@all. Sorry, it took me so long, *hides under the table* I was very busy
with college and with my other stories. But over Christmas I had some time
left, so here comes the big fight.
@Caoilte: To answer your question, it's not the first fic I've ever written, but it is the first one in English. *g*.
.
Chapter 14 - The Cat und the Grandfather
--------------------------------------------------
Uranus' attack blasted them back, right into the next wall. She charged at Tuxedo Kamen, her blade flashing under the night sky, in the dim light of the stars.
But Mercury was faster. With a few quick moves she stepped before him, trying to block Uranus' arm with hers. The sword could have sliced her easily, but Uranus dropped it at once, attacking Mercury with her fists instead.
"Run!" Mercury shouted. "I'll keep her busy!"
He didn't want to leave her, but in this situation, it seemed the best way to keep her out of trouble. Uranus wasn't after Mercury that was obvious. If he ran away she would surely leave Ami alone and chase after him.
But his plan didn't work at all, Uranus didn't try to follow him. Instead she knocked Mercury unconscious, lifted her up and began walking away, carrying the other Senshi. He stopped at once and raced back. "Let her go!" he yelled. "It's not her, you want!"
"Smart kid!" Uranus said, without turning around. She completely ignored him, as he ran towards her. Then, it seemed like an eternity, she slowly turned around. Very carefully she put Mercury down on the ground.
"I knew, you'd come back," she said coldly. "Looks like it's one on one, now!"
He met her gaze, and saw the hatred flaming up in her eyes. He had no idea, what she hated him for and why she wanted to kill him. The only explanation he could think of, was that she somehow held him responsible for Usagi's death.
"What have you done to Ami?" he demanded to know.
"She'll probably have a little headache, when she wakes up". Uranus shrugged. "But don't worry, you won't live to see it."
"Don't be so sure about that!"
They thought the same thing, the very same moment. As she tried to race past him, he threw a rose to the ground, and she stumbled over it. She was back on her feet in seconds, but it was enough time for him. He was the first to reach the sword.
He grabbed it with his left hand, since he was holding his staff with the other one, pointing both weapons at her. She stopped a few steps before him, just out of reach, eyeing him like a cat ready to jump.
"Why do you want to kill me?" he asked her. "What have I done to you?"
"This is not about me!" she hissed. "Don't pretend to be stupid, you know exactly what this is about!"
He threw the sword at her feet. She laughed scornfully, as she took it up. "Looks like I was wrong, you really are stupid. Incredibly stupid!"
They circled each other, slowly, carefully, never taking their eyes off each other. Their gazes were locked, nobody would make the mistake of looking at the opponent's weapon instead. That was a sure thing to lose a battle. Eyes told first, long before the body moved.
Her first blow was no more than a feint, easily blocked, since she was still trying to hide her true strength. She did not make the mistake of getting carried away by her anger, her head was cool, no matter how much she hated him. He could forget everything about provoking her, as he had planned. He had to find a new tactic.
Normally a woman would rather rely on her dexterity, than on her strength, especially when fighting a man. Then the best thing you could do was to tire her out, until she couldn't move fast anymore.
It was a good thing, that he had seen her fight so often. He knew exactly the old cliché didn't go for her at all. All that dancing around was not to be taken serious, it was nothing more than make-believe.
The hard blows didn't take him by surprise, he dodged them, rather than blocking them, trying not to tire his arms. That was something she hadn't expected at all, she responded with a series of fast and powerful strikes going higher and higher up. Now dodging became extremely difficult, once he felt her sword brushing his shoulder. It was mere fortune, that she didn't draw blood.
But his chance to break through her defences was approaching. The harder the blow, the harder to keep the balance. And all those high strikes left the lower part of her body completely undefended.
His arms were still relaxed, and his first real attack pulled her legs away. She managed to roll off to the side, as she fell, avoiding the next strike, but he knew he had her now. He didn't let her get back on her feet. He put all of his strength into his next blows, again, and again the staff came down on her. She had no chance to block. In a last desperate attempt she brought up the sword, but the staff blocked it easily.
