Usagi tried to stop shaking, really she did. But every time she managed to get her hands under control, her knees would start knocking together. When she'd get them under control, her lips would tremble and her jaw would shake. She could hardly be blamed. They'd already battled their way through at least two hordes of rotted, evil monsters, and she was sure more, or worse, were lurking just beyond their sight in the dark.
And even worse than that, Shuu, although very nice, couldn't use his armor for some reason. He was able to keep his sub armor, but the actual mystical armor of Kongo was out of his reach. Which meant that Usagi had had to do most of the heavy lifting.
Not that Shuu wasn't helping. He was fast, and strong, and really enthusiastic. But while punches and kicks took the monsters down, they always got back up unless she obliterated them. She might not be doing any of the physical battling, but she was getting tired quickly.
She wanted a bath. She wanted some cake. And maybe ramen. Curry sounded good too, and some korokke wouldn't go amiss either. Hmmm. Now she was hungry and tired, and scared. Why couldn't they all have been banished together?! She felt so weak and alone without the other Senshi, and hated herself for it, because they needed her to be strong, now more than ever.
That….man had said that the Silver Imperium Crystal was the only thing that could get them out of this mess. Usagi wasn't completely stupid. She'd seen the way he'd looked at her. At the Crystal. She was pretty sure, deep down, that the plan was really to isolate her and take the crystal away. Or worse.
And that terrified her. Her enemies always tried to separate her from her loved ones, and then do terrible things to get her to give up. She would never give up. She hadn't lost before, and she wouldn't lose now either. But the idea of being isolated yet again – the fear of losing everyone she loved, of seeing them hurting when she was helpless to stop it – that made her knees knock and her teeth chatter.
And now Shuu. There were new people counting on her this time. People who needed her help, and Usagi didn't want to let anyone down. She wouldn't ever let anyone down. Couldn't bear the thought of it.
And what about Mamo-chan and Luna and Artemis and the Outer Senshi? Were they really ok? Usagi bit at her gloved nails and forced her hands to stop shaking. Even if she couldn't transform, everyone still needed her to be Sailor Moon right now. And Sailor Moon was brave (mostly), and confident (sort of). Usagi forced herself to take a deep breath and lifted her head high. She was strong. She could have courage for her friends.
"You ok Tsukino?"
Jolted from her thoughts, she turned and faced the kind and brave man walking beside her, giving him her best smile. "I'm ok Shuu! I just….really want to find my friends. They might be in trouble."
He returned her smile. "It's ok 'sagi. We'll find em for sure!" She nodded at him and they lapsed into comfortable silence again as they walked. She was so grateful she'd ended up with a guy like Shuu. He'd been patient, and understanding, and was doing his best to help her feel better.
She was just starting to feel steadier when terrible, cold fingers reached out from the surrounding shadowy rocks, and wrapped around her throat. They felt as if they'd been carved straight from marble, icy and unrelenting and impossibly strong. She managed to get a squeak out before they began to drag her from Shuu's side. She scrambled to grab his hand, but missed, panic burning through her with dizzying speed.
"Mmmm, you have such beautiful hair child….I will take it, and all that you have." A horrible voice rasped in her ear. Usagi did manage a scream then, so loud it seemed to vibrate off the cave walls and through her very being. The thing loosened its grip, snarling at the ear-shattering cacophony.
It wasn't Tuxedo Kamen that came to her rescue. Shuu Li Huang charged through the shadows like an enraged bull, whooshing past her so quickly her hair rustled. He tackled whatever had been after her and then there was a lot of flailing and cursing. Usagi forced herself up and called on the power of the crystal. Exhaustion streamed through her as it pulled on her, but she focused its light on the monster Shuu was struggling with.
Who knew using the crystal without her transformation would be so difficult?
Man. One more monster, and she was probably toast. Everything was sore and she felt so tired. Still, she was grateful she could still use her powers. The Silver Crystal was still the Silver Crystal, and it responded to her call whether she was Sailor Moon or the Moon Princess, or Neo Queen Serenity…or just plain old Usagi, apparently.
Despite the gratitude, she wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Shuu rose, took one look at her face, and a determined frown crossed his own. "You can't keep doing that. You're gonna run out of steam. I've got the next one, ok?" Usagi blinked at him, trying not to let her face communicate her doubts about that one. She tried valiantly to be cheerful, but fell short. He looked insulted and she tried not to wince.
"Hey man! Don't you worry about me, I've got this with one hand behind my back!" he exclaimed. Usagi blinked and then nodded, finally able to pull up a genuine smile for him.
The moment he didn't have it, she was going to be there. As many times as he needed her. Everyone was counting on her – especially Shuu right now, and she wasn't going to let anyone down. They were going to find the others, and then Usagi was going to get them through this and get everyone home.
She was going to be someone her friends – new and old – could count on. She was going to be someone Mamo-chan and her Senshi and Luna could be proud of. And she would happily pirouette until she dropped to keep Shuu or anyone else safe.
