Matsuo P.O.V.
Waiting was the worst.
There were only a few rare moments in life where I found myself truly lacking patience, and this was turning out to be one of those occasions. Waiting for the (proverbial) other shoe to drop was agony; still, it had to be said that I didn't regret my decision to tell Usagi-chan what the others had been planning. I might have been new to the supernatural world and the finer details of war, but inexperience and incompetence were not one and the same.
After weeks of fruitless efforts on our end to capture the remaining Generals without exposing Jadeite and Nephrite, we had found ourselves in a bit of a tight spot. With neither the time nor the resources to continue our pursuit, it'd been agreed upon that the best course of action would be to hit the enemy directly. Based on the information we had, the Dark Kingdom needed to be taken down before any more human energy was harvested.
Jadeite and Nephrite knew first hand what exactly it would mean to allow the Dark Kingdom to continue, and if the two of them insisted that time had run out, that something needed to be done now, then I was inclined to agree with them. To be honest, I hadn't had any issue with their intention to storm Dark Kingdom headquarters; I was absolutely terrified at the thought of Makoto-chan risking her life like that, but I understood the necessity. What bothered me was that, when it came down to it, not a single one of them had given any thought as to the opinion that likely mattered most.
Usagi had remained in the dark these past few weeks, her words neglected.
Jadeite and Nephrite were experienced military personnel, experts in Dark Kingdom affairs. Luna and Artemis were celestial beings with a plethora of knowledge and wisdom beyond our years; Counseling was what they did best. Mamoru was cunning, and somehow managed to keep everyone in check; deescalating high tensions, listening to each opinion, and making compromises to satisfy the group.
Then there was Minako, who had been at this war against the Dark Kingdom longer than most. She possessed a keen sense of intuition on the battle field and an all-around cleverness that Usagi-chan no doubt found alarming. Each of Minako's comrades were capable and proficient in their own areas of expertise as well; highly intelligent and analytical, brawny and resilient, fiery and quick witted. The Sailor Scouts, Mamoru, and his Generals were the best equipped for this whole Youma-Killing, Darkness-Vanquishing, Save-The-World endeavor.
But they were not her.
Usagi was the leading authority on these matters, and there was nothing anyone could ever say to convince me otherwise. She was driven, driven in a way the others simply weren't; Usagi ran on two things, fear and determination, and she ran on these things the way some people ran on coffee and oxygen. It was pretty obvious to me now that, unlike everyone else, Usagi appeared to have grasped the full implications and consequences in this war, and from the very beginning no less.
It explained her deep seated terror, paranoia, and her iron resolve; Usagi knew exactly what we were up against here, and knowing her, she had probably spent an obscene amount of time strategizing, scheming, and preparing. Disregarding her, underestimating her, was a grave mistake that every one of them had made before, in one way or another and here they were now, ready to do it yet again.
It would be our undoing, sooner or later.
Usagi had specifically stated that in order to win the war, all four Generals were needed. It wasn't just once, either; she had reiterated it to us on numerous occasions, emphasizing their importance time after time. Usagi wasn't the type of person to insist on something she wasn't absolutely sure of, so if she said we needed them on our side, that they could not be loyal to the enemy when the time came, then I believed her. After all, who would know better than her?
The tactician that knew every piece on the board; the schemer that'd been staring it down for far longer than anyone else, strategizing courses of action and counter attacks to all the variable moves of her enemies.
She had needed to know.
Despite her opposition or whether anyone else could admit it or not, the fact of the matter was that this involved Usagi. She had been the one to figure out that the Generals could be healed; it had been her that had brought Sailor Scouts together where the Dark Kingdom was hitting hardest. Usagi was the reason an alliance had been formed, and it was thanks to her that we had such a strong chance at winning this war.
So no, I didn't regret my choice to inform her of the situation, not in the slightest.
However, I might have been a little concerned as to how she intended to go about making the others see reason. Usagi was, to put it kindly, assertive; most of the time, she couldn't care less about the actions and opinions of others, but when it happened to affect her life, or involve her personally? Well… it was best to steer clear and hope for the best; that you didn't do anything too unforgivable, or that she'd be merciful. Usagi-chan did not take kindly to anything remotely reminiscent of a threat against her happiness.
God help whoever stood in her way.
As I paced in my apartment, my mind kept drifting to all the possible scenarios Usagi might decide on enacting to ensure her voice was heard; I hadn't heard from anyone for quite a few hours now, and that made me nervous. With little else to distract myself with, I left my apartment and began wandering to help stave off the slow torture of going stir crazy. It was a little after nine when I began my walk, and I managed to kill an hour nervously day dreaming until the not knowing became too difficult to ignore.
I was standing on the corner of an intersection, silently debating whether to go to the queen of dramatics herself or just verify that the others were still in one piece, when a flash of red caught my eye from further up the road. It drew my attention, and for a moment I could only stare; across the street and running like a bat out of hell was a familiar red headed girl, barefoot and in clear distress. Usagi's decoy princess, My mind provided as I crossed the street to intercept her.
Naru jumped about a mile in the air when I called out to her and tumbled to a hazardous halt. I winced inwardly, as that stop had surely taken a bit of skin off the bottom of her feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm-"
"Usagi-chan's friend." Naru choked. I had been about to remind her that I was Makoto-chan's boyfriend, but as she neared and the tears streaming down her face registered, the words faded from my tongue. I nodded and nearly had a heart attack when Naru sprang forward without warning, fingers clutching the fabric of my shirt in a death grip. "You- You have to help me, please, I need to find Mamoru-kun."
"Okay, it's okay," My hands went to her shoulders, steadying Naru as her body wracked with shuddering breaths and sobs. "I think I know where to find him. Can you tell me what happened?"
"She's gone, she- she's gone," Naru's voice broke, and she seemed to choke on the words. Her desperation was palpable, and my found my stomach twisting.
"Naru, who are you talking about? Who is she?"
"It's Usagi-chan," She said, the blood in my veins running cold as the words registered. "Someone took her."
Mamoru P.O.V.
"Call me as soon as you have eyes on her." Minako ordered. I caught a murmured agreement through the pseudo watch at her wrist before it was snapped shut and Minako sighed. "It just had happen on today of all days, didn't it?"
I sent her a sympathetic look. "Power outages never come at a good time."
