Author's notes are here!! Not much to say, except please review!
Oh, and I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the characters associated with it…although I'm having a good time messing up the universe crafted so carefully around them.
Anju, Haikumei, and all other weirdly named enemies are of my creation, so I do own them.
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Ichidou - Chapter Three:
"Flames of Purity"
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"All pain is a punishment, and every punishment is inflicted for
love as much as for justice."
- Joseph de Maistre
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He raised his head up to look at the stars, perhaps to gaze at the moon. Mamoru held his angel close and cried in complaint to the heavens. "USAKO!!!"
*`*``
Mamoru's heartfelt outburst cut through the silence of the hour.
A rainbow of color filled the sky as the sun arose to meet the challenge of the day. Though the rising sun, Jupiter watched as Tuxedo Kamen's emotional barrier shattered into fragments. From her point a few feet away, she could see the tears forcing their way down his cheeks.
Jupiter forced herself to her feet and brushed her skirt off. Makoto wasn't sure if she should interrupt this moment – it seemed far too personal.
The overwhelming concern for her friend caused Mako to turn and run towards the two – pushing away better judgment. Usagi was hurt; she was unmoving in Mamoru's arms…
Jupiter dropped to her knees and looked at Usagi in Tuxedo Kamen's arms. "What happened?" asked the worried girl. "Is Usagi okay…?"
Tuxedo Kamen did not reply. Instead, he turned his head, almost ashamed. "Usako…" A rare sight to see, the cobalt eyes of Mamoru wavered with tears. He held the girl close to him. Makoto only watched, as he called to Usagi, limp and unresponsive in his arms.
Sailor Jupiter felt her own heart wrench at the thought of losing Usagi. A feeling of nausea overcame her – perhaps a sign of the condition of her friend.
The senshi of lightning reached out to touch Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder as a sign of support. She hoped she hadn't invaded his space, but felt helpless to do otherwise. Her suspicions were confirmed as Mamoru turned to face Mako, the tears cascading down his cheeks; the pain visible in his exposed eyes.
"Usako…she's – she's gone, Makoto…"
At that moment Jupiter felt nothing.
The impact of those words didn't hurt Mako until he face grew hot with tears. "She's gone?" repeated the senshi of lighting. "Oh my God…"
Seeing Jupiter's tears didn't help Mamoru's condition. His gaze fell again on the beautiful girl in his arms. Her blood still stained his clothes and still resided on his lips from their last kiss. Tuxedo Kamen could feel their soul bond shatter in that moment and he believed that like a hungry dragon, the pain might consume him.
"Damnit," muttered Jupiter. She tried to wipe away her tears, realizing that she had to be strong for both Mamoru's and her own well-being, but it was truly a useless effort.
A laugh echoed throughout the entire park. It seemed to focus in on Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Jupiter, seeming louder where they stood.
Tuxedo Kamen looked up from Usagi's corpse. "The enemy…" he said softly to the senshi next to him. Mamoru made some motions for Mako to go one way as he went the other way.
As he ran into the cover of a clump of cherry trees, something reached out and grabbed Tuxedo Kamen by the neck. His eyes widened in surprise and he almost dropped the girl in his arms. The thing pulled the caped hero into the trees and away from the light of the morning.
Because of the force of the pull, Tuxedo Kamen watched helplessly as he dropped Usagi to the grass. "Damnit…" He reached for her as another figure swept the blonde into their grasp.
"L-let go of her!" demanded a nearly breathless Tuxedo Kamen. The chokehold only tightened to increase his discomfort.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a new voice called out. It sounded vaguely familiar to Tuxedo Kamen – An enemy?! His mind raced. Damnit… He fought back the consuming blackness as his windpipe constricted further.
"Not while I'm around…" said the semi-familiar voice. The feminine voice's next words confirmed Tuxedo Kamen's familiarity.
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" A blast struck the person assaulting Tuxedo Kamen and he rolled away, gasping for air. Sailor Jupiter seemingly disappeared in the next moment as she went to beat whatever attacked Mamoru.
Sailor Jupiter stared into the blue-green eyes of the newest to try and destroy the earth. The woman was taller than Jupiter, using it to her advantage. The enemy smirked at the sign of a challenge from this girl standing before her.
"Who the hell are you?" Jupiter asked, shifting the weight of her dead friend in her arms. "We were so engaged in killing one another last time before you disappeared." A wolfish smile crossed the senshi of lightning's face. "It seems only fair to know the name of the bitch that killed my best friend."
The enemy smiled at the words. She bowed and replied, "I am Anju, servant to Lordess Haikumei." As Anju regained her composure she unclasped her hands and added, "I wouldn't be so hot for revenge, girl. You underestimate me."
Jupiter tried to take as best of a defensive stance as possible with Usagi in her arms. "I've dealt with scum like you. Want to destroy earth, right?" The senshi looked her enemy again in the eyes and realized that this woman's goal must be something greater… "No, you want something bigger – but I will never let you get it!"
Anju laughed outloud. "What do you want me to be here for, senshi of lightning?"
Faintly, a voice called something out that was unrecognizable at this distance. Soon it came closer to where Anju and Jupiter were verbally harassing one another, not in the form of words.
