Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the story so far! When we left off, the Senshi have split up into small groups to search the new, ragged world they've entered. That's where we rejoin them. This is a bit of a transition episode and most of these little stories will be finished in the next chapter… maybe. We'll see. I haven't written it yet.
I didn't do review replies this time since I wanted to get the chapter out as soon as possible! More action next episode!
rosa
Chapter Three: The New RealityWhen Ami and Zoisite were alone in the hospital, Zoisite gently lowered his wife to the ground, then allowed the acrid new reality to touch him.
The hospital halls were ragged and dull. They couldn't see a single nurse or doctor, and halls were in disarray. Equipment had cobwebs and dust on it; lights had gone out and not been replaced; doors and windows and monitors had been broken and not repaired. The place was a shambles.
Zoisite was shocked that anyone could allow a hospital to fall into such disarray.
"Its too bad Setsuna couldn't tell us where in time we are. Then I'd know if I was a doctor yet here or not," he whispered to her.
"It would be helpful information to have," Ami admitted.
The two of them approached the receptionist, the only living person they'd encountered in the building. She looked haggard.
"Can I help you two?" she asked wearily. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Aren't you a patient here, miss?"
Ami's mind raced, and she latched onto the first answer that came to her. "My sister is, and we've come to visit her from out of town."
The clerk seemed satisfied with this answer, and directed them to the room they requested.
Ami looked suspicious. "How did she automatically know which room I was in?"
Zoisite thought, weighing the possibilities. "Either there are so few patients here that she knows each of them or you are a very familiar patient."
They reached the room number that had been given to them, and hesitated. "Wait here," Zoisite said. "There may be a nurse in there or something, and we don't want you and your former self to be seen together. I'll call you if the coast is clear."
Ami nodded numbly.
Zoisite knocked on the door, and an eerily familiar voice answered, "Enter."
When Zoisite opened the door, he was face to face with himself. And the younger Zoisite seemed unsurprised to see them there. Besides him and a still Ami on the hospital bed, the room was empty.
"Come in, Amiko," he called quietly.
Ami entered, and saw her former self utterly still on the hospital bed, and her husband's former self with deep circles under his lightless eyes.
"Kami," she whispered, shutting the door. "What's happened here?"
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Nephrite reacted quickly to the blast, and snatched Makoto from the air beside him, and enfolded her into the curve of his body, shielding her. They landed roughly on the ground, but no more blasts came directed at them.
When a familiar attack sequence was fired through the air, Makoto leapt up and frantically began to search for the sound.
"Supreme Thunder!" cried an oddly familiar voice.
"That's an old attack," Makoto breathed, curious, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Nephrite stood quickly, aware of his surroundings and even more aware of he and his wife's synchronized, eager breaths. A battle was happening nearby.
"Stay out of sight, Ma-ko!" he hissed, resisting his own urge to join the fray. It was happening on the other side of an abandoned home. Makoto reluctantly acknowledged her husband's advice, and rejoined his side. They crept surreptitiously around the side of the house, and the battle came into full view.
"What in Kami's name…" Mako breathed, tightening her grip on Nephrite's arm. Eyes wide, he drew her closer.
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When they reached the racetrack, it was dilapidated and deserted. It was in a tiny canyon, surrounded by high walls, and a section of stands on the right for observers. The stands were empty.
Save for one, insanely fast car.
"That's what I thought." Suddenly, a blast was heard from across the town, and they could hear some muffled attack sequences.
"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!" Haruka's eyes flashed furiously. "There is a battle happening, and I'm blowing it off! No way!"
She paused for a moment, watching the speed and direction of the racecar, then nodded. Without so much as a deep breath or a blink, she took off running and leapt right off the canyon wall, and nimbly landed on the roof of the racecar.
Michiru crossed her arms impatiently. Hotaru gave a weak smile. "Come on, Michiru," she said, mildly. "Let's take the stairs."
Haruka was slightly amused as her former self screamed a foul word, and slammed on the breaks. But she was prepared for this, and grabbed on to the rearview mirror so she wouldn't go flying off the hood.
She somersaulted nimbly off of the car as the door opened.
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Jadeite and Rei, with the smoldering temple still in their mind's eye, sped worriedly towards the blast, knowing Makoto and Nephrite had been going that way.
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Minako and Kunzite also heard the blast, but decided that the others could investigate it.
"We've got to find Motoki," Minako reasoned. "Because he will know what's going on!"