Minako managed a half smile before dropping into her seat at the conference table. We were all gathered save for Luna and Artemis, who had gone to check on Naru; it was probably nothing, and more than likely she was asleep but I was glad Minako had sent the cats anyway. Had we not needed to have this meeting, I would have gone myself; sadly, it just so happened our group was divided and unless there was an emergency, this meeting had to be priority number one.
We were pretty shaken up.
"Usagi-san is wrong about us." Ami stated, tone critical. She paused for only a second to ensure she had the floor before pushing forward. "Her actions earlier this evening were immoral and it shows no indication of our skills as a united force. There is a colossal difference between what she did and our intended course of action; the agreed upon plan simply doesn't coincide with Usagi-san's stunt, and it cannot be scrutinized under that light."
"I see," Minako replied neutrally. "Can you give a few examples to further your point?"
Ami raised her chin, shoulders straightening, and it was clear to see that she had expected this. "Firstly, we should take into account the fact that during her assault, we were far from prepared. Spread out across the town, on unknown territory without the expectation of an attack and in our civilian forms. Jadeite and Nephrite know the Dark Kingdom and that is partially where our advantage lies; the territory is familiar, and the enemy will never suspect us to sneak in, let alone with the insider knowledge we have.
"We weren't prepared at all when Usagi-san ambushed us, but going into the Dark Kingdom, we certainly will be. Do any of you truly think that Usagi-san would have been able to take every single one of us down had we known she was coming? Of course not. Had we been prepared, she never would have stood a chance against us; the only thing she was right about is that we are stronger together, as a team."
Ami made a valid point, and I was inclined to agree with her.
Usagi had split and lured each of us away with the knowledge that we could not be taken on together. She had planned it out carefully, likely with days to go over and prepare; additionally, she never went after me. I didn't think a fight could be fairly determined when only one side was so well prepared; then, however, something dawned on me. Hadn't Usagi been in a similar position on the night she became Sailor Moon? To a certain degree both myself and the Scouts had been prepared, expecting a possible fight.
Usagi hadn't though.
Between Jadeite and his youma, those of us that'd actually arrived with the expectation of battle, had ended up on the losing side. Between him and us, it had been a fair fight with both parties having anticipated trading blows. Jadeite had been winning until Usagi entered the fray, and then it was the unsuspecting, unprepared one coming out on top. Perhaps that wasn't the best example to go off of though. Usagi's scuffled against Nephrite floated to the surface of my mind just then, and I had to make a conscious effort to unclench my jaw and resist balling my hands into fists at the memory.
It was one I often tried to avoid.
Usagi had always had this look about her, sort of haunted and scared; however, it was the kind of look that was so quiet and easily hidden that if you weren't careful, you could forget you'd ever seen it. For a short stretch of time, it actually had slipped my mind. After all, it was hard to connect that Usagi to the one I had witnessed in the park; that girl had been wrath incarnated, vengeance in the very flesh as she decimated that youma and defeated Jadeite. In that scenario, there was no holding Usagi to the same standards as the rest of us.
But then Nephrite had appeared.
Her fight with him had been desperate; she'd been taken by surprise and it had cost her dearly. In that moment, there had been nothing fierce about her, nothing that left you in awe of her; in that moment, Usagi had been little more than a frightened girl, trembling like a leaf as I tried to keep her together. If I hadn't been there, if she'd been forced to fight off her attacker alone…
I shoved the thought away.
Whether or not Usagi could be held to a similar standard, my sentiments on the matter remained the same and in favor of what Ami said. I didn't appear to be the only one that thought as much, either. A few of the others began to murmur their agreements when they were cut off by Minako's bleak laugh, drawing our attention to the blonde. The smile she wore held no joy or mirth as she shook her head a miniscule degree, eyes roving over each of us.
"…Usagi was right." She announced, holding a hand up to silence Ami when the girl moved to speak. Minako sat back in her chair, commanding our undivided attention with her gaze alone. "We can't take on the Dark Kingdom and win, not as we are right now."
Makoto gripped the table, brows furrowed and gaze imploring, "You don't know that-"
"She got me, Mako-chan!" Minako shouted, palm thumping against her chest. Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she jumped to her feet, jaw clenching. Minako made sure to meet each of our gazes as she spoke her next words, "Usagi overtook me, do you understand? I knew we were being picked off, I transformed into Sailor Venus and she got me anyway; not with powers, or outside help, but with sheer fear tactics. We were reckless, unprepared and isolated and that is no excuse, no matter how you look at it. Twice Usagi has been in the position that we were today, and do any of you remember how that ended?"
The table was dead silent, and under her withering gaze no one appeared able to answer the question. Minako leaned forward, pressing her hands onto the table and continued, solemn and quiet. "Reckless, unprepared, and under the mindset that she was entirely alone, Usagi managed to take down two Generals and a youma, something we were unable to accomplish the first time despite our significant numbers. So do not tell me that we're ready, that we can finish this with what we have; we can't."
"… What do we intend to do then?" Jadeite inquired softly.
The room paused, contemplating.
"We go anyway." I hardly processed the words as they left my lips. The idea unraveled though, coming to life in my mind as confused and uncomprehending looks were sent my way. "We go anyway, with a smaller group; not to battle it out with the enemy, since that clearly isn't an option any longer. A stealth mission, headed by a small, elite force; sneak into the Dark Kingdom, and capture the Generals in the place they'll least expect it. If Usagi can kidnap and drug six people on her own with little more than the element of surprise, then what's stopping us from doing the same?"
It was bold, unpredictable.
Minako's eyes lit up.
Then there was a slam, and the warehouse door was open; Matsuo stumbled in, pale as a ghost and out of breath, dragging Naru behind him. The Scouts seemed to notice Naru's tear streaked face and bare feet at the same moment I did; as one, we all swooped in on her shivering form, throwing questions at Matsuo as we did so.
He ignored us, instead spitting out the last words any of us expected to hear.
"Usagi's been taken."
Matsuo P.O.V.
The stares I received were of shock and disbelief, and if I lacked patience before, then it was entirely drained now. I relayed what Naru had told me as quickly as I could while trying to keep the anger out of my tone; this was no one's fault, really, and Naru already appeared to feel bad that she hadn't been able to do anything to stop Usagi's kidnapper.
When I finished speaking, Mamoru's expression was strained but no one else seemed to really catch the gravity of the situation. I gritted my teeth and turned to Naru. "Tell them exactly what he said."