But the very moment he thought he had won the battle, luck was on her side for a change. Her blade slid along the staff, cutting into his left hand. His grip loosened, she took the chance for another blow, ripping the staff from his hands. It swished through the air, landing several feet behind him.
He did the very thing, one should never do in a fight, he turned his back to her trying to catch the staff. An incredible carelessness! Her sword reached for his back, this could have been his end. If only her legs had carried her, she would have pierced him right through. But she dropped to the ground again, it had been too much for her.
He stumbled away more than he walked. As soon as he had brought some distance between them, he sat down, hoping she wouldn't notice, that he needed the break every bit as much as she did.
He was still mad at himself, for making such a stupid mistake, but it wouldn't do any good wrecking his brains about it now. At least it wasn't the right hand, so the injury wouldn't be that much of a problem.
He looked over to her, just like him she was gathering new strength. She lay on the side, with her long legs stretched out, testing if she could still move all of her muscles. Again he couldn't help, but thinking of a large cat, lurking for prey.
She gave him a crooked smile. "Looks like the round went to you! This time!" To him it looked much more like a draw, but of course he didn't say so.
"You know," he said, "I really would feel much better, if I knew what this was all about."
She yawned. "Maybe I tell you, before I kill you!"
"Is it about Saturday?" he wanted to know. "I don't have any memories at all of this night. The Inner Senshi know what happened, but they didn't tell me!"
"The Inner Senshi don't know nothing!" She scowled. "Inners never get anything right! If they had killed the seven devils in the first place, none of this would ever have happened."
The seven devils? What did they have to do with it all? True, they had been Queen Beryl's and Queen Metallia's servants a long time ago, but the Senshi had defeated them and turned them back into humans.
And a cat.
A cat? The letter to Usagi had mentioned a cat. She was supposed to follow a cat to meet with Metallia and surrender the Holy Silver Crystal...
"Was Metallia powerful enough to wake up the seven devils again?" he asked suspiciously.
"Not to fight, no!" Uranus shook her head. "But she managed to take control over the mind of Rei's grandfather for a few minutes, so he could write the letter to Usagi, and she used that damn cat to lure her down that cave. That was all. But it was damn enough!"
So the letter had been written in the Hikawa Shrine after all. Another piece of the puzzle. Had Metallia also used the demons to kidnap him? But who had taken his memories away and why? And how much did Uranus know about it? Had she been there, when the battle started or had someone told her what happened?
Uranus jumped to her feet. "It doesn't change anything! Only your blood will color your roses red again, Tuxedo Kamen!" With raised sword she waited for him to approach. That was not at all like her at all, he would have expected her to charge. What new trick was she playing?
They circled each other, this time she seemed to wait for him to attack. Probably she was waiting for him to make a false move. He decided to let her wait a little more, maybe she would lose some of her watchfulness.
Again she gave him that crooked smile of hers, as if this was simply a game to her. It was, in a way. She loved to fight, loved the thrill of the adrenalin rushing through her veins. The fascination of battle was something you wouldn't admit in your wildest dreams, yet it was there. It sparkled right out of her eyes, and he wouldn't be able to read it there, if he didn't know how it felt. It broke into your mind, ripping all thoughts apart. It reduced the human mind to that of animal. No thoughts, only instinct. No questions. No pain.
His attack was a real one; he felt the anger rise up inside him. She jumped aside. Did he only imagine it, or had her movement slowed? Maybe that was the reason she was being more careful, she was hurt and didn't want to show it.
That made her even more dangerous. And it could also be a trick; she wanted him to lower his defences. He didn't take the risk, of putting his full strength into the next attacks, he wouldn't betray any weak spot to her.
If she noticed, they were half-hearted, she didn't show. She treated all of them quite serious, with graceful dodging maneuvers. Only her blocks seemed as if she had lost strength. It was incredibly confusing, he didn't know what to make of it.
His attacks grew harder, he wanted to know, how much she could take. She finally responded, her next blows were aimed high. Should he try it again? His staff reached for her feet.
She jumped, spinning around in the air, and bringing her sword down on him. There was absolutely no time to raise the staff high enough to block, so he dropped to the ground, hoping to avoid the worst. The blade hit his left shoulder, leaving a slight wound.