With this, they entered the Crown, a building that was barely intact.
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Mamoru was stunned at the fear in Ikuko's face as she bolted the door, two, three times, and shut the lights out.
"Mamoru! How did you get out!" Then, she noticed Setsuna. "Setsuna? I haven't seen you in a year!"
"Get out of where, Ikuko?" Mamoru pressured as Kenji came around the corner with a gun, and shut all the windows and closed the curtains. The gun wasn't leveled at him, Mamoru noticed, but meant to protect him.
"Endymion, that can wait. Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, we are from the future, and we are here to fix everything."
With that, they transformed into Sailor Pluto and King Endymion.
The couple bowed shortly, then asked quickly, "What is going on?"
They detransformed, and all four of them adjourned to the living room to sit. Setsuna took charge. Mamoru shot her an irritated look, but allowed it.
"Mrs. Tsukino, how long has Usagi been dead in this timeline?"
Mamoru winced at the blunt term. "Gone," he corrected her in a whisper. She ignored him.
"One year," Ikuko answered tremulously. Her husband drew her close, his eyes flashing with renewed anger. "Don't you know what happened?"
"That's what we've come to ask you. But first, let me ask you a question. Why did you ask Mamoru 'how did you get out'?"
Ikuko took a deep breath, watching Endymion's face carefully. "Because I thought he was the present day Mamoru, who is kept in a high security prison they disguise as a mental facility."
Mamoru felt his jaw drop. "Why?"
Ikuko tried to begin the story, but couldn't. Kenji took over, pocketing his firearm.
"Because he is the main suspect in Usagi's murder."
"Murder? It wasn't an accident or a freak mugging or something?"
Kenji's eyes hardened, as if Setsuna's question only angered him more. "No. It was murder. Cold-blooded, evil murder. Someone climbed up the tree next to Usagi's window, slid it open, came into her room, and shot her once in the head, after pressing a rose into her hand. She never even had a chance to henshin or defend herself."
Everything before Mamoru's eyes turned into shades of black and red. His fists clenched into tight spheres, his knuckles white. His face flashed from white, to sickly green, to fiery red.
"Someone shot her in cold blood while she was sleeping!" he seethed. "Just wait," he hissed, his rage quiet. "I will make them wish they'd never been born."
"Just leave a piece for me," Kenji growled, serious as a heart attack.
"Ikuko, why would Usagi leave her window open?"
Ikuko's brow furrowed. "That's one thing the police couldn't figure out, but we have a suspicion. Usagi believed you were coming to her room that night. Someone else was disguised as you, we think. The police never asked us if she was expecting anyone. That's their stupid mistake. We never lied. Besides, we didn't know for sure."
"Why exactly is Mamoru the suspect?" Setsuna wondered.
"Because his fingerprints were found in her room."
Mamoru rolled his eyes, aggravated. "For God's sake, I've been in her room many times, but never did I ever go in at night. I used come to her window at night before for Senshi stuff, but never in the room. I wouldn't dishonor her like that! If she was expecting me, it wasn't really me, because, however tempting the idea was at the time—there's no way I would agree to meet her in her room at night. But, please, during the day I've certainly been in her room! Of course my fingerprints would be there!" Mamoru railed, breathless. "Someone must have tricked her before hand."
"We said that you'd never do that, but the police were in a frenzy. A young girl in the suburbs murdered in her bed? It freaked out everyone, and the police had the DA, the mayor, the governor, everyone on their back to find someone. They latched on to you."
"Why in God's name would I hurt her?"
"You wouldn't." Ikuko and Kenji answered simply, together.
"Have any of the Senshi identities been revealed since then?" Setsuna queried
"No. There were rumors that Usagi was Sailor Moon since the soldier disappeared after she died, but they died down after a month. No other identities have been revealed. But I must say," Kenji muttered sadly, "That the Senshi and Shitennou have certainly not been the same since. They are barely alive."
"How are the two of you so calm after only a year?" Mamoru wondered.
"We just knew that because Usagi was Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity, that something would happen and she would come back. How did you know about this if you are so far in the future?"
Setsuna took a deep breath. "The timeline is dependent upon the entity of Serenity," she said, groping for words. She explained briefly about the time sickness.
"So in your time, Usagi is still alive?"
"Not technically. But that's why we have come here. If we go back in time to before she was killed, there's a possibility that we could stop it from happening." Setsuna answered, then she frowned.
