Disclaimer: I still don't own Sailor Moon, and should probably be spending my time writing stuff that I could actually potentially make money off of. . . but fanfiction's just so darn fun!

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Night Of The Killer Bunny Slippers

by Jessyca Thornbrook

Chapter 8

A moment passed in stunned silence. Then—

"WHAT?" yelled the four girls in unison. Tuxedo Kamen didn't yell, but his face suddenly matched the color of his mask.

"You heard me," Gorai stated matter-of-factly, her sword tip still resting against Rei's neck. "I shall find the Moon Princess, and when I do, I shall cut out her heart with this," she pulled a wicked looking knife from her belt. "I shall then devour her still-beating heart and absorb all the power of her ancient soul!"

"Devour?" shrieked Sailor Moon.

"You mean you're planning to—to EAT her heart?" Venus' eyes boggled. "EWWWW! That is so disgusting!" Jupiter nodded in agreement, looking sick.

"Besides," put in Mercury, "you can't take someone's power by eating an internal organ. It's scientifically impossible."

"Silence, brat!" snapped Nitha, glaring at the blue-haired girl. "You know nothing! Lady Gorai has devoured the hearts of dozens of enemies, and with each she has grown stronger, adding their abilities to her own—"

"Enough, Nitha," Gorai cut him off. "I can speak for myself." She looked around at the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, and the five suddenly realized they were surrounded. One patchwork youma still lay motionless with a rose sticking out of its head, but the one Jupiter had hit was up, though limping, and the third had wriggled free of Venus' chain. More bunny slippers had arrived, and the whole horde had circled around behind the heroes, cutting off every avenue of flight.

"Yes," Gorai smiled. "There can be no escape. None have escaped me, not since the day my honored father died. You see, I was once a young girl, a weak, pathetic creature like all of you. But I seized the opportunity of power! The strength and wisdom I wrested from my father enabled me to defeat mighty beings throughout the galaxy and become stronger still. And now," her voice rose almost to a shout, "I shall have the heart of the legendary Moon Princess, with all the strength of her lost kingdom, and the power and pain of two lifetimes! I shall be invincible!" She laughed, and Sailor Moon felt her bones turn to water at the sound.

"Hey, psycho!" yelled Jupiter, fists clenched at her sides and eyes flashing. "If you think we're letting you anywhere NEAR the Princess, you've got another think coming! I don't care how many of your relatives you've eaten!"

"Yeah!" Venus agreed, and Mercury nodded angrily. Sailor Moon tried to look as brave as her friends, but inside she was quaking. The entire confrontation was making her far more nervous than she could rationally explain. The only thing keeping her from shrieking and curling into a fetal ball was the presence of Tuxedo Kamen a few feet behind her. She couldn't see him, but somehow she knew exactly where he was, and she held on to that knowledge like a lifeline.

For his part, Tuxedo Kamen was staring silently at Rei, forcing himself to focus on the sword at her throat. Remain calm, he told himself. Any violent reaction could cost Rei-chan her life. Be calm. Rational. He repeated this mantra in his head, again and again.

It wasn't working. Rage boiled up inside him, ready to explode. He wanted to act, to attack Gorai, punish her for even thinking of harming the princess—his princess—and for frightening Sailor Moon. The small warrior was trembling; he could see her hair moving, and there was no wind. And more than that, he could feel her fear. . . or maybe it was his own?

Ignoring the reaction of the Senshi, Gorai suddenly turned to Nitha. "Well?" she asked sharply. Nitha jumped, startled, then nodded and scrabbled around in the small black bag he wore. He drew out the same crystal he had waved over Rei's body, and held it out in front of him, toward the heroes. The crystal began to glow and hum again, but where it had stopped before, it now kept growing brighter and louder.

Excitement evident on his face, Nitha took a step forward. The crystal suddenly gave a blinding flash, the hum soaring to a piercing shriek—and then it shattered into a million pieces.

Nitha's cry of alarm swiftly turned to one of triumph. "She's here, Cousin!" he howled gleefully. "She's right in front of us! The Moon Princess herself, right here!"

"At last," whispered Gorai, her lips twisting into a cruel smile. Then raising her voice, "Which one of these pathetic would-be-warriors is she?" The Senshi glanced at one another in surprise. One of them?

"Not this one, obviously." Gorai prodded Rei with her foot, and was rewarded by a soft groan. Sailor Moon's heart leapt at the sound. Rei was alive!

