Serena was pacing back and forth in agitation, which was something that she never did. Mina, Amy, and Lita were clumped together, not too far away, all staring at the ground in silence. They hadn't been able to get into the circus, which meant that Raye was alone, and had probably already been caught. The girls didn't even want to think about what the Dead Moon might be doing to her…
"That's it! I've had it with this bullshit!" Serena's outburst caught everyone off guard, and all the girls stared at her in shock. Had she just cursed?
Their leader looked furious as she continued, "I am tired of trying to find an inconspicuous way in! They know we're here, they probably already have Raye, and the longer we sit here and think about this, the more they'll hurt her!" Lita blinked.
"Serena, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Of course," the blonde snapped, "It's about time we got our act together." She took a breath to calm herself, then smiled at Lita.
"What I mean is… For once, Jupiter, we're gonna do it your way." A wicked grin spread across Lita's face.
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."
The Sailor Scouts were endowed with far more strength than any mere human, so a beating from Sailor Jupiter would probably kill a human. Of course, seeing the circus security guards were members of the Dead Moon, they didn't have to worry about dying.
"Hyaa!" Jupiter planted her foot solidly in the guard's stomach, driving every last bit of air from his lungs, and sending him flying into a ticket booth. Sailor Venus's fist connected with the chin of the other guard in a vicious uppercut, knocking him completely senseless.
Venus briefly celebrated her handiwork by shouting, "Hah! Take that!" As I said, dear reader, the guards didn't have to worry about losing their lives. But getting their asses kicked was an entirely different story.
"Let's move, girls! We don't have much time," Sailor Moon reminded them. All four girls started running, with Mercury in the lead, typing furiously on her computer as she went.
"I can't find Sailor Mars's senshi energy! She must not be transformed!" Sailor Moon felt fear gathering in the pit of her stomach, and she started pushing herself even more.
"That can't be good! We've gotta find her now!" Mercury suddenly skidded to a stop, and pointed to the largest tent in the circus.
"She's there! And she's not alone!" The girls changed direction and began sprinting towards the big top, but a gigantic tiger leaped out of nowhere and stood in their path, baring its fangs and growling deep in its throat. The girls all came to a halt, while the civilians around them panicked and rushed towards the nearest exit. It didn't take very long for the area to be completely empty, except for one enraged tiger and four tense senshi.
"Oh, you found them, Tiger-eye!" Ves Ves sauntered out from behind a nearby tent, holding a whip in one hand and a small glass ball in the other.
"My, my, my. Well, what brings you here?"
The Amazoness wore a smug grin as she asked, "You wouldn't happen to be looking for your friend, now, would you?" Sailor Moon stepped forward, glaring furiously at Ves Ves.
"I think you already know the answer to that one, but maybe you can answer a question of ours…"
Venus stepped forward and demanded, "What the hell did you do with Raye?!" Ves Ves laughed.
"Such terrible manners!"
She sighed and tapped a finger against her teeth, wondering aloud, "Hmmm… what did we do with her…"
After a moment, Ves Ves shrugged and replied, "I can't seem to remember. Sorry." Jupiter started cracker her knuckles.
"Yeah, right, like we believe you! Just give Raye back, before I get pissed off." Ves Ves raised an eyebrow.
"Well, aren't we testy today? It's not my fault if I can't remember what we did with an intruder! There are just so many of them, it's impossible to keep them all straight." Jupiter's face contorted in fury and she charged, raising her fist to pulverize the Amazoness's nose.
Ves Ves, unfazed, simply whistled. There was a shriek from up above, and a spray of blood as a blur of brown feathers whooshed by and slashed Jupiter's arm. The stunned senshi yelped and stumbled backward, clutching her arm as blood flowed freely from the gash. Mercury darted forward and snatched Jupiter's arm, biting her lip. It was a very deep wound indeed, going almost all the way down to the bone, and running the length of Jupiter's entire forearm. Mercury squeezed the wound shut with her hand, despite Jupiter's agonized protests, and looked at Sailor Moon.
"This isn't good, Sailor Moon." The water warrior's eyes showed how frightened she was. Already, they were missing one friend, while another had just been incapacitated. And the Dead Moon was no pushover. Sailor Moon, quickly cupped her hands over Jupiter's arm and healed the wound, then looked back to Ves Ves, who had Hawk-eye perched on her arm and that same smug smile on her face.
"Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve," Sailor Moon asked angrily, "or are you going to fight fair now?" Ves Ves smiled sweetly.
"I'd like to Sailor Moon, but, you see, I'm outnumbered right now, so this really isn't fair at all." She snapped her fingers. Instantly, Hawk-eye took to the air, Tiger-eye reared up on his hind paws, and Ves Ves threw the glass sphere in her hand on the ground, shattering it. There was a bright flash, and the Amazon Trio appeared behind their mistress.