Instinctively his right hand reached for it. All she had to do was to step on the left one, which was injured anyway to make him drop the staff. "Never use the same trick twice," she said throwing it as far away as possible. "You got me pretty bad before, should've finished me off, when you had the chance to!" So it had not been a trick after all, her injuries were real.
He had hesitated too long.
"We were even, Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she said, placing the tip of her sword on his chest, "it was fate, that decided our battle. Did you know, there was a law in ancient Europe, that a duel could figure out the truth, whether someone had committed a crime or not? They believed fate would protect the innocent, and punish the guilty."
He looked straight into her eyes. "So did they have another law, never to tell people the reason why they were killed, or was that in a different place?"
"Don't try to gain time, it won't do you any good. Now get up! I won't slay you in the dirt like a dog."
She didn't believe him! She absolutely didn't believe him. She just couldn't understand, that he didn't know the truth, because his memories had been erased. Did she think, he was putting up an act? She should know better.
He stood up, and forced himself not to close his eyes. She would have to look into them. "I can't ask you to forgive me", she said softly, "since I can't forgive you either. I am not like her!"
"All I can say is, that I don't know what happened that night!" he repeated. "I have absolutely no memory. Why would I lie to you? This really isn't the moment for playing games. All I want, is the truth!"
Finally, at last there seemed to be some reaction in her eyes. They blinked, and then slowly widened with disbelief, as she seemed to realize he was speaking the truth. "But how can this be? How can you not know?"
"I. don't. remember. How often do I have to say it? All these days I tried to find the truth, and no one will tell me! You don't know how much I've suffered. Things can't get any worse."
She let out a cold laugh. "You suffered? Not as much as she did, that's for sure! And I'm telling you, things are much, much worse. Much more than you could imagine even in your wildest dreams! What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was driving home from a friend, Saturday night. My memories end somewhere during that drive. I can't remember how I got home later."
Uranus nodded. "That must have been, when she..."
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
The chain of hearts wrapped around Uranus, pulling her away. Three figures came running out from the darkness.
@Caoilte: To answer your question, it's not the first fic I've ever written, but it is the first one in English. *g*.
.
Chapter 14 - The Cat und the Grandfather
--------------------------------------------------
Uranus' attack blasted them back, right into the next wall. She charged at Tuxedo Kamen, her blade flashing under the night sky, in the dim light of the stars.
But Mercury was faster. With a few quick moves she stepped before him, trying to block Uranus' arm with hers. The sword could have sliced her easily, but Uranus dropped it at once, attacking Mercury with her fists instead.
"Run!" Mercury shouted. "I'll keep her busy!"
He didn't want to leave her, but in this situation, it seemed the best way to keep her out of trouble. Uranus wasn't after Mercury that was obvious. If he ran away she would surely leave Ami alone and chase after him.
But his plan didn't work at all, Uranus didn't try to follow him. Instead she knocked Mercury unconscious, lifted her up and began walking away, carrying the other Senshi. He stopped at once and raced back. "Let her go!" he yelled. "It's not her, you want!"
"Smart kid!" Uranus said, without turning around. She completely ignored him, as he ran towards her. Then, it seemed like an eternity, she slowly turned around. Very carefully she put Mercury down on the ground.
"I knew, you'd come back," she said coldly. "Looks like it's one on one, now!"
He met her gaze, and saw the hatred flaming up in her eyes. He had no idea, what she hated him for and why she wanted to kill him. The only explanation he could think of, was that she somehow held him responsible for Usagi's death.
"What have you done to Ami?" he demanded to know.
"She'll probably have a little headache, when she wakes up". Uranus shrugged. "But don't worry, you won't live to see it."
"Don't be so sure about that!"
They thought the same thing, the very same moment. As she tried to race past him, he threw a rose to the ground, and she stumbled over it. She was back on her feet in seconds, but it was enough time for him. He was the first to reach the sword.
He grabbed it with his left hand, since he was holding his staff with the other one, pointing both weapons at her. She stopped a few steps before him, just out of reach, eyeing him like a cat ready to jump.
