Chapter XIII-The Crisis Peaks

The night had almost completely set in. By the faint white light of the moon, the park appeared still, deserted.

But it swarmed with nightmare shadows.

Shaded by the tall trees, almost one with the growing darkness, the creatures stirred on the long, narrow alleys. Silently they flooded the area, searching for something they could not find. They glided across the concrete, in disorderly, convoluted patterns, moving back and forth in a grotesque imitation of a wild spring dance.

"There's…hundreds of them!"

Mercury's words brought about an air of almost tangible desolation.

Some distance away from the cluster of intruders, the seven Senshi had stopped to decide on a strategy. But at the blue-haired girl's shocked announcement, they had mentally envisioned defeat. They were outnumbered, overpowered, and would undoubtedly be overwhelmed.

"It doesn't matter how many there are, we have to take them on!"

"It's…it's crazy! We don't have a chance!" Venus raised her arms in an expressive gesture. "How can we deal with hundreds, when it took all of us to defeat one single creature?"

"We have to find a way to talk to them!"

"Sailor Moon…" Mercury gave her a sad look. "Please understand…that's impossible…I doubt they can even receive sounds or images on the same wavelength as us…"

"Maybe if we gather them all in one place…the Sailor Attack could take them all at once…?"

Again, Mercury shook her head.

"I don't think that would work…the rift that our attack creates isn't large enough, not by far. We'd be wasting our energy."

None of them spoke after that. They simply watched in grim fascination as, less than a hundred yards away, the creatures moved in the protecting darkness.

"Alright, new plan!" Sailor Venus suddenly raised a hand. "How about we try to contain them? You know…trap them in this area before we find a way to deal with all of them…?"

The others shared approving looks.

"Let's do it."

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Tsumbono loaded a glass container in the back of the yellow convertible. The casing held all the hybrids, and the man gave them one last, longing look.

"Is this all? Good" Setsuna said as he nodded, then indicated the car with her a move of her head. "Get in."

"What…?"

"You" she spoke coldly, "are coming with me. To witness what you have caused. To watch the results of your own injudicious actions."

"Puu!" Chibiusa looked utterly shocked. "He can't come…it's too dangerous! He could get hurt!"

"Maybe he deserves it."

"What…? I…I can't believe you're saying this!" The child's red eyes shone in sadness. "What's happening to you?"

Setsuna released a long breath, and forced her body to unwind for a moment. She could feel exhaustion catching up with her—it had been a week since she had slept more than one or two hours a night. She realized tiredness affected her temper, clouding her judgment. As part of her usual composure returned, she felt regret for her earlier harshness. Maybe Small Lady was right about trying to correct mistakes…

"I'm sorry", she earnestly addressed the botanist. "I'm not the one to judge you…you'll answer to your own conscience when the time is right."

She looked towards the encased plants.

"They aren't your most important assets…your vision, your dedication and your intelligence are what make you an excellent man of science. Thanks to them, you never really needed the hybrids to achieve success…it would have come anyway."

Tsumbono opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off with a slight shake of her head.

"I hope you won't hold my harsh words against me. Maybe, when I'll have more time…I'll find the occasion to apologize properly…"

"I'm the one who should be sorry…" the man spoke slowly. "Sorry…because I was selfish, overconfident and reckless…"

The young woman opened the car door and sat behind the wheel again. Wordlessly, Chibiusa climbed on the passenger's seat. She gave her friend a long look, and Setsuna quietly nodded.

"Don't be discouraged by this…you have a real calling for your work. I'm sure you'll do a lot of good with it." Setsuna gave Tsumbono one last heartening smile. "Good luck!"

The man sat on his doorsteps, and silently watched the car drive away.

"You too…"

He had the feeling they would never meet again.

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They had tried everything.

The four Inner Senshi had tried putting up a protective barrier, but one of the creatures had casually broken through it, as if the beam of energy had not even been there.

Uranus had suggested a barrier of more…physical nature.