A huge ball of fire roared past Jupiter, nearly searing her long auburn hair. It spiraled, splashed into the ground in front of Anju, and created a ring of fire around the enemy.
"Mars?!" Jupiter called out. "Is that you?"
"Aqua Illusion!" shouted another voice. A thick fog rolled in, making it impossible for either woman to see their own feet.
"It's Mercury and Mars," muttered Makoto, "but where are they?"
Someone put his or her hand on Jupiter's shoulder. "Right behind you."
Jupiter turned around and glared into Mars' violet eyes. "Don't do that," she told the priestess. "I thought you were the enemy."
"That bimbo?" Mars asked in mock offense.
"What's wrong with Sailor Moon?" Mercury asked instantly as she approached. She instantly noticed that Usagi appeared to be hurt and that Jupiter was carrying her for a reason.
Jupiter looked away as the tears threatened to return. "S-She's…dead."
Mercury favored Jupiter with a weird look. "You're joking, right?"
Mars walked toward Usagi and checked her pulse. "Kami-sama have mercy…" she muttered. Mars' face went pale as she realized the horrible truth.
Mercury still refused to believe such a claim and checked Usagi's pulse again. She remained silent.
"I told you guys…"
Jupiter tried to suppress her tears as best as possible. One look at Mars' face and both her and Mercury lost all their composure. All three burst into tears and tried to mourn the loss of their friend and their leader.
Their tears were interrupted by the sound of laughter. "You cry over that girl?" demanded Anju. "You waste your tears on such a pathetic being!"
Mars glared into the dissipating fog. "You killed her, didn't you demon?"
Anju flipped her hair as she stood above them, in a tree. "Oh senshi, that's a precious little secret…"
A rose shot down from the heavens and imbedded itself into the branch at Anju's feet. All looked up at Tuxedo Kamen, who stood in the branches of a nearby tree. He jumped down to the three senshi and stood by them.
"Anju, watch yourself," Tuxedo Kamen called up to the new enemy. "I will not rest until you pay for the suffering you have caused here!"
Mars put a hand on his shoulder as he moved to leap into the tree. She leaned in and said gently, "I'm so sorry… Please, don't be consumed with hatred. This woman is not the cause of Usagi's death."
Tuxedo Kamen turned and looked into Mars' eyes. "When I find the being that killed her, the bastard that created that virus, their suffering will match my suffering, Rei. Pray that I never find the guilty party."
Mars stepped back in surprise. Tuxedo Kamen walked back to Jupiter, who still carried Usagi in her arms. The senshi of lightning surrendered her friend to Tuxedo Kamen's protective embrace. He held Usagi close, despite the fact that she was dead.
"This is getting too boring for my tastes, senshi," Anju called down to them. "Allow me to make this more entertaining."
Black blades rained down on the entire group. Razor sharp, they inflicted various painful wounds on the vulnerable senshi. Tuxedo Kamen covered Usagi and himself with his cape in the hope of protecting them from the attack.
Anju laughed in pleasure as she watched the senshi suffer. When she felt satisfied, the blade ridden rain stopped. This happened to be when all the senshi were injured enough to be drastically weakened.
The ground was literally stained with blood from the senshi's wounds. Tuxedo Kamen however, had the worst wound of them all.
A huge wound ran along the length of Tuxedo Kamen's right arm – the one he had held his cape up with. Blood ran not only down his arm, but was also smeared on his cape and sleeve. Three drops of his blood were on Usagi's forehead and cheek. Another droplet lay on her closed eyelid.
Although Tuxedo Kamen had protected her, Usagi's body had been injured as well. Long thin wounds covered her entire body and secreted crimson blood.
"What's happening to her?" wondered Mercury.
"It's that virus," replied Tuxedo Kamen. He laid his burden onto the ground to assess the extent of the injury on his arm. He noted that it wasn't really important and leaned down again to pick up his love.
Blood streamed down his arm and he grimaced as he lifted her easily into his embrace. Mamoru staggered a bit as he put pressure on the severely wounded arm.
"Are you alright?" Jupiter asked him.
"I'll be fine," came his response.
"What do you want from us, Anju?!" demanded Mars.
The woman smiled before the senshi. "Nothing more than your dead leader, of course."
"This virus still ravages Sailor Moon's body and mind," Tuxedo Kamen spoke up. Sorrow was still evident in his undertones, but he tried to bar off the emotion until he could be alone… "It's eating her alive. I'm afraid she'll be of no use to you now Anju."
"Dead or alive, that girl still will become a great help for my cause," Anju reassured us. "It doesn't matter now what her fate will be. There is no chance in either heaven or hell that your 'eternal happiness' can ever occur."
"You can never have her!" Mercury shot back with an unusual fierceness. "You will have to kill everyone here to take our friend!"
Anju's smile twisted into an amused smirk. "It's so pathetic, Senshi. You give this girl so much respect for being a corpse." She raised one hand, palm outwards and facing the senshi. "However, I think your request can be arranged."
"We didn't come here to die, Anju," came a new voice. "Especially not to the likes of you."