"Hey," Rei retorted angrily, shifting slightly as though to shield Naru. "Don't snap at her."
I moved to say an ungentlemanly word when Naru spoke, voice flat. "I know who you are, and what you're capable of. If you ever want to see your friend alive again, you'll do as I say. Send a message to that lover of yours; if he and the Sailor Scouts do not surrender themselves to the Dark Kingdom and hand over the Silver Crystal, then this girl you deem so precious will die."
She shivered in Mamoru's arms, and the way he ran a soothing hand down her shoulder stuck out to me as instinctive more than anything; his gaze was rather absent, face looking stricken as the meaning of her words settled in.
No longer crying, Naru took a shaky breath and added, "I- I don't know what happened. Everything was fine, she was fine one minute and then suddenly she went into this…fit, like the she had a couple weeks back at school. It was so much worse this time though, trembling all over, eyes unseeing, choking on air. I tried to call for help, but then the power went out and- He came out of nowhere, and just took her."
Her eyes began to tear up as she explained that she had seen this man before and had thought he might have been following her. Minako nearly imploded with rage at the news, and I sensed a rant forming.
"He was sending a message." I spat out before she could waste any more time. "He said he knew who Naru was, and that Usagi was going to die unless we surrender and give up the Silver Crystal. We know what the Dark Kingdom is capable of, and right now Usagi is hurt and at their mercy."
Something in me shook, a mixture of fear and rage at the thought. Usagi was in trouble, they could be hurting her; she had to be terrified, scared out of her mind. What I wouldn't give to have the power to storm in there and burn everything to the ground.
Mamoru's hands fell from Naru as he stiffened, fists clenching. "How long do we have?"
"The next full moon." Naru whispered. That was… two days away; far too much time and yet not enough. Naru looked up at Mamoru, shifting forward as though she wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms once more. He didn't seem to notice at all, his own gaze trained on the door behind us.
"Her identity's been revealed," Ami began. "To the Dark Kingdom, no less. We need to instigate a protection detail, take her into hiding; if the enemy has been watching then our homes aren't safe and we have no way of knowing whether this place has been compromised."
Rei's expression was murderous. "Damn Usagi. We'll have to split up to form both a rescue team and a protection detail. If Naru's a target then it's possible Mamoru is in danger as well; this is bad, we don't have the man power to safely accomplish this."
Nephrite's head snapped to Mamoru at the sound of his name. He and Jadeite shared a look, both equally concerned, before putting in their agreements to taking their prince and Naru into hiding. My blood burned at that; didn't they understand that one or two people would not be enough to save Usagi? The Generals looked to Mamoru, imploring him to make the decision and escape with Naru into the night. I watched him as well, suddenly far more afraid than angry; he couldn't stay with Naru, Usagi was in danger, she needed all the help she could get.
Naru wasn't even the actual princess, she didn't need so much protection.
Unfortunately for the Generals, their prince didn't seem to share the same concern for his own wellbeing. In fact, Mamoru seemed to find whatever it was he was searching for, because his gaze cleared then, taking on a determined gleam. He focused on Naru, brushed a lock of red behind her ear, and murmured in a tone somewhere between apology and regret, "Forgive me, Naru, but I can't go with you. Minako is going to take good care of you, and she's going to keep you safe far better than I ever could. I'm so, so sorry but I…"
He swallowed the rest of his sentence, and stepped backward out of Naru's reach. His gaze flickered over to mine for less than a second before focusing on the door. Mamoru marched out, and didn't look back. Nephrite and Jadeite scrambled to follow him, their eyes meeting mine quickly as well; in the wake of his departure, the three of us appeared to sense Mamoru's unspoken words as they hung in the air.
I won't leave her.
It filled me with relief.
Rei glanced back and forth between Naru and the door in a strained expression, unsure until, with a curse, she raced out the door to catch up with the Generals. With only the Scouts left, I pretended I didn't see the stunned look on Naru's face (there was no time) and turned to Minako. "You can't split up, Usagi will never make it out of there alive, not without our full strength."
"What choice do we have?" She stressed. "I don't want to leave Usagi there, and I won't, but… Naru is in danger, and the Sailor Scouts have a sworn duty to protect her. If Mamoru is taking Nephrite and Jadeite with him, and Rei is going too, then we're down to three people. I don't know if we can afford to send anyone else out, not when counter measures need to be taken."
"That's not good enough." My voice rose, and I paused, closing my eyes briefly in an attempt to calm myself. Usagi was in danger, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. Except, that wasn't quite true; I couldn't rescue her myself, no, but… I could make sure the rest of the Scouts went. An idea came to me then; a horrible, terrible one that Usagi might never forgive me for. In my desperation, I was willing to do it anyway, so long as it worked. "She needs all of you. Leave Naru with me, I'll watch over her."
"You wouldn't be able to keep her safe if the enemy came."
"I'm not asking." I stood toe to toe with Minako and glared down at her. From the corner of my eye, I could see the other girls bristling, gearing up for a fight. "You will go to the Dark Kingdom, every single one of you. You're going to bring Usagi home or die trying."
Usagi didn't have to forgive me.
She could hate me for the rest of her life, I didn't care.
Minako's gaze was ice, lip curling as she said, "Why would we ever do that?"
Anything to bring her home.
"Because according to Usagi, your Moon Princess is a fake, and she doesn't have the Silver Crystal. You're going to bring Usagi home Minako, before they brainwash her and she leads them to the true princess."
Main P.O.V.
I was nowhere, and no one at all.
I had no voice, no face, no body; I was nothing, translucent against the void surrounding me. Blue eyes peered into me then, hard and worried; soft lips moved but no words came out. As I sank downward, further into the abyss, a voice called out to me, desperate and pleading.
"Sailor Moon, this place is not safe. Awaken."
My eyes snapped open with a start, chest expanding as I took what felt like my first breath in a long time. I gasped for air, fingers clawing into soft material on either side of me. It took a moment for my vision to clear and register the dim, high ceiling before me, the soft bed beneath me. When my breath finally reached a point of somewhat evening out, I was able to focus on my surroundings. I sat up slowly, soaking in the details of the medieval chamber around me as my brain echoed two words again and again in an endless loop.
Not safe.
Not safe.
Not Safe.