"Not that one, either," said Nitha. He pointed a bony finger at Tuxedo Kamen and made a choked sound that might have been meant for a laugh. Tuxedo Kamen stared coldly at him, unflinching.

"True," said Gorai thoughtfully, as if noticing him for the first time. She raised her hand to her mouth and whistled—that same bone-chilling sound that Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen had heard earlier—and one of the patchwork creatures lumbered over to stand guard over Rei, who was now moving slightly, though her eyes were still closed. Gorai, sword still drawn, strode forward to stand directly in front of Sailor Moon (who barely came up to her waist), looking over her head at Tuxedo Kamen. Sailor Moon jumped back with a squeak, and Tuxedo Kamen swiftly stepped between her and the violet-skinned menace.

Gorai seemed to take no notice. "You," she began, staring intently down at the masked hero, "you do not belong in this company. Who are you?"

"I am one who will not allow you to harm the princess," he replied cooly, maintaining his dignity even though Gorai towered over him by a good foot and a half at least.

Now that's something you don't see every day, whispered a small unparalyzed portion of Sailor Moon's brain.

"Hmph. We shall see. Nitha!" Gorai snapped, not taking her gaze from Tuxedo Kamen's face, as if trying to read his thoughts through his eyes. Nitha jumped again, and shuffled quickly to her side. "What is this man?" she demanded.

Nitha peered down at Tuxedo Kamen, his eyes growing distant and blank. A strange tension filled the air nearby. Tuxedo Kamen could feel it buzzing in his brain—not a pleasant sensation—and Sailor Moon felt the hair on the back of her neck rising. Her first instinct was to run, but she moved closer to Tuxedo Kamen instead, fists clutching the fabric of his cape.

The buzzing intensified, till the three Senshi standing a few meters away were shifting uncomfortably. Rei moaned, tossing her head back and forth. Mamoru remained motionless, but beads of sweat were forming on his brow, and a slight movement of his jaw suggested he was clenching his teeth.

Usagi whimpered and pressed her face into his back. It felt like her brain was going to explode! Someone make it stop. The buzzing only got worse. Please stop! It grew louder. Stop! Louder. Stop NOW

Suddenly several things happened at once. Usagi and Mamoru both felt something a bit like an electric shock, but different. The buzzing stopped, and Nitha stumbled backwards as if he had been struck. Gorai took half a step back, and then before anyone else could move she had her sword at Mamoru's throat.

"So. You do have power. How interesting." Her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I don't understand!" whined Nitha, regaining his balance and glaring at Tuxedo Kamen. "I've never heard of any other beings on this world with power to equal the legendary Senshi, and yet—"

"But you forget, Nitha," Gorai inturrupted him, "there was a man in the legend of the Moon Princess. Do you not remember?" Nitha stared at her blankly, and Gorai seemed to be repressing the urge to hit him again. "The Princess died in the final battle because she would not leave her lover, the Prince of Earth. So they died together. A tragic story." Her red eyes glinted with enjoyment as she spoke. "The tale of Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion is scarcely remembered now, in these days of ignorance and forgetfulness. But I remember! I know the power that such a sacrifice creates, and that power shall be mine!"

"Once we figure out who the Princess is," muttered Nitha.

"Fool!" Gorai shouted, turning toward him. Her sword remained pointed at Tuxedo Kamen, but had moved away from his throat by a few inches. This would have been cause for relief, both to him and to the small girl standing behind him, had they not been completely distracted at that moment.

. . . Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion. . . The words rang through their heads. Mamoru wasn't sure if his mind was finally clearing—or breaking. Those names meant something to him. . . or did they?

Usagi felt that strange resonance again, as if her soul were chiming in response to those two names. Especially the second one. . . .

"Endymion," she whispered, and again felt the sense of connection she had experienced moments earlier, when they had made Nitha stop doing whatever-it-was. She knew that hadn't been just Mamoru, or her, but both of them together. And it had felt so natural, and familiar. . . .

Gorai was still shouting at Nitha. "Idiot! We have the Prince, so the Princess will come to us! She would not leave him in their last life, and she will not stand idly by while he perishes now!"

There was a brief flash of movement, faster than the eye could track.

Three long strands of golden hair floated to the ground. The moonlight reflected dully off the blade of the black sword sticking out the back of Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder, centimeters from Sailor Moon's head.