"Why do you want to kill me?" he asked her. "What have I done to you?"
"This is not about me!" she hissed. "Don't pretend to be stupid, you know exactly what this is about!"
He threw the sword at her feet. She laughed scornfully, as she took it up. "Looks like I was wrong, you really are stupid. Incredibly stupid!"
They circled each other, slowly, carefully, never taking their eyes off each other. Their gazes were locked, nobody would make the mistake of looking at the opponent's weapon instead. That was a sure thing to lose a battle. Eyes told first, long before the body moved.
Her first blow was no more than a feint, easily blocked, since she was still trying to hide her true strength. She did not make the mistake of getting carried away by her anger, her head was cool, no matter how much she hated him. He could forget everything about provoking her, as he had planned. He had to find a new tactic.
Normally a woman would rather rely on her dexterity, than on her strength, especially when fighting a man. Then the best thing you could do was to tire her out, until she couldn't move fast anymore.
It was a good thing, that he had seen her fight so often. He knew exactly the old cliché didn't go for her at all. All that dancing around was not to be taken serious, it was nothing more than make-believe.
The hard blows didn't take him by surprise, he dodged them, rather than blocking them, trying not to tire his arms. That was something she hadn't expected at all, she responded with a series of fast and powerful strikes going higher and higher up. Now dodging became extremely difficult, once he felt her sword brushing his shoulder. It was mere fortune, that she didn't draw blood.
But his chance to break through her defences was approaching. The harder the blow, the harder to keep the balance. And all those high strikes left the lower part of her body completely undefended.
His arms were still relaxed, and his first real attack pulled her legs away. She managed to roll off to the side, as she fell, avoiding the next strike, but he knew he had her now. He didn't let her get back on her feet. He put all of his strength into his next blows, again, and again the staff came down on her. She had no chance to block. In a last desperate attempt she brought up the sword, but the staff blocked it easily.
But the very moment he thought he had won the battle, luck was on her side for a change. Her blade slid along the staff, cutting into his left hand. His grip loosened, she took the chance for another blow, ripping the staff from his hands. It swished through the air, landing several feet behind him.
He did the very thing, one should never do in a fight, he turned his back to her trying to catch the staff. An incredible carelessness! Her sword reached for his back, this could have been his end. If only her legs had carried her, she would have pierced him right through. But she dropped to the ground again, it had been too much for her.
He stumbled away more than he walked. As soon as he had brought some distance between them, he sat down, hoping she wouldn't notice, that he needed the break every bit as much as she did.
He was still mad at himself, for making such a stupid mistake, but it wouldn't do any good wrecking his brains about it now. At least it wasn't the right hand, so the injury wouldn't be that much of a problem.
He looked over to her, just like him she was gathering new strength. She lay on the side, with her long legs stretched out, testing if she could still move all of her muscles. Again he couldn't help, but thinking of a large cat, lurking for prey.
She gave him a crooked smile. "Looks like the round went to you! This time!" To him it looked much more like a draw, but of course he didn't say so.
"You know," he said, "I really would feel much better, if I knew what this was all about."
She yawned. "Maybe I tell you, before I kill you!"
"Is it about Saturday?" he wanted to know. "I don't have any memories at all of this night. The Inner Senshi know what happened, but they didn't tell me!"
"The Inner Senshi don't know nothing!" She scowled. "Inners never get anything right! If they had killed the seven devils in the first place, none of this would ever have happened."
The seven devils? What did they have to do with it all? True, they had been Queen Beryl's and Queen Metallia's servants a long time ago, but the Senshi had defeated them and turned them back into humans.
And a cat.
A cat? The letter to Usagi had mentioned a cat. She was supposed to follow a cat to meet with Metallia and surrender the Holy Silver Crystal...
"Was Metallia powerful enough to wake up the seven devils again?" he asked suspiciously.
"Not to fight, no!" Uranus shook her head. "But she managed to take control over the mind of Rei's grandfather for a few minutes, so he could write the letter to Usagi, and she used that damn cat to lure her down that cave. That was all. But it was damn enough!"