As the memories leading to my Naru-induced slumber came back to me, I could literally feel the blood draining from my face; sitting on the curb with Naru as she confessed to have taken notice of a strange man stalking her, the major drain I received the moment she touched me, the blackout, white strands of hair. I had never in my life tasted a more all-consuming emotion then that of fear. You would think that, as someone that carried it with me day after day, I would have grown numb or, at the very least, accustomed to the sensation.
This was not the case.
Dread pooled inward, and I began to feel deliriously light headed as a chill swept over my body, clinging to me like a second skin. In my mind, a new sound slipped into the cacophony of noise, bleeding into an endless, haunting ballad that danced in tune to the quick beats of my heart and carved its words into my psyche.
Not safe
"Usagi… I keep seeing this man, everywhere I go."
Not safe
"No. Get away from her!"
Not safe
"I know who you are."
I could have died then and there.
I shoved off the bed and spun too quickly, the chamber tilting ever so slightly as my eyes locked on the heavy, wooden door. It was the only exit to be seen in this windowless room, and somehow I knew what I would find before my hand made contact with the door. Panic had locked onto me, thrilling up my spine and pushing me forward anyway, because even though I sensed the truth of my intuition, buried deep under my skin, it wasn't enough; I had to know for certain, had to prove it to myself. I curled my fingers around the handle of the door, and shook it violently.
It did not budge.
A lump formed in my throat and my chest tightened, hand slipping away to fall at my side; I felt myself stagger backwards until I hit the foot of the bed. My breath hitched, knees going out from under me as the truth settled in and a bone chilling terror seeped into me. "Oh my god."
I had been kidnapped.
I was alone, a prisoner behind enemy lines, in Beryl's domain and… and the Silver Crystal was with me. My stomach plunged as though the floor had dropped out beneath me, and as a tremor encompassed my hands I fought to swallow the baseball blocking my airways. Breathing normally became a challenge, and I wrapped my arms around myself, frantically tossing facts and options together because this wasn't- it couldn't, surely there was a way out, and this wasn't as bad as it seemed.
I had the brooch.
I had the brooch, which meant I could transform into Sailor Moon and… and then what? On enemy lands, surrounded by youma and other nefarious creatures, what chance did I stand? Outnumbered, outmatched, and in unknown territory, what good was Sailor Moon to me? It wasn't like my first time in the park, or with Nephrite in that abandoned neighborhood; both of those times I had been scared out of my mind, barely able to think let alone fight back. I couldn't take on an army.
This chamber was my prison, and it was the only thing separating me from my nightmares. My gaze snapped back to the door, and I found myself analyzing just how many enemies lay in wait behind it; far more than I could rationally fight off, enough to make my stomach roll at the thought of that door opening at all.
I… I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know what to do, didn't know how I could possibly get out of here in one piece when even the mere thought of leaving this room made my knees weak and my throat close up. I wasn't a warrior or a fighter, I couldn't storm my way out of here, I didn't have the strength to face off the very monsters I'd spent so much time running away from, or the courage to try and end them all with the Silver Crystal. I wasn't self-sacrificing, I didn't even know how to use it that way. It was impossible. I couldn't see that third option so I didn't know what to do; outside that door lurked death, and I was alone.
This couldn't be happening.
I wanted to scream until my voice left me entirely, smash my fists onto the stone floor until every bone had broken, but terror froze me in place. Do not draw attention, a tiny voice cautioned. I listened, unable to make a sound for fear that someone would come for me; my heart thumped loudly, and I desperately willed it to quiet down. Rage was an emotion I could not afford to fall back on at the moment, and so I found myself spiraling into despair.
This could not be my reality, it simply could not; not after the countless hours I had slaved, driven myself to the edge in order to stay safe and far away from this war. This couldn't be happening, because I was worked so hard, had given everything I had to secure my future. Why was this happening, when I had suffered and pushed forward through every obstacle piled onto my path? Endlessly scheming, watching my back, putting all the right pieces into place, double guessing and triple checking, persevering under a cloud of fear, paranoia, and doubt in the hopes that everything was going to be okay, only to have my suffering thrown back in my face, my efforts wasted.
A struggle that had surmounted to nothing, in the end.
It was never enough.
Why was it never enough?
And there would be no rescue.
I acknowledged then that, no matter my feelings on the matter, I was probably going to die here. There would be no grand rescue, not from the very people I had just severely humiliated by handing their asses to them; not after lecturing them about what a foolish idea it would be to storm enemy headquarters. I couldn't even blame them, either; after all, these were the consequences of my actions. None of them had any obligation to come to my aid.
Yet as I thought that, the trembling originating in my hands expanded, growing and spreading to the rest of my body. I didn't want to die. I choked on a sob but no tears came as I was forced to face the truth before me; at the mercy of my enemies, I would receive no quick end. I was unable to grasp the full reasoning for why I was here, or how much they knew but… it was only a matter of time, wasn't it? This god forsaken organization was brimming with monsters; the kind that fed off fear and would gladly savor the taste of my screams if given the chance.
My death would be slow, and long.
Hours passed, hours in which I found myself trapped by the horrific creativity of my own demented mind. Fear was a powerful emotion, and in my physically weakened state I could do little more than watch as it took over, becoming the driving force of my day dreams. I imagined the countless ways I would be maimed, tortured, or killed, could feel the phantom pain and hear the sounds of my own screams echoed back at me.
I remained frozen on the stone floor, a captive of my own thoughts.
I prayed that door wouldn't open.
My musings would drift from time to time; I wondered how long it would be before they came for me, what catalyst would spur their arrival, whether anyone had recognized me, or if they even had any idea who I was. The Silver Crystal was right under Beryl's nose, so close to the thing she worshipped and fed human energy to; how much time remained before they realized it? And if, by some miracle neither of them did, what then?
Would I use it to negotiate for my life?
I wanted to say no, that I would never seal the fates of billions of innocent lives to save my own; I wanted to vehemently proclaim that, the rest of the world aside, I would never betray Matsuo, would rather die than be the reason his life ended. I was a coward though, and when faced with the likelihood of my eventual, horrific death, there was no telling what I would do.
Maybe it wouldn't be physical torture.
Perhaps, instead, Beryl would simply rummage through my mind the way one did at a garage sale, or I would be brainwashed into serving her, or fed to Metaria. I honestly couldn't decide which fate would be worse. Who would be the one to break me, and how long before I was spilling all my secrets, handing over the Silver Crystal for a mere reprieve? I would hold out for as long as I could purely out of spite.