"What timeline are we… no," she changed her question. "Is there no suspicion that this may not have been some serial killing but connected to Usagi's identity as Sailor Moon?"
"That is our suspicion, Setsuna. But the police cannot be aware of that angle, now can they? Even in death, we keep our promise to our daughter."
Setsuna thought on this. Mamoru stared at her sharply, desiring to know where her thoughts were going. She resumed her former question.
"What enemy was Usagi currently facing when she was murdered?"
Kenji cocked a wearied eyebrow. "Senshi of time and you do not know?"
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The Crown Arcade and Café's roof had caved in. Kunzite kicked down the flimsy door and heard it echo through the building. A rat ran out and disappeared into the weedy garden.
"Motoki? Are you in here?" Kunzite called. His voice returned to him through a haunting reverberation.
Minako was worried about her friend. In her present, Motoki, like Naru, had been offered an honorary position in the Court, as one of the King's advisors, second only to the Shitennou. Motoki had been thrilled and eagerly accepted.
Minako's husband was remembering something different as he kicked rubble out of the way so his wife could pass through easily.
Once after a battle with one of the Black Moon family's youmas, the Senshi and the Shitennou had retreated back to the control room through teleportation. Before they had a chance to even detransform, Motoki had pulled up the hidden trap door that led to the room and fallen through when he lost his balance.
"Whoa! The Sailor Senshi!" He'd cried, stunned. Sailor Moon had laughed, and helped him up. Then, in a flash, she detransformed into Tsukino Usagi.
Motoki's expression had been priceless. "Usagi! Nani-o!"
She transformed into Princess Serenity right there and restored his memories of the Silver Millennium, then he'd agreed to keep their identities secret to Mamoru's insistence. And to learn that his best friend was Tuxedo Kamen was shocking to say the least. The Outer Senshi had not yet rejoined the group, but Motoki vaguely remembered who they were at the time.
When he'd been made the King's advisor, in some matters Endymion had turned to Motoki instead of one of his Generals. But there was no animosity towards Motoki from any of the Generals. In fact, the six men were all very close, much like the Senshi and Naru.
Kunzite groaned, frustrated. He was missing something. Something important triggered by the visit to the Crown. But no matter how he reached, he couldn't grasp it.
He tested the rotting floorboards to be sure they were sturdy before Minako walked on them. They were.
"Come on in, Mina, just be careful!" he called. "Motoki!"
Still nothing.
The place was covered in dust and cobwebs. It was falling apart, and Kunzite couldn't see three feet in front of his face because the windows were boarded up and the power had long since been cut off.
"You back there Mina?" he called, reaching back for her hand. A chilled, trembling hand slipped into his own.
"Hai," she answered softly.
"Let's check out the control room."
"Ok."
Neither mentioned their deepest fear: that they'd find the place sacked with all their secrets scattered all over the floor for any enemy to view.
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Naru finished reading about Princess Serenity's birth, and noticed that the Queen was becoming more restless. She sighed, and stood up. She went into the closet and reached for some spare sheets. She rolled them up, and gently but firmly tied her best friend to her bed. Once over the shoulders, the abdomen, then the knees.
"Gomen nasai, Usagi-chan!" she sobbed, reached for the Queen's hand. "Gomen nasai! I just don't want you to hurt yourself!"
It may have been her imagination or a random twitch, but Naru's tears stopped, and she swore the Queen's small hand had tightened slightly, squeezing her own.
"Naru…chan…" she whispered, haggardly, then gasped, and started to thrash around again.
"Oh, Usagi-chan, what happened to you?" she cried, anguished.
The petite queen thrashed harder, and her words, though slurred, were deliberate and clear. For a moment, her eyes opened, bright and terrified.
"Mamo-chan… killed me…!" she gasped, incredulously. Then, her eyes closed, and she began to thrash around against the ropes, sobbing deliriously..
Naru watched her for a moment, tears rolling down her face, then picked up another book. The one that talked about when Serenity fled to Earth.
And then she met me, Naru thought wistfully. Those were joyful times…
As she read, Naru noticed that the clocks in the room hadn't moved and the sun wa still in the same place it had been in hours ago, but still Usagi's illness progressed.
"And there Serenity, disguised as a peasant named Rose, met a friend named Naru, and even Time was unable to separate the two…"
At the end of that sentence, Naru's voice trembled slightly.
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I hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter should come soon!
rosa