Heavy-hearted, they had brought one of the old trees down. It had apparently fallen on one of the intruders—perhaps even crushed it?—but the others had easily released strange energy charges that had destroyed the obstacle.

The girls were quickly running out of ideas.

And to make matters worse, the creatures had apparently been incensed. They clustered, and advanced on the seven Senshi in a menacing silence.

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She hit the brakes forcefully, throwing both of them forward against the restraining seatbelts. She then turned to the pink-haired child with a firm expression:

"I'm sorry, Small Lady. I cannot, in good conscience, take you to be a part of whatever is happening at this moment."

"What? But I have to go, I have to help out as well!" Chibiusa frowned in annoyance. "I'm a Sailor warrior as well. It's my choice, and it's made!"

"There is nothing you can do to help, please understand…" Setsuna said patiently. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at the first house on the side of the road. "I'm not driving you into the heart of danger, Small Lady."

The child crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'm not getting out of this car!" she shouted.

Wordlessly, Setsuna stopped the engine and took the keys.

"That won't be a problem", she replied, opening the door to get out.

She took a few steps away from the car, and looked back. Chibiusa had not moved.

"I'm not that naïve!" the child cried after her. "You're just waiting for me to get down so you can drive off but I'm not doing that!"

"I thought you wouldn't…"

With a small shrug, the young woman walked up the steps to the house. Only then did the pink-haired girl take a closer look at their surroundings.

"Wait—"

But before she could get the word out, Setsuna had already rung the doorbell. Tsukino Ikuko answered with an alarmed expression, that dissolved into a smile of relief as she spotted the child in the car.

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"World…Shaking!"

"Deep Submerge!"

Perhaps the attacks could not destroy the creatures—but they could at least keep them at bay for a while. Buy the warriors some time to design a new strategy, maybe. Or to allow a timer to tick down to zero, so some divine intervention could take its cue.

"What do we do!"

Sailor Moon watched in alarm as the intruders came closer, tearing through the shrubs as well as trees.

"Burning Mandala!"

"Shine Aqua…Illusion!"

The impending danger had set aside all their doubts about whether or not to fight the battle. Such was the way of things—preservation instinct would win over any other considerations. They were ready to fight…but what good did that do, when they had no means of defeating the enemy?

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Setsuna carefully set the encased hybrids down on the edge of the pond. With all her strength, she hit the glass container, shattering it to pieces. Carefully picking up the plants from among the shards, she held them up in the air, feeling the strong night breeze brush against her palms.

She hoped the spores would attract the creatures back where the dimensional rift had originally opened. The area was deserted, so no one could get hurt during a battle there—no one except the Sailor warriors. They would have to keep the intruders confined in that place until after the eclipse. Only then could she unite her powers to those of the other Senshi. The eight of them together could perhaps create a dimensional fissure, and send the creatures through it…perhaps.

Of course, she could hope that no creature had come through the last fracture in their reality. Or that another portal would open and the intruders would simply go home by their own accord. Still, Setsuna knew those possibilities were simply too optimistic.

She had come up with a plan: to keep the creatures in the area, until the Senshi could open a way to the other dimension. There were no, guarantees, of course…but Setsuna felt it was the only hope to go on.

The question was…could they hold out for that long?

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"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Jupiter's attack pushed the foremost creatures back a small distance, but the others converged from the sides. The girls had retreated considerably, but they were reluctant to leave the park…what if the attackers followed them into more populated areas?

A few of the shady intruders had come within arm's reach from Uranus and Neptune, who took the front of their small group. The two partners released their attacks once more—to little avail—and braced for contact…

…when suddenly, in perfectly coordinated movement, all the creatures stopped and turned. They stood still for a few seconds. Then, they began to move away, in the same rhythmic march that had brought them there.

"What are they doing?"

On Sailor Moon's face, confusion mixed with relief.

"Setsuna…" Neptune whispered just loud enough for the rest of them to catch. "She said she knew what had drawn the intruders here! She's leading them elsewhere…"

"It must be back to Muugen…"

"Let's go! We have to beat them there!"

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AN: Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think! Ja ne:)

Myosotis