Against my will, my fear-powered brain wandered to the Scouts, the Generals, and how they would perish; a desperate fight on their end against overwhelming odds, unable to do anything as their friends were slaughtered, falling at their feet one by one. I imagined their broken forms surrounding the lifeless bodies of Naru and Mamoru, the two of them in a lovers embrace.
I imagined the Tsukino residence turned to ash and Ikuko's corpse strewn over Shingo's; a mother's final attempt to shield her remaining child. Hajime-sensei, face down on the street, one body among many that had tried to flee, never making it to his brother. Captivating Harumi with ashen skin, his gold eyes glossed over and unseeing, beauty withering away as his body rotted and decomposed along with the Fabler.
Matsuo.
Matsuo, warm brown eyes clouded over, skin colorless and cold to the touch, limbs stiff with rigor mortis and lips open in a silent scream.
I twisted away from the door and emptied the contents of my stomach onto the floor until tears stung my eyes and my throat burned. I hardly noticed it as, without warning, I found myself flooded with images and thoughts of my best friend. How long had it been since I had last seen him, heard his voice? I couldn't remember the last time the two of us had doubled over with stomach-wrenching laughter, breathless and red in the face with tears spilling down our cheeks; I couldn't remember it, and somehow that frightened me, terrified me more than anything else.
Already teetering on the edge of logic and sanity, I tried to recall the last words we'd said to one another and came up blank.
I fell over that edge.
The door clicked, and opened.
The white haired man that strolled in, cape billowing gloriously behind him, was the picture of grace; he was gorgeous, even as he sneered down at me in disdain. Had Kunzite come a moment sooner, I might have lingered on the fact that, if possible, he was even prettier than Mamoru and Harumi combined. At it stood, the notion was passing and vague to the tattered remains of my psyche, easily glazed over by a stronger, more prevalent thought that had taken root a mere second before his appearance.
One last time.
No matter what, no matter what, I wanted to laugh my heart out with my best friend one last time.
Staring up at Kunzite only strengthened my resolve; I didn't calm though, and my mind didn't quiet. The psychological damage was already done; my fear did not lessen, and I continued to shake uncontrollably. He watched me for a moment, taking in my trembling body, the vomit to the left of me, my glassy eyes and the quivering of my lip. I could see it in his gaze, could see the exact conclusion Kunzite came to, analyzing me; I was a frightened wisp of a girl, a total mess in comparison to his pristine appearance and tall, intimidating stature. As he strutted over, wrapped a hand around my upper arm, and yanked me to my feet, I couldn't help thinking that he was right in his assessment.
I was a frightened, wisp of a girl; an absolute mess at every angle.
And I had abandoned all sanity.
Kunzite didn't see the way the fingers of my left hand -my still free, dominant hand- curled into a fist. Like Jadeite and Nephrite, he was cocky; too busy dismissing me to notice much until I brought my fist up in an uppercut, knuckles smashing firmly into his throat, hard enough to make him reel back. A sickening crunch sounded, and then Kunzite was doubled over, hands at his injured throat and making gurgling noises. My foot shot out without thought, delivering the strongest kick I could manage between his legs.
Then Kunzite was no longer standing.
I grasped my brooch, transforming, and as the rush of strength, of raw power filled me there was no righteous anger, no delirium, or delicious sense of invincibility. As always, it was a breath of fresh air, pumping energy into me and clearing the fog from my mind. This time, there was nothing to stifle the fear I felt, nothing to ease the bite of it; that was okay though, because for once the root of my terror did not stem from the monsters and demons that made up the waking nightmare I lived.
The game had changed.
I had no hope left of this war being won, no hope of leaving here unscathed or living a moderately longer life than my last. The truth was, I didn't see a future; I realized now that even with the addition of the Generals and Mamoru, the Sailor Scouts did not have what it took to come out of this war victorious. They had all died the first time around, as had Mamoru and Serenity; it was only thanks to her dying wish that the Scouts had all been able to return to their lives. Cut Serenity out of the equation, and maybe, maybe the Sailor Scouts managed to save the world while dying in the process.
But only until the world needed saving again, and then there was no one left to do it.
I had been a fool from the start to think that it would work.
I didn't see a future; not for me or this world. The fear that fueled me now had very little to do with monsters, or nightmares, or death because we were all going to die anyway, and most of me had already accepted that.
But I would not die in this hellhole, not before I had heard Matsuo laugh one last time.
I would face the end of the world, but not without my best friend at my side.
Kunzite's face was blue as I summoned the moon stick. Blood dripped from his paling lips, and wretched sounds escaped him as he struggled to inhale oxygen only to choke on the blood and hack it back out; from what I could see of his throat between his hands, I had crushed something very important, and the almost caved-in appearance was the problem. If I left now or knocked him unconscious, Kunzite would either die of suffocation or drown in his own blood. He knew it too, and yet there was only a smidgen of fear as he glared up at me. I was not stupid enough to even consider turning my back on him, allowing his injured body to finish what I had started.
I would not underestimate him the way he had me.
My lips curled, baring teeth as I pressed a heeled boot down on his chest, holding him in place. I didn't have to close my eyes to call upon the energy of the Silver Crystal or ask Serenity's help; somehow I simply knew I could do it on my own, and the celestial power flooded to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The defiance in his gaze flickered at that moment as he sensed the sudden swell of power in me, and we seemed to come to a mutual agreement then and there.
I was dangerous.
My boot relented, slipping from his chest as he choked. I was standing over him now, a foot on either side of his legs; I leaned closer and hauled Kunzite into an upright position by the front of his uniform, our faces inches apart as the words dripped from my lips like venom. "You're in my way."
His eyes widened.
In a swift, vindictive move I placed the kiss at his brow, this one harsh and far more powerful than the ones before it. The effects were immediate, and startlingly visible as Kunzite seemed to glow in silvery light, wounds healing entirely. Even in the ruin of my mind, where reason and logic had died, I found myself breathless at the sight of it, at the moonlight of my own creation. I had willed this power into existence, without help and of my own strength for the first time and it was doing more than purify, it was healing.
It was a sight I would never forget.
"What do you mean, you didn't know?" I hissed.