"Amazon Trio! Show these White Moon fools what you can do!" Tiger-eye, Hawk-eye, and Fish-eye each started moving toward one of the scouts, while Ves Ves quickly unfurled her whip and lashed it around Sailor Moon's legs. Sailor Moon cried out, and Ves Ves gave the whip a violent tug, sending the little do-gooder hurtling to the dirt. The landing knocked the wind out of the senshi leader, leaving her stunned. Ves Ves took advantage of the opportunity and pulled a spear out of thin air, delicately resting the point dead center on Sailor Moon's chest.
The Amazoness wore a look of triumph on her face as she warned, "I wouldn't move if I were you." Sailor Moon gritted her teeth, then glanced at the other scouts out of the corner of her eye. Hawk-eye and Jupiter were exchanging blows, and, by the look of it, Jupiter was starting to tire. But the tables truly turned when Hawk-eye drove his knee into Jupiter's stomach. Tiger-eye lunged at Venus and grabbed her by the throat, then lifted her off the ground and slammed her against a tree. Fish-eye had grabbed hold of Mercury's wrist and used his other arm to push on her elbow, threatening to break it. Mercury was forced to the ground, an expression of absolute agony on her face. It certainly hadn't taken very long for the situation to go from bad to worse. Not very long at all.
Sailor Moon's eyes locked with those of the Amazoness again, before the latter smirked and whispered, "And just so you know… your friend is probably dead by now…"
Raye was floating. There was no light, no sound, only the darkness that was swallowing her up.
It feels nice, she thought.
It's peaceful here… I don't want to leave…
Raye continued to sink further into the depths of unconsciousness, while her mind begged, Please, don't make me leave…
The Sailor Scouts sat back to back, silent and afraid. They had been beaten. Badly. How had it come to this? Sailor Moon tried to flex her wrists and winced as the ropes around them bit deeper into her flesh. She cursed herself for her stupidity. She should have used the disguise pen to get past those security guards. Then the Dead Moon wouldn't have been able to surprise them so easily. The girls heard the tent flap open and close, and the Amazoness Quartet sauntered into view, with the Amazon Trio behind them. Palla Palla was, as usual, giggling madly.
"Ooo, goody! I have some more pets to play with!" Ves Ves glared at Palla Palla.
"In case you don't remember, I'm the one who captured them!"
Jun Jun poked her head in between the two and interjected, "Yeah, but the queen said to save them all for her!" Cere Cere feigned dismay.
"Oh no! Maybe we shouldn't have killed Sailor Mars then!" The Amazoness Quartet let silence fall over the room and eagerly watched their prisoners' reactions. The three Sailor Scouts looked horrified, but Sailor Moon simply stared at her hands, which were resting in her lap.
"I don't believe you." Cere Cere blinked in confusion and stared at the fallen leader. Sailor Moon didn't meet her gaze. Her head remained down, with her bangs hiding her eyes from view.
"Oh, honestly," Ves Ves rolled her eyes.
"Did you think we would let her live?" Sailor Moon still didn't react.
"Then how come we're not dead yet?" Jun Jun wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Trust me, if we had permission, we would have done it a long time ago." Palla Palla sighed.
"The queen said we had to wait and let her deal with all of you." The senshi leader might as well have been a statue.
"Talk all you like. I won't believe you no matter what. You could dump her body in front of me right now and I still wouldn't believe you." Cere Cere and Ves Ves exchanged a wicked glance and snickered.
"Well… don't say we didn't warn you." The gestured to the Amazon Trio, who emerged from behind their mistresses, carrying a lifeless body. They walked up to the Sailor Scouts' cage and dumped it unceremoniously, then dusted their hands off, as if they'd just finished taking out the garbage.
Sailor Moon didn't want to look. She fought with all her might to keep her head from moving. But the dead silence of the room tortured her, inducing a wave of nausea the likes of which she'd never experienced before. Slowly, her stomach filled with a lethal mixture of apprehension and dread, Sailor Moon looked up. It was then, for the first time in her life, that the senshi of purity and light, the savior of the world and the heir to the Silver Millenium felt her will to fight vanish completely. The Amazoness Quartet hadn't been lying. The body lying next to the metal bars of the cage did resemble her friend, but only slightly. Raye's skin was always pale, but it was never this ghastly white. Her purple eyes were barely open, but they were hazy and unfocused. Her limbs were sprawled limply around her, and her hair was knotted, with little bits of straw and steaks of dust contaminating it. Sailor Moon cried out incoherently and scrambled to the edge of the cage, an impressive feet for someone who had their wrists and ankles bound together. Sailor Moon pushed her tied wrists between the bars and snatched up Raye's hand. It was cold and clammy, completely devoid of warmth and pulse. But what truly broke Sailor Moon's spirit was the fact that Raye's chest wasn't moving. Not the slightest bit.
"Raye…" Sailor Moon's cerulean eyes were shimmering with tears, but she held them back.
"Come on Raye, wake up… don't let them win…" Jun Jun snorted.
