn't see when she hit the ground, and accidentally caught Serena's eyes. They were filled with anger and life for a second, but quickly became lifeless as she heard Mina scream, knowing she had fallen.

Authors note: I know, I know, very cliché, but hey! Shoot me! Please Review.