Kunzite paused in his scouting of the hall and turned to look at me warily. "I thought you were simply a silly mortal girl the Moon Princess was uncommonly fond of. It was the only explanation, at the time; the Sailor Scouts did not appear to find joy in your presence, they seemed rather irritated, actually. I assumed they were simply indulging her, Your Highness."
"Don't call me that." I said, and Kunzite rolled his eyes. "If you thought Naru was the Moon Princess, why in god's name did you not take her instead?"
"I had planned to, initially." He admitted after a moment. "However, when I saw her fell you with a mere touch, it occurred to me that she might be the cause of Jadeite and Nephrite's disappearance. I reconsidered my options and came to the conclusion that, should I take her pet, the princess would have no choice but to give in to my demands. After all, the Sailor Scouts follow her command, and she has that incessant Tuxedo Mask wrapped around her little finger; if I had the princess under my control, I had them all."
It… made sense, I supposed.
I was still hateful, bitter, and beyond the realms of sanity but I could see where he was coming from. Kunzite peered around the corner once more, and, after a brief moment he announced it clear and began to lead us forward. It was eerily quiet, without a soul in sight and the two of us were on edge because of this; Kunzite himself insisted that this was far from normal, and he seemed concerned that Beryl had not summoned him as something was clearly wrong.
My insides screamed that we were caught, that Beryl knew exactly what I had done to Kunzite and she was now trying to lure us inward. I wanted to flee badly, and I was fighting my instincts to abandon Kunzite in order to do so; he was my ticket out of here, my only true hope of escaping this place alive, and we had made a deal that I would not break unless absolutely necessary. Kunzite would get me out of here alive, but not without first retrieving Zoisite. In my mind, it hardly mattered either way whether we had Zoisite or not; that mission was more or less obsolete.
I might have left Kunzite anyway, had I the courage to.
It was difficult to part though, when I had been so sure I would die alone. A shiver made its way up my spine and I shook those thoughts away, turning my attention back to Kunzite. "Whatever. What I want to know is why this place is deserted. You're already on my bad side, Kunzite; if you lead me into a trap, I will kill you."
And I would.
Whatever moral compass I might have had before now was broken beyond repair. I didn't care what I had to do to make it out of this place, so long as I made it back to Matsuo because nothing had changed. My increased chance at making it out of this hellhole alive did nothing to change the grand scheme of things. The Sailor Scouts would not make it out of this war alive; at best, my life expectancy was that of a few more months, nothing more. I had no qualms about adding a few more sins to the list.
It was easier to admit to myself now how simpleminded I'd been.
I should have known from the start that the absence of Serenity was a hole too big to be filled. Perhaps things would have been different had I been able to rope the Outer Sailor Scouts into this war. I hadn't known anything about them though, hadn't even a clue as where to begin looking. The Generals would not be enough, and I was currently reaping the consequences of my choices.
Kunzite scoffed, pulling me from my train of thought. "I think you will find that I am not so easy to fell now that I'm aware of your capabilities, Your Highness."
"If you call me that one more-"
A slam echoed from further down the hall, and Kunzite pinned me to the wall in a flash, covering my mouth with a gloved hand though I had already silenced. We held our breaths and listened, cheeks nearly brushing as we stared down the corridor in anticipation. The second he heard a quick pitter patter of footsteps, Kunzite was hauling me backwards, down the hall and around the corner we had just come from. He released me and turned, peering around the corner; after a moment, he inhaled sharply and I stiffened.
But then he uttered the words, "Zoisite… he's coming this way."
I relaxed my muscles and pulled him away; Kunzite gave me a baffled look as I tucked his body behind me, gestured for his silence, and turned back to face the corner. I buzzed with nerves, shifting my stance into a defensive one and positioning my feet just so. It was the waiting that nearly did me in; I spent the next few seconds running through options, deciding where I should strike first. However, as the footsteps, firm and hurried, grew louder and closer, something in me seemed to just blank on what I had planned.
Zoisite turned the corner, nearly colliding with me, and I fell back on instinct.
My hands shot out, twisting tightly in the fabric of his uniform to yank him forward as he attempted to back away. Zoisite was not prepared for this, his stance weak and easily manipulated; before he had the chance to even consider full resistance I bashed my forehead into his. Zoisite moaned softly and would have fell to his knees had I not been holding him up, power of the Silver Crystal already flooding to me. I delivered my kiss to the center of his brow, where a slight imprint in the skin could be found courtesy of my tiara.
A silver crescent moon appeared and, satisfied with my work, I dropped Zoisite's unconscious body to the floor. Kunzite dropped to his knees over his comrade and gave me a dirty look. "Easy with him."
I shrugged. I wasn't feeling considerate today.
Suddenly there was a stampede of footsteps, and I spun, heart in my throat.
To my shock Mars hurdled around the corner, slamming right into me; we fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, knocking the air from me. Then someone tripped over her, adding to the weight. I spat out a bit of Mars' hair as she lifted herself up enough to meet my gaze. We spoke at the same time.
"What the fuck?"
"Thank god!"
Above me, someone muttered, "Is that Usagi-san?"
"Yes." I snapped, wiggling against whatever was digging into my side. "And I'm currently being crushed, so maybe get off?"
There was a bit of muttering, but eventually the weight lifted and I was pulled to my feet by Jadeite. I eyed him and Sailor Mars dubiously as they stared back with relieved expressions, almost as though they were happy to see me for once. The very thought weirded me out enough for another shiver to run up my spine. I scrunched my nose. "What the hell are you two doing here?"
"Obviously we're here to save your sorry behind." Mars answered haughtily, though it had to be said her words lack half the usual bite. "Good job getting kidnapped after that grand speech, by the way; it really resonated with me, a life lesson I'll be sure to never forget." Or let me live down, apparently.
I swallowed the retort at the tip of my tongue.
She was here to save me.
When I had thought I would die here, alone and forgotten, Mars had been on her way to the rescue. Not because she cared about me or anything so soppy, because Mars and I didn't really like each other; no, Mars had come to save me because unlike myself, she was truly a good person. It probably went against her instincts to leave anyone to die so horribly. So I swallowed the (deservingly) rude comeback, looked her right in the eye, and mustered up some sincerity. "Thank you, for coming for me. I hadn't even considered that anyone might and… I'm grateful."
Funny, how painful a few measly words could be.