"You idiot. She's been dead for over an hour."
The senshi leader squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, "I'm not listening to you!!!" This elicited nothing but giggles from the quartet.
"Oh puh-leeze," Cere Cere huffed, putting her hands on her hips.
"You are so hopeless. I almost want to do you a favor and put you out of your misery."
Cere Cere cut in and added, "The key word being almost." Sailor Moon hung her head and clutched Raye's hand as though it might bring her back to life.
"I'm sorry Raye. It was my fault. All my fault…" Bitter tears finally overflowed her eyes and began sliding down her cheeks as Sailor Moon laid her head on the ground and wept.
"Please forgive me… I'm so sorry…"
Someone's voice was breaking the silence, boring a hole through the darkness to reach a soul that was wandering in that empty void.
"I'm so sorry…"
Yeah, I'm sorry too… but for what? I can't remember… I can't remember anything… It's all so fuzzy… Listening to the crying voice actually triggered some kind of emotion. What was it called? Sorrow?
"Please, come back…"
I want to come back… but I like it here too… I can't be hurt here… I remember being hurt… Time and time again…
"We need you, Raye! I need you!"
Raye… that's my name, isn't it? Then who's crying? And why? Why would they cry for me?
"We've lost, Raye. We've been beaten. If you don't come back to help us, we'll all be dead. Amy, Lita, Mina, and me. All of us… We're friends, Raye! You've got to help us!"
Are we? Are you my friend? Yes, I think I remember you… Serena… Sailor Moon... Princess Serenity… Then that makes me…
"We need you Raye! We're done for without Sailor Mars!"
Sailor Mars… that's who I am! My duty is to protect the Princess… why am I here if I'm supposed to be guarding Serenity?! Oh… that snake… I died, didn't I? But… wait… I'm Mars… the goddess of war… goddesses don't die! Especially not at the hands of low-life rabble like the Amazoness Quartet! I am not dead! I am-
"Alive…" Raye's eyes fluttered open and she vaguely recognized the sound of her own voice as she finished her sentence out loud. She sat up and winced as a sharp pain lanced through her leg. She looked down at her thigh and saw two tiny puncture wounds. And, as she watched in fascination, they closed up right before her eyes. Raye looked over at Sailor Moon, whose eyes were wide with awe.
"Hey, Sailor Moon…" She smiled at her tearful friend.
"I take it I'm in for a lecture when we get back to my house, huh?" Sailor Moon sobbed and grabbed Raye's hand again.
"Don't you ever, ever do that again, do you hear me?!" Raye nodded.
"Oh yeah. I hear you." She stood up and pulled out her henshin wand, quickly transforming into Sailor Mars. Once the transformation was complete, Sailor Mars opened her eyes and looked coldly at the Amazoness Quartet.
"What you do to me because of my mistakes is entirely debatable. I deserved what happened to me, because I was arrogant and I underestimated my opponent."
She paused for a moment, then drew an ofuda scroll and continued, "But if you ever, EVER lay your hands on my friends again, I will take the liberty of chopping them off to make sure it doesn't happen a third time. Got it?" Without waiting for an answer, Raye slapped the scroll on the bars of the cage, chanted a spell, and then shattered the metal with one swift kick.
"Oh no you don't!" Raye turned around and raised an eyebrow at Ves Ves.
"What, are you going to stop me?" Ves Ves hesitated, and in that space of time the other Sailor Scouts were already freed.
Palla Palla ground her teeth and pointed at Cere Cere, "This is all your fault! We should have just killed them!"
"What, and disobey my orders?" Palla Palla nearly jumped out of her skin as Queen Nephrenia emerged from the darkness behind her and put her claw-like fingers on the Amazoness's shoulders. Palla Palla gulped and turned pale, and her three sisters stood silently. They weren't about to put their own hides on the line just because Palla Palla had been shooting her mouth off. To everyone's surprise, Nephrenia released the frightened Amazoness and slinked past her.
"Welcome, Sailor Scouts. It has been too long…" Nephrenia's chuckle sounded like the wheezing of a wounded animal. Sailor Moon stepped forward, brandishing her weapon.
"I'm warning you, Nephrenia! Our power has grown since last time! A combined attack from Eternal Sailor Moon and all the other senshi isn't the worst we can do, I assure you." Nephrenia laughed again.
"And you think this frightens me? Hah! Silly little princess… You are not the only one whose powers have increased…"
The wicked sorceress flexed her claws and added, "Those of us who serve Chaos are well rewarded, you know."
Raye stepped up next to Sailor Moon and replied with an air of perfect calm and self-assurance, "Oh really? Funny how we seem to win every time we fight you, no matter how handsomely you've been rewarded." Nephrenia's eyes narrowed.
"You dare to mock me, little girl?" Raye's eyes narrowed and her voice took on a stronger, rougher tone.
"I am no little girl. I am a goddess, and, if you require proof, I will be more than happy to give it to you."