"Wha –" began Jupiter before Mars covered her mouth with one hand. All scanned the area around them to locate the source of the voice.
Anju looked confused, then horrified. Mars noted Anju's discomfort and chided her with, "So you don't like what you can't see, Anju?"
There was no response from the enemy in front of the senshi. Instead, the unseen person again verbally accosted Anju. "You want someone to fight with?"
A figure clad in the fuku of a senshi jumped down from a surrounding tree. It was Sailor Venus – but anger marred all of her features.
It was in this moment that Sailor Mercury turned to a surprised Tuxedo Kamen and said, "Go." He looked surprised to hear her telling him to leave when Mercury knew they would need his help. "Go now!" she repeated. "If you want to get out of here with Usagi, then now is the time!"
"I can't leave the four of you here to face this alone," Tuxedo Kamen tried to protest.
"Leave," reinforced Jupiter, whose attention was more focused on the discomfort of Anju. "You're not a coward! Get out of here!"
Tuxedo Kamen looked surprised at the force behind Jupiter's tone. This time, instead of protesting, he tipped his hat at the four senshi. Moments later, the masked man was gone. Mercury sighed. At least that was over.
"Venus Crescent Beam!"
The thin beam hit Anju directly in the left side of her chest - almost piercing into the witch's heart. The evil woman looked surprised at Venus' incredible aim. In a counterattack, all hell broke loose.
Four new enemies of various identities teleported into the battle. "Great odds," muttered Mars.
In unison, all four of the senshi raised their guards.
Venus leapt down from her stance in the trees to join her friends.
At her action, one of the new enemies smiled. He had long navy colored hair, and almost struck a similarity with Saffir of the Black Moon Clan.
He smiled and raised one hand out to the senshi. "The Princess is coming with us," he told them, "Even if all four of you must die in the process."
In one fluid motion, Jade threw a ball of blue lightning at the inner senshi standing before him. It was too fast – Jupiter merely crossed her arms over her face and prayed that it would deflect a bit of the blast.
With full force the lightning struck…its force pushing the four girls backwards. Immense heat flooded around them as the blast grew.
Behind the four girls was one of Anju's youma – arms red, thick, and long like vines of licorice. The creature looked like a spider, except for the human head and arms.
"This keeps getting more and more wonderful…" Venus muttered as she stood.
Mars tried to blast the creature, but it did nothing. The youma glowed white as it absorbed the energy being exerted. "This isn't going to stop my friend," taunted Anju, "it's quite useless really."
Anju raised her thin, spindly hand; her long, bloodstained nails peaking over the tips of her narrow fingers. Her hands and fingers were so thin that as her blast charged it was visibly pulsing in her veins. "Take care of them Nauguo," she commanded, referring to the spider-like monster.
As the senshi braced themselves, black and red tentacles surrounded them. The tentacles grabbed at the very vulnerable senshi and clutched their necks, legs, arms – it didn't matter. Jupiter thrashed in an attempt to get free, but it was utterly futile.
The tentacles began to glow a vibrant white as Anju began to laugh in the foreground. It was sapping our energy…
In the next moment, something shot down from the sky and freed Mercury's left arm. Mercury stumbled out some words in surprise, "Bubbles Freeze!"
Ice – slowly at first –slipped down the veins of the red and black tentacles. Using most of her strength, Jupiter stretched her arms apart. In doing so, she broke the glasslike arms binding her.
Next to her, Venus, Mercury and Mars were doing the same thing – breaking away from the ice. All four fell to the ground.
Jupiter was still seeing double when Anju remarked, "The senshi aren't the threat they were prophesied to be, Tuxedo Kamen."
Tuxedo Kamen? Thought Mars in alarm. Why isn't he with Usagi? When she noticed him perched high above them with empty hands, she panicked. Where is Usagi?
He leapt down to them with a grim look on his face. When he reached the ground Mercury asked instantly, "What happened to Usagi?" She had stolen the words from Mars' thoughts.
"Hidden," was the reply.
"Not even going to ask," Venus muttered.
"Neither am I," Mars added softly.
Tuxedo Kamen reached into his coat and pulled out a tiny black stick. He flicked his wrist and it extended into a long black cane. He surprised all of the senshi with his next words. "You were the one to kill Usagi," he said coldly.
Anju tossed her head back and laughed. "The girl? She was easy to destroy…"
"You created that virus, didn't you?" Jupiter demanded. It took all the self-control Makoto had learned to not attack the woman before them.
The evil woman looked Tuxedo Kamen in the eyes and replied with a smirk, "Of course. It was pleasing to watch her suffer for weeks on end."
"Damnit!" Mars exploded. She began to lunge at Anju, but Mercury and Venus held her back. "Damn you!"
Venus knew that she now had no right to fight Anju. Instead, she resolved, I'll fight as many of these bastards as possible to make the enemy pay for the suffering they've caused.
Anju's smirk split into a grin. "Get rid of the Sailor Senshi, my warriors. Bring me their crest lockets and their heads."
Jade and the three others bowed. "As you wish."
"This should be fun," Mars said with a fake smile.
Venus nodded. "Hey, I needed a way to take out my aggression." She cracked her knuckles and added, "It's been a bad day."
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