I locked my expression down, hiding my urge to blanch or maybe cringe. Mars blinked, sort of stupefied, before shaking her head and coming to her senses. She shrugged casually and raised a brow. "Yeah, no problem. It looks like you were doing okay yourself." Her eyes drifted over to where Jadeite had crouched next to his brothers, as Zoisite began to regain consciousness. "Oh, and you even got Zoisite. The others are going to be thrilled when they find out. Why don't you fill me in on the details along the way? We don't have much time."
That was fine with me.
The Generals got to their feet and, after a hasty conversation, decided on our path to freedom. They set off with Zoisite taking the lead, rubbing the crescent moon on his forehead as though it hurt while shooting me displeased looks that I ignored. Mars fell toward the back with me, taking up the rear though we didn't speak as it didn't feel safe; she alternated between watching behind us and peering down every intersecting hall we passed, hovering uncomfortably close to my person.
It was as though she was just waiting for something to pop out and attack us.
This only served to dial my paranoia up to one hundred, and I found myself watching whatever direction she wasn't, images of monsters lurking in the shadows and just out of sight plaguing me all the while. The two of us were so on edge and tuned into the other, that when my brooch pulsed in the middle of an intersection and I jumped in surprise, Mars startled violently in turn.
"Wait." I called, halting our group's movement. I could feel the combined, curious gazes of the Generals as well as the wary, expecting one of Mars settle on me, but I made no further move to speak. My own eyes were trained on the brooch, and then on each of the four corridors. I didn't know what it was that I was expecting, be it danger or something else entirely; all I knew was that Serenity, for whatever reason, had wanted my attention.
The brooch pulsed again, and I felt the strangest sensation; it was almost like the pull I associated with Mamoru, willing me to the hall at my right, only instead of pulling it felt more like a gentle push. Faintly, I heard someone ask me what was wrong. My hand drifted up, pointing to the direction Serenity was willing me towards, and my voice came out soft and dreamlike, "Where does this lead to?"
"It's a rather large lair." Zoisite remarked. "You could go anywhere in that direction really."
"…No." I shook my head, unable to tear my gaze from it. "That hallway, it leads somewhere."
"Yeah, somewhere we aren't going." Mars touched my shoulder, as though to steer me away though there was no force in her hand. "Come on, Usagi. The others are creating a diversion and there isn't much time; we have to go."
I met her dark gaze, firm and almost pleading, and it nearly convinced me.
But then the brooch pulsed once more.
I clenched my jaw, stepped out of Mars' reach. I glanced between her, the Generals, and the empty corridor that called to me. My stomach sank as the brooch pulsed again, and the words tumbled out of my mouth sounding reluctant and pained. "You guys go on ahead. I- I'll catch up."
Mars hissed. "No, Usagi, we're leaving. You can't just wander off on your own after we went to all this trouble to come get you. What happened to not splitting up?"
"Then…" I paused in the middle of my sentence, scrutinizing the Generals; or, more precisely, the fear in their eyes. They knew where this path went, knew and appeared adamant on keeping silent. I had a feeling that I could suggest, even insist on going down that direction and they would refuse. Worry and a bit of fear cut sharply into my chest, but it did not sway my decision; Serenity, for whatever reason, wanted me to go in that direction. I had to trust in her, that she wouldn't purposely lead me to my death. "I'm sorry. I have to go this way."
I spun and marched away from the group at a quick pace, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Have faith in Serenity. I urged myself.
"Wait!" Mars called. She followed behind, catching up about twenty feet into the corridor before yanking me around by my arm. "Don't just-"
I never got to find out the rest though.
At that moment everything seemed to shake and rumble; Mars and I clutched one another and smacked into the wall in our attempt to stay on our feet. Jadeite called out to us, only his words were lost as the ceiling crumbled and began to fall, almost in slow motion. Suddenly, finding my balance proved to be no problem and I was off like a shot, dragging Mars behind me. Rocky ceiling met rocky floor, and to my surprise I could actually feel the separate vibrations as the floor itself cracked beneath our feet and threatened to crumble.
We ran for our lives.
We were going to be buried alive.
It was all I could think as Mars and I sprinted down the seemingly endless corridor for all we were worth, ground cracking beneath our feet while chunks of rock fell from above not five feet behind us.
I was going to be buried alive, crushed under a ton of rocks. My thoughts spiraled, and with growing horror I realized that I really wasn't going to get a chance to see Matsuo again. Or so I thought, until I glanced to my right to see Mars shooting off a fireball of all things. It hit the floor not twenty feet away, burning an actual hole into the rock, gaping and large enough that I would have to hurdle it to keep moving. Only, I didn't have to because as we came upon it, Mars did the unthinkable.
She tackled me into the still smoldering hole, and we plunged into darkness before tumbling onto solid earth a good twenty feet in. My head smacked against something painfully, followed by pretty much every other part of my body as the two of us continued to roll, momentum and shock absorbing as we went. It was only thanks to the death grip with which Mars clung to me that I was able to tell where the Scout was as the hole above us sealed with debris and we were thrown into absolute darkness.
We rolled to a stop, blind and disorientated.
I groaned, accidentally inhaled dust, and nearly coughed up a lung in my body's violent attempt to expel the substance. Beside me, I could hear Mars struggling to get up, and I rolled away to free the arm that had been pinned beneath me. As my coughing fit subsided, she whimpered in pain and it was such a genuine, distressed sound that it alarmed me even more than the burning hole had.
Something wet felt as though it were dripping slowly down the left side of my face as I turned to her, but in my disorientation I couldn't tell whether the feeling was in my head or not. I could see nothing of Mars in the dark; in fact it was so unbelievably pitch black that I could not see my own nose. She let out a shuddering gasp, and in my panic to see I could only think of one option. I summoned the moon stick, it's silvery light shining bright enough to illuminate the immediate area around us.
My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, and I blinked rapidly. "Mars? Are you okay?"
Though I knew she clearly wasn't, part of me expected some kind of snarky retort.
Her silence frightened me.
"Mars?" My vision focused, and I found her form, sprawled out on her back beside me. Tears slipped down the sides of her face as I hovered over her, true panic settling in. Her gaze was unfocused, and I hurriedly scanned her, trying to see where the most damage was. In the dark, it was difficult to tell as we were both beat to hell from the fall.
Then I noticed the blood.