So the letter had been written in the Hikawa Shrine after all. Another piece of the puzzle. Had Metallia also used the demons to kidnap him? But who had taken his memories away and why? And how much did Uranus know about it? Had she been there, when the battle started or had someone told her what happened?
Uranus jumped to her feet. "It doesn't change anything! Only your blood will color your roses red again, Tuxedo Kamen!" With raised sword she waited for him to approach. That was not at all like her at all, he would have expected her to charge. What new trick was she playing?
They circled each other, this time she seemed to wait for him to attack. Probably she was waiting for him to make a false move. He decided to let her wait a little more, maybe she would lose some of her watchfulness.
Again she gave him that crooked smile of hers, as if this was simply a game to her. It was, in a way. She loved to fight, loved the thrill of the adrenalin rushing through her veins. The fascination of battle was something you wouldn't admit in your wildest dreams, yet it was there. It sparkled right out of her eyes, and he wouldn't be able to read it there, if he didn't know how it felt. It broke into your mind, ripping all thoughts apart. It reduced the human mind to that of animal. No thoughts, only instinct. No questions. No pain.
His attack was a real one; he felt the anger rise up inside him. She jumped aside. Did he only imagine it, or had her movement slowed? Maybe that was the reason she was being more careful, she was hurt and didn't want to show it.
That made her even more dangerous. And it could also be a trick; she wanted him to lower his defences. He didn't take the risk, of putting his full strength into the next attacks, he wouldn't betray any weak spot to her.
If she noticed, they were half-hearted, she didn't show. She treated all of them quite serious, with graceful dodging maneuvers. Only her blocks seemed as if she had lost strength. It was incredibly confusing, he didn't know what to make of it.
His attacks grew harder, he wanted to know, how much she could take. She finally responded, her next blows were aimed high. Should he try it again? His staff reached for her feet.
She jumped, spinning around in the air, and bringing her sword down on him. There was absolutely no time to raise the staff high enough to block, so he dropped to the ground, hoping to avoid the worst. The blade hit his left shoulder, leaving a slight wound.
Instinctively his right hand reached for it. All she had to do was to step on the left one, which was injured anyway to make him drop the staff. "Never use the same trick twice," she said throwing it as far away as possible. "You got me pretty bad before, should've finished me off, when you had the chance to!" So it had not been a trick after all, her injuries were real.
He had hesitated too long.
"We were even, Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she said, placing the tip of her sword on his chest, "it was fate, that decided our battle. Did you know, there was a law in ancient Europe, that a duel could figure out the truth, whether someone had committed a crime or not? They believed fate would protect the innocent, and punish the guilty."
He looked straight into her eyes. "So did they have another law, never to tell people the reason why they were killed, or was that in a different place?"
"Don't try to gain time, it won't do you any good. Now get up! I won't slay you in the dirt like a dog."
She didn't believe him! She absolutely didn't believe him. She just couldn't understand, that he didn't know the truth, because his memories had been erased. Did she think, he was putting up an act? She should know better.
He stood up, and forced himself not to close his eyes. She would have to look into them. "I can't ask you to forgive me", she said softly, "since I can't forgive you either. I am not like her!"
"All I can say is, that I don't know what happened that night!" he repeated. "I have absolutely no memory. Why would I lie to you? This really isn't the moment for playing games. All I want, is the truth!"
Finally, at last there seemed to be some reaction in her eyes. They blinked, and then slowly widened with disbelief, as she seemed to realize he was speaking the truth. "But how can this be? How can you not know?"
"I. don't. remember. How often do I have to say it? All these days I tried to find the truth, and no one will tell me! You don't know how much I've suffered. Things can't get any worse."
She let out a cold laugh. "You suffered? Not as much as she did, that's for sure! And I'm telling you, things are much, much worse. Much more than you could imagine even in your wildest dreams! What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was driving home from a friend, Saturday night. My memories end somewhere during that drive. I can't remember how I got home later."
Uranus nodded. "That must have been, when she..."
"Venus Love Me Chain!"
The chain of hearts wrapped around Uranus, pulling her away. Three figures came running out from the darkness.