It spread sluggishly out from under her back, staining the white of her uniform; blood began to drip past her lips as well. My body froze at the sight, nausea lurching in me as I was starkly reminded of Matsuo, and the state of his spine and legs after having been crushed by that tree. A violent chill worked its way through me as I acknowledged that I could not bear to move Mars and inspect the injury. I took one of her hands in my own, fingers intertwining as I began to babble.
"It's okay, it's okay Mars. You're going to be okay, really, I'm going to fix you, just hang on there, okay? Just- just listen to my voice." I waved the moon stick, mentally chanting the words and throwing all of my horrified focus into it as I continued speaking to her. Mars, for her part, did not seem to hear me as far as I could tell. But then the moon dust was falling, thick and charging the air around us in a way I had never seen it do before.
The wounds on Mars seemed to close up, even the smallest of scrapes and bruises as the moon dust worked its magic on her now glowing form. I felt faint, and forced myself to remain upright, to keep vigil as Mars slowly came to herself. I didn't want to know what that fall had done to her body; considering the height we had fallen and the fact that our landing had been mostly cushioned by her, right onto rocky terrain, I thought it was a miracle the two of us had even lived through it.
I watched in silence as Mars blinked, focusing back into the world.
She did not move for a long time, instead choosing to stare up at the darkness as her tears dried and her breathing evened out. Every now and then it felt as though the open space we inhabited would begin to spin leisurely, and I grounded myself by pressing my palms onto my thighs, nails digging in. Eventually, Mars sat up, turning slowly to me with a haunted look in her eyes. After a moment of staring, she croaked, "You're bleeding."
It did not surprise me. "Where?"
She reached out and brushed at my hairline, her fingertips coming away red. I felt for the cut, gingerly running the length of it; strangely enough, the blood seemed to have already clotted despite the fact that it was a head injury. The gash appeared to stop just short of my temple, and briefly I wondered whether I could consider that to be lucky or not. "It isn't bleeding anymore."
"You should heal it anyway." Mars said.
"I can't." I replied unthinkingly, regretting it immediately after.
"Why not?"
"I don't have much energy left, and I'm afraid to waste the little I do have." It was true; already I could feel the drain this day had taken on me. Naru had stolen some energy, and then I had used more to become Sailor Moon; I had marked Kunzite, followed by Zoisite, and just now a good chuck of what I'd had left had been used to heal Mars. She stared at me, and I shrugged. "If Naru hadn't drained me so much, it probably would have been okay."
The words I left unsaid hung heavily in the air between us.
Naru had reduced me to little more than dead weight.
I could still fight, but only for so long and probably not against more than a single enemy at a time. If we ended up outnumbered, I would be of little help to Mars; she had all but signed her death sentence by following me.
Mars gritted her teeth and stood. "Wonderful."
I moved to stand with her when something at her side caught my eye.
I froze.
It was familiar, familiar in the same way that the Moon Palace had been to me, despite having never actually stepped foot there before. That's not possible, I thought to myself, because it wasn't, there was simply no way and yet there it was, hanging at Mars' side right before my eyes.
The Sword of the Silver Crystal.
The Holy Sword, Something in me seemed to whisper, awed.
It was the very weapon Serenity had used to end her life.
The one that I somehow inexplicably knew, without a shadow of a doubt, to be stuck into stone, in the ruins of the Moon Palace thousands and thousands of miles from earth. No one should have been able to get their hands on it, no one should have had the power to reach the Moon Kingdom, so how was it here?
Images of Queen Serenity swept through me, explaining things to the Sailor Scouts. Things I quite adamantly did not want them to know, even if we were all doomed anyway. Serenity's mother would know; she would know I was an imposter, a parasite that took over her daughter's body. It was a feeling I couldn't shake, something I was positive of, knew in my very bones; she would know, and she would destroy me for it.
How much did Mars know?
"Where," I spoke breathlessly, voice barely more than a whisper. "Where did you get that from, Sailor Mars?"
My gaze drifted up to her face, soaking in the sharp expression, the way her dark eyes narrowed. She seemed to contemplate me for a moment, hand falling easily against the hilt of the sword. "You recognize it."
"Mars." My voice took on a dangerous quality then. "Where did you get that from."
Her brows furrowed, something akin to surprise flashing across her face.
Hesitantly, Mars replied, "I didn't get it from anywhere, Usagi. It just… appeared to me, right out of thin air the moment I joined the Generals and Mamoru to come find you."
It didn't make any sense, and I could see no lie in her words.
I stared at the sword, mind racing; if the Scouts hadn't retrieved it themselves, hadn't gone to the Moon Kingdom, than it should not be here. The fact that it was… well, it could only mean one thing. Someone had purposely planted it in front of Mars, someone wanted her to have it, to bring it here of all places. Surely it would not have been easy to obtain the sword to begin with; no one would go through that much trouble only to lay it at a Sailor Scout's feet, not without good cause.
It had to be bait, or a trap of some kind.
Good things, lucky coincidences, simply did not happen to people like us.
I straightened and turned away, casting out the silvery light of the moon stick to guide our way. The pull was back, and with little other option open to us I simply started walking that way, silently praying that Serenity knew what she was doing. Mars stumbled to keep up, curious stare on me.
"You know this sword, right?" She began, "You're familiar with it, so you must have some idea as to where it came from, and who gave it to me. Why aren't you telling me what you know? What does it mean to you?"
I paused, gaze unwillingly drawn to the sheathed weapon.
A blood stained gown, and lifeless blue eyes flashed through my mind.
"That sword," I said slowly, hauntingly, "Is a wretched thing that should have stayed forgotten. Tread carefully, Mars."
She seemed at a loss for words at that, and we continued on through the darkness in silence. As we trekked onward, the sword lingered at the back of my mind; something buried deep within me, at the core of my being, could not help the unwavering feeling of wrongness at its presence.
That sword did not belong here.
A/N
Three days from now, our last chapter in the Dark Kingdom Arc will be posted!
I couldn't tell you why this chapter was so difficult to get through. I'm still not completely satisfied with it but after days of agonizing, tearing it apart and putting it back together again, I can do no more. I was going to answer some frequently asked questions but my brain has turned into a puddle of mush after sitting in front of this laptop for the past twelve hours. Really, terribly sorry for whatever grammar errors I no doubt missed in my proof read. Answers to come in the next chapter.
Okay, I have to go now and stare at something that isn't a computer screen.
Thoughts? Questions?
Please Review!
